Every Monday I publish a round-up of videos, articles, news and thoughts that I hope will prove both interesting and chortlesome. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
That's an interesting selection of books to work through. Look forward to hearing about them in more detail. The map one looks like something my father would joy.
Hmm, the puzzle. Feels like a rearrangement of words. The phrase "ready, willing and able" is jumbled, although that doesn't quite fit properly.
BTW you look very presidential in the photo. All you needed was a waist high stack of paper and a pen and claimed to be busy signing executive orders. Hehe. (Inside American joke?)
Loved this start the week, Terry, and I don't know whether to be impressed or horrified about how at home you look in your 'at-home' Oval office!
'The hardest part of playing the saxophone is to open the case and play the instrument every day' - this really resonates with me as an all-or-nothing, throws-herself-into-everything-100%, gives-up-five-minutes-later kind of person..... Reading what you've then said about the blank page, though, has given me some solace, because I am happy to keep trying to tackle that on a(n almost) daily basis - although I'm set to become neither musician nor novelist! 🤣
Okay, I give up - I can't find your April Fool. Or is it that there ISN'T one?! 🤔
It's the Oval office. Did you really think we had a replica oval office installed? OMG 😂😂 Disagree about your not becoming a novelist. Thanks for kind words!
Lots of great stuff today, Terry. I wish I had had an Oval Office when I was raising my boys--as you said, it adds a certain gravitas.
I was enthralled with the little sound clips of the Scouse regional accent. It brought me back to my childhood and hearing the four young Liverpool lads with the funny haircuts for the first time.
😂 Thanks Jim. It was quite enjoyable hearing it every day, even though my first experience of it was some oaf looking me up and down and spitting "Cockney twat" . I couldn't stop laughing!
Thanks for the shout out, President Terry in the Oval Office! I agree--meeting a fellow writer in person adds another dimension to our work and life. It makes our writing real and our effort more meaningful somehow.
Thank you! We literally got home at noon today! My aunt offered to host us last night as we were too jet lagged to make the 4-hour drive from NY to MD. Incidentally we gained a pound eating a yummy dinner and breakfast chez aunt:)
Yes, she is a "prolific feeder" kind of an aunt;-) And how well you know Sahil. He got to hang out with their grandson, his cousin. For dinner though, he chose to become an American and chose a veggie burger and fries over her Indian meal;-) but he did enjoy her crispy dosas with hot Indian pickle for breakfast this morning.
"...there's a big gap between how I should like to sound, how I imagine myself sounding, and how I do sound." Yes. Just like writing, as you say. My only saving grace is that I have no one pressuring me, no obligation to write. It just gives me so much pleasure. I have nothing to lose but my credibility, and maybe a dab of dignity, and I am too old to worry about that. Fun stuff today as every Monday, my friend! Thank you.
It's a pleasure. There are similarities and divergences (even personal) between both Argentine writers. Cortázar is from a later generation, and his approach to the fantastic is, in my opinion, more exuberant on the one hand, but also more 'down-to-earth', everyday, which produces a considerable vertigo. Borges was Wagner, Cortázar Coltrane (and may the muses of comparison forgive me).
You have to bear in mind Cortázar's books are conceptual and organic. English translations are usually messy compilations, so better compare contents with the original's index.
Thank you once more, Terry, for your inspiring post to kickstart the week positively. I definitely admire your productivity, even in terms of saxophone playing. Speaking of the saxophone, when it comes to experimentation and literature, I can't resist recommending the work of my dear Julio Cortázar. His story 'El perseguidor' (The Pursuer) is a masterpiece that embodies all those elements.
Julio Cortazar's book, Las Historias de Cronopios y de Famas. 1962 . What a book! I read it in Spanish over and over. It was one of only two Spanish texts where I wanted to understand EVERY twisted word and nuance. That and La Vida Inútil de Pito Perez ( José Rubén Romero 1938) I am not sure if either of these is available in English.
You have to bear in mind Cortázar's books are conceptual and organic. English translations are usually messy compilations, so better compare contents with the original's index.
