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Tag Archives: Psychedelia
Syd Barrett's debut album as a solo artist, "The Madcap Laughs" was released on the 3rd January 1970. The music has a bittersweet feel to it; the melodies are childlike and innocent while others take on darker sounds. The album is in many ways a musical portrayal of Syd's state of mind at the time.
"We are all mad here."
(Lewis Caroll, Alice in Wonderland)
It was love at first sound with me and Pink Floyd's early hits such as Arnold Layne, See Emily Play and Scarecrow; I intuitively felt that something very imaginative and strange was hiding underneath the exterior of your average great pop-song. Those were more than just pop songs that will be forgotten in a few years. They had the magic, the wittiness, the dreaminess that made them linger on in my mind. "Who writes stuff like this?", I thought to myself. The genius behind the lyrics was Syd Barrett; at the time a drop-out art student from Cambridge who overnight found himself in the centre of the psychedelic underground culture. Music and art were fun for Syd, and coming up with witty lyrics and simple catchy tunes was easy for him because he seemed to have approached things in a childlike way, full of curiosity and wonder at the world around him, but the stress of the band's success, the interviews, the popularity proved to be too much for him. The increasing consummation of the drug of the moment, LSD, did not help matters. His creative period with the Pink Floyd was short but strong, like an explosion, or a shooting star. Let me provide you with a few dates to show you just how fast it all happened; their first single "Arnold Layne" was released on 10th March 1967. And already, on 15th January 1968 Syd played his last gig with Pink Floyd.
Gustave Caillebotte, Wood Floor Planers, 1875
A new chapter in Syd's life and musical career began. Alone in the loneliness of his Victorian pad in Wetherby Mansion in Earl's Court Square, the Psychedelic Mad Hatter was slowly descending into a haunting state of introspection, melancholy and illusions. Into his new bohemian abode, he brought the stuff that remained after many moves around London; a small table, a mattress and a striped blanket, some scratched LPs, Penguin edition books by Shakespeare and Chaucer, barely touched canvases stacked against the wall. His room was his little imaginary world. The outside world did not matter anymore. The cheerful, fun-loving, chatty and friendly Syd was gone. The handsome young Englishman with messy black hair and velvet trousers was slowly going mad…. One morning, after having spent some time meditatively staring at his blanket, a painting by Gustave Caillebotte called "The Wood Floor Planners" suddenly came to his mind and he decided to paint the bare wooden floors of his room in stripes of orange and blue. The album cover shows Syd crouching in his room, a vase of daffodils next to him. He is sad and alone, yet his darkness intimidates me. Angry outbursts and fragmented conversation. Loneliness is seeping through the cracks on the striped floor.
Syd Barrett first entered the studio as a solo artist on 30th January 1968; just ten days after his last show with Pink Floyd, for what would be an unfruitful session. Sessions resumed in June and July produced songs Late Night, Octopus and Golden Hair; all featured on The Madcap Laughs. Peter Jenner, who had worked on these sessions claimed that they had not gone smoothly although he got on well with the singer. Shortly after July sessions Syd suddenly stopped recording, breaking up with his then girlfriend Lindsey Corner and then going off a drive around Britain in his Mini only to end up in psychiatric care in Cambridge. By the start of 1969 Barrett, somewhat recovered, resumed his music career and started working with another engineer Malcolm Jones, after both Jenner and Norman Smith (Pink Floyd's producer at the time) had declined his request to work on the album. Over four sessions beginning on April 10th 1969. Syd had recorded songs Opel (a beautiful misty ballad that would not see the light of day until 1988), No good trying, No man's land, Here I go and Love you. The sessions all together were not very productive because in those days recording four or five songs on just guitar in four or five hours wasn't considered very productive. It was something the engineers tried to avoid.
"You feel me
Away far too empty, oh so alone
I want to go home
Oh find me inside of a nocturne, the blonde
How I love you to be by my side"
(Syd Barrett – Feel)
During the recording of the album Syd was also on Mandrax and he'd sit on a stool and then fall off it. Barrett and his friends were taking the infamous LSD-25, a powerful psychiatric drug still legal in UK those days. It was almost a religious-like experience for Syd, and many others who indulged. Syd really did believe the psychedelic revolution was flowing through him. The world was changing and he thought we should all be perfect beings, cool and groovy. Syd began taking acid regularly with enthusiasm many found alarming. It was in May 1967. that his eyes crazed. At the time of The Madcap Laughs Syd had already completely surrendered.
The Madcap Laughs is an album filled with long forgotten symbolism. The songs are a mirror of Syd's mental state of the time and in them he expressed, perhaps deliberately perhaps not, his loneliness and growing alienation. Though some of them have a cheerful rhythm like Love you, one can feel a spark of melancholy. In song Terrapin for example Syd shows his love of the blues while some of the songs sound more like a concept rather than a finished and polished song. This album features some almost child-like songs with optimistic melodies and ostensibly cute themes (Love you and Here I go) through darker and deeper subjects (Dark globe, Golden Hair and No man's land) to melancholic cries for rescue from his loneliness and ever increasing alienation. Song Golden Hair is actually based on a poem by James Joyce.
This album and the following Barrett reflect not just his state of mind but also the atmosphere at the time, sorrowful end of the sixties whose optimism, innocence and mind-expanding ideas had faded away. By that time the hedonistic atmosphere of the Swinging London was long lost. Perhaps albums The Madcap Laughs and Barrett are a remembrance of the sixties for they were created at the dusk of this beautiful era; era which Syd belonged to and sadly died with.
The striped floors are aesthetically such a fun and exciting things. Syd chose to paint his floors in vibrant contrasting colours which gives the entire room a psychedelic touch, but I noticed the motif of wooden floor in many canvases painted by nineteenth century artists. Seeing the striped wooden floor stretching vertically or horizontally on the canvas is so exciting to me. Here are a few examples by Vincent van Gogh and Degas:
Vincent van Gogh, Bedroom in Arles, 1888
Edgar Degas, Deux Danseuses, 1879
Edgar Degas, The Dance Lesson, 1879
Edgar Degas, Dancers Practicing at the Barre, 1877
William Ratcliffe, Attic Room, 1918
The photo session for the album cover took place in the spring 1969. Most likely in March when daffodils were blooming and Syd had just finished painting his floor in orange and purple stripes. Proud of what he had done, Syd invited his friend Mick Rock to come over and take some photos. At that time Syd was living with Iggy The Eskimo who was a friend of Syd's ex-girlfriend Jenny Spires. Iggy and Syd weren't lovers but she was a good company. She answered the doors that day and welcomed Mick completely naked (not an unusual thing for hippies and free-spirited creatures of the time). When Mick arrived he found Syd in bed, still in his underpants; a moment he captured with his new camera Pentax he had just recently bought. After he'd got up, Syd donned a pair of trousers with colour stains on them; from the floor paint. Iggy, the groovy companion to this Mad Hatter of Psychedelia, added some kohl to his eyes to achieve that elegantly wasted look of a Poete Maudite.
The photos were created naturally, with no staging and posing. Mick worked with elements he had: a painted floor, a vase of daffodils, nude Iggy in the background and a huge Canadian car parked just in front of Wetherby Mansion for some outside shots. None of it was planned. Later that day, Storm Thorgerson arrived and his solo focus was the wonderful striped floor. He shoot photos in fading light placing a wide angled lens millimeters of the ground to achieve an Alice in Wonderland effect, giving the floor elastic quality. Syd just crouched by the fireplace and he looked natural; he spontaneously adapted to the background. His pose suggests defiant exhaustion and a dark edge of 'knowing'. There was only one corner of the room that Syd hadn't painted and that was the only clean angle if you didn't want to expose this 'set' for what it was; a drab living room with a nasty electric fireplace. As long as he occupied his island-mattress surrounded by striped painted floor, reality and a world of possibilities remained outside his door. The photo that would eventually be the cover photo was also taken by Thorgerson.
I cannot put it in words how much I adore this album and the album cover and the striped floor. All of it has inspired me beyond words. I listen to "The Madcap Laughs" every time I paint my watercolours; it is such a pleasant, soothing, melancholy and dreamy music to provide background for dipping my brush in water, then in the paint… Syd's fragile voice, his strange and witty lyrics, his yearnings for help and cries of loneliness that come out in some songs, all of it draws me into this strange ethereal world which I always occupy with one part of my mind. When I listen to this album, and also his follow-up "Barrett", I truly feel like Alice when she found herself in the Wonderland; Syd is the psychedelic Mad Hatter and I follow him blindly, over the striped floor, crossing the yellow glow of the waning sun, to the spaces where only music remains, and I am free, free, free…
Also, grainy quality of the photo brings nostalgia and serves as a barrier between psychedelic vivid colours of the '60s to more drab and sad reality that came with the seventies. Long gone is the multicoloured glamour of the '60s Swinging London psychedelia and instead the cover of The Madcap Laughs suggests the '60s decadence exposed and photos have that sad "party's over" feel.
I have to take a moment in the end to give praise where praise is due and recommend you all the wonderful, amazing, fun and detailed book about Syd Barret called "Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd: Dark Globe" by Julius Palacios.
Tags: 1960s, 1970, 1970s, 3rd January 1970, 50 years old today, Alice in Wonderland, Iggy the Eskimo, London, loneliness, lunatic, Madcap, music, Psychedelia, Rock Music, striped floors, Swinging London, Syd Barrett, Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd: Dark Globe, The madcap laughs
Categories 1960s Culture, Impressionism, Rock Music, Zeitgeist
The Love Witch (2016): Psychedelia Meets Victoriana
Two autumns ago I watched this delicious eye-candy film called "The Love Witch" (2016) directed by Anna Biller and I loved it! Now, in these late October's crimson leafy witchy days I find myself thinking about that film again and now I must tell you all to watch it too because it is just "wow"! It is fun, strange, sensual, vibrant, over the top and very aesthetically pleasing to watch.
I love him so much it just turns to hate
I fake it so real, I am beyond fake
And someday, you will ache like I ache…
(Hole, Doll Parts)
The main character is a beautiful witch Elaine, played by Samantha Robinson, whose long silky smooth black hair, dazzling outfits and vibrant eyeshadows catch the eye of many men in town, which is unfortunate for them because she isn't just a witch – she is a love witch. Simultaneously, she is every man's fantasy and his doom. Her victims just fall too much in love, and yes, ironically they die of too much love. Looking at Elaine, the way she walks the way she talks, it is easy to see why no man can resist her, there is a something magnetic about her, her figure oozes confidence and sensuality. In the opening scene, she is driving her pretty red car and explaining to us how she had to move because her former husband died a mysterious death and now she is partly blamed. She starts a new life in a small and charming little town of Arcata, California and moves into a beautiful Victorian house decorated in vibrant colours and garish designs which perfectly fit this witch's taste. There she spends her time making spells and love potions, woodoo dolls and candles, and she also enjoys painting, tea and cake like a refined Victorian lady. After suffering from love in the past, Elaine was reborn as a witch and now she is determined to use that power to get what she wants from men, and not the other way around.
