The one was a Wiccan meditation on the transition from autumn to winter as a time to see past the obvious. Cutting through the purple prose: on the surface, nature seems to be dying. But if you look closer, you'll see tree branches covered with buds. Even in this time when things are shutting down to rest, preparations are already under way for the new growths next year.
I think there is enormous wisdom in these ancient practices of looking to nature to learn, to find new ways of looking at things and new ways of thinking about things. That principle is what has value. It came up with some spectacularly wrong ideas, simply because 5,000 years back people didn't know much. The stars foretold incredibly important things, like when the animals would leave, the plants would die, and when it would get incredibly f-ing COLD. It's understandable that they extended the principle to other things, like the outcomes of battles and the fates of kings. We know better now-or we should. But that has nothing to do with the fact that the ancients had the right idea in the first place: looking at nature for cues is a very good idea.
The other email sent me this: http://au.movies.ign.com/articles/929/929333p1.html
Those with weak stomachs, let me summarize. Those of you who follow the Writers Colony will have heard of this new Sherlock Holmes movie in development which is to be…
Wait for it.
…An action flick, "testosterone-fuelled stuff, a million miles away from the pipe-smoking, deer stalker-wearing Holmes we've come to know and love."
Remember when the Catwoman movie was at this stage, and we all said "Are the people making this the only ones on the planet who can't see this is a bad idea?"
Well, here we go again. See if this sounds familiar ""In this situation you have a piece of material that is so well known and so well thought of, but…"
But we are taking the name that is well known and well thought of, but delivering something that lacks every quality that defines the known and loved characters.
But we don't get that if you are taking established characters, you can't make them do any dumb thing you want and still have them accepted AS those characters by the people who love them.
But those who don't learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.
But, like Charles Foster Kane, we are going to need more than one lesson. And we are going to get more than one lesson.
That's the obvious one. That's the "on the surface, nature is dying" POV.
I'm honestly not sure what the buds hidden under the snow of the tree branches might be. I'd like to hope it's there. But see my previous entry on that fragile battered ember of hope.
Anyone have a theory?
Thank you for reading. If you are viewing this post anywhere other than The Catitat you are reading a mirror. Please visit the original posting in The Catitat to leave a comment
