"come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

This is for your own works!!!
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Violet
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Re: "come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

Post by Violet »

Hi June.. I had just written the last post when I saw your note.
Violet
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Geoffrey
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Re: "come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

Post by Geoffrey »

thank you violet and june, great to hear from you. interesting stuff! will respond soon as poss.
-g :-)
---------------------
message to 'odzer chenma' (kelley lynch):

thank you for contacting me in 'messenger' a short while ago. good to know you are monitoring jarkko's forum posts, but i truly am not interested in any of the things you wrote about - and regret to say your name is the first ever to be put into my 'block' list.
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Violet
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Re: "come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

Post by Violet »

I just checked this thread, and was making a correction to my post, and instead another post got started.

'night.
Violet
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Geoffrey
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Re: "come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

Post by Geoffrey »

juneC wrote:Hello Geoffrey :)

I was getting a bit worried about your absence from this thread Geoffrey. I am happy to see that nothing was amiss but rather that you were waiting to see if any more useful contributions were posted. I am glad you have decided that no one ‘hates’ you Geoffrey, after all why would they? Leonard’s family and close friends and the webmaster must all be aware of how much Leonard meant to you (and how much you meant to Leonard!). I am sure they would realise that your concerns are all borne out of your love for Leonard and whilst, as I think you have probably accepted, they may never be answered, I feel sure there will have been empathy towards you and your desire for a more transparent, detailed report of exactly how Leonard came to die. When I consider the various alternatives I tend to come to the conclusion that if Leonard’s final hours were not quite as we would all wish them to have been and if that were made public, how dreadful that would make us all feel; much better don’t you think to hope and believe that it was very peaceful and his family were at his side? When I first discovered Cohencentric I had the temerity to ask Allan if he could tell me how Leonard was in terms of his health, as at the time I couldn’t seem to find any recently taken photographs of Leonard and I was afraid he might be ailing. His response was that information relating to Leonard’s health was never provided for fear of “fan angst”. (I know now that Leonard’s health was already suffering but at the time I brushed my fears aside following Allan’s reply) I suppose this is a similar scenario - sort of ignorance is bliss type of thing - far from blissful of course but too much knowledge might be worse.
Another lovely portrait Geoffrey - you really do capture the essence of Leonard :)
June x
hei june, without communication it's difficult to know what people think - but when someone doesn't answer it does tend to provoke negative speculation. mr kory is probably an all right guy, in a difficult situation, i can accept that. nevertheless, some kind of reply would have been appreciated. leonard's buddhist name was 'jikan' ('the silent one') - but he was a fountain of conversation in comparison. yes, i have had pleasant contact with allan, an exceptionally wholesome gentleman. people come in a great variety of qualities, and he is amongst the best ones. thank you for praising the portrait of leonard. it is only 12x14cm (really tiny) on 400g card. one day i hope to do one that is good enough for jarkko's 'inspiration' page - i recommend you take a look. some artists there have made two or three pictures. i have no idea how many i have done, but none are in the same league as these people. anyway, i have a car coming for me in a few minutes, so cannot stay longer, unfortunately. it is lovely to interact with you and violet, more or less the only two people here who possess the ability to socialise. it's a dying art, it seems. maybe there's nothing wrong with me, i always thought there was, but maybe it's just that people in general have forgotten how to talk to one another. will be back later, am going to spjelkavik with a friend. if you see violet tell her hi from me and that i'll write soon :-) -gx
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juneC
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Re: "come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

Post by juneC »

That is a lovely post Geoffrey, for some reason it has made me feel quite emotional and a bit tearful. I would like to send you a virtual hug if that’s ok .. :)
You are of course quite correct in believing that at the very least an acknowledgement from LC’s management should have been forthcoming. I can only think that for some reason they don’t really know how to respond and all things considered, it shouldn’t actually be that difficult should it?
I found the ‘inspiration’ page and in my humble opinion you are wrong Geoffrey, to say you are not in the same league as these people. I didn’t look at all of them but the portraits I viewed of Leonard, to my admittedly uneducated mind artistically speaking were not absolutely ‘Leonard’ … not in the same way that yours are Geoffrey. I have no idea why yours have not so far made it into the hallowed halls of ‘inspiration’ but they most certainly would if I had anything to do with it. Is it not perhaps that you have to volunteer them yourself? It says at the bottom of the page “contributions to these pages are welcome” ?? Your most recent one, on my screen measures 10x12cm so I can imagine the actual portrait quite well.
I saw earlier that she who I won’t even name had messaged you. I know from my own internet surfing that she is relentless and even after his death still she pursues LC or at least his management and his estate. It is quite beyond my understanding but relieved to see you have blocked her.
I hope you had an enjoyable day in Spjelkavik. Norway as a whole looks very beautiful, I doubt I will get there now but if by some miracle one day I should, I will hope to be able to look you up Geoffrey.
June x
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Geoffrey
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Re: "come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

