Personal Blogs

This week I discovered that two bands I really like will be visiting Belgium in the next few months. First and foremost is the reappearance of my all-time favorite band Throwing Muses. Although lead-singer Kristin Hersh is still creating new songs and albums for her solo work, the last T.M. album dates back to 2003. They've played the Handelsbeurs venue (Ghent) in 2007 and made a special appearance at the 2009 All Tomorrows Parties festival which was curated by their long time friends The Breeders. As is they will be playing that same venue in Ghent on the 27th of October which, coincidentally, is the very day that TMA-01 will have to be submitted. So after some weeks of hard work on the new course there will be an opportunity for some welcome leisure. Moreover the aforementioned venue is not only a very beautiful location, it is also situated in what I myself consider to be the most interesting city in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium. The many Universities there make that night-life in this city is always buzzing. Combined with the fact that I will be staying at a friends place makes this a perfect day to party well into the night.

The second band that is set to tour this fall is London based experimental band Chrome Hoof. This is one of the most exhilarating bands I've seen in years. I discovered them at the 2008 Pukkelpop festival and was instantaneously struck by their extraordinary sound and dramatic presence. Last year they've returned with a 3rd album and they appeared at the BoomTown festival, at the exact same venue as Kristin Hersh and Throwing Muses will be playing next month. Chrome Hoof will also be playing in Belgium, just one month after TM. Sadly however they will do so in a venue that I don't like as much as the others around here. There is really nothing wrong with the venue itself, but it is located in an area which in the past wasn't always that pleasant to be in. I myself have only been to this venue once and have since been reluctant to do so again. Why? I can't really point a finger on it. I'll have to take a look if Chrome Hoof is playing any other venues nearby. If not, well then I'll just have to move on and finally pay this venue a second visit. For sure I will not let anything get in the way of having another invigorating night of Chrome Hoof extravaganza.

 

Dear Mr. Terrence Malick

I am writing to you concerning your latest motion picture entitled 'Tree of Life'.

Yesterday I got invited by some good friends to visit a local multiplex where we would be viewing 'Tree of Life'. At that moment I hadn't even heard of it and I needed to browse to the cinema's website to read the synopsis. Apart from that, I do know that my friend does have a similar taste in movies, so it seemed appropriate to join in.

As the film got on its way we were presented with images of a 1950's household which eventually was composed of a father, mother and three sons. I do not want to spoil the story completely so I will turn to what I actually want to express my feelings of: Symbolism. There is really a whole lot of it going on in the film. So much even that it was really hard to breath freely. We were presented with metaphors towards conception, newborns, despair, death. Some were fine some were really over the top — animals resembling female and male reproduction organs, for God's sake. At some point we even visit the prehistoric and witness the alleged source for the demise of the dinosaurs. All this can be nice, but I think you should have kept these out of this film and left them to the experts in natural history documentary. So, the film provides us with some good examples of symbolism, but it is the sheer volume of them that at some point got me numb. And consequently left me that way for the remainder of the film.

Was this film partly funded by Sir Richard Branson? These abundant stellar and earth observations might eventually stimulate wealthy people to take a trip with his Virgin Galactic enterprise. In that regard it is somewhat similar to broadcasts like BBC's Top Gear, which features many exuberantly expensive cars only a few are able to buy, but it nevertheless serves a very broad audience of 'common people'. And this is just where these images have left me. They seem to be no more than a travel-guide to inhabitable and unreachable destinations, a collection of trade cards from extinct animals and or a selected reading of human emotions.

So Mr. Malick, was this your sole intention? To impress viewers with stunning photography of life in all its aspects. It must be said, the images are exquisite and certainly the way most of the actors and action are depicted is utterly beautiful. However, I can't but question what you actually aimed for? Did you expect people to grasp that — life as it is progressing — needs some redirecting? It for sure does, but I am very sceptic towards the effect this film would have upon people who are not already aware that such is the case. Maybe you just asked the agency to pay for a trip around the world, writing a storyline and shooting some footage along the way. You do seem to have visited about every conceivable foot-mark, left by the 'milestones' in Earth's Life. That said, any fictional work is based upon ones personal views and experiences. My view on this film is as personal as yours making it. So therefore I can not and will not really criticize any of it more than I've already done. It did however left me with some awkward moments and I can not yet comprehend half of it.

Coincidently, tonight one of the local TV stations will be broadcasting 'The Thin Red Line'. In an effort to understand why yesterday's cinema experience left me with such a feeling of aloofness I am going to watch it closely. Moreover, I am going to place an online order for the Badlands DVD, so I can re-watch this one as well. Reviewing these might eventually provide me with enough elements to determine what has driven you to execute your latest creation the way you did.

From what you have been reading here it might seem that the aforementioned film hasn't touched me in any positive manner. In fact, it did just the right thing for me. If 'Tree of Life' would have been either top-notch or disastrously bad, I wouldn't have felt the need to have a say about it in such a personal manner. In those circumstances I would at most make use of those omnipresent and totally overrated social networks to communicate my feelings to the world. But as it stands, last nights emotions have inspired me to write my first ever Open Letter.

So, in view of all things that you have already produced, the ones you are working on and the ones you might not yet even think about.

Thanks a million!

 

Yours truly,

There is really no doubt left about how much influence the work environment can have on studying efforts. As from day one of this course I have been living in a small part of my appartment while the living area and kitchen were being renovated. The work isn't finished yet; ceilings still need layers of paint and the walls need their paper coverings. However, since I cleaned these rooms last friday I was able to use the kitchen as my working area today.

The spaceous environment along with better lighting had a welcome effect on the work at hand. As for TMA-04. I've created a Mind Map and just finished my Essay plan. So, tomorrow it's of to write the first draft.

