Thursday, September 24, 2015

"Masquerading as a man with a reason"

Here we see Sylvia Plath and her husband, Ted Hughes, poet laureate of England and marital cheater .... that should say something, should it not ?? The fact that Hughes was made up of equal parts poet and worm might have hastened Plath's suicide, but she seems to me to have been the type of individual who would have kept thirsting for death until she found it. I think booze, boys and confused ambitions/aspirations fed her depression and .... well, enough speculation for now.

 A rifle, a watch & a book
(still waiting to be read)

I am where you often can find me .... lost in thought, drifting, dreaming, wondering, thinking about yesterday, today and tomorrow.
I have been living in the same location –- physically, if not mentally -- for four years, two months and twenty-five days. (But, who is counting ??) I need a change, I need a reason, I am overdue to make a decision or two or three or ....
So .... anyway .... I have been on the road for a couple of days. I bought another rifle. It is identical to the second rifle I ever bought. I was sixteen. I sold it when I was eighteen. Now, that rifle is back with me, in a manner of speaking .... or, as I usually say .... sort of .... whatever .... symbolism often reigns for me.

I bought another Rolex, too. A Sea-Dweller. I can now have accurate time to a depth of 12,800 feet below the surface of any "wine-dark sea." Do you suppose I will ever find myself there? Toys/trinkets/trifles, whether they serve a purpose or not. What can I say ??

In the meanwhile, here are a song from Black Sabbath to fit my mood and a few more thoughts about Sylvia Plath:

I have not picked up Plath's novel, "The Bell Jar," for days now, and I barely am into it. I decided, after reading a biography and additional material about her life, that I really do not like her as a person. That makes it difficult to read her work because this novel is very autobiographical in nature.


I have been amazed to learn of her apparent intelligence and talent, but also about the opportunities handed to her thanks to that intelligence and talent. As a college student, she worked hard and seemingly spent her summers playing tennis, sunbathing and dating, while she held some typical student jobs such as waitressing. She was nineteen when she spent the month of June as one of twenty student "guest editors" working for the magazine Mademoiselle in New York City.

She does not come off as a sympathetic character to me. More like a spoiled kid. In fact, life seems to me to have been pretty much of a promiscuous, protected picnic for her until she married, and the pressures she experienced to that point largely were self-induced/self-imposed.
Then, she has a break-down, attempts suicide, undergoes electric shock treatment, and goes off for further study at Cambridge University in England.
A marriage to a man who cheats on her, a novel, some success with poetry and two children later, she kills herself at age thirty.

The man Plath married, Ted Hughes, was more-or-less an established poet who went on to be poet laureate of England. I have not read any of his work, either, that I can remember, nor can I recall even hearing of him. My interest in poetry seldom reaches into the contemporary (that since 1950) and, in some ways, ends with T.S. Eliot and a bit of Dylan Thomas.

Back on point: I will finish Plath's novel and, maybe, that will change my mind about her and, maybe, lead me on to write a few follow-up paragraphs in a later post. I need to read some of her poetry, too, and, hopefully, will gain some insight from it. At this point, however, I do not understand why/how she became a role model for young women .... but, I never have claimed to understand women of any age. If anyone can explain the logic of Plath's mythology, I would appreciate it.

Neither do I understand why I get curious about things such as this or about individuals such as Plath and go off on apparently inconsequential, pointless tangents away from my own life and living.


Perhaps, as Sir Richard Francis Burton, a British writer with whose work I am more in tune, often said: "The devil drives."

25 comments:

Anita said...

Well thats my kind of music..Who could know Black Sabbath made such a beauty melody..neat Fram!

Iwas wondering where you at..soo strange when people just disappear..

I quess your sec wife is ill again..Hope she will do well after the cancer cure..

I have not read The Bell Yar yet so can say nothing about it--

Soo a new rolex was it?..and a new gun!!wow!!when shall you use the rifle?

Well I smile..I see you..sitting there enjoying the new things..I love it Fram:)))))

For me..I am pretty bored..Dont know why!Its like i need something but do not know what it is.Surely it will pass, as all little storms in the waterglass..

