http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xns67AVkOeI&feature=related
Nothing is new under the sun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQqq3e03EBQ
Written in 1948 about 1948, with reference to 1984, .. well - it's here - it arrived a long time ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xns67AVkOeI&feature=related
Monday, July 27, 2009
The Foes of Mankind (Axis of Evil)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0y5CSywIOw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLSmj9G0cE0&feature=related
There will be a sad day comin’
For the foes of all mankind
They must answer to the people
And it’s troubling their mind
Everybody who must fear them
Will rejoice on that great day
When the powers of dictators
Shall be taken all away
CHORUS:
There’ll be smoke on the water
On the land and the sea
When our Army and Navy overtakes the enemy
There’ll be smoke on the mountains
Where the Heathen Gods stay
And the sun that is risin’
Will go down on that day
For there is a great destroyer
Made of fire and flesh and steel
Rollin’ toward the foes of freedom
They’ll go down beneath its wheels
There’ll be nothing left but vultures
To inhabit all that land
When our modern ships and bombers
Make a graveyard of Japan
CHORUS
Hirohito ‘long with Hitler
Will be ridin’ on a rail
Mussolini’ll beg for mercy
As a leader he has failed
But there’ll be no time for pity
When the Screamin’ Eagle flies
That will be the end of Axis
They must answer with their lives
SWEET are the thoughts that savor of content;
The quiet mind is richer than a crown;
Sweet are the nights in careless slumber spent;
The poor estate scorns Fortune's angry frown.
Such sweet content, such minds, such sleep, such bliss,
Beggars enjoy, when princes oft do miss.
The homely house that harbors quiet rest;
The cottage that affords no pride nor care;
The mean that 'grees with country music best;
The sweet consort of mirth and music's fare;
Obscure life sets down a type of bliss:
A mind content both crown and kingdom is.
Robert Greene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLSmj9G0cE0&feature=related
There will be a sad day comin’
For the foes of all mankind
They must answer to the people
And it’s troubling their mind
Everybody who must fear them
Will rejoice on that great day
When the powers of dictators
Shall be taken all away
CHORUS:
There’ll be smoke on the water
On the land and the sea
When our Army and Navy overtakes the enemy
There’ll be smoke on the mountains
Where the Heathen Gods stay
And the sun that is risin’
Will go down on that day
For there is a great destroyer
Made of fire and flesh and steel
Rollin’ toward the foes of freedom
They’ll go down beneath its wheels
There’ll be nothing left but vultures
To inhabit all that land
When our modern ships and bombers
Make a graveyard of Japan
CHORUS
Hirohito ‘long with Hitler
Will be ridin’ on a rail
Mussolini’ll beg for mercy
As a leader he has failed
But there’ll be no time for pity
When the Screamin’ Eagle flies
That will be the end of Axis
They must answer with their lives
This was sung by the same guy:
Satisfied Mind (By Rhodes & Hayes, 1955)
How many times have you heard someone say
"If I had his money, I could do things my way?"
Little they know that it's so hard to find
One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind.
.
Once I was winning in fortune and fame
Everything that I dreamed for to get a start in life's game
Suddenly it happened, I lost every dime
But I'm richer by far with a satisfied mind
.
Money can't buy back your youth when you're old
Or a friend when you're lonely, or a love that's grown cold
The wealthiest person is a pauper at times
Compared to the man with a satisfied mind
.
When my life is ended, my time has run out
My trials and my loved ones, I'll leave them no doubt
But one thing's for certain, when it comes my time
I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind
.
I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind
..
SWEET are the thoughts that savor of content;
The quiet mind is richer than a crown;
Sweet are the nights in careless slumber spent;
The poor estate scorns Fortune's angry frown.
.
Such sweet content, such minds, such sleep, such bliss,
Beggars enjoy, when princes oft do miss.
The homely house that harbors quiet rest;
The cottage that affords no pride nor care;
.
The mean that 'grees with country music best;
The sweet consort of mirth and music's fare;
Obscure life sets down a type of bliss:
A mind content both crown and kingdom is.
.
Robert Greene
1560 - 1592
.
.
.
