Here's an absolutely stunning photograph taken by John Lei, from a New York Times article by Christopher Mason titled "For the Baron of Yonkers, a Gothic Revival". The caption explains that it depicts "Kohle Yohannan, a decorative arts historian who ... bought a 19th-century castle with views of the Hudson River for $469,000. An octagonal ballroom ... provides a setting for his animal trophies."

I must change my life, to model myself and my surroundings on this image — and all it implies about our civilization.

(click for an enlargement; photo from the 23 Dec 2004 issue of the New York Times "House & Home" section, © NYT; see also SomethingToSell (14 Apr 2002), MoreFunLessStuff (1 Oct 2002), For Themselves (8 Jun 2003), CutTheVolume (5 Mar 2004), DalaiLamaBirthdayGift (24 Aug 2004), ConspicuousAnticonsumption (17 Sep 2004), ...)

TopicArt - TopicSociety - TopicHumor - 2005-01-05

(correlates: MirrorImage, JoyToStuffRatio, NewYearResolution, ...)