ROSSINI AND HIS MAGPIE

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” - Confucius

For Song Saturday today, I return to my childhood. I was listening to the radio this morning and they currently have a promotion where they invited listeners to remember the first piece that “hooked” them on classics. Ever since I remember, music was part of our household. Whether the radio, stereo, TV or people actually singing live, music there was. When we moved to Australia, I remember having to live in a country town for a little while. This was quite a big change for us, because we had lived in big cities up until then.

One day, the school organised an outing to the Town Hall, where a full symphony orchestra in one of its country tours was giving a concert. They played several pieces, but the very first one was the one that impressed my young mind the most. It was Rossini at his most exuberant, an overture full of drama and a wonderful showcase of the orchestra’s colours. The piece was the overture to his opera “La Gazza Ladra” (The Thieving Magpie). This is an opera of servant girl accused of stealing her mistress’s jewels, whereas in fact a magpie has purloined them. Just as the poor girl is going to hang for her crime, the real “thief” is discovered and all ends well.

The orchestra begins with a drum roll and a march, which is quickly followed by a glorious Rossini melody that is so juicy and rich, that it is as if you are biting into a ripe plum. There are beautiful solos for woodwinds, Rossini crescendos, excitement and drama. What a marvellous introduction to the classics for an impressionable 10-year-old!

Here is the New Philharmonia Orchestra, with Rossini’s “Thieving Magpie” overture:

FEEDING A CAST OF THOUSANDS

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” - Andrew Carnegie

I wrote last Wednesday that I had visited Adelaide and that I had luncheon at the Adelaide Convention Centre, at the function I was attending. I was most impressed with the food and service and have since found out more about the executive chef behind this venue. But first, the menu of the luncheon, which was truly delicious:

Entrée
Tassal Smoked Salmon with Spanish onions and freshly juiced lemon, beetroot relish and sourdough horseradish bread

Main Course
Prime fillet steak with Anna Potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, asparagus spears and baby caper cabernet sauce

Selection of bread rolls and pure creamery butter

Freshly brewed coffee, selection of teas and fine chocolates

Beverages
Nepenthe Tryst Chardonnay Pinot Noir
Rymill ‘The Yearling’ Sauvignon Blanc
Shingleback Red Knot Cabernet Sauvignon

Coopers Pale Ale and Premium Light beers
Orange juice, mineral water and soft drinks.

The Adelaide Convention Centre is located in the Adelaide CBD at a prime location by the River Torrens and it has magnificent facilities for conventions, conferences, various events, as well as fine dining on a large scale. The executive chef of the Centre is Tze Khaw who with his staff can prepare 13,000 plates that will be served simultaneously through three courses in six dining rooms over a weekend. Truly impressive, even if one considers only the logistics of the exercise! Tze Khaw does not cook, he has ten qualified chefs and seven apprentices to take care of that, as well as tens of other staff in the kitchens and as many waiters to serve the food.

Efficiency and good organisation must underlie such operations, but helping out is the barrage of latest technology and amazing machinery that help the staff in their herculean tasks. For example huge basement freezers and refrigerators to store three tonne shipments of sirloin steak and 600 kg lots of prawns. A conveyor belt in the kitchen that assists eight staff to prepare 1,000 plates of dessert in six hours. Cold chocolate soufflés (made with 150 litres of sauce and 400 litres of cream!) are packed into custom built food trolleys that each carries 70 plates and they are wheeled to the refrigerators until they are served a few hours later. Digitally controlled banks of convection ovens can cook food in chambers that control the temperature to within 0.1˚C and can cook 250 kg batches of meat!

The good organisational skills of the establishment come to the fore when the guests are seated and they need be served. The food must be distributed quickly enough so that it doesn’t get cold and that the guests all eat at approximately the same time. In our function there were about a thousand people present and each course of our lunch was served within 15 minutes - no mean feat!

As I have already said, the food was superb. The salmon was as though it had been sliced that minute, the beetroot relish was exceedingly good (savoury and tart, not a trace of sweetness), while the sourdough horseradish bread interesting and light. Even more impressive was the main course. The steak was one of the most tender I have ever eaten, even though it was well done (just the way I like it!). The wines were very good and as I said, much was achieved over the lunch as well!

Enjoy your weekend!

YOU HAVE MAIL!

“We’ve arranged a civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology. We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces.” - Carl Sagan

Technology is wonderful! It can make our life easier, keep us happier, better connected, make us better citizens, more environmentally efficient, better informed, etc, etc. Certainly it can do all of these things, but there is also a dark side to technology as technophobes will tell you. Technology can alienate us from human society, it can provide us with more efficient weapons, it can pollute our environment, it can provide us with the means to spy on people, it can invade our personal space, it can be used for fraud and crime, it can make every evil human activity 100% more effective.

As with any human invention where there is a good side and a bad side to it, the burgeoning of technology (especially the electronic kind!), can make our life heaven or hell. The nuclear age that was heralded by the splitting of the atom provided the means to make almost limitless energy for peaceful use, but it also created that most efficient of weapons, the nuclear bomb. Human nature, really isn’t it? Man the angel, man the devil, all rolled up into one. Who wins, angel or devil depends on each and everyone one of us, and how we control that struggle within us…

At work we recently had a very lively discussion about emails and the use and abuse of emails in the workplace. Out of interest, I counted the number of emails that I received today and it was 113. And today was a good day, usually I get closer to 150 daily. 90% of these emails are internal to our organisation and about 50% of them I should not be getting at all. I am copied in as a “FYI” recipient. Of those, about 25% I should be seeing and the rest I have to act on and a reply is required. Add to that the 50 or so personal emails I receive in my private/personal (non-work) email box (junk mail excluded!), I am talking about serious email overload!

Microsoft has conducted a study that has looked at this particular problem in workplaces. They have published that 36% of office workers’ time is spent on emails – opening, reading, trashing, replying. About 70 emails received per day is the average and represents a 21% increase from five years ago. The internet provider BigPond Australia has released figures that show 70 million emails pass through the Telstra network each day in Australia. The anti-virus firm Symantec reports that three billion emails are processed through its servers per day, worldwide. Many of these emails of course are junk and automated emails generated from systems – accounting, order programs, social networking sites, etc. Once again, Symantec data indicate that 90% of email messages processed in January 2009 were classed as spam (up from the 62% spam messages in January 2009, using the same criteria).

In our own workplace we are making a serious effort to reduce email traffic. We are seriously considering using alternatives. For example, walking down the corridor to talk to a colleague face-to-face. A radical suggestion! Often a string of emails that waste so much time could be avoided by having a short telephone conversation, which we are encouraging people to do. Several email exchanges involving many people (over a few days!) can be avoided by scheduling a meeting or a video conference where the matter can be resolved in less than an hour.

