Panforte is a traditional Italian dessert containing fruits and nuts, and resembles fruitcake or Lebkuchen. It may date back to 13th century Siena, in Italy’s Tuscany region. Documents from 1205 AD show that panforte was paid to the monks and nuns of a local monastery as a tax or tithe which was due on the seventh of February that year. Literally, panforte means “strong bread” which refers to the spicy flavour. The original name of panforte was “panpepato” (peppered bread), due to the strong pepper used in the cake. There are references to the Crusaders carrying panforte, a durable confection, with them on their quests, and to the use of panforte in surviving sieges.
Panforte di Siena Ingredients
150 g unsalted almonds, roasted and coarsely chopped 75 g unsalted hazelnuts, roasted coarsely chopped 75 g unsalted pistachios, roasted coarsely chopped 100 g candied orange peel, chopped 75 g flour 30 g pure cocoa powder 1/4 tsp cloves 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp allspice Pinch white pepper 100 g sugar 200 g clear honey 35 g butter Icing sugar to dust Method Preheat the oven to 150˚C. Mix the nuts with the orange peel. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and spices and mix through the nuts. Gently heat the sugar, honey and butter in a pan till the sugar has dissolved and let it cook on higher heat for 3-4 minutes. Quickly mix the syrup through the dry mix, scoop in a round tin (covered with baking paper) and press in in with your fingers. Let it bake in the oven for 40 minutes and cool down in the tin. Remove the paper and dust with icing sugar. Serve tiny portions. The cutting will need some force!
January 17 is the Feast Day of St Anthony the Great. Anthony was born in to a wealthy family in Lower Egypt about 254 AD. Also known as Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, and Anthony the Anchorite, he was a leader among the Desert Fathers, who were Christian monks in the Egyptian desert in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.
Anthony live a life of ease and leisure until he was about 18 years old, when his parents died and left him with the care of his unmarried sister. One day shortly threafter he heard a sermon which quoted Jesus’ teaching: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Matthew 19:21). This made a great impression on him. Anthony then gave away some of the family estate to his neighbours, sold the remaining property, donated the funds thus raised to the poor, placed his sister with a group of Christian virgins, a type of proto-monastery of nuns, and himself became the disciple of a local hermit in the desert.
He spent his life praying and meditating, and his holiness marked him as one whose wisdom commanded respect. According to writing about his life, the devil fought St. Anthony by afflicting him with boredom, laziness, and visions of women who tried to tempt him. All of these temptations he overcame by the power of prayer. After that, he moved to a tomb, where he resided and closed the door on himself, depending on some local villagers who brought him food. When the devil perceived his ascetic life and his intense worship, he was envious and beat him mercilessly, leaving him unconscious. When his friends from the local village came to visit him and found him in this condition, they carried him to a church. These episodes provided a rich theme for Christian art, generally titled “The Temptation of St Anthony”.
Salvador Dali’s “Temptation of St Anthony” above is modern representation of this and builds on the rich iconography of the past centuries. The Saint in Dali’s painting is tempted firstly by the form of a horse in the foreground representing strength, sometimes also symbol of voluptuousness. The elephant which follows it, is carrying on its back the golden cup of lust in which a nude woman is standing precariously balanced on the fragile pedestal, a figure which emphasises the erotic character of the composition. The other elephants are carrying buildings on their backs; the first of these is an obelisk inspired by that of Bernini in Rome, the second and third are burdened with Venetian edifices in the style of Palladio. In the background another elephant carries a tall tower, which is not without phallic overtones, and in the clouds one can glimpse a few fragments of the Escorial, symbol of temporal and spiritual order.
When the Synod of Nicaea was convened, St Anthony was invited to participate. His eloquent defence of the Orthodox doctrine concerning the person of Jesus Christ was instrumental in weakening the position of the schismatic sect, Arianism. His witness led to the eventual and complete elimination of Arianism. He instructed his followers to bury his body in an unmarked, secret grave, lest his body become an object of veneration. The monastic rules of Saint Anthony, the “patriarch” of monastic life, have served as the basis for countless monasteries.
St Antony the Great of Egypt is the patron saint of pig breeders and farmers. His name has given us the English word “tantony”, a diminutive for pig, usually applied to the runt of the litter. From St Antony’s Feast be more bold, Raise your skirt a little, it’ll be less cold. Greek Weather Rhyme
St Anthony is also revered as the patron saint of skin diseases (erysipelas is a skin disease also known as St Anthony’s fire), of basket makers, brushmakers, and gravediggers.
“What we need,
is to use what we have.” - Susan Sontag
Today is the anniversary of the birthday of: André Michelin, French
first tyre mass producer (1853); Edward Gordon Craig,
theatre designer (1872); Robert Service, poet
(1874); Laura Riding, poet (1901); Diana Wynyard, actress
(1906); Alexander Knox, actor
(1907); Ethel Merman (Zimmerman),
actress/singer (1909); William Kennedy, writer
(1930); Susan Sontag, writer
(1933); Marilyn Horne, US opera
singer (1934); Sade, singer (1960).
The plant for
today’s birthdays is yarrow, Achillea millefolium. The herb is named after Achilles, the ancient
Greek hero who fought in the Trojan War. When the Greeks landed near Troy, some
Trojans, led by Telephus, one of King Priam’s sons-in-law tried to stop the
Greeks. Achilles wounded Telephus with
his spear, helped by Dionysus, god of wine. Telephus had been told by an oracle
that Achilles would both wound and cure him. He promised Achilles to lead the
Greeks to Troy if he would cure his wound. Achilles scraped rust from his spear
and applied it to Telephus’s wound. The filings from the spear fell to the
ground and yarrow sprang from them.
Yarrow
symbolises heartache and cure.
Astrologically, this is a herb of Venus.
An older name of the herb is Venus-tree and several love oracles are
based on this plant. It was said that if
the stem was cut across the initials of one’s future husband would appear. An ounce of yarrow wrapped in a piece of
yellow flannel and placed under one’s pillow would enable one to dream of one’s
future spouse. Eating yarrow at a
wedding feast, ensured that the bridal couple would love one another for seven
years.
