An Enlargement of a Photograph… or an Enlargement of Mind.
Hi dear friends. I hope you’re all good and well and tuned. Oops! It looks like I’m writing a letter to you 😁 Of course, I have no intention of writing a letter, I’m just a little confused, It seems I am doing mostly something else as I have thought to want to do!!
It might be also caused by a problem, which I have got since a week ago about my limited action on the WP.
You know; I must confess that I am as a guest-writer here, it means that I use this site in no charge. It is, of course, a very kind act by the WP to let me and the same as me, to be allowed to work and write their thoughts without paying and it is as it expected, limited version.
Therefore, and at the same time surprisingly, the warning comes to tell that; you have reached your limit! And of course, I respectfully accept it (with considering deleting some old posts as suggested)
Anyway, what can one expect from an old poor retired man? Nothing I think, just forgiveness and let him do calm his soul by sharing it with you good friends. 🙏💖
Now let’s go in the very past; from the time as life has begun, I would it recall; The end of ’60s. And with this old but very interesting movie; the Blow-up by Michelangelo Antonioni http://Search Results Web results Michelangelo Antonioni – Wikipedia and his first English-speaking movie.
I have watched this last weekend, after about forty-five years, oh yes; I have seen it in Iran those days though it was censored partly but anyhow it was an unbelievable occasion to see it! In fact, there were many opportunities in Shah’s time to do, one should only know that!
Now on this movie; of course, Antonioni is famous enough as a great movie-maker and he has made a lot of fascinating pieces in the history of cinema, but in this one, he has a message which he shows it at the end of the movie; fully noticed; the enlargement of the mind.
A miniature of Nizami‘s narrative poem. Layla and Majnun meet for the last time before their deaths. Both have fainted and Majnun’s elderly messenger attempts to revive Layla while wild animals protect the pair from unwelcome intruders. Late 16th-century illustration. via Wikipedia,
Layla and Majnun is a very old Persian story about two unfortunate lovers as in this video will be explained; it might be compared with W. Shakespeare’s drama Romeo and Juliet. But it seems that it is a never-ending story, it works itself out into the modern times. 😉🤗
The story of Eric Clapton and “Layla” has always bothered me because to understand it is to understand how fallible and crazed any of us can be when it comes to love. We understand that our rock gods are human, but there’s something about Clapton falling in love with the wife (Pattie Boyd) of one of his best mates (George Harrison, a freakin’ Beatle, man!) and then writing a whole album about it, that is just unsettling. Is this something tawdry writ epic? Or is this something epic that has the wafting aroma of tawdriness?
Polyphonic takes on the behind the scenes story of this rock masterpiece and rewinds several centuries to the source of Layla’s name: “Layla and Majnun,” a romantic poem from 12th century Persian poet Niẓāmi Ganjavi based on an actual woman from the 6th Century who drove her poet paramour mad. Lord Byron called the tragic poem “The Romeo and Juliet of the East,” as unrequited love leaves both Majnun and Layla dead after the latter’s father forbids her to be with the poet.
Eric Clapton heard of the poem from his Sufi friend Abdalqadir as-Sufi (formerly Ian Dallas), and so when he wrote a slow ballad about his unrequited love for Patti, “Layla” made perfect sense as a name.
The song might have stayed a ballad–think of Clapton’s slowed down version from his MTV “Unplugged” special–if it wasn’t for Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers. The two had yet to meet, but were aware of each other. Allman had grabbed Clapton’s attention with his fiery solo work at the end of Wilson Pickett’s cover of “Hey Jude”:
When Clapton and Allman did meet, the two set to jamming and Allman made the history-changing decision to speed up Clapton’s ballad and use a riff taken from Albert King. “Layla” was born. Allman’s bottleneck slide style met Clapton’s string bending, and the track is a conversation between the two, where no words are needed.
“It’s in the tip of their fingers,” says engineer Tom Dowd, listening to the isolated tracks in the video below. “It’s not in a knob, it’s not in how loud they play, it’s touch.
Over this, Clapton delivers his desperate lyrics, sung by a man at his wits end, much like Majnun of the poem.
And then, that coda, which takes up half the song. Drummer Jim Gordon was working on the piano piece for a solo album in secret. When Clapton discovered Gordon was recording on the sly, he wasn’t angry. Instead he insisted it be added to the end of the rocking first half. The song is a perfect balance between frantic rock and romantic ballad.
But in the real world, “Layla” didn’t do the job. Clapton played the album for Pattie Boyd three weeks later, and though she understood its beauty, Boyd was embarrassed by its message.
