Danskcolin: Lørdag den 2. december 2017

09:00 Lois og jeg tager et brusebad og står op. Hun går så hen til det lokale bibliotek kl 10 – hun kender godt bibliotekets personale, fordi hun hver anden fredag eftermiddag hjælper dem med at organisere og lede deres ”Baby Bounce and Rhyme” session for unge mødre og deres små børn. I formiddag har de inviteret hende til at deltage i en jule-håndværkfair.

Jeg har lidt ”mig-tid”, og jeg lytter til radio, et interessant program (3. del af 3), der handler om den antike græske filosofi af kunisme, som var helt anderledes, end det moderne koncept af cunisme, unødvendigt at sige. Programmets vært er den berømte komiker, Andy Zaltzman.

Dette har været en interessant serie, hvor den berømte komiker, Andy Zaltzman, prøver sig med at leve i en uge ifølge principperne af en eller anden antik græsk filosofi – de to tidligere afsnit fokuserede på stoicismen og epikuræismen. Desværre er dette sidste afsnit (om kynismen) det svageste efter min mening, fordi Andy er meget mere halvhjertet om kynismen end de to andre filosofier, synes jeg – uha, stakkels Andy!!

Kynismens fundamentale leveregel var, at dyden og ikke nydelsen var målet med livet. Tilhængere ikke bare negligerede, de glæder livet bød, men anså dem for at være direkte skadelige for den frie vilje og fornuften. De mente, at rigdom, popularitet og magt nedbrød fornuftens autoritet og forvrængede sjælens natur. Fattigdom var på det grundlag ikke længere en nedtur, men snarere en fordel, hvis det hjalp den enkelte til selvindsigt og selvkontrol ved at fjerne fokus fra ydre ting. Det ideelle menneskeliv var frit for begær og stræben.

Diogenes, en tidlig kyniker, boede i en tønde, råbte på forbipasserende, og sked og tissede for åbent tæppe. Andy er forståeligt ikke ivrig efter at kopiere disse aspekter af kynismen. Jeg spekulerer om hvorfor ha ha ha!!!

Andy, stand-up komiker og satiriker, men ikke en af verdens

naturlige kynister, hvilket er lidt af en overraskelse

I stedet for at adoptere en levemåde, der i dag kunne få Andy anholdt, modtager han 3 udfordringer af sine filosof-venner:

1. at prøve sig med det såkaldte ”shame-attacking”, ved at stille vanvittige spørgsmål til totalt fremmede og forbipasserende. Denne teknik er særligt nyttig, hvis man har brug for at overvinde social angst, en tilstand, som en ægte kynist ikke er tilladt at have. Andys ven forslår, at han spørge en forbipasserende om vej til nordpolen. Denne teknik har til fordel for de social ængstelige, at de bliver klar over, du kan gøre vanvittige ting og intet dårligt sker dig – men du godeste, sikke et vanvid!

Men jeg føler desværre, at Andy ikke egentlig takler denne udfordring – måske fordi han, som stand-up komiker, ikke lider af social angst, men det er jeg ikke helt sikker på.

2. at prøve sig med at angribe i offentligheden en populær aspekt af moderne civilisation.

Andy tager til det berømte ”Speakers Corner” i Hyde Park, London, hvor folketalere plejer at stå på en kasse og holde taler. Men hans tema – at vi alle skal glemme virkeligheden og bare taler om cricket og se cricketkampe på fjernsyn, tiltrækker kun et par stykker ballademagere. (strike 2 ha ha ha).

3. at finde sin indre ”Walden”, dvs at leve ude på landet, i skoven, uden fordele af den moderne civilisation, ligesom amerikanske Henry David Thoreau, der i mange år boede i en 15 fods x 10 fods træhytte, 2 miles udenfor Concorde, Massachusetts.

Jeg mistænker, at Andy ikke er ivrigt at kopiere denne levemåde, men han prøver sig lidt med den: men kun i 2-3 timer i et skur i sin baghave. (Strike 3 ha ha ha)

Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!!

Jeg mistænker, at Diogenes fandt sit liv meget sværere i alderdommen. At sidde hele dage i en tønde og gå på toilettet på gaden er en ung mands spil.

Jeg læste forleden, at selve Buddha for nylig fortalte journalister, at hvis han kunne leve sit jordiske liv igen, ville han nok have nogle små ejendele. (rapport den 2. august, Onion News).

Han forstod godt, hvor vigtig meditation var at finde den frihed, der venter os i slutningen af den ottefoldige vej. Men han betroede journalister, at han lige har fandt på noget, der ville have gjort meditation et helvede meget lettere: et telt, intet stort eller udsmykkede, bare Glastonbury glamping-stil måske, der ville hjælpe med at holde regnen og vinden væk fra hans krop. "Det er ikke som om et telt ville have stoppet mig fra at undervise mine disciple om at forlade jordiske ting", sagde han.

