CHERUBINI

“If we were all determined to play the first violin we should never have an ensemble. therefore, respect every musician in his proper place.” - Robert Schumann
 

For Music Saturday today, Luigi Cherubini’s (1760-1842) String Quartet No. 3 in D minor of 1834. Cherubini was born Florence and he studied at the conservatories in Bologna and Milan remaining in Italy until 1788, when he moved to Paris, where he lived for the rest of his life. He made his name as a composer of opera, but by 1805 Parisian tastes had changed and the heavy, serious operas that he, Gluck and others had been writing fell out of fashion. Cherubini then turned to religious and instrumental music. He served as director of the Paris Conservatory from 1822 until his death and was regarded as one of France’s leading musicians.
 

Beethoven considered Cherubini the greatest living dramatic composer, while Cherubini was perhaps the only important composer in France, who held Beethoven to be the greatest genius of the day. Perhaps no other contemporary composer studied Beethoven’s Middle and Late Quartets as did Cherubini, who both admired and understood them. Most others then living, regarded Beethoven’s Late Quartets as the work of a madman. That Cherubini truly understood and profited from Beethoven’s late work can clearly be seen in his Third String Quartet. No other contemporary chamber music work so closely approaches the profundity of Beethoven’s Late Quartets as  does Cherubini’s String Quartet No.3.
 

The Quartet was composed in 1834 and is in four movements. From the very opening notes of the Allegro Commodo, we hear the depth of thought. A short recitative in the first violin is answered by the cello before the noble and boldly rhythmic main theme makes its entrance. The second subject is pure Italian melody with an unusual rhythmic accompaniment giving the music an almost Spanish flavour.
 

The second movement, Larghetto Sostenuto, might be an aria from an Italian opera. The lovely bel canto melody is given a very expressive accompaniment. In the third movement, Scherzo, Allegro, one can tell that Cherubini had Beethoven as his model (and not the Op.18 quartets which was all that Reicha or Onslow could understand) but the Late Quartets. The serious and syncopated main theme is given to the cello and viola to introduce. There is a brash energy to it. The middle section features a polonaise. The finale, Allegro Risoluto, although in the major, nonetheless, maintains the sense of energy of the previous movement and adds to it a sense of powerful struggle.
 

This quartet is an unqualified masterpiece. Sadly, it has not been available for many years and is rarely, if ever, performed in concert, although, it goes without saying, that it should be. Amateurs who take the trouble to plumb its depths will be richly rewarded. The painting above is “String Quartet” by Jack Levine.

FOOD FRIDAY - DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE

“Let’s face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me.” - Audrey Hepburn
 

It’s cold, wet and wintry in Melbourne. What better remedy than a rich moist chocolate cake?
 

Devil’s Food Cake
Ingredients
 

For cake:
50 g sifted cocoa powder
125 g brown sugar
250 ml boiling water
130 g soft unsalted butter
150 g caster sugar
225 g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 vanilla bean
3 small eggs (or 2 large)
 

For icing:
125 ml water
50 g brown sugar
175 g unsalted butter (cubed)
300 g dark chocolate (finely chopped)
 

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Line the bottoms of two 20cm round sandwich tins with baking paper and grease the bottom and sides.
Put the cocoa and brown sugar into a bowl and pour in the boiling water. Whisk to mix, then set aside.
Cream the butter and caster sugar together, beating well until light and fluffy.
While the butter is creaming, stir the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate together in another bowl, and set aside for a moment.
Scrape the vanilla bean interior into the creamed butter and sugar – mixing all the while – then drop in 1 egg, quickly followed by a scoopful of flour mixture, then the second egg, more flour and then the other egg.
Keep mixing and incorporate the rest of the dry ingredients for the cake, then finally mix and fold in the cocoa mixture, scraping its bowl well with a spatula.
Divide the chocolate batter between the 2 prepared tins and put in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Take the tins out and leave them on a wire rack for 5–10 minutes, before turning the cakes out to cool.
As soon as the cakes are in the oven, make the icing: Put the water, 30g brown sugar and 175 g butter in a pan over a low heat to melt.
When this mixture begins to bubble, take the pan off the heat and add the chopped chocolate, swirling the pan so that all the chocolate is heated, then leave for a minute to melt before whisking till smooth and glossy.
Leave for about 1 hour, whisking now and again, by which time the cakes will be cooled, and ready for the icing.
Set one of the cooled cakes, with its top side down, on a cake stand or plate, and spread with about a third of the icing, then top that with the second cake, regular way up, and spread the remaining icing over the top and sides, in swirling patterns.
 

This post is part of the Food Friday meme,

and also part of the Food Trip Friday meme.

WORK

“All life demands struggle. Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life. The very striving and hard work that we so constantly try to avoid is the major building block in the person we are today.” - Pope Paul VI
 

I’ve had an extremely busy couple of days with 12 and 13 hour working days and then once home I’ve been quite exhausted, so it has not been much of a time for reflection and blogging… Although I do work about 9-10 hours everyday, once it starts to get above that, my energy levels go right down and it rather difficult to do anything outside work, work, work – even if it is pleasant or for my leisure.
 

I have a quiet weekend planned, but very often one’s plans are in vain and life surprises us. Hopefully nothing untoward will happen and I will recharge the old batteries at the weekend.

THE LANDFILL HARMONIC ORCHESTRA

“Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has.” - Billy Graham
 
Every so often one reads a snippet in the news, or sees something on the internet and is struck by its contents. This happened to me the other day when I read about the “Landfill Harmonic Orchestra” of Paraguay (La Armonía del Vertedero - Orquesta de Instrumentos Reciclados de Cateura). This was a poignant and inspiring video that made me stop, think and recontextualise my everyday existence and the “problems” I deal with every day.
 
