We were driving home this evening and my 5 yr old says, "Mum, what language did Adam and Eve speak?"
Me: "I don't know, darling. I don't think anybody knows. What language do you think they spoke?"
Daughter, after a reflective pause: "I think they spoke African."
Me, quickly reflecting on recent readings which stated that people probably originated in Africa, and wondering what on earth could have led my 5 year old to that conclusion, "Why do you think that?"
Daughter: "Because they lived in Africa?" (Fair enough, I thought, they speak African because they live in Africa.)
Daughter: "I think they spoke Aboriginal and Spanish and Italian too."
Me, somewhat bewildered: "Why do you think they spoke those languages?"
Daughter: "Because I think they spoke every language."
Me: "Don't you think they would just have spoken one language?"
Daughter: "No. I think they spoke all the languages, or else where would they come from?"
That sounds like good logic from a 5 year old, I thought.
Daughter: "They even spoke German!"
Me: "Uhuh, why do you think they spoke German?
Daughter: "Because they were African!"
Five year old logic. Can't beat it.
Tuesday 19 March 2013
Monday 18 March 2013
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Reading!
It is 7.38pm. My son is in bed with his bottle, the dishes are done, my husband has gone to a bible study, and my daughter.... is lying in bed reading a book to herself! Hurray hurray! This is what I've been working towards for the last three years.
Books are wonderful things. They can take you to another world, just by opening the cover! Reading was a great adventure when I was a child. It still is, but especially when I was a child. I loved discovering hidden treasure and catching crooks with the Famous Five. I loved being swept up in the tragedies and triumphs of Anne of Green Gables. I loved the excitement and the characters in Enid Blyton's circus and school stories. I loved the world of colonial Australia conjured up in the Billabong series, and the particular wit and challenges of Sybilla in My Brilliant Career.
I am so glad my daughter can read to herself now. Although, reading is probably the thing I enjoy doing most with my children. Obviously she has been learning to read for some time now, but tonight was the first night I saw her pick up a book with 3 or 4 sentences on each page and read it undaunted. I am proud of her. She is only 5 and a half!
Books are wonderful things. They can take you to another world, just by opening the cover! Reading was a great adventure when I was a child. It still is, but especially when I was a child. I loved discovering hidden treasure and catching crooks with the Famous Five. I loved being swept up in the tragedies and triumphs of Anne of Green Gables. I loved the excitement and the characters in Enid Blyton's circus and school stories. I loved the world of colonial Australia conjured up in the Billabong series, and the particular wit and challenges of Sybilla in My Brilliant Career.
I am so glad my daughter can read to herself now. Although, reading is probably the thing I enjoy doing most with my children. Obviously she has been learning to read for some time now, but tonight was the first night I saw her pick up a book with 3 or 4 sentences on each page and read it undaunted. I am proud of her. She is only 5 and a half!
Wednesday 13 March 2013
Ritual torture amongst a technologically advanced tribe
I am studying anthropology. Anthropologists study humans, especially their cultural practices. My attention was recently drawn to a cultural practice of ritual torture amongst an ethnic group generally considered to have left the stone ages behind a long time ago.
Innate amongst these people is a cultural belief that death and sickness can be held at bay by rituals of pain and torture. In a twist of perception unusual amongst this culture, which generally focusses on the desires of the immediate present, people believe that if they undergo regular tortuous rituals now, they will avoid physical suffering later. These rituals usually involve painful physical exertion, often to the limit of a person's endurance, ritual ingestion of strange foodstuffs, and deprivation of satiety.
This ethnic group believes that a person's value is intrinsically linked to their physical abilities, and other tribesmen's perception of their physicality. Indeed, tribesmen who have reached the peak of their physical abilities are generally held up as Holy Muscle Men, a form of human God and something tribesmen devote hours of their day to achieving. The strongest and fastest tribesmen holds both economic and social domination, especially when negotiating a marriage or accumulating concubines. These strongmen are held in such high esteem that in some cases they are even considered to be above the system of law.
The more economic surplus this ethnic group generates, the more temples they erect, with at least one usually being found in every village. These temples usually contain several Physical Holy Men dedicated to inflicting ritual torture upon their devoted followers. In another paradox, this culture which prides itself on being cognitively aware, allows these Physical Holy Men to, almost hypnotically, co-erce participants into self infliction of pain. Indeed rituals are often accompanied by rhythmically hypnotic music.
Tribesmen often bring a large part of their earnings to give as an offering to these temples, in return for which they are allowed to take part in group ritual torture sessions. These groups vary in size from just a few people to hundreds and even thousands, with being part of a mass ritual considered to be a great privilege. Whilst suffering varies in amount, it is generally acknowledged that the more pain a person can take, the higher their place in the hierarchy will be, with those at the top suffering not only rituals of extreme physical exertion but also ritual beating by highly trained Holy Beating Men, and rituals whereby one's body is subjected to extreme temperatures.
