Like Sparrows

Look at the sleeping cat. Look at the tiger chasing a gazelle. Look at sparrows fighting about a piece of bread. Look at Sofia who cheats her boyfriend Júlio with Afonso for jewellery, expensive clothes, traveling and luxury dinners. Look at Júlio who wants to kill Afonso at his 60th birthday ... but in the end kills himself and not Afonso.

What distinguishes 'homo sapiens' from the other species on planet Earth? Suicide! Only human beings are able to commit suicide. No other animal ever will.

Last weekend I read Dulce Maria Cardoso's book 'O Chão dos Pardais' (2009). Translated in English its title is 'The Floor of Sparrows'. (Mark that this book can only be read in Portuguese. It's not translated in any other language, yet.) Lovely book. Full of wisdom. Dulce doesn't condemn or judge. She is registering. She records how people's lives evolve. Can evolve. Usually evolve. And could have evolved completely differently by a breeze. An almost-breeze.

This is one of those books you should read yourselves and not some book review. If not, you would not grasp the opening poem and more than 10 "philosophical" quotes which serve as chapter titles.

This book is not about Afonso who cheats his wife Alice with a girlfriend. This time her name is Sofia. It's not about his wife Alice who has many more reasons than Júlio to kill Afonso. But never found a good alibi to actually do it. It's not about their children Manuel and Clara. Nor about migrant, maid Elizaveta who falls in love with lesbian Clara. Nor about Manuel who after many months finally meets his online chat-lover Lilly.

This book is about the cruel art of desert (read: Mother Nature). The cruel art of human beings - the only species that is able to commit suicide - that fight like sparrows on the ground (read: planet Earth) for ...? Money? Beauty? Privileges? Intelligence? Bread? Or ...?

P.S. The blog above presents my interpretation of Dulce's message in her book. It's not my message ;)

Dulce Maria Cardoso. Inventory of her Books

Today I checked out portuguese writer Dulce Maria Cardoso (born 1964) on internet. Hardly anything interesting to find about or from her - accept her books. She did win in 2009 the European Union Prize for Liturature. There is a short wikipedia lemma on her in German.

She wrote 4 books:

• 'Campo de Sangue' (2002)
• Translations: 'Coeurs arrachés' (french) and 'Campo de Sangre' (spanish). Translated in english too as 'Field of Blood'? 
• What's it about? It's a story about 4 woman who wait in a room together. They will testify about a man accused of murder. A man they all know personally.
• 'Os meus Sentimentos' (2005)
• Translations: 'Les anges' (french) and 'Violeta en de engelen' (dutch)
• What's it about? Car accident. Violeta is dying and thinking of her life in retrospect. Her life that changed because of Angola. The brutal quest for love by a fat girl. Review (@sharonhagenbeek's)  on this book. 
• 'Até Nós' (2008)
• Translations: -
• What's it about? "You, reader come with me on the side of the road. The light will reveal crimes and loves we know." Often without knowing that we know.
• 'O Chão dos Pardais' (2009)
• Translation: - 
• In progress. Translation (by Harrie Lemmers) in dutch 'Keerzijde'. Book will be published around 15 September, 2011. Source
• What's it about? Alfonso is a very powerful man. Unattainable. Except for getting older. Alfonso's familiy is a house in ruin. But everthing is perfect in celebration of sixty years of Alfonso.

I'm eager to read her book 'Keerzijde'. She said "I love just let time pass by". That's exactly how life feels for me. Just read a little. Write a little. Tweet a little. Look out the window a little. Watch a movie a little. Think of you a little … just let time pass by.

Of mice and men

Is it a coincidence that Michel de Montaigne and Dulce Maria Cardoso favorite pastime is just let time pass by and do nothing? Just like me. Why do we like this so much? Is it your favorite pastime too? Why?

