Wasn't the Orchestra wonderful? I think it is so interesting to watch the precise movements of the musicians, and the conductor. The smallest note - the "ting" of the triangle, the plucking of a violin string - can have such a big impact! It makes me aware of the score in every film I watch, and to consider the music with much more importance than I used to.
And the galleries are places of real magic, aren't they? It would have been great for us to spend more time in both galleries, and visit the costumes and glass and sculptures, and spend a long time lying down under the Leonard French Windows. Ah well, maybe everyone will make a point of visiting the Ian Potter or NGV one day over the next holidays. The gift shops are wonderful, too.
That show about the food from other eras is on SBS, and it's called "Supersizers Go..." Last week they ate like Edwardians, from the early 20th century. I worry for their health, as all the meals seem like a plate of heart attack followed by a dish of clogged arteries, with a side serve of liver disease and fat. But, it's very amusing and the hosts are very funny.
Thanks for the poems, Zoe and Mrs Dr Who. The Harpur poem had me curious, so I researched him - he was born in Australia in the eraly 1800s, so was a very early Australian Poet, writing before Pretty Dick and M Caloche were written! And the poem Invictus is inspiring, isn't it? Nelson Mandela used to recite the poem to his fellow prisoners, and those final two lines always make me draw breath, they are so powerful. The poem initially had no title, it was called Invictus at a later date. Invictus means "Unconquered". I think if that was the mantra you lived by, it would help you to feel in control of your life and your destiny.
JC
To Ms Corless,
ReplyDeleteAbout our discussion yesterday on whether or not losing your partial memory is good or not, i read deeper into the amazing boook by Nicola Krauss ("Man Walks Into A Room") and what the protagonist has basically makes him have no real memory beyond twelve, but can still act like a sophisticated being. That being said, he doesn't know if he can drive, he can't remember writing the books he wrote etc. I never realised it would affect the smaller things in life as well.
Also, he is a very changed man. It doesn't go into whether or not his morals have developed, but often he refers to events in his past, and recent events in terms of aspects of his past. For example, when he was younger, the protagonist wanted to be an astronaut, and when his girlfriend now asks how it feels to have no linkage anywhere, he says its like "being an astronaut." His life appears much more simple, and his faith has returned to the childish faith, where you can trust any man or woman.
To discuss the theory of moral development, I still feel the morals a person had will not pass on with them. However, I am very interested in other people's opinions. Would matters relative to his heart - where some memories are stored - remain with him? And also, would it be worthwhile to undergo this transformation, forget everything about your past, and start over new?
Sarah
"And also, would it be worthwhile to undergo this transformation, forget everything about your past, and start over new?" you say sarah.
ReplyDeleteWell i think we all have days when we wish we forget about the past and start afresh. But then we'd have to make the smae mistakes again, and learn it all. ICK imagine that...
just to ponder it is amusing. love the question. hi5 sister!!
:) :)
cheerio
Mrs Doctor Who, you make an excellent point, i sure as heck wouldn't like to make the same mistakes over again. How awful it would be, but i can't help wondering if one would get a strong sense of 'deja vu', and somehow deep in you subconcious you would feel as if you had made this mistake before, as if you had already experienced the effects of this mistake.
ReplyDeletethough perhaps no memory, means NO memory, though what happens to one subconscious??
but to me, this concept seems so impossible that it is impossible.
hmm??
elishaa.
:)
'deja vu'!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteit creeps me out! what if we are all right now in fact reliving our lives again. reliving our lives over and over and over and not knowing it, and the only time we get an inckling about what is happening is when we experince 'deja vu'. a left behind faint memory pergaps triggering it. ah now i;m creeped out. the subconcious of us all, and all the like, we probably will never know much about. ah this conversation could go on forever....
but what is forever if (theorhetically) we are living our lives over and over again? wow creeped out now.
on a lighter note, i learnt a new word. Pulchritudinous- meaing physically beautiful.
cheerio old chaps. :) :) keep on smiling
Well Sarah, have you read any of Dr Oliver Sacks' works? You may have heard of the movie "Awakenings"? This is based on his writings. He is a neuropsychologist ( I think) who has written very interesting and amusing and engaging books about his patients and the bizarre, often unbelievable changes that occur in their life afetr some kind of accident or neurological condition. I read "The Man Who mistook his wife for a Hat" many years ago, you may be interested to look this up. You can access Sacks at his website, www.oliversacks.com, where there is discussion about memory loss, amongst other fascinating insights into the world that we can only wonder about. Happy investigating, and happy reading!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHello Guys
ReplyDeleteI am so lucky to get so many new and inetersting ideas on something I have been pondering for over a week now. Before I continue, when you lose your memory, you lose everything. So there is nothing like 'deja vu' or missing something, because according to what's in your brain and subconscious, nothing was there. Your brain can't remember, so you can't. It's interesting to think that you had memories, but you don't miss them, because it doesn't feel like anything was ever there. Its like us saying you have lived your 16th year twice, but you don't know what happened in the second one. It feels like you never had it, and you don't miss it.
To JC, I thankyou for the reference, I think it would be a very interesting thing to look into. Neuroscience is so fascinating, especially in literature, because in novels you can step over the bounds of science.