MOZART CLARINET QUINTET

“Musical compositions, it should be remembered, do not inhabit certain countries, certain museums, like paintings and statues. The Mozart Quintet is not shut up in Salzburg: I have it in my pocket.” - Henri Rabaud

For Music Saturday, a beautifully perfect piece of music by Mozart. The divine Clarinet Quintet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart K. 581, written in 1789 for the clarinetist Anton Stadler. Although originally written for basset clarinet, today it is almost always played on a clarinet in A or B-flat. It was Mozart's only completed clarinet quintet, and is one of the earliest and best-known works written especially for the instrument.

Here is the Allegro movement played by Clarinetist Bruce Nolan and the Sierra String Quartet.

RHUBARB CRUMBLE

“You can say this for ready-mixes - the next generation isn't going to have any trouble making pies exactly like mother used to make.” - Earl Wilson

Today, I’ve had a very full day of hard work, but I am very satisfied as I achieved quite a lot. I worked on several projects at once and had to deal with some emergencies whereby I helped some colleagues get out of potentially messy situations. It’s always good when one can rescue someone who is feeling rather frazzled. Often in situations like that, all that is needed is looking at the matter with fresh eyes and a solution is apparent to the person viewing the problem from a different perspective.

The weather has been wintry and cold and as I was coming home in the train today it started to rain. It was already dark and when one starts work early and finishes late in winter, it’s really hard to realise that the day has been and gone... Especially so, if one sits at one’s desk inside the building and doesn’t venture out…

Seeing it’s winter, another traditional, sweet and warming recipe tonight. Comfort food time again!

RHUBARB CRUMBLE
Ingredients
•    10 sticks of rhubarb
•    4 tbsp water
•    8 tbsp caster sugar
•    1 tsp powdered ginger
•    110g butter, softened
•    110g demerara sugar
•    180-200g flour
•    Double cream to serve with

Method
1) Preheat the oven to 180C
2) Cut the rhubarb into 7½cm long sticks and place on an oven tray, sprinkle with the water and caster sugar and roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
3) Once cooked, remove from the oven, sprinkle over the ginger and mix well.
4) Fill an ovenproof dish about 4cm deep with the rhubarb.
5) Rub the butter into the flour and sugar to make the crumble topping. Sprinkle over the rhubarb and bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the crumble topping is crisp and golden-brown and the rhubarb filling has softened and is bubbling.
6) Remove and allow to cool slightly before serving with double cream.

AN EXHIBITION FOR BIBLIOPHILES

“A good book is never exhausted. It goes on whispering to you from the wall. Books perfume and give weight to a room. A bookcase is as good as a view, as the sight of a city or a river. There are dawns and sunsets in books – storms, fogs, zephyrs.

I read about a family whose apartment consists of a series of spaces so strictly planned that they are obliged to give away their books as soon as they’ve read them. I think they have misunderstood the way books work.

Reading a book is only the first step in the relationship. After you’ve finished it, the book enters on its real career. It stands there as a badge, a blackmailer, a monument, a scar. It’s both a flaw in the room, like a crack in the plaster, and a decoration. The contents of someone’s bookcase are part of his history, like an ancestral portrait.” - Anatole Broyard

I was able to go into the State Library of Victoria this week as I was researching for a submission that I was writing, and when I finished my job quite rapidly (given the efficiency of the librarians!) I went up to the Dome Galleries and had a look at the special exhibition there. The library is an architectural and cultural gem in our City, at the corner of Swanson and LaTrobe Sts. Melbourne architect Joseph Reed, who later designed the Melbourne Town Hall and the iconic Royal Exhibition Building won the commission of the Library building in 1853. The first part of the building was completed in 1859, but the magnificent dome was not finished until 1913. The library underwent major refurbishments between 1990 and 2004.

The “Mirror of the World” exhibition, which is housed in the Dome Galleries on levels 4, 5 and 6 showcases many of the rare, beautiful and historically significant books held in the Library’s collections. These galleries overlook the magnificent La Trobe Reading Room and one not only enjoys the superlative collection of books on show, but also admires the architecture of the library and has bird’s eye views of the reading room. The exhibition’s title is taken from William Caxton’s “Myrrour of the Worlde” (1490), one of the first illustrated books published in England, which is displayed in the exhibition.

