War is the admission of defeat in the face of conflicting interests …
Germaine Greer, The Female Eunuch
.
The heart sings
ypography, another fascination of mine. Although it is one that I have been paying far too little attention to in recent years. I’m not entirely sure why. Perhaps I have been too preoccupied with work. Beauty is important though because it lifts the spirit. It really ought not to be neglected. Having begun to realise that I have been quite wrong to do so, I am all the more determined to make time for the contemplation and pursuit of beauty.
One thing that I truly delight in is beautiful lettering and typography, and so I was very excited when I discovered Jessica Hische’s beautiful site Daily Drop Cap, which features a plethora of illustrative initial caps that can be reproduced free of charge on non-commercial sites. I shall make good use of them on ‘Brief thoughts & quotes’ from now on.
By the way, I came across Jessica’s site on Nonsuch Book, a bibliophile blog that also alerted me to the fact that Jessica has been involved in the design of Penguin’s beautiful Drop Caps series, an example of which is shown below.
What can I say? The heart sings when it sees a book like this!
An edge that just breaks off
Sometimes you come to an edge that just breaks off.
Anne Carson, ‘The Anthropology of Water’, in Plainwater: Essays and Poetry
.
A Book of Sleep
In the process of setting up my new desktop PC I came across the wonderful ‘A Book of Sleep’ theme by Il Sung Na, which now graces my desktop. I also discovered this delightful video. Yes, it’s a children’s story, but so what! There’s nothing wrong with being young at heart, is there?
You have to watch this more than once. There’s more going on in this story than at first meets the eye. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the desktop theme is available here.
Of lovers, change and loneliness
Again from Germaine Greer, The Female Eunuch:
Loneliness is never more cruel than when it is felt in close propinquity with someone who has ceased to communicate.
… lovers who are free to change remain interesting.
.
Security is the denial of life
Security is when everything is settled, when nothing can happen to you; security is the denial of life.
Germaine Greer, The Female Eunuch
Karl Möller 