SONG SATURDAY - MAMMY BLUE

Mammy Blue
 

Oh mammy,
Oh mammy, mammy blue...
Mammy blue.
Oh mammy,

Oh mammy, mammy blue...
My mammy blue.
 

Now maybe our forgotten son,
Who wandered off at twenty one.
It's sad to find myself at home,
Why don't you come on around, now?
 

If I could only hold your hand,
And say I'm sorry, Yes I am.
I'm sure you'd really understand,
Oh! Where are you now?
 

The house we set up on the hill,
Its life is standing still.
And memories of my childhood,
Left in my mind.
 

I've been through all walks of life,

I've seen tired, deserted, lonely nights.

And now without you by my side,

How will I survive?

FOOD FRIDAY - LENTIL BURGERS

“A healthy outside starts from the inside.” – Robert Urich
 
For Food Friday, a classic vegetarian treat that packs quite a bit of taste, but also wholesome goodness!
 
Lentil Burgers
Ingredients
 
2 cups dried lentils (cleaned, rinsed and drained)
4 cups water
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 zucchini, finely chopped
1 large carrot, grated
2 tender stalks of celery, finely chopped
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp ground flax seed
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp chickpea flour
2 tbs water
Olive oil for frying
 
Method
Bring 4 cups of water to the boil in a large saucepan. Add the olive oil, lentils and a pinch of salt and return to the boil. Lower the heat, cover and cook for about 20 minutes until the water is absorbed, stirring now and then. Let cool and move the lentils to a large mixing bowl. Mash the lentils with a potato masher until they are completely mashed.
 
Heat a large skillet and add some olive oil. Sauté the onions for about 4 minutes until translucent. Add the zucchini, carrot, celery, garlic, salt and pepper. Sauté about 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add the hot vegetables to the lentils in the bowl. Add the parsley, bread crumbs, flaxseed, Worcestershire sauce and the herbs and spices. In a separate little bowl put the chickpea flour and add two tablespoons of water and mix into a loose paste, which works as a binder. Add this flour and water mixture to the bowl. Mix everything well with your hands. If the mixture seems too loose, add more bread crumbs, while if it feels too dry and tight, add water. Form the lentil mixture into patties. Let them rest for a while in the refrigerator so they will hold their shape better.
 
Heat the large skillet again with some olive oil. Put the lentil patties into the skillet and fry on medium heat for about 8 minutes. Turn them carefully with tongs or a thin spatula so that they brown on both sides. Cook them long enough to be sure they get cooked all the way through. Remove from the pan and serve in wholemeal buns with a fresh green salad, tomatoes and Middle Eastern beetroot pickle.
 
This post is part of the Food Friday meme,
and also part of the Food Trip Friday meme.

LEMURES, LEMURS & LEMURIA

“Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.” - Adam Smith
 
The ancient Romans believed that on May 9^th, 11^th and 13^th the gates between Earth and Hell opened allowing the Lemures (restless spirits) to come into this world. The term larvae was sometimes used synonymously with term Lemures. The male head of each household had to get up at midnight on each of these nights of May and exorcise the Lemures with a special ritual. He washed his hands three times, strode through the house, spitting and tossing black beans behind him that the ghosts were tempted to gather up and consume. Black was the appropriate colour for offerings to chthonic deities. This was repeated nine times. He would wash his hands anew and strike a brass gong, calling out nine times: “Shades of my fathers, depart!”  Because of this and other reasons, May was considered an unlucky month to celebrate marriages in.
 
Lemures represented the wandering and vengeful spirits of those not afforded proper burial, funeral rites or affectionate cult by the living. Ovid considers the Lemures as vagrant, unsatiated and potentially vengeful ancestral gods or spirits of the underworld. To him, the rites of their cult suggest an incomprehensibly archaic, quasi-magical and probably very ancient rural tradition. Four centuries later, St. Augustine describes both the Lemures and the larvae as evil and restless manes that torment and terrify the living: Lares, on the other hand, are good manes.
 
Lemures were formless and liminal, associated with darkness and its dread. William Warde Fowler interprets the gift of beans as an offer of life, and points out that they were a ritual pollution for priests of Jupiter. The Lemures themselves were both fearsome and fearful: Any malevolent shades dissatisfied with the offering of the paterfamilias could be startled into flight by the loud banging of bronze pots.
 
The Lemures inspired Linnaeus’ Modern Latin backformation of “Lemur”. According to Linnaeus’ own explanation, the name was selected because of the nocturnal activity and slow movements of these slender monkeys. Lemurs are a clade of primates endemic to the island of Madagascar. Although lemurs often are confused with ancestral primates, the anthropoid primates (monkeys, apes, and humans) did not evolve from them; instead, lemurs merely share morphological and behavioural traits with basal primates.
 
Lemurs arrived in Madagascar around 62 to 65 million years ago by rafting on mats of vegetation at a time when ocean currents favoured oceanic dispersal to the island. Since that time, lemurs have evolved to cope with an extremely seasonal environment and their adaptations give them a level of diversity that rivals that of all other primate groups. Until shortly after humans arrived on the island around 2,000 years ago, there were lemurs as large as a male gorilla. Today, there are nearly 100 species of lemurs, and most of those species have been discovered or promoted to full species status since the 1990s; however, lemur taxonomic classification is controversial and depends on which species concept is used. Even the higher-level taxonomy is disputed.
 
Lemuria is the name of a hypothetical “lost land” variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The concept arising in the 19th century, is an attempt to account for discontinuities in biogeography; however, the concept of Lemuria has been rendered obsolete by modern theories of plate tectonics. Philip Sclater wrote an article on “The Mammals of Madagascar” in The Quarterly Journal of Science. Using a classification he referred to as lemurs but which included related primate groups, and puzzled by the presence of their fossils in both Madagascar and India but not in Africa or the Middle East, Sclater proposed that Madagascar and India had once been part of a larger continent. He wrote:
 
“The anomalies of the Mammal fauna of Madagascar can best be explained by supposing that ... a large continent occupied parts of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans ... that this continent was broken up into islands, of which some have become amalgamated with ... Africa, some ... with what is now Asia; and that in Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands we have existing relics of this great continent, for which ... I should propose the name Lemuria!”
 
