Reflecting and pottery
Jan. 15th, 2004 01:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
janestarzI've got a sore shoulder, from sleeping too long on my side, cocking up the pillow, or something. You can't believe what kind of feeling that gives me. It's relief, because it's an innocent strain, in stead of the ache in the lower back that has been haunting me. My back is getting better, but slowly. I hardly feel it during normal actions any more, but long walks and trips to the supermarket do make me remember what it's like. Where I stand. But there is - if slow - progress.
This week, a teacher was shot in Den Haag by a seventeen year old boy. It's the first time in Holland a person was shot in a school, and the social impact this is having is immense, beyond belief really. On radio Rijnmond, the local station, there was a show where callers could give their opinions, and I heard about a demonstration saying terrible things about the boy who shot the teacher. The boy happened to be someone who originates from another part of the world; we have a nice word which is often used in foul ways for it: allochtoon. I am very sad because of the man being shot, and I can not justify what the boy has done, but I do think he needs some protection. We can't jump on him like a pack of wolves and tear him apart, and everyone else who happens to be an allochtoon. Yesterday on the news I saw that the kids from that school were mostly allochtoon, and okay, maybe it was wrong for the reporters to not ask a single autochtoon (someone of dutch origin), and they all had definite opinions, were very well spoken, and all had significantly more brains than the dutch male who won the big lottery prize in Kinderdijk two weeks back.
But after all, we all judge on looks. I realized, after I came back from Veenendaals confinement to the big city with its diversity, that I wasn't used to be surrounded by people of different nationality and looks anymore. In Veenendaal and Ede, people are either autochtone christians, autochtone riot-youth, or allochtone riotyouth. That's all you ever hear about. Here, there are so many more 'classes' and I feel ashamed I think of this that way. After all we are all only human and everyone deserves a chance. Still, I do not feel safe on the streets, and the incident with the smoker in the metro a month or so ago didn't help at all.
I also discussed this with my mother, and she thinks the main problem isn't so much that the kids play video games, but more that the parents don't have time for their kids anymore.
Respect and discipline are all gone, and the police often can't or won't do nothing when they see someone. If someone tries to smuggle coke, and they have two kilos on them, they get to go free with the statement 'if you had 2.5 kilos on you, you'd have been in big trouble'. Yeah, that'll teach 'em!
Closely connected to this: Bowling for Columbine. See that. It's gooood.
I went to Lekkerkerk with my mom yesterday, after discussing stuff like this during eating french fries. She wanted me to come along to pottery class, and indeed did I have fun! When it comes to clay, turns out I can be a very patient person. First we kneaded the bubbles of air out of the clay, and then you throw (actually we used the word 'smijten' pr: smite-uhn) the clay on the turning disc. I had the non-electrical one (which suits be better than one you just flick the on switch which just takes all authenticy out of it. It's a disc of wood below a stool, connected to a stone disc at stomach-height). You never kick the disc around and use your hands at the same time so this avoids tight muscles I think. If you touch the clay, the disc will slow down, and before your muscles cramp up, you have to kick again, but you can't kick and work the clay at the same time, so you relax a bit.
First you try to center the clay, by placing your elbows on your legs or pressing them to your side, and then you fold wet hands around the clay. It will wobble your hands around but if you keep those in place, slowly you fold the clay to the center of the disc. After this, with your thumbs close together you start making a hole in the middle. If you make it too wide, it will surely become a dish or plate. So I kept them close together. After this you lock your thumbs together in the hollow between thumb and index finger, and use your index and middle finger of both hands to 'pull up' the clay, so the thing you're making becomes higher, and the walls become thinner. You have to be really careful, if the clay is too wet, or the walls to thin, or it's unbalanced, you'll lose control over the clay and you must start over.
When you're done, you carefully loosen the clay from the disc, and put it on a wooden plank. Then it dries up for a week, and you equalize the bottom and top, scraping a thin layer off it. Then it gets baked the first time 'buiscitbake', and the finish can go on. Then it gets a second bake. So it will be four weeks until I have it back.
I made something looking like this. The foot isn't so narrow, but the inside goes on a long way down, into the foot. I hope to be able to use it for larp.
I'm very satisfied about what I made, even if my trousers look like I've been remodelling someone's appartment.