***
Susan Sontag was born in New York
City on January 16, 1933, grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and attended high school
in Los Angeles. She received her B.A. from the College of the University of
Chicago and did graduate work in philosophy, literature, and theology at
Harvard University and Saint Anne’s College, Oxford.
Her books, all
published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, include four novels, “The Benefactor”,
“Death Kit”, “The Volcano Lover”, and “In America”; a collection of short
stories, “I, etcetera”; several plays, including “Alice in Bed” and “Lady from
the Sea”; and nine works of nonfiction, starting with “Against Interpretation”
and including “On Photography”, “Illness as Metaphor”, “Where the Stress Falls”,
“Regarding the Pain of Others”, and “At the Same Time”.
Susan Sontag was
considered one of the most influential liberal thinkers in the United States
during the twentieth century. She was also a filmmaker and theatre director. As
well as that, she was a human rights and anti-war activist. She owned fifteen
thousand books in her personal library in her home.
In the 1970s,
Susan Sontag learned she had breast cancer. Doctors did not expect her to
survive. However, she went through a series of difficult treatments and she did
survive. Her experience with the disease became the subject of one of her most
famous works. “Illness as Metaphor”, published in 1978. “Illness as Metaphor”
is a critical study of modern life. In it, the author maintains that modern
culture creates myths or stories about sickness. She also criticised the
language that people use when they talk about sickness – such as “battling a
disease” or “the war on cancer”. Sontag felt these terms made sick people feel
responsible for their condition. Her book gave readers the power to demand more
information from doctors. Ten years later, she extended her opinions to the
disease AIDS. Her short story “How We Live Now” was published in 1986 in the
New Yorker magazine. Her book “AIDS and its Metaphors” was published two years
later. It is about the social and personal effects of the disease.
Susan Sontag
received many awards in the United States and from other countries. Israel,
Germany and Spain honoured her with awards. In 2004, two days after her death,
the mayor of Sarajevo announced the city would name a street after her. The
mayor called her a writer and a humanist who actively took part in the creation
of the history of Sarajevo and Bosnia. Susan Sontag died of leukaemia in New
York City in 2004. She was seventy-one years old.
“People don’t
notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.” - Anton Chekhov
Magpie Tales has given us a new image this week to stimulate literary creativity. This
photograph first elicited a smile from me and then I noticed the stark contrast
between the cool and warm colours. The contrast engendered three haiku.
Gently, silently Snow falls
outside my window; Hot thoughts of
your love.
Warm wool covers
me up, Fire burns fiercely
in fireplace – Alone my heart:
Cold.
Wind howls, air freezes, Icicles snap;
Who needs furs, While we two
embrace?
“Every good relationship, especially marriage, is based on respect. If it's not based on respect, nothing that appears to be good will last very long.” - Amy Grant
I must begin this movie review by saying that I have watched several George Clooney films and have been quite disappointed. The greatly lamentable “Men who Stare at Goats” is one example, the muddled and rather boring “Syriana” being another lemon, and the so-so “The American” is another one. When we watched yet another Clooney film at the weekend, I had great reservations, but ended up pleasantly surprised. This film was quite a decent one, and Clooney does show his mettle as a serious actor.
The movie we watched was the Alexander Payne 2011 film “The Descendants” starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller. This was a rather run-of-the-mill drama that would appeal to a wide audience, but especially women given the lead actor and the plot. The movie is set in Hawaii and one gets to see some of the lush scenery, but not as much as I had hoped… The subplot does have a lot to do with the land as Matt King (Clooney) is a lawyer and the head of a trust that holds many acres of prime Hawaiian land that is in his family and must soon be sold for development making all the family members very rich. The question here is one of heritage and despoliation of the environment and of ties with the past. Throughout much of the film we see this aspect explored and how the “descendants” of the original owner of the land will deal with the pressures put on them by a capitalistic system.
The main story involves Matt King (Clooney) having to cope with the serious boating accident of his young wife, which has left her in a coma with no hope of ever recovering. King’s two daughters, the feisty and rebellious teenager, Alexandra (Woodley), and the younger more vulnerable Scottie (Miller), have been rather distant from their father and their mother’s state has forced the survivors to come together and re-establish damaged relationships. What does not help is the discovery of the comatose mother’s guilty secrets and the way that Matt King must cope with those in order to allow himself to heal and then help his daughters cope with their loss.
The film is standard drama, competently acted and has won multiple awards: The 2012 Oscar for best writing, adapted screenplay; the 2012 AFI Best Movie award; 2012 BFCA Best Actor award, 2012 Golden Globe Best Movie and Best Actor awards, etc, etc. The young Shailene Woodley does an excellent job of playing the rather volatile but feisty Alex King and she has the meatiest role in terms of a transformation. She rises to the occasion with aplomb and no doubt we shall see a lot more of her good work in the future. All the other actors played well, including a small but very well-played supporting role by Judy Greer as a betrayed wife. There are some lighter moments, for example when Alexandra’s insensitive loud-mouthed friend Sid (Nick Krause) comes into the scene, but there is always a tension and sadness in the background.
The film is a good one to watch when one is in a receptive and fairly high spirited mood, as it otherwise can be a little depressing. It may be too slow for the liking of some and there are no high speed chase scenes and other adventure action shots. It is a drama, there is a lot of talking and character development and it des make the viewer think a little, “What if it were me in that situation, what would I do?” Ultimately this is a redemption movie, where the themes of “sinning” and “forgiveness” are explored, with the subplot around heritage and what we pass on from generation to generation – the tangible as well as the intangible.
“I long for the countryside. That's where I get my calm and tranquillity - from being able to come and find a spot of green.” - Emilia Clarke
Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (born July 16, 1796, Paris, died Feb. 22, 1875, Paris) is a French landscape painter. He was born to prosperous parents, but he proved unsuited to the family business, which his parents had hoped that he might run one day. However, his parents were enlightened enough at age 25 to give him a small allowance to pursue art training. He travelled frequently and painted topographical landscapes throughout his career, but he preferred making small oil sketches and drawings from nature; from these he produced large finished paintings for exhibition.
