People Places Things ... and Bricks

I went to see a movie called People Places Things last Saturday, with my two grown up sons (both in their early 20s) which turned out to be quite synchronistic in many ways.

My sons had asked if I wanted to catch up with them for lunch on Saturday, so I started flipping through my Brisbane Entertainment Book for ideas on somewhere to eat and I saw that I had a buy one, get one free pass to the Schonell cinema, which I hadn't been to for quite a while, so I looked up their web-page and saw a movie playing at 1:45pm that looked interesting and wasn't on at any other cinema in Brisbane.
In fact, this was the last screening of the movie that I could see by looking at the website, so I asked the boys if they wanted to see it, as it starred the guy out of The Flight of the Concords, who they were fans of, and besides I was paying for us all to go, so it was a freebie as far as they were concerned. 
People Places Things is about a cartoonist,"Will Henry a newly single graphic novelist balancing parenting his young twin daughters and a classroom full of students while exploring and navigating the rich complexities of new love and letting go of the woman who left him."

Bricks?

We all enjoyed this film, as it was funny, but also quite on the mark in many places about the real life dilemmas that divorce throws up at you.
And after writing about the family brick in my recent post I couldn't believe all of the brick metaphors and cartoons that appeared in this movie -
A Meditation on Life and Death

The Family brick that was outside the
Gabba for 13 years from 2002, until now

I couldn't get any screen shots from the movie of the brick cartoons on the internet, but trust me, there are heaps of cartoons about bricks and relationships in this movie.

Bricks?

But don't just take my word for it, go see it yourself if you get a chance, as it is a great little movie worthy of bigger audiences.

Butcher bird serenading me from
 the railing next to my table.

When we came out from the movie, I grabbed a pizza from the cafe outside the cinema and sat down at a table only to be joined by a butcher bird serenading me from the railing next to my table.

I haven't seen a butcher bird in the wild for ages, so I thought I had better look up what this might mean as an animal sign in Scott Alexander's book Animal Dreaming.
Didn't quite get what Scott was writing about with the butcher bird as a sign, so I tried another site and got this explanation -
Butcher Bird/Shrike Wisdom Includes:
The only truly predatory songbird, Ferocity, Value of surplus, Surveyor of one’s surroundings, Understanding of the nature of masks, Boldness, Fearlessness.
askanthony
 Hmm, still buggered if I know what that means, either, and since I saw a currawong for the first time as well, just after this bird flew away, I decided to look up currawong and butcher birds and got this explanation -
Australian Magpie - Success 
Communion:
Like all animal helpers, this animal will only appear when right and appropriate, and cannot be forced to visit you, commune with you, or share messages with you. Magpie has a fierce, impatient, but also gregarious energy. It can be a very stern guide and energy when it needs to be, but the majority of the time its role as law custodian and protector of the smaller and family-based communities, means that it is a loyal, effective and strong animal guide to have by your side.
It's also quite an extroverted, accessible guide. It is more vocal and clear than some of the other animals, it can be found quite easily in Australia, and often finds people in Australia when it wants their attention. On a side note, this guide is not afraid to spiritually 'swoop' you to get your attention if you become lazy when you're working with it.
Keywords:
Cultural rule and law. Messenger. Success in business. Success. Home protection. Making new friends. Gossip. Attacking people behind their back. Paranoia. The beauty of song. Aggressive territoriality. Attack.
General Description:
The Australian magpie is not actually related to the more well-known magpie of the Northern Hemisphere. The Australian magpie is closely related to currawongs and butcherbirds. There are many subspecies of Australian magpie, though almost all have sexually dimorphic black and white plumage. The magpie is omnivorous, and will take hand outs from humans; they become semi-tame quite easily.
Magpies in Australia are known for their beautiful caroling call. Magpies are social creatures, and form complex familial flocks that have sophisticated interactions, usually consisting of one dominant male. They are smart birds, curious and inquisitive. They are also territorial and known for swooping humans and pets (and inanimate objects). Some parks will have signs erected during breeding seasons to discourage people from entering during swooping seasons, and rogue swooping magpies are caught and humanely euthanased.
Lessons and Challenges:
The Australian magpie is a spiritual custodian of cultural rule and law. For those who wish to understand more about the spiritual laws of the land around them, Australian magpie is a positive and helpful spirit guide to petition. If Australian magpie is significant in your life at this point, your attention is being drawn to the rules and laws of the spirituality that you follow. If you are not spiritual, Australian magpie can also draw your attention to local cultural laws, both of indigenous cultures, and of the governing body in your state or territory.
Australian magpie is a messenger guide, and its presence in your life (either repetitive presence in 'real life,' or alternatively through dreams or meditations) suggest that a higher power, spirit or deity of some kind is trying to get through to you. Sometimes paying attention to the messenger is a good way to open yourself up to the greater message.
Magpie represents success. It is a successful hunter, it is successful at maintaining its territory, and it is a successful maintainer of its family unit and environment. All elements of success are the domain of Australian magpie, which can help to erode negative attitudes or a reluctance to embrace success in those who are frightened of it. In those who wish to invite success into their lives, consider meditating on the triumphant energy of the caroling magpie.
Magpie can facilitate the making of new friends, though there is a warning to also beware of gossip in current social circles. Magpie has a gregarious, welcoming energy in many instances, and can help you to connect with others.
Australian magpie is a very positive guide for those who wish for more success in monetary or business endeavours. It is an active guide that can provide the dynamic energy necessary to kickstart projects, and also has a discipline that it can teach you in order to see those projects through.
There is an element of home protection when Australian magpie is present. It is important to feel secure wherever you live. This may involve investing in an alarm system, living in a safe neighbourhood, or simply making sure that you feel safe emotionally in the place that you call home.
Watch out for attack. Be careful of attacking people behind their back, or alternatively, watch out for those who are doing the same to you. Australian magpie is well known for its territorial swooping behaviours, and as a guide this can translate to the presence of random attack or unexpected aggressive behaviour from others.
With magpie, there is an emphasis on paying attention to the beauty of song. At this time, vocal song may be particularly healing / nourishing for you. Listen to songs that feature vocal work, particularly choral arrangements. Alternatively, try singing yourself in celebration of those things that you hold dear. You may feel silly doing it, but it can be empowering to raise your voice in acknowledgement of everything that you have been gifted with, in your life.
The Shadow Aspects: (Marriage?-)
Those who resent or fear magpie, often have problems with authority and cultural rule and law. They may be people who have been in trouble with the law, or simply dislike those who have positions of authority. In some circumstances this mistrust is appropriate, but the shadow aspect of magpie tells us that our fears are often inappropriate and that our opinions and speed with which we condemn others might be more harmful than healthful. If we continue to hold onto such prejudice, we become as biased and hurtful as the people we profess to condemn.

The shadow aspect of magpie confronts our fear of being attacked. We may have problems sleeping alone at night, because we fear being attacked. We may avoid darkened streets. We may completely avoid parks if we see magpies. We may avoid confrontations between friends, even though a fight may actually clear the air. As with many spiritual lessons, the more we attempt to avoid something because of irrational fear, the more we attract it to us. Confront your fear of being attacked with the aid of magpie, otherwise you may become so focused on it happening, that it actually happens!
OK, now that makes more sense to me. 

Cheers!