a good allegory about gravity, physics, and the human diaspora .. but not literally, por favor!

I'm as anti-church as anyone I know, but...last I heard, the Catholic church didn't proclaim the literal truth of the bible. It's an allegory, a metaphor. In other words, there is no problem here...unless you're a strict fundamentalist.

I suspect he didn't want to try to deal with a concept as "complicated" as metaphor in a 60 second segment.

I'm from Latvia
Admittedly though, while Kafka in the curriculum was indeed a fact, our public education system is becoming a LOT less draconian these days (kids can actually choose NOT to have physics and chem in years 10-12 these days, which is very sad, actually), so I wouldn't be surprised if it had been substituted by local (lesser) authors by now. Then again, I was always a lit-nerd - all I did, age 3-10, was read, several hours' worth, every day. Then I discovered computers.

Also, one of the reasons I remember Kafka as "light reading" might be due to me taking on the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner and Ulysses around the same time

Btw, I didn't vote for the clip in question because of (I know, I'm always unpopular because of this-) Pink Floyd - I absolutely can't stand The Wall...

In reply to this comment by enoch:
In reply to this comment by EDD:
Why would there be any frustration, especially for a Lit major? Metamorphosis is short, interesting and easy reading with quite unambiguous allegory and metaphors. Where I'm from, its analysis is in the 9/10th grade curriculum.

you read kafka in 9th grade?i remember reading steinbeck,j.d salinger and shakespeare.where did you go to school?albania?
i like kafka's short works of poems but his narratives lose me.my roomie was english lit,he was always complaining about kafka.my sentence structure alone should reveal that I was not the english lit person in question...sighs.
i never got into any of his other work.
i was the same with tolstoy and doesteyevsky.they bored me.
"metamorphosis" is pretty good,mix that with floyd and it was a winner to me.
the song and animation actually make this short verse more vibrant in my opinion.

should i remove that line?a co-worker of mine has her masters in english,and she too says that kafka was a pain in the ass.
she is from albania btw..pre-algebra in first grade..yeesh.
figured that was two that thought kafka was a royal pain.
im not exactly a kafka expert,but i like his poetry.
not my fave mind you,but i like.

In reply to this comment by EDD:
Why would there be any frustration, especially for a Lit major? Metamorphosis is short, interesting and easy reading with quite unambiguous allegory and metaphors. Where I'm from, its analysis is in the 9/10th grade curriculum.

you read kafka in 9th grade?i remember reading steinbeck,j.d salinger and shakespeare.where did you go to school?albania?
i like kafka's short works of poems but his narratives lose me.my roomie was english lit,he was always complaining about kafka.my sentence structure alone should reveal that I was not the english lit person in question...sighs.
i never got into any of his other work.
i was the same with tolstoy and doesteyevsky.they bored me.
"metamorphosis" is pretty good,mix that with floyd and it was a winner to me.
the song and animation actually make this short verse more vibrant in my opinion.

should i remove that line?a co-worker of mine has her masters in english,and she too says that kafka was a pain in the ass.
she is from albania btw..pre-algebra in first grade..yeesh.
figured that was two that thought kafka was a royal pain.
im not exactly a kafka expert,but i like his poetry.
not my fave mind you,but i like.

Why would there be any frustration, especially for a Lit major? Metamorphosis is short, interesting and easy reading with quite unambiguous allegory and metaphors. Where I'm from, its analysis is in the 9/10th grade curriculum.

allegory of self-awareness.

I could see the allegory of fungus and cancer, but not as an appropriate literal causation... especially including a one-size-fits-all cure, which is simply never the case with cancer... that much we know by now, and i know i dont have a MD.

here's one: Fire gets rid of cancer, too. I'm gonna need your payment up front, though.

Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of the Mormon church, or any church for that matter. I found myself wondering if there was a big distinction between personal attacks and attacks on one's faith. Still a good question in my mind, as some people are "born into" faith. At any rate, you're approach seemed disproportionately agressive, and that you seemed to be holding this Sifter accountable for something the church had done.

I wasn't sure if Aemaeth had deleted your comments or if you had left them privately (deleted it seems). Religiosity seems such a crime on The Sift, and as I hovered my mouse over the little manacles, I wondered if you had any kind of belief system that could be challenged.

In reply to this comment by dystopianfuturetoday:
Looks like Project: Empathy was a bit too successful, as he managed to get the point (that being singled out sucks) without getting the point (that he was cast as the gay person in my staged allegory). It's a shame he couldn't make that connection. Oh well...... either way, that's some thin skin for a denizen of the internet. I've seen tougher talk in the *catsanddogs channel. <shrugs>

In reply to this comment by schmawy:
* dangles handcuffs *

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:
[saving this comment in case it gets erased.]
Yes, by all means, run away. That is what Mormons do best when ... your absurd belief system. ... so called 'Prophets' ... pull their heads out of their asses ... means you are gullible.

