Free falling

Following on from yesterday’s post.

Imagine being able to look over humanity, all of history, art, literature and love. Imagine looking downwards at our planet, seeing it in its entirety and its surrounding spatial infinity. Imagine floating up and beyond the earth’s hazy blue sky in what we mere mortals consider a wicker basket and a balloon. Just the other day, the 43 year old Felix Baumgartner, drifted into the heights of our sky, indeed into our upper atmosphere and freefell 23 miles, plummeting back down to our safe earthly ground. Let’s not forget that he is not the only space lunatic out there, Jospeh Kittinger was the first to set the record for the longest skydive, falling from the dizzying heights of 19.5 miles. I can only see them as an inspiration; they are two men, picked out of a crowd of 7 billion other people. They are my heroes, and my space Gods.

But sometimes I have to remind myself that they are human beings like the rest of us. Their mortal bodies have to endure a lot and be put under serious pressure. To even have a chance of surviving they have to wear 100lbs of space suit nonsense, they have to resist the bone chilling temperature of -55ºC and the lack of air and low pressure means bubbles begin to form in liquid and yes, that means that their blood could start to boil like a pan of hot soup. But these are just the minor risks of freefalling from our beautiful planet’s atmosphere. We forget that these space men are falling faster than the speed of sound. If they passed through the sound barrier, the airflow would change around them meaning that the pressure is bigger and badder, and would force them into an uncontrollable flat spin. Their blood would rush to the top or the bottom of their body and that is when it gets scary. But hey, guess what, these super space dudes survived and continue to live on in their epic hot air balloon legacy.

My free falling space daredevils make me daydream for hours on end. I imagine what they felt like on their ascent and descent; I imagine their fear, their free fall tumbling, their parachute jerking, stomach wrenching, epic and final landing. I think of situations where I introduce myself as the person who travelled faster than the speed of sound, I am a mortal sound-defeating bullet.  But for now here I am, a human happy to live my whole life with my two feet placed on this earthly ground.

A.A.H

Felix Baumgartner's freefall from space

Speaking of' 'Journeys'...

--A.G.

A Clockwork Orange: Zammechat.

This week marks the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Anthony Burgess’ 1962 novella ‘A Clockwork Orange’. ‘A Clockwork Orange’, mainly remembered for its shocking ‘ultra-violence’ and subsequent censorship is one of a handful of books that makes use of a totally original, obscure dialect which is individual to its narrator. Alex relates his tale in an argot called Nadsat. Nadsat is a vibrant, spontaneous mix of derived Russian, modified Slavic words, Cockney rhyming slang and hybrid words of Burgess’ own creation. 

A substantial number of the words are derived from Russian; ‘Slooshy’ from ‘slushat’ (to listen), ‘lubbilubbing’ from ‘lyublyu’ (making love) and ‘neezhnies’ from nizhniyi (underpants) are particularly memorable, sonorous examples. 

Some words are literally conceived; 'the old in-out' means sexual intercourse and ‘chumble’ onomatopoeically fuses ‘chatter’ and ‘mumble’. 

Some words have a rather childish, school-boy tone; ‘bad’ becomes ‘baddiwad’ while ‘apology’ becomes the ludicrous, yet rather melodious ‘appy polly loggy’.

While employing some traditional rhyming slang, Alex also contributes some original efforts such as ‘cutter’ for money (from the phrase bread and butter), and the unrhymed and obscure ‘pan-handle’ for ‘erection’.

The conglomeration of these various forms results in a hybrid, (sometimes perplexing) narrative discourse; a discourse which is as particular and peculiar as the character of Alex himself. Nadsat is fast-paced, observational, opportunistic and transmutational. It isn’t often that an author will create a new language for their characters, but Burgess did, and it has massive and multitudinous effects on how we read and respond to ‘A Clockwork Orange’. Essentially it wildly differentiates Alex, and his dystopian universe from our own. Burgess paradoxically locates his world far in the future and uncomfortably close to real-life; Nadsat is foreign, yet fundamentally grounded in reality. ‘A Clockwork Orange’, today, as it did in 1962 calls for a re-evaluation of our fixed, standardized plain-English. Burgess presents language in a state of flux, with a mutability and originality that makes spoken English seem paltry in comparison. 

NB: In the first edition of the book, no key was provided, and the reader was left to interpret the meaning of the words from their context. I have included a link to a ‘dictionary’ style list of definitions, however, while there is understandably interest in ‘translating’ Alex’s dialogue, I suggest that its lyrical beauty is un-translatable. Decipher ‘A Clockwork Orange’  as you will but first read it blind, ignorant, as the strange thing that it is. 

http://soomka.com/nadsat.html 

JEM.