This week, a teacher was shot in Den Haag by a seventeen year old boy. It's the first time in Holland a person was shot in a school, and the social impact this is having is immense, beyond belief really. On radio Rijnmond, the local station, there was a show where callers could give their opinions, and I heard about a demonstration saying terrible things about the boy who shot the teacher. The boy happened to be someone who originates from another part of the world; we have a nice word which is often used in foul ways for it: allochtoon. I am very sad because of the man being shot, and I can not justify what the boy has done, but I do think he needs some protection. We can't jump on him like a pack of wolves and tear him apart, and everyone else who happens to be an allochtoon. Yesterday on the news I saw that the kids from that school were mostly allochtoon, and okay, maybe it was wrong for the reporters to not ask a single autochtoon (someone of dutch origin), and they all had definite opinions, were very well spoken, and all had significantly more brains than the dutch male who won the big lottery prize in Kinderdijk two weeks back.
But after all, we all judge on looks. I realized, after I came back from Veenendaals confinement to the big city with its diversity, that I wasn't used to be surrounded by people of different nationality and looks anymore. In Veenendaal and Ede, people are either autochtone christians, autochtone riot-youth, or allochtone riotyouth. That's all you ever hear about. Here, there are so many more 'classes' and I feel ashamed I think of this that way. After all we are all only human and everyone deserves a chance. Still, I do not feel safe on the streets, and the incident with the smoker in the metro a month or so ago didn't help at all.
I also discussed this with my mother, and she thinks the main problem isn't so much that the kids play video games, but more that the parents don't have time for their kids anymore.
Respect and discipline are all gone, and the police often can't or won't do nothing when they see someone. If someone tries to smuggle coke, and they have two kilos on them, they get to go free with the statement 'if you had 2.5 kilos on you, you'd have been in big trouble'. Yeah, that'll teach 'em!
Closely connected to this: Bowling for Columbine. See that. It's gooood.
I went to Lekkerkerk with my mom yesterday, after discussing stuff like this during eating french fries. She wanted me to come along to pottery class, and indeed did I have fun! When it comes to clay, turns out I can be a very patient person. First we kneaded the bubbles of air out of the clay, and then you throw (actually we used the word 'smijten' pr: smite-uhn) the clay on the turning disc. I had the non-electrical one (which suits be better than one you just flick the on switch which just takes all authenticy out of it. It's a disc of wood below a stool, connected to a stone disc at stomach-height). You never kick the disc around and use your hands at the same time so this avoids tight muscles I think. If you touch the clay, the disc will slow down, and before your muscles cramp up, you have to kick again, but you can't kick and work the clay at the same time, so you relax a bit.
First you try to center the clay, by placing your elbows on your legs or pressing them to your side, and then you fold wet hands around the clay. It will wobble your hands around but if you keep those in place, slowly you fold the clay to the center of the disc. After this, with your thumbs close together you start making a hole in the middle. If you make it too wide, it will surely become a dish or plate. So I kept them close together. After this you lock your thumbs together in the hollow between thumb and index finger, and use your index and middle finger of both hands to 'pull up' the clay, so the thing you're making becomes higher, and the walls become thinner. You have to be really careful, if the clay is too wet, or the walls to thin, or it's unbalanced, you'll lose control over the clay and you must start over.
When you're done, you carefully loosen the clay from the disc, and put it on a wooden plank. Then it dries up for a week, and you equalize the bottom and top, scraping a thin layer off it. Then it gets baked the first time 'buiscitbake', and the finish can go on. Then it gets a second bake. So it will be four weeks until I have it back.
I made something looking like this. The foot isn't so narrow, but the inside goes on a long way down, into the foot. I hope to be able to use it for larp.
I'm very satisfied about what I made, even if my trousers look like I've been remodelling someone's appartment.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-01-15 05:04 am (UTC)The clay is launched into an orbit around the earth, and nothing close to a pot comes out.
So I respect you to be able to do that.
The shooting: Someone being shot is always terrible. In this case, what makes it even more terrible is that the teacher being shot was a good teacher (from what I hear) who cared much for his students and worked hard for the community. I know some teachers who I wouldn't mind being shot (I don't mean that of course) but this man... I jsut don't understand it.
Parents not raising their children right: I agree with you. Very much. Lots of children and young people just don't know how to behave, how to deal with problems or conflicts, or how to deal with authority. That doesn't mean all of these children will shoot their teacher (I hope not) but they do have a problem. And everyone who deals with them has a problem.
Allochtonen: Colour of skin is not the problem. Young people not knowing how to deal with conflicts is mcuh more of a problem. I think. I think this whole allochtonen discussion does not make things any better.
no subject
Date: 2004-01-15 05:27 am (UTC)Allochtone forever, baby
Date: 2004-01-15 06:01 am (UTC)Re: Allochtone forever, baby
Date: 2004-01-15 08:02 am (UTC)