FOOD FRIDAY - VEGGIE KORMA

“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.” - Paul McCartney
 
For Food Friday today, an Indian Vegetarian dish, which is tasty, nutritious and healthful. Add some rice and you have a complete, filling meal.
 
Vegetarian Korma
Ingredients
 
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion finely chopped
3 cardamom pods, crushed
2 tsp each ground cumin and coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
5 cm piece ginger, finely chopped
800g mixed vegetables: Carrot, cauliflower, potato, zucchini, chopped
300 mL hot vegetable stock
200g frozen peas
200 mL plain Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp ground almonds (optional)
 
Method
Heat the oil in a large pan. Cook onion with the dry spices over a low heat for 5-6 minutes until the onion is golden. Add the chilli, garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute, then toss in the vegetables (except the peas) and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Add the stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the peas, cooking for 3 minutes more until the vegetables are tender.
Remove from the heat and stir through the yoghurt and ground almonds, if using. Serve garnished with chopped coriander if desired,  and accompany with basmati rice or naan bread on the side.

This post is part of the Food Friday meme,
and also part fo the Food Trip Friday meme.

AUSTRALIA'S HOTTEST SUMMER

“As human beings, we are vulnerable to confusing the unprecedented with the improbable. In our everyday experience, if something has never happened before, we are generally safe in assuming it is not going to happen in the future, but the exceptions can kill you and climate change is one of those exceptions.” - Al Gore
 
It’s official! Australia has experienced its hottest Summer on record. Average temperatures beat the record set in the summer of 1997-98, and daytime maximum temperatures knocked over the 1982-83 record. January 2013 has been the hottest month since records began in 1910. Our climate is changing and we now have the weather records to prove it.
 
Climate is a statistical description of weather. It describes the average weather experienced over a period of time, over either a single location, or averaged over a large region. Climate also describes how variable the weather is around those averages. Climate also describes trends: Longer-term changes in weather that are distinct from the shorter-term variability.
 
When it comes to climate change, there is often confusion as to when one should consider a particular meteorological event to be “just weather” or something more significant in a climatological context. Individual weather and climate events that scientists consider most significant are those that are both at the extremes of our historical experience, and consistent with quantifiable trends.
 
September 2012 to February 2013 were warmer than the previous high for that period, set in 2006-2007. Average summer temperatures across Australia were 1.1°C above the 1961-1990 average, surpassing the previous record, set in 1997-98, by more than 0.1°C. Daytime maximum temperatures also set a record; they were 1.4°C above normal, and 0.2°C above the 1982-83 record. And the most significant thing about all of these extremes is they fit with a well established trend in Australia, that is it’s getting hotter, and record heat is happening more often.
 
Australia has warmed by nearly a degree Celsius since 1910. This is consistent with warming observed in the global atmosphere and oceans. Over the next century, the world will likely warm by a further 2 to 5 degrees, depending on the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. Under mid-to-high emissions scenarios, summers like this one will likely become average in 40 years time. By the end of the 21st century, the record summer of 2013 will likely sit at the very cooler end of normal.
 
An interesting feature of the heat this summer is that it occurred during a “neutral” period in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (that is, it was neither La Niña nor El Niño). Up until this year, six of the eight warmest summers, and the hottest three summers on record, occurred during El Niño years. This essentially means that the record was consistent with warming trends, and achieved without an extra push from natural variability associated with El Niño.
 
The oceans surrounding Australia have also been exceptionally warm. January 2013 was the second warmest on record, following an unusually hot 2012, and a record hot 2011 for Australian-region sea surface temperatures. These temperatures are measured very differently to air temperatures over land.
 
Apart from the heat, the summer of 2012-13 will be notable for rain and floods along the east coast, especially those which fell in late January as the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Oswald tracked south just inland from the coasts of Queensland and northern New South Wales, bringing heavy rains along the length of its track. A second round of heavy rain occurred in southeast Queensland and coastal New South Wales in the last week of February. The late January rainfalls were significant and led to major flooding in numerous rivers, especially the Burnett, which reached record levels after a one-day catchment-average rainfall which was nearly 70% above the previous record.
 
December 2012 was the hottest December on record for Southern Hemisphere land areas, and January 2013 was the hottest January. Australia was a large contributor to this, but so were southern South America and southern Africa. Many parts of southern Africa had their hottest January on record, while the month was also much hotter than normal in large parts of Argentina, Chile and Brazil. In parts of Patagonia, January temperatures were more than 4°C above normal.

We have to get used to records like this being broken as our climate changes worldwide. A few degrees up or down may not sound like much, but repeated small increases have a cumulative effect with many consequences on a global scale. Humans have relative little power to deal with weather at the best of times and where climate is concerned we have even less power. Global warming may be the problem presently, but it only takes a major volcanic explosion with much ash ejected into the atmosphere to have a very real effect on climate for many years – in this case a cooling effect.
 
“Following the huge eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, enough reflective volcanic aerosols were ejected into the atmosphere that the following year was known as the year without a summer.  But the effects of that debris have been much longer-lived.  According to the report in ‘Nature’ this week, the volcanic-induced cooling of the oceans caused by Krakatoa's eruption lasted almost a century, enough to offset a large amount of anthropogenic rises in ocean temperature and sea level.  In plain English, were it not for Krakatoa going boom all those years ago, we'd be in a worse state currently than we are.” (Jonathan M Gitlin, Feb 10 2006).
 
