Mircea Eliade, one of the great contemporary scholars of mystery religions, wrote about the Orphic Mysteries as well as others. In his work, 'From Primitives to Zen', you can find some of the rites found on plates from the time before Christ:
[Plate from Petelia, South Italy, fourth-third century B.C.]
Thou shalt find to the left of the House of Hades a spring,
And by the side thereof standing a white cypress.
To this spring approach not near.
But thou shalt find another, from the Lake of Memory
Cold water flowing forth, and there are guardians before it.
Say, 'I am a child of Earth and starry Heaven;
But my race is of Heaven (alone). This ye know yourselves.
But I am parched with thirst and I perish. Give me quickly
The cold water flowing forth from the Lake of Memory.'
And of themselves they will give thee to drink of the holy spring-
And thereafter among the other heroes thou shalt have lordship.
[Plate from Eleuthernai in Crete, second century B.C.]
I am parched with thirst and I perish-Nay, drink of me (or, But give me to drink of)
The ever-flowing spring on the right, where the cypress is.
Who art thou?.....
Whence art thou?-I am the son of Earth and starry Heaven.
[Plate from Thurii, South Italy, fourth-third century B.C.]
But so soon as the spirit hath left the light of the sun,
Go to the right as far as one should go, being right wary in all things.
Hail, thou who hast suffered the suffering. This thou hadst never suffered before.
Thou art become god from man.
A kid thou art fallen into milk.
Hail, hail to thee journeying the right hand road
By holy meadows and groves of Persephone.
[Three more tablets from Thurii, of roughly the same date as the previous One. ]
I come from the pure, pure Queen of those below,
And Eukles and Eubuleus, and other Gods and Daemons.
For I also avow that I am of your blessed race.
And I have paid the- penalty for deeds unrighteous,
Whether it be that Fate laid me low or the gods immortal
Or . . . with star-flung thunderbolt.
I have flown out of the sorrowful, weary circle.
I have passed with swift feet to the diadem desired.
I have sunk beneath the bosom of the Mistress, the Queen of the
underworld.
And now I come a suppliant to holy Persephoneia,
That of her grace she send men to the seats of the Hallowed.
Happy and blessed one, thou shalt be god instead of mortal.
A kid I have fallen into milk.'
The declaration of 'I am a Child of Earth and Starry Heaven' comes to me often when I first awaken or when I step in or out of the bath. It is very compelling for some reason. Although some of the followers of the Orphic religion believed that the mud of the Titans (our earthly aspect) was tainted and that one should aspire to lose that in the ascension to the higher self, I find myself increasingly uhappy with that philosophy. Perhaps Orpheus was torn to pieces by the wild beasts because they sensed his rejection of his earthly self. We are both animal and spirit. It is the animal in us, oddly enough, that allows us to experience the varied and marvelous experience we call 'Life'. The spirit would be inclined to view it all as irrelevant. If computers 'think' in a binary mode, do they translate everything into numbers in order to comprehend it? Is that how they 'see'? I know they are not sentient beings but even so, it strikes me as particularly sad if they must reduce everything to a binary mode in order to process it. What we see is so much more glorious even if it is 'dross' according to the Orphic mysteries.
I neither am a mathematician, nor am I a computer programmer or even particularly adept with code. Philip K. Dick, whom I admire tremendously, dealt with the issue of the 'thoughts' and 'souls' of machines, particularly computers. His work, 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' known to more people as the inspiration for the film 'Blade Runner', dealt with this topic. The Pythagoreans and Orphic followers believed in the purity of numbers. Numbers were divine. If not God himself/herself, certainly they were the ladder to heaven. The 'music of the spheres' was created from numbers. In a sense, it is difficult to believe that they had no knowledge of 21st century technology, for much that the ancients wrote and thought is in tune with contemporary technology.
I understand how numbers can be the foundation of all things. I understand that they are the skeleton of the items perhaps that we perceive, but it is in the flesh and accoutrements, that beauty resides. Does a computer, when churning out the binary formulae, perceive the beauty or is it all numbers, numbers, numbers? That is the thought that occupies me today.
I became acquainted with code through gaming. A game devised in the early 1990s named 'Claw' allowed players to create custom levels of their own. It was the custom level editor that taught me that ships and sails and trees and even characters in a game are all defined by numerical code. Change the codes and you change the essence of the thing. Furthermore, cheat devices in games give players access to codes for unique or rare items. If one can input the code into the game, one can acquire the rare item magically without any effort. I basically eshew those cheat devices. What is the point of a game if one does not PLAY it?
I am not in love with numbers but I do comprehend that numbers, as measurements, define objects. If one makes an object too small, it can cause an entire structure to fall. In terms of beauty, a feature that is too large or too small, out of proportion to the rest of the body, can create disharmony. Some would disagree and declare that it is pecisely those little 'flaws' that generate true beauty. That, however, is a matter of perception. Where strength and practicality are concerned, precise measurements can be vital.
In the old Babylonian religion, the gods created humans from 'mud' or 'clay' to be servants as well as worshippers. They yearned for a race of creatures who would admire and praise them. They really probably did not NEED servants to perform tasks. What they needed was love and adulation. Curious, isn't it?
How many of us can create iwthout any hope of an audience? Most artists do not create entirely for themselves, even if the need to express themselves drives them. They desire an audience. They desire what the internet language terms 'feedback'. An interesting word, that. Feedback means to feed back to the giver or source. In our culture, there are businesses that have become rich on nothing more than the collection of 'feedback' from consumers or 'users', whether of computer programmes or actual objects. 'Feedback' can make or destroy a firm. Never mind whether or not it is accurate. A certain quantity of positive or negative feedback can fuel search engines or sway corporate decision makers.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Saturday, September 7, 2013
The Fine Art of Living: Collecting or Replacing Fine China, Silver and other Antique or Vintage Items
When I was a little girl, other children my age spent their birthday and Christmas money on entertainment or clothing for the most part. I collected China and Silver for my Hope Cheat. I was an eccentric child prodigy and very much alienated from contemporary life in many ways. I was placed in classes at school where all the other students were three years older than I. I therefore was not given the freedom to pursue an ordinary social life. Being a child among teenagers, they were able to go out on dates while I could not even visit my friends after school without parental permission and supervision.
