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Moby Dick - Melville CHAPTER 79
<<Human or animal, the
mystical brow is as that great
golden
seal affixed by the German Emperors to their
decrees.
It signifies- "God: done
this day by my hand."
But in most creatures, nay in man
himself, VERy often the brow
is
but a mere strip of alpine land lying along the snow line. Few
are the
foreheads which like SHAKESPEARE's or Melancthon's rise
so
high, and descend so low, that the eyes themselves seem clear,
eternal,
tideless mountain lakes; and above them in the forehead's
wrinkles, you seem
to track the antlered thoughts descending there
to drink, as the Highland
hunters track the snow prints of the deer.
But in the great Sperm WHALE, this
high and mighty god-like dignity
inherent in the brow is so immensely
amplified, that gazing on it,
in that full front view, you feel the Deity and
the dread powers
more forcibly than in beholding any other object in living
nature.
Champollion deciphered the wrinkled
granite hieroglyphics. But there
is no Champollion to decipher the Egypt
of EVERy man's and EVERy
being's face. Physiognomy, like
EVERy other human science, is
but
a passing fable. If then, Sir William Jones, who read in
thirty
languages, could not read the simplest peasant's face in
its
profounder and more subtle meanings, how may unlettered
Ishmael
hope to read the awful Chaldee of the Sperm WHALE's
brow?
I but put that brow before
you. READ IT IF YOU
CAN.>>
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READ IF THOV CANST,
WHOM ENVIOVS
DEATH HATH PLAST
WITH
IN THIS MONVMENT
SHAKSPEARE:
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SIRACH 22:
A slothful man is compared to the filth of a DUNGHILL:
EVERy man that takes it up WILL SHAKE his hand...
...as
TIMBER girt and bound together in a
building
cannot be loosed with SHAKING:
so the
heart that is stablished by advised counsel
shall
fear at no time. A heart settled upon a thought of
understanding is as a
fair PLAISTERING on the
WALL of a
gallery.
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The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon by Washington
Irving
http://www.online-literature.com/irving/geoffrey crayon/26/
I had come to Stratford on a poetical
pilgrimage. My first visit was to
the house where Shakespeare was born, and
where, according to tradition,
he was brought up to his father's
CRAFT of wool-combing. It is a
small
mean-looking edifice of wood & PLASTER, a TRUE nestling-place of genius,
which
seems to delight in hatching its offspring in by-corners.
The WALLs of its squalid chambers are coVEREd with names & inscriptions
in
EVERy language by pilgrims of all
nations, ranks, and conditions,
from the prince to the peasant, and present a
simple but striking
instance of the spontaneous and uniVERsal homage of mankind
to the great
poet of
NATURE.
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http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/bldefsalexamenos.htm
This crude GRAFFITI cartoon from the early second century,
may be the
oldest depiction of Christ. Scratched onto a PLASTER WALL, it depicts
a donkey headed man on a
crucifix. Next to him is a figure with
a raised arm, ostensibly the butt of
the joke. The Greek caption
reads "Alexamen[OS
SEBET]e theon" (Alexamenos worships his
god.)
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CALIBAN:
I must obey: his art is of such
power,
It would
control my dam's god, SETEBOS,
and make a VASSAL of
him.
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The English "The Hystorie of HAMBLET" was adapted from
the
"AM-LETH" story of Danish historian
Saxo
Grammaticus.
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"MA-LETH" (a
haven)
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http://www.holiday-malta.com/resort/malta/village/valletta/harbourofvalletta.htm
<<At one time or other the
traders of yesteryear- the Pheonicians and
the Carthagenians, the Romans and
the Saracens, the Normans, the Normans
and the Aragonese, the hospitalier
Knights, Napoleon and Nelson- have
used Malta's Harbours. It was the
Pheonicians who gave the island
the name MALETH (a haven), which was later corrupted by the
Greeks
into MELITA (honey),
from which the modern name of Malta derives.
When Emperor Charles V offered
Malta to the Knights of St. John in
1526, the island came into the limelight
as a possible place where the
Knights could re- establish themselves
permanently after the loss of
Rhodes, the island of Roses, in 1522. An
eight-man commission
was dispatched to Malta to report on the nature of the
island. The
commissioners reported : "The island of Malta is only one
continued
rock of soft sand stone.the surface of the rock is stony, unfit
to
produce corn.except for a few springs in the middle of the island,
there
is no running water. wood is scarce. but. there are several ports
or
capes and places that form a sort of bays and coves in which ships
may
anchor; there are two spacious and very good harbours in the island
,
capable of receiving the largest fleet. The convenience of so
many
ports, so convenient for the armada of the Order, make us be of
the
opinion that the Emperors proposals ought not to be
rejected."
The order`s fleet was based in
the Roman port of Cittavecchia.
In October 1530 the Knights entered Maltas
main harbour on board
the great carrack Santa Anna - the first ever
ARMOUR-plated vessel
under the command of Sir William Weston, who had
commanded the
Santa Maria as the Order pulled out of Rhodes eight years
before.
A landmark on the Grand
Harbour basin is the vedette
on Senglea Point bearing the figures of AN
EAR & AN EYE -
symbols of the hearkening ear and the watchful
oculus.
During his second visit to Malta in 1811
Lord Byron carved his name
among the GRAFFITI on one of
the
terraces of Lazzaretto. A landmark on Valletta itself,
as
seen from Marsamxett Harbour side, is St. Pauls`s
Anglican
Cathedral with its smart, elegant behind the
bastions.>>
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GRAFFITI
GRIFFAIT: (French)
SCRATCHED
FAIR
GIFT
-----------------------------------------------
SONNET 87
1. Farewell thou art too dear for my
possessing,
2. And like enough thou know'st thy estimate,
3. The Charter
of thy worth gives thee releasing;
4. My bonds in thee are all
determinate.
