It seems ridiculous to me that there are Christian churches do not want to use the word Halloween. That word has Christian origins. It originally meant hallowed evening. The origins of the holiday are uncertain, but in the Christian calendar it preceded All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. There are those who see ti as being Satanic. That is complete bullshit. For me, at the times when I have celebrated it, it has always been an occasion to have fun. I had a job where we had costume contests. Three years in a row I won an award, for originality at least once. One year I was dressed as a victim o alien abduction. I had fake blood coming out of my ears. My jeans were ripped with safety pins holding them together in places. I had fake blood in various other places. My face was made to look pale. The next year my costume was called "how not to dress for a job interview. I wore boots with spikes across the toes, my spiked leather color, my nipples were pierced then and I had my keys hanging from one of my nipples. I cannot remember what pants were - something I borrowed from a punk friend. For when I had to wear a shirt during the work day I ware a t-shirt that I borrowed from the same punk friend - it had the red A for anarchy. (I wore the same shirt to a church party, and there were some people who complained to the Pastor that it was a pentagram - wrong!) The next year I was a Republican having fun. I wore a three-piece suit with a black lace teddy and black pumps with spike heels. I still like to see how far I can push boundaries. I do not do it just to shock people. I like to have fun. Life is meant to be enjoyed.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Soviet and Russian Films I enjoy
From Amazon I just ordered a couple of silent classic films from the Soviet Union, "Battleship Potemkin" and "Man with a Movie Camera." I look forward to seeing both of these again. I had a previous release of "Battleship Potemkin" on DVD with music by Shostakovich. I like the music that was used, but it was not music that was composed for this film, and it does not really it. This release uses the original score intended for this film. It has been referred as a propaganda film, but it is much more interesting than most propaganda. It was made in 1925. "Man with a Movie Camera" is a film that does not really heave a plot. It was filmed in 1929. It is an interesting view of life in the early days of the Soviet Union. It has been a few years since I saw it. I rented it from Netflix. One of the parts that I remember has three interwoven scenarios, a wedding, a child being born and a funeral. I believe there is a shot of the Swastika. I cannot remember exactly, but it was not shown in a positive light. I may write more about both of those after I watch them again. I have a couple of much more recent Russian films I want to watch again soon, "Night Watch," Day Watch" and "Я люблю тебя." The latter is called "You I Love." They say this is a literal translation of the Russian title, but "I Love You" would be a literal translation, and it does not sound as stilted. I also have another unusual Russian film, "100 Days Before the Command." I may write about that one soon.
I had a couple of film scores by Shostakovich, "New Babylon" and another one. I do not remember the title of the latter. Both reminded me of French music of the time. I had them on vinyl, and I want to find them on cd. They were not played for many years in the Soviet Union because of their French modernist influence. I like all of his music, but I prefer the lighter pieces that show his sense of humor. Shostakovich said that he could not compose music without some humor. It shows in some pieces more than others.
The Role of Judas and the Shedding of Blood
Another thing I have problems with in the Gospels is the role of Judas. He seems to play out the role set out for him. Jesus tells him to go and do what he had planned, yet he says that it would be better for his betrayer if he had never been born. It is mentioned in of the Gospels that Judas handled the money for Jesus and the disciples and he had been taking some of the money for himself. Did Judas simply betray Jesus simply for the money or was he playing out a role that God wanted him to play. If he was doing the latter why is his condemnation so complete? Jesus asked God to forgive those who were involved in his beatings and crucifixion, because they did not know what they were doing. Why did Judas get the same forgiveness? Judas committed suicide in extreme grief about what the had done. Would not a loving God forgive this act? Was Judas acting of his own free will or was he a sort of a puppet in a play?
I have never really understood the need of the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins, animals in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament. The animals sacrificed in the Old Testament had to be without flaws of any kind. There is an emphasis placed on the lack of physical flaws in places in the Old Testament. Why would a loving God discriminate against people with defects over which they had no control? Why is there this emphasis on physical perfection? I do not understand why something or someone must die for sins to be forgiven. Yes, I know that blood sustains life, and it is through its being shed that the sins are forgiven. I do not understand for the need of this though. It seems that God could forgive people without this shedding.
I have never really understood the need of the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins, animals in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament. The animals sacrificed in the Old Testament had to be without flaws of any kind. There is an emphasis placed on the lack of physical flaws in places in the Old Testament. Why would a loving God discriminate against people with defects over which they had no control? Why is there this emphasis on physical perfection? I do not understand why something or someone must die for sins to be forgiven. Yes, I know that blood sustains life, and it is through its being shed that the sins are forgiven. I do not understand for the need of this though. It seems that God could forgive people without this shedding.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Coming Out is Never Finished, and some other thoughts
Coming out is a never-ending process. I long for a time when I do not have to worry about the reactions of people if I talk about wanting or having a boyfriend. I sometimes feel left out of conversations when people talk about their spouses and/or families. I would love to be able to find a man with whom I could settle down and get married. I would like to be able to walk down the street hand in hand with someone I love. Starting a new job always involves coming out. I think all of us should be able to speak openly about the people who matter to us without fear of not being accepted by others.
I have become slow in opening up to others about my views. Part of this is having had people say that I was trying to be different. Another part of this is that not many people where I am currently living and working have heard of many of the things that I enjoy. If I tried to talk to people about my love for the films of Krzysztof Kieslowski I would probably get blank stares. I do not know many people who are familiar with the work of Jan Svankmajer. I would love to have someont with whom I could share my interests.
I had a friend years ago that I miss dearly. When we were roommates my last year at school we got to the point of finishing each other's sentences. We would speak in French or English. Sometimes we would be speaking in one of those languages when one of us would hesitate trying to find a word. Then we would both say the same word at the same time in another language. He would say that I was more intelligent than he, but I knew that was bullshit. He wrote several books on Latin, and he was better at languages than I. He had a wonderful sense of humor. He died from pneumonia several years ago.
I have become slow in opening up to others about my views. Part of this is having had people say that I was trying to be different. Another part of this is that not many people where I am currently living and working have heard of many of the things that I enjoy. If I tried to talk to people about my love for the films of Krzysztof Kieslowski I would probably get blank stares. I do not know many people who are familiar with the work of Jan Svankmajer. I would love to have someont with whom I could share my interests.
I had a friend years ago that I miss dearly. When we were roommates my last year at school we got to the point of finishing each other's sentences. We would speak in French or English. Sometimes we would be speaking in one of those languages when one of us would hesitate trying to find a word. Then we would both say the same word at the same time in another language. He would say that I was more intelligent than he, but I knew that was bullshit. He wrote several books on Latin, and he was better at languages than I. He had a wonderful sense of humor. He died from pneumonia several years ago.
If you Criticize Something it Does not Meant You Do not Love It
Shostakovich wrote compositions that were loved by the Soviet government, but he also wrote compositions that were considered too modern or too western. He had many battles with the government. He could not get the government to understand that someone can criticize something while still loving it. He saw the need to be able to criticize the government the disagreed with their actions. I can definitely understand his point of view. If we criticize the actions of a person or an organization we are not saying that they are bad, we are criticizing an action. Pointing out something that needs to be changed can be a sign of love as long as it is done in a way that builds up instead of tearing down. It's sort of like the emperor's new clothes. When the emperor was going down the street nude the people were afraid to point out this fact and praised his clothes. The one who showed the most love for the emperor was the child who pointed out that he had no clothes. If the government or business refuses to fix the damaging behavior it is time to get rid of that government or business. For me the American political system is broken. As I have said before there is no strong liberal party, only a conservative one and a moderate one. Socialists and communists have vilified in this country. I would like to see the formation of a strong socialist party. I believe that it is possible to have socialism and personal freedoms. Giving people freedom to believe as they want and to love whom they want does not interfere in any way with the government. A government that gives more personal freedom is more likely to have the love of the people. A government that is intent of repressing the people runs the risk of being overthrown through political or violent action.
I do not know if I would want to stay in this country even it the political system changed. It is not out of not loving the people of this country that I want to leave. It is because I feel a strong connection to the countries that I have mentioned before. I may never understand this attraction. I just know that I feel it strongly. One thing that I do love about the country where I live is that I have the freedom to write what I just wrote.
I do not know if I would want to stay in this country even it the political system changed. It is not out of not loving the people of this country that I want to leave. It is because I feel a strong connection to the countries that I have mentioned before. I may never understand this attraction. I just know that I feel it strongly. One thing that I do love about the country where I live is that I have the freedom to write what I just wrote.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Why I write about my political and religious views
As I write about my ongoing exploration of politics and religion I want to make it clear that I am only speaking for myself. I am not saying that people who disagree with me are wrong. I am only saying what I think. There are people who are much more knowledgeable about these subjects than I am. I am posting these things in my blog, because it shows another aspect of who I am. If I hide who I am it only makes me feel bad about who I am. I know that I am not wrong to be who I am. What I think is wrong is to harm another person emotionally or physically. I think that we can all learn from other people who think differently than we do. I do not believe in forcing one's beliefs on others. I remember hearing George Carlin saying that religion is like a lift on your shoe. If that is what you want that's fine, but don't go to other countries and force lifts on the feet (shoes?) of the natives. (It has been a long time since I heard that, so please forgive me if I fucked that up. It is basically what he said.)
I do not like the terms "Developing Countries" and "Developed Countries." To me the former is a derogatory term. Many countries that are seen as "developing" have civilizations that have been around longer than the cultures who use that term to refer to them. All countries are developing in some way. The so-called "developed" countries still need to make progress in many areas. I am not talking about technological development even though that is a continuous process. One of the areas that needs progress in the area of human rights. That is one thing I will not stop talking about as long as there are human right violations. The Police recorded a song that I like very much, "One World (Not Three)" It has the line "One world is enough for all of us." There is one race of people, the human race.
I do not like the terms "Developing Countries" and "Developed Countries." To me the former is a derogatory term. Many countries that are seen as "developing" have civilizations that have been around longer than the cultures who use that term to refer to them. All countries are developing in some way. The so-called "developed" countries still need to make progress in many areas. I am not talking about technological development even though that is a continuous process. One of the areas that needs progress in the area of human rights. That is one thing I will not stop talking about as long as there are human right violations. The Police recorded a song that I like very much, "One World (Not Three)" It has the line "One world is enough for all of us." There is one race of people, the human race.
I just found this one
i wanted to give this piece a title but it was so short and i did not want title to be too long but i could not think of a short title, so it does not have a title, that's the way it goes
having spent his morning interviewing pygmy sperm whales he ate lunch
7/16/91
having spent his morning interviewing pygmy sperm whales he ate lunch
7/16/91
Ramblings on Politics and Faith
It seems that there are people who want this government to no longer to be "of the people, by the people and for the people" but to be for the rich and the corporations. I have seen political ads where conservatives claim to want to help the people. They are backed by the mega rich people like the Koch brothers. They have no interest in the needs of the people. They are only interested in getting power and protecting the profits of big corporations. They do not look at the long-term effects that the acts of the oil companies on the planet. Carbon emissions are killing this planet. The big corporations complain that government regulations cost them too mush money. We need to find renewable forms of energy, not just in the United States but all over the world. In Germany there are good examples of what needs to be done. Solar energy needs to be expanded. We need to end fracking. When people can set the water that comes out of the faucets in their homes there is a big problem. There are ads that fracking is safe, but this is a big lie. If things go the way that the Tea Party wants it will be the corporations will have rights, but the people will not have any rights. It is time for a non-violent in this country. We need more people like Elizabeth Warren in government. I would like to see her as president.
To be honest I am afraid that if the Republican party gets their way the Affordable Care Act will be done away with. If that happens I will and up without insurance. That is scary for me, because I need medication to keep from having seizures. I know that my current financial situation is temporary, but without the Affordable Care Act I could end up without insurance because I would have a pre-existing condition. Millions of people would have this problem.
People act like socialism is evil. What is so sacrosanct about commercialism? Socialist or Capitalist we need those in the government to remember that they are employed by the people. We also need to insure the rights of all people.
To move on to a different topic: I wish faith was something that came easily for me, but this is not the way it is. I am always questioning. I just need to accept the answers that my mind gives me. I sometimes question too much why I enjoy the things that I do. I am slowly learning to just accept myself the way I am. I cannot expect others to accept me as I am if I do not fully do so myself. I do not want to lose my faith, but I cannot accept the view of the Christians who are intolerant of other beliefs and atheism. I cannot accept the view that Christians hold a monopoly on morality. I know atheists who are good people. Wherever I end up with my views on faith I know I will not lose true friends.
To be honest I am afraid that if the Republican party gets their way the Affordable Care Act will be done away with. If that happens I will and up without insurance. That is scary for me, because I need medication to keep from having seizures. I know that my current financial situation is temporary, but without the Affordable Care Act I could end up without insurance because I would have a pre-existing condition. Millions of people would have this problem.
People act like socialism is evil. What is so sacrosanct about commercialism? Socialist or Capitalist we need those in the government to remember that they are employed by the people. We also need to insure the rights of all people.
To move on to a different topic: I wish faith was something that came easily for me, but this is not the way it is. I am always questioning. I just need to accept the answers that my mind gives me. I sometimes question too much why I enjoy the things that I do. I am slowly learning to just accept myself the way I am. I cannot expect others to accept me as I am if I do not fully do so myself. I do not want to lose my faith, but I cannot accept the view of the Christians who are intolerant of other beliefs and atheism. I cannot accept the view that Christians hold a monopoly on morality. I know atheists who are good people. Wherever I end up with my views on faith I know I will not lose true friends.
Monday, October 27, 2014
More Films I Love
One of my favorite directors is Tom Tykwer. The first of his films I saw was "Run Lola Run" ("Lola rennt"). It was showing at a cinema close to where I was living when it came out in the U.S. I only knew the title when I went to see it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Franka Potente plays a young woman who has twenty minutes to get a large amount of money to save her boyfriend, played by Moritz Bleibtreu, from getting in big trouble. There are three variations of the story. Another of his films, "The Princess and the Warrior" ("Der Krieger und die Kaiserin") is a film with humorous moments and very tender moments. Franka Potente was in this one as well. I also have a couple of the films that he has directed in English, "Perfume" (based on the book by Peter Süskind) and "Heaven" (Screenplay by Krzysztof Kieslowski - another of my favorite directors).
Another of my favorite films is "Goodbye Lenin." The film starts in East Germany - before reunification, of course. A woman has a heart attack and goes into a coma. When she awakens Germany has been reunified. Her doctor tells her that if she has any shocks she could have a fatal heart attack. He tries to keep her from finding out about the reunification.
I have seen two films directed by Jan Hřebejk that I like very much, "Divided We Fall" and "Up and Down." I want to see more of his films. "Divided We Fall" takes place during WWII. A couple in Czechoslovakia hide a Jewish neighbor in their apartment in their Nazi occupied town. In "Up and Down" there are inter-related stories that deal with various forms of prejudice. It is another thought-provoking comedy.
More to come maybe.
Another of my favorite films is "Goodbye Lenin." The film starts in East Germany - before reunification, of course. A woman has a heart attack and goes into a coma. When she awakens Germany has been reunified. Her doctor tells her that if she has any shocks she could have a fatal heart attack. He tries to keep her from finding out about the reunification.
I have seen two films directed by Jan Hřebejk that I like very much, "Divided We Fall" and "Up and Down." I want to see more of his films. "Divided We Fall" takes place during WWII. A couple in Czechoslovakia hide a Jewish neighbor in their apartment in their Nazi occupied town. In "Up and Down" there are inter-related stories that deal with various forms of prejudice. It is another thought-provoking comedy.
More to come maybe.
More and more I am happy with who I am.
