I make maps to understand what it means to be blind, and a flaneur . Those ideas are elusive destinations. Think of them as streets you can wander along with me. Start with the first post, ![Fog at Isle Royale [Source: wildmengoneborneo.com]](../wp-content/uploads/2008/04/isle_royale_fog.jpg "Fog at Isle Royale [Source: wildmengoneborneo.com]")
"Brendan, this is what the world looks like all the time to me. Just a little fog. It’s a fine day for boating on the Great Lakes.” Without missing a stroke he turned to dart a skeptical glance at me. Brendan the Navigator. When we named him I didn’t tell his mother everything the legendary Irish name implied. But I imagined him taking on the role of navigator for me. Growing up with Coastal Survey charts and tales of Great Lakes shipwrecks, he came to know Superior as another home. He never doubted the wisdom of canoeing there with a father who was half blind. 
If there is an emerging genetic underclass, I could run for class president or class clown. Read more in 
![Charlotte Casiraghi in a red dress. [Source: Stylophile]](../wp-content/uploads/2008/02/charlotte_casiraghi_red_dress.jpg "Charlotte Casiraghi in a red dress. [Source: Stylophile]")
When I figured out who Charlotte Casiraghi was, I realized that I once sent a poem to her mother. 
Poet and street artist Miss Tic isn't exactly a kid in a hoodie with a can of spray paint. Maybe she can still run like hell when the police show up, but can she sprint in high heels? Well-known in international avant-garde circles, her work is exhibited now at the Venice Biennale as well as the alleys of Paris. Dupont Circle is the central coordinate of the neighbhorhood I call home when I’m in Washington. It’s fertile ground for a flaneur, and I’ve witnessed some strange stuff go down around the fountain there — the bike messengers, the crack dealers, the homeless vets in ponchos and bandannas, Sarge and Pigeon Water Man, the guy […]
Entries Tagged as 'Washington'
Playing By Ear: A Spectacle Of Shouting Finns
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September 18, 2023 at 8:05pm
by Mark Willis
Washington · Playing by Ear Add Your Comment
Monet: Rouen Cathedral, West Façade
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April 20, 2023 at 12:15am
by Mark Willis
Claude Monet. Rouen Cathedral, West Façade (left) and Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, Sunlight (right). 1894. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
See the series: Monet at the National Gallery of Art.
NGA · Washington · Impressionists · Monet · Flaneur's Gallery Add Your Comment
Playing By Ear: Pearls Before Breakfast
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April 9, 2023 at 12:15am
by Mark Willis
It’s the flaneur’s dilemma. Do you linger on the street to savor the scene? Do you rush on like an automaton so you won’t be late for work? You aren’t alone. As Henry Thoreau said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
Gene Weingarten decided to put Washington commuters to the test. He persuaded […]
attention · Washington · street art · Playing by Ear · Flaneur Add Your Comment
Flaneur’s Gallery: The River of Light
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February 17, 2023 at 12:15am
by Mark Willis
Frederick Edwin Church. El Rio de Luz (The River of Light). 1877. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
landscapes · Washington · Flaneur's Gallery · Art Add Your Comment
Flaneur’s Gallery: Natural Arch at Capri
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February 10, 2023 at 12:15am
by Mark Willis
William Stanley Haseltine. Natural Arch at Capri. 1871. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.c.
D.C. · Washington · Flaneur's Gallery · Art Add Your Comment
Flaneur’s Gallery: The Voyage of Life
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February 3, 2023 at 12:15am
by Mark Willis
Thomas Cole. The Voyage of Life: Manhood. 1842. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Thomas Cole’s panoramic series of allegorical paintings, The Voyage of Life, consists of four large panels: Childhood; Youth; Manhood; Old Age. Though not quite wall-sized, each deserves a wall of its own. The series deserves a room of its own, but all […]
Washington · D.C. · memoir · Flaneur's Gallery · Ms. Modigliani · Art Add Your Comment