Gadigal – Land Acknowledgments in Australia
Wooden vessels in the Aboriginal wing of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. These vessels were used to transport burning coals from one end of the rainforest to the other, preserving the fire contained in them. After our tourist expeditions in Sydney, Australia, Dennis and I often joined the queue on Park Street in […]
“No Worries” – Reflections on a Trip to Australia
When a dear friend recently invited us to visit her in Sydney, Australia, I came expecting to hear the phrase, “G’Day, Mate,” repeated on a daily basis. But while I was in fact greeted more than once with that hallowed phrase, I was surprised by how much more often I heard another, entirely different phrase: […]
Searching for my Inner Self
Lord Shiva A couple of years ago, I wrote in this blog that I was transitioning to retirement but I didn’t feel “all-in” with the life change it implied. I spoke about possessing the luxury of turning up the spigot of work or turning it down as I wished. When I re-read my words now, […]
The Architect Personality
Keith R. Kolb, FAIA The following essay pursues some of the themes I explore in my forthcoming memoir, LANDSCAPE IN LAVENDER: A YOUNG MAN’S SEARCH FOR HIS GAY IDENTITY A profile of Britain’s most pre-eminent architect in the January 20, 2025 issue of The New Yorker bears the headline, “Norman Foster’s Empire of Image Control.” […]
A Visit to Assisi
The following is another excerpt deleted from my memoir, LANDSCAPE IN LAVENDER, which will be published by Spark Press in June, 2026. Toward the end of winter in Paris, in 1972, I spied a poster stapled to a kiosk on the boulevard. Written in French, it invited students on a tour of Italy during “la […]
Tick-tock, Tick-tock Time
(a spiritual thought for the day) One of the most absurd things about life is how we’re all chained to the relentless forward march of time. Tick-tock, tick-tock, time never stops in its inexorable progress toward our deaths. Everything we do and everything that happens to us has a beginning, a middle, and an end. […]
“The Magic Flute” at Seattle Opera
“The Magic Flute” at Seattle Opera I don’t know what I was expecting when I purchased tickets to the Seattle Opera’s production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” (February 22 – March 9, 2025.) I suppose I pictured a tasteful orchestral recital punctuated by a few sopranos, tenors, and baritones frolicking on stage amongst a nominal […]
The Allure of Palm Springs
The Allure of Palm Springs Nearly two hours into one’s drive eastwards from Los Angeles on Route 10, the freeway speeds through dry desert flanked by even drier, treeless mountain ranges on both sides. No visual cues pop up to signify that you are approaching any sort of travel destination until dozens of exuberantly waving […]
Century 21: Jet City
Century 21: Jet City I was an excited nine-year-old boy when my parents led my brother and me up to one of the carefully guarded entry gates at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. Stamping my foot as we bumped along, slowly advancing up the long line to the ticket booths, I stood on tiptoes and […]
Ten Arthur’s Round Table
In this fourth installment of passages that I cut from my memoir, LANDSCAPE IN LAVENDER, my unofficial college advisor, the highly esteemed Dr. Paul J. Korshin of Penn’s English Department, unexpectedly invites me to dinner. To this day, I am ever so grateful to Paul for taking me under his wing and mentoring me, but […]