Lyra Silvertongue

I only realized today, after re-watching the last 3rd of the film The Golden Compass on HBO that the name "Lyra" was an... "aural anagram" for "liar". It was so obvious. She was the liar who (with the compass) can see the truth in everything.

The thing that really bothered me about that movie was that the protagonist was an expert liar. It was sort of a coincidence also that earlier this week I read about the movie in a blog (or was it a forum?) saying that the trouble with the movie was that Lyra had no respect for authority. I didn't really notice, nor did it bother me much when I learned about it. And although respect for authority is important, questioning the motives of leaders is also important. However, true learning can only be gained by giving due regard to someone (or something) other than oneself.

Now, I'm not absolutely honest with everything and everyone, but I am not "a liar", and definitely a bad one :'p


"Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death." ~Godfrey of Ibelin, Kingdom of Heaven

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Some links (with some interesting facts) on the name "Lyra":
Lyra on Answers.com: http://www.answers.com/topic/lyra
Lyra on PokeMyName.com: http://www.pokemyname.com/firstname_27331_lyra.htm

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Franken-tellers

Here in the Philippines, there are people who we refer to as pranka ("frank"). They are people who tell the "truth" regardless of the effects of that knowledge to the recipient, and inconsiderate of how that truth is delivered. Truth is important to them, a concept of unspeakable significance, or so they say.


I daresay, truth is not the only thing that exists in the world (and in the world of human relations). True, I'm not socially adept; in fact, I consider popular person-to-person/people rituals and social conventions as my weakness, but I do know that what we say and do to other people affects them more than we can imagine, and sometimes there are more important things in life than telling straight the plain and simple truth.


Take time, be considerate, think things through, and do not be so arrogant as to deem yourself the only purveyor of truth.

Simply put: be honest, but be nice.