much variety in a single panorama we cannot understand

When John Cage died in 1992 he left behind a red spiral notebook - presumed to be material for part 9 of his unfinished Diary.

Here are a few excerpts (retaining J.C's numbers, I've added quote marks):

 

48 "In a way that escaped our notice New York became beautiful. Everywhere you look. Maybe it's because the buildings aren't automatically torn down anymore. We seem to be holding onto them, taking care of them. Architectural details. As much variety in a single panorama as in Rome."

 

16 "When d'you suppose the sun'll come out? Maybe we've done something to permanently damage the weather."

 

32 "Going to school not in order to prepare for a job but just to find out what it is that interests us, what it is you want to spend your life doing."

 

16 "This is the first of the global commandments: Thou shall not divide the world into nations."

 

10 "Music gives us practice in reading things we can't understand."

 

— As found in John Cage, Diary: How to Improve the World (You Will Only Make Matters Worse), Siglio Press 2019. *Buy it here.*