I am starting a new day after a good night's sleep. This is going to be a good day. I am not going to let anybody keep me from being who I am. I am going to be completely open and honest. I am not going to apologize to anybody for my thoughts and feelings. I am going to be true to my political and religious convictions. I am becoming clearer in my mind about those things. Sometimes it scares me that I may scare away friends with my views, but in the long run I feel better if I do what I believe. I cannot live my life to please others. I am the one that I spend all of my time with,and I have to be happy with myself. I do not consider myself to be a citizen of this country. I am a citizen of thia planet. That is completely the way I see it.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Kontroll
Another country I would like to visit and know more about is Hungary. I love the music of that country. One of my favorite films is "Kontroll." The entire movie takes place in the subway of Budapest. I found the main characters very likable. I can appreciate the humor of the film. It is a film that I can watch multiple times. Bela Bartok is one of my favorite composers. His string quartets, "The Wooden Prince" and his Concerto for Orchestra are among my favorite pieces of music. Hungarian would probably be a challenging language for me, but that may be because I know very little about it. I am embarrassed by my ignorance. I do not know much more than that the language is called Magyar. I would love to visit Budapest. I had hoped to visit there when I was in Europe.
I tried to watch "Borat" a few years ago, but I found it very offensive. Humor that makes fun of Central or Eastern Europe is not something I want to hear or see. I was very pissed off early in the movie. I did not watch much of "Borat." I need to take time to watch some of the films I have from Serbia and Macedonia . I will write more about some films I do enjoy.
I tried to watch "Borat" a few years ago, but I found it very offensive. Humor that makes fun of Central or Eastern Europe is not something I want to hear or see. I was very pissed off early in the movie. I did not watch much of "Borat." I need to take time to watch some of the films I have from Serbia and Macedonia . I will write more about some films I do enjoy.
restarting octipus rex
I just posted a new installment of octipus rex. There are some things that all of the characters have in common. They all write in some way, poetry, fiction, text books, letters and/or a journal. They sometimes hide things from each other, but they are usually very open about who they are. Some of them will open up more with each other as time goes by. I have plans for things that are going to happen. I have procrastinated long enough. It's time to get things going again. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it.
octipus rex 30
(From Pierre Saint-Klein's Journal)
The time is coming for my Autumn collection. I am looking forward to spending time with Andre-Richard. He is more than a client and model to me. Not only is he intelligent with an amazing imagination he is also extremely sexy. His imagination shows in his writing and in bed. I also love his sarcastic sense of humour. He can be a bit egotistical, but that makes him a very good model on the runway. I like for the models in my shows to be self confident and unafraid of wearing skimpy outfits. I do not want all of my models to fit the norms set by the fashion industry. I want models who are not afraid of flaunting who they are. I want them to have a "fuck you" attitude.
I would like to have a show with Andre-Richard and his friends as models. From what he has been telling me about them they are the kind of people I like most. They combine open-mindedness, intelligence, good taste and a sense of adventure. I still have a hard time believing that the place where they can really be as Andre-Richard describes it. I hope one day to visit them there. Maybe some day I will be able to spend part of the year with him there.
I am not sure if I am ready to settle down with one man now, but if he ever asks me to marry him I would say yes. Maybe he would let me have the others on the side. We could always share.
I love it when he is here, and my bed always seems so empty when he is gone.
The time is coming for my Autumn collection. I am looking forward to spending time with Andre-Richard. He is more than a client and model to me. Not only is he intelligent with an amazing imagination he is also extremely sexy. His imagination shows in his writing and in bed. I also love his sarcastic sense of humour. He can be a bit egotistical, but that makes him a very good model on the runway. I like for the models in my shows to be self confident and unafraid of wearing skimpy outfits. I do not want all of my models to fit the norms set by the fashion industry. I want models who are not afraid of flaunting who they are. I want them to have a "fuck you" attitude.
I would like to have a show with Andre-Richard and his friends as models. From what he has been telling me about them they are the kind of people I like most. They combine open-mindedness, intelligence, good taste and a sense of adventure. I still have a hard time believing that the place where they can really be as Andre-Richard describes it. I hope one day to visit them there. Maybe some day I will be able to spend part of the year with him there.
I am not sure if I am ready to settle down with one man now, but if he ever asks me to marry him I would say yes. Maybe he would let me have the others on the side. We could always share.
I love it when he is here, and my bed always seems so empty when he is gone.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Okocim, Zlatý Bažant, Žatec, Velkopopovický Kozel, Baltika, Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale, etc.
Okocim, Zlatý Bažant, Žatec, Velkopopovický Kozel, and Baltika are beers that I wish I could find. Okocim is from Poland. I found it briefly in a store in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I found Zlatý Bažant in the same store. It is from Slovakia. I bought one of the beers from Baltika in another store in Winston-Salem. When I was in Kansas a friend bought me a variety of their beers in Missouri. I cannot remember how many they were, but I enjoyed them all. The Baltika brewery is in St.Petersburg, Russia. I had a couple of beers from the Žatec brewery, a Czech brewery, in Kansas. I was a bit disappointed with them. They were still better that the beers from American mainstream brewers. My favorite Czech beer is Velkopopovický Kozel. I had beer from that Czech brewer when I was in Prague. The name of the beer is fun to say too. When people ask me what my favorite beer is I say "Velkopopovický Kozel." It is fun funny to see the confused expressions of some Americans when I say that name. I would like to visit the Budvar brewery where the original Budweiser is brewed. Anheuser-Busch stole the name from them. There beer is available in the U.S. as Czechvar. I also want an Ola Dubh so much. The one brewed in a barrel in 40-year-old Scotch had been distilled is amazingly smooth. It is one that has to be sipped. It has a rather high price, but it is worth it. I used to enjoy Guinness Extra Stout, but it is not quite the same, especially the bottles brewed in Canada. There are a lot of very good beers from America micro breweries. One of favorites is Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale. It definitely lives up to the name.
Continuing to Struggle With Faith
I have heard from a couple of sources that most atheists know more about the Bible than most Christians do. I am not saying that all Christians are ignorant of the Bible. I definitely know some Christians who have vast knowledge of the Bible, and I have known atheists who are completely ignorant of it. I can understand the point of view of atheists who are knowledgeable about the Bible. I do have questions about things in the Bible. I am reading the Bible in English (NIV translation), French and Spanish (NVI). It seems that some Christians get upset if you question things. There seems to be so many contradictions. If God id a loving god how can God kill thousands of people at once? The marriage of Abraham and Sarah was rather strange. They had the same father but different mothers. This kind of marriage is condemned in Leviticus. Wouldn't their marriage be considered incest? This is the one who was considered the father of the Israelites. Lot,who was considered righteous, offered his daughters to a group of men. There are examples of the leaders of the nation telling lies for different reasons. Jesus is said to have been without sin, but I do not think that the religious leaders of the time would have agreed with him. One of the reasons Jesus did not sin is that if Jesus did it it was not considered a sin.
There are some Christians who oppose the reading of sacred texts from other religion. I cannot understand this. If someone has strong faith reading texts from other faith traditions should not damage their faith. There are students of many faith backgrounds who have done in-depth studies of different religions without losing their own beliefs.
I need to stop considering what other people think about what I believe or do not believe. In other words I need to shit or get off the pot.
I have known people who call themselves who, when they disagree with your views or just who you are, say "I'll pray for you." What they really mean is, "You're fucked up, but I am holy." Coming from people like that "I'll pray for you"seems more like a curse. This should not be so.
There are some Christians who oppose the reading of sacred texts from other religion. I cannot understand this. If someone has strong faith reading texts from other faith traditions should not damage their faith. There are students of many faith backgrounds who have done in-depth studies of different religions without losing their own beliefs.
I need to stop considering what other people think about what I believe or do not believe. In other words I need to shit or get off the pot.
I have known people who call themselves who, when they disagree with your views or just who you are, say "I'll pray for you." What they really mean is, "You're fucked up, but I am holy." Coming from people like that "I'll pray for you"seems more like a curse. This should not be so.
What Is in My Wallet
In my wallet along with my Kansas ID is an expired pass for public transportation in Prague. In Prague I used the Metro more than I did the bus or tram. I want to go back and use all three of those again. I keep that pass as a reminder of by good memories of that beautiful city. There is so much more of the city that I still want to see. When I see the flags of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine I am moved more deeply than I can truly understand. When I hear the national anthems of those countries my heart is touched. I also feel the same way about the German and Russian national anthems. On the other hand I cannot understand my absence of feeling when I see the flag and national anthem of my own country. Even though I love the French language, culture, foods, wines, etc. I do not care for the French national anthem. I want to learn more of the countries that made up Yugoslavia. I am deeply moved by thoughts of what happened to France during WWII and to Poland and what was then Czechoslovakia during and after that war. I also want to learn more about Ukraine. I do have some fear that I will not be able to learn to speak Polish properly. I am trying to overcome insecurities. One of the things that I have really liked about Facebook has been to meet people from these countries. I still want to learn to speak German as well. It is another part of myself that is missing.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Longing for Friends in Lawrence
Before I can vote in the election next month I have to get a North Carolina ID., but doing that is a difficult move for me. I currently have a Kansas ID. One of the reasons that I have kept it that I still hope to move back there to be close to my friends there. They are true friends who stay in touch with me when they are not too tired from work. I miss talking and drinking with them. I do not have to hide anything about who I am when I am with them. I would not be happy to go back to the job that I had in Lawrence if it means being close to friends. I had heard people say that once you live in Lawrence it is hard to stay away. I did not believe it when I was there, but I believe it now. I also miss downtown Lawrence. There were a couple of great coffee shops, Z's Divine Cafe and The Bourgeois Pig. There are some great bars too, Jefferson's Restaurant has great beers and delicious oysters. I ate and drank there a few times with one of my friends there. It was good that I was not driving. Nothing is better than good beer, food and company....well except having those things with hot sex along with them. Even if I do get a new ID I will not give up on my plans of moving back there.
I have friends all over the place. I have not seen some of them in a long time. I am not saying anything against my friends who read this. If I do move back to Lawrence or end up moving somewhere I will be moving towards something or someone not moving away from anyone. It is true though that I do not feel at home in the town where I am even though it is my hometown.
One thing I would really like to do some day is to take some language classes at KU. I have heard that they have a very good language department.
I do not know what the future holds for me, but I do believe that things will get better.
I have friends all over the place. I have not seen some of them in a long time. I am not saying anything against my friends who read this. If I do move back to Lawrence or end up moving somewhere I will be moving towards something or someone not moving away from anyone. It is true though that I do not feel at home in the town where I am even though it is my hometown.
One thing I would really like to do some day is to take some language classes at KU. I have heard that they have a very good language department.
I do not know what the future holds for me, but I do believe that things will get better.
Слава Богу, сегодня пятница and language breakthroughs
Once in Prague I was standing in front of a bookstore. The sign was written in several languages. I was reading the Russian, but I did not realize that I was doing this initially. I saw книга and read it, I do not remember the rest, I just remember seeing and reading it without realizing what language it was in. That was a very good feeling. When I first started learning Slovak I heard the song "Cigaretka na dva t'ahy." I was very happy to be able to figure out what the title meant without having seen it. Sometimes when I am not able to practice languages I start to doubt my abilities. It made me feel good when I said "Слава Богу, сегодня пятница" to a Russian guy who did not know I knew any Russian, and he just understand it. A minute later he realized that I had said it in Russian. He came running into the hall and said, "How do you know Russian?" He said that he was surprised to hear an American pronounce Russian correctly. I am embarrassed that my pronunciation in Czech and Slovak is not better. (Слава Богу, сегодня пятница = Thank God it's Friday.)
I had several recordings of operas. My favorite Operas are in Russian, German and Hungarian. "The Nose" by Shostakovich, "The Love fro Three Oranges" by Prokofiev, "May Night" by Rimsky-Korsakov, Bluebeard's Castle by Bartok, and "Lulu" and "Wozzeck" by Berg. There are a few operas in English that I also like. "May Night" is the only opera that I have owned that was composed before 1900. It has some of the most beautiful music that I have ever heard.
I had several recordings of operas. My favorite Operas are in Russian, German and Hungarian. "The Nose" by Shostakovich, "The Love fro Three Oranges" by Prokofiev, "May Night" by Rimsky-Korsakov, Bluebeard's Castle by Bartok, and "Lulu" and "Wozzeck" by Berg. There are a few operas in English that I also like. "May Night" is the only opera that I have owned that was composed before 1900. It has some of the most beautiful music that I have ever heard.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Speaking Spanish at Work, Vitamin D, and Two Things I Need to Keep on Doing to Improve my Mood
When I got the the call from the temp agency I spoke with a woman in Spanish. I thought that I would be speaking more Spanish on the job. There are some people there who do not speak English, but I do not have much of an opportunity to speak Spanish with them. Slowly I am able to get some practice. It is a warehouse job. The company where I am working was not informed that I speak Spanish, but slowly people are realizing that I do. I have gotten rusty, but my comprehension is improving. There is lifting involved. Not too heavy, but heavier than I have been used to lately. I need the exercise. The time seems to pass more quickly than it did at my previous job. Moving around helps. I am not fond of standing in one spot. I will be glad when I get back to being able to hold a conversation in Spanish. This is the first job that I have where speaking Spanish was part of my getting hired. Some of the people with whom I work are trying to learn English. At times I have difficulty hearing people because of background noise, and they assume it is because my Spanish is not very good. I would not be able to hear them no matter what language they spoke in. Some of the people are very nice, and some are real pains. That's the same anywhere.
I got a call from my physician's office. I have a vitamin D deficiency. They want me to take a supplement.
There are two things that I can do now that help my mood: writing and eating more. I have mentioned that I am happiest when I do not hide who I am. Another thing that can make me feel somewhat depressed is not eating enough. On my days off I tend not to eat as much, and then I get a bit down. I need to work on that. I don't need to eat a lot, but I need to be sure that I eat enough to keep from getting down. These are two things that are so simple, but sometimes I tend to forget. I am going to change that.
I got a call from my physician's office. I have a vitamin D deficiency. They want me to take a supplement.
There are two things that I can do now that help my mood: writing and eating more. I have mentioned that I am happiest when I do not hide who I am. Another thing that can make me feel somewhat depressed is not eating enough. On my days off I tend not to eat as much, and then I get a bit down. I need to work on that. I don't need to eat a lot, but I need to be sure that I eat enough to keep from getting down. These are two things that are so simple, but sometimes I tend to forget. I am going to change that.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Going from being Harry to being Vlk: A Move in the Right Direction
Before changing my name I gave it a lot of thought. I first started using Vlk at Furry Conventions. (I will write more about those later. I miss going to them. I always found friendly people at them. Lots of fun too.) When I moved to Kansas I moved in with a friend I met at my first Furry Con. (We spent a lot of time the first evening we met cuddling on a couch in the hotel lobby. It was great to be able to cuddle in public with another guy and not have anyone think it was unusual.) I did have a moment of uncertainty when my name was officially changed, but it did not last long. I have had no regrets about it since then. I thought it might take time to adjust to signing my new name, but I adjusted immediately. Some people are not sure how to pronounce it. I am not going to make it easier for them. I was tempted to change my last name to one without vowels, but that would have been considered a major name change, and I did not want to have to pay to put legal notices in newspapers. I do not know if I have mentioned it, but vlk is the word for wolf in Czech and Slovak. I love wolves and languages. In furry fandom my fursona is a wolf.