The time period isn't strictly defined, it is supposed to be set in modern times but the aesthetic definitely draws heavily from late 1960s vibrant psychedelia and early 1970s with the Victoriana influence and the Edwardian era revival; the interior design of Elaine's house and her costumes reflect this rich exuberant mix of styles. This film is extremely aesthetically pleasing to watch and it is what draws me to the film the most; aesthetic, if it's the kind of world that I can imagine myself living in, if the characters are wearing the kind of clothes that I would died for, then I will watch the film, regardless of its other qualities, or lack of thereof. The aesthetic is everything.
All in all, Elaine just wants to find a man to love, and who will love her in return, but her mad intense search for this man has made her too desperate, and her witchcraft skills have made her too powerful, and so what started with an innocent understandable desire to be loved turned into a wild murderous fantasy. An officer she dated tells her in one scene in the bar "What you call love is a borderline personality disorder." And indeed, her dark hypnotising eyes with long lashes and blue eyeshadow do have a look of madness in them. Also, she has no problem with burying people such as her unfortunate lover, she has done it before, she admits… Though it was his fault, he suddenly got so clingy and emotional after they had made love. He wasn't the strong courageous prince charming that she is waiting for.
I am doll parts, bad skin, doll heart
It stands for knife
For the rest of my life
"The Love Witch" feels entirely like someone's fantasy, like an acid dreams translated into the art medium of cinema, which is wonderful! It's a world seen through rose-tinted glasses, and it has its own logic. You know it can't be real and these things can't be real, but somehow you want to be drawn in and just savour all its colours and vivacity. The reason for this unique, dreamy feel to the film is probably because Anna Biller was practically its main creator; she is the film's writer, costume designer, director, producer, art director, and editor. She wanted the film to look like it belongs to the era it was set in, and therefore the vibrant colours were used on purpose, in setting and in costumes, to emulate the look of technicolor films. Anne Biller said "I like to make films with a kind of dream logic. My films are a mix of reality and fantasy, or a mix of what is happening and what people wish was happening, or what they fear will happen."
In one scene, her poor victim Wayne, a college lecturer, takes her to his cabin in the woods, but little can he sense that she put hallucinogenic herbs in his drink and that she will destroy him. She starts undressing and he is almost blinded by the bright rainbow of her coat. Here is how the dialogue goes:
"What the hell! Your coat, it's so bright."
"I always line my clothing.
"You have two selves. Dark and quiet that you show the world… who do you give that to? the Rainbow?"
"I give the rainbow to you. Right now." And she throws the rainbow-lined coat to him and proceeds to take the rest of her clothes off.
Now let's take a look at Elaine's to-die-for gorgeous costumes! Here is what Anna Biller said about them:
"It's all stuff that I fantasize about wearing, outfits I would wear if I was that put together. I used to put a lot of time into my own wardrobe, but since I've been making films I've put a lot of that energy into film wardrobes instead. I love vintage-inspired clothing, and I used vintage patterns to create her wardrobe. I wanted her to look really stylish, but also to be dressed how I imagine a 1960s witch would dress. I know some girls who dress like Elaine, and I love the way they dress and do their makeup." She also says: "I wanted the costumes to come from Elaine's romantic self-fantasies. I made a lot of them, and also a lot of them were vintage."
I love the emphasis Biller put on the costumes and how they are symbolically connected to the story:
"I like for the costumes to match sets or to be harmonious with them, so in the scene when Elaine is driving her red car I put her in a red dress with red accessories. Her dress is short and casual, since she is driving and it's daytime. She is wearing a moonstone pendant, since that's an occult piece of jewelry. She changes costume for the next scene in the tearoom, since that's a pink room and features ladies in hats, so for that scene she wears an appropriate Victorian-style peach dress with a hat trimmed with flowers. Trish for that scene also wears a peach outfit, but hers is a pantsuit because she is a businesswoman. In the last scene at the bar, I have Elaine in a long dress which is in a Victorian style but feels defiant and witchy because it's in a theatrical red polyester. I put her in this dress because she is defying Griff in this scene, and I wanted her to wear something that shows her power." (read the whole interview here.)
I love that Biller designed the costumes to correlate to the scenes, so the colour and cut of Elaine's dress can tell us much more than we might assume at first. On two different occasions Elaine is having a tea party, first with her friend Trish in a Victorian-style tea room where she is seen wearing a dusty peach-pink dress and a pink hat, and the other time she is at home alone painting and she made tea and cake and is seen wearing this delicate yellow and white dress. In these scenes, she is not a groovy vixen out to get her net victim, no, she is a delicate princess waiting for her prince charming to show up at her doorstep with flowers and chocolates. These two dresses show the influence of late Victorian and Edwardian era on design and fashion of the late sixties and early 1970s, I already wrote about it here. Pink and yellow tea dresses, like a delicate rose and primrose, sweet and nonthreatening. Here is what Anne Biller says about these outfits:
"The tea outfits were all vintage finds, but I had to do a lot of alterations to make them right. I looked for vintage Gunne Sax dresses specifically, wanting to give Elaine the look of those vintage Bradley dolls with the big eyes, and of the prom girls, bridesmaids, and Wild West gals you'd see in movies from the '60s and early '70s. The scene itself was inspired by an actual tea room I visited once where all the ladies wore hats trimmed with flowers, and pastel colors. I really saw Elaine in that setting, with all of her princess fantasies." (more here.)
Now, at the end, my question is: how can I steal her wardrobe, and where may I apply to live there, in such a pretty Victorian house in sunny California in some undefined era which looks a lot like sixties????
Tags: 1960s, 1970s, 2016, aesthetic, Anna Biller, Beautiful, costumes, drama, Film, horror, love, mystery, Psychedelia, Samantha Robinson, suspense, The Love Witch, vibrant, witch
Categories 1960s Fashion, Film, History of fashion
Nature in Syd Barrett's Songs
In lyrics Syd Barrett wrote for Pink Floyd and his two solo albums, he crated a tapestry of images, moods, fragrances and colours that change from vibrancy and childlike whimsicality of early psychedelia to more sombre, tinged with melancholy tunes that smell of withered flowers, last summer sunsets and have that after party mood when the guests are gone, the music stops and solitude remains. In many of his songs, images from nature serve to mirror the state of his soul, his emotions and his loneliness.
"Jiving on down to the beach to see the blue and the gray
Seems to be all and it's rosy-it's a beautiful day!"
(Gigolo Aunt)
John William Waterhouse, Ophelia, 1894, detail
Syd Barrett was the imaginative and stylish individual behind the early Pink Floyd. He also went on to have a brief solo career and released two albums in 1970; "The Madcap Laughs" and "Barrett" which mostly feature his melancholy voice and guitar, mirroring the dark and sad waters of his soul. Although the mood of Syd's lyrics changes from the early ones which are fun and quirky, and later ones which tend to be more mystical and introspective, there is a theme which lingers throughout Syd's poetry – nature.
The reason behind the frequency of nature as a topic of Syd's lyrics is tied to his childhood; where he grew up and how he grew up. Syd was part of the baby boom generation and grew up in a safe and clean middle-class neighbourhood in Cambridge where his father worked as a pathologist. Unlike Morrissey, for example, whose early memories are tied to the dark and grim streets of Manchester and a red brick house which he can never go back to, the stage of Syd's early memories is a lovely Victorian house where mum read fairy-tales and the arts were appreciated. Despite being only an hour away from London, Cambridge was, at the time, still a quaint town where myths and reality lived in harmony.
Constant Puyo, 1903.
In the book "Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd: Dark Globe", the author Julian Palacious describes the area as a"bleak land rife with myth; a land where one can see the ruins of monasteries and abbeys looming through the heavy autumn fog, the spring of the Nine Wells associated with druids and witchcraft, a place where cold winters bloom into chill and damp springs and violet flowers fill the meadow all the way to the Beechwoods, a place of fairy ring mushrooms and willow trees gently touching the surface of the river Cam with their long yellow branches; all in all a setting ideal for a psychedelic schoolgirl to explore the secrets that nature beholds and float down the river forever and ever like a modern Ophelia: Syd conjured the very thing in his song "See Emily Play". Palacios further says that "The Fens were rumoured to be the haunt of lost souls, witches, and web-footed peasants", thus mingling the vivid Celtic past and mystic of nature with everyday suburban reality.
Arthur Rackham illustration for The Old Woman in the Wood from The Grimm's Fairy Tales
In his book "Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head", Rob Chapman also comments on nature being a common theme in Syd's lyrics "Like Lear, Syd would populate his lyrics with imagery drawn from botany , zoology and nature. Lear and Caroll influenced the clarity of his lyrics too…", adding that Syd "grew up surrounded by Fen countryside, absorbed in pastoral pursuits and Arcadian literature, and frequently drew upon nature for the subject matter of his artwork. His father was a keen amateur botanist and the entire family were be taken for Sunday morning jaunts to the Cambridge Botanical Gardens. The experience would be ingrained and absorbed from an early age." We might say that nature was Syd's first love, one which came before painting and music, and one which stayed much longer, even in his old age when he tended to the roses in his garden.
Photo found here.
In his early writings for Pink Floyd, nature is the setting of Syd's psychedelic imaginings. In one song from their first album, "Flaming", a very cheerful tune, nature comes alive and the meadow is one big playground. The lyrics bring to mind whimsicality of Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland: "Alone in the clouds all blue/ Lying on an eiderdown/ (…) Lazing in the foggy dew/ Sitting on a unicorn./ No fair, you can't hear me/ But I can you./ Watching buttercups cup the light/ Sleeping on a dandelion." Through his perceptions of nature, Syd paints us the landscapes of his soul, through the sounds we see its changing colours from yellow, gentle green and pink, to greys, dusty pinks and faded blues.
The first hint of the darkness to come can be traced in the lyrics of "The Scarecrow" where a solitary scarecrow standing in the middle of a golden barley fields brings to mind the sad landscapes that Vincent van Gogh had painted near the end of his life. Another song, "Octopus" from his first solo album, mingles the cheerfulness of his early days with a premonition of the madness that was to come: "Isn't it good to be lost in the wood/ Isn't it bad so quiet there, in the wood/ Meant even less to me than I thought… the seas will reach and always seep/ So high you go, so low you creep/ the wind it blows in tropical heat". One time Syd was on holiday with his family in Wales, he was but a little boy, and he wandered off into the forest and was lost for hours.
