WORLD DIABETES DAY 2008

“He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors.” - Chinese Proverb

November the 14th has been designated as World Diabetes Day (WDD) and has become the day for highlighting a global awareness campaign of people suffering from diabetes, and their families. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1991 introduced the concept of a world day to raise awareness for diabetes in response to the sharp rise in diabetes incidence around the world. The United Nations marked the observation of the Day for the first time in 2007 with the passage of the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution in December 2006, which made the existing World Diabetes Day an official United Nations World Health Day.

World Diabetes Day is a campaign that features a new theme chosen by the International Diabetes Federation each year to address issues facing the global diabetes community. While the themed campaigns last the whole year, the day itself is celebrated on November 14, to mark the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, first conceived the idea, which led to the discovery of insulin in 1922.

In 2007 and 2008, the theme of World Diabetes Day is Diabetes in Children and Adolescents. Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. Type 1 diabetes is growing by 3% per year in children and adolescents, and at an alarming 5% per year among pre-school children. It is estimated that 70,000 children under 15 develop type 1 diabetes each year (almost 200 children a day). Currently, an estimated 440,000 children live with type 1 diabetes globally. Type 2 diabetes was once seen as a disease of adults but today, it is growing at alarming rates in children and adolescents.

The International Diabetes Federation's two-year focus on children through the World Diabetes Day campaign, aims to increase awareness among parents and caregivers, teachers, healthcare professionals, politicians and the public. World Diabetes Day is celebrated worldwide by the over 200 member associations of the International Diabetes Federation in more than 160 countries, all Member States of the United Nations, as well as by other associations and organizations, companies, healthcare professionals and people living with diabetes and their families.

The World Diabetes Day logo is the blue circle (being the global symbol for diabetes which was developed as part of the Unite for Diabetes awareness campaign). The logo was adopted in 2007 to mark the passage of
 the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution. The significance of
 the blue circle symbol is overwhelmingly positive. Across cultures, the circle symbolizes life and health. The colour blue reflects the sky that unites all nations and is the colour of the United Nations flag. The blue circle signifies the unity of the global diabetes community in response to the diabetes pandemic.

In terms of diet and diabetes, there is a common misconception out there that eating too much sugar or too many sweet foods habitually will give you diabetes. This is not true. The connection between diet and diabetes is that certain types of diabetes that people are predisposed to genetically, will be manifested when the person becomes overweight. Overweight people who have a poor diet (including much processed food and simple carbohydrates like sugar) often present with diabetes (especially type 2). Of particular concern are overweight children who are increasingly being diagnosed with this type of diabetes. However, if your genes do not predispose you to diabetes and if you are of normal weight, even if you live on sugar alone you will not get the disease.

A good way to prevent many types of diabetes is to maintain your weight within normal range, eat sensibly, have a balanced diet and exercise regularly. Even people who are genetically predisposed to diabetes can stave off the disease if they modify their lifestyle sufficiently.

AEROPHOBIA

“There are only two emotions in a plane: boredom and terror…” - Orson Welles

I am in Brisbane again for work. The flight was rather bumpy as we encountered a great deal of turbulence, and we landed with quite a thump, which elicited quite a few gasps from my fellow travellers. This was to be expected with our Spring weather - cloudy skies, winds and changeable outlook over the next few days. The traffic into the City from the airport was horrendous, driving home the point that Brisbane infrastructure is not coping well with increasing population and increasing tourism. The day has been a bit of whirlwind, with much activity and lots of things getting done. Another busy day here tomorrow with a special workshop/seminar to attend.

My word for the day is “aerophobia”:

Aerophobia |e(ə)ˈro-ˈfōbēə|noun
Fear of flying; this is a fear of being on a plane while in flight. It is also sometimes referred to as aviatophobia, aviophobia or pteromechanophobia. Related to it is the term aeronausiphobia, the fear of vomiting secondary to flying.

Each year, fear of flying causes millions of people needless distress. One in eight people deliberately avoids commercial air travel, and for some the feelings are so intense it is a phobia. More than a healthy concern about airline safety, fear of flying is a significant problem that can cause panic attacks even when a person contemplates the possibility of being in an airplane. Symptoms often include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, feeling of dread. Though anti-nausea drugs are often prescribed for people suffering from this phobia, they do not always help and side effects can occur.

On the other hand, ornithophobia relates to an irrational fear of birds and herpetophobia is an irrational fear of reptiles… Now think of the situation of an aerophobic/herpetophobic on a plane watching the on-flight movie “Snakes on a Plane”!

LOVE KILLS

“Ah me! Love can not be cured by herbs.” – Ovid

I found an old letter amongst some papers I was clearing out in my office today and I was slightly taken aback because amongst the detritus of work correspondence, old meeting agendas and yellowed timetables there was a billet-doux. Sweet nothings scribbled on a piece of lavender paper, a pet name, an envelope sealed with a kiss… That old flutter of the heart has long disappeared, but its memory lives on and it was enough for that little slip of lavender paper to bring old emotions to the fore, like dance steps that one automatically remembers, once the old tune begins to play.

One of the wonderful joys of love as it awakens within our heart is the bittersweet insecurity it breeds deep within us. “She loves me, loves me not…”, “Shall I speak or remain silent?”, “Is this true love or a simple infatuation?”. The joy of love is only one side of the coin, the misery of love is the other side of the coin. When we love we toss the coin up and await breathlessly for it to fall, hoping against hope that we win the toss…

Love Kills

I stand before you and will only say:
My love can thrill
My love can kill;
You choose, and tell me what will play.

You love me back and you shall see
My love will grow.
My love will throw
Back towards you, love thrice three.

As long as you will find the proper way,
My love will flourish
My love will nourish.
Or else, all will be death, an end, decay.

But even if all is as it should be, Love,
My love corrupts,
My love disrupts,
It brings all which lies below, above.

Beware, don’t tempt me, love me true;
My love can lie
My love can die,
You are the one who will decide my cue.

I stand before you and you’ll agree:
My love can thrill
My love can kill;
You choose, and tell me what will be.

REMEMBRANCE DAY AND POPPIES

“Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.” - John F. Kennedy

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month represents a very important moment on what is commemorated as Remembrance Day in many countries around the world. Thousands of people attended a service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra today, and in Australia in nearly all cities and towns, ceremonies were held, 90 years after the end of World War I. The guns fell silent on the Western Front on November 11, 1918, but not before ten million soldiers lost their lives in the Great War, with 60,000 of them being Australians.

The sacrifice of fallen soldiers is on the minds of all Australians today, as we commemorate this anniversary. The tradition of Remembrance Day began soon after World War I, what is still known as the “Great War”. It really affected everybody, and it certainly affected every family in Australia at that time. Crowds at today's ceremony were invited to lay poppies on the tomb of the unknown soldier in Canberra, while everywhere artificial poppies were on sale to raise money for the veteran community. Poppies are significant for Remembrance Day because they were the first flowers to bloom on the Western Front at the end of the First World War after all the fighting had finished.

