Της Τρελής και της Αλεπούς

Τον Γενάρη έκανα το λάθος να σηκώσω το τηλέφωνο, μόνο και μόνο για να κοιτάξω

( ηδονοβλεψία - να κάτι που γνωρίζω πολύ καλά)

στην πιο βαθειά άβυσσο της ανθρώπινης ψυχής.


"Ό,τι και να έγινε τότε, πρέπει να ξέρεις ότι σε αγαπούσα. Σε αγάπησα πραγματικά."

Elentári

Με αγάπησε.

Με αγαπούσε στα παρκάκια του Ψυχικού. Μέσα απο το σπίτι της.

Με φιλούσε παθιασμένα πάνω στην Πον Νεφ. Προφασιζόμενη ασθένεια στη Ρώμη.

Κάναμε έρωτα στη Βυρηττό. Οι συνομιλίες μας στο κινητό είχαν όλη την τρυφερότητα της Σάμπρα και της Σατίλα.

Όντως λοιπόν. Δεν μπορούσε παρά να πεί, με απόλυτη ειλικρίνεια, ότι με αγάπησε.



Η ψυχιατρική αλιεύει σε θολά ύδατα και ιδιαίτερα επικίνδυνα για τη ναυσιπλοΐα.

Δίνεις σε έναν άνθρωπο ένα φάρμακο για την καρδιά και τον κάνεις καλά. Δίνεις ένα φάρμακο για το μυαλό και τον κάνεις άλλον άνθρωπο.



Ο ανθρώπινος εγκέφαλος αποτελείται απο δεκάδες δισεκατομμύρια νευρικά κύτταρα, δέκα δισεκατομμύρια απο τα οποία απαρτίζουν τις περιοχές που είναι υπεύθυνες για τις "ανώτερες" νοητικές διεργασίες. Μεταξύ τους δημιουργούνται δέκα εις την δεκάτην πέμπτην διασυνδέσεις ( συνάψεις).

Ναι - δέκα εις τη δεκάτη πέμπτη - χίλια τρισεκατομμύρια - ένα τετράκις εκατομμύριο ( δώστε τίποτα ψιλά αν περισσεύουν για το Δημόσιο Χρέος, αν έχετε την ευχαρίστηση, να σχωρεθούν τα πεθαμένα σας ).

Το νευρικό κύτταρο είναι μανιχαϊστικό. Ή διεγείρεται και παράγει έναν ηλεκτρικό παλμό, ή δεν διεγείρεται.

(οπότε και η απογοητευμένη παρτενέρ του προσπαθεί να το παρηγορήσει γιατί είναι κάτι φυσιολογικό και συμβαίνει συχνά)


Αυτό το απλό δυαδικό φαινόμενο - όλο ή ουδέν, 0 ή 1, διέγερση ή σιγή - στην κλίμακα μεγεθών της τάξεως των πολλών μηδενικών του ανθρώπινου εγκεφάλου μεταμορφώνεται σε λόγο, σκέψη, συναίσθημα, στην Ενάτη του Μπετόβεν και την Ενδεκάτη του Ενάτου.

Πώς; Πώς το απλό 0 ή 1 παράγει την ανθρώπινη φύση δεν θα το μάθουμε μάλλον ποτέ.

Όμως στο απλό επίπεδο της διέγερσης ή μη του κυττάρου παίζουν πολλοί βιοχημικοί μηχανισμοί, τροποποιήσεις των οποίων αλλάζουν ριζικά τον αριθμό των κυττάρων που διεγείρονται σε μια συγκεκριμένη χρονική στιγμή άρα ( όντως; ) αλλάζουν ριζικά την ανταπόκρισή μας:

Όταν κάποιος μπεί σφήνα στην Κηφισίας του ρίχνεις ένα φάσκελο και συνεχίζεις. Αν έχεις την κατάλληλη μετάλλαξη στο κατάλληλο γονίδιο όμως τον ακολουθείς, τον κλείνεις, κατεβαίνεις απο το αυτοκίνητο και τον καρφώνεις με το κατσαβίδι.

Άλλες μεταλλάξεις ( μας λένε ) μας κάνουν πιο επιρρεπείς στις ψυχώσεις, την κατάθλιψη και την πολυφαγία. Την επιθετικότητα. Την παραβατικότητα. Τη νυμφομανία.

(να μια χρήσιμη μετάλλαξη)

Το 0 και το 1 δεν βρίσκονται μόνο στα bit της πληροφορικής αλλά στη βάση της ανθρώπινης νόησης.

