Munch’s The Scream is an icon of modern art, the Mona Lisa for our time. As Leonardo da Vinci evoked a Renaissance ideal of serenity and self-control, Munch defined how we see our own age – wracked with anxiety and uncertainty. Essentially The Scream is autobiographical, an expressionistic construction based on Munch’s actual experience of a scream piercing through nature while on aContinue reading “The Scream”
Author Archives: Krista Marson
I Admit That I’m Not an Adventurous Eater
I don’t remember where we bought the box of chocolates for Ryan’s little half-sister that had her favorite K-pop band “Big Bang” emblazoned on the cover, but I’m pretty sure that we didn’t buy it from any store inside the Gwangjang Market. Indeed, Gwangjang Market was not where one went searching for items depicting KoreanContinue reading “I Admit That I’m Not an Adventurous Eater”
The perfect place to start a Viking journey
A Stockholm Story We started our trip in Stockholm on a street corner where we puzzled over the mystery of how a metal barrier post thing, which, to our eyes, looked every bit like the front end of a sawed-off cannon, got so knocked off kilter in an area of town where supposedly no motorContinue reading “The perfect place to start a Viking journey”
Emerson
A champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society. Attacked materialism, opportunism, complacency, parochialism, and conformity. Emerson : “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Emerson believed intuition should have precedence over intellect. TRUST THYSELF. Emerson: using common sense, a love of nature, and his own particular genius,Continue reading “Emerson”
Transcendentalism
A core belief of transcendentalism is in the inherent goodness of people and nature. Adherents believe that society and its institutions have corrupted the purity of the individual, and they have faith that people are at their best when truly “self-reliant” and independent. An ideal spiritual state transcends, or goes beyond, the physical and empirical, and thatContinue reading “Transcendentalism”
The Wisdom of Thoreau
After spending some quality time with the works of Thoreau, I arrived at some poignant conclusions: The inner life can be understood only as part of the larger life of nature. The language of stillness, acceptance, non-resistance rather than militant willfulness. I must receive my life as passively as the willow leaf that flutters over the brook. I will grow as natureContinue reading “The Wisdom of Thoreau”
Turning 40
A birthday I didn’t want to be home for. Having a birthday so close to Christmas means that I never go anywhere to celebrate it. I hate crowds and spending money, and traveling over the Christmas holiday is the deadly combination of both. I have never been anywhere other than where I live on theContinue reading “Turning 40”
Bill Clinton Slept Here
It’s almost impossible to reminisce about a trip to Arkansas without mentioning Bill Clinton somewhere along the way. Hot Springs, Arkansas, takes pride in the fact that Bill Clinton grew up there and no trip to that city feels complete unless you leave feeling like you were sufficiently reminded of that fact at least aContinue reading “Bill Clinton Slept Here”
Crater of Diamonds
When I told Ryan that I wanted to go to Arkansas and dig for diamonds after reading an article about some kid that recently scooped up a sizable diamond at The Crater of Diamonds State Park, I remember his response being something along the lines of, “You want to go where and do what now?”Continue reading “Crater of Diamonds”
That Time We Visited Naples
It’s a good thing Ryan doesn’t know any Italian because that way he had no idea what the guy holding a massive fish tank was yelling at him. I don’t know any Italian either, but I was pretty sure the angry guy holding an unwieldy fish tank was pissed that Ryan was standing in hisContinue reading “That Time We Visited Naples”
Krista Marson 