Pomp and Circumstance
Went to an unusual concert the other day, that included among other things 'Land of Hope and Glory' in Japanese.More offbeat news:
http://www.theelders.org/
http://www.ae911truth.org/info/64
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=14503
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THYgeETrkPs&feature=related
Morning at Takamatsu by Kawase Hasui
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
A soul with no footprint
35 years ago, aged 13, I bought this album, cos it was cheap.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nice_Enough_to_Eat
At the time I thought this track one of the weaker ones:
Time has told me
You're a rare rare find
A troubled cure
For a troubled mind.
And time has told me
Not to ask for more
Someday our ocean
Will find its shore.
So I`ll leave the ways that are making me be
What I really don't want to be
Leave the ways that are making me love
What I really don't want to love.
Time has told me
You came with the dawn
A soul with no footprint
A rose with no thorn.
Your tears they tell me
There's really no way
Of ending your troubles
With things you can say.
And time will tell you
To stay by my side
To keep on trying
'til there's no more to hide.
So leave the ways that are making you be
What you really don't want to be
Leave the ways that are making you love
What you really don't want to love.
Time has told me
You're a rare rare find
A troubled cure
For a troubled mind.
And time has told me
Not to ask for more
For some day our ocean
Will find its shore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5HsQsmJsRY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9HRo-9mqrQ&feature=related
Another genius who died young - at 26
Level Two
Came out of the konbeeni (convenience store) tonight on the way home, and as I got on my bike overheard a newly-arrived Ozzie being questioned by his Japanese mate, in English, and realised I'd reached level two:"Do you like Japanese food?"
"Yeah - I really like sushimi
[not sure, but I guess this might translate as 'sushi-viewing'? He must have meant 'sashimi' - slices of raw fish]
and the other day I had some really nice grandmother"
[he said 'sobo', but no doubt meant 'soba' - noodles].
So I cycled off feeling like I have eventually moved up a gear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IUqN9ozmhw&NR=1
Monday, July 20, 2009
You're there
I know you're there - You don't say it but you care -
And I think you know
I care for you -
you know
I care -
I do
I care -
I do
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
The simplicity of tunes
...and the wild mountain thyme
grows around the blooming heather
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZkjrgS_lKY
PS Claim to fame - Kate once sang me a song - ie. I was the only one in the audience, in Wensum Lodge, warming up - I was very early, trembling like a schoolboy. HGS were tucked up in bed over the road.
I got your letter today
And I miss you all so much here
I can't wait to see you home
And I long for your touch dear
I still believe that there's gold
At the end of the world
And I'll come home
To Illinois
On the day after tomorrow
It is so hard
And it's cold here
And I'm tired of taking orders
And I miss old Rockford town
Up by the Wisconsin border
What I miss you won't believe
Shoveling snow and raking leaves
And my plane it will touch down
On the day after tomorrow
I close my eyes
Every night
And I dream that I can hold you
They fill us full of lies
That everyone buys
About what it means to be a soldier
I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel
About all the blood that's been spilled
And my plane
It will touch down
On the day after tomorrow
You can't deny
That the other side
Don't want to die
Any more than we do
What I'm trying to say,
Is don't they pray
To the same God that we do?
Tell me, how does God choose?
Whose prayers does he refuse?
Who throws the dice?
And who spins the wheel
On the day after tomorrow?
I'm not fighting
For justice
I am not fighting
For freedom
I am fighting
For my life
And another day
In the world here
I just do what I've been told
We're just the gravel on the road
Will God on his throne
Please get me back home
On the day after tomorrow?
And the summer
It too will fade
And with it brings the winter's frost, dear
And I know we two are made
Of all the things that we have lost here
I'll be twenty-one today
I've been saving all my pay
And my plane it will touch down
On the day after tomorrow
And my plane it will touch down
On the day after tomorrow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM6SQvQKl0Q
grows around the blooming heather
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZkjrgS_lKY
PS Claim to fame - Kate once sang me a song - ie. I was the only one in the audience, in Wensum Lodge, warming up - I was very early, trembling like a schoolboy. HGS were tucked up in bed over the road.
