Be Merry.

Desire is the Opposite of Death

“There are no 'good' or 'bad' people. Some are a little better or a little worse, but all are activated more by misunderstanding than malice. A blindness to what is going on in each other's hearts... nobody sees anybody truly but all through the flaws of their own egos. That is the way we all see ...each other in life. Vanity, fear, desire, competition-- all such distortions within our own egos-- condition our vision of those in relation to us. Add to those distortions to our own egos the corresponding distortions in the egos of others, and you see how cloudy the glass must become through which we look at each other. That's how it is in all living relationships except when there is that rare case of two people who love intensely enough to burn through all those layer of opacity and see each other's naked hearts. Such cases seem purely theoretical to me...” 

                                                          —Tennessee Williams

THIS

"It’s not dying that I fear, but living in death."

                                                —Albert Camus

December 7, 2019 Selfie

I am sustained by “an unconquerable summer.”

                        MJH

Georgiana Houghton

Georgiana Houghton (British artist and spiritualist medium) 1814 - 1884

Flower of Warrant Houghton, 1861
watercolour and gouache on paper on board

Beloved Books

Hypocrisy

“It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.” 


                                         ― Noël Coward

On truth....

“I say what other people only think, and when all the rest of the world is in a conspiracy to accept the mask for the true face, mine is the rash hand that tears off the plump pasteboard, and shows the bare bones beneath.” 


                                 ― Wilkie Collins

Alice in Wonderland illustation

Alice in Wonderland illustrated by Helena Watson

John P. Harrison, II

Johnny aka Guitar Man, June 1976

Giving thanks for him...

Patriarchy

“I understand,' said Melanie. An ancient, female look passed between them; they were poor women pensioners, planets round a male sun.” 


                    ― Angela Carter, The Magic Toyshop
                        (on patriarchy)

Radical ideas I like

“there is nothing real or true that is timeless” 
                      ― Lee Smolin

Isabella and the pot of Basil by George Henry Grenville Manton

Isabella and the pot of Basil by George Henry Grenville Manton

The choice of colors has always interest me. There are some contradictions. I am always caught by the sight of it. Mesmerized. It's one of those paintings I would love to step into, where I could touch the flowers, the scarf, her hair. Feel the light. Just feel that light.

Respect Yourself and your Art

Phantasie by Emil Nolde

“Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work.” 
                                  ― Adrienne Rich

Cupid's Darts by Phoebe Anna Traquair

"Cupid's Darts" by Phoebe Anna Traquair (1897).

Working through the changes...is like feeling nothing some days.

 Some days I am just floating. I need an anchor. Not likely to find it. And so I float. I just float. And wait. And wait. And I don't even think about anybody but myself. Selfish. A little sad. Flat. I am not even writing this week.  I walk a lot. I talk to neighbors. I smile. I walk. I talk. I smile. I float. Prozac. Prozac. Prozac. All alone. I am floating. 

November Book Buy

Joy Williams on the writer

“The writer doesn’t want to disclose or instruct or advocate, he wants to transmute and disturb. He cherishes the mystery, he cares for it like a fugitive in his cabin, his cave. He doesn’t want to talk it into giving itself up. He would never turn it in to the authorities, the mass mind. The writer is somewhat of a fugitive himself, actually. He wants to escape his time, the obligations of his time, and, by writing, transcend them. The writer does not like to follow orders, not even the orders of his own organizing intellect.”

                                                                      ― Joy Williams

My Truth

“All I wanted was to live a life where I could be me, and be okay with that. I had no need for material possessions, money or even close friends with me on my journey. I never understood people very well anyway, and they never seemed to understand me very well either. All I wanted was my art and the chance to be the creator of my own world, my own reality.” 
                                     ― Charlotte Eriksson

All Souls' Day (Nov 2)

William-Adolphe Bouguereau

Remembering (All Souls)

2006—Barbara Ann
2007— Daddy
2008—Aunt Belle
2009—Momma
2011—Gwen
2012—Granddaddy
2014—Marty
2016—Johnny (beloved husband)
2018—Sally
2019—Granny