The Science of Myth

There is something about science that saddens me slightly. I don't mean that I do not enjoy the benefits that science has given the human race - for the most it has enormous benefits - but could we have lost something in the getting?

The human race has an innate need to explain everything. Everything must have its cause and its reason and its purpose. To the scientific minds of modernity, anything that cannot be explained clearly doesn't exist. There use to be myth and legends; superstitions and religion. Stories taken with the utmost belief that the unexplainable was real. Our ancestors could believe that just because something didn't have a cause or a reason or  a purpose that it did not mean that it was any less than that which did. We seem to have lost that ability. We have lost, for the most part, the willingness to trust in the unknown. But the stories had to come from somewhere didn't they? Surly every fiction grows from a seed of truth.

Oh we still have religion, but it is no longer at the centre of our lives. We still have superstitions, but they are followed in jest. And we still have myths and legends, but they are our entertainment.

We send our children door to door begging strangers for candy while dressed as ghouls and vampires and zombies. But to the children these creatures are nothing more than Hollywood fantasy and Halloween is nothing more than a sugar rush. True meaning is all but lost.

It is hardly as important as some of the problems that surround the world, but it still saddens me.

On a completely unrelated note, NaNoWriMo starts in just under an hour. Time to fetch the writing cap - I am going to win this year come hell or high water.

The Ageing Process

There was a sudden moment today where I actually realised that I am getting older. That doesn't mean that I on any normal day that I think that my age does not change, it is more that... I just don't pay any attention to it - I am how I feel and that doesn't really need a numerical label.

But when you bump into one of the kids you used to babysit after not seeing him for a good long while, only to find that you can know look him in the eye without stooping and he is about to start secondary school....  

Well time really is linear I guess. And ever marching forward. I guess this is how my parents feel.

Free Will vs. Control

I was having a conversation today that got me thinking. Well no, that's not entirely true. It was the combination of the conversation and my writing at the same time that got me thinking - but either way, the topic stuck in my mind.

Which is ultimately better, free will or control?

Is it better raise a child to believe that anything is possible, that he or she can achieve anything regardless of talent or ability or any other external factor and have them introduced to the wonderful world of failure. Or is it better to be sheltered from failure and raised to be cynical and without dreams and ambitions.

While I can see the advantages of living a life never knowing failure, is it really considered a success if you never try anything. I personally would rather try and fail than never try. If nobody ever had dreams or goals or aims them what would we have to show for all the many millennium that the human race has walked on earth.

Sure there are the silver gilded few that seem to achieve more while exerting less effort, and yes there are those that fall at the other end of the spectrum that can give everything that they have while getting nothing to show for it. But in general there is a middle ground. We all have it in us to achieve something.

Maybe middle ground is the way to go. Someone whose life is controlled will revolt eventually - there are enough examples from history to show us that. And complete free will can lead to heart breaking failure and disappointment. Somewhere in between perhaps is the best course of action.

Or, maybe there is no one method that can be employed. Every person is different and every difference effects how the world and all that's in it is viewed - that includes how we react to success and failure. What works for one...

Myself, I will continue to have hopes and dreams. If there is no point to the future, what is the point to life in the first place.

So Worth It

So very very worth it - the first one was good, and while I am usually a little bit sceptical when it comes to sequels (and with good reason - a lot of them are a let down), this one was defiantly a keeper. Paranormal Activity 2 defiantly provided the shocks and starts that it advertised - I rarely react to horror movies it that kind of way, most now are so dependant of visual displays of gore and violence or wonderfully creative cgi master piece monsters. But the subtle play of unseen forces and sudden events... wonderfully creepy!

Concert and a movie - brilliant way to spend a day in count down to NaNoWriMo 2010. Making the most of daylight, sunshine and the outside world while I have a chance. This time next week I, along with thousands of other writers the world over will be gearing up - psyching ourselves up for a month of complete madness. 50,000 words in 30 days. No room for line editing in that margin that is for sure - which is by and far a good thing. And come December first when (not if, I refuse to fail this year) I hold the bones to a novel in my hot little hands to whole process will seem so very worth it.

But the during, between the exams, the job hunting, the plot bunnies running free and the normal November madness.... I shall just spend this week saying my farewells to sleep and a semblance of life for another year.

A Good Effort

17.5 million dollars.

It's a very very large number to wrap you head around - but apparently that was the amount raised by the concert in Christchurch today. Yes I know that the damage that has been sustained values in the billions but 17.5 million is certain to be put to a good use.

And what a concert - worth every penny of donated funds.

So much history to live through. First the worst natural disaster in NZ history, then the largest live event in NZ history AND seeing the Exponents reform for one day....

This is what being young is about.

Spring Has Sprung

 "spring has sprung, the grass has riz, I wonder where the birdies is."

I challenge anyone to find a flower more happy than the Daisy. Granted it may not have the sweetest smell of the floral kingdom but you cannot help but smile to see their bright pale faces. Whether they be the small and perfect specimens found in the lawn that seemed made for chain-making as a child or the bright and fanciful gerberas that grace the windows of florists there is something innocent and pure and joyful about them.

When I was a kid, every spring my dad would recite the same rhyme as above. Him breaking it out was almost more of a herald of the changing seasons than the actual birds returning. At least, as birds were to him. He is not a bird watcher by any means of the imagination, but he does notice them. Where I do not. I don't mean to diminish their importance, because I am sure that they are fascinating in their migratory patterns, but it always was and always will be the flowers that herald the spring and the summer for me.

I am the least plant orientated person every - as a general rule, everything I attempt to grow dies. I cope great flack for not being able to keep something as notorious as mint alive. But I do notice plants, more so than fauna. The ever changing trees from bud to green to autumn reds. There is something beautiful in the consistency of the seasonal changes, whether that change be in the form of leaf or flower.