Claude Choules, a107-year-old veteran of both World Wars has used Remembrance Day to call for Australian troops to be brought home. He enlisted in the British Royal Navy when he was 14-years-old and was present at the scuttling of the German Fleet at Scapa Flow at the end of World War I. He moved to Western Australia in 1926, and served with the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. Mr Choules says he would like to see an end to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan: "I don't want to see any more wars. Seeing war is not exciting, like it used to be.” As they say, old age brings wisdom…

Here is a poem by Siegfried Sassoon, a World War I soldier and poet:

Suicide in the Trenches (1918)

I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.

In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.

You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you’ll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.

Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967)

MOVIE MONDAY - FLAWLESS

“Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets.” - Arthur Miller

What is the price of a life? If you are walking down a dark, deserted alley in a part of town that is noted for its illegal activities, your life may not be worth much at all – just the loose change in your pocket. Similarly, if you are a soldier on a battlefield, or the hostage of a terrorist, your life is worth as much as the toss of a coin – heads you win, tails you lose, as chance would have it. If, however, you are living peacefully in a developed country, if you are a law-abiding citizen, your life begins to gain value. The higher up the social scale you climb, the greater the price on your life. You only have to look at the bodyguards surrounding the rich and famous, protecting one individual’s life with their own to understand what I mean.

But think of a person you love. How much is the life of your son, your daughter, your spouse worth? What value do you put on that life? To what lengths would you go to preserve that life, to what lengths would go to defend it, to what lengths to avenge its wrongful discontinuation? Maybe it all boils down to whether you are giver or a taker by nature… The film we watched last weekend is superficially a thriller, a comedy, a heist caper. But more deeply it examines the questions I’ve just asked. It is the Michael Radford’s 2007 “Flawless”. It stars Demi Moore and Michael Caine, both of whom do a sterling job of their roles.

The story is set in swinging 1960s London, which nevertheless is very conservative and where the business world is very much a man’s domain. Demi Moore is Laura Quinn, an intelligent and beautiful executive at the London Diamond Corporation. She finds herself frustrated by a glass ceiling after years of faithful employment, and all sorts of sacrifices including her choice of career over relationship and family. Man after man is promoted ahead of her despite her greater experience and ability. Michael Caine is Hobbs, the night-time cleaner at London Diamond who is all but invisible to the executives that work there. Hobbs has over the long time of his employment amassed a great deal of knowledge about the company. His astute eye catches Laura’s frustration and he convinces her to help him steal a thermos flask full of diamonds, which will be enough to set both of them up more than comfortably for the rest of their lives.

The film has a good atmosphere, one that almost convinces you that it was actually made in the 1960s. The soundtrack was very mush an element in this, with “Take Five” by the Dave Brubeck quartet being just perfect foil for the slick imagery. Ms Moore has an astonishing wardrobe that sets off her rather lissome figure and Michael Caine shows in his maturity a worthy restraint in what is a very underplayed but significant role. The production is excellent and the film hangs together very well. It can be watched superficially as a typical heist movie, however, the message is much strong with several well developed sub-themes: Equality of the sexes, greed, power, the value of life, money and the value we place on it, corruption, generosity, social stratification, belief in a worthy cause, are all elements of this film and one can view it as deeply or as shallowly as one wishes. We enjoyed it quite a lot and despite its “message” or “moral”, deeply it can be enjoyed as a bit of an escapist flick, as well.

Enjoy your week!

ART SUNDAY - OEDIPUS

“Fate laughs at probabilities.” - E.G. Bulwer-Lytton

A painting by the 19th century French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme. It is an example of the popular “orientalist” movement popular at the time, where things exotically Eastern were depicted with enthusiasm. This school was particularly popular in France amongst the circles of the Academy painters (the one abhorred by the impressionists), which produced highly polished works the subject matter of which often allowed depictions of nudes, and which were therefore quite saleable.

This painting is an interesting as it depicts Napoleon during his Egyptian campaign, gazing at the Sphinx of Giza. It is titled “Oedipus” and is a reference to the Greek myth. Oedipus was the one who was separated from his royal parents as a baby after an oracle foretold of tragedy and death which would be caused by him. Instead of being killed, Oedipus was taken into the forest, abandoned there an found and raised by shepherds. When he grew up he went back ot Thebes, on the road meeting the Sphinx, which asked him her famous riddle, which had been the undoing of many before him:

“What is that goes with four legs in the morning, Two legs at noon and Three legs in the evening?”

Oedipus successfully solved the riddle and destroyed the Sphinx. Unfortunately he went to unknowingly kill his father and marry his mother, fulfilling the prophecy.

Gérôme makes a poignant statement about Napoleon in this painting, hinting at the conquest of Egypt, Napoleon’s rise to power and his subsequent downfall and ignominious end, just like a new Oedipus.

FRANÇOIS VILLON & BULAT OKUDZHAVA

“I am,
indeed,
a king,
because I know how
to rule myself.” - Pietro Aretino

It is timely perhaps to post this song up for Song Saturday, today. It is by the Russian/Georgian singer-songwriter Bulat Okudzhava (1924-1997). It is based on a poem by the French poet François Villon (born ca 1431). It is generally known as François Villon’s prayer and a translation runs thus:



François Villon’s Prayer

Before the earth stops turning
Before all lights grow dim,
To each one Lord, I pray Thee
Grant what is needful to him:

To the wise one a ready wit,
To the coward a horse, pray do
To the fortunate some money
But remember, I’m here too…

Before the earth stops turning
Of thy power without end;
To the one in want of power
Thy appointed portion of land.

To the one whose hand is open
Grant rest form charity,
A gift of remorse to Cain,
But also remember me…

O, Lord, Thou art all-knowing,
I believe in thy wisdom then,
As the fallen soldier believes
In Heaven he’s alive again.

As every man believes
Thy great word as true,
As all men must believe…
They know not what they do!

Before the earth stops turning
Before all lights grow dim,
And the fires are still burning
Grant each what is meet to him:

Grant to each some little thing
And remember I’m here too…

WINGÉD THOUGHTS

“I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

I must say that for the person who needs to travel often, airline frequent flyer lounges are a great boon. One does have to pay an annual membership fee, but it is well worth it even if one uses the lounge on 5 or 6 occasions in the year. I am a member of the Qantas Club and get to frequently use the club lounge wherever I travel as there are lounges at all Australian airports. Some international airports are also part of the Qantas Club and when one travels a lot it is gratifying to have a place where one find refuge in away from the usual mad rush of an air terminal.

I am in Sydney today for work and it has been a day of meetings, which overall went very well. However, there was not time for lunch and one can only have so many coffees during the course of a day full of discussions. The lounge at the airport at the end of the day has been quite a blessing. There different areas and one may choose a lounge where one can relax on easy chairs sipping a cool drink or coffee from the café and read a paper or a magazine; a couple of bars where complimentary alcoholic drinks are served; some snack and food counters where one may help oneself to food appropriate for the time of day; as well as airline service counters where one may get one’s boarding pass or book another flight. Needless to say that a business centre is always available with computers, printers, faxes, meeting rooms, free wireless internet and of course toilet, shower facilities where one can freshen up.

The food in these lounges is not a true, substantial meal, but one may eat very well and enjoy some delicacies that are representative of the better side of airline food. Most of the day there is soup available that one may help oneself to, with croutons or fresh rolls to accompany it. Creamy roast pumpkin soup is a favourite of mine, although as the year progresses towards summer one may enjoy spring vegetable, cream of asparagus or tomato soup. The cheeses on offer are usually very good, with tasty cheddar alternating with brie or camembert, or an excellent Australian blue. At lunchtime or evening there are various hot tidbits including mini quiches, sausage rolls, fried morsels of fish, chicken nuggets, bacon and tomato tartlets, sandwiches, a range of sliced meats, ham, smoked salmon, some vegetarian tidbits. There are always a couple of salad selections and various bits and pieces like nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit, water crackers, rice crackers, etc, etc.

Once again it’s a case of being able to eat all sorts of things, without eating a plate full of a “proper meal” and in fact reach a level of satiety very quickly. I would much rather have this smorgasbord to choose from rather than a tray of rather uninspiring airline food on the plane. In fact when I on the plane, I decline the offer of food on board, having eaten to satiety in the lounge.

Watching the people in the lounge is a very interesting occupation. Mostly it is business travellers, but what a variety of them. The sleek well dressed executives with not a hair out of place, the middle management types, rather more casually dressed, the progressive creative types with that daggy, careless look that has cost a fortune, and occasionally the tradesmen with shorts and T-shirts, who nevertheless probably earn more than all the previous types mentioned. There occasional exceptions: The young families, the elderly couples, the solo young travellers, the “hangers-on” (one may bring one guest along with one’s membership).

The range of activity and inactivity is also quite vast. From the exhausted sleeping toddler in his mother’s arms, to the very relaxed businesswoman reading a magazine while sipping a glass of champagne in an armchair, to the group of executives watching the giant screen TV over a beer in a good mood because of a business deal success, to the young couple sipping coffee while gazing at each other’s eyes, to the frantic manager trying to get his computer to print a vital report, to the blasé creative department type chatting idly on her i-phone, to the rather overwhelmed elderly man who is obviously a hanger on, watching with incredulity at the busy goings on…

And the best thing of course knowing that it’s Friday afternoon and very soon there will be a call over the PA system informing you that your flight is boarding at Gate 23 and that in 70 minutes you will be home…

Have a good weekend, everyone!

KARMA, TRAINS, PLANES AND DEATH ROW

“Lovers of air travel find it exhilarating to hang poised between the illusion of immortality and the fact of death.” - Alexander Chase

Another trip to Sydney looms ahead tomorrow. I have an early flight to catch just after 6:30 am and then after a day of meetings, back to Melbourne at 6:00 pm. Commuting with an airplane rather than a train can be rather tiresome, but yesterday it took me 90 minutes to get home rather than the usual 15-minute train journey. The inconvenience and delay in getting home would have greatly irritated me and my fellow travelers, but once I learned the reason, I was very grateful that I was experiencing the delay and that I did get home at all.

As soon as I went down to the underground train station yesterday evening, where I usually catch my train home, I saw big signs advising passengers that the normal train schedules were disrupted and my line was closed until further notice. The attendants were not very helpful and only said that if I went down to the Flinders Street station I could get a bus that was replacing my train service. As this station is several blocks down, I decided to take the tram instead, a decision that seemed to be shared by many others, as the trams were packed like sardine cans. Add to that congested peak hour city traffic and a couple of delayed trams ahead of us.

I got off at Blyth St and caught the (also crowded) bus home. At home the explanation was awaiting for me on the TV news. Here is the gist of the story from the Herald Sun:

STEALING LINK TO TRAIN DEATH
Aaron Langmaid
November 06, 2008 12:00am POLICE believe a man who died yesterday afternoon when he was hit by a train had stolen items from a car only minutes earlier. The 51-year-old Reservoir man was struck by the train at North Richmond station about 4.45pm. Police investigating the circumstances of the incident later revealed the man had broken into a car on Regent St before climbing an embankment close to the train lines. "Items stolen from the car were found with the man at the scene," police spokeswoman Julie-Ann Newman said. The man was taken to the Alfred hospital but died two hours later.

I was grateful to be home, grateful to not have to steal, grateful to be alive. Some may say “karma”. But is not death too severe a penalty for such a petty crime as stealing from a car? Who knows what drove this man to steal, what need, what despair or what compulsion? He may have been a hardened criminal, he may have not been. It may have been his 100th car break-in, it may have been his first. He may have been a loner, he may have had a family. What I know is he did not go home last night. Someone must have missed him. I was 90 minutes late home and someone was worrying over me, was relieved to see me home. What of his home? Who waited and waited and waited only to be called by the police later that night…

My mind now turns to the Bali bombers awaiting execution for their crimes. Rather than trivial, their crimes are gross and heinous and made even more ghastly and detestable by the rabid hatred that inspired them under the guise of religious zeal. Amrozi, Mukhlas and Iman Samudr were recently sentenced to death by firing squad for their role in the Bali bomb attacks in October 2002, which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. As the Bali bombers approach the end of their lives their angry rhetoric has increased with a letter from all three urging their Muslim brotherhood to “claim war and kill” everyone involved in their executions, including the Indonesian President. They say they welcome their death as this will ensure their entry into paradise. As they wait to face the firing squad they are happy because they will die martyrs for their faith…

What does a civilised society do in cases like this? In most Western countries the death penalty and corporal punishment have been abolished. I am a believer in this. Conviction of criminals should be followed by incarceration and rehabilitation. Correction rather than punishment. Education and awakening of feelings of social awareness, guilt and remorse. Yet in such cases as these of the Bali bombers I am at a loss. How does one rehabilitate such monsters? Is a change of heart possible in this instance? At what point does one give up on rehabilitation and opt for punishment? What punishment is meet for such crimes?

