November 19th 2023
Lenin October
In the end I decided to take a train to Berlin, perhaps a similar route to that followed in 1917, as a special guest of Kaiser Willy. He had never expected what a huge mistake he committed for Germany and the stability of the whole of Europe. Without the Revolution, fascism would have perhaps never had the power to materialize. It would have been left behind, at the stage of a ghost, popular in the old veteran stories, but nothing more Perhaps we would live in an even more corrupt world, the triumph of liberalism and greed. The dissolution of the roaring twenties could have continued forever, until the Europeans and the Americans, in good company with affluent Chinese, Japanese and Indians, would have suddenly found themselves exhausted. Like at the end of every party where the waiters have got to clear up the mess produced by their masters. The train that I took is far less luxurious than the one of 1917. Mothers with young babies are filling the air with impolite and persuasive noises. I can imagine myself complaining, in front of the Russian workers, about the sounds emitted by tablets playing the adventures of a blond Japanese ninja dressed in orange. Better to try to focus on the books I bought with me to kill the time and prepare myself to face my past.
The art dealer
Ai Wei Wei is striking back and, despite the stop to his London new exhibition at the Lisson Gallery, he has hitten the market with more than one lovely sculpture. One issued by the Downing College in Cambridge, that being a town dominated by the liberal snobbery, does not really care and perhaps appreciates the opinions expressed by the Chinese Artists about Palestine and Israel. I would abstain myself, for the same reason, from purchase. The concept of a “PuZZLE TREE”, a sculpture to be assembled like the pieces of a manga inspired vinyl figurine is however fascinating. It is really tempting, but I decided to restrain myself from any purchase for the next ten years. I need to rearrange my income and assets for a while. Otherwise the other Ai Wei Wei’s purchase would have been issued by Taschen. This time a splendid golden necklace, a wonderful and princely gift for my future spouse. I am unfortunately single at the time, but I like to spend my time imagining what kind of life I could conduct if married, or at least in a relationship with a lovely and loyal fiancée. Right now my ideal are those women produced by Orit Fuchs. She has now donated two of her paintings to an exhibition in Miami, sponsored by Sotheby's. There is a profile of a woman, in one of the pictures, firmly holding a dove. I pray with her for Israel and the glory of King Salomon.
The consultant
I spent a couple of hours at the local museum in Horgen. I would have never expected to find it so interesting and I almost forgot the primary goal of my visit. I discovered the whole story of a town that became rich thanks to the textile industry. The small city is now reshaping herself as a comfortable place to spend the evenings and the weekend while working in Zug or Zurich. The new inhabitants are perhaps people like my previous self, hoping to strive while keeping their precarious employment by the major banks and consultancies. It is the hope of a child, playing football and aiming to get admitted to the premier league. With the additional constraint that success comes only once too old, after having acquitted far too many chronic diseases do the useless stress on the job. I am realizing right now how happy I should consider myself to be definitely free from the political problems I had to cope with on a daily basis. Also smiling at the idea of the multiple contradictions caused by the conflict in the Middle East among the politically correct priests. Perhaps they are now accusing each other for supporting one of the two parties involved, claiming themselves to be ready for total war without having in their limited minds that they are making a quote from a Goebbels’ speech. If I am ready with the museum visit, I can now take a schnitzel by the restaurant nearby, with a direct view on the lake. Despite all the protests of green fanatics and ideological vegetarians. I am wondering whether Hitler could be accounted among them.