The exhibition highlights the invaluable place that books have in our hearts and minds. It provides an overview of the history of book production, design and illustration, with well-chosen fine examples of amazing books from the Library’s collections dating from the Middle Ages to the present day. For a bibliophile like me, this exhibition was an amazing experience and I lingered there all through my lunchtime, forgetting hunger, forgetting food, not even thinking of eating. The nourishment of my soul took precedence and I could almost taste a pleasurable sweetness in my mouth as my eyes took in the marvels of the exhibition.

The exhibition is divided into five major themes:
•    “Books and Ideas”, outlining the early history of books and printing;
•    “The Book and the Imagination”, which looks at the way books and texts are imaginatively created, while at the same time acting imaginatively upon us;
•    “Exploring the World” that investigates how books have been used to explore and document the world including, its landscape, topography, inhabitants, flora and fauna;
•    “Art and Nature”, looking at how botanical illustrations unite the scientific and artistic worlds; and,
•    “The Artist and the Book”, which highlights the art of the book and the role of the artist in its production.

If you are in Melbourne and have not been to see this exhibition, do go and see it, it definitely worth it!

bibliophile |ˈbiblēəˌfīl| noun
A person who collects or has a great love of books: He is such a bibliophile that he had to extend his house in order to have room for his ever-growing collection of books.
DERIVATIVES
bibliophilic |ˌbiblēəˈfilik| adjective
bibliophily |ˌbiblēˈäfəlē| noun
ORIGIN early 19th century: From French, from Greek biblion ‘book’ + philos ‘loving.’

SOUTH AFRICA

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” - Martin Luther King, Jr

The World Soccer Cup in South Africa has given the world the opportunity to glimpse the changed society of post-apartheid South Africa. I visited South Africa in the late 1990s when apartheid was still fresh and the bad memories still fresh. It was a revelation and I met some of the most amazing people I had met until then. It was a country that still displayed its scars but there was such a feeling of hope and optimism in the air that it was difficult not to be overtaken by it. Walking in Soweto and talking to the people was a revelation. Seeing faces full of dreams, confidence, dignity and positivity was a joyous thing.

Now that apartheid is well and truly over and the South African people have been allowed to fulfil their destiny, the celebration of the Soccer World Cup is a way of showing the world how their nation is capable of great things. The magnificent Soccer City stadium in Soweto in Johannesburg, with a design inspired by traditional African pottery and a capacity for 104,000 fans is a showcase of this country’s confidence and optimism for the future. A way of showing the world that the new climate of multiculturalism and equality will allow the country to move forward and upward.

Apartheid in South Africa was a system of legal social segregation that was enforced by the white National Party government of South Africa between 1948 and 1994. This was a shocking situation where the rights of the majority non-white people were curtailed and minority rule by the whites was maintained. Many basic human rights of the non-whites were ignored or actively suppressed and the rule was one of tyranny and repression, with non-whites victimised, disadvantaged, underprivileged, powerless, abused and maltreated.

June 16th has been observed as the International Day of Solidarity with the Struggling People of South Africa. This date was chosen to commemorate the massacre in Soweto on June 16th 1976, when hundreds of unarmed school children were brutalised and killed by the police as they demonstrated against the imposition of the Afrikaans language and the Bantu system of Education. The Soweto Uprising was a turning point in the liberation struggle in South Africa. Prior to this event, the liberation struggle was being fought outside of South Africa, mostly in Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe), South West Africa (later Namibia) and Angola. But from this moment onwards, the struggle became internal and the government security forces were split between external operations and internal operations.

For the state, the Soweto Uprising marked the most fundamental challenge yet to apartheid and the economic and political instability it caused was heightened by the strengthening international boycott. It was a further 14 years before Nelson Mandela was released, but at no point was the state able to restore the relative peace and social stability of the early 1970s as black resistance grew. Many white South African citizens were outraged at the government's actions in Soweto, and about 300 white students from the University of the Witwatersrand marched through Johannesburg’s city centre in protest of the killing of children. Black workers went on strike as well and joined them as the campaign progressed. Riots also broke out in the black townships of other cities in South Africa. Most of the bloodshed had abated by the close of 1976, but by that time the death toll stood at more than 600.

