http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Gawain_and_the_Green_Knight
When Pappi was in his last year at high school, the English teacher read "Sir Gawain and The Green Knight" to the class, but the term ended before the story was finished, and Pappi was left in suspense until he discovered JRR Tolkein's version of this story a few years ago. It is a very intriguing story, although not particularly easy reading to a modernist fed on Readers Digest rules for writing popular literature (About this horror, more another time).
Anyway, on visiting the Wikipedia site this morning before 5 a.m., Pappi discovered the above reference and analysis of the story, and found it really rivetting. He will read the story again, in time. In the meantime, you should take a peek..
Monday, March 17, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Evil Males, or just Evil People?
In the BBC story today, about the way landlords in Paris demand sex in return for accommodation, and the response of some women to the story (pasted below), men come through as animal, callous and selfish. Pappi's question to his readers (of whom there seem to be none nowadays) is, Is this peculiar to males, or is it a description of people in general - that a particular proportion of all people, irrespective of gender or race, take unfair advantage when they are in a position of power? This is a critical issue, since it strikes at the heart of the real nature of racism, sexism and every other kind of discrimination.
Pappi thinks that there are few things more dehumanising than adopting a position that pidgeon-holes whole groups of people as either "rubbish" or "supreme". There's treasure in each one, but darkness as well. Let's just get agreement on good and poor values, rather than OK and not OK people groups. People who exploit others for sex, or money, or power are doing wrong. The exploiters can be male or female, black or white, rich or poor, religious or atheist, but they are wrong to do these things.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/7290139.stm
Have you been affected by the issues in this story? Have you or someone you know experienced a landlord requesting sex for rent? Have you encountered these issues outside of France? Send us your comments using the form below.
Of course single women in UK / England have these problems. I have a few female friends who sell sex in order to put a roof over their heads. Women give birth to children, have to juggle their home and working lives, take a career/job break, can't get up the so-called career ladder, and all this culminates in less income. Nothing is different in this country.Angelina, Birmingham
This is not just happening the EU for the last 15 years that I know of single mothers (divorced, widowed, separated) have been exchanging sex for rent. twice I have been approached by landlords looking for sexual favours in exchange for lower or no rent, I have been fortunate enough to be able to tell them to shove it but not every mother I know has been able to do that. Now point to a time in history that women have not been exploited in this way and I will fall over in amazement have you read the stats. by the UN on the status of women.lesmis, brisbane australia
This country is male dominated. Even the majority of foreign males follow the same perverted ethics as the local males who will not move on any issues unless they get paid by sex.Marie Cosgrove, Saitama Japan
Pappi thinks that there are few things more dehumanising than adopting a position that pidgeon-holes whole groups of people as either "rubbish" or "supreme". There's treasure in each one, but darkness as well. Let's just get agreement on good and poor values, rather than OK and not OK people groups. People who exploit others for sex, or money, or power are doing wrong. The exploiters can be male or female, black or white, rich or poor, religious or atheist, but they are wrong to do these things.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/7290139.stm
Have you been affected by the issues in this story? Have you or someone you know experienced a landlord requesting sex for rent? Have you encountered these issues outside of France? Send us your comments using the form below.
Of course single women in UK / England have these problems. I have a few female friends who sell sex in order to put a roof over their heads. Women give birth to children, have to juggle their home and working lives, take a career/job break, can't get up the so-called career ladder, and all this culminates in less income. Nothing is different in this country.Angelina, Birmingham
This is not just happening the EU for the last 15 years that I know of single mothers (divorced, widowed, separated) have been exchanging sex for rent. twice I have been approached by landlords looking for sexual favours in exchange for lower or no rent, I have been fortunate enough to be able to tell them to shove it but not every mother I know has been able to do that. Now point to a time in history that women have not been exploited in this way and I will fall over in amazement have you read the stats. by the UN on the status of women.lesmis, brisbane australia
This country is male dominated. Even the majority of foreign males follow the same perverted ethics as the local males who will not move on any issues unless they get paid by sex.Marie Cosgrove, Saitama Japan
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Males More Intelli-Gent?
http://www.newsweek.com/id/101079
This article from newsweek is worth taking in, as it helps lay some of the dust around leadership and teaching issues between men and women. Pappi's position is that if people are properly focussed, they are more concerned with receiving the best wisdom wherever it comes from, than trying to work out whether they are cleverer or dumber than the source.
Men being generally more dominant than women due to issues of body size, depth of voice, physical strength and hormonal conditioning, have a natural advantage in calling the shots. They should therefore be particularly sensitive to their tendency to overshadow the wisdom and valid point of view of the women. Strength should be used to nurture others, not to oppress and silence them!
This article from newsweek is worth taking in, as it helps lay some of the dust around leadership and teaching issues between men and women. Pappi's position is that if people are properly focussed, they are more concerned with receiving the best wisdom wherever it comes from, than trying to work out whether they are cleverer or dumber than the source.
