Photo: Fly By Night

A train in motion at night. Simple, and semi-abstract.

Vegan Bento #33

Top tier: home-made wontons (spinach, mushroom, garlic and sesame with soy sauce), extra steamed spinach, and sweet plum dipping sauce (pig case!).

Bottom tier L-R: blueberry cookie, sugared almonds, vanilla almonds, vegan jerky and raw cashews (orange cup), dry-roasted peas, dry-roasted corn, freeze-dried strawberries (cat cup). Plus a small jelly!

On the Quest for Meaning

Warning: this is a bit tangential, and roams from the need for meaning in life, to the notion of religion as an agent of social/individual control, and then spirals tangentially into a bit of pseudo-existentialism.

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Everyone seems to want to know what is the ‘meaning of life’; more to the point, the vast majority of people want to believe that there is some sort of reason, meaning or purpose behind their existance. In an increasingly secular society, this myth of meaning has been subtly changed; instead of serving God, etc., the purpose is to ‘serve society’, in whatever capacity one is able. That is to say, the greater meaning of life, in modern Western society, is generally perceived as being useful, be that through career, interpersonal relationships, whatever.

“‘The worst thing that could possibly happen to anybody,’ she said, ‘would be to not be used for anything by anybody.’ The thought relaxed her.” (Sirens of Titan, Vonnegut)

In context, the premise of the novel is that all the exploits and endeavours of the human race have been nothing more than a subtly controlled manipulation by the far-off Trafalmadorians. Obviously, there is a lot of allegory related to religion/God. However, the point is that Rumfoord, who exists in all time at once, understands this, and therefore seeks to create a new religion; one in which God, though he exists, doesn’t give a shit about humanity, and has nothing to do with them.

It’s an interesting blend of the need for faith in a higher power, with the stark reality that people’s lives are influenced by the chance of nature, an impartial, uncaring force. And, of course, the control by the Trafalmadorians – of which no human is aware, other than Rumfoord – could be seen as an allusion to basic primal urges. People act as they are genetically programmed to: they may find unique means by which to achieve these biological goals, but in the end, isn’t nature the greater controlling force? Perhaps it simply seems as though we have free will because there is such extraordinary variation in nature, and thus in people and their actions.

Thus, Rumfoord creates a new meaning; that there is no meaning, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, this most essential truth needs to be cloaked in the trappings of religion, because even the reality that belief is false needs to be conveyed through belief… in that non-belief. And even then, the notion of control still exists: Rumfoord never explicitly states that God doesn’t control things, just that he doesn’t care or play an ACTIVE role. Things could potentially still be set in motion by this greater power, eons ago. So what does this represent? An intelligent, intermediary step on the way to a non-religion of cold, harsh logic? Or just another means by which to give people that security of ’someone/thing else controls my fate, which means there must be some bigger picture here – i.e. meaning’ that they need?

A review of Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus (which is a fantastic read, by the way) said that although Camus promoted the idea of achieving happiness through the realisation that life is ultimately meaningless, there is no way Camus himself could have been happy, living as he did with that knowledge.

I ask: why not? Isn’t there something liberating in the knowledge that there aren’t any prescribed achievements? That your life is your own, because in the end, it doesn’t represent anything? I don’t see why that’s necessarily fatalistic. You can still effect change – for good or ill – in your immediate circumstances/environment, you simply accept that there isn’t necessarily any great spiritual or larger force driving it all. It’s not ‘chaos’, at least not in the human sense, it is simply nature in its purest form. It exists because it exists, in and of itself, for its own sake.

Thoughts?

Vegan Bento #32

Top tier L-R: low-fat blueberry cookies, dry-roasted corn, dry-roasted peas, home-made dried fruit mix.

Bottom tier L-R: brown rice with nori gomashio, nori smiley, and carrot flowers; brown rice with umeboshi plum gomashio, and a plum with hand-cut cat design.

50 Books Challenge

Challenge stolen from the lovely Lady Lazarus, whose awesome blog you should go check out. Now! Well, after you’ve read my post. The challenge is to read 50 books in a year.

Books:

1. Jude the Obscure, Hardy
2. Crime and Punishment, Dostoyevsky
3. Carolan’s Concerto, Mor
4. Brave New World, Huxley
5. 1984, Orwell
6. Neverwhere, Gaiman
7. The Plague, Camus
8. Fire Child, Sanders
9. The Wiccan Mystic, Gruagach
10. Trainspotting, Welch
11. Prozac Nation, Wurtzel
12. The Bell Jar, Plath
13. Mists of Avalon, Zimmer-Bradley
14. Flow My Tears The Policeman Said, Dick
15. The Celts in Europe, Cremin
16. Catch-22, Heller
17. 5 Decades of the X-Men, Lee (ed.)
18. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Fielding
19. Archaeology and the Media (kinda cheating, mostly read it for uni)
20. Suite Francaise, Nemirovsky
21. Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury
22. Dear Fatty, French
23. Caucasus, Griffin
24. Girl, Interrupted, Kaysen
25. Atonement, McEwan
26. Anna Karenina, Tolstoy
27. The Time Traveller’s Wife, Niffenegger
28. Dancing Girls, Atwood
29. Druid Priestess, Restall-Orr
30. The Prestige, Priest
31. Book of Shadows, Tiernan
32. The Coven, Tiernan
33. Blood Witch, Tiernan
34. Dark Magick, Tiernan
35. Awakening, Tiernan
36. Spellbound (I’m rereading the series, don’t judge me )
37. Bluebeard, Vonnegut
38. Good Bones, Atwood
39. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Dick
40. Timequake, Vonnegut
41. Dune, Herbert
42. Love All the People, Hicks
43. Kissing the Hag, Restall-Orr
44. Dubliners, Joyce
45. On Eating, Orbach
46. Terrier (The Legend of Beka Cooper, Book 1), Pierce
47. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Berdstant
48. Batman: the Long Halloween, Loeb & Sale
49. The Crow, O’Barr
50. Kingdom of Fear, Thompson

Yay! 50! I actually read quite a few more than that, but I can’t remember/don’t see the point in recording them now. So. On to 2010, where I will attempt to document them as I go.

Book Review: Breath

‘Breath’ by Tim Winton.

This review may be somewhat biased, given that Winton is one of my favourite contemporary authors; but there’s good reason for his prominent standing among modern writers. Breath is yet another example of his amazing work.

The premise of the plot is deceptively simple: framed within the perspective of Bruce Pike’s adult viewpoint is the story of his wilder youth, in which he sought thrills in dangerous natural environments, and rebelled against the loneliness and hurt of society in ostensibly ‘deviant’ ways. Although he reflects on the insanity of some of his teenage antics, the plot never veers into moralistic piety, and is certainly more nostalgic and reminiscent than regretful.

Stylistically, Winton’s prose is typically sparse and occasionally disjointed, simultaneously conveying the harshness of the Australian landscape, the sea itself, and the tumultuous life of a teenage boy seeking to live an extraordinary life. The underuse of conventional grammar (if you hate Joyce, you may be rather annoyed) adds to the feel of the novel, creating a fast-paced tale that careens from present to past, skipping across time freely, and genuinely recreating the hectic feel of adolescence.

It’s interesting that Winton so aptly conveys the desparation of youth; Bruce tries desparately to establish his extraordinariness, to defy convention, and to live a meaningful and exciting life. However, given that this part of the story is framed within the perspective of adult-Bruce’s life, I think there’s a poignant message in it. The desire to be something brilliant, to burn brightly in the dull sea of mediocrity, never dies in those that feel the driving need to be something more than average.

It could be argued that he still seeks that thrill in the adrenaline-fueled work of being an ambulance officer, but the fact that he still surfs, despite the limitations of age and injury, more strongly suggest that even that capitulation is never enough. That in finding that compromise between thrill and what is considered conventionable/allowable, the brilliance is lost, and becomes little more than a new sense of safety. It’s the kind of need for something more that drives people to unspeakable despair through dissatisfaction.

Hmm, digressed a little there, but it’s hard not to, after reading such a passionate piece of writing. Overall rating: 10/10.

Photo: On Golden Pond

Another photograph taken at the Leura Everglades Historic Gardens while on the 2009 Autumn Retreat (held by the fabulous Pagan Initiative). Note that the colour hue/saturation has NOT been altered in any way. It really was that spectacular.

Recipe: Vegan Banana Choc-chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 185g (3/4 cup) margarine (I use Nuttelex)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 medium overripe banana, mashed
• 1 & 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted (gluten-free works fine)
• 1 cup chopped dark chocolate

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat margarine, vanilla essence and sugars in a bowl until combined.
2. Add banana and mix until thoroughly combined.
3. Add sifted flour and chocolate chips, stir thoroughly.
4. Cover bowl and refrigerate dough for 1 hour, or until firm. Preheat oven to 180 celsius.
5. Place heaped teaspoons of mixture on lightly greased baking tray, and flatten slightly (the dough will be very sticky, so wet your hands to flatten dough balls).
6. Bake at 180 celsius for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.
7. Allow to stand for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool.

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Notes: this is an original adaptation of my mother’s recipe for plain choc-chip cookies, so all credit to me, thank you! This recipe is for very soft cookies – if you prefer crispier cookies, flatten the balls of dough until thin, and bake slightly longer (but be careful not to burn them!). Also, these cookies taste a lot better cool than warm, unlike most. Enjoy!

Vegan Bento #31

Top tier: delicious vegan brownie (green cup; and I didn’t make it), sultanas, raw pistachios and cashews (orange cup), TVP jerky, purple grapes.

Bottom tier: leftover broccoli, mushroom (shiitake and button) and Singapore noodle stir fry with oyster-mushroom sauce and shiitake-soy sauce.

Photo: Holden

The tail-end of the much-beloved ute. Just love the lines, colours and contrast.