The translator is all-important. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to do as you suggest because I don't speak Spanish -- although I could copy/paste into Google Translate I suppose, and hope it's accurate.
Yes! For a non-native speaker, the idiomatic, colloquial Spanish of Rulfo, Romero, and Cortázar is always a challenge and can be meaningless in direct translation. I myself relied on a Spanish-speaking friend to help me through the more obscure parts! (Now.... if I only I had a friend to help me through the discordance / atonality of some jazz! ha ha ha)
Thanks fr kind words, Rafa. And thank you for the recommendation. I hadn't heard of Cortázar. Who does he compare with? Borges for instance? His work sounds interesting: I love experimentation.
Yes, and they're actually readable! Well, the maths one not so much perhaps. Yes, agree about dating us. It's such a waste of time getting old, apart from accumulated wisdom I suppose! And the alternative.
Hah, love the Oval Office pic 😆
That's an interesting selection of books to work through. Look forward to hearing about them in more detail. The map one looks like something my father would joy.
Hmm, the puzzle. Feels like a rearrangement of words. The phrase "ready, willing and able" is jumbled, although that doesn't quite fit properly.
Thanks, Nathan. Good attempt at solving the puzzle. A shame that you're wrong. <Snigger>
I thought that might be the case ;)
Lost in Jazzlation... Playing randomly helps myself to don't judge notes for their cover 😅
jazzlation: love it! 😂
What a nice round up. Thx for including me.
The Sax! How fab that you are learning.
BTW you look very presidential in the photo. All you needed was a waist high stack of paper and a pen and claimed to be busy signing executive orders. Hehe. (Inside American joke?)
Thanks! The photo shows me AFTER I'd signed all those executive orders. My presidential campaign features the slogan, Let's Get This Done!
Loved this start the week, Terry, and I don't know whether to be impressed or horrified about how at home you look in your 'at-home' Oval office!
'The hardest part of playing the saxophone is to open the case and play the instrument every day' - this really resonates with me as an all-or-nothing, throws-herself-into-everything-100%, gives-up-five-minutes-later kind of person..... Reading what you've then said about the blank page, though, has given me some solace, because I am happy to keep trying to tackle that on a(n almost) daily basis - although I'm set to become neither musician nor novelist! 🤣
Okay, I give up - I can't find your April Fool. Or is it that there ISN'T one?! 🤔
It's the Oval office. Did you really think we had a replica oval office installed? OMG 😂😂 Disagree about your not becoming a novelist. Thanks for kind words!
You mean you're NOT the President of the United States, Terry? 🫢
😂😂
Lots of great stuff today, Terry. I wish I had had an Oval Office when I was raising my boys--as you said, it adds a certain gravitas.
I was enthralled with the little sound clips of the Scouse regional accent. It brought me back to my childhood and hearing the four young Liverpool lads with the funny haircuts for the first time.
😂 Thanks Jim. It was quite enjoyable hearing it every day, even though my first experience of it was some oaf looking me up and down and spitting "Cockney twat" . I couldn't stop laughing!
Thanks for the shout out, President Terry in the Oval Office! I agree--meeting a fellow writer in person adds another dimension to our work and life. It makes our writing real and our effort more meaningful somehow.
Indeed! Glad you all got back safe and sound 😁
Thank you! We literally got home at noon today! My aunt offered to host us last night as we were too jet lagged to make the 4-hour drive from NY to MD. Incidentally we gained a pound eating a yummy dinner and breakfast chez aunt:)
She sounds like my kind of person. I bet Sahil was pleased 😂
Yes, she is a "prolific feeder" kind of an aunt;-) And how well you know Sahil. He got to hang out with their grandson, his cousin. For dinner though, he chose to become an American and chose a veggie burger and fries over her Indian meal;-) but he did enjoy her crispy dosas with hot Indian pickle for breakfast this morning.
Lol. You're making me feel hungry. We have Indians living near us, and the smell of their cooking is mouth-watering.