The Landfill Orchestra is a children’s music group in Catuera, Paraguay, whose instruments are made from rubbish that has been dumped in the landfill.  A cello made from an oil can and pieces of wood, that were thrown in the rubbish; a saxophone made of spoons and buttons, violins made of tin cans and pieces of thrown-away wood. These instruments are made by Nicolas, a “recycler” who has no previous experience making musical instruments. He is like many others in Catuera who live a hand-to-mouth existence, sorting through rubbish and recycling in the slum by the garbage dump in Catuera.
 
Inspired by this initiative and resourcefulness in the face of adversity, Maestro Luis Szaran, director of “Sounds of the Earth” formed the “recycled orchestra” comprising children living near the rubbish dump. The guiding light of these children is hope and the inspiration to become better people. Making music with their recycled instruments teaches them to be good people not only to be musicians. To work together in order to make order out of chaos, pleasure out of pain, companionship out of isolation, creativity out of destruction and peace out of strife is a means of building a better world for themselves.
 
This group is worthy of support and encouragement. You can do this in a very real and substantive manner – visit their YouTube channel to find out how.

MOVIE MONDAY - PEACE, LOVE & MISUNDERSTANDING

“Parenthood...It’s about guiding the next generation, and forgiving the last.” - Peter Krause
 
A difference in values and attitudes between one generation and another has been called the generation gap. This creates a lack of communication and understanding between parents and children, especially, which can lead to various problems and can cause a great deal of strife. Numerous films have dealt with this theme and the film we watched at the weekend is a typical example of this genre. It can even be classed as a “chick-flick” as it deals with mother-daughter relationships in particular and explores the changing views, attitudes and mind-set of women from the 1960s to the present time.
 
The film is Bruce Beresford’s 2011 comedy-drama “Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding” starring Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener, Nat Wolff, Elizabeth Olsen and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The film is set in Woodstock and makes the most of the “Hippie” connection, but having said that, the place also seems to be quite a delightful one, with magnificent countryside, quaint township and interesting people. While the film is mainly about parent-child relationships and the generation gap, it is also about personal relationships and overcoming and resolving problems that people have when in a relationship or when they are just embarking on one.
 
The plot centres on the uptight, obsessive-compulsive lawyer Diane (Catherine Keener) who lives in New York City. As the film starts, Diane is told by her husband Mar (Kyle MacLachlan) that he wants a divorce. This shocks and hurts Diane, who quickly decides to escape the situation by taking her two teenager children and visit her estranged mother, Grace (Jane Fonda). Diane’s children are the geeky video camera addict, virginal Jake (Nat Wolff) and vegan, opinionated daughter Zoe (Elizabeth Olsen). Diane’s mother is still a hippie and lives in Woodstock. Mother and daughter have not seen each other for 20 years as Grace sold marijuana to Diane’s friends at Diane’s wedding, something which the daughter has never forgiven.  Diane and her children plan to only stay for a couple of days but events and people conspire to keep them there longer. Diane meets furniture craftsman Jude (Jeffrey Dean Morgan); Zoe is attracted to the local butcher Cole (Chace Crawford); and Jake falls for young Tara (Marissa O’Donnell). It’s a tortuous journey to understanding through misunderstanding, peace through strife and love through selfishness and petty hates.
 
The film is basically a feel-good romantic comedy with some “deep and meaningful” stuff thrown in (well it’s basically pretty shallow popular psychology). There are some funny moments throughout and the film is very polished with good performances by everyone. Bruce Beresford, an Australian film director, is at his best with period pieces and small-scale dramas. Considered one of Australia’s “New Wave” directors, he directs this film with a light touch and gets the most out of the plot, actors and locations, directing with a light touch. The soundtrack complements the action and location and the duet between Keener and Morgan at the town festival is quite cute.
 
Jane Fonda looks remarkably good for her 74 years of age in this movie and she enjoys playing the ageing hippy, giving it her best, including howling at the full moon in a goddess ritual and negotiating her way in her house amongst the wandering chickens that have run of the place. There is extensive reference to drug use (marijuana) in the film, which is to be expected given the plot. We enjoyed watching this lightweight comedy which required little cerebral activity and was to the brain what fast food is to the digestive system.

ART SUNDAY - REMBRANDT'S SELF-PORTRAITS

“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” - William Shakespeare
 
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on July 15, 1606 in Leiden, the Netherlands. Although his family lived modestly his parents took great care with his education. At the age of fourteen he attended the University of Leiden. As his talent became apparent, he soon left university to pursue a career as an artist. He studied under local masters named Jacob van Swanenburch and Pieter Lastman who were known for historical paintings. It was not long before he was a master at his craft. At twenty-two he began taking on students of his own.
 
In 1631 he moved to Amsterdam to set up his studio there. Three years later he married Saskia van Uylenburgh. Her cousin was a successful art dealer who introduced him to wealthy patrons who commissioned portraits, thus ensuring Remrandt’s financial success. Besides painting portraits Rembrandt’s mythological and religious works were much in demand and in fashion. Nevertheless, his work was innovative and astounding, as well as being popular.
 

To an outsider, Rembrandt’s life seemed to have it all. He had a great career doing what he loved to do as well as the love of his wife. While he should have been enjoying a prosperous career he and his wife suffered one great personal loss after another. Within a span of five years each of his three children would die in infancy. In 1641 a son they named Titus would break that cycle. However, tragedy always seemed to prevail. Although their son lived, Saskia’s death would come one short year later.
 
In 1649 after a brief affair with his son’s nanny, Geertghe Dircx, Rembrandt found someone to share his life with. Hendrickje Stoffels, his housekeeper, soon became his partner in love and the subject for many of his paintings. 
Although he was successful in his career as an artist, teacher and art dealer, Rembrandt was living well beyond his means which finally drove him to declare bankruptcy in 1656. Much of his collection of art and antiquities including the sale of his house went to pay his huge debts.
 
