Monday, February 12, 2007

Weekend update

I've had so many ideas for blog posts going through my head lately, but I havn't had time to write them down. Argh! Why is it that time and inspiration never seem to arrive on the same train?

In the meantime I'll just give you a quick rundown of the weeknd, and try to squeeze in some of the philosophical stuff later this week.

Friday the Pirate came. Over. Came over. Yeah, that's what I meant. We saw For Your Consideration at the Watershed. Good flick. I've enjoyed Christopher Guest's other films, so I wasn't worried about this this one. It's a satire of the American entertainment industry. I think you'll find it amusing. It's only 90 minutes long, but I spent 88 of them laughing out loud. The Pirate enjoyed it, too, after he figured out we weren't seeing Hot Fuzz. Go watch it, and if you like it, go out and rent Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, and A Mighty Wind.

Saturday we had to head into London again, so the P could spend an hour in the nets at Lord's, practicing for his upcoming cricket tour of India. (He leaves this Friday.) It's a bit of a pisser, though, to spend 2 1/2 hours in the car each way for 1 hour of activity, so after his practice session we stopped at Kew Gardens on the way out of town. I had never been before, but it was better than I ever imagined. Clean, well-kept botanical specimins with not a sign of infection or infestation anywhere, and not a branch, limb, or leaf out of place. There is a special exhibition on called Intensely Tropical (not very original) that's a display of orchids and bromeliads. Now, I've worked in the tropical plant industry, I've managed warehouses FULL of orchids and bromos (as they're known in the biz), AND I've lived in a tropical rainforest for 3 months, and this blew even my socks off. It is absolutely spectacular. Go. Go RIGHT NOW. You have never seen anything like this ever in your life.

That evening we came back to Brizzle and had dinner with friend of the Pirate's at Krishna's Inn, one of my fav currie restaurants in England. Try the Lamb and Spinach, it's to die for.

Sunday was a blast. We went ape. (Click the link, watch the vid.) It was like a giant playground junglegym for silly, athletic grown-ups. So, perfect for us really. The disappointing bit was that we were stuck behind some really really slow, scared people, and the nature of the course is such that overtaking is nearly impossible. We still managed to pass 5 other people though. There are tarzan ropes and cargo nets and swining logs and mad long zip lines. It was a blast. And there was still snow on the ground in the Forest of Dean, so between obstacles we pelted each other with snowballs. I finally feel like I've had winter.

Right now I'm eating a home made mixed berry chocolate yoghurt smoothie.

After a long, trying ordeal in search of a pub serving food we ended up at Clifton Sausage, where we had a long, emotional, in-depth conversation about our philosophical differences. There was no resolution, nor will there ever be. I will never agree that there is a god, that this god created the world, which eventually fell into moral decay, and that the best way to remedy this was to knock up a poor, Palestinian Jewish girl. The Pirate will never agree that science can teach us far more about the nature of the world than spirituality, and that it is perfectly possible to live a happy, meaningfull existence without confidence in a blissful, divine hereafter or threat of eternal suffering. But here's the thing: I asked him way back when if he could accept our philosophical differences, if he could love me and live with me, knowing that I don't and never will agree with him on this point, and he said he honestly didn't know. Last night I asked him the same question again, and he said "yes." I can't wait to give the same answer to one of his questions.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any question or are you waiting for a more specific one?
Don't answer. I already know!

Johanna said...

Haha, Krishnas is THE closest eating establishment to my house. Fact. Only been there once though, funny how that happens.

Billy said...

If Krishnas is where I think it is, I've eaten there once. My fave Clifton eaterie has to be Pizza Provencale.

llewtrah said...

Billy and I got well drunk at Kew Gardens. After several cans of Red Stripe and bottles of plonko, the mere mention of a Wingnut tree had me in stitches for about 10 minutes.

FirstNations said...

whew!
i almost liked it better when you were m.i.a, shiksa. that way i could be lazy and not feel guilty.
1. re surgery-already on the boycott bus, and the Amazon too. don't any of these women go online? theres lots of really, really funny looking, average, fat and downright bizzarro world women out there getting more than a piece. AND getting paid for it!
2. yay for first recipes!
3. the whole idea of an adult play park makes me wish i had a sandwich.

Moominmama said...

HC: obviously!

Loganoc: I've NEVER eaten in the restaurant closest to my flat, because it's a gross, greasy chippy.

Billy: ooh, that sounds delish! Is it pricey?

Llewtra: It's beer. Yaaay, beer!

FN: damnit, now I wish i had a sandwich.

Anonymous said...

(you could ask him...)

ZB said...

Christopher Guest.

best in show and a mighty wind were good but his finest hour (and one of cinema's finest documentary, rockumentary if you will) remains ...

SPINAL TAP!

Rent, buy, steal, watch, laugh.

ZB said...

After a long, trying ordeal in search of a pub serving food we ended up at Clifton Sausage, where we had a long, emotional, in-depth conversation about our philosophical differences. There was no resolution, nor will there ever be. I will never agree that there is a god, that this god created the world, which eventually fell into moral decay, and that the best way to remedy this was to knock up a poor, Palestinian Jewish girl.

It isn't? Shit. Sorry Yasmina. It's over.

The Pirate will never agree that science can teach us far more about the nature of the world than spirituality...

My ass. My tight, toned, athletically capable ass. My entire family are scientists and they know fuck all about the nature of the world. There are more things in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in your philosophy Horatio...

Both are equally important. Why do you feel the need to argue for the primacy of one over the other?

Moominmama said...

LT: i have thought about it, especially since next year is a leap year and apparently it's traditional for women to propose in leap years. but i know the Pirate, and i'm pretty sure that when he decides the time is right he'll have some big, wonderful, elaborate plan concocted, and since a man generally only gets one shot at that moment, i wouldn't want to deny it him. But believe me, i've had to bite my tongue more than once to keep that question behind my teeth.

zb: yes, you have a very toned, tight, athletic ass. it's lovely. i've never gotten an ubobstructed viewing, but i've heard stories...
anyway,
no, science and spirituality are NOT both equally important. that's our fundamental difference of philosophy (yours and mine and the P's and mine). There is nothing about the nature of the world that science doesn't have the potential to eventually reveal, whereas spirituality has never, ever, at any point in history, actually taught us a single quantifiable fact. the one is constantly expanding human knowledge, the other fundamentally stultifying. I am as convinced of this as any religious fanatic is of his/her faith. The difference is I have evidence to support my assertions, UNlike any religious person.

ZB said...

There is nothing about the nature of the world that science doesn't have the potential to eventually reveal, whereas spirituality has never, ever, at any point in history, actually taught us a single quantifiable fact.

True. But you missed the point of the reference 'There are more things in heaven and earth than are...' It's all about the ability to dream and imagine. That's proof of the divine to me - not a christian or a moslem divine. Just a divine.

ZB said...

The difference is I have evidence to support my assertions, UNlike any religious person.

Really? My ass. Again. Okay. What's Electricity? Scientists can waffle on about positives and negatives but they still can't say what it is.

As someone else said, Scientists merely take down notes from God and usually they get them wrong.
Science can only ever categorise what exists. Imagination can create. As H.G Wells said, where the dreamer dreams, the scientist walks a century later. Big gap there between imagination and science. About 100 years.