Merchandising Religion
Mostly I think that the WWJD merchandise was an excuse to sell stuff. Sort of like "Testamints." Those were over-priced mints that had Bible verses on the packaging. These were sold in Christian bookstores. There was no real reason to charge the high price. If people were really paying attention to what Jesus did, they would go into the stores selling this kind of shit and turn over the tables. I hope they have not been sold in Churches. That really would have pissed Jesus off. You cannot honestly tell me that Jesus didn't get pissed off. I would say that turning over the tables of money changers and merchants who were ripping people off was one of the signs that he definitely got pissed off. He did not have a lot of patience with hypocrites. I am struggling with faith these days, but I do not think that my saying that God sent me to piss the world off is an unchristian statement. Jesus pissed a lot of people off.
There are a lot of people who ignore the things that Jesus said and did while he was during his life on Earth. Some like to look smug and reduce Christianity to a slogan that will fit on merchandise that can be sold. There are some who want to ignore Jesus' message of love for all people and say that certain groups are excluded. There were some pastors who said that Jimmy Carter was going to go to hell, because he supported same-sex marriage. They claimed that Jesus' ministry was very exclusive. They must have read a different Gospel than the ones I've read, Jesus was criticized for hanging out with tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners. That doesn't sound too exclusive.
There has been a long history of people using verses in the Bible to justify their own prejudices. There were racists who claimed that Black people would not go to Heaven. Fortunately, this view was dropped a long time ago. I am only using this as an example of how the Bible can be misused by people with an agenda.
The Bible is a book not a weapon.
There are a lot of people who ignore the things that Jesus said and did while he was during his life on Earth. Some like to look smug and reduce Christianity to a slogan that will fit on merchandise that can be sold. There are some who want to ignore Jesus' message of love for all people and say that certain groups are excluded. There were some pastors who said that Jimmy Carter was going to go to hell, because he supported same-sex marriage. They claimed that Jesus' ministry was very exclusive. They must have read a different Gospel than the ones I've read, Jesus was criticized for hanging out with tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners. That doesn't sound too exclusive.
There has been a long history of people using verses in the Bible to justify their own prejudices. There were racists who claimed that Black people would not go to Heaven. Fortunately, this view was dropped a long time ago. I am only using this as an example of how the Bible can be misused by people with an agenda.
The Bible is a book not a weapon.
Jesus and the fig tree; is WWJD really a good idea?
One story from the Gospels has never made sense to me: that is the story of Jesus and the fig tree that withers. He is hungry and sees the fig tree. It states that there were no figs on it, because it was not the right time of the year for there to be figs. Jesus gets upset when there are no figs, and declares that the tree will never bear fruit. Some people say there would have been early figs on the tree, small unripened figs that still could be eaten. If this were the case why was this not stated in the story. It only says that it was not the season for figs, not that it was not the season for mature figs. When the disciples go back by the tree again it has withered. This is supposed to be a story about the efficacy of prayer. It still seems to me to be impetuous behavior. Even if what is said about the early figs is true does this mean that there would never be figs on the tree. Maybe the tree would have been able to bear fruit another year. We are told to be patient, but this behavior does not show any signs of patience. WWJD, which stood for "What would Jesus do?"was seen on clothes, mugs, bumper stickers for quite awhile. I do not think it is always a good idea to do what Jesus would have done. Even some theologians have stated this. True religion can not be easily summed in a trite phrase like that one. It seems to trivialize it.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
My goal is to make a living doing what I love instead of cringing when people ask me what I do for a living
When meeting people online I get so tired of one question. The first thing people want to know is what my job is. I think I will start answering "Professional Asshole." I would love to make a living as a writer. I trying to get more disciplined in writing. Before continuing with octipus rex I need to do sort of an outline: otherwise, I would ramble around too much. The parts I have posted did not follow straight timeline. I do have things in mind that will happen. I wish I could travel to the cities I want the characters to visit, so I could write details about the visits. I was in Edinburgh, London and Paris in 1979, so some of the places might not be around any longer. I did get my hair cut in Edinburgh at a place called the Blue Ginger, and it was in the location that was mentioned in octipus rex. At least one of the characters will travel to Prague soon. I also plan on writing some poetry and maybe some shorter pieces of fiction, but longer than the pieces I wrote.
I know I have repeated myself at times. I will try to do that less.
I am currently reading The Making of Americans by Gertrude Stein. She had a big influence on my writings. There are other influences as well, the theatre of the absurd for instance. Sartre and Camus influenced my thoughts and writings too. L'Étranger by Camus reflects a lot of my thinking. The main character is on trial for murder, but the focus of the trial becomes whether or not he is a Christian and his behavior that has nothing to do with what he is on trial for. It is another book I need to read again. I am also fond of Camus' plays. I really do wish I could read Milan Kundera in Czech. Someday I will be able to do that. Slavoj Žižek is another writer I find very interesting, a different view of Christianity. He and Laibach make me want to visit Slovenia.
Well that's it for now. I am getting sleepy.
I know I have repeated myself at times. I will try to do that less.
I am currently reading The Making of Americans by Gertrude Stein. She had a big influence on my writings. There are other influences as well, the theatre of the absurd for instance. Sartre and Camus influenced my thoughts and writings too. L'Étranger by Camus reflects a lot of my thinking. The main character is on trial for murder, but the focus of the trial becomes whether or not he is a Christian and his behavior that has nothing to do with what he is on trial for. It is another book I need to read again. I am also fond of Camus' plays. I really do wish I could read Milan Kundera in Czech. Someday I will be able to do that. Slavoj Žižek is another writer I find very interesting, a different view of Christianity. He and Laibach make me want to visit Slovenia.
Well that's it for now. I am getting sleepy.
PCP Appointment, Another Czech Connection, Memories of an Arrogant Latin Professor and Another Question
I had my appointment with my primary care physician. I found out from my sister that he has a very good reputation and it is usually hard to get in to see him. I called the the office where appointments are made with various medical offices in the area, and he had the first available appointment. I had seen any physicians in this area in a long time, so I was not familiar with any of them. I only saw him briefly. I saw a nurse and his P.A. (Physicians Assistant not Prince Albert. I did not see his penis, and I doubt that he has a Prince Albert anyway.) In the course of the conversation with the P.A. I found out that his parents were from Czech Republic. I will not be able to see a neurologist until January. At least I will have enough medication to last until then.
It seems that I keep meeting people with ties to Central and Eastern Europe. My first primary care physician In Lawrence was Dr. Vadim Braslavsky. The parents of my process supervisor at my job there were from the Czech Republic. The parents of one of my best friends in Winston-Salem live in Slovakia. Another guy I met in Winston-Salem was from Russia. In Lawrence I worked briefly with a guy from Ukraine. On Facebook I have met people from all over the world including Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Indonesia, Philippines, etc. Connecting with Central and Eastern Europe to me is like eating a comfort food or putting on a pair of comfortable shoes.
When talking about an appointment with a physician reminds me of the Latin professor who taught the classes I took. He could be somewhat arrogant. If someone mention having a doctor's appointment he would correct them, saying it was an appointment with a physician. I could see the point, but he did not have to constantly make the point. He would call students Mister or Miss. If a female student protested this and wanted to be called Ms. he would say something about Miss being the original term used when the marital status of the woman being addressed. He would usually say something about ms. being the abbreviation for manuscript.
One thing that I would like to find out is how the word "Czech" came to be used in English. It is a Polish word that means the same thing in that language as it does in English. I just wonder how a Polish word would come to be used referring to another Slavic language and people in Central Europe.
It seems that I keep meeting people with ties to Central and Eastern Europe. My first primary care physician In Lawrence was Dr. Vadim Braslavsky. The parents of my process supervisor at my job there were from the Czech Republic. The parents of one of my best friends in Winston-Salem live in Slovakia. Another guy I met in Winston-Salem was from Russia. In Lawrence I worked briefly with a guy from Ukraine. On Facebook I have met people from all over the world including Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Indonesia, Philippines, etc. Connecting with Central and Eastern Europe to me is like eating a comfort food or putting on a pair of comfortable shoes.
When talking about an appointment with a physician reminds me of the Latin professor who taught the classes I took. He could be somewhat arrogant. If someone mention having a doctor's appointment he would correct them, saying it was an appointment with a physician. I could see the point, but he did not have to constantly make the point. He would call students Mister or Miss. If a female student protested this and wanted to be called Ms. he would say something about Miss being the original term used when the marital status of the woman being addressed. He would usually say something about ms. being the abbreviation for manuscript.
One thing that I would like to find out is how the word "Czech" came to be used in English. It is a Polish word that means the same thing in that language as it does in English. I just wonder how a Polish word would come to be used referring to another Slavic language and people in Central Europe.
Monday, October 20, 2014
The Broken Mental Health Care System
I just watched a video of Demi Lovato speaking at a conference of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. She spoke about the broken mental healthcare system in the U.S. I definitely agree that it needs to be fixed. Too often the prejudices of a psychiatrist can lead to prejudice as it did in my case. I do believe that I was suffering from situational depression, and as a result of this I made a feeble attempt at suicide. When I was in the hospital the prejudices had a long-term effect on my life. I was suffering from a short-term disability. I was forced by the hospital to apply for disability before I could be released. I am not saying anything against people with long-term mental illness or people on disability. I am only saying that I would have preferred to return to work and not have to deal with the stigma that is attached to mental illness. This is a stigma that is undeserved. Often people with mental illness are treated by those working in the mental health system as being less intelligent than those without mental illness. I spent time trying to find a job with the help of services attached to the mental health system. They mostly focused on finding people jobs in fast food or other low-paying jobs. I was trying to find something more challenging. I am not saying anything against people working in fast food or low-paying jobs. I am currently working in a low-paying job. I am just using this as another example of how those who have or are thought to have mental illness are treated as being less intelligent or less able to deal with challenges.
Also there are people who are truly mentally ill, but there are people who are considered mentally ill because they think differently from the majority of people. One famous example of the latter is Frances Farmer. At one time homosexuality was considered a form of mental illness. I was raised without being taught how to deal with the outside world. I was not taught how to find a job. This has lead to difficulties, but it does mean that I am unintelligent. It also does not mean that I am mentally ill.
Having had to deal with the deal with the mental health care system and the stigma taught me the importance of standing up for the rights of those with mental illness. Like any other illness, mental illness should not be stigmatized. People with mental illness can live full lives, and they should be treated with the love and dignity that we all deserve.
Also there are people who are truly mentally ill, but there are people who are considered mentally ill because they think differently from the majority of people. One famous example of the latter is Frances Farmer. At one time homosexuality was considered a form of mental illness. I was raised without being taught how to deal with the outside world. I was not taught how to find a job. This has lead to difficulties, but it does mean that I am unintelligent. It also does not mean that I am mentally ill.
Having had to deal with the deal with the mental health care system and the stigma taught me the importance of standing up for the rights of those with mental illness. Like any other illness, mental illness should not be stigmatized. People with mental illness can live full lives, and they should be treated with the love and dignity that we all deserve.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
My Current Emotional and Physical State
I will go to see a physician on Tuesday. I will need to get a referral to see a neurologist. I am taking medication to control seizures that I started having at the beginning of the year. The medication has stopped the seizures, but I would prefer having a more natural way to do that. I have heard that marijuana has helped with that. I wish that marijuana would be legalized for medicinal and recreational uses. The ban has not done anyone any good.
Sometimes I get down because of money worries and other things. It seems like I have never had a real career, just sort of going from job to job. I would have thought that by this time I would have been able to form a relationship and settled down with one man. I am trying to write more. Posting some of my writings has helped to get my creative juices flowing. I guess I do too much self censoring. I need to focus more on what I think and feel instead of what I think people want to read. I have a tendency to want to hide my weaknesses. If I tell about my weaknesses and vulnerabilities it is not to get people to feel sorry for me. It does not do me any good to keep them bottled up. Getting them out in the open is a better way to deal with them. I may get back into writing poetry.
Sometimes I get down because of money worries and other things. It seems like I have never had a real career, just sort of going from job to job. I would have thought that by this time I would have been able to form a relationship and settled down with one man. I am trying to write more. Posting some of my writings has helped to get my creative juices flowing. I guess I do too much self censoring. I need to focus more on what I think and feel instead of what I think people want to read. I have a tendency to want to hide my weaknesses. If I tell about my weaknesses and vulnerabilities it is not to get people to feel sorry for me. It does not do me any good to keep them bottled up. Getting them out in the open is a better way to deal with them. I may get back into writing poetry.
octipus rex 29
(From Herbert's Journal)
thomas cooked an excellent dinner for us this evening. even john was impressed. thomas said he was not sure how to cook the foods that we usually eat yet, so he bought what he needed for the meal at the grocery store. he explained that when he cooks he breaks away from the precision that is always present in mathematics. he follows recipes loosely adjusting them to get the best results, this was the first time that he has cooked for us. he said that he would like to cook often, because it relaxes him and he wants to show off his art. john gave him a dirty look, which, fortunately, he did not see. john will stay on his toes to make sure that we remember that thomas is a cook but that he is a chef. it amazes me that someone as unimaginative as john can cook as well as he can.
Note: This is the end of what has been written of octipus rex ends. The characters had not been completely revealed. The point of view of each character is limited, as is the point of view of any of us. Typing this has reminded me of character developments that I had in mind. There are things about some of the characters that the other characters did not yet know about. There have been hints about some of these things. There are also developments in the relationships between the characters. I am considering continuing it, but I have not yet decided.
thomas cooked an excellent dinner for us this evening. even john was impressed. thomas said he was not sure how to cook the foods that we usually eat yet, so he bought what he needed for the meal at the grocery store. he explained that when he cooks he breaks away from the precision that is always present in mathematics. he follows recipes loosely adjusting them to get the best results, this was the first time that he has cooked for us. he said that he would like to cook often, because it relaxes him and he wants to show off his art. john gave him a dirty look, which, fortunately, he did not see. john will stay on his toes to make sure that we remember that thomas is a cook but that he is a chef. it amazes me that someone as unimaginative as john can cook as well as he can.