Post by Geoffrey »

hei violet. you are an expert on amy winehouse. i am impressed, and i hadn't heard of "the twenty-seven club". my goodness me, you are a goldmine of information - i could never equal your knowledge, nor the cohesion in which you wrap around your words. makes me realise how inadequate i am, how little i know, how poorly i string sentences together. you mentioned something about publishing; would it be impertinent of me to ask if you are an author? you certainly have enough capability.

i don't know either why i brought up the idea of an inquest. there are many things needing to be kept in order in the control room above my shoulders, and sometimes that's not easy. i often find it difficult to find anything of any substance to say; this business with leonard's death is a burden, an intolerable mystery, all the unanswered questions. i know for a fact that if i did order the death certificate, the questions i now have would multiply - everything would get "curiouser and curiouser" as alice would say - the cross would just get heavier.

i have been out all day, thick snow, children on sledges, very cold - but lovely sunshine and blue sky. good to be alive :-)
close-up.jpg
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Violet
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Re: "come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

Post by Violet »

Hi Geoffrey. I love those kind of days.. sun and snow and blue sky. It's good you had such a day.

I have to say I am by no means a Winehouse expert. I'd need to do a lot more research to claim that. However, when I was looking into it there was a lot more information to be found online given it was just when all these things were playing out in the news. I remember there was even something about highly sensitive materials being sent to the wrong address in London. Just everything about this case was entirely screwed up.

As for writing, I've written some art criticism, and wrote a column on art and film for a New York magazine at one point. Just now I'm attempting to finish a novel, which keeps getting interrupted so I'm not sure when it will be finished. I've also written screenplays for feature film projects that I've only managed to partially complete, shooting fairly costly fundraising trailers while never managing to fund the films themselves. Even "no budget" films are fairly costly, and it's gotten so expensive just to live. That's actually why I turned to novel writing, although I don't believe I have it in me to be at all prolific. I just thought of Leonard when he talked about having to scrape the bottom of the barrel (or something to that effect). I mean, compared to a writer like Tolstoy who one imagines had a complete banquet at his disposal. Not that Leonard didn't do a hell of a job with those scrapings (!)

Anyway, Geoffrey, it seems to me that you should be writing yourself. Perhaps you do write. I suspect so.

I do like your drawings, by the way. There's a tenderness to them. Or quite often there is. I think that's what June was responding to. Perhaps this is especially the case now that Leonard is gone.

Well.. I still think you should at least attempt to get the death certificate, and then see where you are with things. I don't think you'd be any more frustrated than you already are. You might even have more of a sense of clarity.

Okay.. time to send this off, and call it a day.

Good-night (from my darkened lake),

Violet
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Violet
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Geoffrey
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Re: "come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

Post by Geoffrey »

hei june. good to hear from you. yes, it should have been possible for the management to answer my letter, but they probably knew that the tiniest morsel falling from their table would become a three-course meal for this little ant.

the webmaster writes not on his 'inspiration' page that contributions are "welcome", only that they may be sent to him. there is a distinction between warm encouragment and an icy matter-of-fact. i could approach him, of course, but then he would be the one feeling superior.

yes, blocking someone gives an uncomfortable feeling. i saw a doorway opening into a universe that held little attraction for me, so felt it best to quietly close it again. many lurkers are sitting next to the orchestra pit below jarkko's stage, with particular focus on this thread - and we players take it upon ourselves to entertain.

and now for something completely different:
here is a picture of someone deciding what is rotten and what is fresh :-)
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Geoffrey
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Re: "come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

Post by Geoffrey »

hei violet.

thank you for letting me peep for a moment over the wall surrounding your private world. i can think of many follow-up questions to what you wrote, but will resist subjecting you to an interrogation. it's good to be in touch with someone who's creative; i need a role model. no, i write not a thing of any quality. my imagination is as infertile as the moon, and after living for so long in a non-english country a command of the mother-tongue is equally as dusty.

there is, perhaps, a tenderness in the most recent drawings - i am not sure. all i know is that people buy them, especially the leonard portraits, and especially since he died. i see them as medical supplies being airdropped into a crowd of injured refugees.

very last time i saw leonard, time to say goodbye - forever :-(
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thank you for the picture of the darkened lake. a little spooky, but also romantic - in a way :-)
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icecreamtruck
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Re: "come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

Post by icecreamtruck »

Thank you for exploring these questions so delicate and insistant. I'm not sure how you will fare on your quest for information but I wish you the best. I think that the honest exploration of such things is so well done within the "your own work" section of the forum. Thank you for being willing to ask, even rhetorically, the questions that continue to tug at me.

