Masks allowed

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Michaela

Carnival of Venice – – spectacle of masks. Nothing is as it appears to be as any form of identity is hidden.

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Erect no gravestone for him

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Michaela

Erect no gavestone for him. Only this:
let the rose blossom each year for his sake.
For it is the god. His metamorphosis
in this and that. We do not need to look

for other names. It is Orpheus once for all
whenever there is song. He comes and goes.
Isn’t it enough if sometimes he can dwell
with us a few days longer than a rose?

Tough he himself is afraid to disappear,
he has to vanish: don’t you understand?
The moment his wod moves out beyond our life hre,

he has gone where you will never find his trace.
The lyre’s strings do not constrict his hands.
And it is overstepping that he obeys.

R.M.Rilke ” Sonnets to Orpheus” V

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God what darkness

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Michaela

Beethoven’s hero Florestan in the opera Fidelio laments the loss of his liberty for speaking the truth to power (1805)

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And then there were none

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Michaela
Eleven  little Arab boys….
Challenged
In the wake of the overthrow of the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, here is a look at countries across the region.
The process of change has been set in motion and the events of the coming months and weeks will change the face of the earth. This is historic times and it is our duty to do what we can, not to panic but hold on to our seats and be confident that this is the birth pangs of a New Earth.
No-thing & No-one will be untouched by the events unfolding. It is a privilege to be alive right now.
A prayer for our brothers and sisters in Egypt and for us.

Dear Lord,
Do with me henceforth as thou wilt.

I am of one mind with thee, I am thine.
I decline nothing that seems good to thee.
Send me whither thou wilt.
Clothe me as thou wilt.

Will thou that I take office or live a privte life,
remain at home or go into exile,
be poor or rich,

I will defend thy purpose with me
in respect of all these.

Epictetus ( b 55A, d 136 AD)

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Just comic

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Glerikud

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Anguish

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Michaela

For our brothers & sisters in the Middle East


R. Wagner: Wesendonck Lieder
Cheryl Studer; G. Sinopoli

Schmerzen
Anguish
Sonne, weinest jeden Abend
Dir die schönen Augen rot,
Wenn im Meeresspiegel badend
Dich erreicht der frühe Tod;
Doch erstehst in alter Pracht,
Glorie der düstren Welt,
Du am Morgen neu erwacht,
Wie ein stolzer Siegesheld!
Ach, wie sollte ich da klagen,
Wie, mein Herz, so schwer dich sehn,
Muß die Sonne selbst verzagen,
Muß die Sonne untergehn?
Und gebieret Tod nur Leben,
Geben Schmerzen Wonne nur:
O wie dank ich, daß gegeben
Solche Schmerzen mir Natur!
Sun, each evening you weep
Your pretty eyes red,
When, bathing in the mirror of the sea
You are seized by early death.
Yet you rise in all your splendor,
Glory of the gloomy world,
Newly awakening in the morning
Like a proud, victorious hero! 

Ah, why should I then lament,
Why, my heart, are you so heavy,
If the sun itself must despair,
If the sun must set?

And if Death gives rise only to Life,
And pain gives way only to bliss,
O how thankful I am, that
Nature gives me such anguish!


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Fearlessness

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Michaela

Fearlessness may be a gift, but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavor, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one’s actions, courage that could be described as ‘grace under pressure’—grace that is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure.

—Aung San Suu Kyi

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The old man and the revolution

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Michaela

This is the incredible story of a true senex – a wise, old man – who wrote the guidebook to topple autocrats in a nonviolent revolution. Gene Sharp’s“From Dictatorship to Democracy”, has inspired dissidents around the world, including Burma, Bosnia, Estonia, Zimbabwe and now Tunesia and Egypt.

Gene Sharp is an 82 years old  political thinker, whose work delivered the means and tactics to bring down a dictatorship. Mr. Sharp founded the Albert Einstein Institute in 1983, which holds his work and many resources on strategic, nonviolent conflict.

Also read:

Self Liberation by G. Sharp

Fundamentals of non violent action

 

 

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O you tender ones, walk now and then

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Michaela

O you tender ones, walk now and then
into the breath that blows coldly past.
Upon your cheecks let it tremble and part;
behind you it will tremble again.

Don’t be afraid to suffer, return
that heaviness to the earth’s own weight;
heavy are the mountains, heavy the seas.

Even the small trees you planted as children
have long since become too heavy; you could not
carry them now. But the winds…..But the space…

R.M. Rilke; Sonnets to Orpheus I/IV
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A flaring sun…

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Michaela

The Sun has unleashed its strongest flare in four years, observers say.

The eruption is a so-called X-flare, the strongest type; such flares can affect communications on Earth. The monster flare was recorded at 0156 GMT on 15 February and directed at the Earth. According to the US space agency, the source of this activity – sunspot 1158 – is growing rapidly.

Solar flares are caused by the sudden release of magnetic energy stored in the Sun’s atmosphere.

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