It’s come to my attention that each time I post pictures of my travels in Germany on this blog fellow bloggers post comments. Watch the video below then read the comment from my singing friend http://kseverny.wordpress.com/ from England (I think):
such beautiful architecture. it will be o my list of places to visit when i eventually go to that region
I enjoyed the spontaneous singing video so much I think I might follow in his footsteps. But that means buying some sort of DVcamcorder.
Earlier I received a comment for a previous post from another lover of architecture http://thelocalguide.wordpress.com/:
Great photos, really looks like a great place.
I am a lover of the whole culture kick. In fact my mum always accused me of being too playful as a child. I daydreamed and lived a little too much for pleasure… simple pleasures you understand – watching birds chirp, dreaming up fantastical stories etc. Harmless enough you might say, but not when I pursued my simple pleasures at the expense of homework. I’m sure many people thought I was unintelligent but I had a knack for turning on a spectacular academic performance each time my mum coaxed me into studying. Teachers didn’t always perceive the need to coax however. Some just shouted at me and my grades slipped further thereby setting up a self-fulfilling prophesy for them.
I’ve veered off course somewhat but the point I’m trying to make is that as an adult I’m still that playful child who loves culture kicks – architecture, mythology, language, history, literature, customs. I still salivate at the thought of embarking on a PhD. My current love is diachronic Linguistics (particularly orthography and phonology/phonetics). I’m interested in how sibilants and sonorants are depicted in writing in French, German, English and Spanish particularly.
Since my pictures seem so satisfying to many, I’d like to share my culture kick quest with you on this blog but alas the writer and humble English language teacher that I am, I know him well Horatio and he doesn’t like to do things by halves. So I’d like to travel more, take more pictures, add videos and give you the personal low down on my discoveries. You might well discover a possible holiday destination from my offerings. The frequency of my travels will partly depend on how enthusiastic your comments are. Do keep those comments coming and tell me what sort of places you’d like me to visit and the kind of things you’d like to know about those places. I can then establish relationships with various hotels, tourist boards, museums if needs be and have a hot line to the source.
I’m still trying to figure out how to set up a paypal account and donation button. No I’m not that IT illiterate. The problem is my poor German. There doesn’t seem to be an English language set up form for anyone setting up a paypal account from Germany. Once I get over this stumbling block, any donations you make to assist me to keep this blog buoyant and interesting will be truly appreciated. And in a reverse of the “no taxation without representation” maxim your comments and donations will go towards making more travels, pictures, videos (especially around Germany and Austria) possible. From this part of the world I can also get to the Czech Republic, Switzerland, France, Italy with relative ease i.e. by coach or train. In this wonderful symbiotic relationship, it would be great if you helped me to help you.
A little word synthesis for you today.
Colloud ■ v. pr. co-loud the loud screeching of brakes that occur when two speeding vehicles come perilously close to colliding but apply the brakes to avert disaster by the slimmest of margins. The cacophony of sound which accompanies such a near accident.
I spent last Sunday in Memmingen and Ulm (in the state of Baden Württemberg). Some pictures follow. For my two odd years in Germany I hadn’t travelled out of Bavaria. I decided it was high time I moved further afield. With the cheap Bayern karte (train ticket) I travelled from Munich to Memmingen which lies near the state line with Baden Württemberg. From Memmingen I discovered I could cross the state line to Ulm with my Bayern karte provided I took a regional train. Suddenly the possibilities were endless. If I woke up early enough I could cross to the neighbouring state, buy another cheap day ticket for that state then tour to my heart’s content. The first thing I noticed on strolling through the streets of Ulm (Einstein’s birthplace) was the seamless blending of old and new architecture. Since I studied architecture for two years, I like to admire romanesque, baroque and gothic forms as I stroll through towns on my travels.
Memmingen’s architecture was divided into fairly uniform sections but with Ulm I found myself in need of a new word. Here my word synthesis came into being. On several occasions – while admiring the lay of the land in Ulm – the old and new thunderously collouded. At least I feel that they did. The secret to the seamless symmetry and aversion of disaster is the use of space and shape. Old and modern, rectilinear and conical shapes with bisecting walkways between complement each other. Stone, glass, concrete and various claddings set each other off pleasantly. Purists such as Prince Charles might be appalled and see all modern interventions as monstrous carbuncles. I have no way of knowing this of course. I’m yet to have the pleasure (no sarcasm intended) of meeting his royal highness. Look at the pictures that follow and make up your own minds.
