May

Trail of Wax

Down the side of the beer bottle,
I trace the thin strip of wax;
Remember watching it roll,
Roll, liquid in the heat,
The way down the glass as it cooled.
Now, it sits stagnant, picked away
By long, bored nails.
And in the purpose of its existence
It fails.


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Himglish and Femalese

I read an article today about a book called 'Himglish and Femalese' (or vice versa) which I found exceedingly enlightening.

It was about how men and women interpret what each other say in modern formats, for example texts, emails and tweets. It revealed that my long-term fear of being misunderstood by men when writing was in fact justified; a sad and disappointing revelation.

Men just cannot understand the nuances of online flirting (quite possibly because it is the most ridiculous platform for such an activity) and women spend time actively misinterpreting the meanings of what men write. This elementary inbalance in interpretation means one thing: it is almost impossible to flirt with a man (or woman) by any means other than in person.

Fact.

How interesting, then, that my generation have, in majority, spent much of their teenage years in front of a computer screen, socialising via the fingertips. I myself fear for my own social abilities. Now, I'm not saying that if it weren't for MSN and facebook I would be a socially adept and comfident character; I am merely wondering whether there will be noticeable effects in the so-called (somewhat condescendingly) 'MySpace generation' (because, presumably, that's all we've accomplished, along with our piss-easy A-Levels and some ASBOs).

It all makes me want to run outside and start talking to people. Come on, grab your coat and let's go for a drink.

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Palpable Memory

>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkclIDu9K5c - Remember Me As A Time Of Day

I'm looking at a green fabric-covered address book, on the office chair in front of me.

This relic has always lived in the house. Longer than me. I remember it; a strange thing perhaps, to recall, when so much else has been lost in the haze of passing time. I remember the smell. A false plant, perhaps, or was it real? It was spidery, a spider plant, and its pale green tendrils were veined with white.

They sat near the telephone, the adress book and plant, as companions on the waxy sill, seeing before them the same conifer and willow I see today, behind them a different lonely image, in tones of grey and brown. The sill is now smooth, as far as I recall, and the phone went years ago.

The numbers remain, in this clothy book, the front side slightly faded from facing the sun. The words written by hands now still, and messages which no longer relate.

Most emotive of all, the message in block capitals which reads "If anything happens to me, call..." and haunts my mind's eye. Was it fear, or as I sometimes wonder, a ready and knowing acceptance?

Fear is the uncompromising conquerer in my mind, at least.

This house knows me better than I know myself.

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Captain von Trapp: My fellow Austrians, I shall not be seeing you again perhaps for a very long time. I would like to sing for you now... a love song.

What is 'The Sound of Music' about?

Religion; the idea that love for God can go hand in hand with sexual love, that just because you're not a nun doesn't mean you don't love God.

Love; a saccharine tale of two people from very different backgrounds who help each other find true happiness, through music, and the children they are responsible for. An idea of reward for good behaviour in life - "Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good".

Wealth; an idea that wealth is not everything, shown through the comeuppance of the Baroness, and the eventual realisation of this fact for Max Dettweiler.

Childhood; the idea that childhood should not be constrained, a very romantic ideal that Maria brings to the Captain, and is eventually accepted.

No. For me, it's not really about anything of these things. Obviously, it is about all of these things, but in reality, it has one stand-out component; patriotism.

Not nationalism; in fact nationalism is the very thing it stands against, in its most extreme form, the third reich. Well, not it, the film, as such, but the character of Georg Von Trapp. Throughout the story, what with the general emphasis on Edelweiss, the austrian flower to which he sings his final love song, inspiring rapturous applause from the anschluss-fearing fellow Austrians; the focus on traditional Austrian customs, such as the dance which the Captain and Maria dance, the Lendler, and the pure Austrian-ness of the Lonely Goatherd. "More Strudel, Herr Dettweiler?"; the very same principle.

And then of course, there is the overt resistance to the anschluss which Von Trapp pulls out at the end; following the emotional rendition of 'Edelweiss', the family escape, to neutral Switzerland, over the mountains (by way of a curious Abbey scene consisting of hiding behind gravestones, which only ever showed me that Rolf is an absolute villain).
Displaying the Austrian flag at his party, confronting Nazi zealot Herr Zeller:

Herr Zeller: Perhaps those who would warn you that the Anschluss is coming - and it is coming, Captain - perhaps they would get further with you by setting their words to music.
Captain von Trapp: If the Nazis take over Austria, I have no doubt, Herr Zeller, that you will be the entire trumpet section.
Herr Zeller: You flatter me, Captain.
Captain von Trapp: Oh, how clumsy of me - I meant to accuse you.

Captain Von Trapp is a man who will stand for what he believes, stand against the regime which did, in the end, lead to so much loss, waste, regret and evil; and 'climb ev'ry mountain'. If only one Captain's stand could have prevented the war.

Here's a film made so much better by its element of truth behind the story.
Here's a film I love, if it's cool or not.

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