I finally found a bottle of Reisling to belatedly celebrate my birthday.
Had a nice chat with the salesclerk in the wine shop in Ghent, who also recommended a fab place for lunch. I'm stuffed to the gills! My mind is also still full to the brim from another confab with Prof Blommaert. We've got hypotheses and research questions out the wazoo! :-)
gave me a private mini-concert en route to Paris on my trip from Toulouse back to Antwerp. Now here’s a guy living in the moment! :-) We talked about celestials and terrestrials, transforming the energy of disappointment to peaceful and productive purposes, and respecting different vibes, all in the context of The Fourth World War.
Brian took me to lunch yesterday inside the walled city of The Castle on the Miraculous Mountain. Being here is a miracle. Brian is irrepressible despite pain and sundry challenges. His own home is lovely. On clear days, one can see the Pyrenees.
Met Jean Marc on the train to Gaillac, who told me about the local village pleasures and the sunflowers: “Last week they were not blooming and now they are; it’s the right moment.”
Not your traditional bed and breakfast, the Doempke's do you one better, bed and Supper! At least, if you're around when they eat you're welcome to join them. This house hosts the largest residential door I've ever seen: perfectly symbolic.
I've been inspired lately. First, of course, credit must go to Burckhard who offered me the use of his daughter's bicycle (only with permission!) as soon as I arrived in Bruxelles. Then, Bill actually got me ON one in Strasbourg last time and that was really what I needed - to remember the feeling of it. I've since biked almost every day, including my long ride Saturday to Tervuren to explore the Africa Museum, and another long ride yesterday with Andras just to have a long ride. :-) (Perhaps he'll comment on our route???!)
I'm a bit behind the times but today is catching up day. (Which must be done before I start the *serious* writing; I'm a wee bit nervous about it, so this is good for warming-up, eh? Not to mention procrastination.) :-)
Andras has been my weekend hero. He took me to the outdoor bar scene two weekends ago - Place de.... - where they have heaters on the sidewalk so one can sit outside in just about all kinds of weather. It was definitely a happening place, with cafes situated on all four corners and plenty of folk passing through scoping and being scoped by those settled comfortably down.
Did I mention that the Hobbit House is in Hoboken?
This afternoon was a flute and guitar concert. I confess, my favorites were the guitar solos by Louis Ignatius Gall: Rumores de la caleta and Malaguena. However, with that said, all the musicians played evocatively. My emotions went on quite a ride! :-)
This must be one of the most medieval towns in existence.
It was the right thing for me to do after meeting with Prof. Blommaert (dare I be all-familiar-like and call him Jan?!) yesterday. It let my brain cool (!) after so many pieces and intuitions of this research project were validated....it felt ... penultimate? It's not the peak, but it gave me the sense I am really "on" to something (not just my imagination!), and encouraged me to keep the faith. :-) Anyway, my brain was basically blank so it's just as well I didn't need to do anything particularly intellectual. :-)
Take the boat tour when you go! Best way to see a big chunk of the town.
...I make new friends and new enemies," said Shirley last night. She was referring to me as the friend and the waiters as enemies. They were definitely glaring at her. "They work but they don't think!"
Shirley caught my attention because I thought she was signing to someone. Actually, she was having quite an animated conversation with herself. :-) I thought she might be deaf, until she approached me and spoke in French. When I replied in English, she switched, no problem.
I was plied with food and drink last night, an awesome spicy pasta and the smoothest white port (Portuguese: Aguilar) I've ever tasted. :-)
At the last instant Peter asked, "Are you a structuralist?" Now - what kind of question is that to end an evening with?!! As I attempted to explain my belief in the relevance of structure with some caveats regarding the inevitability of determination....that change is possible with intent, constancy of focus, and a bit of co-construction, the tram arrived. "Changing personal structure is the hardest of all," says he, as I start running to board the two-car sucker that went all the way to the far end of the platform before stopping.