- Dialogue between old and new
Along that blue Danube
Towards Ulm's Rathaus
Red grill building mimics Ulm's Rathaus
Ulm Rathaus meets glass pyramid
World's tallest church
Looking at the Minster from other side of Danube
Ulm Rathaus
Memmingen pictures below:
Memmingen Rathaus
Memmingen, Steuerhaus in Marktplatz
Memmingen, Siebedaecherhaus - House with seven roofs
Pastels galore
As an aside, I can really see myself making part of my living from travelling around, admiring and documenting the architectural forms of German cities and towns. That, writing and researching… that would be true bliss. Throw in all expenses paid visit to fine restaurants and stays at decent hotels and just tell me where to sign.
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- Ulm Rathaus
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- Memmingen Rathaus
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- Along that blue Danube
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- Dialogue between old and new
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- Towards Ulm’s Rathaus
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- Memmingen, Siebedaecherhaus – House with seven roofs
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- Looking at the Minster from other side of Danube
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- Ulm Rathaus meets glass pyramid
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- Memmingen, Pastels galore
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- World’s tallest church
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- Memmingen, Steuerhaus in Marktplatz
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- Red grill building mimics Ulm’s Rathaus
I had to write something after my long silence. The fact is I’ve been following my first love – reading. I’ve also been watching that old sixties series “I Spy” on DVD. When I’m reading or writing I withdraw into my secret world and other pursuits become a chore. On Saturday I woke up early and took the regional express train first to Würzburg then Bamberg. The long train ride took three and a quarter hours to Würzburg with a connection – anschluss – in Nuremberg.
Living in Germany has given me different forms of association in the way that all my past travels have. I now see the world through such a hotchpotch of lenses that I can’t help but be an oddbod. I see this as a good thing. Before living in Germany any mention of Nuremberg brought up images of the Nuremberg war trials. The word anschluss meant Nazi annexation of sovereign states – notably Austria. Now Nuremberg brings up other associations as does the word anschluss. It’s a good thing that generations age, die and take their prejudices with them so that the world can heal, can evolve. As the saying goes, “to err is human, to forgive divine”. In the absence of this dignified divinity, time usually comes to the rescue to heal wounds.
Everywhere I go in Germany I see the opulent palaces of the Prince Bishops and a train of events runs through my mind, leading to Europe’s Thirty Year’s War. Some grudges last well over thirty years; last over a thousand years so fresh wounds emerge to keep people dying like dumb animals. Some would say to forgive is weak, idiotic. I say not forgiving is even more idiotic, especially as forgiving doesn’t necessarily call for intimate friendship with those forgiven. Rather it means giving the psychic wounds that soil your soul the chance to heal so that the next generation can be spared your pain. They can be free to make their own mistakes without having you to blame. Forgiveness takes courage and getting the hang of it allows the conscience to become light as air. Even when the end game means the going of separate ways, one can allow the dust of past pain to mist into nothingness.
It’s curious that I feel so relaxed and at home in Germany (the losing side in the war) while I always felt like a grudgingly tolerated step-child in England (the winning side). I suppose losing can lead to soul searching while victory and the knowledge of being on the side of justice can compromise self-reflection. Once this happens, a subtle tyranny is born. I don’t for the life of me know where all this stuff I’m writing today comes from. I just thought it was high time I wrote after my period of absence and this rather sombre account was what emerged. Enjoy the pictures that follow.
Festung Marienberg, Wurzburg - © Mogbolahan Koya-Oyagbola 2009
Bamberg rooftops - ©Mogbolahan Koya-Oyagbola 2009
Bamberg rooftops_2 - ©Mogbolahan Koya-Oyagbola 2009
Looking towards Little Venice, Bamberg - ©Mogbolahan Koya-Oyagbola 2009
Looking towards Little Venice_2, Bamberg - ©Mogbolahan Koya-Oyagbola 2009
Little Venice, Bamberg - ©Mogbolahan Koya-Oyagbola 2009
I have a confession to make. I have a favourite dictionary. As a British English speaker I’m all too aware that the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the authoritative dictionary. I however, prefer the Collins Cobuild dictionary. Now many will wonder what difference it makes. To a writer the dictionary one uses makes a big difference I can assure you. With my writer’s cap on, what I value about the Collins is the choice of layout, etymological data, cross referencing as well as the given definitions. All this is very important to me because I don’t simply use the dictionary to look up new words but more often to confirm my understanding of nuances of words I already know. I value the Collins because of given examples as informed by concordance technology. When I’m looking for the mot juste, that perfect, precise word, I find that the Collins dictionary leads me where I need to go.
With my language teacher’s cap on I’m not particularly bothered whether I use the OED, Collins Cobuild or Cambridge University learner’s dictionaries. With my writer’s cap back on alas, I currently use the OED because that was all I could find in Hugundubel – Munich’s biggest bookstore. I could have ordered the Collins or used amazon.com of course but sometimes I’m overtaken by the “I need it when I need it” mentality. Now there’s no disputing that the OED is a very fine dictionary in its own right, but it simply isn’t my favourite. I really ought to order the Collins and keep my almost perfect record. Almost all my bilingual dictionaries (French/English, English/Spanish) are Collins. I broke rank with my English/German dictionary which is a PONS. Still, my German is so embarrassingly poor after two years in Germany that I don’t suppose it matters. I still have to get over my aversion for the genitive, dative, accusative, normative and all those German case endings – eine, einer, eines, einem, I know. Na toll! How was that for sound play?
