Me, Myself and Identity

Just got a ticket for Guillermo del Toro's new movie, "Pan's Labyrinth", said to be a sister piece to his earlier, "The Devil's Backbone". That movie was excellent in every way, and the reports bode well for this new film too. It will be released here towards the end of the year, but the Horrorthon, on next weekend, is showing it next Sunday, and according to the ticket seller there's only 20 tickets left. A healthy indication of the taste of Irish audiences, hee, hee.

Last Thursday I enjoyed some more choice entertainment, of the theatrical variety that time. My cousin, Janet Moran, is currently acting in the Corn Exchange's production, "Everyday", currently being performed at the Beckett Theatre in Trinity College (their last play, "Dublin by Lamplight", was a great success). The play features a number of different strands involving many, many characters, all interacting over the course of one day. There are no props and each actor, playing multiple roles, performs in a style borrowing from Commedia dell'arte (stylised make-up and pronounced gestures etc.). But don't let that give you the impression that this is inaccessible; the stories are wonderfully realised, the characters very easily recognised and the whole night is wonderful entertainment. There are some elements you could quibble with (for me the Ukrainian strand didn't work so well, perhaps because in contrast with the loquacity of the other characters, this featured a girl who could barely communicate at all), and some stories are a little hacknied, but in such a wide ranging play this is inevitable. Bottom-line this is something to see (I know few listen to me, so Luke Clancy has a review here if you want confirmation).

Afterwards Jan and I went for a pint or two and I very easily got drawn into pontificating about aesthetics and drama etc.. Naturally Hamlet was mentioned (the pinnacle of dramatic art as far as I am concerned), but it got me reconsidering an idea for a play I've long had. I guess I'd better knuckle down and do it.

Having said that plans are just about complete for the next stage of my world travels. November 11th should see me jet off again. I was going to detail the itinerary here, but I have decided to keep you all in the dark and reveal the trip as it happens. Travel shots tomorrow.

Anything else? The chiropodist stood me up yesterday on my return visit. Luckily things are looking brighter on the toe front and I may not need such a visit after all.

[WARNING! Do not read following paragraph if easily offended by philosophy.]
I have started to read some metaphysics again (that's you and your Hegel, Jan! Remember the dialectic nature of three act play????? Hee, hee, hee.). I have a bulky anthology at home that has some interesting general essays. I'm not sure if I see the Identity of Indiscernibles as a major problem for Empiricism's Bundle Theory as the editors put forward. They give the example of a universe where two spheres, each identical in composition, history, etc. revolve. If they are identical how can we differentiate them as different bodies. I'm not going to go into that here, but I will say that I believe the role of the subject is integral to any understanding of separate entities with identical properties (we will always posit them in relation to ourselves, hence a spatial element is always involved). Yeesh! Give me a break; I get carried away sometimes.

From the sublime to...De Palma's "Bonfire of the Vanities". Reviled on release, De Palma's adaptation of the Tom Wolfe novel was on the other night. I had seen it a long time ago, but since then I've read the excellent "The Devil's Candy", and have wanted to view the movie again in light of that account of its making. Anyway it is recorded and I'll view it later.