NOÖSPHERE

“We are one, after all, you and I. Together we suffer, together exist, and forever will recreate each other.” - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

And the word of the day today is “Noösphere”…

noösphere |ˈnōəˌsfir| noun
A postulated sphere or stage of evolutionary development dominated by consciousness, the mind, and interpersonal relationships (frequently with reference to the writings of Teilhard de Chardin).
ORIGIN: 1940s: from French noösphere, based on Greek nous ‘mind.’ and Greek sphaira ‘orb, globe.’
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) was a visionary French Jesuit, palaeontologist, biologist, and philosopher, who spent most of his life trying to integrate religious experience with natural science. A monumental task, to say the least, as his Christian theological catechism was in direct conflict with the newly developed theories of evolution of Darwin. While immersed in this task he became enthralled with the possibilities for humankind, which he saw as heading for an exciting convergence of systems, an "Omega point" where the coalescence of consciousness will lead us to a new state of peace and planetary unity. Long before ecology was fashionable, he saw this unity he saw as being based intrinsically upon the spirit of the Earth.

He wrote: “The Age of Nations is past. The task before us now, if we would not perish, is to build the Earth.” Teilhard de Chardin died a full ten years before James Lovelock ever proposed the “Gaia Hypothesis” which suggests that the Earth is actually a living being, a collosal biological super-system. Nevertheless, Chardin's writings clearly reflect the sense of the Earth as having its own autonomous personality, and being the prime centre and director of our future, the guiding force for the synthesis of humankind into a new and more wise evolutionary race of beings.

“The phrase ‘Sense of the Earth’ should be understood to mean the passionate concern for our common destiny which draws the thinking part of life ever further onward. The only truly natural and real human unity is the spirit of the Earth. The sense of Earth is the irresistible pressure which will come at the right moment to unite them (humankind) in a common passion. We have reached a crossroads in human evolution where the only road which leads forward is towards a common passion. To continue to place our hopes in a social order achieved by external violence would simply amount to our giving up all hope of carrying the Spirit of the Earth to its limits.” – summarises his philosophy.

He suggested that the Earth in its evolutionary unfolding, was growing a new organ of consciousness, called the noösphere. The noösphere is analogous on a planetary level to the evolution of the brain in humans as they evolved from lower animals. The noösphere is a “planetary thinking network” – an interlinked system of consciousness and information, a global net of self-awareness, instantaneous feedback, and planetary communication. At the time of his writing, computers of any merit were the size of a city block, and the Internet was, if anything, an element of speculative science fiction.

However, this evolution is now evolving into being very rapidly, which in Gaia time, is but a mere blink. In these few seconds of evolutionary time, our planet is developing a cerebral cortex, and emerging into self-conscious awakening. We are approaching the Omega point that Teilhard de Chardin was so excited about. This convergence however, though it was predicted to occur through a global information network, was not a convergence of merely minds or bodies, but of heart, a point that he made most fervently:

“It is not our heads or our bodies which we must bring together, but our hearts. Humanity is building its composite brain beneath our eyes. May it not be that tomorrow, through the logical and biological deepening of the movement drawing it together, it will find its heart, without which the ultimate wholeness of its power of unification can never be achieved?”

In these days of uncertainty, economic crisis, terrorism, massive population shifts, gross inequity, East versus West, First versus Third World, it is important to reflect upon the notion of a noösphere, a higher level of being that transcends our greedy venality and our worldly, materialistic pursuits. The answer lies in the melding of religion with science, intellect with emotion, idealism with pragmatism and the breaking down of barriers worldwide. A new state of evolution of humanity, where heart and brain no longer are in conflict but interdigitate and complement one another to indeed bring about the noösphere proposed by de Chardin…

DISENCHANTMENT

“The love we give away is the only love we keep.” – Elbert Hubbard

A poem recovered from an old diary. It speaks of enchantment and disenchantment, falling in and out of love, of looking through hazy, rose-tinted glasses and clinical, prescription ones of crystal-clear glass that reveal the world and all of its imperfections.

Outside your Door

When I loved you, I loved you so
That even your door, shut as it was,
Was a thing beloved.
When I loved you, I loved you so
That each night I had to spend outside your window,
Until you turned off your light.
When I loved you, I loved you so
That tears would flow from my eyes,
Whenever I but thought of you.