Note: This is the end of what has been written of octipus rex ends. The characters had not been completely revealed. The point of view of each character is limited, as is the point of view of any of us. Typing this has reminded me of character developments that I had in mind. There are things about some of the characters that the other characters did not yet know about. There have been hints about some of these things. There are also developments in the relationships between the characters. I am considering continuing it, but I have not yet decided.
octipus rex 28
(From Martin's Journal)
since thomas moved in with us on the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas i have done several drawings and paintings to serve as cover illustrations for some of his books. i have done two portraits of him, one for the back of his more serious books and another for the back of his satirical books. in the former he is working at his desk and in the latter he is dressed in a super-hero costume with the quadratic formula on his chest. he shows an amazing amount of understanding of art and literature for someone who specialized in mathematics. he does not try to force complicated interpretations of my paintings. when i paint francesca sitting on an egg , many interpret this as saying that beauty must have intellect and a quality of motherhood. (others say that this represents the oppression of the poor by the "beautiful" rich.) few people see this as a simple representation of reality as thomas does.
herbert got a little jealous when I was doing the portraits of thomas. he made a fuss about the fact that i had thomas sit for his portraits and i do not have him sit for the ones i do of him. i finally was able to convince him that i can remember his features well enough to paint a detailed portrait of him without having him before me, but this was not true where thomas was concerned and he admitted he would not be able to sit without talking and moving about long enough for me to paint his portrait. if thomas and i were doing anything that i would not want herbert to know about i would not tell him about the sittings, herbert has difficulty seeing this. he is a member of the school of action and speech withouht thought.
since thomas moved in with us on the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas i have done several drawings and paintings to serve as cover illustrations for some of his books. i have done two portraits of him, one for the back of his more serious books and another for the back of his satirical books. in the former he is working at his desk and in the latter he is dressed in a super-hero costume with the quadratic formula on his chest. he shows an amazing amount of understanding of art and literature for someone who specialized in mathematics. he does not try to force complicated interpretations of my paintings. when i paint francesca sitting on an egg , many interpret this as saying that beauty must have intellect and a quality of motherhood. (others say that this represents the oppression of the poor by the "beautiful" rich.) few people see this as a simple representation of reality as thomas does.
herbert got a little jealous when I was doing the portraits of thomas. he made a fuss about the fact that i had thomas sit for his portraits and i do not have him sit for the ones i do of him. i finally was able to convince him that i can remember his features well enough to paint a detailed portrait of him without having him before me, but this was not true where thomas was concerned and he admitted he would not be able to sit without talking and moving about long enough for me to paint his portrait. if thomas and i were doing anything that i would not want herbert to know about i would not tell him about the sittings, herbert has difficulty seeing this. he is a member of the school of action and speech withouht thought.
octipus rex 27
(From Andre-Richard's Journal)
thomas has been living amongst us for approximately one month. the periods of time that he spends in his room after returning to the thirteenth floor from the university have become shorter. for some reason he only comes up to my tree house when we have dinner parties up here.
he still refuses to cook unless he can buy the food at a grocery store, on a regular basis this would be a waste of money, so he will cook only on special occasions. he says says that he is a very good cook, but I cannot see how anyone who refuses to experiment with kangaroo-rat meat can be a very good cook.
yesterday he fall asleep while correcting examination papers by the lake and he got very sunburned. his legs are as red as my reddest clothes. he will be wearing tennis shorts for a few days. he is fortunate to have nice-looking muscular legs, even if he does look like a lobster.
he avoids looking at me after I change clothes when I return from work. the only explanation that I can think of for this is that he must want to hide some feelings for me.
thomas has been living amongst us for approximately one month. the periods of time that he spends in his room after returning to the thirteenth floor from the university have become shorter. for some reason he only comes up to my tree house when we have dinner parties up here.
he still refuses to cook unless he can buy the food at a grocery store, on a regular basis this would be a waste of money, so he will cook only on special occasions. he says says that he is a very good cook, but I cannot see how anyone who refuses to experiment with kangaroo-rat meat can be a very good cook.
yesterday he fall asleep while correcting examination papers by the lake and he got very sunburned. his legs are as red as my reddest clothes. he will be wearing tennis shorts for a few days. he is fortunate to have nice-looking muscular legs, even if he does look like a lobster.
he avoids looking at me after I change clothes when I return from work. the only explanation that I can think of for this is that he must want to hide some feelings for me.
octipus rex 26
(From Thomas' Journal)
Getting used to the Hotel Nicholas has been more difficult that I thought it was going to be. I am glad that I have a normal room where I can go when the thirteenth floor is too much for me, When I return from the university I rest a few minutes alone in my room to recover from the shock of seeing the desert, the catnip, the forest and Andre-Richard. I will do this until I get used to the place.
When I tell friends who want to get in touch with me that I live on the thirteenth floor of the Hotel Nicholas and I have no phone, they give me funny looks. Some say, "I understand. You are under a lot of pressure. Have you found a publisher for your latest book?" I wonder what they would say if I told them that I am seeing a woman who lives in a one-room castle on the same floor, not to mention describing the rest of of the floor.
I eat lunch in a diner near campus, two meals a day of that food every day would be too much for me. Eating in Andre-Richard's room is a traumatic experience. I feel like putting on a pair of sunglasses whenever I go in that place.
Vaclav told me that the other animals thought I was being a snob. I do not feel comfortable yet starting a conversation with an animal.
Getting used to the Hotel Nicholas has been more difficult that I thought it was going to be. I am glad that I have a normal room where I can go when the thirteenth floor is too much for me, When I return from the university I rest a few minutes alone in my room to recover from the shock of seeing the desert, the catnip, the forest and Andre-Richard. I will do this until I get used to the place.
When I tell friends who want to get in touch with me that I live on the thirteenth floor of the Hotel Nicholas and I have no phone, they give me funny looks. Some say, "I understand. You are under a lot of pressure. Have you found a publisher for your latest book?" I wonder what they would say if I told them that I am seeing a woman who lives in a one-room castle on the same floor, not to mention describing the rest of of the floor.
I eat lunch in a diner near campus, two meals a day of that food every day would be too much for me. Eating in Andre-Richard's room is a traumatic experience. I feel like putting on a pair of sunglasses whenever I go in that place.
Vaclav told me that the other animals thought I was being a snob. I do not feel comfortable yet starting a conversation with an animal.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
octipus rex 25
(From Vaclav's Journal)
Thomas has been living on the thirteenth floor of the Hotel Nicholas for a couple of weeks. He still seems a bit disoriented. he was rather stunned when it started raining in the forest. I do not know why he was startled, where there is a forest there is rain.
when he is not talking about mathematics I enjoy conversing with him. he rarely comes to my room to see me and when we do see each other he seems a bit shy when he does speak to me, perhaps he is shy when addressing a source of vast knowledge. the other animals feel snubbed, because he does not talk to them often.
he still hesitates before eating. he has to tell himself that what he is eating is what he is accustomed to eating. for example, he tells himself that he is eating beef instead of kangaroo-rat steak. I do not see what difference this makes if they are both non-sapient animals. also he wants all of his meats "well done."
I looked through the books that Thomas uses in teaching at the university. the study of mathematics does not appeal to me, there is not enough room for the use of imagination.
Thomas has been living on the thirteenth floor of the Hotel Nicholas for a couple of weeks. He still seems a bit disoriented. he was rather stunned when it started raining in the forest. I do not know why he was startled, where there is a forest there is rain.
when he is not talking about mathematics I enjoy conversing with him. he rarely comes to my room to see me and when we do see each other he seems a bit shy when he does speak to me, perhaps he is shy when addressing a source of vast knowledge. the other animals feel snubbed, because he does not talk to them often.
he still hesitates before eating. he has to tell himself that what he is eating is what he is accustomed to eating. for example, he tells himself that he is eating beef instead of kangaroo-rat steak. I do not see what difference this makes if they are both non-sapient animals. also he wants all of his meats "well done."
I looked through the books that Thomas uses in teaching at the university. the study of mathematics does not appeal to me, there is not enough room for the use of imagination.
Early Realizations Concerning my Sexual Orientation and Feelings of Gender Ambiguity
One of my first memory of consciously thinking of myself as being gay was when I read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley for a science fiction class. I remember when reading and discussing the parts of the book that dealt with feelies, movies where the audiences would smell and feel the actions in the movie, that when kissing took place in the feelie that I thought that I would feel the man kissing me not the woman. I was glad that we were not asked what we thought we would feel while watching it. I knew before then that I was gay, but this was one of the most concrete thoughts. Well there was the time when I was in about the seventh or eighth grade I was "camping out" with friends in a camper that my father had in the driveway behind the house. My friends and I were wandering town when we were supposed to be sleeping. When we were out a friend of my friends left a message on a tape recorder that was in the camper. The only part that I remember is that he said, "Suck my dick." I did not tell my friends, but I was turned on by the thought of doing that. There was also the time that a friend talked me into playing with his cock when I was younger than that. He said it was part of a massage. I enjoyed doing, and he did too. I also remember feeling some ambiguities concerning gender when I was a child. I remember once when I was playing with friends we pretended to be girls and gave ourselves feminine names. I think I used Brucella or something like that. Once I asked my mother for a doll for Christmas, and I was disappointed when she said no. I remember having a Green Beret doll. (This is from before they were called action figures.) I remember being disappointed that his clothes could not be removed.
Yes, I know that jumped around a bit, but I just typed the memories as they came to mind.
Yes, I know that jumped around a bit, but I just typed the memories as they came to mind.
octipus rex 24
(From Thomas' Journal)
The lease on my apartment expires tomorrow, so I moved in with Joy on the thirteenth floor of the Hotel Nicholas today. the task was lightened by two factors: (1) I was moving in with some good friends. (2) Martin helped me.
I put some of my clothes in Joy's castle. I put my books, my reproductions of art by Escher, and the rest of my clothes in a room that had been empty. I also put my bed, desk and several chairs there. I want to have a place where I can spend some time alone.
Vaclav brought me some unusual tea at 4:00 and we discussed Günter Grass'novels. I still feel funny talking to a cat.
Joy came in at around 4:3330 and gave me a book on Berlin to welcome me to the thirteenth floor.
This evening I was welcomed to the hotel Nicholas with a special dinner. Everyone gave me a gift. Martin gave me a copy of Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein. Martin gave me a painting of Oskar. Andre-Richard gave me a copy of one of his novels, swimming across the sahara desert. John gave me a poem that he had written in honor of the occasion. (This shocked everyone.) Vaclav must have planned the menu, because we had catnip salad, eel stew, flounder and anteater milk.
Meeting this group of people has made my life much better.
The lease on my apartment expires tomorrow, so I moved in with Joy on the thirteenth floor of the Hotel Nicholas today. the task was lightened by two factors: (1) I was moving in with some good friends. (2) Martin helped me.
I put some of my clothes in Joy's castle. I put my books, my reproductions of art by Escher, and the rest of my clothes in a room that had been empty. I also put my bed, desk and several chairs there. I want to have a place where I can spend some time alone.
Vaclav brought me some unusual tea at 4:00 and we discussed Günter Grass'novels. I still feel funny talking to a cat.
Joy came in at around 4:3330 and gave me a book on Berlin to welcome me to the thirteenth floor.
This evening I was welcomed to the hotel Nicholas with a special dinner. Everyone gave me a gift. Martin gave me a copy of Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein. Martin gave me a painting of Oskar. Andre-Richard gave me a copy of one of his novels, swimming across the sahara desert. John gave me a poem that he had written in honor of the occasion. (This shocked everyone.) Vaclav must have planned the menu, because we had catnip salad, eel stew, flounder and anteater milk.
Meeting this group of people has made my life much better.
octipus rex 23
(From Thomas' Journal)
I am beginning to feel more comfortable on the thirteenth floor of the Hotel Nicholas. What I like most about Joy and her friends is that they accept each other as they are, and they treat me the same way. There is no pressure to conform. I will be glad when the lease on my apartment ends and I can move in with them.
(From Thomas' Journal)
This evening was full of surprises. (Though I should not have been surprised.)
Joy invited me to her place for dinner. I was surprised when I got there and learned that the dinner was a birthday dinner for Vaclav, the black cat.
I said "Happy Birthday," awkwardly. It is not very often that I wish a cat "Happy Birthday." Then what really surprised me was that he said "Thank you." he went on to say that he and the other sapient animals on the thirteenth floor had not wanted to speak in front of me until I had gotten used to the place a little more. I also learned that it is Raymond, the alligator, who yells, "Where is the octipus rex?" and that is octipus, not octopus. An octipus rex is an animal with eight feet and eight toes on each foot. They move very quickly and never stand still, so no one ever knows where they are. I still do not know what this has to do with dinner time. I explained to Vaclav that I had not brought him a gift, because I had not known that it was his birthday and if I had know I would not have known what kind of gift to buy. I am going to buy him a copy of From the Diary of a snail. I'll feel funny buying a book for a cat.
For dinner we had spaghetti with clam sauce, shrimp and a dessert of figs and cheese flavored with catnip. We drank a wonderful Liebfraumilch.
Each time I visit the Hotel Nicholas my dread of returning alone to my apartment increases. Fortunately I shall be moving there soon.
(From Martin's Journal)
tonight was one of the few occasions on which joy cooked dinner. we had a dinner to celebrate john's birthday. we had raw squid and boiled sea weed and drank champagne.
herbert and i bought him a set of pots, joy's gift gift was the meal, andre-richard decicated his latest novel to him and thomas gave him a reproduction of a painting by red skelton.
john put us all in shock by making a speech thanking us for the presents.
I am beginning to feel more comfortable on the thirteenth floor of the Hotel Nicholas. What I like most about Joy and her friends is that they accept each other as they are, and they treat me the same way. There is no pressure to conform. I will be glad when the lease on my apartment ends and I can move in with them.
(From Thomas' Journal)
This evening was full of surprises. (Though I should not have been surprised.)
Joy invited me to her place for dinner. I was surprised when I got there and learned that the dinner was a birthday dinner for Vaclav, the black cat.
I said "Happy Birthday," awkwardly. It is not very often that I wish a cat "Happy Birthday." Then what really surprised me was that he said "Thank you." he went on to say that he and the other sapient animals on the thirteenth floor had not wanted to speak in front of me until I had gotten used to the place a little more. I also learned that it is Raymond, the alligator, who yells, "Where is the octipus rex?" and that is octipus, not octopus. An octipus rex is an animal with eight feet and eight toes on each foot. They move very quickly and never stand still, so no one ever knows where they are. I still do not know what this has to do with dinner time. I explained to Vaclav that I had not brought him a gift, because I had not known that it was his birthday and if I had know I would not have known what kind of gift to buy. I am going to buy him a copy of From the Diary of a snail. I'll feel funny buying a book for a cat.
For dinner we had spaghetti with clam sauce, shrimp and a dessert of figs and cheese flavored with catnip. We drank a wonderful Liebfraumilch.
Each time I visit the Hotel Nicholas my dread of returning alone to my apartment increases. Fortunately I shall be moving there soon.
(From Martin's Journal)
tonight was one of the few occasions on which joy cooked dinner. we had a dinner to celebrate john's birthday. we had raw squid and boiled sea weed and drank champagne.
herbert and i bought him a set of pots, joy's gift gift was the meal, andre-richard decicated his latest novel to him and thomas gave him a reproduction of a painting by red skelton.
john put us all in shock by making a speech thanking us for the presents.
Friday, October 17, 2014
octipus rex 22
(From Martin's Journal)
i am making arrangements for a birthday party for joy next week. i wrote the ensemble polyphonique de france to see if they would come to perform some renaissance music. i am doing some research to see what food would be appropriate, the type of food eaten in france during this period. herbert is flying to paris to buy a gown of the period as a gift. we are all going to be dressed in the fashions of the london of the 1920s.
i am painting a portrait of thomas. thomas is a good-looking chap with dark-brown hair and gorgeous brown eyes. he is muscular but only to the point of being attractive. he is sexy in shorts. he has been sitting for the portrait in his office at the university.
(From My Journal)
This evening we had a dinner to honor Thomas' birthday. It was a quiet meal that we ate in the ballroom. Andre-Richard cooked stuffed cactus and kangaroo-rat steaks, we drank fig juice with this.
After dinner we had a troupe perform Caligula by Camus, one of Thomas' favorite plays.
Following are the gifts that he got: I gave him a book on Escher. Martin gave him a painting to be used as a cover for his next book, Geometry Without Toothaches (a parody on the text books on many subjects "without headaches"). Herbert gave him a copy of Three Lives by Gertrude Stein. Andre-Richard gave him a ring designed by Pierre Saint-Klein. The design of the ring was 3.14159,with the numerals inlaid in platinum and a ruby for the decimal.
i am making arrangements for a birthday party for joy next week. i wrote the ensemble polyphonique de france to see if they would come to perform some renaissance music. i am doing some research to see what food would be appropriate, the type of food eaten in france during this period. herbert is flying to paris to buy a gown of the period as a gift. we are all going to be dressed in the fashions of the london of the 1920s.
i am painting a portrait of thomas. thomas is a good-looking chap with dark-brown hair and gorgeous brown eyes. he is muscular but only to the point of being attractive. he is sexy in shorts. he has been sitting for the portrait in his office at the university.
(From My Journal)
This evening we had a dinner to honor Thomas' birthday. It was a quiet meal that we ate in the ballroom. Andre-Richard cooked stuffed cactus and kangaroo-rat steaks, we drank fig juice with this.