Although sunken continents do exist – like Zealandia in the Pacific as well as Mauritia and the Kerguelen Plateau in the Indian Ocean, there is no known geological formation under the Indian or Pacific Oceans that corresponds to the hypothetical Lemuria. Though Lemuria is no longer considered a valid scientific hypothesis, it has been adopted by writers involved in the occult, as well as some Tamil writers of India. Accounts of Lemuria differ, but all share a common belief that a continent existed in ancient times and sank beneath the ocean as a result of a geological, often cataclysmic, change, such as pole shift.

RED CROSS, RED CRESCENT, RED CRYSTAL

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” - Mahatma Gandhi
 

World Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal Day is an annual celebration of the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. World Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal Day is celebrated on the 8th of May each year. This date is the anniversary of the birth of Henry Dunant (born 8 May 1828), the founder of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize.
 

In 1922, soon after World War I, throughout the world there was a great yearning for peace. In Czechoslovakia, the National Society proclaimed a three-day truce at Easter to promote peace. An eminent government leader of the time summed up the underlying aspirations of that initiative as follows: “Our Red Cross wants to prevent disease so that it will not be obliged to give care; it also wants to encourage our society to prevent wars rather than having to bear the serious consequences involved. We all know the importance of the moral potential it brings into being and extends to all sections of the community. If its annual action could take hold in the whole world, this would certainly be a major contribution to peace.”
 

This was a presage of what was to become World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day. The Czechoslovak initiative, known as the “Red Cross Truce”, had a big impact on the public, but met with some scepticism among National Society leaders. As a result the 14th International Conference of the Red Cross set up an International Commission to study the Red Cross Truce. Its report, presented to the 15th International Conference in Tokyo in 1934, stated that it approved the principle of the Truce and considered it advisable that its application be made more general, from the point of view of methodology, taking into account the various cultural and social characteristics of different regions of the world.
 

It was only after World War II, in 1946, that the Tokyo proposal was put into effect. During the XIVth Session of the Board of Governors of the League of Red Cross Societies, later called the General Assembly of the International Federation of Red Cross Societies, the League was requested to study the possibility of adopting an international Red Cross Day, to be celebrated on the same date by all National Societies. Two years later, following approval by the Federation’s Executive Committee, Red Cross Day was celebrated for the first time throughout the world on 8 May 1948, the anniversary of the birth of Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross. It subsequently changed names several times and in 1984 became “World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day”.
 

Despite the red cross and red crescent being intended only as neutral humanitarian emblems, on occasion, over decades, they were wrongly perceived as having religious, cultural and political connotations. Sadly this diminished the protection they offered to vulnerable people in conflict zones. The solution, endorsed by governments and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, was the creation of a third emblem, known as the red crystal. In December 2005, at a Diplomatic Conference, the nations party to the Geneva Conventions adopted a Third Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, establishing the red crystal as an emblem of protection equal in status to the cross and crescent. This resolution of the issue offers enhanced protection in regions where neither the red cross nor the red crescent emblem is accepted - and allows all nations to choose the emblem with which they are comfortable.
 

The Australian Red Cross harnesses the power of humanity, providing relief in times of crisis, care when it’s needed most and commitment when others turn away. Red Cross is there for people in need, no matter who these people are, no matter where they live. Tens of millions of people around the world each year and care for local communities in Australia and Asia Pacific are cared for by the Australian Red Cross. Much of the valuable work of the Red Cross is carried out by millions of volunteers worldwide and thousands of members, volunteers and supporters across Australia we can reach people and places like nobody else.

LILITH AND EVE

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.” - George Bernard Shaw
 

Magpie Tales has presented us with a painting by Mary Cassatt (1844 - 1926), the American impressionist painter, to stimulate our literary creativity. The painting is “Young Woman Picking the Fruit of Knowledge” of 1892. Here is my poem that was inspired by this painting.
 

Lilith
 

Eve reaches out to pluck the fruit;
Forbidden – yet so tempting.
She hesitates and thinks
Of Lilith’s fate:
Wild-spirited and wilful,
Free, yet doomed to be alone…
 

The blush of ripeness
The fragrance of maturity;
Low-hanging, inviting,
Ready to be plucked.
Lilith would not have hesitated,
But look at her fate, damned…
 

Eve touches the swollen ovary
And feels a burst of power.
Even its touch is forceful,
How can one not taste its flesh?
Lilith surely bit into the fruit
And tasted its juice…
 

She picks it and her head explodes
With inrushing knowledge.
Her breast swells as her heart beats fast,
And she is struck dumb by the guilt.
Lilith would have not minded
The realisation of her nakedness…
 

Eve bites the fruit, and the sap
Tastes sweet, but has a bitter aftertaste.
Knowledge is useless
Without the company of wisdom.
Unlike Lilith, Eve harvests foolishness
But her wiles will trap Adam,
Who willingly must share her iniquity.
Eve, more cunning, more guilty,
Than the emancipated, wiser, more genuine Lilith.
 

(Lilith is a female demon of Jewish folklore; her name and personality are derived from the class of Mesopotamian demons called lilû (feminine: lilītu). In rabbinic literature Lilith is variously depicted as the first wife and mother of Adam’s demonic offspring, who left him because of their incompatibility. Three angels tried in vain to force her return; the evil she threatened, especially against children, was said to be counteracted by the wearing of an amulet bearing the names of the angels. A cult associated with Lilith survived among some Jews as late as the 7th century AD).

