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Euthanasia in Belgium and the Netherlands (and the debate surrounding it)

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

I must apologize in advance, because I’m going to put a lot of videos and articles in this post and it will probably occupy a lot of space on the starting page of this site (needless to say, feel free to write your opinions about euthanasia in the comment section).

 

https://theconversation.com/separating-fact-from-fiction-about-euthanasia-in-belgium-58203

Euthanasia in Belgium

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3748787/Euthanasia-tourists-rush-Belgium-free-lethal-injections-staggering-2-023-medically-killed-year.html

https://newsmavens.com/news/aha-moments/2088/belgium-fears-euthanasia-tourism

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/24/brussels-denies-eu-rules-encourage-euthanasia-tourism/

And a PDF about euthanasia in Belgium:

Euthanasia practice in Belgium

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GeneralPoetry & Art

Cat Stevens – Trouble

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

Lyrics:

Trouble, oh trouble set me free

I have seen your face and it’s too much, too much for me

Trouble, oh trouble can’t you see

You’re eating my heart away and there’s nothing much left of me

–

I’ve drunk your wine, you have made your world mine

So won’t you be fair, so won’t you be fair

I don’t want no more of you, so won’t you be kind to me

Just let me go where I’ll have to go there

–

Trouble, oh trouble move away

I have seen your face and it’s too much for me today

Trouble, oh trouble can’t you see

You have made me a wreck, now won’t you leave me in my misery

–

I’ve seen your eyes and I can see death’s disguise

Hangin’ on me, hangin’ on me

I’m beat, I’m torn, shattered and tossed and worn

Too shocking to see, too shocking to see

–

Trouble, oh trouble move from me

I have paid my dept, now won’t you leave me in my misery

Trouble, oh trouble please be kind

I don’t want no fight and I haven’t got a lot of time

– –

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trouble_(Cat_Stevens_song)

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GeneralPoetry & Art

Charles Baudelaire – The Desire for Annihilation (Le Goût du néant)

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

(poème de Baudelaire en Anglais et en Français)

 

The Desire for Annihilation (translated by William Aggeler)

 

Dejected soul, once anxious for the strife,

Hope, whose spur fanned your ardor into flame,

No longer wishes to mount you! Lie down shamelessly,

Old horse who stumbles over every rut.

Resign yourself, my heart; sleep your brutish sleep.

Conquered, foundered spirit! For you, old jade,

Love has no more relish, no more than war;

Farewell then, songs of the brass and sighs of the flute!

Pleasure, tempt no more a dark, sullen heart!

Adorable spring has lost its fragrance!

And Time engulfs me minute by minute,

As the immense snow a stiffening corpse;

I survey from above the roundness of the globe

And I no longer seek there the shelter of a hut.

Avalanche, will you sweep me along in your fall?

—

Le Goût du néant

 

Morne esprit, autrefois amoureux de la lutte,

L’Espoir, dont l’éperon attisait ton ardeur,

Ne veut plus t’enfourcher! Couche-toi sans pudeur,

Vieux cheval dont le pied à chaque obstacle butte.

Résigne-toi, mon coeur; dors ton sommeil de brute.

Esprit vaincu, fourbu! Pour toi, vieux maraudeur,

L’amour n’a plus de goût, non plus que la dispute;

Adieu donc, chants du cuivre et soupirs de la flûte!

Plaisirs, ne tentez plus un coeur sombre et boudeur!

Le Printemps adorable a perdu son odeur!

Et le Temps m’engloutit minute par minute,

Comme la neige immense un corps pris de roideur;

— Je contemple d’en haut le globe en sa rondeur

Et je n’y cherche plus l’abri d’une cahute.

Avalanche, veux-tu m’emporter dans ta chute?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmstqlIziZ4

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GeneralPoetry & Art

Gary Clark Jr. – When My Train Pulls In

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

 

Lyrics:

 

Everyday nothing seems to change

Everywhere I go I keep seeing the same old things

and I, I can’t take it no more

I would leave this town, but I,

I ain’t got nowhere else to go

–

Wake up in the morning to more,

more bad news and I

sometimes I feel like I was born to lose and I,

It’s driving me out of my mind

Gonna catch the next train and I

move on down the line

–

I’ll be ready now

I’ll be ready when my train pulls in

I’ll be ready now

I’ll be ready when my train pulls in

I know my time ain’t long and I,

I can’t live this life again – no, no, no

—

Walkin’ down the street you might wanna cross a smiling face, but they’ll

stab you in the back as soon as you turn – walk away –  and I

Oh Lord, it’s bringing me down

If things don’t change around here

ain’t no use in me hanging ’round

–

I’ll be ready now

I’ll be ready when my train pulls in

I’ll be ready now

I’ll be ready when my train pulls in

I know my time ain’t long around here and I,

I can’t live this life again – no, no, no

 

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GeneralPoetry & Art

The Sound – I Can’t Escape Myself/Hour of Need

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

Lyrics:

