Natural learning is about making connections, in history, philosophy, belief and practice. Tie in music, art, science, geography, patterns, religion, animals, minerals or vegetables. This is unschooling practice and strewing practice, except that it's as real as anything.
Sometimes basketry, carved wood, pottery or glass items came to be made in metal for a while. Then plastic copied that. In the U.S./Europe, that happend with drinking cups, dishes, baskets themselves (those bypassed metal, generally), wheelbarrows (some are still metal, but only decorative wheelbarrows are wooden), and different kinds of chairs.
In India, there are plastic chairs that are suggestive of carved ivory.
American-designed chairs, originally wooden, some made in steel and aluminum, before plastics came along:
In India, they make plastic versions of the clay water pots they made for a long time. Before plastic, they were metal.
Where I live (and I don't know whether it's all of my ancestry's neighborhoods, too), we have plastic buckets that are like the metal buckets we had before that were the same shape as the wooden buckets that were made way before my time.
We also have plastic jugs, like for milk and for maple syrup, that are like things that were made of glass before, that were like things made of pottery before that.
This blog never was appreciated by anyone but me, but still, I will keep it, because some posts are quoted in Just Add Light and Stir, or on my site.
There are 22 unfinished posts, which might never be finished. Maybe I should release them as they are, and work on them later (or accept comments and ideas on the partial versions).
This was on my facebook page, and has lots of comments there. Everyday knowledge will bring total blankness in other places (and times).
Brits, do not tell. This is a mystery for north Americans.
Don't anybody tell yet. Let people have a day or two to wonder, and ponder, and giggle and google.
There are many comments, and some talk of cow-tipping, brollies, bum bags and such, at that link.
Part one, to which I want to add other stories. This reminds me of a story from the book Strange Survivals, by Sabine Baring-Gould, which I hope to find and bring.
It's about an excavated Easter Island statue: "The excavation team also found about 800 grams of natural red pigment — nearly two pounds — in the burial hole, along with a human burial." This is from a current UCLA project to excavate a couple of the "heads."
(click image to go to article)
Thor Heyderdahl had already excavated one in the 1950's. This image also came from the article above.
I've added this song to my "Small Words" page. "Shack" was originally of the desert southwest/Mexican origin (probably), and "gull" is from Welsh (long ago), but otherwise the words are old to ancient English. Though the stereotypical "anglo-saxon words" are four letters, the longest word ("evermore") is plenty old and English. It's two four-letter words stuck together.
Musically, this is (as is the song "El Paso," also written by Marty Robbins) in the style of Mexican music. Marty Robbins grew up in Arizona. This song has quite a calypso and seaside element, whereas "El Paso" is in the traditional "ranchera" style (northern Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas).
I told Mary about us,
I told her about our great sin.
Mary cried and forgave me,
Mary took me back again,
Said if I wanted my freedom
I could be free evermore.
But I don't want to be,
and I don't want to see
Mary cry anymore.
Oh, Devil Woman,
Devil Woman, let go of me.
Devil Woman, let me be,
And leave me alone.
I want to go home.
Mary is waitin' and weepin'
down in our shack by the sea.
Even after I've hurt her,
Mary's still in love with me.
Devil Woman it's over,
trapped no more by your charms,
Cause I don't want to stay.
I want to get away;
Woman let go of my arm.
Oh, Devil Woman,
Devil Woman, let go of me.
Devil Woman, let me be,
And leave me alone.
I want to go home.
Devil Woman, you're evil,
like the dark coral reef.
Like the winds that bring high tides,
you bring sorrow and grief.
You made me ashamed to face Mary
barely had the strength to tell.
Skies are not so black,
Mary took me back,
Mary has broken your spell.
Oh, Devil Woman,
Devil Woman, let go of me.
Devil Woman, let me be,
And leave me alone.
I want to go home.
Runnin' along by the seashore,
runnin' as fast as I can.
Even the seagulls are happy
glad I'm comin' home again.
Never again will I ever
cause another tear to fall.
Down the beach I see
What belongs to me,
The one I want most of all.
Oh, Devil Woman,
Devil Woman, don't follow me.
Devil Woman let me be,
And leave me alone.
I'm goin' back home.
_______________________
There are a dozen or more songs on the Small Words page. Here's another post from this blog that led there, too, through the song Sunshine, by Jonathan Edwards.
On my Lyrics Game group on facebook, in the same month someone put up "lions, tigers, bears, oh my" (play any of those), and someone else put up sleepwear.
I posted this, after playing in both from the same songs:
Songs with "bear/bears" and "pajamas" both.
These things might have come up because there's a six year old at my house.
I'm not makine a serious play, just pointing out that in one day, these two came up: Bananas in Pajamas theme song, and "Down By the Bay" by Raffi. smile emoticon
It's possible there's a third. The world is weird like that.
Teddy Bear's picnic is close, but no... pajama.
(And no specific bedclothes, when their parents take them home to bed.)
I didn't post the videos there, but will here:
Brie Jontry brought this:
I had to Google a little to make sure this was right - it is! I remembered it from an "Alaska songs" radio show smile emoticon
"Talk of your cold, refrigeratin' mamas,
Brother, she's a polar bear's pajamas!"
Davina Harrington, who lives in Western Australia, sent this:
Hi Sandra,
I took this photo the other day while we were out. It reminded me of your "Leaning on a Truck" writing. The kids and I go out on what we call music drives. We hop in the van and my daughter Jette connects my phone to the stereo and we choose songs and sing along and chat as we drive. Sometimes we have a destination in mind, other times we make it up as we go along. Each time we go on one of our jaunts we learn something and we connect. Whenever one of the kids or even myself suggests going on a music drive it's instant excitement. Reading "Leaning on a Truck" helped me to move from being a mum who might not have said "Yes! Let's go" to one who smiles whenever someone suggests it.
I feel less doubt the longer we unschool.
Thank you for the time and effort you put into helping others.
It's a Leyland Super Beaver. We loved the name.
Some exchange of info about these photos:
Me/Sandra: HOW COOL! The story, and the truck. I was sorry, in Australia, not to be where I could see a road train, but this is like a road barge!! (If you read the sign, it says when the truck was loaded they wouldn't drive more than 35 km per hour. That's 21.7 mph. A crawl.)
Davina: We have so many road trains here! I will get some pictures for you Port Hedland also had the world record for the longest train one year too!
Me: The same company also made a "Super Hippo" with cattle cars.
Davina: It's at the Don Rhodes Mining Museum in Port Hedland in Western Australia.