During these times some of his greatest works were created: “The Jewish Bride”, “The Syndics of the Cloth Guild”, “Bathsheba”, and “Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph”. 
His personal life seemed cursed as again he was robbed of a second chance at love. Hendrickje died in 1663 and two years later his only son would meet the same fate. Within a short year later on October 4th, 1669 at sixty-three years old Rembrandt died. He will always live on through the many masterpieces he left behind as he proves to be an inspiration to many.
 
While most artists may produce a self-portrait or two during their lifetime, Rembrandt depicted himself in approximately forty to fifty paintings, thirty-two etchings and several drawings. Many scholars agree that a Rembrandt self-portrait reflects his journey of self-discovery. His early self portrait etchings emphasised real fascinating facial expressions which were always cast in shadows. His study with chiaroscuro (contrast between light and dark) became a defining trademark. The mysterious nature of his paintings caught the attention of the art world at large as his reputation as an eccentric genius spread among collectors.
 
During his time in Amsterdam during the 1630s he began to paint himself with more light. He portrayed himself in many different ways; elegantly dressed and adorned with gold chains, as a fashionable middle class burgher donning a wide-brimmed hat and an expensive cloak or in other portraits as a beggar. During his marriage to Saskia van Uylenburgh he portrayed the two of them in different scenarios. A 1636 etching depicts himself as an artist whose loving wife looks on at him while he creates. In another he is the prodigal son and Saskia is a temptress.
 
In a 1640 Rembrandt self portrait, he portrays himself as the accomplished man of means who can stand alongside great creators of the past. He was at the pinnacle of success during this, not only creating great works of art but also collecting creations of other great artists of his day. During the early 1640s he stayed away from self portraiture. One by one each of his three infant children would die within the first few months of life. His fourth child would to everyone’s surprise survive infancy. The birth and survival of his son Titus was one of the biggest joys of his lifetime.
 
He returned to self-portraiture in the later 1640s and 1650s with a different style. These portraits were mainly etchings that portrayed more sensitive inward looking images of self. A Rembrandt self-portrait painted in 1652 in which he wears his definitive beret depicts a more serious Rembrandt. In this painting he is facing front with hands on his hips wearing a plain brown robe. This was created during a time when his popularity was fading. He was experimenting with a more elegant Flemish style of painting that was not very popular.
 
When he was suffering financially he sold a few self-portraits just to keep his head above water. One in particular painted in 1659, a detail of which is shown above, is dark and sombre and the only illuminated feature is the face. This melancholy face and intense gaze seems to indicate how  forlorn he was feeling during this time. The rawness of his expression and each wrinkle painted realistically amplify his life history and the eyes disclose a despair of accumulated sorrows.
 
In the last year of his life he painted the last of his self-portraits. One shows himself standing in his studio with his palette and brushes in hand, a great painter until the end. He will always be known for being the master of the self-portrait. His legacy is an experience of self-discovery through art that artists and art lovers worldwide have had the privilege to enjoy.

MUSIC SATURDAY - FADO

“Music is the shorthand of emotion.” - Leo Tolstoy
 
Anna Moura (born 1979 in Santarém, Portugal) is an internationally recognised Portuguese fado singer, and the youngest fadista to be nominated for a Dutch Edison Award. Ana Moura’s debut album was “Guarda-me a vida na mão” (2003), followed by “Aconteceu” (2005). She sang in various nightspots in Lisbon and became known on television, performing fado with Antonio Pinto Basto.
 
“Para Além da Saudade” (2007), containing songs such as “Os Buzios” or “Fado da Procura”, is the album that followed “Aconteceu”. With this album and appearances on programs such as Family Contact and Superstar, Moura became more widely known in Portugal. These television appearances helped promote this record, which was to reach triple platinum for sales exceeding 55,000 units. The album stayed in the Top 30 in Portugal for 120 weeks. For this album, Moura received a nomination for the Golden Globes in the category of Music, Best Individual Performer, losing to Jorge Palma.
 
Here is Anna Moura’s “Desfado” of 2012, showcasing her velvety voice, soulful lyrics and wonderful music. Enjoy!

LET'S HAVE A SMOOTHIE!

 
“It takes more than just a good looking body. You’ve got to have the heart and soul to go with it.” - Epictetus
 
Smoothies are a great addition to a healthful breakfast or lunch and if made with fresh fruit and vegetables can pack quite nutrition punch, while at the same time tasting wonderful. Here are three recipes to try as the seasonal produce becomes available.
 
Peach Smoothie
Ingredients
1 large carrot, peeled, chopped and microwaved with some water until tender
1 and 1/2 cup peeled chopped peaches
1 tbsp honey
1 container low fat vanilla yoghurt
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice 

Method 
Place drained carrot, honey and peaches in a blender and pulse until chopped. Add the yoghurt and orange juice and purée until smooth. Serve with a slice of orange as decoration.
 
Strawberry Smoothie 
Ingredients
1 large truss tomato, peeled
1 cup of strawberries
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp honey3 ice cubes
1 container low fat raspberry yoghurt
 
Method
Place tomato and strawberries with the sugar and honey in a blender and pulse until chopped up. Add the ice cubes and pulse until chopped up. Add the yoghurt and purée. Decorate with a strawberry.
 
Banana Kiwi Smoothie
Ingredients 
1 cup of kale leaves tightly packed
1 ripe banana
2 kiwi fruit
1 tbsp honey
3 ice cubes
1 container low fat vanilla yoghurt
 
Method 
Place kale, banana and kiwi fruit with the honey in a blender and pulse until chopped up. Add the ice cubes and pulse until chopped up. Add the yoghurt and purée. Serve with a kiwi fruit slice.
 
This post is part of the Food Friday meme,
and also part of the Food Trip Friday meme.

NAADAM & HAPPY MONGOLIAN NATIONAL DAY!