Pretty tired too..So i think i will have a good nap before nightwork..

Nice to see you again Fram..You was missed:))

Greetings Anita

Fram Actual said...

Yes, the music .... hi, there, Anita ....

Black Sabbath made a number of instrumentals for its albums over the years. I have not been a fan of this band, but I like the Ronnie James Dio era and Tony Iommi is among the best guitarists walking the planet. People are prone to forget (or simply not realize) that the musicians who form rock bands often have been among the most talented of their times and that not all rock music is of the "shake it up, baby .... twist and shout ...." variety.

I have not been gone so long, less than two weeks, but I am glad you missed me. Do not be surprised if I am absent for several days at a time. I have not been in a mood to be very active on the sea of blogs recently .... my thoughts are in other places. That is part of my indecisiveness.

Life is normal and routine for my former wife at the moment. She goes to the Mayo Clinic for examinations every three to four months and, unless there are problems/developments, nothing will change for the time being.

No doubt, I will fire this newly-acquired rifle before long, but it mostly will be one for me to simply enjoy its presence alongside the others in the room with me. Remember, it is like one from my youth, and a tool to bring back old memories more than for creating new memories.

I was sorry to read that you are going through a spell of boredom, but you are right: All our little storms pass. I hope you will quickly find yourself in a spell of happiness again. I hope your weather allows you to continue your walks in the woodlands and in the mountains.

Thank you, Anita. It is always nice to see you here and to read your words here.

PhilipH said...

Hi Fram, good to see you.

An addition to your armoury, a new rifle. I used to enjoy the Enfield 303 rifle shooting and the Bren gun whilst on basic training back in the 1950s. The Enfield was a heavy old weapon and the clip held only five rounds if I remember correctly. The Bren was a joy to fire; very accurate and easy to use, lying on the deck of course. I am sure you'll enjoy loosing off a few rounds now and then.

Why did you embark on the Sylvia Plath and Bell Jar mission? Why do we do things like this? I'd only vaguely heard of her but I DID know of Ted Hughes because he was poet laureate. Didn't know he was Sylvia's husband, so we learn something new every day via blogging.

Trouble is, now that you've said what you've said about Sylvia P I too must delve into her life! Why! Why the flick should I? It's simply that once my 'inquisitive bell' has been pushed I simply have to open the bleeding door!

It's all YOUR fault! Dammit!

How I loved the Black Sabbath tune. Never would have dreamed that they could come up with such a dream of a melody. Must also look into their repertoire as well, DAMMIT.

Kindest regards Fram. Take care on the road you are going to take.

Kaya said...

Living in the same location for long four years?... Is it a little bit unusual for Fram Actual? I remember time when you moved from one place to another so often.

Congratulations on your new rifle and new Rolex. Right now you can do diving in the deep waters. Have you ever done it?

I never heard about Sylvia Plath. How did you discover Plath's novel?

Fram, I have a few questions. Would you please explain to me what is going on with people in this country? Why Trump is still the number one in the polls? What is so special about Fiorina? Why governor Christy is overlooked by people? What do you think about Marco Rubio?

I am trying to return to the blog's world but not very willingly. Had a great break, was hiking a lot in the mountains, dreamed about the flat land and European forests, was wondering on the streets doing street photography. Autumn is here already, I feel it, especially in the early mornings and late evenings.

Greetings from me to you.

Fram Actual said...

Well, Philip, you may be assured it is equally good for me to see you.

I have fired the British Enfield a few times. Military surplus rifles are often purchased by younger men with limited budgets for deer hunting. When I was a "youngster," I had a schoolmate who had acquired an Enfield for just that purpose, and we would fire it at times. I cannot recall if he ever got a deer with it.

As for your Bren, I have never had the pleasure of "meeting" one, but, as you might guess, I have made the acquaintance of a number of its American "cousins." Perhaps closest to your Bren was a weapon developed a bit earlier, but widely used during the same general era: The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) and a successor, the M14 rifle set on full automatic fire and with a bipod mounted. Great fun ..... very enjoyable to shoot, but not to carry.