In any case, the obsolete notion of the Hope Chest became fixed in my mind after reading a multitude of 19th century novels. My Mother was a colletor of Chine and Silver herself. We had afternoon tea every day on a different set of China. We had inherited a number of different sets of 'Coronation China' from England that celebrated the coronations of various Monarchs, including one who had abdicated the throne for love. Actually, most of that was not porcelain but rather pottery. It was very well-suited for teatime for children and at the time was not teribly valuable, although it was fascinating stuff. Now, many years later, some of it has increased in value. Be that as it may, I was brought up to know Porcelain and Silver, to instantly be able to detect sterling from silverplate and to identify patterns of fine China.
I chose a very old pattern from Germany for my own Hope Chest China. It dated from the 18th century and was made by Schumann at the time at which I began to purchase it. The pattern was identified both as 'Empress' and 'Dresden Flowers' depending upon the date of manufacture. I thought it was the most beautiful pattern I ever had seen. It was very ornate, more suited for the Court of Louix XIV or even Louis XV than any other period. Tiny hand-painted flowers were wreathed in gold and the China itself was rimmed in gold. The actual porcelain was raised in places. In older examples of the pattern, the plates and bowls actually were reticulated.
I went off to University later, leaving my China behind with my Mum. I lived in a catered Hall of Residence in my first year, which meant that meals were served to us, but it was customary for students to entertain others with Coffee or Tea. Most students purchased a jar of Instant Coffee and inexpensive Mugs. I went to Debenhams and bought a Breakfast Set in the Royal Albert Val D'or pattern.
I loved that Set. It was simple but elegant, fluted white with a gold rim. I had a small teapot, coffee pot, creamer and sugar pot and service for four, with cups, saucers and little plates for sandwiches or sweets.
When, ultimately, I brought the set home with me, my Mum kept it and then added to it, thus somehow justifying her refusal to allow me to take it with me when I moved on in life. (Did I mention that she loves China as much as I do?)
We come now to the 21st century... There is a reason why I am writing this article. It is not intended to be a personal memoir, however much it may appear that way.
I realised recently that if I do not begin to use the China I love at this point in time, I probably never will do so. I therefore begged my Mum to send my Empress China. After some resistance, she took it to a professional postal shop where they packed it and sent it to me. In transit, the handle of the creamer broke.
Schumann no longer makes the pattern. One therefore must resort either to a business or agency that deals in china replacements or search Ebay for the pieces one needs. My original Empress set was purchased piece by piece from a very high-end shop in La Jolla. There was no question as to its provenance. There was no doubt that it was authentic and made in Germany as it had been for three hundred years.
It was only when I searched Ebay for a replacement for the broken creamer that I discovered how many manufacturers had copied the authentic pattern.
Above is a photograph of the pattern and set that I have. It is one of the more contemporary versons of the pattern. For those who are interested in a more in-depth history of the China and its manufacturer, there is a wonderful site:
History of Schumann China
As stated previously, however, Schumann may be the original manufacturer, but there are others who have copied the pattern.
Above is a photograph of a version of Dresden Flowers made in Japan during the Occupation. It therefore has its own unique value but it is NOT genuine Bavarian Dresden Flowers China. You can spot some differences easily. The gold rim, for example, is very different from the simple line of gold on the original Schumann porcelain. The Japanese are known for their fine porcelain and as long as the seller is honest, the buyer can make an informed choice. In every category of antiques and 'collectibles', however, there are dishonest or ignorant sellers who attempt to pass off copies as originals.
It is not this that prompted this article, however, but an item I saw offered for sale today in the Royal Albert Lady Carlyle pattern. It is a cake plate. The firm that sells it honestly and openly states that the plates are made by their own 'artisans'. Fair enough.
In any case, the obsolete notion of the Hope Chest became fixed in my mind after reading a multitude of 19th century novels. My Mother was a colletor of Chine and Silver herself. We had afternoon tea every day on a different set of China. We had inherited a number of different sets of 'Coronation China' from England that celebrated the coronations of various Monarchs, including one who had abdicated the throne for love. Actually, most of that was not porcelain but rather pottery. It was very well-suited for teatime for children and at the time was not teribly valuable, although it was fascinating stuff. Now, many years later, some of it has increased in value. Be that as it may, I was brought up to know Porcelain and Silver, to instantly be able to detect sterling from silverplate and to identify patterns of fine China.
I chose a very old pattern from Germany for my own Hope Chest China. It dated from the 18th century and was made by Schumann at the time at which I began to purchase it. The pattern was identified both as 'Empress' and 'Dresden Flowers' depending upon the date of manufacture. I thought it was the most beautiful pattern I ever had seen. It was very ornate, more suited for the Court of Louix XIV or even Louis XV than any other period. Tiny hand-painted flowers were wreathed in gold and the China itself was rimmed in gold. The actual porcelain was raised in places. In older examples of the pattern, the plates and bowls actually were reticulated.
I went off to University later, leaving my China behind with my Mum. I lived in a catered Hall of Residence in my first year, which meant that meals were served to us, but it was customary for students to entertain others with Coffee or Tea. Most students purchased a jar of Instant Coffee and inexpensive Mugs. I went to Debenhams and bought a Breakfast Set in the Royal Albert Val D'or pattern.