Fitting for this day, a poem by Maya Angelou, born 1928, an author, poet and an active campaigner for human rights and racial equality.

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Maya Angelou

COURTESY TRAINING

“Good manners are made up of petty sacrifices.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

From a very young age, I was brought up to be courteous and respectful at home. This gradually extended to my interactions with people in the community at large. Both my parents and grandparents instilled into me certain rules of etiquette and common courtesy that corresponded to the “good manners” of the time. This included being respectful to my elders, not to talk back, to be helpful to others if they were in need of help, to give up my seat on the bus if someone needed it more than me. “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all…” was a motto that I had to learn. “Be careful that you don’t hurt people’s feelings”, I was told. “Better to be tactful than apologetic”, I had to learn. When in a public place, I had to learn to watch my behaviour so that it did not offend others, I was not to be obnoxious, or loud, or disrespectful, or annoying.

You may say that I had a pretty miserable childhood, but in fact I enjoyed myself immensely and after a while found that what I did, I did because it gave me pleasure and because I could saw that other people were pleased by my behaviour. These few simple rules have stayed with me until the present time and as I grow older, I find myself to be in a minority group. People’s behaviour in public is appalling and often I watch aghast as young people especially (but not only!) behave in a manner that is selfish, offensive, vulgar, uncouth, hurtful, abusive and disrespectful towards their fellow humans.

One of the most common places for this type of behaviour to manifest itself is on public transport. During peak hour, commuters will often push and shove, jostle and jockey for a seat. Nimble high school children will rush in and occupy seats in groups and then spend the whole trip shouting to each other, utter obscenities designed to shock and engage in behaviour that is quite offensive (you may be starting to think that I am an old and bitter fuddy-duddy who has forgotten how exhilarating it was to be a carefree youth, however, this type of behaviour has also been identified as obnoxious by young people. Many people sit on the train and listen to their iPods at full blast and even if they use earphones, the music is so loud (and they are so deaf, presumably) that it creates a distracting and annoying sound pollution around them.

How many young, able-bodied people I have seen sitting in seats reserved for the elderly and infirm while a frail old man stands next to them. How many young women are sitting down leafing through magazines while a heavily pregnant woman stands next to them, obviously uncomfortable. How many people I have seen shouting into their mobile phones, engaged in a very private and intimate conversation, blithely unaware that they are embarrassing those around them. How many drunk and obnoxious passengers I have observed making the train ride uncomfortable for their fellows! Am I old fashioned? Am I an old fuddy-duddy, all bitter and twisted? I think not!

A Melbourne man finally became fed up waiting for train passengers to offer a seat to his pregnant wife. He designed a badge that she could wear to make it clear that she is pregnant. Drew Okawa created the badge after his wife’s daily trips to work each day were becoming frustrating and a source of discomfort and pain. Her state was ignored and it was unusual for someone to offer her their seat. Okawa has become organised and he has started a wide campaign to relieve the situation. The couple maintain that their campaign is basically about caring about the needs of others and feel that our community should become a little more courteous, a little more unselfish and a little more caring. The couple are so passionate about the issue that they have ordered 5000 of the badges, labelled “Pregsafe”, and started distributing them to other pregnant public transport users through medical clinics and online at their site.

This idea is not new, the concept has been operating successfully on public transport in Tokyo since 2005. Small badges (Maternity Marks) are part of an initiative in Japan to make public transport and workplaces more pregnant-friendly. When one sees the badge, one can take extra care not to bump into the woman, offer her a seat, if outside not smoke so that she inhales the smoke passively, etc. The Japanese have adopted the idea with gusto and their natural politeness redoubles when the maternity badge is observed.

Public transport in Australia is getting busier and plans are afoot to greatly increase the number of commuters per bus, train and tram. Public awareness of pregnant women, parents with small children, disabled travellers, and the elderly must be heightened and our sensitivity to those with special needs must be made keener. Mr Okawa hopes that his initiative will help us as a community to become more polite and thoughtful of these people with a need greater than us.

