Showing posts with label 2020. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2020. Show all posts

Saturday, May 09, 2020

Schuman Day [8.v.2020] / Victory in Europe - Liberation Day [9.v.2020]

8 May 2020
Schuman Day

Did you know that
Pink Floyd
does
Friday Fundraisers?
#pinkfloydfridays
#stayhere #withme
#pulse #runrabbitrun

Good writers do backgrounds when they can.
Better planners do the background FIRST
and respect it and put it in due proportion.
That way the foreground and the middle of the field can pop out
or stay disguised/camouflaged depending on what you want to do.

Such was the German President's speech
and Queen Elizabeth the Second's
on the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe / Liberation Day.

Orientation, too, is important.

In the theatre set design can be very abstract and symbolic.
So, too, in music videos and their staging.

Such was the case in The Eddy
which was released on the 8th May in the Netflix world.
It was done by the director of LA LA LAND.

What a wonderful first episode.
I needed something to keep my hands and brain busy.

The drawings come in three by three.

I used five colours and/or shades.

The bottom is a sunset-type image and there is much showing through when it comes to yellow and pink and purple.

The top has a two-toned brown background and then there is red green yellow and blue.

And I wouldn't be me if I didn't do all the colours at some point.

The middle illustration reinforces the point about backgrounds.

There are people walking all over the pile of rocks and other people floating in fine-tip pen.

One of my more amusing philosophical moments this May
when I was reading the Oxford Companion to Philosophy [the 2005 edition which I acquired in 2012-13]
was about SLIME - not the Internet phenomenon precisely
- how SLIME is applied in philosophy.
It takes up this third space between what is concrete and what is abstract.
And it often connotes feelings of disgust and of fascination - this emotionally ambigious space which is a sense of productive uncertainty.
A sense - too - of sensoria and qualia.

I had some more serious moments too.
On the 29th April 2020 for instance when I spent time with Makers of Modern Culture
and I wanted to know more about the speech act as one of the UK's greatest philosophers has it.
This philosopher is J. L. Austin and he disseminated these ideas about the three forces
[well, these are the three forces which are the most famous].

Illuctionary which is defined as what is done IN saying something
[Anthony Flew: 1981]
Locutionary which is the act OF saying

and finally perlocutionary - what is EFFECTED IN OTHERS by the saying.

These are applications of performative utterances

Quickly summarising: we have in, of and by - "little words that pack a big punch" [I seem to remember an almost preternaturally verbally agile young man called Billy in Beautiful Child {T L Hayden 2002} who said that - and specifically about the word bad

Could easily have been his classmate Jesse - probably unlikely to have been Gwennie because she only came to the class sometimes - and the others Zane and Shane and Venus].

In philosophy - and especially in analytical philosophy - you have to look after the pennies. Even then you have not the guarantee that the pounds will look after themselves and grow interest.

I credit/blame Stephen Toulson and his definitive logical text The uses of argument [1959].

That same day was the 250th anniversary of Yorkshire merchant seaman and explorer
James Cook
and his coexplorer Joseph Banks
when they arrived on the east coast of the Australian continent.
You can read more about James Cook and Joseph Banks in The Conversation.

Also in the Conversation's CURIOUS KIDS section there was an 11-year-old who wanted to know

CAN THE WORK ON CORONAVIRUS STOP WAR?

Good question! And never too soon to learn about the roles of multilateral organisations!

For those of you who can read on the side ... and especially the green highlighted bit ...

The legacy, of course, was and continues to be deeply contested.

During the beginning of May I was pointed to a review of a movie called In Deed which was about a young boy called Benny and how he and his mother Melva meet Abe.

Abe is a churchman of the evangelical persuasion [that issue of the Monthly: Schwartz Media was kneedeep in evangelicalism and charismatics - Shane Danielsen was not immune!] and essentially he thinks/hopes/wishes his church can cure Benny. #mentalisation #filmmaking

A lot of my neurodivergent friends and interested and interesting people will probably have perceived and conceived where this is going.

