Saturday 27 September 2014

from Lines to Myself 1



The novelist does not long to see the lion eat grass. He realizes that one and the same God created the wolf and the lamb, then smiled, "seeing that his work was good."  - Andre Gide


Friday 26 September 2014

haiku



schoolyard scrap 

 two boys with bloody noses

- the teacher breaks it up 



Requiem for one who dared



- for Francesco Fornabaio 


two thousand eyes looked 
heavenward to see 

a little yellow plane describing
loops of smoke

but then 
it tumbled from the sky 

and fell 
to final rest 

behind the trees beside 
the gated path

that leads  to 
the sky-blue sea

a rescue helicopter's roar 
then rose into the air 

(the broken yellow plane 
 will fly no more) 

the one who died 
did dare!


 









Thursday 25 September 2014

Mack's Nine Columns







As you may have observed, only eight of Heinz Mack's splendid columns are to be seen in the above photo. One of the columns was 'sacrificed' for the sake of composition. 

I had to capture the moment; the boats, the feathery cloud, the play of light on the tesserae, and the person sillhouetted at the water's edge.  

Apology to Heinz Mack; there was no time to dither. 



Press Release





PRESS RELEASE NO: dhkhjaf/2379123/14


In view of the current unstable situation in the financial markets vis-a-vis our present spat with Mr. Putin we have reviewed our financial policy for member states of the Eurozone. Details herewith:

m c
___     =  

 3


To calculate the real value of the euro for your Eurozone country, here shown as , please use the following EU anti-corruption index: 

The letter m represents the amount in euros issued by the EU to your country for the last financial year. 

The letter c represents the number of successful criminal prosecutions for financial corruption in your country for the last 12 month period for which statistics are available.

The number 3 represents the number 3. 

Should appear to be too high for your country please divide mc by 2 or in extreme cases by 1. This will have the beneficial effect of increasing the real value of .  It will then be possible for the EU to give you more money. 

If you have any questions please hesitate to contact us. 


Current interest 29.99% APR variable - terms and conditions apply - see overleaf. Copies available in 23 languages. 



FOLLOW OUR GOLDEN RULE: 
DO UNTO OTHERS BEFORE THEY DO IT UNTO YOU!


Wednesday 24 September 2014

Question: Is life what we make of it?





  The journey is what we, ourselves, are. 

Life is what we make of it.

  Travel is the traveller. 

What we see isn't what we see

  But what we are. 


(Fernando Pessoa)*

The poet had 75 pseudonyms, or more correctly heteronyms.



Tuesday 23 September 2014

Religious Instruction 2






Religious Instruction






Rhyming Goats and Bombs







The  Tauernschecken goats are having a good time in Vienna's zoo.

For some the zoo's previous inhabitants it wasn't always so.

During World War II a total of sixty bombs fell on the zoo killing 30% of the zoo's animals.

Animals which found themselves suddenly free ran away; but then unexpectedly they all returned to their damaged cages and enclosures.

British and Russian soldiers worked side by side to repair the damage caused by allied bombing.

The zoo, or Schonbrunn Tiergarten as it is called, is probably the oldest zoo in the world.



Friday 19 September 2014

Haiku


  in the garden teahouse
music of the water on the boil
 silent now the birds outside


Saturday 13 September 2014

Views from Vienna's Zoo



I took all these photos during my recent visit to the zoo in Vienna. I hope you enjoy them.

For me it was a very enjoyable day out and a rewarding experience. The animals appeared to be enjoying the day too. 

There have been many improvements and innovations at the zoo since my last visit. I shall definitely go there again, and go soon. 

The staff at the zoo are doing important and meaningful work. And they are doing it well. 




















This is not a U-Bahn Station





This is not a U-Bahn Station. And this post is not a Renee Magritte joke.

In the first instance I have told a white lie. Sadly the second statement is true.

The tunnel pictured above may stink like an unclean WC but it is in fact an exit from a U-Bahn Station.

It's to be found at a conveniently situated U-Bahn Station where the trains stop to disembark passengers bound for the Vienna Philharmonic and the Kunstlerhaus Museum, two of Vienna's tourist attractions.

Also it is convenient for the Imperial Hotel which is, as the name implies, the city's top hotel.

The reason I said it's not a U-Bahn Station is because when I had to go there recently the stench of  stale urine was too dreadful to describe. I could hardly breathe.

Hardly anyone uses this exit unless they have to, especially during the hours of darkness.

As a public convenience it doubtless serves the city's homeless and wandering alcoholics. Two people were selling the fortnightly paper Augustin, a worthy project to help the homeless, when I passed.

Women with children in buggies, shoppers carrying parcels, the infirm, the less-mobile elderly, the wheelchair users who use this station in the centre of Vienna deserve better.  Meanwhile we lucky others waltz by and scuttle up and down the steps.



Thursday 11 September 2014

Flaka Haliti's Clouds



Flaka Haliti's cloud-faces are currently on display at Vienna's MUMOK. There are 10 to see. I show detail from one. They bring an airy lightness to a room. Now you may imagine them on the walls of a dreaded waiting room; maybe at the doctor's or dentist's where they might engender a soothing calmness. To be seen at MUMOK until the 5th October.









Wednesday 10 September 2014

Ice Cream with Jange


The subject of my poem is a rhino called Jange who was orphaned at the age of 6 months. His mother was killed by poachers in Nepal. Unprotected after the loss of his mother the young rhino was attacked by a tiger. You can read his story below and learn why and how he came to be in Vienna Zoo.

