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

not an absurdist verse

@2004 courtesy of Keri S. Hathaway- Washington Park, Denver, Colorado

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe,--
Sailed on a river of misty light
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring-fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we,"
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sung a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe;
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew;
The little stars were the herring-fish
That lived in the beautiful sea.
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish,
But never afeard are we!"
So cried the stars to the fishermen three,
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
For the fish in the twinkling foam,
Then down from the sky came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
'T was all so pretty a sail, it seemed
As if it could not be;
And some folk thought 't was a dream they'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea;
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed;
So shut your eyes while Mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock on the misty sea
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three,--
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

eugene field

The first verse of the above poem is printed in my son's nursery book and I thought that it was quite absurd. However looking on the web I found the full poem and upon reading it you can see the great fantasy provided is unravelled by the author.

I am a sucker for lyricism and this poem has a simple but attractive musical quality. I think the author does a disservice by exploding the myth he creates. Does he do this to satisfy the child listening or parent reading? Either way I think the poem ends flat. Symbolism is all well and good where meaning is important but surely meaning is secondary in this poem.

For more information ...
eugene field
absurdist verse

absurdist verse

As I was going up the stair
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today -
Oh! how I wish he'd go away!

author unknown

Continuing in the series of poems from my son's nursery rhyme book, this is a great lyric example of absurdist verse. It presents an idea that defies reason but seems reasonable at the same time.

I think the truly absurd is not that which seems totally fantastic but that which fools us into thinking it may be reasonable and frustrates us in our search for reason.

For more information ...
absurdism
ozymandias

paradise lost - paradise regained III

Do we need to lose it all before we create a more fulfilled life?

The life of the emigrant can be one of losing home, losing culture, losing language and losing family. Most emigrants don't start with the intent of losing any of these but rather with the intent of gaining something else and yet a sense of loss often dominates emigrants lives.

At that point then, the emigrant is confronted by the 'myth of return', the propulsion to return home in an attempt to regain what was lost. Of course, everything has moved on, everything has changed and nothing of their 'old life' can be regained.

And so it remains for the emigrant to rediscover what it was they left home for, it remains for them to create what life they want.

Do we need to lose it all before we create a more fulfilled life? We either accept what life we have been born into or reject it and create something else.



For more information ...
paradise lost - paradise regained II
paradise lost - paradise regained I

word cloud

The word cloud above shows graphically the occurrence of words in my blog, more frequent words are bigger.


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Try this with your site at http://www.snapshirts.com/custom.php

ugly chases beauty

Ugly chases Beauty through fields of deepening heather,
Ugly runs up hill, Beauty down.
Snow begins to fall.

Ugly grows tired as Beauty springs into the distance.
Ugly stops, Ugly lies alone.
Darkness closes in.

Melting away, signs of Beauty left behind,
Etched into earth, something to feel.
Ugly smiles and says.

'Farewell my friend, until the dawning of the day
When we shall run again through deepening heather
And I shall chase you through the fields into the distance.'

------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the leeward side of the Rockies we had four centimeters of snow last weekend. Upon waking I saw a jack rabbit bounce through the pristine cover and was reminded of this nonsense from November 1995.

death the leveller

The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against Fate;
Death lays his icy hand on kings:
Sceptre and Crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.

Some men with swords may reap the field,
And plant fresh laurels where they kill:
But their strong nerves at last must yield;
They tame but one another still:
Early or late
They stoop to fate,
And must give up their murmuring breath
When they, pale captives, creep to death.

The garlands wither on your brow,
Then boast no more your mighty deeds!
Upon Death's purple altar now
See where the victor-victim bleeds.
Your heads must come
To the cold tomb:
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.

James Shirley, 1659 (excerpt from the Contention of Ajax and Ulysses)


It is appropriate to follow Shelly's Ozymandias with Shirley's classic. In many ways it presents a more fully formed thesis and ends with a moral point but in other ways it does not spark the imagination as does Ozymandias. It is a little darker and unlike Shelly's sonnet I won't find this in my son's nursery book.

Still when I see contemporary politicians, royalty or rappers puff the windbag of their pomp and ego, I always think of Shirley's words, 'and in the dust be equal made'.

For more information ...
James Shirley
ozymandias

ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, December 1817.


I came across this in one of Tomas' nursery rhyme books. Sonnets before the age of two, what a kid!

Is it a Shakespearean sonnet consisting of 3 quartrains and a rhyming couplet, or a classic Italian sonnet comprised of an octave and a sestet? I will let you figure than one out. Irrespective of the structure I like the content and the images it evokes. I can see why it was placed in a children's book.