So many feelings
Pent up in here
Left all alone, I’m with
The one I most fear
I’m sick and I’m tired
Of reasoning
Just want to break out
Shake off this skin
–
I can’t escape myself
–
All my problems
Loom larger than life
I can’t swallow
Another slice
Seems like my shadow
Mocks every stride
Can I learn to live with
What’s trapped inside?
–
I can’t escape myself
–
So many feelings
Pent up in here
Left all alone, I’m with
The one I most fear
I’m sick and I’m tired
Of reasoning
Just wanna break out
Shake off this skin
–
I can’t escape myself
I can’t escape myself
I can’t escape myself

Lyrics:

I hate the quiet times
I need some company
I miss the noise of life
The silence deafens me
–
The seconds split so slow
The minutes I can’t kill
I keep an eye on the time
I catch it standing still
–
In my hour of need
In my hour of need
–
Try to find my place
Sometimes I get so near
I journey aimless days
But always end up here
–
In my hour of need
In my hour of need
In my hour of need
In my hour of need
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GeneralPoetry & Art

The Beatles – Eleanor Rigby

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

Lyrics:
Ah, look at all the lonely people…
Ah, look at all the lonely people…
–
Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice
In the church where a wedding has been,
Lives in a dream…
Waits at the window, wearing the face
That she keeps in a jar by the door,
Who is it for…
–
All the lonely people,
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people,
Where do they all belong?
–
Father McKenzie writing the words
Of a sermon that no one will hear,
No one comes near…
Look at him working, darning his socks
In the night when there’s nobody there,
What does he care…
–
All the lonely people,
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people,
Where do they all belong?
–
Ah, look at all the lonely people…
Ah, look at all the lonely people…
–
Eleanor Rigby died in the church
And was buried along with her name,
Nobody came…
Father McKenzie wiping the dirt
From his hands as he walks from the grave,
No one was saved…
–
All the lonely people,
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people,
Where do they all belong?
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GeneralPoetry & Art

The Standells – Paint It Black

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

 

Lyrics:

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colours anymore, I want them to turn black
I see the girls go by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
–
I see a line of cars and they’re all painted black
With flowers and my love both never to come back
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
It’s like a new born baby, it just happens every day
–
I look inside myself and see my heart turned black
I see my red door I must paint it black
Maybe then I’ll fade away and not have to face the facts
It’s not easy facin’ up, when your whole world is black
–
No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue
I could not foresee this thing happening to you
If I look hard enough into the settin’ sun
My love will laugh at me before the mornin’ comes
–
I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colours anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls go by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
–
I want to see it painted, painted black
Black as night, black as coal
I want to see the sun, blotted out from the sky
I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black
Got to have it painted, painted black
Black as night, black as coal
I want to see the sun, blotted out from the sky
I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black
—————————————————————————————————————————————–
There’s also an Italian version – amongst others- of this song (the original was written by The Rolling Stones):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCD5gC4aBF8
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GeneralPoetry & Art

Miguel De Unamuno – An Eternal Elegy

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

Miguel De Unamuno – An Eternal Elegy

 

Oh Time, Time,

relentless tyrant!

Oh terrible mystery!

The past does not return,

it never comes back again,

ancient history!

Yes, ancient, but always the same,

terrifying!

Always present…

. . . . . . . . . . . .

When consciousness is deprived

of the passage of time,

what is it that remains?

What happens to light if the mirror is broken?

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Fierce Saturn,

oh Time, Time!

Lord of the world,

executioner of your children,

supreme cause of our bondage!

–

Once again the complaint,

once again the eternal song

that never ends,

how all is lost and nothing remains,

that time is passing

irreparably!

Irreparably, irreparably, do you hear?

Irreparably!

Yes, irreparably, and never forget it!

Life? Life is constantly dying,

it is like the river

in which the same water

never returns again

and yet is always the same.

In the crystal of the flowing liquids

the waving poplars on the river bank

are reflected

and the trembling image is never reflected

by the same water.

–

What is the past? Nothing!

The future you dream is also nothing

and the passing moment

is a mysterious transition to emptiness;

to emptiness once again!

It is a torrent that flows

from nothingness to nothingness.

The moment you touch it

all tender hope,

as if by magic or enchantment,

becomes a memory,

a memory that grows fainter

and is finally lost;

is lost forever.

Oh Time, Time!

Repeat, oh my soul, yes repeat once again

the same old song,

the sad litany,

the never ending dirge,

the same old elegy

of how time passes

and is never the same again.

–

The ”Alas!” of the one who is suffering

this ancient grief

is always the same,

the same old lament;

repeating it gives consolation,

an unceasing rosary, like the rain

again and again, a hundred times…

Oh Time, Time,

relentless tyrant!

Oh terrible mystery!

Rigid torture rack of the human spirit!

How limited words are…!

Language is never enough to describe

our thirst for eternity;

it is too limited…

A terrible thirst,

a thirst that constantly weakens the soul

that contemplates the ocean,

– the immense ocean! –

which never satisfies our thirst;

it only fills our vision,

an immense ocean of bitter waves!

–

Images? They disturb the profound

nakedness of our lament,

embellishments that drown out

the single note that is deep and strong…

But, yes, images, different chords

that calm the melodic theme…

. . . . . . . . . . . .