Hans seneste åbenbaring var "Afgå dig selv af alle ting, undtagen et telt. Og måske et tæppe." Han tilføjede imidlertid, at flere åbenbaringer måske kunne komme ud i de næste få uger.

11:00 Lois kommer tilbage fra biblioteket og vi forbereder os på at gå ud at spise. Hendes kirkes ledelse har inviteret os begge til at deltage i en julefrokost på en dejlig gammel pub i landsbyen Lower Apperley, langt ude på landet.

11:30 Vi kører over til Lower Apperley, og ankommer ved 12-tiden, men desværre finder vi ud af, at frokosten ikke starte til kl 13 – Lois har taget fejl af tiden. Heldigvis giver denne bommert os en chance for at drikke en rolig øl (mig) og ginger ale (Lois) på baren, før kirkemedlemmerne ankommer – flere af dem har desværre tendens til at tale og le højlydt, hvilket er lidt af en skam for to stille og rolige mennesker som os – pokkers!!!

Lois (til højre)

David (til venstre) og mig

16:00 Vi kommer hjem og jeg går i seng for at tage mig en forsinket eftermiddagslur – zzzzz!!!!!

18:00 Vi er ikke sultne efter julefrokosten – lammeskanker, søde kartofler, gulerødder og rosenkål nam nam! Vi spiser to skiver toast og ser lidt fjernsyn.

De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, (5. del af 8), der handler om afgørende tidspunkter i historien af det antikke Roma. Dette femte afsnit sætter fokus på dronning Boudicca. Programmets vært er den charmerende Bettany Hughes.

Meget interessant afsnit, men vi kunne have undværet de mange voldelige rekonstructionsscener – det må jeg nok sige!

Boudicca var en keltisk dronning over icenerne, en keltisk stamme i dagens Norfolk i England. Hun var født omkring år 25 og ledede icenerne og allierede stammer i et oprør mod romerne i år 61.

Det er interessant, at de keltiske stammer i den daværende Storbritannie var ligeglade med at være regeret af mænd eller kvinder. Der var dengang en anden berømte dronning i Yorkshire, Cartimandua. I modsætning til denne ”moderne” attitude, var selve romerne ikke ret glade for at skulle føre forhandlinger med kvinder. Det er lidt af en skam, at dette program ikke forklare den paradoks.

Boudiccas startede et oprør mod romerne efter hun blev pisket af dem, og hendes teenagedøtre blev voldtaget. Oprøret mislykkedes endeligt, men det havde en vigtig konsekvens, der stadig i dag er en kendsgerning i vores liv i Storbritannien: landets hovedstad er London, og ikke Colchester, der var romernes hovedstad, indtil Boudicca ødelagde det. London var oprindeligt romernes andenstørste by.

en meget gravid Boudicca, der blev pisket af romerne:

hendes 2 teenagedøtre blev også voldtaget.

(rekonstruktionsscene bare, ikke et oprindeligt fofo ha ha ha)

Også, Boudicca er efter snart 2.000 år stadig i dag en ikoniske figur, og et symbol af et afslag at acceptere uretfærdighed. For Lois og mig er det mest forbløffende at se et af hendes fæstningsværker, der stadig kan ses ude på landet i Norfolk. Det kunne være blevet gravet i går.

et af Boudiccas fæstningsværker – det kunne være

blevet gravet i går.

21:30 Vi går i seng. Sikke en dag! Jeg læser 8 sider af min sengetidbog, før jeg glider over i søvnen – zzzzzzz!!!!

English translation

09:00 Lois and I take a shower and get up. She then goes to the local library at 10 am - she knows the library staff well because every other Friday afternoon she helps them organize and lead their "Baby Bounce and Rhyme" session for young mothers and their little children. This morning, the staff have invited her to attend a Christmas craft fair.

I have a little "me-time" and I listen to the radio, an interesting program (3rd part of 3) that deals with the ancient Greek philosophy of cynicism, which was completely different from the modern concept of cynicism, needless to say. The host of the program is the famous comedian, Andy Zaltzman.

This has been an interesting series in which the famous comedian, Andy Zaltzman, tries to live for a week according to the principles of some ancient Greek philosophy - the two previous episodes focused on stoicism and epicurism. Unfortunately, this last episode (on cynicism) is the weakest in my opinion because Andy is much more half-hearted about cynicism than he is about the other two philosophies, I think - oh dear, poor Andy !!

The fundamental principle of cynicism was that virtue, and not pleasure, was the goal of life. Adherents not only ignored the pleasures life offered, but considered them to be directly harmful to free will and reason. They believed that wealth, popularity, and power broke down the authority of reason and distorted the nature of the soul. Poverty was on this basis no longer a downer, but rather an advantage if it helped the individual to self-esteem and self-control by removing focus on outward things. The ideal human life was free from desire and endeavor.