Whether we modify our behaviour that may be instrumental in climate change or not, there are forces of nature at play on our planet that demonstrate to us that we humans are puny and impotent. What we must do is act wisely, take care of our environment in the best way we can and hope for the best in terms of natural events that we have no control over…

KALEVALA DAY

“Thus the wise and worthy singer 
Sings not all his garnered wisdom;
Better leave unsung some sayings
Than to sing them out of season.” - The Kalevala
 
February 28, is Kalevala Day in Finland. The Kalevala is Finland’s national epic poem, researched and transcribed by Dr. Elias Lönnrot (1802-1835). Lönnrot and his assistants travelled throughout the country, asking people to tell them whatever they could remember about the folklore surrounding Kalevala, the “Land of Heroes”. On February 28, 1835, after years of research, Lönnrot signed the preface to the first edition of the poem. Its more than 20,000 verses brought to life the adventures of such characters as the warrior Lemminkäinen and the blacksmith Ilmarinen, who played a part in the creation of the world when he forged the “lids of heaven”. This event marked a turning point in Finnish literature; up to this point, little had been written in the Finnish language. Lönnrot is honoured with parades and concerts on this day.
 
The first edition of the Kalevala appeared in 1835. Inspired by his later collecting trips and the folk poetry recorded by others, Lönnrot decided to broaden his epic to create a more extensive whole. The second edition of the Kalevala appeared in December 1849. The work contains 22,795 lines of verse divided into 50 distinct cantos. To distinguish between the two editions, the expanded version was referred to as the “New Kalevala” and the earlier version came to be known as the “Old Kalevala”.
 
The Kalevala is made up of metric folk poems: epic and lyric poetry, as well as incantations and wedding poetry. The metre of the poetic language, generally known as the kalevala-metre, is trochaic tetrametre, the prevailing poetic metre north of the Gulf of Finland and in Ingria.
 
The publication of the Kalevala was a significant factor in the National Awakening movement in Finland, part of the patriotic nationalist revival taking place throughout Europe during the mid-19th century. This led ultimately to Finnish independence and to a greater role for literature in Finnish, rather than in Swedish as had been the rule prior to this.   The poems of the Kalevala have been illustrated by some of the country’s greatest artists.
 
Composer Jean Sibelius, too, made extensive use of Kalevala themes in his music, for example in the Four Lemminkäinen Legends, Pohjola’s Daughter, the Kullervo Symphony, and the symphonic poem Tapiola. The epic poem was also reportedly a source of inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien in his “Lord of the Rings” novels, and was definitely in the mind of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , who adapted the idiosyncratic Kalevala meter for his Song of Hiawatha.
 
In a completely different vein, Kalevala characters and places still live on in business life, in the names given to many key Finnish companies, although in recent years there is a tendency to replace traditional names with more “international” ones!

THE MUSIC OF YOUR THOUGHT

“Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision.” - Salvador Dalí
 
Surrealism is a 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature, which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images. Launched in 1924 by a manifesto of André Breton and having a strong political content, the movement grew out of symbolism and Dada and was strongly influenced by Sigmund Freud. In the visual arts its most notable exponents were André Masson, Jean Arp, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Man Ray, and Luis Buñuel.
 
Magpie Tales has presented us with a sculptural confection by that master of Surrealism, Salvador Dalí. As a child, Dalí’s first sculpture was a clay copy of the Venus de Milo. He later recalled: “My first experience as a sculptor gave me an unknown and delicious erotic joy.” The original Venus de Milo, now on display at the Louvre Museum, is one of the most famous works of Greek antiquity, a marble sculpture of the goddess of love. This armless figure has become the icon of classical female beauty.
 
The goddess Venus held a great attraction for Dalí, who returned to her throughout his career. She is the focus of his 1939 “Dream of Venus” Pavilion at the World’s Fair, where the viewer is invited to walk through her dreams. In The “Hallucinogenic Toreador” of 1969, shadows across her body become the source for an illusion of a bullfighter’s face. In a 1973 hologram, she appears as musician Alice Cooper’s microphone.
 
For this 1936 Surrealist object, Dalí cuts six drawers into Venus, transforming the Greek goddess into a piece of living furniture, a visual pun on the phrase “chest” of drawers, also known as a bureau. Her simple, white surface, is complemented by elegant fur knobs, a tribute to her beauty and erotic potential. In addition, the drawers are a metaphor for the way Freudian psychoanalysis opens the hidden areas of the unconscious. In Dalí’s words: “Freud discovered the world of the subconscious on the tumid surfaces of ancient bodies, and Dali cut drawers into it.”
 
Here is my contribution to this week’s Magpie.
 
The Music of Your Thought
 
“Of all the numbers of the alphabet
I adore crimson…”, she said;
And I looked at her bemused,
Amused too, by her propensity to add colour
To even the dullest topic.
 
“The sea, she flies so well, chasing rocks
As they rise up to the bottom…”
I smiled at her, basking in the sunshine
Of her hyperboles, approaching nearest to her star
In that single moment of a hyperbolic perihelion.
 
Of all the music of your touch,
I love sweetness…”, she added;
And I sang with my hand,
Leaving a trace of honey, treacly, sticky,
On her smooth skin.
 
