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June 30, 2007
Random
The share of space taken by books devoted to gardening in London's chain bookshops is equivalent to that of self-help books in the US.
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Out of nowhere, while walking in Soho it dawned on me that Elias Canetti's chess playing dwarf in "Auto da Fé" must be a reference to the Mechanical Turk! Duh!
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The Gay Pride Parade in London was an oxymoron. Blame it on the weather or on the bomb scare, this was the dullest gay parade I've ever seen.
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Strange country this is. They had running bets on the color of the hat the Queen would wear to Ascot.
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Saw the cutest personal ad on a free London newspaper the other day but unfortunately threw it away, as one does with these ecological crimes disguised as information. It ran something like "Mature man seeks Rubenesque lady for wine, theatre and love." Hell, weren't I taken and more of the Modiglianesque build, I'd answer that :)
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Amused by Pakistan's claim that making Rushdie a knight "breaches a United Nations resolution aimed at calming tensions between different religions". Obviously, the maintenance of a fatwa calling for the writer's execution is perfectly compliant.
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So glad I got to read Nabokov's Lolita precisely when I was almost giving up on finding an engaging novel. Can't forget: the classics!. Got a cheap copy at Judd books. Such a beautiful, rythmic and sensual writing. Along with "A hundred years of solitude" this is one of my favorite ouvertures of all times:
"Lolita. Light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta."
Perfect alliteration.
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Nerd. Orange. Tote Bag. Perfect.
Good title too, considering the crappy London street map I carry.
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Advanced Creative Portuguese - Lesson #1
Bijoquinzinhos - multiple kisses like the popping sounds of small fish in a frying pan.
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June 29, 2007
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June 27, 2007
Revenge
Araeen's Third Text magazine
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June 24, 2007
Keep Clear
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June 22, 2007
An interview with Bacon is online over at the always wonderful UBU web.
"What do you gain by throwing paint directly at the canvas?"
"I only did that in a few paintings...I was sick of the look of them, I just threw a lot of paint on them..and they turned out well...I quite like them."
"I only paint portraits of myself because there's no one else around."
There's nothing like getting to know the deep philosophical and aesthetic choices of the artists through their own voices.
Apart from the bit where he seems to get drunker and drunker, I particularly liked the whole idea of wrestling with the canvas and the reason he gives to paint couples having sex: "because it's when they generally talk less and I'm not a conversational artist". The very last part is very gossipy, with Melvyn Bragg trying to extract an "I love S&M, do you want to see my dungeon?" confession from him in a rather insistent yet subtle way (if you disregard the number of times the word "pain" is used).
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June 21, 2007
(from the Marjetica Potrc exhibition at The Curve, Barbican)
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June 20, 2007
London
I moved to London temporarily where I'll be busy busy busy drowning in paintings, sculptures and written assignments.
The view:
*****
Made it to the White Cube gallery today and saw "For the love of God", the latest Damien Hirst. I loved his work when I first got to know it but by now it just seems too much mainstream/marketing stunt to me. He's no longer an enfant terrible but he insists on being outrageous. And however I try to cooly dismiss him, he keeps surprising me. Yes, it's just a skull covered in diamonds, big deal...but the fact is that it's really exciting. A group of people is let in a dark room where you can't see anything but the skull in a glass case, cleverly lit. We were allowed 2 minutes inside and we were advised to circle it. It was like a religious ceremony, 8 adults walking around a skull that shined with all the colors of the rainbow, like a tribe performing a ritual dance around a totem pole. Everyone was gaping for is a truly beautiful, strangely seductive piece. And the whole dark mystery setup just adds glamour to the bloody thing. Argh, 4 days I've been here, mostly surrounded by Americans, and still I have used the expressions "Bloody hell", "That's rubbish" and "Loo" way too many times.
(also saw Richard Hamilton himself at another gallery, an old man wearing a long white beard and levi's jeans chatting with an employee)
*****
So much to blog about, so little time.
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June 07, 2007
Excitement Adventure Romance...
Picasso, La Joie de Vivre
*+*+*+*
When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
--Cavafy
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June 05, 2007
It just occurred to me...
that all footage of Elvis either in his beardless, boyish, white sock wearing, teenage-screaming phase or in his bloated, cheesy white outfit, intoxicated, middle aged women on anti-depressants screaming phase should be erased. An Elvis in a fit body, wearing black leather and singing in a sexy, coarse voice is all we need to remember. Oh and, leather or no leather, I'd erase the teddy bears, lonesome girls and love me tenders crap too.
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