The bane of my life is that serious infraction of email etiquette, the indiscriminate use of the “reply to all” button! Not only does it waste a lot of people’s time, but it can also embroil colleagues in word battles, misunderstandings and involve inappropriate people in focused exchanges that should have remained more private. Many is the time that I have had to nurse colleagues’ bruised egos, preen ruffled feathers and provide first aid to battered sensitivities because of the “reply to all” email missive used inappropriately. On the other side of the coin, a recipient of a “cc” message can often ignore it (to his or her detriment). If a recipient receives such a message and the sender expects a response or an action, how easy is it to pass the electronic buck and trash the message, expecting someone else on that list to respond appropriately?

Emails: Heaven or hell? Up to us to use them or abuse them.

e-mail |ˈē ˌmāl| (also email) noun
Messages distributed by electronic means from one computer user to one or more recipients via a network: Reading e-mail has become the first task of the morning | [as adj. ] e-mail messages.
• The system of sending messages by such electronic means: A contract communicated by e-mail.
• (an e-mail) A message sent by e-mail: I got three e-mails from my mother today.
verb [ trans. ]
Send an e-mail to (someone): You can e-mail me at my normal address.
• send (a message) by e-mail: Employees can e-mail the results back.
DERIVATIVES
e-mailer noun
ORIGIN late 20th century: Abbreviation of electronic mail.

POSTCARD FROM ADELAIDE

“As we grew to love South Australia, we felt that we were in an expanding society, still feeling the bond to the motherland, but eager to develop a perfect society, in the land of our adoption.” – Catherine Helen Spence

I am in Adelaide for the day today as I had to attend a formal lunch in which the premier and several of his ministers. There were members of the City Council and representatives from industry present also. The function was at the Adelaide Convention Centre and very well attended with about a thousand guests. My boss and I sat at the table of the South Australian Department of Trade and Economic Development as guests of the HOD. It was a well organised function and it was unusual for such political/industry forums that it was extremely interesting. Mike Rann, the Premier spoke very well and unveiled his 30-year strategic plan for the future. He is a very good speaker and he spoke about several initiatives that will do much good for the State. There is a State election in about a month, so this was one of the pre-election activities, I am sure.

All of this afternoon I caught up with our staff at our Adelaide campus and signed off about 100 testamurs for the graduating students of the South Australian campus. The time quickly passed and then I had to go back to the airport for my commuters’ flight back to Melbourne.

For Poetry Wednesday today, a poem by Dame Edith Sitwell.  She was born September 7th, 1887, Scarborough, Yorkshire, England and died December 9th, 1964, London. She was a poet who first gained fame for her innovative stylistic artifices but who emerged during World War II as a poet of emotional depth and profoundly human concerns. She was equally famed for her formidable personality, Elizabethan dress, and eccentric opinions.

The Fan

LOVELY Semiramis
Closes her slanting eyes:
Dead is she long ago.
From her fan, sliding slow,
Parrot-bright fire's feathers,
Gilded as June weathers,
Plumes bright and shrill as grass
Twinkle down; as they pass
Through the green glooms in Hell
Fruits with a tuneful smell,
Grapes like an emerald rain,
Where the full moon has lain,
Greengages bright as grass,
Melons as cold as glass,
Piled on each gilded booth,
Feel their cheeks growing smooth.
Apes in plumed head-dresses
Whence the bright heat hisses,--
Nubian faces, sly
Pursing mouth, slanting eye,
Feel the Arabian
Winds floating from the fan.

Dame Edith Sitwell

Jacqui BB hosts Poetry Wednesday!

CLEAN MONDAY, MARDI GRAS & PANCAKES

“On with the dance! let joy be unconfined;
No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet.” - George Gordon Byron

Today is Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras (“Fat Tuesday”, or “Pancake Tuesday”). In most Western churches this is the last day of the pre-Lenten non-fasting period.  It was a day during which all remaining eggs, milk, butter and cheese in the house had to be consumed, hence the custom of making pancakes. The name Shrove comes from the old word “shrive” which means to confess. On Shrove Tuesday, in the Middle Ages, people used to confess their sins so that they were forgiven before the season of Lent began. Mardi Gras was also the last opportunity for feasting and for having a good time, as these pleasures were forbidden during Lent - hence the Mardi Gras parades and the carnival fancy dress parties.

Lent is meant to be a time of abstinence, when people used to repent and fast, giving up dietary items that were forbidden in the diet. So Shrove Tuesday was the last chance to indulge oneself, and to use up the foods that weren’t allowed in Lent. Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs, which were forbidden during Lent. It is extremely rare nowadays for people to fast during Lent, and many young people in Western countries have no idea what “to fast” or “Lent” means.

Pancake races are still held in many places in England on this day. The object of the race is to get to finish first while flipping a pancake in a frying pan a certain number of times. The skill is not so much in running the race but in flipping and catching the pancake, which must be intact (and still in the pan!) when the winner finishes. The most famous pancake race takes place at Olney. According to tradition, in 1445 a woman of Olney heard the shriving bell while she was making pancakes and ran to the church in her apron, still clutching her frying pan. The Olney pancake race is now world famous. Competitors have to be local housewives and they must wear an apron and a hat or scarf. Each contestant has a frying pan containing a hot, cooking pancake. She must toss it three times during the race that starts at the market square at 11.55 am. The first woman to complete the winding 375-metre course (the record is 63 seconds set in 1967) and arrive at the church, serve her pancake to the bell ringer, and be kissed by him, is the winner. She also receives a prayer book from the vicar.

In Greece, Lent starts on “Clean Monday” (the Monday before Shrove Tuesday when Eastern and Western Easters coincide, as happens this year). In the Greek Orthodox faith, the period of Lenten fasting begins on “Clean Monday” and continues until midnight on Easter Saturday, a period of 48 days. The Greek term for Lent is Meghále Saracosté, meaning the “great 40th day”, fast being implied, and the “great” including the extra 8 days of fasting.  The Mikré Saracosté “lesser 40th day fast” of the Greek Orthodox Church is the one preceding Christmas and lasts 40 days.

