Keep in mind that, though the writer doesn’t mention it, Ethiopians in general seem to have very little compunction about forgery, and the U. S. Embassy rates Ethiopian visa applicants extremely high in the fraud category. They always come in with all the right stamps, but who knows who actually stamped the damn thing. Bureaucrats will also take their stamps with them as they leave the office, as controlling information and supplies that are necessary to get the mission done is the Ethiopian equivalent of tenure: i. e. “you can’t fire me, because I am the only person who knows all the mission-critical information.”

But hey, you don’t become a bureaucrat in Ethiopia because you are fond of working!

Though there are several impressive universities participating, including MIT, the Open University, and Texas A&M, I have so far only had a chance to listen to the Humanities offerings of Stanford and Yale.  Stanford, from what I have sampled, is doing a much better job of presenting interesting material, selecting from their excellent lecture series (which I have fond memories of attending while an undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz), whereas Yale Humanities seems, for the most part, to be producing pieces with advertising and alumni relations in mind, which I do not find very interesting. I have even been listening to two whole courses, an intro to the humanities course on the Literature of Crisis and an excellent course on the Historical Jesus. When I again have access to a fast internet connection, I will look deeper into Stanford’s catalogue as well as expanding the number of universities sampled, but I both highly approve and recommend iTunesU for the independent learner and scholar alike.

I’m trying to get the Friends of the Library of the Pontifical Institute for Mediaeval Studies to start recording and podcasting its lecture series–get out there and work on your institution!

There are two things you should remember before taking off on a trip: 1) you need iTunes (the podcasts interface manages the content) 2) read the syllabus and bring the readings.

Coming home to Anna’s Hoeve, originally uploaded by Mattijn.

A recent flickr discovery of mine is the wonderful photo-stream of Mattijn, whose wonderful photo-montages really transcend much of the rest of what I have seen in the art form. He includes himself in his montages (look out for his adorable cat), granting them a personal quality and imparting a sense that he is physically exploring his inner fantasy-world. The set of home-grown fantasy castles, representing locations that do not exist (but some, like the one above, look like they could) is my favorite, but he has a lot of good material in all his sets–check out his essential set if you are looking for more.

Inspiring and fantastic.

JoeyL, as he is apparently known, is a wunderkind photographer whom I have been following a bit since he appeared on Strobist (the post is here). He specializes in band photography, and definitely has an edgy, gritty, and urban look. The photo I have linking to him has really stuck in my mind since I saw it on the Strobist post, and it makes me think of some kind of future archaeologist, penetrating some forgotten relic of industrial civilization. Only after I referred to it as the ‘faux-archaeologist picture’ in the email I sent him (see below) did I stop to think that I was entirely bringing that to the photo–which is definitely in its favour–there is great energy that allows the viewer to bring their own ideas to play. His site is at www.joeyl.com.

The reason that I thought of him this week is that he has posted a new series of work on the people of the Omo Valley region of Ethiopia (misleadingly titled ‘Abyssinia,’ despite being of low-land Ethiopians–I sent a correcting email–I should have mentioned the false etymology, too). (I can’t link it, as his site is one of those annoying all-flash contraptions, but if you go to his site, click on Personal> Abyssinia.) I can’t say that I really like the set, as the way he has set up and processed many of these shots, they look to me like they could have been shot in a studio, in front of a drop-cloth (even though I have been to many of these places), but there are some real gems in there–worth a look.

He says in his blog, where he writes about his experience in Ethiopia (the specific posts are here and here and here) that he was specifically going for a very posed/directed style, which is just as well in the Omo region, as the cash-economy in photography, in addition to its other deleterious effects, makes documentary-style photography basically impossible in the region (which is why Don McCullin In Africa has that posed, 19th-century look to it). Interesting to read–I found it amusing that he ended up talking to the same pushy car agent that we did (thanks to a travel-savvy Italian, we actually got a good car and deal out off him, but only after rejecting a few).

Diane Varner’s Daily Walks is a great collection of really high-quality photography. I am consistently impressed by the depth of mood that she manages to put into her photos, like the image above, which appears almost fantastical, while representing a real scene. Highly recommended.

Make your own ‘HOPE’-style poster at Obamicon. None of my photos worked out great–it seems to be a portrait-style thing.

Mark Graf’s Note’s from the woods showcases his beautiful nature photography (shooting for prints and stock) and has a lot of little insights about doing that kind of photography, in addition to technical and artistic details.

Syama-san’s Tokyo Street Cats Blog

Syama’s blog presents intimate, slightly-environmental portraits of the plentiful cats he meets on the streets of Tokyo. Mainly monochrome, but also in color. More than just cute cats, this feels like an intimate look into the lives and environments of these Japanese felines.

One of the best photographic learning sites, until it recently closed, was The Radiant Vista. Craig Tanner, at the heart of that project, and various friends, have opened a new site, The Mindful Eye, with a daily photo critique (well recommended), tutorials (sadly only viewable onsite, which doesn’t work for my slow connection), and lots of good thoughts about photography, as well as Craig’s photoblog and a set of community forums. Check it out.