Ίσως γι' αυτό η πρώτη προσέγγιση σε ό,τι κάνουμε είναι να μαδάμε τη μαργαρίτα (τη μαργαρώ)

Μ' αγαπάει - δε μ' αγαπάει; Ρέστα ή πάσο; Καλός ή κακός; Να μείνω ή να φύγω; Εχθρός ή φίλος;

Πώς όμως να κρίνουμε κάποιον αν πιστέψουμε ότι στη βάση των επιλογών του δεν βρίσκεται η κακή επιλογή σε ένα ηθικό δίλημμα αλλά αντικειμενικοί παράγοντες πέρα απο την ηθική του;

Πώς να καταδικάσουμε κάποιον που τον θεωρούμε έρμαιο των υπερδραστήριων ενζύμων του, της σεροτονίνης που, αρρύθμιστη, πλημμυρίζει τις συνάψεις του και των ελαττωματικών του διαύλων που αφήνουν τα ιόντα να στήνουν γλέντι πάνω στις μεμβράνες των νευρώνων του;

Αν δεν μπορεί να αγαπήσει πραγματικά, πώς να μπορέσει να μείνει πιστή;
Αν δεν μπορεί να ελέγξει την επιθετικότητά του, πώς να μήν σκοτώσει;

Αυτό σημαίνει όμως ότι οι άνθρωποι δεν μπορούν να διορθωθούν; Αυτό σημαίνει ότι δεν πρέπει να συγχωρούμε;

Μεγάλωσε σε μια διαλυμένη οικογένεια. Αν μεγάλωνε με αγάπη, παρά τους ελαττωματικούς της διαύλους, μήπως θα μπορούσε κι αυτή να αγαπήσει;

Αδιάφορο. Η υπεροχή του ηθικού μανιχαϊσμού έναντι του νευροβιολογικού δυϊσμού έγκειται στο ότι μας επιτρέπει να θέτουμε τα όρια και τους φραγμούς μας ως άτομα και ως κοινωνίες.


Όταν οι Ερυθροί Χμέρ βγήκαν απο τις ζούγκλες της Καμπότζης και ανέτρεψαν τη σάπια δικτατορία του Λον Νολ, αδιαφόρησαν για το αν όλοι οι κάτοικοι των πόλεων είχαν στηρίξει το καθεστώς. Αδιαφόρησαν γι' αυτούς που υπέφεραν απο το καθεστώς, αδιαφόρησαν για τους τραυματίες στα νοσοκομεία, τις εγγύους ή τα παιδιά.

Οι κάτοικοι των πόλεων δεν ήταν αντάρτες της ζούγκλας και φτωχοί χωρικοί. Και αυτό αρκούσε για να καταδικαστουν.

Μπορεί όμως κάποιος να είναι τόσο σωστός ώστε να καταδικάζει τους άλλους τόσο αβίαστα;

Μήπως δεν ήταν μεγαλύτερη τρέλα, αργότερα, τότε που πραγματικά αγάπησα μια Αλεπού;

Ο στρατηγός Κουρογκάνε κατηγορεί έμμεσα για προδοσία την Κάεντε, την ερωμένη του ντάιμγιο Τζίρο Ιτσιμόντζι, διηγούμενος την ιστορία της δαιμονικής Αλεπούς που παίρνει τη μορφή γυναίκας.

(RAN, Ακίρα Κουροσάβα, 1985)

Infected Mushroom - Becoming Insane (Vicious Delicious LP, 2007)



Dime todo lo que pasó
No me di cuenta ni quién me pegó
Todo da vueltas como un carrusel,
Locura recorre todita mi piel.

(Πες μου όλα όσα έγιναν
Δεν μπορώ να θυμηθώ ούτε ποιος με χτύπησε
Τα πάντα γυρίζουν σαν καρουζέλ
Η τρέλα διατρέχει όλο μου το δέρμα)

Wake me up before I change again
Remind me the story that I won't get insane
Tell me why it´s always the same

Explain me the reason why I´m so much in pain


Before I change again...

Perdiendo...

voy perdiendo....

El suelo!
(Χάνω...

όλο και χάνω...

το έδαφος!)

Becoming insane!!!

ΥΓ: Ανικητότατε Αυτοκράτορα, Καίσαρ Εκλεγμένε των Ρωμαίων Άγιε, ως πιστός υπηρέτης Της Υμών Αυτοκρατορικής Μεγαλειότητας αναχωρώ για να περιοδεύσω στις κληρονομικές δυτικές ιβηρικές γαίες της Μητρός Σας Ιωάννας Ι, της καλουμένης και Τρελής, Λεόν και Γαλικία, αναζητώντας μέσω του προσκυνήματος του Αποστόλου Ιακώβου απαντήσεις στα ερωτήματα που αναστατώνουν την αμαρτωλή ψυχή μου.

Γνωρίζω πως η Αυλή στη Βιέννη αναμένει την άφιξή μου και προσεύχεται μαζί με τον Αρχιεπίσκοπό μας για την ασφάλεια του σώματος και την σωτηρία της ψυχής μου και είμαι αιώνια ευγνώμων,

ο ταπεινός Σας τοποτηρητής
Γεώργιος.

