As for toys, I don’t really collect them, no. I might start buying anime figs soon though =D

@ Telliamed: Damn, I had a feeling you or someone else would bring up Flatland when I assumed an eternal existence.

I think we’ve come to a conclusion though, as you said, far more important than the definition of time is its perception. It’s rather ironic though, that it is those that come to the accept the futility of the ideas of past, present and future and realize that living through our transient senses is the most effective method who are most likely to dote on such things.

Many anime would be greatly improved to be as good as a “bad” episode of Aria.

You biased the presupposition against time by saying the being is “eternal”. Try the same thing explaining distance to someone that exists in all places of the universe. Of course, we’re just going over the same ground as E.Abbott here.

Relativity explains time using demonstrable properties quite well. Time emerges from the existence of distance. And distance emerges from the existence of mass. And mass… ehh. Higgs bosons?

But physical time isn’t really what’s at issue here; it’s perception of time, like you pointed out with the minute/hour quote. Philosophically, humans aren’t capable of perceiving time in a meaningful way. Anything that our brains register through our senses is 7-20ms delayed from when it actually happened. We then are only able to interpret those sensations in the context of memories that are unreliably recollected. So what we call the “past” is necessarily inaccurate; and the “future” mere speculation. Even the “present” is only an approximation.

With that in mind we can see the appropriateness of the Aria way of life. The closest we come to reality is our immediate sensations; everything else follows from that. So we should strive to appreciate the world just as it exists (at least, how we see it exists) from moment to moment.

Which brings up a great “time” story I read a while back called “The Dandelion Girl.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dandelion_Girl
You can also read the full short story on scifi website which is linked in the wiki.

BTW Shirukii, do you collect toys? I had a few things but as I grew older I got smarter and realized that stuff just piles up and then you forget about them. Re-sell is even worse when you actually have to clean up the aftermath =\ I do have stuff for sale though.

I think there are ARIA figs and a model gondola that you can buy, if only I had the spare cash lying around.

@ Fisherman Horizon: Thanks!

@ totali: Flabby belly!

@ Siva: Yea, it’s termed a “healing” anime or something like that. I watched it just after a midterm, pure bliss.

@ Telliamed: True, all things can be said to be human constructs, but time is in a class of its own.

Imagine, if you will, you found an eternal being, an existence that had no beginning and no end, with absolutely no knowledge of our physical laws, but a strong aptitude for learning.

To quantify a meter, you show him that if you label any arbitrary point and move a certain distance from it, you can call that a meter.

Next you describe weight, showing him the varying difficulties of lifting certain objects of certain masses. The measure of which is a kilogram.

And so on, going on to force, pressure, etc.

Now, time. Having lived with the concept our whole lives, it’s something that we take for granted, an obvious phenomenon. But how do you explain time to someone who has no concept of aging, has no way to define an origin, a beginning, and no anticipation of an end. You can tell him that one second is now to…now. But would he really understand? How else could you describe it? The frequency of radiation from a hydrogen maser clock?

I guess what I’m getting at is time is much harder to physically observe or quantify than other physical principles. Though by no means any less important.

Agreed that the first half of the episode was kinda “meh”ish. It was good, but not spectacular by ARIA standards, the second half flashback more than compensated though. As did the music, I get chills up my spine every time I hear “Kin no Nami Sen no Nami”

I sort of get what you’re saying, however. And more to that, Akino (I love that name. And she really was a beauty in her youth.) is reflecting on the struggle to find happiness in her life. As a Himeya undine, she was the most respected and was content with that, but not entirely happy. She seemed rather a work-a-holic then. Watching the sunrise with Aria sachou took her out of her stressful life and made her realise what that happiness is not something that needs to be worked for.

We saw this earlier when Anna shared her anxieties about leaving Aria Company. At the time, she believed that she was most happy as an undine. Even though she desired to be a wife and a mother, she was still afraid of losing that happiness. But she adapted to her new life and was able to be happy making lace, raising a son, and cooking fresh lobster.

The first part of the episode wasn’t that great, I though. Some of the animation was weak. And the writing bland and predictable. (Who rings the doorbell of their own house?) But the flashback was wonderful. I really liked the insert song. Also, I think I heard a bit of “Nanairo no Sora wo” at one point. The music has been the best thing about Origination by far.

@Fisherman Horizon: Heh heh! another big fan of Aria and Shirukii’s summary.

@totali: LOL, He is my hero with this scene
http://img135.imageshack.us/my.php?image=grab026653li3.jpg

Watching Aria is the best to way to relax and forget about your hard time in your day. It is even better than medicine(at least IMO).

That last screencap is awesome beyond words… mirror into existence

Those houses remind me of the multi-colored homes in San Francisco California minus the canal.
BTW, why is it that all animated food look incredibly good?