“I never think of the future, it comes soon enough.” - Albert Einstein
 
Today is the anniversary of the birthday of:

Robert the Bruce, king of Scotland (1274);

Thomas Bowdler, prude who bowdlerised Shakespeare (1754);

John Quincy Adams, 6th president (1825-29) of the USA (1767);

E. B. White, writer (1899);

Gough Whitlam, Australian PM (1916);

Yul Brynner, actor (1920);

Tab Hunter, actor (1931);

Suzanne Vega, singer/songwriter (1959).

Angelica archangelica, angelica, is this day’s birthday flower, signifying ecstasy, magic and inspiration.  Astrologically, it is a herb of the sun and under the dominion of Leo.  Candied angelica stem is that wonderfully green decorative element of cakes and pastries that always seems to go so well with the red glacé cherries.
 
On this day in 1533, Pope Clement VII excommunicated King Henry VIII of England, beginning the schism between the Roman Catholic faith and the Church of England.
 
Today is the People’s Republic of Mongolia, Revolution (National) Day. Mongolia is a vast land to the North of China with an area of 1,565,000 square km and a population of 2.5 million, making it a country with one of the lowest population densities in the world. The capital city is Ulan Bator while other towns are Tamsag Bulag, Mörön, Ulan Göm and Mandalgovi. Most of the country is an undulating plateau with rich grasslands that support the horses and cattle for which Mongolia is famous. Mountains to the North separate the country form the Russian Federation while to the South is the arid Gobi Desert. Rich mineral resources, oil, coal and gas remain still relatively underdeveloped. Wheat and other cereals are the major agricultural product.
 
Naadam (literally “games”) is a traditional festival in Mongolia. The festival is also locally termed “Eriin Gurvan Naadam” (“the three games of men”). The games are Mongolian wrestling, horse racing and archery and are held throughout the country during midsummer. Women have started participating in the archery and girls in the horse-racing games, but not in Mongolian wrestling. In 2010, Naadam was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO.
 
The biggest Naadam of the country is held in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar during the National Holiday from July 11 – 13, in the National Sports Stadium. Naadam begins with an elaborate introduction ceremony featuring dancers, athletes, horse riders, and musicians. After the ceremony, the competitions begin.
 
Naadam is the most widely watched festival among Mongols, and is believed to have existed for centuries in one fashion or another. Naadam has its origin in the activities, such as military parades and sporting competitions such as archery, horse riding and wrestling, that followed the celebration of various occasions, including weddings or spiritual gatherings. It later served as a way to train soldiers for battle. Now it formally commemorates the 1921 revolution when Mongolia declared itself a free country.
 
Genghis Khan’s nine yak tails, representing the nine tribes of the Mongols, are still ceremonially transported from Sukhbaatar Square to the Stadium to open the Naadam festivities. At these opening and closing ceremonies there are impressive parades of mounted cavalry, athletes and monks. Another popular Naadam activity is the playing of games using shagai, sheep anklebones that serve as game pieces and tokens of both divination and friendship. In the larger Nadaam festivals, tournaments may take place in a separate venue.

CHATHAM HOUSE RULE

“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.” - Swami Vivekananda
 
I am away from work for work for two days, taking part in a Leadership School. This is a series of professional development seminars that our People and Culture department organise in order to cultivate the talent of leaders within our organisation. Thirty of our staff of 400 have been chosen in order to take part in this development program and it provides a forum for discussions, activities and a think tank so that we can advance the strategies and goals of our organisation in an efficient way. External facilitators are in charge of the meeting and the mix of staff from different departments and at different levels in the hierarchy make for an interesting experience.
 
Frank discussions are had and people are encouraged to actively participate and state their ideas, views and opinions about things that are good or not so good within the work environment. We work together to acquire new skills and develop existing ones. Facilitators provide an environment conducive to creative thinking and an honest tackling of identified issues and problems within our work environments. We work under the Chatham House Rule, and this is something that fosters that feeling of safety and frankness when expressing one’s views.
 
The Chatham House Rule is a core principle that governs the confidentiality of the source of information received at a meeting. The rule originated in June 1927 at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House (http://www.chathamhouse.org). The rule (not “rules” as is often misquoted) was reviewed and refined in 2002, states:
 
“When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.”
 
This allows people to speak as individuals and to express views that may not be those of their organisations, and therefore, encourages independent discussion, not hampered by allegiances or “towing the party line”. Speakers are free to voice their own opinions, without concern for their personal reputation or their official duties and professional ties. The Chatham House Rule resolves a boundary problem faced by many communities of practice, in that it permits acknowledgment of the community or conversation, while protecting the freedom of interaction that is necessary for the community to carry out its conversations.
 
When a group meets, using the rule guarantees anonymity to those speaking within the context of the meeting so that better insights and free debate may be encouraged. The rule is often used internationally as an aid to free discussion. The original rule was refined in October 1992 and again, in 2002. Chatham House has translated the rule into Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian.
 
Meetings, or parts of meetings, either may be held on the record, or, under the Chatham House Rule. In the latter case, all participants are understood to have agreed that it would be conducive to free discussion that they should be subject to the rule for the relevant part of the meeting. The success of the rule may depend upon it being considered morally binding, particularly in circumstances where a failure to comply with the rule may not result in sanction.
 
Care needs to be taken not to invoke the Chatham House Rule where what is intended is that the views discussed be kept confidential. The Chatham House Rule is intended to promote public discussion of the views expressed at a meeting, but without attributing those views to any individual or organisation.

APOCALYPTIC MOON

“The moon puts on an elegant show, different every time in shape, colour and nuance.” - Arthur Smith
 
A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. The technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The term “supermoon” is not astronomical, but originated in modern astrology. The moon will not be so close again until August 10, 2014. Supermoons occur about once every 14 full moons in a full moon cycle. Magpie Tales  has provided an image of last month’s supermoon by Julio Cortez, to inspire participants in her creative writing challenge. Here is my offering.
 