“I couldn’t believe I was the inspiration for putting this together,” she said in an interview. “I didn’t want this to happen.” She was also mortified thinking that everybody would know exactly who “Layla” was about.
“It didn’t work,” Clapton recalled. “It was all for nothing.”
The song was a flop in the charts, especially as it was cut in half for the single. It would find its audience three years later when the full version appeared on both a Clapton anthology and a best of collection of Duane Allman’s work. Finally it rocketed up the charts, and it’s kind of stayed in classic rock playlists ever since.
And as for Boyd, she actually did leave George Harrison in 1974 to marry Clapton in 1979, a marriage that lasted 10 years. Not all marriages last. The original flame dies out. It’s just that, in “Layla”‘s case, the flame is there every time the needle drops into the groove.
To put it bluntly, I am a totally introvert! Really, I tell you; I am at home from May 1st, the time when I become retired since then I have been just one time out in the city for buying my stuff which I normally needed and never again. And I feel good!! 😉😁
Though we can’t avoid of Psychology transference and Unio Mystica, that comes actually from my birth region, means to me; a union between Ego and my soul, between Anima and Animus; and with the help of my intuition, I will get to know my collective unconscious.
Ego and its thinking function questioning the Cosmic Sea : …” immortality cannot be the object of experience, hence there is no argument either for or against. But immortality as an experience of feeling is rather different. A feeling is as indisputable a reality as the existence of an idea, and can be experienced to exactly the same degree. On many occasions I have observed that the spontaneous manifestations of the Self, i.e., the appearance of certain symbols relating thereto, bring with them something of the timelessness of the unconscious which expresses itself in a feeling of eternity or immortality. Such experiences can be extraordinarily impressive… [The] paradox, however, offers the possibility of an intuitive and emotional experience, because the unity of the Self, unknowable and incomprehensible, irradiates even the sphere of our discriminating, and hence divided, consciousness, and, like all unconscious contents, does so with very powerful effects. This inner unity, or experience of unity, is expressed most forcibly by the mystics in the idea of the unio mystica , and above all in the philosophies and religions of India, in Chinese Taoism, and in the Zen Buddhism of Japan. From the point of view of psychology, the names we give to the Self are quite irrelevant, and so is the question of whether or not it is “real.” Its psychological reality is enough for all practical purposes. The intellect is incapable of knowing anything beyond that anyway, and therefore its Pilate-like questionings are devoid of meaning.” C.G. Jung, Psychology of the Transference
I’m trying to share this post since last Wednesday but WP tells me permanently that my limit is overfilled! Let me try it again 😉
Anyway, Here is a clip in which these two great dancers shows that being aged is not a matter at all.
There is something about being a pensioner!! 😮🤤
It’s nice to see that somebody sent me this video to give me a kick, and it works 😉😂👇👇🙏💖
The last days I am doing mostly Household work! Sometimes it is really surprising to see something that you haven’t seen so long time but still there waiting!! 😳😊 Have a nice Sunday and a good week ahead 👍💖🤗
The paintings of contemporary Italian artist Agostino Arrivabene are grounded in the techniques of the Old Masters and inhabit the timeless realm of dreams and mythological, religious archetypes. Against a backdrop of either luminous darkness or apocalyptic landscape, figures that have haunted the collective unconscious for centuries or longer, Orpheus, Lucifer, Elizabeth Bathory, Persephone, enact sacred ritual dramas. Among the memento mori lie the possibility of transformation and metamorphosis; an actualisation of becoming.
Arrivabene cites as influences the Symbolist Gustave Moreau, the master of the Northern Renaissance Albrecht Dürer and the Neo-Baroque/Kitsch artist Odd Nerdrum. Also discernible are traces of Max Ernst’s eroding mineral frottage derived inscapes, Giger‘s spectacular visceral transfigurations and Blake‘s sheer burning visionary intensity. In keeping with the Symbolist tendency towards drawing inspiration from literature elements of Ovid, Dante and Giordano Bruno are included within the occult and occasionally infernal worlds…
How long had we been looking forward to May 4th, the day of the lockdown ease in Italy? Two months. A long time indeed. What shall I remember most of this period? The singing on the balcony every evening at 6.00pm right after watching the daily bulletin of Covid-19 victims or the frightening number on my scale as the result the absurd amount of food I have swallowed in these months, mostly carbs – and I can distictly see them all deposited right here 😱- ? Now that I am thinking about it, I have to say that my time has been spent in the company of screens mostly, whether it was that for smart working/on line lessons or the tv screen. I have watched the 200 and more episodes of “How I met your mother” (brilliant), four seasons of “How to get away with murder” (super), “Unorthodox”(great), 3 seasons…
Statuary group of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy Cairo Egyptian Museum – ref. GM 610
Here they are; The godlike giants of ancient Egypt and how the mortal man had to gather all pieces together!! A fascinating description of the heritage from one of the greatest mystery of our past.