After dinner we had a troupe perform Caligula by Camus, one of Thomas' favorite plays.
Following are the gifts that he got: I gave him a book on Escher. Martin gave him a painting to be used as a cover for his next book, Geometry Without Toothaches (a parody on the text books on many subjects "without headaches"). Herbert gave him a copy of Three Lives by Gertrude Stein. Andre-Richard gave him a ring designed by Pierre Saint-Klein. The design of the ring was 3.14159,with the numerals inlaid in platinum and a ruby for the decimal.
octipus rex 21
(From Andre-Richard's Journal)
tonight in celebration of herbert's birthday we had a costume dinner party. we dressed as our favourite personalities from literature, history, art or music. this took place beside the lake under the light of a full moon, there was not a single cloud in the ceiling to obstruct the light of the moon.
john, who was dressed as the fire chief from la cantatrice chauve, served the meal. we started the meal with porto, we then consumed a spinach salad with which we drank a white wine from the loire valley, we then consumed lobster with which we imbibed sake, for dessert we ate figs and chevre cheese with which we drank a bordeaux wine, and we terminated the meal by drinking cognac and eating black cherries that vaclav picked from a grapefruit tree in the forest. the duration of the meal was approximately three hours.
thomas was present and seemed a bit more at ease than he was when he visited the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas earlier. i was delighted that he came.
I was dressed as liberace, I wore all of my rings with large stones on six of my fingers, two diamonds, two rubies and two emeralds. joy and thomas were dressed as heloise and abeillard. martin was dressed as oskar from the tin drum, i believe that he had made the had made the tin drum that he wore around his neck. herbert was dressed as alice b. toklas. martin who knew how herbert was going to be dressed gave him a poodle puppy (not a miniature poodle) and herbert named him basket III. joy and thomas gave him a recording of satie's ballet parade. I had pierre design a red and purple tuxedo for him.
bonsoir, buenas noches, boa noite, buona sera, goodnight.
tonight in celebration of herbert's birthday we had a costume dinner party. we dressed as our favourite personalities from literature, history, art or music. this took place beside the lake under the light of a full moon, there was not a single cloud in the ceiling to obstruct the light of the moon.
john, who was dressed as the fire chief from la cantatrice chauve, served the meal. we started the meal with porto, we then consumed a spinach salad with which we drank a white wine from the loire valley, we then consumed lobster with which we imbibed sake, for dessert we ate figs and chevre cheese with which we drank a bordeaux wine, and we terminated the meal by drinking cognac and eating black cherries that vaclav picked from a grapefruit tree in the forest. the duration of the meal was approximately three hours.
thomas was present and seemed a bit more at ease than he was when he visited the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas earlier. i was delighted that he came.
I was dressed as liberace, I wore all of my rings with large stones on six of my fingers, two diamonds, two rubies and two emeralds. joy and thomas were dressed as heloise and abeillard. martin was dressed as oskar from the tin drum, i believe that he had made the had made the tin drum that he wore around his neck. herbert was dressed as alice b. toklas. martin who knew how herbert was going to be dressed gave him a poodle puppy (not a miniature poodle) and herbert named him basket III. joy and thomas gave him a recording of satie's ballet parade. I had pierre design a red and purple tuxedo for him.
bonsoir, buenas noches, boa noite, buona sera, goodnight.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
octipus rex 20
(From Vaclav's Journal)
tonight we had a special dinner to celebrate Andre-Richard's birthday. the menu consisted of platypus under plastic, poached penguin eggs and pineapple punch. for dessert there was a pink pound cake with grape frosting.
of course we had to make everything as flashy as possible to please him. I am sure that he was disappointed that the decorations were not designed by Pierre Saint-Klein. Herbert had red and orange napkins made. Martin spent a week making the ballroom look like the inside of an ear. Joy composed a piece for trumpet that Martin played as a fanfare when Andre-Richard entered the ballroom.
everyone wore fire-engine-red wigs and purple lipstick and nail varnish. they also wore lemon-yellow cassocks. I only wore the lemon-yellow cassock.
before eating we recited the following very solemnly in unison:
the purple apple with green wings flew into the red eye of the orange giant
the camel with three humps was attacked by a giant marshmallow
all throughout tokyo there was a feeling of mistrust of french men with smelly feet
amen
then we played "happy birthday" very solemnly on our kazoos, and we all sat down to eat notat all very solemnly.
after we finished the cake, presents were presented to Andre-Richard. Joy gave him a large box of purple pens. Herbert gave him a recording of music by John Cage. Martin gave him a painting of a flea shooting elephants in someone's navel. I gave him a copy of The Selected Writings of Gertrude Stein. John's gift was the dinner. Raymond interpreted Penderecki's Capriccio for Violin and Orchestra as a gift. we brought the flashy evening to a close by reciting the following very solemnly:
elephants walk softly where wise men dare not eat cauliflower
the sun never watched saturday morning television so
why should we polish bagels
and the red and purple cat said to the pink penguin
let us rest for the sky is full of lead whales
amen
our recitations were from Andre-Richard's mass of the church of the nouveau gauche, and we were dressed as priests of the church of the nouveau gauche.
goodnight.
tonight we had a special dinner to celebrate Andre-Richard's birthday. the menu consisted of platypus under plastic, poached penguin eggs and pineapple punch. for dessert there was a pink pound cake with grape frosting.
of course we had to make everything as flashy as possible to please him. I am sure that he was disappointed that the decorations were not designed by Pierre Saint-Klein. Herbert had red and orange napkins made. Martin spent a week making the ballroom look like the inside of an ear. Joy composed a piece for trumpet that Martin played as a fanfare when Andre-Richard entered the ballroom.
everyone wore fire-engine-red wigs and purple lipstick and nail varnish. they also wore lemon-yellow cassocks. I only wore the lemon-yellow cassock.
before eating we recited the following very solemnly in unison:
the purple apple with green wings flew into the red eye of the orange giant
the camel with three humps was attacked by a giant marshmallow
all throughout tokyo there was a feeling of mistrust of french men with smelly feet
amen
then we played "happy birthday" very solemnly on our kazoos, and we all sat down to eat notat all very solemnly.
after we finished the cake, presents were presented to Andre-Richard. Joy gave him a large box of purple pens. Herbert gave him a recording of music by John Cage. Martin gave him a painting of a flea shooting elephants in someone's navel. I gave him a copy of The Selected Writings of Gertrude Stein. John's gift was the dinner. Raymond interpreted Penderecki's Capriccio for Violin and Orchestra as a gift. we brought the flashy evening to a close by reciting the following very solemnly:
elephants walk softly where wise men dare not eat cauliflower
the sun never watched saturday morning television so
why should we polish bagels
and the red and purple cat said to the pink penguin
let us rest for the sky is full of lead whales
amen
our recitations were from Andre-Richard's mass of the church of the nouveau gauche, and we were dressed as priests of the church of the nouveau gauche.
goodnight.
octipus rex 19
(A Note from Herbert to Thomas)
thomas,
martin's birthday is next week, and i was wondering if you would be willing to help use with the preparations for a surprise party. there will be very few times when he will not be on the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas, so it will be difficult to get anything up there without his knowing about it. we are planning to have the party two days after his birthday. on his birthday he and i are going to have dinner by candlelight, and he will think that that will be the only celebration to honour the occasion. a couple of days we will tell him that you decided to move in earlier than you had planned, thus we will be able to move in his gifts without him suspecting anything. john will cook a cake in the in the kitchen behind the ballroom.
joy and andre-richard will buy whatever they are going to give him and leave it at your apartment. i would like for you to pick up matisse, picasso and gertrude stein by gertrude stein, I shall reimburse you before the party. the only time I would have for buying a gift would be during my very brief lunch break, because if i returned home after 15:17 he would suspect something. if this would be too inconvenient leave me a note at the main desk of the hotel nicholas.
of course you may consider this an invitation. if you would like to bring a gift, although it is not at all necessary, i would suggest art supplies, something by a modern brazilian writer or gertrude stein or contemporary music.
thank you,
herbert
thomas,
martin's birthday is next week, and i was wondering if you would be willing to help use with the preparations for a surprise party. there will be very few times when he will not be on the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas, so it will be difficult to get anything up there without his knowing about it. we are planning to have the party two days after his birthday. on his birthday he and i are going to have dinner by candlelight, and he will think that that will be the only celebration to honour the occasion. a couple of days we will tell him that you decided to move in earlier than you had planned, thus we will be able to move in his gifts without him suspecting anything. john will cook a cake in the in the kitchen behind the ballroom.
joy and andre-richard will buy whatever they are going to give him and leave it at your apartment. i would like for you to pick up matisse, picasso and gertrude stein by gertrude stein, I shall reimburse you before the party. the only time I would have for buying a gift would be during my very brief lunch break, because if i returned home after 15:17 he would suspect something. if this would be too inconvenient leave me a note at the main desk of the hotel nicholas.
of course you may consider this an invitation. if you would like to bring a gift, although it is not at all necessary, i would suggest art supplies, something by a modern brazilian writer or gertrude stein or contemporary music.
thank you,
herbert
octipus rex 18
(From My Journal)
Several weeks ago, at an exhibit of works by Escher, I met a professor at the University for Those Who Think That They Might Like to Continue Their Education. His name is Thomas. He told me about the book on which he was working at the time, Calculus without Artificial Difficulties. He explained to me that too many calculus textbooks make calculus appear more difficult than it is, and in doing this they either frustrate or bore the student. Thomas wanted to do away with these "artificial difficulties" in his book.
Thomas is handsome with gorgeous brown eyes and a pleasant personality.
I saw Thomas several days ago, so I invited him to dinner the next day. That night I told John (John was going to cook dinner the next evening.) that there was going to be another person at dinner the following evening.
After dinner Thomas suggested going to see a re-release of "Citizen Kane." We went to Thomas' apartment after the movie. I did not think that he would have been able to endure a night on the thirteenth floor, he will need time to grow accustomed to it. Thomas' apartment building is rather dull. We took the elevator up to his floor, The only thing that could be seen was a long hall with doors on both sides.
Thomas has a nice apartment.In the living room there are reproductions of a few of Escher's works. He has a rather extensive library, and in his bedroom there is also a king-size bed.
I Hope Thomas was not scared away by the thirteenth floor of the Hotel Nicholas.
Several weeks ago, at an exhibit of works by Escher, I met a professor at the University for Those Who Think That They Might Like to Continue Their Education. His name is Thomas. He told me about the book on which he was working at the time, Calculus without Artificial Difficulties. He explained to me that too many calculus textbooks make calculus appear more difficult than it is, and in doing this they either frustrate or bore the student. Thomas wanted to do away with these "artificial difficulties" in his book.
Thomas is handsome with gorgeous brown eyes and a pleasant personality.
I saw Thomas several days ago, so I invited him to dinner the next day. That night I told John (John was going to cook dinner the next evening.) that there was going to be another person at dinner the following evening.
After dinner Thomas suggested going to see a re-release of "Citizen Kane." We went to Thomas' apartment after the movie. I did not think that he would have been able to endure a night on the thirteenth floor, he will need time to grow accustomed to it. Thomas' apartment building is rather dull. We took the elevator up to his floor, The only thing that could be seen was a long hall with doors on both sides.
Thomas has a nice apartment.In the living room there are reproductions of a few of Escher's works. He has a rather extensive library, and in his bedroom there is also a king-size bed.
I Hope Thomas was not scared away by the thirteenth floor of the Hotel Nicholas.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Things In octipus rex that were more realistic than I knew
When I was writing octipus rex I did not realize that some of the things I wrote about would be reflected in my own life and in other places. I had known people who worked in factories during the summer to earn money for school, and I grew up in a mill town. My idea of giving the characters the jobs that they had was that they would express their creativity outside of their work. They did not define themselves by their jobs. The jobs would possibly be short term until they were able to earn enough through their artistic goals. I did not know when I was writing this that I would have boring jobs, but it is only recently that I have found a creative outlet in this blog.
When I had the Omniscient Computer I don't think there had been anything written about artificial intelligence. Also at the time I had not heard of anyone smoking catnip. I looked online to what I could find out about it. It seems that it is related to marijuana, and some people do smoke it go get a kind of high. I had not heard of anyone making tea with it either, but it is used for that too. I was just having fun playing with ideas. There is still more to come.
When I had the Omniscient Computer I don't think there had been anything written about artificial intelligence. Also at the time I had not heard of anyone smoking catnip. I looked online to what I could find out about it. It seems that it is related to marijuana, and some people do smoke it go get a kind of high. I had not heard of anyone making tea with it either, but it is used for that too. I was just having fun playing with ideas. There is still more to come.
octipus rex 17
(From Thomas' Journal)
Several weeks ago I met Joy, a beautiful woman who seemed interested in the book I was working on at that time, Calculus Without Artificial Difficulties.
A couple of days ago I saw her again, and she invited me to her place for dinner. I was supposed to meet her at 3:30 in front of the Hotel Nicholas. She wanted me to meet some of her friends before we ate.
Yesterday, when I arrived at the hotel she was waiting for me. The hotel does not have elevators, so we had to the thirteenth floor, where she lives. At first I doubted the existence of the thirteenth floor and was questioning her sanity. I am not used to climbing stairs and was rather tired when we got there. When Joy opened to the hallway I started questioning my own sanity. I wondered if I really saw a forest, a desert and catnip growing in the hall.
After resting a few minutes and letting what I thought I saw sink in we went to an unusual room and I met a couple of Joy's friends, Martin and Herbert.
Then a guy who was dressed strangely walked in. He was introduced as Andre-Richard. He was sporting red boots, purple bikini briefs with the initials "P.S.K."in front and a thin yellow bow tie. His outfit reminded me of a nightmare I once had. After he came in a black cat that had been standing on its hind legs in a corner got down on all fours and disappeared into a room behind the one we were in.
We talked for a couple of hours and Martin showed me some of his paintings. Some of them were cubistic, others reminded me of Fantastic Realism in literature, and there were a few that were very realistic. Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of a foghorn (?) and someone yelling, "Where is the octopus, Rex?" (?) Joy said, "Oh, it's time for dinner." (?) This fit in with everything else I had seen that afternoon.
Joy, Martin, Andre-Richard, Herbert and I walked down the hall to the edge of a lake. (?) Dinner was served by a guy with red hair. He had an alligator with him.
The food was delicious as long as I did not think about what I was eating. We ate frog soup, kangaroo-rat steaks and baked cactus and drank cactus juice.
Joy and I went to the movies after dinner. Joy came with me to my apartment after the movie.
Several weeks ago I met Joy, a beautiful woman who seemed interested in the book I was working on at that time, Calculus Without Artificial Difficulties.
A couple of days ago I saw her again, and she invited me to her place for dinner. I was supposed to meet her at 3:30 in front of the Hotel Nicholas. She wanted me to meet some of her friends before we ate.
Yesterday, when I arrived at the hotel she was waiting for me. The hotel does not have elevators, so we had to the thirteenth floor, where she lives. At first I doubted the existence of the thirteenth floor and was questioning her sanity. I am not used to climbing stairs and was rather tired when we got there. When Joy opened to the hallway I started questioning my own sanity. I wondered if I really saw a forest, a desert and catnip growing in the hall.
After resting a few minutes and letting what I thought I saw sink in we went to an unusual room and I met a couple of Joy's friends, Martin and Herbert.
Then a guy who was dressed strangely walked in. He was introduced as Andre-Richard. He was sporting red boots, purple bikini briefs with the initials "P.S.K."in front and a thin yellow bow tie. His outfit reminded me of a nightmare I once had. After he came in a black cat that had been standing on its hind legs in a corner got down on all fours and disappeared into a room behind the one we were in.