Χουάνα Ι η Τρελή (La Loca)

(Λεπτομέρεια απο το Τρίπτυχο της Ημέρας της Κρίσεως του Zierikzee, απο τον Διδάσκαλο του Affligem, ca. 1500)

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Φουρτούνες

Αυτές τις στιγμές οι σκέψεις μας πάνε στους δοκιμαζόμενους Ιταλούς, στους νεκρούς και την κατεστραμμένη πολιτιστική κληρονομιά της Άκιλα.

Ο μαέστρο Βιβάλντι στην άκρως τεχνική και βενετσιάνικη Γκριζέλντα μας θυμίζει ότι οι Ιταλοί είναι μαθημένοι στις φουρτούνες, πραγματικές ή μη.

Και αυτό θα περάσει.

Cecilia Bartoli, 'Agitata da due venti'
(La Griselda, dramma per musica)
Antonio Vivaldi, Carlo Goldoni lib., 1735

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I destroyed the Old Bailey!(Και έχω τις φωτο για να το αποδείξω!)

Τώρα που είμαι μακριά απο τα νύχια της Scotland Yard, μπορώ να το ομολογήσω: Εγώ ανατίναξα το Old Bailey!

It is to Madamme Justice that I dedicate this concerto, in honour of the holiday She seems to have taken from these parts and in recognition of the impostor that stand in Her stead...

(Ζήλεψα που έχασα τα επεισόδια στην Ελλάδα και επειδή το κλίμα ήταν πολύ γιορτινό στο Λονδίνο, είπα να φυτέψω τα εκρηκτικά στο Old Bailey και να περιμένω...)

V for Victory! (click to enlarge)

And now the crescendo!

PS: I know of no reason / why the Gunpowder Treason / should ever be forgot....


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Μεγάλη μπουκιά φάε...

...μεγάλη κουβέντα μην πεις.

Κάποτε, είχα την ιδέα να κάνω αφιερώματα για Γυναίκες που θαυμάζω

( όπως εδώ για τις γυναίκες της Lotta Svärd κι εδώ για τη Hedy Lamarr )

και για τις οποίες ο κόσμος ξέρει ελάχιστα.


Σειρά είχε η Bettina von Arnim.

Σε αυτήν κόλλησα. Δεν είχα στη διάθεσή μου αξιόπιστες πηγές για να αξιολογήσω το μεγάλο μυστήριο της προσωπικής της ζωής (ή πιο σωστά, δεν στρώθηκα ποτέ να διαβάσω την Αθανασία του Kundera).

Η σχέση της με τον Goethe ήταν όντως ρομαντικού χαρακτήρα; Ήταν όντως η Αθάνατη Αγαπημένη του Beethoven;

(Ναι, είμαι κουτσομπόλης. Μην πώ και ζηλιάρης...)


Δεν ήξερα αρκετά, οπότε το όλο ζήτημα έμεινε στο ράφι (η Bettina όμως όχι).


Ευτυχώς. Γιατί μετά την Bettina, σειρά είχε η Clara Schumann και μετά απο αυτήν

(δεν απομακρύνεστε σιγά σιγά απο τα αυγά και τις ντομάτες; )

η Ευγενία Μανωλίδου.

Αρκετά χρόνια πριν,τότε που είχα πρωτοακούσει γι'αυτήν, ήταν πανέμορφη,είχε οικογένεια και ήταν καταξιωμένη μουσικός ίσως στον πιο δύσκολο για τις γυναίκες χώρο.

Σας ορκίζομαι εκεί είχα μείνει.

Φανταστείτε να αφιέρωνα post σε μια που σήμερα είναι τηλεοπτική περσόνα και τα έχει με τον Άδωνι Γεωργιάδη...

Φρίκη. Όνειδος.

Με έσωσε η αδιακρισία, η ρομαντική τσαχπινιά, οι μισές αλήθειες και οι αινιγματικές φαντασιώσεις μεγαλείου της Bettina von Arnim.

Die Unsterbliche Geliebte.
(θα επανέλθω όπως Σου αξίζει)







L. van Beethoven, Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia, No. 14 Opus 27 No. 2 (Mondscheinsonate), Adagio sostenuto

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Scandinavism

When my obsession for neatness and well-defined lines kicks in, I become an avid fan of pan-scandinavism.

Alt for Norge - (ummm... what is it that the Danes say? Anyway...) - För Sverige i tiden

Not that we can reasonably hope for a united Scandinavia anymore...

but consider, just for the fun of it, the eventuality of an extended unified Scandinavian Kingdom.

It would be nice, because...


... the Swedes deserve a Scandinavian King

... the Danes would be forced to adopt a human enunciation

... a traveller would not have to convert kroner to kronor to krónur and back to kroner again - only, this time, Danish. Not to mention Euros if one is to heed old-man-Väinämöinen's call.

