The Adventures of the Errant Aesthete
Dear Readers,
An adventure is afoot for the Errant Aesthete which may result in a dereliction of my duties. In my exuberant quest to savor every tantalizing moment of what is to come, you may find that the posts over the next few weeks will be intermittent, infrequent, and on occasion, noticeably missing altogether. I ask your indulgence in permitting me this respite that will include travels to an exotic land of temples, beaches, brass chimes, Buddhas and elephants.
It will be interesting to view the world from another perspective and I hope to share as much of it as I can with you in the new feature I’ve added to the sidebar — Adventures of the Errant Aesthete. I hope you’ll join me and I hope the WIFI Gods in that part of the world will smile on our efforts.
The Errant Aesthete
Dear Readers,
Sadly, my wanderlust was tempered with the illness and subsequent death of my beloved little Diesel. Yet, my adventurous soul sister, whom I affectionately call Sister Magdalene for her scandalous addictions and wayward pursuits is currently in Nepal doing charitable work for a small Himalayan orphanage. {Throughout history, the perfect protagonist is without fail, part sinner, part saint}.
In one of her first nights out “on the town,” she found herself in a restaurant drinking the local vodka in a stream poured directly into her mouth from a brass tea pot provided by the accommodating waiter standing ready at her beck and call. Her posts, while few, {who could, after all, tear themselves away from all that delicious debauchery?} are filled with optimism and compassion and I include bit and pieces here.
“As usual, your eloquence overwhelms me. I am so sorry for your great sadness in losing Deisel. He was a huge part of your life and will always be. That part never changes. I am so very sad for you. Our lives are all so short. You are so lucky to have had him in your life for so long and to know what it is like to totally love another being.
You’re missed here. I so wish you could have come. I’m staying with fabulous people at the most interesting hotel. Yes, the power goes out regularly, but we all gather on the terrace courtyard with candles and wine and talk till the wee hours. There are so many interesting people in this world and the vast majority are not from the U.S. You would fall in love many times. Several nights we move the tables from the restaurant and sit out under the stars for dinner. Some of the guests cook and we laugh and get a little drunk.
All this fun contrasts with the work most are doing to help this country out. I’ve learned so much. I think the way to go is to start an NGO. The street kids are pathetic. Oliver Twist with Fagan running the gangs. They don’t have shoes and only the food they can steal. I bought some shoes and they were taken and sold from them. Nima and many have no hope for them and think the damage is done. Even so they deserve a safe place to sleep. They literally sleep with the dogs and scavenge the garbage together. Many on sniffing glue, as little as around 5yrs. These gang leaders supply it. These bad men offer them the only refuge. I’m ready. How about it!
So here I am in an internet cafe, 50 rps per hour. I’m on a roll because I don’t know when the power will fail. Please consider coming here with me. We’ll throw some pleasure in with the work. You will be so happy.
I voted at the embassy. Another story!
I’ll be home on the 12th of Nov. Please email me. When I can get to a computer, I really like touching home.
Love,
I got to your blog via a love for kimono. From vintage kimono to house of culture to here. The one thing I must say is that if you do no more than introduce me to the phots of Lars Van De Goor, then you have done enough for me. Thank you. In return, take a look at Kagedo museum if you enjoy Japanese art. I look at Hasui prints online as well, and you may or may not have heard of him and his prints. If not, enjoy.
Casey,
Many thanks for your comments. I am inspired by Hasui and will do a feature on his prints in the near future. Thank you for the suggestion. In looking over his work, I realized only now that several years ago, I was sending out greeting cards of his “Snow at Shinobazu Benten Shrine.” People always commented on it. There is something so soothing and tranquil in his work.
You might also want to take a look at a previous post – ‘Visual Haiku’ and the work of Yamamoto Maseo – http://theerrantaesthete.com/2009/01/30/visual-haiku/
As for Lars Van De Goor, he is a master and I am more than happy to promote his work. For the uninitiated, his work is featured on the side bar under TROUVÉE.