It is the elegy that silence intones,

silence, language of the eternal,

while eternity exists

as the slave of time…

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Did you destroy your watch? Not enough!

Lay down and go to sleep… that is best;

immersed forever

in a profound sleep

you will have conquered time,

your implacable enemy!

Yesterday, today and tomorrow!

A chain of grief

with links of anxiety…

You grip the horse’s mane

with tense hands

refusing to let go

and it runs faster and faster,

a runaway horse;

the tighter you hold on

the more maddening is its passage!

–

Don’t mutter out of one side of your mouth,

fierce Saturn!

Enough now, that’s enough of your hours,

implacable enemy!

Stop this interminable drudgery

once and for all!

I want to escape from time;

exhausted, I want to finally

dissolve myself into the eternal

where yesterday, today and tomorrow

are only one moment

disconnected from the passage of time;

where a tender memory

is linked with hope

and merges with it;

where the never-quiescent waters

of the passing rivers

remain forever in a quiet lake;

where the soul can finally be

immersed in a bath of consolation

where Saturn dies;

where time is defeated.

 

(Fransisco Goya – Saturn Devouring His Son, 1819-1823)

 

* In ancient Greek and Roman mythology, Saturn (or Cronus/Kronos) was a titan (the titans predated the Greek/Roman gods) who castrated and overthrown his own father (Caelus/Uranus) and then he was eating his own children, because of a prophecy that he would be overthrown by one of them. This mythological figure’s meaning was later examined and analyzed by many (including Freud and Jung).

Some information about Cronus/Saturn:

 

https://www.tripsavvy.com/greek-mythology-kronos-1525980

Father Time: Chronos and Kronos

 

http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanKronos.html

 

https://www.theworldwonders.com/mythology/myths-legends3-cronus.html

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronus

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_(mythology)

 

https://www.pantagruelista.com/blogeng/cronus-myth

 

https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Classical_Mythology/Freudian_psychology

 

http://iws.collin.edu/mbailey/jungianarchetypes.htm

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Coping SkillsGeneralPoetry & Art

Skalkottas’ music

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

” In music the passions enjoy themselves. ” – Friedrich Nietzsche

 

Nikos Skalkottas (1904-1949) was one of the greatest composers of the 2oth century classical music – I personally place him next to Kurt Weill and Igor Stravinsky. It’s a shame that nowadays most people (especially here in Greece) don’t know his work. Here’s the wikipedia page about him:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikos_Skalkottas

 

I should write what are the names of the compositions and the songs in this video and where the photos in it are taken.

36 Greek Dances

00:00 – 01:23 Epirotikos – photos from the region of Epirus in Greece.

01:24 – 03:22 Kleftikos – photos of various Greek mountains.

03:22 – 05:16 Tsamikos (An Eagle) – photos of various Greek mountains again, but this time during the winter, so they’re all full of snow.

05:16 – 06:38 Cretikos – photos from the island of Crete. At 06:19 we see Castello a Mare (castle of the sea) or Castel di Candia (castle of Candia), which was build by the Venetians (Crete was under Venetian/Italian rule for many centuries).

06:38 – 08:22 Syrtos Dance – photos from the castle of Mistras, situated at mt. Taygetos in the Peloponnese (it’s near Sparta). This castle was build by the Franks (during the crusades, Peloponnese was under Frankish rule) and later the Byzantines (or, to be more precise, Eastern Romans) conquered it, that’s why we see a lot of churches there. The statue that we see at the end of the song is of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine IX Palaeologus.

08:22 – 10:12 Island Dance – photos of various islands in Greece. The first one is from the island of Santorini.

10:12 – 12:03 Mazochtos Dance – photos of various ancient sites. More explicitly:

10:16 – reenactment of the ancient Olympic games ceremony at ancient Olympia.

10:28 – photo of the Knossos palace on the island of Crete.

10:40 – I have no idea which temple is this, probably the Aphaea (or Aphaia) temple on the island of Aegina.

10:51 – Again, no idea. Probably the temple of Apollo in Corinth (it’s impossible for me to know all the archaeological sites in Greece, there are too many of them).

11:03 – Temple of the Olympian Zeus in Athens.

11:14 – Temple of Poseidon at cape Sounion (it’s near Athens).

11:25 – Sanctuary of Athena in Delphi.

11:37 – Temple of Apollo on the island of Delos.

11:48 – The Lion Gate at Mycenae in Peloponnese.

12:01 – same as the photo at 10:16.

The Sea

12:03 – 15:26 The Trawler – photos of the sea.

The Maiden and Death

15:26 – 18:25 Andantino (Tempo di Valse) – photos of statues/sculptures/graves from the First Cemetery of Athens.

Piano Concerto No. 1

18:26 – 19:50 – photos of various buildings in Athens.

Bolero for Cello and Piano

19:51 – 21:57 – photos from Germany (whoever made this video put them in, because Skalkottas studied music in Germany).

The Return of Ulysses (Overture)

21:58 – 24:01 – photos of refugees and immigrants, not only in Greece, but in various places of Europe.

