#Everything ephemeral is but a parable

[mysterious-secret-garden]

Hans Röhm - ‘Alles Vergängliche ist nur ein Gleichnis’ (All that passes away is only a symbol or, another translation, Everything ephemeral is but a parable), “Deutscher Wille”, 1917.

[random-xpressions]

Before I even spill what I'm about to spill, here's a disclaimer that I don't wish to fuck up anyone's mind or distort their perception of things as to how they see it because the deeper you are going to think on this subject, the more fucked up it is going to get just like stepping into a bottomless ocean.

We have all heard of the maxim of "two sides of the same coin" which essentially speaking reveals that there could be dual possibilities to a given subject or two perspectives for a given object. So there's a heads and a tails to a coin. But think about it, if you place the coin neither on its heads nor in its tails, then there's also a median, a center, the radius, the circumference - which when kept vertically then becomes the third dimension. Now the coin is just a parable. Expand it to any aspect of your life. The world is not diabolic but three dimensional. There is a fine thin line that lingers between the two polarities. So it not just north or south, it is not just east or west. There is something that encompasses all of that - a center, a core. What it will be to witness everything at a spot, where you belong to neither of those polarities. You are not positive, you are not negative, you exist at a place called zero - to the right, you experience nothing but the best that a man could experience and to the left, you experience nothing but the worst that a man could experience. The golden mean or the golden ratio - the state of centered energy. You don't flip to the electrons nor to the protons, no positive energy field, no negative field, but rather get into the very center of the nucleus itself, a pure state of nothingness and yet the heart of everything, the binding core of all that exists.

Now tell me, where is that dividing line that distinguishes the mortal in you from the immortal, the human in you from the divine, the ephemeral in you from the eternal. Why seeing yourself in such a poor light, when you are the very light that is bursting forth in a thousand colorful rays!

Random Xpressions

[terinour]

Fairy tale / Conte de fées

Fairy tale

It could have started like a fairy tale. But it wasn't. The street was filthy and the garbage cans were overflowing with filth. And then there was that vile smell of vomit and urine that forced him to cover his nose and mouth. It was the olfactory border of a forgotten street. He quickly passed this pile of garbage and moved into the alley. He could then discover a certain charm to the place with these balconies and these parabolas carrying hope, kinds of flowers of the modern times catching the television waves and the promises of an ephemeral television happiness. Puddles reflected the lights of the beautiful neighborhoods located further up. Everything here seemed to be turned towards the outside, towards an elsewhere. This made him a little sad in the end. It didn't take much to turn hope into reality, simply by turning away from parables and turning inward. But this required a change in his habits.

Dave, on the other hand, was no longer attracted to the lights and gold. From experience he was wary of anything that shone too brightly on the outside. He only wanted peace, but his job, if one can call his strange activity a job, brought him into contact with shadows, the unspeakable and sometimes death. He had finally accepted it, found there his place, a role to play. Ancient texts say that it doesn't matter if life gives us a first or a second role, it is up to us to play well the one we have been assigned. Better a perfectly good supporting role than a bad leading role.

He walked further into the alley, looking for the only clue in his possession, a black cat sign. He finally found it. It creaked at the slightest breeze that rushed in. Small spotlights dimly illuminated what he was looking for: Madigan's, Irish Pub. He pushed open the door and entered a noisy, dark room. The counter radiated a soft light through multiple bottles filled with different colored beverages. The boss acted as an alchemist in this mysterious laboratory that seemed to come straight out of the Middle Ages. Small lamps lit the tables farthest from the counter. He approached and knew he had found the right person. The man was finishing the preparation of a colorful and sparkling cocktail decorated with exotic flowers. A waiter took it away at once.

The boss looked at Dave and stopped short. He understood at once who he was, people could feel it every time. With a nod he pointed to the back room, only separated from where they were by a slight veil. Dave followed the boss and they sat down at a small table. The boss's body was massive but he seemed intimidated. Dave took off his coat and rolled up his right sleeve. He rested his forearm on the wooden table. The boss swallowed and slowly put his hands on it. There was an immediate flash that startled the man. He rested his hands and closed his eyes. A jerk of images interspersed with blacks appeared then a whole sequence. The sounds also seemed so real that both men sometimes turned their heads, as if to better capture them. Eventually the vision faded.

“It's my daughter, I haven't heard from her in months”

“She looks happy”

“When I became a father, her little life took over. It feels like yesterday and now it feels like she has abandoned me”

“Yet it is in the nature of things”

“In fact I think I've forgotten who I was. Do you think she'll come back?”

‘You have to start by finding yourself, so you will never feel alone again’

“Thank you”

Dave stood up

“Won't you stay a little while?”

“I never stay”

“Wait a little while, I'll be back”

Dave put his coat back on and the man was back with his cash-box

“This is the money of the day, it's all I have”

“I don't ask for so much, just give what you want”

Dave stuffed the bills the boss had given him into his pocket and walked away. He had done what he had to do by offering a vision. Now he was returning to the night, becoming a shadow among shadows, his silhouette slowly disappearing around the corner. No one would hear from him again, until one day a new vision would ask to come out. Then he would appear again to deliver his message... just like in a fairy tale.

Teri Nour

Note: I had translated my own text entitled "Conte de fées" below in french. I apologize for this appoximative translation.

Conte de fées

Cela aurait pu débuter comme dans un conte de fées. Mais ce n’était pas le cas. La rue était crasseuse et les poubelles débordaient d’immondices. Et puis il y avait cette odeur ignoble de vomi et d’urine qui l’obligeait à se couvrir le nez et la bouche. C’était la frontière olfactive d’une rue oubliée. Il dépassa rapidement ce tas d’ordures et s’avança dans la ruelle. Il pu alors découvrir un certain charme à l’endroit avec ces balcons et ces paraboles porteuses d’espoir, sortes de fleurs des temps modernes captant les ondes télévisuelles et les promesses d’un bonheur télévisuel éphémère. Des flaques renvoyaient les lumières des beaux quartiers situés plus loin, plus haut. Tout ici semblait tourné vers l’extérieur, vers un ailleurs. Cela le rendait un peu triste en fin de compte. Il suffisait de peu de choses pour changer l’espoir en réalité, simplement en délaissant les paraboles pour se tourner vers l’intérieur. Mais cela exigeait de bouleverser ses habitudes.

Dave, lui, n’avait plus d’attirance pour les lumières et les ors. Par expérience il se méfiait de ce qui brillait trop à l’extérieur. Il ne désirait que la paix mais son métier, si tant est que l’on puisse appeler son étrange activité un métier, l’amenait à côtoyer les ombres, l’indicible et parfois la mort. Il avait fini par l’accepter, y trouva là sa place, un rôle à jouer. De très anciens textes disaient que peu importait au fond que la vie nous donne un premier ou un second rôle, il nous appartenait de bien jouer celui qui nous était assigné. Mieux valait un second rôle parfaitement bien joué qu’un mauvais premier rôle.

Il s’engagea plus loin dans la ruelle, à la recherche du seul indice en sa possession, une enseigne en forme de chat noir. Il trouva finalement. Elle grinçait au moindre courant d’air qui s’engouffrait là. De petits spots éclairaient faiblement ce qu’il cherchait : Chez Madigan, Irish Pub. Il poussa la porte et pénétra dans une salle bruyante et sombre. Le comptoir irradiait une lumière douce qui traversaient de multiples bouteilles elles-mêmes remplies de breuvages aux couleurs différentes. Le patron faisait office d’alchimiste dans ce mystérieux laboratoire semblant sorti tout droit du moyen âge. De petites lampes éclairaient les tables les plus éloignées du comptoir. Il s’approcha et su qu’il avait trouvé la bonne personne. L’homme terminait la préparation d’un cocktail coloré et pétillant orné de fleurs exotiques. Un serveur l’enleva aussitôt.