"The land in silence stands" (Swan Lee)
And the landscape turns melancholy; the gates of childhood are closed, dandelions have withered and unicorns are nowhere to be found… the dark sea of adulthood is sad and mute as the grave, and its shore desolate and unpromising. Lost hopes and lamentation at the sudden awakening. There isn't a song which better paints a picture of Syd's mind at the time than "Wined and Dined" whose lyrics and melody both recall happier times and lament at the sadness that just doesn't go away:
"Only last summer, it's not so long ago
Just last summer, now musk winds blow…"
Melodies and lyrics of Syd's solo albums bring to mind not the pictures of meadows and flowers, but scenes of isolation; murky waters, birds flying away, broken pier, trees are silent and lonely… Syd shows an acute awareness of what is going on around him. As a lyricist, and a poet too, Syd used images of nature as symbols for his states of mind and ways of expressing feelings imaginatively and indirectly; he is painting landscapes with his words which mirror the states of his soul.
Caspar David Friedrich, Moonrise Over the Sea, 1822
Here are some interesting lines from his song "She took a long cold look" from "The Madcap Laughs", the image of the broker pier, wavy sea and water streaming over him are striking:
"a broken pier on the wavy sea
she wonders why for all she wants to see…
But I got up and I stomped around
and hid the piece where the trees touch the ground…
And looking high up into the sky
I breathe as the water streams over me…"
Picture found here.
A beautiful song "Opel" has long sad solos and a sense of isolation lingers throughout it, especially haunting are the last lines "I'm trying to find you" sang in his distant voice and accompanied by his guitar:
"On a distant shore, miles from land
Stands the ebony totem in ebony sand
A dream in a mist of grey…
On a far distant shore…
The pebble that stood alone
And driftwood lies half buried
Warm shallow waters sweep shells
So the cockles shine…
I'm trying to find you!
To find you
I'm living, I'm giving,
To find you, To find you…"
Tags: 1960s, Birthday, Cambridge, dreams, English countryside, Fairies, Games for May, London, lyrics, magic, Nature, nature in lyrics, Poem, Poetry, Psychedelia, Rock Music, Swinging London, Syd Barrett
Categories 1960s Culture, Literature, Rock Music
Gabriel Garcia Márquez: Love Letters, Fresh Lilies, Tears and Dried Butterflies (One Hundred Years of Solitude)
A week ago I finished reading Márquez's magnificent novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and I have fallen in love with the story, the mood, the characters, his writing style and magic realism. Art equivalent of the book must be, for me, the blue dreamy world of Marc Chagall's lovers, flowers and psychedelic fiddlers on roofs in far-off villages of his imagination, which might as well be Márquez's mystical Macondo, and I can also see myself listening to Pink Floyd and daydreaming of chapters from the books. Some sentences have really left me feeling high as a kite; it rains for four years, plague insomnia which leaves people not tired but nostalgic for dreams, tiny yellow flowers that cover the entire village the moment José Arcadio Buendía dies, yellow butterflies that follow the dark melancholic-eyed Mauricio at every step, Rebeca who eats earth and arrives with a sack that makes a clock-clock-clock sound of her parents' bones; illusion upon illusion, magic upon magic, and in the end, only eternal solitude remains.
Savely Sorin, Two Women, c. 1920s
I recently discovered this painting of two women in white by the Russian artist Savely Sorin (1887-1953), and now every time I look at it, it reminds me of Amaranda and Rebeca, sitting on a begonia porch, their hands busy embroidering; both lost in their own worlds and their hearts full of woe, both lonely with an impenetrable inner life, both finding consolation in writing passionate perfumed love letters to the same man which they never send… I imagine the lady in the front to be Rebeca and the brown-haired one is Amaranta, for me.
When I started reading the book, one morning sitting on my balcony, surrounded by pots of pink begonias, I flipped through the pages wondering about their content, and this was the first sentence that I randomly saw and I was mesmerised, what a scene: "On rainy afternoon, embroidering with a group of friends on the begonia porch, she would lose the thread of the conversation and a tear of nostalgia would salt her palate when she saw the strips of damp earth and the piles of mud that the earthworms had pushed up in the garden. Those secret tastes, defeated in the past by oranges and rhubarb, broke out into an irrepressible urge when she began to weep. She went back to eating earth."
I don't think I will ever see begonias again and not think of Márquez. I like to daydream of flowers and their different personalities and connect flowers and trees to people, real or imaginary.
Even though I loved the entire book, there is a part of that I particularly enjoyed reading, that appealed to me the most, when Buendía family was at its most lively, vibrant state, and the house was full of love: Aureliano was consumed with passion for Remedios who is described as "a pretty little girl with lily-colored skin and green eyes", and Rebeca and Amaranda were besotted with their dance instructor, a dashing and handsome blonde Italian called Pietro Crespi. With love followed daydreams, passionate letters, tears, torments and jealousies:
"The house became full of love. Aureliano expressed it in poetry that had no beginning or end. He would write it on the harsh pieces of parchment that Melquiades gave him, on the bathroom walls, on the skin of his arms, and in all of it Remedios would appear transfigured: Remedios in the soporific air of two in the afternoon, Remedios in the soft breath of the roses, Remedios in the water-clock secrets of the moths, Remedios in the steaming morning bread, Remedios everywhere and Remedios forever. Rebeca waited for her love at four in the afternoon, embroidering by the window. She knew that the mailman's mule arrived only every two weeks, but she always waited for him, convinced that he was going to arrive on some other day by mistake. It happened quite the opposite : once the mule did not come on the usual day. Mad with desperation, Rebeca got up in the middle of the night and ate handfuls of earth in the garden with a suicidal drive, weeping with pain and fury, chewing tender earthworms and chipping her teeth on snail shells. She vomited until dawn. She fell into a state of feverish prostration, lost consciousness, and her heart went into a shameless delirium. Ursula, scandalized, forced the lock on her trunk and found at the bottom, tied together with pink ribbons, the sixteen perfumed letters and the skeletons of leaves and petals preserved in old books and the dried butterflies that turned to powder at the touch."
As soon as Amaranta found out about Rebeca's interest in Pietro, she wanted him too:
"When she discovered Rebeca's passion, which was impossible to keep secret because of her shouts, Amaranta suffered an attack of fever. She also suffered from the barb of a lonely love. Shut up in the bathroom, she would release herself from the torment of a hopeless passion by writing feverish letters, which she finally hid in the bottom of her trunk. Ursula barely had the strength to take care of the two sick girls. (…) Finally, in another moment of inspiration, she forced the lock on the trunk and found the letters tied with a pink ribbon, swollen with fresh lilies and still wet with tears, addressed and never sent to Pietro Crespi."
Marc Chagall, Bouquet près de la fenêtre, 1959-60
Meanwhile, some things occur, Rebeca marries another man and Pietro, heartbroken, finds consolation in hours spend in Amaranta's company. This must be the dreamiest, most romantic passage of the book, for me. I mean; suffocating smell of roses in dusk, this dashing Italian translating Petrarca's love poetry for his sweetheart, and both sighing and daydreaming on the begonia porch of that remote village in Columbia about that famed Europe and wonders of Italy, nostalgia pervading the Columbian night:
"Amaranta and Pietro Crespi had, in fact, deepened their friendship, protected by Ursula, who this time did not think it necessary to watch over the visits. It was a twilight engagement. The Italian would arrive at dusk, with a gardenia in his buttonhole, and he would translate Petrarch's sonnets for Amaranta. They would sit on the porch, suffocated by the oregano and the roses, he reading and she sewing lace cuffs, indifferent to the shocks and bad news of the; war, until the mosquitoes made them take refuge in the parlor. Amaranta's sensibility, her discreet but enveloping tenderness had been weaving an invisible web about her fiance, which he had to push aside materially with his pale and ringless fingers in order to leave the house at eight o'clock. They had put together a delightful album with the postcards that Pietro Crespi received from Italy. They were pictures of lovers in lonely pink. with vignettes of hearts pierced with arrows and golden ribbons held by doves. "I've been to this park in Florence," Pietro Crespi would say, going through the cards. "A person can put out his hand and the birds will come to feed." Sometimes, over a watercolor of Venice, nostalgia would transform the smell of mud and putrefying shellfish of the canals into the warm aroma of flowers. Amaranta would sigh, laugh, and dream of a second homeland of handsome men and beautiful women who spoke a childlike language, with ancient cities of whose past grandeur only the cats among the rubble remained."
Have you read the book? Have you enjoyed these passages as much as I have?
Tags: begonia, Buendia family, Columbian literature, Columbian writer, dreams, Dreamy, dried butterflies, dusk, fresh lilies, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, insomnia plague, jealousie, Literature, loneliness, love, love letters, lover, Macondo, magic, magic realism, Marc Chagall, Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude, passion, Psychedelia, reading, romance, Romantic, roses, Russian painter, Savely Sorin, surreal, Tears, torment, women in white, yellow butterflies, yellow flowers
Categories Art, Literature
British versus American Psychedelia
Last Summer I was intrigued to find out the differences between British and American Psychedelia. Whilst on a quest to study all the details, I listened to The Doors and Jim Morrison singing 'Gloria' while the last rays of sun peeked through my curtains in sunset, and I felt the gentle summer breeze, and I made these collages. But before I start, I want to say that these are my visions of psychedelia, so, if I failed to mention a particular band that's because I didn't listen to it. These are my observations, take it lightly.
British Psychedelia – Rose-Tinted Visions of the Past, Myths and Magic
"The underground exhibited a curious nostalgia, unusual in people so young. Living in tattered Victorian flats, smoking dope and rummaging for antiques on the Portobello Road, the underground pillaged their cultural history. Part romantics and part vandals, as they pulled away from their parents' world, they embraced the shadow of their grandparents' Victoriana, torn between an idealised future and rose-tinted visions of the past." (Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd: Dark Globe by Julian Palacios)
British psychedelia is more whimsical and deeply rooted in 'cheery domesticity and a fascination with childhood as a lost age of innocence'(*). It takes inspiration from Romantics and long-haired Pre-Raphaelite beauties, William Morris prints, tea parties, fairies and magic woodlands, love of nature with mystical overtones and books such as 'The Golden Bough' by James George Frazer, magical worlds created by Lewis Carrol, Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, songs about gnomes, fairies. It's driven by a desire to go back to childhood and the past.
'Screaming through the starlit sky
Travelling by telephone.
Hey ho, here we go
Ever so high.' (Pink Floyd – Flaming)
'Put on a gown that touches the ground, ah ooh
Float on a river forever and ever, Emily
There is no other day
Let's try it another way
You'll lose your mind and play
Free games for may
See Emily play.' (Pink Floyd – See Emily Play)
'I want to tell you a story
About a little man
If I can.
A gnome named Grimble Grumble.
And little gnomes stay in their homes.
Eating, sleeping, drinking their wine.
He wore a scarlet tunic,