From 1827 Corot exhibited regularly at the Salon, but his greatest success there came with a rather different type of picture - more traditionally Romantic in its evocation of an Arcadian past, and painted in a misty soft-edged style that contrasts sharply with the luminous clarity of his more topographical work. By the 1850s he had achieved critical success and a large income, and he was generous to less successful artists. His naturalistic oil sketches are now more highly regarded than his more self-consciously poetic finished paintings. He is often associated with the Barbizon school. A master of tonal gradation and soft edges, he prepared the way for the Impressionist landscape painters and had an important influence on Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Berthe Morisot.
Throughout his life Corot found congenial the advice given to him by his teacher Achille-Etna Michallon “…to reproduce as scrupulously as possible what I saw in front of me.” On the other hand he never felt entirely at home with the ideals of the Barbizon School, the members of which saw Romantic idealisation of the countryside as a form of escapism from urban banality, and he remained more faithful to the French Classical tradition than to the English or Dutch schools. Yet although he continued to make studied compositions after his sketches done direct from nature, he brought a new and personal poetry in the Classical tradition of composed landscape and an unaffected naturalness which had hitherto been foreign to it. Through he represented nature realistically, he did not idealise the peasant or the labours of agriculture in the manner of Millet and Courbet, and was uninvolved in ideological controversy.
Late in his career Corot also turned to figure painting and it is only fairly recently that this aspect of his work has emerged from neglect - his female nudes are often of high quality. It was, however, his directness of vision that was generally admired by the major landscape painters of the latter half of the century and influenced nearly all of them at some stage in their careers. His popularity is such that he is said to be the most forged of all painters!
His painting above, ”Ville D’ Avray” of 1867 is characteristic of his misty, gentle landscapes that evoke great serenity and a life of Arcadian simplicity. The figures of peasants going about their business contributes to this effect, but the effect is realistic rather than idealised or grandiose. I liked this painting so much in my youth that I copied it in oils (quite successfully too!).
“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” - Plato
For Music Saturday a wonderful set of works by Georg Philipp Telemann. It is his “Essercizii Musici”, a set of sonatas for chamber instruments, performed (beautifully!) in this case by Camerata Köln.
Georg Philipp Telemann (14 March 1681 – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family’s wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesheim, Telemann entered the University of Leipzig to study law, but eventually settled on a career in music.
He held important positions in Leipzig, Sorau, Eisenach, and Frankfurt before settling in Hamburg in 1721, where he became musical director of the city's five main churches. While Telemann’s career prospered, his personal life was always troubled: His first wife died only a few months after their marriage, and his second wife had extramarital affairs and accumulated a large gambling debt before leaving Telemann.
Telemann was one of the most prolific composers in history (at least in terms of surviving oeuvre) and was considered by his contemporaries to be one of the leading German composers of the time - he was compared favorably both to his friend Johann Sebastian Bach, who made Telemann the godfather and namesake of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, and to George Frideric Handel, whom Telemann also knew personally.
Telemann’s music incorporates several national styles (French, Italian) and is even at times influenced by Polish popular music. He remained at the forefront of all new musical tendencies and his music is an important link between the late Baroque and early Classical styles.
“Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.” - Albert Schweitzer
A vegetarian is a person who does not eat meat or fish, and sometimes other animal products, especially for moral, religious, or health reasons. Vegetarians usually eat dairy products and eggs. A vegan is a person who does not eat or use any animal products whatsoever. From antiquity, many philosophers have espoused the vegetarian diet: Plutarch, Hesiod, Horace, Plotinus, Buddha, and since then many other notable people (see the interesting Wikipedia list).
Here is a vegetarian pâté that is both wholesome and delicious.
Lentil pâté with nuts Ingredients
3 cups diced carrots 1 and 1/2 cups cooked lentils 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon chopped sage 1 teaspoon curry 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 2 teaspoon of soy sauce 3/4 cups rolled oats, ground 3/4 cups pecan nuts or walnuts chopped finely 2 tablespoons of parsley 1/3 cup yoghurt 1/3 cup tahini (optional) Olive oil Salt to taste Freshly ground pepper Method Sauté in olive oil the onions and garlic until golden, and then stir in the oats and spices. Cook the carrots and blend with lentils and onions and garlic to make a purée. Add the rest of ingredients and mix well. Put it into greased baking pan and bake it at 180ºC for 40 minutes. For best results, refrigerate overnight. Serve at room temperature or cold. Great on a sandwich.
“Australians
have stewardship of a beautiful, diverse and unique environment. Positioning
Australia to respond to a changing climate, securing supplies of water to meet
our domestic, agricultural and industrial needs, protecting our globally unique
biodiversity and providing positive futures for Australian communities are the
critical issues facing the nation.” - CSIRO
Bushfires once
again are rampant throughout much of Southeastern Australia this Summer. The
relatively wet climactic conditions over the last few years have created lush
vegetation, which in the dry heat that we have been experiencing now, is
perfect fuel for the wild fires that sweep through the wooded areas. Bushfire has
been part of the Australian landscape for millions of years, but while we
consider it a major threat, some of our flora and fauna depend upon it for
their survival. Australia’s native vegetation encourages the spread of fire and
as a consequence of evolution, bushfires create a number of surprising benefits
for the Australian environment that cannot be created any other way.
Eucalyptus
forest litter is coarse and decays slowly, ensuring that after several years
there will still be an abundant build-up on the forest floor to carry the next
fire. The bark of many native species is highly flammable and loosely attached
to the trees, making ideal firebrands to carry fire across natural barriers.
The green leaves contain highly flammable oils and resins that act as a
catalyst to promote combustion before the leaves are fully dry. These factors
predispose greatly to fires and sooner or later, in some part of Australia,
weather patterns will occur so that strong, hot, dry winds will blow from the
centre of the continent, so all that is needed is a spark to produce a
conflagration. If these conditions of hot dry weather are associated with a
drought of any length, the massive bushfire that develops will not be stopped
until the weather moderates.
