Into the Abyss

What are the convulsions of a city in comparison with the insurrections of the soul? Man is a depth still greater than the people. Jean Valjean at that very moment was the prey of a terrible upheaval. Every sort of gulf had opened again within him. He also was trembling, like Paris, on the brink of an obscure and formidable revolution. A few hours had sufficed to bring this about. His destiny and his conscience had suddenly been covered withRead more

“Medan Merdeka is dominated by the towering National Monument. Local wags have taken to calling the Russian-built tower commemorating Indonesia’s independence “Sukarno’s last erection.” Some of this bitterness may stem from the fact that the World Bank supplied funds for 77 pounds of pure gold to coat the “flame of freedom” atop the column while many Indonesians starved.”Read more

Staring Into the Heart of a Volcano

Staring into the heart of a volcano. Makes you feel a bit insignificant. Continuation of the images posted yesterday from the active volcano above Bandung, Java. It’s actually much farther down than it looks – I’d say it’s about 1km across to the ridge seen before the green trees. I wish I could show scale – but it’s simply not possible with this photo. Where the ridge is, you can walk along a rough trail – something I’ll do nextRead more