I got your letter today
And I miss you all so much here
I can't wait to see you home
And I long for your touch dear
I still believe that there's gold
At the end of the world
And I'll come home
To Illinois
On the day after tomorrow
It is so hard
And it's cold here
And I'm tired of taking orders
And I miss old Rockford town
Up by the Wisconsin border
What I miss you won't believe
Shoveling snow and raking leaves
And my plane it will touch down
On the day after tomorrow
I close my eyes
Every night
And I dream that I can hold you
They fill us full of lies
That everyone buys
About what it means to be a soldier
I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel
About all the blood that's been spilled
And my plane
It will touch down
On the day after tomorrow
You can't deny
That the other side
Don't want to die
Any more than we do
What I'm trying to say,
Is don't they pray
To the same God that we do?
Tell me, how does God choose?
Whose prayers does he refuse?
Who throws the dice?
And who spins the wheel
On the day after tomorrow?
I'm not fighting
For justice
I am not fighting
For freedom
I am fighting
For my life
And another day
In the world here
I just do what I've been told
We're just the gravel on the road
Will God on his throne
Please get me back home
On the day after tomorrow?
And the summer
It too will fade
And with it brings the winter's frost, dear
And I know we two are made
Of all the things that we have lost here
I'll be twenty-one today
I've been saving all my pay
And my plane it will touch down
On the day after tomorrow
And my plane it will touch down
On the day after tomorrow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM6SQvQKl0Q
Shining through
It's good to look back, once in a while,but it's great to look forward,
and perfect to be here and now
Pop quiz: Bush or Obama?
"We can not allow either Afghanistan or Pakistan to be a safe haven for al-Qaida, those who with impunity blow up train stations in London or buildings in New York."
"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace."
"It was amazing I won. I was running against peace and prosperity and incumbency."
"This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while."
"Free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction."
"America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page of the policies of the past."
"When we think of the major threats to our national security, the first to come to mind are nuclear proliferation, rogue states and global terrorism. But another kind of threat lurks beyond our shores, one from nature, not humans - an avian flu pandemic."
"We have real enemies in the world. These enemies must be found. They must be pursued and they must be defeated."
(50% Bush's, 50% Obama's, 100% American imperialist bollocks)
"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace."
"It was amazing I won. I was running against peace and prosperity and incumbency."
"This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while."
"Free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction."
"America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page of the policies of the past."
"When we think of the major threats to our national security, the first to come to mind are nuclear proliferation, rogue states and global terrorism. But another kind of threat lurks beyond our shores, one from nature, not humans - an avian flu pandemic."
"We have real enemies in the world. These enemies must be found. They must be pursued and they must be defeated."
(50% Bush's, 50% Obama's, 100% American imperialist bollocks)
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
That's you
D-A-E
There's some guy on the street says the end of the world is nigh
Someone better tell him that you just came into my life
It won't end now, no matter what he's got to say
There's only one girl now can take my breath away
G-D-C
Oh, oh - that's you
Oh, oh - that's you
Won't you fly away home with me
I'm gonna fly back home to you
D-A-E
I'm coming down the track, riding on the shinkansen
Meet me at the station, we're gonna have a good time then
Well I can't wait, to get down there to the end of the line
You know that I'm yours, and I'm sure gonna make you mine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwiOuhRc-Pg
There's some guy on the street says the end of the world is nigh
Someone better tell him that you just came into my life
It won't end now, no matter what he's got to say
There's only one girl now can take my breath away
G-D-C
Oh, oh - that's you
Oh, oh - that's you
Won't you fly away home with me
I'm gonna fly back home to you
D-A-E
I'm coming down the track, riding on the shinkansen
Meet me at the station, we're gonna have a good time then
Well I can't wait, to get down there to the end of the line
You know that I'm yours, and I'm sure gonna make you mine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwiOuhRc-Pg
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Lotus-eaters
There is sweet music here that softer falls
Than petals from blown roses on the grass,
Or night-dews on still waters between walls
Of shadowy granite, in a gleaming pass;
Music that gentlier on the spirit lies,
Than tir'd eyelids upon tir'd eyes;
Music that brings sweet sleep down from the blissful skies.
Here are cool mosses deep,
And thro' the moss the ivies creep,
And in the stream the long-leaved flowers weep,
And from the craggy ledge the poppy hangs in sleep.
