"This notion that our brains don't ever really forget is certainly embedded in the way we talk about our memories" is a line from Moonwalking with Einstein when I skimmed over this line all I could think of were elephants. Elephants never forgot. I was watching 60 minutes with my folks when an interview about a lady who was living with elephants for the past 30 years was up next, Cynthia Moss. Cynthia has been living in Africa at the Amboseli National Park studying the park's elephants' behaviors. During the interview she showed footage of her study, one of the reasons she believes that elephants have a working memory that retains information for vast amounts of time is when an elephant dies. The group of elephants bury the dead and have a "sort-of"ceremony where each of the elephants walk by tapping their trunks on the ground where the elephant is buried. Each year the elephants repeat the same process. She also found that elephants have a family structure and when a family member passes the family of that elephant will stand around the grave site for many days like that of a Jewish family.
Elephants mourn when a member of their heard dies, family members grieve for the passed loved one:these actions speak loudly even though there are no words to be said.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Enter through the Red Door
I stand outside my loci. It’s a two story colonial with a mix of Victorian. It is white, the kind of white when you walk by you say “that is a very white house” it has dark blue trim around the roofing, windows, and porch. It has a decent one acre front yard with grass and flower beds around the porch. A white picket fence that looks like it was just white washed by Tom Sawyer himself separates the yard from the sidewalk on which I stand. A cement walkway leads up to the Victorian wraparound style porch. I make my journey to this place and notice that the door is red and to the left of that door is a woman on a rocking chair, knitting.
“Hello my dear. Welcome back. They have been expecting you.
“And you would be?”
“Mnemosyne, I am the mother of the muses.”
“Whose has been expecting me?”
“We all have.”
“What are you knitting?”
“Socks this will be my 3rd one so far. My girls’ feet get cold since they don’t like wearing shoes so I’m knitting them socks. You best be heading in.”
I grasp the handle of the red door not sure what to expect in this very white house. I enter. The room I enter into is the kitchen various aromas fill my nose. There are three men in the kitchen.
“Hello”
“I hi there we’ve been expecting you.”
“Who are you and what are you doing?”
“Well I am Rueben and these are my two brothers Simeon and Levi. We are cooking dinner for tonight.”
“Dinner?”
“Yes some elk sausage mixed with pickled garlic and cottage cheese, and some peat-smoked salmon for appetizers served with an assortment of crackers. It tastes quite good on crackers and also its Erato’s favorite.”
“Erato?”
“She lives here as well.”
“Well best be getting back to dinner. See you soon.”
I wander into a corridor to find an opening into a room to the left and a closed door to the right. I decide the closed door first. It seems to be a study: a stereotypical study. A fine wooden desk with a computer that sits upon, two upright brown leather chairs, a globe that opens containing 6 bottles of white wine, bookcases filled to the brim with different books and a set of doors that open out onto the porch where a telescope sits next to a beautiful girl.
“Hello”
“Hi, I’m Urania just waiting until its dark so I can study the constellations.”
“Fun,”
“Hello Clio”
I turn to see another woman holding a book titled Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris. She sits on one of the brown leather chairs.
“It is starting to sound like a mad house out there. I was hoping for some peace and quiet to read my new book about the Holocaust, but no. I hope you don’t mind sharing your study.”
“No I don’t sister dear.”
I turn to leave but before I do, “could you do me a favor and email Sophie asking her to find the Paul Newman film Somebody up there Likes Me.”
“Sure,” I email Sophie and also research what the Paul Newman film is about because apparently we will be watching it after dinner. I then take my leave and pass into the room across the hall where I met with an interesting scene. Two females are arguing over a megaphone and director’s chair. The rest of the room was normal enough a wraparound blue suede coach and a fireplace. The room was rather barren but perhaps suited for the two girls needs. I could make out snippets from their argument.
“No we are doing Antony and Cleopatra. It is my turn to be the director and choose the before dinner entertainment.”
“No it is my turn and we are doing The Revengers' Comedies.”
Before I was able to say anything a hand grasped my shoulder.
“Don’t bother Thalia and Melpomene have been like this for 20 minutes or so. They will soon realize that the best way to answer the question is to ask my brothers Dan and Naphtali who were in the last play.”
“What was the last play they did?”
“I Hate Hamlet”
“Judah, could you fetch your brothers Dan and Naphtali for us. Thank you.”