Well, yeah! :-) The hardest, and maybe the most meaningful? An interpreting analogy, maybe individual change is the pivot for social change?
On my way to the Hobbit House. Arriving in a building like this, how could one not think of magic? :-)
From the description, I thought I was on my way to The Shire yesterday: a house “totally covered in ivy and Virginia creeper” with “green round windows.” I had no idea the magic that was in store. I received so many gifts!
First, the show: a musically accompanied oral telling of Uit Spelevaren, from Camera Obscura by Hildebrand. Note: Hildebrand is the pseudonym for Nicolaas Beets, and there are few web pages in English! Most are in Dutch. ”Figuren uit de oude doos: afgestoft en in een proper en modieus kleedje gestoken. Wie kent ze niet? Hildebrand, de familier Stastok, Koosje van Naslaan, Dolf van Brammen en anderen. Pieter Stastok is waaratje verliefd. Hildebrand wil zijn neef een handje helpen. De bende gaat uit, niet met de trein, maar meet een schuitje …” I thought I did well to catch some of the names. :-) Amazingly, I didn’t feel any diminishment in pleasure for not knowing Flemish. No doubt it would have enhanced my appreciation, but this way I concentrated on the sounds – they were marvelous!
My only point of reference is Peter and the Wolf, and I did have a brief stretch close to the beginning when I thought this was the story. However it didn’t take too long to realize the rhythms and moods weren’t right. The character of the girl didn’t come across as a sleazy old wolf. :-) (And I was wondering how Annaleen was going to pull off all the different instruments!) It was later explained to me that a piece of 19th century petit bourgeois literature was chosen especially because it was written at the time of the bass clarinet’s entry into the orchestra – allowing Anneleen to compose and show off her talents (bass clarinet, clarinet, foot pedals and laptop mixer). She will perform this for her Master’s defense this upcoming Friday; Raf will expand his oral art to shadow play (the makeshift facilities didn’t allow for the curtain and light effects that will emulate the technique of camera obscura).
I have no doubt it will be spectacular. Note this article on the phenomenology of vision applied to film: Cinema and Embodied Affect.
And this, my friends, was only the beginning of the day!
So much for one day’s worth of glee at find a wireless connection! No doubt if I’d been able to settle in at Gare Nord yesterday I’d have missed the entire day. Instead, I got a good two hour bicycle tour of the city. I’d wager it was thorough, as I kept getting turned around and disoriented. :-) I did, however, find the great Sint Goedele Cathedral here in Bruxelles. I rounded a curve and its twin towers loomed stunningly above some trees. As the rest of it came into view it took my breath: it is as intricately carved as the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Strasbourg. What a sight that one was – I was orienting to its topmost tower for a rendezvous, but nothing prepared me for its appearance when I turned the corner and there it was. There was something about the evening twilight that gave it a rosy glow – it was both sharply defined and soft, somehow. Strange to think of it that way, given its pinnarets, peaks, and steeples, but it was so. I’d hoped to get back to take a picture of it in that light but no such luck. I did take pictures of the Cathedral today, having succumbed to someone’s request for me to post some pictures here. I’m working on it!
Today, I'm off to Antwerp.
I went back to Gare Nord today to do more wireless work/, and all the restaurants are closed – midday Saturday! Which means no power. :-( Quickly Googling via battery, I thought ”Aha! Schumann! Very busy, there will be open restaurants there!” Not. This is reminiscent of arriving in Brattleboro 12 years ago and finding only a McDonald’s open for an 8 pm dinner! Not. Schumann was as quiet as Gare Nord.
OHMYGOSH Jan Blommaert is only a short train ride away at Ghent University!
It's time to start looking seriously for housing in Germany for July and August - particularly in Mannheim and Berlin.
Anyone who knows anyone who could possibly put me up or direct me to longer term, inexpensive accommodations will receive my eternal gratitude. :-)
