Tuesday 29 April 2014

Pizza Delivery Boy




phone-in 
my order 
and before 
I can 
uncork the red
a man 
on a Triumph 
arrives 
with a roar 
and a grin

The pizza base 
blackened
is done to a crisp 
and painful to see
the salami on top 
underdone 
to perfection 
tomatoey colour
and spiced added flavour 
trails thick

We are building 
utopia 
collaterally damaged 
but holy as hell 
and sending folks back 
to the stone pizza age 
unending's 
our quest 
for the grail 

With a glow 
in his heart 
and a backfiring roar 
 it's on 
to the next destination  . . . 


________________________
the image: somewhere in S. Tyrol. 


Monday 28 April 2014

Saturday 26 April 2014

Headless men revealed



 

Readers of the Austrian broadsheet Die Presse may be confused by the picture of two headless men flanking Bernie Ecclestone. On the other hand Wiener Zeitung readers were treated to the full picture. The two men are in fact Mr Ecclestone's legal team. The trial is taking place at Munich and is set to be a drawn out affair according to reports. The Austrian heat of this season's Formula 1 Grand Prix series will take place at Zeltweg in June 2014.



Thursday 24 April 2014

Just one more for the road BUKOWSKI





Just one more for the road BUKOWSKI 


just one thing

to know

 and only know this:

    NEVER be boring!

a poem is a passer 

free as the air

'tis not archaic poesy

declaimed

by peda-

gogues

in frayed gowns

and caps

powdered

with chalk

for such

is a Krankheit

   the coffin awaits

(the graveyard is full)

yet ,

one saves my soul

 and he is a demon

a poet

and a demagogue

I recharge the tumbler

press the damned page

  the black sparrow sings

  the songs for the age


______________
note:
line 10: Krankheit - an illness (Ger.)
line 5: passer or passerine - a sparrow
penultimate line: Black Sparrow Press - Bukowski's main publisher


Wednesday 23 April 2014

Black and white nostalgia in Venice (3)


Here is the final part of my nostalgic look at Venice. 

The top images show a narrow canal near the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. 

The sunset view below is from a ferry going from left to right, that is from St. Marks towards the Giudecca, the island visible behind the conglomeration of masts.













Tuesday 22 April 2014

Black and white nostalgia in Venice (2)


Here, unlike in . . . Venice (1) below, I have no hesitation in preferring the colour images.

In the top picture, taken by a friend, I like not only the waterside composition and the almost mystic quality of the grey light, but I enjoy and appreciate the way my eye is taken from the pink Campari on the grey metallic table to the red writing on the serviette holder and then across the olive green water to the emblems on the ship's red flag. 

The result of changing from colour to black and white in the bottom photo is a complete disaster. It fails to capture anything of the excitement of the colourful weekly street market on the Lido. 













top: An aperitif on the Zattere, Venice
bottom: Weekly market at the Lido, Venice


Black and white nostalgia in Venice (1)


Initially I was surprised to see that Queen Elizabeth's latest official birthday photograph was in glorious black and white. But now I've had time to reflect I think it was a good decision on the whole. It brought out, as David Bailey said, the twinkle in her eye. 

The birthday portrait is certainly different from the various images of the monarch that we've become used to over the years, since the advent of colour photography. 

The photo reminds me of the time when newsworthy images of the royals were always in black and white.

Here I've placed a couple of my own colour photos taken in Venice with their black and white versions together. For the 'experiment' I selected  original pictures with not much colour in them.  

Now, having done that, I can't make up my mind which I prefer. 

Maybe it will happen that I will prefer both versions. When I'm feeling practical and modern I might prefer the coloured ones, and when I'm nostalgic and reflective I might prefer the black and white ones.

In the next post I will repeat experiment using more colourful originals. 













Top: A gallery in Giudecca, Venice.
Bottom:  Canal scene in Dorsoduro, Venice.


Monday 21 April 2014

Bombs, Bombs, Bombs




The following is an adaptation of an interview with Mai Herr (by Jürgen Plank) which appears in issue no. 365 of Augustine, a fortnightly newspaper sold on the streets by and for Vienna's homeless. Mai Herr, pictured above, is based at Phonsavanh, in Central Laos, and works for the British NGO known as MAG (Mines Advisory Group):

JP: Please introduce yourself.

MH: I work in the information centre at MAG. We inform visitors about the locations of unexploded ordnance (UXOs). We want to tell the visitor something about the secret war in Laos and the danger from UXOs in this region, the province of Xieng Khouang. We have information boards on the walls and every day we show informative documentary films.