I loved that Set. It was simple but elegant, fluted white with a gold rim. I had a small teapot, coffee pot, creamer and sugar pot and service for four, with cups, saucers and little plates for sandwiches or sweets.
When, ultimately, I brought the set home with me, my Mum kept it and then added to it, thus somehow justifying her refusal to allow me to take it with me when I moved on in life. (Did I mention that she loves China as much as I do?)
We come now to the 21st century... There is a reason why I am writing this article. It is not intended to be a personal memoir, however much it may appear that way.
I realised recently that if I do not begin to use the China I love at this point in time, I probably never will do so. I therefore begged my Mum to send my Empress China. After some resistance, she took it to a professional postal shop where they packed it and sent it to me. In transit, the handle of the creamer broke.
Schumann no longer makes the pattern. One therefore must resort either to a business or agency that deals in china replacements or search Ebay for the pieces one needs. My original Empress set was purchased piece by piece from a very high-end shop in La Jolla. There was no question as to its provenance. There was no doubt that it was authentic and made in Germany as it had been for three hundred years.
It was only when I searched Ebay for a replacement for the broken creamer that I discovered how many manufacturers had copied the authentic pattern.
Above is a photograph of the pattern and set that I have. It is one of the more contemporary versons of the pattern. For those who are interested in a more in-depth history of the China and its manufacturer, there is a wonderful site:
History of Schumann China
As stated previously, however, Schumann may be the original manufacturer, but there are others who have copied the pattern.
It is not this that prompted this article, however, but an item I saw offered for sale today in the Royal Albert Lady Carlyle pattern. It is a cake plate. The firm that sells it honestly and openly states that the plates are made by their own 'artisans'. Fair enough.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Schizophrenia in the Age of Technology
Two decades ago, if I had to take a side in the eternal war between the techies and the New Age equivalent of the Luddites, I would have been hard pressed to go against one of my heroes, J.R.R. Tolkien. HE detested technology and felt that industrialisation was the kiss of death to the imagination, the Beauty of Nature and almost everything that was magical in the world. Apart from a lifelong long of cinema, I would have been inclined to agree...
Enter the age of the Personal Computer and a drastic shift in my lifestyle. When Freya was four years old, we both became involved with computers. I began to search for games for her to play as I learned how to navigate the tricky waters of the internet. I then became involved with games myself.
When I was involved with the doll business, I became one of the earliest users of Ebay. In those days, 'the playing field was equal' and an individual had as much power as any large business. Later, the big businesses took over and 'Power Sellers' drove out the small individual buyer and seller. In any case, I never was talented where money was concerned. My gift was human relationships and ultimately, I could not value money over people. I therefore lost money constantly as, when the doll market crashed, I allowed my customers who had made special orders that I had filled for them to bow out of their contracts. At the same time, I basically had been coerced into accepting double shipments by big influential doll firms. A sudden realisation by people that the concept of 'dolls for investment' had a fundamental flaw in that these items took up SPACE and had to be STORED somewhere for decades possibly before their value would increase made my former customers into rivals as they dumped their collections on Ebay. The combination of all these factors spelt financial ruin for me. Becoming physically disabled did not help either. I no longer was able to ship items instantly which is what the later users of Ebay demanded.
I suppose I was naive and a Romantic in some ways. Once upon a time, there were 'gentlamen's businesses.' Publishing was one of these and I rather thought that doll businesses would be another. At the beginning, that was indeed the case. I dealt mainly with fellow doll lovers and I gave them the best prices that I could and put dolls aside for them. They made regular small payments and were not charged anything in addition to the actual price of the doll.
There no longer are any 'gentlemen's businesses' if there ever were. The book publishers who attempted to run family businesses basically sold them or went bakrupt long ago. The big manufacturers of dolls and toys are ruthless for the most part.
To me, every doll and every plush toy had a soul. After all, books like 'Velveteen Rabbit' were an intrinsic part of my childhood psyche and the dolls I took to Nepal with me as a child were my only confidantes and the guardians of my emotional sanity during a bitterly lonely time when I lived with people who appeared to want to excise everything that meant anything to me from my life.
I love the Animist philosophy and subscribe to it to some extent. One of the things that drew me to Harvest Moon was the underlying Animist philosophy in those games wherein the land itself possessed a spirit and guardians in the form of the Harvest Goddess and the Harvest Sprites. It is not only Japan either. One of my favourite writers as a child was Ovid and I loved the 'Metamorphoses'. In those tales, almost every flower, tree and Spring had a soul. Perhaps people could argue that natural substances such as rocks and trees are quite different from manmade objects such as dolls, but I disagree. I am not certain that dolls and toys possess souls from the moment that the manufacturing process is completed, unless they are handmade. I believe rather than their owners plant the seed of a soul within them and the more time and love that is given to a doll or toy, the more that spirit or soul will grow and flourish.
In any case, what does this have to do with Luddites??? The sort of games I love are akin to my love of history, books, cinema and the objects of childhood imagination. They create worlds wherein one can live an existence that is unencumbered by fear or strife. On the whole, I prefer games that are set in a universe with very little technology. The irony there, of course is that the game itself could not exist without the sophisticated technology that created the platform and all other elements apart from the concept.
When then do I play a game like Family Farm, wherein machines play an almost pivotal role? I do not like the Machines for the most part, although whimsical contraptions such as the Carving Machine that carves pine cones and eggs into decorative objects is much more satisfying to me than the Sausage Maker.
I think that the reason I like Family Farm so much is because of the old-fashioned quality of the graphics and the characters who inhabit the game. The Crops and Trees are very beautiful. Some of the Animals are more attractive than others and the Animal Habitats cannot be considered Machines really. The Kitchen, Workshop and Dessert Shop offer crafting and cooking options, so they are not really Machines either. There is much in the game, therefore, that is not involved with Machines.