Now so much time has passed,
That your door, even though open wide,
For me has no appeal.
Now so many things have come between us,
That even though your light burns all night,
I would not even know it.
Now so much has my heart hardened,
That the tears that you may shed for me
Are but scattered raindrops in a parched desert.

WORLD STANDARDS DAY 2008

“If our food and drink don’t meet your standards, please lower your standards” – Chevy’s Restaurant Graffiti

Today is the 39th annual World Standards Day. Every year on World Standards Day, the international community celebrates the importance of standards-related activities and pays tribute to the collaborative efforts of the thousands of individuals that give of their time and expertise to this important work that benchmarks products, services and activities ensuring our quality of life is ever on the rise. A world without standards would soon grind to a halt. Transport and trade would seize up. The Internet would simply not function. Hundreds of thousands of systems dependent on information and communication technologies would falter or fail - from government and banking to healthcare, air traffic control, emergency services, disaster relief and even international diplomacy. Nearly all aspects of the modern world are heavily dependent on standards.

The date, October 14th was chosen because it was on that day in 1946 that delegates from 25 countries first gathered in London and consequently decided to create a new international organization dedicated to the coordination and unification of standards work. The International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) was officially formed one year later and it was at the prompting of an ISO President that the first World Standards Day was celebrated on October 14th, 1970. Since that time the spirit of collaboration embodied by World Standards Day has expanded to include its celebration by members of ISO, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). A variety of unique activities are devised by national accreditation bodies and participants in the international community, to commemorate World Standards Day.

The work of the ISO, the IEC and the ITU in developing international standards opens up markets but also brings environmental protection, safety, security, health and access to information and knowledge. Increasingly international standards are helping to break down the barriers between rich and poor nations. Standardisation helps provide higher quality at lower costs by ensuring that competition exists between vendors. It makes it easier for consumers to make an informed choice about equipment or services that they buy.

Ultimately, the goal of World Standards Day is to raise awareness of the importance of international standardization to the world economy and to promote its role in helping meet the needs of all business sectors. A specific theme for World Standards Day is selected annually by ISO, IEC and ITU. In 2008, "Intelligent and sustainable buildings" has been chosen for the 39th World Standards Day. The poster for 2008 World Standards Day above has been added to a design for a “green” building designed by Mithun and planned for downtown Seattle. This building design has won the Cascadia Region Green Building Council's Living Building Challenge: To create a building that functions like an organism, with apartments, a restaurant that utilizes food grown on site, and that is fully self-sufficient.

GOING TO THE MOVIES...

I think cinema, movies, and magic have always been closely associated. The very earliest people who made film were magicians. - Francis Ford Coppola

How often have you seen lists of “100 Best of …” whether it’s books, music albums, places to visit, great paintings, or movies? There is a whole series of books nowadays, of the ilk: “1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die”, and its companion “1001 Films You Must See Before you Die”. I guess it’s much easier to be inclusive when you are dealing with a large number of “greats”, but what about the best 10 of all time? Can you construct a list of the 10 greatest films of all time?

The problem of course is that great films can’t be measured scientifically because “greatness” is extremely subjective – “one man’s meat is another man’s poison” so to speak. Artistic merit of films (or other works of art for that matter) can never be rated or quantified, although critics, reviewers, and fans still make ten best lists, hundred best lists, all-time greatest lists, favourites lists, awards lists, and generate results of polls. The nationality and cultural background of the compiler of the “10 Best…” list will also play an extremely important role in his or her selection. The movie industry is also one that has been dominated for a very long time by Hollywood, and most lists tend to reflect this.

Over a long period of time, it has been found that the English-language films found here in this selection of Greatest Films repeatedly appear on all-time best film lists by critics and are often noted in the collective responses of film viewers. There is reasonable consensus by most film historians, critics and reviewers that these selections are among cinema's most critically-acclaimed, significant "must-see" films (of predominantly Hollywood-American production).

These choices were limited to English-language, theatrically-distributed, narrative feature films. And that means foreign-language films, documentaries, TV movies and mini-series, and short films were not considered. Emphasis in these selections is purposely directed toward earlier, more classic Hollywood/American films.

