RELAXING...

“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” - Ovid

Saturday night and the end of a long and tiring week. This will definitely be a microblog, with a wonderful song by Clannad, “Theme from Harry's Game”, covered by Órla Fallon. Need it to relax by…

BARBEQUE INVITATION?

“One man’s meat is another man’s poison.” – English Proverb
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/One+man's+meat+is+another+man's+poison

I was in Brisbane all day today for work, flying in early morning and coming back late at night. It makes for a very long day, but I prefer to come back to my own bed and if everything turns out well, like today, it makes it worthwhile.

The results of a USA study that was progressing for more than ten years were released last Monday. Apparently, people who eat more red or processed meat have a higher risk of death from all causes including cancer, while a higher consumption of white meat reduces these risks. The joint study was begun in 1995 by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and seniors group AARP and it followed more than half a million men and women between age 50 and 71, who filled out a food frequency questionnaire estimating their intake of red and processed meats as well as white meats such as pork, chicken and turkey.

It was observed that 47,976 men and 23,276 women died during the period of time the study lasted. Those men and women who ate the most red meat (a median of 62.5 grams per 1,000 calories per day) had a higher mortality rate than those who consumed the least (9.8 grams per 1000 calories). Similar rates held true for consumers of processed meat.

In comparison to this, the people who ate the most white meat had a slightly lower risk for death than those who ate the least white meat. It was found that as far as the overall mortality was concerned, 11% of deaths in men and 16% of deaths in women could be prevented if people decreased their red meat consumption to the level of intake indicated by the lower consumption group (ie: 9.8 grams per 1000 calories). Similar benefits would result in cardiovascular disease mortality if the red meat consumption was decreased to the same degree.

Carcinogens (cancer-causing compounds) are known to form during high-temperature cooking of meat (eg, barbequeing, frying, grilling), the report stated, and meat is a major source of saturated fat, which has been linked to certain cancers. Lower meat consumption has been linked to reductions in risk factors for heart disease, including lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

These results have confirmed what has been known empirically for a very long time and also what the results of smaller studies previously showed. It still makes sense to reduce overall meat intake, preferring white over red meat and to also increase fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetable consumption.

Have a good weekend!

MICRO-BLOGGING

“No man ever wetted clay and then left it, as if there would be bricks by chance and fortune.” - Plutarch

A full day today with a whole day offsite workshop. Only managed to get home now. Getting up early tomorrow for a trip to Brisbane.
Micro-blogging (noun)
A form of multimedia blogging that allows users to send brief text updates or micromedia such as photos or audio clips and publish them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group, which can be chosen by the user. These messages can be submitted by a variety of means, including text messaging, instant messaging, email, digital audio or the web.

ORIGIN 2006-7: From Greek mikros ‘small’ and web in the sense [World Wide Web] and log in the sense [regular record of incidents.]

GREEK NATIONAL DAY

“Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all.” - Hypatia of Alexandria

The 25th of March in Greece is a double holiday. It is firstly the Feast Day when the church commemorates the holy day of the Annunciation. It was on this day that the archangel Gabriel proclaimed to the Virgin that she would conceive and bear a son nine months later. Secondly, it is the National Day of Greece, the anniversary of the commencement of the Greek Revolution, which on this day in 1821 AD broke out. Through a concerted effort, the Greeks enslaved fro over 400 years managed to overthrow the yoke of the Ottoman Empire. This day marked the beginning of modern Greek history.

Greece is a Southern European country, a peninsula surrounded by seas, the Aegean to the East, the Ionian to the West and the Cretan to the South. It is a country of islands and mountains, hot dry summers and cool to mild winters. The fertile plains are few, most of the land being poorly watered and drained, and too rocky or mountainous for farming. Greece, nevertheless is one of the world’s largest producers of olives and olive oil with other agricultural produce also being exported to the rest of Europe.

It has an area of about 132,000 square km and a population of about 11 million. Athens is the capital city with other major centres being Thessaloniki, Patras, Volos, Larissa, Iraklion and Kavalla. Tourism is a major economic boost but the clothing and footwear industries also contribute. Since it gained its independence from Turkey in 1821 it has had a history of political upheavals. In the last few years, after it joined the European Union, the country has had to cope with a variety of issues including a massive influx of illegal immigrants, worsening economy, increasing national debt, terrorism, increasing crime and great political tensions.

The poem this Poetry Wednesday was written firstly in Greek and then translated into English. It tells the plight of the millions of Greeks of the Diaspora across the world who have two countries to call their own, or who maybe have none…

Ξενιτιές

Κάθε βραδάκι που το λυκόφως
-το μενεξελί-
ουρλιάζει στο παράπονό μου,
πηγαίνει η καρδιά μου
στην Ελλάδα να πεθάνει.

Κάθε που η μοναξιά μου
-η γκριζωπή-
χώνει βαθιά τα νύχια της στα στήθεια μου,
πετάει η καρδιά μου
στην Ελλάδα να πεθάνει.

Όταν τά αλλόφωνα τραγούδια
-τ’ άχρωμα-
μες στην ψυχή μου δεν μπορούν να μπουν,
τότε που η καρδιά μου τη γλώσσα τους δεν την καταλαβαίνει,
πηγαίνει στην Ελλάδα να πεθάνει.

Κάθε που ο ήλιος
-ο κατάμαυρος-
βγαίνει το πρωί και μου παγώνει την ανάσα
πως να μπορέσει η καρδιά μου να τ’ αντέξει; Πετά μακριά
και στην Ελλάδα πάντα πάει για να πεθάνει.

Όταν τα φθονερά τα μάτια
-θαλασσοπράσινα-
με μοχθηρία με κοιτάνε, και τα στενόχωρα μυαλά
αδυνατούν να μ’ αγκαλιάσουν, τότε έρχεται η καρδιά μου
στην Ελλάδα να πεθάνει.

Και κάθε φορά που σπαρταράει η καρδιά μου
-στο γαλανό τον ουρανό-
νεκρανασταίνεται μες στο γαλάζιο…
Μα πάλι τη διώχνουνε κι επαναξενιτεύεται
για να την ξανασκοτώσουν τα ξένα δειλινά.

In Foreign Lands

When faint twilight of late evening
-Violet-coloured-
Cries out my plangent woe,
My heart will each time go back
To Greece to die.