If karma is indeed at play here, one would argue that these criminals have had it coming. But our civilisation recoils at the thought of the primitive sentiments of “an eye for eye and a tooth for a tooth”. After all, the testament of old has been superseded by a newer one. Our society argues that a civilised person cannot stoop to the level of the murderer and commit murder itself as punishment for such a crime. It’s a vexed issue.

karma |ˈkärmə| noun
(in Hinduism and Buddhism) the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.
• informal destiny or fate, following as effect from cause.
DERIVATIVES
karmic |-mik| |ˈkɑrmɪk| adjective
karmically |-mik(ə)lē| adverb
ORIGIN from Sanskrit karman ‘action, effect, fate.’

CHANGE

“It is as hard and severe a thing to be a true politician as to be truly moral.” - Francis Bacon

The US rejoices as Barack Obama is elected its 44th President. A historic victory that carries with it the euphoria of success and the defeat of pessimism. Scenes reminiscent f the election of JFK all those decades ago. A nation’s hopes are renewed as what had seemed an impossibility becomes reality. Is this a new age dawning in the US? Can this really be the signal of a new maturity, a nation that has come to terms with its internal conflicts? A new-found tolerance and an end to centuries of prejudice?

My cynicism of yesterday is momentarily forgotten as I let my optimism take over in order to compose a villanelle honouring this historic win:

The Time of Change

The time of change is here
Awake, renew, revise,
I feel the freshness near.

There is no need to fear,
Look up with cloudless eyes
The time of change is here.

Smile brightly then, my dear,
Gone are the endless sighs
I feel the freshness near.

Sweet songs again you hear,
The truth defeats all lies –
The time of change is here,

Wipe clean the frown and tear.
As darkness ebbs and dies,
I feel the freshness near…

As we defeat night drear,
Our hope will climb and rise;
The time of change is here
I feel the freshness near.

I do not envy Barack Obama as he is inheriting not only a nation in disarray, but also a world that has been damaged to a point almost beyond repair. There is much work ahead of him and many obstacles in his way. He already has many enemies and his position is tenuous. He has promised much and in order to deliver his promises he has to do much in such a short time. He will have power within his reach, but will he be allowed to use it for the good of his country and the world?

RACES - HORSE AND OTHERS

“What luck for leaders, that people do not think.” - Adolph Hitler

Today the nation stops for the horse race of the year: The Melbourne Cup. The first Tuesday in November marks this occasion, which has been celebrated since the nineteenth century all over Australia. Melbourne’s good fortunes built on the nearby goldfields ensured that the Melbourne Cup was a rich prize and soon its prestige and attraction went far beyond the shores of Australia. It is now well-known throughout the world and many a bet are made on the outcome of this race which is part of the Spring Racing Carnival here in Melbourne. I am not a betting man and even though most Australians “have a flutter” on the Cup, I rarely if ever do. Occasionally at work a sweep is organised, but I think everyone was too busy this year and I did not even enter into one of those today.

So now the Cup has been run and won and the Flemington Racecourse here in Melbourne must have been packed today as the weather was perfect: Warm, sunny with blue skies. I still have not checked to see which horse won or whether there were any “episodes” noted. I always feel rather sorry for the poor horses whenever I catch glimpse of a horse race. They are such magnificent looking animals that to get them to race and whip them into a galloping frenzy seems utterly uncivilised to me. But never mind, I am not a person to pontificate on such matters nor is my opinion worth much. The billions of dollars wagered today is proof enough of that.

Another race has been more on my mind than the Melbourne Cup. Two different kinds of candidates are in the race for the White House and the whole world is watching the neck to neck running of Obama and McCain. The prize is the presidential office and ostensibly the chair of the most powerful leader in the whole world. The President of the United States of America is truly the world leader par excellence as the decisions made in the oval office not only will determine the fate of the citizens of the USA, but through a web of intricate connections, the fate of every human being on the planet. Great power, even perhaps in this case, political omnipotence requires great responsibility. Government is a trust placed by the people on a few elected individuals and these individuals must be its trustees.

Is the President of the USA nowadays a person suited to this role of planet leader? The whole world has watched the last few presidents with disappointment as mistake upon mistake has been made by each of them and not only has their own country suffered as a consequence, but the whole world has felt the effects. Economic mismanagement, scandals, internal turmoil, social policy inequity, health system failure, foreign policy blunders, wars, trade bungles, industrial unrest, and now finally the economy meltdown. This is the time of decadence, when the whole world is crumbling and the people are worrying over the trifles they have been brought up to think as important. Is one man responsible for all of this?

I am personally rather indifferent to the outcome of the US presidential poll. It mirrors to a certain extent our recently run Melbourne Cup, except of course it’s a two-horse race. It hardly matters which horse wins, the gross majority of punters are big losers. The organisers of the race are the big winners. The horses will run as they are goaded by their jockeys. They have their blinkers on and the sweat runs off their sleek, beautifully trained, muscular bodies. The most they can hope for is for a good feed after the race, and perhaps a roll in the sand. The race organisers have the race planned and their bets are safe.

Whether Obama or McCain is in the White House next year, the USA will continue to be run by the organisers of the race. That is the nature of the capitalistic system. The people must have their race and their festival. They will shout themselves hoarse as they back their favourite. Most will lose, some will win but the race is rigged. The organisers can never lose, whichever horse wins.

The process of democracy will have been served. The President elect will be invested with the powers of his office and ostensibly he will be the most powerful person on the planet. Ostensibly. It’s funny how that word keeps coming up whenever I talk about politics. Ostensibly: “Apparently or purportedly, but perhaps not actually”… Who runs the USA? Who runs the world? Not the Democrats, not the Republicans (six of one, half a dozen of the other), not the congress, not the senate. It’s big business and the multinationals, it’s money. After all it is a capitalistic system. Ostensibly, there is democracy. But if you had to choose between the devil and deep blue sea, what would you choose?

Have you noticed that after the threat of communism blew over with the collapse of the Eastern bloc and the USSR, we have had to find a new threat to keep us living in fear? After the big Red Bogeyman died, we were kept ever on the alert by the big Muslim Terrorist Bogeyman. After the Cold War we had the War against Terror. We must always a have a Bogeyman, we must always have our champion to fight him and to preserve us from his clutches.

Watching the campaigning, I am amazed by the rhetoric of both sides. These people have been groomed, put through their paces, trained, just like the Melbourne Cup horses (but being humans they’ve been brain-washed also). They talk as if they really believe that they will save their country and the world from the current version of the Bogeyman. They have been given the chrism by their democratic process and their belief in their moral rectitude will install them as the world’s policemen. The US President, the world’s guardian will preserve us. And who will guard us from the guardian, that’s what I’d like to know…

“Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” -C.S. Lewis

MOVIE MONDAY - AN IMPOSSIBLE MISSION!

“Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.” - Hunter S. Thompson

When I was young, I used to enjoy watching the 1960s TV series “Mission Impossible”. Just the sort of thing for a boy growing up in interesting times, where technology was beginning to impinge very seriously into our lives, where rockets were being fired into space, men walked on the moon, electronics was beginning to come into its own and where this particular TV series stimulated the imagination in a real hi-tech boys own adventure way. Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) as the head of a super-secret government agency (“Impossible Missions”) is given secret anonymous covert missions to complete. He and his team unmask criminals, rescue hostages and preserve the security of the nation. The vital ingredient on any Impossible Mission is that the mission must be carried out in top secrecy, often relying on high-tech equipment and elaborate deceptions…

Well, seeing how much I originally enjoyed the TV series I was more than a little suspicious when the Tom Cruise “Mission: Impossible” film came out in 1996 and did not want to see it in case it ruined my boyhood memories. However, the film must have been successful enough as it spawned a sequel “Mission: Impossible II” in 2000 and another one in 2006, “Mission: Impossible III”. However, this weekend just past was a “Mission: Impossible” Marathon as I bought the trilogy on Blu-ray disc, on special.

As far as the movies were concerned, they were typical action-packed thrillers with loads of special effects, blood and gore, chases, fisticuffs, stylized violence, and high tech stories. However, that special (almost cerebral) thrill which was in evidence in the original TV series was lacking from these movies. Tom Cruise gave his usual pedestrian performance complete with stock set of facial expressions and the supporting cast was up to the thrill-seeker audience standard. The second in the series was interesting as most of it was shot in Sydney.

Finally, about the technology: An LCD screen, some decent speakers, an HDMI lead and a Blu-ray player can give you a superior movie viewing experience at home. Both LCD screens and Blu-ray players have come down sufficiently in price to be affordable. When I first saw a Blu-ray disc playing on a high quality LCD screen I was blown away by the picture and audio quality! The sound quality and picture detail were superb and the motion was rendered without pixelisation and jerkiness. Definitely worth the investment if you do a lot of movie watching at home. The Blu-ray discs are still expensive compared to DVDs, but they will come down in price as more and more people demand them. However, I must warn you, once you have watched a Blu-ray disc, it’s hard to go back to the old DVDs…

OK, OK, I know, I’m a technology junkie!

ART SUNDAY - EDEN FOLWELL

“Why do you try to understand art? Do you try to understand the song of a bird?” – Pablo Picasso

A young painter whose canvases are full of brilliant bold colour, for Art Sunday this week. Her name is Eden Folwell. Although she paints portraits and nudes, her signature work is the expressionistic abstract, which is reminiscent of the fauves (e.g. Derain). The colours are jewel-like and intense and within the interlocking lines of geometrical shapes one may discern representational themes or maybe not.

This canvas is called “The Butterfly Effect”. More of Eden’s paintings may be found here.

Enjoy the week ahead!

CHRONONAUT

“Time goes, you say? Ah no!
Alas, Time stays, we go.” - Henry Austin Dobson

For Song Saturday today a beautiful Greek song sung by the seasoned performer, Vasilis Papakonstantinou.



Χρονοναύτης

Μάγοι λυγίσαν στο δρόμο
Τ’ άστρο είχε χαθεί.
Στο ταξίδι σου στο χρόνο
Αλμυρό νησί.
Πήρες γεύση από χώμα
Γεύση από νερό,
Χαμογέλασες στον κόσμο ένα πρωινό
Πήρες γεύση από χώμα
Γεύση από νερό.

Στη Φαιστό ο ήλιος,
Στην Κνωσσό το χρώμα,
Άκου οι σειρήνες τραγουδούν.

Χνούδεψε το πρόσωπο σου
Στο μυαλό φυγή.
Πέρα εκέι τα κέντρα γνώσης
Χάσκουν σαν πληγή.
Μια πληγή που στάζει αίμα
Κι έχεις προδοθεί.
Νεκροζώντανη εικόνα
Που έχεις ξεχαστεί.
Μια πληγή που στάζει αίμα
Κι έχεις προδοθεί.

Στης ελπίδας το λιμάνι κάτι ναυαγοί
Είναι οι γλάροι λερωμένοι
Θάλασσα νεκρή
Πόλη που σε καταπίνει
Σαν παραδοθείς
Μια σοφία θα σε σπρώχνει
Να αντισταθείς.
Μια σοφία που ουρλιάζει
Να αντισταθείς,
Και στη πόλη που βουλιάζει
Μην παραδοθείς.

Στη Φαιστό ο ήλιος,
Στην Κνωσσό το χρώμα,
Άκου οι σειρήνες τραγουδούν.

Έρωτας θανάτου γνώση ήρθε με φιλί
Το κορμί της το κορμί σου
Κι έπειτα σιωπή.
Μια σιωπή που λευτερώνει,
Τέλος και αρχή,
Σε διάσταση που λιώνει
Τώρα επιστροφή.
Σε διάσταση που λιώνει.
Τέλος και αρχή,
Μια σιγή που λευτερώνει,
Τώρα επιστροφή.

Chrononaut (Time Traveller)

The wise men lost heart mid-travel
The star was lost.
In your time travels
Only a salty island.
You tasted earth
You tasted water,
As you smiled upon the world a morning.
You tasted earth
You tasted water.

In Phaestos the sun,
In Knossos colour,
Listen to the sirens singing.

Your face has become downy
In your mind only flight.
There, the centres of knowledge
Gape open like a wound.
A wound that drips blood –
You have been betrayed.
A living-dead picture
You have been forgotten.
A wound that drips blood –
You have been betrayed.

In the harbour of hope some castaways;
The gulls are sullied,
The sea is dead.
A city that swallows you up
If you give up.
A wisdom will push you to resist,
A wisdom that screams at you to resist.
And to the sinking city
Do not give yourself up.

In Phaestos the sun,
In Knossos colour,
Listen to the sirens singing.

Love and death’s knowledge came with a kiss
Her body, your body
And then silence.
A silence that liberates
A beginning and an end.
A return to a dimension that melts,
A beginning and an end
A silence that liberates,
Now a return…

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

“There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.” - George Carlin

Halloween, celebrated today on the 31st of October, is often thought of as an American tradition, but it’s actually an ancient Celtic pagan celebration, called Samhain. This festival originated as a pagan ritual among the Celts in Ireland and Britain, who regarded 31st of October as the last day of summer, November being associated with the death and slaughter of animals that provided meat for winter. In the old Norse religion, sacrifices were made to the elves, and food was blessed and stored for winter. Establishment of the Christian religion syncretised some of the pagan tradition with the new religion’s heortology. The term Halloween comes from “All-hallow-even” or “All Hallows' Eve”: The evening before All Hallows' Day, or All Saints' Day on November 1st. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried Halloween festivities to America in the 19th century. As Halloween was all but forgotten in Europe, it developed into a very popular and widely celebrated festival in the USA, where it was adapted somewhat.