The term “Clean Monday” not only refers to the “clean” Lenten food, but also refers to the Spring cleaning which was traditionally done on this day. Everything was taken out of the house, furniture dusted, floors mopped, walls were whitewashed, houses aired, and the rubbish taken out of the village and burnt.  This represented a purification of the house, readying it for the Lenten period ahead.  In Greece, Clean Monday is a time when children go out and fly kites, a practice known as koúlouma, which usually combines this kite-flying with a picnic in the countryside.  It is customary to eat a special unleavened bread on this day, called a laghána.  The baking of this special bread may be related to the Roman Feast of Ovens, the Fornacalia at around this time. During this feast, it was customary to eat wheaten flat cakes resembling the laghána. The Fornacalia  cakes may also be linked to the tradition of baking pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.
   The Great Apokriá is gone and o’er
   Masquerading, feasting, alas no more.
   Lent is here, Clean Monday dear -
   Eat your olives and great God fear!
            Greek Folk Rhyme

The Great Apokriá is the Greek carnival, celebrated on the Sunday before Clean Monday. The city of Patras is renowned for its carnival. Several other cities also have great carnival traditions in Greece. The small town of Galaxeidi to the West of Athens holds a special “flour fight” on Clean Monday, which is anything but clean after tinted flour bombs are used to hold mock battles in its streets. The fighting gets pretty intensive if the protective gear that the revellers are wearing are anything to go by (see picture!).

Have a Good Lent!

GONE WITH WIND

“We used to root for the Indians against the cavalry, because we didn't think it was fair in the history books that when the cavalry won it was a great victory, and when the Indians won it was a massacre.” - Dick Gregory

Yesterday we got a lot done around the house and garden, so when it was time to sit down and watch a movie, we decided to watch a “golden oldie” that we hadn’t seen for years (no, make that decades!). It was the Victor Fleming 1939 grand old epic “Gone with the Wind”. This legendary film that won 8 Oscars and another 6 prizes, has dominated motion picture history for decades after it was made in the first half of the last century (doesn’t that make it sound even older!).

Epic describes the film not only in subject matter and production values, but also in duration. We watched the 238 minute version complete with Overture, Entr’acte and Exit music. The restored Blu Ray version is quite stunning in its colour cinematography and the film looks crisp and new, as though it has just left the cutting room. It is an old pot-boiler of a movie that pulls all the right punches and follows all the tried and true formulas. This explains its success, of course.

Given its melodramatic origin in Margaret Mitchell’s sprawling novel, the film follows the trials and tribulations of the love-life of spoilt rich girl/poor girl/rich girl Scarlett O’Hara quite well, while at the same time attempting to bring to life a few pages of American history. Romanticised it may be, but nevertheless, the essence of the times has been recreated quite well (with a 30s slant). The nostalgic ante-bellum grandeur and inequity is contrasted with the horror of the civil war and the last part of the film that deals with “America the Land of Opportunity” and the rebirth of the South from its ashes is a grand acknowledgement of American culture.

Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh make for a formidable pair and they both do a fine job of acting in this movie. Nevertheless, this is not a two-lead movie. Equally convincing are Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland as the other pair of lovers and the rest of the cast have been chosen with equal appropriateness. There is caricature and over-acting, surely, but remember this is a 1939 film! Criticisms have also been levelled at the film regarding its portrayal of race relations, however, in any social document – especially be it a newspaper article, a novel or a film – there will be points of view and personal prejudices that must be taken into account when one reviews it and interprets it.

The music of the film is perhaps another indicator of its age. Max Steiner’s melodramatic and saccharine sweet score that underpins most of the movie is punctuated by pieces of local colour (no pun intended), which nevertheless prove to be more effective. I mentioned previously the Overture, Entr’acte and Exit music, which is a great indicator of film-makers’ self-congratulatory pats on the back. If you remember, Ben Hur used a similar device, as did many other epics that Hollywood judged to be grand enough to have this type of treatment.

Considering when the film was made, its cinematic impact was immense and the influence it exerted on subsequent movies is quite considerable. And rightly so. This is Hollywood in its heyday, showcasing what can be done with talent and money. A film to watch and learn from, not only cinematically, but also socially, politically and allegorically.

EROS AND PSYCHE

“Love must be as much a light, as it is a flame.” - Henry David Thoreau

In ancient Greece there once lived a mortal princess named Psyche who had become so famous for her beauty that mere mortals were beginning to say that she was even more lovely than Aphrodite herself. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, was jealous and angry because of this. She sent her son Eros, the god of passionate love, to shoot Psyche with one of his arrows, to make her fall in love with the most hideous monster he could find. But the Psyche’s beauty so enchanted him that he could not bring himself to carry out his mother’s command.

The oracle of Apollo at Delphi had warned Psyche’s father that she would never be the bride of an ordinary man, but rather would marry a being who flies through the night, like a terrible winged serpent, one whose power was so great that even Zeus, the king of the gods, could not withstand it. The king was told to take his daughter to a mountaintop and leave her there, so the wind could transport her to the abode of her husband.

The next morning, Psyche, her parents and two sisters made their way to the mountain. Tearfully they bade each other farewell, and then her family returned to the palace, leaving the frightened girl alone on the mountaintop. As soon as she was quite alone, Psyche felt herself lifted by a gentle breeze, which carried her far away to a beautiful palace built of marble and richly decorated with gold, silver, and precious gems. When she went inside, she found that an elaborate wedding feast had been prepared, but she saw no guests. Invisible servants began to wait on her, and in soft voices they assured her that she was mistress of the palace, and that everything in it was hers.

That night her new husband came to her, but the palace was so completely dark that she could not see him. Still, he was kind and gentle, and his words were loving and sweet. She soon fell in love with him. He promised that he would give her anything she wanted, but warned her that she must never try to see his face. If ever she should look upon his face, they would have to part, and she would then live in loneliness and misery. For many months Psyche was content to live with the husband she had come to love so dearly, but she never stopped missing her sisters. She began to plead with him to bring them to visit her. He warned her that they would cause trouble, but in the end he could not refuse his bride’s request.

The next day, when Psyche’s sisters went to the mountaintop, as they did every day, to weep over their lost sister, the wind lifted them and carried them to Psyche’s new home. When they were set down before the gorgeous palace, the sisters felt amazed at such wealth. They were even more astonished when their lost sister ran out of the palace to greet them. She explained that the palace belonged to her new husband, and now, of course, to her as well. Psyche's sisters could not help feeling jealous of Psyche’s good fortune. They began to pry and probe, and to ask questions about her husband. Although she did not want to admit that she had never seen her husband’s face, Psyche became confused and flustered under their relentless interrogation. In response to one question, she described him as having golden hair, as bright as the sun, but an hour later, she mentioned that his hair was as dark as night. These and other contradictory answers aroused her sisters’ suspicion. They pounced on her errors, crying out, “Why, you have never even seen him, have you?”

