Little Island, Or, Ile Flottante

On our Highline walk we'd noticed an interesting structure out in the river, clearly human-made, but also clearly a park, and a very popular one. A few days later we were to visit the Whitney museum and so resolved to see the Little Island park on the way. We had no clue of the adult content at the end of our walk...but now you do...and you have been warned.

Little Island, or, as I prefer, Ile Flottante, which is probably inappropriate
on every level, but, hey, it sounds better; also summons sweet memories

Not always on this site along the Hudson

As later pix will show, the whole "island" was beautifully-
landscaped; here, some false autumn crocus (croci?) are
coming up and out

View south, financial district

Roots of the island

View north

East

Our eventual goal, the Whitney

New Jersey sculpture

Late September color

The River

More sculpture

We thought giving this a twirl might cure my Mal
de Debarquement Syndrome...maybe we twirled it the
wrong way

Headed back to terra firma

Historic piers along here...the Lusitania embarked from the pier on
this site, to be torpedoed by a U-boat off the Irish coast in 1917; the
loss of American life led to the United States' entry into WWI

The Titanic would have docked here...instead, the Carpathia did,
with the survivors...

Helpful map of the Hudson docks and piers

So there we were, crossing 10th Ave., minding our own business,
headed for the Whitney, when there appeared this colorful couple,
crossing toward us, accompanied by photographers...

Clad only in their super-heroic paint jobs

But fully documented, including by me; we regarded this
incident merely as a segue to the Whitney museum of
contemporary American art...

The Met: India

Doing pretty much all of the Met's Asian art in one day was probably a hall or gallery too far for us, but, for some reason, we persevered, we pressed on, persisted, plugged away, perhaps thinking we'd be back. Maybe we will. I took the usual pix, but somehow not the usual accompanying documentation...so I have had to make up my own. [Please note, as the foregoing 4,000 posts show, anything religious here is fair game...]. Our visit to the sex temples of Khajuraho in 2008 also may well have affected our appreciation of the sub-continent's arts. Nevertheless...

Click to enlarge for insight

Statue of Liberty pose

Early Anne Boleyn pose 

St. Christopher

Click to enlarge to see an architectural frieze with mermen playing
musical instruments, 2nd century; mermen!

Super hero deity: the cape is a total give-away; actually a large
metal Buddha icon, north India, 7th; interesting representation
of divine sexuality

Said to be a phallic thing; "ooooo", "ick" she seems to
be saying...

Unusual dorsal view

Head scratcher (slashes through ignorance); Kashmiri style

Really into multiple limbs and other things

Conehead prototype

Breastplate of the Spirit Deity Jumadi; 20th century,
worn by shamanic priests (priestesses?); possibly somewhere
other than India, but culturally close

Ever noticed how dogs and their owners come to look alike?

Electrifying yoga pose

Dynamic Duo 

Gothic Buddhess? 

Pierrot 

Jewel casket, ivory, 17th, Sri Lanka

Ceiling of a reconstructed temple, carved wood, too many
steps to climb up to...impressive even from afar, however

Memories of Khajuraho...

What other blogs don't show you

Votive offering to fertility goddess

Very intricate earrings; earplugs, I mean

Swiss Army deity; okay, I think maybe we need a do-over for
the India collection; alternatively, you can see all 6,997 objects
yourself here

Flashing Back To The 80s In Japan

In late November of 1983--in my first month's employment in the president's office at SMU--Vicki and I traveled with the senior administration to attend the Mirage Bowl in Tokyo, and then stayed another week with the president and provost and others as guests of sister university Kwansei Gakuin, near Osaka and Kyoto. Whether hosted by the Mirage Bowl or by KGU, we were the beneficiaries of legendary Japanese hospitality. There is no way we could ever top that visit. Plus there was a football game.

View from our hotel room

At the Mirage Bowl, even more pageantry than an American football
bowl game

Our cottage at the inn near Kyoto

Vicki by the water feature; scenes like this led to our trying our
own hands at Japanese gardening...alas, the soils and climate of
Dallas are very different from those of Edo and Kyoto...

Autumn in the garden

At a palace

"I'll drink to that!"

Eating very fresh lobster at the all-lobster restaurant in Osaka; among
quite a few memorable incidents from that trip; this occasion gave
new and special meaning to the expression "live lobster"

At the sushi bar after the honorary degree ceremony; I was seated
between Vicki and the dean of international education, both unwilling
to eat raw fish, trying to cover for them and not offend our hosts...