Posts by Jacqui Dunn
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Islander - I think doing both sounds pretty wonderful!
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This is a bit sad, doncha think?
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Speaker: What PACE actually does, in reply to Bart Janssen,
More accountability
The bane of all sorts of groups - teachers for one. Getting a good balance is what is vital.
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Speaker: What PACE actually does, in reply to BenWilson,
I’d say so – to even find any wisdom in Zen at all. But I still don’t buy it wholesale.
Ah....I've muddied the waters by mentioning Zen. The story is really about how, having perfected a skill where the actual technical ability has been subsumed into a non-thinking "pure" action - and this can be your rally car driver, for want of a better example - a person can be completely confounded by their own inability to analyze how they actually do it. You don't need to buy into Zen Buddhism to see the truth in that, Ben.
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I think we're probably all in agreement.
Take driving a car - maybe one with a clutch and gearstick, as automatics make it so much easier - but it's not a natural process. One foot does one thing, the other does other things, the hands are engaged in various activities and the brain is processing it all, probably very slowly and muddly when first learned, but after a while it all happens smoothly, and for some people, with consummate skill. It takes technical ability, no doubt at all. What makes some people masters at driving is something - let's call it "art" - that takes it beyond mere changing gear and steering.
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Speaker: What PACE actually does, in reply to BenWilson,
Is any ability not technical, really?
Did you ever read the story of the Zen master archer? He never missed. Then one day, someone said, as he lined up a shot, "Do you close one eye, or keep them both open?" The story goes that he had to learn how to shoot all over again.
To my mind, ability begins with learning the technical know-how, but passion and commitment sharpen the ability. The technique fades, or if you like, is submerged. It's there, but secondary to something less tangible. What happens then is up to the taste of the artist: what s/he wants to produce.
So I agree with you, up to a point. It's what happens after that that makes the difference.
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OnPoint: Election 2011: GO!, in reply to recordari,
My minority view, and being slightly blue-blooded is the least of it, believe me, makes defending a position feel quite solitary, and therefore gets defensive very quickly.
I did feel, at a point following which you seemed to spit the dummy somewhat, that a rather funny joke had been made. I laughed, and then when I read your first response, realized you hadn't found it at all amusing. However, thinking in your defence (see, you're absolutely not alone) I remembered that you were having trouble sleeping. Sleeplessness and stress can blunt even the sharpest funny bone. I put it all down to that.
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OnPoint: Election 2011: GO!, in reply to recordari,
Ok, I’m feeling all coy now
Well, feel worse, my friend! I'm also one of those who was looking forward to meeting you, among others, recently, and can only hope it will happen very soon.
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Speaker: What PACE actually does, in reply to BenWilson,
There’s not really many people so unskilled that digging trenches is all they can do.
In fact, some people are very good at that endless, mindless hard slog. They make it look effortless. Put that person behind a counter, and there'd be some problems.
Actually, I have to agree with George that fifteen years of pursuing one's dream "job" without success is a very long time. With the arts anyway, even if you are in work fairly regularly, there will be a hiatus or two. I coped with acting over many years by delving into other allied areas. I wasn't always terribly comfortable doing it, but it paid the rent and the bills. Never was on the dole as an actor - I had to wait until well past my prime to do that :) -
I feel Minister Bennett thinks that people are being too picky. Available work is available work, full-stop. Being able to make sure unemployed people get into the right jobs seems to be a step or two too far for her.
As usual, it's one or two cases that have been sought out for the "news" that eventually sway opinion against what was a really good idea.