Morning Pages, King Caradoc and Some Qoutes

July 31, 2008 - August 05, 2008

I remember these two quotes from way back in college … written on my Statistics books :

One, from a Walt Whitman poem : “ What was it that we started for so long ago , and why is it yet unfound ?”

And years later , I wrote something like “ God, Jesus Christ, is what I started for so long ago and have now found “… after years in the desert.

The other from William Blake , the mystic poet as some author described him --- " To see the world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wildflower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour. " ..... This is so cosmic .... and somethimes this kind of mindset stalls me in the matters of the practical , commercial world I'm working in.... but I don't mind ... Some things are more important than getting it ahead in the rat race ...

Other quotes/prayer that caught my mind today :

PIBJ : " Life is made up of moments .
Don’t be strangled by your regrets. Make a new start by surrendering all to God. Take me into Your able hands and do with me as You please, Lord. "

From a newspaper article : Interview of a designer re "What’s the best part of your current job? "

"I love the constant challenge of expressing intangible emotional experiences through the design of tangible
environments and objects. "

And who says fashion is not a matter of the mind , of the intellect ? Hope the following quotes from http://www.style.com/ prove it :

" NEW YORK, January 29, 2008 – Albert Kriemler's pre-fall palette was a muted one of graphite, taupe, and storm blue, inspired by photographs of Icelandic landscapes.

NEW YORK, January 16, 2008 – Nicolas Ghesquière took a three-pronged approach to pre-fall, dividing his 24-look collection into "bourgeois," "grunge," and "classic" categories. The first included tweedy skirtsuits and trenches with volume at the back, à la Cristobal Balenciaga's 1950's silhouettes. Hoodlike hats made from quilted silk scarf prints of fish and fowl completed the haute campside look. The second grouping featured long paisley and Japanese-inspired floral dresses lined with black net and topped with black shearling chubbies and vests—very Gold Dust Woman. The third was much more strict and minimal, with religious undertones. White scarves peeked from the necklines of little black dresses, and a Catholic schoolgirl's uniform was updated in luxe silk gazar. Ghesquière finished with a trio of floor-length numbers, the standout being a white gown with hand-stitched metallic embroidery at the bodice and hem. It could've come straight from the boudoir of a 1940's Hollywood starlet.

NEW YORK, December 13, 2007 – "My starting point was Mr. Blass' sketchbooks circa 1969-1970," said Peter Som, at the presentation of his first collection for the fabled American house. Som stayed true to the founder's focus on sportswear, especially when it came to coats. A plaid stadium number was worth cheering for, as were a glamorous broadtail and silver fox topper and the subtle shaved-corduroy minks. Menswear touches borrowed from sailors, waiters, and bankers mingled with sequined cocktail dresses and hammered satin gowns. "I wanted to update Blass classics with luxury and whimsy," the designer explained. So far, so good.


NEW YORK, December 7, 2007 – Carolina Herrera has had it with flowers—at least for pre-fall. The designer was in the mood for a change, she said. So she replaced Spring's floral prints and vibrant colors with feathers (both real and embroidered) and a moodier palette of blacks, grays, and eggplant. The collection was full of "mixable" pieces, like long cardigans that can be worn open over full skirts or trousers, and jewel-embellished cropped jackets that would work with something new or an old favorite. For evening, Herrera delivered what her urbane customer craves: understated glamour, in the form of an Edwardian equestrienne-inspired ensemble (white blouse, black floor-sweeping skirt), a portrait-ready lace gown, and a purple-is-the-new-black dress paired with an ostrich feather bolero.


PARIS, October 3, 2007 – In a season when fashion has suddenly woken up to embrace all the possibilites of the palette, you'd expect something extra special from a dab hand with color like Christian Lacroix. As always, he did play with print—with pink and black splotches on organza ruffled dresses, with lemon and black speckles on waffled silk chintz, bursts of spray-painted watercolor and schematic sixties patterns flowing over beach cover-ups. As a total look, though, it never quite went as bonkers as you wanted. It was—what? A touch forties, with some big-skirted dresses and slick, exaggerated trenches; a bit sixties, with neat little coats; and then nonspecifically contemporary with blousons and beachwear.Some of these pieces carried the flavor of Lacroix—no one else could be the author of that puffy buttercup yellow dress with a black bow—but as a collection, it lacked the coherence and vibrancy that zing out of his couture shows season after season. And that's a pity, because at a moment like this, it would have been good to see Lacroix pushing his advantage as a grand master of exuberance as far as it could go.– Sarah Mower "

I've been quoting a lot and I hope it doesn't get me into trouble putting them in my blog. I have no intention of plagiarizing or that sort of thing.This is just a personal blog containing a collection of my favorite things (ideas, quotes, pictures, videos) that I'm sharing anonymously and not meant for any commercial purposes and not meant to encroach upon any intellectual property rights.

Anyways, I'm already thinking of closing this kind of blogging on my personal and internal life . When I reach my 1ooth blog here , I'm shifting to a more impersonal one .... maybe a travel log , a how-to blog ... an information blog ... a business blog ...

Anyway, again .... this thing about the Welsh king , Caradoc who was also the notable high king of Britain , in the first century AD. I've been reading a lot of books since my high school days and this is the first time , in the book that I'm currently reading , " The Holy Kingdom" by Adrian Gilbert that I've read an affirmation of my mindset about authority/positions power/leadership . I admit I'm wary of people who are personally ambitious of taking on and acquiring such, for their own personal aggrandizement and not for causes that will benefit the majority .

Anyway, King Caradoc, after valiantly fighting against the Romans trying to conquer Britain, was finally captured, through treachery, around AD 51. He and the royal family were taken prisoners to Rome and befitting a royal, he was given a chance to address the Roman Senate in his defense ... of course his speech was not a slavish one . One thing he said that caught my mind is this --- " If you want to rule the world, does it follow that everyone else welcomes enslavement ? " Di ba? I mean, hello , 360 degrees and applying it to the workplace .... there are people who would like to be in positions of power for their own selfish ambition and think it is their privilege and due that people should kowtow to them just because they want to feel powerful and bossy... My take is if those 'so-called' managers , superiors and bosses --- want good and tractable so-called rank-and-file, subordinates and followers, in the same way , the latter also are looking for good so-called managers and leaders with the correct intentions and reasons for occupying the position of power . Hello, I'm a good follower to good leaders, but I am a very bad slave.

And anyway again, I feel affirmed in my mindset about leadership/power/authority by this quote from Herman Hesse , one of my favorite authors from way back in colledge ( Magister Ludi , Narcissus and Goldmund, Siddharta ...) -- "Only those who cannot and do not think for themselves want and need a leader " .....

So , let's all be wise stewards of the individual little kingdoms that God has given us .... our minds. And basic of all , " the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom" ....

I think this is my 93rd blog of this kind .... seven to go and moving on ...