Oeuvre ordure

[Life is full of unpleasant realities. How is this for an example, at many levels? I couldn't resist putting a copy here. I had to restrain. It could have been written with such venom and irony. Alas, not an exercise but the real thing.]

RESPONSE TO RULING

I am pleased the court has asked Mrs. Kleissnerova to pay her share for work done on sealing the foundation of the building at 561 Lazenska. I believe this ruling is fair and reasonable if it includes plus interest, court costs, and legal fees.

In the other matter of Mrs. Kleissnerova not paying her share of work done to repair and replace the septic system, I do not agree.

INTRODUCTION

At issue seems to be Mrs. Kleissnerova's claim she had no knowledge of what went on and was not properly informed. I know she had up-to-the minute knowledge of the septic system and other problems and the opportunity to participate fully in all discussions about the building. She chose not to share knowledge she had, not to be accessible for any discussions among owners, and not to work with other owners.

A careful review of the court records, witness testimonies, and documentation submitted should persuade the court that the foundation and septic work was necessary and Mrs. Kleissnerova knew work was necessary. To refute Mrs. Kleissnerova's latest claims, I would have the court consider the following.

SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE

1. From the first month I took possession of the flat I paid for and invested money in, Mrs. Kleissnerova informed Pavla Lukasikova, my life partner, to contact her by certified letter one month in advance to talk with her about anything. She then said she would check her schedule and inform Pavla by return certified letter. I repeat, an exchange of certified letters about anything.

I ask the court how normal business can be conducted reasonably under this restriction between neighbors and owners? This is just the beginning of Mrs. Kleissnerova's unwillingness to cooperate.

2. Mrs. Kleissnerova has a history of not cooperating and paying her bills. Already the court has decided that she needed to pay the roofer when she contested paying her share. Plus, the court already knows that in at least two instances, she did not pick up certified letters from other owners concerning work all other owners agreed to do.

As a point of information for the court, the present owner of my flat is selling because she has had difficulties getting Mrs. Kleissnerova to pay her share of building expenses. The court can confirm this if there is any doubt.

3. When Pavla and I were putting in a new bathroom, I saw sewage from the other flats descend to the old septic tank. How is this possible? It leaked out of the broken pipe and flowed under the building and into my flat. It also flowed out of the septic tank and into the garden. The contractor I had for remodeling my flat can confirm this. And I have already submitted testimony.

When we discovered this problem, the four of us, I, Pavla, our contractor, and one of his employees went to Mrs. Kleissnerova's apartment to inform her and gain her approval for any necessary work. She opened the door and told us she did not care about any pichoveny we had to report and slammed the door. Each of us can confirm this.

How can repairs and maintenance be performed if this is the treatment neighbors and workmen receive when trying to solve emergencies for a building?

4. Did Mrs. Kleissnerova know about the septic problem? She knew because when Realbyt was managing the property for the town, they scheduled work to be done on the septic system. This work was not performed because Realbyt said Mrs. Kleissnerova did not want it done. Thus, Mrs. Kleissnerova knew of the septic problem before the emergency situation we uncovered.

The court can ask Mrs. Kleissnerova to submit documentation as to when the septic was built, inspected, and repaired as well as why she asked Realbyt and the town not to repair it. Records before our ownership of regular maintenance to the septic such as regularly emptying it can also be informative.

I believe the records of Realbyt and the town will show neglect and Mrs. Kleissnerova's role in that neglect. I have also submitted photos of the foundation and crumbling septic system to the court. I took the photos. The court can again review the photos showing the decayed septic wall and sewage leaking into the garden.

I believe the court does not have to do any additional research with Realbyt. We have enough evidence for Mrs. Kleissnerova's neglect in this matter. Let me continue.

As a point of information, Pavla has not submitted bills I paid for the building to have the defective septic tank emptied. I paid these bills because Pavla was coordinating daily work of the contractor for my flat. They told Pavla and Pavla translated for me concerning problems the other contractor was having. We worked with both the building contractor and my own because calling an owners' meeting to have such a bill approved beforehand would prolong all the work being done.

5. Mrs. Kleissnerova knew about the septic and other building problems because the supervisor for the foundation contractor, Mr. Svoboda, talked with her almost daily and had coffee with her in her flat. At these meetings he detailed for her what was going on. Mr. Svoboda can confirm this.

6. Mrs. Kleissnerova knew about the septic and other problems because she attended an owners' meeting on April 17, 2005 after the major work was done. At that meeting, all matters were reviewed with her. We repeated that we had tried to contact her to attend all previous meetings. And Pavla asked Mrs. Kleissnerova to pay the invoice I prepared for her share of the work on the foundation and the septic system. She said she would not pay. She gave no reason. Here she participated in the meeting but refused to sign the meeting minutes. These minutes are in the record and can be confirmed by those present as well as the statement in the minutes that Mrs. Kleissnerova refused to sign the minutes.

7. Mrs. Kleissnerova knew about the septic and other problems because she called all the relevant offices to have the work of the building contractors inspected as it was being done. Mr. Medek can confirm this as can the offices she called.

Let this point be made here. Mrs. Kleissnerova did not ask me or the other owners to authorize her to call for different inspections of work being done on the building.

If her intent was to stop all work on the building, my flat included, she could not because all work was done properly and was necessary.

8. Mrs. Kleissnerova knew about the work being done in my flat to get it ready for me, Pavla, and Martina, Pavla's daughter, to occupy. She called all the relevant offices to have my work inspected and approved.

Mrs. Kleissnerova also reported an error to the water company as to how many people were living in our flat. She did this after being told in April 2005 that there were three, not four, occupants.

Let this point be made here. I did not authorize Mrs. Kleissnerova to call different offices for Pavla or me. The private work I authorized and paid for was my business, not a matter for other owners. And if it was her responsibility to report to the water company for Pavla and other owners, she did so against facts and specific instructions. You may review the minutes again of the April meeting.

The point of this history so far is that Mrs. Kleissnerova knew what the building problems were in the past and knew what was needed as it was discovered and discussed. Her claim that she was not given immediate notice of urgency in the matter of the septic system is false. Four people can confirm this. And she actively participated in the work being done by calling for inspections and regularly talking with the building contractor.

9. As to formal notice and invitation to meetings to discuss the building, I put up notices in the building before meetings and upcoming inconveniences because of work scheduled. Pavla and other owners sent Mrs. Kleissnerova SMS messages giving her notice of meetings in advance inviting her to attend. On the days of the meetings, one of us called her each time and knocked on her door to have her attend. We also sent SMS messages saying we were beginning the meetings. We did not receive answers. We each can confirm this, and the certified letters above, the ones she did not pick up at the post office, should be mentioned here again.

Periodically Mrs. Kleissnerova would contact Pavla by SMS to ask that she stop work on our flat and to otherwise tell Pavla what she thought of her. Thus, we know she could communicate with by SMS if she wanted to.

10. In addition to these points, Mrs. Kleissnerova's continuing this legal process shows the court it is dealing with someone who has a history of not cooperating, avoiding, delaying, and not paying. The court is also dealing with a person who behaves alone in her own interests without consulting or considering others, denying or conveniently forgetting who was living in the building at the time. Mrs. Kleissnerova's courtroom behavior and testimony also confirm a pattern of behavior which includes personal attacks.

CONCLUSION

I respectfully remind the court we not asking Mrs. Kleissnerova to pay anything unreasonable. We only ask that she pay her fair share plus interest, legal fees, and court costs for the trouble we have taken to make her building dry and have a toilet she can flush plus bath or shower she can take without her own effluent polluting the garden and the flat below.

I ask the court to look briefly at the accusation that Pavla repaired and replaced the septic system for our own convenience. Mrs. Kleissnerova has accused Pavla of this in the past. What group of building owners would agree to ignore sewage running under their building and into the garden and one of the flats?

Finally, we saved Mrs. Kleissnerova time and expense and great inconvenience. Pavla worked on behalf of all owners, including Mrs. Kleissnerova, and we loaned her money so that she could continue to enjoy her dry home and the civilized conveniences of clean water and proper removal of waste water.

Pavla tried to communicate with her as did the other owners, but she failed and avoided us. We did not fail her. We took responsibility because she would not. Pavla and I now want that money back plus interest and costs for collection. All of it.

This is the civil and right thing for her to do now. We ask the court to impress on Mrs. Kleissnerova to look at her own behavior and what all know she knew. She made it impossible for others to deal with her despite their formal and informal efforts. Her unwillingness to work with other owners and join them to solve problems they shared together should stop. The court has the opportunity to decide what is right and reasonable. Pavla and I should not pay for what is rightfully Mrs. Kleissnerova's responsibility.

Stop her from continuing to hide and avoid responsibility and rule in favor of the claim against her. Mrs. Kleissnerova should pay all of her building expenses Pavla and I had to pay to occupy our flat and ensure others they could do the same. It would be fair and reasonable to tell Mrs. Kleissnerova to pay without delay.

Where two are gathered

[This post will be revised as the novel progresses. BTW, Maria is a Cozumel friend.]