MOVIE MONDAY - ADÈLE BLANC-SEC

“All the works of man have their origin in creative fantasy. What right have we then to depreciate imagination.” - Carl Jung
 

We watched a rather delightful French, fantasy/adventure film at the weekend, which is based on a French comic book heroine. It was the 2010 Luc Besson movie, “The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec”, starring Louise Bourgoin, Mathieu Amalric and Gilles Lellouche. The screenplay was by Luc Besson and was based on the Jacques Tardi comic book series. The film was reminiscent of the Tin-Tin film or even the Indiana Jones series. Bresson uses live actors aided by suitable CGI, when required, to create a rollicking adventure full of humour and action. As one would expect in a fantasy film, the plot is quite unbelievable and over the top, however, if one has enjoyed films of the likes of Harry Potter, the why not dive into this film and savour its acidic sweetness reminiscent of a soft, sugary, little French dragée?
 

The plot centres on Mlle Adèle Blanc-Sec, a popular novelist and daring adventuress, who is fearless in her pursuit of knowledge, thrills and setting right wrongs in the name of good causes. Her latest mission is prompted by her desperation to cure her comatose sister. Adèle braves ancient Egyptian tombs and modern Egyptian lowlife to locate a renowned mummified doctor who has the ability to cure all manner of ills, and get him back to Paris. Her hope is that the magician-like Professor Espérandieu will then use his unusual powers to bring the doctor back to life so he, in turn, can use his centuries-old skills to cure Adèle’s unfortunate sister. Back in Paris, however, Professor Espérandieu is causing mayhem, having brought to life what was a safe fossilised museum egg, but is now a very active and predatory pterodactyl (thanks to CGI!).
 

When watching the film, one is struck by some great positive features that make it very enjoyable: Great, rollicking pace, wonderful editing, fantastic sets and costumes, sympathetic music, and a marvellous leading actress. This is in fact Louise Bourgoin’s film from beginning to end and she carries the movie with no apparent effort, slipping into the essence of the character of Mlle Adèle Blanc-Sec.
 

The rapid pace and exemplary editing is reminiscent of the shift from from panel to panel in a comic book. However, readers of the Tardi comics may be a trifle disappointed as Adéle in the movie has been “scrubbed clean” and has lost some of her sarcasm, her grungy charm and her characteristic bohemian lifestyle. In fact, the whole of Paris has been cleaned up, as the comics are darker and more menacing, full of lowlifes, incompetent policemen, rabid lunatics and sorry invalids of the war roaming the dirty streets. Nevertheless, the film works well and one must allow the poetic licence of the director deliver his own vision of Adèle.
 

Luc Besson has made some very memorable and enduring contemporary films such as action thrillers like “Nikita” and “Leon the Professional”, and wonderful science fiction cult films such as “The Fifth Element”. If you enjoyed the last mentioned film, you will no doubt love “Adèle”. Besson must have had great fun making this movie and his direction is snappy and delightful. The actors seem to be having great fun also and in addition to Ms Bourgoin’s great efforts, all supporting actors do a marvellous job to propel the action forward.
 

Unfortunately this film didn’t do too well in France and with a budget of 25 million euros, the worldwide box-office sum of $34 million on 6 May 2011, indicates that the film did not live up to the profit-making expectations of the producers. Although there is a hint of a sequel in the closing scenes, I don’t foresee one coming up in the near future… Watch this one and enjoy it.

BELATED ART SUNDAY - MANET

“I’m a girl from a good family who was very well brought up. One day I turned my back on it all and became a bohemian.” - Brigitte Bardot
 
Édouard Manet was born into a wealthy family on the 23 January 1832, in Paris, France. His father was a civil servant who wanted Manet to enter into the French navy. However, after Édouard visited Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, twice on training missions and failing the course, his father accepted that the navy was not the right career for his son. Consequently Manet entered into the atelier of Thomas Couture alongside his good friend Antonio Proust.
 
Manet worked in Couture’s studio until 1856 at which time he opened his own. Manet then went on to reject the teachings of Couture and worked in his own personal style. Manet did not like to layer his paints and preferred to work from subject matter that was directly in front of him and it was this painting style that went onto influence the Impressionists’ work.
 
By 1860 Manet was living with his mistress, Suzanne Leenhoff (his family’s piano teacher), who had previously had a relationship with Manet’s father. Manet’s private life was controversial. He finally married Suzanne who had her own child. It is unknown whether Manet was the father or brother of the child; however, he treated the boy as his own.
 
In the early 1860s Manet submitted a number of paintings, such as “Olympia” and “The Luncheon on the Grass” to the Salon jury. These were unfortunately rejected and the artist was left despondent, due to his belief that an artist had to have their work accepted into the Salon in order to be deemed successful.
 
In 1868 Manet was introduced to the artist Berthe Morisot and the two quickly became firm friends. Through Morisot, Manet was introduced to the other Impressionists, who he was soon considered to be a leader of although he never joined their art shows.
 
With the Prussian war approaching Manet joined the army and evacuated his family from the city. During this period his art production came to a standstill. Manet became ill in 1879 and eventually passed away in 1883.
 
Édouard Manet was an artist who bridged the gap between Realism and Impressionism. During his time Manet considered himself to be a Realist artist and he classed his work as sincere. However, his radical painting style and modern subject matter highly influenced the work of the Impressionists, which has led to him being perceived as the father of Impressionism.
 
The vast majority of Manet’s paintings depict scenes from daily life, observed on the streets of Paris. His café scenes serve as fascinating windows into the actuality of Parisian social life at the end of the nineteenth century, showing common people waiting, reading, listening to music, drinking, or talking amongst themselves. His paintings were often based on hastily executed sketches of scenes he stumbled upon on the street. The immediacy of Manet’s “alla prima” style was quickly embraced by the younger generation, who later became the Impressionists. The alla prima style meant that a painting did not have to take months to create and allowed artists to paint from difficult to reach viewpoints. This was advantageous for Manet because he preferred to paint from reality rather than his imagination or dozens of pre-worked sketches and study paintings.
 