Diogenes, an early cynic, lived in a barrel, shouted at passers-by, and crapped and pissed in public. Andy is understandably not eager to copy these aspects of cynicism. I wonder why ha ha ha !!!

Instead of adopting a way of life that could get Andy arrested today, he receives 3 challenges from his philosopher friends:

(1) To try out so-called "shame-attacking", by putting crazy questions to total strangers and passers-by. This technique is particularly useful if you need to overcome social anxiety, a condition that a true cynic is not allowed to have. Andy's friend suggests that he ask a passer-by the way to the north pole. This technique benefits the socially anxious in that they realize that you can do crazy things and nothing bad happens to you – but my god, what madness!

Unfortunately, however, I feel that Andy does not really tackle this challenge - maybe because as a stand-up comedian, he just does not suffer from social anxiety, but that's something I'm not entirely sure about.

(2) To have a go in public at attacking a popular aspect of modern civilization.

Andy goes to the famous "Speakers Corner" in Hyde Park, London, where people stand on soapboxes and give speeches. But his theme - that we should all forget reality and just talk about cricket and watch cricket matches on television, only attracts a couple of hecklers. (strike 2 ha ha ha).

(3) To find his inner "Walden", ie live in the countryside, in the woods, without benefits of modern civilization, like the American Henry David Thoreau, who lived for many years in a 15 foot x 10 foot wooden cabin, 2 miles outside of Concorde, Massachusetts .

I suspect that Andy is not eager to copy this way of living, but he has a little go at it: but only for 2-3 hours in a shed in his backyard. (strike 3 ha ha ha)

My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!!!

I suspect that Diogenes found his life much harder in old age. To sit all day in a barrel and go to the bathroom on the street is a young man's game.

I read the other day that the Buddha himself recently told reporters that if he could live his earthly life again, he would have a few small possessions (report August 2, Onion News).

He understood very well how important meditation was in finding the freedom that awaits us at the end of the eight-fold road. But he confided to journalists that he had just thought of something that would have made meditation a hell a lot easier: a tent, nothing big or ornate, just Glastonbury glamping-style maybe that would help keep the rain and the wind away from his body.

"It's not as if a tent would have stopped me from teaching my disciples to give up earthly things", he said.

His most recent revelation was "Get rid of all things except a tent. And maybe a blanket." However, he added that more revelations might be coming out in the next few weeks.

11:00 Lois comes back from the library and we get ready to go out to eat. Her church's leadership has invited us both to attend a Christmas lunch at a lovely old pub in the village of Lower Apperley, far out in the country.

11:30 We drive over to Lower Apperley, arriving at 12 o'clock, but unfortunately we find out that lunch does not start until 1 pm. Lois has mistaken the time. Fortunately, this snafu gives us a chance to have a quiet beer (me) and a ginger ale (Lois) at the bar before the church members arrive - several of them unfortunately tend to talk and laugh loudly, which is a bit of a shame for two quiet and peaceful people like us - damn !!!

Lois (right)

David (left) and me

16:00 We come home and I go to bed and take a delayed afternoon nap - zzzzz !!!!!

18:00 We are not hungry after the Christmas lunch - lambshanks, sweet potatoes, carrots and sprouts yum yum! So we just have two slices of toast and watch a bit of television.

An interesting documentary is on (5th part of 8) in a series dealing with crucial moments in the history of ancient Rome. This fifth episode focuses on Boudicca. The program's presenter is the charming Bettany Hughes.

Very interesting episode, but we could have done without the many violent reconstruction scenes, I must say!

Boudicca was queen of the Iceni, a celtic tribe in today's Norfolk in England. She was born around the year 25 AD and led the Iceni and allies into a rebellion against the Romans in the year 61.

It is interesting that the Celtic tribes of the Britain of those days did not care whether they were ruled by men or women. There was at that time another famous queen in Yorkshire, called Cartimandua. Contrary to this "modern" attitude, the Romans themselves were not very happy about having to conduct negotiations with women. It's a bit of shame that this program does not explain that paradox.

Boudiccas started a rebellion against the Romans after they flogged her, and raped her 2 teenage daughters. The rebellion finally failed, but it had an important consequence that is still a fact of our lives in Britain today: the capital of the country is London, and not Colchester, which was the Romans' capital until Boudicca destroyed it. London was originally the Romans' second largest town in their British province.

a very pregnant Boudicca who was flogged by the Romans:

Her 2 teenage daughters were also raped.

(reconstruction scene only, not an original photo ha ha ha!)

Also interesting is the fact that, after almost 2,000 years, Boudicca is still an iconic figure, and a symbol of a refusal to accept injustice. For Lois and me the most amazing thing is to see one of her fortifications that is still visible today out in the countryside in Norfolk. It could have been dug yesterday.