Dear Maria,

Well, you are the first among friends and acquaintances in a long time who has hit upon the nexus and sensed, for some reason, what I might be interested in and shared it. A special moment for me. Thanks.

That nexus is where I spend my writing and personal time, which is basically all of it--24 by 365, and then some.

You have hit upon the theoretical foundations of what I have come to call noematics, briefly characterized as "noema externa--understandings--partial, fleeting . . . something like sculpting jell-o", or making phenomena, always experienced and understood internally, external (noematics.blogspot.com). Thank you for the article, A True Story, or, The Truth about Story. [http://www.class.uidaho.edu/narrative/theory/true_story.htm]

In short, I use the insights and approach that the author, Brian Clark, does, but my application these days is that middle ground between story and theory, between the etymology of words and their present-day yet intentional use to convey rich(er) meanings. Have a look at the site above to get some crude examples.

Because I have just broadened my interests into giving a novel a try, something I have never approached before, I can relate quite well to this article. In writing about my own venture into fiction, I am discovering more fully the difference between purposeful (premeditated) pieces such as poems and essays and writings where imagined characters take over by virtue of the ground they walk and the frictions they inevitably encounter there and with others. It is an exciting time for me. And I don't know if I am one of the characters in my novel or not. And more precisely, is it my novel?

As to Clark's essay. It is what I would call meta-hermeneutics. By that I mean his writing is first of all a story about re-membering from the original contexts and meanings of words, historically-oriented hermeneutics. Then it is about stories as a subject and the language we use to talk about them. He uses the etymology and roots of words to deconstruct and thus somehow to make sense of what and how we talk about these things called stories.

Some of what he says I would have to check--I need to see references to do this. But I am sure he is mostly on the mark from what I know and have read in this field. Idaho seems to be more and more interesting intellectually, as it always has been if you have been interested in the anarchists and crazies who have gravitated towards that and neighboring states.

Not finally (you see, even this--my--story is partial), the bit about language teaching and speaking in groups . . . here is the opening, at the end of his essay, to more and other important topics. In this instance, "where two or more are gathered, there I am." Heidegger and Christ and eastern traditions share the same ground. The subject of spirit is next in line for Clark, or his students or readers. He has overtly opened this door by talking about Aum and its origins and relations to his topics.

By the way, the book you wanted to borrow from Arnon addresses this spectrum, from the physical ground to ground of being--spirit. I recommend it highly, and the book Arnon has is a good first-time encounter with and take on these things.

Now, do I go off and try to pick up where Clark left off, and relate spirit to language teaching? or have you already made this connection?

Thanks again,
kevin

PS I did my dissertation on Jung's synchronicity, more specifically meaningful coincidences. Is it a meaningful coincidence that you have given me a copy of this article just at the same time that the next development of the lead female character in my novel, D, has decided to continue her studies in "talk and how talk organizes and creates our world" by studying language and linguistics in graduate school? This after taking a course from Professor A, who I will kill off in the last chapters, before he completes his newly-begun narrative/descriptive project--because coincidentally he is at an age or stage where he just wants to observe and try to discover and understand but not be involved with anyone, not even his students. He is tired of the gatherings per se but not of human development and the grounds of our being.

This last question is for me, of course, but although it appears coincidental, we can see that you have caused a bit of friction . . . life is so interesting if we just look around a bit and wonder.

Apostrophes' demise?

The standing committee for the Preservation of Perfect and Exact English discharged this announcement in its latest newsletter:

At long last, PPEE has concluded the apostrophe no longer necessary. 'Itll be phased out beginning this year and gone from the prescriptive canon by the end of the decade.' The first phase will focus on its use in contractions, or rather its elimination as shown variously here.

Declaring the apostrophes obsolescence* comes as a result of years of misuse and outright neglect, according to the committee. 'The lofty place of the apostrophe in lines of text left vacant by willful populists and others shall now be deemed correct. Thus, the practice of English 'wordsmiths', who have refused to join the ranks of those who would conserve the language in its pure and original state, shall, alas, rule.'

In its action, the committee has succumbed to 'ponderous evidence of what writers do', not the pressures exerted by 'recent tracts that have flooded our lobbies by descriptivists. Such would be to concede authority to a competitor society, albeit an unnamed, unofficial one.'

Native speaking members of the academy already decry the change(s), while open-punctuation enthusiasts deem it long overdue. Others indeed have responded with the level of concern they have shown all along for this punctuation mark, ignorance.

Fortunately for newcomers to English, 'we have moved beyond any further debate'. To err on the side of simplicity will no longer beget furrowed frowns nor give cause for red pens to indicate where a bit of black ink should have appeared.

The following is a rough translation of the above bit of bogus and a discussion of the proposal sans inflation. Would that some committee or society could actually bring order to a sometimes disorderly language as well as help it--and thereby ourselves--evolve as it could or should. Lacking that body, we can always imagine.

Stuck occasionally between and above two letters in standard English text, or sometimes forlorn by itself at the beginning or end of a word, the apostrophe is easy to overlook and sometimes not easy to decode. To wit, what does apostrophes' in the title refer to? Have you also noticed it's mistaken application? or the absence from the possessive adjective its, or even the way some expressions should but do not invoke it, as in the Royal Firemans Union or years end?

The apostrophe is most often used to show the omission of a letter or letters.+ For example, I'm for I am. It is also used to achieve phonetic effect (which'er for whichever, ne'er for never), or to indicate possession (Mary's book).

The point of the edict from the committee is, except in cases where there is strong cause for confusion, cant we do away with some of these uses altogether? You did not stumble on that cant in the previous sentence, did you? Case in point. Lets admit that we would likely stumble on neer (for ne'er), not only for how to pronounce the word but also for whether it was indeed a word or contained a typographical error. And let it be noted that the apostrophe in possessives is already disappearing, which warrants a separate discussion.

De-contracting, however, is based on the notion that we already know these utterances that sound and function effectively as standalone words. We should be able to recognize them easily in text. A move toward greater simplicity in form is strengthened in that most contractions when deprived of the punctuation are not confused with other words spelled or sounding the same, either because there are no other words or the context makes it quite clear what has been meant. Thus, goes the argument, havent they, apostrophes, especially in contractions, outlived their usefulness? (Anticipate PPEEs next elimination, certain uses of the comma. Oops, sorry about that.)

To see how this works, consider the intractable its/it's. Untying this knot to see the common sense of just plain its can illustrate how other apostrophic puzzles can be treated.

In writings surprisingly by those who should know better, it's is used where its is called for and vice versa. We may have fewer writers and editors who are good proofreaders today, but this is beside the point. Its and it's are so similar in appearance on a page as to all but demand simplification. Plus, because of how often it's is an error, the sense of a sentence is never compromised if the punctuation is missing. A few readers may hiccup once in the flow of meaning-making until the convention becomes standard. Its is ubiquitous already, but its solidity as a standard is unsteady because of an existing rule/usage some are aware of, having to do with something that looks almost the same. That is it's, it is or has, detracts from the feeling of correctness for the correct usage of its.

The idea again is to eliminate apostrophes in contractions except in cases of confusion. If its can be easily decoded when appearing in writing, correctly or incorrectly used, might not other contractions be seen in the same way? Its/it's raises a number of basic questions the responses to which may be sufficient rationalization for implementing other de-contractions.

A. The dog ate its dinner.
B. Its dinner time for the dog.
C. Its been a long time since he ate.

1. Most readers not purists. The proofreaders among us might see the misuse of its in B and C and experience an interruption in the flow of their reading. "Stop, go back, how is that again?" But even purists as well as the rest of us--dont we just keep reading on? We get it, the meaning, in the same way we get it's in spoken English where we never see the punctuation.

2. Reading method no deterrence. If you are a subvocalizer, reading to yourself as if reading out loud, you wont skip a beat. Again, the out-loud analogue.

If you read by seeing and comprehending letters and words and chunks of text as images, then do you stop and question when it's appears incorrectly? Not likely. Text-as-image readers tend to be faster than subvocalizers, focusing less on the form and appearance of the language in its bits and pieces and more on meaning that is quickly accessible. These readers dont lose the sense of what they see because of a portrait's detail.

3. Presence matters not. The apostrophe, in the instance of it's, is such a small thing to see or attend to. In any instance of seeing or not seeing the ', the apostrophe is an infinitesimal component part of one of the languages shortest, most frequently used words. Just a jot, an atomic particle.

If the missing apostrophe in the it-is or it-has construction causes little to no interruption of flow, is not missed except by a few, and deters us not from making sense of what we read, are these applicable to other common contractions?

The weakest argument, or rationalization, above has to do with the confusion factor. If the apostrophe in contractions is phased out and all texts become standardized in appearance, where context rules for contractions and not the punctuation mark, the flow/something-is-missing-here problem goes away. What may not go away is whether or not we can easily grasp what is meant. And after all, that is the object of text written. How can we assess the magnitude of this problem? Although it may introduce other complications and discussions: What if we make a subjective assessment of how confusing it would be to drop the apostrophe from the most commonly contracted forms?