Apocalypse
 
One day I’ll tear
The thin gauze of the passing seasons,
Transcending time
I’ll pass into the infinite.
Stepping on bleeding moon
Expiring in its death throes
I’ll merge with dying breath
Of supernovaed sun
And travel through Armageddon.
 
I’ll fathom the true meaning of eternity
Seconds, days, aeons being identical,
My soul will fill to bursting
And still yearn for more;
Forever on until my eyes resemble seas
My brain engorged with newness and
With increasing understanding.
 
And ever onward,
To know,
To learn,
To understand,
To seek,
To find,
To see the reason why...

MOVIE MONDAY - JOE KIDD

“Pictures are for entertainment, messages should be delivered by Western Union.” - Samuel Goldwyn
 
We watched the 1972 John Sturges “Joe Kidd” last weekend. This was a good old fashioned Western starring Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall, John Saxon – “old fashioned” relating to the look and feel, although the plot was a little more inventive than the cowboys versus Indians or bad guys versus good guys type of Western. We quite enjoyed it as it was short, direct and non-pretentious. Had not seen a Western for ages, so this was quite a refreshing change from the typical Hollywood pap that is served up nowadays.
 
Joe Kidd (Eastwood) is a tough, former bounty hunter in the American Southwest. When a band of Mexicans find their U. S. land claims denied and all relevant records “destroyed in a courthouse fire”, they turn to violence and eye for eye and tooth for tooth reprisals. Louis Chama (Saxon) is their charismatic leader, full of revolutionary rhetoric and mobilizing the Mexicans under him to demand land reform. A wealthy landowner with interests in the disputed area, Frank Harlan (Duvall), decides to settle things his own way – using a slash, burn and destroy policy. He hires a band of killers and wants Joe Kidd to help them track Chama. Initially, Kidd wants to avoid any involvement, until Chama makes the mistake of stealing Kidd’s horses and terrorising his friends.
 
The plot turns quite ambivalent denouncing violence on the one hand, but justifying on the other, ending up on the side of truth, justice and the American way in the end. Nevertheless, it does make for an interesting story and there are enough Western conventions in it to keep the genre fans happy. Eastwood plays his role with ease and aplomb – having been typecast to a certain extent as the tough, strong silent cowboy who rights wrongs. The other actors all do well also, even the two token females in what is essentially a cowboy and horse opera.
 
Lalo Schifrin’s music is suitably ominous and quite suited to the action, blending into the background when it needs to and as it should. Costumes, sets and wide open spaces are well done, Hollywood has enough experience in this genre to make it look right. Overall the film is entertaining and a good B-grade film with enough wry humour, action and even some morality/ethical type of questioning in order to keep it interesting. Watch it if you come across it, it’s quite good fun!

ART SUNDAY - CHAGALL

“All colours are the friends of their neighbours and the lovers of their opposites.” - Marc Chagall
 
Marc Chagall (Moishe Shagal) was born on July 7, 1887,  in the village of Vitebsk, Byelorussia. He was the oldest of nine children born to a working-class Jewish family. In his career, he was associated with several major artistic styles and one of the most successful artists of the 20th century. He was an early modernist, and created works in virtually every artistic medium, including painting, book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets, ceramic, tapestries and fine art prints.
 
In Russia at that time, Jewish children were not allowed to attend regular Russian schools or universities. Their movement within the city was also restricted. Chagall therefore received his primary education at the local Jewish religious school, where he studied Hebrew and the Bible. At the age of 13, his mother tried to enrol him in a Russian high school, which was not allowed. Chagall’s mother offered the headmaster 50 roubles to let him attend, which he accepted and Marc attended school.
 
A turning point of his artistic life came when he first noticed a fellow student drawing. Chagall would later say that there was no art of any kind in his family’s home and the concept was totally alien to him. When Chagall asked the schoolmate how he learned to draw, his friend replied, “Go and find a book in the library, idiot, choose any picture you like, and just copy it”. He soon began copying images from books and found the experience so rewarding he then decided he wanted to become an artist.
 
At age 20 he began to study painting, first in Vitebsk, then in St. Petersburg. His distinctive style was already beginning to appear in his early works.
 In 1910 he began four years of living in Paris, a city that kept drawing him back for the rest of his life. In Paris, he became acquainted with art movements of the time, including Fauvism and Cubism. He also became acquainted with leading artists of the time, including Braque, Picasso, Delaunay, Leger, and others.
 
Chagall held a very successful, one-man show in Berlin in 1914, as part of an eventual journey home.
 
At the outbreak of WWI, Chagall returned home to Vitebsk, where he married Bella Rosenfeld. He worked in Vitebsk for several years and became director of the Vitebsk Academy of Arts. He moved to Moscow in 1920 and worked on stage decor and painted panels for the avant-garde Jewish Theatre. After it was made clear he would not have the freedom to develop, given the political realities of Marxist socialism, he left Moscow for Europe in 1923.
 

After arriving in France, he met French art dealer Ambroise Vollard and started creating etchings for future publications. These were not published until years later due to Vollard’s death and WWII. Chagall’s paintings were shown at galleries in New York as well as Paris, Berlin, and other European cities. He was commissioned by Vollard to produce a series of etchings illustrating the Old Testament version of the Bible. These were also not published until after WWII. During his travels, Chagall fell in love with the Cote d’Azur. Chagall eventually moved away from Paris to a villa near Porte d’Auteuil.
 
Chagall continued to work in France despite the growing Anti-Semitism of the Nazi movement and the invasion of France by Germany in 1939. He was eventually convinced by his daughter Ida of the urgency to leave France. Marc and Bella first travelled to Marseilles, France and eventually left for the United States in May of 1941. Their daughter Ida joined them a short time later.
 
