Stone To Stars

Thanks Jo, en ja, Cohen het pragtige werke. Danki...

2012-01-19T20:12:40.175+13:00

Thanks Jo, en ja, Cohen het pragtige werke. Dankie vir die deel van die skakel hier!

Hi Jan, ek wens ek kon skryf soos jy. Jy is vertro...

2012-01-19T11:07:10.886+13:00

Hi Jan,
ek wens ek kon skryf soos jy. Jy is vertroud, ek is seker met Leonard Cohen se werk. Jou stuk, met die verwysings na sealed with a kiss laat my dink aan sy gedig "Thousand kisses deep". Hier is die man homself wat een van die baie weergawes van daai gedig lees. Regtig treffend, net soos jou stuk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXaRT8CXmGE

groete van 'n goeie vriend.

Jo

Wanneer skryf jy nou maar 'n boek en kry dit k...

2011-10-20T18:25:35.317+13:00

Wanneer skryf jy nou maar 'n boek en kry dit klaar en oor. Jy het beslis die talent, Jan.
Groete,
Herman

autumn carves the sky stone, like stars, explode t...

2011-04-26T22:33:00.485+12:00

autumn carves the sky
stone, like stars, explode tonight
fire consumes wood

I'm so with you on this

2011-04-21T08:30:18.374+12:00

I'm so with you on this

Hey Jan, Nice to see you're settling in! ...

2010-12-23T11:55:43.654+13:00

Hey Jan,

Nice to see you're settling in!

And yes, I can see us sitting around a fire in a few years time with a nice balloon glass of South African potstill.... We just need to decide if I'm taking the brandy to you... or if you're coming here to drink it with us...

Groete vir Chrissie, Jan-Dawid en 'n vryfie vir Jessie....

Amazing, dit was goed om te lees. En dit maak dit ...

2010-12-23T05:52:46.356+13:00

Amazing, dit was goed om te lees. En dit maak dit dus dan die moeite werd om julle te mis!

Thanks Pieter.

2010-12-14T09:31:01.023+13:00

Thanks Pieter.

Inspirational, thanks and good luck

2010-12-13T22:18:28.447+13:00

Inspirational, thanks and good luck

Thanks Rob. I imagine it is getting hectic in the...

2010-12-13T10:49:33.371+13:00

Thanks Rob. I imagine it is getting hectic in the last week or so before the December break. Vasbyt!
Jan

Jan, some wize words, and some deep thoughts for ...

2010-12-12T21:51:35.865+13:00

Jan,

some wize words, and some deep thoughts for us to all consider while rushing (or getting caught) in the rat race. best wishes. Rob

Thanks Dewald. You will know what I feel in a few...

2010-09-06T18:48:07.599+12:00

Thanks Dewald. You will know what I feel in a few months. Take your time and settle in.

As always, great words, great writing. By reading ...

2010-09-06T18:24:18.850+12:00

As always, great words, great writing. By reading the post it is clear that you fall into your own description of "a great loss" for some and no doubt a massive gain for the other side. I like and relate - and wish you well Jan!

Yes, agreed Alta and thanks for a great comment. ...

2010-04-23T21:31:05.602+12:00

Yes, agreed Alta and thanks for a great comment. There were real human dramas. Those were the ones that one should see on TV. I think his whole thing reminded me that I live once and that I must not procrastinate.

Jan, your blog reminds me of my favourite qoute: ...

2010-04-23T21:25:23.993+12:00

Jan, your blog reminds me of my favourite qoute:
"Everything can be taken from a man but ...the last of the human freedoms - to choose
one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
p.104 from Man's search for meaning, Viktor E. Frankl

I also think it is not that easy to handle the situation gracefully and with a 'glass half full' approach if you stood in line for a heart transplant that was cancelled, or if you missed the opportunity to say your last goodbyes to a dying family member.

Eyjafjallajoküll showed us that it causes more damage to simmer than to explode

Indeed, the use of anthems at sporting events are ...

2010-01-19T07:38:17.111+13:00

Indeed, the use of anthems at sporting events are now just utility to a wider concoction of emotional blackmail. I have not read Frankl, will have to now. De Saussure's views: well, let's put it this way, I tend not to see putting ideas down in symbols to be different from vocalising them. Sounds, scribbles, whatever, these are all ways to signal expression (from my perspective). Love your comments!!

