Monday 31 May 2010

KEHLOG ALBRAN - 1933- 1927


The author was a lifelong member of the Diner's Club and did much of his most creative writing there. His style was that of a man with a much larger brain. Born in Brest-Litovsk, much of his earlier work was published in his native dialect in which language he is still greatly revered. In an area embracing several hectares in that city, he is still looked upon as a demi-god. His drawings and paintings have been exhibited in Quito, Ecuador. His artistic and literary style have been compared by Chester Gould to the work of Ernest Bushmiller and by Bushmiller to the work of Gould. Upon moving to America, his greatest desires were to write in his adopted language. English; to make a million dollars, and to retire from pseudo-philosophy so that he might open a chain of laundromats. It is the world's loss that he never succeeeded in writing in English.
During much of Albran's lifetime, he was widely thought to be dead. This confusion was the result of the trance-like state Albran affected at public appearances. Con-versely, as one might expect of so mystical a figure, after his death many of his followers continued to believe him still alive. Various schools or sects ultmately developed: the Alban Lives School, the Albran Never lived School, and the Two Albrans Faction.
Though a rationale for these conflictin factions can be attributed to Alban's erratic behavior and lifeless appearance in public, in private life Albran was a different person. Given to high camaraderie and practical jokes, he once commented that the Whoopie Cushion had done more for mankind's betterment than Marx, Christ and Oral Roberts rolled into one.
Though a man of spirit, he was also a man of the flesh. He especially enjoyed having a thin stream of his favourite beverage (Dubronnet and Diet-Rite) poured into his mouth by a lady friend while he lay in a transparent Plexiglas bathtub filled with Blueberry Yoghurt.
To the accusations that he was a whoremonger and womanizer, he frequently replied, "Oh, Yeah? Prove it." Or, sometimes, "So was Rasputin."
That he is indeed dead is now an undisputrd fact, though the date of death remains shrouded in mystery as a result of Albran's own diabolical scheme. His glossy but perfectly body was discovered months or perhaps years later by his literary agent in the tiny, austere room in which he spent his final years. Apparently sensing that the end was near, Albran had hung a five gallon plastic bag of shellac on the ceiling immediately over the chair where he spent so much of his time watching daytime television. As his hand slipped from the arm of the chair, it pulled a wire releasing the shellac which coated his entire body and most of the chair to a depth exceeding a quarter of an inch in many places. Thus, Albran contributed to his own immortality, as well as that of the chair.

"HIS POWER came from some great resevoir of distlled water, else it could not have been so transparent yet liquid, so apparently lacking sophistication while at the same time actually lacking sophistication. So tasteless, yet wet."
CLIVE RODNEY FARK.

Man will never penetrate outer space. - Albran, August 1942

Man will never penetrate outer space without a rocket. - Albran, August 1962.


FROM THE QUESTIONS.

I ran to the high Spot to think of the
oncoming perversions and prevailed upon
my subconscious to deliver artifacts of a
bigted perceptio. But, I was not asleep,
therefore... awake. And not alone.

A parent is a child, the child a parent.
A mother is a daughter, a father is a son.
A father is the son of a son,
the mother is the daughter of a maid.
A maid is the daughter of a child.
A turtle is a grasshopper.
A grasshopper is a worm.
A worm is icky.


AND an artist said,
Speak to us of Praise.
He then said:
Spinning Gold from words of Praise does
not require a maiden's hand, or the caco-
phonous stare of a blind frog.
But it would be a nice gesture.

AND a merchant asked,
What of Wheels?
The Master replied:
A Wheel is round, much like an apple.
Both have a simplicity in their nature.

A Wheel can rotate, which causes it to
move in a circle.
This I observed while quite young.
Some have yet to learn the wisdom of
the circle.

An apple can fall from a tree and
become unnotice as it rots and goes
back to earth.
A Wheel can fall from atree and will be
noticed immediately, for it is not natural
for wheels to grow on trees.
A cart with four strong Wheels soes not
deserve more than a passing glance, but a
cart riding atop four apples would cause
men to wonder.

What is normal to an apple is not normal
to a Wheel.
But both are like circles.
And both are very much alike.
Except for the Apple.



LONG LIVE THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION.

Saturday 29 May 2010

A WELSH WORDSCAPE - Peter Finch.

1

To live in Wales,

Is to be mumbled at
by re-incarnations of Dylan Thomas
in numerous diverse disgiuses.

