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Labyrinths & Mazes

Details: Written by: Rod Boyle; Category: Link of the day; Published: 23 February 2019; Hits: 1315

I liked this. Spelunking - underground, references to Greek Mythology, Some corollaries with rites of initiation, the subconscious...we've a similar cast of mind, only the author is a little more articulate.

I've come to a few conclusions. Anything underground is subconscious. And very often it's part of the larger mythology of death and rebirth - Orpheus and Theseus, to go underground is to die and be reborn, and we share a few of the same conclusions...

Link: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/02/getting-lost-cave-labyrinth-brain/582865/

The Wim Hof Breathing Method

Details: Written by: Rod Boyle; Category: Ideas & Questions; Published: 23 February 2019; Hits: 1631

I've added this to my morning regime. (**REGIME** LOL THAT'S AN IN-JOKE FOR COFFEE, INTERNET AND CIGARETTES) For some reason I've taken a fancy to chilling in an ice bath for 10 minutes. I don't think I've ever done even a minute in the plunge pool at Ainsworth, although the daughter did 6 (I timed, told her her brother did 5 and so she had to beat him) - and the plunge pool, it's around 4-10 degrees Celsius, well above what Wim Hof is doing, tropical by comparison. His method? Well - it's - well, breathing - when you smoke - breathing can be a challenge. Breathing deep and holding your breath. And so by focusing on breathing I'm hoping to reduce the urge to smoke. Or - at the very least - get some oxygen to some seriously deprived cells. There can be no harm in this. The first time I tried it I held my breath for 2 minutes afterwards. Not bad. Although I could feel it in my chest the next day.

So, this on the list of morning things, before meditation (and it seems to cut into that time, there's an overlap for sure), and I'll let you know the results in a week or two...

Meanwhile, the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzCaZQqAs9I

White & Red - Krzysztof Kieślowski

Details: Written by: Rod Boyle; Category: Film; Published: 23 February 2019; Hits: 1361

Each deserve their own, but I couldn't wait, watched "White" and then immediately watched "Red".

Classic Kieślowski - the small hallmarks, the overlapping of separate narratives, the recurring symbolism - the old man or woman trying to recycle a bottle, the same as in "Blue", "La double vie..", and there's this haunting feeling that I've seen it before but I can't for the life of me predict the plot. I recognize the characters from his other films, Dekalog especially, which lends the films a certain familiarity.

There is no signature style - or there is, but it's impossible to put your finger on, with Wes Anderson a single still frame will reveal the director, with Kieślowski it's the sum of all the parts. There are no surprises, no twists, yet - while the film evolves, the narrative continues in trifling understated increments you are blindsided by the ending, "White" especially hits you like a sucker punch in the stomach.

There is no - I want to say over-reaching intellect, like in Kubrick where know you are in the playground of a great mind, - but it's there, only - more subtle, it's embossed into the film, nuanced, hidden, layered and washed with color, sublime, here - the films are ordinary - ordinary - ordinary - and yet at the end there's a spiritual triumph, an awakening, it's the transformative power of art, they are - even the poorest ones by him - easily an order of magnitude above anything produced by his peers. He's the right film-maker at the right time. I appreciated him before - but now, more than ever. Small things come to mean the world and I'm dying for worthy company to discuss it with, but - well, I'm in Calgary...

"Red", stopping it, again and again, feeling it, savoring the moment, I don't want it to end...

He beguiles you with simplicity, the slowly evolving premise of existence, imbuing every moment with wonder, coincidences, symmetries, never overstated, hinting at a divine order beyond comprehension, subtle, muted, he's a master.

I did not see them, I don't think, maybe I did but not through the same eyes, everything was a surprise, ordinary lives that in the end are anything but ordinary.

The end, finally, a brief moment of familiarity, suggesting - that maybe I'd once seen it, or clips of it at least, but I'm not sure.

These are great films. See them if you like film. Even if you saw them a long time ago, indulge yourself, they reward a revisit.