A quiet forceful song about relishing one’s choices…
Ain’t life sweet, we know what we’re doing
Ain’t life sweet, when we’re not afraid to care
Ain’t life sweet, we know what we’re doing
Ain’t life sweet, when we’re not afraid to care
Penny Lang (Ain’t Life Sweet) plays over closing credits of Cloudburst
And so for day 2951
10.01.2015
A friend contemplating a vacation away from the digital treadmill of work:
Looking forward to some analog entertainments. A paper book. A wood paintbrush. A cotton thread.
Another elegant tricolon added to the collection.
And so for day 2950
09.01.2015
Tania Bayard
Sweet Herbs and Sundry Flowers: Medieval Gardens and the Gardens of The Cloisters
The espaliered tree is one feature of the garden that is not medieval, for the technique of training fruit trees in flat symmetrical patterns agains vertical surfaces came into use later that the Middle Ages and is therefore not within the time period of The Cloisters. Nevertheless, this magnificent pear, planted in 1940, has become a permanent attraction at the Museum.
And so for day 2949
08.01.2015
Robyn Sarah
Pause for Breath
“Lowly”
Second stanza of a meditation on earthworms…
It is mute.
It abides in the dark, under porches.
It operates below ground
its tunnelings aerate.
It thrives on decay —
each day
casts many times its weight
in black gold,
giving back better than it takes.
It is the sign of living earth.
And so for day 2948
07.01.2015
Javier González García
“New Technologies of Time Manipulation”
Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities
http://rupkatha.com/V10/n2/v10n201.pdf
The Abstract begins “Narratives are tools to manipulate time” and then there is this charming passage about mirages …
This [editing and content management system] opens up the possibility of a modality (not the only one) of fictionalization of the sequential structure of the blog-for example, retroactively modifying old articles to prophesy news or subsequent events, etc. The form lends itself quite well to this illusion, due to the apparent inevitability and objectivity of the automated dating functions. We could talk about an inherent manipulability to this technological mirage. We emphasize this possibility by lending itself to curious communicative effects in the relationship between blogging and the narrative of experience. Bear in mind, however, that the temporal sequence of the written is only the most obvious of the “technologically determined” aspects of the blog that lend themselves to manipulation, whether it is done for artistic-fictional or merely practical-manipulative purposes
Which of course resonates with some of the work presented through Berneval
The dates on Berneval function as accession numbers. Producing every once in a while an odd temporal dislocation. My goal is to catch up and yet enjoy the look of the ruins (abandoned blog) along the way. Also keeps readers mindful of textual questions: when was it composed, when was it posted, when is it dated. And sensitive to anachronism as a discursive device.
Including this one pairing a publication from 2018 [Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2018] with this entry time stamped with 2015.
And so for day 2947
06.01.2015
Madhur Jaffrey
Introduction
An Invitation to Indian Cooking
Sometimes, as you glance at a couple of recipes, the spices used might look identical, which may lead you to the conclusion that the two dishes will taste the same. But that’s not necessarily true. It is not only what spices you use but also how you use them that gives dishes their special taste and appearance. Take cumin, for instance. If it is roasted whole and crushed, its coffee color will darken the looks of any food and its strong aroma will fill not just your kitchen but your entire house. This way it has a sharp, nutty taste. Whole cumin, when it is “popped” in very hot fat, has a mild aroma and a gentle, licoricelike taste. Ground unroasted cumin provides a third flavor and has perhaps the mildest taste of the three.
Notice the almost imperceptible gradation in the flavour profile from strong to mild? There is a mnemonic embedded in this set of descriptions.
And so for day 2946
05.01.2015
Your theoretical knowledge of freedom is greater than mine, since you even go so far as to obey commands.
Ubu Enchaîné
Alfred Jarry trans. Simon Watson Taylor
And so for day 2945
04.01.2015
Here is the ending of a poem by Pia Tafdrup translated from the Danish by David McDuff.
[…]
The body is not national,
it passes easily into dreams
mountain ranges, rivers and oceans,
routes traced by swallows.
I want
the clouds’ passport
valid for travel to all countries and back.
https://poems.poetrysociety.org.uk/poets/pia-tafdrup/
This yearning reminds me that I voyage often by minute observation in my little circumspect area of the world. I want to watch the weathers come to me from many borders. Today I saw a tabby chase a squirrel.
And so for day 2944
03.01.2015
Spotted as a very fine use of colon as punctuation (its own form of finery).
If something is lost by revision, I suspect that far more is gained: The moment is finer for a coat of varnish: Gossip becomes archival.
Donald Hall, Introduction to Poets at Work: The Paris Review Interviews.
And so for day 2943
02.01.2015
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Joan Aiken
“There’s nought like lying wi’ sheep two-three days for a chesty cough,” pronounced Mr Wilderness. “The breath of sheep has a powerful virtue in it. That and a brew of my cherry-bark syrup with maybe a spoonful of honey in it, and a plateful or two of good porridge, will set her to rights better than the grandest doctor in the kingdom. […]
I can find no other mention of the curative powers of the breath of sheep. Curious to know if Aiken’s formulation has a predecessor.
And so for day 2942
01.01.2015
