Day: June 16, 2017

Chaos in North Kensington

henrydavidthoreau106041People have been calling to Theresa May to go.Demonstrations and anger after the lack of response to the terrible fire.I just hope other tower blocks are not as dangerous as that one which was full of poorer people and refugees living close to the wealthier folks so they put the cladding on to make it looks smarter.Appearances are all
That’s how our rulers see the poor /us.I agree that May is no leader.I think she ought to have resigned after the Election.She can’t do Brexit now!

Syntagmatic and other frightening words

IMG_3629
Painting by my sister
I have never seen this word before.I have looked ot up and will put a link here

http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/sem03.html

 

“A syntagm is an orderly combination of interacting signifiers which forms a meaningful whole within a text – sometimes, following Saussure, called a ‘chain’. Such combinations are made within a framework of syntactic rules and conventions (both explicit and inexplicit). In language, a sentence, for instance, is a syntagm of words; so too are paragraphs and chapters. ‘There are always larger units, composed of smaller units, with a relation of interdependence holding between both’ (Saussure 1983, 127; Saussure 1974, 128): syntagms can contain other syntagms. A printed advertisement is a syntagm of visual signifiers. Syntagmatic relations are the various ways in which elements within the same text may be related to each other. Syntagms are created by the linking of signifiers from paradigm sets which are chosen on the basis of whether they are conventionally regarded as appropriate or may be required by some rule system (e.g. grammar). Synatagmatic relations highlight the importance of part-whole relationships: Saussure stressed that ‘the whole depends on the parts, and the parts depend on the whole’ (Saussure 1983, 126;Saussure 1974, 128).

Syntagms are often defined as ‘sequential’ (and thus temporal – as in speech and music), but they can represent spatial relationships. Saussure himself (who emphasized ‘auditory signifiers’ which ‘are presented one after another’ and ‘form a chain’) noted that visual signifiers (he instanced nautical flags) ‘can exploit more than one dimension simultaneously’ (Saussure 1983, 70; Saussure 1974, 70). Spatial syntagmatic relations are found in drawing, painting and photography. Many semiotic systems – such as drama, cinema, television and the world wide web – include both spatial and temporal syntagms.

Thwaites et al. argue that within a genre, whilst the syntagmatic dimension is the textual structure, the paradigmatic dimension can be as broad as the choice of subject matter (Thwaites et al. 1994, 95). In this framing, form is a syntagmatic dimension whilst content is a paradigmatic dimension. However, form is also subject to paradigmatic choices and content to syntagmatic arrangement.

Jonathan Culler offers an example of the syntagmatic relations and paradigmatic contrasts involved in Western menus:

      • In the food system… one defines on the syntagmatic axis the combinations of courses which can make up meals of various sorts; and each course or slot can be filled by one of a number of dishes which are in paradigmatic contrast with one another (one wouldn’t combine roast beef and lamb chops in a single meal; they would be alternatives on any menu). These dishes which are alternative to one another often bear different meanings in that they connote varying degrees of luxury, elegance, etc.”

(Culler 1985, 104)

IMG_3637

I can’t quite grasp it but I shall try!

      • .
 

Roland Barthes (1967) outlined the paradigmatic and syntagmatic elements of the ‘garment system’ in similar terms. The paradigmatic elements are the items which cannot be worn at the same time on the same part of the body (such as hats, trousers, shoes). The syntagmatic dimension is the juxtaposition of different elements at the same time in a complete ensemble from hat to shoes.

How to be  a success at being lonely…

ChurchyardExtract from an ironically humorous article on Helium.com by Andrew Post

Quote”Every time you feel the need to call up an acquaintance on the phone and ask them what they’re doing Saturday, forget it. Every time you have a yen to rent a romance movie, fight it. It helps to keep a nice stock of sociopathic and antisocial books handy, or watch some television shows about hermits and serial killers. That should give you some role models.

Suitable daily activities that cultivate loneliness are:

1. Sitting in a chair and staring at the wall
2. Wandering aimlessly around your house
3. Reading a book you’ve read a million times over, preferably a Shakespearean tragedy
4. Looking over your old photo albums and yearbooks
5. Attempting to join a club or online dating site and being rejected
6. Going to bed at 7:30 p.m.
7. Checking your message machine and e-mails every five minutes
8. Writing letters to yourself

”

The simple truth is that it loneliness is a low-effort, convenient activity that can serve as a springboard into a wide variety of neuroses and social diseases. The only side effects are malnutrition, liquid imbalance in the brain, indigestion, muscular atrophy, ulcers and the occasional death from gunshot wounds or sleeping pill overdoses. With practice, loneliness can become the pastime that will eclipse and stifle all your other ones. It may even be the last hobby you ever pursue.”End quote.

And finally  I give the last words to to a metaphysical poet:

Andrew Marvell > Quotes

Andrew Marvell

“The grave’s a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace.

Windows and the soul

If you have writer’s block…[not writer’s bloke] you might need a change of scene are you may just need to open your windows and breathe deeply.Fresh air… we have windows to look out, of course, but also to allow air to flow in and out.In ancient times there were small windows with no glass.After we had glass we could have bigger windows to let in more light and so we could watch people pass by.

As a metaphor windows have many meanings.And sayings too like

The eyes are the windows of the soul.

There is definitely a link between eyes and windows as symbols.We would not say

The ears are the windows of the soul

nor even

The ears are the doors of the soul.

Of course, soul has many meanings and some neuro-scientists and others don’t believe we even have a soul.But folk wisdom tells us more than science.You cannot prove most things by logic nor by scientific methodology.Neither can you disprove them.But your own life can reveal such things as the sacred and the soul’s longing for God.

The only problem is cleaning windows.Window cleaners here clean the outside and I confess I rarely clean inside!

Violence and despair

My appetite for news has slunk away
See people throwing babies from the tower
The only action I  can take is prayer

On the ground,  where many flowers are laid
Relatives of the  victims  stand for hours
My appetite for news has slunk away

I saw the red plume rising in the air
The smoke and smell destroy the offered flower
The only action I  can take is prayer

The number of the dead increased today
Many  lie reduced to ash upstairs
My appetite for news has slunk away

Over London hangs a cloud of grey
No shades but sorrow, rage  shall flare
The only action I  can take is prayer

 

Oh, has the News shocked edgy Mrs May
We must hold both  violence and despair
My appetite for news has slunk away
The only way we can survive  is prayer