A treat

I got a package in the mail today -- the cd Sakura by Susumu Yokota, a gift from the amazingly generous mr.h of Giornale Nuovo, who was recently giving cds away for the asking as he occasionally does.

I was lucky to have snagged this one. It's just the kind of funky, minimalist, jazzy, exotic, experimental, ambient instrumental thing I often like to listen to, and I am enjoying it quite a bit. Plus there's the excitement of having interesting things mailed to you by strangers from Sweden, in envelopes bearing Swedish and French writing, stamps, and insignia. (It didn't even occur to me that mr.h hailed -- and mailed -- from anywhere other than America, although the footer of his blog even carries the bold warning Not to be introduced into the British Empire or the U.S.A., which we've violated pretty well now.)

So anyway, it was a delightful treat, for which I thank mr.h heartily. I also recommend readers to visit his always fascinating and very informative blog, which uncovers some of the most unusual treasures of art history, old prints, books, and manuscripts, and all kinds of goodies for the common enjoyment. His latest post, for example, presents the strange and surreal work of nineteenth-century French artist Odilon Redon, and another that I liked a lot recently discusses the seventeenth-century treatise The Discovery of a World in the Moone by John Wilkins.

So go and visit him. He has some great things to share.