I spent a weekend at my parents' working in the garden, chopping down undergrowth with a pair of shears, in the hope that this physical labour would help me to reach a balanced decision regarding my life-direction. And, following a phone call from the guy in Adelaide, I began to reconsider my initial decision, thinking that after all, I did like it over there, and it probably wouldn't be that hard to write a bunch of new courses, and anyway I've always wanted some adventure in my life...
But then, when I got back on SG, I found you all congratulating and approving my decision, and I discovered that it was too late, that my decision to stay in Newcastle had gained a kind of autonomous momentum and been ratified by SG as it were in my absence. Hmmm... But this is OK as, after all, I think it was probably the 'right' decision. Not that there would have been a 'wrong' decision in this case. Reading Hlne Frappat's Sous rserve on the plane back to Paris, I discover a reference to the Chinese who, when faced with a difficult decision, would allow chance to act since it doesn't matter which direction one takes provided one makes a choice and assumes the consequences. I think this is what arachne meant when she told me 'All choices are good'.
So now I'm back in Paris with nothing but a big parka and a lump in the throat for company, trying to read Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (in French!), which is going to prove a little difficult if the neighbours keep hammering away at the wall the way they are doing.
Bob Dylan: 'The drilling in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind...'
Having spent most of September (or what felt like it) in airports and on aeroplanes (aeroplane is a nicer word than airplane: admit it), it was with a particular joy that I discovered The Terminal yesterday. Every once in a while Steven Spielberg has a stroke of genius, and they're always worth waiting for. The Terminal is not just a smart allegory of US immigration policy in a climate of terror, it is also a witty aperu of a situation in which the whole world has become a kind of waiting room - or holding cell - for America. And Tom Hanks's wise innocent routine works rather better here than in Forrest Gump - the worst American film of the 1990s - , reminding me of this line from Kant that was brought to my attention by Hlne Frappat the other day (and I can only apologise for the barbarous third-hand translation): 'Naivety is the explosion of that righteousness that was originally natural to humanity in the face of the fakery that has replaced it.'
But then, when I got back on SG, I found you all congratulating and approving my decision, and I discovered that it was too late, that my decision to stay in Newcastle had gained a kind of autonomous momentum and been ratified by SG as it were in my absence. Hmmm... But this is OK as, after all, I think it was probably the 'right' decision. Not that there would have been a 'wrong' decision in this case. Reading Hlne Frappat's Sous rserve on the plane back to Paris, I discover a reference to the Chinese who, when faced with a difficult decision, would allow chance to act since it doesn't matter which direction one takes provided one makes a choice and assumes the consequences. I think this is what arachne meant when she told me 'All choices are good'.
So now I'm back in Paris with nothing but a big parka and a lump in the throat for company, trying to read Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (in French!), which is going to prove a little difficult if the neighbours keep hammering away at the wall the way they are doing.
Bob Dylan: 'The drilling in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind...'
Having spent most of September (or what felt like it) in airports and on aeroplanes (aeroplane is a nicer word than airplane: admit it), it was with a particular joy that I discovered The Terminal yesterday. Every once in a while Steven Spielberg has a stroke of genius, and they're always worth waiting for. The Terminal is not just a smart allegory of US immigration policy in a climate of terror, it is also a witty aperu of a situation in which the whole world has become a kind of waiting room - or holding cell - for America. And Tom Hanks's wise innocent routine works rather better here than in Forrest Gump - the worst American film of the 1990s - , reminding me of this line from Kant that was brought to my attention by Hlne Frappat the other day (and I can only apologise for the barbarous third-hand translation): 'Naivety is the explosion of that righteousness that was originally natural to humanity in the face of the fakery that has replaced it.'
VIEW 9 of 9 COMMENTS
Sometimes decisions just are... At other times, your mind's been clearly made up, one just waits to be reminded of that. I think that luckily you find yourself between one good situation or another. Not matter the outcome, you win. I hope that you have some sedentary enjoyment in your future.