THE BUBBLE BURSTS...

“Ask five economists and you'll get five different explanations (six if one went to Harvard).” - Edgar R. Fiedler

The world economic crisis seems to be worsening and the share markets continue to totter. The multi-billion dollar rescue package approved by the US congress seems not to have affected the sinking confidence of investors and the world may have to brace itself for a very serious economic downturn. I was speaking to a friend today who is close to retirement and his superannuation funds have taken a hiding, making him contemplate yet another few years in the workforce. Nervousness abounds and trepidation is uppermost in the mind of some of the more parasitic of professionals: Bankers, stockbrokers, consultants, agents, non-producers of all sorts… The skimmers of the cream are anxiously watching the layer of cream get thinner and thinner and the milk get watered. This is the time of the lean cows.

Every now and then, we must have this reality check and the high-flying cowboys of Wall Street must come down a peg or two. The trouble is the ordinary person in the street will hurt also, or rather will hurt more. Where did the $700 billion come from? From where did this largesse rain down like manna from heaven? Surely not the bank account of Mr Bush or his cronies. The failure of the US bailout plan brought credit markets to a virtual standstill and some US traders believe US banks may start cutting credit card lines if the crisis worsens. It is also becoming virtually impossible in the US to secure new credit.

In the face of the world crisis, a slowing economy and tumbles in our own share prices, our Reserve Bank has cut official interest rates by 100 basis points to 6 percent in an effort to shield the Australian economy from further fallout from the global financial crisis. The central bank may make further cuts by Christmas, economists believe. This is a dramatic move and evidence enough that things will get worse before they get better. The Australian dollar fell 1.6 US cents in the minutes after the Reserve Bank announcement at 2:30 pm, to 70.36 US cents, but it has since risen back above 72 US cents. This is quite a dramatic drop as a few months ago it was almost on par with the US dollar.

The fear that a “recession” will escalate to a “Recession” is uppermost in most people’s minds at the present time. Economists may theorise and try to explain the burst soap bubble of Wall St in terms of economic cycles and the ideas of Marx and Engels, however, the moral of the story is that working people will just have to bear the brunt of factory closures, increasing unemployment, house dispossessions and descent into poverty that is inevitable in a Recession. Oh, by the way all of the unemployed dispossessed and poverty-stricken ordinary citizens must try and save some money to help the poor Wall St financiers and the bankers, the stock-brokering cowboys and the agents. They must maintain their million dollar lifestyles somehow. It’s so tough when their cooks and their butlers and their maids and their chauffeurs are all so poor, we must give them another $700 billion…

TEN FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!

“Always make the audience suffer as much as possible.” - Alfred Hitchcock

I’ll give you a pot-pourri report of several movies we have watched over the past few weeks and I haven’t had a chance to report on in Movie Monday. I’ll provide a brief outline of the plot and my recommendation as a mark out of ten.

Kenny (2006)
This Australian movie is a “mockumentary” about the trials and tribulations of Kenny, a portable toilet plumber who works for the Splashdown company, supplying executive lavatories for all occasions, from the humble church fête to the huge crowd magnet, the Melbourne Cup. It is set in Melbourne and the first few minutes are amusing, but the poo jokes get a bit much after that and Kenny’s philosophies are bit trite and predictable. A few laughs here and there, but despite what most people that I talked to about this think (recommending it highly), I wasn’t terribly impressed. Clayton Jackson, the director, delivers a dud…
5/10

The Castle (1997)
“A man’s house is his castle” says an old English proverb and this is where this film takes its title from. I mention this film here, even though it’s been ages since we’ve seen it, by way of contrast from the film above. This Australian film is a gem and delivers a great punch. A Melbourne family is very happy living where they do, near the Melbourne airport "practically their back yard". However, they are told that their house it to be acquired by the airport authority and they have to leave their beloved home. The film is a wry look at their fight to keep their house, fighting Government and airport authorities, taking their case as far as the High Court. Very well done and excellent direction by Rob Sitch with ace performances by the leads.
8/10

Blithe Spirit (1945)
This classic film by David Lean is based on the play by Noël Coward and has Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings and Kay Hammond playing the leads, with Margaret Rutherford stealing the show. The plot is silly enough, but Coward keeps it light and fluffy and David Lean directs it with gusto. To get background for a new book, author Charles and his second wife Ruth light-heartedly arrange for local mystic Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford) to give a séance. The unfortunate result is that Charles' first wife Elvira returns from beyond the grave to make their life something of a misery. Ruth too gets increasingly irritated with her supernatural rival, but Mme Arcati is at her wit's end as to how to sort things out.
7/10