A local newspaper columnist wrote about reading Sylvia Plath. The columnist wrote that she was well past adolescence and was, herself, the mother of three, including a teenager. She wondered if it made sense for her to read Plath's "The Bell Jar" since it often is considered to be the feminine equivalent of J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" -- a "coming of age" novel.

One thing led to another, and I ordered both Plath's novel and a biography. I have read the biography, but have not finished the novel. I need (want) to read some of Plath's poetry, too.

I say facetiously it is too bad Salinger and Plath did not meet and marry. He was almost fourteen years her senior, but they would have made a fascinating couple and, maybe, produced some fascinating fiction.

Moving on to Black Sabbath, as I wrote to Anita: "People are prone to forget (or simply not realize) that the musicians who form rock bands often have been among the most talented of their times and that not all rock music is of the 'shake it up, baby .... twist and shout ....' variety." Black Sabbath produced a number of neat instrumentals.

So, thank you, once more, Philip, for crossing the wide Atlantic Ocean and half of the North American continent to visit me here at my blog. I am glad you came and pleased that you took the time to comment.

In closing, curiosity is a wonderful thing .... is it not ??

Fram Actual said...

Yes, Kaya, it is unusual for me to continuously see the same view when I look out the window over an extended period of time. The year before I arrived here, in 2011, for instance, I lived at eight different addresses, the longest of which was four months. That was a bit too much, in a sense, but four years in one place is a bit too much at the other end of the pendulum.

As for diving in deep waters, I have been down a bit more than one hundred feet in Lake Superior and at depths ranging around sixty to seventy feet in the Pacific Ocean. I began scuba diving at age fifteen, and in addition to "local" training, I took a rather intensive, three-week course, compliments of the U.S. Navy while I was in the Marine Corps, and also a course which lasted a college quarter when I was a college boy. I began experiencing problems with my ears, so my "adventures" in that regard now have limitations.

Philip asked the same question about Sylvia Plath. Rather than write the same answer twice, I will refer you to my comment in response to his comment.

You made me laugh. I have no idea what is going on in this country, Kaya, although I have stuck my neck out so far in past posts as to write that I actually think genetic inheritances from differing species of primates leading on to the genus Homo and eventually to Homo sapiens and finally to us, Homo sapiens sapiens, is the root factor. It sounds far-fetched, but I really think that is the direction science is going. An endless conglomeration of evolution in action influencing our distant genetic ancestry leads us to see things in different ways -- often vastly different ways. Men try to enforce social rules to biologic differences, and it simply does not work.

In a more conventional sense, I did outline what I thought regarding some of the current crop of presidential candidates in my September 13 post, and will not repeat those remarks here. In essence, I think a great many people are completely disgusted with both political parties, and that is the reason political outsiders like Donald Trump and Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, among Republicans, and Bernie Sanders, among Democrats, are doing relatively well.

The only thing I would change from my September 13 post is that Marco Rubio moved up in my opinion as a result of the second debate. I guess I also might add that I think both Trump and Carson will soon see their poll numbers go down. I think Fiorina's intelligence and drive make her a bit special, at least in comparison to the majority of other candidates. I think Chris Christie's size and manner of speaking make him a bit intimidating to many .... which is silly, to me, but I think an accurate assessment.

I also think you should write your opinions and assessments about all these candidates.

I heard John Boehner, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has issued his resignation. Personally, I think the leadership of both political parties in both the House and the Senate should resign and allow another set of individuals to "try their luck."

I understand your feeling regarding the blogs. My enthusiasm usually is more "off" than it is "on" about them these days. They are a diversion, which sometimes is welcome and sometimes is bothersome. I need what you did, to get away for a while .... for me, though, not only from the blogs, but from my present existence. My problem is that while I am essentially free to do whatever I wish and to go wherever I wish, I cannot quite break away from where I am and I like to have a plan when I do such things, rather than walk off blindly into the world. Anyway .... sooner or later the right doorway will open .... I hope ....

I like your dreams. My own recently have been of being alone in deep, hidden forests beside lost lakes, or, sometimes, of walking among shadows and ghosts on the "old town" streets of European cities.

Thank you, Kaya. It is nice when you visit me and leave your thoughts/words here. I enjoy your company.

