Numerous As

The love for islands or the joy of being alone (solitude). Where does it come from - and where does it go to? Observation: the roots are ancient and examples numerous. Question: something all 'homo sapiens' need every now and then?

Three "random" pictures of islands, moving in some transmission medium, I like very much.

Title 'Provence' (2004). Artist: Mildebergius (born 1965) from Estonia. 

Title 'Braslav Lakes' (2010). Artist: Anna Silivonchik (born 1980) from Belarus. 

Title 'Fantazya' (2012). Artist: Dilek Isiksel (born 1948) from Turkey. 

Nor Divine. Nor Unspoiled. Nor Virgin

A desert traveler writes (2015): "It's no longer imaginable: the divine desert only for me and the camels. Back then [30 years ago J.D.] there were no cars and there was no GPS."

Strange assertion for a historian like me. It must be a 'Golden Years' (David Bowie) kind of view on the traveler's, travels of thirty years ago. But ... back then the desert was nor divine, nor unspoiled, nor virgin, nor without cars, nor without GPS.

Navigation is of all time - no exception for navigating in the desert:

Transport is of all time - no exception for transporting in the desert:

New techniques give new (im)possibilities. With their own (dis)advantages, limitations and range. A walking man can, under a full sun, in "the" desert survive 3 days without water. A camel can walk for 3 weeks without water. A motor vehicle can drive for months without water. A man and camel need food for fuel and a car gasoline. A ship is bound to water for transportation. Etcetera

What's my point? William Roe Polk in his book 'Passing Brave' (1973): "Abu Jurj, it is all gone. Labid is dead. You were right about the truck. It has killed us [the camel and the nomad J.D.] all." Read for trucks: cars, trains or airplanes.

What rests is romanticism. 'Romanticism' defined as "fallible people who pursue the dream of perfection." The camel as transport for salt and other commodities is gone. Since 1900 the camel, in the Middle East, is one of many ways of transport for the tourist, traveler and soldier. A source of revenue for the tourist leader, writer or filmmaker. The desert is a place - with and without a camel - where you must be able to survive as a soldier.

Source photo: Dany Marique

Only Passionately Curious

10 Lessons from Albert E=MC2

1. Follow Your Curiosity “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”
2. Perseverance is Priceless “It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
3. Focus on the Present “Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.”
4. The Imagination is Powerful “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions. Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
5. Make Mistakes “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
6. Live in the Moment “I never think of the future – it comes soon enough.”
7. Create Value “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”
8. Don’t be repetitive “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
9. Knowledge Comes From Experience “Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience.”
10. Learn the Rules and Then Play Better “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”

P.S. Picture is from Anna Silvonchik, 'Over the Hills and Far Away' (2007)

P.P.S. Source of the 10 lessons: here

They Are Missing the Point!

Darkly despondent. Goofily exuberant. Grand folly of a record. English magic. Biggest stylistic jump in Kate Bush's career. 

Many adjectives on KT's CD 'Aerial' (2005) but so ... meaningless. Michael Bonner even says of the first disk ('A Sea of Honey') - in UNCUT. Kate Bush. The Ultimate Music Guide (2015 Issue 3) - that it's a collection of unconnected songs. Unconnected!

Is "everyone" still missing the point that Kate Bush is a mystic on her CD 'Aerial'? Someone who reaches beyond good and evil? Beyond sky and sea? Beyond music and silence? Beyond dead or being alive?

P.S. I wrote about this on July 26th, 2009 'Kate Bush. Mystic on 'Aerial'. Invitation to be nondualistic'