leonardcohenforum.com

abby wrote:
>I'm curious about the significance of the slashes. Now I did read your suggestions a few posts back just interested if you wanted to say anything about them?
---------
hei abby. one can usually find a noble reason for justifying the desecration of one's work, but that is not the case here. the 'slashes' probably represent a dissatisfaction, a lack of self-respect - as often happens. it was almost an unconscious, irresistible action on my part - perhaps a protest against lofty personal expectations. not everything a person does needs to be great, it just needs to be acknowledged, not overlooked or ignored. perhaps 'the significance of the slashes' is an attempt to highlight that someone exists'. despite being silent, despite having nothing worthwhile to share, a person still has feelings, has value. "i hate leaving home. i like what i do, but i'd love to go home every night." -charlie watts.

Geoffrey wrote: ↑Wed Jun 18, 2025 1:40 am abby wrote:
>I'm curious about the significance of the slashes....
---------
...the 'slashes' probably represent a dissatisfaction, a lack of self-respect - as often happens. it was almost an unconscious, irresistible action on my part - perhaps a protest against lofty personal expectations. not everything a person does needs to be great, it just needs to be acknowledged, not overlooked or ignored. perhaps 'the significance of the slashes' is an attempt to highlight that someone exists'. despite being silent, despite having nothing worthwhile to share, a person still has feelings, has value...

Interesting (and rather melodramatic) response to Abby's enquiry.

I thought that the slashes looked like hastily drawn tic-tac-toe/noughts-and-crosses grids, and I was tempted to write in some x's and o's. I didn't realise that you had been experiencing some sort of existential/self-esteem crisis. Hopefully you are feeling more confident in yourself today.

Speaking of hastily drawn, here's a picture I did in which I ignored my usual inclination to time-consuming meticulous detail, and instead I just quickly scribbled away with watercolour pencils, followed by a few splashes with a wet brush.

LisaLCFan wrote:
>Speaking of hastily drawn, here's a picture I did in which I ignored my usual inclination to time-consuming meticulous detail, and instead I just quickly scribbled away with watercolour pencils, followed by a few splashes with a wet brush.

it's a great image! strange how hastily drawn pictures always tend to look more artistic, or maybe that's just me. some delicatesse shops near here sell quail eggs, but i am not tempted. in any case, owing the bank so many thousands of krones one has little money for such extravagance.
it's so uplifting to see someone other than myself post a picture, so thanks for that - and such a splendidly colourful one it is too

cheers.

Geoffrey wrote: ↑Fri Jun 20, 2025 12:12 am ...some delicatesse shops near here sell quail eggs, but i am not tempted. in any case, owing the bank so many thousands of krones one has little money for such extravagance.

it's so uplifting to see someone other than myself post a picture, so thanks for that - and such a splendidly colourful one it is too

cheers.

Cheers to you, too!

I have never eaten a quail egg, or a quail, for that matter, although I have heard of them being referred to as a delicacy. A quick google search reveals that quail eggs aren't particularly expensive where I live -- one can buy a package of 18 quail eggs for around $5 Cdn (about 36 Norwegian Krones) -- which is cheaper than a dozen free-range chicken eggs. Based on a Google search, some people feed quail eggs to their dogs and cats as a protein source (quail eggs are sold in numerous local pet-food stores). Apparently people raise "domestic" quail like chickens, for their eggs.

The only quail I have ever seen (and the ones that I always think of, until now) are wild birds -- they are very cute and fun to watch when they run -- a genuine delight! (In the attached video, they start running at about 30 seconds in. I don't know where the video was taken, but the birds are California Quail, whose natural range is Western North America, from southern Canada all the way down to Mexico).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHLOeNT511E

yes, so cute, especially when they run. beautiful creatures; how could anyone kill them! i will never forget the amazing photo you once posted with the little chickadee on your finger.
i love birds, all of them. at the nearby nature museum, which i visit often, the small ones are mostly swallows and sparrows, but it's the sparrows who are the friendliest. the bigger birds are seagulls and crows, and it's the crows who dare to come close. i think they all know that the gentleman sitting outside the museum cafe always has a backpack containing goodies. the sparrows like the small seeds best, and the crows gobble up the nuts. last week a coachload of german tourists arrived and took pictures of mr wren(!) feeding his little feathered friends.