A blue green hood,
It looked quite good.
He had a big adventure
Amidst the grass
Fresh air at last.
Wining, dining, biding his time.
And then one day – hooray!' (Pink Floyd – The Gnome)
'The doll's house, darkness, old perfume
And fairy stories held me high on
Clouds of sunlight floating by.' (Pink Floyd – Matilda Mother)
'All I need is your whispered hello
Smiles melting the snow, nothing heard
Your eyes, they're deeper than time
Say a love that won't rhyme without words.' (Small Faces – Tin Soldier)
American Psychedelia:
'Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light
Or just another lost angel?' (The Doors – LA Woman)
Unlike British, American Psychedelia was driven by the anti-war protests, and teenagers wanted to have freedom and be adults, some even joined communes. As I see it, American psychedelia is all about sun, beach and rock 'n' roll. Colourful houses in San Francisco, whose beauty I've first encountered in Jack Kerouac's writings. For me, American psychedelia is Jim Morrisson's mystic poetry, mixing Indian shamanism and William Blake, it's Roky Erickson screaming 'You're gonna miss me child yeah' in the same named song by the 13th Floor Elevators, it's Janis Joplin in vibrant clothes, singing about love in raw, husky voice, it's the brightly coloured vans with peace signs, it's The Byrds with their folk-sounds and cheerful guitars, the imagined sunsets on Ashbury Haigh.
'I see your hair is burnin'
Hills are filled with fire
If they say I never loved you
You know they are a liar
Drivin' down your freeway
Midnight alleys roam
Cops in cars,
The topless bars
Never saw a woman…
So alone, so alone…' (The Doors – L.A. Woman)
'Unhappy girl
Tear your web away
Saw thru all your bars
Melt your cell today
You are caught in a prison
Of your own devise.' (The Doors – Unhappy Girl)
'She lives on Love Street
Lingers long on Love Street
She has a house and garden
I would like to see what happens
She has robes and she has monkeys
Lazy diamond studded flunkies
She has wisdom and knows what to do
She has me and she has you.' (The Doors – Love Street)
'Hey what's your name?
Where'd you go to school?
Aha, yeah
Ah, ah yeah, ah yeah
Oh haa, mmm
Well, now that we know each other a little bit better,
Why don't you come over here
Make me feel all right!
Gloria, gloria
All night, all day
All right, okey, yey!' (The Doors – Gloria, originally by Van Morrison)
'To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to laugh, a time to weep.' (The Byrds – Turn, Turn, Turn)
'I've seen your face before,
I've known you all my life.
And though it's new,
your image cuts me like a knife.
And now I'm home.
And now I'm home, to stay.
The neon from your eyes is splashing into mine.
It's so familiar in a way I can't define.' (The 13th Floor Elevators – Splash)
Which one do you prefer, British or American Psychedelia? I'd goes without saying that I'm all about fairies, childhood innocence and tea parties, so it's British psychedelia for me. Nothing's gonna stop me this time, I'll make the Summer of 2017 my Summer of Love! But for now, let these psychedelic tunes warm these short but never-ending winter days.
Tags: 1960s, Acid, American Psychedelia, another lost angel, anti-war protests, Ashbury Haigh, beach, British psychedelia, City of Light, Edwardian era, Fairies, fairy tales, Gloria, Jim Morrison, L.A. Woman, love, Love Street, LSD, magic, music, mystic poetry, myths, Nature, Nostalgia, Pink FLoyd, Psychedelia, Rock Music, Roky Erickson, Summer, sun, Swinging London, Syd Barrett, tea party, The 13th Floor Elevators, The Byrds, The Doors, Tolkien
Categories 1960s Culture, Rock Music, Zeitgeist
Fashion Icons: Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull is one of my favourite fashion icons from this series. Her sixties-psychedelia-rock 'n' roll look was the first one I tried to emulate when I first got interested in the 1960s fashion and culture. So, a typical Marianne look would include a suede skirt, shirt, thin scarf and boots, or a floral print mini dress with boots. As you'll see from my collages, she wore lots of different looks, from sequin dresses for her performances, to bell bottom trousers, nun-style black dresses with white collars, paisley shirts, dresses with bishop sleeves etc.
I haven't read her autobiography yet, but I do like her music, from the simple and innocent mid sixties tunes such as 'Come and Stay With Me' and 'As Tears Go By', to her 'songs of experience', sung in a husky voice, such as 'Sister Morphine' and 'Working Class Hero'.
Tags: 1960s, 1960s fashion, 1960s fashion icons, fashion, fashion icon series, Marianne Faithfull, Mick Jagger, Muse, Psychedelia, Swinging London, The Rolling Stones
Categories 1960s Culture, 1960s Fashion, Fashion icons, History of fashion, Rock Music
Ode to British Psychedelia or 'What it means to me'
Last few days I've been rereading the book called Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd: Dark Globe by Julian Palacios, and relishing in its every page. It explores Syd's life from the early days in Cambridge, to his Swinging London days at the height of his fame as a psychedelic rock star, all the way to his last days spent in seclusion. Each page reveals Syd's influences in terms of books, artworks (as he was a painter too), films, music and his ideas in general. Even though he is best known for his days with Pink Floyd which resulted in the album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967): a beautiful psychedelic gem, and his subsequent solo albums, it is not his fame or heyday which interests me the most.
Quite the contrary, it is his childhood and teenage years that reveal the true Syd – a creative figure and a true inspiration. What made Syd a psychedelic icon, what made the underground scene thrive wasn't just LSD, but a great Pandora's box of different influences. I am fascinated by the 1960s counterculture before it became mainstream. After reading the book, one can truly see all that lay beyond acid trips because psychedelia is so much more.
"The vanguard of London's latest subculture, driven by LSD and hashish, far removed from the plastic flash of mods and dolly birds, took a sharp turn into the mystic. Drugs prompted many questions, so out came Ouija boards, I Ching, tarot cards, Hindu scriptures, meditation and vegetarianism." (quote from the book)
Psychedelia or 'altered consciousness' doesn't mean wearing tie dye shirts, listening to Jimi Hendrix and being stoned. That's almost a disgrace of the original spirit and ideas of the underground scene. For me psychedelia means exploration, daydreams, hedonism and joy, everything that's opposite of logical and rational. Reality is so bitter, and fantasy worlds so appealing, so why couldn't we choose fantasy, lead happy lives, and discard reality like a fan after the ball. Sadly, this option is impossible, but infusing one's life with a dash of psychedelia isn't.
First of all, as, for me, psychedelia equals almost childlike exploration, the key thing is to delve into all sorts of activities and hobbies. Whole range of interests may be suitable for the spirit of psychedelia. Art, for example. When Syd was studying art in London, he became acquainted with painters from totally different art movements; from Giuseppe Arcimboldo's whimsical portraits formed with fruits and vegetables, to Gustave Caillebotte's striped wooden floor to Klimt's golden, mystical beechwoods – all of which I've written about. He was also fascinated with Dali, James Ensor and Chaim Soutine. If Syd stands as a symbol of psychedelia, at least in British rock, then everything that influenced him may be considered psychedelic too, am I right.
'The erudite nonsense of these traditional English children's stories blends fantasy and sly surrealism. Gnomes, goblins, Hobbits, unicorns, Cheshire cats and hubble-bubble smoking caterpillars. Moles and toads walked, talked, and even drove motor cars. English in eccentricities and mannerism,m the animals wore waistcoats, carried pocket watches, smoked pipes, and were irritable and witty by turns.'
Syd's writing in Pink Floyd was described as 'rock meets Mad Hatter's tea party'. Now, who wouldn't like to attend a tea party with acid-laced sugar cubes? David Bowie also liked Syd's lyrics and even compared him with Peter Pan. This is precisely why the British psychedelia appeals to me strongly, more than American, as much as I like The Doors and Jim Morrison, I could hardly imagine him reading fairy tales or attending a tea party, and I'm afraid that's a major factor for me. May I also note that I adored the opium smoking caterpillar when I was little, and I do still. Such a great character. I was thrilled when I discovered Pink Floyd because Syd's lyrics combined everything I loved. Adults read fairy tales, men wore velvet trousers and floral shirts – must have been a lovely era.
"..doll's house, darkness, old perfume…" (Matilda Mother – Pink Floyd), still from Alice in Wonderland (1966)
Another thing that British psychedelia cherished was nature. Syd had a profound connection with nature which never left him. Even around London he use to walk barefoot. In moments of loneliness at Wetherby Mansion, he remembered the idyllic strolls, and the landscape of his innocent childhood days. 'Barrett's powerful connection to nature set him apart from others brought up with the same books. His lyrics evoke the woods, fenlands and rivers of Cambridge shire.' Syd defined nature and energy as one. Sculptor Emily Young, and the inspiration for the song See Emily Play, called Syd 'a little wild Puck figure coming out of the woods.'
Linnie Watt – A Woodland Walk, 1877
Another thing typical for British psychedelia is a certain nostalgia unusual with people so young. In December Syd and his friends attended the annual performance of Handel's oratorio Messiah at the Albert Hall. Also, a typical evening at the UFO started with Vivaldi's Four seasons. Girls took fashion inspiration in Arthur Rackham's illustrations; they dressed in long flowing gowns and adorned their hair with flowers. William Morris' illustrations and drawings by Beardsley influenced the poster designs for the Underground, as well as the 19th-century Orientalism. Young people were 'torn between an idealised future and rose-tinted visions of the past', quoting the book again.
Syd's interest in Eastern mysticism grew upon moving to London. He was particularly fascinated with I Ching (esoteric reading) and Chinese board game Go. As the decade progressed, many adapted bright colours and loose cut Eastern-inspired clothes designed by Thea Porter. The Rolling Stones traveled to Morocco. George Harrison admired Indian culture and mysticism, became a vegetarian and admired Lord Krishna.
Maddie Smith, model for Biba, 1967
All in all, British psychedelia is a whimsical and dashing mixture of Alice in Wonderland, LSD, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Jazz, Eastern mysticism, focus on the innocence of childhood, Wind in the Willows, Pre-Raphaelites, and cheerful domesticity.
My recipe for adding a dash of psychedelia in one's life is: obviously listening to matching music such as Pink Floyd's album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (magnificent title), Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and even bands like The Stone Roses. Secondly, indulge in fantasy novels, fairy tales and imaginary worlds, Tolkien is the best in my opinion, as well as Romantic poets, explore William Blake's artworks, the Pre-Raphaelites. Take interest in many things! Quote by Vincent van Gogh 'It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.'
My plans for the following weeks include reading Scandinavian, Persian and Russian fairy tales and reading about (and finally learning) Greek and Roman mythology, and connecting it to art. Thirdly, wear colourful clothes, and earrings, feather boas, floral shirts, velvet trousers, in homage to the glorious days of the flamboyant London scene. And venture into nature, feel its energy. As Heraclitus said: Nature loves to hide itself. Who known what kinds of creatures inhabit the forests. I believe that trees have souls, and different personalities. I'm certain of it. Birch trees look so fragile, while poplars seem so lonely. This is kind of my manifesto for this year. I wish you all a psychedelic 2016.
Tags: 1960s fashion, 1960s London, British psychedelia, childhood innocence, London, LSD, Nature, Pink FLoyd, Psychedelia, psychedelic life, Syd Barrett, Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd: Dark Globe
Categories 1960s Culture, 1960s Fashion, Literature, My Inspiration, Rock Music, Zeitgeist


