Winamop has published my short story 'Schopenhauer,' which is about German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. This is the description on the website: 'Simon King. writes stories based on the lives of famous historical figures. This time he visits the life of German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) who appears to be slightly irascible.'
Part two from Fifteen Characters: Volume Two.
http://www.winamop.com/sk2300.htm
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/20/martin-amis-dead-age-73-esophageal-cancer/?fbclid=IwAR2dYpRI-Wcbpj7E_bKky9hBN9KlyeScd9-NceMSItCubZzicC8giMN01y0
Oh!
New acquisitions.
Two t-shirts: A t-shirt of The Fall and a t-shirt of Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band.
The Fall and Captain Beefheart are my two favourite rock groups, so I thought that I'd buy their t-shirts. The Fall-themed t-shirt has the album 'Perverted by Language' printed on it and the Beefheart one has the album 'Safe as Milk' printed on it. 👍
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65898867.amp?fbclid=IwAR1JMJfg4JQ3bh_P5C3_BCoulfQySYNXUtarBtqX8FtCi5hm8snQuEpXWfg
Oh!
New acquisitions. 1/2 🙂
Three books: Timaeus and Critias by Plato, The Symposium by Plato and Einstein: His Life and Universe.
Two CDs: Symphony No. 6: Pathetique and Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Piano Concerto No. 2 by Johannes Brahms.
One record: High and Low Down by Lightnin'Slim.
I've read some Plato dialogues in the past, but I thought that I could do with reading more.
Einstein was an interesting figure because, unlike many other scientists, he was not collaborative. He would spend most of his time on his own thinking about the details about general relativity or whatever. I bought a biography so as to find out more about his colourful life.
I've looked into classical music a lot in the past. Tchaikovsky and Brahms are very big names... I've not really heard much of their music before, so I bought these CDs.
Lightnin' Slim was one of the performers of rhythm and blues back in the 50s. He's not as remembered as Howlin' Wolf or Muddy Waters, but he's just as good.
New acquisitions. 2/2 🙂
Seven DVDs: Brief Encounter by David Lean, Dr. Zhivago by David Lean, Wild Strawberries by Ingmar Bergman, Persona by Ingmar Bergman, Tales of the Four Seasons by Eric Rohmer, Hannah and her Sisters by Woody Allen and Fargo by Coen Brothers.
Fifteen Characters: Volume Two.
This is one of two books that I'm working on at the moment. The other one is a novel - the cover is not ready for that one yet...
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Adolf Hitler
Arthur Schopenhauer
Albert Einstein
Bela Bartok
Jean Sibelius
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Honore de Balzac
Blind Willie Johnson
Phidias
Peter Cook
Arius
Klemens von Metternich
Gavrilo Princip
Ted Kaczynski
I do not condone genocide or terrorism.
New acquisitions. 1/2
Two books: The Art of Happiness by Epicurus and John Stuart Mill: Victorian Firebrand by Richard Reeves.
Not many of Epicurus' writings survive, as many ancient libraries containing thousands of goodies were burned down. This book gathers what remains of his writings. Epicurus emphasised the pursuit of happiness, unlike the Stoics and Cynics who emphasised virtue and citizenship. In many ways, he was a prototypical liberal. Also, Karl Marx wrote his doctoral dissertation about him (because they were both materialists...)
'On Liberty' is one of my favourite books... It's a gripping read, possibly because he wrote it for a general audience, not academia... Mill was a fascinating thinker, so I thought that I should read this biography about him... Plus, there's a lot of 19th century history in this book, which is also good. 👍
New acquisitions. 2/2
Five CDs: Images/Nocturnes by Claude Debussy/Orchestra Symphonique de Montreal, Chamber Music by Maurice Ravel, Chamber Music by Iannis Xenakis/Arditti String Quartet/Claude Helffer, Spillane by John Zorn and Paris 1919 by John Cale.
New acquisitions. 🙂
Six CDs: String Quartets Nos. 10, 11 and 12 by Dmitry Shostakovich/Eder Quartet, Symphony No. 4 by Dmitry Shostakovich/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Etudes: Books 1 and 2 by Gyorgy Ligeti/Idol Biret, Brown Rice by Don Cherry, Orient by Don Cherry and Live in Sevilla: 2000 by John Zorn/Masada.
