More Simple Plaesures
Mood: Creative
Listening to: The Style Council
Dec 25, 2007 at 01:21 o\clock
Sep 13, 2006 at 22:04 o\clock
Moving Home for a while
Moving for a while at least to http://simplepleasures3.blogspot.com/ - come visit...
Sep 11, 2006 at 07:40 o\clock
Peace and Tolerance revisited
Mood: reflective
Listening to: bob dylan
-----Original Message-----
From: ArkAngel
Sent: 11 September 2006 07:35
To: 'breakfast@bbc.co.uk'
Subject: Memories of 9/11
I was celebrating birth on that day of death. It was my 38th birthday.
My friends at work had taken me out for lunch. We returned to our office to be confronted with the difficult to comprehend scenes of burning buildings and colliding planes. When the first tower collapsed a terrible reality started to kick in.
I remember particularly the presents I was given that innocent lunchtime before we returned to those tv pictures. Peter Ackroyd's book 'London' about a city I love. And Bob Dylan's album that had just come out that day 'Love and Theft' which represnted the opposite of death and terrorism - music, man's art and creativity.
ArkAngel
London
Feb 5, 2006 at 11:50 o\clock
Peace and Tolerance
Going to have a little paddle in the darker side of our world today as a way of addressing the simple pleasures of Peace, Tolerance and Freedom.
This whole row over the cartoons of Muhammad published the other day in Denmark - here's exploring a few points...
Objecting Muslims cite the ban on the graven image in their religion. The cartoonists weren't Muslims so that doesn't really apply. As it happens both Judaism and Christianity have similar restrictions on the graven image enshrined in the (from memory) second Commandment but these religions over the years have somehow been able to distinguish between an idol and Picasso's Guernica.
You only need go to Leighton House in London to see how Muslims have an admirable history of flouting this ban to the benefit of Art. The beautiful Islamic tiles collected by Frederic, Lord Leighton include images of birds - however, you can trace in the glaze cuts across the birds' throats which apparently get one round the graven image restriction. Jewish artists have taken a similar approach, for example, at Bet Alpha synagogue where mosaic images of the animals and figures of the signs of the zodiac adorn the floor - but that's okay apparently because we walk on them.
Now how about the offence caused by the images. A cartoonist dared to make an association between Muhammad and bombs - can't think where he got that from? I guess this is about thinness of skin. Islam seems to have a very thin skin. It's terribly easily offended. Perhaps a sign of lack of confidence. Most other religions seem to be able to take it on the chin, a bit of satire or even, heaven forfend, criticism.
Why on earth aren't the Christians up in arms about this portrayal of God?
Or thinking more in terms of prophets, why aren't they kicking up a stink about this portrayal of Jesus
or this one
or even this one?
And why aren't those serene Buddhists going bonkers over this cartoon of Buddha?
Meanwhile the Jews seem to be taking it on the chin day after day as Palestinian, Arabic and Muslim newspapers publish anti-semitic cartoons worthy of Der Sturmer and the Nazis.
So in an ideal world we'd all spend a bit more time thinking about what God, Muhammad, Jesus and Buddha actually care about. Do they care if mere mortals draw funny (or not so funny) pictures of them? Do they want us to threaten (or carry out) "beheading" and "massacring" as suggested by the placards we've seen on the streets of my beloved London this week? Or do they want us to love one another and treat others as we'd want to be treated ourselves? Perhaps it's time to stop looking ridiculous waving our swords and scimitars in the air and start behaving like loving human beings...
This whole row over the cartoons of Muhammad published the other day in Denmark - here's exploring a few points...
Objecting Muslims cite the ban on the graven image in their religion. The cartoonists weren't Muslims so that doesn't really apply. As it happens both Judaism and Christianity have similar restrictions on the graven image enshrined in the (from memory) second Commandment but these religions over the years have somehow been able to distinguish between an idol and Picasso's Guernica.