The Australian
Aborigines lived in harmony with the environment before European settlement and
they had learnt that they had to break up the forest fuel in order to survive
within the landscape filled with many hazards. They burnt off vegetation extensively
and often, so as to reduce forest litter. They learnt by observation the
responses of the plants and animals to burning and took advantage of these
responses to exist harmoniously and sustainably within the natural environment.
Since European
settlement, the total amount of fire in the Australian landscape has declined. The
bushland areas and particularly those around Sydney and Melbourne have
thickened and accumulated more fuel. As a result, the infrequent fires that now
occur under extreme weather burn much more intensely and have a significant
impact on the built environment. Fragmentation of the bush by different land
use practices, such as spreading urbanisation and agriculture, means that the
Aboriginal fire regime is no longer possible or desirable in these areas.
Australian
native flora and fauna have evolved to survive in a fire-prone environment. In
order to maintain the biodiversity of the native areas of vegetation and its
resident fauna, we have to accept that fire is a process that must be used to
manage our bushland. Nothing else except bushfire does the following:
Fire produces the chemicals in the ash to stimulate new growth of
vegetation;
Smoke stimulates the flowering and regeneration of particular
species;
The heat pulse of a passing bushfire removes growth-inhibiting
toxins in the litter;
Opens tightly-closed fruits to release new seed;
Penetrates deep into the soil to stimulate the germination of
long-buried seed.
Nothing else except
bushfire produces the succession of plant development to which our native fauna
have adapted to meet their requirements for food, shelter and reproduction.
Australian bushfires
fires threaten lives and property and cause millions of dollars of damage each
year. To a large extent, this is because since European settlement we have
modified the Australian native environment and have made it adapt to a land use
and settlement pattern that is more suited to a northern European, cooler and
wetter climate, which has a completely different flora and fauna. The
introduction of many exotic tree species such as European and American
deciduous trees and also the evergreen pines has meant that the response of the
landscape to bushfires has become less characteristic and unpredictable. The
construction of residences within or adjacent to wooded areas has increased the
risk of property destruction and loss of life. People’s ideas regarding the
aesthetics of the landscape – i.e. that it should be green and lush and
unravaged by the effects of fire is contrary to the Australian environment and
the wise management of the land that the Aborigines were in charge of so
successfully for millennia.
We must learn to
accept that in Australia, bushfire is an ecological process that is as natural
as the sun and the rain. We must learn to accept that bushfire determines the
composition of our flora and fauna and contributes to its success within Australia’s
unique landscape. If we want to reduce the devastating and tragic effects of
uncontrolled bushfires, we must make fire suppression a strategic and regular
occurrence in our lives, in locations that are appropriate. We need to learn
that it is the dry undergrowth and dead leaf, bark and twig litter that
provides the fuel for bushfires, and use prescribed, planned burn-offs at
appropriate times of the year in order to reduce fuel loads. This implies that
people need to individually take responsibility for managing the fuels in their
properties, and maintain their gardens and adjacent land so that they do not
burn uncontrolled in summer.
Fire services
and land management agencies need the support of individuals and community
groups even when there is no fire emergency and accept the minor inconvenience
of smoke in the air when fire is prescribed for hazard reduction, forest
regeneration or biodiversity management. People living in areas adjacent to
high fire hazards must plant wisely, manage the flora and potential bushfire
fuel in their gardens and construct properties that are bushfire resistant and
well-prepared for a wave of fire that may sweep through their property. As part
of any bushfire survival plan, farmers and homeowners should assess how they
can make their property defendable, consider what fire protection systems need
to be in place and ensure they know the location of their nearest shelter in
the event that they need to evacuate quickly. As fires can occur at unexpected
times, it’s also important to plan for different scenarios, such as on a workday,
during school holidays or at a social function. Above all, if people choose to
evacuate, they must leave their property early.
We live in a
vast, beautiful land. It is often that we find ourselves in a harsh and
punishing environment. If we respect the land and work with it, we make our own
survival more probable, while nurturing and sustaining the native flora and
fauna that we are the custodians of.
“In industry is
all.” - Periander (One of the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece).
The anniversary of the birth of: John Smith, American
colonist (1580); Gregory XV (Alessandro
Ludovisi), Pope of Rome (1554); Carrie Chapman Catt,
feminist (1859); Chaim Nachman Bialik, poet
(1873); John Watson, founder of
behaviourism (1878); Karel Capek, Czech
playwright (1890); Gracie Fields (Grace
Stansfield), singer (1898); Chic Young (Murat Bernard
Young), “Blondie” cartoonist (1901); Rudolf Bing, conductor
(1902); Simone de Beauvoir, French
writer (1908); Richard Milhous Nixon,
37th president (1968-74) of the USA (1913); Gypsy Rose Lee (Rose
Louise Hovick), stripper/writer (1914); Judith Krantz, writer
(1928); Joan Baez, singer (1941); Susannah York (Susannah
Yolande Fletcher), actress (1941); Crystal Gayle, singer
(1951).
The birthday
plant for this day is lavender, Lavandula spica. The name of the plant is derived from the
Latin lavo = “wash”, as the plant has
been used for centuries to scent bath water and soaps. The Greeks called lavender nardos, from which the English
“nard”. This is because the herb grew
abundantly in Naarda, Syria. The plant
signifies assiduity, mistrust and acknowledgment. Mercury rules this plant according to the
astrologers. Before the more recent
meaning of distrust was attached to the herb, lovers exchanged sprigs of
lavender as a sign of affection: “He from his lasse him lavender hath
sent, Showing her love and doth quit all
crave.” (Michael
Drayton, 1563-1631)
It was
customary, however, for lavender not to be grown in a household where there
were daughters, as “lavender will only grow in old maids’ gardens”. If the herb
thrived in a garden, it was said that the daughter of the house would never
marry.
On this day in
1848, Caroline Lucretia Herschel, died. She was an English astronomer, the
sister of William Herschel for whom she worked as an assistant. She discovered
9 comets. Also died on this day in 1878, Victor Emmanuel, the first king of
Italy.