Let

0 mean not at all confusing (no other common word in the language)
1 = context would almost always make meaning clear
2 = minor possibility of confusion
3 = confusing but worth omitting the apostrophe
4 = problematic, perhaps justifying keeping the apostrophe

Assessments (of the form rating plus comment)

Id: 1; may be confused with the id (psychology) or id (identification)
Ill: 2; this de-contracted form would always begin with an upper case letter, and only confuse in the context of illness and placement at the beginning of a sentence, or perhaps as part of a proper noun/name for an illness (rare)
Im: 0
Ive: 0; example confusion, the short form for the proper name Ivy (rare)
aint: 0; this word--and it is a word if not an official contraction--always indicates less formal register
arent: 0
cant: 2; consider cant as angle, inclination, kick, etc.
couldnt: 0
couldve: 1; readers would not confuse with the non-standard "could of"
didnt: 0
doesnt: 0
dont: 0
hasnt: 0
hed: 1; may be seen as typographical error or misspelling (e.g., had)
hell: 3; example, "Hell go to hell" (versus the word as proper noun in direct address, "Hell, go to hell" (gotta be rare!)
hes: 1; could be confused with word as word in a plural sense
howd: 1; may be seen as typographical error or misspelling (e.g., howdy)
howll: 1; may be seen as typographical error or misspelling (e.g., howl)
hows: 1; could be confused with word as word in a plural sense
isnt: 0
its: possible touchstone for de-contracting (see above)
lets: 0; most often appears at the beginning of a sentence followed by the infinitive form of a verb
mightnt: 0
mightve: 0; would not confuse with the non-standard "might of"
mustnt: 0
mustve: 0
shant: 0
shed: 1; minor possibility of confusing with outbuilding
shell: (not rated--a concordance or corpus might be helpful in determining confusion factor)
shes: 1; could be confused with word as word in a plural sense
shouldnt: 0
shouldve: 0; would not confuse with should of
tarnt: (not rated, not a common contraction except in vernacular rendered in text; instance of an outlier; further assessment needed, maybe)
thatll: 0
thats: 1; could be confused with word as word in a plural sense
theres: 1; could be confused with word as word in a plural sense
theyd: 0
theyll: 0
theyre: 0; already has possible confusion with there, but in text this is clear
theyve: 0
tis: 0; infrequently used
tisnt: 0; infrequently used
twas: 0; infrequently used
wasnt: 0
wed: 3; may be confused with abbreviation of Wednesday
well: 3; (further assessment needed)
were: 3; (further assessment needed)
werent: 0
whatd: 0
whats: 1; could be confused with word as word in a plural sense
whend: 0
whenll: 0
whens: 1; could be confused with word as word in a plural sense
whered: 0
wherell: 0
wheres: 1; could be confused with word as word in a plural sense
whod: 0
wholl: 0
whos: 1; could be confused with word as word in a plural sense; could be taken as typographical error--whose
whyd: 0
whyll: 0
whys: 1; could be confused with word as word in a plural sense
wont: 1; wont as custom or habit is not frequently used
wouldnt: 0
wouldve: 0; readers wouldnt confuse with the non-standard "would of"
youd: 0
youll: 0
youre: 1; already possible confusion with your
youve: 0

You get the idea. Note that in all but a few instances, the ratings here do not reach the point where a de-contracted form jeopardizes meaning. (A "decontracted form's jeopardizing meaning" is already dying out as noted above.) Assuming that the ratings here reflect actual low confusion risks, and noting register in the comments as another possible factor to confuse, we can dismiss both of these points by reasoning that soon-to-be "ubiquitous standard usage" will result in little to no confusion and context will almost always make usage and therefore meaning clear. But let this conclusion here invite additional independent assessments of these forms along the same lines. The results would validate, or not, what has been presented thus far. Youre invited.

Comes the subject of register. Is not in formal written English is often preferred over isn't. The use of the contracted form signals informality. The proposal here is for the elimination of contractions in text. Just as in other matters, we can differentiate to clarify. Is not can continue in formal English. Isnt can continue to appear in less formal writing. The proposal is not to replace it is with isnt in the contexts where the former should appear by practice (i.e., convention) or prescription. And to suggest something like a re-alignment of register for like-wording-and-meaning forms is another, quite separate matter.

Such a small thing, this apostrophe in contractions. Why bother make any change? Is there some compelling reason beyond (mostly) the forces and reasons discussed here? Perhaps not. Surely there are bigger matters for what we say to make sense. Clearly communicating is the wholistic object, not nits and gnats.

Context should indicate unambiguously here how demise in the title should be understood: to do away with. The notion of bequeath or to hand down is not the intended meaning, or is it? Well, indeed it can be, in addition to the dominant meaning given by most of the context created thus far.

Proposals comprise what might be, and if reasonable, acceptable, and so forth, what beneficiaries will have for their good. De-contracted forms of the most common expressions in written English promise to simplify, in a small way, what all but a few can easily decode and readily understand. For those who are momentarily stopped in the face of the new, whether because of reverence for tradition, the obligation of habit, or the stubbornness of preference, can soon adjust as the practice becomes ubiquitous and standard.

Thus it is that language in form can represent, convey, and render opulent our world with economy of expression. To place the apostrophe high in the line to denote what is specifically-and-only has seen better days. It no longer needs our obeisance, especially in contractions. We have evolved, as has the language, to greater heights. And we have learned that context and meaning can and should be deconstructed with some little effort in order to appreciate the fullness of what can be or indeed intended to be communicated. One reading's demise does away with; another's brings into relief dimensions and textures that heighten and enrich experience and sense.

Text-messaging inventions, the trend toward open punctuation, the development in global or international English, among other phenomena, suggest fewer boundaries to what we can say and how it appears on paper. Apostrophes demise? Why not? Lets clean house so our beneficiaries can develop and evolve without unnecessary bits of black ink. Respecting yet surmounting convention, therein lies the creative and a world to discover. One small step. Were but a ' away.

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* The subject of a gerund, according to many college-level style manuals for essays and academic writing, should be a possessive. In an unpublished paper, PhDr. Marcela Malá, M.A. observes that this rule is not observed in practice. Copy available upon request.

+There are other uses of the apostrophe. For example, to show the plural of a number (e.g., There are four 4's in that serial number.). However, recently published and specialized or discipline-oriented style manuals have dropped the apostrophe for this use (e.g., 4s).

Constituting 2

Screenshot of the learning portal (Moodle learning management platform) for courses taught/supported online during the first term of the 2006-07 academic year at the Technical University of Liberec, Czech Republic. Titles shown link to course-level navigation pages.

Constituting 1

Screenshot of a drama course's navigation page (partial). From here, participants access resources and activities for developing and demonstrating learning.

Cozumel S.E.A.

Cozumel S.E.A. Web site pages and text--DRAFT

[This is a short technical writing sample, and it suggests that space where information systems and noema-noesis collide. For these reasons, plus the declaration that "this space exists," this piece is included here.]

Introduction

The pages are written roughly as a thread in both languages. You ideally go from the first to the contact page. But you can also enter anywhere and get information and a link to the contact/inquiry page.

Decision to be made: Whether to have the English or the Spanish as the first text on a page. With one exception (see below), I suggest English in that with this site, you are trying to attract English speakers who want Spanish.

Manifest (in thread order)

index.html (welcome)
about.htm (about S.E.A.)
cozumel.htm (about Cozumel)
englishintro.htm (learning at S.E.A.)
spanishintro.htm (learning Spanish)
courses.htm (courses and rates)
contact.htm (information and e-mail form)
thanks.htm (message sent)
links.htm (advertisers, etc.)
cuisine.htm (Josefa's gig)
sendlink.htm (to a friend)
error.htm (message or other error)

For consideration. Members area for learning materials and interaction (blog?).

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index.html

ES [target is on the same page]

Welcome

Cozumel Spanish, English Academy (S.E.A.) is a small, private language school located in the town of San Miguel on Cozumel Island, Mexico. Minutes from the clear turquoise waters of the Caribbean and in the center of town, where tourists cease their wanderings and you can experience the colors, flavors and pace of local Mexico, we teach Spanish and English to students of all ages and levels.

S.E.A.'s professional staff, all friendly native speakers using communicative teaching methods, will help you maximize your abilities while making learning a language in Cozumel truly enjoyable.

If you are looking to learn Spanish or English while visiting Cozumel, one of Mexico's treasures, welcome. Explore this site. Your inquiries and interests[link to contact] in joining us for a course will be met with courtesy and friendliness characteristic of an international staff that warmly embraces this island paradise, Mexican culture and cuisine, and teaching and learning languages.

[testimonial if available]

Continue/continua >>> About S.E.A.

[translation of this page]

Continue/continua >>> About S.E.A

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about.htm

About S.E.A.: Principals, Philosophy, Prices!

Clare Turnbull and Arnon Gilboa [text needed].

Together Clare and Arnon believe that "Good language skills come from good experiences and the will to learn." Along with their staff, S.E.A. works with you to provide language skills you can use.

S.E.A. offers quality instruction at a price that anyone can afford. But we don't sacrifice quality in order to offer great prices. The school strives to be a good community citizen. Instead of focusing primarily on profit, we prefer to focus on providing you great service and a great experience. That way everybody is happy, and you'll recommend us to your friends![send-link link]

S.E.A. offers standard and custom courses at the school and other locations on the island. S.E.A. has a limited number of affordable rooms for rent. Meals at the school can be arranged. We can also recommend other accommodations from moderate to expensive.