What brought on this dissection of the merits of different dictionaries? Well the hint is in the title. I hear the word cipher used in all sorts of ways. The contexts of usage often seem contradictory to me and so it’s a word I look up perhaps once a year to remind myself of exactly what it means. Of course since outside of the intelligence agency and perhaps hip hop worlds it isn’t a high frequency word, I forget the precise definition soon enough until I hear it used again. So what does the OED (since I’m bereft of my Collins) have to say about the word cipher?
- cipher2 n. a continuous sounding of an organ pipe, caused by a defect. v. (of an
organ pipe) sound continuously.
-origin C18: perh. from cipher1. - cipher1 /sᴧɪfə/ (also cypher) n. 1 a code. ► a key to a code. 2 dated a zero. 3 an
unimportant person or thing. 4 a monogram. v. 1 encode (a message). 2 archaic
do arithmetic
-origin ME: from OFr. cifre, based on Arab. ṣifr ‘zero’ (click to hear pronunciation).
Key:
| ME = Middle English OFr = Old French |
Arab. = Arabic perh. = perhaps |
Considering definitions 2-1.1 to 2-1.4, is it any wonder I get confused? To say the style and content of a writer’s oeuvre… (where’s my French/English dictionary?), a writer’s body of work is determined by the writer’s childhood is not a remarkable observation. In the past few days I’ve been thinking about my childhood and have concluded I’ll probably never write an As I Lay Dying, a Bel Ami or a 42nd Parallel. At any rate, I’ll never write these types of novels from my gut. Such output from me will be the result of much research even if the raw energy and emotion do come from somewhere within (as is always the case). I can’t tell you whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It really depends on what I manage to do with the influences of my childhood.
While others rely strongly on their racial, cultural, religious or professional codes to inform them of their identity (in a way that gives their writing interesting shades) I see myself as a cipher (definition 2-1.1). As such I view myself as a cipher (definition 2-1.3). This doesn’t me I lack self-esteem. On the contrary, my self-esteem is healthy but I consciously set out to deconstruct my ego. Don’t be fooled. Self-esteem and ego are not one and the same. A person with self-esteem experiences serenity and values all things in existence for the potential those things possess for advancing harmony whereas one caught up in their own ego is blind to this potential. One caught up in ego recognises only the discordant nature in all things outside of themselves. In this sense of erasing ego, I am, or rather my ego is unimportant. I resist the urge to base my identity on unyielding concrete constructs or identity codes. I am black, yes I am (and proud of it) but I am also more than the physical shade of my skin. I am a man, yes I am but I am more than my sexual, physical identity. This means I don’t have to be white to empathise with a white person feeling pain, nor do I have to be a woman to be incensed by an act of violence by a man (or indeed a woman) against a woman. I am a black man but… no, no buts. I am a black man and I value all things in existence (that obviously includes women and white people) for the potential those things possess for advancing harmony.
I am the epitome of fluid dynamics – shapeless potential which at once possesses the force of a gentle stream and storm tossed sea. In this analogy, I lack a static code but am… no, no buts. I lack a static code and I am the key which opens all codes. Put another way, being zero “0″ permits me to transform into infinity “∞” and empathically create works that resonate and reverberate continuously. I am a cipher (definition 2-1.n.1, 2.n. 2, 2.n3); I am a cipher (definition 1-2.n). My cultural codes of reference from my Nigerian childhood (from activities, books and the little bit of television my mother permitted me to watch) are diverse. They include French lessons I didn’t appreciate back then at the French cultural centre in Lagos, gymnastics lessons with a Korean coach at the National Stadium (I could do somersaults, backflips, cartwheels, handstands, and the splits way back then), commando comics about WW2, Marvel comics, Beano and Buster comics, British television shows (e.g. Steptoe and Sons, Love Thy Neighbour, the Carry On series), Greek mythology, Aristophanes comedies (notably Lysistrata), Norse mythology, Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Yoruba cosmogony and tales, American television shows and cartoons (e.g. Sandford and Son, The Flip Wilson Show, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Soul Train, Mission Impossible, I Spy, Julia, Tom and Jerry, Roadrunner, Droopy, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester and Tweety, Top Cat), Australian television shows (Skippy the Bush Kangaroo). Some U.S. sitcoms made it to Britain e.g. Family Ties, Cheers, Taxi and cop shows. With the exception of The Cosby Show – Different Strokes doesn’t count – it wasn’t until Fresh Prince of Bel Air in the late 1980s that black programs from the U.S. were aired on British television while I had watched shows like Julia in Nigeria back in the 70’s.