Annie Hall (1977)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Ben Hur (1959)
The Big Sleep (1946)
Casablanca (1942)
Citizen Kane (1941)
E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982)
Fantasia (1940)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather - Part II (1974)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
The Graduate (1967)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
A Night at the Opera (1935)
North by Northwest (1959)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Psycho (1960)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Some Like it Hot (1959)
Star Wars (1977)
Taxi Driver (1976)
The Third Man (1949)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Wuthering Heights (1939)

Now, if your tastes are a little more universal and cosmopolitan, you could include some non-English language films that are amongst the “greatest”:

8½ (1963)
Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972)
L’ Avventura (1960)
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Belle de Jour (1967)
La Belle et la Bête (1946)
The Bicycle Thief (1948)
Le Boucher (1969)
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Cria Cuervos (1975)
Les Diaboliques (1954)
La Dolce Vita (1960)
La Double Vie de Veronique (1991)
Earth (1930)
Fanny and Alexander (1982)
The Four Hundred Blows (1959)
Grand Illusion (1937)
Jules et Jim (1962)
Landscape in the Mist (1988)
Lola (1961)
M (1931)
Metropolis (1927)
Nosferatu (1922)
La Notte (1961)
Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (1964)
Playtime (1967)
Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
Ran (1985)
Rashomon (1951)
La Regle du Jeu (1939)
Rocco e I Suoi Fratelli (1960)
The Seven Samurai (1954)
La Strada (1954)
Viridiana (1961)
The World of Apu (1959)

My lists may seem a little eclectic and I may have omitted what you would consider are amongst the “greatest”, however, as I said earlier, this is a subjective process. Besides, these films that I have listed above are ones that I have seen and have liked for one reason or another. What are some of your favourite films of all time that should be on my lists?

ART SUNDAY -

"In a completely sane world, madness is the only freedom!" - J. G. Ballard

For Art Sunday, the art of David Tench McKean (born 29 December 1963 in Maidenhead, Berkshire). He is an English illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician. His work incorporates drawing, painting, photography, collage, found objects, digital art and sculpture. He is an exponent of surrealism, and his 2005 film “MirrorMask” best exemplifies his enormous artistic

CARAVAN

"The eternal quest of the human being is to shatter his loneliness." – Norman Cousins



A song in Greek today sung by Yorgos Perris, from a French original by Raphaël. Terrible video clip, but I rather like the Greek lyrics better, so here they are:

Καραβάνι

Αν ξυπνήσεις το πρωί
Κι η καρδιά σου πάει να σπάσει,
Ήλιο σύμμαχο θα δεις
Μπόρα είναι θα περάσει…

Αν στο δρόμο σου χαθείς
Και δεν ξέρεις που σε πάει,
Στην καρδιά φάρο θα δεις,
Άς την να σε οδηγάει.

Ξέρω ψάχνεις το γιατί
Και το ψέμα σ’ αρρωσταίνει,
Σκέψου αυτό είν’ η ζωή
Καραβάνι που πηγαίνει.

Σαν κι εσένα είμαι κι εγώ
Κλαίω, γελάω, αγαπάω,
Καραβάνι είναι η ζωή
Και μαζί σου προχωράω.

Ξέρω νοιώθεις μοναξιά,
Και τις νύχτες σε βαραίνει,
Μα ταξίδι είναι η ζωή
Καραβάνι που πηγαίνει.

(Έλα πάμε)

Caravan

If you wake up in the morning,
And your heart is about to break,
The sun is your ally,
It’s just a storm, it’ll soon be over.

If you get lost on the road,
And you don’t know where it’s taking you,
In your heart there is a lighthouse,
Follow it and you will find your way.

I know you’re searching for the reason why,
Lies make you sick,
Remember that life is just
A caravan on its way.

I am just like you,
I cry, I laugh, I love,
Life is just a desert caravan
And we’re travelling on it together.

I know you’re lonely,
And at night it weighs heavily on you,
But life is just a journey,
A journey on a caravan…

(Come on, let’s go)

And here is the original




Est-ce que j'en ai les larmes aux yeux
Que nos mains ne tiennent plus ensemble
Moi aussi je tremble un peu
Est-ce que je ne vais plus attendre

Est-ce qu'on va reprendre la route
Est-ce que nous sommes proches de la nuit
Est-ce que ce monde a le vertige
Est-ce qu'on sera un jour puni

Est-ce que je rampe comme un enfant
Est-ce que je n'ai plus de chemise
C'est le Bon Dieu qui nous fait
C'est le Bon Dieu qui nous brise

Est-ce que rien ne peut arriver
Puisqu'il faut qu'il y ait une justice
Je suis né dans cette caravane
Et nous partons allez viens
Allez viens

Allez viens
Tu lu tu tu, tu lu tu tu...

