Two Palestinian schoolboys walk past a graffiti painted on a wall of the United Nations school of Beit Hanun, in the northern Gaza Strip: photo by Thomas Coex/AFP, 9 May 2016
Two Palestinian schoolboys walk past a graffiti painted on a wall of the United Nations school of Beit Hanun, in the northern Gaza Strip: photo by Thomas Coex/AFP, 9 May 2016
#Palestinian refugee camp committees to shut down #UNRWA offices in West Bank: image via Ma'an News Agency @MaanNewsAgency, 8 May 2016
When Old Corruption first begun,
Adorn'd in yellow vest,
He committed on Flesh a whoredom --
O, what a wicked beast!
From them a callow babe did spring,
And Old Corruption smil'd
To think his race should never end,
For now he had a child.
And Old Corruption smil'd
To think his race should never end,
For now he had a child.
He call'd him Surgery, and fed
The babe with his own milk,
For Flesh and he could ne'er agree,
She would not let him suck.
The babe with his own milk,
For Flesh and he could ne'er agree,
She would not let him suck.
And this he always kept in mind,
And formed a crooked knife,
And ran about with bloody hands
To seek his mother's life;
And formed a crooked knife,
And ran about with bloody hands
To seek his mother's life;
And as he ran to seek his mother
He met with a dead woman --
He fell in love, and married her:
A deed which is not common.
He met with a dead woman --
He fell in love, and married her:
A deed which is not common.
She soon grew pregnant, and brought forth
Scurvy and Spott'd Fever;
The father grinn'd and skipt about,
And said, "I'm made for ever --
Scurvy and Spott'd Fever;
The father grinn'd and skipt about,
And said, "I'm made for ever --
"For now I have procur'd these imps,
I'll try experiments!"
With that he tied poor Scurvy down
and stopt up all its vents.
I'll try experiments!"
With that he tied poor Scurvy down
and stopt up all its vents.
And when the child began to swell,
He shouted out aloud,
"I've found the dropsy out, and soon
Shall do the world more good!"
He shouted out aloud,
"I've found the dropsy out, and soon
Shall do the world more good!"
He took up Fever by the neck,
And cut out all its spots --
And thro the holes which he had made
He first discover'd guts!
And cut out all its spots --
And thro the holes which he had made
He first discover'd guts!
William Blake: Old Corruption's Song, from An Island in the Moon: A Satire (1784)
Palestinian refugee Hiam Muwad, 52, a mother of one, holds her United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) food distribution card at her home in the Amari Refugee Camp in El Bireh. The United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees has decided to halt its food distribution programme in camps across the occupied West Bank and replace it with a cash card system.: photo by Heidi Levine for The National, 10 May 2016
Muwad said uncertainty over what will happen with the electronic cards “is an extra worry”: photo by Heidi Levine for The National, 10 May 2016
Palestinian refugee Yusra Khalil, 68, stands holding empty sweets boxes in her shop. According to UNRWA, the change to the cash card system will give families eligible for food aid greater flexibility and choice, as well as provide them with US$20 (Dh73) more to spend than the food parcels were previously worth.: photo by Heidi Levine for The National, 10 May 2016
But this message does not appear to have reached Amari where the rumour mill is in overdrive: photo by Heidi Levine for The National, 10 May 2016
A Palestinian woman and child at the entrance of their home. “UNRWA is trying to save money at the expense of the most vulnerable people,” said Ahmed Tomaileh, an activist on the camp’s residents committee.: photo by Heidi Levine for The National, 10 May 2016
Suha Hamad, 41, looks through a pile of medical records of her ill son with her daughter Lamar. “My husband is a blacksmith and the money he makes is not enough to live with, Suha says. “With the food parcel, we make our own bread, use the rice and the oil is of excellent quality. I use the money to buy medicine for my son.”: photo by Heidi Levine for The National, 10 May 2016
The closed UNRWA food distribution centre. Camp leaders are so angry about perceived signs of UNRWA scaling back its role that they have implemented protest measures which went into effect on Monday.: photo by Heidi Levine for The National, 10 May 2016
Until the agency’s recent decision to shift to cash cards, parcels in the West Bank consisted of oil, sugar, rice, flour and powdered milk rations and were distributed to the neediest of families every three months: photo by Heidi Levine for The National, 10 May 2016
UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness told The National that rumours of “a political plot to downsize UNRWA and make the refugee problem go away” were untrue. “Our mandate is not for sale,” he said, adding that he was not aware of the agency reducing its funding for camp organisations as Mr Tomaileh had charged.: photo by Heidi Levine for The National, 10 May 2016
A woman walks past chairs displayed on a red carpet in the Palace Festival on the eve of the opening ceremony of the 69th Cannes Film Festival in France today: photo by Regis Duvignau/Reuters, 10 May 2016
A woman walks past chairs displayed on a red carpet in the Palace Festival on the eve of the opening ceremony of the 69th Cannes Film Festival in France today: photo by Regis Duvignau/Reuters, 10 May 2016
Emergency forces and shoppers take place in a simulated terror attack at the Trafford Centre in Manchester, England today: photo by Sean Hansford/MEN, 10 May 2016
Emergency forces and shoppers take place in a simulated terror attack at the Trafford Centre in Manchester, England today: photo by Sean Hansford/MEN, 10 May 2016
