hufeitch

In honour of Robert Burns's birthday, here's a guest poem from David McKelvie, about that most endearing of Scottish
delicacies:

 Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
 Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!
 Aboon them a' yet tak your place,
 Painch, tripe, or thairm:
 Weel are ye wordy o'a grace
 As lang's my arm.

 The groaning trencher there ye fill,
 Your hurdies like a distant hill,
 Your pin was help to mend a mill
 In time o'need,
 While thro' your pores the dews distil
 Like amber bead.

 His knife see rustic Labour dight,
 An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
 Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
 Like ony ditch;
 And then, O what a glorious sight,
 Warm-reekin', rich!

 Then, horn for horn, they stretch an' strive:
 Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
 Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve
 Are bent like drums;
 Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
 Bethankit! hums.

 Is there that owre his French ragout
 Or olio that wad staw a sow,
 Or fricassee wad make her spew
 Wi' perfect sconner,
 Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
 On sic a dinner?

 Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
 As feckles as wither'd rash,
 His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash;
 His nieve a nit;
 Thro' blody flood or field to dash,
 O how unfit!

 But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
 The trembling earth resounds his tread.
 Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
 He'll mak it whissle;
 An' legs an' arms, an' hands will sned,
 Like taps o' trissle.

 Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
 And dish them out their bill o' fare,
 Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
 That jaups in luggies;
 But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer
 Gie her a haggis!

I like Robert Burns; I like him in two distinct ways.

Firstly, because of who and what he is. One of the main foundations of the
Romantic period that followed him; one of the few truly international poets
(the Russians love him apparently); a humanist at a time when such attitudes
were seen as bizarre (one critic of his day said of the socialist anthem
"For a' that and a' that": "This song may be said to embody all the false
philosophy of [his] time") and to top all of that off, a bit of a rogue.
Casanova eat your heart out! Oh, and did I forget to mention that he is a
superb poet with music running through his veins?

The second reason is because my dear maternal great-grandmother claimed that
we were descended from him. I haven't got round to checking my mother's side
of family tree. It might not be true. It probably isn't. But while there's
doubt, there's hope. So I don't think I'll be checking my family history
just yet..... :) And another personal note: my very first anthology of
poetry was given to me by my father. He won this as first prize in a Burn's
Recitation competition when he was at school. So, my liking for Burns may be
either genetic or purely down to my father's skills at recitation!

This poem is traditionally recited at Burns Suppers held on the 25th January
to celebrate his date of birth. How many other nations in the world (the
Western world at least) have an annual celebration centrered the recitation
of poetry? The poem itself is typical Burns: strong rhythms, even stronger
dialect (yes, I have great difficulty with it and I'm Scottish) and typical
earthy Burns humour directed at the those with their fancy ways and French
ragouts. And to top it off, my copy of his Colected Poems claims that he
pretty much improvised and recited this poem on the spot. Now that's just
showing off....

And if you've come this far and want to know what a haggis is....
[broken link] http://www.smart.net/~tak/haggis.html

www.robertburns.org has lots of information on the Bard and a glossary for
all those tricky words.

David

[David also sent me a bit about the tradition of Burns Suppers - I've included
it below - martin]

The 25th January is the birthday of Robert Burns and here in Scotland (and all
over the world amongst scottish folk) there will be Burns Suppers. Here's an
extract from www.robertburns.org about them:

"The annual celebratory tribute to the life, works and spirit of the great
Scottish poet, Robert Burns (1759-1796). Celebrated on, or about, the Bard's
birthday, January 25th, Burns Suppers range from stentoriously formal
gatherings of esthetes and scholars to uproariously informal rave-ups of
drunkards and louts. Most Burns Suppers fall in the middle of this range, and
adhere, more or less, to some sort of time honoured form which includes the
eating of a traditional Scottish meal, the drinking of Scotch whisky, and the
recitation of works by, about, and in the spirit of the Bard.

Every Burns Supper has its own special form and flavour, though there are
probably more similarities than differences among these gastro-literary
affairs. Individual tastes and talents will determine the character of your
Burns Supper. Some celebrants may contribute the composition of original songs
or poems; some may excel at giving toasts or reciting verse; while others may
be captivating storytellers. A particular group of celebrants will, over time,
develop a unique group character which will distinguish their Burns Supper
celebration from every other."

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Ensconced in my cushy desk chair and looking fixedly at the title of my blog, I realised that i haven’t really written anything introspective to justify my use of the words “labyrinth of thoughts” and Introspection. I always believe that words should not be chosen in a spurt of vanity as part of the blog title but rather, they should be used to serve as an indication of the type of content that is archived within the blog.

Hence, i reckoned that i should start archiving my musings, no matter how ludicrous or callow they are. If there are any readers who happen to chance upon my blog, do take my musings with a pinch of salt and other condiments you fancy.

***

Although im generally a deferential and accommodating person ( and many people can attest to that), there is one particularly thing that will never fail to tick me off.

And that is being ignored by people whom i thought i was important to.