JP: What is MAG?

MH: MAG stands for Mines Advisory Group. We clear the land of UXOs and we destroy the UXOs. We do this for the local people and the farmers of the region. We try and help poor families by clearing the land so that they can begin farming again. But we also work with schools and hospitals.

JP: Your work will take 1,000 years.

MH: Between 1964 and 1973 the United States military dropped 270 million explosives over Laos. Of these about 30%, that is 80 million, failed to explode. At the present rate clearing the land will take us 1,000 years. It is very hard work because many of the unexploded bombs are lying in the jungles and in the mountains in difficult places to reach. Normally we clear agricultural land near villages. Often the local mayor will inform us of a bomb in a field and we will go and deal with it.

JP: What is the total strength of the UXO Clearance Teams?

MH: In Laos there are altogether 400 personnel. For MAG we have five international technicians in the provinces of Xieng Khouang and Khammuan. We have six clearing teams each with twenty personnel. And then there are the medical personnel and the drivers.

JP: The defusing of an unexploded bomb is a dangerous job. Have any bomb disposal people been injured?

MH: Up to now we have had no injuries. Our personnel are well trained. Unfortunately the villagers are often injured by these devices. There are always accidents. We document these accidents here at the MAG Information Centre.

JP: Villagers often get injured.

MH: In schools we are teaching the children not to go near the UXOs. If they find a bomb they must tell a teacher or a parent. There are many different kinds of bombs and it is not only children who have accidents. Often it is old men searching for scrap metal to sell, even though they know it is  dangerous. Many have no other income.

JP: Anyone close to you injured by a UXO?

MH: Yes, many people. My brother-in-law in 1995. He was in the mountains near to Long Tieng. There he found a land mine. He tried to open it to remove the powder. The mine exploded. He was blown to pieces. This land mine had been buried in the earth to destroy any vehicle passing over it.
The most recent accident involving one of my relatives was in November 2012.  My cousin was night fishing in a river. It was a cold night. When he came out of the river he made a fire to get warm. The place he had chosen for his fire was directly over a land mine. This exploded and he was killed. The other two fishermen were still in the river and so they survived.

JP: The 80 million UXOs in Laos mean that farming is restricted.

MH: Local farmers are fearful of the UXOs. If they have a large plot of land they cannot use it all until it has been cleared. They must wait for the MAG-Clearing-Teams. This is the main reason why many people do not have enough to eat. We cannot plant enough rice. It will take 1,000 years to clear all the bombs.

The Secret War Against Laos (1964-1973).

During the so-called "secret war" that was never officially declared the USA flew 580,000 sorties into neutral Laos. That is one every 8 minutes. CBU24 bombs were mainly used. A CBU24 bomb contains hundreds of small "bombies" which are spread over hundreds of square meters by the explosion. In this way 270 million bombs were dropped on the land on the Mekong. There were several reasons for the secret war against Laos, not least was the fact that the Ho-Chi-Minh Trail ran through the south of Laos. An estimated 98% of the 50,000 persons killed and injured during the nine year bombardment were civilians. Today in Laos half the people live on less than one euro per day. Approximately 11,000 people have been killed or injured since the end of the war. One kilo of scrap metal is worth 15 cents. 


haiku double-take (4)


As usual the double-haiku begins with 3 lines from John Mcdonald at zenspeug. Then to John's words I add 3 lines of my own. I have John's kind permission to do this whenever the mood takes me.


such a long war . . . 
her hair 
already in pigtails

she's ready to go  
to school 
if there was one . . .



Y IN THE SKY
















Who the hell do I think I am, David Bailey?


Sir David Bailey's black and white birthday shot of Queen Elizabeth II, I mean the monarch not the ship, is all over the internet.

Could it be that nostalgic monochrome is soon to be the new colour fad? 

Up half the night with the ubiquitous candle stub in the attic of my Victorian domain I  finally discovered my dad's Kodak Brownie and along with it an Oxo tin containing portraits of several anonymous and forgotten relatives.

Dad, like his eldest son, was often ahead of his time. Here are two of dad's best photos.

  Unfortunately, or fortunately, I cannot tell a lie. I admit it was me who really took these photographs. I was recently  at Punta Della Dogana where there are 4 sculptured busts  titled Fratelli by Thomas Schütte on display until the end of the year and so I snapped my two favourites.




Sir David, it's a wonderful and illuminating photograph you took of Her Majesty. You have nothing to fear from this amateur button presser!


Sunday 20 April 2014

It's only Guantanamo, for Christ's sake!