Is to be mown down
by the same words
at least six times a week.

Is to be bored
by Welsh visionaries
with wild hair and grey suits.

Is to be told
of the incredible agony
of an exile
that can be at most
a day's travel away.

And the sheep, the sheep,
the bloody flea-bitten Welsh sheep,
chased over the same hills
by athousand poetic phraces
all saying the same things.

To live in Wales
is to love sheep
and to be afraid
of dragons.

2

A history is being re-lived,
a lost heritage
is being wept after
with sad eyes and dry tears.

A heritage
that spoke beauty to the world
through dirty alcoholic mists.

A heritage
that screamed that once,
that exploded that one holy time
and connected Wales
with the whirlpool
of the universe.

A heritage
that ceased communication
upon a death, and nonetheless
tried to go on living.

A heritage
that is taking
a long time to learn
that yesterday cannot be today
and that the world
is fast becomming bored
with language forever
in the same tone of voice.

Look at the Welsh landscape,
look closely,
new voices must rise.
for Wales cannot endlessly remain
chasing sleep into the twilight.


FROM: Selected Poems 1987, Poetry Wales



The Preseli Hills

Thursday 27 May 2010

Damaged Gaza still not repaired one year on



ABOUT three-quarters of the damage inflicted by Israel in its war on Gaza more than a year ago has not been repaired or rebuilt the United Nations confirmed last weekend.
In a new report, the UN Development Programme observed that Israel continues to bar construction material from entering the coastal enclave as part of an overall blockade of the territory, which is home to over 1.3 million Palestinians.
It is said that Gazans have carried out small-scale repairs worth £120 million with recycled rubble or material smuggled through border tunnels that are frequently targeted by Israeli air strikes.



"Many members of the international community, including the UN, have refrained, thus far from utilising materials identified as coming through the tunnels, subsequently limiting their role in reconstruction, " the report continued.
It added that, while "some recovery is taking place, the realities on the ground show that the international community is by and large , rendered ineffective in addressing the needs of the people in Gaza".
Meanwhile thousands of wellwishers thronged Istanbul's port last Saturday as three cargo vessels loaded with aid set off to join in an International solidarity fleet bound for Gaza.
A total of 9 vessels were scheduled to cast anchor at Gaza docks today with 5,000 tons of construction material, medical equipment and school supplies, as well as around 600 people from 40 countries.
Yet the state of Israel has already made itself clear , telling their ambassadors that the flotilla will not be allowed to disembark in Gaza. This despite increasing criticism from the wider International Community.
Top military officials have stated that their navy will intercept these ships bringing much needed relief to a people under siege.
Israeli peace group Gush Shalom have urged the authorities not to interfere with the flotilla. We will have to wait and see.
"The whole world is watching" the group has said. " Israel has no interest in flooding international television channels with pictures of sailors and Israeli commandos fighting with peace activists and humanitarian aid activists many of whom are well known in their countries."
There are still a lot of people who don't realise how under siege Gaza is and the amount of their dire circumstances, perhaps this peace convoy might highlight the issue, I do hope so.
It is commendable too, that two musicians I much admire, Gil Scot Heron and Elvis Costello announced their intentions not to play in Israel recently, Costello recognising the message of his song -" Peace Love and Understanding " would possibly not be appreciated there, and joining with the internationalists in recognising the injustices bought about under Israel's name.
Progressive people within Israel are pressing from within, it is wrong to tar them all with the sins of their leaders. To these people and the people of Gaza I offer my voice of solidarity.

Wednesday 26 May 2010

ALTERNATIVE QUEEN'S SPEECH





BRIAN HAW : PEACE CAMPAIGNER CRAPPEST ARREST OF THE WEEK

CALL THIS DEMOCRACY.

ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE.

Sunday 23 May 2010

Contradictions


Flame wind of poppies
music of colours
great nights returning
gathered from mindfrost.
We bask in brilliance
bright petals spring from this
the golden light dances upon the leaves,
idle clouds sail across the sky
the passing breeze leaving its coolness
upon our lips.
The afternoon light has flooded the day
slips still, holding everlasting breath,
run with the words, smash into shards of possibility.
Time now to revive old factions
as worldly realities refuse to fade
dreams flower new universes in the head
as earths atomic fingers point towards the stars.
Slyly, moons still awake
slip upon shifting spaces all around
ragged silhouettes restless in their lark.