In another cultural paradox, this ethnic group who are usually so fastidious about quality of information, have allowed the rituals prescribed by the Physical Holy Men to remain shrouded in mystery. (Perhaps all good religions need some mystery.) In other areas of learning, tribesmen are encouraged to question knowledge with the goal of adding to it, but the religious hold of the Physical Holy Men is so strong that tribesmen show unquestioning obedience, and the secret knowledge they posess is only divulged upon the receipt of considerably large offerings.
The goal of Malinowski, who is considered to be one of the founding fathers of anthropology, was to grasp the native's point of view, his relation to life, and to realise his vision of his world. Hopefully this little essay has helped shed some light on the strange practices of this unusual ethnic tribe.
Innate amongst these people is a cultural belief that death and sickness can be held at bay by rituals of pain and torture. In a twist of perception unusual amongst this culture, which generally focusses on the desires of the immediate present, people believe that if they undergo regular tortuous rituals now, they will avoid physical suffering later. These rituals usually involve painful physical exertion, often to the limit of a person's endurance, ritual ingestion of strange foodstuffs, and deprivation of satiety.
This ethnic group believes that a person's value is intrinsically linked to their physical abilities, and other tribesmen's perception of their physicality. Indeed, tribesmen who have reached the peak of their physical abilities are generally held up as Holy Muscle Men, a form of human God and something tribesmen devote hours of their day to achieving. The strongest and fastest tribesmen holds both economic and social domination, especially when negotiating a marriage or accumulating concubines. These strongmen are held in such high esteem that in some cases they are even considered to be above the system of law.
The more economic surplus this ethnic group generates, the more temples they erect, with at least one usually being found in every village. These temples usually contain several Physical Holy Men dedicated to inflicting ritual torture upon their devoted followers. In another paradox, this culture which prides itself on being cognitively aware, allows these Physical Holy Men to, almost hypnotically, co-erce participants into self infliction of pain. Indeed rituals are often accompanied by rhythmically hypnotic music.
Tribesmen often bring a large part of their earnings to give as an offering to these temples, in return for which they are allowed to take part in group ritual torture sessions. These groups vary in size from just a few people to hundreds and even thousands, with being part of a mass ritual considered to be a great privilege. Whilst suffering varies in amount, it is generally acknowledged that the more pain a person can take, the higher their place in the hierarchy will be, with those at the top suffering not only rituals of extreme physical exertion but also ritual beating by highly trained Holy Beating Men, and rituals whereby one's body is subjected to extreme temperatures.
In another cultural paradox, this ethnic group who are usually so fastidious about quality of information, have allowed the rituals prescribed by the Physical Holy Men to remain shrouded in mystery. (Perhaps all good religions need some mystery.) In other areas of learning, tribesmen are encouraged to question knowledge with the goal of adding to it, but the religious hold of the Physical Holy Men is so strong that tribesmen show unquestioning obedience, and the secret knowledge they posess is only divulged upon the receipt of considerably large offerings.
The goal of Malinowski, who is considered to be one of the founding fathers of anthropology, was to grasp the native's point of view, his relation to life, and to realise his vision of his world. Hopefully this little essay has helped shed some light on the strange practices of this unusual ethnic tribe.
Wednesday 27 February 2013
Remarkable Husbands
Yesterday I had conversations with two husbands who both said remarkable things.
The first one was with my neighbour who is in his 70's. He said that, when faced with a decision, a woman was perfectly capable of coming to her own conclusion, but that when she has made the decision she often lacks conviction. "That's where I come in." He said. "By supporting my wife's decision I give her the confidence of her convictions."
I thought this was a really lovely picture of a marriage. Here is a husband who respects his wife's abilitys, is conscious of her limitations and helps her in a way which builds her up. He doesn't take over her decisions for her, but helps her retain and strengthen her autonomy.
The second conversation was on facebook with the husband of a good friend of mine of a similar age.
I had put out a general feeler message to see if anyone was interested in coming to New Zealand with me on a short break. This husband volunteered his wife to go away on a holiday without him and the kids because, "she deserves it." I was really impressed. I have often been surprised at the amount of consideration between them. How lovely for a husband to acknowledge that his wife is doing a really good job, especially when things have been a bit tough for them lately. How gracious of him to not only acknowledge his wife's efforts, but to reward them in a way that will mean so much to her.
On a side note, I was looking up 'lovely' in the thesaurus and one of the synonyms was 'pulchritudinous'. Seems a strange word to use when referring to a woman's beauty.
The first one was with my neighbour who is in his 70's. He said that, when faced with a decision, a woman was perfectly capable of coming to her own conclusion, but that when she has made the decision she often lacks conviction. "That's where I come in." He said. "By supporting my wife's decision I give her the confidence of her convictions."