Double Bass Concerto

24:01 – 26:00 Allegro Vivo e Molto Ritmato – photos of various ancient Greek statues.

Largo Sinfonico

26:00 – 27:25 – photos taken during the Nazi occupation of Greece (1941-1944). At 26:46 and 27:04 we see the ”saltadoroi” (jumpers): these were small kids who jumped on German trucks and were stealing food to eat. At 27:13 we see Greek partisans. The last photo was taken in Athens on the day the Germans left the city.

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GeneralPoetry & Art

Federico García Lorca – Suicide

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

(Maybe it was because you hadn’t 

mastered Geometry)

–

The lad was going blank.

It was ten in the morning.

–

His heart was growing full

of broken wings and rag flowers.

–

He noticed there remained

just one word on his lips.

–

And when he took off his gloves

a soft ash fell from his hands.

–

A tower showed through the balcony door.

He felt he was balcony and tower.

–

No doubt he saw how the clock,

stopped in its case, surveyed him.

–

He saw his shadow quiet and prone

on the white silk divan.

–

And the stiff, geometrical youth

smashed the mirror with a hatchet.

–

When it broke, a great burst of shadow

flooded the illusory room.

 

A video based on this poem:

And some information about Federico García Lorca:

https://www.poetsgraves.co.uk/lorca.htm

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Coping SkillsFun & InterestingGeneralPoetry & Art

Constantine P. Cavafy – Ithaka

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

 

This poem is based on the ancient Greek epic poem Odyssey, which is attributed to the legendary author Homer. Quick summary of the Odyssey: there was a war between the ancient Greeks and the Trojans (Troy was – and still is – located at nowadays North-western Turkey), the Greeks laid siege on the city of Troy for 10 years and they destroyed it (there’s another ancient epic poem, Aeneid by the Roman author Virgil, that picks up the story after the destruction of Troy, but let’s stick to Homer’s Odyssey for now). After that, one of the Greek kings named Odysseus (in Latin: Ulysses) set out for Ithaka, his birthplace and kingdom. On his journey home (which lasted, according to the poem, 10 years) he had many adventures and misadventures.

And, for the film buffs, a good adaptation of the Odyssey is this one:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118414/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Odyssey_(miniseries)

Anyway, I posted this poem because we can see it as a representation of life itself. And I can’t decide if it’s optimistic or pessimistic…

At first glance, it seems very optimistic: keep trying and fighting to reach your goals, whatever they are. Its meaning is similar to the phrase ”the chase is better than the catch”. But the final lyrics of the poem make me think of it as pessimistic and a little bit ironic:

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

These lyrics are implying that it was all for nothing, that every effort was fruitless and meaningless. And that’s why I can’t decide… I might say that the interpretation of Cavafy’s poem depends on someone’s views on life…

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GeneralPoetry & Art

Paul Durcan – Thinking About Suicide

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

Although I may never commit suicide

I spend parts of each day thinking about suicide –

Thinking about how I lack the courage to do it.

–

I wake in the mourning with 60 per cent depression.

That’s how it remains for the whole day,

Except for the odd occasion in a year

–

In the doorway or on the street I meet by chance

For a few minutes a woman passing-by

Who has the time to stop and talk for three minutes

–

Or five minutes or even sometimes seven or eight minutes,

Who rocks back on her heels in her pink, hooped skirt

With laughter, no matter what the topic.

–

Depression and despair are two different states

Of mind, not having a lot in common.

Although I have 60 per cent depression, I do not despair.

–

I do not see eye to eye with Samuel Beckett

Who disapproved of suicide and who promulgated

The doctrine of ”going on” for the sake of ”going on”.

–

Estranged from my family, if I do not soon

Take my own life, others will take it from me –

Hooded males with knives in their tracksuits

–

Or medics in their scrubs prancing corridors

Or cowpat-faced ward sisters smirking

Or ice-cold proprietors of old peoples’s homes.

–

How is it that you do not see it, Samuel,

That I do not want to go on for the sake of going on –

Seeing the same old, tired-out impressionist paintings again and again?

–

Men are such po-faced bores.

Each one of them an editor-in-chief.

I wand to stand still by the water’s edge.

–

I want to hold a woman’s hand for the last time.

I want to fill my pockets with Palaeozoic stones.

I want to open my eyes.

 

From the collection Praise In Which I Live And Move And Have My Being (2012).

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GeneralPoetry & Art

Kostis Palamas – Agora (The Market Place)

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

Just as dry summers pant for the first rain,

so thou art thirsty for a happy home

and for a life remote, like hermit’s prayer,

a corner of forgetting and of love.

–

And thirsty for the ship upon the sea

that ever onward sails with birds and sea-things,

filling its life with our great planet’s light.

But unto thee both ship and home said: ”No!

–

Look neither for the happiness remote

that never moves, nor for the life that ever finds

in each new land and harbor a new soul!

–

Only the panting of a toiling slave

for thee! Drag in the market place thy body’s

nakedness, strange to the strangers and thine own!”

 

From the poetry collection ”Life Immovable” (or ”The Motionless Life”), published in 1904. Translation by Aristides Phoutrides.