Boris Estebitan said...

Siempre cierras tus posts con gran música.

A Cuban In London said...

Beautiful and haunting melody. Tommy always had another "side". Most of us liked the dark one but the "lighter" one showed him as an equally talented musician.

Greetings from London.

Fram Actual said...

Well, I am glad you enjoy the music I post, Boris. The period from the late 1950s to the close of the Twentieth Century was sort of a "golden age" in terms of music, from my point of view.

I know one of your primary interests in life is girls -- young ladies, as I generally refer to them. You might be wise to read the book which is mentioned in the post: "The Bell Jar," by Sylvia Plath. It might further your education in a useful manner.

Fram Actual said...

Well, CiL, I will repeat some words from my last comment: "I am glad you enjoy the music."

I am a bit disappointed you did not choose to make a remark or two about Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes and their relationship and their writing and their contributions (if any) to literature .... but, never-the-less, I am always glad to discover that you have been here to visit me at my blog, CiL. Thank you.

Kaya said...

Hey, Fram,

My opinion about the republicans who are running for nomination is quiet strong and I took time to think should I share it with you or not. Decided to share. First of all, I can't understand how intelligence can go hand to hand with delusions. Fiorina is delusional about her achievements at HP while the facts and the records show the opposite. She doesn't have a clue about foreign policy, absolutely amateurish.

I don't think that the size of a candidate or his age has anything to do with choosing a nominee.

I hope that writing this I will not get in fight with you. My prediction for today about the republican's campaign is that eventually Trump and Fiorina will fade away and the last debate will be with Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush.

Today I broke the rule not talk about politics but to hell with this rule.

Take care.

Fram Actual said...

As long as you do not tell me that you think Barack Obama has done a good job as president, Kaya, I do not think you have to worry about a political fight beginning on my side of the podium.

I do disagree with you about Carly Fiorina in the sense that I think it is arguable how much responsibility for the decline of Hewlett-Packard "way back when" was due to her leadership. Most computer-related industries took a beating because of a general economic disintegration.

I am not sure if you are aware, but "way back when" she also was chairperson of the Central Intelligence Agency's external advisory board and had top secret clearance. My assumption is that she still has connections there, and, in any case, I agree with her assessments in foreign affairs.

Not that I am pushing her for president, but I think she is viable as a potential cabinet member and even for the slot of vice president.

I do not think size should have anything to do with the presidency, other than in the sense of the candidate's health, but it does to many people. And, again, I think in Chris Christie's case his size and tone are intimidating to many people.

Health is the same qualifier in terms of age -- health, or, to be more specific, intellectual health. Intellectual prowess begins to fade after age fifty for most of us (last that I was aware), and I do not want a president who is beginning to slide in a mental/intellectual sense.

I do not think many people realize, for instance, that Ronald Reagan almost did not make it to the end of his second term. There were times he stayed in bed watching soap operas all day long. (Sometimes I think Obama does that now.)

You might very well be correct in your prediction regarding Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, although it may be that Ted Cruz should also be included.

In terms of my own preferences, to be blunt and chauvinistic, I do not think Bush is "man enough" for the job. Rubio would be the polar opposite of Obama, which would be interesting, but he still is of an age where he is too full of himself .... which is Obama's greatest problem. So, I have a dilemma when it comes to selecting my personal favorites.

Anyway, we shall see as the months move along. I am glad your broke your rule, Kaya .... thank you ....

Smareis said...

Eles dois formavam um belo casal Fram...

Como ela (Sylvia Plath) pode tirar sua própria vida assim tão jovem começando sua carreira de escritora de uma forma bem estranha. Enfiar a cabeça no forno a gás, provocando a própria morte, aos 30 anos tem estar mal da cabeça com certeza... Precisa de muita coragem pra cometer tal ato. Muitos acreditam que a infidelidade de Ted é que a levou ao suicídio e até hoje insistem em riscar o "Hughes" na lápide de Sylvia Plath.
Pois é Fram todos nós andamos assim por vezes perdidos, procurando por mudanças rápidas. Sei bem o que é isso. Uma hora tudo se ajeita e só ter paciência.
Hum, bem legal você consegui de volta seu rifle de quando tinha seus 18 anos, e comprou um Rolex. E bom presentear a si próprio de vez enquanto, faz um bem danado de bom...

