Cain Morton

Somewhere Between Chicago and Shanghai

The Terracotta Warriors

The Great Wall (Mutianyu)

Chez l'Ami

Oriental Pearl Tower

The Sears Tower

Under the Cloud Gate

Field of Gold

Hunter 32

Pedals to Petals

The Farmhouse

The Farmhouse

1938 Plymouth Businessman's Coupe

Under the Hood

Tree Swing

Tin Roof, Rusted

The Lean To

Thornbury Sunset

Creemore Meat Market

Collingwood Terminals Limited

Self-Portrait

Me, as reflected in the Cloud Gate.

From the Cloud Gate's perspective:

Water

Swan Lake

The Chicago Picasso

Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool

The Fischer Building

Fourth Presbyterian Church

News in Chicago

Udupi Palace

Western Avenue Mural

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? (Does Anybody Really Care?)

The Chicago Tribune

Rickenbacker 360 Jetglo

Riding the Rails

Manhattan Melodrama

Storefronts along Lincoln Avenue, north of Fullerton Avenue, are taking a few steps back in time for the fiming of "Public Enemies," a biography of John Dillinger. According to the sign on the ticket booth, the price of a double feature for the Biograph theatre was 35 cents.

Belmont Stop

Me and the Austin-Healey (c. 1968)

Out to Sea II

The Condos at Kabal Spean

Aunt Angel and I sojourned here for awhile during our trek to Kabal Spean. We marveled at the landscape and hatched a real estate scheme: The Condos at Kabal Spean. If you have the means, we recommend the elephant shuttle service for a modest U.S. $10,000. Reserve a premier location now for just U.S. $10,000.

Chez Wadszilla

Out to Sea

Coit Tower

Four-Way Stop

Saints Peter & Paul Church

The Cambodia Room

Ganesh in San Francisco

Telegraph Hill

A Rose for the Buddha

The Red Line (Clark & Division Stop)

Red Line Escalator

The Red Line

Laughing with Ganesh

Photo by Neha.

Cain Morton

Ganesh

This Ganesh is a gift from my Aunt Joyce (aka "Angel"), with whom I stayed in Cambodia. She says he was made c. 1930 in India.

Cain Morton

Mr. Beef

Located at 666 N. Orleans St. [ review ]

The Newsboy

From the Milwaukee Art Museum. I visited the museum to see its Martin Ramirez exhibit. I took the Amtrak Hiawatha line from Union Station in Chicago to downtown Milwaukee.

Kitty Macneal

Lake Michigan Lighthouse

Navy Pier

The Wrigley Building

Dayton Daily News

When James Cox ordered the design and construction of a new building to house his newspaper, he gave the architect this direction: "Build me a damn bank."

I worked here from January 1994 until September 1999 as a marketing publications editor. I produced the weekly automotive section, Wheels, and contributed, on occasion, to the daily paper.

Fountain Square

Ganesh House Guest Suite

Lotus Bloom

Picnic Guest

This monkey buddy joined us for a picnic we had outside Angkor Wat.

Bridge to Kabal Spean

Beng Mealea

Ta Prohm

Banteay Srei

Prasat Kravan

Bayon

Angkor Wat

Terrace of the Elephants

Humble Hanuman House Buddha

Angkor Thom

Bakong

Preah Ko

Lolei

Bakong (New Monastery)

Humble Hanuman House

Ganesh Guest House

Scooter

Tuk-Tuk

The Temple of the Reclining Buddha

The Marble Temple

The Oriental Hotel

Summer Vacation

I leave this morning for two weeks in Thailand and Cambodia. After spending a couple of days with my father's sister in Bangkok, I will stay with her at her home in the Siem Reap province.

Oak Park and Frank Lloyd Wright

My father and I ventured out to Oak Park this afternoon for a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio and a walk through the neighborhood.

Avis and the Three Wolves

Cain Morton

Elephant & Castle

To the People of Cincinnati

I've been asked to write the program welcome letter for the Oct. 14, 2006, rededication ceremony for the Tyler Davidson Fountain in Cincinnati.