Et parce que ma peau est la seule que j'ai
Que bientôt mes os seront dans le vent
Je suis né dans cette caravane
Et nous partons allez viens
Allez viens

Allez viens
Tu lu tu tu, tu lu tu tu...
Allez viens
Tu lu tu tu, tu lu tu tu...

EATING OUT IN BRISBANE

“In general, mankind, since the improvement in cookery, eats twice as much as nature requires.” - Benjamin Franklin

I took my staff to lunch today as a little bit of a social, team-building exercise but also as a small way of acknowledging their continuing efforts in doing their job well. In the past when I was a junior staff member at University, I remember working very hard, doing my job well and getting very little recognition for my work. It often takes very little to show people that work for you your appreciation of their work. Today’s lunch was a case in point. I let them choose the venue and was pleasantly surprised as it turned out to be a little of a revelation. I guess I should not have been surprised given that they were academics.

We walked to the restaurant, which is about a kilometre from our College and I had some reservations as the skies over Brisbane today were leaden grey and we had a few downpours during the morning. Nevertheless, the weather held fine during our walk and we were able to enjoy our lunch in dry clothes. The place is called “L’ Académie” and it is a combination hotel, restaurant, bar, patisserie. The interesting thing about it is that it is the training establishment for a cooking academy, catering and hospitality industry school. It is where the aspiring chefs get to try out their skills under the watchful eye of their supervisors. The advantage is that the prices are extremely reasonable ($15.00 for a three-course meal!) and one gets the satisfaction of helping these young people develop their skills.

I must say that I was quite impressed by the venue, the service and the food. The interior is in harmony with the late Victorian exterior of the establishment and the sensitively renovated generous rooms have dark red and green walls on which hang suitably lurid Victorian oil paintings, with the regulation potted palms. An open central kitchen and food preparation area allows one to watch the young chefs at work and it is wonderful to see them busily working away producing one’s selection from the menu. I had the Mediterranean platter for entrée (marinated baby octopus, eggplant and capsicum antipasto, tomato and onion appetizer and toasted home made rusks). This was followed by a well-done steak on a bed of mashed potato and spring vegetables, and for dessert a tiramisu parfait. It was accompanied by a very good Western Australian shiraz wine.

Although not “gourmet” quality, my meal exceeded my expectations and was ten times better than the (much more expensive) meal that I had the previous night in my hotel’s “gourmet” restaurant. The evening meal last night was abominable. I chose to have only main course and dessert, and unfortunately I selected the grilled pork. I always like my meat well and truly cooked, even steak (what did Woody Allen say? “I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead - not sick, not wounded - dead.”), but pork especially has got to be very dead, very well cooked. The pork last night was blood-red raw inside and seared on the outside. Add to that the fact that it took just over 50 minutes to arrive (and I was one of only three patrons in the place!). Needless to say, I did not eat my pork, only nibbled on the sickly sweet stewed apple that accompanied it and made do with the broccolini on the side. The dessert was a standard chocolate mud cake – nothing to write home about.

This restaurant was at the “Watermark Hotel” a four star establishment which would only manage a maximum of three stars on my scale. Admittedly the staff were solicitous when they saw that I did not eat my meal an enquired whether I would like something else. I politely but firmly refused and they did have the decency to cut my bill. Nevertheless, I don’t think that this type of meal or service is representative of a four star hotel or a gourmet restaurant.

I am now home after a flight which was (surprisingly for a Friday night) on schedule. Needless to say that I shall be relaxing at the weekend (although there is some work to do, as well). Tomorrow night we are going out to a very nice restaurant in Melbourne (entertaining overseas guests), and certainly in Melbourne the standard of the food and service is easily the best in Australia. That concludes my Food Friday entry, even though it included a little beef…

BRISBANE POSTCARD

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.” - Robert Louis Stevenson

My day today has been full of meetings, interviews, consultations with staff and many administrative duties that go hand in hand with my visits to Brisbane. A very hectic schedule, but also very satisfying, as at the end of the day one gets the feeling that much has been achieved and the trip is worth it. Although the weather has been very pleasant I have not had a chance to enjoy it as I have spent most of my time indoors. However, I did walk to work in the morning from my hotel, which is a good 2 kilometres away, and I walked back there this evening. Spring is evident in the gardens and parks and the subtle fragrance of the mauve jacaranda mixed with the headier creamy frangipani blossoms, perfuming the streets.

I shall be spending the day in Brisbane tomorrow also and then returning home for the weekend on Friday evening. There is lots of work to be done at the weekend as every time I come to Brisbane I take home a new project or two. Such is the lot of a peripatetic worker! Hence our word of the day:

peripatetic |ˌperipəˈtetik| adjective
1 Travelling from place to place, esp. working or based in various places for relatively short periods: The peripatetic nature of military life.
2 (Peripatetic) Aristotelian. [ORIGIN: with reference to Aristotle's practice of walking to and fro while teaching.]
noun
1 a person who travels from place to place.
2 ( Peripatetic) an Aristotelian philosopher.

DERIVATIVES
peripatetically |ˈpɛrəpəˈtɛdək(ə)li| adverb
peripateticism |ˈpɛrəpəˈtɛdəˈsɪzəm| noun

ORIGIN: Late Middle English (denoting an Aristotelian philosopher): From Old French peripatetique, via Latin from Greek peripatētikos ‘walking up and down,’ from the verb peripatein.

SPRING IN BRISBANE

“A little Madness in the Spring Is wholesome even for the King.” – Emily Dickinson

I am in Brisbane again for work and the Spring has sprung gloriously here. The sun was brilliantly shining today, the flowers blooming and the heat already beginning to become almost uncomfortable. A poem by John Keats for today’s Poetry Wednesday offering, suitably in season!

Daisy’s Song

The sun, with his great eye,
Sees not so much as I;
And the moon, all silver, proud,
Might as well be in a cloud.

And O the spring – the spring!
I lead the life of a king!
Couched in the teeming grass,
I spy each pretty lass.

I look where no one dares,
And I stare where no one stares;
And when the night is nigh,
Lambs bleat my lullaby.

John Keats (1795-1821)

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)

HAPPY JEWISH NEW YEAR!

The first book was printed on this day in 1452. It was Johann Gutenberg’s Bible.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, occurs on the first and second days of the month of Tishri. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, “head of the year” or “first of the year”. This name is somewhat deceptive, because there is little similarity between Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the year, and our New Year, which is a time of partying and drinking. There is something in common, however, the New Year’s day is a time to plan a better life, making "resolutions." One engages in introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year. The name "Rosh Hashanah" is not used in the Bible to discuss this holiday. The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar). The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25.

The shofar is a ram's horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar in the synagogue. A total of 100 notes are sounded each day. There are four different types of shofar notes: Tekiah, a 3 second sustained note; shevarim, three 1-second notes rising in tone, teruah, a series of short, staccato notes extending over a period of about 3 seconds; and tekiah gedolah (literally, "big tekiah"), the final blast in a set, which lasts 10 seconds minimum. The Bible gives no specific reason for this practice. One that has been suggested is that the shofar's sound is a call to repentance. The shofar is not blown if the holiday falls on Shabbat.

No work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah. Much of the day is spent in the synagogue, where the regular daily liturgy is somewhat expanded. In fact, there is a special prayerbook called the machzor used for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur because of the extensive liturgical changes for these holidays.

Another popular observance during this holiday is eating apples dipped in honey, a symbol of our wish for a sweet new year. Bread is also dipped in honey (instead of the usual practice of sprinkling salt on it) at this time of year for the same reason. Another popular practice of the holiday is Tashlikh ("casting off"). People walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and empty their pockets into the river, symbolically casting off our sins. Small pieces of bread are commonly put in the pocket to cast off. This practice is not discussed in the Bible, but is a long-standing custom. Tashlikh is normally observed on the afternoon of the first day, before afternoon services. When the first day occurs on Shabbat, many synagogues observe Tashlikh on Sunday afternoon, to avoid carrying bread on Shabbat.

The common greeting at this time is L'shanah tovah ("for a good year"). This is a shortening of "L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem" (or to women, "L'shanah tovah tikatevi v'taihatemi"), which means "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."