When she finally admitted the truth, her sisters reminded her of Apollo's prophecy. It didn't take long for them to persuade the confused girl that her husband must be a terrible monster who would kill her as soon as he tired of her. They concocted a plan. Handing her an oil lamp and a dagger, they told her to wait until he was asleep, and then to light the lamp and steal a look at him. If he was, as they assumed, a terrible monster, then she would have to take the dagger and kill him.

That night, Psyche took the dagger from beneath her pillow and approached her sleeping husband. She lit the lamp and gazed for the first time on her husband's face, the face of the god of love! Instead of obeying his mother’s command and making Psyche fall in love with a hideous monster, Eros had secretly taken her for his own bride. When she beheld the glory of Eros, Psyche was so startled that she allowed a drop of hot oil to land on his shoulder. Awakened by the drop of oil on his shoulder, the god said sadly, “Where there is no trust there can be no love.” Then he arose and left the palace.

Aphrodite soon learned that Eros had disobeyed her. She sought out his abandoned bride, determined to make her suffer. As soon as she found her, Aphrodite dumped a great pile of tiny seeds on the ground in front of the unhappy girl and ordered her to separate them and to finish the job by sundown!  Looking at the enormous pile of seeds, Psyche knew that the task was impossible. It would take a hundred years to sort and separate so many seeds. But a large colony of ants, beguiled by the girl’s beauty, decided to help her. Scurrying back and forth, they soon had the seeds sorted into separate piles. When Aphrodite returned and saw that the task had been completed, she became enraged and promised Psyche that her next task would be even harder.

She commanded Psyche to collect some wool from a herd of fierce man-eating sheep who lived in a thicket of thorn bushes near the river. Psyche knew it was certain death to approach the sheep, but as she drew near to the bushes where they lived, a voice told her to wait until evening, when the sheep would leave the thicket. Then she could collect the wool that had stuck to the thorns. Psyche did this, and once again Aphrodite was angry that Psyche had successfully completed a task that was meant to be impossible.

Aphrodite continued to set impossible tasks for Psyche, but somehow the girl kept managing to complete them. What neither Psyche nor Aphrodite realized was that Eros was still watching over Psyche, sending her help when she needed it.  Zeus was well aware of these events. Finally he decided that enough was enough. He decreed that Eros had proved his love for Psyche, and Psyche had proved her devotion, patience, and obedience. He said that since Eros had chosen as his bride a mortal, who could not reside with him on Mt. Olympus, there was only one course of action. Zeus would have to grant her immortality. Once Psyche had drunk the ambrosial nectar of the gods from the cup of immortality she ceased to be mortal. Aphrodite no longer felt jealous of her, for she had only resented the girl because she felt that mortals had no right to rival the gods. At last she bestowed her blessing on the union between her son and the beautiful princess who had become one of the immortals.

The painting above is by Orazio Lomi Gentilleschi (1563 - 1639) and illustrates the legend of Eros and Psyche at the point where the disappointed Eros is awakened and confronts the guilty Psyche.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

VIVALDI ON A SATURDAY NIGHT

"And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs
And as silently steal away."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A beautiful Vivaldi concerto to finish the week on. I love this concerto and J.S. Bach loved it too, as he arranged it for solo organ.

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) Concerto for two violins in A Minor (RV 522)
L'Estro Armonico, Op.3.No.8.

Chamber Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera Recording: 1964 Mario Rossi (cond.) Willi Boskowsky, Jan Tomasow (solo violins).

GINGERBOY

“Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.” - Voltaire

This very difficult week fortunately has passed and I can look forward to some relaxation at the weekend to recover. We have had a staff development retreat as well as a two-day workshop, where 45 of our academic staff have attended from all over the nation. Fortunately all went well and they gave very positive feedback about their attendance. All was organised very well and I have had some great help from my colleagues. As well as that, we have had the book launch, we had a group of 40 Korean students come in for a short course, had to entertain some business contacts from the USA and in the midst of all of this, a family member had to have a minor operation, which fortunately went well also.

Last Monday night my boss took us (the American business contacts, two directors and me) out to dinner. We went to a restaurant in one of the Melbourne lanes, called “Gingerboy”. It is located at 27 Crossley St, off Bourke St in the City and the style of food served is inspired by Southeast Asian very genteel street cuisine. The food was delicious and while spicy, never terribly hot, very tasty, sometimes surprising and always extremely well presented.

The restaurant has a wonderful ambience and the décor is very modern, yet draws on classic Asian materials and themes. Bamboo and rich red fabric feature prominently, but there are some surprises. For example, the bamboo-screened walls and ceiling are lit with hundreds of tiny lights giving the appearance of a starry sky. The tables are wooden and there are some interesting light fittings that are Asian retro (like something out of the “World of Suzie Wong”). There is a bustling vivacious feeling in the place but at the same time there is warmth and intimacy. Our guests loved the place in terms of both food and décor.

What did we have? Well the restaurant prides itself on banquet-style food presentation with much sharing occurring on each table. Theoretically, we had three courses with entrées, mains and desserts served. For entrées, we chose the following:

•    Son-in-law eggs with chili jam and Asian herbs
•    Coconut chicken salad with chili, green beans, peanuts and mango
•    Blue swimmer crab wontons, nuoc cham with beanshoot salad
•    Spring Bay scallops with smoked chili and black bean dressing
•    Crispy chili salt cuttlefish with lemon and roasted sesame
•    Steamed wagyu and bamboo dumplings, cashew chilli soy
•    Duck san choi bao with water chestnuts and lup cheong
•    Deep-fried spicy corn fritters.

The main course selections were:
•    Roasted kingfish in banana leaf with lemongrass and ginger curry
•    Red duck leg curry, shallots, Thai basil and coconut cream
•    Spicy Penang chicken curry with turmeric, garlic and mint yoghurt
•    Slow roasted lamb with jungle curry, sweet potato and kang kong
•    Steamed jasmine rice

We then shared dessert platters which included:
•    Cinnamon sugared battered banana fritters with baileys ice cream
•    Tofu cheese cake with panadan jelly, poached apple and dried mandarin
•    Toasted coconut slice with spiced strawberry, lychee and fresh mint
•    Steamed lemongrass pudding with white chocolate and chili ice cream
•    Raspberry and passionfruit splice with mint jelly

We drank some excellent Semillon Blanc with our meal and I must admit that I was very impressed with the cuisine and especially (this is saying something for an Asian restaurant!) the desserts, which were the biggest pleasant surprise for me. Asian restaurants are not renowned for their desserts and what little they have (banana fritters, ice cream or lychees, usually) are terrible. Gingerboy’s desserts were delectable and certainly ended an excellent meal with a bang, not a whimper!