Le patron observa Dave et s’arrêta net. Il comprit aussitôt qui il était, les gens le sentait à tous les coups. D’un coup de tête il désigna l’arrière salle, seulement séparée de là où ils se trouvaient d’un léger voile. Dave suivit le patron et ils s’installèrent à une petite table. Le corps du patron était massif mais il semblait intimidé. Dave ôta son manteau et remonta sa manche droite. Il posa son avant-bras sur la table de bois. Le patron déglutit et, lentement, vint poser ses mains sur celui-ci. Il y eut aussitôt un flash qui fit sursauter l’homme. Il reposa ses mains et ferma les yeux. Une saccade d’images entrecoupées de noirs apparurent puis toute une séquence. Les sons également paraissaient si réels que les deux hommes tournaient parfois la tête, comme pour mieux les capter. La vision finit par s’évanouir.

– C’est ma fille, elle ne donne plus de nouvelles depuis des mois

– Elle a l’air heureuse

– Quand je suis devenu père, sa petite vie a prit toute la place. J’ai l’impression que c’était hier et maintenant, c’est comme si elle m’avait abandonné

– Pourtant c’est dans la nature des choses

– En fait je crois que j’ai oublié qui j’étais. Vous croyez qu’elle reviendra ?

– Vous devez commencer par vous retrouver, ainsi vous ne vous sentirez plus jamais seul

– Merci

Dave se leva

– Vous ne restez pas un petit peu ?

– Je ne reste jamais

– Attendez un tout petit peu, je reviens

Dave remis son manteau et l’homme était de retour avec sa caisse

– C’est la recette du jour, c’est tout ce que j’ai

– Je n’en demande pas tant, donnez simplement ce que vous voulez

Dave fourra dans sa poche les billets que lui avait remis le patron et s’en alla. Il avait fait ce qu’il avait à faire en offrant une vision. Maintenant il regagnait la nuit, redevant une ombre parmi les ombres, sa silhouette disparaissant lentement au coin de la rue. Plus personne n’entendrait parler de lui, jusqu’au jour où une nouvelle vision demanderait à sortir. Alors il referait son apparition pour délivrer son message… un peu comme dans un conte de fées.

[a-queer-seminarian]

Excerpt from Amy-Jill Levine's interpretation of "The Pearl of Great Price," as shared in her 2014 text Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi

[The full parable told in Matthew 13:45-46 goes like this: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one very precious pearl, he went and sold all that he owned and bought it.“]

The kingdom is not the pearl, and it is not the merchant. The kingdom is what comes after “it is like”: the kingdom is like a merchant who seeks pearls and who, upon finding what he was not expecting—the greatest of the great—makes every effort to attain it.

To reduce the kingdom of heaven to a thing, whether the pearl or the merchant, is also an act of commodification. To commodify the kingdom is to dismiss the import of an individual’s ultimate concern. The merchant has found what he wanted, although until the moment of the find, he did not realize his true desire. He has reconceptualized both his past values and his future plans; the “magnitude of the life change” is paramount; he is no longer what he was.

...When it comes relating the parable of the Pearl of Great Price to the kingdom of heaven, we have a man in the wrong profession. We have the wrong target of his initial search—a luxury item that few can afford; it has lachrymose and nonkosher origins; its purchase requires a use of funds that could have been given to the poor.

We have the wrong result of the search—the merchant finds something he was not seeking. He thought he wanted “fine pearls”; it turns out, he had incorrectly assessed his desire and his goal. To obtain his pearl he engages in a risky and seemingly foolish venture of divesting.

We have the wrong result—the merchant has spent everything he has on a pearl, an item with no practical value. Once he purchases it, he is no longer a merchant. And therein lies the challenge. By the standards of the status quo—whether in first-century Galilee or twenty-first-century America—the merchant has acted in a reckless manner. The merchant, however, sets up alternative standards not determined by society, but determined by something else, whether his own desires or a heavenly prompt. He really is “countercultural.” He defines his treasure in his own terms. He is able to recognize what for him has true value, and he can do what he needs to do in order to obtain it.

The pearl the merchant obtains is not simply the best of the lot, the one among the many. It is qualitatively different, singular, exemplary; it points beyond the concept of “pearl” to something new, something heretofore unseen and unknown. There is a transcendent quality, a mystery, to this pearl. And so the parable provokes.

Our erstwhile merchant first raises questions of our own acquisitiveness. We are continually seeking, whether the object is fine pearls, a new job, another degree, or spiritual fulfillment. But each time we find our goal, it turns out to be ephemeral. There is always a new necklace, a new career, a new form of study, a nagging sense that we have not done what we need to do. We flit from desire to desire, never permanently fulfilled, always somewhat discontent.

The merchant’s actions show that knowing one’s pearl obviates all other wants and desires. Will we know what we truly want when we see it? The merchant has removed himself from the realm of buying and selling, seeking and finding, wanting and wanting more. Not only can the cycle be broken; the merchant demonstrates that one can step out of it entirely.

Second, and of greater challenge, should we be, indeed can we be, like the erstwhile merchant, who is, to use another economic term, willing to go “all in,” not for a gamble but for an ultimate concern?

His is an act not of sacrifice, because we do not know the extent to which he previous valued what he sold (note: “sold,” not “gave away”), and we do not know if he suffered any loss. Nor has he sacrificed in any religious sense. Nor again does he demonstrate the relative value of all his other possessions; he does not simply place the one pearl ahead of everything else. The issue isn’t relative value; it’s all or nothing.

Thereby, the parable asks: Can we assess what is of ultimate value in our own lives, not simply in terms of relativizing, but in terms of ultimate concern? More, it asks: Are we willing to step aside from all we have to obtain what we want?

...

On Monday evenings during the school term, I either teach or facilitate a Divinity course at Riverbend Maximum Security Prison, where Tennessee’s death row is located. The first year I taught at Riverbend, the class—twelve Riverbend inmates and twelve Vanderbilt students—studied the Gospel of Matthew; after all, Matthew’s Gospel contains the parable of the Sheep and the Goats, which talks about visiting people in prison.

When discussing Matthew 13.45–46 with my students—some candidates for ordination, others serving life sentences—I asked: What is your pearl of supreme value? For what would you sell everything you own? To use Hultgren’s words, for what would you “make a drastic and life-changing act”?

The divinity students mentioned the church. But the commentators are correct: most people do not sell everything they have for the sake of the church. Despite the plausible claim that Matthew’s Gospel encourages such perfection, the Gospel also recognizes two types of disciples, the itinerants who take to the road and the householders who provide them support.

One student in the Graduate Department of Religion mentioned the doctoral degree. The desire for a Ph.D. was for her an irritant of sorts. She had already earned a Master’s of Divinity and had planned to go directly for the Ph.D. in New Testament, but life intervened. She married a pastor, had children, and served as the minister’s wife (a professional role). She continued her education whenever she could—seeking pearls on Amazon, the History Channel, or in online courses. Her husband discouraged her; he already had a Doctorate of Ministry (D.Min.) and felt that one doctor in the family was sufficient. She persevered. Seeking more information, she came across the website of Vanderbilt’s Graduate Department of Religion and decided to apply. Not only was she accepted; she was awarded funding. For various and very good reasons, entering the program coincided with the end of her marriage.

That night she explained, and here I paraphrase: “I never expected to find myself here, but when the graduate-school offer came, I did what I needed to do to accept it. I gave up my home and my status as ‘minister’s wife’; I took out loans; I took back my original name. I do not know what will happen at the end of this program, but that does not matter. I am doing what is right for me. I have my pearl.”

Most of us, I suspect, would not have had the courage to change our lives, our identities, for the sake of what we most want; we may not even know what the final goal is. This student showed the daring, the courage, that many of us might lack. She redefined herself.