Nonetheless, if you wish to complete the various Quests, you must have all the Machines and use them regularly. Like most of the Farming Simulation Games online, you can play the game without performing the Quests but you will progress much faster if you do complete them and you may obtain valuable rewards that otherwise might not be available.
The entire time I have been playing Family Farm, I have looked forward to the day when my level of expeirence would be high enough to 'unlock' Pink Roses as a Crop. I finally attained that goal last night, to my delight and some surprise, as i had not been paying attention to my Experience Points at all. On the basis of 'a watched pot never boils', I had deemed it wiser not to involve myself with XP and indeed, I believe the game made me happier when I did not pay attention to those details.
While planting my first Pink Roses and looking at all the Machines cluttering up my beautiful Farm in Family Farm, I realised how technology had induced a sort of schizophrenia in me. I rely heavily on my laptop, on portable gaming systems and on calbe television. Moreso now that I am disabled than I ever did when I had unfettered physical mobility.
When I went on a cruise and was at sea for almost a month, the internet connection was so expensive and so slow that I had no ability to play any online games or even to search for information about Ports. The most I could do was to access emails about the status of my Puttikins and to respond briefly to those.
By the time I returned, I had been 'broken' of the habit of playing the games and I actually questioned whether or not I wished to return to my virtual farming routines.
Unfortunately, there are not that many activities one can pursue in the dead of night or even during the day if pain levels are really high. Reading or any intellectual focus is out of the question.
I argued a case in court once about the nature of chronic severe pain and its relationship to intelligence and education levels. There is a prejudice against individuals who are disabled but who have high intelligence and who are educated with advanced skills in any intellectual occupation. It is thought, erroneously that somehow intelligence, education and skills somehow will dominate the pain and transcend it. Well, sadly, this is NOT the case.
With respect to an uneducated individual with little education who is physically disabled, his/her inability to work or make money will be acknowledged instantly. With respect to an educated, intelligent individual with the SAME disability or one that is even more severe, there is a presumption that somehow that individual will be clever enough to overcome the disability or thwart it in order to make money.
INTELLIGENCE AND EDUCATION HAVE NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH PAIN. NOTHING. There is no way to create an equation where Education + Intelligence > Severe Chronic Pain. Full stop.
Again, a digression but the fact of the matter is that my natural Luddite prospensities are defeated by my love of games and the ability to access libraries on the internet without having to find transporation and overcome current pain levels. Google has changed our lives, even though I continue to maintain that an internet search for information is only as good as the information that can be accessed on the internet. Thanks to many tireless individuals who have spent decades uploading the texts of classics as well as out-of-print great, good and mediocre books, that pool of infomration becomes larger and larger. Thanks to many misguided or mischievous individuals who have spent decades uploading erroneous texts and false information to the internet, one is as likely to catch a monster or mutant in the net as valid facts... so caveat emptor must apply to the student of knowledge and wisdom as much as to any individual on a shopping expedition.
Enter the age of the Personal Computer and a drastic shift in my lifestyle. When Freya was four years old, we both became involved with computers. I began to search for games for her to play as I learned how to navigate the tricky waters of the internet. I then became involved with games myself.
When I was involved with the doll business, I became one of the earliest users of Ebay. In those days, 'the playing field was equal' and an individual had as much power as any large business. Later, the big businesses took over and 'Power Sellers' drove out the small individual buyer and seller. In any case, I never was talented where money was concerned. My gift was human relationships and ultimately, I could not value money over people. I therefore lost money constantly as, when the doll market crashed, I allowed my customers who had made special orders that I had filled for them to bow out of their contracts. At the same time, I basically had been coerced into accepting double shipments by big influential doll firms. A sudden realisation by people that the concept of 'dolls for investment' had a fundamental flaw in that these items took up SPACE and had to be STORED somewhere for decades possibly before their value would increase made my former customers into rivals as they dumped their collections on Ebay. The combination of all these factors spelt financial ruin for me. Becoming physically disabled did not help either. I no longer was able to ship items instantly which is what the later users of Ebay demanded.
I suppose I was naive and a Romantic in some ways. Once upon a time, there were 'gentlamen's businesses.' Publishing was one of these and I rather thought that doll businesses would be another. At the beginning, that was indeed the case. I dealt mainly with fellow doll lovers and I gave them the best prices that I could and put dolls aside for them. They made regular small payments and were not charged anything in addition to the actual price of the doll.
There no longer are any 'gentlemen's businesses' if there ever were. The book publishers who attempted to run family businesses basically sold them or went bakrupt long ago. The big manufacturers of dolls and toys are ruthless for the most part.
To me, every doll and every plush toy had a soul. After all, books like 'Velveteen Rabbit' were an intrinsic part of my childhood psyche and the dolls I took to Nepal with me as a child were my only confidantes and the guardians of my emotional sanity during a bitterly lonely time when I lived with people who appeared to want to excise everything that meant anything to me from my life.
I love the Animist philosophy and subscribe to it to some extent. One of the things that drew me to Harvest Moon was the underlying Animist philosophy in those games wherein the land itself possessed a spirit and guardians in the form of the Harvest Goddess and the Harvest Sprites. It is not only Japan either. One of my favourite writers as a child was Ovid and I loved the 'Metamorphoses'. In those tales, almost every flower, tree and Spring had a soul. Perhaps people could argue that natural substances such as rocks and trees are quite different from manmade objects such as dolls, but I disagree. I am not certain that dolls and toys possess souls from the moment that the manufacturing process is completed, unless they are handmade. I believe rather than their owners plant the seed of a soul within them and the more time and love that is given to a doll or toy, the more that spirit or soul will grow and flourish.