Beowulf (2007)
Beowulf is the great Anglosaxon epic poem written sometime between the 8th and 11th century AD. This is not the first film of the epic, but it has the dubious honour of being the first animated 3D projection one. One has to admire the technology, but it is still quite clunky and one wonders why they bothered…
Set against the coming of Christianity, this is the story of the last hero, Beowulf. Grendel, a monstrous troll wreaks havoc in the mead hall of the Danish king, Hrothgar. He offers rewards for the death of Grendel, so Beowulf, a great and boastful Geat warrior, arrives with his thanes. Beowulf sets aside his armour and awaits the monster; a fierce battle ensues that leads to Beowulf's entering the watery lair of Grendel's mother, where a devil's bargain awaits. Beowulf returns to Herot, the castle, and becomes king. Jump ahead many years, and the sins of the father are visited upon Beowulf and his kingdom. The hero must face his weakness and be heroic once again. Very violent, very clunky, some beautiful moments.
5.5/10

Bonbón - El Perro (2004)
This Argentinian film by filmmaker Carlos Sorin is a little gem. It is a simple and deceptively superficial tale about ordinary people living in the wilds of Patagonia. The actors are non-professional and the plot revolves around a 52-year-old man, Juan "Coco" Villegas, who has been a petrol station attendant for twenty years. When Juan finds himself unemployed overnight, he first tries to survive by selling his hand-made knives. Business is bad and he can't find real work, until one day, after fixing a vehicle on a farm, he gets paid by means of a beautiful Argentinian watch-dog, Bonbón! From this day on, his life changes as he is convinced to start showing the dog. A heart-warming tale, told without artifice and with no pretense. Quite charming!
8/10

15 Minutes (2001)
This is a film written and directed John Herzfeld that takes a critical look at America and the forces that drive its culture. It uses the ploy of two external stressors that come into a system and cause it reach a crisis. The two stressors in this case are Oleg and Emil, criminals who come to New York City from Eastern Europe to pick up their share of a heist. Oleg steals a video camera and starts filming their activities, both legal and illegal. When they learn how the American media circus can make a remorseless killer look like the victim and make them rich, they target media-savvy NYPD Homicide Detective Eddie Flemming and media-naive FDNY Fire Marshal Jordy Warsaw, the cops investigating their murder and torching of their former criminal partner, filming everything to sell to the local tabloid TV show "Top Story." The result is explosive. This is a very violent and confronting film, not for the squeamish. However, it does make a point and points an accusing finger at mass media and its often underhanded methods.
7/10

Deep Rising (1998)
Stephen Sommers wrote and directed this potboiler of a thriller/horror movie that is embarrassing to watch. The only reason I bought it was because it was $1.99 at our video shop and the cover was rather attractive in a surrealistic way – bad move! Bad movie! A band of ruthless hijackers invade the world's most luxurious cruise ship and they're shocked to discover the passengers have mysteriously vanished (shades of the Marie Celeste!). However, they soon find that they are not alone. Something horrible is lurking just out of sight - a deadly creature from the unexplored depths of the ocean is on the ship and it begins to snatch the horrified intruders one by one. There’s blood (lots of it), there’s violence (gratuitous), there’s guts and gore and goo and glop and glime (I made that last one up – glistening slime). OK for a rainy Sunday afternoon when there’s nothing else to do and you can’t watch something decent.
4/10

Oxygono (2003)
The tag team of Greek writers/directors Thanasis Papathanasiou and Michalis Reppas have a made a very strange film – “Oxygono” (= Oxygen or its pulpy English title “Blackmail Boy”). It is set in a small provincial town where Magda, the matriarch, tries to maintain a balance within a family facing many serious problems. The family’s apparently “normal”, bourgeois, every-day existence is threatened by internal stress that will crack it open, bringing to the surface hatred and passion. At the bottom of everything lies money, the root of all evil. Sex is the other motivating force, which makes many of the characters commit acts that are neither pleasant nor moral. Magda runs a bakery while caring for her invalid husband injured in a car crash that killed one of her daughters. The other money-hungry daughter is married to Stelios, with whom Magda is having an affair. Christos, is Magda’s son who is bisexual and is sleeping with a young girlfriend, an older woman and an older bisexual man, the city official Yorgos who is married with children and is in charge of the city planning. Yorgos chief project involves the land Magda owns. The plot boils down to a blackmail plan that will gain money for the land the family owns. The blackmail plan involves Christos' affair with Yorgos in which videotapes are made of Christos' assignations with Yorgos. The lives of all the characters are altered once the greed consumes them and there are discoveries, betrayals, twists and turns that end with tragedy. This is violent film with graphic sex scenes – quite confronting and once again not for the viewers with weak stomachs.
6.5/10

