Back To Van Gogh

Van Gogh (scroll down) was in the Old Phoenix. See Anonymous Historical Characters III.

I wondered whether the Time Patrol would investigate why van Gogh cut off his ear. See Van Gogh.

This evening, a TV program explained that, when a matador excels, he is given a severed bull's ear as a trophy and that van Gogh was identifying himself with the defeated bull.

I think that this post qualifies as "off the wall."

Van Gogh

Recently, because of an earlier blog post (see here), Chris Cole emailed me about kayaking (see here).

Today, because of another earlier post (see here), Jenna from Artsy Team has emailed me about the Team's Vincent van Gogh page (see here) which has:

van Gogh's bio;
over 100 of his works;
exclusive articles;
updated exhibition listings;
related artists and categories.

As I said about kayaks, anything that comes up from reading Poul Anderson's works is relevant and I am happy to relay information. 

Van Gogh

Sometimes I blog while there is a TV on in the same room. Reality becomes multi-layered:

the room
the computer screen
the TV screen
a mirror (Alice's "Looking Glass House")
through the window
the page of a book
thoughts
conversation
interruptions for meals

This evening, while I was posting about time travel, there was a TV program about art history detective work as to why van Gogh severed his ear. Would anyone in the future of the Time Patrol timeline be interested in this? Maybe not but, if so, then they would be able to research it by visiting the period but would have to avoid:

drawing attention to themselves;
causing any of the events that they were there to observe.

We know the sorts of things that can happen but the most interesting question is: would they be able to solve the mystery? On the question of comparisons with British TV programs, I have already mentioned "Time Team."

Time And Change II

Manson Everard, Time Patrol, Unattached, needs to meet Janne Floris, Time Patrol, Specialist, in Amsterdam. On p. 477 of Poul Anderson's Time Patrol (New York, 2006), Everard arrives by timecycle in the Amsterdam office of the Time Patrol. On p. 481, he presses the doorbell of her circa 1910 apartment. Why has it taken him four pages to get there?

He talks to the office manager, looks around Amsterdam, reminisces about his previous visit thirty four years ago and his subsequent life in the Patrol, takes a canal tour, has eel for lunch and visits the Museum. Walking from the Museumplein along the Singelgracht, he passes through Vondelpark:

"Water gleamed, leaves and grass glowed with sunlight." (p. 480)

He sees a young couple in a canoe, an old couple beneath older trees and a group of shouting, laughing cyclists, remembers Rembrandt and Van Gogh, reflects on the life of the city:

"And he knew their whole reality for a spectral flickering, diffraction rings across abstract, unstable space-time, a manifold brightness that at any instant could not only cease to be but cease ever having been." (ibid.)

He quotes A Midsummer Night's Dream. That was worth a four page delay. My inclination as a Philosophy graduate is to analyze "...could not only cease to be..." but I have done that before. This time, let's just appreciate the prose and its imagery.

Anonymous Historical Characters III

See here.

Despite the general anonymity, the narrator names Francois Villon (see image). However, most of the others remain a guessing game. A rugged Edwardian Englishman's dreams will end in ice and hunger. Shackleton? The rugged Englishman converses with a "...dark man in a form-fitting glittery coverall..." (All One Universe, p. 111), whom I take to be fictional.

Kit Marlowe is mentioned although not present on this occasion.

Another man has "...bony head, craggy nose, ruddy beard..." (p. 112) - and both ears. Shouldn't he have had? The narrator quotes, as if relevant:

"The light, the coals, like the sun." (ibid.) - and then quotes the bony-headed man himself as saying, in Dutch:

"'White, Theo. All colors go up together in the white heat." (ibid.)

Van Gogh? (Later we learn that Bony Head painted self-portraits.)

A French-speaking European in early nineteenth century garb with failing sight sips wine while conversing with an Arabic-speaking North African Muslim who drinks fruit juice. The Muslim remarks that nomads revitalize civilization but later in turn become corrupt and feeble. The European compares extinctions in other species with human degeneracy.

Villon sings of Harald Hardrada dying at Stamford Bridge and mentions Simon Bolivar whom the Time Patrol helped.

The John Bullish Englishman who enters next is named at the end of the story - Winston Churchill.

There are more. We can discuss which characters could profitably visit the Old Phoenix but we should mainly appreciate how well Anderson blends together those that he does send there.

Kayaking

The image is from Lancaster Kayak and Canoe Club where my daughter, Aileen, trained for a while.

Back in 2016, I summarized information from Poul Anderson's The Merman's Children about kayaks and similar items. See here. After the post was published, I was asked to link to a site about kayaking so the link was attached as an addendum and is here again.

Now I have been asked to link to another site about buying kayaks so here it is.

This blog is not about water sports but I am willing to help anyone who thinks that a link might be useful. Another requested link was to information about Van Gogh.

Everard In Amsterdam II

"Star of the Sea," 2, pp. 477-480.

the Indische Buurt

gulden

strippenkart

the Dam

the Central Station

the Damrak

the Stedelijke Museum

the Rijks

the Museumplein

the Singelgracht

Vondelpark

the Oude Kerk

Rembrandt

Van Gogh

the red-light district

We tour Amsterdam with Everard.

Two Surprises In The Old Phoenix

Poul Anderson's "Losers' Night" is an extremely compact text. A full analysis of the story would be longer than it, especially if every historical reference were to be followed up. I want to focus just on the conclusion.

When Francois Villon has sung about Christians "'...burning heretics, hanging Jews...'" (All One Universe, p. 123) -

- the first person narrator comments:

"I thought his mind had slipped back to his medieval realm, until I remembered what world it was whereon Winston Churchill now opened the door. The envoi sums up the entire ballade." (ibid.)

(Do we need that last sentence?)

This is a double surprise ending. First, it is possible that some readers have not realized that the "John Bull" Englishman in the story is Churchill. Any such readers will be pleasantly surprised by the second half of the second last sentence. Secondly, however, their pleasurable recognition of a historical figure might distract their attention from the reason why the narrator remembers the world to which Churchill returns: Europe between the Wars. Mass murder of Jews was not solely a medieval aberration.

But there is more. In the Old Phoenix, Churchill has met van Gogh and their conversation has inspired him not to "'...surrender...'" (p. 122) despite his current political setbacks. World War II awaits.

Commenting And Communicating

I mentioned this in the combox but maybe I should also post about it. Because of new European Union Data Protection legislation, I have at least temporarily ceased to receive email/gmail notifications of blog comments.

Therefore:

I have to scroll down the blog to look for new comments on recent posts;
I might miss some;
I will definitely miss any recent comments on old posts.

A couple of times, I have been asked to add links, e.g., see:

the Addendum to Bygds, Umiaks, Kayaks And An Angakok;
Van Gogh.

I am happy to respond to such requests. If I do not respond to a combox comment, it will only be because I have missed it. I can be emailed at paulshackley2017@gmail.com