...every Scandinavian has the right to sing Ja vi elsker dette landet as a national hymn

... along the same lines, the Swedes deserve better than Du gamla, du fria

... the Norwegians will not have to be singled out to award the gay and pointless Nobel Prize for Peace

... in an extended Scandinavia, the Finns would get to operate submarines again

...an ABBA-like group with Tarja Turunen as the brunette would win every Eurovision contest

... Santa Klaus would be more efficient

... there would be more frequent flights to Reykjavik

... in future Hamlet productions, Ophelia would be pictured as a really hot Swedish babe

... there isn't really anyone who can define the border zone between Norway and Sweden

... in the end, it would make my decision to permanently move up there oh so easier. :)

Ja, vi elsker dette landet,
som det stiger frem,
furet, værbitt over vannet,
med de tusen hjem

Elsker, elsker det og tenker
på vår far og mor
og den saganatt som senker
drømmer på vår jord.
og den saganatt som senker
senker drømmer på vår jord.

Norske mann i hus og hytte
takk din store Gud!
Landet ville han beskytte,
skjønt det mørkt så ut.
Alt hva fedrene har kjempet,
mødrene har grett,
har den Herre stille lempet
så vi vant vår rett.

(Yes, we love this land
that rises forth
rugged, weathered over the waters,
with the thousand homes

Loving, loving it and thinking
of our father and mother
and the saga night that sends
dreams to our earth
and the saga night that sends
sends dreams to our earth.

Norse man in house or hut
thank your mighty God!
He wanted to protect the land
though it looked as it were dark
All those fathers have fought
and mothers have grieved,
the Lord has silently moved
so that we won our right.)

PS: För Nordens frihet og Sveriges ära



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Hindi Special: Γιατί Λατρεύω το Bollywood

Σας διαβεβαιώ: Είμαι ένας φυσιολογικός άνθρωπος.

όμως...

Λατρεύω το Bollywood.

Η θεά Aishwarya Rai.

Γιατί έχει σκηνικά αφάνταστου πλούτου και αδιανόητου kitsch.

Χορευτικά μεγάλης περιπλοκότητας και ακόμα μεγαλύτερης σαχλαμάρας.

Γιατί ενσωματώνει τις χειρότερες δυτικές επιρροές και τις ισχυρότερες ανατολίτικες αντιστάσεις.

Γιατί έβαζε τις σημαντικότερες φωνές της Ινδίας, αυτές της Asha Bhosle και της Lata Mangeshkar. Μόνο που τις έβαζε playback σε ατάλαντες ανάφτρες.

Γιατί δίνει στο cliché (κυριολεκτικά) επικές διαστάσεις.

Γιατί έχει πρωταγωνίστριες με εκφραστικά μάτια και πανέμορφο στήθος (πρόσωπο ήθελα να πώ)

Γιατί αυτές οι πρωταγωνίστριες έχουν ως παρτενέρ χάλια - σε βαθμό φάρσας - πρωταγωνιστές

Γιατί απλά... είναι ο καθρέφτης μιας lumpen υπερδύναμης.

Dum maro dum (Hare Krishna, Hare Ram)
Η φωνή της μεγάλης Asha Bhosle playback στην σεξυ Zeenat Aman.
Προσέξτε το ανεκδιήγητο ροζ πουκάμισο με τον γιακά που φοράει ο πρωταγωνιστής/σκηνοθέτης Dev Anand




Neeve Nanna (Only you were mine) του Vijaya Anand.
Απο το Dance Raja Dance.
Ουδέν σχόλιο. Απολαύστε.





Bobby Deol και Preity Zinta, "Tera Rang Balle Balle"
Απο τα αγαπημένα μου.
Go figure...



Dhoom Tana απο την υπερπαραγωγή (με όλη την crème de la crème του Bollywood) του 2007: "Om Shanti Om"

Επαναλαμβάνω. Κατά τ'άλλα είμαι ένας απόλυτα φυσιολογικός άνθρωπος....


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My Birthday at the Tower of Song! (Leonard Cohen live @ TerraVibe 30/7/2008)

Now, I heard, there was a secret chord

that David played and it pleased the Lord
But... you don't really care for music, do ya?

I cannot seem to remember ever having done something special on my birthday. In the heart of summer, my friends and I have always been scattered to the four corners of Greece (and now that wanderlust is upon us, the four corners of the world - getting birthday wish phonecalls from New York, Limassol, Melbourne, Vienna, London - and this year - Varna, well... it is undeniably funny but gets really annoying when almost nobody's around for the fun of it).









As always, this year I had nothing to look forward to and was particularly miffed (I like this word, I will be using it more often!) that I would in all probability miss the Leonard Cohen show since I heard of it too late... BUT ! the Lycabettus theater was closed because of security concerns and the concert was moved to the huge TerraVibe venue. Although such an expanse would not be suited to Leonard Cohen's music style, it would ensure ticket availability!

Why do I love Leonard Cohen so much when I do not even listen to similar style music?

The great Leonard Cohen


It goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift
The baffled King composing
Hallelujah

It must be the effortless way he tackles the pitfalls of strong emotion, the way that irony finds its way into the lyrics, the way that drama of mythical proportions is reduced to the level of our fundamental weaknesses.