text:
Der Bund Katholischer Unternehmer (BKU) ist ein Verband, dem etwa 1.100 Inhaber-Unternehmer, Selbstständige und leitende Angestellte angehören. Der BKU wirkt als Schnittstelle zwischen Wirtschaft, Kirche und Politik und entwickelt innovative Konzepte zur Wirtschafts- und Sozialpolitik und zur werteorientierten Führung. Der BKU wird in der Rechtsform des eingetragenen Vereins e.V. geführt und ist als gemeinnützig anerkannt. Der Verein hat seinen Sitz in Köln. Seit Oktober 2017 wird der BKU von dem Unternehmer und Theologen Ulrich Hemel geführt.

Geschichte

Der BKU wurde am 29. März 1949 im Adam-Stegerwald-Haus in Königswinter gegründet. Ziel war es beim Wiederaufbau der deutschen Wirtschaft und der Errichtung einer menschenwürdigen Gesellschaftsordnung im Nachkriegsdeutschland einen Beitrag aus christlicher Verantwortung zu leisten. Mit dem BKU sollten die gesellschaftspolitischen und sozialethischen Anliegen der Unternehmerschaft ins öffentliche Bewusstsein gelangen. Der BKU bekannte sich von Beginn an zum Leistungswettbewerb der Marktwirtschaft und der damit verbundenen Notwendigkeit eines freien, aber sozial verantwortlichen Unternehmertums.