Emergency forces and shoppers take place in a simulated terror attack at the Trafford Centre in Manchester, England today: photo by Sean Hansford/MEN, 10 May 2016
Palestinian children play amidst wrecked cars in an impoverished area in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis: photo by Thomas Coex/AFP, 10 May 2016
Palestinian children play amidst wrecked cars in an impoverished area in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis: photo by Thomas Coex/AFP, 10 May 2016
A woman wearing a traditional hat, known as a non la, sweeps an entrance of a museum in Hoi An, Vietnam today. The non la hats are made of readily available materials such as palm leaves, tree bark and bamboo and are visible everywhere in the city, a UNESCO World Heritage site.: photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters, 10 May 2016
A woman wearing a traditional hat, known as a non la, sweeps an entrance of a museum in Hoi An, Vietnam today. The non la hats are made of readily available materials such as palm leaves, tree bark and bamboo and are visible everywhere in the city, a UNESCO World Heritage site.: photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters, 10 May 2016
People react as they see North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a mass rally and parade in the capital’s main ceremonial square, a day after the ruling party wrapped up its first congress in 36 years by elevating him to party chairman, in Pyongyang, North Korea today: photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters, 10 May 2016
People react as they see North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a mass rally and parade in the capital’s main ceremonial square, a day after the ruling party wrapped up its first congress in 36 years by elevating him to party chairman, in Pyongyang, North Korea today: photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters, 10 May 2016
People react as they see North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a mass rally and parade in the capital’s main ceremonial square, a day after the ruling party wrapped up its first congress in 36 years by elevating him to party chairman, in Pyongyang, North Korea.: photo by Damir Sagolj / Reuters, 10 May 2016
Vehicles stop on the side of a road as a tornado rips through a residential area after touching down south of Wynnewood, Oklahoma. The tornado touched down quickly and destroyed an unknown number of structures before a series of other twisters riddled the area. One person is confirmed dead.: photo by Josh Edelson/AFP, 10 May 2016
Vehicles stop on the side of a road as a tornado rips through a residential area after touching down south of Wynnewood, Oklahoma. The tornado touched down quickly and destroyed an unknown number of structures before a series of other twisters riddled the area. One person is confirmed dead.: photo by Josh Edelson/AFP, 10 May 2016
A tornado rips through a residential area after touching down south of Wynnewood, Oklahoma. The tornado destroyed an unknown number of structures before a series of other twisters riddled the area. One person was confirmed dead.: photo by Josh Edelson / AFP, 10 May 2016
A Sadhu or a Hindu holy man applies ashes on his body after taking a dip in the waters of Shipra river during the second ‘Shahi Snan’ (grand bath) at the Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Ujjain, India: photo by Jitendra Prakash/Reuters, 9 May 2016
A Sadhu or a Hindu holy man applies ashes on his body after taking a dip in the waters of Shipra river during the second ‘Shahi Snan’ (grand bath) at the Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Ujjain, India: photo by Jitendra Prakash/Reuters, 9 May 2016
A woman works at the Kim Jong Suk Pyongyang textile mill during a
government organised visit for foreign reporters in Pyongyang, North
Korea today.: photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters, 9 May 2016
A woman works at the Kim Jong Suk Pyongyang textile mill during a government organised visit for foreign reporters in Pyongyang, North Korea today.: photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters, 9 May 2016
A woman works at the Kim Jong Suk Pyongyang textile mill during a government organised visit for foreign reporters in Pyongyang, North Korea today.: photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters, 9 May 2016
2 comments:
In case anybody's interested on the context for the Blake song:
ARADOBO: [to GIMBLET, staring at her breasts] Is Chatterton a mathematician? OBTUSE ANGLE: No. How can you be so foolish as to think he was? ARADOBO: Oh, I did not think he was; I only asked. OBTUSE ANGLE: How could you think he was not, and ask if he was? ARADOBO: Oh no, sir. I did not think he was, before you told me, but afterwards I thought he was not. OBTUSE ANGLE: In the first place you thought he was, and then afterwards when I said he was not, you thought he was not. Why, I know that . . . ARADOBO: Oh no, sir, I thought that he was not, but I asked to know whether he was. OBTUSE ANGLE: How can that be? How could you ask and think that he was not? ARADOBO: Why, it came into my head that he was not. OBTUSE ANGLE: Why then did you say that he was? ARADOBO: Did I say so? Shit. I did not think I said that. OBTUSE ANGLE: Didn't he? PHILOSOPHERS: Yes. ARADOBO: But I meant, I, I, I can't think. Damn. Sir, I wish you'd tell me how it is. OBTUSE ANGLE: [chin in hand] Whenever you think, you must always think for yourself. ARADOBO: How, sir? [chin in hand] Whenever I think, I must think myself? I think I do. In the first place... OBTUSE ANGLE: Poo! Poo! Don't be a fool.
