what to do? ……. when your heart turns to dust all you want is just … yet your blood becomes rust when in flash all turns to ash as your life is slashed as all you can feel is cold steel as you slowly reel what do you do to survive? when you only feel alive after five
in the waxing and waning of life as the sea of tranquillity transforms with the fast approaching misfortunes of poseidon be that island of serenity in the raging storms and pounding waves of life's tempest ….. just stand serenely and be
Back from my travels in my gorgeous valley for awhile …enjoying the scenery with my morning run/walks with Lili and at times T 🙂 … and dragging my MTB for a cycle now and again
Lili in her element … gotta love the pup 🙂
Scenes across the valley in the early morning when we are running trails up the mountain
Love these forest trails …..
till next time …I trust you enjoyed these pictures as much I did taking them … 🙂
walk with me in the woods dig me a hole just pour me into it make me like water filling every crevice and cranny and then …. leave me be
be that island of serenity in the raging storms and waves of life's tumultuous ocean
The gorgeous voice of Scottish singer Barbara Dickson from the iconic Mike Batt Album – Caravans, is spinning through my mind …with her haunting voice and thoughtful, searing soul searching lyrics.
Mike Batt wrote the score, for the 1978 movie – Caravans – which was a 1978 Iranian-American film directed by James Fargo and (loosely) based on the novel by James A. Michener. The soundtrack which I have on vinyl, was the most successful element of the film, remaining a bestseller for many years after the film’s release.
The core message of the Caravan Song resonates with me at this point in my life … and whilst listening to the album yesterday, precipitated a sole searching discussion with T
“I don’t know where I’m going
But I’m going”
My life at present (summed up in a sentence), moving forward, but with no definitive end point or goal at present, the horizon, or some vague mirage of one, is there, I think… I am moving on, towards some end point (I hope) but not sure what awaits or where I am going, and how I will get there.
All I do know is that I am going, but to where or what awaits, remains a mystery…
The morning sun is waiting in the sky
And I think I’m gonna break away
And follow where the birds of freedom fly
I need you give
I need to live
For the world is slowly turning
And the light of love are burning
In my eyes
Caravans
Oh, my soul is on the run
Overland
I am flying
Caravans
Moving out into the sun
Oh, I don’t know where I’m going
But I’m going
Caravans
Oh, my soul is on the run
Overland
I am flying
Caravans
Moving out into the sun
Oh, I don’t know where I’m going
But I’m going
I wrote this during a difficult phase of my working life … and sadly, it is all to familiar once again … it seems that corporate machinations are not for me … not saying I am perfect, or the easiest person to manage, and yes I am a work in progress and have been through a lot these past 18 months .. oh well ..moving on then, to what lies ahead …
values, ethics, morals are left in tatters
conveniently sacrificed on the alter of economic greed
moral responsibility is abdicated in fiscal matters
bruised and cast aside for their misdeeds
it's not me, just following orders
it's not my department
I was just the warder
its all in separate compartments
careers built on careerism and obedience
orders coming from persons above
no regard for others, expedience
non ideological, and no thought of the actions thereof
as good as saying the devil made me do it
its gods will
the cry of the uncaring hypocrite
is enough to give the victim a chill
as the the chorus beats its drum
and the new song cuts to the core
the new mantra now oft chanted has become
oh for a few dollars more
Sunrise in the Southern DRC this week whilst driving to work …. stunning silhouettes ..
Thick mist at work, with the sun battling to shine through ….
Hopefully this all bodes well for peace and stability in this region …..
This is not a Review!
This is: Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the series 3.5 stars out of 4, writing, “Arguably the best documentary ever made about Hollywood and wartime, Five Came Back is nirvana for movie lovers and a real eye-opener for anyone new to the subject.”
The 3 part mini series on Netflix, Five Came Back explores the experiences of five U.S. film directors – John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens – and their front-line film work during the Second World War, whilst enlisted into various branches of the US Military in Europe and the Pacific. I watched all 3 episodes in one sitting. The producers have then also paired 5 modern day directors and each modern director discusses the impact and legacies of one of the five earlier directors: Steven Spielberg (Wyler), Francis Ford Coppola (Huston), Guillermo del Toro (Capra), Paul Greengrass (Ford), and Lawrence Kasdan (Stevens).
I found the series fascinating, captivating and an emotional journey. Emotional, as it dragged me back to the recollections and memories, from my own experiences in War and years of work in EMS, and the mental stress and PTSD, that those times inflict on us. What they saw and how it changed them, and the reality that came rushing to meet them, in ways they could have never conceived, impacted on their lives forever. Changing the way they saw the world and notably their creative output post the war.
The director George Stevens who before the war used to make romantic comedies never made one again in his life – and the tone of his movies changed, they were thoughtful and dramatic; Giant and The Diary of Anne Frank are two I remember seeing in the 1970’s with my mom …
But this is not a review…. back to how this series made me think and reflect …
A powerful and thought provoking moment came for me in the opening segment of the final episode (3) when, the narrator Paul Greengrass makes this (for me) very heartfelt observation:
“what is the witness that you’re giving to the world that you see out there”
I am still processing the full extent of what this means in the here and know, and how it impacts my life’s journey. The questions and thoughts I have on this are: what type of world do we see out there (as I am sure its different for many of us) and what is the image that we portray to that world. In this frenetic age of social media, where we can choose to live our entire lives in the public eye, dragging out our 15 min of fame to previously unimaginable lengths! And then how does this impact on the witness we bear and the world which we want to see?
Often we are moulded and haunted by a past, we did not always ask for, and facing an uncertain future and unknown destination. Yet even with that uncertainty staring us in the face we soldier forward. The biggest battle, at times is finding our way home or a home.
The section on PTSD of the soldiers and the 5 directors is thought provoking and raises more questions than answers, and another blog post is brewing on this subject and a short documentary film directed by John Houston. The 1946 film; Let There Be Light and its portrayal of soldiers suffering from post traumatic stress disorder led to Let There Be Light being suppressed by the U.S. government; it was not released until the 1980s.
Let me close out with the powerful optimistic hopeful words from a Capra post WW2 film, which was a flop on its release but later became a classic:
The world is not all evil.
Yes, we do have nightmares, but we also have dreams.
We do have villainy, but we also have great compassion.
There’s good in the world.
And it’s wonderful.Frank Capra – It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
rose petals pressed between blank pages bleeding out, total commitment to the cost of pressing on