For more information ...
Percy Bysshe Shelley

recommended reading

Here, in no particular order, are my top five recommendations from my reading in 2005.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Art of Living: The Classic Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness, by Epictetus, translation by Sharon Lebell.
find out more at amazon
"simple old wisdom that redefines what you understand of stoicism"

Seeing Systems: Unlocking the mysteries of organizational life, by Barry Oshry. find out more at amazon
"a research based view of how we operate within organizations"

The Greek for Love, by James Chatto.
read my full review, find out more at random house
"more than travelogue, an invitation to become immersed in island life"

The New Business Road Test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan, by John Mullins.
find out more at amazon
"a primer on what makes some business ideas good and others bad"

Candide: (Or Optimism), by Voltaire.
read online at literature.org, find out more at amazon
"a fantastic fable for the realist in us all"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The top 5 list is dominated by non-fiction, Candide was one of only five works of fiction I read last year as compared to 30 non-fiction works.

Eight of the non-fiction were business books giving rise to Seeing Systems and the New Business Road Test making the list. Both books are very much not in the usual boring business book mold.

Five of the 30 non-fiction were travelogues and The Greek for Love stands out as the best mostly because it is more than a travelogue. It does not convey a litany of detail but rather a real and subtle sense of time, place and people.

Fourteen of the non-fiction works were philosophical, psychological or religious in nature and the simplicity of Epictetus stands out as the best. The remaining three works of non-fiction covered the area of language and writing and yielded no recommendations.

So what will be the reading focus for 2006?

Firstly, I would like to write more and read less. Secondly, I hope to read more fiction. Thirdly, I think I have read more than enough work that is philosophical, psychological or religious in nature, I should loosen up and read some more fun stuff!

Three of my top five recommendations came recommended to me by others so hopefully there is something in my list that might interest you to pick up a book and turn that first page.

black and blue

A black labrador bit me
And I bit back.
Now I am black and blue
But he is still just black.

For more information ...
bear rug
fish tale

trees

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

- Joyce Kilmer


Keystone Forest photo courtesy of Nancy

For more information ...
joyce kilmer

paradise lost - paradise regained II

For some early life is marked by outward movements. We move out of our family, out of our communities, out of our inherited political positions and out of our religious dogmas. Propelled by an impulse to seek, we search for more and yet feel nostalgic for what we left behind. We feel impulses to return, to go back and to recreate what we had but 'you can never go home'.

We may reassess these outward movements and wonder if what we stretch for will always remain just out of reach. Some may stretch even further whilst we will dig deep within ourselves to connect with family, community and belief. We are still moving forward and evolving but the propulsion is from within rather than without. This inward transformative movement is not about nostalgically going back, it is about becoming. 'Human is not to be but to become'.

We turn away from the attractive distant glimmer of the sun and toward what was always close at hand. We never lost what we now regain and it was not paradise but simply the earth beneath our feet and ourself within under our skin.



For more information...
paradise lost - paradise regained I

fall picks

In spite of my intent to drink more Italian wine, France still dominated this fall with 20 wines. I also tried 6 from Italy, 4 from Spain, 3 from Canada, 2 from the US and 1 from Portugal, Australia and Germany. Ouch! my liver must hurt but there were some great wines drunk, here are the top fall picks.

1. Veuve Cliquote Ponsardin, Demi-sec - Riems, Champagne, France (18/20)
"I challenge anyone to drink this and not like it", for more tasting notes look here.

2. Abrazo, Garnacha & Carinena, 2003 - Spain (18/20)
"fruity, peppery, light, cheap and bloody nice", for more tasting notes look here.

3. Nino Franco Prosecco, - Valdobbiadene, Italy (16/20)
"a refreshing sparkling white, not too dry, a good, cheap alternative to champagne"

4. Tres Picos, Garnacha, 2003 - Campode Borja, Borsao, Borja, Spain (16/20)
"blackcurrant, earthy, leather, expensive but nice"

5. Chateau Thieuly, Sauvignon Blanc & Semillion, 2004 - Bordeaux, France (16/20)
"gooseberry, citrus, grassy"

6. Beaurevoir Tavel, Rose - Chapoutier, Rhone Valley, France (15/20)
"dry, fruity, minerally, slight tannins, a classic rose"

There is just so much good French wine, I must try harder to extend my sampling beyond the riotous Gallic borders. Revelations this season included the sparkling wines which I have always avoided. Thanks to my wife for introducing me to Tavel which won me over to rose, look for the distinctive braille on Chapoutier's label and give it a try.

Of course Beaujolais Nouveau season is upon us and although no Nouveau made the top list I have enjoyed drinking some of the Beaujolais cru, namely the Morgon from Joseph Drouhin and Moulin-A-Vent from that great marketeer Georges Dubeouf.

I expect the winter season will see us crack open some more sparkling wine to celebrate the festivities and some hearty reds to savour before a wood fire. Before then I hope to give my liver a little rest, poor thing.