Einer der wesentlichen Initiatoren der Gründung des Verbandes war der damalige Kölner Erzbischof Joseph Kardinal Frings.

Der Gründungsvorsitzende des BKU war Franz Greiss, damals der Präsident der Industrie- und Handelskammer zu Köln. Dem ersten Vorstand gehörten ferner an: Peter H. Werhahn, Werner Habig, Theophil Herder-Dorneich, Werner Linnemann, August Küster, Wilhelm Naegel und Peter Zettelmeyer.

Erster Geschäftsführer des BKU war der Wirtschaftswissenschaftler Wilfrid Schreiber. Sein Schreiber-Plan gilt als die Grundlage des deutschen Rentensystems.

Erster Geistlicher Berater war der Theologe und Geistliche Joseph Höffner, der spätere Kardinal und Erzbischof von Köln. Am 22. Juni 1949 wurde der BKU unter der Nummer 1915 beim Amtsgericht Köln als Verein ins Vereinsregister eingetragen.

Mit dem Grundsatz- und Aktionsprogramm 1971 wurde ein Bekenntnis zu einer freiheitlichen Wirtschaftsordnung, selbstverantwortlichem Unternehmertum und zu den Mitarbeitern als "selbstverantwortliche Persönlichkeiten" abgegeben.

Mitglieder des BKU gehörten im Jahre 1992 in Bonn zu den Gründern des Kardinal-Höffner-Kreises.

Nachdem die Mitgliedschaft im BKU zunächst nur katholischen Unternehmerinnen und Unternehmern vorbehalten war, hat sich der Verband in der Zwischenzeit für Christen anderer Konfessionen geöffnet. Seitdem können auch evangelische Christen oder Angehörige einer christlich-orthodoxen Kirche, die die gesellschaftspolitischen Vorstellungen des BKU mittragen, Mitglied werden.

Im Zeitalter der Globalisierung und Digitalen Transformation arbeitet der BKU an der Weiterentwicklung der Christlichen Gesellschaftslehre und der Sozialen Marktwirtschaft mit. Das Jubiläumsjahr 2019, aus Anlass des 70-jährigen Bestehens steht daher unter dem Motto: "Soziale Marktwirtschaft im 21. Jahrhundert – international, digital und ethisch".

Der BKU nimmt zu aktuellen Fragen aus Kirche, Politik und Gesellschaft Stellung, so beispielsweise im Rahmen der Finanzskandale in der Katholischen Kirche 2018.

Organisation

Der BKU ist ein bundesweit agierender katholischer Unternehmerverband, der sich auf der regionalen Ebene, angelehnt an die Struktur der Diözesen der römisch-katholischen Kirche in Deutschland, in 34 so genannten Diözesangruppen engagiert.

Die Christliche Gesellschaftslehre ist das Fundament des Verbandes, die Soziale Marktwirtschaft und der demokratische Rechtsstaat gehören zu seinem ordnungspolitischen Leitbild. Als katholischer Unternehmerverband bekennt sich der BKU zu seiner Verantwortung vor Gott und den Menschen. Auf den genannten Grundlagen reflektiert der BKU die Gestaltungszusammenhänge von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft und richtet an ihnen sein Handeln aus.

Der BKU ist dabei ein gemeinnütziger Verein mit ideeller Zielsetzung. Er ist kein Arbeitgeberverband und vertritt keine kommerziellen Interessen. Im Jahr 1985 wurde die BKU-Tochter Ordo Socialis – Wissenschaftliche Vereinigung zur Förderung der Christlichen Gesellschaftslehre e.V. gegründet, mit dem Ziel bedeutende Schriften zur Christlichen Soziallehre weltweit zu publizieren. Der BKU ist Mitinitiator der Jenaer Allianz zur Erneuerung der Sozialen Marktwirtschaft und der AFOS-Stiftung, die unternehmerische Entwicklungszusammenarbeit für Kleinunternehmer und den entstehenden Mittelstand in Entwicklungs- und Schwellenländern unterstützt. Zudem werden vielfältige Engagements in der Mikrofinanzplattform Deutschland verfolgt.

Der BKU hat sich zur Aufgabe gestellt:
 einerseits innerhalb der Wirtschaft als Christen auf der Grundlage der Katholischen Soziallehre zu wirken, sei es in ihrem Unternehmen oder in den Organisationen der Wirtschaft und der Politik (BDA, BDI, IW, IHK, Parlamente),
 andererseits innerhalb der katholischen Kirche auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen das Sachwissen und die Erfahrung der Unternehmer einzubringen (Zentralkomitee der deutschen Katholiken, katholische Verbände, Diözesanräte).

Der Verein ist Mitglied in der Internationalen Vereinigung christlicher Unternehmer (UNIAPAC) sowie assoziiertes Mitglied der Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände (BDA). Er ist zudem Mitglied der Arbeitsgemeinschaft der katholischen Organisationen Deutschlands (AGKOD) und so im Zentralkomitee der deutschen Katholiken (ZdK) vertreten.

Vorsitzende
 Franz Greiß (1949–1965)
 Albert Falke (1965–1969)
 Eberhard Kloepfer (1969–1971)
 Franz Greiß (1971–1973)
 Rolf H. Kasteleiner (1973–1978)
 Rüdiger Gattineau (1978–1979)
 Cornelius-Georg Fetsch (1979–1993)
 Mechthild Löhr (1993–1996)
 Werner Then (1996–2001)
 Marie-Luise Dött (2001–2017)
 Ulrich Hemel (seit Oktober 2017)

Arbeitskreise
Die vom Bundesvorstand des BKU eingerichteten Arbeitskreise arbeiten an zentralen Inhalten des Verbandes und nehmen aktuelle Zeitfragen in den Blick. Sie diskutieren innovative Konzepte zu aktuellen Themen der Wirtschafts- und Sozialpolitik.

 Arbeitskreis Ethische Führung
 Arbeitskreis Wirtschaft neu denken
 Arbeitskreis Christliche Spiritualität
 Arbeitskreis Soziale Ordnung
 Arbeitskreis Kommunikation
 Arbeitskreis Responsible Finance
 Arbeitskreis International

Daneben gibt es die Gruppen "Junger BKU" und "Frauen im BKU".

Bekannte Mitglieder
 Patrick Adenauer, Vorstand Bauwens AG, ehem. Präsident der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Selbständiger Unternehmer (ASU)
 Dieter Balkhausen, Journalist
 Johannes Graf von und zu Bodman, Unternehmer
 Wilhelm Bonse-Geuking, ehem. BP Europa-Chef
 Albrecht Graf von Brandenstein-Zeppelin, Jurist und Unternehmer
 Ulrich Brocker, ehem. Hauptgeschäftsführer des Arbeitgeberverbandes Gesamtmetall
 Gerhard Cromme, Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender Siemens AG u. a.
 Conrado Dornier, Unternehmer (Dornier Seastar)
 Marie-Luise Dött, Mitglied des Deutschen Bundestages (CDU)
 Ernst Hagenmeyer, ehem. Vorstandsmitglied der Energie-Versorgung Schwaben (EVS)
 Hermann Herder, Verleger (Herdersche Verlagsbuchhandlung Freiburg)
 Joachim Herrmann, Staatsminister im Bayerischen Staatsministerium des Inneren, für Bau und Verkehr
 Claus Hipp, Geschäftsführer der HiPP GmbH & Co. Vertrieb KG
 Hans-Gerd Jauch, Wirtschaftsjurist, Krisenmanager und Insolvenzverwalter (ehem. Geschäftsführer Babcock Borsig Service, BBP Energy, BBP Environment, Agfaphoto)
 Jörg Knoblauch, Unternehmer (Tempus-Zeitsysteme)
 Hans Lindner, Unternehmer Lindner AG, Arnstorf
 Helmut Linssen, ehem. Finanzminister NRW
 Alois Konstantin Fürst zu Löwenstein, Unternehmer
 Reinhard Marx, Erzbischof von München und Freising
 Manfred Maus, Unternehmer (Obi-Baumärkte)
 Thomas Rusche, Unternehmer (SØR Rusche) und Wirtschaftsethiker
 Franz Schoser, Vorstandsvorsitzender des Senior Experten Service
 Wilfrid Schreiber, 1. Geschäftsführer des BKU, 'Vater' der Umlagerente
 Heinrich Meinhard Stindt, Arbeitsrechtler (ehem. Bayer AG)
 Wilm Tegethoff, ehem. Vorstandssprecher der Berliner Kraft- und Licht (BEWAG)-AG
 Christiane Underberg, Unternehmerin (Underberg AG)
 Erich Erbprinz von Waldburg-Zeil, Unternehmer
 Werner Wenning, ehem. Aufsichtsrat der Bayer AG
 Wilhelm Werhahn, Verwaltungsrat Wilh. Werhahn KG
 Norbert Wieselhuber, Mehrheitsgesellschafter und Vorsitzender der Geschäftsführung der Dr. Wieselhuber & Partner GmbH Unternehmensberatung