“My secret thoughts live in a locked drawer
In my belly…”
I nodded, as I caressed her navel,
Wanting to open up her innermost
Secret hiding places to lose myself into.
 
“I appreciate the honesty of pegasi
Who in their moulting season admit they cannot fly…”
She pensively remarked, stroking my shoulder blade,
And at that moment I knew,
As I prepared for a perpetual aphelion,
That I had lost her, evermore.

MOVIE MONDAY - MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

“When good Americans when they die go to Paris.” - Thomas Gold Appleton

Last weekend we watched the delightful 2011 Woody Allen film “Midnight in Paris” starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni and Marion Cotillard. Allen both wrote and directed this whimsy and it is a glowing tribute to the great city of Paris, the past, love, art and literature. It won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, but also won another 16 awards and was nominated for another 52 distinctions.

The film is a loving tribute to the “Ville Lumière” as only a besotted American can do it (and I mean that as a compliment!). The cinematography is superb, the costumes and music wonderful, the rich ambience of times past and the spirit of place have been captured beautifully. The casting is very well done and one has the feeling of watching a rich cavalcade of the famous artists and thinkers of the 1920s who parade through the plot, the only reason being to be seen…

The story concerns Gil (Wilson) and Inez (McAdams), an American couple who travel to Paris as a tag-along vacation on Inez’s parents business trip. Gil is a rich and famous Hollywood writer but is struggling on his first novel. He falls in love with Paris and suggests to Inez that they should move there after they get married. Inez does not share his romantic notions of the city or the idea that the 1920s was the “golden age”. One night, when Inez goes off dancing with her friends, Gil takes a walk at midnight and discovers that he can slip into a time warp if he is at the right place at the right time and finds himself in his “golden age” of the Paris of the 1920s. Gil is jubilant and finds his recurring trips to the past a great source of inspiration for his writing. While his writing improves, his relationship with Inez becomes tense and strained…

Allen has made a similar film as a paean to a great city, his “Manhattan” of 1979. “Midnight in Paris”, however, is a much more mature and mellow work, where Allen allows his imagination free rein and where his distillation of what it is to live and love is spelt out quite clearly. Gil’s ventures into the past may fulfil him as an artist, but his life has to reach its full potential in his present time, and it is only when he realises this is the essence of his happiness that he is able to make the right decisions.

The film is a light and winsome fable. Light and frothy as a whipped cream dessert, rich with champagne bubbles and frollery (= frisky drollery :-). It is no classic but it doesn’t aspire to be. It is no masterpiece, but it is an enchanting and entertaining bauble that makes a point, no matter how self-evident and platitudinous it may be. The way that Allen serves us this confection appeals to our jaded palate and we sit there enjoying serve after serve. There is subtle humour and some wonderful one-liners, but no belly laughs. This is no slapstick.

We recommend this film, especially more so if you have been to Paris and have succumbed to its manifold charms…

ART SUNDAY - DAUMIER

“Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other’s welfare, social justice can never be attained.” - Helen Keller
 
Honoré Victorin Daumier (26 Feb 1808 - 10 Feb 1879) was a French artist, painter, draughtsman and sculptor who rose to prominence as the caricaturist of 19th century French politics and society. His determined focus on the foibles of 19th century France make him the one artist who comes closest to summing up this turbulent period of French history. Forced to quit school at the age of 12, Honore Daumier developed a life-long sympathy for the poor. Unfortunately, he sympathised so much with them that he died in debt and was buried in a paupers grave.
 
Honoré Daumier used his skills as a lithographer to ridicule French government and society. In his youth, he even ended up in gaol for caricaturing the French King. An extremely productive artist, he made almost 4,000 prints before going blind. He was also a talented painter and sculptor, but these works mainly became known after his death.
 
Daumier lived in an age of dramatic political, economic, and social upheaval. During his lifetime, there were five major changes in government as his countrymen grappled with the aftermath of the 1789 French Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was also taking place during this time, which served as a blow to the old social order, creating an entirely new class of impoverished industrial workers in the process. Against this backdrop, Honoré Daumier used his art as biting social commentary.
 
Honoré Daumier was born in 1808 in Marseilles, France. In 1816, his father moved the family to Paris to try his hand at poetry. His father did not achieve much economic success so at the age of 12, Daumier was forced to quit school and work at a bailiff's office. Witnessing the problems of those rifling in and out of jail imparted him with a life-long sympathy for the poor. At the age of 16, Daumier began receiving training in the art of lithography with Alexandre Lenoir and studying at the Academie Suisse.
 
Daumier used his print-making skills in several satirical publications of the era. During this period, this was a powerful social platform from which to influence the masses. In 1832, he published an offensive cartoon against the government and received a suspended sentence. He then published another anti-governmental cartoon that was just as vicious and was jailed for six months. Afterwards, he only caricatured the middle-class and particularly liked criticising lawyers and the justice system. In 1846, Daumier’s son was born and he married the mother of the child, a 24-year -old seamstress shortly afterwards. Sadly, his son died two years later.

In his old age Daumier increasingly worked on his sculptures and paintings. His works were accepted to exhibit at the Salon four times but received little attention, although modern critics consider them to be ahead of their time. Daumier was particularly interested in the theme of Don Quixote and painted one iconic image of him riding off into the sunset. In 1878, a few months before his death, his friends rounded up a number of his paintings to be shown at Durand-Ruel’s gallery. However, these works did not meet with much critical reception until after his death.
 