Price-wise, the restaurant is not cheap, but certainly good value. For a three-course meal, allow $100 per person, including wine. Much of the fun comes from going there with friends and ordering lots of different dishes, so that each person samples a large variety of different dishes as we did in a dégustation-type dinner. I recommend this restaurant most highly, so if you are in Melbourne try it out!

SINGING IN THE RAIN!

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” - John Ruskin

We have had some very warm weather over the past week, but this afternoon, a storm came over the City and suddenly we had thunder, lightning as well as tens of millimetres of rain being dumped on the City. It was quite amazing to see the afternoon becoming dark and the dark clouds to roll in while suddenly the rain fell and fell. I watched from my office window and observed the pedestrians rushing for shelter, trying to avoid getting more wet. The lightning and thunder caused quite a disruption, but not as much as a lightning bolt that crashed just across the street from my office, attracted by the lighting rod on its tall roof, no doubt.

Flash flooding is certain to have occurred and I think there would have been numerous emergency calls to the fire brigade and the state emergency service. It’s rained on and off since then and trying to get home on the public transport was rather chaotic as trains had been cancelled or greatly delayed. My train was delayed for about 20 minutes and when I finally managed to get on it we were packed in like sardines. Fortunately everyone was quite good-humoured despite the delay and the over-crowding. It was a shared adverse experience and a feeling of fellowship prevailed.

Our water reservoirs that supply Melbourne with water are 35.6% full and we are all hoping for some more decent falls of rain to top those dams up. It is interesting to note that in 1997, our dams were 95% full at the same time of the year. Many more interesting water facts are to be found in the Melbourne Water website, a website I tend to visit often, if nothing else to check on the storage levels of our dams.

I can still hear the falling and have the urge to go out in the garden and stand under the falling droplets, letting it saturate me! There is such a blessing in the falling rain and looking at the green, green garden getting soaked is an especially beautiful sight. Tomorrow we are expecting a maximum temperature of about 22˚C, a welcome relief after the days in the mid-30s we ahev experienced.

weather |ˈweðər| noun
The state of the atmosphere at a place and time as regards heat, cloudiness, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc: If the weather's good, we can go for a walk.
• A report on such conditions as broadcast on radio or television.
• Cold, wet, and unpleasant or unpredictable atmospheric conditions; the elements: Stone walls provide shelter from wind and weather.
• [as adj. ] Denoting the side from which the wind is blowing, esp. on board a ship; windward: The weather side of the yacht. Contrasted with lee.

verb [ trans. ]
1 Wear away or change the appearance or texture of (something) by long exposure to the atmosphere: [trans. ] His skin was weathered almost black by his long outdoor life | [as adj. ] (weathered) Chemically weathered rock.
• [ intrans. ] (of rock or other material) Be worn away or altered by such processes: The ice sheet preserves specimens that would weather away more quickly in other regions.
• [usu. as n. ] ( weathering) Falconry Allow (a hawk) to spend a period perched on a block in the open air.
2 Come safely through (a storm).
• Withstand (a difficulty or danger): This year has tested industry's ability to weather recession.
• Sailing (of a ship) Get to the windward of (a cape or other obstacle).
3 Make (boards or tiles) overlap downward to keep out rain.
• (in building) Slope or bevel (a surface) to throw off rain.

PHRASES
In all weathers: In every kind of weather, both good and bad.
Keep a weather eye on: Observe very carefully, esp. for changes or developments.
Under the weather informal: Slightly unwell or in low spirits.

ORIGIN Old English weder, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch weer and German Wetter, probably also to the noun wind.

FALLING IN LOVE

“We grow gray in our spirit long before we grow gray in our hair.” - Charles Lamb

Dredging the old journals once again to find this poem from my youth. Romance seemed so fresh then, now the palate is jaded somewhat and seeks more piquant tastes.

Falling in Love

Your mouth a flower
A sweet flower full of nectar.
Your mouth a trap, a spider sitting on its web.
A spider waiting for a victim
And I, a weak incautious butterfly
That flies, hovers and falls
Into your fatal mesh.

Your eyes double suns shine,
Transmitting rays of light effulgent,
Attracting me to their deadly fires.
The suns hot and indifferent,
And I, a moth, helpless, impotent
Who flies there itself to immolate,
Without alternative or choice.

Your arms green branches
Of the greenwood tree
They seem benign, innocent.
Your hands offer caresses
But in the end mete out death.
A little sparrow I, fly into the darkness
Only to perish immobile in your birdlime

Jacqui BB hosts Poetry Wednesday!

ON BOOKS AND BOOK LAUNCHES

“Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.” - William Faulkner

Another very busy and very long day today at work. Our staff development workshop is progressing very well and everyone is getting much out of it. There is quite lively discussion and much debate, there is a great deal of group activity, sharing of experiences and inspiration to go and apply in the classroom what has been shared. My presentation was well received and I suspect it made people think a little. That is more than one can hope for in such a forum.

In the evening we had our book launch. There were three books presented, my own textbook of pathology and the medical dictionary that I was working on for the past two years, as well as another textbook on remedial massage, a collaborative work of my colleagues. The function was well-attended with about a hundred people present. Everyone was most complimentary, the wine and the food were very good and the speaker was exceptional.

Our launch speaker was Dr Howard Goldenberg who is a general practitioner and who has written two books. They are personal books about matters that touch the heart.  He is in his early 60s and started writing only five years ago. The reasoning for each book is simple. The first book, “My Father’s Compass” is about his father. “He died. I loved him. That’s all.” The second “Raft” is about Aboriginal Australia. “I like people,” he says, “and I like trying to help.” Dr Goldenberg has worked in Aboriginal health in outback towns and remote communities since 1991.

He lives in Melbourne and works as a GP, plus a night a week at the Royal Children’s Hospital. However, about four times a year he goes off for a couple of weeks to somewhere such as Alice Springs, Katherine, Leigh Creek, Elcho Island or Balgo. These experiences of his in remote locations while trying to help people who live in extreme need exemplify what a doctor is and how he can change society for the better. I admire and respect him as a fine human being.

Today was an exhausting but extremely satisfying day. Spent with my colleagues, engaging them in all sorts of activities that exercised their mind and intellect, socialising with them and joking, laughing, sharing stories and experiences. Catching up with some old friends and colleagues and meeting some new people who are doing their bit to make the world a better place to live in. I thank providence for granting me bountifully all of these positive experiences. The opportunities are there for each of us to take advantage of, we just have to work at it in order to achieve what we want.

