World of Ease

Archive for the ‘Culture’ Category

In all of the chaos and excitement portrayed in lots of Hollywood films about Vegas, there seems to be a common theme or thread. By and large, the most popular films seem to have a rather unexpected moral tone at their core. It may not be apparent at first glance, and seems even unlikely. The Las Vegas hotel room becomes a center of a rather lively universe, and one that consistently becomes a place where power is gathered and then lost to random expenditures.

Even films that revolve, or connect, to the HST school of Gonzo Journalism , have this same sense. The excess and chaos of the city is not endemic to the city itself, but something that comes from the temporary cultures that make it what it is for a very short amount of time. More importantly, and perhaps more poignantly, even in these alternate realities, it is placed in the center as an example of things being entirely out of joint. That is to say, at the core, there is no there here.

In this sense, then, the idea of a moral center in the universe is not impossible, but simply not present at this particular moment, at this particular place. Interestingly enough, the films portray characters who do contain their own sense of right and wrong, which are at their core profoundly moral, particularly in relief to the chaos of random personalities entering into a random world that always is and never was.

There is so much to do and see in the historic city of Rome that it can be difficult to fit it all in during one trip. Of course one of the easiest and most common activities is enjoying some of the city’s great food and wine, but as odd as that sounds, it is almost something to take for granted when you’re in this great city. After all, what else are you going to do? Another common place for many of the guests in a Rome hotel to visit Vatican City with its amazing Gardens and St. Peter’s Basilica and the Apostolic Palace with the famous Sistine Chapel. Vatican City alone can take well over a day or two to fully explore and one thing all visitors should plan on is to be more amazed than they ever expected.

There were many artists to work on various parts of the Basilica, Palace and its chapels, though Michelangelo is most definitely the most famous and favorite among them. He is responsible for the incredibly beautiful ceiling in the Sistine Chapel as well as numerous other walls and sculptures throughout. The architecture of the chapel and all the other buildings is also amazing and the Chapel’s, which is also the official residence of the Pope, evokes themes and design elements of Solomon’s Temple from the Old Testament. Other major artists to have worked on the Chapel include Bernini, Botticelli and Raphael .

The lifestyle of Palm Beach is one that’s inspired by nature and by culture. Nature plays a rather pivotal role in everything here, unless it’s ever possible to ignore the waves. No one really wants to, or has a good reason to, since they seem to modulate all the rhythms here and make it an ideal paradise for anyone who wants to get away.

But it’s not just the vacationers in the luxury Palm Beach hotels that are captivated by nature. The local citizenry come from all walks of life, and many different parts of the world, to make for a rather complex and elegant social fabric. It is a great cultural experiment, like all cities. Like all cities, nature influences how people are, but here it’s much more keenly-tuned, because nature itself is so often very lovely.

If there is any doubt that interesting cultural events do happen in town, the screening of the Profokiev and Eisenstein film Alexander Nevesky this past spring should wash away any last traces of cynicism. Events like these show that not only is there an audience for great works of art, but that there is also a great deal of knowledge on the part of the people. It helps to make nature come alive as the pulse of culture beats on, like the patter of the waves.