Combine Arabic faith, Jewish intelligence, Iraqi education, Christian conduct, Greek knowledge, Indian mysticism and the Sufi way of life - this would be the perfection of humanity.
---The Brethren of Purity
In trying to make themselves angels, they transformed themselves into beasts.
----Montaigne
There's certainly something about you that gravitates to the simple, to slowness, silence, and starkness. A puritanical soul, lacking in all suppleness. An inflexible mind that has repetitive thoughts. Why else would you find Rothko so appealing? Why else the tangible sense of relief when looking at the everyday winter scenes at the National, away from the stuffy, overwrought, tangled sensibilities of so much before? Abstraction and ideas are, ultimately, more real to you, no?
But, you'd like to think, there's also something that pulls you to the messy pluralism and complexity of the world. Why else would you be inclined to Rembrandt's humanism or to Rothko or to Bellow? And there it is again, rearing it's head, the wahabi instinct that flinches and says: isn't "humanism" a sign of your facetiousness?
4 comments:
hi bm hope everything is fine. i always loved gould playing mr byrd. excellent. thank you for putting this on your blog.
thanks, anton!
How was your holiday? hope you write about it. loved that last photo of yours.
Came across the Gould via 'anovergrownpath' (under the 'music box' label to the right).
Do you have any music recommendations?
anyways, got to run...have to actually do some work for once..pull up my socks and all that. :-(
Catch you later,
b.
p.s. hello! :-)
hi b
holiday was good, two weeks in the lakes and no rain. fotos will come but need to be developed first.
poor you for the work. hope it goes smoothly and you get cinnamonroll in reward.
hello back
i thought about the paki word. i totally didn't know this is a bad thing to say i thought it was just the general abbreviation. then the other thing i noticed about my "paki shop" around here, they aren't really from pakistan, they are from india. already second mistake. but you know they think i am from russia or poland, that's wrong too or could make me offended. i don;t know. i suppose everyone recognizes everyone as foreigner somehow and one just (tries) to get along with each other.... intricated subject, those names, nationalities...
that's a good music link.
ah, yes, there must be a heaven somewhere with fresh coffee and cinnamon rolls! :-)
Yes, a double insult for the Indians! :-)
Don't know,anton, being called Polish if you're not isn't, I think, quite the same thing. India and Pakistan have been, remember, arch enemies and have fought three wars with one another. It would be a bit like calling an Englishman a "Kraut".
But yes, names and nationalities and 'biradri' and caste are intricate -and mostly stupid-things.
Thank you so much for the music! I've got some of them on glenn gould's album, 'consort of musicke' but thanks anyway.
Take care,
b.
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