“”Amenhotep III and his wife Tiyi are seated side by side and, being very “singular”, the queen has been represented in the same size as pharaoh. This attests to the importance she had acquired, not only on a personal level but also at the “political” level.””
The “new” Museum of Egyptian Antiquities “in Kasr-el-Nile Tahrir Square, a building in the Western neoclassical style, was officially inaugurated on November 15, 1902, by the Khedive Abbas Hilmi.
Gaston Maspero managed to publish the first version of the Visitor’s Guide at the Cairo Museum in due course. He takes care to specify that its development is not yet finished and that, in particular, “the decor of the central atrium is not complete. This is where the heaviest and largest must appear of our monuments, the colossi from various points in Egypt, the fragments of obelisks, the pyramids, but many of these heavy pieces have not yet arrived in Cairo and they are waiting among the ruins for the Service to have the necessary resources to remove them ”…
Four years later, in letters addressed to his wife Louise, dated June 21 and June 28, 1908, respectively, Maspero thus mentions the installation of the statuary group of Amenhotep III and Tiyi (reference: GM 610) who sits enthroned – for almost 110 years now – in the central atrium: “Tomorrow, we are setting up the feet of the colossal group in the Central Atrium: This will be the last novelty for this year.” Then a week later: “Fortunately, work is progressing, and I think that the colossus can be finished before my departure. He went up to the knees, and now we’re going to attack the bodies and the heads. Brugsch and Daressy declare that he will not be well, that he is in too many pieces: we let them say and we go ahead, a little later, they will tell that they had the idea, that ‘they wanted to do everything, but Barsanti and I spoiled the work by mixing it up. It’s always the same comedy. “
Statuary group of Amenhotep III, Queen Tiye and three of their daughters Cairo Egyptian Museum – ref. GM 610
We can well imagine the atmosphere in which was “reassembled this group of more than 7 m high, magnificently sculpted in limestone”. And if the business was certainly very complicated, we can only recognize its success!
This group, as been discovered very damaged, comes from the west bank of Thebes: its – or theirs – “discoverer (s)” as well as the place of its discovery are thus indicated to us.
In an article published in 2011, in ASAE n ° 85, Zahi Hawass, Abdel Ghaffar Wagdy and Mohamed Abdel Badea write “that it was found in Medinet Habu, near the Roman court, in 1859 by Auguste Mariette. When it was discovered many parts of the statue were missing and it was restored by filling in the gaps. “
Gaston Maspero said that it had been “discovered by Daressy in 1892, during the clearing of the temple of Medinet Habu” and that it was, on his orders, “brought to the Museum piece by piece by Daressy and by Baraize, from 1906 to 1908 “.
Temples of Thebes indication of where was found the statuary group of Amenhotep III and Tiye
As for the interpretation of David O’Connor and Eric H. Cline, in their book Amenhotep III: Perspectives on His Reign, it is very interesting because it parallels the context of current and “ancient” locations: “A double statue colossal limestone was found in the fields opposite the funerary temple of Aï – Horemheb (immediately north of Medinet Habou, probably the site of the great south door of the mortuary complex of Amenhotep). ”
Amenhotep III and his wife Tiyi are seated side by side and, being very “singular”, the queen has been represented in the same size as pharaoh. This attests to the importance she had acquired, not only on a personal level but also at the “political” level.
Tiyi was the daughter of Youya and Touya whom Pierre Tallet presents as follows: “Youya was originally from Akhmim in Middle Egypt and bore the titles of director of the royal stables and of the divine father; her mother Touya was “royal ornament” and singer of Amun “.
Memorial Beetle marriage of Amenhotep III and Tiye – Louvre Museum – 787 N
“The arrangements” for the marriage of Amenhotep III and Tiyi – which occurred in year II of the reign of the pharaoh – were inscribed on “a series of commemorative scarabs”.The titles which her parents gave her are numerous: “Noble Lady”, “Great Favorite”, “Great Royal Bride”, “Sovereign of the Two Lands”, “Who fills the palace with love”,… She was an influential sovereign, not only during the reign of her husband but also during that of her son, Amenophis IV – Akhenaton.
