26 Comments
Jun 27Liked by Konstantin Asimonov

Time and distance are almost always ...it's easier with them. Everything can be understood, to a degree. Everything can be fascinating. Everything is a thread in some huge tapestry.

Place also plays a role-the more far removed, at least in our mind-the better. "better".

we're tourists, not emigrees, in history

So waiting is good, I agree.

I need to think more, -thank you for the essay

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author

Yes, living far away from it all helps to a degree. But it is still a question that bothers me.

I am reading some of the memoirs of people from German Resistance and other people living in Germany through the Nazi regime, and they had similar issues.

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Jun 27Liked by Konstantin Asimonov

no, I meant something else, I'm sorry for being confusing

didn't mean where one lives at the time of, while being affected....I meant something that happenned in the past, maybe very distant past-AND faraway from where we mentally place ourselves more or less.

It really needs to be brought to us brilliantly via something, to register for what it was, for what it was for the living back then and there.

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author

Oh sorry, I misunderstood. Yeah, I agree, this helps.

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Jun 28Liked by Konstantin Asimonov

In the Punic Wars (Rome won), who was the good guy? Are you allowed to like Hannibal's elephants, do you have to slaughter Nero's geese?

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author

Yeah, but Hannibal didn't aim to murder my relatives though. Probably not even ancestors.

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Jun 28Liked by Konstantin Asimonov

You want to be the good guy today and are looking for a recipe? Why did Hesse let Joseph Knecht die? Who was better: Narcissus or Goldmund?

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author

You know what, I understand Hesse's genius, but by God, he was such a bore. Maybe it's the Russian translation, though.

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Jun 29Liked by Konstantin Asimonov

Steppenwolf took him for Born to be Wild & the bandname, was too boring for young americans on harleys

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Jun 29Liked by Konstantin Asimonov

Nutten, Gruppensex, Kokainparties, Maschinengewehrfeuer gegen Autofahrer, Jazz, Karneval, Halluzinatorische Träume...

Hesse hat im Wald bei Veganern gelebt, bei Nudisten, war Tramp in den Alpen, hat als Pazifist demonstriert - er war Hippie 50 Jahre vor den Hippie. Nur über Kotze & Scheiße hat er nicht geschrieben - Schwächling

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author

Oh, I see, I hit a nerve.

Hey, I have nothing agains Hesse. He was ahead of his time and still is very much liked. I just didn't connect with him, and not because of a lack of shit and vomit.

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author

Steppenwolf is more fun, true.

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Jun 29Liked by Konstantin Asimonov

Ein gewisser Balzac soll in "Verlorene Illusionen" auch im ersten ⅓ das Stilmittel der Langeweile in der Provinz eingesetzt haben, bevor es in Paris (+ Glanz & Elend + Vater Goriot) dann spannend wurde. Oder Thomas Mann in Mario & der Zauberer. Und alles ohne bunte Bilder, Raumschiffe & Hexen. Einfach irre. Культура...

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Jun 29Liked by Konstantin Asimonov

Übrigens, das Henkershaus & der Kerker, wo die Kindsmörderin aus Meister & Marg. einsaß und hingerichtet wurde, ist gleich hinter unserer Küche. Aber was wusste dieser Bulgakow schon.

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Jun 29Liked by Konstantin Asimonov

Denken ist Scheiße

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Jun 28Liked by Konstantin Asimonov

What do you leave behind on Solaris' planet? And now the fucking answer to your question: What is the planet sending you? (from which you want to hide, by the wayside)

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author

Yep, Lem's metaphor still goes strong. He certainly thought about similar things when hewrote Solaris.

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Jun 29Liked by Konstantin Asimonov

And what did you swap tonight: you sent him Rodin's Thinker and he sent you a teddy bear?

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author

Just an eggplant emoji.

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Jun 28Liked by Konstantin Asimonov

By the way, if you make the wrong decision, you can always start an in-depth philosophical discussion about the freedom of the will. At Shashlyk & Vodka

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author

I sure can and do!

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Jun 28Liked by Konstantin Asimonov

That was a good and important rambling. I don’t have answers either but it’s calming to know that someone has similar feelings. I would sat It’s more of an individual approach to every artist…

And thank you for mentioning my essay 🫂

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author

It is individual, sure. It should be, rationally. But emotionally, I am looking for a one-size-fits-all solution.

We have an ongoing masochistic game among ourselves, debating who of our favorite but already dead artists would zed out. My money is on Letov, even though I do like him very much.

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Jun 29Liked by Konstantin Asimonov

I have a habit to check if someone zedded before listening to their songs etc haha It feels weird but at the end of the day it’s just an extra filter- I cannot help but not to feel uncomfortable. And I think it’s different to cancel culture, although they may seem related. And it’s not internal censorship, it’s something else- like “You betrayed me, I don’t want to deal with you anymore” kinda vibe. But personally I didn’t have a strong cases of that (yet)- most of my fav Russian artists (there aren’t many of them) happened to be quite anti-gov.

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author

Yes, luckily, there were relatively few huge disappointments (Picnic one of them). If ten years ago I was asked who would nazify if push comes to shove, I would probably be 70-75 percent correct.

There were a few pleasant surprises even.

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