You know, it hasn't been easy here at Fort Solor, in my self-imposed exile in the
Torre de Keating, with only the annual dispatches from Lisbon, the nervy security forecasts of Lt Amilcar, and six utterly incomprehensible Mirandese foot soldiers for company. So bugger it, I'm setting sail, solo - south to Luca Antara, following the last known voyage of Eredia.
What will I find? Who knows, but I'm travelling with a shitload of ill-bootten gotty: DVDs and books mainly.
So, its ahoy and
bemvindo to O Capitão's
Caravel de Cultura. I've decided to turn this blog into a seaborne semi-diary of random cultural notes: primarily on books I'm reading, and films I've been watching. Partly because I tend to quickly forget films I've watched, I feel like I should start keeping records.
Beware, marinheiros, the seas ahead could be choppy, or dull and placid. I have no idea. Frankly, I can't promise we'll see land. But anyone who sails with me on
BmL shall be my brother (and/or sister); be s/he ne'er so vile! etc...
Ill be back later with the first shipment.
Update:
Yeah, so, like, a few notes. Any thoughts, comments, logical next steps welcome, as I piece together Western civilization and modernity, artefact by artefact, in a ill-informed way.
Lately, I has been mostly been.... putting a newborn to sleep, frankly. But in between:
Livros e Revistas: Thought I'd revisit Robert Graves
Goodbye to all That, which Ive not read since my teens. Erudition, and the compelling first hand accounts of WW1. Its a powerful combo. Recently I finished Matthew Condon's
Brisbane, which would probably be more exciting if you weren't already a keen student of that city's history, like your humble Capitão. I read Henry Miller's
Tropic of Cancer for the first time recently, and while I sensed the genius, it was all a bit overtaken by the genre (he had no doubt created) subsequently becoming more respectable and commonplace. I found myself a bit whelmed - although there were quite a few passages of great genius, and I loved the character van Norden. I also resubscribed to
London Review of Books after a long hiatus.
Filmes e DVDs: Its been
Robert Bresson season round 'ere at Chez Caravel. Is there any director who knew better how to pace a story?
A Man Escaped (aka
Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut) must be the best prison escape drama ever;
Pickpocket is impossible to turn way from, and his famous Joan of Arc (script based on the trial records) is also a cracker. Frankly, French 'old wave' was the go. This guy was a master.