In the 1920s many critics were considering Manet’s work to be “pure painting”, fitting in with the Realist ideology. However in 1954 the Swede art critic Nils Gosta Sandblad began to look at Manet’s work as highly modern and having been indicative of future art trends (beyond Impressionism). This idea has carried on until modern times and today Manet is considered by many to have been an artist genius.
 
The painting above,  “Chez le père Lathuille”, of 1879, in Musée des Beaux-Arts Tournai, shows Manet’s mature style to advantage. The alla prima technique, allowing great immediacy takes us into this intimate scene of a lovers’ assignation in one of the cafés of Paris. The tender moment is observed from the distance by the waiter, who seems to be more interested in the artist rather than the young lovers. The painting is similar to a candid snapshot in this manner. The colours coruscate and the composition is masterly with the strong green vertical beam acting as the fulcrum for the strong horizontal of the white tablecloth. The figures are in perfect harmony, the artist having chosen to keep the formally dressed woman’s face rather obscure (does her stiff pose suggest that she is married? Is this an illicit meeting?), while the casual dress and pose of the man (an artist?) and his relaxed grasp of the full wine glass make one equate him with temptation personified. This is quite the illustration of La vie bohémienne!

HAPPY EASTER!

“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” - Psalm 118:24
 
Easter Saturday and the day was devoted to going to church. We visited two Orthodox churches, one Russian and one Greek. Orthodox Easter is full of traditions and the liturgies of the Holy Week are quite moving.
 
Here is the Resurrection troparion (hymn), “Christos Anesti” – Christ is Risen. The troparion is first sung during the Paschal Vigil at the end of the procession around the church, which takes place at the beginning of Matins. When all are gathered before the church’s closed front door, the clergy and faithful take turns chanting the troparion.

The troparion in the original Greek:
Χριστὸς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν,
θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας,
καὶ τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι,
ζωὴν χαρισάμενος!
 
Transliteration:
Christós anésti ek nekrón,
thanáto thánaton patísas,
ké tís en tís mnímasi,
zoín charisámenos!
 
A typical translation in English runs:
Christ is risen from the dead,
Trampling down death by death,
And upon those in the tombs
Bestowing life!

Happy Easter! Καλή Ανάσταση!

GREEK EASTER COOKIES

“My mom used to say that Greek Easter was later because then you get stuff cheaper.” - Amy Sedaris
 
Great Thursday of the Holy Week in the Orthodox Church calendar is devoted to kitchen duties in the home, in order to prepare for Easter. Eggs are dyed blood red to signify Christ’s resurrection, sweet Easter bread is baked and Easter cookies are prepared for Easter Sunday. Both bread and cookies are full of eggs, butter and milk, all of which were forbidden foods during the period of fasting of the Great Lent. Here is a recipe for Greek Easter Cookies:
 
GREEK EASTER COOKIES (KOULOURAKIA)

Ingredients

            • 2 eggs (+1 for glazing)

            • 550 g of self raising flour

            • 125 g unsalted butter

            • 1/2 cup of milk

            • 1 cup sugar

            • 1/2 tsp baking powder

            • 1/2 tsp vanillin sugar
 
Method
Cream the butter and the sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add the whole two eggs, beating continuously. Add the milk a little at a time, whilst continuing to beat the mixture. Mix the baking powder and vanillin sugar with the flour and add to the mixture while stirring. Knead into a soft dough. Roll into long cylinders slightly thicker than a pencil (they rise a lot). Shape into small plaits and put into a greased baking tray. Brush with beaten egg and bake in a pre-heated oven at 175˚C until golden brown.
 
This post is part of the Food Friday meme,
and also part of the Food Trip Friday meme.

GREEK EASTER

“Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.” - Khalil Gibran
 
In 2013, Greek Orthodox Easter falls on Sunday May 5th. This is much later than both Western Easter (in 2013 31st March, in case you’ve forgotten) and the Jewish feast of Passover (the latter is significant as according to the scriptures, the Passion of Christ occurred in connection with Passover). Colleagues always ask me why is Greek Easter on a different date? Well, not always! Some years it is actually on the same date (e.g. 2014, 2017). How is Greek Easter calculated? Well, it’s complicated!
 
Calculation of Orthodox Easter is governed by these three main conditions:

1. It must be based on the Julian (as in Julius Caesar) calendar, not the Gregorian (as in Pope Gregory) calendar

2. It must be after the Jewish holiday of Passover

3. It must be on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox, which for this purpose is fixed as March 21st.
 
The basic reason for the difference between the two Easters is that the Western Easter uses a different set of calculations based on the current Gregorian calendar created by Pope Gregory instead of the ancient Julian one, first used under the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. Under the Gregorian system, Easter can actually be in March, something that will not happen with the Julian-based method of calculating Easter.
 
For a full (and fascinating!) explanation on the intricacies of calculating Easter dates, please see Claus Tøndering’s Calendar FAQ excellent site, which one can find other fascinating facts about the various world calendars.
 
Both Orthodox and Western Christian churches celebrate Easter for the same reason, of course: The resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter Sunday or Resurrection Day is typically the most well-attended Sunday service of the year for all Christian churches. Christians believe, according to Scripture, that Jesus came back to life, or was raised from the dead, three days after his death on the cross. As part of the Easter season, the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion is commemorated on Good Friday, always the Friday just before Easter. Through his death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus paid the penalty for sin, thus purchasing for all who believe in him, eternal life in Christ Jesus.
 
Because of Easter’s pagan origins (named after the pagan Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring and fertility, Eostre, or Ôstara), and also because of the commercialisation of Easter, many Christian churches choose to refer to the holiday as Resurrection Day. In Greek, Easter is termed “Pascha”, derived from the Jewish “Pesach” – Passover.

