What brightens your day?

[marjoram_blues]

Amongst all the doom'n'gloom of dreich winter days and being inundated with depressing and anger-inducing headlines, it is easy to slip into the greyest of moods.

So, this morning I read the latest from Clive James, who can still manage to raise a smile and share special moments of joy with others.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... mes-winter

My maple tree has shed the last of its fiery leaves. This is now the actual winter, not a rehearsal. In compensation, my friend Ann Baer has sent me an autumn maple leaf in its full crimson glory. I have propped it up in the bookcase near where I write. Ann Baer is 101 years old and I am hoping to catch some of her secret.
I could use more time, but it will need luck. My main drug might stave off the leukemia indefinitely, but indefinitely could mean until tomorrow. Meanwhile, my morning antibiotics pick’n’mix must deal with winter’s threat to my tattered lungs, and a few days ago the threat was multiplied by the sudden failure of the heating system in my house.
I had to spend 24 hours wearing a complete set of thermal underwear under thick corduroy trousers and several sweaters: the layered look. The thermostat doodad was successfully replaced only just before I left for the oncology clinic at Addenbrooke’s. I was the only person in the waiting room who looked as if he had mistaken the clinic for a ski resort.
But the blood-tests were fine and I came home more determined than ever to enjoy the little things. Better than pretending you are living on a knife-edge like a downhill racer is to enjoy the way the coffee smells before you spoon it out of the tin. Call it the smaller hedonism. My niece, learning Russian at Melbourne University, spotted an error when I told her that the language is like being embraced by a bear in a fur coat. A bear, she pointed out, has a fur coat already. She was right: I should have said a bear in a brocade dressing gown. But I am delighted she has an eye for detail...

'...enjoy the way the coffee smells before you spoon it out of the tin. Call it the smaller hedonism...'

Beautiful thoughts expressed with skill and in the spirit of humour and delight.

[Obvious Leo]

I've been a great Clive James fan since forever and I've got every book he's ever published. He's not much longer for this world but he's determined to squeeze every last drop of meaning from every moment he's got left to him and I absolutely agree that in this respect he offers a lesson to us all.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

.....Dylan Thomas

[marjoram_blues]

'Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,'


Lessons in poetry which blind us with light.

So, some might deliberately seek to brighten their day by the picking up of a particularly poetic piece.
Sometimes, though, we are surprised by the blinding flash of meteors...
Or metaphors.

[ I only discovered Clive James quite recently; what a man. ]

[Obvious Leo]

[ I only discovered Clive James quite recently; what a man. ]

Clive is regarded as a great Australian icon and by many as possibly our most significant cultural export of the past half century. He was a rebellious child of the sixties counter-culture who managed to get up the noses of practically every known authority figure in what was a very culturally constrained society at the time. He was (and is) a slayer of sacred cows and this fellow writer in the Aussie vernacular salutes him as the Messiah!! Keep stickin' it up 'em, cobber.

[marjoram_blues]

[ I only discovered Clive James quite recently; what a man. ]

Clive is regarded as a great Australian icon and by many as possibly our most significant cultural export of the past half century. He was a rebellious child of the sixties counter-culture who managed to get up the noses of practically every known authority figure in what was a very culturally constrained society at the time. He was (and is) a slayer of sacred cows and this fellow writer in the Aussie vernacular salutes him as the Messiah!! Keep stickin' it up 'em, cobber.

Do you write in a similar vein?
I must read more...before my eyes give up altogether...if your time was limited, which one of his books would you read ?

[Obvious Leo]

Do you write in a similar vein?

Not really because my subject matter is quite different. Where Clive is a social commentator I write almost exclusively on the philosophy of science, which can be rather turgid fare for those who don't share my passion for the subject. However I do endeavour to present what is essentially rather formal material in as informal a tone as possible, being of the general view that life's far too short for us to take it too seriously for too long. Clive has an intimacy in the tonal quality of his prose which makes you almost feel that he's sitting in an armchair across from you and talking his words to you and to you alone, a rare skill which is admirable but not easy to mimic.

if your time was limited, which one of his books would you read

It's hard to pick one ahead of the others but "Unreliable Memoirs" is a significant work, as is his essay collection "Even as we speak".

[marjoram_blues]

Do you write in a similar vein?

Not really because my subject matter is quite different. Where Clive is a social commentator I write almost exclusively on the philosophy of science, which can be rather turgid fare for those who don't share my passion for the subject. However I do endeavour to present what is essentially rather formal material in as informal a tone as possible, being of the general view that life's far too short for us to take it too seriously for too long. Clive has an intimacy in the tonal quality of his prose which makes you almost feel that he's sitting in an armchair across from you and talking his words to you and to you alone, a rare skill which is admirable but not easy to mimic.

if your time was limited, which one of his books would you read

It's hard to pick one ahead of the others but "Unreliable Memoirs" is a significant work, as is his essay collection "Even as we speak".

