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Hi ya Lately I've been re-reading Neuromancer, by William Gibson, and it struck me that it is one of a couple of books that I have read more times than I can remember. Others are Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, Dune by Frank Herbert, the various Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. There's a common thread of abstract, at times mystical, thought transcending life while trying to stay strongly within the world in these, for me. Now I want to know: What are your Triple-A rated books that you've read Again And Again? What do you think draws you to them? R
This is pretty impressive. A photo letting you zoom in to clear face level of people attending the most recent US Presidential inauguration. R
I saw this on ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) al_qhadhulu's blog and thought it too much of a gem not to share. Not so much the song, although that's ok, but rather the expression on her face as she realises her performance of this song isn't going to go as planned. Having a stadium of fans singing that they love her to her is something she can put up with though, it seems :-) Lara Fabian singing Je t'aime, live. Enjoy, R
http://www.qag.qld.gov.au/cinematheque/coming_soon/halloweenDead! George A Romero’s Zombie Series Celebrate Halloween at the Australian Cinémathèque with special event screenings of George A Romero’s landmark zombie apocalypse series – Night of the Living Dead 1968, Dawn of the Dead 1978, Day of the Dead 1985, Land of the Dead 2005 and Diary of the Dead 2008 – celebrated for its social commentary and genre-defining episodes of gore and horror Fri, Oct. 24th, 2008, 08:08 am
Opera
I'm off to see Turandot on Saturday. I do enjoy Opera. The last thing I saw was Lucia do Lammermoor. What have you seen lately? R PS posted from the LJ app on my iTouch. Might post more often with this... R
Mon, Oct. 20th, 2008, 03:08 pm
art quiz thing
Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test... Simple, Progressive, and Sensual9 Ukiyo-e, 1 Islamic, 5 Impressionist, -9 Cubist, -6 Abstract and -7 Renaissance! 
Ukiyo-e (浮世絵, Ukiyo-e), "pictures of the floating world", is a genre of Japaneseand paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries. it mostly featured landscapes, historic tales, theatre, and pleasure. Ukiyo is a rather impetuous urban culture that has bloomed in popularity. Although the Japanese were more strict and had many prohibitions it did not affect the rising merchant class and therefore became a floating art form that did not bind itself to the normal ideals of society. People that chose Ukiyo-e art tend to be more simplistic yet elegant. They don't care much about new style but are comfortable in creating their own. They like the idea of living for the moment and enjoy giving and receiving pleasure. They may be more agreeable than other people and do not like to argue. They do not mind following traditions but are not afraid to move forward to experience other ideas in life. They tend to enjoy nature and the outdoors. They do not mind being more adventurous in their sexual experiences. They enjoy being popular and like being noticed. They have their own unique style of dress and of presenting themselves. They may also tend to be more business oriented or at the very least interested in money making adventures. They might make good entrepreneurs. They are progressive and adaptable. Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy
Fri, Oct. 10th, 2008, 06:08 pm
chuckle
[Note: I'm using the same translation as hana_broom, but I'm also referring to some others when I'm reading>) -R Chapter 1.
The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.
The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.
Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.
Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.
As soon as I translate my sensations and experiences into language, I've moved from the real world into the realm of mental interpretation and imagination. I filter based on what my languages are good at expressing, and based on how good my understanding of my experiences is. To me Tao is a word that symbolises something outside of the sandbox of language, that I can always only point at but never reproduce sufficiently. Tao is a word that means that the things outside of my sandbox of language, that I make little models of inside the sandbox, are never going to be represented as fully within the sandbox as they really are. If I can let go of always trying to completely represent stuff outside the sandbox with my models and if I can let go of holding on to the belief that my little model is actually a full (or even sufficient) representation, then I can be open to much more of what is outside the sandbox. Otherwise the little sandcastles take up all of my field of vision... But that letting go is akin to admitting failure, admitting that I don't have the ability to see fully, that I don't have control, and that can be a little scary at times. Scary, but also awesome. The Mystery... And I myself am something that is outside of the sandbox in my mind. There's a little me made of the sand of languages (English, German, others...) that sort-of-lives in that sandbox, but I and the Sandbox are both of the Tao.
The TaoTeChingMemeRepost this invitation, and give us your interpretations/commentary on the Tao Te Ching verses, preferably one verse at a time so you have time to really think about them.hana_broom is writing down her own interpretations (sorry, friends only) of the verses of the Tao Te Ching ( wikipedia incl. list of online English translations) and I thought I might join in. I seem to remember nicked_metal doing something along those lines too once, but can't find it in his Taoism tagged articles. I think getting different people's views on what they think the text might mean is great. It's so easy to be biased by one's own interpretation of the world, and reading what other people puzzle over, or what they see as really obvious, is a wonderful way of stretching our own world view. So I'd like to invite you to join the TaoTeChingMeme too. It's a slightly longer meme than usual, but really worth it for yourself, and us! I hope to find your entries soon. R PS I'm specifically tagging nicked_metal and drjon :-)
Fri, Sep. 19th, 2008, 12:03 pm
piegraphs
  Have you got any fun pie graphs to share? R Tue, Sep. 16th, 2008, 10:16 am
RIP Rick Wright
Richard Wright, founding member of The Pink Floyd, has passed away. Blue Room in Venice I can see you through a pool of darkness I stretch out my hand to reach you I know you are there So please look at me How I've missed you How I've missed love My hand is here If you still know me Then touch my fingertips I see the waters move above your face I feel your naked hand Please don't let it go again Your sacrifice That meant so much Left us with no place to stand Please let me touch And let me near Let me near.  Thu, Feb. 14th, 2008, 11:34 am
Fri, Oct. 12th, 2007, 09:56 am
Yesterday I heard a short interview with Peter Quilter about his 2005 musical "Glorious". This is based on the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a woman who couldn't sing but had enough money to stage concerts anyway. Hear a sample song here by this astoundingly bad soprano. They played two pieces on the radio yesterday too, including the one linked here, and they are really worth taking a moment of your time and concentrating on. I'll also mention that she filled Carnegie Hall! The musical is currently showing in Sydney at the Ensemble Theatre with Noeline Brown in the lead role, and I wish I could go see it :-) R |