Fram não consegui abrir o vídeo, deve ser a conexão, deu um erro. Como estar tarde volto depois pra ver se consigo.
Sorrisos caloroso do Brasil!

Fram Actual said...

Plath = Path ....

Or something like that, Smareis. I have been worried about you. I am glad you have found your way back here .... you know it is a pathway always present ....

As for Sylvia Plath, I have dated women who were mentally unbalanced to one degree or another (in my opinion) and part of my work experience has been with convicted felons, both men and women, in a prison setting. I know the difference between sane people who do crazy things and people who are legally and/or medically crazy. For instance, I once had an inmate secretary/clerk who had left her baby in a house and set the house on fire. She was a good worker, reliable and everything about her seemed to indicate a gentle person. Her act was crazy, she was not. I am not sure which was the case with Plath.

I am curious about the last year of Plath's life and, maybe, will look for biographical material in that regard. I am not sure I am that curious .... I do not like her, but she is intriguing in some ways. I need to think about it more. These events were a long time ago, and do not form the type of thing I generally am all that interested in spending a lot of time exploring. I will write a few more paragraphs in another post, though, either way.

Yes .... another rifle and another Rolex .... each has its own personality, its own Manitou, its own specific existence to my way of thinking. A symbiotic relationship of sorts can grow over time with these entities, but, perhaps, that is my craziness rather than actual reality.

Yes .... sometimes patience is all we need; other times it is all we have .... that, and a bit of hope.

Since the music would not play for you here, if you are curious I would assume you can find another recording of it that will function for you on YouTube. It is a sweet song, and I know you would like it.

Thank you, Smareis, once again for your presence here and for your words .... and, especially for your smile .... good night, from one night owl to another ....

Kaya said...

Fram, I am not going to say to you that Barack Obama did good as president; he disappointed many people including me. I voted for him, Fram. BUT I am not going to set up my mind in a rock and say only negative things about our current president. It's so easy to slip into negativity with a false feeling that I am right.

I am for Obama Care with all my heart. It will probably make you mad and you will find many reasons why it's so bad but let me tell you one true story. My ex neighbor several years ago lost her job and her insurance. She bought Cobra plan and began to look for health insurance after her Cobra plan expired. For one year she paid quiet big premiums to Cobra and then she was denied by every insurance company because of her serious preconditions. When she told me this story; she said I could save this money for doctors if I wasn't such a fool. Right now she probably has her insurance because of Obamacare.

By the way in the history of this country Social Security and medicare were considered also by republicans as a step toward socialism.. Right now medicare is the best medical care for older people in this country.

Once you in your comment compared Obama to Putin. Come on, Fram, it's like comparing lemons and oranges. Putin is a KGB guy with KGB mentality and attitude.

Nice talking to you, Fram.

Fram Actual said...

When I look at the presidency of Barack Obama, Kaya, I see the most destructive, poisonous presidency, by far, during my lifetime.

He was elected with the promise to unite the country. Once in office, his motto became "my way or the highway" and one of his nicknames has become "the divider in chief."

Whether ObamaCare turns out to be a blessing or a curse will take time, probably at least a decade, to determine. I lean toward the side which believes that it will (and currently is) leading to higher costs in health care for the average person. It is worth noting that state-run ObamaCare operations have failed in six states so far, the latest being New York, at a loss of millions and millions of taxpayer dollars.

What is indisputable, it would seem to me, is that the world is a significantly more dangerous place now than it was when he took office. Without going into detail (which I could), his decisions regarding the so-called "Arab Spring" and other foreign relation matters all have been devastatingly wrong: Libya is in chaos; Egypt has gone through two revolutions in a sense; a few hundred thousand have died in Syria and his "red line" evaporated; Yemen is embroiled in war in which Saudi Arabia is involved; Iraq has gone back into chaos; the future of Afghanistan is in doubt; Crimea has been seized by the Russians and who knows what the outcome will be in the Ukraine. From my viewpoint, these things primarily are a direct result of having the wrong man supposedly as "leader of the free world." Obama is a counterfeit president.

