Quotes from Ulysses, by James Joyce
“The supreme question about a work of art is out of how deep a life does it spring. Paintings of Moreau are paintings of ideas. The deepest poetry of Shelley, the words of Hamlet bring our mind into contact with the eternal wisdom; Plato’s world of ideas. All the rest is the speculation of schoolboys for schoolboys.”
Ulysses, by James Joyce
“The supreme question about a work of art is out of how deep a life does it spring. Paintings of Moreau are paintings of ideas. The deepest poetry of Shelley, the words of Hamlet bring our mind into contact with the eternal wisdom; Plato’s world of ideas. All the rest is the speculation of schoolboys for schoolboys.”
Captain Jack is back!
Oh yes he is… or rather: she is! Or I am… With quite a captain-look. Black eye patch hiding an eye so desperate to jump out of its socket and an eye that is telling me to stay away from reading, writing and watching television. Hhmm… somehow that is quite hard to do in this day and age of audiovisual technologies, and well… my daily life. But not to worry, I’m sure Captain Jack – or moi… – can find some remedy that doesn’t involve over-medicating on painkillers, boxing gloves to punch my hurting eye out, coffee cans of the hottest black stuff or a brain and eye transplant. Right, so what can be done? Double hhmm… Sleep. Dog. Coffee. Ice cream. Although maybe the latter is telling my stomach…
Stunning bookstore in Dublin!
Yesterday, after walking past Cathach Books (now Ulysses Rare Books) in Duke Street to go to my favourite bookstore in Dublin (Hodges Figgis) in Duke Street, my eyes caught a gem of another bookstore. Cathach Books sells first editions of James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett and so many more fantastic Irish authors. In the window display, the first edition of Ulysses by James Joyce sells at €45000 (approximately $57323,47 or £36099) and if I would ever win the lottery, I would definitely go to the store to buy some of its gems! Now Cathach Books is my favourite bookstore, followed closely of course by Hodges Figgis!
The dark underbelly of Ireland’s society (part 3)
This is part 3, and hopefully the last part, in what I consider my idea of what is wrong in Ireland’s society today. There is old and new heartache in its consumer culture of drugs, alcohol and having a great time. Alcohol is used and abused, but new ways of having fun have emerged with drugs like heroin, cocaine, meth and marijuana.
The dark underbelly of Ireland’s society (part 2)
(Original blog post The dark underbelly of Ireland’s society) Sadly I was not able to find the half-dressed homeless man in town this morning, so the attempt to give him some clothes and food failed. The bag with clothes is still standing here, and hopefully, I will be able to help him someday. This is the street where I have seen him beg before (Henry Street, Dublin) © Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2012. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me with appropriate and specific direction to the…
The dark underbelly of Ireland’s society
I love Ireland. Anyone who reads this blog or who knows me personally knows how much I do. Some days, however, like today, I feel ashamed for being a part of a society that lets beggars sit half-naked, without shoes, without pants in the bitter cold on one of the busiest shopping streets of Ireland (Henry Street, just off O’Connell Street). People walking past carry shopping bags of expensive stores without glancing at a man sitting there begging for money, or if they glance, they show contempt: “How dare he sit here like that?!” Perhaps this image does not fit in many people’s reality, but it doesn’t make it a lesser reality because they deny this person’s hardship. If anything, people who show contempt for someone so poor and so…