I contemplated about the source of the catalysis of my eventual chagrin and i came to an eventual conclusion that perhaps, i crave for attention like many others and am simply acerbated by the notion that the significance of my existence is ebbing away. Instead of pledging vendetta against those who has ignored me, i tried to swap perspectives with these people and inquire into the source of my growing inadequacy. And i came to a very dismal conclusion.

I am just not important enough for people to invest their attention in. And i realised that i am not so much different from them.

Humans belong to the animal kingdom after all and when placed in an increasingly competitive society that is a microcosm of the predator-hunts-prey natural wildlife environment out there, innate survival instincts surface.

For eg. people invited to a social event will pick the most interesting and influential person to talk to in hope that they can augment the progress of their lives and interests and climb a notch higher in the social ladder. By talking to the Mr Influential, people also deny others the chance to socialise with him and this is akin to climbing up the social ladder and removing the rungs along the way. The faster one climbs, the faster one can emerge at the top of the “food chain” and claim the rewards of his efforts.

This is true even in everyday interactions with people and is not only exclusive to social events.

“Why should i reply this Mr Moronic’s SMS when i should be saving my SMSes for Mr-I-so-wanna-get-his-attention-so-that-i-can-get-promoted? In fact its not that i do not want to waste my SMSes but rather, by replying to his SMS, im augmenting his delusion that i am keen to invest my attention and time in him. So yeap, the next best thing to ask him to sod off is to well, don’t reply.”

This train of thought is by no means congruent in the people who has ignored me and has sent me a strong signal that i should just get out of their lives and preferably, help them get out of mine too. But i daresay that their train of thoughts rests somewhere on the very same spectrum when they decided to ignore me.

Detractors argue that perhaps there may be unforeseen circumstances involved that resulted in them being unable to communicate with me effectively at that point of time and as a rational and reasonable human being with a self-sufficient level of intelligence and emotional quotient, i do take that point into consideration as well. However, it’s their lack of initiative to explain why they ignored me that sent those signals to inform me that i should just sod off and carry on with life with or without their presence whatsoever.

Nevertheless no matter how it seems like it, this is not an incessant diatribe against these people because every homosapien or even animal is bound to behave in such a manner due to the very fact that attention is a scarce resource.

The scarcity of attention is the very foundation of the Theory of "Relativity" in Human Relationships. In a group conversation of three, one cannot converse simultaneously with two people at the same time and hence, one has to rank and choose a person to talk to first based on how worthy that person is of his attention relative to the other person. People whom we deem more important and worthwhile of our investment of attention due to a multitude of factors such as looks, talent, wealth and personal interests make us more keen to accede to their most farcical request or to even influence them to invest their attention in us, relative to the rest of the human population which is just wallpaper.

I’ve read an article that says that attention is like a transaction whereby when A has accepted B’s attention, A is also obliged to offer its attention to B. Perhaps by ignoring other people’s SMSes for example, it is an indication that we do not accept their attention and hence there would be no need for us to offer our own time and attention to them as well.

However, what people have overlooked is the process of offering one’s attention to others.

Shouldn’t one’s effort and time in crafting an SMS message be awarded with at least a reply, even if the reply says “SOD OFF and JUST DIE! Bitch!” ? At least that person would be able to know that she is no longer important in the guy’s life and should just move on with life and drop any further plans to invest her feelings or attention in him, instead of waiting endlessly and having delusions about the deformed relationship.

Even if that guy just so happened to be caught up in tragedy whereby his mother’s friend’s father’s pet kitten died when it fell into a strawberry patch, he should still take the initiative to explain his lack of reply the moment he has recovered from his intense grief. Otherwise it just shows that he reeks of irresponsibility and discourtesy.

Which is why i’ve always tried my best to reply an SMS message that demands my reply and have always replied to people’s comments/tags on this blog because i believe that i should always reciprocate the time and effort spent by others to invest their attention in me. Its really a basic principle. No more, no less.

As humans, the primacy of self has made us demand respect and attention whenever we are expected to offer them to others as well. If people were to deny us respect and courtesy, we would find it entirely equitable to reciprocate in the same manner.

Should a person ignore his friend’s SMS messages from time to time, his friend would eventually do the same to him and his level of importance to his friend would no doubt be diminished very rapidly.

Humans in general, have vulnerable egos that they seek to protect and hence, when their egos’ are threatened, they will defend it offensively by withdrawing their observation of the conventions of good manners too. The consequence of this is misunderstandings that will spiral into the vicious circle of petty hatred.

Hence, only by being generous and sensitive to the basic emotional needs of our fellow human beings will such a consequence be hampered from materialising.

Ensconced in my cushy desk chair and looking fixedly at the title of my blog, I realised that i haven’t really written anything introspective to justify my use of the words “labyrinth of thoughts” and Introspection. I always believe that words should not be chosen in a spurt of vanity as part of the blog title but rather, they should be used to serve as an indication of the type of content that is archived within the blog.

