McManus talks about some interesting stuff, like symbols and how we've used various shapes and sounds to communicate (from simple letters to taps on a wire). Disney Tokyo opened, but not before someone came in to look at the shapes and spaces to decipher into the Japanese culture what they might mean or communicate. All these things around us -- even smell and touch -- have meaning.
I had a friend come up to me and comment about the new HM military style hats we have. Our church bookstore sells them and one guy told me about his daughter asking him if the screen print on the hat was a skull, a Christian skull, or a pirate. I was overly sensitive to being misunderstood and the symbol of a skull being innocuous and even a symbol of worship yet being thought of as only "evil" or "death." Because I was so sensitive to an imaginary (but only too real) argument from a narrow viewpoint that I missed an opportunity for a good laugh between this guy and I. What could have been a lighthearted moment was instead awkward.
It's funny how the things I learn or hear become phrases or concepts that I wish to communicate to others. It's like I want those around me to hear and understand what I believe.
I wonder what point the author is leading up to with this discussion.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at January 2, 2008 11:06 PMSkulls! heheh. sometimes, when I happen to hear someone tripping out on a skull design or depiction -
like "ooh, it's a symbol of death, how dark/morbid/etc."
- I just tell them, 'that's pretty much what we'd all look like without skin and muscle on our faces...what's the big deal??'
Posted by: metallikitty at January 4, 2008 01:47 AM