These words (Latin for ‘Behold the man’) come from a tragic moment in Jesus’ biography. In painters’ renderings of the moment, Pilate’s hands are often open towards Jesus, directing our eyes to Him, as if to say: “what has he done? What have we done?”
Of the bird called carduelis carduelis, there are hundreds of very clear appearances in religious and secular art - if you fancy some better-researched renaissance info, Herbert Friedmann has the book for you, called The Symbolic Goldfinch. But I didn’t know about any of this when I wrote a poem, years ago, one morning.
As botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer says, "The idea of reciprocity, of recognizing that we humans do have gifts that we can give in return for all that has been given to us [by nature] is, I think, a really generative and creative way to be a human in the world."
Song Stories: The New Direction It starts in Lucerne, Switzerland, where I’m interrailing with a couple of school buddies. In the middle of an unscheduled, ramshackle journey we find a very chilled point by the Lake. There’s a music fest happening nearby, and the only act I remember now are AK4711, an all-female German band… Continue reading Build the World You See in Your Head
Remember when songs were sung? Actual air, from actual lungs?
I've been taking audio recordings of the sea, of rivers, creating software instruments out of samples I made in a forest and just loving how the growing world (plant life, recently fledged birds, amphibians) has given me therapy while the human world has been rather locked down.
How do you feel about cultural comfort food? About the ‘guilty pleasure’? As they’re commonly used, the terms connote a certain uncoolness, that the culture isn’t ‘difficult’ or capable of providing long-term sustenance. Have you been consuming more of such things in 2020?
“It is so like meTo dream of better places” I’ve been doing a strange kind of hibernating – the kind that happens in the full flush of springtime. It began when nuthatches were building their nests, under that canopy of trees near my home. We discovered new walking routes then, every possible walk within thirty… Continue reading To Dream of Better Places
While we're staying in, many of us will be enjoying the fruits of creative people's labours. Let's support them directly via Bandcamp, and more...
Think of the places you've lived in your life. Time spent anywhere is always limited, but now I'm aware of just how limited that time is. Here are some priorities I've made (& ignored)...
Culture Me Up 