Poem by Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa

This is a lovely poem by the Portuguese Poet Fernando António Nogueira Pesso (1888-1935). His style is a thing of beauty and I wish more Americans would become acquainted with his work. Check out this poem by him (in Spanish):

Nunca Por Más que Viaje

Nunca, por más que viaje, por más que conozca
el salir de un lugar, el llegar a un lugar, conocido o desconocido,
pierdo, al partir, al llegar, y en la móvil línea que los une,
la sensación de crispación, el miedo a lo nuevo, la náusea
–Aquella náusea que es el sentimiento que sabe que el cuerpo tiene el alma–,
Treinta días de viaje, tres días de viaje, tres horas de viaje
–Siempre la opresión se infiltra en el fondo de mi corazón— 

....in Portuguese...

Nunca, por mais que viaje, por mais que conheça O sair de um lugar, o chegar a um lugar, conhecido ou desconhecido, Perco, ao partir, ao chegar, e na linha móbil que os une, A sensação de arrepio, o medo do novo, a náusea — Aquela náusea que é o sentimento que sabe que o corpo tem a alma, Trinta dias de viagem, três dias de viagem, três horas de viagem — Sempre a opressão se infiltra no fundo do meu coração.

Thank you to Carlos Ciro for posting this on his blog at http://networkedblogs.com/GyPyy.

The Return of the Argo-nauts

It was no accident that I chose to allude to Jason and the Argonauts in this post because the producers of the hit movie  Argo certainly fleeced us. In their quest to capitalize on the timeliness of a move about a significant event in Iranian-American relations, the producers glossed over (or perhaps I should write, "pulled the wool over the eyes"  of moviegoers) a very important fact.


John Sheardown, the Canadian Immigration Officer based in Tehran who provided shelter to six American diplomats who escaped capture during the assault on the US Embassy, passed away on Monday, December 31. He played a vital role in providing safety to the Americans leading to their safe return to the US with the use of Canadian passports. Unfortunately, the movie downplays his role to that of a mere bystander. In fact, I don't recall that Ken Taylor, the Canadian Ambassador to Iran, made an appearance in the film, even though he also provided a safe haven for the Americans.

It is disappointing and dispiriting that Hollywood continues to revise history to suit its production needs. At the very least the producers should have done much more to honor the role played by John Sheardown.

The Immortality of the Little Things

With the New Year we create new expectations, new resolutions and renewed visions for a high successful and meaningful year. We hope to remember big things, often discarding "minor" moments to the dustbin of disdain. How sad.  Sometimes that half-second glimpse or spontaneous moment of reflection can resound with an imperturbable resonance whose echo emanates through our being and our soul for a long time.

I recently read a passage from the Thomas Wolfe book, Of Time and the River that captures this sentiment perfectly:

A thousand times thereafter the tone of that rich voice would return to him and reverberate in his memory with the haunting, strange and wonderful recurrence with which the "little" things of life--a face seen one time at a window, a voice that passed in darkness and was gone, the twisting of a leaf upon a bough--come back to us out of all the violence and savage chaos of the days--the "little" things that persist so strangely, vividly, and inexplicably when the more sensational and "important" events of life have been forgotten or obscured.

Enjoy a successful 2013, but take a moment to take in all the 'little' things. You would be amazed by all the wonderful things around you.

Phrontistery

I love learning new words and having the chance to showoff my new vocabulary. So I was wonderfully surprised when I stumbled on the Phrontistery website. It showcases many words and uses and serves as a remarkable resource. I was particularly impressed with its collection of words related to manias and obsessions. Click on the link above.

I am a verbomanic. What are you?

Rest in Peace, Pascual Perez

I was saddened to learn of the death of Pascual Perez, the erratic, but colorful pitcher who experienced success and infamy in the 1980s and early 1990s. This lanky right-hander from the Dominican Republic had a unique personality that I was able to witness firsthand when I went to see the Yankees play the Indians in Cleveland in 1989. He was pitching for the Yankees then and although I can't remember the score of that game, there were two moments that I will never forget: with a runner on first base, Pascual, before going into his motion, peered through his legs and pretended to throw to first base--a startled Don Mattingly just raised his arms up in exasperation; the second moment later in the game was when he threw a 30 mile-per-hour changeup to home plate. The batter didn't swing, but it was still funny.

Pascual was never a great pitcher, but he had a great personality that endeared him to many fans, me included. In the Fydrichian tradition of engrossing fans and opponents with bizarre on-field behavior, Pascual makes it easy for me to root for him and baseball. I am not sure if any other sport has produced so many wonderful characters.

Rest in Peace, Pascual. You will be missed.

Two Lunar Writers

Thomas Wolfe

What do Thomas Wolfe (1930-1938) and Federico Garcia Lorca have in common? How about the moon? Both have used the moon and the imagery, sentiments and landscapes it evokes to supplement their some of their works. For me, we see Garcia Lorca make full use of this in his obra maestra (masterpiece) "Bodas de Sangre." He was described as a lunar poet by his biographer Ian Gibson and you would be hard pressed to dispute this claim. Lorca's allegorical style and personification in "Bodas de Sangre" give this work an energy and drive unlike any others.

I recently began to read the works of Thomas Wolfe. Look Homeward, Angel is an excellent book which showcases Wolfe's superb lyrical skills. His descriptions of landscapes and people are stellar. But it is in the book I am currently reading, Of Time and the River, where he describes in magnificent and resplendent detail landscapes and people under the moon. These days people do not read books that are longer than 300 pages in length, so they are highly unlikely to attempt to read some of Wolfe's books (between 600 and 900 pages. How sad. Check out this segment from Of Time and the River:

"The moon blazed down upon the wilderness, it fell on sleeping woods, it dripped through moving leaves, it swarmed in weaving patterns in the earth, and it filled the cat's still eye with blazing yellow. The moon slept over mountains and lay like silence in the desert, and it carved the shadows of great rocks like time."

Tagg, You're It

Yes, it seems like everyone is quick to put their foot in their mouth these days, but I was particularly dismayed by Tagg Romney's comment after the second presidential debate, in which he expressed his 'fleeting' desire to 'take a swing' at President Obama. 

His reaction is typical of the times we live in where stoicism and professionalism go by the wayside and a primordial and reactionary mindset take the driver's seat of people's responses to items or people they disagree with. But more than that, Mitt Romney's son displayed the callous disregard or respect for authority and represents the overindulged segment of our society.

In many ways he represents this sad and despicable part of society. I am not sure if he has ever been held accountable for his actions or not, but the fact that he still makes this comments with an almost cavalier disregard for the consequences (he seems to think all you have to do is say 'sorry' and everything goes away) indicates that this behavior will not change anytime soon.