This weekend I returned from my summerholiday. For 3 weeks I was with my family at the Mediterranean near Martigue (France). What can I say?  It was a good and lovely holiday. The weather was warm (>25C) and sunny. In my country it rained for more than 2 weeks. I read  6 books. Kids swam a lot at the swimmingpool and in the sea. We made a trip to Marseille twice. I loved the "wild" Calanques between Marseille and Casis. Strolled on the streets of Vincent van Gogh' Arles. Visited Cezanne's old atelier on a hill  (Lauves) in Aix-en-Provence. After 100 years Mont Sainte-Victoire is no longer visible from his/ this spot. Big trees everywhere. My kids were impressed by the  castle of  Tarascon. I missed the medieval smell. I looked for mouses (didn't see any). I made 2 coastwalks of more than 5 hours alone. I love to walk alone.

I could give you many more details.  I could show you all the pictures that were made. You could interview me, my wife and our 4 kids. We could ... - there must be more - but in the end we will end with "empty" hands. The truth is that we can't freeze or grab the days that pass by one by one. In a way I enjoy my life most when I don't freeze it. When I'm out of control. When I have no real target other than just let time pass by. Read a little. Dream a litte. Talk, eat, make love and hug a little. Write a little.

Since 10.000 BC species 'homo sapiens' settled down. No more walking around looking for something to eat. They settled down in farms and cities. Enough food nearby. Cooked food. More and more of us hardly need to invest time in getting and digest something to eat. So much much spare time compared to the other 'homo' species. It made us the species of today.

What's my point? We as species 'homo sapiens' lost something  since the agricultural and city revolution. Before this revolution - in my opinion the only two real ones - we had only one target: food, shelter, safety and reproduction. What did we lost? We lost track of our species dedication. We gained distraction. We gained so much distraction that most of us are most of the time lost. Lost! Got lost in distraction.

Since our species settled down we live together with mouses. Just realize every now and then that most of our species 9.000 generations of ancestors were not familiar with mouses. Nor with houses. Nor with cities. They walked around looking for ...

Question: are those whose favorite pastime is 'Just let time pass by and do nothing' those who are NOT lost in distraction?

Life in progress. List 28th June 2010 12.27h

My to do list. My public to do list concerning Twitter and Blogging (disordered):

• Check out writer Dulce Maria Cardoso. I want to read one of her books because she said “I love just let time pass by”. I blogged about her before.
• Re-read Tom Holland's  book 'Rubicon'. Find out why Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon. Was it survival? Vanity? Or ...? It's a spin-off on this blog.
• Read poems of one of my friends.
• Listen to music of one of my friends.
• Decide if I'll write a bookreview on Robin Olds book 'Fighter Pilot'. I finished it last week.
• Write a non-read-review on book ''THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. How Our Most Ancient Moral Text Can Renew Modern Life'. A book I'll never read.
• Check out website of cloud lovers:  www.cloudappreciationsociety.org. They really exist!
• Find out why Winston Churchill refused twice his Duke title after winning World War II. He was such a proud men and jealous on his nephew's title. Why did he refuse the title he earned himselves? Vanity?
• Re-reading Gerald Brenan's book 'South of Granada'. It's input for a #dream #travel post for @kirsty_wilson
• Pick out the 7 books I'll read in this years summerholiday. I love puzzling on this. Pick up books. Browse a little. Smell at the book - I really do. 

Question: What's your list?

Interested in Dulce M Cardoso. Just because of 1 sentence

Sometimes I read a book just because of 1 sentence. Sometimes I’m interested in a writer because of just 1 line he/ she wrote. Right now I’m fascinated on Dulce Maria Cardoso. I read last week a review about her new book ‘Os meus Sentimentos’ (dutch ‘Violeta en de engelen’). The strange thing is I don't want to read this book. It’s about a very fat lady who looks back on her life while dying after a car accident. It’s about the dishonesty and cruelty in which “we” treat other human beings who are “ugly” & how they feel themselves. Well … ‘e isso ai’. For me no reason to read this book. I’m not interested in the subject.

I’m fascinated in the writer Cardoso because she said “I love just let time pass by” (dutch “ze houdt ervan haar tijd zo’n beetje te verdoen”). That is exactly how life feels for me. Just read a little, write a little, tweet a little, look out the window a little, watch a movie a little, think of you a little … just let time pass by. Not because I’m bored or not interested but because that’s what I like best. I don’t have to climb the mount Everest. I’m not interested to become next years gliderchampion. I just love to breath in and breath out. Listen to my own thoughts. Let the flow of my life float.