PASSION FOR MONSTERS: NOTES

Parco dei Mostri (Garden of Monsters), a renaissance garden an hour's drive from Rome.
"Ogni pensiero vola" - "all thoughts flee".

Vincino Orsini, a warrior duke and poet, started arranging the garden in 1552.
Located outside the small town of Bomarzo, northern Lazio.
Villa d'Este at Tivoli.
Cerberus, a three-headed dog who guards the entrance to hell.

Demetria, goddess of the harvest.
Terme dei Papi, papal thermal baths outside Viterbo
"il sacro bosco" - the sacred wood

The Morning is Already Ancient

"He snaps on the electricity just before daybreak. For twenty five years he has not lived in this country, though up to the age of eleven he slept in rooms like this - with no curtains, just delicate bars across the windows so no one could break in. And the floors of red cement polished smooth, cool against bare feet.

Dawn through a garden. Clarity to leaves, fruit, the dark yellow of the King Coconut. This delicate light is allowed only a brief moment of the day. In ten minutes the garden will lie in a blaze of heat, frantic with noise and butterflies.

Half a page - and the morning is already ancient."

Michael Ondaatje, Running in the Family

Postcard: Crete

"Dear D, 40 degrees celsius here on my last day in dusty village on Crete. Sweaty but calm. Lots of fresh seafood and sweet kopi. Been writing alot. Read some Austen to my nieces today. reminded me of you and your holiday postcards. Hope you are well. Uncle C"

Postcard: London

From ATS: "Met Kate last week, day before Easter Friday spent at David Bailey's. He lives on the same street as me. She is such an attention seeker. She came with Sadie Frost and she wasn't very uhmmm ...sobre? Everyone was talking about McQueen. Apparently he had this huge bender before he hanged himself. Spoke to Kate for a bit. She was complaining about the paps outside, and I said Nooo! don't tell me you dont like all this attention. She seems quite nice but I think she was a little bit high. Her South London drawl is sooo cute! She sounds like a black girl. XOX"
Photo: Corrine Day, 1990

I'd Fuck You

I'd fuck you because you are famous
I'd fuck you for your money
I'd fuck you to control you
I'd fuck you so someday I can have half of everything you own
I'd fuck you to fuck you over
I'd fuck you until I find someone better
And fuck you in secret
I'd fuck you because I can't remember if I'd already fucked you before
I'd fuck you out of boredom
I'd fuck you because I can't feel anything anyways
I'd fuck you to make the pain go away
I'd fuck you so I could feel something instead of nothing at all
I'd fuck you because you are beautiful
I'd fuck you because you are my nigger
I'd fuck you because I am your whore
I'd fuck you because you are a whore
I'd fuck you for fun
I'd fuck you because I can't
I'd fuck you so you will protect me
- Adam of London

Postcard: London Calling

From M:
"Few visitors to London seem aware that the glamorous Orient Express still operates out of Victoria Station. Back in the 1920s, the mighty and the moneyed would board the Express from Victoria across the Channel, hop on the steamer to Calais, and continue with the Continental carriages to Paris, Milan, or Venice. Today, those romantic trains are beautifully restored and back in service. Old-fashioned carriages that were built in the 20s and 30s boast plush upholstery, intricate marquetry and brass fittings, all delicately illuminated by softly shaded lamps, giving you a first-hand feel of the Golden Age of travel.
"Highly recommended is the one-day trip which heads out to Chesterfield, where you are picked up by bus to make a pilgrimage to Chatsworth. And what's there? Only the most delightful piece of Austen-esque real estate you can imagine. You half expect Jane herself to saunter down the lawn with a parasol poised lazily above her head. Little wonder. Chatsworth may be home to the duke and duchess of Devonshire, but it's also where the Keira Knightley films Pride and Prejudice and The Duchess were shot on-location."

Postcard From... Mars

This picture was taken by Spirit, the Mars rover, of the setting sun on our closest neighbor in space. Truly out-of-this-world. X

Postcard From Guangzhou

It's been exactly a decade since my last visit to my family in GZ. I left a Chinese, and returned a Singaporean. I couldn't help but wonder what else has changed other than my nationality. No better time than this trip for me to find out. It was CNY eve when I arrived in GZ. Celebrations had already started from a 'home' downtown that I have never been (my parents had moved a couple of times since I left China). Thier new home was comfortable. As soon as I dropped my bags, I looked out the window and waited for the culture shock, the "wah" the "eew" the"tsz tsz tsz", you know? My nose was numb with cold. GZ has been going through a quickie face lift - with surgeons made in China. A picture worth thousand words. Here are photos that failed to surprise me but I bet you will see something that will turn your mouth into a perfect "O". Look closer, yes closer, dear... Dex