Daumier worked in a number of styles, depending on the medium. He was equally adept at caricature, naturalistic drawing, painting and sculpting. He is best known for his caricature works and he used the classic caricature techniques of physical absurdity to lay bare the cruelty, unfairness and pretension of 19th century French society and politics.
 
The medium of lithography allows for quick, sketchy, images, which create a sense of movement - and also a sense of a candid moment. Critics described him as a master at recording the unrehearsed moments of daily life. Daumier came to painting (and naturalism) fairly late in life and he painted religious as well as historical themes. If it were not for this inclusion of historical material, he would be considered purely a Realist. The naturalist philosophy believes in man’s futility against nature and some of Daumier's religious paintings suggest this. He also used everyday subjects, such as The Laundress, to provoke discussion about wider social issues. He was also interested in exploring literary themes, in particular the ones contained in the popular novel Don Quixote, the fool who thinks he’s a hero as he, in the famous scene, battles windmills. Daumier also tried his hand at sculpting, which was not a popular form of art at the time. His sculptures are known for being remarkably life-like.
 
“Le Wagon de Troisième Classe” (The Third-Class Carriage) of 1864 seen above, is one of a three-part series commissioned by Walter Thompson Walters, the other two works being The First Class Carriage and The Second Class Carriage. The inspiration for this painting came from the railroad itself and Daumier’s preoccupation with themes of social justice.
 
Like with many of Daumier’s later paintings, the loose handling and calligraphic brush work that he employs in The Third-Class Carriage is extraordinary. The painting is left unfinished, however, it is still obvious that Daumier seeks to capture the plight of the working class by capturing the quiet moments of their everyday lives. The dark colours and the crowded surroundings help to focus the viewer’s attention to the figures in the foreground.
 
The family depicted here, grandmother, mother and children with the notable absence of their menfolk, suggests that these women are making their way in the world on their own. One gets a sense of the circumstances through the weariness of their posture and the shabbiness of their clothes. Although the mother’s face is sweet, the weariness present in the grandmother’s face suggests the hardships that she must have experienced in her long life. Her shrewd face confronts the viewer, while the sleeping grandson still clutching a box besides him tells us that quite possibly this child is already working to support the family.

WEBER'S CLARINET CONCERTO

“The ability to play the clarinet is the ability to overcome the imperfections of the instrument. There’s no such thing as a perfect clarinet, never was and never will be.” - Jack Brymer
 
A wonderful Saturday with a grateful return to routine. A lovely evening all round.
 
For Music Saturday a marvellous Clarinet Concerto by that master of the theatrical in music, Carl Maria von Weber  (1786-1826). Here is his Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F Minor, played by Karl Leister (Clarinet) accompanied by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Rafael Kubelik.
 
Weber’s compositions for woodwind instruments occupy an important place in the musical repertoire. His compositions for the clarinet, which include two concertos, a concertino, a quintet, a duo concertante, and variations on a theme (posthumously), are regularly performed today. His Concertino for Horn and Orchestra requires the performer to simultaneously produce two notes by humming while playing—a technique known as “multiphonics”. His bassoon concerto and the Andante e Rondo Ungarese (a reworking of a piece originally for viola and orchestra) are also popular with bassoonists.
 
The first movement of this clarinet concerto is operatic in style and scope, the middle movement quietly reflective, while the last movement is a joyous celebration of life that has a comic overtone, which nonetheless carries an undertone of the melancholy about it in some sections. The whole concerto is a masterpiece of the romantic concerto genre that provides for an enjoyable listening experience, but which is fiendishly difficult to play even for accomplished clarinetists!

FOOD FRIDAY - ROSE CANDY

“But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes

For Food Friday, some traditional sweetmeats. Rose candy, that tastes of times past and is for the romantic at heart!
 
ROSE 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 to 3    drops of rose essential oil (edible!)
1/2    drop each of pink food dye
450    g granulated sugar
Desiccated coconut flakes (optional)
 
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 rose oil and food colour, stirring all the while. You may divide the mixture into two, colour one half pink and the other leave white, for layered candy. 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). Desiccated coconut flakes can be used to coat the candy (optional).

This post is part of the Food Friday meme,
and also part of the Food Trip Friday meme.

PARENTALIA, FERALIA, CARISTIA

“The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.” - Marcus Tullius

The Parentalia, was a Roman religious festival held in honour of the dead. The festival, which began at noon on February 13 and culminated on February 21, was a private celebration of the rites of deceased family members. It was gradually extended, however, to incorporate the dead in general. During the days of the festival, all temples were closed and no weddings could be performed. On the last day a public ceremony, the Feralia, was held, during which visits to the tombs of dead relatives occurred.

On the Feralia, ancient Romans travelled to the tombs of their ancestors (called “Manes”), taking with them offerings of wreaths, grain, salt, and bread soaked in wine, which would be left in the tomb. Violets would be scattered around and in the tombs. The wealthy families of Rome would prepare lavish public feasts at the tombs in honour of their ancestors and a means of appeasing the gods of the Underworld. The Feralia was considered a time for mourning. Marriages were banned during this time and public worship of the gods was suspended. No incense was burned on the altars and hearth fires were often left unlit.