Men being generally more dominant than women due to issues of body size, depth of voice, physical strength and hormonal conditioning, have a natural advantage in calling the shots. They should therefore be particularly sensitive to their tendency to overshadow the wisdom and valid point of view of the women. Strength should be used to nurture others, not to oppress and silence them!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Faith in the Cauldron
Pappi often struggles with the tension between those who primarily see Good and Evil in shades of gray, and those who see them only in Black and White. Both sides have their arguments, convincing for their own positions, but completely unconvincing to each other, and by and large for Pappi.
At a men's breakfast this weekend I was harangued by one who had been on a year's study of the Bible, where the brilliant leader had convinced him that the proof of the shades of gray position lay in the recorded commands of God for Israel to slay all men, women and children of the Canaanites as they displaced them. Obviously, the argument ran, there were good people amongst these and how could it be justifiable to slaughter them without distinction. Thus (I think he was trying to say), even God was confused about good and evil, or else the Bible was confused.
Herein lies a wealth of debate, but Pappi notices that the proponent of this idea appeared not to realize that he himself was making a value judgement, that "it could not be right" for God to give this command. To Pappi he seems to have sunk himself, for if there is no black or white, why is he painting black either those who endorse the scripture which records this, or God, if the scripture is true?
Pappi tried to channel the debate back to universal values of absolute good and evil, by identifying certain things, such as child-rape, which can only be painted black, but the same guy who wouldn't tolerate God ordering Israel to massacre Canaanite villages refused to agree that child rape was universally black and wrong. This was a member of the church with seemingly sound morals and values.
The problem of course is that he had gotten into the position of wanting to not lose the argument, instead of being open to learn from it.
On the other hand, there is a huge issue (not necessarily recognized as such but nevertheless foundational to sanity and credibility) around the relationship between God's and man's sovereignties - talking now within the Christian faith, since Agnostics and Atheists disallow any sovereignty to God, Theistic religions tend to be fatalist (and therefore deprive man of any genuine freedom of choice) (not much different to the position of Atheists and Behaviourists) and only Christianity and Judaism really allow there to be genuine free choice for man.
This boils down to a serious debate on how to take the Bible, and the position of the parties who try to take a literalist position on it, thereby outraging not only those who see everything in terms of gray and want not to be under its authority at all, but also those who recognize that God could not have meant all scripture to be taken literally, and in fact worked with flawed human beings at all times. However helpful it is to use the plainly read Bible to (a) meet with God's Spirit and His ways, (b) to teach children and (c) to unveil God's core character to pagans, much evil arises when it is used to oppress plain, obvious rationality.
Now already Pappi has made enemies of both sides. And these issues are too great to resolve in a little Blog posting, but maybe some of the basic issues around how to decide whether one is in legitimate territory as a rational human being can be teased out in the way ahead. The rule Pappi tries very hard to stick to, is not to be in this debate to win, but to share and learn so that there can be more light and happiness and less gloom and misery.
That too we will discuss, God and man willing.
At a men's breakfast this weekend I was harangued by one who had been on a year's study of the Bible, where the brilliant leader had convinced him that the proof of the shades of gray position lay in the recorded commands of God for Israel to slay all men, women and children of the Canaanites as they displaced them. Obviously, the argument ran, there were good people amongst these and how could it be justifiable to slaughter them without distinction. Thus (I think he was trying to say), even God was confused about good and evil, or else the Bible was confused.
Herein lies a wealth of debate, but Pappi notices that the proponent of this idea appeared not to realize that he himself was making a value judgement, that "it could not be right" for God to give this command. To Pappi he seems to have sunk himself, for if there is no black or white, why is he painting black either those who endorse the scripture which records this, or God, if the scripture is true?
Pappi tried to channel the debate back to universal values of absolute good and evil, by identifying certain things, such as child-rape, which can only be painted black, but the same guy who wouldn't tolerate God ordering Israel to massacre Canaanite villages refused to agree that child rape was universally black and wrong. This was a member of the church with seemingly sound morals and values.
The problem of course is that he had gotten into the position of wanting to not lose the argument, instead of being open to learn from it.
On the other hand, there is a huge issue (not necessarily recognized as such but nevertheless foundational to sanity and credibility) around the relationship between God's and man's sovereignties - talking now within the Christian faith, since Agnostics and Atheists disallow any sovereignty to God, Theistic religions tend to be fatalist (and therefore deprive man of any genuine freedom of choice) (not much different to the position of Atheists and Behaviourists) and only Christianity and Judaism really allow there to be genuine free choice for man.
