Anubis is the ancient Egyptian god of mummification and the afterlife as well as the patron god of lost souls and the helpless, but in Joanna Karpowicz' series Those With Anubis, we see this god wandering our modern world. He seems to be doing okay for himself, but I can't help but feel a bit of loneliness from him...
Top to bottom: After The Tornado; Anubis At the Fish Market; Anubis Dancing (Autumn); Anubis Fishing; Anubis in Hakone; Anubis On A Weird Bike; Anubis With Gluten; Botanica; Crickets; Diner; Gelato; Long Road Home; Metro; One Phone Call
I am floating in a delicious, transcendent Alpha state listening to this phenomenal ambient/drone track called "Pandora" by How To Disappear Completely, a live collective based in Poland. The song is part of a new release called "Mer de Revs II," intended to aid in relaxation.
Their release notes say: "Mer de Revs II - Music For Insomniacs
A study in deliberately soothing textures designed to give the listener space to find stillness and collapse into rest - late night lullabies.
How To Disappear Completely presents Mer de Revs II, second installment of our experimental sleep music project. Almost eighty minutes of new music composed and recorded over twelve month period (a song per month), 2016/2017. Recording this album we wanted to keep the same aesthetics - simple as possible, minimal amount of gear as possible. We hope you enjoy our latest release as much as we did recording it and we can't thank you all enough for your support. As always, thanks for listening.
Mer de Revs Sessions (Recorded in 2016/2017)
NOTE: The sound contained on this release is intended and specially designed to fit the headphones. All perceived silence and audio deformations were intended." https://www.facebook.com/HTDC-319195858174808/
Close friends of mine know I have a thing for bunnies...and I always say at every Easter, it you want to see me turn into a five-year old boy, show me bunnies. The beautiful illustrations by Emilia Dziubak for this Polish children's story by Barbara Kosmowska about Tru the bunny look absolutely charming, and remind me so much of the lovely work of Michael Sowa (previously here) who portrays bunnies trying to maneuver and survive in a human world. The sweetness is touched by poignancy...
I have been transfixed by this piece of music for some time now and I only just realized I have yet to post it. The "Piano Concerto 1" (1996) by Polish composer Wojciech Kilar (1932-2013, probably best known for his film music for "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and "The Pianist" for which he won a César in 2003) is simply miraculous. The first movement is what seizes my heart. It starts in a gentle place, contemplative but mysterious. Soon a tension emerges, strings hanging and shimmering high above us making us hold our breath, as this contemplation turns to melancholy and sorrow but not of the paralyzing, inactive kind: the mood is ramped up into one of pounding, agonizing emotion. Kilar wants us to break, to cry, to find the ultimate cosmic compassion for all of creation. As soon as this threshold is reached, we are released...
Here is a recording of the first movement played by Waldemar Malicki and conducted by Antoni Wit with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.
For the exhibit "Polish Painting of the 21st Century," artist Leon Tarasewicz painted the Grand Staircase at the Zachęta-National Gallery of Art in Warsaw. I love the technicolor aspect of this delightful installation... and I'm always a sucker for the spattering technique.
Polish artist, painter, and animator Lukasz Pazera has created a series of paintings based on both the concept of The Zone from the Russian science fiction novel "Roadside Picnic" by the Strugatsky Brothers (and made into a highly atmospheric film by Andrei Tarkovsky called "Stalker" which I reviewed here), and the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. He captures the empty, disquieting landscapes of the abandoned alien visitation site from the novel, as well as the ruins of the city of Prypiat and the surrounding environs.
Top to bottom: Postcard From The Zone III; Postcard From The Zone IV; Carriage; Smell of Rain I; Forest
"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ museum/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”
I am dedicated to posting the positive, the fascinating, the beautiful, the interesting, the moving, and the inspiring and uplifting. Sometimes I post cultural as well as personal observations, milestones, and remembrances. And just like life, all of these things may often have a bit of melancholy or even sadness in them, which is what makes our time here so lovely and bittersweet and precious.
Some of the photos, art, poetry, and prose are my own original work, credited with my initials, JEF. When it isn't, I always try to post links to the original source material, but often I find photos on the web that are not linked or other material that is not sourced. In these instances, I post them without malice since it is assumed that such things, by being globally posted on something as uncontrollable as the internet to begin with, are in the public domain. If you identify the source of an image that is not linked, please politely let me know (without accusing me of theft, please) and I will be happy to provide a link. If you are the owner of an image and would prefer it be removed, I am happy to do that as well (again, without accusing me of theft , please).