The Feralia is a likely contender as one of the forerunners of Halloween. At midnight on the day of Feralia the heads of the Roman families would address the less pleasant ancestors and evil spirits. The Feralia rituals were intended to control these malevolent entities and force them to return to the spirit world for another year. Failure to properly observe the rites of Feralia could lead to the spirits remaining on the earth where they would appear as ghosts and bring misfortune throughout the coming year.

One ancient story tells of a time when the Feralia was ignored during wartime, causing spirits to rise from their graves and haunt the streets of Rome until proper tribute as dictated by ritual was made, which confined the spirits in their tombs once again. Once the “exorcism” of the Feralia was complete Romans could enjoy the happy family feast of Caristia on the next day, February 22nd. The similarity between Feralia-Caristia and Halloween-All Saints’ Day is striking.

The Caristia, also known as the Cara Cognatio, was an official but privately observed holiday that celebrated love of family with banqueting and gifts. Families gathered to dine together and offer food and incense to the Lares (household gods). It was a day of reconciliation when disagreements were to be set aside, but the poet Ovid observes satirically that this could be achieved only by excluding family members who caused trouble…

The Cara Cognatio remained on the calendar long after the Roman Empire had come under Christian rule. It appeared in the Chronography of 354, and the calendar of Polemius Silvius (449 AD) juxtaposed the old holiday with a feast day commemorating the burial of St. Peter and St. Paul. As a “love feast”,  the Caristia was not incompatible with Christian attitudes and some scholars have detected an influence of the Parentalia and Caristia on the Christian Agape feast, with the consumption of bread and wine at the ancestral tomb replaced by the Eucharist. In the 5th century, some Christian priests even encouraged participation in funerary meals.

HEAVENLY FISH

“I don’t believe in astrology; I’m a Sagittarius and we’re skeptical.”― Arthur C. Clarke

What part does astrology play in your life? In this day and age of high tech, enormous scientific progress, rationalism and skepticism, it is surprising how many people still read their daily horoscope (or have it cast professionally). It is perhaps a reaction against the bamboozling and mind-blowing progress in science and technology, which most people cannot understand and are mystified by. The “New Age” movement is another manifestation of this, I think.

Some people believe deeply in astrology and where strong belief begins, rational argument ends. Others view astrology as an interesting psychological exercise and a means by which one can do some soul-searching and get to know oneself a little better – a self discovery and assessment tool, if you will. In some societies astrology still plays an immense role in everyday life and something like a marriage would not be seen favourably unless the astrological profiles of the bride and groom were compatible, while the date of the wedding is also arranged on a propitious conjunction of the planets.

Astrology was one of the ancient “soft sciences” and it begat our modern day “hard science” of astronomy. Science and philosophy in the past were more connected than in the present day. Astrology as a philosophical concept is quite interesting and the study of the development of astrological systems is a fascinating subject as it is quite telling in terms of the human psyche and mind. Doubtlessly, astrology has had an enormous impact on human history and it has also stimulated a great deal of enquiry into human existence, the universe and our place in it. Countless works of art have also been inspired by astrological themes and ideas.

For the astrologically inclined, today the Sun enters the sign of the fish: Pisces…
 
PISCES THE FISH February 20th - March 20th. Ruled by Neptune. A mutable, negative, feminine, water sign. Polar or opposite sign is Virgo.  Fixed Star: Al Rischa.
 
Adaptable, Artistic, Compassionate, Creative, Deep, Elusive, Gentle, Imaginative, Instinctive, Moody, Musical, Philosophic, Sensitive, Sensual, Spiritual, Unworldly.
 
The Piscean may be summarised with the verb: “I believe”. The Piscean is romantic and mystical, often poetic and artistic.  A Piscean quote: “If you wander around in enough confusion, you will soon find enlightenment.” H. Blossom.
 
As a Piscean, the native is extremely sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others. Lack of strong willpower is made up by their sympathy for those they come in contact with, especially the poor, weak, or downcast. Generosity is occasionally bountiful, but usually to those who are “worthy” of natives. As a rule, the Piscean is good-natured and benevolent but is frequently shy and reserved around others. “Moderation” is a key word for the Piscean, as the duality of this sign keeps him or her on an even keel, content in the background, frequently keeping them from speaking up and taking a stand on an issue.  This is sometimes to the extent that the Piscean will have a neutral personality and will be the proverbial “fence-sitter”.
 
While often impractical, these people tend to be highly imaginative, creative, artistic and romantic.  This makes them vulnerable and they can be taken advantage of.  The Piscean needs to identify with someone strong and assertive, especially someone that can be admired and act as a source of inspiration and guidance.  The Piscean can, however, be occasionally brilliant, especially if their imagination is let to reign supreme and their artistic flair allowed to act unopposed.  The Piscean dislikes criticism, arguments, discord and will naturally seek a partner who is kindly, considerate, strong and supportive.  If their partner can make the decisions and provide the support needed by the Piscean, the relationship will be long and successful.
 
The Piscean will choose a profession that allows them to interact with other people and care for them; nursing, medicine, social work, psychology, paramedical fields are often attractive to them and they make very good professionals in these areas.  The Piscean can be a successful writer, artist, poet, musician, actor or dancer.  They are not very competitive or highly ambitious and therefore may lead a relatively quiet life even in what are considered to be very flamboyant occupations.  They will enjoy water sports, like swimming, diving, sailing although they rarely will become competition sports people.
 