[testimonial if available]

Continue/continua >>> About Cozumel

[translation of this page]

Continue/continua >>> About Cozumel

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cozumel.htm

ES [target is on the same page]

Cozumel

The town of San Miguel de Cozumel is as Mexican as it gets. This authentic atmosphere along with our Caribbean island's assets are what bring tourists back year after year. Locals say that once you visit Isla de Cozumel, it's hard not to return.

+ Warm, white sandy beaches; crystal-clear indigo seas; romantic Mexican nights; world-class hotels, restaurants and nightlife.

+ World-renowned fishing, diving and snorkeling; archaeological sites dating back thousands of years; a great tropical climate . . . and lots of water sports.

In this tranquil retreat, there is nothing better than an extended stay to acquire or improve English or Spanish--two of the world's most spoken languages.

Map, Isla de Cozumel (Yucatan area)
Map, San Miguel and S.E.A (city and school location)
See also, activities and attractions in Cozumel[best link needed].

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englishintro.htm

English version below. [target is on the same page]

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Cozumel S.E.A.: English

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Come learn with us! Our philosophy is: "Good language skills come from good experiences and the will to learn."

* We at S.E.A. are a small, friendly team of professional native-speaking teachers.

* We believe that the more you speak, the more you will learn and be able to use your language skills in real life situations. S.E.A. instructors use active methods and proven group work techniques to get you speaking as quickly as possible.

* At S.E.A., we use our own specially developed curriculum that includes role playing, games, quizzes and audio to develop your reading, listening and conversation skills. At the same time we teach you the grammar you need.

* We offer both Spanish and English at S.E.A. We regularly have mixed language conversation groups. You can discover another culture informally and personally. Come prepared to use the skills you learn, and have lots of fun!

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spanishintro.htm

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Cozumel S.E.A.: Spanish

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In addition to the S.E.A.'s philosophy and advantages of taking a course with S.E.A.[link to page above], Cozumel is the perfect place to enjoy a peaceful retreat and experience one of Mexico's hidden treasures. It is also perfect for learning Spanish.

We believe that the more we can help you speak and practice in different day-to-day situations in Spanish, the more you will learn and retain. The locals are friendly and have plenty of time to help you with your Spanish. The island is small enough so that you won't get lost, and it is safe. We can give you all the ins and outs! In just a few days you'll have your favorite taco stand and feel like a local.

We will teach you Spanish in a fun and natural way. Our method is the communicative approach, and it has been demonstrated worldwide to be one of the quickest, most effective ways of learning a language. You can even spice up your learning with S.E.A.'s home cooked Mexican meals.[link to cuisine description]

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courses.htm

Courses and Rates

S.E.A. English courses are usually ___ weeks in duration and are scheduled to begin and end with the same dates as the local school terms. We accommodate one or more participants by ability level, and, as appropriate, according to age. Prices begin at ___ Mexican pesos per clock hour.

Spanish courses for one or more participants can begin at any time and last as long as desired. Prices begin at ___ Mexican pesos per clock hour for groups and ___ Mexican pesos for individuals.

Custom and offsite courses are quoted based on specific requests and requirements. Please inquire if interested in a custom course.[link]

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contact.htm

Cozumel Spanish, English Academy
#648 Av. Juarez entre 30 y 35Av.
Cozumel, Q. Roo 77600
Mexico
Phone: +52 1 987 111 9785
E-Mail: cozumelsea at yahoo dot com [written like this to deter e-mail harvesting]

Isla de Cozumel (Yucatan area map)
San Miguel and S.E.A (city map and school location)

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To find out more about Cozumel and our advertisers, please see our links page.[link]

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Ever the prism

Walking and hiking have been lifelong passions. I delight in seeing what there is along my way and what might be around the bend, or down that narrow street. Sometimes the briefest encounter or experience appears to signify something other. As I have practiced seeing, I can now sustain the meditation for longer periods, even a day. What may be one of life's delights from nature or nurture, it is now often intentional, almost a way of being and, let it be said, becoming.

A tract

I met a guy on the trail I was crossing. I asked him what was down the way he had come.

"Oh," he said. "There's a little stream."

He asked me where I came from. I told him I had left the trail down in the meadow near where the cars were parked. I was headed up to the ridge. No comment as he kept his pace.

As he disappeared from view, I asked him not to tell anyone that I didn't always follow the trails. He cautioned me to be careful.

I continued straight up through the woods to the ridge. After a while, I saw daylight at the crest. A bit winded, my heart reminding me it had once before rebelled, I skirted around and reached the ridge via a gentler incline.

Another view rewarded me as I emerged from the woods.

Look, look again

Back then in the central Rockies, south of Leadville, I think. Either before or during the time I was considering further formal studies of some sort. On the trail in and out of the wilderness, at what could not be the same but we would say roughly was the same point, I stopped and looked up at an outcropping with a tall evergreen to the right of it, low lying scrub to the other side continuing down the slope for a short ways. I was not looking for something, merely looking. If I took five paces ahead or backwards, the object of my gaze changed, and changed again with one pace, and again with the slightest change in the angle of my head.

Reality really is such an elusive thing.

I often stop now and pick a point or feature some distance away. Whether on a trail or because of some urban scene, any really. The exercise confirms we know nothing and everything and no one or no two can have it exactly same.

Still, in medias res

A bus stops across the street.

From my bench, I become more attentive to the human landscape. It is as diverse as it is. Comparisons are meaningless. And I am the landscape. That I am as a different as everybody else believes they are is the only truth. And thus in one way the same. Some stand out, others pass me by without my registering more than that. It's a differentiated landscape. Attending to this not that is perhaps cellular and nothing else.

A restaurant named Joe's. By the bus stop. Seems ordinary enough. Enough to go unnoticed and go out of business. The building sits and sits. It was there when I was a child. What it does must have some resilient genes. They split and split. I guess Joe's is the same but in some way not.

from February 2, Wednesday, '06

Aying

I found myself in front of Lienard's brewery restaurant, where we had eaten the evening before. I looked around in the cold and decided my stop was a bit further on, down the street and the first left, about a hundred yards. I considered a detour around the Bavarian church to the stop, but I wasn't sure of the exact time of the bus. So I proceeded directly to the stop. I passed by the little grocery store on my left and saw that the seasonal bulk-trash pickup was probably today--a dated light fixture was in the pile with the dusty bulbs still in it. Something to go over a wooden Bavarian kitchen table or dining nook, I guessed. I got to the stop and checked and rechecked the schedule. The bus was due there just before nine. It was just after eight. I had time, so I decided to walk to the next stop, according to the schedule one minute away by bus. It was at the Gasthof zur Post, Peiss. I walked down the right side of the street and my leg brushed a bit of someone else's pile of throwaways. I then crossed to the left side. There were pastures coming up I knew, and the right side was not appealing. As I walked I passed by fences and driveways. There were recyclables now in evidence. I saw one pile of bottles, mostly wine and sekt. I thought this household drinks quite a bit. But then I thought so did I, if you were to count the bottles I tossed in the recycling bin. After I had passed the last dwelling on the right, I found the pastures, and there were horses or ponies in the distance. I remembered them from two days before. I had seen them from the bus, standing all in a group facing one way. I had wondered why. About half way along the fields, I turned around and walked backwards a few steps, taking in the skyline of Aying, thinking I may never be here again. I did that twice and thought finally that the skyline from this vantage point was unremarkable. The small horses were in the field at the back, standing around. Three were horsing around, perhaps a kind of who-is-in-charge-around-here kind of game, with a few nips that did not seem to take or hurt. They settled into the cold. Next to the sidewalk two of them stood silently, facing where I had come from. They didn't notice me, but I noticed one. His penis was hanging out. I thought this might be cold for him, and discerned that he must have been airing it out, to get rid of bugs or sterilize it somehow. He and it didn't move. I got to the main road and turned left into Peiss.

