MINIATURES

The recent flooding in Venice brought to mind a remark from an Italian academic friend of mine years ago while we were exploring the city: "Venezia has long been dead. All you see now are just remnants of her glorious past. It's like gazing at the well-preserved body of a beautiful lady. Just be cautious not to fall in love with her!" Nevertheless, many do fall under the enchantment of Venezia. For years, I've been intrigued by this "well-preserved body," once known as the Mistress of the Adriatic. During its zenith as a city-state, from the late Middle Ages through the Renaissance, Venice served as a hub for both exotic and opulent trade originating from the East. With a watchful eye on the Ottoman Turks, a threat that loomed like the sword of Damocles, Venice actually thrived in those years of "mutual tolerance." The city's interactions and trade with the East hinged on a delicate balance, with her influential neighbor's magnanimity en...

I was recently asked by a colleague about my opinion on the controversy created by the Spanish production of an animated movie "Elcano and Magellan," where native islanders of Mactan led by Lapu Lapu are depicted as villains, the "kontrabida" and Magellan with his men, of course, the "bida." Others even claim the film is overly romanticizing the so-called 500th  anniversary of the first rounding of the globe and also somehow glorifying both Magellan and Elcano. The truth is, while the film's English title seems to be unifying both men, there is right now this debate in the Iberian Peninsula about who really gets the accolade being the first to circumnavigate the world. Portugal and much of global opinions are behind Magellan, while Spain continues to insist Juan Sebastian de Elcano. Hero? Magellan is not a hero. But we can consider him as one of those pioneers, possessing such tenacity navigating the uncharted waters. "Flawed" is perhaps...

I still keep this book although lately, events seem to be implying that we should throw it to the garbage can -- This now tattered pocketbook version of what was considered in the early 1990s as a bestseller in the contemporary study of philosophy and history.  The book raised some eyebrows but was selling briskly days after it hit the bookstands. The author, Francis Fukuyama, was seen in  many popular talk shows in the US discussing his work. I still recall I was on a train to Strasbourg coming from the Alps in the spring of '93 when I first got hold of the book. The world then was mighty different. Almost three decades later, I can understand why Fukuyama could be in a state of denial or perhaps to the point of rewriting or even repudiating many of what he had written as events in the worlds unfold, as we see now the re-emergence of Populism in the US, the Philippines, Turkey, Brazil, Chile, etc.-- countries that championed the cause of liberal democracy before. Thirty ye...