The Piscean can be attracted to the occult and may be characterised as a “mystic”, although sometimes it is their introspective and rather moody nature that may be responsible for their seeming esotericism.

A WINTER'S JOURNEY

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” - William Shakespeare
 
Magpie Tales has used as a prompt the painting “Wind of History” by Jacek Yerka, about whom I have blogged before here. My offering, inspired by this painting is below:
 
A Winter’s Journey
 
Revisiting all the places of my past pain
Is my destiny, as Winter drags on year-long,
And endless sheets of falling cold, grey rain
Envelop landscapes in monotonous song.
(Forget I should what I must and mustn’t do…)
 
The distant goal of all my journeys is the same,
Approach so close and then so far again to be,
A cruel, repeated, endless, pointless game,
Treading the circling spirals of my traces, never to flee
(Forget I must what I should and shouldn’t do…)
 
The ruts of my previous journeys run deep,
But past experience futile, knowledge vain;
Each trek brings new torment, as I creep
Towards redemption – a goal I won’t attain.
(Forget I ought what I’m obliged and not obliged to do…)
 
As night falls my desperation grows more acute,
Memories haunt me, suffering grows strong –
The ruins of my former life form a familiar route
How could I live in such error, all my choices wrong?
 
Forget at last what I ought and oughtn’t do,
To live a life that’s fresh, unshackled by the past;
Escape from reminiscences, build all anew,
Tread paths unknown, my destiny recast.

MOVIE MONDAY - SURVIVING CHRISTMAS

“All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy.” - Spike Milligan
 
At the weekend we raided the specials box at the local video store and got some bargain videos. Two of them were excellent films that we wanted to see for a long time, but we also bought a film that looked like a typical Hollywood romantic comedy/moral fable and the only reason we bought it was that three films were cheaper than two and nothing else in the box was even remotely interesting. We were in mood for mindless drivel at the weekend and we watched (rather unseasonably) this 2004 Mike Mitchell movie, “Surviving Christmas”, starring Ben Affleck, Christina Applegate and James Gandolfini.
 
As we suspected this was typical Hollywood grist for the mill, a rather unoriginal and mundane didactic B grade tale based on the premise “money can’t buy you happiness” (but it can sure cause you to be a gigantic pain in the behind for a lot of other people).  The story is heavy-handed and the acting is over the top, direction is slapdash and the improbability of the story makes for cringeworthy viewing. We suffered through it and swallowed the flavourless pap to the end to form a defensible opinion of the movie, if nothing else.
 
Drew Latham (Affleck) is a highly successful advertising executive leading an empty, shallow life devoted to his job and to making more and more money. All is going well for him until another lonely Christmas looms ahead. His lack of a family causes him to break up with his girlfriend and driven to desperation at the prospect of facing Christmas alone, Drew revisits his old childhood home with a view of rekindling some old memories. When he arrives, he finds that the house in which he was raised is no longer the home in which he grew up. It is inhabited by another family, of rather obnoxious character. Drew offers a substantial financial reward to the paterfamilias (Gandolfini) provided he allows Drew to pretend to be a member of the family over Christmas. Greed allows Drew to enter the family as a grown-up “son” but the family get more than they bargained for because Drew is overeager to celebrate Christmas in the way that he has always wanted. The family’s daughter (Applegate) provides he romantic interest.
 
This is a pedestrian movie designed to pull the heartstrings, but its fakeness, over-the-top schmaltz and weak attempts at humour make it quite tiresome. The sheer predictability of the plot and the average, to less than average, effort in making this film make it a C grade studio potboiler. The characters are inconsistent and the plot makes little sense, giving the impression that the movie was made from a rough draft of a slapdash scenario made on the premise of a rich guy paying a family to let him spend Christmas with them. Watch at your own peril, you have been warned…

ART SUNDAY - ME!

“So many of my dreams were to actually be able to make a living of what I did as a hobby.” - Rick Baker
 
Ever since I can remember there have been pens, pencils, paper, paints, canvas, notebooks, drawing cartridge and coloured pencils at our house. It does help if one;s parents are artistically inclined and the stimulus to use all of these lovely things is immediate and uninterrupted. I started to draw even before I learnt to write, as most children, but I also started to paint with oil paints even before I learn to write. It's a pity that none of my very early efforts have survived, but that was the beginning of a very long love affair with art and the basis of one of my good hobbies - for I am only an amateur.
 
I have continued to draw and paint - whenever I have some spare time (which is less and less nowadays. What I still do is maintain a visual diary into which I scribble ideas and get to use the vast array of pens, markers, coloured pencils, and pastels that are on my desk. Here are two pages from such a visual diary. It relaxes me, allows my imagination free rein and it uses the part of my brain that my work often does not allow me to use as much as I would like...

SATURDAY WITH SCHUBERT

“To love beauty is to see light.” - Victor Hugo
 
A Schubert symphony for Music Saturday. Amongst the classical composers, Franz Schubert (1797-1828) is one of my favourites in terms of his tuneful melodies, lovely harmonies and wonderful musicality. Besides his amazing lieder, there is a treasure trove to be discovered in his orchestral works.
 
The fifth of Schubert's nine numbered symphonies was written in 1816 and was performed in October, a month after its composition, at the house of Otto Hatwig, a violinist in the Burgtheater orchestra. The musicians concerned were otherwise amateurs from the group that had been accustomed to meet at the house of Schubert’s father.
 