In any case, what does this have to do with Luddites??? The sort of games I love are akin to my love of history, books, cinema and the objects of childhood imagination. They create worlds wherein one can live an existence that is unencumbered by fear or strife. On the whole, I prefer games that are set in a universe with very little technology. The irony there, of course is that the game itself could not exist without the sophisticated technology that created the platform and all other elements apart from the concept.
When then do I play a game like Family Farm, wherein machines play an almost pivotal role? I do not like the Machines for the most part, although whimsical contraptions such as the Carving Machine that carves pine cones and eggs into decorative objects is much more satisfying to me than the Sausage Maker.
I think that the reason I like Family Farm so much is because of the old-fashioned quality of the graphics and the characters who inhabit the game. The Crops and Trees are very beautiful. Some of the Animals are more attractive than others and the Animal Habitats cannot be considered Machines really. The Kitchen, Workshop and Dessert Shop offer crafting and cooking options, so they are not really Machines either. There is much in the game, therefore, that is not involved with Machines.
Nonetheless, if you wish to complete the various Quests, you must have all the Machines and use them regularly. Like most of the Farming Simulation Games online, you can play the game without performing the Quests but you will progress much faster if you do complete them and you may obtain valuable rewards that otherwise might not be available.
The entire time I have been playing Family Farm, I have looked forward to the day when my level of expeirence would be high enough to 'unlock' Pink Roses as a Crop. I finally attained that goal last night, to my delight and some surprise, as i had not been paying attention to my Experience Points at all. On the basis of 'a watched pot never boils', I had deemed it wiser not to involve myself with XP and indeed, I believe the game made me happier when I did not pay attention to those details.
While planting my first Pink Roses and looking at all the Machines cluttering up my beautiful Farm in Family Farm, I realised how technology had induced a sort of schizophrenia in me. I rely heavily on my laptop, on portable gaming systems and on calbe television. Moreso now that I am disabled than I ever did when I had unfettered physical mobility.
When I went on a cruise and was at sea for almost a month, the internet connection was so expensive and so slow that I had no ability to play any online games or even to search for information about Ports. The most I could do was to access emails about the status of my Puttikins and to respond briefly to those.
By the time I returned, I had been 'broken' of the habit of playing the games and I actually questioned whether or not I wished to return to my virtual farming routines.
Unfortunately, there are not that many activities one can pursue in the dead of night or even during the day if pain levels are really high. Reading or any intellectual focus is out of the question.
I argued a case in court once about the nature of chronic severe pain and its relationship to intelligence and education levels. There is a prejudice against individuals who are disabled but who have high intelligence and who are educated with advanced skills in any intellectual occupation. It is thought, erroneously that somehow intelligence, education and skills somehow will dominate the pain and transcend it. Well, sadly, this is NOT the case.
With respect to an uneducated individual with little education who is physically disabled, his/her inability to work or make money will be acknowledged instantly. With respect to an educated, intelligent individual with the SAME disability or one that is even more severe, there is a presumption that somehow that individual will be clever enough to overcome the disability or thwart it in order to make money.
INTELLIGENCE AND EDUCATION HAVE NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH PAIN. NOTHING. There is no way to create an equation where Education + Intelligence > Severe Chronic Pain. Full stop.
Again, a digression but the fact of the matter is that my natural Luddite prospensities are defeated by my love of games and the ability to access libraries on the internet without having to find transporation and overcome current pain levels. Google has changed our lives, even though I continue to maintain that an internet search for information is only as good as the information that can be accessed on the internet. Thanks to many tireless individuals who have spent decades uploading the texts of classics as well as out-of-print great, good and mediocre books, that pool of infomration becomes larger and larger. Thanks to many misguided or mischievous individuals who have spent decades uploading erroneous texts and false information to the internet, one is as likely to catch a monster or mutant in the net as valid facts... so caveat emptor must apply to the student of knowledge and wisdom as much as to any individual on a shopping expedition.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Introducing a very talented, entertaining writer
My daughter Freya is a very talented, witty girl and has embarked upon a new project for the summer. She has created a site where she reviews live concerts. Please do take a look at it, as her articles both amusing and informative:
Loving Live Music by Freya de Conde
Loving Live Music by Freya de Conde
Monday, April 15, 2013
3rd Anniversary of Fantasy Kingdoms and my Exploration of Facebook
Three years ago, I registered on Facebook and immediately began to explore the games. FarmVille was recommended to me by friends who played Harvest Moon but a game I discovered by myself entitled 'Fantasy Kingdoms' won my imagination and heart as soon as I began to play it.
Fantasy Kingdoms is a rich, opulent landscape of fantasy and real crops, trees, creatures, magical 'relics' and 'artifacts', castles and other decorations. It is truly an ideal dreamscape for any one who loves fantasy art and/or literature. One is able to build multiple Kingdoms using the incredible objects created by the developers. Some, like the Crops, Trees, Relics and Artifacts are interactive. Crops are planted, grow and then can be 'frozen' or harvested upon maturity. Trees can be harvested repeatedly. It is the Artifacts and Relics, however, that are unique to this game and provide a truly magical experience.
Artifacts are items that must be 'Empowered' by the owner in order to be able to be transformed. Relics, once placed, simply need to be allowed time to complete their growth. Sometimes they are in the form of ruins that must be rebuilt through magic. Only one act of empowerment is required for the Artifacts. After that, time performs the magic and every Artifact and Relic has a different timeframe for its renewal.
Like Crops, Artifacts and Relics go through various stages of growth and can be quite different visually from stage to stage. The creators of this game are generous in their creativity which is another aspect of Fantasy Kingdoms that continues to delight and amaze. Some games exist to make money, even if the developers have fun while they do it. Fantasy Kingdoms appears to exist in another realm entirely, where the developers give their hearts and souls to the game in order to enrich THIS world.