IT'S ALL ACADEMIC

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.” - Dr. Seuss
 

Magpie Tales has provided an illustration British illustrator Helen Ward as a visual prompt for today’s literary offerings. Helen Ward has illustrated many children’s books, and an excellent interview can be found here, which describes her life and work. With apologies to Ms Ward for my alteration of her illustration, here is my offering:
 
An Academic Discourse
 
Two rabbits, some hares,
Were splitting their hairs:
Their intent to argue creation,
Rain, and such condensation.
 
A rat, a gnat and two moles
Were digging four holes,
Deep in which to inter
Bread, butter, liqueur.
 
A frog from a bog and a hen
Constructed a large pen
To herd mewling cats,
All wearing elegant hats.
 
A badger, a toad, carrying a load
Conversed in Morse code,
While giving great pain
To everyone’s brain.
 
A stoat and a goat, quick to emote,
Cried long in their boat,
Their tears enough, no surprise,
To make it capsize.
 
And there were you, I,
And a blue-bottle fly,
Singing in tune under full moon,
Sometime in late June,
While pigs flew overhead
And our theories misled.

MOVIE MONDAY - WHAT I WON'T WATCH

“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” - Albert Einstein
 
I must confess that like any one of us I have my faults. One always tries of course to better oneself and expunge parts of one’s character or disposition that are unwholesome or irritating or annoying, even (or especially!) to oneself. However, there is a batch of niggling traits, ideas, misconceptions, petty prejudices and irrational little bêtes noires that seem to stick and pepper one’s life with their absurdity. One example of such a dislike of mine is the antipathy I have towards Facebook. Even though I consider myself technology savvy (even geeky to a certain extent), even though I blog, tweet, pin things on Pinterest, subscribe to LinkedIn, etc, etc, I took an instant dislike to Facebook as soon as it appeared on the horizon and have never fallen to the temptation to even try it out. As I said, it may be quite irrational, but there it is, it’s just me…
 
Now how does this relate to Movie Monday? I was thinking about films I had seen to review for today and then the thought struck me, what about the movies I haven’t seen – or worse still, the films I refuse to see… “The Social Network” (2010) is an obvious example. Friends who have seen it and recommend it, are mystified when I inform them that I won’t watch it. I have absolutely no interest at all in this film or its bunch of geeky heroes, that are one of the real life success stories of the 21st century “.com bubble”. My antipathy to Facebook has been transferred to the film – sight unseen.
 
Another film I would not see is “Sex and the City” (2008).  Once again, I am showing my prejudices here, as I have not watched a single episode of the TV series. Just reading the description of the series and plot outline of the first episode was enough to put me off. Watching the film trailer out the cherry on top of the cake and confirmed my dislike. Something about the concept, something about the leading actresses, something about the setting and the whole conceit of the thing was quite distasteful for me.
 
Another set of movies that are do not appeal is the recent clutch of reprocessed and transmogrified fairy tales of the ilk of “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” (2013) and “Jack the Giant Slayer” (2013). From the publicity material that is being splattered across the internet, I have been completely put off the Hollywoodised CGI-rich, updated and modernised tales that to me reek of the ludicrous – a modern version of “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” (1964). Not that fairy tales are not fantasy, but there is good fantasy and bad fantasy…
 
Then there is another group of “contemporary” comedies which seem to rely on the scatological, grubby, slimy, profane humour, and in which is a cast of unlikeable antiheroes that give me the willies even when I see the movie poster or DVD cover. “Get Him to the Greek” (2010) is an example, as is “Wayne’s World” (1992) or “The Campaign” (2012).
 
As I am not a spectator sportsman nor a couch potato sports fan, so movies about sports, sportspeople, teams and struggles of sportspeople to get to the top of the pecking order in sportsdom leave me quite cold. “Million Dollar Baby” (2004) seems quite distasteful to me from the plot description and the trailer, although some friends have recommended it highly to me. “Coach Carter” (2005), “Resurrecting the Champ" (2007) and a multitude of movies about baseball and football (e.g. “Remember the Titans" [2000]), also leave extremely cold.
 
There are many others, of course, but that’s enough of my ranting for today. If you think you have a good reason that will make me shed my prejudices about any one of these films, please tell me. I’m always willing to reform, if I am shown the error of my ways…

ART SUNDAY - ARTHUR STREETON

“Any landscape is a condition of the spirit.” – Henri-Frédéric Amiel
 

The Australian landscape painter Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (1867-1943) was a leading member of the Heidelberg school, the Australian version of impressionism, which became widespread in Australia in the last quarter of the 19th century. The artist, nicknamed, “Smike” was born at Mt. Duneed, near Geelong in Victoria on 8th April 1867. He showed a leaning towards art and an early aptitude for sketching. Moving to Melbourne, he became a lithographer’s apprentice, and while still in his teens he began studying at the National Gallery Art School.
 

When the painter Tom Roberts returned to Melbourne in 1885, the impressionist principles he brought back inspired a group of young artists. These artists became the Heidelberg School (named from the locale of the group’s principal painting camp, overlooking the river Yarra, near Melbourne – Heidelberg is now a Melbourne suburb). Streeton joined the group in 1886 and was deeply influenced by impressionism. But he saw the need to stress high-key tonal values in order to translate into paint “the blue of the Australian skies and the clear transparency of Australian distances”. His ideas took him on a brand new course and his canvasses inspired many an artist that worked in the Heidelberg School.
 

After the sale of one of his landscapes in 1888, Streeton decided to abandon lithography. His artistic skill matured quickly, and “Golden Summer” and “Still Glides the Stream” (both painted in 1888) are among his most notable paintings. In 1889 he and the Heidelberg group exhibited “9 × 5 Impressions” (paintings on the 9”x5” cigar-box lids) and the proceeds of the sales enabled Streeton to pursue his career. Much of his finest work was done in the next few years, such as the “Purple Noon’s Transparent Might” (1896) – an iconic Australian art work. This painting clearly shows the harsh light and brilliant colours that Streeton had to adapt the impressionist technique to in Australia.
 