It is interesting that Melbourne’s transport service Metlink does not support this plan. Metlink’s Donna Watson said: “Pregnant women could wear the badge if they think it will help. However, we don’t believe badges are required.” How out of touch you must be with our public transport, Ms Watson. I wonder how often you travel by public transport! Perhaps it may be worth your while to strap on a lead belt weighing 4 or 5 kg for the day at work, and then catch the peak hour train home and remain standing for the 45 or 50 minute trip?

MOVIE MONDAY - DEAD MAN WALKING

“Only the man who has enough good in him to feel the justice of the penalty can be punished.” - William Ernest Hocking

Today was the Queen’s Birthday holiday here in Australia and we went for a drive in the morning to the City. There were relatively few people around and not much traffic, most people making most of the long weekend to go away, it seems. We then came back home for lunch and afterwards worked in the garden, pruning some rosebushes. We have over 70 rosebushes in the back and taking care of them is hard work. The abundant roses we have for quite a few months of the year makes the hard work worthwhile. Thorns and all…

This evening we watched a 1995 film directed by Tim Robbins, based on the autobiographical book by Sister Helen Prejean, “Dead Man Walking”. This was quite a harrowing film and at just under two hours it made watching it rather gruelling. Nevertheless it was an excellent film that explored some valid questions about crime and punishment, redemption, vengeance, religion, forgiveness and unconditional love. Susan Sarandon received a best actress Oscar for her sterling performance in this role and both Sean Penn and Tim Robbins were also nominated for best actor and best director. Both nominations well-deserved.

The plot of the film concerns Sister Helen Prejean (Sarandon), who works in the poor African-American St. Thomas Projects of New Orleans, doing much to educate and enlighten the children in this slum. She receives a desperate letter from the convicted murderer, Matthew Poncelet (Penn), on death row, who is trying to find help to avoid his execution for murder. She responds to Poncelet’s letter, which leads her to visit him in gaol. Sister Prejean is completely inexperienced in criminal chaplaincy, but his plight and her doubt over his guilt persuade her to be Poncelet’s spiritual counsellor. She gets Poncelet a lawyer, Hilton Barber, who helps Poncelet appeal his conviction with the State Board of Capital Punishment, Governor Benedict of Louisiana, and the State of Louisiana Supreme Court. However, all these interventions are without success and Poncelet remains on death row.

As the nun gets to know the convict, she begins to feel empathy, not only for the criminal, but also for the victims and their families. The families cannot understand how the nun can help a man who committed such heinous crimes, killing a young man and woman and raping the woman before he killed her. The anguish the nun feels while attempting to make the murderer become spiritually aware and take responsibility for his actions, achieving redemption, while trying to care for the victims of crime makes for a confronting film.

The major point of the film is the whether capital punishment can ever be justified and it makes the viewers examine their own views on this topic. The shocking images of the actual crime are intercut with Sister Prejean’s attempt to make Poncelet achieve a state of contrition and redemption. This is heart-rending, especially as the parents of the murdered teenagers talk lovingly of their murdered children to the nun, who is also the spiritual counsellor of the rapist and murderer. The murder’s mother and his brothers are also superimposed on the action, and their reactions further add to the pathos of the situation.

We found ourselves, as we watched, debating the type of punishment that society must mete out to such hardened criminals. Whether capital punishment is ever an answer and whether the Old Testament “an eye for eye and a tooth for tooth” is ever justified, given the New Testament’s emphasis on forgiveness and redemption. Religion aside, sociologically one considers the terrible dilemma we find ourselves in: The shocking cruelty and heinous violence of the crime committed, the everlasting pain of the victims’ families that makes one really think on what can possibly be a suitable punishment for the perpetrators. This is especially true if one is morally opposed to capital punishment.

