Indignant Collegiate

—

Ivan the Terrible and his Son Ivan, 1885

Ugh, I love this painting so much.

Just some background stuff, Ivan the Terrible was the Tsar of Russia for most of the 16th Century. In I think 1581, he caught his daughter-in-law wearing ‘immodest clothing in front of everyone’ and struck her. She was apparently pregnant and she may or may not have had a miscarriage because of it.

Ivan’s son and the girl’s husband, also named Ivan after his father, hears about it and gets into a really heated argument with his father that ends with Ivan the Terrible taking a swing at his son with his pointed staff. It’s said that he immediately fell down and kissed his son’s face, pressing his hands against his left temple to try to stop the bleeding. He famously screamed “May I be damned! I’ve killed my son! I’ve killed my son!” His son briefly regained consciousness and his last words were “I die as a devoted son and most humble servant.”

I love all the details. I love the pointed staff lying on the ground and the signs of a fight with the tossed over chair, disturbed carpet, and the door wide open. I love the single tear on Ivan’s face and their position on the floor. This is a really gorgeous but raw depiction of one of the darkest moments in an incredible man’s life. I wish there were more historical paintings like this.

(via free-parking)

—

13 / 03

30,402 notes

Cigarettes And Leather: Stroll

A carefully honed demeanor. Executed in the face of perceived neglect. A quiet pleadin for the acceptance of our fellows. A character switches places with unfamiliar faces in the name of convenience. Deprived of time spent with the ones who mean the most. With the flavor boiled out of a once boisterous personality. The wolves grow impatient, waitin for their meal. Impacts rush toward action. Pierced by the steel that holds them back. The restraint of natures strongest drive. The push forward, upward to the highest vantage point. Slow and steady wins the race. A sinister implant into society’s underbelly. It IS the drive that keeps us steady. Force fed the newest and the cheapest. Plastered on the face of what history we have left. The great migration of those we now call family. Standin for what we now call home. Reduced to a mere impression. A caricature of our pride.

12 / 03

20 notes

Shifty

(Taken with http://cinemagr.am)

10 / 03

0 notes

Point making

(Taken with http://cinemagr.am)

08 / 03

1 note

(Source: davonsharpe)

03 / 03

8,554 notes

20buckspin:

FuFu Frauenwahl

03 / 03

10,319 notes

trembling with anxiety, I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.”

-Edward Munch

20 / 02

0 notes

// Huddling In the Dark.//

What science has said, in sum, is this: We do not, and in all probability cannot, know whether God exists. Nothing that we do know suggests that he does, and all the arguments which claim to prove his existence are found to be without logical meaning. There is nothing, indeed, to prove that there is no God, but the burden of proof rests with those who propose the idea. If, the scientists would say, you believe in God, you must do so on purely emotional grounds, without basis in logic or fact. Practically speaking, this amounts to atheism. Theoretically, it is simple agnosticism. For it is of the essence of scientific honesty that you do not pretend to know what you do not know, and of the essence of scientific method that you do not employ hypotheses which cannot be tested.

The immediate results of this honesty have been deeply unsettling and depressing. For man seems to be unable to live without myth, without the belief that the routine and drudgery, the pain and fear of this life have some meaning and goal in the future. At once new myths come into being—political and economic myths with extravagant promises of the best of futures in the present world. These myths give the individual a certain sense of meaning by making him part of a vast social effort, in which he loses something of his own emptiness and loneliness. Yet the very violence of these political religions betrays the anxiety beneath them—for they are but men huddling together and shouting to give themselves courage in the dark.

-Alan Watts,

The age of insecurity

20 / 02

0 notes

Cigarettes And Leather: Shield

Fade in, fade out. Lay when you can’t stand. Frozen like a child awaitin instructions. A lucky streak, shootin from the hip. Call it beginners luck. The absence of habits and tendencies that hold back. Sometimes, if you don’t know what not to do, you don’t do it anyways. The weather tells me to relax. There’s a change of plans today. We’d better just take it easy and go with the flow. A soft blanket repels panic. Just enough to keep us here, now. A gentle glow reminds me of the days of strength. The days when I first came to know my potential. I can commit. I can follow through. Five in the tube and one for good measure. A focused mind shows the young one how to imitate emotion. Expression can evoke anythin you want in the listener. Tone IS what’s important. Learn your flavors and build from there. Gather your ammunition and forget the rules. They’ll only hold you back.
(Source: cigarettesandleather)

13 / 02

25 notes

13 / 02

1 note