The music is in the tradition of what Schubert in his diary that year described as the magic sound of Mozart, the immortal. It is scored for flute, pairs of oboes, bassoons and horns, with strings, while the Unfinished Symphony was to make use of a larger orchestra that included clarinets, trombones, trumpets and drums.
 
The first movement leads us through the charm of its principal melodic material to an excursion into stranger keys, until a recapitulation that opens with the first theme in the key of E fiat, before the original key of the movement is restored. There follows a slow movement that is in that essentially Viennese operatic idiom of which Mozart was the greatest exponent, succeeded by a lively Minuet and Trio in the keys of G minor and G major respectively. The symphony ends with a finale that contains all the dramatic contrasts that the customary form encourages.
 
Here are Les Musiciens du Louvre, conducted by Mark Minkowski playing this bright and beautiful symphony.
Enjoy!
 

FOOD FRIDAY - SPINACH QUESADILLA

“One man’s poison ivy is another man’s spinach.” - George Ade
 

For Food Friday, a tasty and nutritious vegetarian quick meal, perfect for lunch.
 

Spinach Quesadillas
Ingredients
 

1 tbsp olive oil
120g baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
3 green onions, very finely chopped
50g parmesan cheese, grated
2/3 cup cheddar cheese, grated
2/3 cup tasty cheese, grated
Ground pepper
6 flour burrito tortillas
 

Method
Heat the oil in a pan and lightly toss the onion and spinach until they wilt. Remove from heat and combine with cheeses. Season with pepper.
Preheat the sandwich press and brush cooking plates with olive oil. Place one tortilla in press. Spread spinach mixture over tortilla. Top with another tortilla. Cook until golden. Stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve, garnished with tomato and capsicum pieces and drizzle some mayonnaise on top, if desired.
 

This post is part of the Food Friday meme,
and also part of the Food Trip Friday meme.

ST VALENTINE & HIS DAY

“Who loves not forever, is not a lover.” – Euripides

The history of St Valentine, the patron saint of lovers, is shrouded in mystery. February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. Saint Valentine became associated with ancient fertility rites at the period of christianisation of Italy and the syncretisation of pagan and Christian beliefs.

The Catholic Church recognises at least three different saints named Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realising the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl, possibly his jailer’s daughter, who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed: “From your Valentine”, an expression still in use today.

Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is obscure, the stories all emphasise his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.

While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial (probably occurred around A.D. 270) others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianise” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15.

Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or “lupa”. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat's hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide.

Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city’s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.

Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity and but was outlawed, as it was deemed “un-Christian”, at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St Valentine’s Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance.

In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one’s feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine’s Day greetings.

MEMORY

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” Norman Cousins
 
Magpie Tales is showcasing the work of artist Joseph Lorusso, born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1966 and receiving his formal training at the American Academy of Art. He went on to receive his B.F.A. degree from the Kansas City Art Institute. Born of Italian descent, Lorusso was exposed to art at an early age. Through several early trips to Italy, his parents introduced him to the works of the Italian Masters. Lorusso would look to these influences throughout his early artistic development and they are still evident in his work today.
 
Here is my offering inspired by this painting.
 
Memory
 
The memory of a kiss
Is enough to sustain me
In the desert of your absence,
Its cooling draught
Relief for my parched lips.
 
The memory of an embrace
Will preserve my sanity
In the chaos of my singularity,
Its heat to warm
The frozen interstellar void.
 
The memory of a song,
To help me overcome
An existence without music,
The sound of your voice
A caress for my deaf ears.
 
The memory of a meeting
Is balm for my mangled heart –
A black frozen wasteland,
Its vacuum populated
By the shining sun of your existence.
 
We kissed and we embraced
When we met,
And music played –
To be remembered as our song, thereafter.
 
We parted and long after the goodbyes,
Memories still haunt me,
Wounding and healing
At the same time…

MOVIE MONDAY - DANIEL DERONDA

“What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?” - George Eliot
 

George Eliot (pseudonym of Mary Ann, or Marian, Cross, née Evans) who was born November 22, 1819, in Chilvers Coton, Warwickshire, England and died December 22, 1880, London, is an English Victorian novelist. She developed the method of psychological analysis characteristic of modern fiction. Her major works include “Adam Bede” (1859), “The Mill on the Floss” (1860), “Silas Marner” (1861), “Middlemarch” (1871–72), and “Daniel Deronda” (1876).
 

At the weekend we watched a mini-series based on her novel “Daniel Deronda”, which is also Eliot’s last novel. The BBC production directed by Tom Hooper was excellent, and it starred Hugh Dancy, Romola Garai, Hugh Bonneville, Jodhi May, Greta Scacchi and Edward Fox.  As with similar BBC costume dramas, this was an amazing production looking and feeling extremely authentic. The acting was magnificent and every single character was brought to vivid life. The costumes, sets, music and direction were faultless. Andrew Davies has done a great job in producing a wonderful screenplay out of Eliot’s complex novel with its two intertwined plots.
 

Hugh Bonneville as the dastardly Henleigh Grandcourt is the true star of the series, stealing each scene he appeared in. Jodhi May and Greta Scacchi play well in the difficult supporting roles, and both women bring great depth to their roles, the first a desperate, haunted Jewess and the second Grandcourt’s scorned, bitter mistress. Romola Garai and Hugh Darcy both play competently, but even though their roles are the largest, they are certainly not the juiciest!
 