Jan, an interesting view. A few comments in respon...

2010-01-19T03:10:31.029+13:00

Jan, an interesting view. A few comments in response, as promised, to parts of what you've written.

(1) Have you read Viktor Frankl? Your statement - "ferret[ing] in the corners of our souls..." etc. - reminded me of Frankl's claim that conscience is the only vehicle through which we, humans, detect meaning in life. Frankl claims that people find meaning because to be human is to have a transcendental dimension / side that permits you to search for meaning. There is no division between being human and find meaning. I sense similarity in your views and his.

(2) On the matter of national anthems and sporting events, which you discuss near the top of the piece, the first thing that sprang to mind was the Romans' use of panem et circenses (bread and circuses). Anthems, for me, are a bit like those crusty Roman breadrolls ;) Not for a moment do I think national anthems are neutral ingredients in a commercial television broadcast mix. So, yes, an anthem is a musical piece -- delivered (mostly) by good singers and musicians, and at considerable volume (which, importantly, has direct physiological effects on the sense organs and the brain... with consequences for how we interpret that sensation) -- expressing some sort of intent, as you suggest, but I think it is more than a tool of patriotism or a rallying cry to a noble cause. It is a tool to unite people in a common consumerism. Sing your heart out but never forget that contemporary sports is a money-making machine. That makes me far more concerned about the persistent use of anthems at sporting events. It functions to degenerate the experience into snot en trane and a Springbok jersey costing R500. Sing loudly, well, and your team will play better. And then everybody's happy, not so? Well, they should be, they bought the jersey, didn't they? That's the commercial logic.

(3) A final comment I want to make is about the arbitrary nature of language and meaning. De Saussure, way back in the days before TV and cappuccinos, told us that there is an arbitrary relationship between sign and signified. So, for example, the phrase "my country" is composed of entirely arbitrary signs (e.g. "c", "m", "t", etc.). In Afrikaans and in Hebrew, different words and letters are used, and no language is the true language capturing the perfect essence of "my country". We forget that, choosing to invest so much emotion and energy into what is an entirely arbitrary relationship between words and meanings, especially in songs and anthems. So, to sing the national anthem with passion relies on someone assuming that singing loudly these words (e.g. "to live and die for freedom in South Africa, dear land"), actually carries a sort of cosmic significance. Semiotics and test rugby results teach us that they don't.

Anyway...

Read Frankl; I think you will like his books.

Yes, checking out the map, looking at the names of...

2009-09-29T20:48:48.437+13:00

Yes, checking out the map, looking at the names of places, exploration - that is it!

How appropriate - just spent a large portion of th...

2009-09-27T06:17:02.729+13:00

How appropriate - just spent a large portion of the day staring over my big atlas, checking out google maps and planning our holiday next year. Kevin remarked that he thinks I enjoy planning a trip more than the trip itself. I'm inclined to think he's right :)

Yeah, and I still think it one of the coolest movi...

2009-07-24T07:26:50.251+12:00

Yeah, and I still think it one of the coolest movies out.

Nice Buzz fotie!

2009-07-24T07:19:14.717+12:00

Nice Buzz fotie!

Oukei, ek mis die punt wat die video probeer maak....

2009-07-06T08:09:25.591+12:00

Oukei, ek mis die punt wat die video probeer maak....

Yes Zania, you know the feeling. Vote on the blog...

2009-05-04T06:08:00.000+12:00

Yes Zania, you know the feeling. Vote on the blog as well, so we can see how many people have had that experience. My love to you and the dude!

Dearest, dearest Jan. My heart bleeds for you. I...

2009-05-04T03:32:00.000+12:00

Dearest, dearest Jan. My heart bleeds for you. I know that missing feeling when you Skype, the thicknest of ache in your throat when you try not to cry but tears run involuntarily down your cheeks. For once, forget about technology and WRITE that letter - on real paper, with a real pen. Chrissie will be able to smell you, touch you and sleep with you ..... Lovies, Zania

Perhaps we are not in such a chaotic state... two ...

2008-05-28T18:35:00.000+12:00

Perhaps we are not in such a chaotic state... two words come to mind: Occam's razor.

"entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem" or, "All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best."

Of course, now we just need to figure out which theory really is the simplest.