One of the Riverbend students responded with the single word, “Freedom.” He would do what it takes—confession to rather than denial of his crime, anger management courses, psychological tests, and so on—in order to increase his chances of parole. He realized what he wanted, freedom, only when he realized he did not have it. When and if he obtains it, he intends to break the cycle of crime and incarceration. With his sentence flattened or pardon granted, he is no longer the “insider” or the “criminal,” but the “free man” who needs to form his own new identity.

When I drove home that evening, with the searchlights and the barbed wire reflecting in my rear-view mirror, I realized that this student’s “pearl” is something I take for granted.

Another Riverbend student said, “Safety.” He will invest all he has in order to ensure that he will not be knifed in the chow line or attacked in the shower. Again, his pearl is something that I had not considered.

And a third said that when he came into prison, he lost all that he had—his property, his clothing, but also his identity, his dignity. He had to construct his own pearl, layer by painful layer, tear by tear, and see what was really important.

Here is one final interpretation. I do not think it is quite what Jesus had in mind, but it does fit the question of ultimate concern. The word for “pearl” in Greek is margarita, a recognition that can bring new meaning to the expression “pearly gates.”

When I mentioned this translation in class, one of my students, a recovering alcoholic, explained how the margarita, the drink, was her pearl of complete value. She sold everything—home, food, family—for the drink. And so we ask: Do we take stock of our priorities? What is our image of the kingdom? What, really, do we want?

The parable consequently asks us if searching for pearls, searching for commodities or multiples or stuff, is worth pursuing. It is good to know that there may be something out there, beyond our imagination, that demands our recognition of its ultimate value. It is good to know if our definition of what constitutes the kingdom of heaven is healthy or harmful.

Not all pearls on the market are cultured; some are fake, although their cost can be exceptionally high as well. Jesus, the historical Jesus, cared about prioritizing. In light of the inbreaking of the kingdom of heaven, which is already here as his followers found manifested in his presence and yet to come as manifested by the full presence of justice, we are forced to act. We are forced to determine what we must do to prepare for this new reality. What do we keep and what do we divest? How would we live if we knew ultimate judgment was coming on Tuesday? What are our neighbors’ ultimate concerns, and what are ours?

Once we know that material goods will only collect rust or dust, and once we know that the only thing that counts is treasure in heaven, surely we must find a new way to live.

Attending to the anomalies of the story, refusing to allegorize in order to domesticate, challenging our acquisitiveness and our sense of what is truly of value, the parable disturbs. That is what parables should do.

- Jewish Scholar Amy Jill Levine in Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi (2014)

[wolfnovak]

[  peter gadiot  —  thirty - three  —  he / him  ]  Introducing  WOLFGANG  ‘  WOLF  ’  NOVAK.  Word  on  the  street  is  they  are  a  SICARIO  and  member  of  the  CORTÁZAR  CARTEL  for  the  past  THREE  YEARS.  Though  they  are  FORBIDDING  and  MORDANT,  they  can  also  be  PRAGMATIC  and  TACTICAL.  In  the  chaos  of  New  York  City,  they’re  sure  to  fit  right  in.

— BASICS

Name:  Wolfgang  ’ Wolf ‘  Novak.

Age / D.O.B.:  Thirty - Three  /  November  7th

Height:  6'1.

Gender, Pronouns &. Sexuality:  Cis  Man,  He / Him,  Demisexual / Demiromantic.

Hometown:  Brussels,  Belgium.

Affiliation:  Ex  Military  /  Cortázar  Cartel.

Job position:  Ex  Special  Forces  Sniper  /  Sicario.

Education:  West  Point  Admitted  (  did  not  attend  ),  Bachelor's  Degree.

Relationship status:  Single.

Children:  N/A.

Positive traits:  Autonomous,  Dauntless,  Perceptive,  Pragmatic,  Tactical.

Negative traits:  Caustic,  Forbidding,  Lethal,  Mordant,  Taciturn.

— BIOGRAPHY

Trigger Warnings: war, violence, shell shock, death, child neglect, mentions of alcohol and drug addiction.

Wolfgang Novak was an omen from birth, but far from one found in hallowed parables. His mother had been Valéria Aguilar, a stunning Mexican woman charmed by a Dutchman stationed in El Paso, Texas. His father, Wilhelm Novak, was a man forged from an extensive background in Military service. Though Wolf stole Valéria’s life upon his birth, her death didn’t prove to be a fatal blow to Wilhelm, but an inconvenience, as the responsibility of a child lacked the necessary space in the man’s plans. Being the product of careless interaction, he was not a father’s treasured kin. Instead of a son, Wilhelm treated Wolf as a Commander’s protege. He expected nothing less from the acquired boy but the same militarized skill-set he himself had honed and possessed. As such, Wolf began to assume the life of a soldier before he was able to understand what life a boy should have.

With his patriarch deployed often and no relatives left to shelter him, Wolf spent the majority of his adolescence passed between generous military families, though eventually became a ward of the state due to combative behavior. He raised himself, battled a self-proclaimed lawless environment and challenged its particularly brutal consequences. He became a violent young boy, prone to rage and introducing himself with a legendary bloody nose. Volatile tendencies, however, didn’t get you very far in education or with a figure such as Wilhelm. His insurrection was personal, and he challenged Wilhelm with every breath of his being. It wasn’t until an arrest for hijacking vehicles with nefarious company that Wolf swapped tactics. But it was difficult not to return to a life of delinquency when your caretaker exhumed neglect. When Wilhelm was present, he was often impaired by both alcohol and drug intoxication, shielding himself from the horrors Wolf was yet to comprehend. With age came an inkling of understanding, but not forgiveness.

Wilhelm Novak was a strict man with selfish intentions, yet Wolf was determined to unlock some form of residual pride. Because of this, he began to excel in his studies. His brilliance was refocused and trained on subjects that could aid him instead of ail him. The plan soon backfired. Wilhelm was impressed — perhaps too enthralled — and became involved as he wished when he were younger. The boasting rights Wolf fought for from Wilhelm were responded with a ship off to military school. Harboring a severe distaste towards authority, Wolf’s beginning was a cataclysmic revolt. Forced to adapt to a life of grueling training, often being pushed to carry out seemingly impossible feats that drove the wedge further between he and Wilhelm as the goal of prodigy was reached. Top of his class, he was accepted into West Point, yet did not attend due to mortal circumstance.

He attended Wilhelm’s funeral. Vanquished overseas, Wolf was told the man perished as a hero. He found it difficult to fathom, when he had been privy to a considerably villainous adversary. Aside from comrades he held no notion of, the recently graduated youth was the only one to stand before a fresh grave. Wolf found himself with little remorse, but a voluminous sense of solace. He would no longer be the puppet to a puppeteer, or rot within a lying semblance of kinsman. Unearthing Wilhelm’s life, everything that had been hidden from him throughout their explorations had been unleashed, leading to an honor which Wolf hadn’t the knowledge of. He had been the witness of a demolished man, and not the pillar evidence proved he’d been before. It was for that reason that Wolf kept his surname, and allowed the continuance of a loathed man’s legacy.

Eighteen, he had successfully been inducted into the Army. He felt reborn, and trained vigorously. Despite its grisly work and grueling actions, it would seem he’d been sculpted for war. He was robotic with a weapon in hand, and carried out orders as quickly as he received them. Wolf had reached the pinnacle of his life. Ribbons, medals, ranks — even his name became adorned by others. Wolf remained unattached to his escalating position, and merely focused on the duty he swore to uphold. When he received a contract from the Army to enter their Special Forces as a sniper, he accepted, and pursued a subsequent, more lethal chapter within the armed forces. His name was a known one. Novak, it turned out, had taken a place among the Special Forces for quite some time. Among them, Wolf had finally laid claim to the family he had unknowingly longed for. The Commander of his own unit, he was a piece of an unmatched brotherhood.

