Eccentrics home and away

Hmm, it’s been a while since I’ve encountered some British originals. Somehow I think the guy I saw at the Soi 7 Beergarden was a French dude – he had the Asterix moustache after all. But who knows?

Lars (von) Trier

I have to see more of his films. When I was living in the US I had no desire to see Dogville – I was already living the story. And Breaking the Waves was painful to watch; so, it seems, would be Dancer in the Dark. But he, Wong Kar Wai and Tarantino are the only auteurs I can think of. I mean, who is Michael Mann and how is he any different from… uhh… Jerry Bruckheimer? I’m sure there are mainstream Hollywood pundits out there who can explain the subtle differences between the two (in fact, I’m having a hard time coming up with the names of more than 3-4 Hollywood directors), but I’m really not very interested as their movies are (to me) either forgettable or really boring.

A hero of China?

Evangelical Christianity seems to have a long history in China – see the Taiping Rebellion, in whose defeat Frederick Townsend Ward played a major part, fighting for the Manchu Dynasty.

Have you met C’Mell

A Midwesterner with significant ties to China. A scholar. And my favorite Science fiction author (along with Philip K. Dick, that is).

Here is the first story by him that I ever read, and it blew me away

In later centuries she brought disease, risk, and misery back to increase the happiness of man

More British originals

Another interesting character. England in the 30’s – 50’s was bubbling with them, if one only thinks of the Inklings (the many times I walked past the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford, little did I know its history!) A. O. Spare, Crowley, K. Grant seem to be their counterparts of sorts.

And by the way, Gerald B. Gardner wrote about kris in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society while he was living in Borneo. A fellow member, I might say!

Alan Watts

Hear him talk (podcasts available on iTunes) – deep Anglo voice, perhaps that of a Shakespearian actor, hints of a Continental upbringing with a New England tinge. What an interesting character, is he the link between Gurdjieff, Roerich, Burroughs, and the Beatles?

Meet the Greek/Irish/American/Japanese/…

Another extremely interesting character: Lafcadio Hearn. Hard to imagine that such people could live in the 19th century; there aren’t that many of them today, and Japan is one click away (or a 8 hour plane ride away), but back then…?

Retro modern redivivus

Interesting. I’m not sure about the ‘Raelian’ connection, but the guy seems to be genuinely respected in some design circles.

• the Zeitgeist Movement
• the Venus Project – maybe, this is how the US should have ended up looking by now, but perhaps it is not too late yet

Nice to see that people can still dream!

Models, right now

Some people whose work I like: — if it was not obvious from my posts already

• Thomas Crampton

… currently of Hong Kong

• Tyler Brule

… of Monocle

• Hjalmar Windbladh

…Reb(t)el entrepreneur 

• Richard Florida

…the guy behind Creative Class

The way it was going to be

Here.

Courtesy of www.Unknown.NU