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General

Suicide sites

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

Have you ever tried or even thought about committing suicide to any of these places? And do you have a place in which you would like to commit (or attempt) suicide?

As for me, I went to the Corinth Canal several times (for those who don’t know, I live in Athens, Greece), but I never thought to jump from the Acropolis of Athens… And I keep wondering why…

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GeneralPoetry & Art

Constantine P. Cavafy – Trojans

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

Our efforts are those of men prone to disaster;

our efforts are like those of the Trojans.

We just begin to get somewhere,

gain a little confidence,

grow almost bold and hopeful,

–

when something always comes up to stop us:

Achilles leaps out of the trench in front of us

and terrifies us with his violent shouting.

–

Our efforts are like those of the Trojans.

We think we’ll change our luck

by being resolute and daring,

so we move outside ready to fight.

–

But when the great crisis comes,

our boldness and resolution vanish;

our spirit falters, paralyzed,

and we scurry around the walls

trying to save ourselves by running away.

–

Yet we’re sure to fail. Up there,

high on the walls, the dirge has already began.

They’re mourning the memory, the aura of our days.

Priam and Hecuba mourn for us bitterly.

 

 

(translation by Edmund Keeley/Philip Sherrard)

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GeneralPoetry & Art

Leonard Cohen – Dress Rehearsal Rag

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

Lyrics:

Four o’clock in the afternoon and I didn’t feel like very much

I said to myself, ”Where are you golden boy? Where is your famous golden touch?”

I thought you knew where all of the elephants lie down

I thought you were the crown prince of all the wheels in Ivory town

Just take a look at your body now, there’s nothing much to save

And a bitter voice in the mirror cries, ”Hey, prince, you need a shave”

Now if you can manage to get your trembling fingers to behave

Why don’t you try unwrapping a stainless steel razor blade?

That’s right, it’s come to this… Yes, it’s come to this…

And wasn’t it a long way down… Wasn’t it a strange way down…

–

There’s no hot water and the cold is running thin

Well, what do you expect from the kind of places you’ve been living in?

Don’t drink from that cup, it’s all caked and and cracked along the rim

That’s not the electric light, my friend, that is your vision growing dim

Cover up your face with soap, there, now you’re Santa Claus

And you’ve got a gift for anyone who will give you his applause

I thought you were a racing man, but you couldn’t take the pace

That’s a funeral in the mirror and it’s stopping at your face

That’s right, it’s come to this… Yes, it’s come to this…

And wasn’t it a long way down… Wasn’t it a strange way down…

–

Once there was a path and a girl with chestnut hair

And you passed the summers picking all of the berries that grew there

There were times she was a woman, there were times she was just a child

And you held her in the shadows, where the raspberries grow wild

And you climbed the twilight mountains and you sang about the view

And everywhere that you wandered, love seemed to go along with you

That’s a hard one to remember, yes, it makes you clench your fist

And then the veins stand out like highways, all along your wrist

And yes, it’s come to this… It’s come to this…

And wasn’t it a long way down… Wasn’t it a strange way down…

–

You can still find a job, go out and talk to a friend

On the back of every magazine, there are those coupons you can send

Why don’t you join the Rosicrucians? They will give you back your hope…

You can find your love with diagrams on a plain brown envelope

But you’ve used up all your coupons, except the one that seems

To be written on your wrist, along with several thousand dreams

Now Santa Claus comes forward, that’s a razor in his mitt

And he puts on his dark glasses and he shows you where to hit

And then the cameras pan, the stand-in stuntman

Dress rehearsal rag… It’s just the dress rehearsal rag…

You know, this dress rehearsal rag… It’s just a dress rehearsal rag…

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Coping SkillsGeneralPoetry & Art

Miguel De Unamuno – Poems

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

Muerte (Death)

 

To die to sleep… to sleep… perchance to dream.

(Hamlet, act iii, scene iv)

 

You are the dream of a God; when you awake

will you return to the womb where you were born?

Will you then be what you were before?

Will your death be a new birth?

–

Is this dream absent during wakefulness?

Luckily here the mystery assists us;

as a remedy of our sad life

our fate remains an inviolable secret.

–

Let your future remain hidden under the fog

and walk calmly as you take your last step;

the less light there is, the more certain you can be.

–

Is our sunset the dawn of another world?

Dream on, my soul, in your obscure path:

” To die to sleep… to sleep… perchance to dream.”

 

The Immortality of the Crab (Inmortalidad del Cangrejo)*

 

The deepest problem:

of the immortality of the crab,

is that a soul it has,

a little soul in fact…

–

That if the crab dies

entirely in its totality

with it we all die

for all of eternity

 

* The title of the poem is based on the Spanish phrase pensar en la inmortalidad del gangrejo (thinking about the immortality of the crab), which means that someone is daydreaming, is lost in thought, is pondering. There’s a similar phrase in Portuguese: pensar na morte da bezerra.

 

To Destiny (Al Destino)

 

When I struggle, calmness overwhelms me

hiding your secrets from me, Destiny;

don’t let me falter in my path, because

without questioning I obey you blindly.