In 1898 Streeton went to London. On his return to Melbourne in 1907 he had a successful exhibition with good sales. His “Australia Felix” dates from this year. A one-man show in Sydney and a second in Melbourne followed. Back in London, he had little difficulty in securing commissions. Nevertheless, the Paris Salon awarded him its Gold Medal in 1909.
 

Streeton joined the British army as a private in 1914. After being invalided out, early in 1918 he was commissioned by the Australian government as a war artist. After spending 2 years in Melbourne and then revisiting London, Streeton decided in 1923 to return permanently to Victoria. From his home in the picturesque hill country east of Melbourne, he continued to paint in his established manner. He was knighted in 1937 and died at Olinda, Victoria, on September 1, 1943.
 

Streeton was a pioneer of the heroic impressionism, the style which dominated the nation’s art for half a century, beginning in the 1880s. In settings of well-clothed rolling countryside, his paintings invested the continent’s fertile pastoral lands with a truly Arcadian grandeur. His contemporaries saw him as a true product of “the sun and soil of his land”, and he was acknowledged to be “a natural technician, with virtuosity and technical perfection including correct drawing and balanced design”.
 

The painting above from 1888 is “Early Summer - Gorse in Bloom” painted when the artist was 21 years old. It is presently exhibited in the Art Gallery of South Australia, and is a work in oils on canvas, 56.2 cm by 100.6 cm. It is typical of Streeton’s Australian impressionist landscapes, with the brilliance of the blue sky complemented by the yellow blooms of the gorse bushes. Common gorse is the most widely familiar species (Ulex europaeus) of this genus, and is the only species native to much of Western Europe. In many areas of North America (notably California and Oregon), southern South America, Australia, New Zealand and Hawai’i, the Common Gorse, introduced as an ornamental plant or hedge, has become naturalised and is a weed and invasive species due to its aggressive seed dispersal; it has proved very difficult to eradicate and detrimental in native habitats.
 

That gorse is a central part of this canvas is perhaps ironic, given Streeton’s commitment to creating an “Australian” art, seeing how the species is an introduced invasive plant. Perhaps, this is symbolic of the transplantation of French impressionism on Australian soil and its immense influence for many decades in the Australian art scene…

SERENE SATURDAY

“We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person.” - W. Somerset Maugham
 
A delightful Saturday, including warm, mellow Autumn weather. The chores of the weekend accomplished, the afternoon and evening were devoted to leisure and the celebration of an anniversary. Happy times, where contentment and gratitude for one’s lot were at the forefront.
 
Here are the gentle delights of the first Arabesque, from the pen of Claude Debussy, performed by Stephen Malinowski.

FOOD FRIDAY - PUMPKIN RISOTTO

“Without rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook” – Chinese Proverb
 
Autumn is with us and there is a wealth of autumn vegetables available fresh at the greengrocer’s. The pumpkins, squash and zucchini are at their best this season, so why not try this delicious recipe for pumpkin risotto?
 
Pumpkin Risotto
Ingredients
 
1kg butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
4 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch rosemary leaves picked, roughly chopped
1½ L vegetable stock
50g butter
1 onion , finely chopped
300g Arborio risotto rice
1 small glass white wine
100g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
 
Method
First prepare the pumpkin. Heat oven to 220˚C/fan-forced. Toss the pumpkin in 2 tbsp oil together with the chopped rosemary. Scatter into a shallow roasting tin and roast for 30 mins until pumpkin is cooked and soft.
 
While the pumpkin is roasting, prepare the risotto. Bring the stock to the boil and keep on a low simmer. In a separate pan, melt half the butter over a medium heat. Stir in the onions and sweat gently for 8-10 minutes until soft but not coloured, stirring occasionally. Stir the rice into the onions until completely coated in the butter, then stir continuously until the rice is shiny and the edges of the grain start to look transparent.
 
Pour in the wine and simmer until totally evaporated. Add the stock, a ladleful at a time and stirring the rice over a low heat for 25-30 minutes, until the rice is cooked. The risotto should be creamy and slightly soupy. When you draw a wooden spoon through it, there should be a wake that holds for a few moments but not longer.
 
When the pumpkin is cooked, mash half of it to a rough purée and leave half whole. When the risotto is just done, stir though the purée, then add the cheese and butter and leave to rest for a few minutes. Serve the risotto scattered with the whole chunks of pumpkin.
 
This post is part of the Food Friday meme,
and also part of the Food Trip Friday meme.

ST MARK

“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” - Blaise Pascal
 
Today is St Mark’s Feast Day, as celebrated by the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Greek Orthodox faiths. St Mark, a Christian apostle, is traditional author of the second Gospel. He lived in Jerusalem and the early Christians met at Mary’s (his mother), house. He accompanied St. Paul and St. Barnabas to Cyprus, but he left them at Perga and returned to Jerusalem. St. Peter is thought to have provided him with many of the facts on which he based his Gospel.
 
The Alexandrian church claims Mark as its founder (the liturgy of that church is called St Mark’s Liturgy).  His symbol as an Evangelist is the lion.  The cathedral of Venice is dedicated to St Mark and holds his relics, while the city of Venice itself has adopted the lion as its symbol. The Gospel according to St Mark is the second book of the New Testament. It is the simplest and earliest of the Gospels (written probably between 65-70 AD) and used as a source by Matthew and Luke, hence these three gospels are called the synoptic gospels.
 
St Mark’s gospel was presumably written during the decade preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Most scholars agree that it was used by Matthew and Luke in composing their accounts; more than 90 percent of the content of Mark’s Gospel appears in Matthew’s, and more than 50 percent in the Gospel of Luke. Although the text lacks literary polish, it is simple and direct; and, as the earliest Gospel, it is the primary source of information about the ministry of Jesus.
 
Mark’s explanations of Jewish customs and his translations of Aramaic expressions suggest that he was writing for Gentile converts, probably especially for those converts living in Rome. After an introduction (1:1-13), the Gospel describes Jesus’ ministry in and around Galilee (1:14-8:26); his journey to Jerusalem (11-13); the Passion (14-15); and the Resurrection (16). The final passage in Mark (16:9-20) is omitted in some manuscripts, including the two oldest, and a shorter passage is substituted in others.
 
Many scholars believe that these last verses were not written by Mark, at least not at the same time as the balance of the Gospel, but were added later to account for the Resurrection. Mark’s Gospel stresses the deeds, strength, and determination of Jesus in overcoming evil forces and defying the power of imperial Rome. Mark also emphasises the Passion, predicting it as early as chapter 8 and devoting the final third of his Gospel (11-16) to the last week of Jesus’ life.
 
One of the most striking elements in the Gospel is Mark’s characterisation of Jesus as reluctant to reveal himself as the Messiah. Jesus refers to himself only as the Son of Man, and while tacitly acknowledging Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Christ, he nevertheless cautions his followers not to tell anyone about him.

ANZAC DAY 2013

“If we don’t end war, war will end us.” - H. G. Wells
 
With Anzac Day coming around again this year it was distressing to hear that some radical groups are agitating to stop “celebrating” this day. What was offensive to me was firstly the choice of the word “celebrate”. Anzac Day is a “commemorative” day, not a “celebratory” one. My dictionary advises:
 
celebrate |ˈsɛlɪbreɪt| verb

1 publicly acknowledge (a significant or happy day or event) with a social gathering or enjoyable activity: They were celebrating their wedding anniversary at a swanky restaurant.
 
commemorate |kəˈmɛməreɪt| verb

recall and show respect for (someone or something): A wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the war dead.
 
Anzac Day is one of Australia’s most important national commemorative occasions. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. It falls on the 25th of April each year, and this day was officially named Anzac Day in 1916. Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. On the 25th of April 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. It is a sad day, one for contemplation not for celebration…
 
On the morning of 25 April 1915, the Anzacs set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. The objective was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and an ally of Germany. 

The Anzacs landed on Gallipoli and met fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. Their plan to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. 

At the end of 1915, the allied forces were evacuated. Both sides suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed. News of the landing on Gallipoli and the events that followed had a profound impact on Australians at home. The 25th of April soon became the day on which Australians remember the sacrifice of those who had died in the war.
 
In the multicultural community that is Australia, it is not only the Anglosphere Australians that commemorate Anzac Day. Turkish Australians join in the commemoration and remember their own dead. Both sides of past war remember the loss of life and commiserate with each other on the tragic waste of youth and resources that war effects on all sides. With the coming of the Second World War, Anzac Day also serves to commemorate the lives of Australians who died in that war. The meaning of Anzac Day today includes the remembrance of all Australians killed in military operations.
 
Commemorative services that are held at dawn are a characteristic feature of the day, remembering the time of the original landing in Gallipoli. Later in the day, ex-servicemen and women meet to take part in marches through the major cities and in many smaller centres. Commemorative ceremonies are held at war memorials around the country. A typical Anzac Day ceremony may include the following features: An introduction, hymn, prayer, an address, laying of wreaths, a recitation, the Last Post, a period of silence, either the Rouse or the Reveille, and the national anthem. After the Memorial’s ceremony, families often place red poppies beside the names of relatives on the Memorial’s Roll of Honour, as they also do after Remembrance Day services. Rosemary is also symbolic of the day, as it is a symbol of remembrance and it also is found to this day growing wild on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
 
Some people find it easier to hate than to love. Some find it easier to divide rather than to unite. These same radical people with extreme political and/or religious views can take any occasion and use it as an excuse to polarise the population, fan latent flames of prejudice, ignite embers of old hatreds, stress greatly points of difference and incite disruption, violence and ill-will. Days such as Anzac Day should be used as a powerful means of bringing together people who remember a shared experience of loss and remember those whose lives were cut short. Anzac Day is an opportunity for aspiring to peace, while remembering war. Anzac Day should unite, not divide.

POSTCARD FROM ADELAIDE

“One travels more usefully when alone, because he reflects more.” - Thomas Jefferson
 

I am in Adelaide for work and it is quite pleasant to be here as I always enjoy visiting this city. Adelaide is one of those state capitals in Australia that has a wonderful atmosphere, combining all of the facilities and comforts of a large urban centre, but also retaining some of the homely characteristics of a country town, or even a vacation retreat in some of the suburbs, especially along the coast. The way that the central business district is surrounded by parks and gardens is quite amazing and even the suburbs are very green and attractive. The Adelaide Hills close to the city provide an amazing array of sights, activities and other attractions for visitors. The wine growing regions in the regional area adjacent tot Adelaide are another focal point for visitors.
 

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. According to the 2011 census, Adelaide has a population of 1.23 million. The demonym “Adelaidean” is used in reference to the city and its residents. Adelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges which surround the city. Adelaide stretches 20 km from the coast to the foothills, and 90 km from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south.
 

Named in honour of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen consort to King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for a freely settled British province in Australia. Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city and chose its location close to the River Torrens in the area originally inhabited by the Kaurna people. Light’s design set out Adelaide in a grid layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by parkland. Early Adelaide was shaped by religious freedom and a commitment to political progressivism and civil liberties, which led to the sobriquet “City of Churches”.
 

As South Australia’s seat of government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the city centre along the cultural boulevard of North Terrace, King William Street and in various districts of the metropolitan area. Today, Adelaide is noted for its many festivals and sporting events, its food, wine and culture, its long beachfronts, and its large defence and manufacturing sectors. It ranks highly in terms of liveability, being listed in the Top 10 of The Economist's World’s Most Liveable Cities index in 2010, 2011 and 2012. It has also been ranked the most liveable city in Australia by the Property Council of Australia in 2011, 2012 and again in 2013.