For years, Wolf and his elite team were unconquerable. They suffered through losses, but prevailed. They were the victors of unspoken wars, and safeguarded their country without credit. But Wolf was a sinister omen from birth, and the clock was ticking. It was a rescue mission that ended his reign — a supposed simple grab and go — that his unit had experienced more than once. They were to recover a soldier under apparent heavy fire. The claim had been false, leading to a disastrous airdrop and loss of chopper. The team was trapped in the midst of an ambush, and it swiftly turned into a futile effort as a grenade invaded the space near his comrade. He leapt toward the role of savior as a man responsible for entrusted lives would. What he found was a flash of red light, and an ephemeral god complex pursuing the dark abyss.

The accident left Wolf in extensive recovery that resulted in an honorable discharge. They told him he was fortunate to survive, sporting shrapnel and nerve damage that left him in critical condition for months. He lost feeling in the majority of the injured area, and felt deceased despite the rise and fall of his chest. Wolf shut down and reverted to the eruptive youth he’d been. He did not permit the remainder of his team to visit him in recovery, refusing them to see the failure he felt he’d become. His career — his world — had imploded. After his initial release, Wolf was sent to an Army rehabilitation facility, where his psychiatrist urged him to find somewhere quiet, somewhere without the noise.

They told him nothing heals like time; a statement which initially drew forth a sharp snort and caustic remark. Having gone off the grid post his discharge, Wolf found little reason not to vanish further. Tipped off by an old friend who’d recently come into good, albeit dirty money, he headed for New York, hoping to secure funds in which the government screwed him out of. Unable to afford further treatment or life’s necessities on his career’s felled pension, he struck a deal. For the Cartel he would be a crackshot, a deadshot, harboring the particular cold - blooded patience which constructs a sniper, a kind of violence associated with coldness, deliberateness, ruthlessness. Unlike so many of its members, Wolf was quiet, attentive, focused, and emotionally intelligent whilst being extremely capable of violence. Not cocky, showy, or quick to anger, he worked best alone, only being contacted when someone was in need of silencing. Currently entering his third year as the Cortazar Cartel’s Sicario, he’s proved to be a vital force, yet his mental synapses remain obscured and un-mended by a turbulent past.

— WANTED CONNECTIONS / PLOTS

Brother  /  Sister  relationship.

Brother  in  arms  /  Till  the  end  of  the  line  deal.

One  night  stand(s).

Ex  ‘  lovers  ’.

Drinking  partners  /  Drinking  partners  that  only  like  each  other  while  drinking  and  hate  each  other  outside  the  bar.

Late  night  diner  buds.

Doctor  /  Psychiatrist  /  Someone  in  the  medical  field  he’s  forced  to  speak  to  as  part  of  his  ptsd  treatment  as  well  as  following  up  on  physical  ailments.

Someone  he’s  casually  sleeping  with.

Consequential  victims  of  those  he’s  assassinated  for  the  Cartel.

Those  he’s  met  whilst  enlisted,  traveling,  any  prior  connection  before  his  work  for  the  Cartel.

The  one  who  officially  got  him  involved  with  the  Cortázar  Cartel  as  mentioned  within  his  bio.  (  Johannes  ‘ Hans ’  Starke  )

[the-single-element]

Good morning. Just a short thought for today.

Jesus, last week, told a parable about riches - about accepting that they'll pass away, and using them, instead, to buy something more enduring.

Today, he tells another parable about riches. At first, it looks like a simplistic moral: that "the exalted shall be humbled and the humble shall be exalted", and that the threat of "the worm that doesn't die and the fire that doesn't burn out" is terribly real.

But, as with all of Jesus's stories, we should pay attention to the details as well, especially when they involve people behaving strangely. In this case, those details give a hint of why the way is so narrow, why so few people escape the trap of riches like the steward last week did.

Because what do we notice, when we look closer at this nameless rich man who failed to escape? He's died and gone to hell, begging for mercy... but how does he phrase his pleas? "Send Lazarus to wait upon me." "Send Lazarus to deliver a message to my brothers."

In life, if Lazarus dwelt in the gutter of the rich man's street, then surely they must have seen each other. The rich man must have "known" Lazarus in that respect. But clearly they had no real dealings with each other; the whole framing of their earthly life shows Lazarus barred from that house, not even given the rich man's discarded scraps.

Now, their fortunes are reversed. Now it's the rich man wishing that the gap between them might close. And yet... he still, somehow, sees Lazarus as lesser than himself. He doesn't even beg Lazarus for a mercy directly; he acts as though, if Abraham were to take mercy, he'd see see no problem with ordering someone like Lazarus around for the sake of someone so important as them.

Is it any wonder that the gulf between them is too great to cross? Is it any wonder that Abraham concludes that the rich man's family are equally hopeless? What warning would be sufficient, if the man trapped in those flames himself has still not learned the lesson? What bridge would be long enough, if the door in the rich man's heart is still barred?

This is, I think, the power of complacency - a terrible danger which Jesus often warns us against, and against which Amos preached centuries earlier. It is the power to believe that the good times, the status quo, will continue forever - that ephemeral, temporary, earthly arrangements can survive into eternity. It is the power to believe that you don't need to change because the changes around you won't affect you in any way that matters - that there's no rush, no time limit. It is the power to ignore the foundation crumbling from under your feet, and thus, to tumble, helpless, headfirst into disaster.

Breaking that complacency and recognizing that nothing under the sun endures is necessary, if we are to reach the Kingdom. It's the only way we can make the trade-offs we need to, prioritize the things that're really important. How can we prepare our hearts and minds for living in another world, if we think the logic of this world will last forever?

So let's take stock. What have we based our lives on? What are we assuming can't change? If Jesus warned us that change is necessary, that we might have to give up something we don't expect in order to reach the Kingdom, then those parts of our way of life which we assume will last forever are exactly the parts that pose the greatest risk to us. If we can't leave them behind, we'll just end up trapped in a burning building, sitting at the dining table and telling ourselves that everything is fine (warning for, uh, graphic cartoon violence behind that link). Only by accepting that they'll pass away, and being willing to live in another world even today, will we leave the door open to escape, when our own deaths - or else the new heaven and new earth - arrive.

We who are fortunate in this life have the privilege of complacency. Will we shut ourselves up in it? Or will we accept that our fortunate situation is at best a temporary thing and at worst a trap, and set it aside in favor of the Kingdom that will endure?

[thefugitivesaint]

Hans Röhm (1877-), 'Alles Vergängliche ist nur ein Gleichnis' (All that passes away is only a symbol or, another translation, Everything ephemeral is but a parable), ''Deutscher Wille'', 1917 Source

[pope-francis-quotes]

4th August >> (@VaticanNews By Sergio Centofanti) #Pope Francis #PopeFrancis writes to priests, recalling the 160th anniversary of the death of the Curé d'Ars, Patron Saint of parish priests, and expresses his support and encouragement.

Pope Francis writes to priests: "Thank you for your service"

Pope Francis' letter on the 160th anniversary of the death of the Curé of Ars, St John Vianney: support, closeness and encouragement to all priests who, despite their hard work and disappointments, celebrate the sacraments every day and accompany the people of God.

By Sergio Centofanti

Pope Francis has written to priests recalling the 160th anniversary of the death of the Curé of Ars, Patron Saint of parish priests around the world. It is a letter that expresses encouragement and closeness to "brother priests, who without making noise" leave everything to engage in the daily life of communities; those who work in the "trenches"; those who confront an endless variety of situations in your effort “to care for and accompany God’s people.” “I want to say a word to each of you, writes the Pope, who, often without fanfare and at personal cost, amid weariness, infirmity and sorrow, carry out your mission of service to God and to your people. Despite the hardships of the journey, you are writing the finest pages of the priestly life.”