Horace Panter's Blues

Horace Panter, whose name you may recognise from his success as bass player of the ska band 'The Specials' has created a series of paintings inspired by his love for the blues. Panter's collages depict something of an homage to blues legends such as Hound Dog Taylor, John Lee Hooker and Bo Diddley. Charismatic images of the legends are immersed in a collection of nostalgia and paraphenelia of not only the story of the blues as a musical genre, but the revolutionary history that surrounded the lives of these legends. Panter is not acting as the preacher in his work; he is subtle in his choices of imagery when he does allude to something of a darker nature. In 'Hound Dog Taylor' the barbed wire that encases the originals' frame and the dancing, primitive figures below lead to provoking thoughts of exactly what object and image is meant to represent.

'Hound Dog Taylor'

 

'John Lee Hooker'

Images from horacepanterart.com

 

Is it odd that so many people today can still identify and emphathise with the poignant words of these singers? Our sufferings and experiences today do not even begin to equate with the ones they may have endured it may be argued. But ask any devoted blues lover, and those expressive lyrics recalling the tales of deep sorrows, the wailing desparation of an abondoned lover and the feelings of being at a complete loss, still have a very deep, very powerful resonance. Those husky tones that flow so freely to the pace of the steady blues underpin the most brutal, but honest truths of life. The blues brings out the truth in man. That is why it has endured, will always be relevent and makes it a legacy worth sustaining.

 

The White Room Gallery in Bath has a collection of Horace Panter limited edition prints and originals avaialable. For details visit www.thewhiteroomgallery.com or better still, visit the gallery and take a look for yourself.

A.P

 

 

The Little Black Jacket

China Chow in the Little Black Jacket: Chanel's Classic Revisited

You may already be familiar with The Little Black Jacket. The product of a collaboration between some of the reigning royalty of the fashion world, ex-Vogue Paris editor Carine Roitfeld and controversial Chanel mastermind Karl Lagerfeld, it is an experiment, coffee table book and touring exhibition. It opened last Friday at the Saatchi Gallery and if you visit this page and have a little clickety-click around, you'll be able to watch a video from the opening featuring the sultry voice of Lou Douillon (as well as interviews from the likes of Arizona Muse and Chloe Moretz), check out a few of the beautifully photographed images from the book, and take a trip behind the scenes of the making of the book. I'm severely lusting after this book, and when one might describe its focus as "the beating heart of Chanel's ready-to-wear", who could argue?

-F.D.

Helicon Open Mic Night

Wintery lethargy is setting in. Endless days of slouching and snuggling and eating and staying in. Move. Take a journey. Walk through the icy woods. Drive through the city. Buy a plane ticket.

That warmth that you feel spreading through your muscles as you move isn't just blood pumping; it's beauty and ideas and the possibility of serendipity. Move away from your computers, Helicon readers. You're not just exposing yourself to the cold.



That's my good deed of the day done. Go get inspired.
S

Musical exploration

Make this weekend one for exploring, go out there and discover some of the talent that’s under your nose, find some of those Bristolian delights of the well established but undiscovered music scene.  Don’t let your thirst for new music peter out, get outside, open your ears and discover what’s happening at the end of your street, maybe even in your local public house.  Here is an example of where you can find that fresh meat that you are most certainly craving for.

Also Helicon recommends GRIMES, check her out at Motion on the 13th of November. 

9 Eyes

In 2007, Google began to undertake one of the most ambitious journeys yet. Complete with a nine-lensed panoramic camera, the Google Street View cars set out to cover 5 million miles of road, spreading out over 39 countries and more than 3000 cities. Street view has given us the opportunity to 'travel' to countries we otherwise would never have seen, as we are free to roam the bustling streets of Hong Kong, the desolate Texan plains or the alpine villages of Switzerland without having to leave our own homes. By viewing the world from street level, we are given a rare insight into the mundane and daily lives surrounding these roads.
This inevitably leads to some interesting finds, as artist Jon Rafman discovered when he launched his project '9 Eyes', a blog which documents all of the most unexpected, bizarre and beautiful images found on Street View. In doing so he gives us a fresh look at the details which are often left overlooked in our everyday surroundings, whilst also reminding us that good photography can sometimes be entirely accidental.
Check out the full blog here here:  http://9-eyes.com/

~ M. D.

“What teachers and the administration in that era never seemed to see was that the mental work of what they called daydreaming often required more effort and concentration than it would have taken simply to listen in class. Laziness is not the issue. It is just not the work dictated by the administration.” ― David Foster Wallace, Oblivion

We travel to places. Places of overwhelming beauty- 

or sacred seclusion-

these are places to which we travel with our legs, and which are catalogued by our senses. These are journeys for our body. But a "journey" need not be limbs meeting land; a journey simply means an exploration. A journey is not founded upon a monotonous movement of foot following foot. Photographer Thomas Hoepker chose not to publish the below image in a book of 9/11 photography because of the paths it would present to the mind- a trail which led to the belief that the young people pictured below are reacting (or rather, not reacting,) to their backdrop with indifference. Although the Americans photographed later came forward to claim they were, in fact, in a state of disbelief and shock, on initial absorption of the image, the viewer travels to a very different conclusion. 