"...there's a big gap between how I should like to sound, how I imagine myself sounding, and how I do sound." Yes. Just like writing, as you say. My only saving grace is that I have no one pressuring me, no obligation to write. It just gives me so much pleasure. I have nothing to lose but my credibility, and maybe a dab of dignity, and I am too old to worry about that. Fun stuff today as every Monday, my friend! Thank you.
😂 Thanks Sharron!
You look remarkably at home in the Oval Office. Don't eat the jellybeans.
Jelly beans? I didn't see them! Thanks, yes I think it's my natural habitat!
I think I'm showing my age. Wasn't it Ronald Reagan who always kept jelly beans on the desk in the OO?
Possibly. It sounds like the sort of thing he might do!
It's a pleasure. There are similarities and divergences (even personal) between both Argentine writers. Cortázar is from a later generation, and his approach to the fantastic is, in my opinion, more exuberant on the one hand, but also more 'down-to-earth', everyday, which produces a considerable vertigo. Borges was Wagner, Cortázar Coltrane (and may the muses of comparison forgive me).
PS A library here has it, though someone has borro9wed it, so I shall reserve it. Thanks again!
You have to bear in mind Cortázar's books are conceptual and organic. English translations are usually messy compilations, so better compare contents with the original's index.
brilliant analogy! Thanks!
Wow! What an epic newsletter! And THANK YOU for the shout out!
Thanks very much, Christine. You're welcome 😃
Thank you once more, Terry, for your inspiring post to kickstart the week positively. I definitely admire your productivity, even in terms of saxophone playing. Speaking of the saxophone, when it comes to experimentation and literature, I can't resist recommending the work of my dear Julio Cortázar. His story 'El perseguidor' (The Pursuer) is a masterpiece that embodies all those elements.
https://archive.org/details/endofgameotherst0000cort
End of the Game and Other Stories https://amzn.eu/d/6a8wj6f
Julio Cortazar's book, Las Historias de Cronopios y de Famas. 1962 . What a book! I read it in Spanish over and over. It was one of only two Spanish texts where I wanted to understand EVERY twisted word and nuance. That and La Vida Inútil de Pito Perez ( José Rubén Romero 1938) I am not sure if either of these is available in English.
Not Romero's in English, but the master of Mexican short tale is Rulfo: El Llano in flames https://amzn.eu/d/irITqwt
A wonderful classic besides 'Pedro Páramo'
Thanks for the recommendation and link, Rafa
You have to bear in mind Cortázar's books are conceptual and organic. English translations are usually messy compilations, so better compare contents with the original's index.
The translator is all-important. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to do as you suggest because I don't speak Spanish -- although I could copy/paste into Google Translate I suppose, and hope it's accurate.
Yes! For a non-native speaker, the idiomatic, colloquial Spanish of Rulfo, Romero, and Cortázar is always a challenge and can be meaningless in direct translation. I myself relied on a Spanish-speaking friend to help me through the more obscure parts! (Now.... if I only I had a friend to help me through the discordance / atonality of some jazz! ha ha ha)
Is your Spanish-speaking friend available for hire? 🤣
Afraid not. Unless you can summon him from the netherworld...
Why not? It worked for the Labour Party
The end of the game is, not sure about the ones you mention
Thanks fr kind words, Rafa. And thank you for the recommendation. I hadn't heard of Cortázar. Who does he compare with? Borges for instance? His work sounds interesting: I love experimentation.
Interesting books. The videos definitely date us. Grin. Ah the memories…
Yes, and they're actually readable! Well, the maths one not so much perhaps. Yes, agree about dating us. It's such a waste of time getting old, apart from accumulated wisdom I suppose! And the alternative.
Thanks for the shout out Terry! 😃👏
my pleasure, Kate 😁
I guess you want to have your guests address you as "President Freedman"....
Pleeeeeeeeease don't encourage him, David....!!!!!! 🤣😉
Show some respect, Becks. My name is The Prez
Tez the Prez? Come on!!!!!! 🙌
😂 I didn't think of that. It has a certain ring to it, no?
‘I didn’t think of that…’ Pffffffffffffff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#youabsolutelyDID 😎
😂
🤣🤣 It makes a change from King Tel
Hope y'all enjoy this.