PAIN

The papal letter opens with a look at the abuse scandal: “In these years, we have become more attentive to the cry, often silent and suppressed, of our brothers and sisters who were victims of the abuse of power, the abuse of conscience and sexual abuse on the part of ordained ministers.” But, Pope Francis explains, even without “denying or dismissing the harm caused by some of our brothers, it would be unfair not to express our gratitude to all those priests who faithfully and generously spend their lives in the service of others.” “Countless priests make of their lives a work of mercy in areas or situations that are often hostile, isolated or ignored, even at the risk of their lives.” The Pope thanked them "for their courageous and constant example" and writes that "in these times of turbulence, shame and pain, you demonstrate that you have joyfully put your lives on the line for the sake of the Gospel ". He invites them not to be discouraged, because "The Lord is purifying his Bride and converting all of us to himself. He is letting us be put to the test in order to make us realize that without him we are simply dust.”

GRATITUDE

The second key word is "gratitude". Pope Francis recalls that "vocation, more than our choice, is a response to a free call from the Lord". The Pope exhorts priests to "return to those luminous moments" in which we have experienced the call of the Lord to consecrate all our lives to his service, to "that "yes" born and developed in the heart of the Christian community.” In moments of difficulty, fragility, weakness, “the worst temptation of all is to keep brooding over our troubles”. It is crucial - explains the Pontiff - "to cherish the memory of the Lord’s presence in our lives and his merciful gaze, which inspired us to put our lives on the line for him and for his People. Gratitude "is always a powerful weapon. Only if we are able to contemplate and feel genuine gratitude for all those ways we have experienced God’s love, generosity, solidarity and trust, as well as his forgiveness, patience, forbearance and compassion, will we allow the Spirit to grant us the freshness that can renew (and not simply patch up) our life and mission.”

Pope Francis also thanks his brother priests "for their fidelity to their commitments". It is "truly significant" - he observes - that in a "ephemeral" society and culture, there are people who discover the joy of giving life. He says “thank you” for the daily celebration of the Eucharist and for the ministry of the sacrament of reconciliation, lived "without rigor or laxity", taking charge of people and "accompanying them on the path of conversion". He thanks them for the proclamation of the Gospel made "to all, with ardor":

Thank you for the times when, with great emotion, you embraced sinners, healed wounds… Nothing is more necessary than this: accessibility, closeness, readiness to draw near to the flesh of our suffering brothers and sisters.”

The heart of a pastor - says the Pope - is one "who has developed a spiritual taste for being one with his people, a pastor who never forgets that he has come from them…this in turn will lead to adopting a simple and austere way of life, rejecting privileges that have nothing to do with the Gospel.”

But the Pope also thanks and invites priests to gives thanks "for the holiness of the faithful people of God", expressed “in those parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to support their families, in the sick, in elderly religious who never lose their smile.”

ENCOURAGEMENT

The third word is "encouragement". The Pope wants to encourage priests: "The mission to which we are called does not exempt us from suffering, pain and even misunderstanding. Rather, it requires us to face them squarely and to accept them, so that the Lord can transform them and conform us more closely to himself.”

A good test for knowing how to find the shepherd's heart," writes Pope Francis, "is to ask ourselves how we are dealing with pain. Sometimes, in fact, it can happen that we behave like the Levite or the priest of the parable of the Good Samaritan, who ignore the man who lies on the ground, other times we approach pain intellectually, and taking refuge in clichés ("life is like that, we can do nothing"), ending up giving space to fatalism. " Or else we can draw near with a kind of aloofness that brings only isolation and exclusion.”

The Pope also warns against what Bernanos called the “the most precious of the devil's potions", that is "the sweet sadness that the Fathers of the East called acedia. The sadness that paralyzes the courage to continue in work, in prayer", which "makes sterile all attempts at transformation and conversion, spreading resentment and animosity". Pope Francis invites them to ask "the Spirit to come and awaken us", to "shake our torpor", to challenge habituality and "let us rethink our usual way of doing things; let us open our eyes and ears, and above all our hearts, so as not to be complacent about things as they are, but unsettled by the living and effective word of the risen Lord”.

"During our lives, we have been able to contemplate how joy is always reborn with Jesus Christ. A joy, the Pontiff points out, that "does not arise from voluntary or intellectual efforts but from the confidence to know that the words of Jesus to Peter continue to act".

It is in prayer - the Pope explains - that "we experience our blessed precariousness which reminds us of our being disciples in need of the Lord's help and frees us from the Promethean tendency of those who ultimately rely solely on their own strengths". The pastor's prayer "is nourished and incarnated in the heart of God's people. It bears the signs of the wounds and joys of its people".

An entrustment that " sets us free from looking for quick, easy, ready-made answers; it allows the Lord to be the one – not our own recipes and goals – to point out a path of hope. So "we recognize our frailty, yes; but we allow Jesus to transform it and project us continuously towards the mission".

The Pope observes that for one’s heart to be encouraged, that two constitutive bonds must not be neglected. The first is the relationship with Jesus: It is the invitation not to neglect "spiritual accompaniment, having a brother with whom to speak, discuss, and discern one's own path". The second link is with people: "Do not withdraw from your people, your presbyterates and your communities, much less seek refuge in closed and elitist groups…a courageous minister is a minister always on the move".

The Pope asks priests to "be close to those who suffer, to be, without shame, close to human misery and, and indeed to make all these experiences our own, as eucharist.". To be " builders of relationships and communion, open, trusting and awaiting in hope the newness that the kingdom of God wishes to bring about even today.”

PRAISE

The last word proposed in the letter is "praise". It is impossible to speak of gratitude and encouragement without contemplating Mary who "teaches us the praise capable of lifting our gaze to the future and restoring hope to the present. ". Because "to look at Mary is to go back to believing in the revolutionary power of tenderness and affection". For this reason - concludes the Pope – “if at times we can feel tempted to withdraw into ourselves and our own affairs, safe from the dusty paths of daily life. Or regrets, complaints, criticism and sarcasm gain the upper hand and make us lose our desire to keep fighting, hoping and loving. At those times, let us look to Mary so that she can free our gaze of all the “clutter” that prevents us from being attentive and alert, and thus capable of seeing and celebrating Christ alive in the midst of his people.”

"Brothers - these are the final words of the letter - once again, I continually give thanks for you... May we allow our gratitude to awaken praise and renewed enthusiasm for our ministry of anointing our brothers and sisters with hope. May we be men whose lives bear witness to the compassion and mercy that Jesus alone can bestow on us.”

Topics

POPE FRANCIS

PRIESTS

SAINTS AND BLESSED

ANNIVERSARY

04th August 2019, 11:02

[finishinglinepress]

FINISHING LINE PRESS BOOK OF THE DAY:

The Salty River Bleeds by Stephen Page

$19.99, Full-length, paper

https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/the-salty-river-bleeds-by-stephen-page/

Stephen Page is part Native American. He was born in Detroit. He is the author of three other books of poetry – A Ranch Bordering the Salty River, The Timbre of Sand, and Still Dandelions. He holds two AA’s from Palomar College, a BA from Columbia University, and an MFA from Bennington College.

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR The Salty River Bleeds by Stephen Page

The Salty River Bleeds is a juicy tale in verse that draws us into the teeming world of a large Argentinian ranch. This world is populated by herds of horses and cows, nefarious ranch hands, foxes, bees, bats, parrots, carnivorous ants, Andean flamingoes, cattle rustlers, horse thieves, to name but a few of its many denizens. The narrative reveals the complicated web of woes in the life of a land manager, the tyranny of weather patterns, and one man’s battle against the encroachment of pesticides. In this world, nature’s staggering beauty and naked brutality are constantly in evidence. A stallion “learns the phases of grass.” Trucks struggle through “the butter of mud.” Cows can explode with bloat, and rain that the narrator prays will be called down from the sky by the croaking of tree frogs can make or break you. As its title suggests, The Salty River Bleeds is packed with the drama of birth, death and eternal conflict.