Tennyson
Than petals from blown roses on the grass,
Or night-dews on still waters between walls
Of shadowy granite, in a gleaming pass;
Music that gentlier on the spirit lies,
Than tir'd eyelids upon tir'd eyes;
Music that brings sweet sleep down from the blissful skies.
Here are cool mosses deep,
And thro' the moss the ivies creep,
And in the stream the long-leaved flowers weep,
And from the craggy ledge the poppy hangs in sleep.
Tennyson
Train ride
A couple of clicks and I'm told that from my station, Zushi, to Takamatsu, is 809.9 kms, which is a tad over 500 miles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLeyCX3Em-c
And from Hayama, Japan, to Bibbiena, Italy, is 9792 kilometres.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXUR0-_azSU
Fare thee well
My own true love
Farewell for a while
I'm going away
But I'll be back
Though I go 10,000 miles
10,000 miles
My own true love
10,000 miles or more
The rocks may melt
And the seas may burn
If I should not return
Oh don't you see
That lonesome dove
Sitting on an ivy tree
She's weeping for
Her own true love
As I shall weep for mine
Oh come ye back
My own true love
And stay a while with me
If I had a friend
All on this earth
You've been a friend to me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OSYqTA2fuQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLeyCX3Em-c
And from Hayama, Japan, to Bibbiena, Italy, is 9792 kilometres.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXUR0-_azSU
Fare thee well
My own true love
Farewell for a while
I'm going away
But I'll be back
Though I go 10,000 miles
10,000 miles
My own true love
10,000 miles or more
The rocks may melt
And the seas may burn
If I should not return
Oh don't you see
That lonesome dove
Sitting on an ivy tree
She's weeping for
Her own true love
As I shall weep for mine
Oh come ye back
My own true love
And stay a while with me
If I had a friend
All on this earth
You've been a friend to me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OSYqTA2fuQ
Wild geese
I will return to these two
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese,
To an English Friend in Africa
Be grateful for freedom
To see other dreams.
Bless your loneliness as much as you drank
Of your former companionships.
All that you are experiencing now
Will become moods of future joys
So bless it all.
Wild Geese
by Mary Oliver
by Mary Oliver
.
.
.
.
.
.
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese,
harsh and exciting
over and over
over and over
announcing your place
in the family of things.
To an English Friend in Africa
Be grateful for freedom
To see other dreams.
Bless your loneliness as much as you drank
Of your former companionships.
All that you are experiencing now
Will become moods of future joys
So bless it all.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
Do not think your ways superior
To another's
Do not venture to judge
But see things with fresh and open eyes
Do not condemn
But praise what you can
And when you can't, be silent.
Time is now a gift for you
A gift of freedom
To think and remember and understand
The ever perplexing past
And to re-create yourself anew
In order to transform time.
Live while you are alive.
Learn the ways of silence and wisdom
Learn to act, learn a new speech
Learn to be what you are in the seed of your spirit
Learn to free yourself from all things that have moulded you
And which limit your secret and undiscovered road.
Remember that all things which happen
To you are raw materials
Endlessly fertile
Endlessly yielding of thoughts that could change
Your life and go on doing for ever.
Never forget to pray and be thankful
For all the things good or bad on the rich road;
For everything is changeable
So long as you live while you are alive.
Fear not, but be full of light and love;
Fear not but be alert and receptive;
Fear not but act decisively when you should;
Fear not, but know when to stop;
Fear not for you are loved by me;
Fear not, for death is not the real terror,
But life -magically - is.
Be joyful in your silence
Be strong in your patience
Do not try to wrestle with the universe
But be sometimes like water or air
Sometimes like fire
Live slowly, think slowly, for time is a mystery.
Never forget that love
Requires that you be
The greatest person you are capable of being,
Self-generating and strong and gentle
-Your own hero and star.
Love demands the best in us
To always and in time overcome the worst
And lowest in our souls.
Love the world wisely.
It is love alone that is the greatest weapon
And the deepest and hardest secret.
So fear not, my friend.
The darkness is gentler than you think.
Be grateful for the manifold
Dreams of creation
And the many ways of unnumbered peoples.
Be grateful for life as you live it.
