tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1269859820870261158.post1560859057464728302..comments2011-11-21T12:20:26.488+11:00Comments on (con)juncture: the continuing grip of the lost pastoralUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1269859820870261158.post-28012138955768064592011-11-21T12:20:26.488+11:002011-11-21T12:20:26.488+11:00Your blog remind me of the time my dad told me tha...Your blog remind me of the time my dad told me that he a lot of my sister's physical complaints would never have been an issue if she'd eaten more dirt as a kid. Apparently, "ordinary dirt" (none of your fancy krasnozems here) is the natural enemy of stomach parasites picked up in China and anxiety.<br /><br />Much as I love my dad, I feel things are a little skewed towards the "back in my day, we did <i>x</i> and it didn't hurt us" view on life for him...smudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01684987714751518060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1269859820870261158.post-71706187093752305122011-01-25T13:37:16.385+11:002011-01-25T13:37:16.385+11:00Completely agree with that last point you made. A ...Completely agree with that last point you made. A pure, unspoiled pastoral ideal is myth, complete abstraction, tinged with the golden glow of nostalgia to the point of absurdity. As you commented, it's our positioning in the heartland of the modern industrialised subject that causes us to characterize and mythologize its antithesis as more natural and somehow more desirable. <br /><br />Dare I say "the grass is always greener on the other side?"<br /><br />Interesting when you consider that pre-Industrial Revolution, for many people in a rural setting the "backyard" likely represented a site of hard work in consciousness, rather than some arena of unfettered pastoral freedom. Essentially an extension of the domestic chores of the homestead and no less so for the children of the house.CBardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15564862578689164150noreply@blogger.com