- Details
- Written by: Kamran Mofid
- Hits: 2240
Acker Bilk, born January 28 1929, died November 2 2014
Acker Bilk was a bowler-hatted titan of Trad jazz who conjured a warm, sentimental sound from his clarinet
Acker Bilk: The "Great Master of the Clarinet"
His beautiful music has been a source of inspiration to me ever since I first heard his music in 1973. It was the first time that I had met my future father-in-law, the late Tery Clifford in Coventry. I had gone there from Oxford, where I had met Annie, to meet her family.
It was late one evening that I heard a most beautiful sound coming from the sitting room. Terry was listening to his favourite album, and Acker Bilk was playing the Stranger On The Shore. It was truly a beautiful sound. It was inspiring. It made me to dream and think about good things in life. It was soothing and healing, what many years later I would call ‘Music for the Common Good’, touching everybody’s heart.
- Details
- Written by: Kamran Mofid
- Hits: 7607
Photo: etsystatic.com
'Like a tsunami, consumerism has engulfed human cultures and Earth’s ecosystems. Left unaddressed, we risk global disaster. But if we channel this wave, intentionally transforming our cultures to centre on sustainability, we will not only prevent catastrophe but may usher in an era of sustainability-one that allows all people to thrive while protecting, even restoring, Earth.’ *
‘Advertising and marketing have shaped the behavior and psychological profile of the American consumer. Consumerism is at the crux of a number of important issues affecting the nation and the world -- creation and maintenance of the false self, spiritual emptiness, detachment from nature, and sustainability. Current levels of consumption are ecologically destructive and unsustainable. Understanding the psychological and spiritual effects of consumerism may be important to reverse the trend of increasing consumption. Opportunities for ecosophical development are key to promoting the behavioral changes necessary to re-establish our connection with nature and address the problems of consumerism and sustainability.’**
- Details
- Written by: Kamran Mofid
- Hits: 6366
Throughout centuries this has been the biggest of the Big Questions: How to lead a good, happy, useful and worthwhile life?
This is how Marsilio Ficino answers this question.
But first, who was Marsilio Ficino?
Photo: Amazon UK
Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499)
“Marsilio Ficino was a Florentine philosopher, translator, and commentator, largely responsible for the revival of Plato and Platonism in the Renaissance. He has been widely recognized by historians of philosophy for his defense of the immortality of the soul, as well as for his translations of Plato, Plotinus, and the Hermetic corpus from Greek to Latin. Ficino is considered the most important advocate of Platonism in the Renaissance, and his philosophical writings and translations are thought to have made a significant contribution to the development of early modern philosophies. In addition to the Platonic Theology, Ficino also composed extensive commentaries on Plato and Plotinus, wrote a practical medical treatise, and carried on a voluminous correspondence with contemporaries across Europe.”
Now let us see what Ficino’s answer is. This can be found in a letter he wrote to his Girolamo Pasqualini:
‘Greetings. You ask what it is to live well. Nothing is more profitably sought.
To live well, then, is to understand what is true; to take good counsel; to desire what is good; and to perform good acts.
The first is a quality of wisdom; the second, of prudence; the third, of justice; and the fourth, of perseverance.
The first comes from God; the second, from the first; the third, at once from God and man; and the fourth from the third.
They live as men who live thus. They live as animals who live otherwise.
Farewell, and live as a man. Give my greetings to those pious men, Neri and Francesco Rinuccini.’
Letter 79, Volume 1, The Letters of Marsilio Ficino, Published by Shepheard-Walwyn
Read more:
Ficino, Marsilio | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Photo: shepheard-walwyn
The Letters Of Marsilio Ficino Volume 9 (Book X) » Shepheard-Walwyn Publishers