MOVIE MONDAY - ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ

“Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it.” - Malcolm X
 

I must say that I have grown to like what Clint Eastwood has achieved in the movies. Beginning from a rather mundane and stock acting career as a Hollywood tough man, he has matured into a redoubtable character actor and significant director. Having seen some of his recent films such as “Gran Torino”, it is difficult perhaps to go back and appreciate his earlier work with equal fervour. However, there are still some gems (I guess we can call them classics), which will remain in his oeuvre as landmark works. We watched one of these again last weekend and it was a very enjoyable experience.

It was the 1979 Don Siegel film “Escape from Alcatraz”, starring Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Roberts Blossom. It is one of those films which although deals with a stock plot contains such an excellent cast and builds up to a well thought out climax via series of engaging episodes, that it easily becomes one of the classics. The characters also help, of course, as does the direction and cinematography. The plot is based on a true story and perhaps that is part of the appeal of the film, but also maybe it is the fascination that seizes the viewers when they realise that suddenly one feels a sense of sympathy for the antiheroes that the cast comprises – a group of prisoners locked up in Alcatraz, some for the rest of their lives, some for having committed heinous crimes.
 

This is very much Clint Eastwood’s film and his solid, tough man performance sustains it with every other character very much dependent on his. In the 29 years of Alcatraz’s existence, and despite almost impregnable defences, 39 prisoners tried to escape from this maximum-security prison during its existence. Thirty six of these escapees failed. This film is about the other three, of whom nothing is known. They may have drowned in San Francisco Bay, or they may have got away. Eastwood plays Frank Morris, a new prisoner brought to Alcatraz for bank robbery, and his induction into the prison including an interview with the sadistic warden (Patrick McGoohan) plunges us straight into the claustrophobic environment of the prison.
 

Frank finds his new fellow inmates to be overtly hostile or hopeless and resigned to their fate. Among the desperate prisoners, Frank meets “Doc” Dalton (Roberts Blossom), a convict with a talent for painting who resorts to violence when the warden refuses to let him paint. The Anglin brothers, Clarence (Jack Thibeau) and John (Fred Ward) are a pair of prisoners with a reputation for attempting to escape from the prisons they have been incarcerated in. Frank and the Anglins put into action an audacious escape plan. Using stolen spoons they dig their way to a ventilation shaft while an elaborate camouflage scheme keeps their activities covert.
 

The film doesn’t contain mindless fight scenes, impossible action scenes, cartoon-like special effects or cardboard cutout characters that film-makers nowadays are obsessed about. It is a well-realised story of an escape from a high security prison. Some aspects may be considered clichés but they are part of the story and not all of it. By concentrating on the brutality of the warden’s mini empire the film makes the viewer sympathise with the escapees at the price of suggesting that prison break-outs are actually a good thing. This is a successful film that has aged well, with no excess sentiment or melodrama. The plot concentrates on the unadorned details of the story, and the director uses a subtle approach to bring the full force of the story out.
 

Fans of Eastwood and McGoohan, who both give excellent performances, will appreciate this movie. Prison movie fans will love this movie. Fans of suspense movies in general should love this. If you are after endless fight scenes, car chases, violence for the sake of it, computer generated special effects and explosions, don’t bother looking at this movie. It is instead an intelligent, low-key suspense movie, with excellent performances all around.  We watched it again with the same interest as we did several years ago and we highly recommend it.

ART SUNDAY - LEONARDO'S INVENTIONS

“Necessity is the mother of invention.” -  Plato
 

I have already featured Leonardo da Vinci previously in this blog for Art Sunday, however, since it was his birthday on April 15, I blog about him once again! His life and work is a treasure trove of interesting and astonishing marvels, so there is no shortage of things to admire, delight in or marvel at.
 

Leonardo da Vinci, was born out of wedlock on April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Italy (near Florence), Leonardo’s illegitimate standing kept him from receiving a good education and excluded him from the more lucrative occupations. Perhaps one may conjecture that it was because of such limitations that Leonardo’s desire for knowledge and great ambition were fanned.
 

When he was 15 years old, Leonardo became the apprentice of the painter Andrea del Verrochio in Florence. It was there that his immense talent was channelled fruitfully, by the extensive training in the skills he needed to have as an artist. Such was his aptitude and talent that it even intimidated his mentor. While always interested in inventions, it was a change of scenery in 1482 that truly unleashed the inventor in da Vinci.
 

Looking for a broader scope of work, Leonardo moved from Florence, widely considered the cultural capital of Italy, to Milan, a much more political and militaristic city. There, da Vinci sold himself to Duke Ludovico Sforza (a successful military leader called “the dark one”) as a military engineer. In the city that “lived and died by the sword”, da Vinci began developing many of his famous war inventions.
 

Da Vinci spent 17 years in Milan working for the Duke, inventing, painting, sculpting, studying science and conceiving an endless stream of innovative and daring ideas. Without a doubt, the 17 years spent in Milan were da Vinci’s most productive period. But, of course as we all know, all things must eventually come to an end.
 

In 1499, the French invaded Milan and Duke Sforza was sent fleeing the city. Leonardo spent the remaining years of his life travelling to cities like Venice and Rome to work on different projects, with a greater concentration on his art (starting on his most famous piece, the Mona Lisa, in 1503) and studies in anatomy (da Vinci conducted over 30 autopsies in his lifetime). After envisioning hundreds of inventions, bringing to life legendary works of art and making breakthroughs in a vast array of other fields (ranging from astronomy to architecture), da Vinci died in 1519 at the age of 67.
 

In the drawing above, Leonardo plays with ideas that illustrate principles of hydraulics and he draws Archimedean screws, water wheels, cogs and machines that involve using the power of water in order to harness it to do useful work. As usual, his exquisite drawings are supplemented by his notes (written in his characteristically cryptographic “mirror writing”). The drawings are not only accurate enough to allow construction of many of the machines he invented (and many have been constructed in modern times), but they qre also pleasing as works of art.