Traditionally Halloween was thought to be a day (and especially night!) on which boundaries between the dead and the living become blurred, and the world of magic and supernatural touches the ordinary world. As part of the tradition, the lighting of fires and discharge of fireworks were used to ward off evil spirits. Fire was regarded as a “living” thing and a great purifier with which ghoulies and ghosties could be exorcised.

In parts of Latin America (e.g. Mexico) and Asia (e.g. The Philippines) the Halloween traditions coincide with local “day of the dead” festivities. The festival was reintroduced worldwide in the 1980s, primarily due to the influence of American pop culture and the all-pervasive power of Hollywood. In the US, children dress up as ghosts, ghouls, witches, goblins and zombies on Halloween night and go from door to door crying 'trick or treat', collecting bags of sweets, fruits and nuts. One of the recurring Halloween motifs is the grinning carved pumpkins, lit with a candle from within and known as “jack-o'-lanterns”. In the US, these were symbolic of harvest festivities that pre-date Halloween, as were carved turnips and swedes in Ireland and Scotland, and carved beetroot in England.

Flesh from large carved pumpkins is not always eaten as it can be very insipid and watery, but smaller, sweeter varieties are used in cooking. Pumpkin of course, is particularly good for making soup, bread or pie and roasted pumpkin seeds are delicious. In Ireland, Halloween was in the past a day of fast when no meat was eaten. Dishes based on potatoes were eaten, such as colcannon (mash with milk or cream, kale, and leeks or spring onions), champ (mash with milk and onions or chives) and boxty pancakes - fried potato cakes that are sometimes served savoury, sometimes sprinkled with sugar. Other dishes include potato farls baked on a griddle; apple and potato “fadge” (= upside-down cake made by layering apples and potatoes inside pastry) and barm brack, a spiced bread made with dried fruit.

In England there was a tradition of eating “soul cakes” (which are flat round or oval cakes flavoured with saffron, mixed spices, and currants) as well as apple tarts. Many of these Irish and English dishes contained coins, rings and other items with symbolic meanings. They were left out for wandering spirits and fairies overnight. Toffee apples (called candy apples in the US) are enormously popular children's treats at this time of year. Variations include apples coated with caramel or chocolate. Roasted or barbecued corn-on-the-cob and popcorn are also eaten. In the US, candy corn (sweetcorn-shaped sweets made from honey, sugar fondant and corn syrup) is consumed in large quantities. Novelty confectionery, decorated in festive shapes and designs such as skulls and worms, is also popular with children.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, parties featuring “scary” foods coloured black, purple or red, have been a hit with the young and the young at heart. Dishes are often given names like “witches cauldron” (red pepper and tomato soup), and “fried imps’ brain” (walnut halves sautéed in paprika). Sandwiches are cut into spooky shapes like witches' hats and eyeballs, and drinks may contain “squashed bugs” (flattened raisins or grapes).

Here is a Halloween children's party menu: Hot blood soup (tomato and chilli soup)
OK, go easy on the chilli, or try the next soup for the faint-hearted:
Lantern soup (pumpkin and haricot bean soup)
Served in a hollowed out pumpkin
Pumpkin cauldron (chicken and pumpkin stew)
Served in a hollowed out pumpkin
Spooky spuds and scary toppings
Cut the sliced potatoes with cutters in the shape of skulls, witches’ hats, etc
Devilish red cabbage
Shredded finely to resemble bloody tendrils
Marshmallow brownies
Well, use your imagination…
Toffee apple ice scream
For which, here is the recipe:

TOFFEE APPLE ICE CREAM
Ingredients
290ml (/½ pint) full cream milk
300ml (10 fl oz) double cream
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
6 medium free range egg yolks
175g (6 oz) caster sugar
450g (1 lb) dessert apples, peeled cored and chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon and cloves (or mixed spice)
75g (3 oz) soft caramel toffees, cut into pieces
Chopped walnuts, cinnamon sticks and brown sugar to garnish

Method
1. Put the milk, cream and vanilla pod in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave the flavours to infuse for 15 minutes.
2. Strain and discard the vanilla pod and seeds.
3. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Then whisk in the vanilla cream and pour the mixture into a clean saucepan.
4. Cook over a very low heat, stirring all the time, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
5. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
6. Place the prepared apples in a saucepan with the lemon juice and cook over a low heat until soft. Mash and leave to cool. Stir in the spices.
7. Stir the toffee pieces and apples into the custard and pour into a shallow polythene container. Freeze for 30 minutes, then beat with a fork. Repeat this process then freeze until hard. (Alternatively use an ice cream making machine, following the manufacturer's instructions).
8. Take out of the freezer for 30 minutes before serving. Scoop into sundae dishes and decorate with crushed nuts, cinnamon sticks and brown sugar.

Happy Halloween!

LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU...

“I would not exchange my leisure hours for all the wealth in the world.” - Comte de Mirabeau

One of the universal characteristics of the human race everywhere on the planet is its need to be entertained. We seek diversion in order to take a break from our daily work, a respite from our struggle to survive in an inimical world. Wherever we may care to look, from downtown Manhattan, to the remote mountain tribes of New Guinea, there is entertainment to be found. It varies of course, according to the culture under consideration, the nationality, the climate, the available time, the disposable income, and more importantly, what is on offer.

In ancient Greece, it was said: “Ο άνθρωπος ουκ επ’ άρτω μόνο ζήσεται”, that is, “man does not live by bread alone”. Athenians, in particular where rather spoilt and demanded “άρτον και θεάματα” (“bread and circuses”) from their politicians, and this led to the development of lyric poetry, theatre, sporting contests, amongst other things. The Romans went even further and in imperial times the entertainment was disproportionately more in its extent than the work that was carried out by the Roman citizens. Slaves and taxes from the provinces paid the piper.

With the advent of the Dark Ages, Western Europe descended into a rather drab existence, with most of the population subsisting on a hand-to-mouth existence with sparse and rather simple entertainments. The pageantry of church holy days and feasts, nevertheless provided for that human need for diversion. The rich could afford more sumptuous entertainments including mumming, fêtes, masques, jousts, fools to laugh at, minstrels, music and dances. The Byzantine Empire in the East was another matter and the lavish public entertainments that continued the Graeco-Roman tradition supplemented the pageantry of the church and kept the population well-entertained until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD.

From the Renaissance onwards until our days, entertainment has been developing and becoming more varied and rich in its diversity, until nowadays, there seems to be an infinite variety of entertainments and too little time to enjoy them all! We have a plethora of amusements for every age, every taste and every budget. Pubs, taverns, restaurants, cafés, bars, discos, function halls, exhibition halls, concert halls, opera houses, circuses, museums, galleries, libraries, theatres, cinemas, television, internet, stadiums, sportsgrounds, picnic grounds, parks, etc, etc, all attract their adherents and the multiplicity of diversions that one may enjoy therein.

