Artistic games

Old games played with new tools at the Tate Modern in London.
Posted for Ruby Tuesday thanks to qualifying clothes.

Original Ruby Tuesday invitation.

The breather fib

Grey
sky
in July -
a breather -
a breeze before the
next scorcher that is sure to come

– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2008)

A day of emotional relaxation so far, perfect for reporting on something as neutral as the weather. At the same time, I almost reproach myself for being so mercurial: how can it be that someone I felt so passionate about just a few days ago now seems so distant – and not only that, but comfortably so? Or only numbly so – in keeping with the weather?

Hot summer day haiku

Sweating it out in the office all day,
with the addition of A. driving long pointed nails
into my all-too-willing soul

– Leonard “Leached Out” Blumfeld (© 2008)

Potential protest
"But that's not a haiku," some might scream, "because it doesn't have umpteen syllables and is not about bucolic things like cherry blossoms in bloom or the shedding of pine needles!"
Oh well, to me it feels like one in this heat.

My summer poem for Totally Optional Prompts.

Treasures from Brick Lane

Among the treasures I brought back from an excursion to London's Brick Lane – a street full of Bengali/Bangladeshi restaurants and stores – were six Bangladeshi films on DVD and Monica Ali's 2003 novel Brick Lane (now also a movie).

For several years now I've mostly picked books to read that were about a matter I wanted to read about – an interesting biography, personal fate, specific geographical or historical setting.

Brick Lane fits all four categories, is beautifully written and has a deeply human story to tell. I might write about it again once I've made more progress.

Dollhouse by director Morshedul Islam is set in 1971, when Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) was fighting for independence from Pakistan. Rehana, a young woman from Dhaka, comes to the village to seek refuge from the war-ravaged capital city. Essentially a happy, bubbly girl, she displays strange reversals of mood. The film gradually reveals her secret in a series of flashbacks.

A beautifully photographed film that stems from a time zone so different from our hectic one. A domain in which it is possible to feel the significance of every moment, the flow of time. I wish I knew Bengali to fully appreciate this soft-spoken gem of cinema.

Permanence

Will
what
was be
always? Kept
in an infinite
reservoir of thought, action, wish?

– Leonard "Transient" Blumfeld

A fibonacci for One Single Impression and Transience or Permanence.

Everyday art

It's 'art in the everyday' at Inspire Me Thursday this time around, and this photograph is exactly that. It is a snap of a section of a lamppost I took a few weeks ago, which has, over the course of its existence, obviously been exposed to various events and layers, such as posters stuck and removed, rusting, cracking, spray painting, weathering and who knows what other everyday occurrences.

L. Blumfeld

My nights without you

... are terribly boring.

To give you an idea – last night I ate three boring sandwiches (turkey on bread, nothing else), then ironed five shirts while watching Switzerland and Turkey slush it out.* While you were on my mind a lot. While I was thinking that our nights together could be a lot more exciting. For example, we could do ironing together. Or other things.

– Leonard Nightdreamer Blumfeld

For Sunday Scribblings' "My Nights"

* Actually, that turned into quite an exciting match in the second half. I was rooting for the Turks, so I was thrilled when they got the ball in a second time about one minute before the end.

Towering cloud

Evening sky with towering cloud. Taken out of my window last night.
Barely blue – I know. Darkest blue and lightest blue for Project Blue
and Wordless Wednesday.

Blue flowers

Blue flowers in Kensington Park for Anna Carson's Project Blue.

The hummingbird speaks

... and then there are those parts of Nature
ideally made for my fluttering approach,
colored an attractive red, to take a sweet
drink ... even though sometimes
big-eyed beings eye me from close-by ...
and I’ve also found the fount empty at times ...

– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2008)

Inspired by Inspire Me Thursday.