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
and from your lips she drew the
Hallelujah

To be able to say "I've gotten over you", "We'll never see each other" or to say "I've found God" is one thing. Through his lyrics, Cohen is able to not only say all this, but shrug it off and walk away alone into the sunset with a deadly parthian shot...

Well, really, what's it to ya?

The Webb sisters, Charlie and Hattie, bowing

So,on that Wednesday, on my birthday, I stood before the Tower of Song, to listen about the conquest of Manhattan and a little viennese waltz on closing time...

There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
the Holy or the broken
Hallelujah

Dino Soldo (winds) and Javier Mas (mandolin, uti, lute)

I found not only this but so much more: the nobility of a truly great artist shown in the courtesy with which he treated his supporting musicians (all of them significant artists in their own right) and the respect and humility he showed towards his audience, beginning with an impressive address in greek at the beginning of the show, a reminder of the time he spent in the island of Ydra.


For more than three hours, with about all requests fulfilled, the great Leonard Cohen delivered a mighty lesson of emotion and dignity, with lyrics and attitude laced with the acidity of experience, pain and the firmness of a man who knows what he wants, it's just that... he has always found the others lacking in the qualities that one would need to rise to the occasions.

I do not know if at the time I could survey the events of my life from such a point of view, but... when one is true to his emotions, well that is all one needs, no matter how the others respond to them.


And then the answer became quite clear: We found it with you, Leonard. We whispered it at first, murmured it as it went on and then we sang along: dee dum dum dum, da dee dum dum...

That simple.

Duet with Hattie Webb

I did my best but it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth...
I didn't come to fool ya

Your songs stand up for us even in our defeat. You stood up for me even on my defeat. And it was on my birthday.
Unforgettable.


Thank you Leonard.

"Thank you friends"

And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my lips but
Hallelujah

PS: Ah, remember me, I used to live for music (baby)
Remember me, I brought your groceries in (ooh, baby yeah...)







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Closing Time

My country: the sun setting beyond the Cretan hills

The wonderful surprises that only summer can bring...or, how just one night can get you on the right track. A word, a touch, a sunset, the beach and then a wonderful concert and the lyrics are aglow with meaning and substance.

And no, it is only tomorrow that I am leaving for the traditional August vacations (and I will never say again that something like that will be boring beacause summer does have its ways of surprising us) but I have not been staying at home much these last two weeks, so that is why I have posted close to nothing.

I will not be away for the whole August but I will not be posting till September. I have a mind to follow by mood the eventides of the academic year, you see.... Old habits die hard.

For this temporary leave of absence (and with your permission of course...;), kind readers, I would like to share with you one of the later songs by that wonderful gentleman, the true master of emotional eloquence, the one and only, Leonard Cohen: Closing Time

Closing Time

Ah we're drinking and we're dancing
and the band is really happening
and the Johnnie Walker wisdom running high
And my very sweet companion
she's the Angel of Compassion
she's rubbing half the world against her thigh
And every drinker every dancer
lifts a happy face to thank her
the fiddler fiddles something so sublime
all the women tear their blouses off
and the men they dance on the polka-dots
and it's partner found, it's partner lost
and it's hell to pay when the fiddler stops:
it's closing time

Yeah the women tear their blouses off
and the men they dance on the polka-dots
and it's partner found, it's partner lost
and it's hell to pay when the fiddler stops:
it's closing time

Ah we're lonely, we're romantic
and the cider's laced with acid
and the Holy Spirit's crying, "Where's the beef?"

And the moon is swimming naked
and the summer night is fragrant
with a mighty expectation of relief

So we struggle and we stagger
down the snakes and up the ladder
to the tower where the blessed hours chime
and I swear it happened just like this:
a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss
the Gates of Love they budged an inch
I can't say much has happened since
but closing time...

I swear it happened just like this:
a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss
the Gates of Love they budged an inch
I can't say much has happened since
closing time

I loved you for your beauty
but that doesn't make a fool of me:
you were in it for your beauty too
and I loved you for your body
there's a voice that sounds like God to me
declaring, declaring, declaring that your body's really you
And I loved you when our love was blessed
and I love you now there's nothing left
but sorrow and a sense of overtime
and I missed you since the place got wrecked
And I just don't care what happens next
looks like freedom but it feels like death
it's something in between, I guess
it's closing time

Yeah I missed you since the place got wrecked
By the winds of change and the weeds of sex
looks like freedom but it feels like death
it's something in between, I guess
it's closing time

Yeah we're drinking and we're dancing
but there's nothing really happening
and the place is dead as Heaven on a Saturday night
And my very close companion
gets me fumbling gets me laughing
she's a hundred but she's wearing
something tight
and I lift my glass to the Awful Truth
which you can't reveal to the Ears of Youth
except to say it isn't worth a dime
And the whole damn place goes crazy twice
and it's once for the devil and once for Christ
but the Boss don't like these dizzy heights
we're busted in the blinding lights,
busted in the blinding lights
of closing time

The whole damn place goes crazy twice
and it's once for the devil and once for Christ
but the Boss don't like these dizzy heights
we're busted in the blinding lights,
busted in the blinding lights
of closing time

Oh the women tear their blouses off the men they dance on the polka-dots
It's closing time
And it's partner found, it's partner lost
and it's hell to pay when the fiddler stops
It's closing time
I swear it happened just like this:
a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss
It's closing time
The Gates of Love they budged an inch
I can't say much has happened since
But closing time...
I loved you when our love was blessed
I love you now there's nothing left
But closing time...
I miss you since the place got wrecked
By the winds of change and the weeds of sex.

