...And A Day's Headstart

"Every word is fossilized poetry"

Robert Anton Wilson, paraphrasing Ralph Waldo Emerson

You, Who Never Arrived

"...perhaps the same bird echoed through both of us
yesterday, seperate, in the evening..."

-Rilke.

Answers #2 For Bobby.

A: Bizarre! I love this question! I was told as a very young ballet dancer, that I had 'great' toes. They are blunt! That means that my big toe, second and third toes, are all of a similar length; thereby providing a lovely platform for ballet shoes. As my toes are always hurting or aching - one way or another; and because I wear heels almost everyday, I find toe rings repulsive. But I wear many anklets, and slave chains across my feet. Mostly ones I've been given by my dearest loves, (as they know how I adore bells, and have a fascination with anything remotely Indian). I often paint my feet with Henna, and have done for years. My naturopath always tells me to cease doing so, as the ink inevitably ends up showing in my blood stream... but I find it too beautiful to stop. I paint words on my feet in Hebrew, and then put my anklets on. The only thing is, I always break the anklets when I'm dancing or running, so I seek a constant supply of them. My favourite ones; I save for my boudoir.
A: If I could revisit any age, it would be the early 20th century - the late 1800's/early 1900's. The Belle Epoque. An age when 'art' was respected. When the Impressionists where painting their love into their fields of flowers. When I could have been a courtesan. When all Leonard Cohen's lyrics for 'Dance Me To The End Of Love', fit perfectly. And the corsets! And my hair wouldn't have had to be restrained! And fair skin and a bosom was celebrated. But, as far as music goes - the 1960's. I wish I had been there to hear it all for the first time - not to just love it in retrospect. And, maybe then, I could have told Germaine Greer to shut her bloody face and think about what she was saying... '2011' behaviour, anyone? Somewhere along the line, women confused promiscuity for real freedom... I fear the joke is on us, and has been since the 50's. I wish I could go back to that time, and tell women that 'sex' is a million times more than what they thought it was.
A: "Open me, undo me,
      Break me, make me,
      Breath me, envelop me,
      Awaken me, love with me."
A:  I have seen a hedgehog! In Medjugorje, while I was walking in the fields. It was such a beautiful little thing. I was alone, and it was suddenly at my feet; keeping me company while I fought my way through the quagmire that was the cusp of my very shit 17/18th year on Earth. It was so friendly - I have photos of it.
A: 7. Always. Too deep a vein within me, to ever speak of.
A: Neither... No idea what that means.

xo

Questionnaire #2 For Ri

Q: The human form is forever beautiful, however if it is let down anywhere it is in the foot department. I have a theory that if you can make the toes beautiful, the rest is easy. As an adornment connoisseur, do you wear toe rings or anklets?
Q: If you could revisit any age, what would it be & why?
Q: I like your idea of completing a lyric, so I shall plunder it. Please continue the following:

"Open me, undo me
Break me, make me
...
...
"

Q: Have you ever seen a hedgehog?
Q: Numbers can contain such simplicity, complexity, beauty and significance. Which numbers have specific meaning to you?
Q: Spongebob or Nemo?


currently on shore-leave,
bobby the itchybeard
xxx

Discovery

"Their eyes met, and they stared together at each other alone in space."

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Answers for Ri #2

A: My room is my sanctuary, it is small but I make the most of the space. Some time ago I had a choice - to record in my bedroom or to sleep in my studio - I chose the latter, as such my surrounds reflect my focus, decorated in inspirational music studio, hippy decor: indian throw on the wall, full of purples & dancing elephants; persian rugs partially covering wooden floorboards; incense is regularly burnt - this month's flavour is "Fantasy" - and every night just after dusk hits, the fairy lights that line my ceiling activate. I sleep under the stars every night, where I am buoyed by these.
A: My favourite meal changes with the seasons. Currently it is a salad of mine and a friend's creation: baby spinach; grape tomatoes; cukes; bambini bocconcini; soft roast chicken breast; avocado; black olives; jalepenos; cashews; balsamic dressing; with a side of bruschettini. I've played with the recipe, swapping out & adding or removing ingredients, but when prepared as listed above it has the perfect balance of flavours, so one doesn't overpower the other. Part of this being my favourite meal is the health benefit received. As a last meal, health would no longer be a consideration, nor would suffering any adverse effects from eating, as such I would choose my own signature dish: butter chicken. While regular butter chicken contains around 25% fat, mine is closer to 50%, though I've never had that confirmed, I do know that it is at least 50% more delicious. NB: there would be no "filler" (aka rice), just minimal chicken and gourds of gravy.
A: Sometime into my 3rd decade I gained perspective on how much estimated time I had left. I took stock of what I had accomplished in the time already spent and refocused every aspect of my life: mind; body; spirit. Since that time, I have appreciated every day so much more and live with a joie de vivre I had not experienced since childhood. While still basically the same person I've always been, within the last 4-5 years I have grown immensely spiritually, my body is in the best shape it has ever been, and I have poured fuel on my thirst for knowledge, and specifically books - which has intensified with the increased energy levels as a result of the whole. If I die tomorrow, I will go out with the knowledge that I made the absolute most of my time here. The end is always partially in mind, but it's the journey that is my primary focus.
A: ...and you know you choose your fate
but you can't trick destiny, because
it will get you in the end
A: Fate & destiny have been especially topical for me within the last year. Much enlightenment, many choices and  important decisions, some of my own, some at the whim of others.

Wherein fates meet.

A: Destiny is just that: if it's meant to happen it will happen, no matter how much you fight it. As sure as the Sun sails through the sky each day.

PS I loved this questionnaire =)

Much love from the high seas,
blackbeard bobby xx

Questionnaire #2 For Bobby.

Q: What do you love most about the elements that surround you?
Q: What is your favourite meal?...What would be your last meal, if you had the choice?
Q: You and Ri have texted about 'Mortality': thusly... regarding what we both think would happen if one was to die whilst drunk/ in an altered state. But what do you feel about your own mortality? Do you think about it very often?
Q: Would you be so kind as to finish this lyric with your own words:
"Well mercy me. I'll be goddamned.
It's been a long, long time
since I last saw you.
And I have never known the plan.
It's been a long, long time......"
Q: Why?
Q: How?

Love, Ri. xoxo

River

"The Tetons - Snake River", Wyoming, 1942.

"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. 

I am haunted by waters."

-Norman Maclean.