Hespire Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I'm hardly an old man like the narrator, but in
> two decades I will be

I would have guessed, from your mental style of approach and good penetrativeness, that you are born in the 80s or early 90s, but your experience seems to tell you must be older.

Knygatin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hespire Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
> > I'm hardly an old man like the narrator, but in
> > two decades I will be
>
> I would have guessed, from your mental style of
> approach and good penetrativeness, that you are
> born in the 80s or early 90s, but your experience
> seems to tell you must be older.


That's because I'm not like most people. I wanted to avoid mentioning this but I spent much of my life as a socially isolated slave of my Asian family. I only learned how to get out of it very late in life. The primary reason my wife became my ex-wife is because my growth was stunted for so long, but I don't want to talk about that here, friendly as you all are.

Cathbad was a druid from an old Irish Epic - the Tain. The story has a huge cast, which means no head-scratching when you have to decide on a name for your new avatar!

Samuel Palmer's work always looked amazingly modern to me - not unlike the sort of graphic art that was common back in the Sixties and Seventies.

Cathbad Wrote:
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> Samuel Palmer's work always looked amazingly
> modern to me - not unlike the sort of graphic art
> that was common back in the Sixties and Seventies.

My mind reels here. Do you mean those posters that sometimes used black velvet for the blacks, and very bright colours in-between? This makes me miss the 70s so much, that I want to go back in a time machine now immediately.

LOL. I was actually thinking in terms of his black and white stuff, as it reminds me a lot of certain British illustrators - Charles Keeping, for example

[thekeepinggallery.wordpress.com]

[commons.wikimedia.org]

Sure the subject matter is very different, but the technique is kind of similar - basically, pen-and-ink, with heavy black outlines enclosing a finer network of lines - the suit of mail in the case of the viking, the leaves of the oak in the case of 'Early Morning'.

My guess is I probably saw Keeping's stuff first and when I saw Palmer's work, assumed they were the same generation? I remember being surprised at the similarities (which don't seem so pronounced now, in fairness).

I've been thinking today of some of the authors I've read, and it occurred to me that there are guys I'm *supposed* to like (or their work, rather), according to my old profs, but did not, and do not.

Fitzgerald is one of them. Never could get my head around *why* The Great Gatsby is thought to be special.

Any other EDers have similar experiences with well-respected authors/works?

On the other hand, Stephen Crane completely blows me away...

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking thru the photos of CAS on this site, looking at some of the rural backgrounds, were like a trip back into my youth.

Of particular nostalgic interest is this one:

[www.eldritchdark.com]

On the desk in front of him is something many older people who lived their youth in CA would recognize instantly: an abalone shell.

These were *all over the place* so far as availability. In the 1950 and 60s, these shells were still readily available on the beach, in various stages of being eroded by wave action, and many people were still able to harvest large ones off the rocks of the Central CA coast at low tides. I, myself, in the early 70s, was able to find small ones the size of silver dollars secreted in rock cracks. These were too small to take. I could still find the occasional medium-sized shell on secluded beaches. This was in San Luis Obispo county, just south of Monterey county.

Just outside Santa Barbara, along US 101, was an abalone processing plant, with a pile of these shells the size of a large haystack. These were still being commercially being taken from the Channel Islands, just off the coast, into the 70s.

Now, none are available in the wild. It's less over-harvesting (although that was certainly a factor) than understanding that the abundance in the 19th to mid-20th C was the result of a confluence of unique environmental factors.

Based on the shell and the likely timeframe ascertained by his apparent age, this photo would have been from when he lived in Pacific Grove, which was very near a rocky area that likely would have once had lots and lots of abalone.

Times change; nothing stays the same...

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have one of those shells too, given me perhaps by grandparents from California. The iridescence intrigued me as a youngster.

When we first moved up here (OR) in the late 80s, we liked to go from PDX to Manzanita, on the coast.

There was this little side road almost at the coast we could take, and it took us past on old house, the poured cement foundation walls had shells like this embedded in the cement, as a sort of rustic decoration. This shows that there were certainly quite a few up here, too.

The house has been gone for maybe 20 years now.

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sawfish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> CAS feels that the best use of what we *do* have
> intellectually is thru creativity; I differ with
> this since I have little-to-no creativity within
> me. I use my puny intellect to stay out of
> trouble.
>
> That's about it. I am really good at staying out
> of all sorts of "trouble": financial,
> interpersonal, professional, etc.
>

I moved this response here from the big poetry thread.

I meant creativity in a broad sense, not just in art or literature. I believe every living thing is born with a measure of it; it is our right. We are a microcosm reflecting the greater Cosmos.

Surely you have been able to compose a pleasant dinner, furnish your home, or solve a convoluted problem at work, or in some other way rearranged molecules to make reality better. Then, I think, in some sense you have used your intellect creatively.

Staying out of "trouble" could also be a creative activity I guess, like inventing ways or using the body smoothly, to avoid being detected if there has been excess, or else mastering frugality in every path of life.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 7 Oct 20 | 02:37AM by Knygatin.

Knygatin Wrote:
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> I meant creativity in a broad sense, not just in
> art or literature. I believe every living thing is
> born with a measure of it;
>

I think Arthur Machen wrote that even the stones are alive. Then creativity is in all material. It is inherent in the atoms.

Knygatin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Knygatin Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> I think Arthur Machen wrote that even the stones
> are alive. Then creativity is in all material. It
> is inherent in the atoms.


Ah, the all abiding silence is music to my ears. Perhaps the enormity of this revelation I have exposed has left everyone speechless. :D

Since we're talking usernames, mine comes from a piece of concept art for the video game Torment: Tides of Numenera.

[www.artstation.com]

Just liked the sound of it, to be honest.

Anyway, I saw in Forum Settings a reference to private messages, but how do you even send a private message here?

Here is some more ear-candy from The Residents. (Warning, only for those ready to take the plunge into the unconventional and socially outrageous.) This is not music to make you feel good or harmonious. It is weird aural landscapes mixed with humour. There is rhythm in it for sure, it even rocks, but it is done the wrong way. Over time it grows on you. It has been compared to worms crawling in the back of your head, or the irresistible pleasure of picking at a scab that has not healed.

All songs are from the record DUCK STAB.

Constantinople
Possibly The Residents' most famous song. Archetypical of their rebellious sound.

Sinister Exaggerator
Atmospheric and spooky.

Bach Is Dead
Humorous squeaking violin.

Birthday Boy
I am not exactly sure what, but something with this birthday party goes horribly wrong.
Some very fine counterpoint between the song and the traditional Happy Birthday tune.

Laughing Song
Drawling madness.

i love the residents!

🎩
👁️