Secondhand Smokette once insisted that I “get a hobby” so that I would find ways to relax. I began to shoot photographs. Here are a few I am pleased with from our recent sojourn in Italy that I share for your (I hope) enjoyment.
This is a shot in Rome taken from just above the Forum to some buildings in the sunset:
The glory that was Rome:
Here’s a picture of a fruit stand near the Forum as darkness fell. I like the rich colors.
I am fascinated with the textures of rich store displays, which I consider “temporary art.” This furniture store in Rome, shot through the window at night with the flash off, is a case in point:
This is a picture taken from inside St. Peter’s out through a window that shows Christ from the back in a nice silhouette.
Debra and I have an affinity for this 2500-year-old Etruscan cremation urn that depicts a married couple who seem (like us occasionally) to be bickering. The urn is on display in a museum in the Tuscan hill town of Volterra.
In a word: Venice.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…