I continue to believe that we've got to close Guantanamo - Pres. Barack Obama


Edge blur
to added

Orange tone

The photograph
enhanced

And Easter closing-in
on agony
 The nails and crown of thorns

The razored holy days 
now wired 
to bring me to that point and place 
it pains the world
to see






The four life-sized sculptures of Christ by Adel Abdessemed are on display at the Prima Materia Exhibition in Punto Della Dogana in Venice until the end of the year. 

The exhibit titled Decor was made in 2011 from Guantanamo Bay type razor wire and is modelled after the central panel of the Issenheim altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald (painted 1512-1516) which Abdessemed visited in Colmar as a student. 


Happy Easter to YOU




Poet-in-Residence encourages responsible drinking . . . hic! 


The Storyteller



Venetian Street Art 



Saturday 19 April 2014

In the back of Sebald's 'Young Austerlitz'



I sometimes dream that one of those locked doors opens and I step through it . . . 
- Young Austerlitz by W. G. Sebald



In the back of Sebald's 'Young Austerlitz' 
 during the night 
I scribbled the words:
this world is making me dizzy
and that's very bad 
if I think of eternity 
for man is a moment

and on waking 
this thought made me hold  my breath

God forbid I should hold it 
too long 
a fellow human- 
 being a dark gypsy boy 
some poor whore's son 
with a bastard grin 
in my dream
I remember it now
that last installment 
on the bed 
unsettled
and in a white van
 away
before dawn 

here I lie   with my words on the floor


Thursday 17 April 2014



"We will name this tunnel after you" - Viktor Popkov (1932 - 1974)


"I feel sorry for them"

An exhibition by the (unknown in the west) Russian artist Viktor Popkov (1932 - 1974) is to be seen at Venice's Ca' Foscari until 27th April 2014. Admission is free. In May it will transfer to the UK, and afterwards will be seen in other countries.

I was most impressed by the work of Popkov and have chosen a couple of paintings to share with you.

In view of the chaotic situation in the Ukraine, these paintings are most suitable and timely.

My hope is that the message of the paintings by Viktor Popkov will be received by the representatives of Russia, USA, EU and Ukraine,  now meeting in Geneva, to discuss the developing situation.

The message is: Conflict, military interference  and civil unrest in this poor divided land dotted with many more Chernobyls-in-waiting  is not what we need.

The refugee problem, should the Ukraine go belly up, would be far worse than Syria. And that's just one small aspect.




The poet or the painter may be found in the corner, his voice not so loud as the bellow of the cow wanting to be milked or the roar of the warplane low overhead or the tumult of the symbols of civilized behaviour being torn down, but often he or she is the only person with balls enough to carry the ball for civilization going forward.

The genius of Viktor Popkov was tragically lost to the world when his life was cut short by a fatal shooting accident at the scene of a road traffic incident in 1974.




Tuesday 15 April 2014

A Doctor Escapes


Sigmund
the smoker
of rolled phallic symbols

That's Freud
with the cancerous lip (Freud

It means pleasure) hurriedly
boarded
the last puffin'

Train
to Paree.




Made it
by the skin of his teeth.

He
sat back
and relaxed

He puffed
and he thundered
away from the clouds

Of Vienna.

His Nazi receipt
was his ticket
to freedom.

His people
met him in Paris
and later in London.

Their faces
lit up
. . . for a time.


A change from Easter eggs - the Calendario Romano 2015


12 holy men - just €8 at selected newsstands 


twelve handsome priests 
 black and white pictures
reminders of dates


Saturday 12 April 2014

Haiku


These dumbstruck
Stone struck mirrors,
. . . splinters of light . . .

Saturday 5 April 2014

haiku


Yesterday's wine , the Pinot Noir

Today's beer , the Guinness

Tomorrow's spirit , God only knows . . .



Thought for the Day


. . . one bright day 

Tuesday 1 April 2014

Genesis 1:6-7 mystery solved?




And God said: Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water. So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so.


Man has long been puzzled by the meaning of the above passage. The author of Genesis attempted to explain it by calling the expanse sky in the very next verse, and later to compound the problem (in verse 14) he refers to the expanse of sky. This was only natural. What other explanation could there possibly be? 

Water, as everyone could see for themselves, fell from the sky and that was that.

But now, scientists in Vienna have unearthed an unbelievable but true alternative explanation, and it fits exactly to the above quote. 

It turns out that there exists a vast ocean 600 kms below the Earth's surface which contains as much water as the water in all of the Earth's surface oceans.


You can read about the exciting discovery HERE.