Peiss

The first building I noticed on my left was Gasthof zur Post. It was an Italian restaurant. I had hoped it or something would be open so I could get out of the cold. I wasn't wearing my long johns today, the first day in about a week. I thought corduroy trousers would be enough. They were, but it was cold and my leather coat was getting colder. Good for wind but when it gets cold, it comes through. I saw the bus stop on the right hand side of the road, on the sidewalk which was banked by ice and dirty snow from the road. I crossed the street and checked and rechecked the schedule. Yep, I was one minute beyond the last stop, but that was about an eight minute walk. I considered going to the next stop, but that might have been beyond the town limit of Peiss and on the road to the next village. Too uncertain, I thought. So this would be my boarding point. I walked up and down the sidewalk for a few minutes, to keep warm and to scout for some place to shelter from the cold. The stop was in the shade. On the other side of the street, in weak sunshine, was a very large pile of trash. A driver from a truck on my side of the road had apparently exited, and wanted to inspect the throwaway piles. He was across the street with some kind of electronic device in his hand. He polked around and moved to the next pile, returned to the first, put back what he had found and crossed the street and got into his truck. A farmer, perhaps, then came from behind the Gasthof and deposited small pieces of finished wood onto the pile and disappeared from whence he came. A window opened on the second floor of the Gasthof and a woman threw out a large box carefully which landed open-side up below. She disappeared. She reappeared several times and dropped bedding into the box below. She then came out the side door, and with a little difficulty carried the box somewhere. I stopped watching and thought the church behind me might be open. Shelter again. I looked for a light inside, but saw what I thought was ice on the inside of the glass. I didn't venture the entry path to the side door. I thought it unlikely was open. I checked the time, probably, and decided to walk. Walked past the church and past some light industry to where the road forked, about two hundred yards. I started up the road to my left, but it looked like it ended within sight. I considered it for a minute, turned around and followed the main road down toward some railroad tracks. I saw a man get out of his car, parked on the right. He walked toward me and entered the driveway to a house being built. He was in work clothing. I continued down the road towards the railroad tracks. As I approached, the barrier came down announcing an approaching train. I stopped as if a car--I did not approach the gate but waited and looked around. A car or two approached from the other side, the road there being a long stretch through a snow covered field with woods in the background some distance away. It was very quiet. I looked left, to a wood building, smallish, which appeared like a station. And then right. There was a building on the track with a platform stuck onto it. That must be the station, but it looked more like a home. The train, actually an S-bahn, came and stopped at the platform. I noted the end stop Kreuzstrasse. I knew this train and realized this was one stop beyond Aying, my usual disembarkation point, on its way to the end of the line, my second usual disembarkation point. It silently started on its way and there were sparks between the overhead electrical wires and the carriage on the train which took the electricity and turned it into locomotion. The crackle and snap of these blue sparks continued and captured my view as the train passed me and disappeared down the way to its next station. The gate lifted and I turned toward the station and walked past the house and platform. It had a shelter on the other side of the house. I continued walking back to the main road, a circle from the bus stop I planned to board my bus from. Rounding the corner with the stop in view, I noted in the cold shade, all iced up, a sports car. I didn't recognize it from a distance. As I approached I was able to see, a Smart roadster. Nice looking. I wanted one then and there, but it looked so cold. I continued to the bus stop and tried to figure out where exactly the bus would stop. Before the sign in a cleared place in the road, or after it where there was a crosswalk? I decided to stand right next to the sign to make sure the driver knew I was a would-be passenger. He would stop and I would quickly move to where he wanted me to board. I paced up and down a bit, as before, and when out of position, the bus approached. I retreated to my station at the sign. He used a cleared spot before the sign. I quickly boarded and paid. He said something to me, and I had to admit my German was a bit bad. He acknowledged my plight and I handed all my change at his urging. My fingers were frozen and I could not easily separate what was needed from what I had. He took the needed amount, the machine issued a ticket, which he handed to me, and I took a seat. I was the only one on the bus. Once seated, he started on his way again. We left Peiss and I sort of lost myself in the fact that I was so cold but hadn't really realized it. We left the main road to make a stop in Aschbach a very little settlement I was familiar with.

Aschbach

Inge had lived here, oh, perhaps twenty years ago and I had visited her. That was when she told me that when coming in late and she was asleep, I should make noise and she would know I was home. Coming in quietly made her fear the worst somehow. The stop approached. There was a building under reconstruction on my side of the bus. On the boarding door side, a man was there with a walker. He was quite helpless looking, and I wondered how he would board the bus with that thing, or would he? Would he possibly leave it there on the street? There was no one about to pack it up or set it aside. A car approached him from the rear, but the woman driver just sat in the car waiting for the bus to stop and let the passenger on. She was apparently on her way somewhere else. The bus stopped; the man very slowly boarded with a forearm-support cane or crutch. And the walker was left outside on the street. The man slowly paid. His bus pass had apparently expired. He then took a seat, ever so slowly. The bus continued on its way back to the main road. At the intersection we took a right and soon were on our way down the hill into Feldkirchen. My stop was coming. And not knowing if there would be more passengers to pick up, or there was an obligatory stop, I pressed the button signaling I wanted to get off. The feeble man did the same. And after the bus had stopped, we met at the exit door. I got out first and waited to see if I could help. He slowly stepped off the bus, and as he did so, he took my hand or arm, that fog again [memory lapse], and stepped onto the ice on the sidewalk. He said something and I looked at him. He had a disheveled look. He wore a grey coat, open at the front. And his hair needed combing. I said good bye and went on my way past the optical shop and around the corner on the road to Westerham, my destination, about 1.5 kilometers away.

Feldkirchen

I walked straight down the street, a main street of Feldkirchen. I looked into the distance and knew that a turn in the road took me along the main road connecting the two villages. The prospect of walking that again, as I had two days before, did not interest me. Traffic and not very interesting. I remembered a limited access road parallel to the main road but bordered on both sides by fields and a school and soccer fields. I didn't quite remember where it started. So I kept going straight into a neighborhood where I knew a couple. I hoped they wouldn't see me. Too much explaining to do if they did. Where I had been. Why hadn't I visited for so long. And so forth. I kept going straight even though promising streets went off left and right. At the apparent end of the road, it took a little jog to the left and straightened out into that restricted road that went between the fields. A small sign said Westerham, 1 km. My morning hot chocolate had turned into a urinary emergency. I walked just so far that I could not be seen from either village nor the school yard which was filled with children. There, just beside the devotional stop, I took care of that business and then continued walking. I met a jogger, about my age, coming my way, and I noted pretty good for an old guy. He passed me and I walked on. Then I turned around to see Feldkirchen, much as I had for Aying. The jogger was not too far from me and he was walking. I approached Westerham via a short residential street. There were very nice expensive houses I had seen before. I knew where I was.

Westerham

I passed between the two apothecaries on either side of the short street that intersected with one of main roads through the village. How did they each stay in business all these years?

The opening

At the time, it was unclear to me why this day interested me so much, and why it was and is so vivid. A personal narrative, but without compelling content for an audience? To tell a story, but what was the story?

And today, as I put part of that day here, I know why. The reason is embedded in this piece, this place, today. And it had its reason for being then, and a different one now. A sense of home. This never dies. Something also about love and a prism and how circular logic just seems to be enough and all that can ever be required. To return home, to the center and the accustomed ways of doing and being: There is fulfillment and all is well with the one in a treasured corner of private spaces no one else can see just the ways you do.

This piece as a whole should also be self evident. Words are but refractions of lights from within, forever partial knowledge--sparks really--in the articulate world of named things. Watch for them, catch them, they are gone.

Culturus resilianus

From a history, 1909

The architecture of Mexican cities is often of a solid and enduring type, especially the buildings of older construction; and many of these date from the time of the earlier viceroys. All public buildings and ecclesiastical edifices are of this nature. The modern buildings have, in some instances, followed out the same style, eminently suitable for the country, but others have adopted a bastard and incongruous so-called "modern" type, copied from similar structures in Europe or the United States, where pure utility of interior has been clothed with undignified exterior of commercial character, marking a certain spirit of transition in its inhabitants. This is partly due to the ruthless American industrial invasion, which, whilst it has valuable elements for the country, should not be allowed to stamp a shoddy modernism upon the more dignified antiquity of environment. This tendency, however, has not yet had time to show itself, except in a few instances in the capital. Nevertheless, some portions of the City of Mexico have already been spoilt by the speculative Anglo-American builder, who has generally called himself an architect in order to perpetrate appalling rows of cheap adobe houses or pretentious-looking villas, made of the slimmest material and faced with that sin-covering cloak of tepetatl, or plaster "staff." Even some of the principal streets of the capital have been disfigured with hideous pretentious business structures, for which the Anglo-American element, whether in fact or example, has been responsible. If the Mexicans are wise they will sternly refuse to adopt much of steel construction or of "staff" and corrugated iron covering imported from the north, but to limit their buildings to native materials of stone or brick and their elevation to two or, at most, three storeys. The skyscraper is at home in New York or Chicago; in Mexico (or in London) it is the abomination of desolation. In San Francisco the outraged earth endeavoured to shake them off a year or so ago in an earthquake! An attractive feature of Mexican houses is the flat roofs, or azoteas. These are often made accessible from the interior and adorned with plants and flowers, and even the heavy rain-storms of certain regions do not seem to influence this type of construction or demand the rapid watershed of the gabled roof. During the time of the conquest of the City of Mexico these azoteas formed veritable coigns of vantage for the Aztecs, who poured down a hail of darts and stones upon the besiegers.
--Charles Reginald Enock*

2007, just before Thanksgiving

He appeared briefly in a bar frequented by Americans. It was said he had a very, very rich girlfriend. He was shortish and good looking, well dressed and groomed, "our kids are grown." Somehow thus, he had time for "a project" backed by monied partners and his own measures of success up north. He spoke quickly, words flowing in complete and correct sentences replete with substantives and carefully chosen qualifiers. It was sometimes difficult to retain what he said; only great effort caught the ideas and nuances as they quickly filled then vacated the hollow between him and speechless audients. He talked of building American homes, the existing construction was of such poor quality. Local stone was soft and quick to crumble under the slightest skirmish with a hammer and chisel, the preferred local method of demolition. They would import granites and more from Brazil and elsewhere in South America. They would bring in Polish and Czech installers for tile, most assuredly the best in this trade in the world. Superior steel structures would arrive from the States. As with Florida circa 1960s, this place would boom, and today's boomers would only flock here to modern US design and standards. He and his visionaries would build and they would come, more than have already.