5. For how do I hold thee but by thy granting?
6. And for
that riches where is my deserving?
7. The cause of this FAIR GIFT in me is wanting,
8. And so my patent
back again is swerving.
9. Thy self thou gavest, thy own worth then not
knowing,
10. Or me to whom thou gav'st it else mistaking;
11. So thy great
gift, upon misprision growing,
12. Comes home again, on better judgement
making.
13. Thus have I had thee as a dream doth
flatter,
14. In sleep a King, but waking no such
matter
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Thomas Dekker (1570-1632).
The Shoemaker's Holiday. Act III Scene
IV
Enter RALPH, lame
HODGE. What, fellow Ralph?
Mistress, look here, Jane's husband!
Why, how
now, lame? Hans, make much of him, he's a brother
of our trade, a
good workman, and a tall soldier.
HANS. You be welcome,
broder.
MARG. Perdy, I knew him
not. How dost thou, good Ralph?
I am glad to see thee well.
RALPH. I would to God you
saw me, dame, as well
As when I
went from London into France.
MARG. Trust me, I am
sorry, Ralph, to see thee impotent. Lord,
how the wars have made him sunburnt!
The left leg is not well;
'twas a FAIR GIFT of God the
infirmity took not hold a little higher,
considering thou camest from France; but let that pass.
RALPH. I am glad to see
you well, and I
rejoice
To hear that
God hath blest my master
so
Since my
departure.
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GRAFFITI art (From Wikipedia)
<<GRAFFITI originally was the term used for
inscriptions, figure
drawings, etc., found on the WALLs of ancient sepulchers or ruins, as in
the
Catacombs, or at Pompeii. But has evolved to include any
decorations
inscribed on rocks or WALLs that are considered to be
vandalism.
However, some people consider GRAFFITI, or some GRAFFITI,
an art form; this is usually
denoted as urban Aerosol Art.
The practices of GRAFFITI and of considering GRAFFITI as art
are generally related to a sub-culture
that rebels against extant
societal authorities, or against
authority as such.
GRAFFITI art is considered one of the four
elements of Hip Hop. GRAFFITI
tagging existed in Philadelphia in the
1960's, pioneered by Cornbread
and Cool Earl. Another Philadelphia product,
Top Cat, later exported the
characteristic Philly style of script (tall,
slender lettering with
platforms at the bottom) to NYC where it gained
populariy as "Broadway
Elegant". It wasn't until it reached popularity in the
New York City
subway system that it took on an extravagant artistic role,
expanding
from tags to full-blown "pieces". One of the originators of New
York
GRAFFITI was TAKI 183; a
foot messenger who would tag his nickname
around New York streets that he
daily frequented en route. A
Greek-American, Taki was his nickname,
diminutive for Demetrius, he took
the 183 from his address. After being
showcased in the NY Times, the
"tag" (stylized signature) was being mimicked
by hundreds of urban youth
within months. It should be noted that there were
other writers active
in NYC before Taki, but he brought the most attention to
the movement.
With the innovation of art, and the craving to gain the widest
audience,
attempts by taggers were made. What developed was a strict
adherence to
spraypaint, sampling foreign calligraphy, and the much
anticipated mural
(that usually covered an entire subway car). The artist was
born, called
a "writer," and so were groups of associated artists, called
"crews".
The movement spread to the streets, returned to the railroads
where
tagging was popularized by Hobos, spread nationwide with the aid
of
media and Rap music; thus, being yet mimicked again worldwide.
Because they share similar spaces and
media, GRAFFITI art is
often
confused with gang GRAFFITI. There are differences in both form
and
intent. The purpose of GRAFFITI art is self-expression and
creativity,
and may involve highly stylized letter forms drawn with markers,
or
cryptic and colorful spray paint murals on WALLs, buildings, and even
freight trains.
GRAFFITI artists strive to improve
their art, which is
constantly changing and progressing. The purpose of gang
GRAFFITI,
on the other hand, is to mark
territorial boundaries, and is therefore
limited to a gang's neighborhood; it
does not presuppose artistic intent.
GRAFFITI is subject to different societal
pressures from
popularly-recognized art forms, since GRAFFITI appears on WALLs,
freeways, buildings, trains or any
accessible surfaces that are not
owned by, or under the control of the person
who applies the GRAFFITI.
So
GRAFFITI incorporates elements
rarely seen elsewhere. Spray paint and
broad permanent markers are commonly
used, and the organizational
structure of the art is sometimes influenced by
the need to apply the
art quickly before it is noticed by authorities. In an
effort to reduce
vandalism, many cities have designated WALLs or areas exclusively for
use by
GRAFFITI artists. This discourages
petty vandalism yet encourages
artists to take their time and produce great
art, without worry of being
caught or arrested.
In the early 1980s, the combination of
a booming art market and a
renewed interest in painting resulted in the rise
of a few GRAFFITI
artists to
art-star status. Jean-Michel Basquiat, a former street-artist
known by his
"Samo" tag, and Keith Haring, a professionally-trained
artist who adopted a
GRAFFITI style, were two of the most
widely
recognized GRAFFITI
artists.
More recently GRAFFITI art has resurfaced in a far more
overtly
politicized form in the subvertising and culture jamming movements
and
practitioners such as Alexander Brener. Other GRAFFITI artists like
Banksy are more ironic in
their use of political imagery, who recently
accepted a commission from
Greenpeace and offers pieces for sale.
Note: GRAFFITI is the plural of GRAFFITO,
but the singular form is rarely
heard.
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Art
Neuendorffer