SAIPUA

I went to see Balkan jazz orchestra Anistar play last night at Zebulon. It was out of this world...utterly mesmerizing. At one point there was an entranced woman levitating. I have a penchant for middle eastern music, not to mention anything reminiscent of gypsy lore.

Just finished reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Filled with references to Greek mythology and particularly Dionysus, I picked up Edith Hamilton's Mythology to refresh - after Aaron who circumscribed the same literary path 6 moths ago. (They are his books.) Associated with all things wild, untamed, drunken and ecstatic Dionysus was followed by a group of loopy broads called Maenads, denizens of the forest and known for their crazed and intoxicated dance rituals which often involved bloodletting, the mutilation and eating of animals, and orgies. Whoa.

To be free of self-consciousness; to lose all aspects of oneself completely (if only for moments) has its certain charms. The ancient Greeks thought that achieving this heightened trance state would connect them to the Gods - make them immortal.