We are entertained for our pleasure, we divert ourselves in order to relax, to enjoy our spare time, to fill our leisure hours with fun, to pursue our interests, hobbies and to amuse ourselves. Often, entertainment provides an outlet for our creativity and if one considers the related term “recreation”, the entertainment may have an important active component that goes beyond mere leisure.

It seems that more and more of our time is being devoted to recreation and more of our money is being spent on entertainment. Once upon a time, entertainment often was home-grown and cost little, if anything at all. One would amuse oneself or members of one’s family and friends. Gatherings of family and friends, singing around the piano, the playing of games, charades, cards, chess, reading, corresponding with pen-friends, drawing… Nowadays, simple pleasures are harder to come across and entertainment is a billion dollar industry worldwide. Talk of a recession, economic downturn, loss of jobs and scarcity of money does not seem to deter the pleasure seekers and restaurants are still full, bars congested, movie houses, sportsgrounds and arenas filled to capacity. We may be going down fast, but we shall have a good time of it!
Aptly, the word of the day for Word thursday is:

entertain |ˌentərˈtān| verb [ trans. ]
1 Provide (someone) with amusement or enjoyment: A tremendous game that thoroughly entertained the crowd.
• Receive (someone) as a guest and provide them with food and drink: A private dining room where members could entertain groups of friends.
2 Give attention or consideration to (an idea, suggestion, or feeling): Washington entertained little hope of an early improvement in relations.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from French entretenir, based on Latin inter ‘among’ + tenere ‘to hold.’ The word originally meant [maintain, continue,] later [maintain in a certain condition, treat in a certain way,] also [show hospitality] (late 15th cent.).

entertainment |ˌentərˈtānmənt| noun
The action of providing or being provided with amusement or enjoyment: Everyone just sits in front of the TV for entertainment.
• An event, performance, or activity designed to entertain others: A theatrical entertainment.
• The action of receiving a guest or guests and providing them with food and drink.

What is your favourite entertainment?

EARTHQUAKE AND ENCELADUS

"We rely on technology and we end up thinking as human beings that we're totally safe, and we're not, ... The bottom line is we have a very unsafe planet." - Dennis S. Miletti

“QUETTA, Pakistan – A strong earthquake struck before dawn Wednesday in southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 150 people, injuring scores more and leaving an estimated 15,000 homeless, officials said.
The death toll was expected to rise as reports arrived from remote areas of Baluchistan, the impoverished province bordering Afghanistan where the magnitude 6.4 quake struck.
The worst-hit area appeared to be Ziarat, where hundreds of mostly mud and timber houses had been destroyed in five villages, Mayor Dilawar Kakar said. Some homes were buried in a landslide triggered by the quake, he said.
"There is great destruction. Not a single house is intact," Kakar told Express News television.
Maulana Abdul Samad, the minister for forests in Baluchistan, said at least 150 people were confirmed to have died. Kakar said hundreds of people have been injured and some 15,000 were homeless.
"I would like to appeal to the whole world for help. We need food, we need medicine. People need warm clothes, blankets because it is cold here," Kakar said.
In the village of Sohi, a reporter for AP Television News saw the bodies of 17 people killed in one collapsed house and 12 from another. Distraught residents were digging a mass grave in which to bury them.
"We can't dig separate graves for each of them, as the number of deaths is high and still people are searching in the rubble" of many other homes, said Shamsullah Khan, a village elder.
Other survivors sat stunned in the open, with little more than the clothes in which they had been sleeping…”
By SATTAR KAKAR, Associated Press

Yet another natural disaster claiming lives, spreading destruction and distress in an area ill affording it. My mind goes back to the terror of earthquakes experienced as a child and the mythology of my ancestors generates this poem:

Enceladus

Enceladus’ sleep is sound –
His usual slumber underground
Untroubled by dark horses,
His languor soothing mighty forces.

The frightful giant sleeps
And his vengeful, hand he keeps
Relaxed, at ease, unmoving;
His mother, Earth, looks on approving.

His eye starts to move and roll;
A muscle twitches, then his body whole.
He turns, he tosses – quite disturbed
A nightmare gallops in, fury uncurbed.

The titan wakes, his tail uncurls
His mane of wild hair shakes and swirls.
He roars, and arms he stretches
The rocks above him crack, ground retches.

The earth is split
Ground quakes.
A deep dark pit
Opens, soil shakes.

The houses crumble,
Walls are rent and break –
His roar a mighty rumble,
Destruction in its wake.

His sleep disturbed, his pain
Anew awakened, goads him
And his rage in frustrated strain
He exhausts. His injured limb
He extends, and Gaia above
Him shudders; her mother’s love
In sympathy making her shudder
Like ship without a rudder.

Up, down and side to side
The ground is turned to jelly;
As Enceladus tries to hide
Deeper in his mother’s belly.

Ruin complete and utter devastation
Above him death and trepidation –
(Athena victory forswore)
All this, revenge enough for
Enceladus…

In Greek mythology, Enceladus (or Enkelados, Ἐγκέλαδος/"Trumpeter to Arms") was one of the Gigantes, the enormous children of Gaia (Earth) fertilized by the blood of castrated Ouranos. With the other Gigantes, Enceladus appeared in one particular region—either Phlegra, the "burning plain" in Thrace, or Pallene. Like the other Gigantes, Enceladus had serpent-like lower limbs, "with the scales of dragons for feet" as Bibliotheke states, though this convention was not invariably followed in pictorial representations. During the battle between the Gigantes and the Olympian gods, Enceladus was disabled by a spear thrown by the goddess Athena. He was buried on the island of Sicily, under Mount Etna. The volcanic fires of Etna were said to be the breath of Enceladus, and its tremors to be caused by him rolling his injured side beneath the mountain (similar myths are told about Typhon and Vulcan). In Greece, an earthquake is still often called a "strike of Enceladus".
At Versailles, Louis XIV's consistent iconographic theme of the triumphs of Apollo and the Olympians against all adversaries included the fountain of Enceladus in its own cabinet de verdure, which was cut into the surrounding woodland and outlined by trelliswork,; the ensemble has recently been restored (illustration). According to an engraving of the fountain by Le Pautre (1677), the sculptor of the gilt-bronze Enceladus was Gaspar Mercy of Cambrai.

ST JUDE, BERGAMOT & OKHI

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” – Confucius

The Seville bergamot orange, Citrus aurantia bergamia, is the birthday plant for the 28th of October. Bergamot oil is extracted from the peel of these inedible oranges. The precious oil is used in perfumery and in cooking. Perhaps the most familiar use of the oil is in flavouring Earl Grey tea. The bergamot orange signifies nobility and self-sacrifice.