–

Don’t give me time to complain or beg;

spur me on without stopping,

and, like a sleepless pilgrim, let me

carry with me the fire from my hearth.

–

I want to win my peace through war;

I want to conquer the impossible dream;

don’t let me rest from trying to shed light

–

on the enigma within your heart,

and when I return to the bosom of the earth

let me deserve an ever-lasting peace.

Miguel De Unamuno is probably the most important Spanish philosopher, novelist and poet of the 20th century. His most famous works are: The Tragic Sense of Life (1912), Poesias (Poems – 1907), Our Lord Don Quixote (1914), Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr (1930), Aunt Tula (1921), Cancionero (Songbook – 1953, published after his death).  He was born in Bilbao (1864) and died in Salamanca (1936).

 

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GeneralRants

Understanding Criminals

by WanderingDreamer91
written by WanderingDreamer91

Intro

 

I’ve been waiting to put this up for a long time, but wasn’t sure when I should…

 

Um… I might ramble a bit here, but please bear with me. ^^;

 

Um, a quick thing about my family, from some earlier posts…

 

I don’t know how frequent or severe incidents in my family are, especially compared to other people, but my family would definitely be considered one of those dysfunctional ones at times, and when things go wrong, it can get pretty ugly. I’m not sure if I can think of a specific example, but pretty much everyone has issues with anger, and a lot of yelling and sometimes even breaking or damaging things can get involved, and it’s even happened with my life now between my dad and stepmom…

 

Sometimes I feel like good is an illusion… I don’t know what normal or good is, if it even exists…

 

I suppose what I learned about it wasn’t entirely from fictitious things though, I think I might have learned your typical disciplinary things about being good, by society or religion, and what all that means, so I tried hard from there… and when I saw a lot of ugliness if not hypocricy and deceit over the years, it got a lot harder to be “normal”… especially when I kept getting diagnosed with things but no one else did despite all the abuse I’ve seen from people…

 

Sometimes I feel like I have a split personality, like a character that has them, a Jekyll and Hyde, Two-face, Lucy from Elfen Lied… Tyler Durden from Fight Club? I never got around to most of these, though I like Elfen Lied, but that’s beside the point. :p

 

The major difference of course is that I am conscious of these things, but it all just feels so… karmic to me… I want to be good to good people or like people who are nice to me or something but if a person hurts me I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do back and I don’t want to just… ignore it and take it, that’s stupid… I want them to get back at them so they don’t just get away with things…

 

Anyways, I played some of Rayman Legends. Not to ramble on that either, but I’ve played games my whole life and can be really good at them sometimes, beat the game and got 100 percent complete on 3 worlds on both sides, even some of the harder levels, it’s easy for me. :p I found the first a lot harder, at least back in the day… never grew up with 2 and 3 though.

 

It took a while to really feel like playing it, but it was nice when I did, guess I needed some dopamine or whatever, I knew that, but… it was still hard to get motivated, partly since it’s so… silly. :p Fun though.

 

Phew, anyways, on with the topic. ^^;

 

Topic (Understanding Criminals)

 

Intro

 

Hmm… forgot how to start this…

 

So, moral ambiguity…

 

Mmm… I’m not even sure why I looked up the things I did, but sometimes, I feel like certain infamous people when you learn more about them from a manifesto or something can actually have a lot of things I can understand.

 

Did they maybe overreact and their actions and words far outweigh anything they feel wronged by? Maybe… but I don’t think their entirely wrong either…

 

Some of them I think have proven it, or tried to from what they claim, and it kind of makes me mad…

 

I just… It’s hard to tell what the right thing is…

 

I mean, maybe I don’t know what it’s like for the victims though or relatives of the victims and if they even really “deserve it”, of there is such a thing…

 

So with that said, I’ll try to post as much context as I can with this stuff. :p

 

Edit

 

Oh yeah, um, well… maybe a lot of the way I feel is paranoia for things, whether it’s even really that bad, or bad at all… but I mean, after going through or even just seeing a lot of bad things in the world, it’s hard to find good things and believe in them…

 

A. Elliot Rodger

 

So like, Elliot Rodger… I actually didn’t know about this guy until I um… felt like looking up personal blogs about introversion or social anxiety and saw someone discussing it somehow, wherever that site was…

 

I didn’t even knew in his last days that he became a spree killer and then killed himself. ._.

 

And to be honest, as much as I feel bad for him, sometimes he also kind of scared me, or even disgusted by some of the things he’s said and done… and just looking at him kind of creeps me out. ._.

 

And yet, he talks so much about his personal life in so much detail, his loneliness and frustrations, I can understand it a lot… yet he’s also really self-entitled and believes that “fitting in” is the only way in life, rising to the top, and a big part of that is not being a virgin, or an “incel (involuntary celibate)”, which he was up to his 20’s. Dude is actually barely younger than me. o.O

 

Technically by zodiac signs, he’d be a Leo and a Sheep. I think Sheeps are daydreamers, and the chinese zodiac can technically be “long-term” personality, while astrology is “short-term”. I’m a Cancer whose supposedly all about family and home too. :p Leo I think is supposed to be charismatic or something too…

 

He’s also a lonely rich kid type, a real one. :p Traveled a lot, his parents got divorced, he never really liked his stepmom very much, lost all his friends and his last one was disturbed by his budding violent psychosis, etc…

 

So that’s basically him. :p Now for some of the stuff you can find about him, like his manifesto and youtube account (yes it still exists and it didn’t get removed, surprisingly… at least, not reuploads anyway.)

