Clocks and the Sun (symbols)

[Julie H]

a day in the sun

 

 

Mark (fifthessence), change that to "a day in the sunlight," and think about it: sunlight, daylight, time light. Is it morning? Midday? Afternoon? Evening? Summer? Winter? Is it gloomy? Bright? Lazy?

 

Clocks tell time. The sun makes time — and has done so for all time.

 

If, tomorrow morning, your clock said 7:00 AM, 8:00 AM, 9:00 AM, 10:00 AM and the sun did not come up, which one would you believe?

[Mark Z]

Fred, I've come around to appreciating "defects" like grain, flare, small depth of field, and blur. What's interesting to me is the inclusion of such things in media where such things are not inherent, like in CGI. They no longer comment on the medium, but they have become symbols or tools that rely on our familiarity with photography. I have some digital music recordings that have hiss and pops (equivalent to grain, dust, and scratches) deliberately added to evoke certain feelings.

 

Julie, I've made several sundials, so your comment about the sun making time certainly rings true. Combined with the time, the sun also determines place. I often use the sun's position to orient myself, to show direction. I remember navigating Sydney and getting confused more than once because the noonday sun was to the north. The sun could be a symbol of time in a photo, but I can't think of a photo where it is important as an indicator of direction.

 

Mark

(How do I get my name to appear below my avatar?)

[Supriyo]

(How do I get my name to appear below my avatar?)

 

While at the photography section of PN, click on 'ACCOUNT' from the menus on the left. Then scroll down to "Your info". Change the setting that says "Screen name". Its under "Account Details" right below "Your info".

[Mark Z]

Thank you, Supriyo. I checked and my name is there, as it has been for some time. Oh well.

 

Mark

[Supriyo]

Thank you, Supriyo. I checked and my name is there, as it has been for some time. Oh well.

 

Mark

 

I just changed my screen name to 'who am i', and it doesn't show up here. So you are right. The settings are not taking effect. Should be a PN bug then. Perhaps Julie can help, who successfully transformed her screen name from 'unreal nature' to 'Julie H'.

[Supriyo]

OK, finally found it. The forums and photography sections have different settings and one doesn't correspond to the other.

Here is how to do it: At the top of the forum page, there are three links: <your screen name>, <Inbox>, <alerts>. Hover your mouse over the leftmost link. Click on 'Signature'. In the next page, in the menus on the left, click on 'Change Username' (last link above 'log out'). Here you will be given the option to change your user name. See, I changed my name from Supriyo to 'who am i'.

[Mark Z]

It worked. Thank you, Supriyo.

Sorry to get off topic.

[Julie H]

Sorry to get off topic.

 

 

No worries:

 

Name:

 

The ancient Egyptians believed that 'the personal name was much more than a means of identification. It was an essential part of the person. The name was a living thing.' All characteristics of the symbol recur in names. (1) They are 'full of significance. (2) when writing or speaking the name of a person that person 'is given life and survival,' which corresponds to the dynamics of the symbol, (3) knowledge of the name 'gives power' over that person, which corresponds to the magical aspect, the mysterious bond of the symbol. Knowledge of the name is part of the ritual of conciliation, casting spells, destroying, taking possession of and so on, and the phrase 'his name will no more be among the living' was the most extreme form of the death-sentence. —

The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols

 

The power of the name is also the reason why, in the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, the name of the arch villain Voldemort is rarely said, replaced instead with, "you know who." In the fairy tale, knowledge of the name of the gnome Rumplestiltskin will buy power over him. It's an old superstition that a child without a name is somehow without a soul, and is therefore at risk of exposure to evil influences. —

The Illustrated Signs & Symbols Sourcebook

 

***************************

 

And what's the name of that place where we live?

 

... Apollo 8 bowled along sideways, like a silver rolling pin, spinning slowly to distribute the sun's intense heat. From the craft's angle of approach the Moon was in darkness, so for the first two days the astronauts saw only the Earth shrinking behind them and a coy black void ahead, bereft of stars and glowing, until finally they were drifting engine-first around the far side, preparing for the "burn that would slow them into the lunar orbit. Still they saw nothing — until suddenly and without warning an immense arc of sun-drenched lunar surface appeared in their windows and the three men got the shocks of their lives, as the ethereal disc they and the rest of humanity had known up to then revealed itself as an awesome globe, cool and remote, without sound or motion, magisterial but issuing no invitation whatsoever ... Upon their return, they described a forbidding and hostile world. It was the Earth that sang to them from afar. —

Andrew Smith

. Moonrise: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth