Language and identity

In how far is a person's identity or character linked to the language that he/she speaks? Suppose you are a person who is fond of using irony in his native tongue. Or let's say you are a person who earns his living with language e.g a teacher. Now you move to a country with a different language, Let's say you're an elderly person. Let's assume you will never be at home in the 'new' language. In the 'new' country people will have a different perception of you, because you are forced to communicate in a different way. Your irony doesn't work because you are not proficient in the new language or the people in the new country are not susceptible to irony. Does that change you? Does the fact that you cannot communicate as you would wish, change you? At any rate you feel that your personality cannot be fully expressed. That probably means that people's perception of your character or identity or personality is different. What exactly is the difference between character, identity and personality? Mmm, food for thought.

Bite Club

I'm reading this so-called ' fantasy book'. It's called Bite Club by Rachel Caine. Apart from the fact that it is a pretty bad book from the point of view of plot and style, there is one thing that is slightly bothering me. In the story there is a character consisting of a brain in a bowl of liquid. This brain is wired up to all sorts of surveillance gadgets in order to spy on the inhabitants of the town where the story is set. To my knowledge the author who first hit upon the idea of a brain in a bowl was Roald Dahl in a short story called William and Mary. Now, should this in any way influence my judgement of the book? Is it plagiarism that the author makes use of the same gimmick as Roald Dahl? Most of the readers of Bite Club, I would imagine, are 11 to 15 year olds who, presumably, have not read Roald Dahl's story. It isn't as if Ms Caine has copied the plot. Just one character. Recycled it, as it were. Mmmm...

How Yu Kong moved the mountains

This is 12 hours of documentary about the Cultural Revolution by Dutch cinematographer Joris Ivens. Ivens filmed the ordinary people in China during this period. It must be said that he looked upon the Cultural Revolution as a good thing. Nevertheless the documentaries make for great viewing. There is e.g. " The story of the football" in which students and teachers of a secondary school have an ideological/political debate about the fact that a teacher punished a student by taking away his football. 12 minutes but very interesting, as is the documentary "Chemist's number 13" about a city chemist's where staff are learning to work for the good of the people. Recommended!

"He still remembers you from the last time you were here".

My Dutch driving licence will expire soon and it is now time for an Italian one. It is not a very complicated affair to exchange a Dutch driving licence for an Italian one. Tons of paperwork, of course. Money to be paid, of course. But after even a short time in this country you learn that bureaucracy reigns, ok? Visit to the doctor included. So far so good. Two days later a telephone call from the ACI (Automobile Club of Italy): do I know I am going to get a BE licence allowing me to drive car/trailer combinations to a total weight of 10,000 kilos. No, I don't know that. Was only allowed 3500 kilos in Holland, but can't see a problem. Ah, then I should come back to their office and see the doctor again because a BE licence involves testing my reaction speed. O.K. Will do. At the appointed time I went to the ACI only to be told that the testing was no longer necessary as the doctor had remembered me from my recent visit to him.

Never a dull moment in this country.

Saw Le notti di Cabiria (1957) by Federico Fellini the other night. What a great film that is! There is a wonderful scene in which the the main character, Cabiria, has joined a pilgrimage to Our Lady Mary of Love in order to ask for a change in her life. Sceptical at first, she is completely bowled over by the intensity of the emotions of the people around her and, scepticism gone, wholeheartedly gives herself over to the veneration of Lady Mary. When the religious festivities are over, people sit down in the fields for a picnic. When Cabiria starts to realize that so far nothing has changed, she is infuriated by a small group of worshippers going past and rails at them. Great stuff!

There was this wonderful old square in Merano (It) called the 'Sandplatz''. There were trees, there was grass, a fountain, a statue and some benches. Very 19th century. Very beautiful. But it was decided that on that spot they wanted an underground parking. To that end a huge hole was dug where the park was. When the parking was ready, they put back another square with concrete walls, an ugly tap for a fountain, a tiled surface and granite benches. It looks disgraceful. The benches are dirty because people step on them in order to reach the other side of the square, at one end there are shrubs in ugly plastic containers, the statue can be reached by climbing some of the ugliest steps in the northern hemisphere. In short, it is a disgrace. The people who were responsible for giving the planning permission, deserve a good talking to and need to learn that tourists do not come to Merano to see the same things they can see at home.

Elk begin is er één. Vandaar. Ik wou ook wel eens weten hoe zoiets werkt.