And may a wonderful light
Always guide you on the unfolding road.
March 1991
Ben Okri
To another's
Do not venture to judge
But see things with fresh and open eyes
Do not condemn
But praise what you can
And when you can't, be silent.
Time is now a gift for you
A gift of freedom
To think and remember and understand
The ever perplexing past
And to re-create yourself anew
In order to transform time.
Live while you are alive.
Learn the ways of silence and wisdom
Learn to act, learn a new speech
Learn to be what you are in the seed of your spirit
Learn to free yourself from all things that have moulded you
And which limit your secret and undiscovered road.
Remember that all things which happen
To you are raw materials
Endlessly fertile
Endlessly yielding of thoughts that could change
Your life and go on doing for ever.
Never forget to pray and be thankful
For all the things good or bad on the rich road;
For everything is changeable
So long as you live while you are alive.
Fear not, but be full of light and love;
Fear not but be alert and receptive;
Fear not but act decisively when you should;
Fear not, but know when to stop;
Fear not for you are loved by me;
Fear not, for death is not the real terror,
But life -magically - is.
Be joyful in your silence
Be strong in your patience
Do not try to wrestle with the universe
But be sometimes like water or air
Sometimes like fire
Live slowly, think slowly, for time is a mystery.
Never forget that love
Requires that you be
The greatest person you are capable of being,
Self-generating and strong and gentle
-Your own hero and star.
Love demands the best in us
To always and in time overcome the worst
And lowest in our souls.
Love the world wisely.
It is love alone that is the greatest weapon
And the deepest and hardest secret.
So fear not, my friend.
The darkness is gentler than you think.
Be grateful for the manifold
Dreams of creation
And the many ways of unnumbered peoples.
Be grateful for life as you live it.
And may a wonderful light
Always guide you on the unfolding road.
March 1991
Ben Okri
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Our church
All races, all colours, all creedsgot the same needs
and ignorance leads to pain
feeds the flame
international shame
on a global scale
people living in hell
what's that smell?
I ain't talking 'bout the poor
but the rich
you can have everything you want
but life'll still be a bitch
which just goes to show
if you don't let go of your ego
you'll never know
what peace really means
your dreams lose magic, become schemes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geVL-csTISk&feature=related
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Notes
Sometimes find myself agreeing with the emperor in Amadeus, that sometimes there can be 'too many notes', that somehow saying less, using fewer, more carefully chosen words or notes, can open up spaces in our minds, for our imaginations - or that a few detailed examples can illustrate much wider and more universal truths. The other day, for example, I was lucky to be present at a talk by a world expert on Japan, who chose as his theme the 18 months that the Swedish botanist Carl Peter Thunberg spent in Japan in 1775-6, most of them cooped up on Dejima, but he managed to get up to Edo for 3 weeks. "A fascinating, engaging and entertaining talk in the true tradition of British academic thought", in the words of the Swedish ambassador in his vote of thanks. A couple of days later I attempted to give a talk myself, and ridiculously had chosen to speak on 'A Brief History of London', and waffled away without managing to make a single coherent point, other than an awful lot of 'foreigners' had made London whatever it is. Too many notes, not enough points.
The ride home
1973 or 4, the trainee teacher came in and held up this album cover, and asked us young teenagers what we thought of it. There was no response. Against the grain, I raised my hand and said 'Flattering'. He laughed, and it felt like he and I were the only people in the room who had any idea what was going on. He asked us to write something, and next lesson his comment came back - 'Use the space - paper is cheap', or something along those lines. He was probably 20 or so.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Waugh
"The Beast stands for strong mutually antagonistic governments everywhere," he said. "Self-sufficiency at home, self-assertion abroad."
Other nations use 'force'; we Britons alone use 'Might'.
News is what a chap who doesn't care much about anything wants to read. And it's only news until he's read it. After that it's dead.
He was gifted with the sly, sharp instinct for self-preservation that passes for wisdom among the rich.
"Up to a point, Lord Copper."
Lord Copper, proprietor of the Daily Beast is a man to whom one never says 'No' directly. This is what one says instead.
Scoop, by Waugh (1938)
Rain, Steam and Speed, Turner
PS Why is Japanese TV so diabolically awful?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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