So, for now, kind readers, enjoy the rest of the summer and stay tuned... the Bishop will remember you in his benedictions.




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Verlorene Siege: Barbarossa!

On 22 June 1941, Germany launched Barbarossa, the greatest offensive up to that moment in History, in a fatal but unavoidable attempt to deal with the USSR before the Soviets were fully prepared for war.

Despite many warnings, including detailed reports by the greatest spy of all times, Richard Sorge, who worked for the Soviets, surprise was complete.

The German Army at that point was far superior in training and material concentration than the Soviet Army.

"Artillerie am Front" (Artillery to the Front) by Eduard von Handel-Mazzetti, 1942

However, the vastness of the Soviet land made the timeline for the objectives wildly optimistic and the doggedness of the Soviet defenders (despite the huge initial collapse) wore the Wehrmacht down with irreplaceable loss of life and material (during the first week of Barbarossa the Germans lost more than they had lost during the whole two years of war before).

The offensive bogged down, neither Lerningrad nor Moscow were captured and by winter instead of a great victory the German Army faced a huge front, ill-supplied troops unprepared for the Great General Winter and a Soviet counteroffensive by the Siberian divisions that were relocated to the West when Richard Sorge affirmed that the Japanese would not attack from the East.

The Great Patriotic War had just began and would end with the utter defeat of the Germans.

"I swear to defeat the enemy!"

____________________________________________________________________

Two videos. The first is colour footage from the early stages of the invasion (with rather lame music: the Last of the Mohicans theme) and the second one is pictures of the Soviets with the great patriotic song Svyashennaya Voina (Holy War) by Alaksandr Aleksandrov.

Священная война

For the Motherland!

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Waterloo!

On 18 June 1815 the armies of the Seventh Coalition (Great Britain, Prussia, the United Netherlands, Nassau, Hanover and Brunswick) under the command of Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington ("the Iron Duke" - "Whoever soils a Wellington puts his foot in it") and of Generalfeldmarschall Gebhard Leberecht Graf von Blücher ( "Marschall Vorwärts" ) met and defeated the army of Napoleon Bonaparte in the famous Battle of Waterloo, in "a damn close-run thing".

For now two things:

First, the ABBA song "Waterloo" from the 1974 Eurovision song contest (notice the orchestra conductor Sven Olaf Walldoff with his Napoleon costume)

and a witty poem by some Thomas Gaspey about Lord Uxbrige's (Henry Paget's) leg that had become a tourist attraction in Waterloo when it was lost to grapeshot from the French artillery (with the famous anecdotal dialogue between Uxbridge and the Iron Duke: "By God, sir, I've lost my leg!" - "By God, sir, so you have!" ) :

Here rests, and let no saucy knave
Presume to sneer and laugh,
To learn that mouldering in the grave
Is laid a British calf.

For he who writes these lines is sure
That those who read the whole
Will find such laugh were premature,
For here, too, lies a sole.

And here five little ones repose,
Twin-born with other five;
Unheeded by their brother toes,
Who now are all alive.

A leg and foot to speak more plain
Lie here, of one commanding;
Who, though his wits he might retain,
Lost half his understanding.

And when the guns, with thunder fraught,
Pour'd bullets thick as hail,
Could only in this way be taught
To give his foe leg-bail.

And now in England, just as gay -
As in the battle brave -
Goes to the rout, review, or play,
With one foot in the grave.

Fortune in vain here showed her spite,
For he will still be found,
Should England's sons engage in fight,
Resolved to stand his ground.

But fortune's pardon I must beg,
She meant not to disarm;
And when she lopped the hero's leg
By no means sought his h-arm,

And but indulged a harmless whim,
Since he could walk with one,
She saw two legs were lost on him
Who never meant to run.

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Kylie live @ TerraVibe, Athens, May 22, 2008 ("I love Kylie Minogue" post)

Yes!!! The definition of sexy was here for a live concert and I had tickets!! Why is she the definition of sexy? Well, with your help, she can prove it:

(That "No??" is probably the two sexiest letters ever uttered in human history)

Anyway, the concert ... it looked like a success from the very beginning when to the amusement of the gathering fans, several bimbos dragged the transmissions and tailpipes of their smarts and roadsters in the bumpy TerraVibe dirt, and it continued smoothly: the sound was crisp, the show was lush with colours, great choreography, themed costumes and a surprise performance of the 'Copacabana' ("Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl, with yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there..." :> ) and Kylie looked great (though she did not wear anything too revealing), danced and moved with gusto and all in all, she lived up to any expectation her fans might have had.