Each dusk when my emptiness awakes
-Grey-hued-
And sinks its sharpened claws deep into my breast,
My heart flies out
To Greece to die.

When foreign-speaking songs
-Uncoloured-
Fail my soul to reach, and whose alien language
Cannot communicate with my heart, it goes
To Greece to die

Each day when the morning sun rises
-Jet black-
It chills my shortening, failing breath,
And my heart can’t stand it, it escapes always
To Greece to die.

When envious eyes
-Green-tinged-
Look at me with hidden malice,
And closed minds can’t embrace me, my heart comes
To Greece to die.

And each time my heart trembles and dies
-In blue caerulean-
Attic sky, from death it’s roused, revived,
Only to be forced to leave its country yet again
And in a foreign land be killed each lilac-tinted evening.

WORLD ANTI-TB DAY

“The greatest wealth is health.” - Virgil

March 24th is World Tuberculosis Day and it is observed each year so as to continue spurring on the global fight against tuberculosis (TB). TB is a “forgotten” disease by many people living in Western countries as it has a relatively low incidence there and most people with it are treated early and effectively. However, in developing countries, TB is getting deadlier by the day due to its growing drug resistance and the fatal connection between TB and AIDS.

In many third world countries TB is a common and dangerous infectious disease and is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Although TB affects the lungs in most of the cases, the disease can also affect almost any other body system. Symptoms of TB include a chronic cough productive of sputum and blood, weakness, fever, night sweats and weight loss. Two hundred years ago, tuberculosis was one of the most feared killer diseases. One hundred years ago, people with tuberculosis were placed in sanatoria in order to prevent TB from spreading from one person to another and to help cure the sufferers through good diet, and rest.

A vaccine against tuberculosis, the BCG vaccine, which was developed in the early decades of the twentieth century was widely used for several decades in many countries around the world. This was never a very effective vaccine and provided limited protection to the infection. However, the vaccine together with improved public health measures, better diet and antibiotic treatment the disease was controlled in Western countries.

With the discovery of better, specific antibiotics, TB was controlled and for a time was all but eliminated. But with the emergence of HIV over the last 25 years, TB has returned and must be dealt with. In some parts of the world, HIV and tuberculosis are at epidemic proportions. The most current tuberculosis statistics are quite frightening:

• Over 400,000 cases of Multi Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB) are reported across the world every year with more than 100,000 estimated deaths
• 80,000 MDR-TB cases from India each year
• 64% of the TB patients are women
• Up to 80% of TB patients test positive for HIV/AIDS in countries with high AIDS incidence

MDR-TB is posing a challenge to modern medicine because of its resistance to two of the first line drugs which in the past were used effectively to cure TB (rifampicin and isoniazid). This drug0resistant form of the disease is caused by the spontaneous mutation of the bacteria on treatment. More serious is the XDR-TB (eXtensively Drug Resistant TB that is also resistant to fluoroquinolones and to the injectibles, Kanamycin, Capreomycin and Amikacin).

MDR-TB and XDR-TB are the biggest health hazards for people living with HIV/AIDS. With the social stigma attached to AIDS, detecting TB becomes doubly difficult. In developing countries like India patients stop medication for the following reasons: migration, alcohol, drug addiction, and sometimes due to violent side effects like vomiting that discourage the patient from further medication. Sometimes treatment is stopped after a couple of months, when the symptoms subside. Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course (DOTS) providers regularly track TB patients and encourage them to continue with the treatment till they are completely cured.

The World Health Organization (WHO) encourages governments and health departments to develop programs where the coordinated efforts by Health Care Providers, families and patients can help to completely eradicate TB. Health departments can organise effective campaigns to inform people about TB control and DOTS with a view to increase self-referral and facilitate detection of TB cases. They can enable patients (more so the vulnerable and marginalized ones such as women and transgender people) to access DOTS and other TB services. Also, it is vital to assure the quality of TB services provided in public or private enterprises.

There is crying need to stop the spread of TB and cure existing cases. The spread of drug resistant strains must be checked and a it is vital that a worldwide effort is renewed to seek new approaches, strategies and tools such as new TB vaccines for people of all ages, to protect against all forms of TB. With a number of global initiatives for new drugs and diagnostic tools along with broad community participation to eradicate TB, a world free of TB is a dream that can be realised.

MOVIE MONDAY - À LA FRANÇAISE

“Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.” - Eric Fromm

It was a little bit like a French film festival this weekend, as we managed to see three French films that a friend had loaned me. The offer was quite welcome as there was nothing decent on television (unfortunately this is now the rule, rather than the exception so we rarely watch TV). The three films were quite refreshing and very enjoyable.

The first is Claude Berri’s 2002 film “Un Femme de Ménage” (The Housekeeper), a romantic bittersweet comedy. It is about the messes we get ourselves with and without love, literally and figuratively. Jacques (Jean-Pierre Bacri) has been left by his wife of fifteen years for another man. He lets his apartment fall into a state of utter disorderliness and it becomes dirty and messy. He hires a young housekeeper, Laura (Émilie Dequenne), with two-toned hair, rather banal tastes and housing problems of her own. Jacques reluctantly allows his housekeeper to share his bed, a victim of his loneliness and hurt pride.

Such an improbable relationship between the older, sophisticated Jacques and the young, banal Laura cannot work, but we hope that it does in any case. The film is simple and direct, no one is right, no one is wrong with both Jacques and Laura being perfectly honest with each other. In an attempt to test their love, they take a trip, Laura gets a haircut, and they spend their days at the beach. The ending of the film is not surprising, but it is rather gratifying. Jacques, who was cajoled into love by the young Laura finds her choice understandable but is grateful that his heart has been opened. This is a chic flick in a way, but also satisfying for men to watch, as many of us will be able to identify with poor Jacques on many levels. Also, it is not saccharine sweet, nor cloyingly romantic. We gave this a 6.5/10.

Incidentally, the director of this movie, Claude Berri, directed the very famous and excellent duet: “Jean de Florette” in 1986 and the 1986 “Manon des Sources”.