–Amy Gerstler, author of Bitter Angel

The Salty River Bleeds is ambitious in its scope and its execution, with a relevance to contemporary environmental issues. Stephen Page deftly combines poetry, prose, and letters…and relies on highly refined, compressed imagistic language and strong character development to tell his tale.

–Jim Daniels, author of Places Everyone

The Salty River Bleeds is a continuation of the story of Jonathan and Teresa that Stephen Page began in A Ranch Bordering the Salty River. These poems speak of the visceral life of farming on a fictional ranch in Argentina. Page’s narrative is a journey of perseverance through a physical and psychological wilderness where loveliness and brutality abide together. Here, the likes of a raw and wet “afterbirth slopped into a steamy pile” leads to the mother straining to “stare at her calf until breath raised its ribs.” Page walks us through vulture-ravaged carcasses into pastures and wood and marsh; walks us into the solace of bees, mockingbirds and “a flock of black ibis” that “lift/and cloud away.” This is poetry told with an unflinching, yet reverent eye.

–Carolyn Welch, author of The Garden of Fragile Beings

The Salty River Bleeds is equal parts parable and fable, examining humankind’s destructive and self-defeating tendencies, particularly with regard to caring for the land human beings and animals rely on. Here where the Salty River bleeds, you will find that Myth swims, Old Man lingers on your peripheral vision only to disappear, and Black Dog follows you into the mythic Wood. On the ranch, you will encounter Tattler, Excuse Maker, and Bad Guy, archetypal figures standing in for all those whose motives are to be questioned. By turns imaginative and inventive, gritty and grisly, gorgeous and ephemeral, this is a book that will linger long after you have finished. There are inherent truths laid bare here that we would all do well to pay heed.

–Cati Porter, author of Seven Floors Up

In Stephen Page’s The Salty River Bleeds, the spiritual journey of Jonathan continues from A Ranch Bordering the Salty River. Looking for a story to explain his life, Jonathan meditates on nature, in particular Wood, a place of testing, a place of mysteries ripe to be discovered, and the people who work his land without reverence. With an observant eye for detail, Page brings together striking images of the elements of earth and human life that become both obstacles to and medium through which the speaker of these poems understands his world.

–Caroline Malone, author of Dark Roots

Stephen Page’s The Salty River Bleeds is a pastoral and violent account of ranch life. His poetic collection blends agricultural and rustic contention with eco-rural insight and directness. His delivery is candid and un-floral, thus bestowing the music of his perception an energy of seized quotidian acuity. These poems dare the readers to care about the animals, the daily activities of surviving rurally, and the grammar of the land exploited by genetic modified commerce and industrialization. The work invites the geography of natural breeding life to marry the perennial charm of ranch hardship. There, in his work, exists the sensual preservation of humanity, but also diurnal desires. Page’s bucolic poems “may take you to an unlit alley at night” or “sound like buckets of water being poured on the corrugated roof.” Regardless of the rustic tempo his work imbues you, through Page’s percipient, omniscient eyes, we see and hear everything he observes and feels and yearns. Like sheep hides “salted in the transit room” – Page’s work is designed to ambush us, not with the forcefulness or melancholy of existence, but, as seen here, with the authoritative authenticity of his persistent fervor.

–Vi Khi Nao, author of Fish in Exile

Stephen Page’s The Salty River Bleeds is a collection of connections. Page explores relationships, ethics, and economy through environmental images that ooze the intricacies of farm life. His thoughtful, sensory-rich prose and varied expressions of poetic form delve into the inner workings of losses and discoveries.

–Savannah Slone, Author of Hearing the Underwater

Stephen Page is a true poetic chronicler of the complex business of ranching, that mythic journey. The Salty River Bleeds is iconic storytelling; a hybrid of poems, letters, and prose. Filled with rich images, “wood walks” and myth finding. “Life takes you into some unplanned territory.” Follow Page and we are “wading into wheat” and “working all week to save the corn.” The tractor is broken, the fences need mending, but still we are watching and waiting for Old Man walking by the side of the road, the one who never stops. Follow Page into his dreamscape of visceral reality to satisfy a curiosity, an unspoken desire.

–Elaine Fletcher Chapman, author of Hunger for Salt

In The Salty River Bleeds, Stephen Page poetically and unapologetically reveals the real, harsh truths of running a ranch in Argentina. Johnathan’s daily stressors, created by unreliable employees, weather, and Teresa’s greedy son, Damien, find us anxiously watching him “run across pastures with my sword / Raised, looking for someone to decapitate.” Page softens Johnathan’s persona by peppering the pages with love, beauty, mate, and the whimsy of Wood and Myth as “A wooddove pops / its wings as it departs eucalypti mist auraed by / a vanilla sunrise.” The juxtaposition of the hard and the soft leaves us with a longing to know how Jonathan and Teresa’s story ends. The Fauna of this collection proves to be a mesmerizing sequel to the Flora of the initial introduction of Johnathan and Teresa in his earlier collection, A Ranch Bordering the Salty River.

–Laurie Higi, author of The Universe of Little Beaver Lake

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[fa-style]

Books that teach to never give up

http://fa-style.tumblr.com

Books that teach to never give up. There are days when the whole injustice of the world falls on your shoulders and it seems that the best thing to give up and stop fighting. And often in these moments, the main thing - not to start feeling sorry for yourself and buck up and move on. These books will kick you in the face and come back to life, reminding that you can not give up. Because the darkest hour always comes before dawn. 1. By Jodi pikolt “angel sister” Anna is only 13, but she had undergone countless operations. She is healthy, but her sister has leukaemia and parents are willing to do anything to save her. In fact, Anna was born only to help her. But what would have been her life if she were not tied to Kate? Anna decided on a move that would seem challenging to most of us. 2. Erich Maria Remarque “spark of life” Germany, the end of the war, a concentration camp. People who are deprived of freedom, love, hope, life itself. But as long as they have each other, nothing can break. Let all that they have left is the spark of life, but she never goes out. It will give them the strength to smile even at death's door - the only spark of light in the darkness. 3. Ayn Rand “Source” This book for decades remains in the list of global bestsellers. The protagonist of the novel, Howard Roark, is leading the battle against the society for his personal right to work. The fanatical conservatism of others forcing him to take extraordinary action. And to prove that even 1 person can change the world. 4. Kazuo Ishiguro “never let me go” A modern parable, a fantastic story with a chilling, totally realistic story, novel, Ishiguro will not let you. People whose sad fate is predestined and they are not known in advance. They know what to live for. They know what is going to die. And still continue on your way. This is one of the most poignant stories of compassion and inhumanity. 5. Jack London “Martin Eden” “Survival of the fittest” is the motto of the main character of the autobiographical novel by Jack London. Gruff and uncouth, but very strong and purposeful young man for the love of a woman makes its way from the bottom to the top, is a simple uneducated man, he becomes a famous writer. But is he ready for all that lies behind the ephemeral success? 6. Jojo Moyes “one plus One” In this simple, touching story, no horror, global issues, morals, inspirational maxims. Just the usual daily life, fun, strange, challenging, - in a word, is what it is. After all, it is necessary to struggle to each of us - even with the small annoyances. Jojo Moyes teaches that we need to start small, and then to great undertakings. 7. John green the Fault in our stars Teenagers suffering from a serious illness, not going to give up. They are still teenagers - toxic, restless, explosive, rebellious, still ready to hate and to love. Hazel and Augustus defy the fate. They are not afraid of death, like an ordinary jealousy, anger and misunderstanding. They are - together. Now - together. But what lies ahead? 8. Irving stone's “Lust for life” Alive and vivid biography of Vincent van Gogh written by Irving stone, proves that genius is not only a gift but also a terrible curse. After all, talent is necessary not only to look your way, but, finding it, to show the wonders of perseverance, courage and endurance, through all the difficulties to communicate to an apathetic world your great ideas. 9. Ruben David Gonzalez Gallego-White on black? When you think that life is unfair and everything goes wrong, just open the book Gallego and briefly remain in the world of his characters - people with disabilities. Their optimism and totally unconventional look at familiar things will be for you a real cure.

