From the Alaska Quarterly, an amazing story about a baby mailed. "It's a parcel" Its diapers need changing. "But isn't that tampering?"
Wow, fucking wow.
Friday, 12 June 2015
The Coral Sea - "Lake and Ocean" (Volcano And Heart)
reminds me of another song whose name I do not know.
Anna Calvi - "The Heart Of You" (OST Insurgent)
Hints of Siouxie Sioux's voice in this magnificent song.
Thursday, 11 June 2015
Ty Segall & Mikal Cronin - "Reverse Shark Attack" (Reverse Shark Attack)
10 minute long surf awesomeness.
Wednesday, 10 June 2015
Jaakko Eino Kalevi - "Ikuinen Purkautumaton" (2015)
Jännite - soft voice over, slow 80s synths, later speeding up. Quite nice, though I cannot say the rest of the album did do a lot for me.
Tuesday, 9 June 2015
André Breton - "Manifesto of Surrealism" (1924)
...the absence of any known restrictions allows him the perspective of several lives lived at once; this illusion becomes firmly rooted within him; now he is only interested in the fleeting, the extreme facility of everything.
There remains madness, "the madness that one locks up," ... That madness or another.. We all know, in fact, that the insane owe their incarceration to a tiny number of legally reprehensible acts and that, were it not for these acts their freedom (or what we see as their freedom) would not be threatened. I am willing to admit that they are, to some degree, victims of their imagination, in that it induces them not to pay attention to certain rules - outside of which the species feels threatened - which we are all supposed to know and respect.
... the realistic attitude ... clearly seems to me to be hostile to any intellectual or moral advancement. I loathe it, for it is made up of mediocrity, hate and dull conceit. It is this attitude which today gives birth to these ridiculous books, these insulting plays. It constantly feeds on and derives strength from the newspapers and stultifies both science and art by assiduously flattering the lowest of tastes; clarity bordering on stupidity, a dog's life.
If the depths of our mind contain within it strange forces capable of augmenting those on the surface, or of aging a victorious battle against them, there is every reason to seize them - first to seize them, then, if need be, to submit them to the control of our reason.
Thus the dream finds itself reduced to a mere parenthesis, as is the night.
I am growing old and, more than that reality to which I believe I subject myself, it is perhaps the dream, the difference with which I treat the dream, which makes me grow old.
The mind of hte man who dreams is fully satisfied by what happens to him. The agonizing question of possibility is no longer pertinent. Kill, fly faster, love to your heart's content. And if you should die, are you not certain of reawaking among the dead? Let yourself be carried along, events will not tolerate your interference. You are nameless. The ease of everything is priceless.
I believe in the future resolution of these two states, dream and reality, which are seemingly so contradictory, into a kind of absolute reality, a surreality, if one may so speak. It is in quest of this surreality that I am going, certain not to find it but too unmindful of my death not to calculate to some slight degree the joys of its possession.
At an early age children are weaned on the marvelous, and later on they fail to retain a sufficient virginity of mind ot thoroughly enjoy fairy tales. ... There are fairy tales to be written for adults, fairy tales still almost blue.
Joseph Delteil: "Alas! I believe in the virtue of birds. And a feather is all it takes to make me die laughing."
Desnos... reads himself like an open book, and does nothing to retain the pages, which fly away in the windy wake of his life.
After you have settled yourself in a place as favorable as possible to the concentration of your mind upon itself, have writing materials brought to you. Put yourself in as passive, or receptive, a state of mind as you can. Forget about your genius, your talents, and the talents of everyone else. Keep reminding yourself that literature is one of the saddest roads that leads to everything. Write quickly, without any preconceived subject, fast enough so that you will not remember what you're writing and be tempted to reread what you have written. The first sentence will come spontaneously, so compelling is the truth that with every passing second there is a sentence unknown to our consciousness which is only crying out to be heard.
Les Champs magnétiques: the first purely Surrealist work.
Surrealism does not allow those who devote themselves to it to forsake it whenever they like. There is every reason to believe that it acts on the mind very much as drugs do; like drugs, it creates a certain state of need and can push man to frightful revolts. It also is, if you like, an artificial paradise, and the taste one has for it derives from Baudelaire's criticism for the same reason as the others. Thus the analysis of the mysterious effects and special pleasures it can produce - in many respects Surrealism occurs as a new vice which does not necessarily seem to be restricted o the happy few; like hashish, it has the ability to satisfy all manner of tastes - such an analysis has to be included in the present study.