Above are a few images of details from my own Fantasy Kingdoms. One Kingdom shown here is the underwater kingdom and the other is my 'Festival Kingdom', filled with items that were created especially to mark the 1st Year Anniversary of the game.
Fantasy Kingdoms is a rich, opulent landscape of fantasy and real crops, trees, creatures, magical 'relics' and 'artifacts', castles and other decorations. It is truly an ideal dreamscape for any one who loves fantasy art and/or literature. One is able to build multiple Kingdoms using the incredible objects created by the developers. Some, like the Crops, Trees, Relics and Artifacts are interactive. Crops are planted, grow and then can be 'frozen' or harvested upon maturity. Trees can be harvested repeatedly. It is the Artifacts and Relics, however, that are unique to this game and provide a truly magical experience.
Artifacts are items that must be 'Empowered' by the owner in order to be able to be transformed. Relics, once placed, simply need to be allowed time to complete their growth. Sometimes they are in the form of ruins that must be rebuilt through magic. Only one act of empowerment is required for the Artifacts. After that, time performs the magic and every Artifact and Relic has a different timeframe for its renewal.
Like Crops, Artifacts and Relics go through various stages of growth and can be quite different visually from stage to stage. The creators of this game are generous in their creativity which is another aspect of Fantasy Kingdoms that continues to delight and amaze. Some games exist to make money, even if the developers have fun while they do it. Fantasy Kingdoms appears to exist in another realm entirely, where the developers give their hearts and souls to the game in order to enrich THIS world.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Pain Management and Virtual Realities
(These three photographs are of Sunsets I have experienced, all in different locations, from the rather blighted neighbourhood in which I now live to the open seas and the Mediterranean.)
'Pain Management' is a fairly new concept but one that should have been implemented a century ago. It is the last stage of a journey that has seen only failure at every other stop for patients who cannot be 'fixed' with surgical procedures or through other means. It usually is reserved for individuals for whom there is no cure and thus will not be available until all other avenues have been exhausted.
Pain Management may have saved my life. I went through almost a year of hell before I was given a referral and the pain and frustration of countless unsuccessful procedures as well as medications to which I had negative reactions (sometimes terrifying) had pushed me to the brink of despair. If I had not had a child who depended upon me, I wonder if I could have maintained my hold upon sanity and life. As it was, I finally was sent to a Pain Management physician.
Pain Management offers the recognition of every human being's right to live without pain or at least the right to manage that pain so that it is not unendurable. It acknowledges that fact that pain is subjective and that every individual is different. One person may shrug off the pain that causes another to weep uncontrollably. Like Lawrence in one of my favourite films, I can snuff out a flame with my fingers without any problem but the pain that lurks constantly within my bones and crackles along my neural pathways in a never-ending journey can be unbearable. Part of the problem is the fact that my pain is not temporary but permanent.
At Pain Management, the physician's first statement threw me into despair, frankly. He told me, 'You have to come to terms with the fact that you probably will be in pain for the rest of your life.' I retorted, 'Thank you very much! That's precisely what I needed to hear!'
He then explained that it was because of this that I had been sent to him and that the purpose of Pain Management was to make it possible for me to lead a life as free from that pain as he could make it. Whether through medication, physical therapy or other procedures, the aim of Pain Management was enshrined in its name. Our job together was to 'manage' the pain that was my constant undesired companion. Instead of giving me false hope, he placed the facts before me and offered me the opportunity to make the best of a bad deal. It actually WAS precisely what I needed to hear, after countless false promises from physicians, surgeons and the manufacturers of medications that were more likely to kill or cause permanent damage than to cure.
Long ago, years before Pain Management, I wrote poems about Pain as my true consort, one who had forced himself upon me, who raped me again and again and finally forced me to accept him as one who would be closer to the jugular than any human lover or spouse ever could be. At that time, I did not realise that it was a prophecy. I had thought it a temporary situation that a surgical procedure or other solution might fix. As a girl who was introduced to severe cluster migraine headaches and terrible cramps at puberty, I was visited by pain at an early age. Even before that, so-called 'growing pains' in my legs, which sound laughable to some, were my fate as they are for many children who grow too quickly. I reached my ultimate height by the age of 10 and that accomplishment was negative for me in many ways, Not only was I taller than most of the boys I knew but I was in terrible pain much of the time. Nothing was done about that, nor about the rheumatic fever... ultimately one 'outgrew' both!
I never have liked running much but before I became disabled, I loved to walk. In my early teens, I would walk to the beach before dawn each day to watch the sun rise and, perched upon my favourite outcrop of rocks, write in my journal before walking to school. I always walked to and from school wherever I lived. Not for me any other transportation. It never was offered as an alternative but to be honest, except for some nasty early encounters on the old 'bridle path' that ran between one of our houses and the road that led to my school, I treasured those walks. I loved Nature and still do. The rising of the sun and birds, the fresh wind blowing from the ocean and even the early morning fog that often marked the first half of our day all delighted me. The nasty little boy who exposed himself on the bridle path repeatedly and probably now is President of a local Bank (have to Google that one!) was a small price to pay for the freedom of being able to walk a mile to school. (He actually was a schoolmate of mine but never a friend. His actions therefore were disgusting and rather shocking but not as awful as those of the little boy who peed on my sister and I from the roof of his house when I was six years old!)
When I lived in Nepal, I walked to the Temple at dawn to watch the worshippers make their offerings and sacrifices. When I lived in Southampton, I walked to University each day. When I lived in London, I explored the city on foot and I did the same in Manhattan. In particular, water and parks always attracted me. Wherever I lived, I would try to find a destination that offered me a chance of communion with the waters. In Manhattan, I walked to the East River almost daily as well as walking in the opposite direction to Central Park to visit 'my' Arctic Owl in the little old-fashioned Zoo there.
