T U and the End of the World!

So here are yesterday's and today's advent calendar offerings: T for Thus Spake Zarusthustra and U for Unhiddenness. I know the hermeneutic process of uncovering the un-hiddenness of Being is probably a lot less simple than the image implies, but I thought it'd be nice to let Being have a bit of fun for a change!

As for the Zarashustra quotation in the top cartoon the reference is from p 77-78 of the R.J Hollingdale 1969 translation, published by Penguin in the UK. Even after having done an MA dissertation on Nietzsche I still don't feel comfortable with Thus Spake Zarasthustra as a text. It is by turns philosophically perceptive and (dare I say it!) moving, but also confusing, obscure and downright mental in parts. I may do a week of cartoons based on TSZ, just because I feel it's a text that deserves more recognition: it's very multi-faceted, and you'd be surprised how radically different it is from the popular reading of Super-Nazi-Over-Men that gets thrown around. I also think Being & Tim could have some fun with Zarasthustra's Eagle....!

Lastly, a very quick sketch dedicated to the Mayans and the collective sigh of relief we all breathed at 11.12 today when the world didn't end. The inspiration is the following Kierkegaard quotation, which may or may not be correctly attributed, coming as it does from www.goodreads.com. It certainly sounds like something Soren'd say.

“A fire broke out backstage in a theatre. The clown came out to warn the public; they thought it was a joke and applauded. He repeated it; the acclaim was even greater. I think that's just how the world will come to an end: to general applause from wits who believe it's a joke.” Kierkegaard

I don't like to end on a downer, so here's a song....(those of you confused by the above sketch just skip ahead to 4.26)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0ikNY3712g

OLD SCHOOL!

Becca x

ps. I'll be away from a scanner for the next few days, so you'll have to wait 'til Sunday for V and W. I can only blame the little baby Jesus and the annual celebrations of his birth.

The Sickness Unto Death

The Courage Not to Act!

I'm hoping that your excitement that I've ACTUALLY POSTED something will make you feel well-disposed towards my utter lack of referencing in regards to this new cartoon. (I definitely read it somewhere, I think it was Kierkegaard's notebooks or a minor source that seems to escape the tendrils of wiki-quote!) While searching for a reference I did find another Kierkegaard quotation that is just begging for a cartoon, so keep your eyes peeled for something to do with this. It certainly makes me feel better about not posting for awhile! But I have been drawing a few things. This little fellow below is Data Entry Pig, a new character I've been developing! He's PASSIONATE about retail! And most other things that will get him through the job interview. Also right at the bottom is the fiirst of many cartoons attempting to find some humour in my brother's brain tumour. There he is, getting zapped by Dr. Blofeld. Not many people know this but Dr. Blofeld did in fact train as a radiologist, before turning to plans of world domination. And that's me as a cartoon.

Anyway, I won't leave it so long next time. Cheerio! becca xo

The Knight of Infinite Faith

Here's a new cartoon, based on Kierkegaard's Knight of Infinite Faith, whom is 'unable to make himself intelligible to others' (Kierkegaard, 1985: 107). Kierkegaard wavers on the suggestion that in fact, he can't be certain he's ever identified such a person at all, but that this doesn't give him grounds to deny that every other person could be one (1985: 67-8). Indeed the Knight of faith is consumed with graciously accepting finitude at every moment: 'he belongs altogether to the world' (1985: 68) and is therefore almost totally unidentifiable in a crowd: 'indeed, he looks just like a tax-gatherer!' (1985:68). A fact Being seems not to have grasped... becca xo

To Reason Away From Being

Here's a new cartoon i did a few weeks ago, but didn't get round to putting online. I'm in a terrible hurry to get a train, but will find the reference as soon as possible. The gist is that Kierkegaard, often said to be the Grandfather, or Father, or Godfather of Existenstialism, claims to 'reason away from Being'. This is a way of saying that 'existence precedes essence': exactly what the Existentialists assert: that to think is to already to be, so our the attempt to think what Being might be will never really work, as we can't step outside our own thoughts. Y'know, to be is to do, do be do be doo.

In other news, my wonderful friend Kaya did a little write-up of this blog, for the prestigious digital media agency 'glue london'. I always thought I was more of an 'old media' girl myself: the pen, the paper, etc, but their stuff looks cool. Not sure what they mean by 'geeky tidbits from the world of cyberspace' though??! Anyway, Hello if you came through that link, it is delightful to e-meet you!


Also, does anyone think Kierkegaard was a bit of a hottie?!
More soon!

becca xo