Siehe auch
 Arbeitskreis Evangelischer Unternehmer
 Christen im Beruf
 Christen in der Wirtschaft

Literatur
 Wolfgang Ockenfels: 10 Gebote für die Wirtschaft. BKU, 2006, ISBN 3-00-019903-9. (Digitalisat)
 Werner Cordes: Unternehmer und die Armut in der Welt. Ein Gespräch mit dem Bund Katholischer Unternehmer. Katholische Akademie, Schwerte 1990, ISBN 3-927382-07-8.
 Daniel Langhans (Hrsg.): Wege aus der Krise in den Neuen Bundesländern. Standpunkte, Vorschläge und Aktivitäten des Bundes Katholischer Unternehmer. Paulinus-Verlag, Trier 1991, ISBN 3-7902-5104-6.
 Lothar Roos (Hrsg.): Die geistigen Grundlagen des BKU. Paulinus-Verlag, Trier 1992, ISBN 3-7902-5101-1.
 Klaus-Dieter Schmidt: Soziale Gerechtigkeit durch unternehmerische Initiative. Schöningh, Paderborn 1994, ISBN 3-506-70235-1.
 Heinrich Wullhorst: Leuchtturm oder Kerzenstummel? Die katholischen Verbände in Deutschland. Bonifatiusverlag, Paderborn 2017, ISBN 978-3-89710-713-7.

Weblink
 Internetpräsenz des Bundes Katholischer Unternehmer (BKU)

Einzelnachweise

Katholischer Verband
Katholische Soziallehre
Religiöser Verein (Köln)
Gegründet 1949

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Streamlined deployment of an Angular/Ionic application to Docker We have a medium sized Angular/Ionic application that takes about 12 minutes to build/deploy to a Docker image on AWS being deployed by CloudFormation.  I'd like to see about improving that timeline.

*

*resolving packages  47 seconds

*fetching packages  24 seconds

*linking dependencies  48 seconds

*Generating ES5 bundles for differential loading  7mins 7 seconds

For the ES5 bundles we have the following browserslist: :
> 0.5%
last 2 versions
Firefox ESR
not dead
not IE 9-11 # For IE 9-11 support, remove 'not'.

Can we somehow cache/remember the build results in some kind of results cache or image - and maybe only occasionally update them maybe by a manual command line or build switch?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
The evolution of College Heights - in some sources referred to as College View - was the latest phase of development in Southeast Durham prior to 1940. This neighborhood, extending south from the vicinity of Lawson St., began to take shape after the adjacent National Religious Training School became the four-year, state-supported North Carolina College. Originally, College Heights consisted of the area around the college to the vicinity of Nelson St. The area to the south, known as Pearsontown... Read More
Buildings and objects of interest
The evolution of College Heights - in some sources referred to as College View - was the latest phase of development in Southeast Durham prior to 1940. This neighborhood, extending south from the vicinity of Lawson St., began to take shape after the adjacent National Religious Training School became the four-year, state-supported North Carolina College. Originally, College Heights consisted of the area around the college to the vicinity of Nelson St. The area to the south, known as Pearsontown for the black family who owned much of the land here, remained rural for many years. Similar to other Durham neighborhoods such as Watts Hospital-Oval Park that experienced a great deal of residential construction in the late 1920s and 1930s, the early section of College Heights is characterized by ornamented bungalows and quaint period revival style houses. The styles of these houses, built for businessmen and college professors and administrators, range from Spanish Mission to English Cottage to Colonial Revival. Several of the houses are said to have been built by local contractor James Whitted. The prestige of College Heights, expressed by its fashionable architecture, was enhanced by the cultural opportunities afforded its residents by the neighboring college. Durhamites who grew up here and in the Lincoln Hospital area fondly remember hearing addresses by nationally known figures and the performances of such vocalists as Paul Robeson and Roland Hayes. The Algonquin Tennis Club, Southeast Durham's most popular social and recreation spot of the 1930s and 1940s, was located nearby in the 1400 block of Fayetteville St. The membership of the club, a social subsidiary of the North Carolina Mutual, has been described as "a new aristocracy. . . whose impulse for reform came. . . from a sense of racial duty and noblesse oblige. "
Portions of College Heights have been demolished in recent years as the campus of NCCU has expanded. Much of the remaining original construction was included in a College Heights Historic District, added to the National Register in January 2019. See the map of the designated district marking contributing structures below.
(See the complete listing on the State Historic Preservation Office website)
119 MASONDALE AVE. – JOSEPH W. & BETTY GOODLOE HOUSE (building)
Added: Thu, 04/18/2019 - 9:24am
By: nicholasclevy
2212 CHAUTAUQUA AVE. (building)
Added: Fri, 04/25/2014 - 1:44pm
By: gary
302 FORMOSA AVE. - WHEELER HOUSE (building)
Added: Tue, 02/04/2014 - 10:25pm
3009 FAYETTEVILLE ST. (building)
Added: Sun, 12/08/2013 - 7:45pm
Added: Sat, 11/23/2013 - 6:28pm
513 NASH - TWO DEUCES SOCIAL CLUB (building)
Added: Mon, 11/18/2013 - 9:03am
2413 CHAPIN ST. (building)
606 BURLINGTON AVE. - TINY GROCERY (building)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This novel takes place in Rye, England in 1914 and centers around Beatrice Nash. Beatrice is young, single and trying to find her way after the death of her father. She arrives in Rye to teach Latin to the local schoolchildren. The Edwardian lifestyle depicted in this novel will change drastically after World War 1. This novel transports us to 1914 and gives us a glimpse into what it was to live in a small countryside village in England at the brink of war.
This book is so charming- and managing to write a charming book is a real talent. Ms. Simonson manages to charm you with her English cast of characters at the same time she is teaching you about a different era. Most importantly this is a universal story about war, and what a tragedy it is at any time.
Yes! If you enjoyed "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" then be warned that this latest novel by Helen Simonson is somewhat different. This book has a large cast of characters, and the plot moves at a little slower pace (Beatrice doesn't actually start teaching until 2/3 of the way through the book). However it is a wonderful novel filled with characters that you will want to spend a few days with. Think Downton Abby in a novel... It does start out slowly, but Beatrice, Uncle John, Aunt Agatha, Hugh, Daniel, Snout and the rest make the pages move right along. I will miss Rye in 1914!
"An unworthy concern flickered through her mind that Cook might now take to being absent without warning, burning gravy because of tiredness, bringing her granddaughter with her to get underfoot in the kitchen. Agatha was forced to consider whether her sympathetic interest in her staff's families might have more to do with appearing generous than with any willingness to be inconvenienced by their actual problems."