The second film we saw was the 2006 “La Tourneuse de Pages” (the Page Turner) by Denis Dercourt. This is a wonderfully dark and understated thriller about revenge. Mélanie Prouvost is a young and musically gifted butcher's daughter who has serious musical ambitions. She fails an audition for entry into a conservatory because of the behaviour of one of the judges, an egocentric pianist, Ariane (Catherine Frot). This causes her to give up her piano playing and grows up to become a clerk. Years later Mélanie (Déborah François) temps for a wealthy lawyer, Monsieur Fouchecourt (Pascal Greggory), and also volunteers to care for his son Tristan (Antoine Martynchiow) during her holidays.

When she goes to the château where Fouchecourt lives, she finds that her boss’s wife is none other than Ariane. She immediately sets out to gain the unsuspecting Ariane's confidence – easy, since Ariane has recently lost all her confidence due to a serious car accident and needs all the extra support she can get. Mélanie manages to become indispensable as Ariane's page turner for important concerts (not only in her métier, but also as a psychological prop. Mélanie also wins Tristan's affection and becomes important to Ariane in more subtle ways. The only person she doesn't seduce is the cool, aloof Monsieur Fouchecourt. Adriane and Mélanie develop a complex relationship, while the true nature of the seemingly sweet Meelanie is revealed slowly in all of its dark and malevolent colours.

The film is well-paced, acted and directed extremely well and the story is satisfying and involving, although one cannot make up one’s mind about the psychologically scarred Mélanie or the vulnerable and dependent Ariane. The music is gorgeous and there is an insight into the world of the concert pianist, in all its complexity. We gave this film a 7.5/10.

The last one we watched was another Claude Berri film, the 2007 “Ensemble, C’ Est Tout” (Hunting and Gathering – what the English title has to do with the film, I’ll never know – the literal translation is “Together, That’s What’s Important” which is much more apt). The film is an adaptation of a best seller by Anna Gavalda and I am sure that it must have disappointed the bibliophiles, but I thought that as a film this was pleasant trifle, a wonderful French bon-bon, light and airy with lashings of whipped liqueur cream and wrapped in fine dark chocolate.

The film recounts the story of four people whose lives blend and clash in a Paris apartment. Audrey Tautou stars as Camille Fauque, a waif who works as a cleaner (“Surface Engineer”!) who smokes a lot, drinks, but eats little. She lives alone in a small attic of an apartment block and meets Philibert (Laurent Stocker), a neighbour who suffers from bouts of anxiety and stutters badly. He improbably wishes to leave his souvenir shop behind him and become a theatre actor. Philibert's housemate Franck (Guillaume Canet) is a chef who lives hard and fast, and whose only care is the welfare of his grandmother Paulette (Francoise Bertin), an old woman who fears old age and hates her dependency on others.

The film has hardly any surprises and is a modern-day fairy tale, a delicious romantic comedy that works because its heroes and heroines are ordinary people with quite ordinary problems, modest ambitions and the universal human need to love and be loved. The way in which each of these people overcomes their fears, their frustrations, the way that they dispense with their psychological baggage is what makes the film engaging and eminently watchable.

The acting is very good (Philibert is a joy to watch!), the direction light-handed and discreet, while the music and cinematography seamless and unnoticeable (in the best sense of the word)! The film rated a 7/10.

ART SUNDAY - ARTHUR BOYD

“Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.” - Elizabeth Lawrence

Arthur Boyd (1920-1999) was born into a lineage of gifted painters, potters, musicians and architects, to become the most celebrated member, in Australia’s cultural history, of that artistic family. After spending his youth painting idyllic impressionist landscapes and portraits of the places and people that surrounded him in the family haven at Murrumbeena in Victoria, the onset of WWII was the catalyst for the dramatic shift towards the highly expressive and personal style, which characterised his painting from during the 1940s onwards.

Influential in Boyd's development were artists associated with art patrons, John and Sunday Reed such as Nolan, Tucker, Perceval and Bergner. Boyd’s images of the deprivation of modern urban society in the war years, infused thematically with Old Testament narrative, was influenced by German Expressionism, Surrealism and the northern European painting tradition. His explorations as a painter-ceramicist yielded a series of monumentally conceived terracotta masterpieces.

In the 1950s his poetic depiction of the luminous Wimmera landscape transformed the surface of his paintings with the rich combination of oil, tempera and resin, reflecting his constant experimentation with differing materials and modes of expression. Following his move to England in 1959 where he achieved significant success, Boyd began to explore the medium of printmaking, producing etchings, lithographs and illustrated books. In 1979 the artist purchased a property on the Shoalhaven River where his depictions of the infinite variety of this magnificent landscape fuelled his artistic imagination until his death in 1999.

Here is “Wimmera Landscape” ca1975, which is an exceptional painting of one of Boyd’s most important landscape series: The Wimmera region of Western Victoria. 


The wind began to rock the grass
With threatening tunes and low,
He flung a menace at the earth,
A menace at the sky.

The leaves unhooked themselves from trees
And started all abroad;
The dust did scoop itself like hands
And threw away the road.

The wagons quickened on the streets,
The thunder hurried slow;
The lightning showed a yellow beak,
And then a livid claw.

The birds put up the bars to nests,
The cattle fled to barns;
There came one drop of giant rain,
And then, as if the hands


That held the dams had parted hold,
The waters wrecked the sky,
But overlooked my father’s house
Just quartering a tree.
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

END RACISM!

“Prejudices are the chains forged by ignorance to keep men apart.” - Countess of Blessington

The United Nations has laid aside the 21st of March as the International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination. On that day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid "pass laws". At that time, the South African Government was a brutal regime that applied the theory of inequality between races, regardless of humanity’s moral and ethical advances. Proclaiming the Day in 1966, the General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.

Quality education is vital in eliminating racial discrimination. International agencies such as UNESCO have constantly advocated the importance of education for combating stereotypes and building mutual understanding and respect between the various peoples of the world. High quality learning materials and pedagogical approaches that promote social cohesion and respect for human rights are among the most powerful weapons in the fight against discrimination. Sport and physical education must also provide an effective framework for promoting dialogue, tolerance and mutual understanding, in particular among youth. If children all over the world are brought up to respect diversity, celebrate differences and learn from each other’s cultures, the adults that they will grow up to be will be citizens of a better of world. Today, is an opportunity to affirm and intensify these efforts to eliminate racial discrimination, and to realize the right of every individual to live in dignity and peace.