LAVENDER CANDY Ingredients
1 400 g can of full cream, condensed,
sweetened milk 1 canful of water 50
g butter 1/2 teaspoonful vanilla essence 2 drops of lavender essential oil 1/2 drop each of red and blue food colour (to
make purple) 450 g granulated sugar
Method Pour the milk
into a saucepan, fill the can with water and add it to the milk. Stir and add
the butter, vanilla essence and sugar. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has
dissolved, then boil steadily, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches
the soft ball stage (116˚C on a sugar thermometer). For a softish candy remove
from the heat immediately and add the lavender oil and food colour, stirring
all the while. Grease a 20 cm square tin with a little butter and pour in the
unbeaten mixture. Allow to become almost cold and then mark into squares. Wrap
the squares in cellophane once they are cold. (If you prefer a crisper candy,
once the soft ball stage has been reached, boil slowly at 116˚C for a further
1-2 minutes, then treat as previously).
“Ah, women. They
make the highs higher and the lows more frequent.” - Friedrich Nietzsche
Magpie Tales
has provided a visual prompt by Daniel Murtagh, as a means of stimulating some
literary creativity. The image is quite striking and resulted in this response
from me…
Enchantress
Eyes of flint and limpid quartz Flashes of evil witchcraft in your arcane
gaze. Eyes of serpents, fireflies, lizards Green laurel and deadly nightshade – A healing balsam mixed with poison!
The nightingale and the siren sing Sweet words that hide a fatal meaning. Your voice enchanting music Your teeth biting each syllable, Making it shout in barbarous pleasure…
Your lips are red like a gaping wound Your kiss is cold like the sepulchral
marble, Yet burning like infernal fire. Your lips are scarlet like a strawberry, A bite and sweet blood flows! Juice of the
forbidden fruit.
As my hands touch your soft skin Your silver nails gash my flesh; The vice of your embrace crushes me, I die and suffocate whispering your name, While up in the sky the sickle of a moon Cuts the thin thread of my life.
“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
At the weekend we watched the 2011 Tate Taylor movie “The Help”, starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Bryce Dallas Howard. It was based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett, with a screenplay by the film’s director, Tate Taylor. The film was excellent and despite its 146 minute run-time it kept us engaged and entertained the whole time we were watching it. It has its mix of pathos and humour, light-heartedness and poignancy, sadness and happiness. Not having read the novel, this review is limited to the movie, which we thoroughly enjoyed.
The plot is set in Jackson, Mississippi, during the tumultuous 1960s, when civil rights had become a burgeoning issue in the USA. Skeeter (Stone) is a southern society girl who returns from “Ole Miss” determined to become a writer, and begins by getting a job as a newspaper’s household hint columnist, a topic she knows nothing about. As she turns to the black housemaids for advice, she decides to interview these black women who have spent their lives taking care of the well-to-do southern families. Aibileen (Davis), Skeeter’s best friend’s housekeeper, is the first to talk to Skeeter. This causes the dismay of Aibelene’s friends in the black community who are suspicious of Skeeter’s motives and afraid of repercussions. Skeeter places her childhood friendships on the line when she and Aibileen continue their collaboration. Several deplorable incidents involving the humiliation and victimisation of the black maids, cause more of them to come forward to tell their amazing and sad stories. Along the way, new alliances are made, old friendships are reviewed and new friendships forged.
This movie is a good example of how well a Hollywood movie can be made about an issue that is sensitive, controversial and quite thorny. It confronts and challenges the viewer, but at the same time it uses humour subtly, in order to relentlessly satirise and ridicule attitudes that caused so much misery and despair in the lives of so many people at those times. The humour is often scatological, but there is a good reason for this, given the whole issue regarding the use of separate toilets by the black and white people in the same households, which was quite a widely debated topic at that time and place.
The acting is excellent and Viola Davis shines forth in a magnificent performance as Aibeleen, the black maid. Octavia Spencer as Minny, another black maid, provides the right mix of humour and bravura, while Emma Stone, as Skeeter, puts in a good performance in what is a difficult role, one that could easily be sugar-coated. However, Stone’s performance is genuine and sensitive. Bryce Dallas Howard is great in her rendition of Hilly Holbrook, a social shark, displaying her full glory of ignorance, entitlement and superiority. Her minions and followers emulate her moves and adopt her views, hoping to gain her approval. The cinematography, costumes, hair and make-up are perfect in setting up the class differences and taking us back in time very successfully. The incidental TV and radio segments provide context and timing with the deaths of Medger Evers and JFK.
This is a film worth watching and it certainly motivated us to look for the book in order to read it.
“I dream of
painting and then I paint my dream.” - Vincent Van Gogh
Ivan
Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (1817-1900) was born in the family of a merchant of
Armenian origin in the town of Feodosia, in the Crimea. His parents suffered economic hardship and he
spent his childhood in poverty. With the help of people who had noticed the
talented youth, he entered the Simferopol gymnasium, and then the St.
Petersburg Academy of Arts, where he took the landscape painting course and was
especially interested in seascapes.
In the autumn of
1836 Aivazovsky presented 5 marine pictures to the Academic exhibition, which
were highly appreciated. In 1837, Aivazovsky received the Major Gold Medal for “Calm
in the Gulf of Finland” (1836) and “The Great Roads at Kronstadt” (1836), which
allowed him to go on a long study trip abroad. However, the artist first went
to the Crimea to perfect himself in his chosen genre by painting the sea and
views of Crimean coastal towns.
During the
period of 1840-1844 Aivazovsky, as a pensioner of the Academy of Arts, spent
time in Italy, traveled to Germany, France, Spain, and Holland. He worked much
and had many exhibitions, meeting everywhere with success. He painted a lot of
marine landscapes, which became very popular in Italy: “The Bay of Naples by
Moonlight” (1842), “Seashore; Calm” (1843), “Malta; Valetta Harbour” (1844).
His works were highly appreciated by J.W.M. Turner, a prominent English
landscape and marine painter.
In the course of
his work, Aivazovsky evolved his own method of depicting the motion of the sea
– from memory, without preliminary sketches, limiting himself to rough pencil
outlines. Aivazovsky’s phenomenal memory and romantic imagination allowed him
to do all this with incomparable brilliance. The development of this new method
reflected the spirit of the age, when the ever-increasing romantic tendencies
put an artist’s imagination to the front.