The mind becomes aware of the limitless expanses wherein its desires are made manifest, where the pos and cons are constantly consumed, where its obscurity does not betray it.
This is the most beautiful night of all, the lightning-filled night: day, compared to it, is night.
.. that the mind is ripe for something more than the benign joys it allows itself in general.
I believe in the pure Surrealist joy of the man who, forewarned that all others before him have failed, refuses to admit defeat, sets off from whatever point he chooses, along any other path save a reasonable one, and arrives wherever he can.
Surrealism is the "invisible ray" which will one day enable us to win out over our opponents. "You are no longer trembling, carcass." This summer the roses are blue, the wood is of glass. The earth, draped in its verdant cloak, makes as little impression upon me as a ghost. It is living and ceasing to live which are imaginary solutions. Existence is elsewhere.
There remains madness, "the madness that one locks up," ... That madness or another.. We all know, in fact, that the insane owe their incarceration to a tiny number of legally reprehensible acts and that, were it not for these acts their freedom (or what we see as their freedom) would not be threatened. I am willing to admit that they are, to some degree, victims of their imagination, in that it induces them not to pay attention to certain rules - outside of which the species feels threatened - which we are all supposed to know and respect.
... the realistic attitude ... clearly seems to me to be hostile to any intellectual or moral advancement. I loathe it, for it is made up of mediocrity, hate and dull conceit. It is this attitude which today gives birth to these ridiculous books, these insulting plays. It constantly feeds on and derives strength from the newspapers and stultifies both science and art by assiduously flattering the lowest of tastes; clarity bordering on stupidity, a dog's life.
If the depths of our mind contain within it strange forces capable of augmenting those on the surface, or of aging a victorious battle against them, there is every reason to seize them - first to seize them, then, if need be, to submit them to the control of our reason.
Thus the dream finds itself reduced to a mere parenthesis, as is the night.
I am growing old and, more than that reality to which I believe I subject myself, it is perhaps the dream, the difference with which I treat the dream, which makes me grow old.
The mind of hte man who dreams is fully satisfied by what happens to him. The agonizing question of possibility is no longer pertinent. Kill, fly faster, love to your heart's content. And if you should die, are you not certain of reawaking among the dead? Let yourself be carried along, events will not tolerate your interference. You are nameless. The ease of everything is priceless.
I believe in the future resolution of these two states, dream and reality, which are seemingly so contradictory, into a kind of absolute reality, a surreality, if one may so speak. It is in quest of this surreality that I am going, certain not to find it but too unmindful of my death not to calculate to some slight degree the joys of its possession.
At an early age children are weaned on the marvelous, and later on they fail to retain a sufficient virginity of mind ot thoroughly enjoy fairy tales. ... There are fairy tales to be written for adults, fairy tales still almost blue.
Joseph Delteil: "Alas! I believe in the virtue of birds. And a feather is all it takes to make me die laughing."
Desnos... reads himself like an open book, and does nothing to retain the pages, which fly away in the windy wake of his life.
After you have settled yourself in a place as favorable as possible to the concentration of your mind upon itself, have writing materials brought to you. Put yourself in as passive, or receptive, a state of mind as you can. Forget about your genius, your talents, and the talents of everyone else. Keep reminding yourself that literature is one of the saddest roads that leads to everything. Write quickly, without any preconceived subject, fast enough so that you will not remember what you're writing and be tempted to reread what you have written. The first sentence will come spontaneously, so compelling is the truth that with every passing second there is a sentence unknown to our consciousness which is only crying out to be heard.
Les Champs magnétiques: the first purely Surrealist work.
Surrealism does not allow those who devote themselves to it to forsake it whenever they like. There is every reason to believe that it acts on the mind very much as drugs do; like drugs, it creates a certain state of need and can push man to frightful revolts. It also is, if you like, an artificial paradise, and the taste one has for it derives from Baudelaire's criticism for the same reason as the others. Thus the analysis of the mysterious effects and special pleasures it can produce - in many respects Surrealism occurs as a new vice which does not necessarily seem to be restricted o the happy few; like hashish, it has the ability to satisfy all manner of tastes - such an analysis has to be included in the present study.