Australia has a bad record in terms of racial discrimination, but I am glad to say that times are changing and people are beginning to become more open-minded. The way that the indigenous people of Australia have been treated since the arrival of the Europeans is a shameful chapter in Australia’s history and the compounding of injustices over the centuries perhaps reached its peak with the stolen generations of the 50s and 60s where aboriginal children were taken from their parents and given to white families or put in orphanages in order to “bring them up right” and “save them from their savagery”. This caused generations of pain and psychological damage, separated families and obliterated the cultural heritage of a proud and free people. In recent times our former prime minister, John Howard, refused to acknowledge this injustice and refused until he was voted out to say “sorry” to the stolen generations. Our current prime minister Kevin Rudd acknowledged the wrongs of the past and apologized to the aboriginal people for the past wrongs.

Aboriginal people in Australia nowadays are beginning to regain their dignity, their culture and are ready to play an important role in modern Australian society of today and the future. Here is a song from the Australian Aboriginal band Yothu Yindi, called “Djäpana”. Highly characteristic is the native wind instrument, the didgeridoo, providing the low cooing sound.

LUNCHING IN BRISBANE

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” - Lin Yutang

I was in Brisbane for work today and was kept very busy all day, with not much time at all to enjoy the weather and the autumnal equinox. At this time of the year, Brisbane enjoys mild to very warm temperatures with occasional rain. Today looked like a good mix of these, with warm weather and the occasional drizzle. Notwithstanding the busy-ness of the day there was time to have some lunch, although it was in the cafeteria of the College.

This cafeteria is an interesting proposition, in that it is leased out to a group of people who run it very well as a private business. The food is an interesting mix, but the emphasis is on good nutrition with fresh ingredients and a good mix of world cuisine tastes. There are plenty of vegetarian options, some organic and macro-organic choices, a range of coffees (including decaffeinated), milks (full cream, half-cream, skim, soy, etc), fresh juices, vitamin drinks, etc.

The student body seems to enjoy eating there and also many of the staff, but I am quite surprised that there are also many people that walk in off the street. Why I should be surprised I don’t quite know, as the shopfront is right on a busy road. Perhaps it’s because I normally associate college cafeteria with gloppy food that one eats because one has no choice.

I had a very nice vegetarian focaccia sandwich today, which was not only delicious, but also quite appropriate for Earth Day! It also kept me going until this evening where I had a light dinner at the airport at the Club. Now, all I can say I’m glad it’s Friday and I’m very glad to be home…

EQUINOCTIAL EARTH DAY

“The more we exploit nature, the more our options are reduced, until we have only one: To fight for survival.” - Morris K. Udall

Tomorrow is the Equinoctial Earth Day as designated by the United Nations. This is celebrated on the March equinox (around 20th of March) and marks the moment of astronomical mid-spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and of astronomical mid-autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. An equinox in astronomy is the moment in time when the centre of the Sun can be observed to be directly above the Earth's equator, occurring around March 20 and September 23 each year. In most cultures the equinoxes and solstices are considered to separate the seasons.

The idea of a worldwide holiday to be called “Earth Day” was first introduced by John McConnell, a peace activist at a UNESCO Conference on the Environment in 1969. This was adopted by the United Nations and at the moment of the equinox, it is traditional to observe Earth Day by ringing the Japanese Peace Bell (donated by Japan to the United Nations). Over the years celebrations have occurred in various cities globally at the same time as the celebration at the United Nations.

Amidst cries of increasing shrillness and alarm about our changing climate, our dwindling water resources, pollution of our environment and a runaway greenhouse effect, we still have time to actively seek innovative solutions for the future. Earth Day is a means of raising awareness of environmental issues and doing something globally to diminish the destruction of this very fragile planet we are living on. It is certainly a day for taking the message of “Think Globally, Act Locally” to everyone. This adage refers to the argument that global environmental problems can turn into action only by considering ecological, economic, and cultural differences of our local surroundings. This phrase was originated by René Dubos as an advisor to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in 1972. In 1979, Dubos suggested that ecological consciousness should begin at home.

Here are some suggestions for reducing your environmental footprint:

1. Become Carbon Neutral, purchase carbon credits (which are used to fund offset activities such as planting trees, or various energy conservation activities).

2. Convert to Green Power through your electricity provider (the electricity provider must produce your electricity needs through the use of clean, renewable energy sourced from the sun, the wind, water and waste, instead of burning coal).

3. Drive as small and fuel efficient car as is suitable to your needs. No status symbols or “Toorak tractors” (Australians are big drivers: Per capita we own more cars than any other nation except the USA. With average use, an Australian family car will travel about 15,000 km a year, generate about six tonnes of greenhouse pollution and cost its owners $7,700).

4. Be aware of the meat you eat. Don't eat Feedlot beef, or even become a vegetarian (animal products make up the biggest part of our Eco Footprint - 34% to be exact. Meat, particularly beef, has a very high environmental impact, using much water and land to produce it, and creating significant greenhouse pollution. In fact if you reduce your intake by one 150 g serve of red meat each week, you'll save 10,000 litres of water and 300 kg of greenhouse pollution in a year. Most conventional meats are resource intensive, but feedlot beef is particularly wasteful. Producing 1 kg of feedlot beef, on average, requires 4.8 kg of grain and over 19800 liters of water. It also results in the erosion of over 2 kg of topsoil).

5. Reduce the electricity consumption of your house and office by switching off lights and computers when not in use and installing energy efficient appliances and fixtures (eg: Replace existing incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescent bulbs or the newer LED bulbs. Turn off “power vampires” – ie, appliances on “sleep mode”. Such “power vampires” can cost a typical household up to 11% of the electric bill. Switch to a Solar hot water System if you have an electric hot water system. Switch from electric to gas appliances whenever possible. If you are buying new appliances, choose the product with the best Energy Star Rating that you can afford).

6. Communicate your views to people in power (encourage change by: Contacting your elected member of parliament; Emailing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper; Having face-to-face meetings with your elected officials, which can move them from having a passive stance to taking an active interest).

7. Pressure industry to change its ways (reward a company with your business for doing the right thing by the environment. Abandon them for doing wrong, but make it known to them why they have lost your custom with a letter or email).

