Friday, February 08, 2013
UH-OH, HERE IT COMES AGAIN
(a John Ashbery birthday cento for the Walrus)
The years whirled quickly by, an upward spiral
in all the spheres leading up to where the master
of meaning comes from? Obviously,
Unclench a long-sought definition:
unwitting orang utans gambled for socks
The theme was articulated, the brightness filled in
While life grows increasingly mysterious and dangerous
One might like to rest or read,
But if one were to invent being a child again
And all the belly buttons danced around
to whose destiny we are being summoned
moment. Time under the tree passes
The annual race is on -
of decades ago peeling off from the mass
Thursday, February 07, 2013
Monday, February 04, 2013
Not an especially remarkable occasion but then again, at such an age, birthdays are more an opportunity for sober philosophic reflection than jelly and ice cream.
A copy of John Cage's Every Day Is A Good Day is due to arrive on Thursday - a present from Mme Waffle. The title says it all for - really - each day is a birth of sorts, an occasion for becomings. If only one has the presence of mind & the energy.
Here's to 365 such days.
A copy of John Cage's Every Day Is A Good Day is due to arrive on Thursday - a present from Mme Waffle. The title says it all for - really - each day is a birth of sorts, an occasion for becomings. If only one has the presence of mind & the energy.
Here's to 365 such days.
Sunday, February 03, 2013
Today's recipe
Knowing people tune in for a variety of reasons, here's the recipe for a belgianwaffle weekend lunchtime standby - a sort of pizza-flammekuche.
1. Unroll bought pizza dough on a metal oven tray (keeping the paper underneath).
2. Crumble a mixture of mozzarella and goat's cheese.
3. Scatter very thinly cut slices of red onion and mushrooms.
4. Lay thin strips of either bacon or Parma ham.
5. Sprinkle with thyme and drizzle over some olive oil.
6. Place in the oven at 200 degrees for about 15 to 20 mins depending.
Serve with a salad - it's good hot from the oven or cold later. Dead easy.
Knowing people tune in for a variety of reasons, here's the recipe for a belgianwaffle weekend lunchtime standby - a sort of pizza-flammekuche.
1. Unroll bought pizza dough on a metal oven tray (keeping the paper underneath).
2. Crumble a mixture of mozzarella and goat's cheese.
3. Scatter very thinly cut slices of red onion and mushrooms.
4. Lay thin strips of either bacon or Parma ham.
5. Sprinkle with thyme and drizzle over some olive oil.
6. Place in the oven at 200 degrees for about 15 to 20 mins depending.
Serve with a salad - it's good hot from the oven or cold later. Dead easy.
Congratulations to all our Italian friends out there - a terrific win this afternoon. It always does the soul good to see France lose at rugby (especially as some key points were due to a second half drop kick - the French tactic par excellence). Irrespective of the Welsh result, this has been a good weekend for Rugby with a capital 'r'.
... still around & enjoying the post-being-ill lightness of Being ... to resume ...
The annual self-inflicted punishment begins - aka the Rugby Six Nations. I foolishly dedicate valuable hours in front of the television to come away feeling dispirited. As anticipated, Wales lost to Ireland yesterday despite a valiant (albeit too late) fight back in the second half. If someone could explain the tactical logic of kicking the ball straight down the pitch to receive it back by return of post seconds later ... well, it escapes me.
The England game I watched with divided loyalties - I've never cared for Scotland's type of rugby but I also loathe England as a team. The only consolation is to find a new cap for England called Billy Twelvetrees. That's something straight out of Boy's Own comics (or The Hobbit, come to think of it).
...
Awake bright & early despite what is - for us - a late night out (no doubt due to the New Year Resolution of More Discriminating Drinking). I make a cup of green tea and listen to Something Understood, BBC radio 4's weekly dose of worthiness and platitudes presented by the plummy toned Mark Tully. Actually, for all the dross there's always a nugget or two as today they pull in some extracts from Teilhard de Chardin. A name - like Billy Twelvetrees - that exerts a certain fascination. I've never read any & now am thinking I should.
...
Which leads me on to Emmanuel Levinas. His name has been cropping up in various places and - again - he's someone I feel I ought to know more about. A quick trawl on Amazon throws up some forbidding looking titles. As always, O where to begin?
So, if anyone out there has any suggestions for a good first volume by de Chardin and Levinas respectively, I'd be very grateful. And who knows, maybe Billy Twelvetrees has published something of interest, too.
... tomorrow I sail into my forty-ninth year ... how old that sounds & yet ...
Sunday, January 27, 2013
So, what are the lessons to be learned from this exercise?
1. That discarded material can acquire a new life and therefore the time spent before was not wasted as such.
2. That you can begin without any clear idea of what you are going to do & a shape & a way of proceeding will suggest itself.
3. That it is possible to find 30 minutes of an evening to do something (only to find that 30 minutes expands further).
4. That short periods of work accumulate & produce a larger whole.
5. That the materials dictate.
6. That concentration on little bits of paper opens up a greater sensitivity for surfaces, lights, tones, shadows, textures ...
7. That working to the same piece of music can be beneficial.
8. That the format - in this case the concertina pages - suggests unforeseen possibilities.
9. That working within limits releases (that there were only a few sheets to tear up & options dwindled with each collage). Too many options & things stall.
10. That this project would probably never have seen the light of day had I not been working with the other books in the lead up to Christmas.
11. That it is not a matter of producing The Great Work but a process of making which satisfies of and in itself.
12. That working hands on with paper also wakes up greater sensitivity to language and sound.
The moral: just shut up & do it.
1. That discarded material can acquire a new life and therefore the time spent before was not wasted as such.
2. That you can begin without any clear idea of what you are going to do & a shape & a way of proceeding will suggest itself.
3. That it is possible to find 30 minutes of an evening to do something (only to find that 30 minutes expands further).
4. That short periods of work accumulate & produce a larger whole.
5. That the materials dictate.
6. That concentration on little bits of paper opens up a greater sensitivity for surfaces, lights, tones, shadows, textures ...
7. That working to the same piece of music can be beneficial.
8. That the format - in this case the concertina pages - suggests unforeseen possibilities.
9. That working within limits releases (that there were only a few sheets to tear up & options dwindled with each collage). Too many options & things stall.
10. That this project would probably never have seen the light of day had I not been working with the other books in the lead up to Christmas.
11. That it is not a matter of producing The Great Work but a process of making which satisfies of and in itself.
12. That working hands on with paper also wakes up greater sensitivity to language and sound.
The moral: just shut up & do it.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
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