Terrific, Greg. A Sunday journey up the river of madness. And 1907 Conrad is in the long line of testosterone-driven atrocities for the last 100,000 years. Consider my own fascination with hypnosis, surely started long ago, with the tribe around the campfire, the storyteller droning on, and the tribe slipping into trance. Surprise! The next day, the storyteller is recognised as a priest who talks to the gods, and from there the cycle of lies and greeds expands like a dead body in a water supply. "L" in the Drake Equation seems likely to be always shorter than maturity in intelligent species.
Greg Olear makes powerful points without beating one over the head with points. This was a terrific read. I was struck by this from Campbell: "A man may destroy everything within himself, love and hate and belief, and even doubt; but as long as he clings to life he cannot destroy fear: the fear, subtle, indestructible, and terrible, that pervades his being; that tinges his thoughts; that lurks in his heart; that watches on his lips the struggle of his last breath."
I am also reminded of the tragic movie "The Mission" which was "based on events surrounding the Treaty of Madrid in 1750" (Wikipedia).
What a piece❗️. Love love love this. What is it with these Polish expats...with Chopin it was the same; Poland Poland Poland. So much so after he died his sister took his heart back to Poland in some kind of container, hidden in her dress. Their identity is wrapped up with Poland. I had forgotten about Conrad and assumed he was recent.... 😳... I’m reading a bio of Stefan Zweig to find out more about expats.... losing their familiar life. Because I feel an affinity (losing this democracy as now) with Zweig, who lost his “life style,” and roots after WWI and suicided with his wife in Brazil. .....anyway, I can’t get anything done with Greg’s prolific writing... 😂...because I can’t stop crossing the bridges he lays out in these pieces. Now I’m researching Conrad, reviewing Chopin’s Alan Watts book, looking for the documentary...and thinking of expats and Zweig and the Belgian colonization of Rwanda. .....we really have to win these mid-terms...... 😊
Terrific, Greg. A Sunday journey up the river of madness. And 1907 Conrad is in the long line of testosterone-driven atrocities for the last 100,000 years. Consider my own fascination with hypnosis, surely started long ago, with the tribe around the campfire, the storyteller droning on, and the tribe slipping into trance. Surprise! The next day, the storyteller is recognised as a priest who talks to the gods, and from there the cycle of lies and greeds expands like a dead body in a water supply. "L" in the Drake Equation seems likely to be always shorter than maturity in intelligent species.
Love me some Conrad in the morning
Greg Olear makes powerful points without beating one over the head with points. This was a terrific read. I was struck by this from Campbell: "A man may destroy everything within himself, love and hate and belief, and even doubt; but as long as he clings to life he cannot destroy fear: the fear, subtle, indestructible, and terrible, that pervades his being; that tinges his thoughts; that lurks in his heart; that watches on his lips the struggle of his last breath."
I am also reminded of the tragic movie "The Mission" which was "based on events surrounding the Treaty of Madrid in 1750" (Wikipedia).
What a piece❗️. Love love love this. What is it with these Polish expats...with Chopin it was the same; Poland Poland Poland. So much so after he died his sister took his heart back to Poland in some kind of container, hidden in her dress. Their identity is wrapped up with Poland. I had forgotten about Conrad and assumed he was recent.... 😳... I’m reading a bio of Stefan Zweig to find out more about expats.... losing their familiar life. Because I feel an affinity (losing this democracy as now) with Zweig, who lost his “life style,” and roots after WWI and suicided with his wife in Brazil. .....anyway, I can’t get anything done with Greg’s prolific writing... 😂...because I can’t stop crossing the bridges he lays out in these pieces. Now I’m researching Conrad, reviewing Chopin’s Alan Watts book, looking for the documentary...and thinking of expats and Zweig and the Belgian colonization of Rwanda. .....we really have to win these mid-terms...... 😊