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Home > Civil > State of the Nation: what's the best way to pay for our infrastructure?
State of the Nation: what's the best way to pay for our infrastructure?
Engineers Forum October 13, 2018 Civil, Structural	31
Infrastructure matters. It matters for jobs, for the economy and frankly for the planet. We need to deliver high quality, sustainable, resilient infrastructure in a world where change isn't merely a constant, but an increasing challenge to be considered and addressed.
We're faced with unprecedented challenges, such as climate change and disruptive technology, which makes planning for infrastructure, which is by its nature long-term, a difficult proposition.
Most people understand the importance of high-quality infrastructure as it has an impact on their daily lives. Infrastructure delivers electricity, water and the internet to our homes, and enables us to get to our places of work and visit our families and loved ones.
It's tangible and real, but effective delivery is incredibly challenging. In my day-to-day work, which encompasses a global remit, I see this around the world.
'The problem is how you pay for it'
I was in Washington DC recently, and the challenge was effectively and simply articulated by the US Transport Secretary, Elaine Chao, who outlined that challenge as "everybody gets the importance of infrastructure; the problem is how you pay for it".
And we do pay for it, whether through our taxes for public sector-delivered infrastructure, or through user charges such as utility bills.
ICE's State of the Nation report looks to address some of these challenges and how government, working with the private sector, can deliver world-class infrastructure.
We have a real mixed economy in the UK, with broadly half of capital coming from each of the public and private sectors. The report makes strong recommendations around enhancing delivery in road, energy, water and rail, as well as making some important cross-cutting recommendations.
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As part of the broader Brexit debate, it's likely that the UK will lose significant access to the very attractive low-cost finance provided by the European Investment Bank. The EIB lent the UK €31.3bn between 2012 and 2016, which fell to €1.8bn in 2017 – a 72% drop on 2016.
The EIB has made a major contribution to the UK economy and infrastructure delivery. While the outcome of the negotiations with the EU are uncertain, it's likely that we'll lose this access as a "non-member state".
ICE encourages the government to consider how it might replace this loss of access to low-cost finance. It has a number of choices, and ICE believes it should explore the feasibility of creating a UK Investment Bank, something many other countries benefit from.
As I've previously mentioned, world-class infrastructure costs money, and this money ultimately only comes from one source, individuals, whether it be through taxes, user charges or bills.
Innovative funding ideas
After many years of austerity, people are understandably very sensitive about increasing bills. So, ICE is asking the government to think innovatively about how it can provide funding for new infrastructure.
Ideas the report promotes include pay-as-you-go road use, land value capture, and asset recycling.
Land value capture means the taxpayer benefitting from the value uplifts created by new infrastructure. Crossrail is a recent successful example of this.
READ ALSO Is The Construction Industry Ripe For Digital Transformation?
Asset recycling is an idea where government looks at the assets it owns and sells assets where appropriate, with the very specific directive that proceeds are reinvested in new infrastructure, creating a positive recycling effect on money invested.
Government needs to be braver
Finally, we need to address the timing mismatch of short-term political cycles and long-term investment decisions.
The highly damaging stop-start decisions and delays in planning due to changes in governing bodies are not unique to the UK, and up to a point are inherent in a democracy.
The government, however, should be applauded for creating the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), an advisory body that's created a long-term vision for our infrastructure needs, and has been created to hold the government of the day accountable for its delivery against its own plans.
This was a brave decision, but ICE, along with many industry experts and the financial community, would call on this government, or future governments, to be braver and put the NIC on a statutory footing to ensure it can continue to provide independent expert advice and hold government accountable through the political cycles.
There are no shortages of challenges in delivering world-class infrastructure, however the report identifies a number of practical, achievable ways that the UK can make progress in delivering sustainable, resilient and affordable infrastructure for future generations.
State of the Nation 2018: Investment will launch on 18 October 2018.
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31 thoughts on "State of the Nation: what's the best way to pay for our infrastructure?"
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When fall is in the air, many of us flock to our local apple orchards to enjoy the crisp weather and pick our favorite fall fruit right from the tree.
It's easy to go a little overboard on your apple harvest when you're caught up in that fall feeling.
Try cooking up a few batches of these yummy treats and skip the part where you rack your brain trying to come up with ways to use all of your apples.
Nothing beats greeting the day with a freshly baked muffin—especially when that muffin packs a powerful dose of cannabis. Start your morning off right by nibbling on one of these medicated apple cinnamon muffins with your coffee.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or insert a paper liner into each cup.
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon.
Add remaining ingredients and stir until fully mixed.
Spoon batter into muffin tin. Bake for 19-23 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool for about five minutes before removing from pan.
More of a jam than a butter, this honey apple spread will kick your morning toast game up a notch. The best part: the fall-infused smell that takes over your kitchen while the flavors in this concoction get to know each other in your slow cooker.
First, wash and prep the apples. Peel, core, and cut into large chunks.
Put apples, infused honey, brown sugar, and spices in a large slow cooker. Stir until combined.
Cover, and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours. Remove the lid and stir. The apples should be very soft, and should mostly dissolve into the honey mixture when stirred.
For a smoother texture, use a blender (preferably an immersion blender) to puree the apple butter at this stage. Return to the slow cooker if removed for blending.
Cover and cook on high for 45-60 minutes, until it thickens and reaches your preferred consistency.
These dumplings dish out a whole lot of flavor and will evoke memories of Grandma's old timey cooking. It's not just the apple cinnamon pastry goodness that will knock your socks off--these dumplings are made by using cannabutter in two different parts of the recipe.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 13x9 inch baking pan, and set aside.
Roll out pie dough onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into six even sections (large enough to hold one apple). Divide cannabutter into eight equal amounts.
Place an apple in the center of each section of pie crust. Place one piece of cannabutter into the center of each apple (set aside the remaining butter). Sprinkle brown sugar on both the outside and inside of each apple. Sprinkle nutmeg and cinnamon over the tops of the apples.
Keeping fingertips slightly moist to prevent sticking, bring the edges of each pie crust section up to meet in the center and press together to seal the dough. Place each apple in the prepared baking dish.
Mix water, sugar, vanilla, and the remaining cannabutter in a saucepan. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil, and allow to cook for five minutes or until the sugar is entirely dissolved. Pour over the dumplings.
Bake for 55-60 minutes. Spoon sauce over the top of dumplings, and serve warm.
If you begin dreaming of sweet, buttery apple crisp as soon as the air starts to cool, this is the cannabis recipe for you. Created by The Weed Scene, this cannabis apple crisp will leave you feeling warm and cozy in both body and soul.
Preheat oven to 350. Spread apples evenly on a greased 13x9 inch baking dish.
In a small bowl, mix together flour (1 tablespoon), white sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle on apples, and pour water over the top.
In a large bowl, mix oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, remaining flour, cannabutter, and tincture. Stir until fully combined, and spread the mixture evenly over the apples.
Bake for 45 minutes, and serve warm. Top with ice cream (optional).
This classic recipe from Edibles Magazine is the grownup version of your favorite fair snack. Top with nuts or drizzle with chocolate for additional flavor.
In a large saucepan, mix heavy cream, sugar, corn syrup, and cannabutter. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously until the sugar has fully dissolved. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove caramel sauce from heat, and stir in vanilla and salt. Dip each apple twice, and set on parchment paper. Cover and refrigerate for at least eight hours.


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← To Jayasuriya, or not Jayasuriya?
Bowled Over! Sri Lanka's 1996 Cricket World Cup winning outfit rated amongst top 50 most entertaining teams by UK's Daily Mail →
Jayawardene has a sound message for Sri Lankan selectors
Trevor Chesterfield
Courtesy of the Island at http://www.islandcricket.lk/columnist/trevor_chesterfield
Mahela Jayawardene may have scored a few centuries in his lifetime but the innings of 110 against Kolkata Knight Riders in that maelstrom of frenetic spectator activity, Eden Gardens, has a double message for Ashantha de Mel's selection coterie.
Mahela on eastern coast with tsunami relief lorry, early 2005, Photo by Charlie Austin
Dropped, although 'rested' seems to be the preferred term these days, for the previous Indian Premier League game for Kings XI Punjab against Bangalore Royal Challengers in Mohali, and with the side moving on to the West Bengali capital, Kolkata, there was the impression Jayawardene had been working on his game plan to sort out a few bugs in the batting technique. It happens when you play too often in this format and where technique needs some adjustment and thinking reappraised.
It is not so much about pitch conditions but fluency and style as well as consistency; even selectors with a modicum of knowledge about the game at this high-pressured level should know this but seemingly all too often ignore the signs. As Sachin Tendulkar has regularly shown for the Mumbai Indians and India for that matter, along with South African Jacques Kallis for the Royal Challengers, there is no substitute at any level of the game for classic skills, class and consistency.
In Jayawardene's case, his batting CV is full of such milestones but too often these are ignored by whoever is pushing whatever agenda they are pursing in the national side when it comes to batting strategy. Now closing in on 33 years, Jayawardene is at the peak of his batting powers and despite unjust criticisms, anyone with a Test and first-class batting average in the 50s is world-class.
While his ODI average is probably, even by his modest comments, ten less than he would like the current level of 32.47 to be, he still has 12 centuries at limited overs international level, supported by 52 half centuries, and for anyone looking at such statistics would, in all fairness agree they are of a modest nature for a batsman of his class. But when it comes to the shorter format, it is all about where you bat in an innings; this is especially noted in the T20 format.
Jayawardene has long been batting out of his natural place in the order, whether domestically or internationally. He should be entrusted, as has Tendulkar with the opening berth in the 50 overs level or the T20 format where he can use his silky skills to fuller effect than having to bat at four or five. It was noted last year when playing for Wayamba in the Champions League, and also in the domestic provincial T20 that he was poorly used. In the domestic final, he scored match-winning 91.
For the Kings XI on Sunday, pulled as a late replacement due to an injury to Shaun Marsh, he put together an immaculate innings of power, precision, timing and it was cricket, not the slogging you so often see: Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden these days are your typical example of how such quality batsmen in their day in the Test and ODI arena are applying shots that might attract rock 'n roll mentality environment with foolish experiments such as the mongoose bat that sounds nasty, but is unable to tame the cobra bowling tactics.
In the IPL it is all about consistency, about how players know their game and how to utilise the field as well as the conditions. Opening the batting as he did on Sunday for the Kings XI, minus the team's personal cheerleader, the often feisty but gracious personality Preity Zinta with her charismatic smile that is not your Bollywood masquerade type features, Jayawardene worked the field as he wanted. He was in a position he is best suited for, where he could test the outfield conditions, and know what areas to hit the ball for maximum effect.
It was not all top-hand or bottom hand but clean hitting, He is a wristy player and was looking at home with what he was doing; no fancy tricks of the scoop shot, or the Marillier paddle, old-fashioned hoik in the direction of 'cow's corner'. He doesn't need to indulge in such nonsense. He is scoring his runs as he best knows how, as do Tendulkar and Kallis.
Filed under IPL, performance, player selections


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