On one hand, the answers don't matter. On the other, it would be a comfort to know any detail at all because we are mourning this loss as we might mourn a loved one. I never met him so I can't presume to say that I loved him. I loved the idea of him and I loved what he brought into my life. I loved knowing he was out there writing and I loved knowing that something from him could pop up at any time. I loved knowing that he was a happening and I loved to think about his work, performance and life.

It still feels so unreal to me. Any detail would help us. Surely now or soon we can be open about how long he was ill, how many people knew, any circumstances related to his last days and/funeral? Anyone?

We didn't get to go to the funeral or the memorial. That's okay. And people can be as private as they want. But if they do feel like sharing, it could help people like me come to rest about it. It's part of the grieving. I have no right to the information but it would help me a little bit.
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Re: "come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

Post by tularosa »

icecreamtruck wrote:Thank you for exploring these questions so delicate and insistant. I'm not sure how you will fare on your quest for information but I wish you the best. I think that the honest exploration of such things is so well done within the "your own work" section of the forum. Thank you for being willing to ask, even rhetorically, the questions that continue to tug at me.

On one hand, the answers don't matter. On the other, it would be a comfort to know any detail at all because we are mourning this loss as we might mourn a loved one. I never met him so I can't presume to say that I loved him. I loved the idea of him and I loved what he brought into my life. I loved knowing he was out there writing and I loved knowing that something from him could pop up at any time. I loved knowing that he was a happening and I loved to think about his work, performance and life.

It still feels so unreal to me. Any detail would help us. Surely now or soon we can be open about how long he was ill, how many people knew, any circumstances related to his last days and/funeral? Anyone?

We didn't get to go to the funeral or the memorial. That's okay. And people can be as private as they want. But if they do feel like sharing, it could help people like me come to rest about it. It's part of the grieving. I have no right to the information but it would help me a little bit.
I love what you say you loved about Leonard : "I loved the idea of him and I loved what he brought into my live" ... it is exactly what I feel but I can't write in english (I am french). Thank you so much Icecreamtruck, thank you so much Geoffrey
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Geoffrey
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Re: "come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

Post by Geoffrey »

icecreamtruck wrote:Any detail would help us. Surely now or soon we can be open about how long he was ill, how many people knew, any circumstances related to his last days and/funeral? Anyone?
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Violet
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Re: "come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

Post by Violet »

Yes, but, you can still see the death certificate -- it's not quite under the rug yet. You just have to take that leap and inquire after it 'n see what happens.

Anyway, nice to see you here, Geoffrey.

I just had a dream about Leonard, in fact. He was sitting across from me at long table wearing a fedora made of straw, I think it was. He was mumbling some old country song that we both loved -- we were trying to remember the lyrics, but just humming them where we couldn't recall them.
Violet
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Geoffrey
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Re: "come forth from the cloud of unknowing . . ."

Post by Geoffrey »

Violet wrote:
>Yes, but, you can still see the death certificate -- it's not quite under the rug yet. You just have to take that leap and inquire after it 'n see what happens.

i know, and you are absolutely right. something is stopping me from applying. it seems like prying, in a way. so much nicer it would be if someone in the know could just say something. not all of the details, that is not necessary, just when and where he died, for example, like when other well-known people die. was he at home or in a hospital. i am being lambasted on social media for asking, but is that really so wrong of me?

>Anyway, nice to see you here, Geoffrey.

nice to see you as well, violet - a friendy face is a comfort at this time :-)

>I just had a dream about Leonard, in fact. He was sitting across from me at long table wearing a fedora made of straw, I think it was. He was mumbling some old country song that we both loved -- we were trying to remember the lyrics, but just humming them where we couldn't recall them.

this is interesting!! i often dream of leonard, usually several times a week - more often now than when he was alive. i forget them soon after waking, but remember that even in dreams he is always so calm, funny and friendly. i looked up 'table' on a dream interpretation site and it said: "may suggest there is something that needs to be brought into the open or discussed." :-)
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