8. Eat less fish and be aware of the types of fish that you do consume (the global wild fish harvest has begun a sharp decline since 2000 despite progress in seagoing technologies and intensified fishing. Long-lining, in which a single boat sets line across sixty or more miles of ocean, each baited with up to 10,000 hooks, captures at least 25 percent unwanted catch).

9. Join or support an action group or Green Project that you are interested in (larger groups like the WWF and Greenpeace, are aware of the most pressing issues and have the resources to keep on top of things, however, groups like these often get a bad wrap, but the truth is that most of them highlight and study important issues that governments and companies would otherwise ignore or cover up). See the following links:

http://www1.bushheritage.org/

http://www.australianwildlife.org/index.asp

http://www.paradigmexpeditions.com/big_picture.htm

10. Communicate with other people (family, friends, acquaintances, work colleagues, blog readers!).

Have a great Earth Day tomorrow!

sustainable |səˈstānəbəl| adjective
able to be maintained at a certain rate or level: Sustainable fusion reactions.
• Ecology (esp. of development, exploitation, or agriculture) conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.
• Able to be upheld or defended : Sustainable definitions of good educational practice.
DERIVATIVES
sustainability |səˌstānəˈbilitē| |səˈsteɪnəˈbɪlədi| |-ˈbɪlɪti| noun
sustainably |-blē| |səˈsteɪnəbli| adverb
ORIGIN Middle English: From Old French soustenir, from Latin sustinere, from sub- ‘from below’ + tenere ‘hold.’

SHIPS IN THE NIGHT

“Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.” - Omar N. Bradley

Railway stations and harbours have always struck me as rather sad places where many partings find a melancholy, albeit temporary, home. Unlike, say, airports or bus stations that seem strangely more utilitarian and associated more with business or pleasure; short-term shelters for people seeking to be conveyed to their destination as quickly and as efficiently as possible. The train and ship convey an image of a time past, of sad days of old (who said the old days were all so good?).

Perhaps, this attitude of mine is highly coloured by my own past experiences of trains, planes, buses and ships, but nevertheless, that may explain the fact that I still have to accustom myself to cruises and cruise ships as being for pleasure…

Ships

Every time a ship unfurls her sails and leaves the harbour,
Each evening when a ship begins her voyage,
A little part of me, deep inside, dies.

Every lonely, twilit evening when the sea birds cry,
Each night when the lighthouse beacon flashes,
A little part of me expires.

Every time the foghorn announces warnings, mournfully,
Each night as the mist covers all like a black pall,
A little part of me inside my heart dies.

Every grey twilit dawn as old sailors drink the last of the grog,
Each lonely, wintry morning when sickly sun is reborn,
A little part of my soul perishes.

Every time a ship sails away, as her image vanishes,
Each evening when a ship is swallowed by the horizon,
A little part of me dies;
And is it not a wonder that I carry within me
So much death?

ST PATRICK'S DAY

“May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.” Irish blessing
Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Saint Patrick’s Day is a predominantly Irish holiday honouring the missionary credited with converting the Irish to Christianity in the 5th century AD. He was born around 387 AD in either Scotland (near the town of Dumbarton) or in Roman Britain (the Romans left Britain in 410 AD). His real name is believed to be Maewyn Succat. He was kidnapped at the age of 16 by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland. During his 6-year captivity, while he worked as a shepherd, he began to have religious visions, and found strength in his faith. He finally escaped, going to France, where he became a priest, taking on the name of Patrick. When he was about 60 years old, St. Patrick travelled to Ireland to spread the Christian word. Reputedly, Patrick had a winning personality, which helped him to convert the fun-loving Irish to Christianity. He used the shamrock, which resembles a three-leafed clover, as a metaphor to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity. He died at 461 AD.

St Patrick is also credited with ridding Ireland of snakes (there are no native snakes on the island). When Norse invaders came to Ireland in the 9th century they noticed that the island also had no toads. The Norse word for toad is “paud”. When they heard the saint referred to as Patrick, they interpreted it as “Paudrig”, meaning “Toad-Expeller” in Norse. Toads became snakes, no doubt aided and abetted by the Old Testament symbolism of the snake as a reification of evil. Furthermore, the snake was revered pagan totem and the victory was two-fold. Thus a legend was born.

St Patrick’s day is celebrated in Ireland and in all parts of the world where the Irish have made their home. The St Patrick’s Day parade is a tradition that perhaps started in Ireland where during the holy day, the pubs were closed to locals but could serve travellers. Many inveterate drinkers got around this by walking in groups to the next town and as “travellers” could be served in the pub. In the USA the first St Patrick’s Day parade was held in Boston in 1737 and then the event caught on in New York in 1762 when Irish military units were recruited to serve in the American colonies.

In Ireland the traditional parade did not start to be widespread until the 19th century, introduced from the USA, but its nature was rather more religious and family oriented. The Parade outside Ireland can often degenerate into a carnival-like celebration, lubricated by gallons of green beer and backed by local businesses that see it as a means of advertising their wares.

“Beannachtaí na Féile Páraic oraibh!” St. Patrick's Day blessing upon you!

MOVIE MONDAY - MISS POTTER

“We could never have loved the earth so well if we had had no childhood in it.” - George Eliot

Yesterday we watched a delightful film that we enjoyed and recommend. It was Chris Noonan’s 2006 “Miss Potter”, with Renée Zellweger, Ewn Mcgregor and Emily Watson. It is a biographical film of the children’s book author, Beatrix Potter, of “Peter Rabbit” fame. Miss Beatrix Potter (1866-1942) was born into an upper middle class, family with aristocratic pretensions. Beatrix becomes a 32-year-old unmarried “Miss” who still lives with her parents, under her mother’s watchful eye. She refuses offers of marriage, preferring to write and illustrate children’s books, an occupation that is looked down upon by her mother.

The film is a story of a repressed woman’s liberation and journey to true independence so that she could follow her dreams. We become part of Beatrix’s journey through the publication of her books and the relationship that develops between her and her publisher, Norman Warne (another young person living at home and having to prove himself as capable in the family’s business – the Warne Publishing House). Norman’s sister, Millie, is another solitary female that helps Beatrix discover her wings, and who supports her throughout her first steps of independent life.