The mind becomes aware of the limitless expanses wherein its desires are made manifest, where the pos and cons are constantly consumed, where its obscurity does not betray it.
This is the most beautiful night of all, the lightning-filled night: day, compared to it, is night.
.. that the mind is ripe for something more than the benign joys it allows itself in general.
I believe in the pure Surrealist joy of the man who, forewarned that all others before him have failed, refuses to admit defeat, sets off from whatever point he chooses, along any other path save a reasonable one, and arrives wherever he can.
Surrealism is the "invisible ray" which will one day enable us to win out over our opponents. "You are no longer trembling, carcass." This summer the roses are blue, the wood is of glass. The earth, draped in its verdant cloak, makes as little impression upon me as a ghost. It is living and ceasing to live which are imaginary solutions. Existence is elsewhere.
Monday, 8 June 2015
The Ex - "Too Many Cowboys"
Started playing automatically after I looked up "Aha Gedawo" by Getatchew Mekuria feat The Ex. That song did not work so well for me anymore (I had heard it in Butchers Tears) but the beginning of this album is promising instrumental soundscapes.
Nescio - "Verzameld proza en nagelaten werk"
prachtteksten, zoals altijd, met vroege versies van "Titaantje", "Dichtertje" en de andere bekende stukken. En daarachteraan, zoveel juweeltjes.
Reactie
... Ik voel me niet meer zoo gerust. De doodsklok heeft geluid over den waan van den dag. 'Waarom zullen we alles deelen?' De jeugd heeft de toekomst, het getij kentert.
Ik voel me niet meer zoo gerust.
Oosterpark, 8 December 1947, in de mist
'Deze dag bestond uit blauwe lucht'
Deze dag bestond uit blauwe lucht en witte wolken, uit blauw water met de zon er in, uit felle zilveren flikkeringen van auto's.
Er was een laantje van ijle, dunne boompjes, dat in het licht verdween. Opging in God.
25 Maart 1947
Reactie
... Ik voel me niet meer zoo gerust. De doodsklok heeft geluid over den waan van den dag. 'Waarom zullen we alles deelen?' De jeugd heeft de toekomst, het getij kentert.
Ik voel me niet meer zoo gerust.
Oosterpark, 8 December 1947, in de mist
'Deze dag bestond uit blauwe lucht'
Deze dag bestond uit blauwe lucht en witte wolken, uit blauw water met de zon er in, uit felle zilveren flikkeringen van auto's.
Er was een laantje van ijle, dunne boompjes, dat in het licht verdween. Opging in God.
25 Maart 1947
FFS - "FFS"
Franz Ferdinand with (legendary?) sythrockduo Sparks
Fun enough
Fun enough
- Save me from myself
- Collaborations Don't Work - silly fun
Sunday, 7 June 2015
Sam Lipsyte - "Time travel - package tour"
Amazing short text, one of the four or five, and by far the best of them, on the idea of time travel. Funny, ironic, and personal in a simple direct way.
The New Yorker, June 8 & 15
The New Yorker, June 8 & 15
Kingsman: the secret service (2015)
Amusing super spy film, based on a comic. Lots of British details, which does beg the comparison with James Bond, but they counter that well.
Unfortunately, the end is pretty common, and not in an ironic sense.
Unfortunately, the end is pretty common, and not in an ironic sense.
Russel Shorto - "Amsterdam"
Fantastisch boek. Bij toeval gekregen en bijna niet weg kunnen leggen. Toegegeven, er zal was nationalistische trots bij komen, maar 't is hoe dan ook een prachtig historisch boek.
"Dekker [Multatuli] speelde een essentiële, maar excentrieke rol bij vrijwel alle belangrijke strijdpunten van zijn tijd. De ene actiegroep na de andere werd door hem geïnspireerd, om vervolgens door hem te worden bestreden. Dit gold vooral voor de antikoloniale stroming die zich langzamerhand ontwikkelde. Max Havelaar had aan de wieg van deze beweging gestaan, maar zoals gebruikelijk nam Dekker er al snel afstand van. Hij blijk zijn boek namelijk niet te hebben bedoeld als pleidooi voor afschaffing van het kolonialisme. Dekker beschouwde zichzelf juist als een kolonialist. Wat het dwarszat, was het onvermogen van de Nederlandse bestuurders om het systeem volledig door te voeren. Het koloniale bestuur moest de Nederlandse wet handhaven. Volgens de Nederlandse wet was het machtsmisbruik dat hij in de Oost had gezien verboden. Toch hadden de Nederlandse bestuurders toegelaten dat het bleef voortbestaan. Dekker wilde niet van het koloniale systeem af, hij wilde het versterken."
