Seven, I guess. On Memory.

[puddlesofun]

So I guess I had some sort of obligation to post yesterday, but I was overcome with the feeling that I have nothing interesting to say.

News: Two attractive french backpackers crashed in our lounge room last night.

Where does France keep all of its ugly people? Are they locked up somewhere?

*

I also seemed to have forgotten about the quotes thing about halfway through the week. Lame. It's unsurprising that nobody picked the last one I did remember to post:

"There's two ways to the goblin city
The short way's short but the long way's pretty!"

As it's author, as far as I can tell, was my unconscious mind. Which is to say: the words are from a scene in a movie that I remember seeing as a child, but upon more recent viewings it appears the scene does not in fact exist.

The words were sung loudly by a hairy caterpillar in a jacket, who was also not actually in the film.

I remember when I was a child that my house had a pot-bellied stove, and I'm pretty sure that isn't true either.

If I ever have kids I will make a photographic record of their environment, just so they have something to refer back to when they are in their 20's and reminiscing.

Comments

[outofthegarden.livejournal.com]

I, too, have memories of a non-existent pot-bellied stove from my childhood... I wonder if that has somehow become an archetypal memory; it's been a while since my psych class, so I'm not even positive that that is the correct term, but basically, it's something that, unless confronted with factual evidence to the contrary, is a part of this sort of collective unconscious and we are convinced it's from our own past.

[puddlesofun.livejournal.com]

I'm deeply suspicious of the notions of "universal" symbolism found in Jungism. Surely an individual mind has its own language?

I'll check up on this whole stove thing to be sure...

[outofthegarden.livejournal.com]

To a degree, I share your suspicions, but then again, social constructs are a powerful thing. I have no idea why society would want us to believe there was a pot-bellied stove in our childhood homes, but really, why does society want ANYTHING it wants? Also, if minds DO have the same language from individual to individual, it would theoretically make communication across language barriers go more easily. I'm quite sure that there is, at the very least, variation among individuals, but it's hard to say. It's very interesting, I think.

[boojumlol.livejournal.com]

The version I heard was:

There's two ways to the goblin city
The short way's hard but the long way's pretty

The which makes more sense really. I mean, of course the short way is short. Duh.

It was in a particularly boring, uneventful story in a book I had as a child. It was probably a quote, though. I may check with my sisters - I'm curious now.

If they don't know what I'm talking about, does that mean the rhyme is floating around somewhere in the collective unconsciousness? Because that's kind of awesome.

[boojumlol.livejournal.com]

Bingo

I'm almost disappointed. That's me accounted for, then.

[puddlesofun.livejournal.com]

It's real! I'm not crazy! *manic laugh*

I have no recollection of the book. The Terry Jones connection, however, must mean something. Hmmm.

[emotivating.livejournal.com]

Chris, is there something you're not telling us? Something to do with being Terry Jones!?

[outofthegarden.livejournal.com]

Something to do with the murder of Geoffrey Chaucer? o.0

[illykai.livejournal.com]

I dunno if France has ugly people. When we were there I don't recall spotting any. I remember there were plain people and attractive people, but I guess all the ugly people must have been locked up in basements somewhere.