She wears a heavy and voluminous wig on which is placed a crown, a simple mortar. On its forehead are erected Ureus, symbolizing the double country. Her full face is serene, “the high cheekbones, almond-shaped eyes and curved eyebrows are typical of the period”. Her lips are well-drawn and hemmed. She is wearing a long, form-fitting dress that delicately sculpts her chest and reveals her thin waist. Her left-hand lies flat on her thigh while with her right arm she tenderly embraces her husband. Her thick feet are bare.
Statuary group of Amenhotep III, Queen Tiye and three of their daughters Cairo Egyptian Museum – ref. GM 610
Amenhotep III is capped with uraeus nemes. Her face – perfectly symmetrical – seems to be imbued with quiet strength. The cheeks are full, the almond-shaped eyes are surmounted by marked eyebrows. The nose is of an ideal proportion with slightly flat nostrils. The mouth with hemmed lips is sensual. The ears are worked with care. The false beard is streaked with horizontal bands sculpted in relief and leaves slightly flared.
Statuary group of Amenhotep III, Queen Tiye and three of their daughters Cairo Egyptian Museum – ref. GM 610
The couple is pictured with three of their daughters. They take place, standing, on the front of the seat, along the legs of their parents: one on the left, the other on the right and best preserved in the centre. The princesses “Henouttaneb, Nebetah and the third whose name is lost” are very small but they bring tenderness and “humanity” to this colossal group…
Thanks to them, this representation of the royal couple, frozen in their functions, also suggests a family story…
Amenhotep III et Tiyi du Musée du Caire : plus qu’une statue colossale, un groupe familial ! › Groupe statuaire d’Amenhotep III et de la reine Tiyi Musée égyptien du Caire – réf. GM 610 Le “nouveau” Musée des Antiqu…
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia that is often regarded as the earliest surviving great work of literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. Wikipedia
Yes, I am a retired pensioner person though, I’d never know what it really is! I mean; I have been feeling as an artist all through my life and I believe that an artist will never get retired, do they? why! there is always some ideas, something to create.
Of course, you might ask me that my job in the last almost 30 years could have nothing to do with the Arts and you might be right but, believe me, if you began your life with some kind of art in the society, you can’t leave it.
A nice welcome made by my adorable wife RENTE (Retirement) that every letter is the beginning of another word.
Yes, my destiny forced me to chose a job which I wasn’t really wanting it but a must to earn mony to survive, and I made of this dry, boring and trivial work an interesting one, a loving, caring and even intellectual kind of work, though, I tell you; in this business the word intelligence is a foreign word!
Anyway, I did my best and I can proudly say that some nice old people as my regular customers, will miss me 😉
Now let me tell you what I had done, or beter to say tried to do in Iran after Khomaynie regime closed down all the newspapers, you know, in that time in Iran, after so-called; Iranian Spring; in the Spring of 1979, in which at the beginning, we could touch a hint of freedom, the Mullah’s regime closed all the real and free newspapers, I have tried my talent on the stages. and I succeeded; played as an Ape; as you can see here, and I was also a Lion, a Bear, and a soldier. I got in the world of the theatre, just to keep being creative. and of course, it was an unforgettable time in my life
for ever ape!!
There I am, an Ape with something 😉 that is my time in (not Paris) but in Tehran, when I, and some experts, discovered my talent as an actor😁🤣 Here I must add that I was lucky to get a master of make-up to do this wonderful mask on my face. And it was an act for the children which we’ve played on the stage and also on the TV show.
I myself, as always carefully saying; being an artist, or at least being surrounded by the artists all through my life, tried to give my best, and I can not imagine someone can do this without the ability of creation.
here are other roles which I took over to play;
it surely needs your imagination for seeing me as a lyon 😂
The one at the right side The Bear!
as a soldier! the one who, I never can be
I must confess that I was actually always a musician. 😉🤗
introvert but no fear of the limelight 😉
“The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim. The critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things.”
Anyway, I was never in any position to work… and work it out… and get retired! In my life the work is the art, to create; the one is there to try to make it, not perfect but better, harmonically nice and beautiful… the feeling like; now I’m done! let’s… have a look 🤔😎
but you know what I mean; if somebody has something to do with a kind of arts and creations, can never be a pensioner.., there is nothing to stop; nobody can limit or control the imaginations, they are unlimited.
I think somehow; Fact doesn’t actually exist, just let the imagination run and never stop! 😊
With a great Thank to Laurent Tremblay
And there it is; an important question which still remains: the question of “How is it, to be Retired? Of course, it’s another story 😂😅 stay safe everyone 💖👍✌🙏💖
Lucifero-Agostino Arrivabene 1997 
lampmagician 
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