I Got Rhythm

po·et·ry /ˈpoʊɪtri/ Show Spelled[poh-i-tree]

noun

1. the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative,or elevated thoughts.

         

          Generally, you might find that if you say to someone, "I like poetry", or "I write poetry", they'll more than likely give you a facial reaction like this:

        It's a very subjective thing because what comes across as 'beautiful, elevated thought' is something that will obviously differ greatly from person to person. A great deal of people see forms of hip-hop as poetry, for example. It is a very big, umbrella term that doesn't necessarily mean Lord Byron, or the sonnets of Shakespeare.

        The definition of a lyric is 'poetry intended for song'. Rhythm is the core element both in poetry and music; because of rhythm, we've all ended up singing some pretty ridiculous things because we're caught up in the music. For example, would you EVER actually say to someone, "Don't leave me hangin' on like a yo-yo!"
If you did, you would see that face again. This is not the eighties. Even the eighties would be ashamed.

          I admit that I love poetry in its many forms and I am not a teenager full of angst, or a beatnik with a beret. Granted, I come across as a pretentious bastard because I write this blog...but here is some from my favourite poet, W.B. Yeats, to illustrate my point... Much better than the yo-yo based example from before.

"When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face..."

We Learned More From A Three Minute Record Than We Ever Did In School

Méliès and Scorsese

When I heard Martin Scorsese was making a kids film I was pretty excited, but it wasn't until I heard it was largely abot George Méliès that I ran to see it at first opportunity.
Méliès is largely tied to this image here below:

This is from the 1902 silent movie named Voyage Dans La Lune or A Trip To The Moon. It is often speculated to be the first science-fiction film.
Like many of Méliès movies, this one uses animation and illusions to create something that at the time was not possible in any other means. Its director is responsible for many effects and techniques that are now standard practise in film making today- such as stop motion and fade ins/outs.
He began on the stage as a magician, wowing audiences with his tricks and disappearing acts. He always found a way to achieve the illusion he wanted in ways that then seemed impossible and now seem primitive. In my opinion he is the most important director of all time, simply because of his attitudes towards challenges (that they could always be overcome).
He achieved success but it did not last his whole life- he ended up with most of his films destroyed, poor and working in Mountparnasse Station in a toy stall which he described as "An icebox in Winter and a furnace in Summer."
His life is portrayed this way in Hugo, and whilst it leaves out some detail of his decline as a director, it revives the joy that he found when his life and works were celebrated shortly before his death. In a way, it gives him a happy ending, though it may be half a century later.
This is what I found remarkable about Hugo- it tied Scorsese and Méliès together, two completely different directors across time, and showed the primitive, magical scenes from A Trip To The Moon  in a 21st century, three-dimensional movie. It blended the past and the present, the beginnings of film with the modern. I found it a warm hommage and at a very important time- digital is taking over cinema as we know it, it is entering a new phase. It does us well to remember the humble, impossible start of celluloid and the vast phases it has gone through in such a short time.
Good on y'George.

Decisions

So new year, resolutions and stuff.

I am in a full time job, which I am grateful for. But I can't help noticing that I'm nearly 23 and I have not filled my time with the things I wanted to originally. QUARTER LIFE CRISIS!

So. I need an adventure, something to plan and look forward to..... I have made a decision, to use my new boring full time job to fund my journey to this place:

I like the freedom that comes with travelling, it reminds me that there's more to everything. Puts you in perspective. There's something happening somewhere, always, and it's nothing to do with you. So go and see it? Yes please. I'll start there...