Beers & Books (436) – Relations Courier 1705

1705. That's how far back
Germany's probably oldest still-existing daily newspaper can look.
And it sometimes reads like it. ;-)
Nevertheless, I'm happy and grateful I was given this copy some time ago.
Reading it reinforced my belief 
that war has probably always been the preferred method of those in power.

December blue

...

Friday is Skyday

Days are getting grey, nights frosty.
and "everywhere" harvested sugar beets ...

... are waiting to be transported to the factory.

Relats conjunts: Garrote vil III – Painter's "pride"

«Garrote vil» (Ramon Casas - 1894)

Relats conjunts

"What am I proud of in retrospect on that February 29, 1932? Certainly not the portraits of the so-called high society, the decadent elite in many respects. That's how I earned my living. No, I'm proud of a few paintings that hold a mirror up to my contemporaries. ... Although pride is the wrong word. Take 'Garrote vil'. Just sketching the gawkers on the balconies, who had paid a fortune for their box seats, sometimes made me want to burst with rage and tear the canvas to shreds. But then I thought that this testament to human perversity might one day make a small contribution to the abolition of the death penalty. ... I only fear that future generations will come up with even more hideous cruelties. Perhaps something more subtle. Someone will call it 'The Banality of Evil'."

Relat conjunts: Garrote vil II – The executioner

«Garrote vil» (Ramon Casas - 1894)

Relats conjunts

 

"Well, how was it, Joanita?"
Joan took the garrote from his wife, helped her out of the executioner's garb, and looked at her tenderly.
"Terrible it was. You know how perfectly I wield the garrote. But again they demanded that I prolong the spectacle." 
"And? Did you make the poor fellow suffer unnecessarily longer?"
"When I hesitated, the mayor said, 'There are dozens down there who would love to do your job.' So what should I do? You, me, the children: we all want to eat."

"Poor darling. But imagine this. I've heard that the mayor is going on trial soon. And you know what the punishment for blasphemy is?"
A smile flickered across Joanita's lips. "If that's true, this execution will go down in history as the longest ever. And afterwards I shall quit."
"But ..."
"Don't worry, darling. Top prices will be offered for his fat. We'll be able to send our children to school so they once can have a better life."

Beers & Books (435) – The 40 Days of Musa Dagh

The Fourty Days of Musa Dagh

Franz Werfel (10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) 

Monochrome Monday

Cherry tree in the morning light.

On the road ...

"Gentlemen's" agreement

"You take Ukraine and, for all I care, annex the rest of Europe, which is INCREDIBLY STUPID, into a Holy European Empire of the Russian Nation. In return, you keep BEAUTIFULLY QUIET while I LIBERATE Greenland, Canada, and the southern remainder of the American continent. DEAL!?!?!"

"Согласованный." 

Friday is Skyday

After a first glance at the garden ...

at roses ...

and rain barrel I knew:

This Friday there was the first winter sky ...

 

... with white magic along the road

Beers&Books (434) – Franz Werfel: Masterful Tales

Franz Werfel (10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945)

Relats conjunts – Ramon Casas: Garrote vil

«Garrote vil» (Ramon Casas - 1894)

Relats conjunts

 

 "Long live cruelty and decadence!" 
Joan smirks as he counts once more the gold coins he's earned from renting out his balconies.
"Didn't I tell you there was no better place in this city to invest your money, darling?" 
"You're a genius, Joan." Smiling, Joanita steps behind him and kisses his neck. "That's precisely why I married you."
"I knew from the start that no one would want to miss such spectacles." 
"I wonder if the executioner handles the garrote any better today than he did the other day, darling?"
"I hope not! The longer the condemned person suffers, the more entertainment for the public."
"I love your pragmatism, Joan."
"And I love the sight of your breasts."
"Don't you want to attend the execution, Joan?"
"I find executions decadent. I'd rather be with you."
And with that, Joan, the philanthropist, pulls his wife onto his lap.

Monochrome Monday

...

...

Sláinte, John!

"I think technique can be taught  
but I think the only way to learn to write is to read, 
and I see writing and reading as completely related. 
One almost couldn't exist without the other."

[John McGahern, who would today celebrate his 91. birthday.]

Sláinte, John!