 

Edit

 

Oh yeah, I forgot that like, regardless on whether he was wronged, a lot of his hatred for the world was from pure envy alone, in which during his spree killing, I think he attacked a lot of people he didn’t even know for daring to have a better life than him…

 

Now as far as those motives and actions go, I don’t really understand that…

 

Elliot Rodger Manifesto
(My Twisted World)

Introduction

“Humanity… All of my suffering has been at the hands of humanity, particularly women.
It has made me realize just how brutal and twisted humanity is as a species.
All I ever wanted was to fit in and live a happy life amongst humanity, but I was cast out and rejected,
forced to endure an existence of loneliness and insignificance, all because the females of the human species were incapable of seeing the value in me.”

“This is the story of how I, Elliot Rodger, came to be. This is the story of my entire life.
It is a dark story of sadness, anger, and hatred. It is a story of a war against cruel injustice.
In this magnificent story, I will disclose every single detail about my life,
every single significant experience that I have pulled from my superior memory,
as well as how those experiences have shaped my view of the world. This tragedy did not have to happen.
I didn’t want things to turn out this way, but humanity forced my hand, and this story will explain why.
My life didn’t start out dark and twisted. I started out as happy and blissful child,
living my life to the fullest in a world I thought was good and pure…”

Part 3 (The Last Period of Contentment)
(Ages: 9-13 (4th-8th Grade))
11 Years Old (6th Grade) (Page 28/141)

“I thought all of the cool kids were obnoxious jerks, but I tried as best as I could to hide my disgust and appear “cool” to them.
They were obnoxious jerks, and yet somehow it was these boys who all of the girls flocked to.
This showed me that the world was a brutal place, and human beings were nothing more than savage animals.
Everything my father taught me was proven wrong.
He raised me to be a polite, kind gentleman.
In a decent world, that would be ideal.
But the polite, kind gentleman doesn’t work in the real world.
The girls don’t flock to the gentleman.
They flock to the alpha male.
They flock to the boys who appear to have the most power and status.
And it was a ruthless struggle to reach such a height.”

Part 4 (Stuck in the Void)
(Ages: 13-17 (8th-12th Grade))
17 Years Old (12th Grade) (Page 56/141)

“One day I found some posts on the internet about teenagers having sex, and I was once again reminded of the life I had been denied.
I felt that no girl would ever want to have sex with me…
And I developed extreme feelings of envy, hatred, and anger towards anyone who has a sex life.
I saw them as the ENEMY.
I felt condemned to live a life of lonely celibacy while other boys were allowed to experience the pleasures of sex,
all because girls didn’t want me.
I felt inferior and undesirable.
This time, however, I just couldn’t stand by and accept such an injustice anymore.
I refused to continue hiding away from the world and forgetting about all the insults it dealt to me.”

“I began to have fantasies of becoming very powerful and stopping everyone from having sex.
I wanted to take their sex away from them, just like they took it away from me.
I saw sex as an evil and barbaric act, all because I was unable to have it.
This was the major turning point.
My anger made me stronger inside.
This was when I formed my ideas that sex should be outlawed.
It is the only way to make the world a fair and just place.
If I can’t have it, I will destroy it.
That’s the conclusion I came to, right then and there.”

“I spent more time studying the world, seeing the world for the horrible, unfair place it is.
I then had the revelation had the revelation that just because I was condemned to suffer a life of loneliness and rejection,
doesn’t mean I am insignificant.
I have an exceptionally high level of intelligence.
I see the world differnently than anyone else.
Because of all the injustices I went through and the worldview I developed because of them, I must be destined for greatness.
I must be destined to change the world, to shape it into an image that suits me!”

Part 5 (Hope and Hopelessness)
(Ages: 17-19 (12th Grade and Beyond))
18 Years Old (Page 65/141)

“Addison was once in the same position as I, but right when he succeeded in integrating with the popular kids,
he betrayed me and treated me the same way the popular kids treated me, as if I’m lowlife scum.
The world truly is a brutal place where a man must fight a bitter struggle against all other men to reach the top.
Humans are nothing more but vicious beasts in a jungle.”

 

 

B. Charles Manson

 

I actually don’t even know that much about Charles Manson and know him mainly from reading up on the Columbine Shooters for some reason, which I’m not even sure how much context I’ve gotten out of that yet, the Columbine Site is much bigger than it looks. :p

 

Anyways, either Eric or Dylan actually wrote about the guy, and then they mentioned something called ATWA… So I was like, what the hell is that?

