peek and boo discuss optimism

Somewhere in this land. Rising light. Faint whistle of awakening birds. Two enter.

Peek: Ahh! Morning has broken, like the first morning.

Boo: Broken wind more like!

Peek: Ahh! Boo, you look at the world with such dark eyes.

Boo: My eyes are hardly open at this ungodly hour. If it weren't for that farmer and his spelt.

Peek: It is true we have to tend the fields but is not everything for the best, in this the best of all possible worlds?

Boo: You are sounding suspiciously French this morning, be gone with you and your chatter!

Peek: And isn't the morning beautiful and are we not lucky to have work so we can fill our bellies and gargle a draft or two?

Boo: I do my work, I eat my food and drink my beer, that is true.

Peek: There you go then, is it not a fine world we live in?

Boo (irritated): But what I do says little about the world, not that there is much to say.

Peek: But there is a whole world with so much going on and so much that could be changed, so that it could be better.

Boo: I do my work, I change my world, I cultivate my garden not my neighbours.

Peek: Ahh! I sense a Gallic soul beneath that Saxon skin.

Boo: My skin is hard from turning the sod, my soul, ..... well, I am not sure of what you speak.

Peek: Ahh! my lowly Boo, you are too modest, you are the philosopher king of the gleaners.

Boo: Christ! Peek, shut up. We have fields to tend, let's go.

Peek: Yes, let's go.

Rising light. A chorus of birds now fully awake. Two exit.

the gleaners, jean-francois millet, 1857

For more information ...
candide
peel and boo discuss the simple life
peek and boo discuss life and meaning
peek and boo discuss thought and action
peek and boo discuss existentialism
peek and boo discuss writing
peek and boo discuss god
peek and boo discuss power

big rock candy mountain

two okie children, circa 1935

One evening as the sun went down
And the jungle fires were burning,
Down the track came a hobo hiking,
And he said, "Boys, I'm not turning
I'm headed for a land that's far away
Besides the crystal fountains
So come with me, we'll go and see
The Big Rock Candy Mountains

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,
There's a land that's fair and bright,
Where the handouts grow on bushes
And you sleep out every night.
Where the boxcars all are empty
And the sun shines every day
And the birds and the bees
And the cigarette trees
The lemonade springs
Where the bluebird sings
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
All the cops have wooden legs
And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth
And the hens lay soft-boiled eggs
The farmers' trees are full of fruit
And the barns are full of hay
Oh I'm bound to go
Where there ain't no snow
Where the rain don't fall
The winds don't blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
You never change your socks
And the little streams of alcohol
Come trickling down the rocks
The brakemen have to tip their hats
And the railway bulls are blind
There's a lake of stew
And of whiskey too
You can paddle all around it
In a big canoe
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,
The jails are made of tin.
And you can walk right out again,
As soon as you are in.
There ain't no short-handled shovels,
No axes, saws nor picks,
I'm bound to stay
Where you sleep all day,
Where they hung the jerk
That invented work
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.
....
I'll see you all this coming fall
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

- Harry McClintock, 1928

Although I don't believe in heaven, the song above, (popularised by the film 'O Brother, where art thou?') seems to evoke some of the pastoral simplicity many of us might look for in an earthly heaven.

I particularly like the line 'where the hung the jerk that invented work'. I have no big reason for posting this other than for people to read and wonder.

For more information ...
harry mcclintock
big rock candy mountain

varietals - cabernet sauvignon

Bordeaux is the classic region offering cabernet sauvignon wines but I would also suggest trying Sassicaia from Tuscany, a South Australian and a Californian cab. Other regions including Chile and South Africa also produce cabernet sauvignon which is a hybrid between the cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc grapes.

My tasting often conforms the heavy tannins*, full body and fruitiness of this grape. The fruit is classically described as blackcurrant (cassis) and sometimes there is a vegetal hint of bell pepper (capsicum). This vegetal character may be present in wines where the grapes have not ripened to their optimum level, perhaps due to a cooler climate.

I definitely recommend decanting cabs as this will take a little off the tannin edge. Another common practice is for the winemaker to blend cab with another grape (merlot in France, shiraz in Australia) and this adds to the character of the wine and downplays the cabs robustness. That robustness helps cabs age and with age the tannins can diminish.



For this article I refreshed my memory and my palate by trying a cab from the Napa Valley, California. The 2003 Twenty Bench cabernet sauvignon displays a 'jammy' quality and has a hint of wood (cedar? oak?). I also detected spiciness (nowhere near as spicy as a Shiraz) and a smoky quality, perhaps that is the cedar? It was not as strong in tannins as I would have expected from a relatively young wine but that was a good thing. The tasting notes below allude to cherry and licorice but I did not pick up on these. I may be confusing the licorice with spiciness and the cherry with blackcurrant. Overall I enjoyed this bottle and even at $CAN25 (Euro18, $AUS29, UKP13) it was worth it.

* tannins - it is the skin and seeds of the grape that contribute the tannins to a red wine. To counteract this astringent quality, decant and aerate the wine or eat cheese. The fat in cheese counteracts tannins just as milk in tea does. (source: the wine bible)

For more information ...
the wine bible
twenty bench (tasting notes)

cast a cold eye

The essence of stoicism is not (contrary to popular perception) about denial of emotions. Stoicism acknowledges that there are things within our control and things outside of our control. It acknowledges that thought can precede feelings and therefore that we can be the master of, rather than a slave to our emotions.

Stoicism is a difficult philosophy to live by, it can lead to a Spartan existence where the joys of life are not fully experienced but I find myself continually attracted by it. Although thankful of a recent work promotion I find myself not getting too excited by it as I understand that like all in this life, this too is transient.

I don't believe Yeats was a stoic yet when it came to his final words, he left us with a simple if not complete encapsulation of it.





For more information ...
w.b.yeats
sparta
stoicism