With satellite TV things have changed considerably and you can now watch shows from any part of the world anywhere but back in my childhood if you lived in the U.S. you generally only saw U.S. shows, if you lived in Britain you saw only British shows. Growing up in Nigeria allowed me to see British, Australian, U.S., Brazilian (e.g. Fantastico) shows. Long before moving to England for my education then embarking on my travels I was already being groomed as a global nomad prime cipher. Exactly what flavour this adds to my fiction I leave to others to determine; I leave to other mono, multi or prime ciphers like me to decipher.
I might have been away from the blog for a week or so but I was far from idle. Since branding is so important, I created a new youtube channel under my name and deleted the old one. I sent out my book to Spotlight magazine as well as a prolific blogger for reviews. There’s no telling what sort of reviews I’ll get or when but I’m doing my part to get the word out about “Some White English Women I’ve Almost Known.” I’ve also been trying to arrange an internet radio interview while looking for a British publisher for my book for the European market. All this and a day job keep this boy very busy. I’m thinking that from now on perhaps I’ll only blog for the first three weeks of every month to take the pressure off. I’ll also be sure to feature more artist guest posts in the future.
You can also find me on Goodreads.com. Until the 25th of November you can log onto Goodreads.com, find my author profile (Mogbolahan Koya-Oyagbola) and ask me all sorts of questions related to creativity and the writing process. The Goodreads badge in the sidebar will take you (if not to my profile) to Goodreads.com.
Not much else to report except that I’m currently reading Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. I’ve often tried but never been able to finish this book. The first person narrative scheme makes it a very unsettling read because here is a paedophile who sings the praises of the ancient custom of pederasty while taking the reader into his confidence. That Humbert Humbert is at once depraved, funny and charming is what makes it all so unsettling. But if I continue to read it in little snippets perhaps I’ll get through it this time. I make no promises however. If I find myself reaching for the sick bag, I’ll stop attempting to read Lolita once and for all. And to answer your question, it is exceptionally well written. It has the power to unsettle precisely because it draws you in.
I can’t believe it’s November already. In Munich the clock has gone back and we’re now in winter time. We’ve already had some pretty cold days. I really enjoyed my time away. Of course I wasn’t actually on holiday but it was nice not to have to worry about posting three times a week to this blog. To welcome you back I start off with a guest post from a professional colleague and friend. What can I tell you; there are lots of creative souls masquerading as English language teachers.
Koya-Oyagbola’s Blog
-Contributor:
Anne Pincus studied Visual
Arts in Australia and has lived
in Munich since 1994. Since
1985 her work has been exhibited
in Australia, New Zealand and
Germany. She was the recipient
of an Australian arts council
grant to Italy in 1996. Her work
from “the latitude of shadows”
series is currently on display at
Munich’s Galerie Kaysser
(Herzogstrasse 73) until 8 pm
this thursday 5th Nov.
That’s Guy Fawkes night
to all you Brits.
The Latitude of Shadows, © Anne Pincus 2009
This work is concerned with the realm of shadows. An atmospheric ‘other place’, a shadowy life, a mutable world. Shadows are extemporaneous, inconsistent, in flux and fleeting. They elude us as quickly as they allude to that which has created them. Are they positive? Existent in and of themselves or do they indicate simply the lack of substance and the lack of light? They exist in the presence of light and yet are not of light. They are created by that which blocks the light and yet are not that thing, have indeed no form or substance. In a way, they are negations. They are the opposite of light and matter. They are the negating prefix on all the positives: immaterial, intangible, uncertain, unsubstantial, impalpable, indeterminate… They are the opposite of all that is solid and constant: mutable, tenuous, shifting, elusive. They represent an uncertain terrain not often present in our picture-rich world. This terrain resists containment or prescription.
Over the years I have worked on different subjects – the microcosmos, landscape in motion, the anatomical body, reflections – and yet there is one common element: the temporal or physical limitations on our perception of these phenomena. Whether it is something that is usually hidden like the organs in our bodies, or something which is too small for the human eye to detect, or a view which is constantly changing – like shadows, or a landscape flying past as seen from a train … these intangible, unsubstantial, hidden states and transience – that’s where my interest lies.
In exploring these phenomena in painting I want to give them value. In a world which is such a slave to the materialistic gaze, this preoccupation with the fleeting and intangible has a certain poignancy. By shifting focus perhaps we can discover new ways of seeing and therefore of being.
Sometimes a human shadow appears in these pictures, playing with the subjectivity of our perception. Is this my shadow or yours? It also refers to the photos sometimes used as a source and acknowledges my presence and involvement in the process.
To contact Anne, click link below:
Anne Pincus 2009
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