You only need go to Leighton House in London to see how Muslims have an admirable history of flouting this ban to the benefit of Art. The beautiful Islamic tiles collected by Frederic, Lord Leighton include images of birds - however, you can trace in the glaze cuts across the birds' throats which apparently get one round the graven image restriction. Jewish artists have taken a similar approach, for example, at Bet Alpha synagogue where mosaic images of the animals and figures of the signs of the zodiac adorn the floor - but that's okay apparently because we walk on them.
Now how about the offence caused by the images. A cartoonist dared to make an association between Muhammad and bombs - can't think where he got that from? I guess this is about thinness of skin. Islam seems to have a very thin skin. It's terribly easily offended. Perhaps a sign of lack of confidence. Most other religions seem to be able to take it on the chin, a bit of satire or even, heaven forfend, criticism.
Why on earth aren't the Christians up in arms about this portrayal of God?
Or thinking more in terms of prophets, why aren't they kicking up a stink about this portrayal of Jesus
or this one
or even this one?
And why aren't those serene Buddhists going bonkers over this cartoon of Buddha?
Meanwhile the Jews seem to be taking it on the chin day after day as Palestinian, Arabic and Muslim newspapers publish anti-semitic cartoons worthy of Der Sturmer and the Nazis.
So in an ideal world we'd all spend a bit more time thinking about what God, Muhammad, Jesus and Buddha actually care about. Do they care if mere mortals draw funny (or not so funny) pictures of them? Do they want us to threaten (or carry out) "beheading" and "massacring" as suggested by the placards we've seen on the streets of my beloved London this week? Or do they want us to love one another and treat others as we'd want to be treated ourselves? Perhaps it's time to stop looking ridiculous waving our swords and scimitars in the air and start behaving like loving human beings...
Dec 11, 2005 at 11:37 o\clock
Has anyone seen my old friend John?
Been storing this one up since Thursday (8 Dec) - it was 25 years ago that day that we lost John Lennon. I was in Tijuana where I saw his picture beside headlines I couldn't fully translate but I knew he was gone.
So I kicked off Thursday with Oh Yoko which this picture reminds me of - thank God he found Love.
In the middle of a cloud
In the middle of a cloud I call your name
Oh Yoko, oh Yoko, my love will turn you on
How wonderful to be able to write a song like that for your lover - so simple (which is after all the theme of this blog).
Love is reaching, reaching love
Next up was Across the Universe which is one of the very best of The Beatles' songs - one I believe John was particularly proud of (caught a bit of an archive interview on Radio 4 the other day by a Rolling Stone journo in the 70s.)
And as I headed off to work what better than A Day in the Life from the magical Sgt Pepper...
On the tube listened to his greatest solo hits and the two aspects of his songs which really stood out were the searing honesty (e.g. Mother) and the brilliant simplicity, such as Love quoted above and below.
Love is you
You and me
Love is knowing
We can be
...which links directly in spirit to my website Be Do Be
So with shades of Sinatra, echoes of Lennon, I'll just have to skip Miles and content myself with Marvin to round things off - John L is far more deserving than John F of these beautifully sung words:
Has anybody here
Seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
but it seems the good die young,
I just looked around
And he was gone...
So I kicked off Thursday with Oh Yoko which this picture reminds me of - thank God he found Love.
In the middle of a cloud
In the middle of a cloud I call your name
Oh Yoko, oh Yoko, my love will turn you on
How wonderful to be able to write a song like that for your lover - so simple (which is after all the theme of this blog).
Love is reaching, reaching love
Next up was Across the Universe which is one of the very best of The Beatles' songs - one I believe John was particularly proud of (caught a bit of an archive interview on Radio 4 the other day by a Rolling Stone journo in the 70s.)
And as I headed off to work what better than A Day in the Life from the magical Sgt Pepper...
On the tube listened to his greatest solo hits and the two aspects of his songs which really stood out were the searing honesty (e.g. Mother) and the brilliant simplicity, such as Love quoted above and below.
Love is you
You and me
Love is knowing
We can be
...which links directly in spirit to my website Be Do Be
So with shades of Sinatra, echoes of Lennon, I'll just have to skip Miles and content myself with Marvin to round things off - John L is far more deserving than John F of these beautifully sung words:
Has anybody here
Seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
but it seems the good die young,
I just looked around
And he was gone...
