A Vincent Mounier Photography Blog

Farewell to the Rock - Part 4
March 3, 2005
Since I've already begun the day with a quote, I'll let Duke Leto summarize the essence of this entry about leaving the Rock: I'll miss the sea, but a person needs new experiences. They jar something deep inside, allowing him to grow. Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens... The sleeper must awaken. From the classic Dune
Aikido is a way of life
March 3, 2005
Walk in, cross the stage, and leave. Let the void do its work. Don't listen to the recalls. What's done can never be redone. (My translation of a text by André Cognard, Aїkido Sensei)
Farewell to the Rock - Part 3
Leaving the island includes saying good-bye to old friends, and odd friends. The following are self-portraits of Tom the Grouper and myself posing with a tear in our eye. A descendant of the mighty Ben, Tom the grouper is Jerry's sidekick, the new kid on the block, the trainee, the apprentice, the junior. He's been following Jerry in his (her) interactions with us, day after day, keeping a safe and respectful distance. But right now Jerry has left Bloody Bay to go ta...
The lesser of two weevils
February 25, 2005
)arrow For two mornings in a row now, dolphins have accompanied the boat on our way to the dive site, playfully surfing the waves. And already I can hear a legion of readers immediately exclaiming "Why is this fool leaving such an amazing place?"Well, for one thing, my world is limited to a 2 by 11 miles playground. If I need to escape, I have a choice of 22 square miles. The dolphins are free, I'm not. Period.For another, they had no butter at the store the ot...
A little memory game
February 24, 2005
)arrow I love quoting song lyrics. In fact I'm getting so good at it that I'm going to challenge the (very limited) world of Portal visitors: I hereby challenge you to give me a first name (in English of course, for example Mike or Michael, but not Michel) and I will come up with a song's title or lyrics that contain that name! Warning: I've never lost at this game! You may post the first name of your choice as a comment to this blog entry. Make it difficult, it's not fu...
Godspeed
February 24, 2005
A couple of weeks ago, Flyingfish wished me Godspeed! with my coming journey. It stayed with me. I love the expression. It smells of travels and adventure. As says Jack Sparrow, pardon me, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow in the last scene, Now, give me that horizon. So I'm seriously considering renaming the blog Godspeed. But since this can't always be about me, myself and I, I'll ask for opinions on the matter. Anybody out there? ... But why is the rum gone?
The Shadow of the Going
February 24, 2005
It was the 3rd of September, 1994. I was standing on a dock in Guam. In the darkness of a cool dawn, a suitcase at my feet, I was watching the largest sailing vessel in the world, which I had called home for a year, depart slowly for Saipan. Without me. A piece of my heart was sailing away, too, and I was so worried that I might have made the wrong decision. Leaving is easy. Leaving for the right reasons seems a little harder. And now, over ten years later, I'm leaving ...