Wow - you hit it with:
Clive has an intimacy in the tonal quality of his prose which makes you almost feel that he's sitting in an armchair across from you and talking his words to you and to you alone, a rare skill which is admirable but not easy to mimic.


Thanks, now I know what to put in my letter to Santa Claus. What's the title of your book again?

[duszek]

1. Dance to jazz music or some other music in the way of the Japanese dance "hanami", slow distortive movements, frozen statue and then motion again.

2. When in public places comment in a fancy Italian whatever happens around you. Like a very imperfect Umberto Eco.
A caricature of Italian, actually, but Italian always sounds good and bright, whatever you say in it.

3. When at home one can combine hanami and fancy Italian comments.

[artisticsolution]

Thanks for this M. I love when you share the things you admire. It brightens my day.

I think it's the intimacy that I find so compelling. To be able to 'listen in' on another's thoughts because they took the time to write them down. It is that eureka feeling, when you have found something familiar and maybe you're just a little jealous that you didn't think to say it first....if that makes sense.

Last night, at first friday, a man came up to me and said, "I love this piece, it is such a clever idea, like it was meant to be always, I just wish I had thought of it first!"

It stuck me odd hearing that about one of my paintings, as I have had that same feeling when viewing works of art that I admire.

How much more intimate than that feeling of familiarity can we hope to achieve with one another? It's like the deja vous of exsitence...sort of like, 'I was you once...and you were me...I know you.' At least that is how it feels to me.

I simply don't know how you get more intimate than these two quotes below, other than having Spock do a Vulcan mind meld on your ass...lol.

'...enjoy the way the coffee smells before you spoon it out of the tin. Call it the smaller hedonism...'

and...

"Clive has an intimacy in the tonal quality of his prose which makes you almost feel that he's sitting in an armchair across from you and talking his words to you and to you alone, a rare skill which is admirable but not easy to mimic. "

[marjoram_blues]

1. Dance to jazz music or some other music in the way of the Japanese dance "hanami", slow distortive movements, frozen statue and then motion again.

2. When in public places comment in a fancy Italian whatever happens around you. Like a very imperfect Umberto Eco.
A caricature of Italian, actually, but Italian always sounds good and bright, whatever you say in it.

3. When at home one can combine hanami and fancy Italian comments.

Lovely to hear from you, duszek. I don't always let you know ( in fact, have I ever? ) how much I enjoy your creatively quirky questions and answers.
Generally, they result in a raised eyebrow or lips. In a good way

1. 'hanami' googled > cherry blossom festival. Youtubing 'Japanese dance' was...erm...interesting. However, I couldn't find anything matching your description. Either way, no matter what it's called, it does sound like fun and perhaps meditative? Reminded me of a bit of the game of 'statues': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statues_(game)
'Playing your way through the stresses of life'.

2. Would it be fun to preface the comments by a number? Numero uno: Come si dice 'Take it to the mattresses' in italiano. Portalo ai materassi?
Un grugnito mafioso - is there such a thing as a 'good and bright' mafia growl ?
Love the Tom Hanks version to Meg Ryan in 'You've got mail' ( 'Godfather' scene ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB8xPnhpzAM

3. Must try that - but need inspiration. What fancy Italian do you have in mind? Don Giovanni?

[duszek]

Thank you Marjoram ...
for your friendly encouragement.

I am a rather imperfect person, I admit.
I remember the end of a German film "Kirschblüten hanami" (cherry-blossom hanami) and there was a heavily made-up Japanese teen-age girl moving in a strange way with the telephone hanging on the cable (it was a requisit of some kind). That´s why I thought hanami was some kind of eccentric Japanese danse.
Sometimes one scene from some movie inspires me to do something on my own.
I did not bother to watch the film, I just remember the end of it.
Hanami or not hanami, a Jap inspired me once to try out my own things.

When I comment in Italian I try to sound very polite and extingished, celebrating life and the universe, in an Italian that might be the one a person after a stroke might be using, who has forgotten many words and grammatical forms and tries to preserve the decorum.

I will quote you some examples one day.

Bravo, ché bestia !
can be used in several contexts.

[marjoram_blues]

Thanks for this M. I love when you share the things you admire. It brightens my day.

M: Glad to hear it. It's a bit of a balancing act.

I think it's the intimacy that I find so compelling. To be able to 'listen in' on another's thoughts because they took the time to write them down. It is that eureka feeling, when you have found something familiar and maybe you're just a little jealous that you didn't think to say it first....if that makes sense.

M: Intimacy, schmintimacy. I agree that we open ourselves up when we share opinions or experiences. I'm sure there are some who would read the thread title and sigh. So, perhaps might I, if it had been someone else. Yeah, there's sometimes a bit of envy - usually, I admire a well-articulated point and argument. Still find this difficult, after all these years...so., lightweight time it is...for now.

Last night, at first friday, a man came up to me and said, "I love this piece, it is such a clever idea, like it was meant to be always, I just wish I had thought of it first!" It stuck me odd hearing that about one of my paintings, as I have had that same feeling when viewing works of art that I admire.