This boils down to a serious debate on how to take the Bible, and the position of the parties who try to take a literalist position on it, thereby outraging not only those who see everything in terms of gray and want not to be under its authority at all, but also those who recognize that God could not have meant all scripture to be taken literally, and in fact worked with flawed human beings at all times. However helpful it is to use the plainly read Bible to (a) meet with God's Spirit and His ways, (b) to teach children and (c) to unveil God's core character to pagans, much evil arises when it is used to oppress plain, obvious rationality.
Now already Pappi has made enemies of both sides. And these issues are too great to resolve in a little Blog posting, but maybe some of the basic issues around how to decide whether one is in legitimate territory as a rational human being can be teased out in the way ahead. The rule Pappi tries very hard to stick to, is not to be in this debate to win, but to share and learn so that there can be more light and happiness and less gloom and misery.
That too we will discuss, God and man willing.
Monday, March 3, 2008
I can't find my glasses
I need my glasses to find my glasses. Spectacles by nature tend to blend in with their surroundings when you put them down, and it's not always convenient to return them to their case.
This problem frustrated me for years until I stumbled upon a wonderful solution.
If you keep a small, reasonably wide bottle for the purpose (I use a Savannah Cider 330ml bottle as in the image), you can insert one leg of the spectacles into the neck, and this suspends them out of danger of being scratched, but easy to spot without having to use spectacles.
As the image shows, more than one pair will fit.
Isn't it wonderful being an engineer?
I guess one can decorate the bottle and have one in each major room of the house. All who enter and socialise can store their spectacles there ready for use. I guess it's a kind of Spectacle Tree.
A free idea to the world out there from Pappi.
This problem frustrated me for years until I stumbled upon a wonderful solution.
If you keep a small, reasonably wide bottle for the purpose (I use a Savannah Cider 330ml bottle as in the image), you can insert one leg of the spectacles into the neck, and this suspends them out of danger of being scratched, but easy to spot without having to use spectacles.As the image shows, more than one pair will fit.
Isn't it wonderful being an engineer?
I guess one can decorate the bottle and have one in each major room of the house. All who enter and socialise can store their spectacles there ready for use. I guess it's a kind of Spectacle Tree.
A free idea to the world out there from Pappi.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Spot the Dog, Name the Veg
Sometimes very ordinary things have spectacular moments. 
In this picture, we had forgotten about the purple vegetable in the cupboard, and it had begun to send out shoots.
(Answers coded as follows - shift each letter in the alphabet back to get the correct letter, remembering to let Z be denoted by A, A by B etc.)
Answer: ZBN (ps Sxffu qpsbsp), voefs uif ubcmf.
Here is Shadow in all her glory:
She's called Shadow because she's extremely quiet when she moves, and she sticks close to me.
Did you notice, by the way, that in the movie "Eight Below" (in which one of the huskeys was named "Shadow") the ridiculous proposition, that the dogs were left in the Antarctic as Winter arrived, yet the whole movie took place in daylight, ignoring the permanent darkness that would have prevailed at that time?
Something else that got up my nose was the horribly artificial relationships between all the human characters. I could feel the scriptwriter setting up each one to be a model human being at each moment.
AAAaaagh - I feel the need for a poem:
Tongue tied.
“Words are messengers, false or true,
Making war or peace ‘twixt me and you.
Deep inside my trembling soul,
It’s words alone that make me whole.”
“Stop” she cried, “Don’t say it again –
Words do not, cannot, heal all pain!”
I heard, I stopped, I sought more power
And healed her pain with a lovely flower.
Anybody out there?
Pappi.
In this picture, we had forgotten about the purple vegetable in the cupboard, and it had begun to send out shoots.
I wanted to capture this spectacular moment in its life, and as I took this frame, our Alpine Shepherd, Shadow, came to investigate.
So, what is the vegetable, and where is the dog?
(Answers coded as follows - shift each letter in the alphabet back to get the correct letter, remembering to let Z be denoted by A, A by B etc.)
Answer: ZBN (ps Sxffu qpsbsp), voefs uif ubcmf.
Here is Shadow in all her glory:
She's called Shadow because she's extremely quiet when she moves, and she sticks close to me.
Did you notice, by the way, that in the movie "Eight Below" (in which one of the huskeys was named "Shadow") the ridiculous proposition, that the dogs were left in the Antarctic as Winter arrived, yet the whole movie took place in daylight, ignoring the permanent darkness that would have prevailed at that time?
Something else that got up my nose was the horribly artificial relationships between all the human characters. I could feel the scriptwriter setting up each one to be a model human being at each moment.
AAAaaagh - I feel the need for a poem:
Tongue tied.
“Words are messengers, false or true,
Making war or peace ‘twixt me and you.
Deep inside my trembling soul,
It’s words alone that make me whole.”
“Stop” she cried, “Don’t say it again –
Words do not, cannot, heal all pain!”
I heard, I stopped, I sought more power
And healed her pain with a lovely flower.
Anybody out there?
Pappi.
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