One of the most chilling scenes in the movie we found to be the execution of Poncelet, with the parents of the murdered teenagers watching on as the lethal injection is administered. The figure of the murderer splayed out like a man crucified waiting to die while the parents watch on, as justice is being done, sent shivers down my spine. Yet, the man was guilty by his own admission and no amount of contrition could bring those who were foully murdered back. I kept feeling that this punishment was unjust, perhaps because the criminal had his misery cut short. There was no time for him to dwell on his remorse…

I recommend this film most highly. It is an intelligent one, made with care and gives due consideration to both the criminal and his victims of his crime. The insurmountable problems that our society has in dealing with such situations is personified in Sister Prejean who has to deal with the conflicting emotions of mercy, forgiveness, religious clemency and her rising anguish, disgust and horror as she confronts the magnitude of the crime and its effects on the families of the survivors as well as the murderer’s own family. The music of the film provides an excellent counterpoint to the action and the direction is extremely good.

ART SUNDAY - CLIFFORD POSSUM

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.” - Georgia O’Keeffe

For Art Sunday today, a great Australian artist, Clifford Possum Japaltjarri. Clifford Possum was born in 1932 on Napperby Station. He worked extensively as a stockman on the cattle stations in and around his tribal country. At this time he developed an excellent knowledge of the Dreaming Trails that criss-cross the area to the north of the western McDonnell Ranges, which he depicts in painting his Dreamings.

His career as an artist began in the 1950’s when he carved snakes and goannas. By the 1970’s he was one of the most accomplished carvers in Central Australia. His first opportunity to paint came when one of Albert Namatjira’s sons gave him acrylic paints and he began his work. Clifford, living at the Papunya Community was one of the first artists to be involved with the Aboriginal Art Movement.

The art of Clifford Possum is notable for its three-dimensional aspects, although he uses traditional two-dmensional aboriginal art conventions. Many of his paintings have figurative elements, which stand out from the highly stylised dotted backgrounds. In the late 1970’s he expanded the scope of Papunya Tula painting by placing the trails of several ancestors on the same canvas in the fashion of a road map. Within this framework, he depicted the land geographically. This laid the foundation for traditional Aboriginal Iconography to be placed on canvas. The other artist working with him took his lead and removed any elements of European Art from their work. In doing so Clifford, as well as the other artists involved with the Papunya Tula Movement helped to develop the true definition of Aboriginal Art, an art revolving around a culture, The Jukurrpa.

In some of his paintings Clifford gives a visual impression of sunlight, cloud, shadow and earth to denote specific times of the day. His paintings show superlative skill, incredible inventiveness of form and are visually spectacular. Clifford's work is contemporary but essentially Aboriginal in inspiration. To appreciate its full significance it is essential to not only see its colour, composition and balance, but also its mythological context. One of the extraordinary qualities of Clifford's work and other Western Desert artists is that they are a visual writing and speak to the Aboriginal as books do to Europeans. When asked why he became an Artist, he answered:

“That Dreaming been all the time. From our early days, before European people came up. That Dreaming carry on. Old people carry on this law, business, schooling for the young people. Grandfather and grandmother, uncle and aunty, mummy and father, all that, they been carry on this, teach ‘em all the young boys and girls. They been using the dancing boards, spear, boomerang all painted. And they been using them on body different times.


Kids, I see them all the time, painted. All the young fellas they go hunting and the old people there, they do sand painting. They put down all the story, same like I do on canvas. All the young fella they bring ‘em back kangaroo. Same all the ladies, they been get all the bush fruit, might be bush onion, plum, might be honey ants, might be yala, all the kungkas (women) bring them back. Because everybody there all ready waiting. Everybody painted. They been using ochres all the colours from the rock. People use them to paint up. I use paint and canvas that's not from us, from European people. Business time we don't use paints the way I use them, no we use them from rock, teach ‘em all the young fellas.”

Clifford passed away in Alice Springs on the 21st June 2002, after recently being recognised for his contribution to Australian Art and culture, by being made an “Officer of the Order of Australia”. His final days where spent at the Hetty Perkins Nursing Home Alice Springs where he passed away surrounded by close family and friends.

STARRY NIGHT

“It becomes increasingly easy, as you get older, to drown in nostalgia.” - Ted Koppel

A song from my youth, today sung by Don McLean. I remember listening to this while I was discovering myself, discovering art, discovering life and death. A great song about a great artist by a great artist. Here is “Vincent” from 1971.



Vincent

Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and grey.

Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the
Darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
In colors on the snowy linen land.

And now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen
They did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now.

Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze reflect in
Vincent's eyes of China blue.
Colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.

