Saturday, July 16, 2011

Nobody tells me where to go, baby

Just to be perfectly honest, I feel compelled to admit that I did not take this photograph, but it portrays the view I see two or three times a week these days. It is the Minneapolis skyline as seen as the land rises from the Minnesota River valley. A bit further down the road, the Minnesota runs into the Mississippi River and is on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. The actual view appears more distant than this, the photo obviously having been taken with a telephoto lens. It was shot a mile or two from where I currently am hanging out .... I mean, where I currently am living.

He was born with a laugh on his lips

I have been on fire in recent days. It began with a melancholy mood and emerged with a sense of enough thinking, enough wondering, enough contemplating -- enough, enough, enough .... it is time for jumping off on another run.

Those (very) few of you who come around here to read my rambling posts know that one of the things I occasionally have bragged/complained about is that I had done everything there was to do in life in basic form and in one way or another by the time I had reached age twenty-five. After that point, it (meaning life) simply has been repetition and variation. Well, whatever you might think, that is Actual Fram.

Anyway, I am beginning to get annoyed with myself. There has to be at least one thing I have missed; one thing forgotten; one thing overlooked. If not something actually new, at least a new variation, a new twist, a new turn in the road. To make a long story a short story or part of a story or .... yes, I hear you .... I am going to drift away from the sea of blogs again for a few weeks or a few months or ....

I might make an appearance at your blog and leave a comment at your post now and then, but I will not be writing any posts here for a while.

If you have a suggestion of what I might do (he says, as did Scaramouche, with a smile on his face and a sense that the world was mad), do not hesitate but to mention it here in a comment. By the way, I have been both to heaven (some might call it nirvana) and to hell, so it is not necessary to suggest either of them as a prospective destination in which you might wish me to arrive. (Nobody tells me where to go, to paraphrase the words R.E.M. once sang.)

Finally, as I commented to the neighbor across the street today, I am not sure it is a good thing or a bad thing to live ten minutes away from an international airport. But, I suppose, time will provide us with something to do and a place to go. It always has and always will. Later ....

Why not ??

Finally .... I (too ??) frequently write about my two former wives in my posts, but I never once have brought up the word "children." Well, as any reasonably intelligent person might assume, two former wives might mean some children. There are, and I cannot help myself but to mention that my youngest daughter made her first jump yesterday. Jump = sky dive. She did it in Colorado, so I did not witness it, which probably is for the best. You might not guess it, but I worry -- a lot -- although never about myself.

Way to go, baby girl ....

Does music follow dreams or ....

White Bear was wandering around our blog the other day and discovered this song accompanying one of our previous posts. "I want to use it again," the little nuisance commanded.

The song -- "What Is and What Should Never Be" -- originally is from what I would label a seventies band, Led Zeppelin, and is played here by Jimmy Page with what I would label a nineties band, the Black Crowes. Page is another of the guitar masters from his generation and a founding member of Led Zeppelin.

In hard rock songs such as this, it often is difficult to understand the lyrics, so, I am doing something I have not done for a long time -- printing them here in their entirety along with the performance piece.

Perhaps, it is needless to say, but these words are part of White Bear's dreams -- and, sometimes, enter my mind, too.

Anyway, we dedicate it to SHE, who knows SHE is SHE ....

"What Is And What Should Never Be"

And if I say to you tomorrow. Take my hand, child, come with me.
It's to a castle I will take you, where what's to be, they say will be.

[Chorus]
Catch the wind, see us spin, sail away, leave today, way up high in the sky.
But the wind won't blow, you really shouldn't go, it only goes to show
That you will be mine, by takin' our time.

And if you say to me tomorrow, oh what fun it all would be.
Then what's to stop us, pretty baby. But What Is And What Should Never Be.

[Chorus]
So if you wake up with the sunrise, and all your dreams are still as new,
And happiness is what you need so bad, girl, the answer lies with you.

[Chorus]
Oh the wind wont blow and we really shouldn't go and it only goes to show.
Catch the wind, we're gonna see it spin, we're gonna...sail, little girl
do do do, bop bop a do-oh, my my my my my my yeah.
Everybody I know seems to know me well
but they're never gonna know that I move like hell

31 comments:

Daliana Pacuraru said...