Unfortunately [?] I did not get to that bit.

I did see scenes of Benny in his school - Abe is a cleaner there - and how he and Melva interact in church - and some attempts at exorcism and getting the demons/spirits out.

And how the rest of the family is - like the sister - and the woman who visits after an interaction in the waiting room.

Another interesting movie I watched - and had wanted to watch since January 2019 -

was Marwencol

which was an artistic and technical paracosm very relevant to this weekend - the macro and the micro ones.

Marwencol is this Belgian town which became a stopping place for veterans and travelling folk who are represented in the form of dolls - Barbies for the women and action figures for the men.

It grabs the viewer and never lets them go in the central dilemma between worlds.

Photography plays a role in disseminating Mark's universe of World War II figures that are based on people in his life that he imagines and reflects on and remembers.

People like Wendy and Colleen and Anna and various of his male friends from before and after the cataclysmic attack which results in brain injury and the associated effects.

There are moments when Mark walks on the streets of the real world with a well-modelled and sturdy tank.

There are so many swirly feelings and swishy feelings [the latter my invented set of concepts for dress; costume and genderplay / genderbending and exploration].

Thank you to the maven who recommended Kanopy.

One can watch 15 movies standardly - that is one movie every two days if you are sensible and/or use the credit-free work.

I noticed there was one on Valued Roles and Normalisation and another musical one.

Lots of sporting interests covered/explored too.

Was looking for a book about The death of the Fitzroy Football Club ...

That was one of those slimy moments of machination and Machievellian feeling - Holmesby represents it so well and so objectively.

One of the more wonderful sporting and human interest moments was when Adam Scott called up a fellow golfer and turned up to their club through the help of a significand ...

A very lovely Tete-a-tete. Probably not like the ones in Paris cafes between 1929 and 1979 between de Beauvoir and Sartre and their circle - which are so well covered by Hazel Rowley #goodthingscometothosewhowait #andtothosewhosurvive #thriving #flourishing #copology #continentalphilosophy #existentialism #riversideoaks

Sunday, January 05, 2020

[Probably not such a] Naughty Boy, Sam Smith - La la la (Lyrics / Lyric Video / Letra) #songlyricsunday





7clouds videos are awesome - along with Rachel Reyes - they are my first choice for videos which emphasise lyricism.



and here come the words [thought NOT the style!] for my choice of #songlyricsunday for 5 January 2020:



[Intro] Na na, la la la la la na na na na na La la na na, la la la la la na na na na na La la na na, la la la la la na na na na na La la na na, la la la la la na na na na na (Tu meri mauja hain) [Verse 1] Hush, don't speak When you spit your venom, keep it shut I hate it When you hiss and preach About your new messiah cause your theories catch fire [Bridge] I can't find your silver lining I don't mean to judge But when you read your speech, it's tiring Enough is enough [Hook] I'm covering my ears like a kid When your words mean nothing, I go la la la I'm turning up the volume when you speak Cause if my heart can't stop it, I'll find a way to block it, I go Na na, la la la la la na na na na na La la na na, la la la la la na na na na na (I found a way to block it, I go) La la na na, la la la la la na na na na na La la na na, la la la la la na na na na na [Verse 2] If our love is running out of time I won't count the hours, rather be a coward When our words collide I'm gonna drown you out before I lose my mind [Bridge] I can't find your silver lining I don't mean to judge But when you read your speech, it's tiring Enough is enough [Hook] I'm covering my ears like a kid When your words mean nothing, I go la la la I'm turning up the volume when you speak Cause if my heart can't stop it I'll find a way to block it, I go Na na, la la la la la na na na na na La la na na, la la la la la na na na na na (I found a way to block it, I go) La la na na , la la la la la na na na na na La la na na, la la la la la na na na na na (I found a way to block it, oh) Na na, la la la la la na na na na na La la na na, la la la la la na na na na na (I found a way to block it, I go) La la na na, la la la la la na na na na na La la na na, la la la la la na na na na na (Tu meri mauja hain) I'm covering my ears like a kid When your words mean nothing, I go la la la I'm turning up the volume when you speak Cause if my heart can't stop it I find a way to block it, I go I'm covering my ears like a kid When your words mean nothing, I go la la la I'm turning up the volume when you speak (when you speak) Cause if my heart can't stop it I find a way to block it, I go Na na, la la la la la na na na na na La la na na, la la la la la na na na na na La la na na, la la la la la na na na na na La la na na, la la la la la na na na na na (Tu meri mauja hain)