I thought this was a really lovely picture of a marriage. Here is a husband who respects his wife's abilitys, is conscious of her limitations and helps her in a way which builds her up. He doesn't take over her decisions for her, but helps her retain and strengthen her autonomy.
The second conversation was on facebook with the husband of a good friend of mine of a similar age.
I had put out a general feeler message to see if anyone was interested in coming to New Zealand with me on a short break. This husband volunteered his wife to go away on a holiday without him and the kids because, "she deserves it." I was really impressed. I have often been surprised at the amount of consideration between them. How lovely for a husband to acknowledge that his wife is doing a really good job, especially when things have been a bit tough for them lately. How gracious of him to not only acknowledge his wife's efforts, but to reward them in a way that will mean so much to her.
On a side note, I was looking up 'lovely' in the thesaurus and one of the synonyms was 'pulchritudinous'. Seems a strange word to use when referring to a woman's beauty.
Sunday 24 February 2013
Shoes
Note to self: When you go on a date, don't wear shoes that you never wear.
Why is it that women in our society are supposed to wear uncomfortable shoes in order to feel that they look good? In fact we are supposed to have some sort of brain defect when it comes to shoes, that compels us to impulsively buy things that cost a lot of money, will make our backs hurt and take the skin off our heels.
I went out with my husband last night on one of our two annual dates. (We don't plan to only have two dates a year, but with little kids we don't have much opportunity or inclination for more.) I wore a pair of shoes that I haven't worn in about a year. I would like to qualify this by saying that I bought them with comfort in mind. They are about the most comfortable looking pair of one-inch heels I could find. Still, after we had walked down the pier to the restaurant, had dinner and walked back along the waterfront for a bit, they had done their worst and I couldn't wait to take them off in the car. They also had an annoyingly loud clip clop that made me wish I'd worn my comfortable rubber flats, which are quite pretty, but make no noise and give me no blisters.
It was funny seeing some of the other pairs of shoes struggling along the pier boardwalk. It would seem that for those under 30, to look good in the evenings you have to be wearing at least a two inch heel, and a short skirt; an interesting effect when combined with an uneven surface like a boardwalk, and a few drinks.
Obviously I am reaching the ages of discretion. I have concluded that really, nobody could care less about what shoes I wear in public, especially when it is semi-dark and mostly they are under a table. It's really not going to make much difference if I am one inch taller, and the type of figure I cut in public is probably going to be more affected by my attitude than my shoes, (which are not, despite what advertising would tell us, an indication of my attitude.)
Next time I go out, my shoes will not be making an impact on my evening, my bank balance or my heels.
Why is it that women in our society are supposed to wear uncomfortable shoes in order to feel that they look good? In fact we are supposed to have some sort of brain defect when it comes to shoes, that compels us to impulsively buy things that cost a lot of money, will make our backs hurt and take the skin off our heels.
I went out with my husband last night on one of our two annual dates. (We don't plan to only have two dates a year, but with little kids we don't have much opportunity or inclination for more.) I wore a pair of shoes that I haven't worn in about a year. I would like to qualify this by saying that I bought them with comfort in mind. They are about the most comfortable looking pair of one-inch heels I could find. Still, after we had walked down the pier to the restaurant, had dinner and walked back along the waterfront for a bit, they had done their worst and I couldn't wait to take them off in the car. They also had an annoyingly loud clip clop that made me wish I'd worn my comfortable rubber flats, which are quite pretty, but make no noise and give me no blisters.
It was funny seeing some of the other pairs of shoes struggling along the pier boardwalk. It would seem that for those under 30, to look good in the evenings you have to be wearing at least a two inch heel, and a short skirt; an interesting effect when combined with an uneven surface like a boardwalk, and a few drinks.
Obviously I am reaching the ages of discretion. I have concluded that really, nobody could care less about what shoes I wear in public, especially when it is semi-dark and mostly they are under a table. It's really not going to make much difference if I am one inch taller, and the type of figure I cut in public is probably going to be more affected by my attitude than my shoes, (which are not, despite what advertising would tell us, an indication of my attitude.)
Next time I go out, my shoes will not be making an impact on my evening, my bank balance or my heels.
Friday 22 February 2013
Annoying baby movies
I am not feeling real good. My life is very peachy now, and I know that can be annoying for some people when things aren't so great in their lives. I would just like to say that I know about pain and suffering too. These things seem to have a habit of jumping out of the closet at you, when you think the door is shut.
I just watched a movie about having babies. For me, the experience of having babys really sucked, and has had fairly long repercussions. I was annoyed that the women looked fairly normal after their birth scenes. They had just been sprayed by someone with a misting bottle. Even the one who supposedly lost a lot of blood. If I made that movie, I would make those actresses go to the gym for 8 hours without eating before they filmed those scenes. And I would make sure they had white faces when they had finished.