It is Saturday and again a hot, hot day...no place to hide not even in myself...'Nobody tells me where to go', for sure.

'Annoyed with myself'....?? These are my daily morning thoughts...strange...

I stoped by only for few minutes to say hello to you and I will come back later.
Why this permanent choice not to write on your blog? You can not run from yourself even you are moving so often...Stay, write, fight!

Did I tell you I have a huge teddy bear collection? 257 bears! ha ha

My God... my english again!

I think I will go in Bucharest subway to watch people there!

See you soon!

Anonymous said...

hi friend..go to Poland again or Europe ..i think you miss it soo much,,you must do it in winthertime .please you must do it.Wiit Warshava and all those places you like.ok..!!

monday iam going back home,veryboring!But do you know what i have learned on the vaccation??there are so many beautiful peopel around..i think love is in the air for me soon..because iam beginning to open my heart again..and it doesnt matter if it is a frog or a prince..Jesuzz what some sun does to our minds and bodies..i will travel alot in the upcoming autiumm and winter..weekend away to beautiful places..and i am going alone..because while love is out there somewhere there is sooooooo much other things to do..Agree??
....
It is a wonderful post you have done as always,,brilliant!!you can write thats for sure..ok i will leave you now and in the next week i will post photoes..i went to the Houses of Dinastosiues and what did I see ??Even ODIN had a house down there,,for real..God i thought he was and norwegian myth..but well he like the Afrodithe too hahah i quess..ok see you later alligator

Fram Actual said...

Yes, thank you, for the song, Wind. I have listened to it many times the past few days, as well as to several other pieces from R.E.M.

Maybe strange to share this thought, maybe not. Just about every morning, I ask myself why am I here doing what I am doing instead of moving on with my life? But, that is a long story and the ending is not ready to be written yet.

I am not necessarily walking away from this blog forever, but there are other things I want to concentrate on and do. Whenever I think I have finished with this "place," something happens and brings me back to it. That probably is what will happen again in the not too distant future.

Well, I can understand your attachment to teddy bears, and it is considerably wiser to have a collection of them than it is to have a collection of breakable objects. You have 257 of them? I told this to White Bear, and I thought he would have a nervous breakdown. He said that he might go for a girlfriend, but, other than her, he would allow no other bears to travel with us. By the way, what do you call a girl teddy bear?

Your English is just fine, Wind. You write it very clearly and well.

People watching is entertaining, but, personally, I do not much care for crowds of people -- especially when they all are driving cars and I am in the midst of them.

Yes, later .... thanks, for your presence, Wind.

Fram Actual said...

If all goes well, I will be in Poland and/or Europe in the autumn, Anita. You are right. I miss it very much.

When you are home again, it will be nice to see your posts once more. I have missed them very much. But, you are right again, about taking small trips after you have returned home -- weekend trips -- to break the monotony of everyday home and work life.

As for love, someone once said in a post or a comment (probably many people have said) that love comes when you least expect it. Or, love comes when you, yourself, are not searching for it. I think there might be a lot of truth in those words.

For a few hundred years a millennium ago, Norwegians, Swedes and Danes traveled when they wished and wherever the sails on their ships would take them, and they brought their gods with them. No doubt (in my mind), Odin once was a living man whose story even time cannot bring to an end. He remains forever alive in myth and legend -- and, in many ways.

Thanks, for your compliments, Anita.

Kaya said...

Fram, that is a good idea about enough of thinking, contemplating, wondering and so on.. I like it and I am going to do the same. Sometimes I think that we all think that we are living but actually we are dreaming.

I am also looking for a new twist, a new turn. Actually, I think I am getting a new turn in my life.

And I don't have any suggestions about what you can do. You are not simple, Fram Actual, and my advice can't fit into your life completely. I think that you will come eventually with great ideas what you would like to do. I am sure of it. And you never know, Fram, where they might lead you.

I only can tell you that sometimes new opportunities come to us absolutely unexpectedly. Life does it to us from time to time.