Hence, i reckoned that i should start archiving my musings, no matter how ludicrous or callow they are. If there are any readers who happen to chance upon my blog, do take my musings with a pinch of salt and other condiments you fancy.

***

Although im generally a deferential and accommodating person ( and many people can attest to that), there is one particularly thing that will never fail to tick me off.

And that is being ignored by people whom i thought i was important to.

I contemplated about the source of the catalysis of my eventual chagrin and i came to an eventual conclusion that perhaps, i crave for attention like many others and am simply acerbated by the notion that the significance of my existence is ebbing away. Instead of pledging vendetta against those who has ignored me, i tried to swap perspectives with these people and inquire into the source of my growing inadequacy. And i came to a very dismal conclusion.

I am just not important enough for people to invest their attention in. And i realised that i am not so much different from them.

Humans belong to the animal kingdom after all and when placed in an increasingly competitive society that is a microcosm of the predator-hunts-prey natural wildlife environment out there, innate survival instincts surface.

For eg. people invited to a social event will pick the most interesting and influential person to talk to in hope that they can augment the progress of their lives and interests and climb a notch higher in the social ladder. By talking to the Mr Influential, people also deny others the chance to socialise with him and this is akin to climbing up the social ladder and removing the rungs along the way. The faster one climbs, the faster one can emerge at the top of the “food chain” and claim the rewards of his efforts.

This is true even in everyday interactions with people and is not only exclusive to social events.

“Why should i reply this Mr Moronic’s SMS when i should be saving my SMSes for Mr-I-so-wanna-get-his-attention-so-that-i-can-get-promoted? In fact its not that i do not want to waste my SMSes but rather, by replying to his SMS, im augmenting his delusion that i am keen to invest my attention and time in him. So yeap, the next best thing to ask him to sod off is to well, don’t reply.”

This train of thought is by no means congruent in the people who has ignored me and has sent me a strong signal that i should just get out of their lives and preferably, help them get out of mine too. But i daresay that their train of thoughts rests somewhere on the very same spectrum when they decided to ignore me.

Detractors argue that perhaps there may be unforeseen circumstances involved that resulted in them being unable to communicate with me effectively at that point of time and as a rational and reasonable human being with a self-sufficient level of intelligence and emotional quotient, i do take that point into consideration as well. However, it’s their lack of initiative to explain why they ignored me that sent those signals to inform me that i should just sod off and carry on with life with or without their presence whatsoever.

Nevertheless no matter how it seems like it, this is not an incessant diatribe against these people because every homosapien or even animal is bound to behave in such a manner due to the very fact that attention is a scarce resource.

The scarcity of attention is the very foundation of the Theory of "Relativity" in Human Relationships. In a group conversation of three, one cannot converse simultaneously with two people at the same time and hence, one has to rank and choose a person to talk to first based on how worthy that person is of his attention relative to the other person. People whom we deem more important and worthwhile of our investment of attention due to a multitude of factors such as looks, talent, wealth and personal interests make us more keen to accede to their most farcical request or to even influence them to invest their attention in us, relative to the rest of the human population which is just wallpaper.

I’ve read an article that says that attention is like a transaction whereby when A has accepted B’s attention, A is also obliged to offer its attention to B. Perhaps by ignoring other people’s SMSes for example, it is an indication that we do not accept their attention and hence there would be no need for us to offer our own time and attention to them as well.

However, what people have overlooked is the process of offering one’s attention to others.

Shouldn’t one’s effort and time in crafting an SMS message be awarded with at least a reply, even if the reply says “SOD OFF and JUST DIE! Bitch!” ? At least that person would be able to know that she is no longer important in the guy’s life and should just move on with life and drop any further plans to invest her feelings or attention in him, instead of waiting endlessly and having delusions about the deformed relationship.

Even if that guy just so happened to be caught up in tragedy whereby his mother’s friend’s father’s pet kitten died when it fell into a strawberry patch, he should still take the initiative to explain his lack of reply the moment he has recovered from his intense grief. Otherwise it just shows that he reeks of irresponsibility and discourtesy.

Which is why i’ve always tried my best to reply an SMS message that demands my reply and have always replied to people’s comments/tags on this blog because i believe that i should always reciprocate the time and effort spent by others to invest their attention in me. Its really a basic principle. No more, no less.

As humans, the primacy of self has made us demand respect and attention whenever we are expected to offer them to others as well. If people were to deny us respect and courtesy, we would find it entirely equitable to reciprocate in the same manner.

Should a person ignore his friend’s SMS messages from time to time, his friend would eventually do the same to him and his level of importance to his friend would no doubt be diminished very rapidly.

Humans in general, have vulnerable egos that they seek to protect and hence, when their egos’ are threatened, they will defend it offensively by withdrawing their observation of the conventions of good manners too. The consequence of this is misunderstandings that will spiral into the vicious circle of petty hatred.

Hence, only by being generous and sensitive to the basic emotional needs of our fellow human beings will such a consequence be hampered from materialising.