[2fashion]

9 books that teach to never give up

http://2fashion.tumblr.com

9 books that teach to never give up. There are days when the whole injustice of the world falls on your shoulders and it seems that the best thing to give up and stop fighting. And often in these moments, the main thing - not to start feeling sorry for yourself and buck up and move on. These books will kick you in the face and come back to life, reminding that you can not give up. Because the darkest hour always comes before dawn. 1. By Jodi pikolt “angel sister” Anna is only 13, but she had undergone countless operations. She is healthy, but her sister has leukaemia and parents are willing to do anything to save her. In fact, Anna was born only to help her. But what would have been her life if she were not tied to Kate? Anna decided on a move that would seem challenging to most of us. 2. Erich Maria Remarque “spark of life” Germany, the end of the war, a concentration camp. People who are deprived of freedom, love, hope, life itself. But as long as they have each other, nothing can break. Let all that they have left is the spark of life, but she never goes out. It will give them the strength to smile even at death's door - the only spark of light in the darkness. 3. Ayn Rand “Source” This book for decades remains in the list of global bestsellers. The protagonist of the novel, Howard Roark, is leading the battle against the society for his personal right to work. The fanatical conservatism of others forcing him to take extraordinary action. And to prove that even 1 person can change the world. 4. Kazuo Ishiguro “never let me go” A modern parable, a fantastic story with a chilling, totally realistic story, novel, Ishiguro will not let you. People whose sad fate is predestined and they are not known in advance. They know what to live for. They know what is going to die. And still continue on your way. This is one of the most poignant stories of compassion and inhumanity. 5. Jack London “Martin Eden” “Survival of the fittest” is the motto of the main character of the autobiographical novel by Jack London. Gruff and uncouth, but very strong and purposeful young man for the love of a woman makes its way from the bottom to the top, is a simple uneducated man, he becomes a famous writer. But is he ready for all that lies behind the ephemeral success? 6. Jojo Moyes “one plus One” In this simple, touching story, no horror, global issues, morals, inspirational maxims. Just the usual daily life, fun, strange, challenging, - in a word, is what it is. After all, it is necessary to struggle to each of us - even with the small annoyances. Jojo Moyes teaches that we need to start small, and then to great undertakings. 7. John green the Fault in our stars Teenagers suffering from a serious illness, not going to give up. They are still teenagers - toxic, restless, explosive, rebellious, still ready to hate and to love. Hazel and Augustus defy the fate. They are not afraid of death, like an ordinary jealousy, anger and misunderstanding. They are - together. Now - together. But what lies ahead? 8. Irving stone's “Lust for life” Alive and vivid biography of Vincent van Gogh written by Irving stone, proves that genius is not only a gift but also a terrible curse. After all, talent is necessary not only to look your way, but, finding it, to show the wonders of perseverance, courage and endurance, through all the difficulties to communicate to an apathetic world your great ideas. 9. Ruben David Gonzalez Gallego-White on black? When you think that life is unfair and everything goes wrong, just open the book Gallego and briefly remain in the world of his characters - people with disabilities. Their optimism and totally unconventional look at familiar things will be for you a real cure.

[brajeshupadhyay]

The T List: Five Things We Recommend This Week

Welcome to the T List, a newsletter from the editors of T Magazine. Each week, we’re sharing things we’re eating, wearing, listening to or coveting now. Sign up here to find us in your inbox every Wednesday. You can always reach us at tlist@nytimes.com.

Book This

A Grand Hotel Reopens in Texas

Reopening this month is Austin’s Commodore Perry Estate, an Italian Renaissance Revival mansion secluded within the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood. Both a 54-room hotel and private club by Auberge Resorts, the Commodore was originally built in 1928 by the architect Hal Thompson as the country residence of the Texan businessman Edgar Perry. The Italianate mansion’s original rooms, with picturesque accompanying Juliet balconies, have been transformed by the designer Ken Fulk into signature suites with walls in shades of pink, celadon and sunshine yellow and furnishings in velvet and faux fur. Hand-painted murals by the artist Deborah Phillips are offset by midcentury pieces sourced by Fulk from over two years’ worth of shopping trips to the state’s famous Round Top Antiques Fair. While Perry may have sold the estate in 1944 with the regret that it was “a great place to throw a party but too big to live in,” Fulk’s vision gives the mansion a second life as a place to gather — perhaps for dinner at the Commodore’s Lutie’s Garden Restaurant, with a menu filled with produce grown nearby — or merely spend a decadent afternoon strolling the estate, which spans 10 acres and includes a 50-foot swimming pool. Rates start at $525 per night, aubergeresorts.com.

See This

Robert Longo’s Cinematic Musings

I’ve looked at a lot of digital exhibitions from art institutions in the last few months, and my response has almost unanimously been: I wish I could see this in person. One of the more satisfying examples of this kind of presentation — for me, at least — is “Robert Longo: Quarantine Films,” on the website of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow. It functions as both a watch list and a kind of autobiography, interspersing examples of Longo’s work alongside his thoughts on various classics of cinema and how they’ve influenced him. (Longo made one deeply flawed but rather criminally underrated film himself in 1995: “Johnny Mnemonic,” with Keanu Reeves as the star and a screenplay by William Gibson.) Writing about Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film “Taxi Driver,” he reminisces about moving to New York and driving a cab to support himself. In a riff about Jean-Luc Godard’s “Contempt” (1963), which Longo describes as “a film about making a film,” he concludes that “sometimes beautiful is all art needs to be.” He even makes a fairly convincing case for 2019’s “Joker” — a film I walked out of — as a useful parable about the importance of gun control. Longo is an artist with a style you might call apocalyptic. He makes achingly beautiful paintings out of ugly things, whether a mushroom cloud, a businessman who appears to be falling through the air or a militarized police force, shrouded in tear gas and backlit by the golden arches of a McDonald’s sign. His work is scarily relevant in 2020. “Robert Longo: Quarantine Films” is live now on garagemca.org.

Sandals for summer are no more groundbreaking than florals for spring, and yet donning the right pair can still be an opportunity for self-expression, one that can dress up an ordinary denim skirt or a cotton voile dress. This summer, opt for sandals embellished with crystals to add a sense of decadence. René Caovilla has brightened an otherwise ordinary kitten-heeled thong, while By Far has reinvented the mule, laying the over-foot strap with a grid of thinly cut rhinestones. The French jewelry designer Justine Clenquet has joined in with her debut footwear line — launched this month, in step with her brand’s 10th anniversary — which features vintage-inspired silhouettes adorned with Swarovski rhinestones and disco-like glitter. For those looking for slightly more subtle options, both Gianvito Rossi and Roger Vivier offer styles that can easily transition from a long walk in the park to an intimate dinner, making stepping around just a little more sparkly and fun.

Buy This

Colorful Handblown Glassware for Gathering

In March, as New York City went into lockdown, the creative community working at UrbanGlass — a nonprofit organization that provides glassblowing studio space, exhibitions and classes for artists and designers in Downtown Brooklyn — faced an uncertain future. Glassblowing is impossible to do at home, and since glassblowers work in proximity to one another and often share tools, reopening the studio — even with social distancing protocols in place — is a tricky proposition. In a show of hope and resolve, three artists — Susan Spiranovich and Adam Holtzinger, the founders of the design company Keep, along with Anders Rydstedt — decided to team up on a project called Re:Gather, the results of which will be made and shipped as soon as the artists are able to return to a studio. Their first product, Cupples, is a series of simple and elegant glasses offered in five colors, including blush, aqua and amber, and features an interlocking design — a glass band wrapped around half the cups corresponds to an equivalent cutout in the other half — that illustrates the need for social connection. “We recognized a shared sense of loss for in-person collaboration that is essential to our work,” says Rydstedt. The name Re:Gather may seem self-explanatory, but it is also a reference to the glassblowing process itself, during which the material is gathered or collected on the end of a blowpipe. Finally, Cupples is meant to remind us of the comforts of sharing a meal with one another, with the hope that we will be able to do so in the near future. $200 for a set of two, keepbrooklyn.com.