HIMALAYAS

“We acquire the strength we have overcome.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’ve had a 16 hour work day today, going in to work at 6:30 am and not getting home until after 10 p.m.  We have a staff development workshop and about 50 of our academics from all over the nation have travelled to Melbourne to attend the three-day workshop. I’ve had a couple of presentations to do, but also there was a lot of organisational matters to attend to. Thankfully my PA was at hand and she was able to assist quite a great deal, as were some of my colleagues that I work with on a daily basis. On the whole, the day was very successful and there was a plethora of positive comments about day one of the workshop. I don’t mind hard work as long as it’s appreciated and my goals are achieved. Today thankfully was one of those days!

Yesterday we watched an interesting film. It was a 1999 film, directed by Eric Valli, and French/Swiss/British/Nepalese co-production. The movie was called “Himalaya – l’ Enfance d’ Un Chef” (Himalayas – The Childhood of a Chief), or simply Himalayas, its short title. This is a road movie with a difference. It is set in a remote Himalayan village where life still follows the traditions that are hundreds if not thousands of years old. It is a simple tale of a salt-traders’ caravan that tries to make its way through treacherous terrain in order to reach a neighbouring village where their rock salt will be traded for wheat. Add to that intertribal rivalry, the challenging of the authority of the council of elders by the young and rebellious group of chief wannabes, as well as a tale of a special relationship between a grandfather and his grandson.

The film is exotic and remote, the language is strikingly foreign and the faces wildly beautiful, but at the bottom of the rather simple storyline there are emotions and feelings that are shared with even the most “civilised” of us that watch it. Add to that a superb musical score with some wonderful vocals an stunning scenery that adds to the film and epic quality and you have an engaging human drama that draws you into this foreign and yet strangely familiar world.

There is humour and pathos, magnificence and triteness, strangeness and familiarity all blended into one. The actors are non-professionals whose performance is simply superb, and the expressiveness of their faces is enough to carry across the nuances of emotion their  characters demand.

If you can lay your hands on it, try and watch it as it is a gem of a movie. It is inspiring and touching, sad and uplifting at the same time.

ART SUNDAY - CHARDIN

“When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work.  I told her I worked at the college - that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared at me, incredulous, and said, ‘You mean they forget?’ ” - Howard Ikemoto

For Art Sunday today, French artist of the 18th century. Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, (1699-1779), one of the greatest painters of the 18th century, whose genre and still life subjects immortalised the life of the Paris bourgeoisie of the time. Simple still lives and unsentimental domestic interiors were amongst his favourite subjects. His paintings use restrained and muted tones and there is a great ability to render textures. His unusual abstract compositions had great influence at the time.

Chardin was born in Paris, November 2, 1699, the son of a cabinetmaker. He was largely self-taught, but was strongly influenced by 17th-century Dutch masters such as Metsu and de Hooch. Like them, he devoted himself to simple subjects and common themes. His lifelong work in this deceptively style contrasted greatly with the epic historical subjects and light-hearted rococo scenes that were the mainstream of art during the mid-18th century.

Chardin was admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1728 on the basis of two early still life paitings, “The Skate” and “The Buffet” (both 1728, in the Louvre, Paris). In the 1730s, he began to paint scenes of everyday life in bourgeois Paris. These are characterised by subdued colours and mellow lighting, and they celebrate the beauty of their commonplace subjects and project an of honest domesticity and intimacy. Chardin’s technical skill gave his paintings a very realistic texture. He rendered forms by means of light by using thick, layered brushstrokes and thin, luminous glazes. He was called the grand magician by critics, and he achieved a mastery in still life painting unequalled by any other 18th-century painter. Chardin's early support came from aristocratic patrons, including King Louis XV. He later gained a wider popularity when engraved copies of his works were produced. He turned to pastels in later life when his eyesight began to fail. Unappreciated at the time, these pastels are now highly valued. Chardin died in Paris, December 6, 1779.

Here is his “Still Life with Attributes of the Arts” of 1766.

AN ANGEL MOMENT

“A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.” - Aesop

What a day today! We didn’t stop from dawn to dusk as I had quite a lot to do for work including some shopping for the week-long workshop that we are organising next week. Then shopping for dinner and social obligations in the evening. I am pooped!

The music I feel like hearing tonight is something soft and mindless. Hypnotic and mellifluous. Here is Era with “Angel”…

Have a good weekend!

VINDALOO AGAINST VIOLENCE!

“An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Some of you may know that Australia is a popular place for international tertiary students to study in. Not only do we have a very good University system, but also students who complete certain specially prioritised courses (based on community and economic needs), can then apply for residency in Australia. Education is a good way for immigrants to gain entry into the country. This is meant to fill the occupational and developmental gaps in our country’s social and economic system, as well as building up our population. On the ground level some tension is being created as the native population view the incoming migrants as competitors and there are also some racial prejudices that are coming to the fore.

The latest wave of “educational immigrants” are mainly from the Indian subcontinent and Melbourne seems to be particularly attractive as a destination city. There have been several unfortunate occurrences in the past couple of years that have involved attacks on Indians and in the last few months even some fatal incidents. Racial tensions have escalated to alarming heights and there has even been diplomatic crossfire between Australia and India over these episodes.

Most of the population (especially in multicultural Melbourne) is supporting the Indians and deplores the violence and prejudice against minorities. However, there are small pockets of racist elements and also violent gangs that target such minorities. Melbourne’s established Indian community is quite a large one and is relatively well-organised and affluent. They are well represented in all strata of society, all the professions and Melbourne Indian restaurants are amongst the best in the nation (even better than some Indian ones in India!).

A tremendous initiative that has been recently organised as a show of solidarity with the Indian community and Indian students here in Melbourne is outlined by the organising group’s website. In this mass protest aptly and alliteratively called “Vindaloo Against Violence” the challenge is to turn out en masse at Melbourne’s Indian restaurants on Wednesday 24th February and have an Indian meal as an indication of support for the Indian community and to show actively that Melbourne does not support any form of violence, but much less against innocent students who have been sent here by their families for a better future. A fantastic initiative and well-deserving of widespread support, sign up now if you live in Melbourne and don’t forget to book your table for the 24th!

In the meantime, here’s a chicken vindaloo recipe to try at home!

CHICKEN VINDALOO

Ingredients
3 cups chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 and a 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes (about 4 medium)
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 and a 1/2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garam masala*
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 skinless and boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 and a 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 and a 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth or water

Method
Blend all of the ingredients (except for the oil, chicken, potatoes and broth) in a food processor until a paste forms. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add paste from processor and cook until golden, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add chicken and potatoes; sauté for five minutes. Add broth and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Season with more cayenne, if a hotter vindaloo is desired, and add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with boiled basmati rice and a side dish of Greek-style yoghurt on which you have sprinkled some chopped coriander.

