It’s the Labour Day weekend and the city is deserted and very quiet – except for King Street West, crowded with uber-trendy people getting ready for the film festival that opens next week. Just came back from seeing an extraordinary documentary at the TIFF cinema there – “the Cave of Forgotten Dreams,” written and directed by Werner Herzog. It’s about the Chauvet cave in southern France, discovered a few decades ago, its walls covered with drawings around 30,000 years old – the oldest cave drawings in the world. And stunning they are, cave bears, cave lions, bison, rhinoceroses, and especially horses, beautifully evoked by our artsy Cro-Magnon ancestors.
An archeologist plays “The Star Spangled Banner” on a 25,000 year old flute made from vulture bone. Surreal. And a scientist says that he thinks calling us “homo sapiens” is wrong – it means “man who knows” and, he says, “We don’t know anything.” He thinks we should be called “homo spiritualis.” Spiritual man. Lots to think about.
The film is over at TIFF – maybe will reappear at a cinema near you. If you want to gain perspective on just how callow our civilization is – highly recommended.
A friend gave me the two most recent “People” magazines, and I have, yes, I have read them. Just for research, you understand, so I am in tune with the zeitgeist. I now know just how Angie and Brad manage their large brood, who only, ever, are photographed smiling and happy; they manage because they are the best parents in the world. It’s true. And more power to them.
