There's a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall,
And the bells in the steeple too,
And up in the nursery an absurd little bird
Is popping out to say "Cuckoo",
Cuckoo, cuckoo!

Regretfully they tell us
Cuckoo, cuckoo!
But firmly they compel us
Cuckoo, cuckoo!
To say goodbye . . .
Cuckoo!
.. . to you
.
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good night
I hate to go and leave this pretty sight

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu
Adieu, adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu
So long, farewell, au revoir, auf wiedersehen
I'd like to stay and taste my first champagne. . .

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye
I leave and heave a sigh and say goodbye - Goodbye!
I'm glad to go, I cannot tell a lie
I flit, I float, I fleetly flee, I fly

The sun has gone to bed and so must I

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. . .

Goodbye!

dolce far niente

(the sweetness of doing nothing)

Circe

(she's not doing nothing, she's busy being the daughter of the sun, a sorceress best known for her ability to turn men into animals with her magic wand and also renowned for her knowledge of magic and poisonous herbs)

Destiny

(she's not doing nothing, she's busy being a contemplative female at the center of an ambiguous allegorical scene, a beautiful woman staring into the distance; in front of her, an open book, behind her, a large circular mirror - which has an interesting compositional effect: it drastically limits the depth of the scene and blocks the view of the room and of the exterior natural space. . . however, it simultaneously serves as a sort of window because it shows a view of the world outside) (altho the scene seems straightforward, it is filled with inconsistencies and impossibilities and there are many spatial discrepancies - for example, a globe that is reflected in the mirror does not appear in the actual room! the image in the mirror is not realistic: it represents either an unknown future or more likely a vision experienced by the woman with the cup. . . the title of the work, "Destiny," supports this)

Psyche Opening The Golden Box

(she's not busy doing nothing, she's busy being the bride of Cupid and at the same time being seriously troubled. . . her mind seems full of doubts and dread as to whom she is sharing her life with - why can’t she ever see him? is he really a beast who, as her sisters have warned, will one night kill her in her sleep? here we see her with an enchanted vessel that Venus has ordered her to fetch from Proserpine, from which Psyche hopes to steal a bit of allure and thus regain the love of Cupid)

Circe Invidiosa

(she's not doing nothing, she's being a Victorian femme fatale and is in the act of posoining the water that her rival is bathing in. . .)

The Crystal Ball

(she's not doing nothing, she's busy with a crystal ball - crystal balls being used for the process of "seeing", known as "scrying": a magic practice that involves clairvoyance in a medium, usually for purposes of obtaining spiritual visions and more rarely for purposes of divination or fortune-telling. . .)

(no, I wasn't busy doing nothing; yes, I went to another exhibition! once again at the Royal Academy, but this time John William Waterhouse; as you know, I love the Pre-Raphaelites. . .)

you saw, he's sore, we all saw the

eyesore?

this evening The Teen and the other two and I all went up to town to a really interesting live art event. . .. . .which took place, on one day only, in the loading bay underneath the Royal Albert Hall

now, you may or may not know, but the RAH is a round building and we had to walk 360 degrees, ending up where we'd started, before we found the loading bay. . .

(. . .under these steps)

now, you may or may not think that graffiti is art*, but what we saw was very inspiring and quite beautiful

(it took - I believe - four days hard graft
by nine individuals to accomplish)

as the following indicates, by a graffer (graffiti artist) named EyeSaw. . .

(I think he was inspired by Rockwell, don't you?
strange, to think that Rockwell might have inspired graffiti, eh)

(*altho I'm not going to debate that here**
or start a discussion or argument. . .)

(**despite the label)

Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul,

to those who long for death that does not come,
who search for it more than for hidden treasure,
who are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave?
For sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water.
What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.
I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.

Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
Have the gates of death been shown to you?
What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?

Tell me, if you know all this.

JOB

Michael Landy

(not the piece from the RA Summer Exhibition,
but pretty similar)

Friday morning at the RA

(at the 241st summer exhibition) (to be exact)

as you walk into Burlington House. . .
.

. . .take a moment to admire your reflection in the silvery sculpture, which is set amongst the courtyard's fountains - notice that they reflect the pattern of the planets in relation to the stars at the birth of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the first president of the Royal Academy, on 16 July 1723. . .
.

. . .seat yourself comfortably in
Humprey Ocean's Love Chair. . .

. . .look up and admire one of
Donald Hamilton Fraser's
blood red skies. . .

. . .or perhaps it's a cloudy sky,
as frequently painted so sensitively by

Fred Cuming. . .

. . .when you're comfortable, pour yourself some tea from
Mary Fedden's Sleeping Cat. . .

. . .and perhaps help yourself to a slice of fruit

(-:

.
(of course, you could always just stick to the coffee and Crunchies) (X)

doctor! doctor!

give me the news. . .

so, having outgrown The Simpsons and Malcolm In The Middle, having seen Every Single Episode Ever Made of Futurama and South Park, not quite sharing my obsession for Frasier (altho still probably having seen ESEEM) but working their way thru all the available Scrubs, my three are now obsessed (yes, "obsessed" is the operative word) with House MD. . .
.

. . .let me indulge myself with some visual candy for a moment
.

hmmmmmmmmmm. . .

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. . .

(ok,
so that last one was just a shot of Cuddy's cleavage,
but there you go)

.
I think he is my perfect man
.

(of course, Niles still hits the tops spot really, I'm just a tad distracted in all honesty) (and, back to House, I can't help thinking that really the acting of the main character is just Laurie doing a very clever combination of Jeeves and Wooster) (just probably not being the operative word - the man is clearly very talented and has been for a long, long time)

anyhow, less of that
.

yesterday I went to the Royal Academy's 241st Summer Exhibition
.

(of which more later)

life's a bowl of

cherries. . .

(I knew that spittoon would come in useful!) (and of course there's coffee and Crunchies too) (and corn) (of the popping variety)

XXX