There is, I think, an innumerable distance between surviving and thriving.
Anyway, a lot has happened in the last month. Things worth celebrating, in my private life, anyway. Globally speaking, its hard to find things worth being happy about- good news just doesn’t sell.
I don’t tend to contribute to happiness, at least not publicly. Maybe not my own either. I don’t think I’ve ever done good writing while happy, but I do enjoy the act.
Not much more to say today, I’m quite tired, so maybe I’ll just lay down and read a little.
I’ve been reading more, thank goodness. In addition to the light fare that makes itself ceaselessly available for very little effort, I’ve made an effort to splurge on the works I admire (Even if I’ve already read them- I believe strongly in supporting those I support.) and a few works I’ve been told I will admire.
Brave new world (Aldous Huxley) wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but it did lend itself to some ruminations that I suspect I’ll revisit in time. Demons (Fyodor Dostoevsky) is certainly testing my patience, but I can tell it will be worthwhile to stick with it. Food for Thought (Alton Brown) has made me laugh, and reflect on my relationship with what I like to do and what I have to do and, above all, what I want to do.
Art inspires art, but I do wonder if art inspired by reality is just a little more provocative.
Ivan the Terrible and his Son is a painting I think about often. There’s something incredible in the depths of the content, and the history of the painting itself. Perhaps it strikes me so because it captures so much that I wish I could crystallize with words. The regret, the horror, the pain.
I think a proper sadist needs to be a masochist too. How else are you to appreciate the pain you inflict? Clive Barker agrees with me on this, I suspect.
Well, for now, I bid you, Have a gander at that painting depicting Alexander Pope getting laughed at- Rejected Poet I think. I’ve just set it as my computer background. How fun!
Seeds of Fear 