“I can only guess where they will be. Come on then you can meet some of my other brothers because they will probably be there as well.”
We left heading through a different door at the opposite end of the room. We entered into a hallway. At the end of the hallway a bathroom and to the left was a door leading to the backyard. Judah suggested that I visit the backyard at one point while I was visiting. A few paces before the bathroom there are stairs tucked behind the wall. We wandered up the stairs to another corridor with doors randomly spaced throughout. Only one door was opened and words were sensuously echoing down the hall towards us. I shivered as did Judah.
“Erato has that effect on people.”
We stopped outside her door listening as she was reciting a poem In silence I grieve
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee?
With silence and tears.
As she finished a sigh whispered like a chorus around her bedroom. There were six guys and one female in this room. Her room was pink, red, and white like a Valentine’s shop exploded inside this room; however, her room also had a hint of black mixed in making it sensual. This sensual feeling was exaggerated by the harness and ropes hanging in the corner and the one female that was in the room was dressed in a skin-toned cat suit.
“Hello Judah.”
“Hello Erato I am in need of my two brothers Dan and Naphtali.”
“What!”
“You are needed downstairs to settle a fight.”
Two of the guys stood and walked out of the bedroom. The remaining guys scooted closer together in front of the bed that Erato was playfully nestling in.
“The remaining are a few of my other brothers: Gad, Asher, and Issachar. The other three are probably in the backyard. You should head out there now. The play will be starting soon, then dinner, then the Paul Newman film.”
Judah squeezed himself in among his brothers. I could hear Erato giggles carrying down the stairs as I headed to the backyard. I made a quick bathroom break then entered into the backyard. The backyard was gorgeous. You could see part of the porch peeking into the backyard with bushes surrounding it, trying to hide it from are view. There was a cobble, smoothed over patio that I was standing on. Weeping Willows were scattered around the yard and a pond with a surrounding Zen garden. I heard music coming from around one of the trees. I rushed over to see who was playing such an enchanting sound. There were three females along with males behind this tree. One of the sisters was playing a harp, another sister was twirling around with 3 hula hoops and a snorkel in her mouth, and the last sister was reciting Beowulf. The three males sat with their backs against the tree watching the three women.
“Hi,”
“Hello there,” they all said even the dancing hula hooping girl with the snorkel in her mouth.
The girl who was playing the harp introduced herself as Euterpe along with everyone else: The girl who was hula hoop dancing was Terpsichore; the girl who was reciting Beowulf was Calliope, and the three males were introduced as Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin, the last three sons of Jacob.
A load voice echoed throughout the house into the backyard.
“Jacob is home, the play is about to begin, and dinner will soon be ready.”
“Best be heading in then,” Dinah said.
We all began heading back to the house. The three men were carrying the harp as us girls were chit-chatting about the-this and that. As we neared the door an odd looking device with blue liquid was attached next to it.
“Good timing. Looks like it will be raining soon.” Calliope said.
“I’m so glad Jacob installed the barometer. It has saved us from some down pours.”
We entered into the same in which Thalia and Melpomene had been fighting in earlier. The room still had the wraparound style couch and fireplace; however, the room was filled with smoke from the dry ice machine sitting on fireplace mantle. The gaggle of sisters and brothers were sitting side by side on the couch along with Mnemosyne and, I can only assume, Jacob. The abridged version of Anthony and Cleopatra began and soon ended. We ventured into the kitchen for some tasty dinner. Here I met the last sister, Polyhymnia. She recited some hymns before sitting down to eat. The appetizer of peat-smoked salmon on Ritz crackers was the best. After dinner we moved back into the room with the wraparound coach to see a TV and DVD player had been added. We all took a seat and ended the evening with the Paul Newman film “Somebody up there Likes Me.”
Erato was reciting the last line of:
When We Two Parted
by George Gordon, Lord Byron
Sunday, February 12, 2012
My 51 Items
I choose the Top 51 movies from
AFIs 100 movies, 100 years: 10th Anniversary
AFIs 100 movies, 100 years: 10th Anniversary
9 VERTIGO
11 CITY LIGHTS
13 STAR WARS
14 PSYCHO
16 SUNSET BLVD.
17 THE GRADUATE
18 THE GENERAL
21 CHINATOWN
26 MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
27 HIGH NOON
33 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
34 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS
35 ANNIE HALL
36 THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
37 THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES
38 THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE
41 KING KONG
45 SHANE
48 REAR WINDOW
49 INTOLERANCE
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Your Mama is to Flyting
Wish I hadn't been ill during the class that your mama jokes came into play. I personally enjoyed having fun hearted bantering matches with the use of 'your mama jokes' or ribs at each other about one thing or another while in elementary school.