Famous birthday boys and girls for today include:
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (1017);
Cornelius Otto Jansen, religious reformer (1585);
Harvard College - now University (1636);
Auguste Escoffier, French chef (1846);
Elsa Lanchester, actress (1902);
Evelyn Waugh, writer (1903);
Edith Head, fashion designer (1907);
Jonas Salk, virologist (1914);
Joan Plowright, actress (1929);
Charlie Daniels, singer (1936);
Jane Alexander, actress (1939);
Gennadi M. Strekalov, Russian cosmonaut (1940);
Coluche, French comedian (1944);
Thelma Hopkins, singer (1948);
Bruce Jenner, athlete (1949).

It is Sts Simon and Jude’s Feast Day today. Sts Simon and Jude were two of Christ’s apostles. In some traditional accounts, they were two of the shepherds who first heard the Angels’ announcement of Christ’s nativity. St Simon was martyred by being sawn in half whilst alive. He is therefore the patron saint of millers, woodcutters and woodworkers. St Jude is invoked by those in dire straits to intercede on behalf of their lost cause. The reason why this particular saint was singled out for this is unclear, but it is suspected it is because his New Testament letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in the environment of harsh, difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers had done before them. Chestnuts were traditionally eaten on this day. Also, tradition says it is almost certain that it will be raining on this day.

A love oracle used to be performed on this day with an apple. A young, unmarried woman carefully peeled an apple so that the peel was obtained in one, continuous, unbroken thin strip. The peel was taken in the right hand, turned thrice while reciting:
St Simon and Jude, on you I intrude
By this paring I hold to discover
Without any delay, to tell me this day
The first letter of my own true lover.

The peel was then dropped over her left shoulder and when she turned she would find that the peel had formed the shape of the initial letter of her future husband. If the peel broke into many pieces, it was a sign that the woman would remain a spinster.

In Greece, today is “Okhi” Day (“No” Day). It commemorates the anniversary of the day in 1940 when Italy, backed by Hitler, sought to occupy Greece. This ultimatum, which was presented to dictator Ioannis Metaxas by the Italian ambassador in Greece, Emanuele Grazzi, on October 28, 1940, at dawn (04:00 a.m.), after a party in the German embassy in Athens, demanded that Greece allow Axis forces to enter Greek territory and occupy certain unspecified “strategic locations” or otherwise face war. The ultimatum was allegedly answered with a single word: “Okhi” or no. Most scholars dismiss the use of the word “Okhi” as an urban legend, claiming that the actual reply was the French phrase “Alors, c’est la guerre” (Then it is war). In response to Metaxas’s refusal, Italian troops stationed in Albania, then an Italian protectorate, attacked the Greek border at 05:30 a.m. Metaxas's reply marked the beginning of Greece’s participation in World War II. Those of you who have read “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” by Luis de Bernières will recognize this historical event by the author’s account of the meeting between Metaxas and Grazzi, written from Grazzi's point of view.

The Greeks put up a valiant fight in the snow-covered mountains of northern Epirus and Albania and managed to drive back the Italian forces. The Greek victory over the initial Italian offensive of October 1940 was the first Allied land victory of the Second World War, and helped raise morale in occupied Europe. Some historians argue that it may have influenced the course of the entire war by forcing Germany to postpone the invasion of the Soviet Union in order to assist Italy against Greece. This led to a delayed attack and subjected the German forces to the conditions of the harsh Russian winter, leading to their defeat at the Battle of Moscow.

The day is a public holiday in Greece and many celebrations and parades are organized. Shops, offices, schools etc are closed, and all major towns will have a military parade. Television is dominated by coverage of the parades, special programs on the history of the Greco-Italian war and screening of Greek war movies, commemorating heroic acts during the wartime years.

MOVIE MONDAY - THREE BURIALS

“Force is all-conquering, but its victories are short-lived.” - Abraham Lincoln

At the weekend we saw a film on DVD that I had not heard about, but which we found very good. It was another of these films that was relegated to the bargain bin of our local video shop, but which I picked out as I admire the work of Tommy Lee Jones. It was the 2005 “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada” (or simply “Three Burials”). Jones directs and stars in this film, both very ably done.

The film is set in Texas near the border of Mexico and concerns several people, all somehow connected with the USA Border Patrol. Mike Norton (played very well by Barry Pepper) is an arrogant border patrolman who comes to town with his young wife. Norton mistakenly kills the Mexican cowboy Melquiades Estrada and buries him in a shallow grave in the desert. When Melquiades’s body is accidentally found, a hasty and perfunctory autopsy is carried out and the body is buried in a pauper’s grave. His best friend, the ranch foreman Pete Perkins (Tommy Lee Jones) discovers his friend has been killed and buried and recovers the body unlawfully to fulfill his promise and bury Melquiades in his hometown, Jimenez, in Mexico. Perkins kidnaps Norton and forces him to come to terms with his actions.

The film is powerful and gut-wrenching, as it explores themes of social injustice, the plight of the Mexican border runners, prejudice, friendship, love, marriage, adultery, crime and punishment, redemption. It is a road movie with a difference and builds to an awesome climax as Perkins and Norton end up in Mexico, looking for Jimenez. It is a moving film and one with several puzzling features that become resolved if one thinks about the film after its end. There are certainly many obscure elements that will appear crystal clear on second viewing.

As is the case with many films nowadays, the editing is haphazard, interrupting the linearity of the story with many flashbacks and flash-forwards, especially at the beginning of the film. In the second half of the movie, the story assumes a linearity that leads inexorably to the climax. Estrada’s character (played by Julio Cedillo) is the most puzzling, but the key to his secret is the photograph that he holds so dear and which Perkins keeps till the end.

The cinematography is excellent and all of the performances very good. The music understated and appropriate and the whole film wonderfully put together. It won two prizes at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival (Best Actor – Tommy Lee Jones, and Best Screenplay – Guillermo Arriaga) and the Grand Prix at the Flanders International Film Festival in 2005. It also won the 2006 Bronze Wrangler award in the Western Heritage Awards.

Have a look around for it and watch it, well worth it!

ART SUNDAY - VAN GOGH

“The richness I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration.” – Claude Monet

For Art Sunday today a vase full of Spring irises as painted by the incomparable Vincent van Gogh. We have had Spring weather today, showers and sunshine, some wind and some calm. We walked to the Darebin Parklands in the morning and enjoyed the flowers on show everywhere. Irises certainly are at their best now, with roses and jasmine, azaleas and rhododendrons, bottlebrushes and lilies putting on a good show.

Enjoy the week ahead!