The film is very well made, the acting, direction, costumes, sets, music and cinematography excellent. I would have to be churlish to find fault with something, however, the animation used (albeit sparingly) to bring some of Beatrix’s drawings “to life” I wasn’t particularly impressed with. Her drawings are so eloquent, that the animations are unnecessary. Nevertheless, the gimmick is not too intrusive and it is easy to overlook it.

The genuineness of the settings and the authenticity of the costumes and sets is quite amazing and contributes to the engaging nature of the film. Add to that the stunning Lake Country, Cumbria, and Isle of Man scenery with touches of period mores (Miss Potter’s elderly chaperone accompanies her everywhere!) and the film is a winner. Besides which there is not a single scene of violence, sex or gratuitous slapstick in it – quite a rare thing in movies nowadays. The film makes a strong point about the environment and conservation, but it manages to do so almost subliminally. It is certainly no militant homily and Miss Potter demonstrates her views on the matter by actions, not words. If only all of the proselytisers were as gently persuasive as she was!

I recommend this movie to everyone who still has a child in their heart, to those who love a well made period movie, to those who wish to enjoy a movie where peace and delight are what matter and where the gratuitous violence, sex, expletives and special effects of most movies nowadays do not make one appearance and where they are missed at all.

ART SUNDAY - LE LORRAIN

“To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist.” – Robert Schumann

For Art Sunday today, an iconic French Baroque painter, Claude Gellée (1604-1682) who was better known as Lorrain after his place of birth in France. He was a very influential and successful artist in the seventeenth century, who became famous as a landscape painter in Italy. His paintings were picturesque but also full of the rough textures of wild nature with romantic old castles or classical ruins. The paintings, drawings and prints by Claude Lorrain were very popular and widely collected. His style set the standards for what was worthy of appreciation.

Claude created landscapes that were expansive, dramatic and always eye-catching. In full color paintings or sepia toned washes, Claude used the scale of values to express near to far. Claude often gave the foreground strong contrasts of light and shadow while the middle distance had less contrast. The far background was rendered even lighter and with less contrast between shadow and highlight to give a sense of great distance.

While the subjects of his paintings and drawings were often from the Bible or classical mythology, the mood and atmosphere of the landscape was the real subject. His figures were were usually only a minor part of a scene to help set the scale and perspective. The dramatic lighting of his painting often relied on sunrise or sunset and the golden glow of his canvases seems to have inspired Turner.

Here is an archetypal Lorrain canvas of 1648: “Ulysses returns Chryseis to her father”.

SONG SATURDAY - DVORAk

“Where we love is home. Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr

What kind of music would you write, if you were able to, to express the pain of a great loss? A loss of a loved one, a loss of a home, of a country? A loss of an ideal, of a dream, of an idea? For me, it is the following piece: Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, and in particular the second movement…

Dvořák composed the Quartet in 1893 during a summer retreat from his teaching post in New York. He spent his holiday in the village of Spillville, Iowa, which was home to a Czech immigrant community. The quartet was written around the same time as the New World Symphony, the masterpiece of Dvořák's years in the United States. Of his time in Spillville, Dvořák said "As for my new Symphony, the F major String Quartet and the Quintet (composed here in Spillville) - I should never have written these works 'just so' if I hadn't seen America." In the second movement, a listener may detect the melancholic longing of an African American spiritual, a sentiment with which the homesick Dvořák sympathised.



Enjoy your weekend!

ON ALCOHOL (AGAIN)...

“Drunkenness is nothing but voluntary madness.” – Seneca

Remember once upon a time when cigarette smoking used to be widespread and nobody would even think of not smoking in public places (well, if not, maybe I am showing my age…)? Before my time, smoking was even recommended as healthful for some disorders! Some definitive epidemiological studies in the 1960s started to link smoking with some deadly diseases including emphysema, cancers of the mouth, throat, lungs, pancreas, cervix, bladder, it increases the risk of dying from a heart attack or from a stroke and increases the risk of getting gangrene. It interferes with normal functioning of almost every organ of the body, decreases libido and increases the ageing processes and wrinkling of the skin.

We are now aware of all of these adverse and often fatal effects and we have legislated to protect as many people as possible. Cigarette smoking in public places is now strictly regulated, tobacco advertising is banned in most countries, warning signs are printed on cigarette packets and smoking is on the point of becoming socially unacceptable.

Alcohol is responsible for almost as many adverse effects and yet it has been resistant to becoming quite so unacceptable as smoking is. “Noah was the first tiller of the soil. He planted a vineyard; and he drank of the wine, and became drunk, and lay uncovered in his tent.” This quote from Genesis 9:20-21, describes graphically alcohol production, its consumption and after-effects! Records of wine and beer making go back 5,000-6,000 years with the Mesopotamians and Egyptians both being well versed in the art of making alcohol in the form of beer and wine. Alcohol or ethanol is produced by the fermentation of carbohydrates by yeasts. It is one of most widely used of recreational drugs and is taken in alcoholic drinks to relax, reduce inhibitions and increase sociability. Taken just before food alcohol will increase gastric secretion and hence enhance the gastric phase of digestion. Alcohol in moderate doses is believed to be safe, and recent research suggests that moderate alcohol consumption will reduce high blood pressure and protect against atheroma.

However, the problem with alcohol is described by the maxim: “Too much of a good thing becomes a very bad thing”. In Australia currently, over 80% of the population report that they consumed alcohol in the previous 12 months, with 11% of males and 6% of females drinking daily. In terms of risk of harm in the long term, 10% of males and 9% of females drank alcohol in a pattern that was risky or high risk. In terms of short-term risk, 24% of males and 17% of females drank at least once a month in a manner that was risky or high risk for short-term harm. Around one-quarter of teenagers put themselves at risk of short-term alcohol-related harm at least once a month. The proportion was higher among females (28.3%) than males (24.5%).

Alcohol is the second largest cause of drug-related deaths and hospitalisations in Australia, after tobacco. Alcohol is the main cause of deaths on Australian roads. In 1998, over 2,000 deaths of the total 7,000 deaths of persons under 65 years, were related to alcohol. In 2004, the age standardised rate for male deaths due to alcoholic liver disease as the underlying cause was 5.5 per 100,000, compared with 1.5 per 100,000 for females. In 2004, the age standardised rate for male deaths with mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol as the underlying cause was 1.9 per 100,000, compared with 0.4 per 100,000 for females.

Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and disturbs both mental and physical functioning. Alcohol intoxication causes muddled thinking, slurred speech, drowsiness, poor co-ordination, dulled reactions, erectile dysfunction and amnesia. Disinhibition will lead to feelings of euphoria or misery, irritability and aggression, moodiness or extreme loquacity and sociability, depending on the underlying mood at the start of drinking. Severe intoxication may lead to coma and respiratory failure. Driving under the influence of alcohol or operating machinery is outlawed in most countries because of the extreme dangers associated.

Persistent alcohol abuse leads to physical, mental, social and occupational problems. Misuse of alcohol may take several guises: Regular but controlled heavy intake, binge drinking and dependence (alcoholism). The first pattern is the one that most often leads to severe physical diseases such as cancers of the oesophagus and throat, peptic ulcers, cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis, cancer of the pancreas, nervous system degenerations, heart and muscle damage and harmful effects on the unborn baby in pregnant women who drink. The second pattern is most common amongst young people, especially men, and leads mostly to social and occupational problems. The third problem of addiction is the most serious and leads to the most pronounced effects, physical and social. There has been some evidence to suggest that alcohol dependence has a genetic component, however, it is very difficult to disentangle genetic, environmental, psychological and social factors in the families where this propensity is apparent. Prolonged alcohol abuse often will lead to dementia.

In Australia, we may soon have health warning labels on alcoholic drinks, similar to what we see on tobacco products. Our Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has proposed this means of trying to curb the diseases and deaths due to alcohol abuse. However, the experience with cigarette smoking has shown that although a deterrent, legislation hardly curbs widespread use of these recreational drugs. The problem with young people abusing alcohol is extremely widespread and perhaps a more effective way of dealing with it would be with education programs and responsible drinking under supervision in the family. I was allowed to drink a little watered down wine with meals ever since I was about 10 years old. Subsequently, I have remained a moderate drinker, do not consume alcohol daily and when I drink I usually do it with my meal. I can only recall being drunk only once in my life (when I was in my early twenties) after which I resolved that I would never allow myself to ever again descend into that state, and it was a promise that I have kept. As Shakespeare says: “O God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains! That we should, with joy, pleasance, revel, and applause, transform ourselves into beasts!”

MURDER MOST FOUL

“Murder itself is past all expiation, the greatest crime that nature doth abhor.” – William Goffe

The Alabama tragedy last Tuesday where Michael McLendon killed 10 people and then shot himself still has the small towns of Geneva and Samson reeling in the shocking aftermath of his crime. Some details are beginning to emerge about this “polite and ordinary” man’s life but the people who knew him are still trying to understand what drove him over the edge. The victims were identified as McLendon’s mother, Lisa McLendon, 52; his uncle, James Alford White, 55; his cousin, Tracy Michelle Wise, 34; a second cousin, Dean James Wise, 15; and his grandmother, Virginia E. White, 74. Also killed were James Irvin Starling, 24; Sonja Smith, 43; and Bruce Wilson Malloy, 51.

McLendon was briefly employed by the police department in Samson in 2003 and spent about a week and a half at the police academy, dropping out before he received firearms training. He then worked in various places including a metal factory, the place where he took his own life in the end. The people who may have helped us to understand the actions of the murderer are all dead. His family were all but destroyed, but also some strangers paid the price of being at the wrong place at the time and suffered the fatal outcomes of McLendon’s random shootings. The members of the terrified community are still considering the fact that any of one of them may have been victims seeing he shot more than two hundred rounds as he was driving through the town.

In the wake of this rampage, another meek killer, a 17-year-old boy dressed in black opened fire inside his former high school in southwestern Germany yesterday killing 15 people before he turned the gun on himself. His name was Tim Kretschmer and authorities have no idea why he did it. Some students died with pens still in their hands. Most were shot in the head. Most of the victims were women and girls. The father of the murderer was a member of a gun club and had numerous weapons at home, not all of them securely locked away.

It is suspected that perhaps, that the boy was influenced by the 2002 German shooting, when 19-year-old Robert Steinhaeuser shot and killed 12 teachers, a secretary, two students and a police officer before turning his gun on himself in the Gutenberg high school in Erfurt, in eastern Germany. Or maybe he was even influenced by the McLendon murders. In all cases some secret grudges worked over unbalanced minds may have been enough to make these people totter over the edge of reason and commit these heinous crimes.

Is it our society that is to blame for these random acts of extreme violence where people seem to lose control of their reason, their faculties, their normal patterns of behaviour? What is it in our society that cause these people to crack under the strain and become executioners of some crazed plan of punishment and retribution for perceived wrongs that have been done them? What can cloud someone’s mind so completely and utterly, what can make someone go berserk and open fire on people that until then he loved, or knew, or interacted with daily? In the case of the random killings, what madness possesses someone to kill utter and complete strangers, against whom he cannot have a grudge?

I am trying to rationalise the irrational. Surely these must be the works of madmen, it cannot be otherwise. What is it in our society that is driving these young men to murder and kill themselves in these copy-cat crimes? We are surrounded by violence and murder daily, but most of us are not as affected by it as these three examples of mass murderers were. We see violence and murder in our films, in our documentaries in our news reports. We read of it in our novels, our newspapers. Our children see it on TV, we are confronted by violence every day. Some people snap. How do we prevent it?

berserk |bərˈzərk; -ˈsərk| adjective
• (Of a person or animal) out of control with anger or excitement; wild or frenzied: After she left him, he went berserk, throwing things about the apartment.
• (Of a mechanical device or system) operating in a wild or erratic way; out of control: The climate control went berserk and either roasted or froze us.
• (Of a procedure, program, or activity) fluctuating wildly: The stock market's gone berserk, with sugar at 15.27 cents a pound.
ORIGIN early 19th century (originally as a noun denoting a wild Norse warrior who fought with frenzy): From Old Norse berserkr (noun), probably from birn-, bjҩrn (bear) + serkr ‘coat,’ but also possibly from berr ‘bare’ (i.e., without armor).

FULL MOON IN ADELAIDE

“Night is the blotting paper for many sorrows.”