On the other hand, the Ritual of Preparation has already proven it's useability. On friday morning I completed the poem — which I started thursday evening but was unable to finish — in a mere 20'. Got up at 06.00, went for a little walk, came back and sat at my desk at 06.38 and finished the Night-poem by 06.58.

It's already been 9 days since my previous post — although I was aiming at posting regularly — and sadly enough it hasn't been going well with the studying bit. Apart from the fact that I'm falling behind a lot, lack the necessary energy to study after work and can't get my appartment renovation finished, I am also feeling less and less confident in my capabilities. When — at the very start of this course — I was working my way through the first few chapters in Book 1 I was mostly pleased of the notes I made for the activities in the Book. Whenever I reviewed my notes against the discussion the writer of the chapter made, I could somehow relate to the points therein. As of Book 2 this has proven to be a totally different matter. For the moment I am struggling hard to get through the Ireland chapter (and have decided to skip this weeks' Shostakovich one). I feel very lost, especially whenever — after writing yet another small text on one of the activities — I read the discussion that follows. I do realise that I shouldn't get to worked up about getting everything right, since it will only worsen my fears which eventually could lead to quiting the course.

So I need to get rid of the feeling that 'I do not know enough to comprehend' and the fears that it causes. I have found some inspiration in Twyla Tharp's book "The Creative Habit" — which I started reading a week ago. I am gonna have a go at creating for myself a 'ritual of preparation'. I won't be going to the gym as Twyla does, but I will alter my morning ceremony.

As of now I will;

• get out of bed within 5 minutes after my alarm-clock rings
• take a 15' walk around the center of town
• read a small portion of the week's chapter (taking some 45' to 60')
• eat breakfast
• go to work

To do this I will need to get up a lot earlier than I have been doing up until now. To make sure that I still get enough sleep I therefor will have to get into bed earlier. This shouldn't be a problem since I am not that productive in the evening anyway.

Since it's quite late already tonight, I will not be able to do all of the steps in full tomorrow morning. I will do the walking bit and a little reading, but it'll probably be just a page or two for this first 'trial run'. I'll just have to work towards having a working 'schedule' by next monday.

Assuming Grindal’s injunctions were implemented, how do you think a Protestant church would have differed from a Catholic one, as described by Martyn? What do these injunctions reveal about the progress of the Reformation by 1571?

The Act of Uniformity, written in 1559, made fully clear as to how Protestant beliefs were to be pursued.

The most resolute step in this was the removal of all evidence to former 'supersticious' beliefs. Religious elements like Altarstones — wholly connected to Latin service — would have to be demolished and reused as an ordinary everyday object. Rood lofts needed to be broken down and the uncovered beam fitted with a suitable, modest decoration. This would lead to a more sober environment in which to hold religious services.

A similar kind of action was to be undertaken for the actual act of worship, where only common prayer was yet allowed. However one would be able to pray for the sick, it was prohibited to honour the dead. Not after their burial, and not even on All Saints Day or All Souls Day would it be approved to do 'any ringing at all other than to common prayer' (Archbischop of York, 1571, in Price, 2008, p.101).

As a result a protestant church not only was less exuberant, the services held there would reflect this since now only common prayer was allowed.

The fact that these instructions were written down in 1571, well into The Reformation, can be seen as prove that allthough a lot had changed already, there was still a long way to go before the Protestant church would be well-founded and rooted firmly in English tradition.

The initial restart just before the NewYear really didn't happen. I only studied for a short while in the library but was hoping I would have better luck after returning to my home. Sadly I did not, and the first days of 2011 were somewhat a continuation of the last few weeks of 2010. Too much thinking, too little studying.

By the 3th of January I hadn't even done anything for TMA-03 and suddenly got really scared. I was about to throw in the towel. Somehow, thinking about some good friends prevented me from doing so. I took 3 more days leave of work, but could only do so after going in for half a day to aid in some urgent matter. On Wednesday the 5th I eventually started work on the 2 essays, simultaneously working through part of the Beasts chapter. By Thursday evening I had about finished the part on Faraday and was halfway through with 'The Horses'. Realizing I wouldn't be able to turn it in before midnight I went to bed and hoped that a fresh early morning start would enable me to finish the task by noon. As I found out on Friday I really do lack sufficient knowledge of the English language to quickly write down what is already in my head. I reluctantly resulted to work out the text in Dutch and then translate it, instead of thinking and writing in English directly. I really don't like this, but for once I had to, and in part it worked. By noon I was at about 80% of the target but realized I would not be able to complete it, so I sent in some half finished essays. The worst of all this is that I was unable to make use of the reflective part in TMA-02 where I observed that my openings need improvement.

This Saturday I had a satisfying study session at the library, going through the first bit of English Christianity. I meant to start on the Pugin chapter but quickly realised it was somehow closely connected to the previous chapter. So I'll have to work double hard this week to get through these 2 chapters. And I need to do some 'pre-reading' on the Ireland chapter since we will be working on this at next Saturday's Dayschool in Brussels. I am really looking forward on meeting my tutor and some of my fellow students.

These last two and a half weeks I haven't done any studying whatsoever. The origin of this is diverse but the prolonged renovation of my appartment can surely be counted as part of this inactivity. Today I decided to use my free afternoon to study in my favorite environment: the library in Hasselt. Allthough I did read a lot of the Poems in the Faber Book of Beasts, I still have to start working on the chapter itself. So this is where I want to start off right now.

Got off to a bad start... Physically that is. A nasty cough left me with a contused rib. Quite a painfull experience. Two nights without any quality sleep. Pain medication is starting to work now so hopefully I will get a good nights rest.