This train of thought gives rise to another question: although the studious pupil is often thought to possess the tamest of minds, and least rebellious of urges, could this be quite the opposite? Just as an image can say a thousand words, can too words breed a thousand images? Are journeys of the mind more accessible, more dangerous, and more exciting, than journeys of the body? Literature is naively viewed by many as a puristic pursuit, but it is literature (such as Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road', D.H.Lawrence's 'Lady Chatterly's Lover', and even the infamous '5O Shades of Grey') which provides an individual with the largest, and most exposing, of journeys.


--A.G.

The Shortest Story.

This week will see the announcement of the winner of online magazine ‘Fleeting’s six-word short story prize (conducted by Matt Shoard). The competition involves coming up with the most interesting, intriguing and compelling short story, in just six words! Shoard aim’s to find a winning story that will rival the inestimable brilliance of Hemingway’s famous offering ‘For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.’

In this twitter-age pithiness and lucidity of dialogue is fast replacing the elaborate, wrought discourse of twentieth-century novelists such as Joyce and Lawrence. Shoard’s competition reflects and responds to a growing celebration of the richness of pared back, elided, succinct speech - an awareness which spreads even to fiction.

Although bound by a strict six-word restriction (a limitation which strikes fear into myself as an English student) the submissions are not lacking in richness, variety and interest. Some notable examples include; Dan Brown’s ‘his Russian bride hid others inside’ and my particular favourite, Fran Edney’s ‘Groundhog day. Groundhog day. Groundhog day.’

What is so interesting about the ‘stories’ submitted to Shoard’s competition is their capacity to be read initially as statements. There emerges an infinitesimally thin line between fact and fiction, statement and story, explanation and narrative. I think that it is this liminality which makes the submitted ‘stories’ so interesting and complex. 

Shoard’s competition is encouraging writers to re-describe fiction, to reclaim language in its simplest most direct form, and to create narratives that look to the reader to expand and enrich them. 

As for the short-listed writers, I’ll tell you my own story about them; ‘They came, they wrote, they prospered.’ 

http://www.fleetingmagazine.com/six-word-story-competition-shortlist/

Jessica McKay

The festival we want to go to more than any other.

Maybe it's going to take about five years and about five grand (probably more). But we will make it to Burning Man, no matter what. Tens of thousands gather every year to build Black Rock City, a "temporary metropolis" where art, music, culture and life is celebrated. The city then evaporates as the festivalgoers leave. Prior to and during the festival, sublimely weird and remarkably wonderful art installations spring up all around the always jaw-dropping temple at the centre. This year's temple, the Temple of Juno, revisited the festival's traditional roots after a few years of futuristic, almost Blade Runner-esque edifices. Burning Man's official ten principles include radical self-reliance, decommodification (commerce is banned), unconditional gift-giving, and leaving no trace - the gorgeous structures and the man himself are burned at the end and all your waste must be taken with you. Plus if they don't think you're going to survive with the kit you've brought, you're not getting in.. it is the unpredictable Nevada desert after all. Listen Look Read... and see you there sometime this decade?

-F.D.

 Photography by Christopher Michel, Sketch of the Temple of Juno by David Best.

Journey

A warm welcome to anyone new to Bristol and new to Helicon. This term we're excited to be bringing you this year's first issue, rather fittingly exploring the theme Journey, for all those who have just up rooted from home and are settling into life in Bristol, or simply for anyone who has been, or still is, on a journey, whether that be physical, mental, spiritual, cataclysmic, you name it. This issue will delve into the journey's we take through life, by choice or by force, how they influence us, change us, and how they lead us to new places and new people. Submit your art, photography, poetry and prose for the chance to have your work published. We're looking for creative interpretations of the theme, surprise us, delight us, we look forward to hearing from you!

“Not all those who wander are lost.” J. R. R. Tolkien

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the 

journey that matters, in the end.” Ernest Hemingway

Henri Cartier-Bresson

On the Road

This month sees the film release of Walter Salles' On the Road, an adaption of the classic Jack Kerouac novel written in 1955.

Sal Paradise (Sam Riley) ups sticks and ventures out on the journey towards that ever elusive American dream.  Along the way he encounters friendship, heartbreak and hardship and falls into the rhythm of the Beat that has come to signify that gritty jazz age. Chuck in a blitz of torn denim and roughed-up motors, lost in a haze of drugs and sex and you have one of the smoothest and enigmatic films of the year.

For all those who are feeling a little bit lost in the chaos of the new university year, escape into the stunning cinematography depicting the wide, open American landscape and be reassured that really noone knows where they are going, or where they will end up.

The Watershed (located in the heart of the city on the harbourside) is showing On the Road from this friday for the next two weeks.

And if you are still not feeling the urge to don your cooolest shades and head off into the sunset here is some Billlie Holiday to get you going...

A.P