I am in Adelaide for a couple of days for work and it has been a very hectic day with rather a lot going on and also a function on this evening which went on until late. Coming back to the Hotel, the moon was up in the sky and the city was rather quiet and seemed quite forlorn – it is a midweek night after all. While walking back, my mind worked over some words: Woolen shrouds, liquid graves, scrawny branches and the passage of time as the moon described its endless circles across the skies…

So for this poem blame the moon and my late night walk…

The Moon

The moon with face of bronze and full
Ascends so slow from the horizon low;
Peeks through the wispy clouds of greyish wool
It climbs, it rises and assumes a silver glow.

The trees attempt to grasp the satellite
They stretch bare branches to the sky.
The wind that blows will usher in the night
While boughs turn into claws up high.

The moon impassive in the heavens reigns
And looks upon the city’s ghastly sprawl.
It reaches zenith and then beams it rains
To drown in river, wrapped in liquid pall.

Silver is now the swarthy face of clouds
The sparkling stars shine coldly down.
Streets empty, houses are enclosed in shrouds;
Cold earth, dead trees, a silent, ghostly town.

The hours flee, the minutes quickly fly
Bodies and loves, all passions will wear thin.
Only the moon forever turns her eye
As people die and lives anew begin.

READING ORWELL

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” - Mark Twain

In the aeroplane back on my way home from Brisbane I saw a young man engrossed in a copy of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”. His face was quite a picture of concentration and engagement and it brought to mind the first time I had read that classic. I could easily imagine myself in his place, devouring the book, absorbing each word of the cautionary fable and being quite removed from the world surrounding me. Even the picture on cover of his book was the same as the cover on my copy.

It took me back, made me feel old but at the same time was also quite an uplifting experience. It made feel part of the human river’s flow, part of the ever-turning wheel, a small grain in the sands of time. Like me, the young man would age, would move on, lay aside his copy of “Animal Farm”, overcome his rightful indignation and slowly lose his youthful enthusiasm to change the world, settle down into a job, a career, a routine, and like me would some time in the future see another young man reading the same book, quite possibly with the same cover picture…

Time sometimes flows like a rapid mountain stream, bounding and leaping over rocks, sometimes slowly like a river nearing the sea amidst its broad banks. Time may rush torrentially and fall over precipices in a maddening powerful cataract or it may languish in some backwater, hardly moving in the cul-de-sac, but passing by nevertheless in all cases. We may behave as if we are immortal, but look at the hourglass and watch the sand grains falling down inexorably and we our end approaching.

We look in the mirror each day and we are oblivious to the marks of time on our face. Line by line on our face, white hair by white hair we become older and we accommodate ourselves to the ravages of time on our reflection. It only takes an old photograph to fall not our hands and as we look at ourselves as we were in the past, the realisation hits home that we have changed. And then we think back of how we were, how we thought, how we loved, how we believed and we realise that the change goes beyond our grey hairs and deeper than the lines on our face. We have changed inside as well…

MOVIE MONDAY - FEAST OF LOVE

“Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half 
shut afterwards.” - Benjamin Franklin

I have been travelling for work today and Brisbane was the destination. The day there was rainy and warm, with the muggy weather being a good enough reason for staying inside, as if the meetings scheduled weren’t reason enough. We have been trying to limit travel as much as possible at work, to economise on our expenses. The financial crisis is an ever-present concern at the moment everywhere. However, sometimes travelling is unavoidable and today was one of these occasions. Fortunately, the trip went well and there were some favourable outcomes from the travel, justifying the expense.

At the weekend we watched a couple of films as there was nothing on TV and we really needed to relax and veg out for a while. Last week was certainly a packed week so watching a couple of films was a good way of trying to get our mind off things and rest the weary bones. That’s not to say we didn’t work in the garden for a while and get a few chores done out and about.

The film I’ll review for Movie Monday is an interesting little film, which was pleasant enough to watch, but not exceptional. I could see it working better as a novel, although it was OK to watch while relaxing and not wanting to tax the neurons too much. It was Robert Benton’s 2007 “Feast of Love”. Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Billy Burke, Selma Blair, Alexa Davalos, Toby Hemingway and Stana Katic were an able enough cast and could cope well with the predictable plot and rather stolid direction. As a B-grade movie it was well made and maintained interest. However, as a work of art or ground-breaking challenging cinema, it was not amongst my list of great films of all time. There was a genuine attempt by the film-maker to try to make it a little more than it was, but frankly, it felt short of being an emotionally involving experience or a memorable, “must-see” film.

The plot takes place over an 18-month period in Portland, Oregon, and looks at several couples during the course of coupling and uncoupling, recoupling and becoming otherwise intermeshed in all sorts of relationships. The eight couples involved explore modern relationships and deal with some unconventional ones, or portray some problems that may be all too common in our society. There are themes of infidelity, lesbianism, romanticism, true love, sex, death, drugs, grief, parenthood, marriage, companionship, and the conflicting views of the perception of love, as either a mystical experience full of emotional fulfilment and the sole redeeming force of our human existence, or alternatively, the concept of love as a genetically programmed incitement to sex and procreation, in order to perpetuate the species.

Morgan Freeman, a good actor, has some difficulty with his rag-bag role and some of his lines full of homespun wisdom, often sounded somewhat corny and trite. Depends on your mood at the time, I guess. Greg Kinnear is cast as a great romantic, one whose ideal woman shares his idealistic view of relationships, love and marriage, but one who unfortunately chooses the wrong woman again and again. The young couple played by Alexa Davalos and Toby Hemingway were my favourite characters, the ones who were the most believable in all their frailty, innocence and vulnerability. They managed to elicit the greatest feeling of sympathy and interest in me and they were pivotal in the film’s plot.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to search for and find this film to watch it, but if it chances to be on TV or on cable and you have a spare 97 minutes, then by all means settle down, relax and let it wash past you. There are some redeeming features and as a B-grade feature, it has a good enough mix of comedy, drama, romance and action to keep you interested, but don’t expect a life-changing experience or an emotional tour-de-force.

(Just in case you are wondering what the other film we watched was, it was the 2002 action thriller, “The Bourne Identity”. Great boys’ own adventure, cloak and dagger stuff with a whole lot of mindless action, great car chases and special effects. Nevertheless quite watchable and engaging escapist nonsense with some great locations to boot! Told you this weekend was one for unwinding and relaxation…)
Enjoy your week!