Looks like Project: Empathy was a bit too successful, as he managed to get the point (that being singled out sucks) without getting the point (that he was cast as the gay person in my staged allegory). It's a shame he couldn't make that connection. Oh well...... either way, that's some thin skin for a denizen of the internet. I've seen tougher talk in the *catsanddogs channel. <shrugs>

In reply to this comment by schmawy:
* dangles handcuffs *

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:
[saving this comment in case it gets erased.]
Yes, by all means, run away. That is what Mormons do best when ... your absurd belief system. ... so called 'Prophets' ... pull their heads out of their asses ... means you are gullible.

Yes, Lost is worth it. If you rent season 1 and season 2 and you aren't hooked after that, then you are not human.

It does fall a bit flat in season 3, but season 5 has been pretty awesome.

In reply to this comment by dystopianfuturetoday:
Yeah, it's worth it. The miniseries and first two seasons are great (although there are a handful of horrible episodes scattered throughout, including one called 'Black Market' which is probably the worst episode evar). Season 3 starts out pretty amazingly, as an allegory for the occupation of Iraq, where we actually empathize with 'insurgents' and even suicide bombers.

After that conflict resolves, the show begins its decent into the toilet, and the bad episodes outnumber the good ones by a healthy margin. If you make it that far, you'll probably want finish it out, but the ending is a complete let down. The writers completely lose there discipline in the 3rd and 4th seasons, and all of the logic of the BSG universe goes out the window. In the end, none of the mysteries or plot contrivances are tied up in any kind of satisfying way.

At least Netflick the miniseries and 1st season, and watch it with your girl.

I've not seen any of lost. Should I check that out?

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
So, I haven't watched BSG yet, but it seems like people are ticked about the ending. Is it worth watching the four or five seasons of BSG? Or is it a let down?

In reply to this comment by dystopianfuturetoday:
Let's hope the Muppets actually stick to their plan.

Yeah, it's worth it. The miniseries and first two seasons are great (although there are a handful of horrible episodes scattered throughout, including one called 'Black Market' which is probably the worst episode evar). Season 3 starts out pretty amazingly, as an allegory for the occupation of Iraq, where we actually empathize with 'insurgents' and even suicide bombers.

After that conflict resolves, the show begins its decent into the toilet, and the bad episodes outnumber the good ones by a healthy margin. If you make it that far, you'll probably want finish it out, but the ending is a complete let down. The writers completely lose there discipline in the 3rd and 4th seasons, and all of the logic of the BSG universe goes out the window. In the end, none of the mysteries or plot contrivances are tied up in any kind of satisfying way.

At least Netflick the miniseries and 1st season, and watch it with your girl.

I've not seen any of lost. Should I check that out?

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
So, I haven't watched BSG yet, but it seems like people are ticked about the ending. Is it worth watching the four or five seasons of BSG? Or is it a let down?

In reply to this comment by dystopianfuturetoday:
Let's hope the Muppets actually stick to their plan.

Now dft, you're being unfair towards BSG, up to the point of being hypocritical. If one values the show for its merits in terms of allegory, the ethical and moral conflicts and noir like you say you do (extrapolating from your examples), one could be expecting a fitting finale in terms of closure and retained style, not in terms of traditional (and utterly unoriginal) "awesome-go-out-with-a-bang" type of storytelling (which will, of course be served, come on, this is television, the industry of entertainment we're talking about).

I haven't seen the 19th episode yet, but the very idea of Galactica 'dying' - doesn't it have enough finality and noir to it for you? And what are the loose ends that are left? I for one feel like they're addressing these too excessively. They're obviously tying the Hera/Shape of things to come/Opera motif up, as well as the Roslin/Dying leader prophecy by entwining her fate with that of the old girl. No, leaving storylines up in the air isn't something they'll do.

And I'm quite sure they won't do a Sopranos ending, that's just cheating when one can't write themselves out of a corner, which the Galactica writers have already shown they're capable of doing just fine.

As for Daniel - I agree with timtoner that him being Kara's father makes more sense in the universe's mythology, but I'm also assuming they wouldn't introduce such a major character on-screen this late in the series when they're perfectly capable of finding other, if less-rational explanations for Kara's destiny. Again, I might be wrong, not having seen the 19th episode yet.

I'm confused if the allegory of the GOE is sticking or not.

i think the story of noah's ark would be proper as an allegory involving DNA... two of every animals DNA could fit somewhere, like .. in a computer or something... but allegory isnt close to fact or theory... plus there is no god

allegory -- useful and even enlightening until people get it in their heads that their interpretation is the only one. I wish I was clever enough to recognize more!