And now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free.
perhaps they'll listen now.

For they could not love you
But still your love was true
And when no hope was left in sight on that
Starry, starry night.

You took your life
As lovers often do;
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never
Meant for one
As beautiful as you.

Starry, starry night
Portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls
with eyes that watch the world and can't forget.
Like the stranger that you've met
The ragged men in ragged clothes
The silver thorn of bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken
On the virgin snow.

And now I think I know what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen
They're not listening still
Perhaps they never will.

POSTCARD FROM BRISBANE

“After these two, Dr. Diet and Dr. Quiet, Dr. Merriman is requisite to preserve health.” - James Howell

I was up in Brisbane for work once again today and essentially spent the whole day in long and packed meetings. I had to catch the first flight out, which meant I got up at 4:00 a.m. and eventually got home at 10:00 p.m. which makes for a very long day… Fortunately all the meetings went well and were very constructive with quite a lot achieved, which is more than can be said for many committees and meetings at work.

Usually at meetings like these, morning tea, lunch and afternoon are provided and the fare is typically an example of the colonial past where sandwiches, pastries, pies, biscuits, sweet rolls and other such carbohydrate and calorie-rich food abounds. It was unusual in today’s meetings that we were treated to a healthy choice of foods. Firstly, there were bowls of fruit on the tables and these were kept full of luscious seasonal fruits. Queensland is in a subtropical zone so the winters are warm and dry. Consequently we were able to enjoy grapes, bananas, passionfruit, strawberries, mandarins, kiwifruits , apples and pears. Secondly, there were dishes of nuts like cashews, almonds, macadamias and walnuts. Some dried fruit were also set out, including paw-paw, pineapple, apricots and pears.

Lunch consisted of fresh flat bread wraps with salad and cheese or lean ham. There were also some baked organic vegetarian pasties. There were juices and lots of cool water available during the day as well as herbal teas and green tea. Needless to say we all enjoyed the food, which did a great deal to keep our mind keen during the day and to make our meetings more productive.

We have a long weekend coming up, with Monday being Queen’s Birthday. This long weekend in Victoria is traditionally the opening of the ski season (http://www.vicsnowreport.com.au/reports/). There have been good snow falls already and the skiers have already started to congregate in the resorts that have fair to good cover that is conducive to good ski runs. No doubt, the weekend will be very busy on the snow fields.

I look forward to a quiet weekend at home with lots of R&R!

AT THE STATION

“It is clear that the way to heal society of its violence... and lack of love is to replace the pyramid of domination with the circle of equality and respect.” - Manitonquat

I wrote yesterday on my blog about the railway station close to my house where I board the train every morning when I commute to work. I am rather lucky in that this station is well-cared for, has a strong sense of community and there are many “regulars” who see each other every morning (and often every evening on the return journey). A large part of the sense of community is the stationmaster, Peter Leith. His cheery face and friendly greeting every morning directed at all the commuters ensures that one’s day begins well. He has a calm manner, a kindly word for all and a good sense of humour.

This is an important element in maintaining safety, security and does much to discourage threatening or unruly behaviour at the station. Unfortunately, nowadays we have to be on guard every minute of the day and be wary in public places lest we fall victim to some senseless act of violence. Fortunately, In Melbourne this is not as common as in some other parts of the world, and where I live is much safer than in other suburbs. However, it is part of life and one has to be always vigilant and alert.

To the point is the incident that occurred at the Gardenvale railway station here in Melbourne, last Sunday. A 16-year-old was the victim of a bashing by a gang of youths, who struck him violently and pushed him off the platform onto the train tracks. The poor boy had been bullied at school and on Facebook for some months by the same gang members that attacked him at the train station. The station was not deserted, about twenty adults were there at the time.

The boy’s mother said that her son had walked his girlfriend to the railway station to see her safely onto a city-bound train, but the assailant and his accomplices saw him and attacked. They held his girlfriend back, while the assailant king hit the boy so he fell to the ground and he was kicked multiple times in the back. While many adults witnessed the attack, no-one lifted a finger even as one yelled out “someone, please help him”.