One such subject, having made the choice to settle, or seasonally migrate, can be described as an outlier, living "in the hood" instead of the sometimes pretentious north- and southwest neighborhoods closer to the sea and the tourist and town center. He proudly ushers expat visitors to the roof terrace sunken ever so slightly into the gabled roof, allegedly the first in town to peek over its flat-roofed neighbors some twenty years ago. He contracted for the property just before Wilma. Closing the purchase and taking up residence required but one task, evicting the meter of water that Wilma had left. Dry soon afterwards, the house had easily withstood the thinkable worst nature can wrest. It was built by its previous owner, Mexican.

As to the developer from up north, he appeared not to have had a drink. He left the bar before nice-to-meet-yous. No one thought to counter at the time with Mayan pyramids you can still see today, nor did they recall his mentioning a groundbreaking.

__________
* Enock, C. R. Mexico: Its Ancient and Modern Civilisation, History, Political Conditions, Topography, Natural Resources, Industries and General Development. 1909. A Project Gutenberg EBook released April 2, 2007 [http://www.gutenberg.org, EBook #20959].

How our days (and nights?) come to be

To begin

The American philosopher Don Ihde suggests that intuition does not necessarily tell us that the planet Earth revolves around the sun. What anyone can see is that the sun moves across the sky to make our days. He contends we hold a myth about experience.

The given is that you see the sun rising and setting and intuitively take as given the solidity of the earth, which any fool can plainly see that the sun is rotating around the earth. Suddenly, it occurred to me that this is not a given at all. The question is: How is the context situated such that seeing the sunrise and set is taken as an intuitive thing? What I have to do is dream up a thought experiment to show that you can perceive this differently. I have some clues to this end. This is a myth about experience that has been holding steady for centuries, which I think is simply wrong.*

A precis: It is not a given that the Earth is a solid (round?)and revolves around the sun. What makes us think this is so, other than "scientific fact"?

Here interviewed in 2000, Ihde may have sorted the myth out by now and come up with his thought experiment. He may also have ignored for some reason when it was thought the world was flat, thus having to avoid creating a thought experiment altogether. Without benefit of any of these insights, or myths, here is an entry for the challenge about how we can intuitively grasp the solidity of our Earth and how our days come to be.** See if it works as you follow a naive observer who employs his or her senses and a little intuition, a little reason, and a little imagination. Rule for the exercise: Much of what we know or can discover from other scientific disciplines that explain natural phenomena is out of bounds.

Intuition is the sense that an observed something is true without thinking much about it. When we sense that something is true, we are also thinking and have all the faculties available to us to assess our intuitions. A bit of reason and a dash of imagination are two of these, and they need not be set aside once an intuitive grasp of things takes hold. We ask almost in the same moment as the light bulb flashes, how does what has come immediately to mind measure up. Such is the method attempted here.

Introduction

If we can re-create what the shape of the Earth might be through a kind of direct, "uninformed" experiencing, we can conjecture along with Ihde that intuition tells us that the Earth is other than solid in the sense of round and whether the sun or the Earth moves. The starting point is what "any fool can plainly see" as sketched by Ihde.

Such an inquiry can lay the foundation for how an idea came to be, as well as whether or not this one is a myth and wrong as is the contention above. If we have a belief about experience that has lasted centuries and is in error, we ought to know about it.

This exploration relies on perceptions without preconceptions or knowledge external to the thing itself. Set aside whether or not the claim is valid that we take as given the matters suggested. This way we can sort through if not subtract accretions to get at a phenomenon itself--what it is we are looking at and how we are looking at it. Variations of simple, "reduced" perceptions from a baseline should tell this tale.

Baseline, "what any fool can plainly see"

A person sits on top of a hill. S/he can see three hundred and sixty degrees around. There are horizons as far as the eye can see with features in the landscape and on the horizon that are stable. A tree there in the distance, a mountain over here, and so forth.

Each day the sun appears as if on its own and rises above one horizon, travels across the sky, and disappears below the opposite horizon.

When our solar observer changes hills, the sun's course appears the same. S/he also feels no movement of the ground from which s/he is making these observations.

S/he concludes that the sun moves and the ground from which observations are made is stationary.

This Baseline is what anyone can see and is the starting point for the experiment. It consists of not all that we can see. For example, we can see the moon and the night sky. But these are excluded from the given, the challenge as set above. In addition, although the following are not the only perceptions possible, or the only direction that variations from Baseline could take, they might lead to a New World. But let's not get the chariot before the horse before taking a spin.

Variation 1

Our solar observer looks in every direction. The horizons all around make a circle. S/he sits in the middle of this circle. When s/he changes hills, s/he is still in the middle of a circle.

The horizons continue to appear the same distances away, as-far-as-the-eye-can-see, but the landscape and the features on the horizons differ depending upon which hill. Now a different distant mountain where the tree was, and where there was a mountain, there is but a thin line separating land from sky.

The observer concludes that the surface on which s/he sits is circular and flat and extends without measure in all directions with different surface features.

Variation 2

Our observer sits in the middle of a circle on the flat, extensive space we will now call the Earth.

S/he knows that objects in the landscape appear bigger when closer and smaller when distant. (After all, s/he has changed positions (hills) and found differences in landscape features.) The sun as it rises and sets is larger than at midday.

Trusting perception, the observer concludes the sun is closer to the Earth morning and evening and farther away midday.

S/he concludes the round, flat, extensive Earth is moving in relation to the sun, coming closer to the sun at dawn in the east and then moving away till midday, and then closer again at dusk in the west.

Milestone

If the Earth is not moving and is moving in relation to the sun, which is it? Does the sun, not the Earth, move to create our days? or is it the other way round? Given these simple perceptions, it does not seem from everyday experience that it can be both. One of these variations, Baseline or 2, helps define what is and is not the phenomenon of Earth/sun movement as it effects our days. Something needs to hold steady, that is to be invariant, in order for our observer to proceed and "know" the answer.

Variation 3

Our observer imagines the Earth moves. S/he is on a flat surface which moves up and down (vertically) to bring the sun closer to and farther away from the Earth.

This explains the larger and smaller sun, but not its movement, that is its appearance and disappearance on the opposite sides, east and west, of the flat Earth from the vantage point of the hill.

Variation 4

Again assuming the Earth moves, our observer imagines s/he is on a flat surface which moves to and fro (horizontally), or perhaps as a pendulum, and finds this also won't suffice for what is observed.

Variation 5

If the flat surface moves up and down or to and fro with a wabble, this also does not account for sunrise and sunset. If it spins as a disk, this too does not account for the movement across the sky above.

Milestone

Variations three through five are outside of a assumptionless explanation of the Earth v. sun movement. They do not constitute the observed phenomenon. The Earth "must" move and that does not vary, but how?

Variation 6

Thinking still that the Earth moves, our observer imagines s/he is on this flat surface, a kind of disk or plate, which revolves counter to the path of the stationary sun. The Earth in the west rises so far as to hide the sun and gives hiatus to the up-side where the observation hill is, and as the eastern edge comes round and takes its position at sunrise where the western edge was, the stationary sun appears again to signal another day.

This explains the closer and more distant sun during the course of the day. Although the flat Earth is extensive, at fairly predictable points on the edge it appears closer to the sun. The disk that is the Earth is not so wide as to come closer to the sun at midday. Its width comes closer only at two points, dawn and dusk.

The Earth's edge-over-edge tumble in relation to the stationary sun also provides a convenient explanation for night. When the sun is shining on the "bottom" side, the sun is blocked by the flat disk that is the Earth where the observer perhaps sleeps on the hill. But as noted above, night is not specifically within the horizons (excuse the oblique pun) of the phenomenon of Earth's solidity and what, it or the sun, moves. An intuitive grasp this may be that we are trying to validate, but it is one based, as many intuitions are, on partial and bits of information. We are not yet ready to add a bit of the night's secret.

Milestone

The world is flat like a disk of indeterminate thickness and it revolves edge over edge as against a stationary sun.

This is the first part of the problem of one, the solidity of the Earth and two, its, or the sun's, movement. It can be apprehended by a naive observer. And this suggests an intuitive grasp can conclude that the Earth is a solid and moves, or revolves, and the sun does not. But what of the solidity--roundness--of the Earth? It is flat and circular thus far.

Variation 7

Our observer starts on the flat, extensive surface in the middle of a circle. If s/he follows the setting sun west each day, the sun stays at a distance as-far-as-the-eye-can-see, or eventually there is an impassable body of water revealing that same distance between observer and observed. If s/he walks in the direction of the rising sun in the east, s/he experiences the same.