Marc Chagall arrived in New York City in June, 1941. In addition to paintings, he worked on theatre sets and costumes. His paintings were exhibited in New York, Chicago, and Paris. His wife Bella died suddenly in 1944 due to a viral infection. Marc ceased all work for almost a year. In 1946, after the end of WWII the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City held an exhibition showing 40 years of Chagall’s work. He had become very well known, and he began making plans to return to France.
 
Chagall returned to Paris in 1948 and signed Teriade (Stratis Eleftheriades) to publish his graphic works. He settled in Vence, in Provence in 1950. In addition to painting, he continued to create graphic works. Many of his earlier etchings and lithographs were finally published in the early 1950’s. His daughter Ida introduced him to Valentine Brodsky, whom he later married. In this period, he expanded the mediums in which he worked to include ceramics, stone sculptures, mosaics, and tapestries.
 
In 1958, he designed scenery and costumes for the ballet Daphne and Chloe for the Paris Opera. This led to other public commissions in the 1960s, including stained glass windows for the Hadassah Synagogue near Jerusalem, the United Nations, and several cathedrals in Europe. He designed a new ceiling for the Paris Opera House and panels for the Lincoln Center in New York. He also produced what many consider his best graphic works, the Daphne and Chloe suite of lithographs in 1961.
 
In 1966, Chagall moved from Vence to St. Paul de Vence (still in Provence). Chagall’s reputation continued to grow. He continued painting, producing graphic works, and producing public commissions. His works were exhibited at the galleries and museums throughout the world, including the Louvre and Petit Palais in Paris. He produced the America Windows for America’s Bicentennial celebration in 1977 in gratitude for America taking his family in during WWII. These windows can be viewed today at the Art Institute of Chicago.
 
He died March 28, 1985 in St. Paul de Vence, where he was buried. His long, prolific career and distinctive themes and use of color make him one of the acknowledge masters of 20th Century modern art.
 
The painting above, “The Circus Horse” of about 1964 illustrates Chagall’s style admirably with its free, expressive use of colour and sprightly draughtsmanship. The figures counterbalance the expanses of bright colour and juxtaposition of human figures and animals (a device Chagall often uses) is particularly apt here in the circus. Chagall used this theme many times in his artistic life and the bright, multicolour action of the subject suited his sensibilities.

MUSIC SATURDAY - BACH TRIO SONATAS

“I was obliged to be industrious. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed equally well.” - Johann Sebastian Bach
 
For Music Saturday the wonderful Trio Sonatas BWV 527, 1030, 1037, 1029, 530, by Johann Sebastian Bach: 
1. Trio Sonata in D minor BWV 527 [Andante-Adagio e dolce-Vivace]
2. Trio Sonata in G minor BWV 1030 [Andante-Largo e dolce-Presto-Allegro]
3. Trio Sonata in C major BWV 1037 [Adagio-Alla breve-Largo-Gigue-Presto]
4. Trio Sonata in A minor BWV 1029 [Vivace-Adagio-Allegro]
5. Trio Sonata in G major BWV 530 [Vivace-Lento-Allegro]
 
Played by:
Manfredo Kraemer [violin]
Pablo Valetti [violin, viola]
Balasz Mate [cello]
Dirk Boerner [harpsichord]
Allessandro de Marchi [organ]

FOOD FRIDAY - GNOCCHI

“I think careful cooking is love, don't you? The loveliest thing you can cook for someone who's close to you is about as nice a valentine as you can give.” - Julia Child
 
A nice Winter recipe to warm you up now that the temperature is falling in the Southern Hemisphere. If you don't have time to make your own gnocchi, you can buy fresh ones from your local deli.
 
Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Leeks and Spinach
Ingredients - Gnocchi450 g potatoes
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp salt, or more to taste
Freshly ground white pepper, to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1 1/3 cups flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon olive oil
 
Method
Place potatoes in a large pot. Add water to cover by 5 cm. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a skewer, about 40 minutes. Drain. When cool enough to handle, peel and mash potatoes using a potato ricer. Set aside on a baking sheet until completely cooled.
 
On a cool, smooth work surface, gather potatoes into a mound, forming a well in the centre. In a small bowl, stir together oil, egg, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Pour mixture into well. Using both hands, work potatoes and egg mixture together, gradually adding 1 cup of flour. Scrape dough from work surface with a knife as necessary. This process should not take more than 10 minutes. The longer the dough is worked, the more flour it will require and the heavier the dough will become.
 
Dust hands, dough, and work surface lightly with some of the remaining flour. Cut dough into 6 equal portions. Using both hands, roll each piece of dough into a rope 1 cm thick. Continue dusting as long as dough feels sticky. Slice ropes at 1 cm intervals. Indent each piece with thumb, the tines of a fork, or the back of a semicircular grater to produce a ribbed effect.
 
Boil the gnocchi in plenty of salted water. You’ll know it’s done when it floats to the surface. Drain and set aside.

Ingredients for sauce
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp oil
1 leek, washed, finely chopped (white part only)
Baby spinach leaves, washed chopped
Sundried tomatoes, chopped
Mixed herbs
Vegetable stock
Salt, pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese
 
Method
Heat the butter in pan over medium heat until foaming. Add the gnocchi and cook, stirring, for 5-8 minutes or until the gnocchi are golden. Remove from pan, and keep warm, leaving as much butter as you can in the pan.
 
Put oil in the pan and heat. Add the leek, sauté until soft and add the spinach, tomatoes and herbs. Stir until heated right through. Add enough vegetable stock to cover the bottom of the pan and stir through the vegetables. Add salt and pepper as required.
 
Add the gnocchi and stir through. Serve topped with grated Parmesan cheese.
 
This post is part of the Food Friday meme,
and also part of the Food Trip Friday meme.

HAPPY US INDEPENDENCE DAY!

