King and Lionheart - Of Monsters and Men

Because I need this as a lullaby. - AC

The Romantic Manifesto: Introduction

The dictionary definition of “manifesto” is “a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives, as one issued by a government, sovereign, or organization.” The Random House Dictionary of English Language, College Edition, 1968)

I must state, therefore, that this manifesto is not issued in the name of an organization or a movement. I speak only for myself. There is no Romantic movement today. If there is to be one in the art of the future, this book will have helped it to come into being.

According to my philosophy, one must not express “intentions, opinions, objectives or motives” without stating one’s reasons for them ---i.e., without identifying their basis in reality. Therefore, the actual manifesto---the declaration of my personal objectives and motives---is at the end of this book, after the presentation of the theoretical grounds that entitle me to these particular objectives and motives. x x x

Those who feel that art is outside the province of reason would be well advised to leave this book alone: it is not for them. Those who know nothing is outside the province of reason will find in this book the base of rational esthetics. It is the absence of such base that has made today’s obscenely grotesque degradation of art possible.

To quote from Chapter 6: “The destruction of Romanticism in esthetics --- like the destruction of individualism in ethics or of capitalism in politics --- was made possible by philosophical default…In all three cases, the nature of the fundamental values involved had never been defined explicitly, the issues were fought in terms of non-essentials, and the values were destroyed by men who did not know what they were losing or why.”

“xxx” 

I must emphasize that I am not speaking of concretes, nor of politics, nor of journalistic trivia, but of that period’s “sense of life”. Its art projected an overwhelming sense of intellectual freedom, of depth, i.e., concern with the fundamental problems, of demanding standards, of inexhaustible originality, of unlimited possibilities and, above all, of profound respect for man. 

“xxx”

Renunciation is not one of my premises. If I see that the good is possible to men, yet it vanishes, I do not take “Such is the trend of the world” as a sufficient explanation. I ask such question as: Why? --- What caused it? --- What or who determines the trends of the world? (The answer is: philosophy)

The course of mankind’s progress is not a straight, automatic line, but a tortuous struggle, with long detours or relapses into the stagnant night of irrational. Mankind moves forward by the grace of those human bridges who are able to grasp and transmit, across years or centuries, the achievements men had reached --- and to carry them further. Thomas Aquinas is one illustrious example: he was the bridge between Aristotle and the Renaissance, spanning the infamous detour of the Dark and Middle Ages.

Speaking only of the pattern, with no presumptuous comparison of stature intended, I am a bridge of that kind --- between the esthetic achievements of the nineteenth century and the minds that choose to discover them, wherever and whenever such minds might exist.

It is impossible for the young people of today to grasp the reality of man’s higher potential and what scale of achievement it had reached in a rational (or semi-rational) culture. But I have seen it. I know that it was real, that it existed, that it is possible. It is that knowledge that I want to hold up to the sight of men --- over the brief span of less than a century --- before the barbarian curtains descend altogether (if it does) and the last memory of man’s greatness vanishes in another Dark Ages.

“xxx”

As for the present, I am not willing to surrender the world to the jerky contortions of self-inducedly brainless bodies with empty eye-sockets, who perform, in stinking basements, the immemorial rituals of staving off terror, which are dime a dozen in any jungle --- and to the quavering witch doctors who call it “art”.

Our day has no art and no future. The future, in the context of progress, is a door open only to those who do not renounce their conceptual faculty; it is not open to mystics, hippies, drug addicts, tribal ritualists--- or to anyone who reduces himself to a subanimal, subperceptual, sensory level of awareness.

Will we see an esthetic Renaissance in our time? I do not know. What I do know is this: anyone who fights for the future, lives in it today.

(Excerpt: Intoduction of The Romantic Manisfesto – Ayn Rand)    

On Time and its Texture

1975: Vladimir Nabokov || Photograph by: Sophie Bassouls/Sygma/Corbis ||guardian.co.uk

             We can imagine all kinds of time, such as for example “applied time” --- time applied to events, which we measure by means of clocks and calendars; but those types of time are inevitably tainted by notion of space, spatial succession, stretches and sections of space. When we speak of the “passage of time”, we visualize an abstract river flowing through a generalized landscape. Applied time, measurable illusions of time, are useful for the purposes of historians or physicists, they do not interest me, and they did not interest my creature Van Veen in Part Four of my Ada.

            He and I in that book attempt to examine the essence of Time, not its lapse. Van mentions the possibility of being “an amateur of Time, an epicure of duration”, of being able to delight its sensuality in the texture of time, “in its stuff and spread, in the falls of its folds, in the very impalpability of its grayish gauze, in the coolness of its continuum.” He also is aware that “Time is a fluid medium for the culture of metaphors”.

            Time, though akin to rhythm, is not simply rhythm, which would imply motion --- and Time does not move. Van’s greatest discovery is his perception of Time as the dim hollow between two rhythmic beats, the narrow and bottomless silence between the beats, not the beats themselves, which only embar Time. In this sense human life is not a pulsating heart but the missed heartbeat.

(excerpted from Vladimir Nabokov’s Strong Opinion Chapter 19)

Down by the Water - The Drums (2010)

(Three years ago, I kind of sang this song to someone)

What Should I Do With My Life?