If the sun is always the same size at dusk and dawn and remains a constant distance away, as-far-as-the-eye-can-see, this gives our observer pause for thought. The edge of the Earth must be the same distance away regardless of travel toward it this way or the reverse. A flat Earth does not suffice as a simple explanation for this perception. The size of the sun at dawn and dusk preclude an infinitely extensive surface. A round Earth might suffice.

Our observer notes that the horizon over the distant waters comprises about one half of the horizon of a circle from the vantage point of land's end. This is the same on both ends (edges) of the disk-like Earth along the east-to-west path of the sun.

Our observer also notes again that the distance to the watery horizon and the bigger sun, as-far-as-the-eye-can-see away, appear constant.

The conclusion given these observations is that the Earth is circular, flat land which extends to water, or seas, which have an edge or end in view of the nearness of the sun at dawn and dusk. But that sun remains a constant distance regardless of approach to or retreat from it.

The observer sits a constant distance from the hill or land's end to the horizons and the sun. The sun must be very, very large if it appears so big at dawn and dusk where the horizons end, for both the land and sea extend that constant distance. But the size of the sun at horizon does not appear to change from that now distant hill behind one from the vantage of land's end.

Our careful observer imagines the water is the same water east and west in that the half circles must join consistent with the Earth's observed flat circularity. They come together to form horizons beyond land all around.

If the hill were high enough or one could fly like a bird, presumably one could see the land surrounding the hill with water in the distance surrounding the land. Unfortunately, there is no such hill and aided direct experience--an airplane--is not available.

Alternatively, the sun's constant size at dawn and dusk regardless of approaching it from either direction, where it appears and disappears, suggests a round not flat solidity.

Alternate Variation 7

If the Earth moves in relation to the sun by rotating, the bodies of water would be the same, making the Earth not flat but extensive as a sphere. Following the sun across the water and "over the edge" would lead to where the sun's path meets the land again.

Experience has shown that to follow the sun is complicated because of the water. You need a boat and perhaps navigation instruments for a precarious voyage. Both of these are technologies beyond naive observation where immediate grasp is the object, supported by simple reasoning, rudimentary perceptions, and a smidge imagination. Not much more. It should suffice that the seas are the same from joining the two half-circle horizons above.

It seems also the forces or material that would hold the water to the surface when the Earth upends itself cannot be a part of this discussion. However, naive perceptions exhaust not.

Variation 8

At land's end, our observer picks up a rock and lets go. It drops to the ground. Tries it again. Same result. Throws the rock out to sea. It drops and sinks out of sight. Our clever observer takes some water in hand and lets it go. It drops on the ground or falls back from whence it came.

The conclusion is that what goes up must come down, or some such more elegant formulation, which leads to . . .

Milestone

If rocks and water and observers are drawn back to the surface of the Earth somehow and that is their rightful place at rest, perhaps the Earth is round not flat. That is, beyond the horizons (the edges of the perceived flat surface), the waters are the same around a sphere that is the Earth. This is in addition to being the same waters as far as the imaginary eye can see from a hill high enough to observe the island of land in the middle of a circle of water.

Our solar observer is "learning" and becoming self confident, and completes the final seeing from a naive stance.

Variation 9

Days appear approximately equal in duration. As the Earth sphere revolves along the "path" of the stationary sun, the duration of a day's length on the hill is needed for dawn sun to appear again. The halves of the horizons such as seen east and west with bodies of water must connect on the underside, thus making two semi-spheres one.

A Conclusion

Although the variations from Baseline could continue and perhaps confirm, deny, or refine the above, it seems the intuitive experience, in this reading of Ihde's challenge, means that we are ready for thought experiments which might lead to other, perhaps different conclusions. Other than this . . .

It appears the sun is stationary, contrary to first appearances. The solidity of the Earth is not as it first appears either, a flat circle or disk with a variety of surface features including water. The Earth is more like a sphere with matter and water attracted or attached to it, moving in relation to the sun. The Earth also has horizons east and west, but these are not ends or edges really. The Earth revolves such that our days are the result of the cyclic appearance and disappearance of the stationary sun on our horizons.

The myth of experience as Ihde has presented it is that one, the earth is solid, most likely spherical in shape, and two, the Earth moves in relation to the sun to account for our days. The myth of experience that may have been wrong for centuries has yet to be elaborated and shown incorrect using a kind of naive observation, at least given the elaborations imagined here. Variations in perception from a Baseline through deepening insights not foreign or external to the observed thing itself do not yet constitute a misperception, not a myth about experience. An intuitive grasp of things appears to conform to the given that Ihde considers mistaken.

The next poignant question is, "How is the context situated such that seeing the sunrise and set is taken as an intuitive thing?" That is, how is the context of sunrise and sunset other than as reduced here? Great question still. Science and myth validate and interpret primal perceptions, or so an argument can be made. But perhaps Ihde has a thought experiment for us to follow and examine before we introduce how different ways of knowing put their spin on the Earth, or sun.

This is the conclusion to a bit of I-oriented perceiving without benefit of the object-seeing sciences or technology. The discussion or exploration arose from what Ihde refers to as a myth of experience, which is that we immediately apprehend, not necessarily in this order, one, the Earth is a solid, round?, and two it--not the sun--moves to cause somehow days, and nights. If this is indeed a myth about experience, what then does naked perception, or experience, reveal? What do we immediately apprehend or understand or conjecture without the benefit of physical or astronomical science, or for that matter myth? The above is within the realm of possibilities for this primary, perhaps primal, perceiving. A kind of intuition or immediate grasp of things. And the challenge continues to beckon contenders to discover a New World in the interest of demythifying ourselves. Have at it.

_____
* http://www.sunysb.edu/philosophy/faculty/dihde/articles/ihde_interview.html
** Ihde's words and sentences have been unpacked here into an exploration involving a hypothetical set of first order deductions from observations without a number of nuances and assumptions we would normally take for granted when speaking today. If there is an error in understanding Ihde's intent, it is solely this author's, and due apologies are hereby extended. In either event, the exercise may prove instructive in what it attempts but may fail eventually to accomplish. And for this, Ihde should be credited.

James: Jim

James arrived at the university just before classes started in October and was gone by Christmas. Two or three years later, I saw him twice on separate occasions near Jungmanova Square. He didn't see me, nor was it easy to catch him to have a word. His stride determined. His pace steady. I could have, but thought better of it. I had the same disease, and by that point my symptoms had become worse, yet the opposite of his.

We shared an office, kitchen, and living quarters in a building called simply H. It also had a library down- and classrooms upstairs where we taught.

He arrived with nothing. He said by bus from Prague. He wore the same clothes every day, to the casual eye clean and pressed. His shoes betrayed no surrender to his malignancy. But for a missing tooth or two, he was nice looking, clean and well groomed. He mentioned an abdominal hernia twice, but said he didn't want to spend the money to take care of it. Eating string beans from a can seemed to help somehow. The housekeeper reported, somewhat astonished, that there was nothing in his room when she cleaned once a week.

No books either, no papers. Apparently he had published or was a kind of authority on interaction, a language specialist with experience at home and abroad. At a departmental meeting before the term started, he demonstrated a way to assess students, documented on a folded typewritten paper with nothing on it to identify author or origin. We adopted the technique and clutched copies of his instructions.

He did not prepare for his lessons. Just appeared in the office a few minutes before class, borrowed a book and perhaps a piece of paper, and left for his duties. Afterwards, unprompted, he recounted what had happened with his different groups, and we easily visualized what must have taken place. We were familiar with the materials and the obligatory lessons that supported them. We heard nothing from his students. Apparently he survived classes unscathed, or they did.

It was during the day in the office or in the hallways that he manifested the symptom all could see but none could understand or accept. He talked and talked at length, punctuated now and then by a question that became rhetorical--the uneasy listener had no time to answer. Incessant it was; then abruptly, as if on some small cue received via remote sensing, it would stop, and he would politely apologize and continue on his way. Always on his way somewhere. Sometimes he disappeared for a few hours. Or into the evening. He came and went frequently from the city, again by bus.

Other than the unexplained disappearances when not working, he seemed to like gatherings. Meeting his students in class. Departmental get-togethers. Mealtimes in the kitchen with other residents. But some gatherings didn't especially like him. So talkative was he, often about interesting but unrelated things, that the lesser and younger among us began to shun him. It is hard to piss off others in such a short time, but in confined spaces one can. And he did. Never impolite or offensive, it was only the ceaseless flow of words that got to people. He was soon the object for evasive action.

A larger gathering took place where the administration announced changes that affected those residing in H. He attended and observed without contributing. Afterwards, commenting on one of his countrymen, he told how he could imagine this one who claimed to be an insulted English gentleman. He said his indignation would have been more effective if he had slapped the rector with his lace glove after the perceived affront. We had a great laugh as he slipped into silence and left for somewhere.

I invited him to lunch to talk about managing what was hurting him. We worked out a system. If things got going in the wrong direction, I would signal and he would know what to do. But it was too late. The words continued to flow not ebb, and grate. And I was not always around to befriend a man in need of the compassion that perhaps only I could give.

The university found itself in a budgetary crisis. (Don't they all?) And something or someone had to go by the beginning of the next term in February. He volunteered. He said he had an offer in Prague. He mentioned a specific school or institute. No one tried to dissuade him. He donated his final salary back to the university, saying he didn't need it. And I guess he didn't.

