Conversation and Wine 1

Stockhausen

 Winamop has published my short story 'Stockhausen,' which is about composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Here's the description on the website: 'Simon King's last biographical story for us is about the renowned composer Stockhausen as he conducts an aerial performance.'

http://www.winamop.com/sk2005.htm

Part twelve of 'Fifteen Characters: Loners and Altruists.'

1818-1848 and 1945-2020: Peace and Social Discontent - Tenuous Connectio...

Hugh Gaitskell, The Third Reich, Constantine, C. XI and Jorge Luis Borge...

Ahoy Facebook #14

 Tenuous connections: there is a 'Viennese school' in economics and there is a Viennese school in music.

The Viennese school in economics is all about liberty. Indeed, economists like Hayek were pure liberals and vigorously defended the free market. The market left alone is the result of free human action and is therefore virtuous. He argued against the planned economy, state interventionism and against socialism. Churchill brandished a copy of one of his books during the 1945 election and claimed that the proposals made by the Labour party would require some sort of Gestapo to run it efficiently.

Meanwhile, the Viennese school in music is not all about liberty - it is quite planned and methodical. Arnold Schoenberg came up with 'the twelve-tone technique.' The twelve-tone technique orders the twelve tones of the chromatic scale in a row and the composer must adhere to it. Schoenberg tried to come up for a system for a type of music that wasn't in any particular key.

However, they are both similar in that they were both pro-progress. The Viennese school in economics was all about creating a dynamic economy that was always changing. Indeed, Hayek defined himself as a liberal and opposed conservatism. Meanwhile, the Viennese school in music was all about looking forward and about creating a new type of music. They didn't do it because they disliked Beethoven, Mozart etc., they did their music because they were progressives who wanted to create something new for the classical canon.

End of tenuous connections.

*****************

This is what I choose to do on a sunny Friday afternoon... I drink a beer... And I write an essay.... Hahahaha.

*****************

This is what I have been doing today: My father gave me these shelves, so I've filled them up with stuff. The larger shelf contains the following items: on the top left corner I have my bust of Ludwig van Beethoven and my bust of J. S. Bach; my pirated CD-rs; books I couldn't fit into the shelf; all of the non-fiction I've read; all of my records; the books that I'm going to read next (primarily non-fiction); and all of my DVDs. The shelf next to this one contains all of my non-pirated CDs.

*****************

New acquisitions.

Four books: an introduction to particle physics, a book about the Roman emperor Constantine, a book about the Byzantine empire and a book about the glorious revolution.

Four DVDs: Black Narcissus, I Known Where I am Going, The Red Shoes and Peeping Tom by Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger.

Two CDs: Naked City by John Zorn and Mass in B Minor by J. S. Bach.

Two Records: This Nation's Saving Grace and The Wonderful and Frightening Escape Route to The Fall by The Fall.

*****************

So happy for Bielsa and Leeds. 

*****************

New acquisitions: Their Satanic Majesties Request by The Rolling Stones, Tago Mago by Can, Future Days by Can, Miles Ahead by Miles Davis, Porgy and Bess by Miles Davis, Milestones by Miles Davis, Filles de Kilimanjaro by Miles Davis, Live-Evil by Miles Davis and Ole by John Coltrane (record).

************************

New acquisitions. I've been browsing in CD shops, which is so much better than streaming or downloading (for me, of course). Although I love jazz, I noticed that I didn't have enough jazz CDs, so I decided to rectify this. Additionally, CDs are much cheaper than they used to be because there is less demand for them than before (which, again, is great for me).

CDs: Underground by Thelonious Monk, Mingus Ah Hum by Charles Mingus, The Absolutely Essential by Charlie Parker and The Classic Albums Collection: 1955-1958 by Lester Young.

****************************

The copies of my latest book arrived!

Brown

 Winamop has published my short story 'Brown,' which is about Gordon Brown. Here's the description on the website: 'Simon King revisits 2008, the year of the (last) financial crash. What was going on in the corridors of power? Well, in Downing Street.. Find out in Brown.' http://www.winamop.com/sk2004.htm

Part eleven of Fifteen Characters: Loners and Altruists. 

Fifteen Characters: Loners and Altruists

I have finished my 5th book, a collection of short stories called 'Fifteen Characters: Loners and Altruists.' 20 copies available for anyone who's remotely interested. (Well, there are only 4 copies left actually...)

There have been many loners in history. They might have been wracked by guilt and anxieties, but they have also produced some of the greatest and most innovative ideas and works of art. In King’s fifth book, he delves into the thought processes of introverted artists, philosophers, chess players and football managers. King chooses one pivotal event in their lives and brings it to life. This thin book also looks at altruists – that is, people who thought that they could make the world a better, fairer and more just place. King’s latest book covers a variety of figures across millennia and across a wide and disparate range of fields. It is packed with both facts and psychological insight. Read it!

Send an email to simonking19965@gmail.com if you would like a copy.

Edward Heath
Charles Crumb
Charlie Parker
Edgard Varese
Marcelo Bielsa
Bobby Fischer
Clement Attlee
Meister Eckhart
Otto von Bismarck
Ferdinand Lassalle
Diogenes
Hannah Arendt
Gordon Brown
Karlheinz Stockhausen