 

Apparently, it stands “All The Way Alive” or “Air Trees Water Animals”, and he’s basically a die-hard naturalist. :p As for other stuff like if he has a cult and if they killed anyone or destroyed anything on his orders, like the whole Manson family thing, I don’t know that…

 

There’s actually people though trying to reactivate the ATWA movement but with more peaceful means then Charles probably would, almost like comparing Malcolm X to Martin Luther King, they both had the same goal and we know Martin was the peaceful one I think, but Malcolm was more resentful, right? :p I think, been forever since I learned anything about this…

 

Similar thing I guess…

 

Oh, and this is kind of random, but I think a bunch of random Charles Manson quotes was referenced in that weird freaking game, Sad Satan, which the uncensored version at least is considered illegal to play. :p I think the so called original uncensored version was just 4chan trolling though and I’m not sure if it still has the speech moments in the game like the original from ObscureHorrorCorner did, or whatever their name was…

 

Phew, with that said here’s the next person, Charles Manson. :p

 

ATWA

http://www.atwaearth.com/index.html

 

“You can’t stop war, but you can redirect it. You can redirect it to the problem. The problem is pollution.”

 

“Crime is anything that’s done against your survival. Any sin that’s against your life is crime.
The law is the will of God, the law should be respected and taken as Gods’ will,
not something to be toyed and played with and used for bureaucratical hogwash of bull shit.
The problem is; the atmosphere is dying. Anything that sins against the air is a sin against your life.
Anybody that sins against the air should be considered a criminal, and any act that’s done against the air in any way at all should be considered a crime.
Crime is, a war against anything, any one, any shape or form that is a threat to your survival.
The World Order of the court in crime and punishment is – the air is god. Without the air we cannot survive.
Anything that’s made in the law should be against the criminals that are destroying your air. The air is all you’ve got.”

 

Quote 2

“The woman takes a spoonful of food, sticks it in the baby’s mouth and the baby would spit it out.
She’d pick it off his cheek and stick it back in his mouth and he’d spit it out.
I said “What are you doing, woman?” she said “I’m just feeding my baby.”
I said “That baby don’t want that in his mouth, he’s spitting it out!”.

She said “Oh, he’s just playing.”
I said “don’t put playing on the kid, he ain’t playing, he don’t want that in his mouth!”,
and I look at it and it said “Gerber’s Baby Food, lima beans and bacon”.
I said “this kid don’t like lima beans and bacon, try some of them prunes!”
He tried prunes and ate them right up!
And then the stuff he’d spit out she’d put to one side, and the stuff he’d eat she’d put on the other side.
And that baby wouldn’t eat no meat.

No one told him to be a vegetarian, he just didn’t want no meat in his mouth.
That’s pretty far out isn’t it? That’s one of the reasons why I quit eating meat.”

— Charles Manson, 2009 (17-18)

 

Quote 3

A war is not a holocaust; God’s war against man is a holocaust, not man’s war against man.
The reality of the holocaust is not in the movies.
The reality of the holocaust is with the dead fish that you see in the ocean.
It’s when you go and see where a forest used to be there’s a shopping mall.
Where a lake used to be, there’s a drive-in.
Where the freeway is, there used to be a creek and a river.

— Charles Manson, 2006 (14-15)

(Source: MansonDirect.com)

 

C. Columbine Shooters

(Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold)

http://acolumbinesite.com/end/index.php

 

I actually don’t have much info saved on these two I think, and from the sounds of it, their more just plain unsympathetic. :p I think… I’ve heard that they claim they’ve been wronged by society, but I’m not sure if I’ve seen much of that yet from what I’ve read so far. Out of the two, I think Eric was worse… his “You know what I hate?!” rants are pretty out there though. o.O

 

Either of the two or both, I think mainly Eric, was also really into Hitler and the Nazis and the idea of “natural selection”, which he enforced his own…

 

I might edit more context in the future, but for the most part, I already got the links to do the talking for me if anyone is interested in visiting them. :p

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GeneralPoetry & Art

George Vizyenos – The Dream

by Taf Taf
written by Taf Taf

George Vizyenos – The Dream

(Translated by Timothy Adès)

 

Last night I saw all in my sleep
a river deep:
God let it not come true!
Silent as night beside the flood,
moon-pale, there stood
a young man whom I knew.

– – –

With force the stormwind striving
and smiting
near drove him from the living;
waves sucked his feet with kisses,
inviting
him down to their embraces.

– – –

Not by the storm I thought him
mistreated,
despairing wretch forsaken.
To snatch him safe I speeded,
nor caught him:
abruptly he was taken.

– – –

I stooped towards the river,
him to discover:
my own pale corpse I knew!
Last night I saw all in my sleep
a river deep:
God let it not come true!

 

George Vizyenos (or Georgios Vizyinos) was one of the best Greek novelists and poets. Some of his books translated in English (if anyone wants to read them) are: My Mother’s Sin And Other Stories, The Only Journey Of His Life, Who Was My Brother’s Killer? and Moskov Selim . Although he is famous in Greece for his novels, he also wrote essays on psychology and philosophy. He studied in Germany and he was a student of the famous psychologist Wilhelm Wundt. His ending was a tragic one: he ended up in an insane asylum in Athens, where he died in 1896. He was 47 years old.

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