Reign of Fire (2002)
Hmmmmm, another little dud of a movie here… Rob Bowman paints a picture of post-apocalyptic Britain where the destruction has been caused by a brood of fire-breathing dragons. A B-grade science-fiction/fantasy shoot-them-up-arcade-style-game type movie with lots of action, special effects and a scientific explanation of how dragons breathe fire! It got a bit tiring because they were all being so earnest about everything… If they injected a bit of humour, it may have been a bit more enjoyable!
5/10

Water (2005)
Indian-born, Canadian director Deepa Mehta has made a very beautiful and sensitive film about the plight of a group of widows forced into poverty at a temple in the holy city of Varanasi in the 1930s. Mehta focuses on the relationship between one of the widows, who wants to escape the social restrictions imposed on widows, and a man who is from the highest caste and a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. “Water” was not allowed to be filmed in India and Mehta had to go to Sri Lanka to make the film. It was subsequently banned in India and Pakistan as “irreverent and seditious”. The film is one of a trilogy, the other two “Fire” and “Earth” also being quite controversial.
8.5/10

ART SUNDAY - PALLIDA MORS

“Death is a distant rumor to the young.” - Andrew A. Rooney

For Art Sunday today, a painting by James C. Christensen, an American artist whose works are very much in the surrealistic/fantasy style. This is one is called “Pallida Mors” (Pale Death) and superposes the young girl on the verge of womanhood with the skeletal remains of bird and reptile skeletons in the tradition of the “memento mori” paintings of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Certainly an arresting image and a skilful portrait.


All but Death, can be Adjusted-
Dynasties repaired-
Systems - Settled in their Sockets-
Citadels - Dissolved-

Wastes of Lives - Resown with Colors
By Succeeding Springs- -
Death Unto itself - Exception -
Is exempt from Change -

Emily Dickinson

SECRET GARDEN

“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul” – Plato

I am rather tired tonight after a busy day doing chores and running around here and there. Always something to do around the house at the weekend, shopping, going to the market, going to the library… In any case the day ended well and that’s what matters.

For Song Saturday today, a video that I made when I was a student. We had to make a piece of “Video Art” in which the story was to be told in images only, no words. My piece was called “Secret Garden” and it tried to give a picture of a garden steeped in mystery and intrigue. A garden where the statues looked upon strange goings-on and where murder was in the air…

I also composed and performed the music (with the help of my computer). I have composed quite a lot of music and with the technology nowadays, one can hear quite easily anything from a solo, to a quartet, to a band piece, to a full orchestral score. Tell me what you think…

EXERCISE, DIETS & RESVERATROL

“Why do strong arms fatigue themselves with frivolous dumbbells? To dig a vineyard is worthier exercise for men.” - Marcus Valerius Martialis

You would think that if you had a nice fast walk you would work up an appetite and not only eat your dinner more eagerly but also more of it in quantity. Apparently not! Latest research has shown that being a couch potato and not exercising will cause you to feel hungrier and would require you to eat more in order to feel replete. Sitting around apparently increases hunger more than exercising. It all has to do with psychological factors and our perceptions of hunger. A recent study in the USA, examined young people who were either active or inactive and the effect it had on their appetite.

The volunteers were followed through days when they active (spending 12 hours being active – not exercising but rather walking, doing chores, housework, etc, with only 10 minutes rest in every hour) and when they were being sedentary (sitting watching videos and playing computer games, even being pushed around in a wheelchair if they wanted to go somewhere). The results were quite startling: After the active or sedate days, they were given breakfast and asked how hungry they felt before and after eating breakfast. The sedentary group felt the hungriest (up to 17% more than the active group) and they also did not feel as satiated as the active group did after the meal.

The moral of the story is simple. Keep active, adhere to regular meal times and eat a healthy diet and this will not only maintain your shape, but you will feel better and more satisfied with your meals. Needless to say your health will improve also!

Another interesting study related to dieting, and especially the way that dieters banished sweet foods from their immediate environment so as not to be “tempted” to break their diet. The Belgian study led by Kelly Geyskens found that dieters who kept some “tempting” sweet treats around the house actually increased willpower and helped dieting.

