03:16 - 26.06.07
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It is odd. Butterflies are showing themselves wherever I look. Whether in articles, artwork or just in whimsical communications from friends, family and strangers, they seem to be everywhere. I was thinking of the movie "Patch Adams" wondering if there was a connection. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
The research for today was triggered by a note in my email from a friend. They were requesting a search of some aspects of the laws of Sharia(h). I have had direct encounters with how they operate before now because of the work I did with a survivor of torture from the Middle East and also because a number of my neighbours and fellow parents of some of my sons' friends abide by those principles. It is a very subtle system of thought, yet, like our own system, is often applied with all the subtlety of a jack-hammer. That human element trying to dress itself up as the word of the divine, don't you know.
The area of law being requested was that with dealt with family dynamics and governance. As with most other faith systems, Islam is split among many factions of believers all having quite distinctive ways of interpreting and applying the same set of words put out as "the law". Therefore the best I could offer was to find as many credible sources of information as I could, as well as a reference to an in-town service to help out. Trying to interpret the civil and criminal laws of this country has taught me that the minds of those who work in the world of jusrisprudence don't necessarily take into account things like common sense. But then as Will Rogers says "common sense ain't so common", or as Albert Einstein says "Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen", or as Henry Ward Beecher said "The philosophy of one century is the common sense of the next". All of the above and none of the above fit at different times, don't they? The search was a bit truncated throughout the day. I divided it up that way on purpose so I didn't develop blinders and follow only a single path of enquiry. Better to come at it fresh from a variety of angles. As usual I also learned a lot more than I expected, simply because before I started I didn't know how many different questions there were to ask. Brain candy, y'all....
The other search I did was triggered by all the advance publicity coming out today to promote the new Harry Potter movie. One comment in a newspaper article refocused my attention on a key character who is the subject of intense debate with respect to their role in book seven - the Deathly Hallows. That character beings the inscrutable Severus Snape. I realised that one of the plot devices JK Rowling uses to convey a lot of information about some of her more arcane themes is using names and words that have profound historic or multi-faceted mythological coin as well. So thinking of that, I searched for a definition for the word Snape. I made the assumption that the word Severus would mean the obvious - to sever or break apart from. The first run of "Snape, definition" came up with a carpentry term used in ship building that means to bevel the end of a timber to fit against an inclined surface. I don't know a whole lot about boats because I grew up in one of the two land locked provinces in this country. We have extraordinary lakes and rivers, but not much opportunity to learn about the sea, me hearties.
Went back and tried a second time. This worked better in that there was a reference to a village named Snape in Suffolk (birthplace of both Ralph Fiennes and Cardinal Wolsey among others), England settled by the Romans about 2000 years ago, but used earlier on by the Geats - the ones referenced in Beowulf - as a burial ground. Barrow downs perchance or a precursor of the Deathly Hallows. A center for ritual ceremonies, including smaller stone circles and megaliths similar to those located at Stonehenge. The reference that caught my attention to confirm this surmise was within that notation about the boat burials of their rulers. Nearby is located the site of Sutton Hoo where an untouched boat burial site was uncovered in 1939 by one woman who combined spiritualist practices along with the ancient skill of dowsing to find it. Aha boats with snapes it is matey! Ah yes two, the mythology that surrounds King Arthur and the grail, although like the Scottish site of Rosslyn far away from the part of England reputed to be that monarch's physical home. But then there are the caves of Nimue/Niniane/Merlin in Cornwall too aren't there - caves, oh yes, the cave that Harry and Dumbledore visit in book six. Could be my mind was just over stimulated when I received my test results from the W.O.M.B.A.T. exam set by Ms Rowling on her website. Exceeds Expectations. The note on the certificate indicated that the "Ministry of Magic was looking for people such as myself to work for them and were awaiting an application". Best job offer I've had in weeks. Too bad reality always has to get in the way, eh? More brain candy to chew over, but I need to sleep on it now.
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