Fortunately, someone did do something. The rescuer was 17-year-old Sam Porter on the opposite side of the track. He witnessed the incident, horrified and jumped down the platform to get back up on the city side. Young Sam wasn’t prepared to just stand by while someone was bashed. His mother was a former police officer and he says that he was brought up to help people in need. The real surprise for Sam was that that no-one else joined in to help him in rescuing the attacked youth.

The bashed boy was prepared to lie on the tracks and put an end to his life, he confessed later. He felt absolutely desperate and humiliated. He was thoroughly demoralised after months of taunting, false rumours, and comments posted on Facebook. If it weren’t for Sam, the boy’s mother said, her son could well be dead now.

Gardenvale station is not in a ghetto or a poor working-class suburb. It is situated in Melbourne’s blue-ribbon suburb of Brighton where house prices fetch millions of dollars at auction and where the idle rich parade through shopping streets where shops display expensive imported items and the cars parked nearby are Jaguars, Porsches, Mercedes and BMWs. The youths could well have been born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Sam said that increased staffing at stations, extra police and stricter penalties were needed to prevent more incidents of this sort.

What are we doing wrong as a society? What is happening to our community? Why is it so hard for our stationmaster Peter to maintain that sense of community at our station? Why have we learned to live with violence and fear and indifference? If this is happening now, today what will it be like tomorrow? Will it be complete anarchy? Jungle rules?

King hit |ki ng hit|, noun
A king hit, also known as a sucker punch is a common street fighting technique. Experts may feign fear or friendliness to put their opponent off guard or approach him from the side or rear to deliver a surprise blow. To guard against this, fighters may place their backs against a wall or issue an ultimatum against any close approach. The king hit may carry the added connotation that the blow is, as a rule, pre-empting a fight, and intended to cause as much damage as possible, and is usually aimed at a weak point such as the groin or kidneys.

WINTER IN MELBOURNE

“In the hope to meet shortly again, and make our absence sweet.” - Ben Jonson

Oh, what a wintry day today in Melbourne! I was at the train station at 6:30 a.m. and it was still dark. It was very cold and rainy with the wind carrying a hefty chill factor with it. The train station was illuminated brightly in the darkness and a few (fewer than usual!) early morning commuters were braving the cold and darkness, and were waiting for the train with me. The station master at my station is a lovely, elderly man who always smiles and has a cheery word for everyone. He was wearing in his winter gear today, a greatcoat, gloves and a remarkable ushanka making him look quite Russian! Despite the early hour and the cold, wet day his good humour was there. Surely it was sorely needed today, much more so than it is needed on other days.

It was still dark when I got into the City just before seven and there was remarkably little traffic and not too many pedestrians as I walked to work. It seems everyone was luxuriating in their warm bed and putting off their departure from home. While I was standing at the traffic lights, waiting for them to change, I took it all in and it was quite a strong emotive experience while the cold crisp air mingled with my feelings and thought. I mentally jotted down a poem that I wrote down several hours later at the end of the day. Here it is…

Winter

A winter morning:
Cold, wet and the sky blacker now
Than in the dead of night.
The car headlights
Reflected on the moist tarmac;
My breath in steamy clouds,
As I wait to cross the street in falling rain.

A winter morning:
The sidewalk deserted,
Empty, just like my heart.
Your absence lingering
Like the smell of fallen leaves;
Your face, glimpsed as it were,
On a window as a passerby is reflected.

A winter morning:
A steaming cup of coffee
Warming my hand.
Thoughts of our shared breakfasts
Your ardent hand on mine,
The sound of your laughter,
The taste of fresh, warm buttered toast.

A winter morning:
The dawning day, grey and cold
The sun, absent, like you.
I linger expectantly for your return;
Spring thoughts in deepest winter,
Flowers made of the few yellowed leaves
On bare twigs; warmth imagined of our reunion.

ROBERT SCHUMANN

“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

Vachellia farnesiana, the needle tree, is the birthday plant for today.  It is a hardy tree with numerous thorns distributed along its branches, feathery leaves, and bright yellow, fragrant ball-like flowers like pom-poms. In the language of flowers, this plant symbolises “dangerous love”.