In the poem I tried through using the plight of the rhino to bring to the mind of the reader the thought that an orphaned child in a war zone is not only in danger but probably cannot enjoy a simple pleasure like eating an ice cream. But the poem gives hope at least, for like Jange they too may eventually see better times.




I fled from a war's breaking news on TV
and wandered the zoo
for the day. 

One I saw there was Jange, the orphan 
the tiger attacked 
in Nepal,

Bathing in watery mud; 
and in it up to his chin 
in the sun. 

Armed with a cone of ice cream 
I reflected. O lucky is he  
this rhino, like me

At ease in the sun; 
 safe now from the guns 
of the hunt. 






Tuesday 9 September 2014

Adolf Frohner




Adolf Frohner (1934 - 2007)



"Art must not be pretty. But it must be necessary."  



Warrior 


The Adolf Frohner exhibition opened a few days ago at the Essl Museum in Klosterneuburg near Vienna.



Marionette 



Crucifixion 



Man with Wounds


The Essl Museum, as I have said before, is always worth a visit. I go there often. The current Frohner exhibition is spread over 7 rooms on the ground floor. The museum's rooftop cafe' with it's open air terrace and fine views is an added bonus. The free bus to the Essl Museum departs at 2-hourly intervals commencing at 10am from outside The Albertina in the centre of Vienna. There is a regular and frequent train service from Vienna to Klosterneuburg. The exhibition runs until 6th April 2015. 


Monday 8 September 2014

Top Level Meeting


". . . the mushroom cloud had 4 condensation rings, 3 ice caps, 2 skirts and 3 bells." 
Report on the Castle Bravo Cloud




Last evening I watched a debate on ORF TV in which the Russian ambassador to Vienna and an Austrian journalist who has been in Ukraine these past several weeks and travelled throughout the country (and who can speak Ukrainian and Russian) spoke much common sense. An EU representative and a military strategist, were also on the programme. I was impressed by the intelligent and informed articulations  of the Russian ambassador and the Austrian journalist. And I was also impressed with the views and opinions of a fifth panelist an Austrian businessman. The EU representative trotted out heavily biased  propaganda and opinion. The military strategist was plainly out of his depth. The Russian ambassador was disappointed that the EU was promulgating a Grimm Brothers' fairy tale.


When the people are asleep the trolls wreak havoc. It's time for us to wake up. 
  


Friday 5 September 2014

Final Curtain for Gert Voss



Yesterday I went to his funeral. 

An actor once described by The Times as Europe's best. 

And now a  few impressions. A few stray thoughts. 

For the public standing in the sun in Josef-Meinrad-Platz much of the ceremony was ruined by the intermittent clatter of a police helicopter circling overhead during the live transmission of the words being spoken inside the vestibule to the people in the street. About this interruption the late Thomas Bernhard who wrote for many fine performers including Gert Voss would have had much to say  . . .


Ask not for whom the flames burn . . . 

The 'Burg' in mourning 

The black banner 

Admirers pay their respects

The door wide open . . . 

The gray shadow devours all

 . . . they burn for thee.


Footnote:-
Gert Voss is known to 'Burg' theater-goers as 'The King'. He played Shakespeare's King Lear and Richard III for example, and also wore the crown in Thomas Bernhard's play 'Simply Complicated'. 
Take a look at the close-up below of the flame burning outside the theatre. Does it not resemble a king on his throne? 



Wednesday 3 September 2014

DOwn TO EArth





WHen THe UFo
FRom THe BInary SYstem of SIrius
TWin STar TOursit SOciety
CAme DOwn TO EArth
TO SEttle BRiefly
ON THe LAst LEaf
OF THe LAst TRee
THe TOur GUide
POinted WIth HIs MInd
TO
THe SCreen
ON WHich WEre THe REcords OF EArth''s WArs
ANd THey WAtched && LIstened
TO THe SLaughter
ANd THe CArnage
ANd THe DEstruction
ANd SAw THe DEad CHildren WIth FLies ON THeir EYes
ANd THe BLoated COrpses OF THe VIctims OF GAs
IN THeir CArs
ANd IN THe RUins OF TEmples
ANd HEard
THe WAiling
ANd THe GNashing OF TEeeth
ANd THe WHine OF THe BOmbs
ANd SMelled THe DArk STink IN THe VAnishing AIr
ANd THe GUide
ANswered THe INevitable QUestion
BEing SIlently ASked
""WHat IS THe REason FOr THis??""
HE ANswered::
""THey ARe NOt LIke US // THey HAve MAny GOds // GOds OF STrange ANd OUtrageous HAbits //  ANd ALl THese GOds HAve SOmething IN COmmon // THey ARe ALl BOred ANd VIcious // ANd COmpletely INsane // FOr THey ARe ALways PReoccupied WIth SPying ANd REcording EVery DEtail OF EVery INdividual''s LIfe // ANd SO IT IS WIth MAn WHo IS THEir CReation // ""
and
with that
the visitors
and their small craft
vanished  into the future
and the last leaflet fell 
on the 
earth












Monday 1 September 2014

Shadows and Sunshine






distance reflecting 
shadows and 
sunshine 

boat going along 
no care in the world 
under old bridges  

symbols 
of distances travelled 
mirrors of course 



Mankind's Last Words . . .






"Father I want the Truth!  Was the Word with God in the Beginning?"  

"O Light of my Life,  the Word was God Himself!" 


THE END