Fossil Poetry

Indian language is new to science.

'Haitch' or 'aitch'? How do you pronounce 'H'?

20 Obsolete English Words that Should Make a Comeback.

Lives in passing: Henryk Górecki

The Polish composer Henryk Górecki, whose 'holy minimalist' Symphony No. 3 is, for my money, one of the highlights of 20th century classical music, has died age 76.

Though it dates back to the mid-1970s, like many Brits I first heard this astounding symphony via Classic FM in 1992. But I'm surprised to learn now that both the symphony and Górecki were rather misrepresented on both the radio and the specially made TV documentary that I still recall seeing that same year: Symphony No. 3 was actually not written as a response to Auschwitz (situated just down the road from where Górecki lived) as just about everyone at the time was led to believe. From Wikipedia:

While Górecki has stated that for many years he sought to produce a work specifically in response to Auschwitz, he has resisted that interpretation of the symphony, which he prefers to be viewed in a wider context. Other critics have attempted to interpret the symphony in spiritual terms, an approach which Górecki has also dismissed.

Górecki has said of the work, "Many of my family died in concentration camps. I had a grandfather who was in Dachau, an aunt in Auschwitz. You know how it is between Poles and Germans. But Bach was a German too—and Schubert, and Strauss. Everyone has his place on this little earth. That's all behind me. So the Third Symphony is not about war; it's not a Dies Irae; it's a normal Symphony of Sorrowful Songs."

For me at least, the continuing potency of this piece of music will make it very hard to separate from thoughts about the holocaust after nearly two decades of thinking about it in precisely that way.

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Belated Happy Birthdays to aliettedb and chrisbarnes !

Lives of Photographs, 82

Getty's royalty statements for the last two months indicate that this photo of a Temple Guardian in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, has sold twice to an anonymous client in Japan, the first time giving me a cut of around £60, the second time a little more than just a tenner. No details at all on who's bought it, but I've also noticed a distinct climb in anonymous hits on other Buddhist temple photographs I have up at Flickr (and that anyone is also welcome to licence).

Lives of Photographs, 64.2

Another sale via Getty Images of this photo of kongkang trees in Bang Saphan, Thailand, this time for regional rights for website use to the Bin Salem Group of companies in Dubai. I've looked around their main website but can't see the photo online so I guess they must be using it elsewhere, however at the bottom of their homepage they do have a small piece about mangrove trees which they obviously use as some kind of corporate motif. I'd be interested to see how they've used this photo if I could find it, somehow.