M: So, which piece was it - that was 'meant to be always'. How intriguing.

How much more intimate than that feeling of familiarity can we hope to achieve with one another? It's like the deja vous of exsitence...sort of like, 'I was you once...and you were me...I know you.' At least that is how it feels to me.

M: I'm not sure that the 'deja vu' is one of existence. Often it is the case that there are recurring patterns of stimulus-response. If you have been on a forum long enough, you can almost predict how a certain poster will react/respond. Same old, same old. It's wonderful when they surprise you with change or a special creativity.

I simply don't know how you get more intimate than these two quotes below, other than having Spock do a Vulcan mind meld on your ass...lol.

'...enjoy the way the coffee smells before you spoon it out of the tin. Call it the smaller hedonism...'
and...
"Clive has an intimacy in the tonal quality of his prose which makes you almost feel that he's sitting in an armchair across from you and talking his words to you and to you alone, a rare skill which is admirable but not easy to mimic. "

M: Hmmm, pretty sure there are more intimate quotes hanging around waiting to be picked; but yes, they hit home. Clive's turning a common event ( smelling ) into a sensual delight, almost sacred. Leo's description - telling it like it is, and with admirable skill. Both a pleasure to read.

Thanks, AS, always a pleasure to exchange thoughts with you, in a caring and sharing kinda way

[artisticsolution]

I think it's the intimacy that I find so compelling. To be able to 'listen in' on another's thoughts because they took the time to write them down. It is that eureka feeling, when you have found something familiar and maybe you're just a little jealous that you didn't think to say it first....if that makes sense.

M: Intimacy, schmintimacy. I agree that we open ourselves up when we share opinions or experiences. I'm sure there are some who would read the thread title and sigh. So, perhaps might I, if it had been someone else. Yeah, there's sometimes a bit of envy - usually, I admire a well-articulated point and argument. Still find this difficult, after all these years...so., lightweight time it is...for now.

Thanks for doing the color thing...it makes it easier for me to reply.

What I consider intimate is when someone is just speaking honestly about an observation. I does not have to be passionate, or anything close to telling a personal secret , or something around the nature of 'letting someone in/bringing down walls'. What I mean by intimacy is just speaking ones mind honestly about what one thinks without fear. It's the sense of conversation natural. Not caring about rejection of one's ideas.

Did I tell you I have a groupie? He called himself this, not me. My husband says he will probably chop me up into little bits someday...lol. He is a musician and is writing a 'suite of songs' inspired by my paintings. When he first told me this I was skeptical and stand offish...flattered but not really willing to engage. But of course I was a little curious. So then he brings in a CD and hands it to me. When I was driving home I listened to it expecting it to be bad...but I was surprised. I sounded exactly like what this painting would sound like if it was a song. I wasn't expecting someone to get what I was trying to convey based solely off my paintings. I still do not want to be honest with this man about myself and why I paint. I just don't want to get close to anyone else in my life. It's too heartbreaking if you know what I mean. Anyway, he has since made two other songs about 2 paintings and he was spot on. Some of the sounds are scary , some mischievous, there is humor and tension....just really really twisted, if that makes sense.

He came into the gallery and spent the whole day with me yesterday. I hated it the whole time. I know he is lonely and wants a friend...but he choose the wrong person...as at this point in my life, I kinda get Greta Garbo when she said, "I just want to be left alone." But then I feel bad that he has taken the time to write these songs...and maybe I feel like I should have a debt of gratitude? I dunno...I just know right now I can't be his go to person . I just can't. And here is just what a shit heel I am....He kinda hinted for a ride home. He said something like, "Well, I am going to take a long walk home...thank god it's all downhill and it's a nice day..." I said, " Okay, I'll see you later'....as I got into my car.

Well, fuckin A...what am I supposed to give some strange man, who doesn't know me but says he's my groupie a ride home?!? No. It's just too intimate and frankly scary. I just want to tell him to not write anymore songs and please don't invade my personal space....I'm just so mean...and ugly...and I don't have time for niceties anymore. I am an old crotchety woman. lol

What I am trying to say, is intimacy like that, is not intimacy imo. It's more like dependence...it's not natural or giving. It's giving in order to get. Intimacy to me, is natural. It is giving in order to give. Period.

Does that make sense?


M: So, which piece was it - that was 'meant to be always'. How intriguing.



I am not sure...I didn't have enough time to talk to him. It gets very busy downtown on first friday and people are constantly saying hi to you. I am very bad in those situations. I am easily distracted and will turn to reply to someone and then turn back and the other person I was talking to is gone. I don't blame them...it's kinda rude of me...But I don't know how to work crowds. Oh well. Hopefully one day I wont have to be there to sell my paintings and I can be the recluse artist that I am! lol

Have a great day, M.

[Arising_uk]

Sunshine.

[marjoram_blues]

Natural, honest, fearless conversation. Intimacy. Close familiarity. Got it. But don't always want it.

Ta, AS. Love your stories. The immediacy of them - straight from heart to mind to here.