a x e s m u n d i: March 2013

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Easter: Rebirth as Change

Easter, the Christian celebration or the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is also the celebration of rebirth and renewal. Easter does not follow a civil calendar, but astronomical cycles, as the first Sunday following the full moon after the March equinox. In the northern hemisphere it coincides with the spring rebirth of nature after the winter "death".
This year, at a collective level, as we are living in times of climate change, global conflicts and economic crisis, Easter does not feel much as a rebirth. In my personal current situation, as I moved to a totally different geographic and social environment, this year Easter feels quite unusual, away from my home, family and friends. And this is so different from the past celebrations either in Rome or in New York. Yet I am trying to welcome this totally different Easter as I embrace change, where rebirth may be just a change in lifestyle (welcoming frugality and austerity) and discovery of different cultures and places.

Happy Easter 2013!

camminando | Sprawl Walk

Friday, March 29, 2013

camminando | Finding My Axis Mundi

I am finally finding my bearings, that is my axis mundi is getting oriented.

With my relocation to Waurn Ponds/Geelong (Victoria, Australia) my world —at least in a geographic and astronomical meaning— went upside down:

At noon the sun is at North
Eastern is celebrated in fall
and Christmas in summer.
March 20 is the fall equinox
June 21 the summer solstice
September 21 spring equinox
December 21 is the summer solstice
Driving is on the left side of the road and the steering wheel on the right side

I finally decided to use my body as a sundial: here my shadow at noon, when side is on the meridian, on the north; my shadow is aligns in the direction north-south from feet to head/

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Water, Land, Infrastructure | Great Ocean Road

Yesterday I had my first glimpses of the Southern Ocean from the Great Ocean Road (B100). This remarkable infrastructure stretches for 243-kilometre (151 mi) between the cities of Torquay and Warrnambool and was built by returned World War I soldiers between 1919 and 1932. It is considered the world war largest memorial and also know as Surf Coast. Bells Beach, home of the world's longest-running surfing competitionthe Rip Curl Pro Surf & Music Festival, is located at its Eastern end, near the town of Jan Juc and Torquay.