If you disagree, that is fine. I simply state my thoughts and positions; I am not trying to convince anyone to think like I do.

Conversely, I am willing to listen to the viewpoints of others, but I have spent a lifetime formulating my beliefs, my codes, my philosophy, my religion. I am open to new concepts, new technology, new science, new experiences .... but, I most certainly am not going to change my opinion of a president who I have watched govern for nearly seven years and who stands diametrically the opposite of many of my own beliefs.

And, I do disagree with you about comparing Obama and Vladimir Putin. They can be compared in any number of ways and on a variety of levels, for instance, measuring which of these two "world leaders" is achieving his stated and/or unstated, but obvious, goals. Putin certainly is the kingpin in that regard, unless you believe Obama's goal is to lessen the influence and relevance of the United States on the world stage and to continue implementing policies which are continuously lowering the average median income of U.S. citizens. Actually, I do suspect that is his purpose.

Anyway, I am sure we could discuss this ad infinitum and not change our minds. Individuals view the world through their own eyes and experiences.

Come again anytime, Kaya, and never be shy about saying what you think around me .... I certainly do not hesitate and rarely think twice about saying what I feel or believe .... and, I appreciate others who are the same way.

PhilipH said...

Just thought of a good way to test out your new rifle Fram. There's a few new gold courses in Scotland and Ireland and you could practice hitting golf balls lying high towards the putting green. Be careful not to accidentally shoot any white-haired old buffers in the process. Although accidents DO happen.

PhilipH said...

That should read golf courses, not gold courses oops.

Fram Actual said...

You certainly caught my attention with your "gold courses" remark, Philip. I am glad I finished reading your comments before I called an airline for a reservation to the British Isles.

It has been a few years since I mentioned it in a post, so you almost certainly are not aware that I had a one-hundred-yard range at a location I called my Sanctuary/Refuge in South Dakota. It fell victim to the times when former wife No. 2 and I split the blanket, so to speak. I also had a "practical pistol course" there -- a woodland, walk-through course with a variety of targets .... some moving, some stationary.

"Games" included firing at cans/bottles rolling toward us down a sort of half-hill/half-cliff and firing at targets inserted in old tires rolling/bouncing down the same incline, but at a perpendicular angle.

Since I do not golf, the trick you suggested never occurred to me. And, should I ever take up golf and travel to your neck of the woods, I doubt anything or anyone with white hair would be moving fast enough to be mistaken for a golf ball or otherwise be a worthwhile target -- no need to worry or to post warning signs !!

Thank you, Philip. It always is enjoyable and sometimes even entertaining when you put in an appearance. Have a great weekend and take care ....

A Cuban In London said...

That's an new band for me, Badfinger. Never heard of it before. So, you ran a prison? Blimey, mate, that must have been tough and yet life-enriching in its own way.

Greetings from London.

Fram Actual said...

You certainly found a back door this time, CiL. This post is a month old !!

I am surprised you were not aware of Badfinger .... probably because its history was not long.

I also am surprised you apparently are unaware of my background. I guess I pay more attention to people who I comment to and who comment to me than do you. In any case, I have mentioned this innumerable times since beginning my blog in 2009. I have had two careers -- a career being involved in an occupation ten years or longer, by my definition. Those careers have been journalism and corrections.

Add to that a number of "just plain jobs." I have been nomadic in that sense, and, as I often say, I have wanted to experience as absolutely much as I can in life, rather than look back and see the same old same old. I think you might be beyond surprised at some of the places I have been and some of the things I have done that I do not write about in posts.

Thank you, CiL, for stopping by and for leaving a comment. I enjoy your company.

Anita said...

Sardanapals by Delacroix is also an interesting painting.(Sardanapale was a legendary king and dictator of Syria. The people revolted against the dictator and surrounded his castle. Sardanapale realized that the battle was lost, but before he committed suicide, he gave the officers their orders to eradicate slave women, servants and even favorite their animals. Here, the women and the animals treated in the same way.)He was one of the masters in the Romantiscm period Delacroix..I love his style..love the history you can find in his doings

Ohh yeah he was very found of Napoleon too..and the painting you show is a masterpiece of Freedom leads on to liberty

A very important painting in that time.