Some pics:

Golden bits and streamers fired above the crowd towards the end of the concert.

(OK, How could I wipe the stupid smile from my face?! )

And a video comment... How times change: observe the choreography in the "Locomotion" video (virtually non-existent and the girls are fat) and the "Can't get you out of my head" masterpiece:

1988:






and 2001 (2002 MTV Music Video Award for Best Choreography) :

PS: We did not do the "Locomotion" but ... "Lucky, lucky, lucky, I should be so lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky in love..." :)))



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Imperial Journey: La Montanara (Das Lied der Berge)

On May 7, I landed at Charles de Gaulle airport to begin an arduous descent by train across the lands of the overlapping Empires of Europe. Before I write anything about the routes and stops of my imperial journey, I would like to publish some photos of my visit to the Alps, which was probably what moved me the most. Accompanied by a Tölzer Knabenchor video of them singing La Montanara (Das Lied der Berge), the hymn of the mighty Alps, whose lyrics I used as legend for the pictures:

Hörst du das Lied der Berge?
Die Berge sie grüßen dich

(Do you hear the song of the mountains?
The mountains salute you)

Hörst du mein Echo schallen
Und leise verhallen?

(Do you hear my echo ring out
and quiet down? )


Dort wo in blauer Ferne
Die Welten entschwinden
Möcht' ich dich wieder finden
Mein unvergessenes Glück?

(Over there, where the worlds vanish
in the blue distance
may I find you once more,
my unforgettable happiness?)


La Montanara, ohe !!!


Von Ferne rauscht der Wasserfall

(In the distance, the waterfall roars!)



Und durch die grünen Tannen
Bricht silbern das Licht

(And through the green firs
silver the light shines )



La Montanara, ohe !!!

Im Klang alter Lieder
Laut hallt mein Echo wieder
Nur du hörst es nicht

(In the sound of old songs
Loudly my echo rings out
and only you don't hear it)



Weit sind die Schwalben
Nach Süden geflogen
Über die ewigen Berge und Täler

(Away to the south
have the swallows flown
over the eternal mountains and valleys)


Und eine Wolke
Kam einsam gezogen

(And a cloud came,
drawn close, solitary)


Doch wart' ich immer
Vergeblich auf dich...

(Yet I wait for you,
forever in vain...)

PS I: Locations: Airbus A340-300 above the Alps, Innsbruck and surrounding area, Hafelekar mountain summit (2334m ), Swiss-Italian border (Lugano area)

PS II: All photos by me, ©. Click to enlarge.

PS III: No, I did not find a f@#%&ng Edelweiss, it was too early, everything was covered in snow...

PS IV: Dulljöh !

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The shadows of Paris.

One of the best songs by Henry Mancini ( possibly second only to Meglio stassera) from the Pink Panther: A Shot in the Dark OST. Great music and the lyrics are right at home.

Why must we meet in the shadows of Paris
where hardly a star seems to shine?

Why can't we meet in the sunlight of Paris
where Paris can see you are mine?

Have you come to me from another
whose lips you have tried?

Do you still belong to another?
Is that why we hide?

Why am I cold in the sunlight of Paris
where laughter and song fill the sky?

Why am I warm in the shadows of Paris
when I know that dawn means goodbye?

Have you come to me from another
whose lips you have tried?

Do you still belong to another?
Is that why we hide?

Why am I cold in the sunlight of Paris
where laughter and song fill the sky?

Why am I warm in the shadows of Paris
when I know that dawn means....




Goodbye.

PS Flying for Aéroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle, at dawn.

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The Weeping Song

The long tradition of May Day sadness holds fast.

For the occasion, nothing less than probably the best modern rock song ever written, a duet of Nick Cave and Blixa Bargeld in the vocals:

The Weeping Song
from The Good Son album by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds,

Go son, go down to the water
And see the women weeping there
Then go up into the mountains
The men, they all are weeping too

Father, why are all the women weeping?
They are weeping for their men
Then why are all the men there weeping?
They are weeping back at them

This is a weeping song
A song in which to weep
While all the men and women sleep
This is a weeping song
But I won't be weeping long

Father, why are all the children weeping?
They are merely crying son
O, are they merely crying, father?
Yes, true weeping is yet to come

This is a weeping song
A song in which to weep
While all the men and women sleep
This is a weeping song
But I won't be weeping long

O father tell me, are you weeping?
Your face seems wet to touch
O then I'm so sorry, father
I never thought I hurt you so much

This is a weeping song
A song in which to weep
While we rock ourselves to sleep
This is a weeping song
But I won't be weeping long




But I won't be weeping long...