When in 1844 the
artist returned to St. Petersburg, he was awarded the title of Academician, and
became attached to the General Naval Headquarters. This allowed him to travel
much with Russian fleet expeditions on different missions; he visited Turkey,
Greece, Egypt, America. From 1846 to 1848 he painted several canvases with
naval warfare as the subject; the pictures portrayed historical battles of the
Russian Fleet “The Battle of Chesme” (1848), “The Battle in the Chios Channel”
(1848), “Meeting of the Brig Mercury with the Russian Squadron” (1848).
Towards the
1850s the romantic features in Aivazovsky’s work became increasingly
pronounced. This can be seen quite clearly in one of his best and most famous
paintings “The Tenth Wave” (1850) and also in “Moonlit Night” (1849), “The Sea;
Koktebel” (1853), “Storm” (1854) and others.
The process,
which determined the development of Russian art in the second half of the 19th
century, also affected Aivazovsky. A new and consistently realistic tendency
appeared in his work, although the romantic features still remained. The artist’s
greatest achievement of this period is “The Black Sea” (1881), a picture
showing the nature of the sea, eternally alive, always in motion. Other
important pictures of the late years are “The Rainbow” (1873), “Shipwreck”
(1876), “The Billow” (1889), “The ‘Mary’ Caught in a Storm” (1892).
Aivazovsky left
more than 6000 pictures, which vary greatly in artistic value. There are
masterpieces and there are second-rate works. He failed in drawing landscapes,
and was challenged when attempting to paint the human figure. Aivazovsky got
good commissions and became quite rich. He spent much money for charity,
especially for his native town, he opened in Feodosia the first School of Arts
(in 1865), then the Art Gallery (in 1889). He was a member of Academies of
Stuttgart, Florence, Rome and Amsterdam.
The artist
visited Constantinople several times throughout his life and returned to the
subject often. Aivazovsky’s talents were recognised by Sultan Abdülaziz
(1830-1876) who commissioned a series of views of Constantinople in 1874 to
decorate the Dolmabahçe Palace. Sotheby’s London achieved the record price for
a Turkish view by Aivazovsky with “View of Constantinople and the Bosphorus”,
(1856 – see above) which sold for £3,233,250 in April 2012.
“A flower cannot
blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love.” - Max Müller
A tranquil
Saturday with a beautiful afternoon and evening. Here is Peggy Zina, singing a Greek
song called Παραδίνομαι (Paradinomai - I give myself up). Calliope Zina (Greek: Καλλιόπη Ζήνα;
born March 8, 1975), known professionally as Peggy Zina, is a Greek singer.
Peggy Zina made her discographic debut in 1995 with her self-titled album. She
has since released twelve studio albums and is a high-profile artist in the
Greek music industry. On 14 March 2010, Alpha TV ranked Zina the 24th
top-certified female artist in the nation’s phonographic era (since 1960),
totalling nine (five at the time) platinum and two gold records.
The music is
written by George Sampanis and the lyrics by Helen Yannatsoulia. …στα λευκά μου σεντόνια καθώς
με φιλάς, λάθος πιόνια θα παίζω για να με νικάς... “On the white
sheets, while you kiss me, I’ll move the wrong chesspieces so you can win…”
“If it could only be like this always – always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe and Aloysius in a good temper...” - Evelyn Waugh
Today was blisteringly hot in Melbourne, with the mercury climbing to 42˚C. More hot days are predicted for the next two weeks, so Summer has arrived with a vengeance. Needless to say that cool drinks are de rigueur and as well as drinking lots of iced water, one may need something a little stronger for when guests arrive for a drink and a snack. The following is quite a potent alcoholic mix, but easily can be made non-alcoholic, by substituting the brandy with a tablespoon of Angostura bitters and the champagne with soda water.
CHAMPAGNE PUNCH Ingredients
1 large pineapple 3 oranges 5 passionfruits 1 apple 1 punnet strawberries 6 tablespoonfuls icing sugar 1 cupful chilled brandy (substitute with 1 tsp Angostura bitters for non-alcoholic) 2 chilled bottles of Champagne (substitute with soda water for non-alcoholic)
Method Peel and clean the pineapple, chopping into small cubes and put into a large bowl. Juice the oranges and add to the pineapple. Wash and hull the strawberries, leaving them to drain. Half them and add to the bowl. Peel the apple and chop finely into the bowl. Add the passionfruit pulp to the bowl and stir in the sugar until it is dissolved. Stir in the brandy and put the bowl into the freezer, until almost frozen solid. Break into chunks, put into a punch bowl and pour the chilled champagne over the fruit mixture.
“The world is full enough of hurts and mischances without wars to multiply them.” - J.R.R. Tolkien
Today is the Ninth Day of Christmas. It is also Revolution Day in Burkina Faso and Alaskan Admission Day in the USA. Today is the anniversary of the birthday of:
Marcus Tulius Cicero, Roman statesman (106 BC);
Pietro (Antonio Domenico Buonaventura Trappasi) Metastasio, Italian poet (1698);
Richard Arkwright, English inventor of the spinning machine (1732);
Robert Whitehead, torpedo inventor (1823);
Father Damien (Joseph de Veuster), missionary (1840);
Henry Handel Richardson, Australian author (1870);
Clement (Richard) Attlee, reformist Labour British PM (1883);
J(ohn) R(onald) R(euel) Tolkien, author, linguist (1888);
Ngo Dinh Diem, Vietnamese politician (1901);
Ray(mond Alton) Milland, actor (1905);
Victor Borge, Danish pianist, humorist (1909);
Victoria Principal, US actress (1945);
Mel Gibson, Australian actor (1956).
The olive tree, Olea europaea, is the birthday plant for this day. An olive branch has long been the universal symbol of peace. In China, for example, a traditional way of making up after a quarrel is to send the aggrieved person an olive wrapped in a piece of red paper as a sign that peace has been restored. In Greece, an olive branch was a traditional gift for the New Year, a token of peace and goodwill. The dove that returned to Noah’s Ark after the deluge, carried in its beak a sprig of olive, which Noah interpreted as a herald of peace, safety and salvation.
