ATRIUM— “What’s an Atrium?”
1. a hall or entry area;
2. a chamber, cavity, or auricle, as per either upper chamber of the heart;
3. central court of an ancient Roman house;
4. route to the Btrium, Ctrium, Ztrium, etc.;
5. place where plant-nourishing light streams in from skylights.
the Bod Atrium: 
~~~EXHIBITS: 2024 (coming soonish?)
#3 H/R ’64–60th Anniversary Report follow-up: reflections on life, its stages, a few classmates; personal, class & country history…?
The “Redbook” just arrived (4/22/24). If you’re here from the link there, I hope this will expand the exchange. Entries read so far include those from Dave Clapp, Ken Tigar, Marshall Bouton, Dick Fee, Gary Zukav, Frankie Velli….. A shame, but most of the few fellows I knew best (including assigned roommates) didn’t offer a lick. As I skim, I hope to recognize two or three others who left a strong impression at the 25th, along with some of Virginia’s friends.
On the one hand, I feel very much part of ’64, with a shared history; on the other, I can hardly wrap my mind around the idea of the class as an entity with its own identity & history. Apart from a few particular events: e.g., JFK’s visit & our 25th most of all, the class history disappears for me into the larger history of the time, perhaps reinforced by the fact wife & I skipped graduation for open spaces, hightailing it out of town right after exams.
And that was a year after ’64, both of us being ’64-5, with no ’65 connection. It seems we ’64-5 may deserve to be considered in a class of our own….
~~~OLD EXHIBITS (up still)
#2 (2020) Trompe l’oeil libraries (2020)
#1 (2018) Auroville at 50 (2018);
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Exhibit #2: Trompe l’oeil libraries
Going, going, gong….
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How about this garage door in L.A. (by Don Gray), where no books fall out when raised & lowered for the (presumably “all-eclectic”) book-mobile:
Indeed, books & bookshelves (if not whole libraries) are a common theme:
Fake books may be read at real or unreal tables, as in San Jose’s Cafe Trompe l’oeil:
Or remain just beyond reach, as in New Arches National Park:
There’s nothing like wildlife to liven any setting, however, as this wild “goldfinch” almost 400 years old demonstrates:
No bookmobile (or mobile book), this artful bus at the Copenhagen Zoo swallows & disgorges people, in groups & schools:
This harsh-winter wall favorite by Daniela Benedini may help cure claustrophobia–just dive in. (The splash you make may be your brains.)
Street-painter Edgar Mueller’s work suggests the ground we step on (&/or in) can be closer than it looks–as well as further down, depending. Imagine coming on this one painted directly on street level from the perspective of the people shown, or worse, as a driver finding such a bottomless pot-hole surprise on a highway….
This exhibit has been sponsored by Epitaph Estates, “the last word in Reality Realty.” Drop in when you’re in the neighborhood. (Win free holes on Frijolé Fridays–or any other holy day on the free freak calendar, “where every day is”), courtesy the Hop Scotch Jumping Bean & Tequila Bagel Ballet.
Or perhaps you’d prefer the Digital Pinhead version that travels with you to change the fundamental reality (“what really is”) into what you think you see, hear, feel, smell…? Well, “take your pick–& shovel.”
~~~Exhibit #1: Auroville at 50 (2018)
50 years young & going strong–
inspiration of the Mother’s song,
golden dome goes shining on:
Matrimandir in the City of Dawn.
At the Auroville dedication fifty years ago, Feb. 28, 1968, young people from about 123 countries added soil from their respective homelands to a single urn, symboling planetary unity. The urn is now part of the open-air amphitheater adjacent to the Matrimandir, a golden meditation dome that serves (along with the adjacent banyan tree here long before) as the township’s spiritual center, surrounded by green belt, forests, fields & villages along the Coromandel Coast–south of Chennai & Mahabalapuram; north of the sub-continental tip & the formerly French colony of Pondicherry.
A ceremony in honor of the 50th mingled water from over 200 sacred rivers, springs, ponds, etc., along with a bonfire well before dawn. The Indian Prime Minister had previously brought water from “3 holy rivers–Ganges, Kauvery &…(Namala?) to a Lotus Pond; water brought from there, in turn, had initiated the pre-dawn ceremony. [You can probably still find a video of the “live” event & associated activities at www.auroville.org &/or on YouTube.]
A bit more than a week earlier, in honor of the Mother’s birthday (Feb. 21), an Auroville collaboration offered a “moving meditation” of music, dance & dome gymnastics, along with poetry from Savitri (for which, alas, the spoken words are muffled, tho some energy may come across even so).
Here’s a link to Part 1 in any case, which starts slow, taking 8 minutes or so for the meditation to pick up more visually interesting steam, with the impact arguably greatest in the few minutes of “creative gymnastics.” Later parts not directly included here, but probably linkable from Part 1, may surprise & inspire, each “movement” adding new elements to the synthesis.
[As a P.S., at some point I may add a few personal reflections on Auroville, Aurobindo, & the Mother (Mirra Alfassa), based on our time there 50 years ago, & studies after, these all so far out of date, however, as well as out of touch with the life there now...]