SUCTION: Hang the mathematics! QUID: Let's have some rum and water. [goes to bar] SIPSOP: Mr. Aradobo? ARADOBO: [Walks to PHILOSOPHERS' table; SIPSOP and SUCTION stand, he takes QUID'S seat; they circle him. All conducted with the solemnity of an oral examination.] SUCTION: Tell us, Mr. Aradobo, about Chatterton. ARADOBO: In the first place I think, I think in the first place that Chatterton was clever at Fissic, Follogy, Pistinology, Aridology, Arography, Transmography, Phizorgraphy, Hogamy, Hatomy, and hall that, but, in the first place he eat wery little, wickly -- that is, he slept very little which he brought into a consumsion; and what was that that he took? Fissic or somethink -- and so died!
[Examiners and everyone else is quite impressed by answer. SUCTION and SIPSOP circle once more]
SUCTION: Was Pindar a better poet than Giotto was a painter? SIPSOP: Plutarch didn't write the life of Giotto. QUID: [from the bar] No, to be sure, he was an Italian. SUCTION: Well, that is not any proof. QUID: [marches into the fray] Plutarch was a nasty ignorant puppy. I hate your sneaking rascals. Here's Aradobo [pounds him on the back] who, in 20, 10, or 12 years, will be a far superior genius. SIPSOP: Ah! Aradobo [pounds him on the back] will make a very clever fellow. QUID: Of course, any natural fool would make a clever fellow, if he was brought up properly. [pounds him on the back] SUCTION: Hang your reasoning! I hate reasoning. I do everything by my feelings. SIPSOP: Ah! I only wish Jack Tearguts had the cutting of Plutarch. He understands anatomy better than any of the ancients. [stands on his chair] He'll plunge his knife up to the hilt in a single drive and thrust his fist in, and all in the space of a quarter of an hour. He doesn't mind their crying, though they cry ever so. [leans on ARADOBO] He'll swear at them and keep them down with his fist, and tell them that he'll scrape their bones if they don't lay still and be quiet. QUID: [eye to eye with SIPSOP] Why the Hell should people who get it for nothing make such a fuss anyway? SUCTION: Hang that shit, let's have a song.
[An Island in the Moon, cont.]
QUID:
When Old Corruption first begun,
Adorn'd in yellow vest,
He committed on Flesh a whoredom--
O, what a wicked beast!
From them a callow babe did spring,
And Old Corruption smil'd
To think his race should never end,
For now he had a child.
He call'd him Surgery, & fed
The babe with his own milk,
For Flesh & he could ne'er agree,
She would not let him suck.
And this he always kept in mind,
And formed a crooked knife,
And ran about with bloody hands
To seek his mother's life.
And as he ran to seek his mother
He met with a dead woman,
He fell in love & married her,
A deed which is not common.
She soon grew pregnant & brought forth
Scurvy & Spott'd Fever.
The father grinn'd & skipt about,
And said, "I'm made for ever!"
"For now I have procur'd these imps
I'll try experiments."
With that he tied poor Scurvy down
& stopt up all its vents.
And when the child began to swell,
He shouted out aloud,
"I've found the dropsy out, & soon
Shall do the world more good."
He took up Fever by the neck
And cut out all its spots,
And thro the holes which he had made
He first discover'd guts.
[end song grabbing SIPSOP'S cat] SIPSOP: Ah, you think we are rascals, and we think you are rascals. I do as I choose. What is it to anybody what I do? I'm always unhappy, too, when I think of surgery; I don't know, I do it because I like to. My father does what he likes and so do I. I think, somehow. . . let it be. There was a woman having her cancer cut, and she shrieked so that I was quite sick. Good night. [puts head down on table] SUCTION: Good night. QUID: Good Night.
I think that Homer is bombast, and Shakespeare is too wild, and Milton has no feelings. They might be easily outdone. [grabs ARADOBO out of his seat] Chatterton, though, never wrote those poems! A parcel of fools, going to Bristol . . . if I were to go, I'd find it out in a minute [whispers] but I've found it out already . . . now if I don't knock them all up next year in the exhibition, I'll be hanged. SUCTION: Hang Philosophy! I don't give a fart for it. Do all by your feelings, man, feelings, and never think at all about it.
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