And then I realise there's a reason that YouTube does that when it comes to lyrics - or the 7clouds people did what they did.



When I was a little girl I discovered author Dorothy Edwards and illustrator Shirley Hughes for the first time in a simple novel / anecdote format - the series My naughty little sister.



It was one of my first conscious trips to a beach house; subject to a friend from the civil service.



So in the best traditions, or perhaps defiant/oblivious of these same traditions, I wrecked the entertainment room with Trivial Pursuit cards all over the floor.



The outdoor landscape of that beach house though! It had a big tree at the back. I was trying to trust trees and treehouses again after I had a nasty splinter at home walking on the top of the house [my treehouse had two floors] and it was on my foot. I remember going on the porch to get the splinter out with a needle.



Some three weeks before [12 December 1990] the wonders of the video cassette recorder were revealed to me and one of my very first picks was Pippi Longstocking which was a highly musical version and vivid. I had read the Astrid Lindgren books first in the library especially Pippi in the South Sea Islands with my grandparents so I knew the Ville Villa Kuella.



And Scrubbing Day was incredible - so was Running Away and the whole The First Noël feeling when Pippi and friends came to the orphanage. I loved the Head Girl - the first I recognised as Head Girl. I had not even read Blyton school stories yet in January 1991 - that pleasure was to be some eight months away with Elizabeth Allen and The naughtiest girl in the school.



I too had been considered - one of - the naughtiest girls in my school. I think of Hermoine Granger and that scene in the film of The Philosopher's / Sorcerer's Stone.



That witch really needs to sort out her priorities! - Ron Weasley - Harry and Hermoine's friend


One of the naughty things I did was blow on another student's whistle with the residue of a frozen ice. I did not quite have the mens rea involved [guilty mind in Latin] because I wanted to know how Melisande's whistle worked and if it had nuts in it like the Physical Education teacher's whistle did. The Phys Ed teacher was yet another champion of mine - and a broker into the system. Some years later on she would have us learn and support Italian lessons. And because of this she was a really strong connector - especially when it came to a question on Copernicus/Kopernik when we were studying the stars and astronomy.



Love La la la because it has the idea of preach speech in it and it has been so popular in so many countries.



Here is a quote that shows what I [and Beverley Eley] mean by PREACH SPEECH - it is also a good introduction to a book which showed me so much about biographical craft and graft - The book of David - it is also good for anyone who wants to know It's all right to be different:



[... earlier there was something about Democritus and the atom in that paragraph]Not only is his memory phenomenal, his wit is dry and clever. One day he walked into a conversation about homilies, proverbs and adages. After patting and kissing those close at hand [my emphasis], he walked away with the comment, 'Preach speech ... it's preach speech'.
By what yardstick do we measure someone like the eccentric, yet greatly gifted, David Helfgott? [says Eley on page 7 of The book of David in its 5th printing from 1997]
Eley and Helfgott [David and Gillian] are very good friends and her biographical practice is exemplary. Hoping the Gleniffer house where she and her husband John [who The book of David is dedicated to - for being someone who BELIEVES IN LOYALTY FRIENDSHIP AND JUSTICE - if books were tablets and stones - they would be carved in like that] is okay and the land too. That land is called the Promised Land and again Eley and David Helfgott are neighbours.



