how are the intellectuals doing? (long time passing)

so how are the intellectuals doing? (long time passing)

'the time to live some kind of 'life of the mind' has been gradually shrinking...' 

well the intellectuals inside of academia (particularly in the uk) are fucked and most of the young ones are leaving so say william davies joins james butler over at the LRB (and so say the few of horsemouth's friends left in academia). 

meanwhile in the free-range intellectual world unleashed by social media it is not clear that people truly are intellectuals because they are not autonomous of their audience - if you depend on clicks and likes to put food on your table you may find yourself beginning to self-censor and manufacture clickbait etc. 

mind you, these kinds of pressures are not unknown in academia. 

it's a day of farewell

'the season of long shadows on early walks is here...' - chloe edwards substack.

last night horsemouth wrote that he wished there was more of practicalities - and there is! there is colette. horsemouth flicked towards the end of the book when she was living in the palais royale. she absteniously feeds her fire. she takes up cross-stitch. 

there was the moon out of the window. 

today bin recovery and possibly a trip into the village to pick up the hereford times and a few loaves of bread etc. 

tomorrow the dave webb show. 

EQUINOX (the sun crosses the celestial equator)

at 1.06am this morning we autumn equinoxed.

horsemouth is very bad on what the detail of this is (and has been mocked for it on previous occasions). of course we have to wait for friday/ saturday for the day and night to be closest to being equal length (the equilux).

thereafter long dark tunnel through to the spring equinox (20th march 2027). 

along the way there will be day of peak darkness (the winter solstice - monday 21st december) and two celtic quarter days samhain  and imbolc). 

horsemouth could watch the second episode of 70up early (but where's the fun in that). 

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it is the morning. chickens done. 

horsemouth watched the final episode of 70up. despite the protestations of the posh it basically did prove the old arguments about class but that said all boats were lifted by the post-war boom. really what was revealed was the conventional wisdom about family. people have started to die (most notably the director michael apted - but presumably some of the production staff and technicians also).

will they really be able to resist the temptations of 77 and 84?

as one person said their lives have been blessed because they have been seen. others feel cursed by it. others have felt the need to escape it. 

horsemouth found the guitar tuner again (it had fallen under the bedside table). he tuned the hohner 6 string back up to an accurate open G and enjoyed the improved sound. 

normally horsemouth posts up the orbital track equinox to celebrate the equinox. this year he has decided to go with joy by john coltrane. 

recorded on this day (sun and rain tomorrow)

'his brother has just been. horsemouth has sent him off  with a ton of books (probably not literally but it felt like it)'

a year ago horsemouth was completing the great clear out of his room in the wen preparatory to his final move to the wilds. many of the books are still in the garage but some have been migrated inside the house.  

he's showing you joy by john coltrane thinking it was recorded on this day by the classic quartet at the van gelder studio in 1964 (with additional material overdubbed by alice coltrane and others in 1972). 

'marguerite duras and jerome beaujour were discussing the authors she reads - musil, segalen, and the painter matisse.'

horsemouth can (now that he needs it) no longer find this quote in practicalities.

but he does have some segalen (paintings in a quartet encounters edition). he was just reading a little of the introduction (and this may tempt him to read more). 

outside a greyish morning. horsemouth was up early (6.30ish). the rabbits seem to be happy. bbc weather says grey all day (but sun and rain tomorrow).

tonight 70up on tv. last ever episode (allegedly).  

he forgot to mention his dream. he was in a bar. cunningfolk was the barman. he was showing horsemouth some olives as barsnacks. 

horsemouth dreamt about exhibiting art

yesterday evening (in 1981) 

marguerite duras and jerome beaujour were discussing the authors she reads - musil, segalen, and the painter matisse. 

the matisse sounds good. horsemouth has some musil and some segalen.

this morning horsemouth dreamt about exhibiting art. 

specifically howard's art at st. paul's cathedral. it seemed to be a great video display piece. later the curator of it all came over and talked to horsemouth (which was a bit difficult because it wasn't horsemouth's work of art) and then they went to see other pieces of art being exhibited. 

one of these was a giant whirlpool being exhibited in a swimming pool sized tank. the grey water sloshed around at tremendous speeds. 

while he was down in the wen one of horsemouth's favourite things he did was sing a backing vocal on denise's singing of molly malone (cockles and mussels a-live, alive oh!). she also sang she moved through the fair. 

horsemouth is back in the wilds. he has unleashed the chickens and fed them. the nasturtiums are doing well (very well). 

he woke up with a headache (but that seems to have cleared). 

while he was in hereford waiting for the bus  horsemouth had a falafel wrap.  

on his way back from his visit to the wen

 as we speak (as it were) horsemouth is on his way back from his visit to the wen.

there he saw denise and jonny and lethal and wayne and dave and claudia and graham and howard and enza and michelangelo. he also saw the inside of lidl and a great deal of transport infrastructure.

people of the world you are beautiful. 

he has to admit that (courtesy of his bank) the journey did not get off to the best of starts. fortunately his brother saved him and (fortified by a pint in wetherspoons) he made it onto the train. 

and now, somewhat tired and bruised by beer, he is on his way back. 

one interesting thing on the journey was that he could get a bus back from hereford on a sunday to pontrilas (which is two miles away). previously the nearest he has been able to get on a sunday was madley - 5 miles away). 

that just left the two mile walk from pontrilas which was truly beautiful in the sun. 

3 sailors dance

yesterday walk to the village (with the guests) and a walk back. a quick go on the exercise machines on the sportsfield. horsemouth has been sent a version of trois martelots (3 sailors dance) to listen to (and very good it is too). 

horsemouth's legs are now aching but at least it got him out of his post walk up the hill slump. 

before that a wander up the hill to deliver the eggs. in the path by the stream some cows and some calves. horsemouth backed them down the path and then managed to get round them at the gate.

today horsemouth is off travelling (where he will end up anyone knows) but he will be back home on sunday afternoon (that's the promise). 

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so how has horsemouth been feeling?

seeing his guests has cheered him up a bit and seeing the people where he is travelling should do the rest. 

it has been delayed by this, that, and the other, but still, finally, it is happening. 

above radie peat takes the other side of blackwaterside it seems. 

a visit to the village

nothing back on trois matelots yet. horsemouth had a quick look at gribouille's les corbeaux, it looks do-able. he thinks he needs to write another chapter  about a puppet show with sailors featuring bulotte the weasel. otherwise everything else progresses on keenly. 

guests have arrived. there has been a walk down to the abbey and a meal. after that horsemouth's mum and the guests stayed up playing cards. horsemouth is not interested in games of luck or skill so he retired to bed. 

today a visit to the village (doctor's appointment and village shop). he thinks the main thing is to avoid tiring his mum out with 'useful' tasks. tomorrow horsemouth is away so that he can be a visitor. 

oh dear. a name from horsemouth's past has made it into the newspapers (in connection with something or other). horsemouth's usual advice is if you are in a hole, stop digging. but sometimes even that isn't enough.