Monet.Hmm..You like good stuff Fram.He was also an excellent painter.If you like to know about him and his friends as Rodin..you can find much funny and interesting stuff.

Me .I like the Baroc period the most.Like the intense feelings in the paintings.
This was a good post Fram.You should not let the comments field out.I had to scroll a loong way down here to find a open place..But you know Fram..I always find you!you are my lucky star!I see you wherever you go..in my head:)

Ok..Iam in a middle of a work session and very tired.the dog had a tick on his eye yesterday..scary shit!

Thanks for wonderful painting for me today..you should do more of that stuff

Hugs Anita

Fram Actual said...

I now have seen (and, maybe, will remember) a number of paintings by Eugene Delacroix that I like very much, Anita. No doubt, he was a superior artist.

I like "Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi" a great deal for the same reasons Delacroix chose to portray it: I like the story of the Greek resistance to the Turks and I admire George Gordon / Lord Byron. Byron died in Missolonghi, and it is one of my goals to visit that town someday.

I also like his portrait of Frederic Chopin because I like Chopin's music and because there is a huge statue of Chopin in the Royal Baths Park in Warsaw at which I spent a few hours contemplating and photographing on a sunny, spring afternoon. It is a happy memory, and seeing Delacroix's piece stirs that memory to the surface.

But, my favorite is his 1861 version of "Lion Hunt." It seems to me to be symbolic of a battle between man and beast for dominion of the earth. It makes my adrenalin race just looking at it. I want to be in the fight; the painting pulls me into it.

I visited Claude Monet's home at Giverny in France in 2004, and that actually was the first time I realized I loved the look / the style of the Impressionist Movement. I did not view Impressionism seriously until then. It was a beautiful day in June when I saw Monet's gardens; I was sorry to leave there, and I have wanted to return again ever since and hope to someday.

I did do a post with references to Monet, probably in 2009, with a few photographs of Giverny, and I do mention him on occasion. I saw some of Auguste Rodin's work in Paris, and recall posting a photograph of one piece way back when. I am too lazy to check back to determine the exact dates.

I understand why you like the Baroque style of art. I do, too, and, like you, I am a particular fan of Caravaggio. You have fine taste in paintings, I think, and probably know much more about painting and painters than I do.

Yes, you did have to scroll a long way to find an entry point for a comment. I did not allow for comments on the Delacroix post because it was more like an announcement than a typical post. I really wrote nothing about feelings or beliefs or thoughts. I simply said there was an exhibition and I had seen it, without giving any interpretation or discussion. I guess my mood is sort of strange these days, too, which is another reason I did not allow for comments.

But, you are here and you are commenting, so thank you, Anita. I guess you do always find me, and I hope I will continue to be your "lucky star."

Take care, and see you next time ....

A Cuban In London said...

I do remember you mentioning journalism but the jail bit. That one passed me by! :-)

That sounds like a good exhibition you mentioned. That painting in a certain (deeply cynical) way reminds me of revolutions... and why they fail. Sorry, I'm in one of those funny, pragmatic moods at the moment where a romantic view of things contrasts with the reality of the times we're living.

Greetings from London.

Fram Actual said...

Well, I mentioned another pair of work experience "credentials" a few minutes ago in a comment at your blog, CiL. I taught high school English and history for a year and I taught journalism for a year filling in for a professor on sabbatical. A man of many talents, that is me !! Actually, it is a search to learn as much as I am able through experience. Books are great, but they are no substitute for living and seeing and feeling.

Someone should say: There never was a bad revolution; there never was a good revolution. I guess the point to me is that no matter what the conflict, there always are winners and losers, and, more importantly, there always are victims. Political upheaval is like disease -- it does not discern between those who are good and those who are evil. One of these days, I might mention my own Cuban experience.

The exhibition is about Eugene Delacroix leading the way toward modern art. The only reason I used the painting I did for my illustration is because it was the only Delacroix I could think of off the top of my head.

Thank you, CiL. It is nice to see you again, and always.

Something special ....