In brief, the plot is as follows: A spoiled and beautiful young woman, Gwendolyn (Garai), chooses to marry for money and social position so as to be rescued from a life of poverty and need when her family loses their money. Her husband, the evil and heartless Grandcourt (Bonneville), is a landowner whose sole pleasure lies in tormenting those around him. Be it his wife or dogs, this sadistic villain never takes greater pleasure than in dangling something before those around him and then taking pleasure in tearing it away again, only to give it temporarily to someone else. The second plot line, centred on Daniel Deronda (Dancy), a presumed illigitimate boy who has been raised to be a country gentleman by his guardian (Fox). One day while out boating he saves a beautiful Jewish songstress (May) from drowning herself, and sets out to discover his own true identity through finding her family.
 

Eliot’s masterly interweaving of the two plots and the depth of characterisation are preserved in the dramatisation and the series made for engaging and interesting viewing, which was satisfying on an artistic as well as an emotional level. The two interrelated plots (although one can argue that the novel is really two different novels fused into one) function well in the film. Gwendolyn’s story illustrates well the tension between ideals and the rules of society, selfishness and vanity, and the role of women in the Victorian marriage. On the other hand, Daniel’s story is one that focusses on heritage, nationality and family, and takes into account the nascent ideas of Zionism and the search for a Jewish homeland.
 

This is an excellent mini-series and if you can get your hands on it, do watch it. Failing that, go to your nearest public library and borrow the novel to read!

ART SUNDAY - IL GUERCINO

“A picture is a poem without words.” – Horace

For Art Sunday today, the life and art of “Il Guercino”. This artist’s real name is Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (born February 8, 1591, Cento, near Ferrara, Papal States, Italy – died December 22, 1666, Bologna). He was an Italian painter whose frescoes freshly exploited the illusionistic ceiling, making a profound impact on 17th-century Baroque decoration. His nickname Il Guercino (“The Squinting One”) was derived from a physical defect.

Guercino received his earliest training locally, but the formative influence on his style came from Bologna, especially from the naturalistic paintings of Lodovico Carracci. Such early works as “Madonna in Glory with Saints and a Donor” (1616; Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels) have large forms, strong colour, and broad, vigorous brushwork. His method of using light and shadow was unrelated to the discoveries of Caravaggio and was derived from Bologna and Venice, which Guercino visited in 1618.

In 1621 Guercino went to Rome, where he played an important role in the evolution of Roman High Baroque art. Among many other commissions, he decorated the Casino Ludovisi. The main fresco, “Aurora,” on the ceiling of the Grand Hall, is a spirited romantic work, painted to appear as though there were no ceiling, so that the viewer could see Aurora’s chariot moving directly over the building. Yet it already reveals something of the crucial experience of his stay in Rome, his contact with Pope Gregory XV’s private secretary, Monsignor Agucchi, a propagandist for the classicism of Annibale Carracci’s balanced and restrained Roman style.

Guercino seems to have tried to make his own style conform with Carraccesque principles, an effort reflected in his “Sta. Petronilla” (1621; Capitoline Museum, Rome). On the death of Gregory XV in 1623, Guercino opened a studio in Cento. Then, upon the death of Guido Reni (1642), whose position in Bologna as heir to Annibale Carracci had been unassailable, he moved to that city, where he was the leading painter until his death. Some of Guercino’s late works, such as “Abraham Driving Out Hagar and Ishmael” (1657–58; Brera Picture Gallery, Milan), are impressive achievements, but other paintings seem weak or sentimental.

Guercino was remarkable for the extreme rapidity of his executions: he completed no fewer than 106 large altarpieces for churches, and his other paintings amount to about 144. He was also a prolific draughtsman. His opus includes many drawings, usually in ink, washed ink, or red chalk. Most of them were made as preparatory studies for his paintings, but he also drew landscapes, genre subjects, and caricatures for his own enjoyment. Guercino’s drawings are known for their fluent style in which “rapid, calligraphic pen strokes combined with dots, dashes, and parallel hatching lines describe the forms”. Guercino continued to paint and teach until his death in 1666, amassing a notable fortune. As he never married, his estate passed to his nephews, Benedetto Gennari II and Cesare Gennari.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.” - Confucius

It is Chinese New Year’s Eve today and tomorrow the Year of the Snake begins. The year will be 4711 of the Chinese Calendar. Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival. Chinese New Year is the main Chinese festival of the year and it is not a religious event.

As the Chinese use the Lunar calendar for their festivals the date of Chinese New Year changes from year to year. The date corresponds to the new moon in either late January or February. Traditionally, celebrations last for fifteen days, ending on the date of the full moon. In China the public holiday lasts for three days and is the biggest celebration of the year.

The Chinese zodiac follows a twelve-year cycle, each of the years being named after an animal. The Chinese believe that people born in a particular year take on the characteristics of the animal associated with that year. For example, if you are born in the Year of the Snake, you are likely to be charming and a good thinker. You love the finer things in life, so only the best is good enough. Snake people are good at making and saving money. While they are patient, charming and wise, they prefer not to rely on other people.

To celebrate the Chinese New Year, here is some traditional Chinese music, 闗山月 – “The Moon Over Wall Gate at the Frontier”.

新年好 – Happy New Year!