I was looking for a video on synchronicity and found this one where the guy spends the last half of the video talking about Wisconsin. Is that synchronicity?
Actually, I consider that a rather poor definition of synchronicity, especially the New Age overtones.
Here's one about the man who invented the word. Pay attention. There'll be a test afterward.
Here's the test: describe an example of synchronicity from your life.
Hmmmm.... And all this time I thought Synchronicity was just a kick butt Police album.
ReplyDeleteI'll catch the videos later.
ReplyDeleteI recently had a most amazing, synchronous moment. No details spilled. Some things are more exciting when kept to oneself.
I agree that some things are better left unsaid in the way of synchronicity ! I don' t "kiss and tell" either!! : )
ReplyDeleteGabriel Morris was born in Vancouver, Canada, raised in rural northern California and has also lived in Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and Alberta, Canada. He is an admitted travel junkie, outdoors enthusiast, creative writer and spiritual seeker, with a B.A. in World Religions.
ReplyDeleteYa Really! So how does his World-Traveling Baccalaureate explain this?
The Man Who Ate Michael Rockefeller
In November 1961, Michael Rockefeller, son of Nelson Rockefeller (then Governor of New York, later Vice President of the USA), disappeared during an archeological expedition in Papua New Guinea. He was studying the Asmat people, a remote tribe who had so far had very limited contact with the Western world; this made them particularly tantalizing to academics like Rockefeller who were searching for living examples of the Stone Age/"uncivilized" past of humanity.
What we know for sure is that Rockefeller never returned from his journey. According to Wikipedia:
Most believe that Rockefeller either drowned or was attacked by a shark or crocodile. Because headhunting and cannibalism were still present in some areas of Asmat in 1961, some have speculated that Rockefeller was killed and eaten by local people.
Cohen's play, inspired by a short story by Christopher Stokes, takes the latter perspective. What if, it asks, the Asmat decided to behead this stranger who was usurping so much of their culture, buying artifacts and introducing new-fangled Western inventions like metal knives and money? What if the only way they saw to keep their own traditions alive was to conquer this unwanted emissary from another world?
Of course, because Rockefeller was so visible—being both famous and wealthy—nothing the Asmat did could prevent the West from disturbing their society. When he disappeared, so inevitably did the ancient Asmat way of life.
The Man Who Ate Michael Rockefeller offers a reasonably straightforward account of how all this might have happened, from the perspective of the Asmat natives. Cohen is smart to shift the point of view from our chauvinistic norm, and he does so quite skillfully. He's inverted languages here so that the Asmat feel familiar and comfortable to us while the American feels like a foreigner: the Asmat speak clear and correct English; Rockefeller speaks an error-laden pidgin when he tries to communicate with them in their tongue (and when he talks to another character in his own language, it sounds like gibberish).
Much of the play is narrated to us by Designing Man, the skilled artisan whose sculptures are keenly sought by Rockefeller. Designing Man explains much about Asmat culture and tradition to us, making us feel at home among people whose way of living is so alien to our own. I actually wished that the play went further in this direction, for while we come to learn much about these people, we don't finally have enough information to fully appreciate what killing and consuming Rockefeller would signify and mean to them.
What we do understand, with bracing clarity, is what it might be like to face the end of civilization as you've come to know it. The play includes a character called Bringing Man, a fellow from elsewhere on the island who has had more contact with Westerners and is their guide/translator when they venture into this remote area. The contrast between Bringing Man and the other Asmat characters is jolting: Bringing Man looks at the others and sees tourist bait, an easy way to make a buck; while Designing Man and his friends look at Bringing Man with a mixture of fear and disdain...and envy.
I suppouse you could say, Michael Rockefeller was destined to be fecal matter!
I think I'm developing psychic powers from hanging around Mme. Z. I checked my email today and there was nothing new. I started browsing online for awhile when I suddenly thought of my niece sending me an email. I checked my email. There was a message from my niece.
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