An Italian sociologist Maurizio Montalbini will spend three years in an underground cave as part of a study on human functions when deprived of natural light. Montalbini has twice before lived underground (and holds the world record for doing so) but not for this long. He will live much like an astronaut, though with some favorite foods and a library of 85 books. URL:
http://edition1.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/10/13/tbr.numbers.caveman/;
http://english.people.com.cn/200610/15/eng20061015_311869.html.
Big Sur Camaldolese
Article about the New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, California, hermitage of Camaldolese monks. From the article: “‘We’re hermits, but it’s not as strict as some orders,’ said the Rev. Raniero Hoffman, the hermitage’s resident prior. ‘There’s a certain amount of community.'” URL:
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/local/15597608.htm.
Vietnamese leper-hermit
Brief item about a Vietnamese leper who fled to the jungle in shame, ostrasized by his village and frightened family. He spent twenty years eking out a hermit’s existence before being found and rehabilitated by a Red Cross worker and treatment center. The story is a good example of involuntary solitude. URL:
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=03SOC180906
Canada webmaster becomes hermit
Article about Paul Marquis, employed as a webmaster for the local Catrholic archdiocese, who will live as a wilderness hermit. From the article: “After months of considering various locations, he said he expects this ‘desert’ experience will be in a simple shelter on a remote, forested piece of land, maybe on an island somewhere off the west coast of Canada.” Marquis is not pursuing the priesthood or canonical status as a hermit; his is a personal project. URL:
http://www.catholic.org/hf/faith/story.php?id=21346.
Two more hermit films
Two more films about hermits:
1. The Fort Fisher Hermit: The Life and Death of Robert E. Harrill is a documentary film. The blurb explains that Harrill “spent 17 years under the stars and scrub oaks of Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Surviving off the land and the contributions from thousands of visitors, he became one of the areas largest tourist attractions.” A DVD is available. URL:
http://www.thefortfisherhermit.com..
2. Milarepa tells the story of the 8th-century Tibetan Buddhist hermit Milarepa. The Bhutan-born producer Neten Chokling filmed with monks as his non-professional cast on location in the Indo-Tibetan frontier. Shown at film festivals, the latest being Vancouver, B.C. URL:
http://www.milarepafilm.com.
Thanks to friends of Hermitary for bringing these films to our attention.