To the People of Cincinnati

With those words, six score and 15 years ago this month, Henry Probasco dedicated the Tyler Davidson Fountain. In memorializing his friend, brother-in-law and business partner, he left the city with more than what was intended to be an "object of beauty and utility." Probasco's gift symbolized the spiritual center of a vibrant and growing community.

The Pennsylvania native commissioned the fountain from a German foundry in 1867, following Davidson's death two years before. As early as 1860, Probasco and Davidson discussed the idea of contributing a public fountain in appreciation for the financial success they'd enjoyed at the helm of the Tyler Davidson Hardware Co. Cincinnati had been kind to the two men, and they wanted to return the favor.

Because plans were not formalized prior to Davidson's death, Probasco left in 1866 for a tour of European foundries that ultimately led him to suitable drawings by Bavarian painter and sculptor August von Kreling. Unlike other fountains of the day that featured classic or mythological figures, these sketches depicted people enjoying the blessings of water for pleasure, salvation and sustenance. High above stood the "Genius of Water," a 9-foot-tall woman with outstretched arms representing Mother Nature. She dispensed water from her palms, all the while casting a protective gaze over the city that called her into being.

At the Oct. 6, 1871, dedication, the 43-foot-high fountain sat on a raised walkway several dozen yards west of its current location, facing east to greet the morning sun. As horse-drawn carriages gave way to motorized vehicles and downtown traffic became increasingly congested, the city, in 1971, moved the bronze-and-granite fountain to a large plaza at the northeast corner of Fifth and Vine streets. The Lady, refreshed from a restoration on the occasion of her centennial anniversary, now looked west toward the new city center.

In rededicating the Tyler Davidson Fountain, we reflect on the generations of Cincinnatians and the countless millions of visitors who have made their way to this space. Through the unforeseeable ways that public places become private landscapes, they embraced the fountain as Probasco must have hoped they would but could scarcely have imagined. They made it their own. And as with any gift with true meaning, the legacy of the fountain grew in the giving and the receiving -- and the giving back again.

For more than 130 years, the People's Fountain presided over the historic and everyday moments of our lives: wartime victory celebrations, World Series championships, summertime concerts and brown bag lunches. Couples married. Children played. Friends met and reminisced. Others tossed a coin in the water, wishing for a turn of good luck, ice-skated beneath the festive lights or caught a cooling mist on a hot afternoon.

In our gathering today, we follow in their footsteps: Cincinnati has been good to us, and we want to return the favor. Like any community worth its salt, ours met -- and will surely face again -- myriad challenges determined to test our individual and collective resolve. Yet we have hope in this city of neighborhoods, our courage and strength articulated in what Probasco called the fountain's "voiceless eloquence." Signs of Cincinnati's resilience abound, from the renovation of Fountain and Government squares to the continuing vitality of the downtown business district and the re-emergence of the city center as a place to live, work and play.

MidPoint Music Festival

My friend Bill, who co-founded the MidPoint Music Festival, asked that I write the liner notes for the event's compilation CD. I submitted the copy today.

Revolutions, the good ones anyway, inevitably begin with a shot. Before you can win people's hearts and minds, you have to get their attention.

Now in its fifth year, the MidPoint Music Festival clearly has their ears. Since we launched the event in 2002, we've brought hundreds of new bands from around the world and tens of thousands of fans to Cincinnati. Great minds may think alike, but independent minds seek out original music.

That isn't to say MidPoint bands forget their roots. At the heart of every performance is the age-old struggle of the artist to find the new, explore the edge and connect with an audience. That both might find closer ties underscores the revolution.

Technology sparks the fervor, subverting the established order and radically changing how we create, discover and enjoy music. It liberates creativity, but freedom isn't without challenges. Musicians find they have greater control over their craft -- from songwriting itself to production and distribution -- but they also must contend with promotion and how to be heard above the din.

MidPoint sets the stage for bands to explore their options and decide what works for them. The festival builds on Cincinnati's legacy of helping artists sharpen their voice and find their niche -- and of giving an audience willing to listen the opportunity to decide for itself what it likes.

Meet Homer

Homer, Isabel's boxer buddy, gets unexpectedly friendly at Isabel's farewell party. She leaves soon for a new job in Columbus, Ohio. Photo by Isabel.

Maps & Atlases

The Sunflower and the Bee

The Lean-To

Drive Shred