Dave's Gaze
After Dark
1 of 6The dark of night creates space for color and light to weave their fantasies, and frees the mind to wander into places that otherwise remain buried beneath the relentless demands of daylight.
Venice Masqueraders
2 of 6Masqueraders of the Venice Carnival of 2026.
They typically drift through the narrow Venetian streets in silence, speaking only through graceful gestures to preserve the anonymity and mystery that lie at the heart of this centuries-old tradition.
The Sea Comes to the Piazza
3 of 6How much longer will we have the beautiful, magical city of Venice?
My son and I were hit with that question at 10:30 p.m. one night when we wandered, unprepared into inches of the Adriatic Sea in San Marco Square — we hadn’t thought to check the high tide schedule.
The sea level relative to Venice ground level has been rising for over a century. Until 50 years ago, the major cause was the sinking city, due to the withdrawal of ground water. Local regulations ended most of that in the 1970s, but the relative sea level continued to rise, and then rise faster, due the growing issue of climate change. The massive, $6 billion “Mose” system of floodgates at the major water inlets helps control the flooding and buy the city time, but it has its limits.
References:
- Venice tide forecast & updates
- Mose system of floodgates
- Meta-review research on Venice flooding and sea level
- European Commission on fighting climate change dis-information
A Smile Needs No Translation
4 of 6The best travel pulls you beyond the comfortable and familiar, into scenes that look, sound, taste, and feel different. What endures for me, though, are not the landmarks, but the human moments, spontaneous connections, unencumbered by expectations of language or etiquette.
US Cross Country
5 of 6Black Rock City
6 of 6The all-day, all-night dusty, artistic, eclectic, and totally immersive creative workshop and cultural experiment called Burning Man.