As you are going to drift from the sea of blogs don't drift for a long time. Three months is a long time, Fram, in our fast moving and changing life.

Where you will be try to be optimistic!!! Ok? It helps.

Greetings from Kaya.

Kaya said...

I think that dreams follow the music.... I really do. In my case that is happening this way.

And Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes are splendid!!!! Love this song very much!!!!

Fabulous post!!!! Great selection of the song which so well fits in this post. You are very good at that, Fram Actual.

Fram Actual said...

There are those who have wondered if life is but a dream for thousands and thousands of years, Kaya, sometimes in a literal sense and other times in a "dreaming your life away" sense. A dream within a dream is another fascinating point. Many claim to have experienced this phenomenon. Edgar Allan Poe wrote a poem about it.

There I go, off into the wilderness again.

I am curious. If you think you are getting a new turn in your life, what do you think it is?

And, I agree that new opportunities come to us absolutely unexpectedly. I am in the midst of exploring the possibility that just such an event has occurred in my life. I also think I might be ready to leap off a cliff or two without knowing what lies below. It has been a while since I have done that, and I believe I might be ready to do it again.

No matter if I am writing and commenting or I am invisible, I never am more distant than the keyboard and the screen of a computer. In many ways, time and space are no farther away than the blink of an eye. As for being optimistic, sorry, but it would wreck my image.

Thank you, Kaya, for your kind words and compliments. In regard to the music, sometime you should go to YouTube and listen to the original Led Zeppelin version of this song. I think it is fun to compare them.

Which reminds me, I am about to open "The Paris Wife." I will let you know what I think. But, you already owe me one. You never did respond to my question about "The Last Station." What is your opinion of that film?

Kaya said...

Fram, when I wrote about a new turn in my life I meant that I got a job as an illustrator of e-books. I am working for a young writer who writes mystery stories. If you are interested I can give you a link to Amazon and you can see my first cover for a short story. I am very excited about it. Right now I am working on my second cover of another short mystery story. And I don't have Kindle or Nook. I like to go to the bookstore and sit on a floor and read some books there.

Yes, that is true I didn't answer your question about the Last Station. I just don't know what to say. A film was different from what I expected. Very slow.... I didn't finish it. I might return back some day to watch it again.

You wrote that you were glad that Leo Tolstoy left his wife. Why, Fram?

Greetings again.

Fram Actual said...

Well, congratulations at stepping off into the world of story illustrators, Kaya.

I miss seeing the type of illustrations which accompanied Nineteenth Century books, such as the Robinson Crusoe tale and the Sherlock Holmes sagas. I wish modern publishers would do the same with contemporary novels, rather than just come up with a cover piece. But, I guess, money speaks louder than sentiments.

Anyway, I hope this is the beginning of something great and grand for you.

Remember, my comments about "The Last Station" were based more on the film's story than on actual knowledge about the lives of Leo and Sophia Tolstoy. It could be that Helen Mirren is too good an actress, but Sophia appeared to be a shrew of Olympian proportions. Beyond the movie, I have read that she was very controlling and wanted him to live his life her way, rather than his own way.

For most among the elderly, the end of life is submission and surrender. It seems to me Tolstoy went out on his own terms.

I hope you do watch the film someday.

Kaya said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kaya said...

Sorry, I deleted a previous comment because I made a mistake. Unforgivable.

Fram, thank you very much for your nice words. I really think of you as my friend. A virtual friend with whom I can talk and share.

I was touched by your words, Fram Actual.

i am looking forward to hear about Paris Wife some day. Yes, I have to watch this movie again.

Have a very nice week, Fram.

Fram Actual said...

On the contrary, Kaya. Absolutely everything is forgivable on this blog.

Yes, friends, for sure.

Sooner or later, I will complete reading "The Paris Wife," and duly report to you, Kaya.

By the way, I forgot to mention in my response to your earlier comment, yes, do include a link to your cover at Amazon. I am curious.

Kaya said...

