annalee

Dark garden pictures. The flowers of our labour. I'm so happy that everything is growing again. I honestly feel joy just looking at all the life around me and everything beginning to bloom. To listen to bird song after the winter of no sound is so wonderful.

I've just started reading The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. I am completely taken by her. It seems mad that it's taken me this long to read her. I feel like someone should have told me "You must read this book!" before now. I think that every human being should at least read the introduction. I'm in awe of the way that she gathers every single strand of history, every philosophical and political discipline and with them expresses such objectivity.

I really love this excerpt by her.

In particular those who are condemned to stagnation are often pronounced happy on the pretext that happiness consists in being at rest. This notion we reject, for our perspective is that of existentialist ethics. Every subject plays his part as such specifically through exploits or projects that serve as a mode of transcendence; he achieves liberty only through a continual reaching out towards other liberties. There is no justification for present existence other than its expansion into an indefinitely open future. Every time transcendence falls back into immanence, stagnation, there is a degradation of existence into the en-sois the brutish life of subjection to given conditions and of liberty into constraint and contingence. This downfall represents a moral fault if the subject consents to it; if it is inflicted upon him, it spells frustration and oppression. In both cases it is an absolute evil. Every individual concerned to justify his existence feels that his existence involves an undefined need to transcend himself, to engage in freely chosen projects.

Last week I went to see a performance of Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the end of time. I think I have written about this piece of music on here before as I also saw a performance of it last year. It has a very interesting history and if you would like to read about it, there is a perfect essay here - http://www.therestisnoise.com/2004/04/quartet_for_the_2.html by Alex Ross. This performance was especially great because Richard Holloway read a beautiful speech as introduction to the music. I didn't know of him until that evening but he seems to be a very interesting and amazing person. You can watch the speech here - <a href="http://vimeo.com/35570976">Richard Holloway: Thoughts on the End of Time</a> It really is worth listening to. I felt so moved by his words.

In contrast to all my introspection I also spent a few days with P_mod, Dwam, Lass and GoGo which was really lovely and I am so grateful for their company and hospitality. More wonderful things brought to me as a result of this place :-)

I started writing about de Beauvoir and Messiaen and then I thought that was too "serious" to add anything else but lately I have been thinking that I should try to incorporate my rather serious and boring side with my occasional light hearted side so that I can be a more well balanced human creature. So that is why we have here a mixture of feminist literature, classical music, naked women, iron maiden records and animal impressions...!

I hope everyone is lovely and well and happy xxx