"The Sun Also Rises" .... A novel by Ernest Hemingway, 1926
I am not sure if I am thinking in the generational terms of the anonymous preacher of Ecclesiastes or in the sense of Ernest Hemingway's notion of escaping from one's self by always being on the move: ".... my life is going so fast and I'm not really living it," Hemingway said through the voice of the character Robert Cohn. I do not recall, but I do not think I was aware of the biblical phrase until I read Hemingway's novel. It was the first of his novels that I read and now, with the benefit of having since read everything of his which has been published, I think it is by far the best of his works. In other words, with the possible exception of, "The Old Man and the Sea," I think Hemingway could just as well have quit writing in 1926 and spent the rest of his life fishing, hunting, drinking liquor, chasing women and following wars. Hmmmm .... it appears my mood is cynical today. Well, I am not here to play the role of a melancholy critic right now. I simply stopped by the blogs to report that I am alive and well and sort of know what I am doing and think I am making some decisions and arriving at some conclusions and the countdown seems to be under way and I will be back here in the not too distant future. The music: This song is another from my past and is here (once again) because I think it is beautiful and so much of life is not. I need a few reminders of beauty ....
8 comments:
And, once again I will mention that if you wish to leave a comment, thank you. I appreciate them. I usually respond to them, but I most likely will not be in a position to reply to any comments to this post for some time, if ever.
"The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose".
Deep Purple is a good rock band.
Nice post.
Happy September friend.
I have been here and there, in and out, but mostly away from the blogs for some time now, Boris, but it is nice when I do come back here and find not one, but a pair of comments from you. Thank you, and a Happy September to you.
May you find the one that will last. In the meantime, please, don't tell me that you like "dead men walking", or rather, "Prime Ministers in line to lose a general election massively". Cameron will probably go down in history as the Prime Minister who lost, or almost lost a whole country, Scotland. Beat that Obama! :-)
Greetings from London.
I do not know, CiL.
From what I gather, it is likely Scotland will go its own way. I guess what I do not know is how much David Cameron and/or current conditions are affecting the vote in contrast to the tides and currents and whims of history. Kings and tyrants in generations past set in motion the waves which wash ashore today. (Hey, that was pretty cool, was it not ?? You may quote me !!)
At least, Cameron seems to remember to put his trousers on every morning, while Barack Obama usually is unable to find anything to wear other than golf shorts. To say I am ashamed and embarrassed by my president's actions and inactions is an understatement, but I generally tend to run with the dogs of war.
It is nice to have you back again, CiL.
Well, I do get your drift about "perfect" things. Those two videos were musical presents I will never forget. I heard The Band first when I was still in uni and I couldn't believe the sound.
Ahhh... Cameron and his trousers! Where to start? It's Samantha who wears them and then she lets Cameron have a go occasionally. Circumstances were in Cameron's favour in 2010. A very unpopular prime minister, distrust in Labour, financial crisis, country going downhill. He could have walked into No 10 easily. Why not? We smelled the BS, mate. And he's full of it. Old Etonian, like half the cabinet. Rich, posh boys who've never done a day's work. I've stopped being an Obama cheerleader (was one for one night only. You know the one, in 2008) and become an Obama pragmatist. But not living there always has its limitations. As for Cameron, the sooner he goes, the better for everyone. He could have won in 2010 with a majority, remember that, he couldn't even muster enough for a short-lived parliament, hence the coalition. The only person who is in a worse position than Cameron is his poodle, sorry, his Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg. Made promises he couldn't keep. Don't you just love politicians? :-)
Greetings from London.
Oh, yes, CiL: The Band.
Just to go off on a tangent for the fun of it, when I think of The Band, the first thing which enters my mind is "Levon" Helm singing "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." My next thought is of Levon portraying an old, sort-of-backwoods Tennessee, rifle/ballistics expert in the film "Shooter." I instantly recall that the film was drawn from the novel, "Point of Impact," by Stephen Hunter. My mind next, very logically, I might add, moves along to another of Hunter's novels: "Havana." This tale centers round the character of Earl Swagger, the father of "Point of Impact" protagonist Bob Lee Swagger. Both father and son might be viewed as who James Bond well could have been had he grown up in the backwoods of Arkansas, USA. As for the book, "Havana," as the title implies the setting is none other than Cuba during the 1950s and primary among the characters is no less a player than a real-life Shakespearian personality by the name of Fidel Castro -- who I, sort-of-fondly, think of as El Caballo.
I am not at all sure you would enjoy the storyline about a hillbilly James Bond and a rather inept, womanizing revolutionary, CiL, but you might like this mostly fictional, but often historically accurate portrait of Havana during the immediate pre-Castro era.
Back on topic: To be honest, since the times of men like Nicolas Sarkozy and Silvio Berlusconi and, yes, even Tony Blair, I have found British and European politics to be mostly drab and unworthy of prime time entertainment. (Who would wish to be alone in a room with Angela Merkel or go clubbing with David Cameron ??) Besides, I have Barack Obama to kick around (Colonel Obobo, as his persona is lightly masked in another of Hunter's novels).
I am trying to be a bit humorous, CiL. But, perhaps, it is time for me to take a closer, more serious look at the club members of NATO once again. My heart and my interests have focused more on Eastern Europe for a decade now, but the relevance of the United Kingdom, France and Germany, in particular, on the world stage remains paramount in the realm of influence.
Thank you, CiL. I appreciate your presence and your words.
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