Lamentations

I came across a discussion about the “whining” posted on blogs (in this case, academic blogs). One of the commenters said a better word would be “lamenting”:

My wife used to have a fifteen minute period before bedtime we would call "Nightly Laments" where you could curse the fates. You were limited to the 15. Calling it whining was considered coarse, and lead the complainer to the couch-gulag.

I like this idea of giving lamenting a place in one’s life, either out loud or in writing. That way you can get this stuff out legitimately, without adding insult by calling it “whining.” It reminds me of the myth of Ereshkigal, the queen of the underworld. In order to placate her and get back his granddaughter, Innana, Enki (the god of wisdom) sends these humble little Mourners to go and sympathize with Ereshkigal’s pain. They just let her rant and they say “Woe is you” and after she gets it all out of her system, she feels better and releases Innana.

So sometimes you just gotta vent. But the important thing is to find the right time and place – and limit it. 15-minute Nightly Laments – I like that.

11:28:19 PM      trackback [] 

I caught most of this cool short film by Boston-area filmmaker, Bryan Papciak, at the Waltham Open Studios today. I was walking past the studio space and glanced in, then couldn’t take my eyes off it. “Met State” was an official selection for the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, among other awards. You can view short clips at the Handcranked Film Projects site, or download the entire 10-minute film at the Sundance Online Film Festival site.

Here’s the description: “A short film exploring the graphic nature of derelict space through an experimental study of an abandoned insane asylum." It's appropriately spooky for this time of year.

7:47:01 PM      trackback []