"... dat de strijd tegen de zee op twee schijnbaar tegengestelde factoren berustte: het was een project dat zowel een hechte gemeenschapszin als een sterke mate van individualisme stimuleerde. Stel je voor: een groep mensen die in de middeleeuwen op het strand staat, naar zee kijkt en besluit een deel van die zee in land te veranderen. Dat lukt alleen met keihard werken, en de intensieve samenwerking die dat vereist wordt vanzelf een sterke bindende factor in zo'n gemeenschap. Dat geldt ook voor de langetermijnvisie die vereist is voor het aanleggen en onderhouden van een stelsel van dammen en dijken om het water uit de polder te weren. Daarbij werd het ingepolderde land bovendien niet, zoals elders in Europa het geval zou zijn geweest, eigendom van kerk of koning: het was van de burgers zelf. Zij konden de grond kopen, verkopen of pachten. Die protokapitalistische economische macht kweekte een individualistische mentaliteit. Maar dat was alleen mogelijk dankzij de onderliggende maatschappelijke verbondenheid."
"Die eerste [17e eeuwse] stadsuitbreiding, waar Amsterdam zijn typische grachtenpanden aan te danken heeft, was een soort reactie op de monumentale architectuur van steden als Parijs en Londen: die had uitgestraald dat de grootheid van deze stad niet besloten lag in instituties maar in mensen, hun gezin en hun alledaagse leven."
"Dekker [Multatuli] speelde een essentiële, maar excentrieke rol bij vrijwel alle belangrijke strijdpunten van zijn tijd. De ene actiegroep na de andere werd door hem geïnspireerd, om vervolgens door hem te worden bestreden. Dit gold vooral voor de antikoloniale stroming die zich langzamerhand ontwikkelde. Max Havelaar had aan de wieg van deze beweging gestaan, maar zoals gebruikelijk nam Dekker er al snel afstand van. Hij blijk zijn boek namelijk niet te hebben bedoeld als pleidooi voor afschaffing van het kolonialisme. Dekker beschouwde zichzelf juist als een kolonialist. Wat het dwarszat, was het onvermogen van de Nederlandse bestuurders om het systeem volledig door te voeren. Het koloniale bestuur moest de Nederlandse wet handhaven. Volgens de Nederlandse wet was het machtsmisbruik dat hij in de Oost had gezien verboden. Toch hadden de Nederlandse bestuurders toegelaten dat het bleef voortbestaan. Dekker wilde niet van het koloniale systeem af, hij wilde het versterken."
"... dat de strijd tegen de zee op twee schijnbaar tegengestelde factoren berustte: het was een project dat zowel een hechte gemeenschapszin als een sterke mate van individualisme stimuleerde. Stel je voor: een groep mensen die in de middeleeuwen op het strand staat, naar zee kijkt en besluit een deel van die zee in land te veranderen. Dat lukt alleen met keihard werken, en de intensieve samenwerking die dat vereist wordt vanzelf een sterke bindende factor in zo'n gemeenschap. Dat geldt ook voor de langetermijnvisie die vereist is voor het aanleggen en onderhouden van een stelsel van dammen en dijken om het water uit de polder te weren. Daarbij werd het ingepolderde land bovendien niet, zoals elders in Europa het geval zou zijn geweest, eigendom van kerk of koning: het was van de burgers zelf. Zij konden de grond kopen, verkopen of pachten. Die protokapitalistische economische macht kweekte een individualistische mentaliteit. Maar dat was alleen mogelijk dankzij de onderliggende maatschappelijke verbondenheid."
"Die eerste [17e eeuwse] stadsuitbreiding, waar Amsterdam zijn typische grachtenpanden aan te danken heeft, was een soort reactie op de monumentale architectuur van steden als Parijs en Londen: die had uitgestraald dat de grootheid van deze stad niet besloten lag in instituties maar in mensen, hun gezin en hun alledaagse leven."
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