I hope to inspire and entertain my readers with things that inspire and entertain me. There is a startling amount of beauty and creativity in the world and it enriches us all to participate in it.
All-time Favorite Films
2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick)
After Hours (Hysterical, hair-raising ride through NYC at night)
Amelie
American Beauty (Alan Ball)
Baraka (Stunning, transcending—the "spiritus mundi" on film)
Belle et Bete (Cocteau)
Big Sleep, The (The epitome of film noir)
Bringing Up Baby (Hepburn & Grant—the epitome of screwball comedy)
Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, The (Greenaway)
Crash (Cronenberg—DIFFICULT subject, not for everyone)
Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg—ultimate modern gothic horror)
Drowning By Numbers (Greenaway)
Easy Rider
Edward II (Derek Jarman)
Erendira (From magic realist Marquez’ brilliant short story)
Eyes Wide Shut (Kubrick's last film)
Fearless (Jeff Bridges—life and death)
Funny Bones (Leslie Caron, Jerry Lewis, and the brilliant Lee Evans)
Holiday (Hepburn & Grant)
Howard’s End (The ultimate statement of the unfairness of class systems)
Hunger, The
Ice Storm, The
Inland Empire (David Lynch)
Interiors (Woody Allen's ode to Bergman)
Jetée, La (French short that inspired Gilliam's "12 Monkeys")
Jules et Jim (Truffaut)
Juliet of the Spirits (My favorite Fellini)
Kwaidan (4 Japanese ghost stories)
L’Age d’Or (Bunuel)
Last Temptation of Christ, The (Jesus was a shaman)
Latcho Drom (Beautiful visual documentary of Romany culture around the world)
Lion in Winter, The (Hepburn!—Like “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” but circa 1183)
Living End, The
Logan's Run
Lost Highway (David Lynch)
Magnolia
Maurice (Boy gets boy, they live happily ever after!!!!!)
Men Don’t Leave (Jessica Lange’s gorgeous delicate performance)
Mirror, The (achingly beautiful stream of consciousness Tarkovsky)
Nights of Cabiria, The (Fellini)
Orlando (Tilda Swinton’s pristine performance and Sally Potter’s ravishing visuals)
Orphée (HEAVEN! Cocteau was a genius)
Pennies From Heaven (Steve Martin/ stunning Edward Hopper sets!)
Philadelphia Story, The (Hepburn)
Pillow Book, The (Greenaway)
Planet of the Apes (1968...NOT 2001!)
Postman Always Rings Twice, The (Nicholson/Lange--WOW)
Prospero’s Books (Greenaway)
Rebel Without a Cause ("I got the bullets!")
Satyricon (Fellini)
Shining, The (Kubrick)
Solaris (atmospheric, haunting Andrei Tarkovsky sci-fi)
Stalker (chilling Andrei Tarkovsky sci-fi)
Thin Red Line, The (Terrence Malick--existential poetry cleverly disguised as a war film)
Titus (Julie Taymor does Shakespeare)
Tommy (Brilliant, audacious Ken Russell film of The Who's rock opera)
Tree Of Life, The (Terrence Malick masterpiece)
Un Chien Andalou (Bunuel and Dali, need more be said?)
Wall,The (Pink Floyd)
Wings of Desire (All the feelings of the entire human race in one film)
Woman of the Year (Dated yet charming Hepburn vehicle)
Zabriskie Point (Empty, open, classic early 70s)
ZOO, A Zed and Two Noughts (Greenaway)
The Sounds My Soul Makes: Music
Annie Lennox
Brian Eno
Cocteau Twins
David Bowie
David Sylvian
Dead Can Dance
Durutti Column
Elbow
Everything But the Girl
Gang of Four
Gem Club
Goldfrapp
Joni Mitchell
José González
Junip
Kate Bush
Laurie Anderson
M83
Morrissey
Nine Inch Nails
Peter Gabriel
Peter Murphy
Rickie Lee Jones
Sigur Ros
Simple Minds
Smiths, The
Sufjan Stevens
Talk Talk
Tears For Fears
This Mortal Coil
Tori Amos
Ultravox
William Orbit
Zero 7
Important Books That Have Influenced Me
100 Years of Solitude—Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Doorway (for young people but worth it)—Madeleine L’Engle