We talked for a couple of hours and Martin showed me some of his paintings. Some of them were cubistic, others reminded me of Fantastic Realism in literature, and there were a few that were very realistic. Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of a foghorn (?) and someone yelling, "Where is the octopus, Rex?" (?) Joy said, "Oh, it's time for dinner." (?) This fit in with everything else I had seen that afternoon.
Joy, Martin, Andre-Richard, Herbert and I walked down the hall to the edge of a lake. (?) Dinner was served by a guy with red hair. He had an alligator with him.
The food was delicious as long as I did not think about what I was eating. We ate frog soup, kangaroo-rat steaks and baked cactus and drank cactus juice.
Joy and I went to the movies after dinner. Joy came with me to my apartment after the movie.
octipus rex 16
(From Vaclav's Journal)
during the day I cleaned up my room and Herbert and Martin's room. Martin was painting in the swamp.
Herbert came in and collapsed in one of their chairs. later Joy came in arm in arm with a handsome chap with a bewildered look on his face. she introduced him as Thomas and said that he was going to be dining with them (the humans). the look on his face reminded me of a small child lost in a large forest.
Andre-Richard came in wearing radish-red moccasins, eggplant-purple bikini briefs with cucumber-green "P.S.K." in the traditional spot and mustard-yellow bow tie. Thomas looked as if he could not decide whether to laugh or regurgitate, he did neither, he only looked more confused.
I decided that I should not confuse the man further by speaking, so I walked back to my room on all fours and curled up in the middle of my bed for a nap. I even meowed on the way back to my room, I had almost forgotten how.
I wonder his reaction to the foghorn and Raymond's yelling of "where is the octipus rex," was. I am sure that he was confused even more. After taking my nap I drank some darjeeling tea and started reading Julia by Ana María Moix.
I was enjoying reading when I noticed that it was almost 22:00, scottish tea time. I had started making the tea when Martin and Herbert came in laughing at Thomas' reactions to the food at dinner.
after we drank the tea and Herbert and Martin had gone to their room I finished reading Julia and now I shall go to bed.
goodnight.
(A Note from Herbert to Thomas)
thomas,
i could not help but notice that you were uncomfortable during your visit to the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas yesterday. the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas is a unique place and you may need some time to grow accustomed to it. i hope that your impression will not prevent you from visiting us again.
sincerely,
herbert
p.s. please feel free to drop by any day at 16:00 or 22:00 for tea.
during the day I cleaned up my room and Herbert and Martin's room. Martin was painting in the swamp.
Herbert came in and collapsed in one of their chairs. later Joy came in arm in arm with a handsome chap with a bewildered look on his face. she introduced him as Thomas and said that he was going to be dining with them (the humans). the look on his face reminded me of a small child lost in a large forest.
Andre-Richard came in wearing radish-red moccasins, eggplant-purple bikini briefs with cucumber-green "P.S.K." in the traditional spot and mustard-yellow bow tie. Thomas looked as if he could not decide whether to laugh or regurgitate, he did neither, he only looked more confused.
I decided that I should not confuse the man further by speaking, so I walked back to my room on all fours and curled up in the middle of my bed for a nap. I even meowed on the way back to my room, I had almost forgotten how.
I wonder his reaction to the foghorn and Raymond's yelling of "where is the octipus rex," was. I am sure that he was confused even more. After taking my nap I drank some darjeeling tea and started reading Julia by Ana María Moix.
I was enjoying reading when I noticed that it was almost 22:00, scottish tea time. I had started making the tea when Martin and Herbert came in laughing at Thomas' reactions to the food at dinner.
after we drank the tea and Herbert and Martin had gone to their room I finished reading Julia and now I shall go to bed.
goodnight.
(A Note from Herbert to Thomas)
thomas,
i could not help but notice that you were uncomfortable during your visit to the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas yesterday. the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas is a unique place and you may need some time to grow accustomed to it. i hope that your impression will not prevent you from visiting us again.
sincerely,
herbert
p.s. please feel free to drop by any day at 16:00 or 22:00 for tea.
octipus rex 15 Updated
(From Andre-Richard's Journal)
this weekend I went paris to see pierre saint-klein. he had invited me to the opening of his new boutique there.
when I arrived at his apartment on rue de la glacière I was surprised by its simplicity. the living room was decorated totally in red and orange. pierre insisted that i stay in his apartment for the weekend, because I am his best customer.
after drinking some champagne we went to pierre's boutique on rue de rivoli. there was a large crowd of people waiting to enter the boutique. there was a woman with her hair dyed purple. she was wearing a red t-shirt and orange bermuda shorts and lime-green pumps with thirteen-centimetre spiked heels, on the on the back of the right shoulder of her t-shirt pierre's initials were embroidered in orange. I later learned that she is a model for the boutique.) I was impressed by the interior of the boutique, the walls are fluorescent orange, the carpet is tomato red and the ceiling is cucumber green. all of the mannequins are violet. pierre offered me a position as a model, but i explained to him that I could not leave my friends of the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas permanently. I am going to paris every three months to model his new designs in his fashion shows.
that evening pierre and I dined at maxim's.
saturday I modeled an outfit totally in scarlet, it consisted of a tuxedo jacket with tails, a vest, a ruffled t-shirt, jock strap (without "p.s.k.") and roman sandals. pierre gave me this outfit as payment for my modeling.
I bought outfits for joy, john, martin and herbert, for joy i bought a red, violet and green evening gown and blue pumps with thirteen-centimetre spiked heels. for john I dought an alligator-green t-shirt, lemon-yellow linen pants and a radish-green apron, for martin I bought an orange tuxedo, lime-green ruffled t-shirt and eggplant-purple bow tie, for herbert I bought a brick-red t-shirt, mustard-yellow work pants, violet belt and a watch with a sky-blue band. each of these outfits was designed specifically for the individual for whim it was purchased.
I ate lunch alonein the restaurant on the top of the centre de georges pompidou. there is such a lovely view of he city from this point.
pierre's boutique is already starting to attract a multitude of customers.
pierre and I dined again at maxim's.
we were planning to go to mass at notre-dame, but we both overslept. we went to a greek restaurant in the latin quarter and rushed to the aeroport, and I barely made it in time to catch my flight back home.
when I got back to my tree house I collapsed in my bed and slept for fourteen hours.
Note: the reason that we were able to make as many trips as we did was we spent very little money on food, we usually ate things that grow on the thirteenth floor of the Hotel Nicholas. The cities that we visited most frequently were Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Paris, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, Quebec, Montreal, Milan, Rome, Prague, Warsaw, Łódź, Bratislava, Berlin, Odessa, Ljubjana and Saint Petersburg.
(There is a gap here. I will try to find the missing part. It is not much)
(Update: I found it. So it's complete, well as complete as an unfinished novel can be. I added some cities.)
this weekend I went paris to see pierre saint-klein. he had invited me to the opening of his new boutique there.
when I arrived at his apartment on rue de la glacière I was surprised by its simplicity. the living room was decorated totally in red and orange. pierre insisted that i stay in his apartment for the weekend, because I am his best customer.
after drinking some champagne we went to pierre's boutique on rue de rivoli. there was a large crowd of people waiting to enter the boutique. there was a woman with her hair dyed purple. she was wearing a red t-shirt and orange bermuda shorts and lime-green pumps with thirteen-centimetre spiked heels, on the on the back of the right shoulder of her t-shirt pierre's initials were embroidered in orange. I later learned that she is a model for the boutique.) I was impressed by the interior of the boutique, the walls are fluorescent orange, the carpet is tomato red and the ceiling is cucumber green. all of the mannequins are violet. pierre offered me a position as a model, but i explained to him that I could not leave my friends of the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas permanently. I am going to paris every three months to model his new designs in his fashion shows.
that evening pierre and I dined at maxim's.
saturday I modeled an outfit totally in scarlet, it consisted of a tuxedo jacket with tails, a vest, a ruffled t-shirt, jock strap (without "p.s.k.") and roman sandals. pierre gave me this outfit as payment for my modeling.
I bought outfits for joy, john, martin and herbert, for joy i bought a red, violet and green evening gown and blue pumps with thirteen-centimetre spiked heels. for john I dought an alligator-green t-shirt, lemon-yellow linen pants and a radish-green apron, for martin I bought an orange tuxedo, lime-green ruffled t-shirt and eggplant-purple bow tie, for herbert I bought a brick-red t-shirt, mustard-yellow work pants, violet belt and a watch with a sky-blue band. each of these outfits was designed specifically for the individual for whim it was purchased.
I ate lunch alonein the restaurant on the top of the centre de georges pompidou. there is such a lovely view of he city from this point.
pierre's boutique is already starting to attract a multitude of customers.
pierre and I dined again at maxim's.
we were planning to go to mass at notre-dame, but we both overslept. we went to a greek restaurant in the latin quarter and rushed to the aeroport, and I barely made it in time to catch my flight back home.
when I got back to my tree house I collapsed in my bed and slept for fourteen hours.
Note: the reason that we were able to make as many trips as we did was we spent very little money on food, we usually ate things that grow on the thirteenth floor of the Hotel Nicholas. The cities that we visited most frequently were Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Paris, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, Quebec, Montreal, Milan, Rome, Prague, Warsaw, Łódź, Bratislava, Berlin, Odessa, Ljubjana and Saint Petersburg.
(There is a gap here. I will try to find the missing part. It is not much)
(Update: I found it. So it's complete, well as complete as an unfinished novel can be. I added some cities.)
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
octipus rex 14
(From Vaclav's Journal)
this weekend everyone stayed on the thirteenth floor of the Hotel Nicholas.
at times Herbert has been illogical concerning travel. he absolutely had to go to Edinburgh to have his hair cut at the Blue Ginger, because it costs less there than it does in Our City. perhaps he wanted to have a reason for this trip other than simply visiting the city.
when Martin and I were eating lunch Gainesborough came in and said that he had proclaimed the Don Juan of the kangaroo rats. his official title is now Tsar Gainesborough the Three Hundred Fifty-Second the Don Juan. he was telling everyone to make it official.
for lunch I ate a barbecued mouse and drank some cream, and Martin ate a salad of catnip, mushrooms, boiled frog eggs and drank catnip tea. after we finished eating Raymond came in, put a recording of Satie's Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear on my turntable and started dancing.
later in the afternoon I was going to play among the catnip,but when I stepped outside of Herbert and Martin's room there was a battle taking place between the penguins and the kangaroo rats. (I wonder if Herbert will enjoy eating Gainesborough's legs at breakfast.) one of the penguins had said, "Gainesborough the Don Juan should be called Gainesborough the Impotent, but, then again, are not all kangaroo rats impotent?" one should never insult the ability of kangaroo rats to perform sexually, especially when one is in the presence of a kangaroo rat. i decided to wait until later to play among the catnip.
Herbert came in at the regular time, 15:17, he said that an article that he had written on Robbe-Grillet's writing was going to be published in an italian magazine. the article is on subjective description in Robbe-Grillet's writing. Herbert and Martin celebrated by drinking a fig liqueur that Francesca had made and Herbert gave me some cream from the Beaulieu farm, from this farm comes the richest cream of the continent.
i later went to play among the catnip, all was quiet in the corridor, visions came to me of drinking the world's richest cream while floating on a barge on the Nile while being fanned with fans of ostrich feathers.
Martin awoke me and apologized for doing so, he said that Herbert was not pleased that it was past tea time and tea had not yet been served.
they had finished drinking their tea and were discussing the unfortunate fact that many of the writers of this century are being ignored by the universities when we heard the foghorn and Raymond yelling, "where is the octipus rex?" Martin and Herbert then went to join Joy and Andre-Richard for dinner. Martin, when leaving, said that too many university students were not familiar with Günter Grass, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Eugène Ionesco, Ana María Moix and many other of this century's writers.
for dinner I ate frog legs and drank some more of the Beaulieu cream. Aleksandr joined me for this meal, he ate some gouda cheese, he returned the copy of La nausée that he had borrowed. I went to sleep after reading for several hours.
yesterday I awoke to find that a plate of shrimp and a cup of cream has been on the nightstand by my bed. with this there was a note that said "happy bartok's birthday! with love, h. and m." it has been a long time since I have eaten shrimp and I love shrimp.
all afternoon I listened to several of Bartók's orchestral pieces. Andre-Richard had engaged the Guarneri String Quartet to play Bartók's third, fourth and fifth string quartets. they performed splendidly in spite of the looks of confusion on their faces.
this was a formal affair, so I wore my white bow tie, Joy wore a crimson velvet evening dress and had her hair braided with a ribbon of the same material as her dress. Martin wore a black tuxedo with a red shirt and black tie. Herbert wore a white tuxedo with a black shirt and white tie. Andre wore his formal dancing belt, burgundy ruffled t-shirt and gold vest. we dined on lobster and drank a splendid hungarian wine.
after reading The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein I went to sleep.
this morning I was awakened by Aleksandr who said that he was lonely. he had tried to live completely alone but found that he could not do so.
for kunch I drank whale milk and Aleksandr ate some roquefort cheese that he had gotten from the hotel kitchen, he said that it had not been easy to carry the cheese up to the thirteenth floor, expecially since he had to use a paper clip to make miniature mountain-climbing equipment.
after lunch I listened to Rimnsky-Korsakov's opera May Night.
Herbert and Martin came in at tea time. Herbert played his violin as I made tea and Matin reclined in an armchair.
after drinking the tea I started reading and read until a short time ago when I started writing in my journal.
I can hear Herbert, Martin, Joy and Andre-Richard gathering in Martin and Herbert's room for the traditional seven minutes of mourning for the dead weekend.
this weekend everyone stayed on the thirteenth floor of the Hotel Nicholas.
at times Herbert has been illogical concerning travel. he absolutely had to go to Edinburgh to have his hair cut at the Blue Ginger, because it costs less there than it does in Our City. perhaps he wanted to have a reason for this trip other than simply visiting the city.
when Martin and I were eating lunch Gainesborough came in and said that he had proclaimed the Don Juan of the kangaroo rats. his official title is now Tsar Gainesborough the Three Hundred Fifty-Second the Don Juan. he was telling everyone to make it official.
for lunch I ate a barbecued mouse and drank some cream, and Martin ate a salad of catnip, mushrooms, boiled frog eggs and drank catnip tea. after we finished eating Raymond came in, put a recording of Satie's Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear on my turntable and started dancing.
later in the afternoon I was going to play among the catnip,but when I stepped outside of Herbert and Martin's room there was a battle taking place between the penguins and the kangaroo rats. (I wonder if Herbert will enjoy eating Gainesborough's legs at breakfast.) one of the penguins had said, "Gainesborough the Don Juan should be called Gainesborough the Impotent, but, then again, are not all kangaroo rats impotent?" one should never insult the ability of kangaroo rats to perform sexually, especially when one is in the presence of a kangaroo rat. i decided to wait until later to play among the catnip.
Herbert came in at the regular time, 15:17, he said that an article that he had written on Robbe-Grillet's writing was going to be published in an italian magazine. the article is on subjective description in Robbe-Grillet's writing. Herbert and Martin celebrated by drinking a fig liqueur that Francesca had made and Herbert gave me some cream from the Beaulieu farm, from this farm comes the richest cream of the continent.
i later went to play among the catnip, all was quiet in the corridor, visions came to me of drinking the world's richest cream while floating on a barge on the Nile while being fanned with fans of ostrich feathers.