Fram, a link to my cover at Amazon is so long. It's more easy to type Marina Scott, Neighbors ( the title of a short story) in the book section and you will come right to the page. You can zoom in to see a cover a little bit bigger. It's not a WOW cover but it's a decent one, I think.

Please, let me know were you able to go to this page or not. If not I will give you a long link to it. I am very pleased, Fram, that you show interest in it.

Greetings.

Fram Actual said...

I like the illustration, Kaya. When I saw it, my immediate thought was science fiction, but after reading about the story and the three reviews present, I have to assume there is no science fiction involved -- unless it surfaces in the "surprise ending."

I have my doubts that I would ever buy a kindle (I dislike intensely reading anything of length on a computer screen), but, maybe someday, I will be able to pick up a hardcover book for which you were the illustrator and say, I know her.

So, get busy. Go to work, and thanks, for stopping by again.

Kaya said...

Thank you for being Fram Actual.

I know for sure that I will always buy real books and not electronic. You are right, Fram, it's just another computer.

Greetings.

Fram Actual said...

Well, one never knows, Kaya. It might actually be Fram the First or Fram Impersonator who has been writing here in recent weeks. They have not made an appearance for some time that I am aware of, but one or both of them occasionally will show up here and try to cause mischief. They have a tendency to do this when "me, myself and I" -- Fram Actual -- is/are otherwise occupied.

In any case, "we" thank you.

As for kindles, will toss out another insult. I can drop a book and it does not break and become useless, so I say books, books and more "real" books. I might add that while I will not sit on the floor and read in one of the magnificent marketeers of books today, I will in an old bookstore or an in antique shop.

Kaya said...

Well, I didn't meet yet Fram the First. I think I had a rare opportunity to talk to Fram Impersonator. It was short and I don't remember much. And Fram Actual made a quiet quickly impression on me when he tried to argue with me on my first blog In This Moment. He almost "pushed" me in the corner and I had to defend my beliefs and my opinions. And it was not easy to do because Fram Actual appeared well read, well educated and awfully smart.

Anyway, I am looking forward to meet Fram the First and Fram Impersonator in a not so distant future.

Greetings to Fram Actual.

Fram Actual said...

Well, it is awfully difficult to tell the Fram boys apart, Kaya. There was a photograph of them published with a post on April 23, 2009. Unless you encounter the three of them together, it is sort of difficult to tell which is who or who is which or whatever.

Since you mention it, I will, too. I miss your first blog and all those early blogs you published. They were the ones, to me, that told a story and revealed a great deal about you. Photographic blogs are wonderful, but they may or may not reveal much about the photographer.

The old cliché states that a photograph is worth a thousand words. Very true, but, in most instances, I would rather read a thousand words about the photographer than see a photograph of the photographer. I guess I am sort of changing the subject.

In the meanwhile, Fram the First is a devotee of Bitter Ambrose Bierce and snarls a lot, so you certainly would know him if you encounter him. He never has been known to bite, though.

Kaya said...

I looked at the photograph of Fram the First, Fram Actual and Fram Impersonator.

I am more and more like to think of Fram Actual as a Fram the First and Fram Impersonator because I couldn't decide which among which is which. I chose the easy route.

And who is Bitter Ambrose Bierce ? And why are you a devotee of him or her?

Greetings from Kaya.

Fram Actual said...

Oh, Kaya. Be careful. They are three distinct characters.

Fram Actual is me, of course. I actually am Fram, and you know me.

Fram the First has been dead more than a thousand years, but he still does not believe it and refuses to go quietly or peacefully. He does enjoy some of the fringe benefits of being dead, however, such as the ability of fading in and out from different places and different centuries. He is a trickster and a joker and very much a rascal. He and White Bear are the best of buddies.

Fram Impersonator is a literal chameleon. He has a habit of creating problems for those who are too comfortable with their lives, those who are nasty and rude and those who try to take advantage of others. But, he usually does this by being nasty and rude himself -- the meanest sob in the valley, as the saying goes. In other words, he does things Fram Actual would never dream of doing and sometimes is mistaken for Fram Actual because of the resemblance. This, understandably, causes a problem now and then.