So, happy Jewish New Year 5769!

MOVIE MONDAY - BABEL

“It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others.” - John Andrew Holmes

On Sunday we watched Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2006 film, “Babel” starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Iñárritu won the Cannes Film Festival’s Best Director award with this film and he has several other important films under his belt: “Amores Perros” and "21 Grams". This film is constructed in an almost signature way, with several interlocking stories connected by a common thread. In this case, this is a high powered rifle that makes its way from Japan to Morroco and manages to change the life of people in the USA and Mexico, as well. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett give good performances, but they pale into insignificance when compared to the actors playing the Moroccan family and the Mexican family, who do a really exceptional job.

An American couple holidaying in Morroco are victims of a freak accident involving kids playing with a rifle. A Japanese father and daughter try and cope with the results of suicide, while in Mexico the children of the American couple survive an ordeal in the desert after their nanny tries to do the right thing by everyone. The film is strong and cleverly juxtaposes all four stories, but it could be cut as its 138 minutes makes it drag somewhat. The cinematography and the direction are wonderful, but the impact is lost somewhat by its slow pace in parts.

Similar to the same director’s “Amores Perros” the interlocking stories theme highlights common factors of human existence at various levels of society the world over. The message is simple: The universality of humanity - what causes us pain and joy is the same all over the world and as humans we all experience the same despair and hope in similar situations.

Well worth seeing, but quite a violent film with some very graphic scenes…

ART SUNDAY - MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” - Edgar Degas

Yesterday I had to go the University of Melbourne, my alma mater, and as always found many changes, especially so as the last time I had been there was about 2 years ago. Nevertheless, some things had not changed and one of them was the art around the campus. The gallery of the University is the Ian Potter Museum of Art. It is worth visiting both for its collection and its own architecture. Designed by one of Melbourne's most interesting contemporary architects, Nonda Katsalidis, it incorporates parts of older university buildings such as the Napier Waller Art Deco stained glass window from the old Wilson Hall (which burnt down). The gallery is a bequest to the university from the businessman, Sir Ian Potter. The very distinctive façade has this striking sculptural mural, where classical art burgeons forth from the interior of the museum! A tribute to the excellent collection of Greek pottery housed n the museum, perhaps. There are some very good 19th century paintings and many contemporary art pieces. Temporary exhibitions make the bulk of the exhibited material.

Whenever I visited the Baillieu Library as a student I could not help but notice the monumental sculptural group just outside, on the lawn adjacent to the library. The bronze sculpture known as “Charity Being Kind to the Poor”, was originally the “crowning piece” of the massive entrance portico of the Equitable Life Assurance Society headquarters in Collins Street. The building was demolished in the late 1950s and the owners presented the sculpture to the University. Created by architect Edward W Raht and sculptor Victor Tilgner at the Imperial Art Foundry in Vienna in about 1893, the substantially-scaled Charity, sheltering a huddled family, is a clear statement on the advantages of buying life insurance. Originally situated at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning’s Mount Martha site, it was relocated to its present location in 1981.

Fifty metres away from the Baillieu Library are James Gilbert’s Atlantes, a pair of massive stone classical male figures supporting the western entrance to the underground car park. Everyone is aware of the Caryatides, the female figures supporting the porch of the maidens of the Erechtheum on the Acropolis in Athens. The male equivalent of a Caryatis is an Atlas (as in the giant Atlas of mythology who supported the heavens on his back). Atlantes is the plural and refer to the architectural device of male figures supporting an architectural feature on their backs. Both Caryatides and Atlantes were very common in the past as standard architectural features.

This imposing gateway was originally part of the Colonial Bank of Australasia Building on the corner of Elizabeth and Little Collins Streets in the City of Melbourne. The bank donated them to the University in 1932 following the demolition of that elaborate 1880s city building. Unfortunately, the unrelenting wheels of progress have meant that many a fine building was demolished in the past to make way for some modern monstrosity that adhered to the tastes of the time. At least some vestiges of these original buildings have been saved and through the sensitivity of some souls can still be enjoyed today.