Martin awoke me and apologized for doing so, he said that Herbert was not pleased that it was past tea time and tea had not yet been served.
they had finished drinking their tea and were discussing the unfortunate fact that many of the writers of this century are being ignored by the universities when we heard the foghorn and Raymond yelling, "where is the octipus rex?" Martin and Herbert then went to join Joy and Andre-Richard for dinner. Martin, when leaving, said that too many university students were not familiar with Günter Grass, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Eugène Ionesco, Ana María Moix and many other of this century's writers.
for dinner I ate frog legs and drank some more of the Beaulieu cream. Aleksandr joined me for this meal, he ate some gouda cheese, he returned the copy of La nausée that he had borrowed. I went to sleep after reading for several hours.
yesterday I awoke to find that a plate of shrimp and a cup of cream has been on the nightstand by my bed. with this there was a note that said "happy bartok's birthday! with love, h. and m." it has been a long time since I have eaten shrimp and I love shrimp.
all afternoon I listened to several of Bartók's orchestral pieces. Andre-Richard had engaged the Guarneri String Quartet to play Bartók's third, fourth and fifth string quartets. they performed splendidly in spite of the looks of confusion on their faces.
this was a formal affair, so I wore my white bow tie, Joy wore a crimson velvet evening dress and had her hair braided with a ribbon of the same material as her dress. Martin wore a black tuxedo with a red shirt and black tie. Herbert wore a white tuxedo with a black shirt and white tie. Andre wore his formal dancing belt, burgundy ruffled t-shirt and gold vest. we dined on lobster and drank a splendid hungarian wine.
after reading The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein I went to sleep.
this morning I was awakened by Aleksandr who said that he was lonely. he had tried to live completely alone but found that he could not do so.
for kunch I drank whale milk and Aleksandr ate some roquefort cheese that he had gotten from the hotel kitchen, he said that it had not been easy to carry the cheese up to the thirteenth floor, expecially since he had to use a paper clip to make miniature mountain-climbing equipment.
after lunch I listened to Rimnsky-Korsakov's opera May Night.
Herbert and Martin came in at tea time. Herbert played his violin as I made tea and Matin reclined in an armchair.
after drinking the tea I started reading and read until a short time ago when I started writing in my journal.
I can hear Herbert, Martin, Joy and Andre-Richard gathering in Martin and Herbert's room for the traditional seven minutes of mourning for the dead weekend.
octipus rex 13
(From Martin's Journal)
this week i went to paris to exhibit some of my paintings on rue de la huchette. i had not planned on selling any paintings and i did not sell any. i wanted to keep my paintings before the public eye and to see la cantatrice chauve and la leçon by ionesco at the theatre where they have been playing for so long. after seeing the plays i bought a lamb sandwich at the cafe next to the theatre. i then bought a doughnut at a pastry shop at a pastry shop that was not very far away.
the next afternoon i went to the organ concert at notre-dame cathedral. jacques charpentier played his "le livre d'orgue," it was a beautiful concert. I wished that herbert was with me.
the next day i went to the fnac near montparnasse and bought some books for herbert and vaclav. that afternoon i set up the exhibit on the rue de la huchette. there was almost a riot, because the paintings were not for sale.
this week i went to paris to exhibit some of my paintings on rue de la huchette. i had not planned on selling any paintings and i did not sell any. i wanted to keep my paintings before the public eye and to see la cantatrice chauve and la leçon by ionesco at the theatre where they have been playing for so long. after seeing the plays i bought a lamb sandwich at the cafe next to the theatre. i then bought a doughnut at a pastry shop at a pastry shop that was not very far away.
the next afternoon i went to the organ concert at notre-dame cathedral. jacques charpentier played his "le livre d'orgue," it was a beautiful concert. I wished that herbert was with me.
the next day i went to the fnac near montparnasse and bought some books for herbert and vaclav. that afternoon i set up the exhibit on the rue de la huchette. there was almost a riot, because the paintings were not for sale.
octiopus rex 12
(From a Letter from Herbert to a Friend)
francesca explained last night that she was drunk, intoxicated and inebriated and that she had lost her crown and could not find it anywhere. this morning she was going around asking that everyone keep the noise a minimum level.
for dinner martin cooked a stew of frog hearts, mushrooms, catnip and cactus, with that we drank kangaroo-rat milk. you keep commenting on how strange you think the food that we eat is, you should visit us and you would see how delicious it is.
tonight i am going to fly to edinburgh to have my hair cut at the blue ginger on clerk street. martin is going to sell a painting to a lady who lives in newtongrange, it is a painting of francesca sitting on an egg and reading a book.
we are going to eat haggis when we arrive in edinburgh. i hope that we will be able to find a room in a hotel.
last night i did not have time to finish this letter.
we arrived at the aeroport in london at seven o'clock this morning. we had been booked on a non-existing flight and the flight on which we were finally booked was delayed five hours. we were told that the plane was being cleaned, but when we were getting ready to eat breakfast i pulled down the tray and there were bits of scrambled eggs all over it. also there was a problem with the elevator used to deliver the meals to the passengers and breakfast was delayed one hour.
martin and i took the intercity 125 from london to edinburgh. we enjoyed the haggis when we arrived in edinburgh.
after eating we walked to the blue ginger and i had my hair cut. edinburgh is a lovely city in which to walk. if you have not been there you should go, you would find it lovely.
we took the bus to newtongrange where martin sold the painting to the lady, her husband bought the rag with which martin cleaned his paint brush for 250 pounds. he said it would look beautiful hanging over his fireplace.
love,
herbert
francesca explained last night that she was drunk, intoxicated and inebriated and that she had lost her crown and could not find it anywhere. this morning she was going around asking that everyone keep the noise a minimum level.
for dinner martin cooked a stew of frog hearts, mushrooms, catnip and cactus, with that we drank kangaroo-rat milk. you keep commenting on how strange you think the food that we eat is, you should visit us and you would see how delicious it is.
tonight i am going to fly to edinburgh to have my hair cut at the blue ginger on clerk street. martin is going to sell a painting to a lady who lives in newtongrange, it is a painting of francesca sitting on an egg and reading a book.
we are going to eat haggis when we arrive in edinburgh. i hope that we will be able to find a room in a hotel.
last night i did not have time to finish this letter.
we arrived at the aeroport in london at seven o'clock this morning. we had been booked on a non-existing flight and the flight on which we were finally booked was delayed five hours. we were told that the plane was being cleaned, but when we were getting ready to eat breakfast i pulled down the tray and there were bits of scrambled eggs all over it. also there was a problem with the elevator used to deliver the meals to the passengers and breakfast was delayed one hour.
martin and i took the intercity 125 from london to edinburgh. we enjoyed the haggis when we arrived in edinburgh.
after eating we walked to the blue ginger and i had my hair cut. edinburgh is a lovely city in which to walk. if you have not been there you should go, you would find it lovely.
we took the bus to newtongrange where martin sold the painting to the lady, her husband bought the rag with which martin cleaned his paint brush for 250 pounds. he said it would look beautiful hanging over his fireplace.
love,
herbert
Humor Should Build People Up Not Put People Down; Listening to Jan Werich
In my post about comedians who make fun of other people I am not advocating censorship, but when a comedian does this they need to learn that this is not funny. When we let them put others down in their jokes we partake in their action. In the past I have just stopped listening to them. I think we all need to do that, but we also need to let the comedian know why we are taking that action. There are many ways of making people laugh without hurting others. I just saw an interview with Norman Lear talking about "All in the Family." He was able to make people laugh, cry and think. I had not been aware that in around 1974 there had been an episode of the show that dealt with the murder of a transgender friend of Edith. I mention this here as an example of comedy that has a positive impact. I definitely love to laugh, but I want to laugh with others not at them. One of the things that I enjoy about the comedies that I have seen from Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia is that they make you laugh and think at the same time.
I am not in favor of censorship. What I am in favor of is being sensitive to how tearing others down makes them feel. Words have the power to wound deeply. When we make jokes that are prejudicial we add to the atmosphere of hate. We should not have to have censorship to stop these types of humor. If we are all sensitive to these things there will a cessation of humor that bullies.
As a side note: I am listening to Jan Werich while I write this. I understand a word here and there, but I will be happy when I learn enough Czech to understand all that he says.
I am not in favor of censorship. What I am in favor of is being sensitive to how tearing others down makes them feel. Words have the power to wound deeply. When we make jokes that are prejudicial we add to the atmosphere of hate. We should not have to have censorship to stop these types of humor. If we are all sensitive to these things there will a cessation of humor that bullies.
As a side note: I am listening to Jan Werich while I write this. I understand a word here and there, but I will be happy when I learn enough Czech to understand all that he says.
octipus rex 11
(From Andre-Richard's Journal)
when I saw the interior of my tree house I fell in love with it. there are two arm chairs with violet upholstery, a bed on which I put my scarlet bed clothes, on orange carpet, lemon-yellow walls and ceiling, a transparent desk and chair and cucumber-green papier-mache dining table.
in order to move my things up to my tree house it was necessary to use a rope and pulley apparatus. after bringing up my clothes, linen, dressed, typewriter, paper and purple pens I noticed a dumbwaiter in the corner.
later that afternoon I went swimming in the lake, and a beautiful swan who introduced herself as francesca said that she thought it humourous that we humans have to flap our arms and legs in such a grandiose fashion when swimming.
while I was swimming john built a raft and started riding it in the lake. he fell off the raft. he does not know how to swim and he started yelling for help, I had started to swim toward him when we saw an alligator start to swim toward him. when we saw the alligator we started to panic, and the alligator said that he was going to rescue john. he told john to climb onto his back, they have rarely separated since.
once when I was talking with the alligator when John was not present I learned that his name is raymond and that he had always wanted a pet human.
(From Herbert's Journal)
evening
this was a typically long day of painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and...the buzzer that buzzes when the day's work is over buzzed three minutes late, so i got home three minutes late.
when I saw the interior of my tree house I fell in love with it. there are two arm chairs with violet upholstery, a bed on which I put my scarlet bed clothes, on orange carpet, lemon-yellow walls and ceiling, a transparent desk and chair and cucumber-green papier-mache dining table.
in order to move my things up to my tree house it was necessary to use a rope and pulley apparatus. after bringing up my clothes, linen, dressed, typewriter, paper and purple pens I noticed a dumbwaiter in the corner.
later that afternoon I went swimming in the lake, and a beautiful swan who introduced herself as francesca said that she thought it humourous that we humans have to flap our arms and legs in such a grandiose fashion when swimming.
while I was swimming john built a raft and started riding it in the lake. he fell off the raft. he does not know how to swim and he started yelling for help, I had started to swim toward him when we saw an alligator start to swim toward him. when we saw the alligator we started to panic, and the alligator said that he was going to rescue john. he told john to climb onto his back, they have rarely separated since.
once when I was talking with the alligator when John was not present I learned that his name is raymond and that he had always wanted a pet human.
(From Herbert's Journal)
evening
this was a typically long day of painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and painting lips on baby dolls and...the buzzer that buzzes when the day's work is over buzzed three minutes late, so i got home three minutes late.
Monday, October 13, 2014
No Form of Bullying Should Be Tolerated
I am glad that there is more attention to bullying today. I think it is a good sign that I have seen more videos posted online about parents who stand up to get schools to allow their children to be who they are. If LGBTQ children are taught to love and accept themselves they will be happier. I think that parents who throw their children out of their homes for being gay or transgender should be arrested for child abuse. Too many teenagers end up living on the street because of parents who show hate instead of love. I cannot understand how anybody can treat their own children that way. I hope that we see an increase in the number of parents who love and accept their LGBTQ children. Another possibility that I would like to see happen is for same-sex couples to be able to marry and adopt these children who have been abandoned by their own families. One heartbreaking film that I saw is "Mandragora" directed by Wiktor Grodecki. It is about teens who for various reasons end up living on the streets of Prague. They are preyed on by men who lure them into prostitution. I would to see the day when things like this stop happening. All children should be brought up knowing that they are loved.
Bullying also happens among adults. Things like lists of the "ugliest celebrities," "worst dressed," etc. are a form of bullying. The people who make these lists seem to forget that their comments are hurtful or they do not care if they hurt someone. The type of humor that I have never found funny makes fun of others. Their have been comedians who make fun of groups of people or other celebrities. This is another form of bullying. No form of bullying should be tolerated.
Bullying also happens among adults. Things like lists of the "ugliest celebrities," "worst dressed," etc. are a form of bullying. The people who make these lists seem to forget that their comments are hurtful or they do not care if they hurt someone. The type of humor that I have never found funny makes fun of others. Their have been comedians who make fun of groups of people or other celebrities. This is another form of bullying. No form of bullying should be tolerated.
octipus rex 10
(From Martin's Journal)
i returned from paris where i had an exhibition of my paintings in the luxembourg gardens. fortunately i sold several pieces.
i was very tired when i arrived at my apartment so i made plans to go see herbert the next day. i was looking forward to seeing the hotel nicholas and i was especially looking forward to seeing herbert.
as i had planned i went to see herbert, joy, andre-richard, john and the hotel nicholas. herbert was right, i loved it.
herbert and i went to his room and we talked about my trip. in his room were two chairs; one could contemplate sitting in these chairs, but one could never sit in them. i suggested that he use the chairs that i had imported from atlantis. while there i met vaclav, a black cat who lives in a room behind herbert's room.
herbert then took me on another tour of the thirteenth floor to introduce me to the animals who live there. i made the acquaintance of albert, a conceited penguin, gainesborough, the tsar of the kangaroo rats and francesca, the empress of the swans. i was not happy to return alone to my drab apartment.
(From Vaclav's Journal)
today Martin finally moved in with Herbert. I now have someone with whom I can talk during the day when Aleksandr is not around. Martin said that he will spend most of his weekdays around here painting. he is about the same height as Herbert and is slightly chubby. he has silky black hair and deep brown eyes.
after we drank some tea he did a painting of me reading a book. I had not realised that I am such a beautiful cat.
i returned from paris where i had an exhibition of my paintings in the luxembourg gardens. fortunately i sold several pieces.
i was very tired when i arrived at my apartment so i made plans to go see herbert the next day. i was looking forward to seeing the hotel nicholas and i was especially looking forward to seeing herbert.
as i had planned i went to see herbert, joy, andre-richard, john and the hotel nicholas. herbert was right, i loved it.
herbert and i went to his room and we talked about my trip. in his room were two chairs; one could contemplate sitting in these chairs, but one could never sit in them. i suggested that he use the chairs that i had imported from atlantis. while there i met vaclav, a black cat who lives in a room behind herbert's room.
herbert then took me on another tour of the thirteenth floor to introduce me to the animals who live there. i made the acquaintance of albert, a conceited penguin, gainesborough, the tsar of the kangaroo rats and francesca, the empress of the swans. i was not happy to return alone to my drab apartment.