And, when finally I can place that first jar of daisies next to my desk I know that, with the exception of the odd and unpredictable spring-cold day, winter is over for another year.

ctrl-alt-delete

I opened this window, with every intent to write some potentially intelligent rambling about.... something.... I'm even pretty sure that I had a topic in mind when I made mouse motion to double click in all the right places.... but for the life of me, mabye half a minute later, I cant remember what my purpose was.

Sleep and retry - perhaps that is all that is needed. Like restarting the computer when it has its little spaz-outs. When my alarm goes off tomorrow morning, with any luck, it'll all come flooding back to me in waves of white and grey matter that have currently abandoned me.

Defiantly one of those days that make you wish that life had a ctrl-alt-delete option.

The Wrong Words

A muse is a funny thing. An fickle entity all of its own. It does not matter what you had hoped to work on through out the day - when the muse speaks, she shouts and will not be silenced until she has got her way.

'Work on project A.'  You may say.

'No,' she replies, 'Project G will go this way and that's what we will do'

'But I have no project G.' You reply.

And a smug 'you do now' comes from the bossy little voice.

But for all that the precious little muse may drive one insane and to the point of distraction. For all she causes me to focus on the seemingly wrong thing... to work on fiction instead of fact, personal project instead of academic....

....I would miss her if she left me.

Procrastination

Procrastinate: verb - to keep delaying something that must be done, often because it is unpleasant or boring

for some reason (and its not a hard reason to comprehend I'm sure) when ever essays are due there is always something far more interesting to do. suddenly my muse decides to throw everything at me and i MUST sit and write. Or the floor suddenly seems particularly dirty and i MUST vacuum. or there is washing to do and dogs to walk and new recipes to try and ovens to clean and emails to catch up on and things to edit..... it goes on and on with things that are ultimately more exciting that writing a few thousand words on the Cold War, or African oil production.

House work does seem to be a prevailing theme however - that's not necessarily a bad thing i suppose. except that it is never done. you can dust on Tuesday and by Thursday the dust will be back. the dishes that you do in the morning will fill the sink again by night. it is an endless cycle of tedious and unpleasant tasks.

perhaps that is why it is so good for procrastinating - there is always something else to do.

Hot vs. Cold

A cold snap in the weather seems to bring with in the usual bemoaning and complaining from everyone that accompanies the coming of winter ever year. There is something about the dropping of temperatures that brings out the worst in the opinions of those that have been conditioned that heat and sun is the better of the situations.

But the cold warms the soul does it not? Being able to lounge in front of a bright and roaring fire with a good book on a winters night. Wrapping yourself in layers of blankets while being embraced by the soft feel of clean sheets.

Even the night sky seems fuller and more alive when the temperature is in the single figures. There is something about the cold that makes the stars seem closer - as if they are huddling close to warm themselves on the molten core of the earth.

That is not to say that the summer doesn't also have its perks, but we should discredit the beauty of the other six months.

And Life Goes On

Just over a month has passed and life is close to being back to normal. Yes, the ground is stiff cracked and broken and torn. And yes, I am constantly finding breakages and warping that I didn't find earlier, but for the most, the earthquake of the 4th of September seems like a long distant dream.

Okay, that is a gross exaggeration. It is neither long distant nor dream like. And it is just as unforgettable with the (so far) 1580 odd aftershocks to remind us exactly of  why we trip when walking down the driveway not remembering that the concrete has shifted or why the dog is decidedly jumpy at any small noise or sudden movement. If the aftershocks were not reminder enough, it still seems to be a popular topic of conversation - hell, I am guilty of doing just that right here am I not?

But for all that the landscape and a beautiful city is forever changed, it would be incredibly foolish to not realise the earthquakes for the benefits that they bring: The aftershocks for the quiet (and yet still relatively vocal) reassurance that they pressure in the fault lines is not building up in preparation for an even bigger disaster, nor yet shifting toward the alpine fault; and the damage sustained itself for the sheer economic boom that it has created.

For the last.... year? eighteen months? all we have heard about is the economic recession and the global credit crisis. But now? It is a good time to be in the trades. Every other vehicle that you see on the road seems to be a builder or a plumber or some other form of contract worker. The jobs vacant adds are inundated with positions for surveyors and engineers. I don't see this changing much in the near to mid term future. The rebuild is not going to happen over night. And as the wealth spreads out from the trade sector, the others will benefit - the building sector has always been the first to feel economic change after all.

Community spirit has also benefited. Neighbours who up until this point had never spoken two words to each other, are caring for the welfare of those around them. Levels of voluntary work has increased. People on the whole, despite frayed nerves from night after night of interrupted sleep, seem more tolerant, more understanding. But perhaps that could simply be due to seeing things in a different light. Taking things for granted for example now seems like a thing of the past - how ever temporarily that may be.

It seems that for years we have had the civil defence adds on TV telling us to be prepared for the day that nature fights back and so many people - myself included - ignored them, choosing to believe instead that either such a thing would not happen, or we would have plenty of time to plan later. But time is one thing that we never have, nor can ever have enough of. We should not only be prepared for such things, but we should take all the opportunities we can, while we still can.

Because life and time carry one whether we are paying attention to it or not.

So this is it. The last rant I shall spend on the earthquake. I shall put together an emergency kit (and have already promised never to mock my friends that have always had them ever again). I shall do the things that I have always meant to do. Time shouldn't be wasted - it is finite and precious.

From here on out, I am going to live while I can, no more wallowing, no more moaning or whinging on the campaign of 'oh poor me', because while being single, and searching for a job may suck completely, there are many, many things that are worse.