Had a great time watching Marianne and Leonard - words of love - so many people came by including in groups. Of course So long Marianne is a very important song. And Marianne was such a very generous and kind person. I think of Axel who is over 60 now and was only 6 months old when Leonard Cohen came into his Hydra life - in all my years I had never heard it pronounced like that so I could imitate it and reference it. Shows you how few of my resources are Greek. And the archivist really made the film, I do believe. I would sell the farm on it. Along with Broomfield of course who had a connection - intimate connection - with Ihlen from Oslo [and Paris and London and Hydra and one more place]



What did I want to talk about with the Naughty Little Sister and my experience?



When she was in a school choir one day; she and her friend Bad Harry la la la la'ed to the Christmas carols particularly Away in a manger which was the very first Christmas carol I connected with in 1985-86. Another early one was The first Noël - ten years later I connected so hard I named a character Noelle. She belongs to the gaggle of Gilberts - the five who were born on a student exchange. [and, yes, that is five at the same time in the same caul so to speak!]



And then I remember the Blubber singing lessons in Judy Blume - especially Miss Rochelle - great name for a musical person. My 1999 self thought this too - one of the times she and my 1994 self were in agreement [the former self was the one who read the book for the first time - and she was up for it six months later when she was sick and the world didn't make sense - she also enjoyed Paul Jennings' Quirky Tales where Linda thought salt was sugar and sugar was salt and No was yes]. So there was a young girl called Rochelle who absolutely loved music and was a flower girl. And then there was breathing and melody and harmony which I confess I really did not get until Grizel Cochrane had lost her harmony book in The head girl of the Chalet School which came with me in a Lion King bag along with a manuscript - that one was about a student called Tadeusz Meliński who studied temporarily at the London Progressive College. I got quite far in the writing of Educating Tadeusz laying and paving the ground [like crazy paving in my last].



Yours truly has also discovered Music from Ceefax which is the British Broadcasting Corporation teletext service. Especially looking for ocean music and ship music and sea shanties. After I watched Little Women in the Greta Gerwig mode and went to a park and a public house, I found many of them. It was when I became sick of Scouting and Guiding songs around the campfire and the Jamboree setting that I wanted to find some sea songs.

Many of you who have read Blubber will remember that Jill Brenner was quite the stamp collector - and she knew how to bargain and broker and write good letters. What she was not so good at doing was keeping her nails tidy and unbitten. Now nerves will do that to any person - and she was carrying around the sort of nervery which would make an animal pace and scratch and do various other displacement behaviours.

People often feel misplaced and displaced too. Especially when they feel their love is running out of time and that their words mean nothing.

Hope your lives feel Funktastic this week and for the Epiphany tomorrow. Imagine that - the first Monday of 2020!

Finally deck the halls with boughs of holly fa la la la la.

La la la  was released at the Jingle Bell Ball of 2013 and subsequently charted in many nations. And it had so many remixes - I chose the Sam Smith one because it had lots of resonance and was best-known perhaps ...

In Australia it peaked at number five; hit number one in the Commonwealth of Independent States chart as it did in the Czech Republic; number two in Denmark and Germany; number six in France; and it's probably time to point out the Hungarian charts and their genre diversity as well as media diversity [stream and radio]. A lot of central European nations [Poland too] have their dance charts and in this La la la came out 9th in Poland and 6th in Hungary. Seems the Romanians loved it and put it on number 1. Top 15 in Venezuela - 14th actually - awesome!

The US charts were much more mixed. Somehow the Brits bought more than a million copies. At least two charts showed top 20 and one was actually 10th. The Rhythmic seems open for debate.

And when hearts can't stop it they find a way to block it.

Trying to block this earworm [though I don't want to so it will stay] of La La Land which I think many of my #songlyricsunday companions and compeers have chosen.