“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” - Nelson Mandela
 
The Declaration of Independence, in U.S.A history, is the document that was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, announcing the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. It explained why the Congress on July 2 “unanimously” by the votes of 12 colonies (with New York abstaining) had resolved that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be Free and Independent States.” Accordingly, the day on which final separation was officially voted was July 2, although the 4th, the day on which the Declaration of Independence was adopted, has always been celebrated in the United States as the great national holiday, the Fourth of July, or Independence Day.
 
On April 19, 1775, when armed conflict began between Britain and the 13 colonies (the nucleus of the future United States), the Americans claimed that they sought only their rights within the British Empire. At that time few of the colonists consciously desired to separate from Britain. As the American Revolution proceeded during 1775–76 and Britain undertook to assert its sovereignty by means of large armed forces, making only a gesture toward conciliation, the majority of Americans increasingly came to believe that they must secure their rights outside the empire.
 
The losses and restrictions that came from the war greatly widened the breach between the colonies and the mother country; moreover, it was necessary to assert independence in order to secure as much French aid as possible.  On April 12, 1776, the revolutionary convention of North Carolina specifically authorised its delegates in Congress to vote for independence. On May 15 the Virginia convention instructed its deputies to offer the motion, which was brought forward in the Congress by Richard Henry Lee on June 7. By that time the Congress had already taken long steps toward severing ties with Britain. It had denied Parliamentary sovereignty over the colonies as early as December 6, 1775, and it had declared on May 10, 1776, that the authority of the king ought to be “totally suppressed,” advising all the several colonies to establish governments of their own choice.
 
The passage of Lee’s resolution was delayed for several reasons. Some of the delegates had not yet received authorization to vote for separation; a few were opposed to taking the final step; and several men, among them John Dickinson, believed that the formation of a central government, together with attempts to secure foreign aid, should precede it. However, a committee consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston was promptly chosen on June 11 to prepare a statement justifying the decision to assert independence, should it be taken. The document was prepared, and on July 1 nine delegations voted for separation, despite warm opposition on the part of Dickinson. On the following day at the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, with the New York delegation abstaining only because it lacked permission to act, the Lee resolution was voted on and endorsed.
 
The convention of New York gave its consent on July 9, and the New York delegates voted affirmatively on July 15. On July 19 the Congress ordered the document to be engrossed as “The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America.” It was accordingly put on parchment, probably by Timothy Matlack of Philadelphia. Members of the Congress present on August 2 affixed their signatures to this parchment copy on that day, and others later. The last signer was Thomas McKean of Delaware, whose name was not placed on the document before 1777.
 
The Declaration of Independence was written largely by Thomas Jefferson, who had displayed talent as a political philosopher and polemicist in his “A Summary View of the Rights of British America”, published in 1774. At the request of his fellow committee members he wrote the first draft. The members of the committee made a number of merely semantic changes, and they also expanded somewhat the list of charges against the king. The Congress made more substantial changes, deleting a condemnation of the British people, a reference to “Scotch & foreign mercenaries” (there were Scots in the Congress), and a denunciation of the African slave trade (this being offensive to some Southern and New England delegates).
 
The Declaration of Independence has also been a source of inspiration outside the United States. It encouraged Antonio de Nariño and Francisco de Miranda to strive toward overthrowing the Spanish empire in South America, and it was quoted with enthusiasm by the Marquis de Mirabeau during the French Revolution. It remains a great historical landmark in that it contained the first formal assertion by a whole people of their right to a government of their own choice. What Locke had contended for as an individual, the Americans proclaimed as a body politic; moreover, they made good the argument by force of arms.
 

Happy Independence Day to all USA readers of this blog!

THE SOLUTION

“More than 820 million people in the world suffer from hunger; and 790 million of them live in the Third World.” - Fidel Castro
 
Magpie Tales has provided a photograph by Yohan Musin, a talented artist to act as inspiration for followers of her blog. Here is my contribution (including my edit to the photo) to the creative writing challenge:
 
The Solution
 
A promise, a vision, a solution –
All preferable to
The present, the reality, the misery.
 
Her nails, her hair, her clothes
All ache, due to
The never-ending work, the drudgery, the need.
 
In the village, in the fields, in the house,
A constant demand for
Her contribution, her labour, her input.
 
Her sex, her caste, her age
All conspire to
Discrimination, prejudice, unfairness.
 
A city, a job, a new start,
Will they make possible
The promise, the vision, the solution?

BRISBANE GREETINGS

“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” - Susan Sontag
 
Brisbane is the port and the capital city of Queensland, Australia, and Australia’s third largest city. It lies astride the Brisbane River on the southern slopes of the Taylor Range, 19 km above the river’s mouth at Moreton Bay. The site, first explored in 1823 by John Oxley, was occupied in 1824 by a penal colony, which had moved from Redcliffe 35 km northeast. The name honours Sir Thomas Brisbane, former governor of New South Wales, when the convict settlement was declared a town in 1834. Proclaimed a municipality in 1859, it became the capital of newly independent Queensland that same year. Gazetted a city in 1902, it was joined during the 1920s with South Brisbane to form the City of Greater Brisbane. Its municipal government, headed by a lord mayor, holds very broad powers. The Brisbane statistical division, including the cities of Ipswich and Redcliffe, has close economic and social ties to the city.
 
Brisbane is the hub of many rail lines and highways, which bring produce from a vast agricultural hinterland stretching west to the Eastern Highlands, the Darling Downs, and beyond. The city’s port, which can accommodate ships of 34,000 tons, exports wool, grains, dairy products, meat, sugar, preserved foods, and mineral sands. The metropolitan area, also industrialised with more than half of the state’s manufacturing capacity, has heavy and light engineering works, food-processing plants, shipyards, oil refineries, sawmills, and factories producing rubber goods, automobiles, cement, and fertiliser. The city, the halves of which are connected by several bridges and ferries, is the site of the University of Queensland at St. Lucia (1909), Griffith University (1971), Parliament House (1869), the state museum (1855) and art gallery (1895), Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals, and many parks and gardens. Water is supplied from Lake Manchester, the Mount Crosby Weir, and the Somerset Dam. Oil is piped from wells at Moonie (west) and at Roma (northwest), which also supplies natural gas. Pop. (1996) city, 848,741; Brisbane Statistical Division, 1,488,900; (2001) Brisbane Statistical Division, 1,627,535.