There. That is a brief rundown. There also are a couple of cousins who are known to stop by for a visit now and then.

Bitter Bierce is unknown to you, it appears. We must remedy that with a short introduction.

Well, he was a Civil War soldier, a newspaper reporter and columnist, a prolific writer, a bit of a traveler. He was a cynic of the First Order, and saw the world as it really exists (I think). His best known work probably is "The Devil's Dictionary." Critics generally go along with "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" as his best short story, and it is not unusual to find it among those studied in college courses about the short story.

He disappeared in 1913 at age 71, most likely in Mexico, where he had ridden with Poncho Villa's revolutionary army for a while. A novel, "The Old Gringo," by Carlos Fuentes (later a film starring Gregory Peck) is a fictionalized version of what might have happened to him.

No matter how he is measured, he was an actual man and his own man, in my sorted opinion. I happen to own all twelve volumes of his "Collected Works," and have become very well acquainted with him.

http://www.thedevilsdictionary.com/

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/375/375-h/375-h.htm

Kaya said...

I always try to be careful but sometimes curiosity takes over. I am very interested in Fram Impersonator. He is a character. I would like to chat with him and get to know him more. Fram the First is a very touching, in my opinion. I wouldn't mind to meet him also.

Fram, thank you a lot for answering my question and mentioning The Devil's Dictionary. I am going to buy this book. Links are great.

Greetings.

Fram Actual said...

I have been wondering off and on all day how to answer your comment, Kaya. It might be best to say you undoubtedly have met them, have read posts they wrote (usually while I am sleeping so I am unaware), commented to them and had responses from them.

I actually worked hard today (as in physical labor), so my mind is less responsive than usual, and I will be on the road Friday, so give me a bit more time to think this through. When I want them, they usually disappear, which makes it difficult to track down either of them.

If you read a couple of Bitter Bierce's short stories, you might discover Fram the First standing behind you and reading along with you over your shoulder. If you notice him, you might ask him if he has seen Fram Impersonator recently. Fram the First gets around more than I do, and he might pass the word along if you read out loud to him a while.

Anonymous said...

Hi Fram!

thanx for your comment on my blog.

How are you doing?

hows your daughter keeping up with the sky drive???My friend does that alot..jumps to the skies..she is the chieft of extreme sports here in Bergen Voss..am sure your daughter knows about sucj things..for me..nope..am afarid of hights!

ok..have been posting alittle but truely..i dont know..bloggeing is not the same as it was..and i think all do a post or 2 and then go away for a while..life is soo much better out there agree??


ok am waiting for winther,,hehhehe and thinking of where the hell is fram gonna be??


ok darling friend..see you!!

a warm kiss from norway

Anonymous said...

hi friend..what you doing??

Fram Actual said...

As I mentioned in my response to Kaya's comment, I was planning to leave home on Friday morning. I did just that, but my trip turned out to be for three days rather than just for one. I was gone longer than I originally expected, which is not unusual for me. I just returned home about two hours ago. The trip included much work, much driving and much hot, humid weather.

In any case, I am too tired to think or to write or to do anything other than thank you for visiting me here, Anita. I will try to catch up with things on Monday.

Anonymous said...

ok honey.miss you!

Kaya said...

Fram, I am glad to hear from you again on my blog. I was wondering what is going on after a long trip on Friday on the road. You are back and everything is great.

Greetings.

Fram Actual said...

Thank you, Anita. I never am far away.

Fram Actual said...

Yes, Kaya. My one-day trip became a three-day trip. I will be gone again on Wednesday and/or Thursday, depending on the weather and my degree of ambition.

I am glad you missed me.

Anonymous said...

thank you..i dont know whats wrong with me but am mentally very very tired..was inthe woods with my son..tomorrow may be a better day!

thanx for all my friend)

Fram Actual said...

It must be that life is catching up to you, Anita.

No, I am teasing now.

It simply is the effect of returning to the world that is after experiencing three weeks of escape into a completely different reality. In a few days, all will be as it should be, and it will be time to begin planning another escape into still another reality.

Well, something like that anyway ....

Something special ....