New acquisitions. :)
Two books: Why I am a Liberal by William Beveridge and The Constitution of Liberty by Friederich Hayek.
William Beveridge published the ‘Beveridge Report’ in 1942, which sold thousands of copies. It was essential in helping to build the welfare state in the UK after WWII. He wanted the state to help address ‘want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness.’ It formed the basis for the expansion of the welfare state and the creation of the national health service.
Many people assumed that Beveridge was a socialist, but he identified as a liberal. John Maynard Keynes, a big influence on Labour’s policies on ‘demand management’ and ‘full employment,’ also identified as a liberal. In this book, Beveridge explains why he is a liberal. This is a rare book and I struggled to find a copy. I found a copy for £22. It is from 1945, the date in which it was published, and this copy was a library book.
Friedrich Hayek published ‘On the Road to Serfdom’ in 1944 and, like the Beveridge Report, also sold a lot of copies. Hayek was a strident critic of economic planning. He argued that central planners can never have allocate resources efficiently because they do not have knowledge of what consumers want or desire. The price system, which carries information throughout the economy, involves individuals freely making choices. Central planning involves a collective body imposing its values on society whilst the market is made up of individuals, with different values, making choices. Hayek argued that central planning is inefficient, but he also thought that it is also morally reprehensible because it undermines individual human dignity.
Anyway, this book, ‘The Constitution of Liberty,’ has a postscript called ‘Why I am not a Conservative.’ Many people assumed that Hayek was a conservative, but he identified as a liberal. He thought that conservativism encroached on innovation, progress and change.
Anyway, I thought that it would be interesting to see two liberals give reasons as to why they are liberals. Beveridge is closer to the left of the spectrum (‘social liberalism’) and Hayek is on the right (‘classical liberalism’), but I am sure they agreed on many things.
New acquisitions. 🙂
Three postcards: A postcard of Fyodor Dostoevsky, a postcard of Franz Kafka and a postcard of William Faulkner.
I've bought some postcards of some of my favourite writers. I devoured their books when I was a teenager (best time to read them, really).
New acquisitions. 🙂
Six DVDs: Nosferatu by F. W. Murnau, Faust by F. W. Murnau, Paths of Glory by Stanley Kubrick, Barry Lyndon by Stanley Kubrick, The Piano Teacher by Michael Haneke and The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke.
A picture of my flat.
New acquisitions.
10 bricks
3 boards
I had a whole pile of unread books lying in the living room. A lot of of them were inaccessible because they were buried at the bottom. I thought that I could arrange them in a better way. I asked my dad if he had bricks and boards, so I've put them to good use. They look way better now.
Part one from a forthcoming book called Fifteen Characters: Volume Two.
The Realschule in Linz harboured
some capable students, alongside some rather mediocre ones. Nonetheless, it was
a place in which young adults hoped to advance their respective aspirations.
Alas, when one is aged sixteen, seventeen or eighteen one might not harbour any
aspirations at all but, nonetheless, these young adults were shunted to
Realshule in Linz despite their adolescent apathy.
The
canteen had been completely deserted for everyone, expect for two students. Seven
long tables occupied the entire room, with seven long chairs placed directly
beneath them. The walls were drab and grey. All the other students had already
eaten except for two.
Ludwig Witgenstein had
rather timorously moved his tray to the corner of the room. He ate his beef,
cabbages and other assorted vegetables. He had had better meals than this with
his wealthy family. but he would have to make ado with what the Realshcule offered.
Witgenstein had piercing eyes, a jutting jaw and a long nose. He devoured his
meal, but he was interrupted by the presence of another student who had taken
his seat directly in front of him.
He looked up. This
student had black eyes, short black hair and an arrogant countenance. He
stirred his beef with his fork. ‘Are you a Jew?’ he asked.
Wittgenstein was taken
aback by this question. Yes, had endured anti-semitic taunting multiple times
in the past, but it was nonetheless annoying to be reminded of it once more.
‘Yes…’ he replied, as he looked at the table, nervously gripping his fork and
knife.
‘And you are wealthy?’
‘Yes…’ he cautiously
replied. His father owned a monopoly on Austrian steel. They owned thirteen
mansions in Vienna alone.