The abiding relevance of Classical Greece is also reflected in the Melbourne Greek Orthodox Community’s gift to the University to commemorate the 1956 Olympiad in Melbourne: Poseidon, a modern cast bronze copy of one of the finest examples of early classical sculpture. The original (c. 460 BC) is in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. It was recovered in 1928 in the sea off Cape Artemision after fishermen found its arm in their nets. It depicts Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, about to hurl a trident (which is now missing from the original statue and therefore from this cast also). An alternative interpretation of the iconography is that it depicts Zeus about to hurl a thunderbolt.

The statue is one of only two approved castings; the other is in the United Nations Building in New York. It was initially located in the University’s Beaurepaire Centre sporting complex, built in the 1950s and used as a training pool for the 1956 Olympic Games. Poseidon was relocated to the courtyard of the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Building in 1994.

The University as a place of intellectual pursuits, a temple of learning, a refuge for the arts and sciences, teaching and research ensures that art will always have a place in its environs.

THE NUN

“We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love.” – Jonathan Swift

I must begin by saying that I dislike Céline Dion when she sings in English. However, many of her songs in French are very good. One of these is called “La Religieuse” (The Nun) and in a few verses creates a psychologically taut duality, amplified by the religious organ strains contrasting with the rock beat: Passion versus chastity; love versus abstinence; prayer versus revelry, reality in a convent with the nostalgic remembrances of nights of love in hotel rooms...


LA RELIGEUSE

Même à genoux même en prière
Elle se souvient de l'Italie
Jésus Marie et notre Père
C'est peu vous dire qu'elle vous oublie

De l'autre côté de l'enfer
Elle se souvient d'avoir dit oui
À la passion à la lumière
À l'amour fou à l'infini

Et prier cet homme sur la croix
C'est encore se donner à lui
Et quand lui viennent ces idées là
C'est à peine si elle en rougit
La religieuse a comme moi
Des nuits d'amour en nostalgie
La religieuse a quelques fois
Des sanglots longs de jalousie

Même à genoux même en prière
Elle entend sa voix qui l'appelle
Elle voit des bateaux sur la mer
Elle revoit des chambres d'hôtel

De l'autre côté de ce mur
Il y a le soleil de la vie
Il y a des lèvres qui murmurent
À des lèvres assoiffées d'envie

Et prier cet homme sur la croix
C'est encore se donner à lui
Et quand lui viennent ces idées là
C'est à peine si elle en rougit
La religieuse a comme moi
Des nuits d'amour en nostalgie
La religieuse a quelques fois
Des sanglots longs de jalousie

Même à genoux même en prière
Elle a des frissons de désir
Tellement de sorciers l'ensorcellent
Que le diable y prend du plaisir

Elle a beau nouer ses cheveux
Sous une cornette anonyme
Elle ne sait pas baisser les yeux
La peur du mal l' enféminine

Et prier cet homme sur la croix
C'est encore se donner à lui
Et quand lui viennent ces idées là
C'est à peine si elle en rougit
La religieuse a comme moi
Des nuits d'amour en nostalgie
La religieuse a quelques fois
Des sanglots longs de jalousie
THE NUN

Even when kneeling, even deep in prayer
She still remembers Italy.
“Jesus, Mary and our Father…”
Just saying the words and forgetting them.

On the other side of hell
She remembers having said yes
To passion, and to light,
To love until infinity…

And while praying to this man on the cross,
She is still giving herself to the other.
And when these ideas come into mind,
It's just as if she blushes
The nun, like me,
Has nights of love in nostalgia
The nun sometimes has
Bitter tears of jealousy.

Even while kneeling, even in prayer
She hears his voice calling.
She sees boats on the sea
She sees the hotel rooms again.

On the other side of the wall
There is the sun of life,
There are lips that whisper
For the envious lips thirsty for kisses…

And while praying to this man on the cross,
She is still giving herself to the other.
And when these ideas come into mind,
It's just as if she blushes
The nun, like me,
Has nights of love in nostalgia
The nun sometimes has
Bitter tears of jealousy.

Even while kneeling, even in prayer
She shivers with desire
So the wizards weave their sorcery
So the devil brings her pleasure.

Even if her beautiful hair is hidden
Under a nun’s anonymous wimple,
She does not know to cast her eyes down
Has no fear of the feminised evil.

And while praying to this man on the cross,
She is still giving herself to the other.
And when these ideas come into mind,
It's just as if she blushes
The nun, like me,
Has nights of love in nostalgia
The nun sometimes has
Bitter tears of jealousy.