A friend had bequeathed him a flat in the center of Prague. And an uncle was it?, had won a lottery, or he had, somewhere, perhaps Australia. There was plenty of money in a bank account he could use if he wanted to. His wife and child had been killed in a car accident.

Jim was a person, a subject made object by his own behavior. He didn't deserve it. And forgiveness for not treating him repeatedly as a person escapes those who behaved so, but for their own dis-eases. What this courtesy takes remains a mystery, though surely it takes empathy. But the subject human heart is frail; frailer still if trapped in the cacophony or silence that can mystify others who would have us be otherwise.

The second time I saw Jim after he left, he appeared older and frail. I have looked for him in Prague since, meaning to stop him and visit if he would like. I have yet to run into him.

San Miguel child

Senior demure

"If you can interact with the thing you are investigating in such a way that you can determine . . . that it is questioning you back, then you have something real."*

1

Imagine you are not from Mars and most days you still have your wits about you. You enter an establishment and suddenly you have no idea. Where are you? Why are you here? What is this place? Nothing clicks. Nothing makes sense. Mind a blank. Another one of those damn moments, hey?

Before the next logical step gains traction across your mind's slippery surface, or you can read the menu on the wall--number, item, price in three columns across, three rows down--a greeting promises to save your sorry face. Without your giving a hint of bewilder--'cause you've really done this many times before--you see the smile behind the counter as it begins to ask all the right questions in binary if distant fashion. You think, I can manage this.

Smile: "Burger or cheeseburger?"

"Cheeseburger."

"Everything on that [or not]?"

"Hmm. Everything."

"Lettuce and tomato?"

This is a binary question?

"Hmm. Yes."

"Mustard and ketchup?"

Let's break this one down.

"Mustard, yes. No ketchup."

"Soda, shake?"

Must be a variation of the classic binary form.

"Shake."

"Flavor?"

Clever answer needed.

"What have you got?"

"Chocolate or vanilla."

"Vanilla."

"Small, medium, or large?"

I'm getting the hang of this. Choose one of three. No brainer.

"Small, thanks."

Whew. I have my wits about me. I am hungry!

"Would you like fries with that?"

Fortunately, the smile behind the counter has been helpful, but appears as if from plastic planet unknown and apparently has limited wits. But no matter, right?

Now listen. Yes, senior moments do happen to people of all ages. Notwithstanding other challenges, most people can usually tell when they are on Earth in a burger joint in the US. Pretty difficult to lose a sense of the chapter you are reading and the page you are on in the circulinear plot that goes from hunger to not and then back again daily several times with almost clock-like regularity. The world is a friendly place, and should be, yes. But do you need help surviving daily routines in a landscape filled with chained commercial choices? a life filled with certainties about what to do and how to handle--the ordinary?

Given full knowledge and awareness of self and context, when asked if you'd like fries with that, you can politely think to yourself: If I had wanted fries, I would have ordered them. No, thanks, I know this is a burger place, I wanted a burger and shake. I told you what I wanted. I've ordered.

"No. That's it."

But do you understand what I have ordered?

She repeats for confirmation, as if commanding mission control, life or death in the balance. But she doesn't deliver her lines with that much critical mission intensity. Hmm. More like ho-hum.

"Yep, you got it."

You pay, get your food, eat it, probably too fast, leave, reach your car in the parking lot, get behind the wheel, and feel as if you have just ingested a heavy stone from some asteroid.

2

I am experienced shopper for food. Food has been an important staple my whole life. As far back as I can remember. I am pretty sure that before I can even remember, it must have been so.

I used to go with my mother to the Food Mart. She would hunt and gather what our family needed. I may have helped or just messed around. She paid and someone would help her load the paper bags into the back of the station wagon. I think I learned the grocery store routine and how to find things pretty early on. Like learning to speak my native tongue well enough to understand and be understood day in and day out now, come to think of it, for many, many years.. Came pretty naturally without lessons and teachers, and mostly without tests of my intelligence and training sessions for workaday survival skills.

During my single years and multiple marriages, I have shopped for food, mostly at Safeway, there being few other choices from the early 60s on in my part of the woods. Today I am regularly asked in the checkout line at this store if I found everything I was looking for. Huh?

I must be from Mars. So when did grocery shopping become other than a normal hunt-and-gather situation with the usual, nicely ordered and labeled dead flora and fauna to pick from? Because I am older, do I look lost or more stupid? unqualified to find what I am looking for and have been able to find for over fifty years? Has the stock become so replete and diversified that most of what I want is hidden from view?

Oh, they are asking the same questions of most everyone. Why didn't they ask the kids ahead of me in line? I guess they assume nowadays that all generations above three feet five need guidance if not direct aid. And I just thought those three employees on the aisle with the noodles and tomato sauce were demented, or illiterate,** when they asked if I was finding what I was looking for. What was I missing? What else was there to find besides spaghetti fixin's? Maybe this is the never land of the much, much more?

"How do you wish to pay for that?"

"Oh, sorry. Bit of a senior moment."

3

Buying a car from a dealer has always been a trip. For many years now the line has been, either early or late in the game, "What can I do to earn your business?"

Like I am going to be the employer and he is going to get paid by me for doing something I want to employ him for. This is to formalize a labor relationship I didn't bargain for. After all, I just want some transportation. And now I have to supervise this wannabe wage-earner? Do I have to withhold something so I don't get into trouble with the SS admin and IRS? Do I automatically contribute to his health plan and retirement, or can he opt not to have these? Surely he will want both.

I bought a new car a few years ago. I told the salesman what I wanted exactly: Simplest, least expensive model X you've got. He was young, and after getting my answer to electric windows or not, got the message. Not fully trained or automated, I guessed.

At the end after I had bought the car and was about to get in and drive away, he said I had not given him the chance to tell me all the great features the car had. I let him have his ten minutes. I drove away.

He is a goner. The next guy will get that spiel up front, and off to another planet we'll travel to the programming of?

4

Who is it who writes these scripts? What kind of supervisor makes each employee say the same thing? Are teachers educating kids or just training them? Is consumer culture and the products on offer so obscure that we have to be led from deciding why we are in a given place to what to buy, concluding the quest finally with the question of whether we got what we were looking for? Not only that, do we need to be told by the warning on the cup that the coffee is hot, in the restroom that it is hygienic to wash your hands before leaving, in the theater to turn your cell phone off--it will disturb others trying to listen to the music and the hear words spoken by the actors on the screen?

Plodding, frickin' didacticism re the self evident, hey?

Forget senior demure for a moment, which is not pointing out the bleeding obvious to the robot in front of you, the one with the inert matter between its anthropomorphized ears. If you still have your wits about you, regardless of your age, for fun, hack the program.

Ask the girl behind the counter if she had been told to ask if you wanted fries with that. See what she says. Her answer might be something like, "Yes, we are told to say that." I whoa myself each time I hear this and consider what it might mean--like maybe there is indeed a big brother behind the scenes somewhere. Is he watching some monitor that uses that camera up in the corner? Plus, how will she and her children cope in the world she is creating?

Ask the cheeky checkout clerk at the grocery store with the ever-growing database of names and purchase preferences, since s/he now knows your name and you are fast friends, looking forward to seeing each other again, perhaps during your next GSSE (grocery store shopping experience): "I can see your name is Paul on your nametag. But what is your last name? I am filling up a database myself of [insert adjective] clerks I should know in the shops so I can [insert verb] them on the street. Oh, and by the way, what is the first and last names of your manager here? I need that information too."

The car guy is more of a challenge. After all you shouldn't have to talk to these guys too often. And with the Internet, maybe you don't have to talk with them at all. But if you find yourself found on the car lot darting between the chunky bits in stock so as not to be seen, and you are approached by the guy who has been stalking you since you set your tentative big toe on the property with the intent of not having to deal with a salesman at all--you just wanted to look--you'll need something to crack the Truman Show stratosphere. Prepare your hack ahead of time. Certainty of its use can almost be guaranteed.

"How can I earn your business?"

"I need a car. You're hired to find it around here somewhere for me. But there will be no stock options or health insurance."

If he says no problem, that they don't offer him those benefits here anyway, you've probably cracked the stratosphere. But my guess is he won't.

On second thought. You'd better not. There is surely a sign somewhere that demure is the prefer, and social hacking is illegal and likely to cause unrest, or at least disrupt the orderly flow of commerce.

Is the gene pool now in constant and unrecoverable entropy, sliding down or backwards? Are we under some mandate to make a replica of a plastic utopia some bright person dreamed up? Who is ordering this universe and has invaded US? Can someone answer me other than, "Yes, we are told to say that," which actually doesn't even follow from my question?

Okay, okay. Remember, demure. Damn moments, hey? So scratch that last question.

_____
* Don Ihde in a November 14, 2000 interview. http://www.sunysb.edu/philosophy/faculty/dihde/articles/ihde_interview.htmlIncluded here to connect this writing to noematics. There are at least four variations of the demure.
** Language is at the heart of what is experienced and how. Thus this note that more and more, the continuous is being used for the simple present or past tenses in American English.