(From Vaclav's Journal)
today Martin finally moved in with Herbert. I now have someone with whom I can talk during the day when Aleksandr is not around. Martin said that he will spend most of his weekdays around here painting. he is about the same height as Herbert and is slightly chubby. he has silky black hair and deep brown eyes.
after we drank some tea he did a painting of me reading a book. I had not realised that I am such a beautiful cat.
octipus rex 9
(From Vaclav's Journal)
a few days ago several humans moved onto the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas. at first I was not at all pleased with this idea, but I think that I shall enjoy having them living here.
a few days ago i had been playing among the catnip and upon returning to my room I noticed that some things had been put in the room between my room and the corridor. I entered my room and saw a male human of medium height with brown hair and hazel eyes and glasses looking at the first volume of the theatre of Ionesco. I introduced myself and learned that his name is Herbert. while brewing tea we discussed the influence of the theatre of the absurd on the plays of Jose Triana.
we agreed to share books since he has some books that I do not have and I have many books that he does not have.
the next day when I went to play among the catnip I met a female human who introduced herself as Joy. she is shorter than Herbert and has long brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. she was picking some catnip. she said that she had read that for cats catnip is a narcotic and that she wanted to find out what effect smoking the leaves would have on humans.
the next day when I was taking a copy of Cinco horas con Mario by Miguel Delibes to Francesca, the Empress of the Swans, I made the acquaintance of an interesting male human. he was wearing a strawberry-red vest, an orange t-shirt and a lime-green dance belt with the initials "P.S.K." in violet on the front. he is tall with black hair, a mustache and beautiful black eyes. he calls himself Andre-Richard.
today I met the last of the humans who have moved into the Hotel Nicholas. he is an uninteresting person who only said that his name is John. he is a short chap with short red hair and sparkling grey eyes.
a few days ago several humans moved onto the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas. at first I was not at all pleased with this idea, but I think that I shall enjoy having them living here.
a few days ago i had been playing among the catnip and upon returning to my room I noticed that some things had been put in the room between my room and the corridor. I entered my room and saw a male human of medium height with brown hair and hazel eyes and glasses looking at the first volume of the theatre of Ionesco. I introduced myself and learned that his name is Herbert. while brewing tea we discussed the influence of the theatre of the absurd on the plays of Jose Triana.
we agreed to share books since he has some books that I do not have and I have many books that he does not have.
the next day when I went to play among the catnip I met a female human who introduced herself as Joy. she is shorter than Herbert and has long brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. she was picking some catnip. she said that she had read that for cats catnip is a narcotic and that she wanted to find out what effect smoking the leaves would have on humans.
the next day when I was taking a copy of Cinco horas con Mario by Miguel Delibes to Francesca, the Empress of the Swans, I made the acquaintance of an interesting male human. he was wearing a strawberry-red vest, an orange t-shirt and a lime-green dance belt with the initials "P.S.K." in violet on the front. he is tall with black hair, a mustache and beautiful black eyes. he calls himself Andre-Richard.
today I met the last of the humans who have moved into the Hotel Nicholas. he is an uninteresting person who only said that his name is John. he is a short chap with short red hair and sparkling grey eyes.
another note about octipus rex
I was not sure if I had the latest version of octipus rex, but when I saw the reference to cd's I could tell that it was. I spent too much editing and not enough time writing. As far as I know that was the only sign of updating. The omniscient computer was there from early on in the writing. I don't remember exactly when, but I am sure it was before 1984. I tried to match the style of writing to personality of the character writing.
octipus rex 8
(A Letter from Herbert to Martin after Moving into the Hotel Nicholas)
dearest martin,
how are the banana trees of your mind getting along?
well, as you know we have moved out of the hughes manor apartments. this morning after waking up i finished packing my books, records, cd's and clothes. i was sad to leave the hughes manor apartments and at the same time i was looking forward to moving into the hotel nicholas.
we had already moved joy, andre-richard and john into their abodes. it took us about us about an hour to bring my things up to my room. i told the others that i wanted some time alone to accustome myself to the new surroundings; I will have to dig a new wine cellar, so that i shall have one as i did in my old apartment building. after unpacking my things i decided to have a look at the room behind mine. we did not go into this room when we came to see the hotel last week. upon entering i was astonished by the number of books, records and cd's present. all four walls were covered with shelves, on three there are books and on the other there are records and cd's. gertrude stein, jean-paul sartre, albert camus, ana maria moix, samuel beckett and eugene ionesco are among the authors represented, and there are recordings of music by many composers. i was leafing through the first volume of the complete theatre of ionesco when a black came in and asked what cat taught me how to read. he thought that humans did not know how to read unless taught how to do so by a cat. after explaining that the room we were in was his, he introduced himself as vaclav. he continued to comment that ionesco in using absurdity in his writing showed the absurdity of, whereas sartre, paradoxically, used logical rationality to show the same absurdity.
he then offered me a cup of tea as he put a recording of a piece by a french composer on his turntable. we talked for awhile and drank tea.
i shall be glad when you return and can see the hotel nicholas. i am sure that you will love it. the design of my room was inspired by paintings by picasso, i am sure that you will agree that it is a wonderful room.
love,
herbert
dearest martin,
how are the banana trees of your mind getting along?
well, as you know we have moved out of the hughes manor apartments. this morning after waking up i finished packing my books, records, cd's and clothes. i was sad to leave the hughes manor apartments and at the same time i was looking forward to moving into the hotel nicholas.
we had already moved joy, andre-richard and john into their abodes. it took us about us about an hour to bring my things up to my room. i told the others that i wanted some time alone to accustome myself to the new surroundings; I will have to dig a new wine cellar, so that i shall have one as i did in my old apartment building. after unpacking my things i decided to have a look at the room behind mine. we did not go into this room when we came to see the hotel last week. upon entering i was astonished by the number of books, records and cd's present. all four walls were covered with shelves, on three there are books and on the other there are records and cd's. gertrude stein, jean-paul sartre, albert camus, ana maria moix, samuel beckett and eugene ionesco are among the authors represented, and there are recordings of music by many composers. i was leafing through the first volume of the complete theatre of ionesco when a black came in and asked what cat taught me how to read. he thought that humans did not know how to read unless taught how to do so by a cat. after explaining that the room we were in was his, he introduced himself as vaclav. he continued to comment that ionesco in using absurdity in his writing showed the absurdity of, whereas sartre, paradoxically, used logical rationality to show the same absurdity.
he then offered me a cup of tea as he put a recording of a piece by a french composer on his turntable. we talked for awhile and drank tea.
i shall be glad when you return and can see the hotel nicholas. i am sure that you will love it. the design of my room was inspired by paintings by picasso, i am sure that you will agree that it is a wonderful room.
love,
herbert
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Musings on octipus rex other posts and cod liver
I had not looked at what I had written of octipus rex in years. It is not as bad as I had thought. I hope everyone is enjoying it. Some of the characters are inspired in part by people I knew and contains aspects of my own personality. I mention places where I have been. I think you can tell the parts that are not based at all on reality. I did have fun writing it, and I do need to get back into creative writing. If anybody has any ideas as to what should be with octipus rex input would be appreciated. I still remember some of the things I had in mind for what would happen after the end of the fragment I am posting here.
I will try to vary the themes of my posts that are not my old writings. I have just been writing about things that are interesting and/or important to me.
I wish I could find some cod livers.I had a can of those in Prague, and I loved them.
I will try to vary the themes of my posts that are not my old writings. I have just been writing about things that are interesting and/or important to me.
I wish I could find some cod livers.I had a can of those in Prague, and I loved them.
octipus rex 7
(We find the Hotel Nicholas)
The building in which Herbert, Andre-Richard, John and I had apartments was condemned and was going to be demolished. It was a lovely building, but it needed extensive repairs. There were plans for a parking complex. The only reasons the contractors gave were that it was an old building and that the repairs would be costly. I did some research and found out that the repairs would have cost less than demolishing the building and building the parking complex. I also found out that the contractors had been hired by the merchants in the area, The building was only one hundred years old, and they wanted to tear it down so that they could get more business.I believe in progress, but we should keep traces of our past as a foundation on which to build the future. Now I shall get off of my soapbox and continue telling how we found the Hotel Nicholas.
We were looking for a place in which to live when Herbert saw an advertisement in the classified ads in which the management of the Hotel Nicholas said that they were desperately looking for tenants for the thirteenth floor of their hotel. The thing that attracted us was that the rent was low.
Andre-Richard called the number in the ad and made an appointment for the next day to see the hotel.
When we arrived at the manager's office he kept mentioning how low the rent was and that the hotel was in a good location, close to underground and bus stops. He then let us walk around the thirteenth floor at out own leisure.
We fell in love with it at first sight. It was nothing like we had expected, thank goodness. We were all tired of hotels and apartment buildings that all looked alike on the inside. The first thing that one sees upon entering through the door from the stairwell is a long corridor with trees at the end. Immediately to the right there is a simple room with one window which John said he wanted. Beside John's room is a large ballroom complete with chandeliers, and beside it what we thought was a purposeless corridor. Continuing down the hall one finds a room which temporarily remained empty, a swamp and an ice rink. On the left of the hall are a desert with a brook running through it, a room decorated in a rather cubistic fashion (Herbert wanted this room.) with catnip growing in the hall and an iceberg. At the end of the hall there is a forest with a lake. In the forest are a purple tree house trimmed in red in which Andre-Richard wanted to live and a one-room medieval castle modeled after the Vhateau d'Usse, (I wanted to live there.)
We signed the lease and made plans to move in the following week.
Joy Q.
The building in which Herbert, Andre-Richard, John and I had apartments was condemned and was going to be demolished. It was a lovely building, but it needed extensive repairs. There were plans for a parking complex. The only reasons the contractors gave were that it was an old building and that the repairs would be costly. I did some research and found out that the repairs would have cost less than demolishing the building and building the parking complex. I also found out that the contractors had been hired by the merchants in the area, The building was only one hundred years old, and they wanted to tear it down so that they could get more business.I believe in progress, but we should keep traces of our past as a foundation on which to build the future. Now I shall get off of my soapbox and continue telling how we found the Hotel Nicholas.
We were looking for a place in which to live when Herbert saw an advertisement in the classified ads in which the management of the Hotel Nicholas said that they were desperately looking for tenants for the thirteenth floor of their hotel. The thing that attracted us was that the rent was low.
Andre-Richard called the number in the ad and made an appointment for the next day to see the hotel.
When we arrived at the manager's office he kept mentioning how low the rent was and that the hotel was in a good location, close to underground and bus stops. He then let us walk around the thirteenth floor at out own leisure.
We fell in love with it at first sight. It was nothing like we had expected, thank goodness. We were all tired of hotels and apartment buildings that all looked alike on the inside. The first thing that one sees upon entering through the door from the stairwell is a long corridor with trees at the end. Immediately to the right there is a simple room with one window which John said he wanted. Beside John's room is a large ballroom complete with chandeliers, and beside it what we thought was a purposeless corridor. Continuing down the hall one finds a room which temporarily remained empty, a swamp and an ice rink. On the left of the hall are a desert with a brook running through it, a room decorated in a rather cubistic fashion (Herbert wanted this room.) with catnip growing in the hall and an iceberg. At the end of the hall there is a forest with a lake. In the forest are a purple tree house trimmed in red in which Andre-Richard wanted to live and a one-room medieval castle modeled after the Vhateau d'Usse, (I wanted to live there.)
We signed the lease and made plans to move in the following week.
Joy Q.
octipus rex 6
(From Martin's Journal)
i spent most of the evening painting "landscapes" on the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas. i have an exhibit set up at the botanical gardens in são paulo. i also painted a portrait of herbert that i shall present to him tomorrow for his birthday, which is next monday.
for lunch i ate some lizard and frog soup and drank a cocktail made from cactus and fig juices. vaclav joined me for this meal, which made me happy, otherwise i would have been lonely. after we finished eating vaclav recited "if i told him, a completed portrait of picasso" by gertrude stein. which served as an inspiration for a cubistic painting of joy's castle.
i hid the painting of herbert in vaclav's room.
i am looking forward to the trip to são paulo, sometimes herrbert and i need to spend time away from each other, i wish that he could understand this. i am going to have to insist that portuguese be the only language spoken in this room this week.
andre-richard was the first to get home from work. the first thing that he did was to change from a violet and orange flannel shirt and red bib overalls into lime-green sandals, lemon-yellow jock strap and tomato-red vest which reached to his feet. the "p.s.k." was in the traditional spot, of course. he says that he rushes home so that he can change from his "mundane clothes" into his "normal clothes."
joy came in, smoked a cat-nip cigarette and fell asleep at the edge of the forest.
herbert, as usual, got back at 15:17. i wish that he would not be so obsessive about promptness. i am tempted to hide his watch, but he would probably have a heart attack. i remember one day he got very very upset because he got home at 15:18.
albert came by to tell us that he was going to be leaving soon for the the south of france. he was planning to spend the summer in juan-les-pins with several excursions to ventimiglia. he said he was going to take plenty of suntan lotion.
francesca brought a wonderful gift for herbert. she had made liqueurs from cactus juice and fig juice. she brought the gift today, because she is planning on spending next week reading and sitting on an egg.
after dinner we listened to an opera with vaclav as we drank tea and ate grapes.
boa noite.
i spent most of the evening painting "landscapes" on the thirteenth floor of the hotel nicholas. i have an exhibit set up at the botanical gardens in são paulo. i also painted a portrait of herbert that i shall present to him tomorrow for his birthday, which is next monday.
for lunch i ate some lizard and frog soup and drank a cocktail made from cactus and fig juices. vaclav joined me for this meal, which made me happy, otherwise i would have been lonely. after we finished eating vaclav recited "if i told him, a completed portrait of picasso" by gertrude stein. which served as an inspiration for a cubistic painting of joy's castle.
i hid the painting of herbert in vaclav's room.
i am looking forward to the trip to são paulo, sometimes herrbert and i need to spend time away from each other, i wish that he could understand this. i am going to have to insist that portuguese be the only language spoken in this room this week.
andre-richard was the first to get home from work. the first thing that he did was to change from a violet and orange flannel shirt and red bib overalls into lime-green sandals, lemon-yellow jock strap and tomato-red vest which reached to his feet. the "p.s.k." was in the traditional spot, of course. he says that he rushes home so that he can change from his "mundane clothes" into his "normal clothes."
joy came in, smoked a cat-nip cigarette and fell asleep at the edge of the forest.
herbert, as usual, got back at 15:17. i wish that he would not be so obsessive about promptness. i am tempted to hide his watch, but he would probably have a heart attack. i remember one day he got very very upset because he got home at 15:18.
albert came by to tell us that he was going to be leaving soon for the the south of france. he was planning to spend the summer in juan-les-pins with several excursions to ventimiglia. he said he was going to take plenty of suntan lotion.
francesca brought a wonderful gift for herbert. she had made liqueurs from cactus juice and fig juice. she brought the gift today, because she is planning on spending next week reading and sitting on an egg.
after dinner we listened to an opera with vaclav as we drank tea and ate grapes.
boa noite.
octipus rex 5
(Vaslav's comments to Aleksandr after Reading Andre-Richard's Journal)
Andre-Richard gave me his journal to read the other day. he is certain that it will be published after his death and hailed a literary masterpiece. the style with which he writes in it is humorous, he uses ridiculously long sentences. many times he could use simpler words and phrases. he thinks that this impresses others. I could never be impressed by someone as flashy and shallow as he.
if his novels are written in the same style I do not think that I shall read them. the fact that "I" is the only thing that he capitalizes in not worthy of comment.
every entry ends with "bonsoit, buenas noches, boa noite, buon sera, goodnight." he may know how to speak these languages, but why must he try to impress others with this knowledge.
I would enjoy being with Andre-Richard more if he would relax and be himself. He has a nice personality, but he is afraid of opening up to others, and he tries too to impress everybody.
Andre-Richard gave me his journal to read the other day. he is certain that it will be published after his death and hailed a literary masterpiece. the style with which he writes in it is humorous, he uses ridiculously long sentences. many times he could use simpler words and phrases. he thinks that this impresses others. I could never be impressed by someone as flashy and shallow as he.
if his novels are written in the same style I do not think that I shall read them. the fact that "I" is the only thing that he capitalizes in not worthy of comment.
every entry ends with "bonsoit, buenas noches, boa noite, buon sera, goodnight." he may know how to speak these languages, but why must he try to impress others with this knowledge.
I would enjoy being with Andre-Richard more if he would relax and be himself. He has a nice personality, but he is afraid of opening up to others, and he tries too to impress everybody.
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