2026 Mantua

Mantegna's masterpiece in Mantua

And here it is: the island with the labyrinth of water.  An unremarkable but inexplicable fresco.  The info says it is Mount Olympus….

A return to the magical city of Mantua to visit a few of my favourite masterpieces, as well as a new gallery of modern art there.

Cinema as a community experience opens the door for low-cost films funded by fans

This move from the Hollywood-style blockbusters to low-budget films made by new directors – often emerging from the world of YouTube – and new production houses is great news for audiences eager for new experiences and a sense of community. It not only brings fresh talent to the art form, it also opens up the possibility of fan-funded films that manage the difficult trick of being thoughtful and popular.

From Walled Culture.

Magi, Maga, Doge

 Herod the Great, mongrel, Idumae
-an, Nabatean, (possibly half-jew
-ish, half-arab), plucked out for power by Cae
-sar, polygamous, hated by more than a few,
Said to the Magi: “Send me informa
-tion that I may worship him stat.”  The Wise Men
Had doggedly tracked a star linking their way
to the king and his palace, but would not pass again.
Duke Herod, canalising anger, closed
The Venetian blinds of his heart, ordered his min
-ions to ransack the mega databases, and imposed
His mangy algo – all to cry: “So win”.
Thus six million future innocents died
In this ungrokked AI genocide.

(12.7.26) v 1.01

Moody Sonnets