‘Why do the other boys
make fun of you?’
‘Because…’ Wittgenstein
prevaricated. ‘Because I have been put forward a year… Because I am very
clever… I am interested in philosophy, music, history, politics… Because I am
not like them… Also, because….’
‘Because you are
Jewish?’ asked the young Hitler.
‘Yes… But that is
neither here nor there… That is just one aspect of what who I am… I am
interested in ideas and art… Look, I am reading this book right now… I hope to
write something like this one day…’
Wittgenstein took the
book out of his bag. It was a copy of The World as Will and Representation
by Arthur Schopenhauer. ‘I have read it multiple times and I have annotated it
endlessly… I am fascinated by his arguments… How reality is appearance… How the
world is made up of irrational energy… How art is a temporary release from this
world… How painting is a representation of reality as appearance… How the
ascetic rejects the suffering of the world by taking control of his own
volition.’ Wittgenstein started stammering and shaking as he said this.
‘Are you getting
nervous?’ Hitler asked.
‘Yes,’ Wittgenstein as
he put down his fork and knife and continued to shake.
‘Well, are you keen on
philosophy?’ Hitler asked.
‘Yes,’ Wittgenstein
replied, as he wiped the sweat off his brow.
‘Are you keen on
music?’ Hitler asked.
‘Yes…’
‘Well, I like Wagner…
Perhaps we could go together to see a performance of Tristan and Isolde.’
‘Yes, that would be
good,’ Wittgenstein said. ‘Are you a year below me?’
‘No, you are wrong… We
are both the same age… You have been put forward a year whilst I have been held
back a year… We are the same age.’
Wittgenstein continued
to feel nervous and shook. ‘Oh…’ he mumbled.
‘Yes, I like Wagner,’
Hitler continued. ‘I like art because I think that it is an assertion of the
national German spirit…’
‘The German spirit?’
Wittgenstein asked.
‘Oh yes… I cannot stand
the Habsburg monarchy… It is a degenerate, debased, crumbling institution… I
would rather that it all came crumbling down… So as to assert a common Germanic
spirit.’ As he said this, his eyes lit up and his arms waved around.
‘Well… The Habsurg
empire has been in decline for a long time, but… will it rise up again?’
Wittgenstein tentatively said.
‘No… But I do not care…
It will burn to the ground for all I care… I want Germany to expand… to… to
assert itself… Bismarck did not go far enough. The whole of the Haburg empire
should have been swallowed up a united Germany,’ Hitler asserted.
‘That is a naïve view…
The Habsurg monarchy had been more powerful than Prussia for a long time,’
Wittgenstein said.
‘I do not care… I have
developed my views… of… of German nationalism… I have read Fichte… Anyway,
politics is tangential… I want to be a painter…’ Hitler asserted, banging the
table with his fists.
‘Are you good?’
Wittgenstein shyly asked.
‘You bet, but my father
does not think so… That is why he sent me to this academy… He wants me to be a
bureaucrat, but I want to be a great artist… My father died recently… My grades
have deteriorated… But I do not care… I will be a great artist.’ He said,
looking directly at Wittgenstein.
‘So you have been held
back a year?’ Wittgenstein asked.
‘Yes, I failed my maths
exam multiple times… Otherwise, we would be in the same year,’ Hitler asserted.
‘Fancy that…’
‘Listen, Ludwig,’
Hitler continued. ‘You are a clever chap, you are Jewish, you come from an
exceedingly talented background… Yet…’ Hitler said, raising his arms and
looking directly at him.
‘Yet?’ Wittgenstein
replied, nervously darting his eyes around the room.
‘You will come to see
Wagner with me on Saturday…’ Hitler said.
‘Well…’ Wittgenstein
once more prevaricated. ‘Well… I have to study formal logic that day… I am
working with my tutor… I also want to brush up on calculus… And finish reading
Kant’s Critique of Practical Reason…’
‘Well, sod off then you
filthy Jew,’ Hilter exclaimed, as he took his food tray with him.
Wittgenstein finished
his meat off. His empty plate stood in front of him. The large canteen was also
completely empty. He sat alone for a further five minutes, ruminating on the
strange exchange which just occurred. He took his empty food tray and left the
canteen.