The ancient Greeks recounted the following legend regarding the origin of the olive tree: When Athens was first populated, the citizens were looking for a god to become its patron and to give his name to the City. Two gods vied for the naming rights, Poseidon who wanted the City called Poseidonia, and Athená, who wanted the City named after her. In an offer of goodwill, Poseidon, the god of the sea, struck his trident on the rock of the Acropolis and a fountain of salt water gushed out. Athená reciprocated by striking her spear on the rocky soil, out of which sprung the olive tree bearing olives. The name of the City has since then been Athens, the city of Athená. On the Acropolis there is an ancient olive tree, reputedly the same one that Athená gave to her city...
To dream of a fruiting olive tree is a particularly good omen as it signifies the successful completion of a project with delightful results. To dream of olive oil is equally propitious as it implies great wealth and prosperity. Eating olives in a dream, on the other hand, signifies frugality and days of scarcity ahead.
Seeing it is J.R.R. Tolkien’s birthday today, mention should be made of his fantastic, intriguing and greatly engaging fairy tales for adults. "The Hobbit" sets the scene for the epic "The Lord of the Rings", with "The Silmarillion" being a fitting postscript. His creation of Middle-Earth and his peopling it with Hobbits and Elves, Giants and Monsters have given people much pleasure since its conception. C.S. Lewis, another great weaver of myth and allegory had this to say about The Lord of the Rings: “Like lightning from a clear sky... heroic romance, gorgeous, eloquent and unashamed.” My first encounter with Tolkien’s world was when I was in Year 8, at high school. Since then I have enjoyed frequent visits to the Shire and Middle-Earth...
“The Lord of the Rings” cinematic trilogy has brought Tolkien’s work closer to a great many more people around the world, while the new film of “The Hobbit” promises to increase this author’s popularity even more.
“Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” - Helen Keller
As is customary this time of the year, I’ve had a couple of chats with people about New Year’s resolutions. No matter what you personally feel about making these resolutions, you can't avoid coming up against the stock lists with the most popular of these resolutions:
1) Spend More Time with Family & Friends 2) Exercise more, get fit 3) Lose weight so as not to be obese 4) Quit smoking 5) Enjoy life more, be happier 6) Quit drinking 7) Get out debt 8) Learn something new 9) Help others more 10) Get more organised
Most of us will be guilty of making these New Year’s resolutions at one stage or another. It makes us feel very good for a day or two, and the more determined amongst us may even print out the list and post it above our desk, or behind the toilet door, or the fridge, or somewhere else as visible. Needless to say that the use by date of these resolutions is quite brief and by the end of January these resolutions have been happily forgotten, the posted note has been taken down or something else has been posted over it, quite unceremoniously.
Many of us are overambitious with these resolutions and the more of them we adopt, the higher the risk of failure of achieving them. We could easily pick a few that are easily adhered to and hence achieved, but that would not be the point. I mean how serious is this achievable list? 1) I will drink more liquor 2) I will take up smoking 3) I will stop exercising 4) I will gain weight 5) I will get into more debt…
These resolutions are very achievable by most people, but they are hardly inspiring and they will do you great harm. The very essence of a New Year’s resolution is to make us a better person and contribute positively to our life. That’s why they are so difficult to achieve and maintain.
Like most other people I also make some New Year’s resolutions, but I have managed to keep my list down to four. 1) I shall be more moderate in all things, avoid excesses 2) I shall give more of my time to be with the people that are important to me 3) I shall take better care of my health 4) I shall be more charitable
I’ll be very happy if I can adhere to the spirit of these for the whole of 2013. They are more or less achievable as they allow some leeway for interpretation and one can gauge how well they are progressing throughout the year by reviewing and assessing one’s behaviour every now and then.
How about you? Do you make New Year’s resolutions?
Magpie Tales has provided us with a visual prompt by R.A.D. Stainforth, the first of this year, that seems to be tied to New Year resolutions… My take is rather more romantically inclined than the “quit smoking” message that this image seems to advise.
Smoke and Mirrors
I drink, alone And smoke endless cigarettes; A chain of smoke binding me To your image, On the mirror of my memory.
I smoke, solitary And drink hard liquor, Swimming to you As you recede, fast sinking To the bottom of my glass.
And as the butts accumulate, In the ashtray of your remembrance, I resolve to leave you be; Forget your face, Burn your impression…
And the bottle empties, As I try to drown your recollection In my glass, but as quickly as I fill it I empty it, encountering you Ever present, at its bottom.
I formed you out of smoke, A virtual image of perfection In the depths of some mirror, Manufactured by my need to love, And all I’ve ever had was an illusion Made of smoke and tricks of light.
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.” – T.S. Eliot
It is customary at this time of the year to review all that has been in the past year and reflect on it all, hopefully learning something, appreciating much and deploring a few things. While being thankful for all the positive things, looking back also allows us to assess what has been and hopefully be prepared to not allow what negative things have happened to not occur in the future.
The most memorable news item – Sandy superstorm Hurricane Sandy was a hurricane that devastated portions of the Caribbean and the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States during late October 2012, with lesser impacts in the Southeastern and Midwestern states and Eastern Canada. Sandy, classified as the eighteenth named storm and tenth hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, was a Category 2 storm at its peak intensity. While it was a Category 1 storm off the coast of the Northeastern United States, the storm became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record (as measured by diameter, with winds spanning 1,800 km). Preliminary estimates of losses due to damage and business interruption are estimated at $65.6 billion (2012 USD), which would make it the second-costliest Atlantic hurricane, behind only Hurricane Katrina. At least 253 people were killed along the path of the storm in seven countries.
The worst event – The gang-rape and death of an Indian student in Delhi One of hundreds of attacks reported in New Delhi each year, the gang rape and murder of a medical student caught Indian authorities and political parties flat-footed, slow to see that the assault on a private bus had come to symbolise an epidemic of crimes against women.
