Been a bit busy lately with all sorts n will be actually so there won't necessarily be many posts in the near future.. but I'll try n sneak in a few every now & then=)
Watched Casablanca the other day n it was fabulous!!=) Even better than I remembered! Such marvelous dialogue n wonderful humor like this bit:
& this too:
Absolutely brilliant!=) N Rick is just one of the coolest dudes ever.
So it goes this time..
& here is The Prophet:
Then an old man, a keeper of an inn, said, Speak to us of Eating and Drinking.
And he said:
Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light.
But since you must kill to eat, and rob the newly born of it's mothers milk to quench your thirst, let it then be an act of worship.
And let your board stand an altar on which the pure and the innocent of the forest and plain are sacrificed for that which is purer and still more innocent in man.
When you kill a beast say to him in your heart:
´By the same power that slays you, I too am slain; and I too shall be consumed.
´For the law that delivered you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand.
´Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven.´
And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart:
´Your seeds shall live in my body,
´And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart,
´And your fragrance shall be my breath,
´And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.´
And in the autumn, when you gather the grapes of your vineyard for the winepress, say in your heart:
´I too am a vineyard, and my fruit shall be gathered for the winepress,
´And like new wine I shall be kept in eternal vessels.´
And in winter, when you draw the wine, let there be in your heart a song for each cup;
And let there be in the song a remembrance for the autumn days, and for the vineyard, and for the winepress.
N I want to concentrate on a specific bit of our ol globe, The good ol U.S of A.
I've been reading this in the mornings. ( I've got about 4 books on the go at the moment..)
It really does make you want to brake down n weep for all the monstrous, unimaginable things the white man has done to those peoples. And I'm only about 30 pages into the bloody (this time quite accurately so..) thing!! Of course this is (unfortunately) not unique as we all know. Shit has been happening the world over for centuries. To this day! When you look at something like The Age of Stupid:
it makes you equally weep for the things that people have done to each other..
And why?
I don't really know..
& I know there's a lot of negative feelings towards America but I wanted to show a few cool things too and stuff I really dig. I'm a huge fan of many parts of American culture. So as not to focus too much on negative stuff here're some nice things=)
Some images of works by some artist I like
Jackson Pollock:
& Edward Hopper:
& Charles Demuth:
Louis Lozowick:
And tons more discovered and yet undiscovered!
Been watching this here documentary bout New York on & off every now & then:
Brilliant. I really hope to go there some day n dig it! I could easily move over to America in a heart beat. There's so much to experience!
The beautiful nature which is so varied n mad:
The crazy city life:
(none my own pictures but hopefully one day they will be=) )
I'd love to go n experience all of it right away!
& of course there's music n literature n all sorts!=)
This may have to be continued at a later date..
If you're at all interested in the area it's well worth watching the wonderful documentary series by the great Alistair Cooke.
A wonderful old gentleman who moved t America at an early age n later made the documentary n wrote extensively about the country.
It's so strange cos most of us have grown up watching American films n TV series, n listening to American music n reading American books that you feel that you almost know the place n people n ways tho you might not have even been near the place..
I hope to go soon. Even for "just" a visit=)
I'll close with The Prophet. Not so American but anyway...
Then said a rich man, Speak to us of Giving.
And he answered:
You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?
And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the over-prudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?
And what is fear of need but need itself?
Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, the thirst that is unquenchable?
There are those who give little of much which they have - and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give ad know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.
It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;
And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving.
And is there aught you withhold?
All you have shall some day be given;
Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors´.
You often say, ´I would give, but only to the deserving.´
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.
And he who deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.
And what desert greater shall there be, than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?
And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?
See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.
For in truth it is life that gives unto life - while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.
And you receivers - and you are all receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.
Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;
For to be overmindful of your debt is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father.