A few of my personal favorites of your mama jokes:
Your mama is so fat she sat on a rainbow and skittles popped out.
Your mama is so fat when she went to the beach humpback whales started singing "we are family."
Your mama is so fat when she got hit by a bus she asked who threw the rock.
A few ribs:
Four-Eyes
String Bean
Dog Breathe
or my popular nicknames
Jackie Chan
Jackie-O-Lantern
Jackity Rabbit
my personal favorite because I used to wear this green bum shirt all the time and was the tallest in my class
Jolly Green Giant
My least favorite and also dirty for grade school children. I believe once fifth grade came and we had to watch the infamous puberty video childhood innocence was somewhat lost. (But more on childhood innocence later)
E-Jacky-Lation
While in grade school my sister and I would get into some heated "flyting" matches. She was 9 years older and to her I was the pain in the butt younger sister always wanting to tag along.
The number one fight my sister and I were ever in happened while we were living in an apartment before moving into the house my folks now live in. My dad was away on military business and my sister and I would bicker constantly. Living in close quarters was not healthy for us. We were fighting about me going into her room. I read her diary. In retaliation she grabbed something of mine and slammed her bedroom door, locking it. My mom was yelling at us to knock it off. I began kicking her door. The lock clicked, I barged through slamming the door into my sisters face. A swear word echoed out of my sister's mouth. My mom came stomping down the hallway to see blood gushing out of my sister's nose. I had broke my sister's nose. I was sent to my room while my mom rushed my sister to the hospital. She was doped out on pain medication and missed school for about a week which she didn't hesitate to brag about.
A few of my personal favorites of your mama jokes:
Your mama is so fat she sat on a rainbow and skittles popped out.
Your mama is so fat when she went to the beach humpback whales started singing "we are family."
Your mama is so fat when she got hit by a bus she asked who threw the rock.
A few ribs:
Four-Eyes
String Bean
Dog Breathe
or my popular nicknames
Jackie Chan
Jackie-O-Lantern
Jackity Rabbit
my personal favorite because I used to wear this green bum shirt all the time and was the tallest in my class
Jolly Green Giant
My least favorite and also dirty for grade school children. I believe once fifth grade came and we had to watch the infamous puberty video childhood innocence was somewhat lost. (But more on childhood innocence later)
E-Jacky-Lation
While in grade school my sister and I would get into some heated "flyting" matches. She was 9 years older and to her I was the pain in the butt younger sister always wanting to tag along.
The number one fight my sister and I were ever in happened while we were living in an apartment before moving into the house my folks now live in. My dad was away on military business and my sister and I would bicker constantly. Living in close quarters was not healthy for us. We were fighting about me going into her room. I read her diary. In retaliation she grabbed something of mine and slammed her bedroom door, locking it. My mom was yelling at us to knock it off. I began kicking her door. The lock clicked, I barged through slamming the door into my sisters face. A swear word echoed out of my sister's mouth. My mom came stomping down the hallway to see blood gushing out of my sister's nose. I had broke my sister's nose. I was sent to my room while my mom rushed my sister to the hospital. She was doped out on pain medication and missed school for about a week which she didn't hesitate to brag about.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Grandma's Trunk
Have you ever played grandma’s trunk. It has been awhile since I have played. The game: a person, myself, starts the game “I found a locket in my grandma’s trunk” then the next person “I found gum and a locket in my grandma’s trunk” another level is saying the person’s name in the line “I found gum and Jacky’s locket in my grandma’s trunk.” Will this class be like grandma’s trunk? Will we keep adding items until the last day when we close the lid? When we return to the trunk and before opening the lid will we each be able to remember what was in the trunk? So many questions will we be able to answer them in the time we have together. Now I’m starting to sound a bit uh “fruity” just a little.
I took a test a few months ago this test, after being interpreted by a training professional, it states that I have an awful short term memory. One of the ways to help was to make lists. Now would my memory palace be my list that I am able to refer back too. Guess I'll have to find out for myself.
So stayed tuned for my memory palace it’s going to be (in the word of Barney) “legen-hope you’re not lactose intolerant because the next word is-dary”
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