I will say one positive thing about giving birth; it makes you draw on depths of strength and character that you never knew you had, and I find that gives me more confidence now.
And you get a baby at the end of it.
(usually)
I just watched a movie about having babies. For me, the experience of having babys really sucked, and has had fairly long repercussions. I was annoyed that the women looked fairly normal after their birth scenes. They had just been sprayed by someone with a misting bottle. Even the one who supposedly lost a lot of blood. If I made that movie, I would make those actresses go to the gym for 8 hours without eating before they filmed those scenes. And I would make sure they had white faces when they had finished.
I will say one positive thing about giving birth; it makes you draw on depths of strength and character that you never knew you had, and I find that gives me more confidence now.
And you get a baby at the end of it.
(usually)
Wednesday 20 February 2013
Three verbs
We often have ABC4kids on in our house. It's called the babysitter. When there are things you need to do and you want the kids immobilised for a bit, you just put it on and they usually stay there for a while. Very useful.
There is a program that I have not so much watched, but been aware of in the background, called Octonauts. I like it because it is a mission/adventure style program and it has a theme song with a catchy tune, like James Bond themesongs. It also has three verbs pronounced prominently in the opening: Explore, Rescue, Protect!
Apparently three verb descriptions are very popular with marketing worldwide. From products, to businesses, and even churches, three verb catchlines are "IT".
I was awake lying in bed the other morning thinking about the Octonauts, "Explore, Rescue, Protect", and I thought, I wonder what my three verbs would be? This is what I came up with, and the alliteration was completely unintended.
Not only do I love exploring nature, but I also love exploring ideas. I find hearing about ideas and thinking about them life enriching. My car radio is always tuned to Radio National, which gives me daily fodder for pondering, and I am about to start anthropology at uni, which will no doubt stretch me.
Encourage: I really like encouraging people. I am a terrible liar and I find it practically impossible to give un-genuine praise. No. I try to think of activites as well as words, that will be individually encouraging. And I think I'm not bad at it. It makes me feel quite joyful when I can see I've succeeded.
Enjoy!: I'm not actually a hedonist. And believe it or not, this is something that is supposed to be an integral part of being a christian. The catechism's first question and answer is:
What is the chief end of man? The chief end of man is to know God and enjoy him forever.
Fancy that! I find it fascinating and wonderful that the whole point of life is to know God and enjoy him forever! The bible talks about God's characteristics being present in nature - the endless expanse of stars, the strength and immovability of mountains, the everlasting rhythm of the ocean, the power of the storm, and the amazingly intricate cellular structure of living things. And God has intended us to enjoy these things, and know and enjoy Him, through these things.
I think that is wonderful.
I would love to hear what other people's three verbs might be.
There is a program that I have not so much watched, but been aware of in the background, called Octonauts. I like it because it is a mission/adventure style program and it has a theme song with a catchy tune, like James Bond themesongs. It also has three verbs pronounced prominently in the opening: Explore, Rescue, Protect!
Apparently three verb descriptions are very popular with marketing worldwide. From products, to businesses, and even churches, three verb catchlines are "IT".
I was awake lying in bed the other morning thinking about the Octonauts, "Explore, Rescue, Protect", and I thought, I wonder what my three verbs would be? This is what I came up with, and the alliteration was completely unintended.
Explore, Encourage, Enjoy!
Explore: I love exploring. I love walking up creeks to see where they go. I love going up mountains and seeing a great view. Sometimes I like walking through cities and seeing what you can find, like down the arcades in Melbourne. But mostly I prefer exploring nature. I like exploring the reef, with it's mountains, valleys and hidden caves all in miniature as I float above it and catch glimpses of iridescent fish.Not only do I love exploring nature, but I also love exploring ideas. I find hearing about ideas and thinking about them life enriching. My car radio is always tuned to Radio National, which gives me daily fodder for pondering, and I am about to start anthropology at uni, which will no doubt stretch me.
Encourage: I really like encouraging people. I am a terrible liar and I find it practically impossible to give un-genuine praise. No. I try to think of activites as well as words, that will be individually encouraging. And I think I'm not bad at it. It makes me feel quite joyful when I can see I've succeeded.
Enjoy!: I'm not actually a hedonist. And believe it or not, this is something that is supposed to be an integral part of being a christian. The catechism's first question and answer is:
What is the chief end of man? The chief end of man is to know God and enjoy him forever.
Fancy that! I find it fascinating and wonderful that the whole point of life is to know God and enjoy him forever! The bible talks about God's characteristics being present in nature - the endless expanse of stars, the strength and immovability of mountains, the everlasting rhythm of the ocean, the power of the storm, and the amazingly intricate cellular structure of living things. And God has intended us to enjoy these things, and know and enjoy Him, through these things.
I think that is wonderful.
I would love to hear what other people's three verbs might be.
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