A little batty

[chad]

‘The bat “sees” with sound better than light. The idea that such an echolocation system (which would have to work straightaway or else accidents would eliminate the creatures) “evolved” gradually by random mutation through unspecified “ancestors” is inadequate. Indeed, that numerous changes must have had to occur simultaneously if the creatures were to operate effectively must prejudice the rational man towards creation theory.’—Michael Pitman, Adam and Evolution, Rider & Company, London, 1984, pp. 219–220.

The obvious example and the one Bram uses is the bat, which can funnel sound waves to a sharp point, and, who resembles the earth with its simultaneous, rapid and "chance" formation. The bat is the earth, and their "presences" support creationism.

Chad

[chad]

Dracula had two fangs which made two circles, but at some point on the evolutionary ladder, one fang became two. Or the two circles produced by the two fangs, would later combine to form one circle, or one force, which may again split into two- and that's the best I can do. The two circles may in fact represent a necessary separation of the forces of night and day. Marraige is a good example of two forces, whether it be man and woman, or same sex marraiges, combining to form one force. Complications is arise when we attempt to discern the forces that influence each individual, the marraige or relationship. For example, I can be something which attracts (centripetal) or something which repels (centrifugal), and I can also be part of a larger, more powerful, centripetal or centrifugal force. Ultimately, and maybe heart-breakingly, we bow down to the forces of the sun and the moon.

Marraige is rooted in tradition and duty, and modern living can produce its own unique forces which can consume the union. Modern society continues to debate same sex or alternate forms of marraiges- its as if forces, perhaps from the past, continue to overpower and affect modern relationships. Many authors of the Victorian era viewed marraige as something that would become problematic for future generations. Most didn't know why group marraiges or same sex marraiges wouldn't work, or perhaps they existed, but people weren't aware of them- "married to their friends", so to speak.


Chad

PS- Women's rights were part of the "modern woman" movement. Activists, such as Susan B Anthony, would create a force which would affect the women and men of future generations. The question is if women's rights were something that began with the "suffragette" movement or if they were a result of other forces prior to the time- that is, if you're following along the "Dracula" way of thinking. But I think women libbers and readers of Dracula have to ask themselves if women's rights may have been created by Dracula himself. And remember--both Mina and Lucy had difficulty dispelling the new force of the modern woman, and attempted to assert their own wills- albeit, in different ways....

I think this is turning into Moby Dick, it's about time to move on...

Message Edited by chad on 12-18-2007 04:10 PM

[chad]

Sorry again for typos and "gram" errors- I just type in a few thoughts. And remember that Stoker writes as a man and a woman- he really does sound like a woman! You might also think of Mina and Lucy as a compatible "husband and wife", but the new modern woman was emerging-- I'm not sure the modern woman was for another woman.

Chad

[chad]

So, it was difficult for me to leave "Dracula", and, after some odd 50 comments later, I arrive at our current "will" and "presence" in the Middle East, not with the speed of a fast moving train, but with the slow moving masses of "umpteen" millions of automobiles and our "modern" way of life. For if we consider the world to be an individual, with its veins filled with coal, spurting oil, not blood, then we could be nothing more than vampires, satiating their needs for blood, life and energy. Bit by a "modern" world, we could survive the coldest and darkest of nights, but, once bit, we would gradually become different creatures, unable to survive the day and never able to return to our "true" Nature.


So I would have left it at the above passage, but something compelled me not to do so. Remember that the earth is an individual and we are the physical manifestations of its forces, forces which are also affected by the sun and the moon. Forces can negate each other- force meets counterforce, and perhaps a tiger attack might be something more understandable, but no less tragic. Also remember that, in a Dracula world, the debate is not necsessarily whether God created the earth, as it is more a debate over will and influence. Are we more influenced by the will of the earth? Or are we more influenced by the will of the sun, the moon or God?


Chad

[chad]

I just spent a week at Walt Disney World's pop century resort with its decade-inspired motel themes from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's- I think 1900 through 1940 is on the way across a bridge. The atrium's walls and floors held circles, sharp pointed triangles and circles projecting sharp points. But, most interestingly, the atrium;s floor depicted something like a sun or star, with years, 1950-1999, spiralling, centrifugally or centripetally, from a common center or axiom- "Dizzy" but definately "artwork", which I felt was "Dracula"-inspired- written at the turn of the century, and something which should be read again at the beginning of the new millenia.

Time periods, like our beliefs, faith and love, seem to emanate from something axiomatic, or what is the truth. We tend to encapsulate periods of time almost to sharp points- hmmmm... I don't want to say like the teeth of Dracula, but I have to say that there were probably some things I could leave behind in each era, things I wish would last forvever, but things which modernization might make obsolete. My feeling was, as I walked by "gaudy but accurately designed" hotels of the decades, that I may have lived in something fabricated. So, is "reality" or "the truth", the 50's, 60's or 70's? Or is the truth something undefinable, but something which exists, like the center of the star of the hotel atrium, or more broadly, like the axes of the earth, the sun, and the moon?

Chad

Message Edited by chad on 01-08-2008 01:08 PM

[chad]

Treaties imitate the physical forces of our universe. Two or more nations or parties combine to form a union under an agreement of some kind. The impact can be visible or invisible like the will of Dracula, in the forms of active and passive acquiesence.

Chad

[chad]

People can be stars and sometimes are embodied in the shape of a star. The best example are the stars found in Hollywood, either on studio doors or on the sidewalk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They might be the best examples of humans behaving like the entities and forces in our universe. Celebrities are humans which can have powerful centripetal and centrifugal effects. The sharp points of the star need not necessarily be viewed as negative or evil, however.

Chad

PS-Bram was also involved in the theater I think.

Message Edited by chad on 01-12-2008 11:49 AM

[chad]

I admit a possible error with the use of the word "umpteen" which could be "Ummteen", but I wished to express an "uncountable" or an "unknown number" of automobiles. Many of the authors of the 19th century write about how numbers control fate, and they perhaps have increasingly controlled our fate, as we moved form a gold-based to a "unit-based" currency. Stoker insinuates that Dracula himself seemed to take advantage of the nobility's reliance on numbers, and regards money as something that's used to achieve an end, or something used to create reality, but not his ultimate desire or goal, as he rushes to board the Catherina, spilling money upon the floor.

The other example might be time. Numbers, 1 through 12, represent a specific time of day, and collectively, represent the earth's rotation. Interestingly, our time is not "real time." Real time starts at the inception of our universe. "Our" time is dependent upon our revolution about the sun. It's almost as if a separate reality was created by our solar system, and, we are perhaps more removed from reality or "real" time by numerical representation in the form of a watch or clock-- a circle with two sharp points emanating from the center, by the way. So, Stoker presents a society that "lives", but lives almost separate from "picture perfect" moments or views which we find in postcards(characters take note of views throughout, and I think the latest Dracula movie does well with this effect). Moreover, physicists had difficulty seeing outside our own time, or our own reality, a little later.


Chad

Message Edited by chad on 01-14-2008 12:30 PM

[chad]

So, we live, at least under the influence or within the will of "time." Indeed, times of the day are defined numerically, to a sharp point. The hands of a clock can literally spear us, when we have to be somewhere "sharp" or maybe we are gradually become encompassed when we meet somewhere "around" a certain time. Indeed, Mina becomes a train "fiend" when she memorizes the train timetables to organize her husband's life. But all trains emanated from London, which uses the clock, Big Ben, in particular. Ultimately, we could say that forces emanating from London, possibly forces beyond, inventors of the clock, Rome, Greece, controlled John and Mina, as well.

Chad