i can't remember ever having seen a quail, but probably did so when younger. the people i was with traveled around rural gloucestershire, and more than once we passed by a place called slimbridge. there was a man who had made a large bird sanctuary there, a place populated with almost every type of bird one can imagine.

you are good at making pictures. they should be on display somewhere - and thanks for the info!

cheers

Geoffrey wrote: ↑Wed Jun 18, 2025 1:40 am perhaps 'the significance of the slashes' is an attempt to highlight that someone exists'. despite being silent, despite having nothing worthwhile to share, a person still has feelings, has value.

In a very loving way I feel called out. It's almost like I can hear a better version of my long dead mother speaking to me. Thanks, G.

abby wrote:
>In a very loving way I feel called out. It's almost like I can hear a better version of my long dead mother speaking to me. Thanks, G.
--------------------------
hey there abby. glad to hear you can still resurrect a better version of your mother. it's hard to believe that someone can be totally bad - but you never know. unless a person truly wishes it, one of the worst things that can happen to anyone is probably to be ignored. it has the potential to be more destructive than direct criticism, at least that's my personal experience. it can make one feel lonely, rejected, make one feel as if they have no worth, that they might as well not exist. it takes very little effort to let someone know that they are not invisible, that someone is interested in them. most of us have need for some sort of contact, it can mean so very much.

You're right, Geoffrey, I grew up in a family of business people who made business their first priority. I spent a lot of time entertaining myself. My mom was an artist who let business take over until she got sick. When she got sick she had time for me. When she got sick we became best friends. Make of that what you will. She's been dead for 23 years so I've had a long time to reflect.

I'm starting to feel like myself again. Been blackening some pages, nothing fit for public consumption but headed that way god willing.

Much love to anyone here.

abby wrote:
>You're right, Geoffrey, I grew up in a family of business people who made business their first priority. I spent a lot of time entertaining myself. My mom was an artist who let business take over until she got sick. When she got sick she had time for me. When she got sick we became best friends. Make of that what you will. She's been dead for 23 years so I've had a long time to reflect.
>
>I'm starting to feel like myself again. Been blackening some pages, nothing fit for public consumption but headed that way god willing.
--------
brave of you to share some insights to your history, abby. not everyone dares to do that, so when they do it's especially appreciated. you seem to have a fascinating story to tell, and being someone interested in people i can almost never get enough. someone once said "every time a person dies a library burns down", (i've quoted this before) or words to that effect - and ain't that a fact!

glad you feel progress is being made. sometimes a person can be their own worst critic, so you don't need to worry too much about fit for public consumption. quality is hardly essential in this business. if that was the case i wouldn't post a thing. nobody can please everybody, and a negative response to one's work often tells more about the critic than the 'artist'. peoples' opinions are valuable, even the ones not great. well, that's the end of geoffrey's 'pep talk' for today
-----------------------------
"never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering." -theodore roosevelt

US Secretary of State

Geoffrey wrote: ↑Wed Jun 25, 2025 11:09 pm
...someone once said "every time a person dies a library burns down", (i've quoted this before) or words to that effect - and ain't that a fact!
-----------------------------
"never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering." -theodore roosevelt
254.jpg

Love both of these quotes, G. Also, I enjoyed your quite realistic drawing of Peter Falk as Lt. Columbo. I've taken to watching Columbo reruns recently...much to my poor wife's dismay. Keep holding down the fort.

4

its4inthemorning wrote:
>Love both of these quotes, G. Also, I enjoyed your quite realistic drawing of Peter Falk as Lt. Columbo. I've taken to watching Columbo reruns recently...much to my poor wife's dismay. Keep holding down the fort.
------
thank you for the praise! is your wife dismayed because you are watching reruns, or because she never particularly liked the columbo series?
___________
First woman elected US Speaker of the House

"i'm innocent. i was just out driving, looking at the moon and the stars." -kohberger