Not being able to walk properly has been almost as awful for me as the constant pain in which I live now. I miss it terribly. This has been a long, rambling preamble to the topic of 'virtual realities'. It is these 'virtual realities' that now provide me with a facsimile of the experience that my real daily rambles provided before I became disabled.
Many people in my real life are a little contemptuous of gaming and the concept of virtual realities. Whether it is 'serious' games or what is known as 'casual gaming', they fail to comprehend the attraction that games have for individuals in my position.
For me, it is another aspect of pain management but it can provide other positive effects for individuals who live in less than ideal circumstances. When one is accustomed to large rooms and beautiful surroundings, living in a tiny room without any view can be depressing. A farming simulation game can provide vistas that cannot be obtained otherwise at that stage in the individual's life. Those who are trying to 'kick' an undesirable habit, whether it is overeating or smoking, often find games to be a positive distraction, keeping them from another journey to the kitchen or another smoke.
I almost immediately equated games like FarmVille, Fantasy Kingdoms and Family Farm with the idea of the 'Zen Garden'. The repetitive acts of planting and harvesting are calming to the nerves and soothing to the spirit. Moreover, even if the crops and fruits one obtains exist only in a virtual world, the act is a positive one. One is interacting in a wholly positive fashion with the virtual Mother Goddess, Nature in all her glory and bounty. What is the difference between lighting a candle at the altar of Our Lady and the act of harvesting a field of beautiful roses and carnations? It is all in the heart of the individual who performs the act. For me, it is an act of homage, of reverence and worship. Whatever exists in farming simulation games is based upon something real. Art imitates Life and a farming simulation game imitates one of the earliest exchanges of humanity with Nature. It is the act of nurturing the land in order to share in its gifts. For me, it is as close as I can come most of the time to the experiences I had when I had unfettered mobility in my real life.
I love gardening but having moved frequently and having lived most of my adult life in large cities, I seldom had any opportunity to expeirence the joy of having a plot of land to tend. It was only when I left Manhattan that I had a chance to plant trees and flowers and watch them grow. Even after I became disabled, I struggled to maintain the garden until every one, including my physician, told me that it was counterproductive. My pain levels always increased radically after any activity of that sort and I finally realised I was torturing myself, despite the joy that any interaction with the soil brought me.
I planted a birch tree as well and marveled at its growth from a sapling to a strong, proud Goddess Tree. It was upon the Birch Tree that George the Dragonfly left little messages and gifts for Freya when she was a child and upon the Goddess Tree that we tied the Martisor charms we made for one another. Martisor was not a part of my own heritage but I believe in the universality of ancient festivals and rituals and it now has become a part of my own family's traditions.
I do not believe one should engage in virtual realities at the expense of real life but virtual realities can refuel the spirit and give one the energy one needs to confront unappealing or depressing facts. They can provide the courage needed to 'soldier on' as it were.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Causes and Censorship
The virtual community/venue known as 'Facebook' or, more designated more charmingly as 'The Book of Faces' by my daughter is an interesting phenomenon for many reasons. Unlike 'groups' or forums I visited in the early years of the internet, it embraces ALL things, including politics, social trends, gaming and simply gossip both public and private.
Many special interest groups as well as commercial advertisers piggyback on Facebook to reach a wide range of users. One of the interesting aspects of Facebook is that 'Friendship' allows advertisers and political interest groups to target users it might not reach otherwise as one can have FB Friends who are quite the opposite of oneself in terms of social, economic, national and political affiliations. Gaming in particular draws together individuals who ordinarily might not be 'Friends' for whatever reason.
The political interest groups involved in Facebook use, inter alia, a platform named 'Causes'. One cannot participate in 'Causes' without giving the platform the right to post on ones own Timeline. What this means is that ANY Friend can post a petition on MY Timeline unless I prohibit Causes completely from being part of my internet experience. As Causes once in a blue moon has an active petition that I may wish to sign, I find myself in a position where I must monitor my Facebook page constantly in order to 'hide' petitions from other users that I do not wish to advertise, promote or sign.
It is here that I wish to make my position clear with respect to Censorship. Many of the petitions circulating on Facebook deal with Censorship, pure and simple. I personally am absolutely opposed to any sort of cruelty to Animals, but cannot espouse censorship of any kind. Petitions that ask Facebook to remove a page or user because he/she/it promotes or accepts cruelty to Animals are advocating Censorship. Cruelty to Animals and especially Animals particularly dear to my own heart may make me incandescent with rage, but I would be more inclined to mete out the same treatment to one who has been cruel to an innocent and helpless creature than ever to censor him or her. (Fantasies of meting out a rude justice to a person who has been cruel to an Animal are nothing more than wishful thinking, by the way. For better or worse, I am not a Vigilante.)
I am a deeply spiritual individual and embrace a number of religious traditions to some extent, although organised religion for the most part frowns upon individuals who wish to worship in more than one Church/Mosque/Circle of Sacred Stones/Whatever. On the other hand, I refuse to participate in witch-hunts against those who are irreligious or otherwise disrespectful of any religious belief, icon or 'sacred cow'. I may find those people or attitudes personally repugnant but I would not sign any petition to censor any voice raised against religion.
This is not cowardice. This is a matter of principle. How can I expect to have the freedom to voice my opinion if I do not allow the same freedom to every one else? The right to freedom of speech MUST be unequivocal and unrestricted or it is not true freedom of speech. That is why I am diametrically opposed to the concept of 'political correctness' and 'hate crimes' based on name-calling. A thorn by any other name is nonetheless a thorn. Excrement is excrement whether you call it that or use a more basic term. I do believe, however, that a person should possess the right to use ANY word or term, however pejorative.