*Garam masala is a spice mixture available at Indian shops, some specialty foods stores, and many supermarkets. To substitute, mix 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; use 1 teaspoon of mixture.

Bon appétit!
Peace!

FAHRENHEIT 451

“A book that is shut is but a block.” - Thomas Fuller


I have blogged before about book burning and it is the topic of today’s blog once again. The burning of books is one form of biblioclasm (book destruction) and which for me represents one of the worst crimes against civilisation and against freedom. Wikipedia has a good article on this, which is worth reading.

What prompted me to write about this topic today was an old (2007) news item about Tom Wayne the owner of a bookshop, “Prospero’s Bookstore” that I discovered while doing an unrelated internet search. The bookshop is located in Kansas City Missouri (91800 West 39th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111). It is a vast shop where I would gladly spend several months browsing and reading and buying merchandise. However, I am a bibliophile and not a bibliopyroclast (book burner!), hence my obsession.

Tom Wayne has observed that modern society is becoming divorced from the act of reading. His diminishing sales and increasing stock attest to this, as well as figures from the bureau of statistics, and this is not a phenomenon confined to the USA; I was horrified to learn that in Greece approximately 8-9% of the population reads for pleasure. Astounding for the country that prides itself as the cradle of Western civilisation and with an uninterrupted history of literature for thousands of years! In the USA, less than 50% reads for pleasure (in 1982, the percentage was 57%). I must say that I feel very proud to live in Australia where our percentage of readers for pleasure (over 18 adults who read for pleasure every day, most days of the week) is 78%!

Now back to Mr Wayne: On Sunday May 27th 2007, he decided to hold a protest and goad the non-reading public into action. He had discovered that not only could he not sell his surplus books, he could not even give them away to libraries and thrift shops as “they had no room”. He decided to publicly burn books outside his store as a protest.
His justification for this and I quote, from his website:

“Q1: Why burn books?
A:   As a cultural wake-up call.
Burning books is an inflammatory act.  Books can contain our most sacred and valuable thoughts. The Nazis burned books to keep people from reading them.  Prospero's burned books to incite you to read - by not reading, the culture is empowering forces like the Nazis. It's giving them exactly what they want without a fight.”

The burning persisted for 50 minutes until the fire brigade arrived to douse the flames with the excuse that Mr Wayne did not have the requisite permit. Extreme? Yes, and I suspect that Mr Wayne’s motives were more geared towards publicity rather than protest. I quote from the article I found (see above):

“After slogging through the tens of thousands of books we've slogged through and to accumulate that many and to have people turn you away when you take them somewhere, it's just kind of a knee-jerk reaction,” Mr Wayne said. “And it's a good excuse for fun.”

I am very uneasy about Mr Wayne’s actions. Whether done in “fun” or as a “protest” or in fact as a publicity stunt (or all of these), the whole affair makes me shudder with revulsion. Investigating the matter a little further, I discovered that Mr Wayne is not the first bookseller to have performed this public book incineration. An excellent Times article highlights the case of Mr Shaun Bythell of Wigtown, Scotland performed the same stunt in 2005. And this in Wigtown, which in 1997 was proclaimed Scotland’s “National Book Town”, having 25 book-selling businesses.

The idea of book burning repels me. Even in the case of damaged books that can’t be salvaged, I would opt for recycling. Take that paper that as trapped winged thoughts and pulp it, give it a new lease of life, let new words be printed on it and let a new generation of readers delight in the printed word. In terms of increasing the percentage of the reading public, we must be doing something very right here in Australia, compared to what is being done in Greece, say. What is to blame for people abandoning reading? Our society and its values. The ease with which one may be entertained and diverted, the cheap and easy non-cerebral pleasures offered by TV, movies, music, drugs, alcohol, dancing, sport. The low value our society places on intellectual pursuits compared to the high value it places on superficial fame afforded to rock stars, sporting personalities, filmstars, etc. The financial rewards it offers to people involved in intellectual pursuits versus what a “star” can make is sobering and disturbing.

Ray Bradbury’s novel “Fahrenheit 451” is a paean to books and reading. It looks at biblioclasm and ts effects on a society. Read it, it's fantastic!

A LITTLE SOMETHING...

“Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and embroidered by imagination.” - Voltaire

For poetry Wednesday today, an old poem of mine that I have only recently translated into English. Translating poetry is difficult, even if it is one’s own, as there are many factors to consider. Meaning, rhyme, metre, cadence and alliteration, the sheer sound of the words as they resonate in one’s ears as they are recited. The Italians have a proverb: “Traduttore, traditore”, usually rendered in English as “translator, traitor”, losing the punning quality but preserving meaning. I chose to preserve the “feel” of the poem and its rhyming. In both versions, the word “love” is not mentioned, even though this is the obvious subject.

That Little Something

What a feeling... Almost nothing,
In my mind and in my heart.
It is nothing or it’s something;
But it makes me jump and start...

What could I be lacking now?
What I need and what I want
Would my sweetest fate allow,
Or its lack my dreams to haunt?

Is it hunger, is it thirst?
No, my stomach wildly turns.
What to wish for, should I, first?

Ease of mind, for which it yearns?
Or peace of heart, about to burst?
What a feeling... How it burns!

(The illustration is Étienne-Maurice Falconet’s “Seated Cupid” [1757] in the Musée du Louvre, Paris.)

Oh, and here is the original poem in Greek:

Το κάτι τι

Νοιώθω ένα κάτι τι,
Μα δεν ξέρω τι ‘ναι, τι;
Η καρδιά μου φτερουγίζει,
Το μυαλό μου πεταρίζει…

Θέλω κάτι και τι νά ‘ναι,
Είν’ γλυκό, κι όλοι ζητάνε.
Τι πικρό που δεν το έχω,
Μα τι να ‘ναι δεν κατέχω.

Νά ‘ναι δίψα του πιοτού;
Νά ‘ναι πείνα φαγητού;
Το στομάχι μου γυρίζει,
Δεν τα θέλει τα ξενίζει…

Νοιώθω ένα κάτι τι,
Μα δεν ξέρω τι ‘ναι, τι;
Την εικόνα σου μονάχα
Εσέ θέλω, αυτό νά ‘χα!

Jacqui BB hosts Poetry Wednesday, please visit her blog for more poems!

CANDLEMAS

“Love’s first snow-drop, virgin kiss.” - Robert Burns

The snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, is the birthday flower for this day, the feast of Candlemas.  It symbolises purity, hope in sorrow and friendship in adversity. A legend concerning the origin of the bloom relates how when Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden, snow began to fall. They were dejected as they had lived in the perpetual spring of the garden before that.  An angel took pity on them and changed a few of the drifting snowflakes into snowdrops, a promise that Spring would soon return.  Galanthus is from the Greek and means “milk-white flower”, while nivalis means “of the snow” in Latin.