The saddest time – Connecticut shooting Most of the victims at Sandy Point died at the very start of their young lives, tiny victims taken in a way not fit no matter one’s age. Other victims found their life’s work in sheltering these little ones, teaching them, caring for them, treating them as their own. After the gunfire ended at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the trail of loss was more than many could bear: 20 children and six adults at the school, the gunman’s mother at home, and the gunman himself.
The most memorable death - Ravi Shankar, KBE (7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) Shankar often referred to by the title Pandit, was an Indian musician and composer who played the sitar, a plucked string instrument. He has been described as the best-known contemporary Indian musician.
The most life-changing event – New job In May this year I switched jobs and took up an exciting new position that I am very pleased with. Although it is still in academia, it is also a management role that has a lot of variety, gives me the opportunity to travel a lot around the universities in Australia and allows me to be involved in online learning initiatives, something that I have always been interested in.
The most significant new encounter – My new boss A fellow academic, also newly appointed in my new job, she provided encouragement, support, constructive criticism and friendship.
The biggest satisfaction – Publication of a scientific paper on some research that I was instrumental in setting in train the year before. It was able to allow some members of staff in my previous job to collaborate with one of the largest hospitals in Melbourne and do some research that brought together two widely different medical paradigms.
The biggest surprise – An unexpected small gift from a person I don’t know well! Very often small gestures make a big difference. I am a great believer in doing things for people that I don’t know, making a difference in people’s lives and reassuring people that basic human values still exist and that to be kind to each other can provide the greatest satisfaction.
The most memorable meal – A very special dinner with a very special person on a very special anniversary…
The best trip – Trip to Perth for a graduation ceremony It was great to see a small group of students graduate after having done all of their course online in remote areas of Australia. These students exemplified great passion and determination and ability. They graduated with exceedingly good marks and demonstrated that getting a quality tertiary education completely online is feasible.
The best song – Jessie Ware – “Something Inside”
The best book – “The Long Earth” by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter The ‘Long Earth’ is a (possibly infinite) series of parallel worlds that are similar to Earth, which can be reached by using an inexpensive device called a “Stepper”. The “close” worlds are almost identical to ‘our’ Earth, others differ in greater and greater details, but all share one similarity: On none are there, or have there ever been, Homo sapiens - although the same cannot be said for earlier hominid species, especially Homo habilis. The book explores the theme of how humanity might develop when freed from resource constraints: one example Pratchett has cited is that wars result from lack of land - what would happen if no shortage of land (or gold or oil or food) existed? The book deals primarily with the journeys of Joshua Valienté (a natural ‘Stepper’) and Lobsang, who claims to be a Tibetan motorcycle repairman reincarnated into a computer. The two chart a course to learn as much as possible about the parallel worlds, traveling millions of steps away from the original Earth. They encounter evidence of other humanoid species (referred to as trolls and elves); of human settlers who learned their gifts early, and of an extinct race of bipedal dinosaur descendants. They also encounter warning signs of a great danger, millions of worlds away from ‘our’ Earth, causing catastrophe as it moves. The book also deals with the effects of the explosion of available space on the people of Datum Earth and the new colonies and political movements that are spreading in the wake of Step Day.
The best film – “Life of Pi” Having read the book by Yann Martel (which I greatly enjoyed) and having see the trailer of this movie, I can’t wait to see it! This is a magical adventure story centering on Pi Patel, the precocious son of a zoo keeper. Dwellers in Pondicherry, India, the family decides to move to Canada, hitching a ride on a huge freighter. After a shipwreck, Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean on a 26-foot lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, all fighting for survival.
The happiest time – Well, some things I have to keep to myself!
“All the works
of man have their origin in creative fantasy. What right have we then to
depreciate imagination.” - Carl Jung
Jacek Yerka was
born in 1952 in Toruń, Poland. He was born into an artistic family with both
his parents graduates from a local Fine Art Academy. His earliest memories were
of paints, inks, paper, pencils, erasers and brushes. As a child, Yerka loved
to draw and make sculptures. He hated playing outside, and preferred to sit
down with a pencil, creating and exploring his own world. This difference
between the other children in his primary school led to social problems with
his peers and Yerka describes his primary school life as being a “grey,
sometimes horrifying reality.” However, Yerka later became “untouchable” in his
high school due to his clever sketches of the school’s worst bullies.
The artist
graduated in 1976 from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Nicolas Copernicus University
in Toruń. He specialised in graphic art. During the first few years after
graduation he exhibited posters, for example at The Biennial Exhibition of
Polish Posters in Katowice in 1977 and 1979, at the international biennial
exhibitions in Lahti and Warsaw, among others. Since 1980 he devoted himself
completely to painting.
Basing on
precise painting techniques, taking pattern from former masters like Jan van
Eyck or Hieronymus Bosch but mainly on his unlimited imagination he creates
surrealistic compositions, particularly admired by enthusiasts of sci-fi in all
varieties. He inspired the fantasy writer Harlon Ellison to write 30 short
stories, which along with Yerka’s pictures constituted the publication entitled
“Mind Fields”. The same American publisher “Morpheus International” released
the album “The Fantastic Art of Jacek Yerka”.
In 1995 the
artist was awarded the prestigious World Fantasy Award for the best artist. He exhibits
in Poland and abroad (in Germany, France and USA among others), being an
esteemed representative of the science fiction stream of art. His paintings
have recently inspired film-makers. The artist has been invited to cooperate in
the production of an American movie “Strawberry Fields” in which his paintings
was to be accompanied by the Beatles’ music.
The painting
above is called “The City is Landing” and shows Yerka’s style to advantage. A meticulously
detailed fantastic landscape, painstakingly rendered, well composed and with luscious
attention to colour and form. It is a delicious excursion into the land of
fantasy and with a meaning that can be extremely personal for each person who
views the work.
I have been blogging daily on this platform for several years now. It is surprising that I have persisted as the world is changing and "microblogging" is now the norm. I blog to amuse myself, make comment on current affairs, externalise some of my creativity, keep notes on things that interest me, learn something new and to surprise myself with things that I discover about this wonderful, and sometimes crazy, world we live in.
I sometimes get the impression that I am on a soapbox delivering a monologue, so your comments are welcome.