The researchers presented female students with tempting foods and found that the women actually had greater self-control when they were confronted with a sweet treat to which they had access, rather than pictures or smells. It seems counter-intuitive to keep sweet treats in the house while dieting, but having them available, apparently can increase the person’s willpower, which can be “trained up”. So while dieting it helps to have some bon-bons and chocolate treats around which will constantly challenge you and by avoiding them you can activate you self-control strategies, which ultimately will cause you to not eat what you shouldn’t!

Another interesting study that I read about recently, concerns a substance that is found in high concentration in red wine and fruit: Resveratrol. This is an almost miraculous compound that has anti-ageing effects and important anti-oxidant properties. A radiation oncologist, Joel Greenberger, chemically altered resveratrol by adding acetyl groups to it (the compound found in vinegar). When the altered acetyl-resveratrol compound was given to mice it proved to be effective in preventing radiation damage.

This is an important study as there have not been any drugs until now that help to limit radiation damage. This new compound can perhaps be used in nuclear accidents, or to help protect the body when cancer is being treated with radiation therapy. More research is being carried out.

In the meantime, exercise, have plenty of sweet treats around the house but resist temptation and sip on soured red wine!

HAPPY EID AL-FITR!

“Surrender is faith that the power of love can accomplish anything... Even when you can not foresee the outcome.” Deepak Chopra

Today is Eid al-Fitr, the joyous celebration ending the month of Ramadan in the Islamic calendar. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims observe a strict fast and participate in pious activities such as charity and alms giving and peace-making. It is a time of intense spiritual renewal for those who observe it. At the end of Ramadan, Muslims throughout the world observe a three-day celebration called Eid al-Fitr (the Festival of Fast-Breaking).

Eid al-Fitr falls on the first day of Shawwal, the month following Ramadan in the Islamic lunar calendar. It is a time to give in charity to those in need, and celebrate with family and friends the completion of a month of blessings and joy. Before the day of Eid, during the last few days of Ramadan, each Muslim family gives a determined amount as a donation to the poor. This donation is of actual food (rice, barley, dates, rice, etc) to ensure that the needy can have a holiday meal and participate in the celebration. This donation is known as sadaqah al-fitr (charity of fast-breaking).

On the day of Eid, Muslims put on new clothes and gather early in the morning in outdoor locations or mosques to perform the Eid prayer. This consists of a sermon followed by a short congregational prayer. After the Eid prayer, the faithful usually scatter to visit various family and friends, give gifts (especially to children), and make phone calls to distant relatives to give well-wishes for the holiday. These activities traditionally continue for three days. In most Muslim countries, the entire 3-day period is an official government/school holiday. In 2008, Eid al-Fitr is between the 2nd and 5th of October.

Common greetings during this holiday are the Arabic greeting EĪd mubārak ("Blessed Eid") or ‘Īd sa‘īd ("Happy Eid"). In addition, many countries have their own greetings based on local language and traditions.

The word of the day is Islam:

Islam |isˈläm| noun
• The religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah.
• The Muslim world: The most enormous complex of fortifications in all Islam.

Founded in the Arabian peninsula in the 7th century AD, Islam is now the professed faith of nearly a billion people worldwide, particularly in North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. The ritual observances and moral code of Islam were said to have been given to Muhammad as a series of revelations, which were codified in their holy book, the Koran. Islam is regarded by its adherents as the last of the revealed religions, and Muhammad is seen as the last of the prophets, building on and perfecting the examples and teachings of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. There are two major branches in Islam: Sunni and Shia.

DERIVATIVES
Islamic |ɪˈslɑmɪk| adjective
Islamicisation |isˌlämisiˈzā sh ən; iz-| noun
Islamicise |isˈlämiˌsīz; iz-| verb
Islamism |ˈisləˌmizəm; ˈiz-| noun
Islamist |ˈɪsləməst| noun
Islamisation |isˌlämiˈzā sh ən; iz-| noun
Islamise |ˈisləˌmīz; ˈiz-| verb

ORIGIN from Arabic 'islām ‘submission,’ from 'aslama ‘submit (to God).’

SOLITUDE

“I was never less alone than when by myself.” - Edward Gibbon

Solitude
Who are sitting in company under the bright window?
Two of us – my shadow and I.
The lamp is burning itself out and forces me to go to bed,
Forsaken now even by my shadow.
Ah, such misery!
How desolate am I!
Xiang Gao (born ≈1100)