Crossroads Mongolia

I’ve been busy this week printing my Mongolia show for two concurrent events at Smith College.

The first of these special occurrences is Reinventing Eurasian Identities: Ghengis Khan Revisited. That’s a research project happening at Smith from March 23 to April 10. Basically, a gaggle of professors are going to sit around and talk about all things Ghengis for a few weeks. We’re going to watch movies, read books, and toss around some post-Soviet bull (or should I say Russian bear) about how things were, the way things are, and what might be. In the midst of this colloquium there is the March 27 to 29 conference, Buddhism in Mongolia: Rebirth & Transformation. For this more public event, Smith is bringing in the top shelf Mongo-Buddhists from around the world. Including my personal favorite Canadian tantric master Glenn Mullin. He is my top nomination for Westerner who is having the most fun being enlightened. This rare convergence of Mongolian hordes in Northampton could be equal to The Rolling Stones playing Toad’s Place in Central Mass. in 1988. It might be a moment to remember if each successive present moment were not so engrossing. Anyway, I’ll keep you posted as everyone’s felt tents (gers or yurts) unfurl.

For those of you who want something a bit more photographic from The Coruscating Camera, Check out Joel Sternfeld’s mostly wonderful Northampton Meadows landscapes from his new book, Oxbow Archive. Here’s a taste of the series.

I drove by this spot this morning on my way to teach. If your taste in landscapes roam to the even more transcendent, check out this beautiful under-highway scene from Mexico.

For more information about Lost Rivers, check out Mrs. Deane‘s Blog.