This is a momentous year for the Irish-born, Scotland-based jeweler Grainne Morton: She’s celebrating her 50th birthday, as well as her 25th anniversary making her fastidiously eclectic jewelry that has found a fan-base of avid collectors around the world. Morton had originally planned to mark her double milestone with a large celebration in a castle just outside of Edinburgh. But the lockdown meant downshifting plans, and in the quiet of the last few months, she and her team have instead been hard at work, making unique pieces of jewelry that feel like the rarest of finds — 10 of which will be released this Friday. “My parents had an antique shop where they lived in Northern Ireland,” Morton explained to me. “They would come visit me in Scotland and spend all week trawling the antique shops here. In order to spend time with them, I would come with, and I started collecting.” Morton is fond of mixing mother-of-pearl, moonstones and other gems with found cameos, antique buttons and vintage glass. Everything is made by hand, sometimes taking weeks to complete, as the individual components are first set in silver and then soldered together into playful compositions, often set on a cross or dripping from an anchor piece. As we’re thinking more consciously about who and what we surround ourselves with right now, Morton is creating more than just a beautiful object but a sense of permanence amid the ephemeral world around her. Available July 10, grainnemorton.co.uk.

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Welcome to the T List, a newsletter from the editors of T Magazine. Each week, we’re sharing things we’re eating, wearing, listening to or coveting now. Sign up here to find us in your inbox every Wednesday. You can always reach us at tlist@nytimes.com. Book This A Grand Hotel Reopens in Texas Reopening this month is Austin’s Commodore Perry Estate, an Italian Renaissance Revival mansion secluded within the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood. Both a 54-room hotel and private club by Auberge Resorts, the Commodore was originally built in 1928 by the architect Hal Thompson as the country residence of the Texan businessman Edgar Perry. The Italianate mansion’s original rooms, with picturesque accompanying Juliet balconies, have been transformed by the designer Ken Fulk into signature suites with walls in shades of pink, celadon and sunshine yellow and furnishings in velvet and faux fur. Hand-painted murals by the artist Deborah Phillips are offset by midcentury pieces sourced by Fulk from over two years’ worth of shopping trips to the state’s famous Round Top Antiques Fair. While Perry may have sold the estate in 1944 with the regret that it was “a great place to throw a party but too big to live in,” Fulk’s vision gives the mansion a second life as a place to gather — perhaps for dinner at the Commodore’s Lutie’s Garden Restaurant, with a menu filled with produce grown nearby — or merely spend a decadent afternoon strolling the estate, which spans 10 acres and includes a 50-foot swimming pool. Rates start at $525 per night, aubergeresorts.com. See This Robert Longo’s Cinematic Musings I’ve looked at a lot of digital exhibitions from art institutions in the last few months, and my response has almost unanimously been: I wish I could see this in person. One of the more satisfying examples of this kind of presentation — for me, at least — is “Robert Longo: Quarantine Films,” on the website of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow. It functions as both a watch list and a kind of autobiography, interspersing examples of Longo’s work alongside his thoughts on various classics of cinema and how they’ve influenced him. (Longo made one deeply flawed but rather criminally underrated film himself in 1995: “Johnny Mnemonic,” with Keanu Reeves as the star and a screenplay by William Gibson.) Writing about Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film “Taxi Driver,” he reminisces about moving to New York and driving a cab to support himself. In a riff about Jean-Luc Godard’s “Contempt” (1963), which Longo describes as “a film about making a film,” he concludes that “sometimes beautiful is all art needs to be.” He even makes a fairly convincing case for 2019’s “Joker” — a film I walked out of — as a useful parable about the importance of gun control. Longo is an artist with a style you might call apocalyptic. He makes achingly beautiful paintings out of ugly things, whether a mushroom cloud, a businessman who appears to be falling through the air or a militarized police force, shrouded in tear gas and backlit by the golden arches of a McDonald’s sign. His work is scarily relevant in 2020. “Robert Longo: Quarantine Films” is live now on garagemca.org. Sandals for summer are no more groundbreaking than florals for spring, and yet donning the right pair can still be an opportunity for self-expression, one that can dress up an ordinary denim skirt or a cotton voile dress. This summer, opt for sandals embellished with crystals to add a sense of decadence. René Caovilla has brightened an otherwise ordinary kitten-heeled thong, while By Far has reinvented the mule, laying the over-foot strap with a grid of thinly cut rhinestones. The French jewelry designer Justine Clenquet has joined in with her debut footwear line — launched this month, in step with her brand’s 10th anniversary — which features vintage-inspired silhouettes adorned with Swarovski rhinestones and disco-like glitter. For those looking for slightly more subtle options, both Gianvito Rossi and Roger Vivier offer styles that can easily transition from a long walk in the park to an intimate dinner, making stepping around just a little more sparkly and fun. Buy This Colorful Handblown Glassware for Gathering In March, as New York City went into lockdown, the creative community working at UrbanGlass — a nonprofit organization that provides glassblowing studio space, exhibitions and classes for artists and designers in Downtown Brooklyn — faced an uncertain future. Glassblowing is impossible to do at home, and since glassblowers work in proximity to one another and often share tools, reopening the studio — even with social distancing protocols in place — is a tricky proposition. In a show of hope and resolve, three artists — Susan Spiranovich and Adam Holtzinger, the founders of the design company Keep, along with Anders Rydstedt — decided to team up on a project called Re:Gather, the results of which will be made and shipped as soon as the artists are able to return to a studio. Their first product, Cupples, is a series of simple and elegant glasses offered in five colors, including blush, aqua and amber, and features an interlocking design — a glass band wrapped around half the cups corresponds to an equivalent cutout in the other half — that illustrates the need for social connection. “We recognized a shared sense of loss for in-person collaboration that is essential to our work,” says Rydstedt. The name Re:Gather may seem self-explanatory, but it is also a reference to the glassblowing process itself, during which the material is gathered or collected on the end of a blowpipe. Finally, Cupples is meant to remind us of the comforts of sharing a meal with one another, with the hope that we will be able to do so in the near future. $200 for a set of two, keepbrooklyn.com. This is a momentous year for the Irish-born, Scotland-based jeweler Grainne Morton: She’s celebrating her 50th birthday, as well as her 25th anniversary making her fastidiously eclectic jewelry that has found a fan-base of avid collectors around the world. Morton had originally planned to mark her double milestone with a large celebration in a castle just outside of Edinburgh. But the lockdown meant downshifting plans, and in the quiet of the last few months, she and her team have instead been hard at work, making unique pieces of jewelry that feel like the rarest of finds — 10 of which will be released this Friday. “My parents had an antique shop where they lived in Northern Ireland,” Morton explained to me. “They would come visit me in Scotland and spend all week trawling the antique shops here. In order to spend time with them, I would come with, and I started collecting.” Morton is fond of mixing mother-of-pearl, moonstones and other gems with found cameos, antique buttons and vintage glass. Everything is made by hand, sometimes taking weeks to complete, as the individual components are first set in silver and then soldered together into playful compositions, often set on a cross or dripping from an anchor piece. As we’re thinking more consciously about who and what we surround ourselves with right now, Morton is creating more than just a beautiful object but a sense of permanence amid the ephemeral world around her. Available July 10, grainnemorton.co.uk. From T’s Instagram The post The T List: Five Things We Recommend This Week appeared first on Shri Times.

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