We have gotten quite a few questions about the title of our blog, “Sirens of Clyde”. I will undertake to verbalize the why which came through more instinctive than structured thought process.
The title came from the book “The Sirens of Titan” by Kurt Vonnegut. It is a book that we highly recommend, and is the original source for the idea of the “chrono-synclastic infundibula” which is defined by Vonnegut as "those places ... where all the different kinds of truths fit together." It is a place where past, present and future come together. Vonnegut notes that any detailed description of this phenomenon would baffle the layman, but any comprehensible explanation would insult an expert. This is strikingly similar to the Internet, which is still a great mystery to me, and blogging, which allows us to share our past, present and future with you. Through the chrono-synclastic infundibula we can preserve and share our stories. We think they are important enough to be worth sharing, and hope that they are not simply a cog in the machine to brings about the ultimate purpose of humanity as described in the Sirens of Titan (I can’t give that one away, you’ll have to read it).
The second level of the meaning can be drawn from the legend of the Sirens itself. The Sirens would sing to ships that would sail by close to them, and any man who heard their song would be irresistibly enticed to either steer his ship toward the sirens or throw himself into the ocean and swim to them. The problem was that the ships would crash on the rocks and the men would almost always drown who tried to swim.
The term "siren song" refers to an appeal that is hard to resist but that, if heeded, will lead to a bad result. This is a reminder that sometimes you need to deny yourself the things that you really want to do, and steer clear of the temptation to avoid being drawn in. We know that our blog is so exciting that many cannot turn away, but are compelled to read and post continually. You are our favorite people, but we don’t want you to not get your work done because you are memorized by the latest story about those crazy Clydes.
This meaning may also be directed at us, the authors, because we probably spend too much time writing about our little lives when we should be concentrating on our actual responsibilities. In fact, that is exactly what I am doing right now! It is like a self perpetuating chain of irony.
In short: Blog Responsibility.
The title came from the book “The Sirens of Titan” by Kurt Vonnegut. It is a book that we highly recommend, and is the original source for the idea of the “chrono-synclastic infundibula” which is defined by Vonnegut as "those places ... where all the different kinds of truths fit together." It is a place where past, present and future come together. Vonnegut notes that any detailed description of this phenomenon would baffle the layman, but any comprehensible explanation would insult an expert. This is strikingly similar to the Internet, which is still a great mystery to me, and blogging, which allows us to share our past, present and future with you. Through the chrono-synclastic infundibula we can preserve and share our stories. We think they are important enough to be worth sharing, and hope that they are not simply a cog in the machine to brings about the ultimate purpose of humanity as described in the Sirens of Titan (I can’t give that one away, you’ll have to read it).
The second level of the meaning can be drawn from the legend of the Sirens itself. The Sirens would sing to ships that would sail by close to them, and any man who heard their song would be irresistibly enticed to either steer his ship toward the sirens or throw himself into the ocean and swim to them. The problem was that the ships would crash on the rocks and the men would almost always drown who tried to swim.
The term "siren song" refers to an appeal that is hard to resist but that, if heeded, will lead to a bad result. This is a reminder that sometimes you need to deny yourself the things that you really want to do, and steer clear of the temptation to avoid being drawn in. We know that our blog is so exciting that many cannot turn away, but are compelled to read and post continually. You are our favorite people, but we don’t want you to not get your work done because you are memorized by the latest story about those crazy Clydes.
This meaning may also be directed at us, the authors, because we probably spend too much time writing about our little lives when we should be concentrating on our actual responsibilities. In fact, that is exactly what I am doing right now! It is like a self perpetuating chain of irony.
In short: Blog Responsibility.
6 comments:
Halloween costume idea for next year: Patrick as Odysseus and Meghan as a siren. What does a siren look like. According to Wikipedia...in early Greek art Sirens were represented as birds with large heads, bird feathers and scaly feet and sometimes manes of lions. You could get real creative. (BTW, could we borrow your Trinity and Neo costumes for another Halloween? It would be a dream come true for Creed.)
Jeepers! You clearly put a lot of thought into the name of your blog. Is there going to be a test on any of this material? -Tisse
If it takes you an entire page to explain why you named your blog what you did, do you think it may be a tad too intellectual? Personally, I just think you're showing off! :) Love you!
I should clarify that the "Love you" comment was to Meghann, not Patrick. Sorry, Patrick, but I just don't know you well enough to say that yet. Bye, guys!
I think it's an awesome name. Don't worry about the wasting time part with me. I waited til after my exam to make comments. - jared
Love the name and accompanying concept. Reminds me in fact of an idea I'm using in my thesis as well as a party game I created last night at pie-night. The idea and game aare called Chronotopes. Chronotopes literally mean "space-time" and refer to linguistic references that signify one, but inherently mean the other. So, a woman asking an elderly Japanese man if he were at "Hiroshima?" is a question that refers to more than just the geographical place, Hiroshima, but also includes the historical time/event of the Atomic bomb. 9/11 is kind of the same thing but backwards. The game basically consists of hands behind backs until you think of one when you slam a hand on a table and say the chronotope thus causing your opponent to nod in grudging respect. Now you can play!!
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