MOVIE MONDAY - IRRESISTIBLE

“There are no secrets that time does not reveal.” - Jean Racine
 
I have been extremely busy with work, hence this belated Movie Monday review. Most of my days have been full of meetings and I take lots of work to catch up on at home, and as if that weren’t enough, I am getting ready to travel again. Nevertheless, we did manage to watch a movie at the weekend, so I shall review that.
 
It was Ann Hunter’s 2006 thriller “Irresistible” starring Susan Sarandon, Sam Neill and Emily Blunt. First, as it was an Australian film and made in Melbourne, it was good to see our hometown featured. We recognised the following: Citylink, Docklands, Immigration Museum, Riva Bar and Restaurant, St. Kilda, Williamstown Cemetery and Williamstown.
 
The plot revolves around Sophie Hartley (Sarandon) who is convinced that she is being stalked. She becomes increasingly certain that her husband’s (Neill) beautiful co-worker, Mara (Blunt), wants to take from her, her children, her husband and her life. However, as Sophie has been having some difficult times and she is a little fragile, no one believes her. Forced to prove her sanity, Sophie grows increasingly paranoid. But is she imagining things or is something really nasty happening? Sophie becomes completely caught up in her obsession, turning stalker herself - and makes a discovery more frightening than her worst fears…
 
The theme of the film is secrets in relationships, trust, love and family ties. Unfortunately the plot is rather clumsy and it sometimes seems a little slap-dash, or improvisational in nature. Apparently, Susan Sarandon worked with the director/scriptwriter Ann Hunter for six months to tweak the script to Sarandon’s standards before they even shot the first scene. The film is saved, however, by the good performances of the lead actors and the supporting role work by the children and Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell, who plays a cameo role as Sophie’s father.
 
The movie labours a few points, with many twists and turns, and a final twist on a twist is unnecessary and looks like a cheap horror movie that prepares the ground or a sequel. The title is quite misleading and has nothing to do with the plot. In Portuguese the movie was released as: “Identidade Roubada” – Stolen Identity, which is a more reasonable title on many levels.
 
Don’t go out of your way to find this film and watch it, it’s the sort of thing that you may watch if you’re lazing around on a \Sunday afternoon, it’s raining and it comes on TV after you’ve made a bowl of popcorn. Watch it to pass time…

ART SUNDAY - EVELYN DE MORGAN

“The main facts in human life are five: Birth, food, sleep, love and death.” - E. M. Forster
 
Evelyn Pickering (1855-1919) was born in London, the daughter of upper-middle class parents. Her father was Percival Pickering QC, the Recorder of Pontefract. Her mother was Anna Maria Wilhelmina Spencer-Stanhope, the sister of the artist John Rodham Spencer-Stanhope (a painter within the circle of later Pre-Raphaelites who took their inspiration from the more romantic paintings of Rossetti and Burne-Jones), and a descendant of Coke of Norfolk who was an Earl of Leicester. Evelyn was homeschooled and started drawing lessons when she was 15. On the morning of her seventeenth birthday, Evelyn recorded in her diary, “Art is eternal, but life is short... I will make up for it now, I have not a moment to lose.”
 
Her early ambition to paint was discouraged by her parents but later she was permitted to become a student at the Slade School and in due course to study in Italy, in Rome and in Florence. Her uncle, Roddam Spencer Stanhope, was a great influence to her works. Evelyn often visited him in Florence where he lived. This also enabled her to study the great artists of the Renaissance; she was particularly fond of the works of Botticelli. This influenced her to move away from the classical subjects favoured by the Slade school and to make her own style. As a young woman she exhibited “Ariadne in Naxos” at the first Exhibition of the Grosvenor Gallery in 1877.
 
Her mature style, which is distinguished by a precision of detail and a fondness for mythological subjects, was derived in part from her first artistic mentor, her uncle. She was also profoundly influenced by Edward Burne-Jones who was a close friend. Her painting was admired by a circle of fellow-artists. William Blake Richmond said of her: “Her industry was astonishing, and the amount which she achieved was surprising, especially considering the infinite care with which she studied every detail…” George Frederic Watts pronounced her “…the first woman-artist of the day – if not of all time.” Evelyn Pickering married the ceramicist William De Morgan in 1887 and lived with him in London until his death in 1917. She died two years later.
 
The painting above is “Nyx and Hypnos” of 1878 shows well de Morgan’s mythological genre. In Greek mythology, Hypnos (Ὕπνος) was the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent was known as Somnus. His twin was Thánatos (Θάνατος – death); their mother was the goddess Nyx (Νυξ – night). Hypnos’ palace was a dark cave where the sun never shone and perpetual night ruled. At the entrance were a number of poppies and other hypnagogic plants and through this cave flowed Lethe, the river of forgetfulness.
 
Hypnos’s three sons or brothers represented things that occur in dreams (the Oneiroi). Morpheus (from which “morphine” is derived), Phobetor (“one who causes fear”) and Phantasos (from which “fantasy” is derived). Endymion, sentenced by Zeus to eternal sleep, received the power to sleep with his eyes open from Hypnos in order to constantly watch his beloved moon goddess, Selene. But according to the poet Licymnius of Chios, Hypnos, in awe of Endymion’s beauty, causes him to sleep with his eyes open, so he can fully admire his face.
 
In art, Hypnos was portrayed as a naked youthful man, sometimes with a beard, and wings attached to his head. He is sometimes shown as a man asleep on a bed of feathers with black curtains about him. Morpheus is his chief minister and prevents noises from waking him. In Sparta, the image of Hypnos was always put near that of death.