In ancient Rome, the Februalia Festival honoured Demeter who searched for her daughter Persephone after she had been abducted by Pluto, the god of the underworld. Priests of Ceres (the Roman Demeter) paraded in her temples with lit candles, recreating the goddess’s search day and night for her daughter. This festival was absorbed into the Christian tradition as the festival of Candlemas, the pagan Demeter becoming syncretized with the Virgin Mary.

Candlemas celebrates the Virgin Mary going into the Temple of Jerusalem to ritually cleanse herself and present the infant to the rabbis, forty days after His birth .  There the elderly Simeon prophesied that Christ would be “a light to lighten the Gentiles.” Hence the association of this feast with the lighting of candles.  The image of the Virgin Mary was removed from its place in church and ritually cleaned.  Snowdrops were scattered in its place.  The following couplet associates snowdrops with Candlemas:
    The snowdrop, in purest white arraie
    First rears her hedde on Candlemas daie.

Another couplet presages the abundance of the pea crop:
    On Candlemas Day, if the thorns hang a drop,
    Then you are sure of a good pea crop.

    If Candlemas day be bright and clear
    There’ll be two winters that year.
    But if Candlemas be mild or bring it rain,
    Winter is gone and will not come again.

In a similar vein:
    If Candlemas Day bring snow or rain
    Winter is gone and won’t come again;
    If Candlemas Day be clear and bright
    Winter will have another flight.

    Candlemas Day, plant beans in the clay
    Put candles and candlesticks all away.

The last reference was to the increasing light in the afternoons and evening, which allowed indoor work to be done at that time without the aid of candlelight.

In the USA, this day is celebrated as Groundhog Day, where groundhogs (woodchucks - Marmota monax) help to predict the weather for the year ahead. Supposedly, the groundhog is said to come out of its hole at the end of its hibernation. If the animal sees its shadow (i.e., if the weather is sunny) it is said to portend six weeks more of winter weather. An oracular tradition based on contraries similar to the British Candlemas seems to be the order of the day.

A CLUTCH OF MOVIE REVIEWS

“Why should people go out and pay money to see bad films when they can stay home and see bad television for nothing?” - Samuel Goldwyn

Several brief movie reviews today, as over the last holiday break we watched quite a few good movies (and some bad ones!).
“Adam’s Rib” (1949 – directed by George Cukor)
This is a light-weight comedy with that wonderful couple, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. They play a pair of barristers married to one another, and who cross swords in the courtroom. She defends a woman who attempts to shoot her philandering husband and he is the lawyer wanting to convict the near murderess. Needless to say that the legal sparring in the courtroom interferes with the happily married couple’s life at home and fundamental issues about women’s rights, unfaithfulness, upholding the law, separating public and private life, keeping job and home well apart, are explored. This is a cheeky, funny film with lots of fun moments and the Tracy/Hepburn pairing sparkles and shines with the love between them manifest clearly even on the celluloid! (7.5/10)

“Escape from Alcatraz” (1979 – directed by Don Siegel)
Clint Eastwood plays a prisoner with high IQ who is transferred to Alcatraz – that most impregnable of penitentiaries with a clear record regarding escapees, until this case – or so the film wants us to believe. The film is a typical dick flick where macho men do their thing but at the same time reveal their sensitivities and are capable of also demonstrating higher values such as friendship, loyalty, camaraderie and protecting one another from aggressors. The film is very enjoyable as it is fast-moving, develops the characters very well, has its touches of humour and pathos, and is characterised by excellent acting. Eastwood in particular gives a faultless performance and his handling of the role predicts the fantastic work he does now in directing. (7.5/10).

“Confessions of a Shopaholic” (2009 – directed by P. J. Hogan)
This movie based on Sophie Kinsella’s best selling novels “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and “Shopaholic in Manhattan” and seeing that we watched the movie with someone who has read both novels, the film is apparently sadly deficient in the humour and satire that the books display. I must admit that this film didn’t strike me as overly amusing or satirical, but rather prosaically formulaic and it definitely falls into the chick flick class, with hardly much class. Isla Fisher plays a young woman with an irresistible urge to shop (on bad credit) until she drops. Through some dithery job application business she manages to get herself employed by a financial magazine rather than the fashion magazine she hopes to be employed by. More shopping mayhem results and also some unintended success with writing for the magazine. A romantic story is inevitably woven into the story, with parting and despair followed by the inevitable happy ending. Pedestrian and contrived (5/10).

“The Fly” (1986 – Directed by David Kronenberg)
OK, this is a standard issue horror/sci fi movie with quite an intelligent plot, lots of thrills and spills and lots of revolting (but good) special effects (the film got an Oscar for best make-up and a Saturn award for best horror film). Jeff Goldblum plays a scientist who is trying to perfect a teleportation machine. He uses himself as a guinea pig and manages to mix his tissue with the tissues of a fly that by chance flies into the teleport chambers during the experiment. He slowly transforms into a man/fly creature with horrible consequences. Geena Davis plays the love interest and has one of the worse scenes on film to act through! So bad it’s good (6.5/10)!

“The Fly II” (1989 – Directed by Chris Wallas)
This is the “Son of The Fly” literally, as it deals with the son of the scientist in the previous film, who has inherited his father’s fly/human chromosomes. OK, as far as sequels go this is an attempt to capitalise on the success of the original film, and as most sequels go, it manages to take the story that little bit further and lowers the bar somewhat. Although it’s an inferior film to the original, it is not all trash, and we found it curiously engaging. The yukky special effects are there again and the depth of the movie comes from its exploration of the issue of “fatherhood”. Just don’t watch it on the same day as the original film (5.5/10).

“The Missionary” (1982 – Directed by Richard Loncraine)
This is a typical English refined and subtle comedy written by Michael Palin, who also stars as the Missionary of the title. There are hardly any similarities to the Monty Python movies, despite Palin’s associations. The humour here is subtle, gentle, sometimes covert and dry and there is great characterisation, with hardly any action. The plot takes place in Edwardian London, in 1905. After 10 years of being a missionary in Africa, the Reverend Charles Fortesque (Palin) is recalled to England, where his bishop gives him his new assignment. He is to minister to London’s prostitutes. Charles hopes Deborah, his fiancée, will object and give him an excuse to say no to the bishop, however, she is so imperturbably innocent that she totally fails to understand what he is being asked to do, and urges him to do his best. Wealthy Lady Ames is expected to fund the work, but she makes it clear to Charles that there will be no contribution unless he shares her bed… (7/10).