I wish I could say the same.

Il Gattopardo pt. III - The film

"One of the films I live by"

Martin Scorsese

I end the Leopard posts introductory trilogy with a few words about the 1963 incomparable cinema masterpiece "Il Gattopardo" by Luchino Visconti.





One must first note that it would be really difficult to find a director better suited to direct such a film. Luchino Visconti (b. 1906) was a descendant of the Visconti family of Milano, the family that alternately with the Sforzas ruled Milan as Dukes for much of its independent medieval and Rennaisance history. As a young man he saw the two wars rendering any notion of nobility obsolete, a fate that was sealed by the rise of the nouveau-riche bourgeoisie.

Indeed, he shot several other films dealing in a similar way with the same concept of the decadence of nobility: "The Damned" (La caduta degli Dei/Götterdämmerung - 1969 ), "Death in Venice" - 1971 and "Ludwig" - 1973.

The film itself is exemplary in every way.

The photography manages to capture the essence of burnt flint that seems to insinuate itself in every colour of the sunblasted sicilian landscape.

The music was written by no other than Nino Rota.

The casting was superbly fortunate. Burt Lancaster as the patriarch of the Corbera family is a convincingly true Leopard, suave, noble and imposing. Alain Delon cuts the correct bella figura that Tancredi was supposed to be, a man of the new order of things, adapted to the manners, morality and compromises of the new less-than-noble era of italian history.

And then... Claudia Cardinale. No words for that woman. Absolutely no words for the creature that could easily give the legendary beauties that have supposedly walked this earth a run for their money.


The point of this post of course is not to laud an acclaimed masterpiece but to draw attention to some details that give the film the depth that an adaptation of such a novel truly deserves and I will illustrate these points with stills captured from the remastered bfi DVD release.

I choose to begin with this wonderful shot of the sicilian countryside. The picture alone makes one’s thought hazy, like a summer midday of merciless sunlight in the mediterranean. I can almost smell the hay and the horses… like the lazing summers of my childhood at Crete:



The Corbera family arrive at Donnafugata, where they are - in the customary (and surrealistically silly) way - greeted by the village band playing “Noi siamo zingarelle” ( “We are gypsy girls” by Verdi’s La Traviatta). Rota has followed the cadence and rhythm of this piece throughout his career. Extra note: “VIVA GARIBALDO” (sic) in the background...:



Probably the best moment of the film’s cinematography: The Corbera family attending the Te Deum liturgy, as another custom of their visits to Donnafugata, before even going to their estate to freshen up, the dust from their long journey by carriage from Palermo still on their clothes and faces, making their pose truly statuesque. Superb :



A shot so fundamentally “Risorgimento” that it has become a staple of its imagery: The plebiscite in Donnafugata:



And now the most striking detail that has left me completely flabbergasted… Sicilian Garibaldini singing “La Bella Gigogin”. This in itself is noted in the book and nothing too original, since La Bella Gigogin (Beautiful Teresa, Gigogin being a piemontese diminutive of Teresa: Teresa -> Teresina -> Gigogin ) was a very popular allegorical garibaldine song. However the greatness of the film was that its lively rhythm was adapted to sound like a Sicilian serenata, slow and almost wailing…!!! I do not know who had the brilliant inspiration to do this but whether it was Rota or Visconti, he managed to set the tone – for those who know - for the whole affair in the sicilian politics. The SI on their hats means YES in the plebiscite for the unification of Sicily and the rest of Italy and the dissolution of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Splendid:

A quindici anni facevo all'amore / Daghel'avanti un passo, delizia del mio cuore
(At the age of fifteen I made love/ come forth a pace, delight of my heart)

The reception at Donnafugata: The wealthy but ill-educated and crude Don Calogero Sedàra, and his daughter Angelica:

Don Calogero's comical entrance and his ill-fated attempt to shake hands with the Prince.

Note the expressions: Tancredi (Alain Delon) in rapture and Concetta (Lucilla Morlacchi) poisoned by envy and despair

Uncertain and nervous but still, the very image of loveliness

And the dance near the finale. I have absolutely no words. The old surrenders to the hands of the new, and a chapter of Italian history passes away in a swirl of grace, beauty and bravura. No words at all…



In the end:
"Noi fummo i Gattopardi, i Leoni; quelli che ci sostituiranno saranno gli sciacalletti, le iene; e tutti quanti Gattopardi, sciacalli e pecore continueremo a crederci il sale della terra."

(We were the Leopards, the Lions; those that will come in our place will be the petty jackals, the hyenas; and the whole lot, Leopards, jackals and sheep, will continue to believe that we are the salt of the earth - trnsl. by me).

The Leopard: Don Fabrizio Corbera, Principe di Salina, in his study, packed with telescopes and mathematical and astronomical papers...

PS: “But we shouldn’t waste sorrow over the aristocracy of misfortune” Count Hasimir Fenring, Dune by Frank Herbert

PS II: Click on images to enlarge...

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