Thursday 20 May 2010

YEUGENY YEVTUSHENKO - People.



No people are uninteresting.
Their fate is like the chronicle of planets.

Nothing in them is not particular,
and planet is dissimilar from planet.

And if a man lived in obscurity
making his friends in that obscurity
obscurity is not uninteresting.

To each his world is private,
and in that world one excellent minute.

And in that world one tragic minute.
These are private.

In any man who dies there dies with him
his first snow and kiss and fight.
It goes with him.

They are left books and bridges
and painted canvas and machinery.

Whose fate is to survive.
But what has gone is also not nothing:

by the rule of the game something has gone.
Not people die but worlds die in them.

Whom we knew as faulty, the earth's creatures.
Of whom, essentally, what did we know?

Brother of a brother? Friend of friends?
Lover of Lover?

We who knew our fathers
in everything, in nothing.

They perish. They cannot be brought back.
The secret worlds are not regenerated.

And every time again and again
I make my lament against destruction.

Wednesday 12 May 2010

The lunatics have taken over the asylum.



The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane - Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor

5 MORE YEARS UNTIL NEXT ELECTION APPARENTLY,
I DON'T BLOODY THINK SO.

Friday 7 May 2010

AND THE WINNER IS



Days of indecision, general division
violent rage fills gentle souls,
how come the country so blue
has the nation forgotten
yesteryears.
Treacherous schemers
already on the make
hunting like thiefs.
None at least in position
to pass new unpleasant laws.
This process must be rearranged,
the era of corruption not simply passed,
this is not the end friends
because everyone in the land
is still not equal.
Somethings gotta change
lets embrace the invisible
democracies flag is falling now.
Challenge the power,
contemplate togetherness ,
and if this is futile
offer resistance.
Gather your strengths
for time to come,
dance now calmly before
gathering storms.
Lie down for a while
do not be cast away, celebrate unity
through our diversity.
The system wrong ,we know this already,
a suitable case of insanity.
Do not be fooled, all claim victory
refuse to understand,
dance, dance before
the gathering storms.
To much to lose now,
refuse to be defeated
summer will be long,
maybe a heatwave,
there will be
many reasons
to shout,
much more increduality,
helicopters tracking our collective screams.
Refuse to accept limitations,
we are not yet finished,
this is just the beginning........

Thursday 6 May 2010

Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front - Wendell Berry



LOVE THE QUICK profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready made. Be afraid
to know your neighbours and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.

So, friends, every day do something
that won't compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mould.
Call that profit. Prophecy such returns.

Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion - put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie easy in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necesaary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

Reprinted from:
THE COUNTRY OF MARRIAGE ( Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973 )

Tuesday 4 May 2010

REMEMBER AND BEWARE don't vote Tory.



NO MATTER HOW BAD NEW LABOUR IS,IF YOU THINK IT'S TOUGH NOW UNDER A TORY GOVERNMENT IT WILL BE A LOT WORSE.
COME ON PEOPLE THINK INTELLIGENTLY,
DON'T VOTE TORY OR THOSE BLOODY NAZIS THE B.N.P .

Sunday 2 May 2010

KNOW THY ENEMY - Christopher Logue (1926- )



Know thy enemy:
he does not care what colour you are
provided you work for him
and yet you do!

he does not care how much you earn
provided you earn more for him
and yet you do!

he does not care who lives in the room at the top
provided he owns the building
and yet you strive!

he will let you write against him
provided you do not act against him
and yet you write!

he sings the praises of humanity
but knows machines cost more than men.
Bargain with him, he laughs, and beats you at it;
challenge him , and he kills.
Sooner than loose the things he owns
he will destroy the world
SMASH CAPITAL NOW!

But as you hasten to be free
And build your commonwealth
Do not forget the enemy
Who lies within yourself.

MAY 2nd GREETINGS TO ALL WITHOUT JOBS.



let us not forget,we are voices too
hopefully living in solidarity,
unity is strength.

Saturday 1 May 2010

HAPPY MAY DAY

today commemorates historic struggle of all working people, and is a day of celebration for labor and radical movements,a day of celebrating dissent, through unity of breath calling an end to all oppression . Salute.
Rise in all your splendid might
Take the wealth that you are making
it belongs to you by right.
No one will for bread be crying
We'll have freedom, love and health.

Joe Hill