We've just returned from a really enjoyable holiday in Eastern England, blogged here: http://fromthesilversea.blogspot.co.uk/
And I've got a problem with the ligament in my leg, so I'm supposed to rest with my feet up. I'm trying my best, but sitting still when there's a mound of washing to be dealt with is really not my forte. But TSH is doing his best, so I'm on lighter duties than usual.
Last night we went to the cinema screening of the National Theatre's 'Curious Incident of the Dog in the night'. A very clever adaptation of a book which is written completely from Christopher's point of view, which is difficult to portray on stage. The actor who played Christopher was brilliant, but must have been physically and mentally exhausted at the end. These screenings are a cheap and convenient way for those of us 'oop north' to see the best performances without the expense of a trip to London. They also plan to screen something about the British Museum Vikings exhibition.
I have resumed work on the dissertation by writing up the notes I made on holiday. Next I am going to address Cohen's use of 'the'. I have written a lot already but its a bit muddled and I intend to sort it out today. I'm up to almost 15,000 words, so I have more than enough for the required 12,500.
Showing posts with label british museum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label british museum. Show all posts
Friday, 23 May 2014
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Pompeii, Herculaneum and Roger McGough
We went to the British Museum exhibition about Pompeii and Herculaneum - the two cities destroyed by the AD79 eruption of Vesuvius. The presentation was excellent - they started us off with a film which alternated historical facts with footage of present-day Naples. This brought home the fact that the people who died were real people with lives not dissimilar to those we lead today. Although I have visited both sites, there were many objects which I have never seen before, such as carbonised recognisable food. And the models of the victims, created using the moulds they left behind, were chilling. Much to be recommended.
And the latest 'face-to-face' session was stylistics, which is really the literary use of language. We looked at a Roger McGough poem http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/roger-mcgough/first-day-at-school/ which I had never read before. Stylistics is very dependent on the effect sometimes ambiguous language has on the reader. Many of the people on the course are teachers, so they know far more than I do about today's pupils. But when it came to the line 'I wish I could remember my name', all I could think was 'there's something wrong with this child'. But all the teachers were understanding and thought it was normal to be in such a panic. Now, I was timid (still am, honestly), but there was never any possibility of forgetting my name. Does this really happen?
This part of the course looks really organised - all the materials are there already, as they should be, so we can work at our own pace.
Meanwhile, back to Critical Discourse Analysis and my Boundary Mill postcard.
And the latest 'face-to-face' session was stylistics, which is really the literary use of language. We looked at a Roger McGough poem http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/roger-mcgough/first-day-at-school/ which I had never read before. Stylistics is very dependent on the effect sometimes ambiguous language has on the reader. Many of the people on the course are teachers, so they know far more than I do about today's pupils. But when it came to the line 'I wish I could remember my name', all I could think was 'there's something wrong with this child'. But all the teachers were understanding and thought it was normal to be in such a panic. Now, I was timid (still am, honestly), but there was never any possibility of forgetting my name. Does this really happen?
This part of the course looks really organised - all the materials are there already, as they should be, so we can work at our own pace.
Meanwhile, back to Critical Discourse Analysis and my Boundary Mill postcard.
Saturday, 13 April 2013
Well, its a perspective
We went to the ice age art exhibition at the British Museum. It was awesome in the full sense of the word to see artefacts created by humans 20,000-30,000 years ago. It is a great exhibition.
But ... these marvellous objects have been hijacked by the artists (yes, I know, the clue is in the title). And they've interpreted everything in their own terms (imagination, religion etc). When really, they might well have been engineering diagrams depicting literally the world around them. I know I have a BA now, and I'm working for my MA but I'm still the BSc computer nerd at heart. And the world is ours, too.
There were some really interesting carvings of women but the interpreters had used modern values to group them as 'young, slim and erotic' or 'old obese and not erotic'. ITS NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.
My favourite bit was the description of a carved duck, which was 'positioned in the void between the upper and lower cosmos' meaning 'there's a lot of blank space around it'. And then they'd added 'Or its a picture of a meal with a useful bundle of feathers'. That one got through the Pomposity Enforcers.
But ... these marvellous objects have been hijacked by the artists (yes, I know, the clue is in the title). And they've interpreted everything in their own terms (imagination, religion etc). When really, they might well have been engineering diagrams depicting literally the world around them. I know I have a BA now, and I'm working for my MA but I'm still the BSc computer nerd at heart. And the world is ours, too.
There were some really interesting carvings of women but the interpreters had used modern values to group them as 'young, slim and erotic' or 'old obese and not erotic'. ITS NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.
My favourite bit was the description of a carved duck, which was 'positioned in the void between the upper and lower cosmos' meaning 'there's a lot of blank space around it'. And then they'd added 'Or its a picture of a meal with a useful bundle of feathers'. That one got through the Pomposity Enforcers.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Not the best weekend away
Travelled to London and went to British Museum to see much acclaimed Hajj exhibition but all tickets were sold out for period we were in London. What a disappointment - this was the major reason for the weekend away.
On Sunday morning, hotel had no hot water, so we had cold bath/shower. After major tantrum from me and cold determination from TSH, they agreed to give us complimentary dinner with wine, which turned out rather good. BUT during cold water period, TSH boiled kettle for shaving and poured boiling water on his arm. Our improvisation included cutting up a sock to make a sleeve to hold clean wet wipe in place to protect skin.
When getting out of taxi at Euston, I banged my head and then dropped my glasses and bent them.
Sunday at Kew Gardens was great, as ever.
I had a dream that my first MA assignment came back in an envelope (its all on-line) but that the envelope, whilst containing lots of paper, did not include my actuial mark. Anxiety dream or what?
On Sunday morning, hotel had no hot water, so we had cold bath/shower. After major tantrum from me and cold determination from TSH, they agreed to give us complimentary dinner with wine, which turned out rather good. BUT during cold water period, TSH boiled kettle for shaving and poured boiling water on his arm. Our improvisation included cutting up a sock to make a sleeve to hold clean wet wipe in place to protect skin.
When getting out of taxi at Euston, I banged my head and then dropped my glasses and bent them.
Sunday at Kew Gardens was great, as ever.
I had a dream that my first MA assignment came back in an envelope (its all on-line) but that the envelope, whilst containing lots of paper, did not include my actuial mark. Anxiety dream or what?
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