If a crime of violence is committed, then action should be brought simply for that crime and not for any social or political attitude that might be inferred by any name-calling at the time the crime was committed. If a man or woman commits murder, surely the punishment for that is sufficient. Why should certain special interest groups or minorities be able to heap added punishment upon the perpetrator simply because he or she is considered a bigot or politically offensive by current standards?
Israeli law, for example, prohibits use of the term 'Nazi' to describe any Jew. I would submit, humbly, that many official Israeli practices towards the Palestinians are identical to those promoted by the Third Reich towards the Jews and other minorities. Does Censorship improve human nature or somehow dispose of negative attitudes and actions? Absolutely not. What it promotes is inequality. When a group of Black thugs commit assault towards a Caucasian and call him/her a 'Honky', the 'hate crime' legislation never goes into effect but should the positions be reversed, should a group of Caucasian thugs commit assualt towards a Black and call him/her a 'Nigger', it will be considered and prosecuted as a 'hate crime'. Is this just? Is this equality? Is this even desirable? Assault is an actionable crime. I cannot see any justification really for making a crime against one sort of individual more heinous than it would be against another simply because of name-calling. At the end of the day, name-calling is what fuels the ability to designate a crime as a 'hate crime'. You can dress it up any way you like, but that is the truth.
I do not believe in discrimination by reason of race, religion, gender or creed or anything else, but I do not believe in Censorship or the concept of 'hate crimes' either. It constitutes a sort of reverse discrimination in practice. Furthermore, I do not think it acts as a deterrent of any kind, which means that its only effect is to give a crime against a member of a special group a greater value than the same crime against an ordinary individual.
Many special interest groups as well as commercial advertisers piggyback on Facebook to reach a wide range of users. One of the interesting aspects of Facebook is that 'Friendship' allows advertisers and political interest groups to target users it might not reach otherwise as one can have FB Friends who are quite the opposite of oneself in terms of social, economic, national and political affiliations. Gaming in particular draws together individuals who ordinarily might not be 'Friends' for whatever reason.
The political interest groups involved in Facebook use, inter alia, a platform named 'Causes'. One cannot participate in 'Causes' without giving the platform the right to post on ones own Timeline. What this means is that ANY Friend can post a petition on MY Timeline unless I prohibit Causes completely from being part of my internet experience. As Causes once in a blue moon has an active petition that I may wish to sign, I find myself in a position where I must monitor my Facebook page constantly in order to 'hide' petitions from other users that I do not wish to advertise, promote or sign.
It is here that I wish to make my position clear with respect to Censorship. Many of the petitions circulating on Facebook deal with Censorship, pure and simple. I personally am absolutely opposed to any sort of cruelty to Animals, but cannot espouse censorship of any kind. Petitions that ask Facebook to remove a page or user because he/she/it promotes or accepts cruelty to Animals are advocating Censorship. Cruelty to Animals and especially Animals particularly dear to my own heart may make me incandescent with rage, but I would be more inclined to mete out the same treatment to one who has been cruel to an innocent and helpless creature than ever to censor him or her. (Fantasies of meting out a rude justice to a person who has been cruel to an Animal are nothing more than wishful thinking, by the way. For better or worse, I am not a Vigilante.)
I am a deeply spiritual individual and embrace a number of religious traditions to some extent, although organised religion for the most part frowns upon individuals who wish to worship in more than one Church/Mosque/Circle of Sacred Stones/Whatever. On the other hand, I refuse to participate in witch-hunts against those who are irreligious or otherwise disrespectful of any religious belief, icon or 'sacred cow'. I may find those people or attitudes personally repugnant but I would not sign any petition to censor any voice raised against religion.
This is not cowardice. This is a matter of principle. How can I expect to have the freedom to voice my opinion if I do not allow the same freedom to every one else? The right to freedom of speech MUST be unequivocal and unrestricted or it is not true freedom of speech. That is why I am diametrically opposed to the concept of 'political correctness' and 'hate crimes' based on name-calling. A thorn by any other name is nonetheless a thorn. Excrement is excrement whether you call it that or use a more basic term. I do believe, however, that a person should possess the right to use ANY word or term, however pejorative.
If a crime of violence is committed, then action should be brought simply for that crime and not for any social or political attitude that might be inferred by any name-calling at the time the crime was committed. If a man or woman commits murder, surely the punishment for that is sufficient. Why should certain special interest groups or minorities be able to heap added punishment upon the perpetrator simply because he or she is considered a bigot or politically offensive by current standards?
Israeli law, for example, prohibits use of the term 'Nazi' to describe any Jew. I would submit, humbly, that many official Israeli practices towards the Palestinians are identical to those promoted by the Third Reich towards the Jews and other minorities. Does Censorship improve human nature or somehow dispose of negative attitudes and actions? Absolutely not. What it promotes is inequality. When a group of Black thugs commit assault towards a Caucasian and call him/her a 'Honky', the 'hate crime' legislation never goes into effect but should the positions be reversed, should a group of Caucasian thugs commit assualt towards a Black and call him/her a 'Nigger', it will be considered and prosecuted as a 'hate crime'. Is this just? Is this equality? Is this even desirable? Assault is an actionable crime. I cannot see any justification really for making a crime against one sort of individual more heinous than it would be against another simply because of name-calling. At the end of the day, name-calling is what fuels the ability to designate a crime as a 'hate crime'. You can dress it up any way you like, but that is the truth.
I do not believe in discrimination by reason of race, religion, gender or creed or anything else, but I do not believe in Censorship or the concept of 'hate crimes' either. It constitutes a sort of reverse discrimination in practice. Furthermore, I do not think it acts as a deterrent of any kind, which means that its only effect is to give a crime against a member of a special group a greater value than the same crime against an ordinary individual.
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