For my 23^rd birthday, I received a book entitled “What Should I Do With My Life?”. Written by Po Bronson, it is collection of true to life inspirational stories of different people of different walks of life and ages, collected by the author himself about finding one’s passion.

            The truth is, this is just the second time that I have a book with an inspirational theme sitting on my bookshelf. The first one was Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life”, which I bought and read in one sitting way back in high school due to academic requirements and maybe peer pressure. I know one should read one lesson per day but I grew impatient I read the whole thing at once. The book took a view that there are more important things in life (say, our purposes, lessons to be learned, what lies ahead after death etc.) than worldly possessions and random superficial stuff (as in my case, grades) here on earth.

The good thing: It somehow made me nicer to other people. I was seriously thinking of the ‘what lies ahead after death’ lesson that I ended up being too nice I stopped competing against them and they had taken advantage of that. That didn’t do well for me. My grades started to go down and so did my class rank. Of course, the blame should not be put into the book alone but also to myself. But when you were in high school and you worked your ass off from the beginning to make your academic records pristine for you to be accepted by the university of your choice (and may I say that education is in fact important in life), you would not think that way. For you, being too nice is not an option.  

Personally, I am not a big fan of inspirational books and I truly and strongly believe that I don’t need such readings to find what the real meaning of life is but I am not against it. Friends of mine, who are into it, always have my support. It just doesn’t apply to me, I guess.

Now, going back to Po Bronson’s book, it appeared to be another one difficult read for me. It challenges my beliefs and core principles but unlike the former, I can relate to this book. 

The book as I have said is a collection of different people’s stories but the story “Uncomfortable Is Good” was the one that strikes me the most. For me, this is the flesh and blood of the entire book for it sums up the meaning of the other stories wants to convey to the readers.

Are we who we really are? Did we get easily persuaded by what the society, norms, culture and tradition, our family, friends want or dictated us to be? And if we did, is that what we really are and what we really want to be? 

 These are the questions the story tried to answer. Here, Bronson talked of people who traveled the world in search of themselves and their real purpose in life. Some found themselves, made decisions and took charge of their own lives while many others are not fortunate. They went back from their trips the same way they were when they boarded the plane. Po Bronson mentioned that one way to easily achieve your desired answer is to feel uncomfortable. With discomfort, he means not being enclosed in your usual self-box or what most call a person’s comfort zone. He said that one way of achieving this is to travel alone and unplanned. Yes, you read that right. Traveling alone can cause one great discomfort. Walking the streets of a strange place or country with a bunch of strangers for quite some time, and knowing no one can be really uncomfortable. It can be quite scary too. But that is the point, when deciding on what to do with our lives, we must decide on our own. It is our own life after all. We can consult our family or friends or we may look into the society to keep us on the ground of morality and acceptability but the verdict of our lives can only be done by us and the rest of the world is just a huge collection of strangers. On the other hand, traveling without a plan gives you a sense of adventure and makes you open your mind to possibilities. Chance is the keyword. So, when you decide for your life, maybe you can take that chance and do a giant leap of faith.

Now, you may ask me, what in it for me? What made me relate to it? Have I done a giant leap of faith? Did I travel alone ala Eat, Pray, Love so that I can find myself? My answer to all those is no. I haven’t and I have no intention of doing so.

You think I am pathetic. I am the type of person who succumbed to the manner on how I was raised and the things that are expected of me. You think I am a coward, giving up to my fear of not being accepted by the rest of the world if I am not able to achieve what I have to achieve. But I beg to disagree. I am living a perfect life and I am very glad to say that I love it. I do not need to travel alone. I do not see my family, my friends, and the society as a bunch of strangers when I am deciding for they are the reason I am who I am now. I do not have to go on an unplanned trip for following what was already in front of me is the best and most logical step to not screwing up in life. Not quitting business school, as instructed by my father, for literature which is one of my life’s passions was one of the best decisions I made in my life. Accepting a job in economics and rejecting an offer from a fashion/retail brand, as advised by a close friend, was one great example too. Take a look where those decisions took me. I am more than happy than before. 

You see, I may not be able to get a proper training in fashion and I didn’t end up becoming a designer as what I want but I get to become a fashion consultant/stylist for some, get invited to fashion shows, have the opportunity to be given media passes, meet models, designers, stylists, photographers, editors, and important persons in the fashion scene. I may not be able get a degree in Literature but I was given a chance to collaborate as a writer on a friend’s book and we are hoping for its publication. I have done and achieved what my real passions are, in a different way and scenario. At the same time, I got to live by the plan that was set out for me.

Po Bronson’s What Should I Do With My Life is a recommended book for those who are in the crossroads of their lives especially of that for their careers. It might help them find the right path and make them drive to the direction they should be heading. As for me, the book is a great realization that I am vulnerable to persuasion but at the same time I am also capable of deciding on my way just like the rest of people in those stories. The only difference between me and them is that they do not conform.  I, on the other hand, conform. I went through life the way the universe expected of me. I follow logic, one straight road, no taking chances or risks, straight ahead I went and still going. Then and there, life has been great. This is what I and the world wanted it to be. My life is a win-win situation. There is no losing end.    

PHOTO DIARY: PhFW S/S 2013