Lonely Cottage

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  “Among the few features of agricultural England which retain an appearance but little modified by the lapse of centuries, may be reckoned the high, grassy and furzy downs, coombs, or ewe-leases, as they are indifferently called, that fill a large area of certain counties in the south and south-west. If any mark of human occupation is met with hereon, it usually takes the form of the solitary cottage of some shepherd. Fifty years ago such a lonely cottage stood on such a down, and may possibly be standing there now. In spite of its loneliness, however, the spot, by actual measurement, was not more than five miles from a county-town. Yet that affected it little. Five miles of irregular upland, during the long inimical seasons, with their sleets, snows, rains, and mists, afford withdrawing space enough to isolate a Timon or a Nebuchadnezzar; much less, in fair weather, to please that less repellent tribe, the poets, philosophers, artists, and others who “conceive and meditate of ple...

"10 THINGS I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT THE SEA" by Lorenzo Fonda

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I'd like to share a poem with you. But first, a word from it's creator:

"This video is based on footage I shot on marine vessel 'Portland Senator' on the route from Los Angeles to Shanghai, in December 2008. Warning: this film requires ten minutes of your life and hopefully no phone calls during the screening. thank you."


One expects a poem to have an "author" and perhaps that is the better choice of word than "creator" but if you've sanctified ten minutes and experienced the film, you understand why the term falls woefully short. I'll venture that if you merely watched the film, you missed the experience.

Coupled with a soundtrack by the greatest ambient post-rock bands of all time ever ("Hammock"), this short film--this poem--sits you down and makes you think, feel  . . . well, you decide. I know how it made me feel. 

The photography: amazing
The music: moving
The insights: deep

Frankly, I'm intrigued with the idea of taking a cruise to a foreign port on a freighter:
  • Un-glamorous. I want to hear and feel the engines, the wind and the water.
  • Without distractions of the glittery; more personal freedom on deck 'cause nobody else is there!
  • On a mission. Think about it--seeing the world a passenger and not as a tourist.
  • A freighter will go through a storm, not around it.

Please visit Lorenzo's page to learn more about this trip and his experiences. Enjoy other photographs and insights as well.




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