For more information ...
veuve cliquot
abrazo
prosecco
tres picos
beaurevoir tavel
sorry no link for chateau thieuly

paradise lost - paradise regained I

Eden, Shambhala, Hy Brasil, Atlantis. Across time and across cultures, we have sought a place to live a better life. In the case of Eden and Shambhala they have been intimately linked with religious and spiritual development. In the case of Hy Brasil and Atlantis they have weaved their way through our cultures.

They all evoke images of paradise where happiness and peace are shared by all, in a long living and abundant life. The beauty of these paradises is only surpassed by their inaccessibility. In spite of our best efforts we can not gain entry to the garden, or find the mountain kingdom or sail to the island.

We have fallen from grace like Icarus fell to the ground and continue to be bound to this more earthly realm. Yet as we walk on this earth we wonder how this paradise lost may be a paradise regained. Our youthful wanderings are begun in naivete, searching for new and plenty. But as we wander we may wonder that the only paradise to be regained is one of our own making and solely within the mind. No longer looking toward the sun, we can turn our attention to the earth and busy ourselves with activities that ward off idleness, vice and want.

Voltaire expresses it best in Candide, ' il faut cultiver notre jardin'. A theme also alluded to by Brueghel's 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus'. Breughel casts Icarus in a minor role and the simple ploughman in a major role. One falling from the sun in a vain attempt to enter a paradise lost, the other realizing that under his feet lies a paradise very much regained.



For more information ...
eden
shambhala
hy brasil
atlantis
icarus
candide
brueghel the elder

peek and boo discuss the simple life

Somewhere in this land. Night. Peek and Boo walking across a moonlit field.

Peek: So how did you get on with Seeke?

Boo: Good, we scratched each others itch. And you with Hyde?

Peek: Nothing, we don't know each other, we talked. It was nice, that was it, that was all.

Boo: You and your talking, you make things complicated.

Peek: Things do seem simple for you, I'll grant that.

Boo: Not always though, even God knows that.

Peek: But you have the simple life?

Boo: And what is that?


Peek: A life free from unnecessary complication, a life driven by purpose.

Boo: My aim in life is straight forward, a belly full of food and beer and an arm around a woman. My life is simple not because it has purpose but because the purpose I have is simple. And how about your life, is it simple?

Peek: Do I want anything different from you? Not much, you can see I like food and drink and Hyde is a woman I wouldn't mind to fumble with.

Boo: But you want more!

Peek: Do I want more? Maybe a conversation of interest or two, an idea, no more than that.

Boo: You and your ideas, with that you have already made your life more difficult. Men and their ideas, the world would be better off without them.

Peek: Better off without men or better off without ideas?

Boo: If you ask Seeke she'd probably say both!

Peek: We have to tend the fields tomorrow, let's go.

Boo: Yes, let's go.

Two exit.

For more information ...
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

the simple life - why and who?

Our life is a series of responses to questions. The choices we make define our answers to questions such as when? where? how? what? who? and why? The choice to start work at 8am is a response to a when? question. The choice to be a lawyer is a response to a what? question. The choice to put your family first may be a response to a why? question.

Even though some of our responses feel determined, we do have a choice. We choose to live in a house that requires a mortgage so we go to work at 8am because that is when 'the man' expects us. We could choose not to go and this would have its consequences but we could choose. Our life is a series of chosen responses.

The responses we choose for certain questions can drive the responses we choose to other questions. For example, if I chose that what I want is to be a lawyer then that will dictate how I realize that ambition. The what would also affect when I could achieve that since I will spend a few years at college. Similarly I could decide that where I want to live is the Outer Hebrides, so that will dictate what I can work at and how I will live my life. Our life is a series of chosen responses that are connected.

However it does seem to me of prime importance to understand our response to why? and who? questions and let those guide us in answering the other questions. If we are unclear on the meaning of our life or who we want to share it with then the answers to the when? where? how? and what? questions will be nothing but a distracting drama. Eventful, even amusing but purposeless.

A clear understanding of the responses you choose to the why? questions and the who? questions in life will focus you on the important. The unimportant will fall away and your life can become simpler, not easier but simpler. Come back for more, there is more, this simple life is far from easy and needs more work.



For more information ...
the simple life - time and disorder
outer hebrides

the simple life - time and disorder

Life becomes complicated and perhaps we create the complications. A constant entropic force seems to challenge any order we seem to impose and any order we impose seems to come at the cost of disorder somewhere else.

Each day we experience this ever present tendency for increasing disorder. We get old, even from birth the order of our body begins to degrade. Our houses are built and we impose order but they begin to break and need repair. Nostalgia is a sense we have for times past and their simplicity. Childhood seemed simple because it was, the lives of our ancestors seemed simple because they were. Time is the experience of increasing disorder.

Are we destined to live our lives under a descending cloud of complexity and fuzziness? Can we have the simple life? Come back and find out in our next installment.


For more information ...
arrow of time