An Indian legend recounts how this plant originated: A falcon tried to steal soma (the drink of immortality of the Indian gods).  The falcon was wounded by one of the demons guarding the soma and thus it lost a feather and a claw, which fell to earth.  They sprouted forth and gave rise to plant with the feathery leaves, and sharp spikes, which bears the fragrant flowers reminiscent of the scent of the heavenly drink.

Cassie perfume is distilled from the flowers. Cassie absolute is employed in preparation of violet perfume bouquets, which are extensively used in European perfumery. Cassie pomades are manufactured In Uttar Pradesh and the Punjab.

In the northern hemisphere, this rhyme is said on this day:
    If on the eighth of June it rain
    That foretells of a wet harvest, men sayen.

Today is the 200th anniversary of Schumann’s birth, in 1810. Robert Alexander Schumann (1810–1856) was a German romantic composer. His wonderful solo piano music (such as the well known Carnaval and Kinderszenen) occupied him until 1840, when he began to turn to the orchestra and to songs. His orchestral works such as the Piano Concerto in A Minor (1841–45) and the Rhenish Symphony (1850) exemplify his mastery of classical forms but also show an emotional intensity that hint at his later nervous breakdown. An articulate and gifted critic, he championed younger composers such as Chopin and Brahms. His wife, Clara Josephine (Wieck) Schumann (1819–1896) was an outstanding concert pianist.  One of my favourite of his compositions is the Träumerei, Opus 15 N˚ 7.

MOVIE MONDAY: VEER-ZAARA

“The love of one’s country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?” - Pablo Casals

We watched an Indian movie from Bollywood last weekend, which we enjoyed very much. Sure, it was melodramatic and some scenes were quite mushy and theatrical, but overall it was a good film with fantastic cinematography, colourful costumes, lush music and songs, expansive scenery, lots of action, goodies and baddies, a romance, a court-room scene, a message about national identity and an artistic document that attempts to broker peace between age-old enemies. The film is Yash Chopra’s 2004 “Veer-Zaara”.

The plot has as follows: The International Human Rights Commission, which has identified Pakistan as an area with some issues in Human Rights violations, recruits a young female barrister, Saamiya Siddiqui (Rani Mukerji), newly admitted to the bar, to investigate the rights of long-serving prisoners, who have not had a fair trial. Her first case concerns Prisoner No.786 who is the Indian Rajesh Rathore (Shahrukh Khan). He has been captured as an alleged spy and sentenced to jail indefinitely. Saamiya finds out that his real name is Veer Pratap Singh and goes to meet him in order to find out how she can help him. Although he has never spoken a word for over 22 years, he responds to her as she calls him by his real name. Veer starts to tell his story to her, and thereafter she realises that truly, he is neither Rajesh Rathore nor a spy. He is a Sikh man who loved a Moslem woman, Zaara Haayat Khan (Preity Zinta), a rich heiress of Lahore. Saamiya discovers that Veer was caught up in a web of deceit and betrayal, made to sign a “confession”, which resulted in his confinement.

She undertakes to prove that Veer has been wrongly imprisoned, but faces many obstacles, including the fact that her peers do not approve of her, as she is seen as a woman doing a “man’s job” as a barrister. She also has to confront the country’s top prosecutor, Zakir Ahmed (Anupam Kher), her former boss, who will be up in court against her. Saamiya courageously takes up the challenges and she investigates the case, with the added difficulty that Veer does not want Zaara’s name or her family’s to be brought up in court, in order not to stain her honour.

The film adhered to several classic Bollywood formulas: There is much emotion and sentimentality, there are the standard musical and dancing numbers (with admittedly well-written music and sensitive lyrics), beautiful costumes and a romantic story. It is also a long movie, running for 192 minutes, true to type Bollywood. The film was not meant to be a realistic documentary, but rather functioned in an idealised setting for a love story. However, it was more than the romantic story of the star-crossed lovers Veer and Zaara; it was a love story of people for their land, a love story of human beings for their traditions and family values, the love for truth, honour and respect. The settings are water-coloured, fairy-tale and idealised. But this is a movie produced for a public that wants its stars to live in larger than life settings, experience violent emotions, overcome tremendous obstacles and survive the wildest vicissitudes of fortune. Yash Chopra gives all this to the public and more. He provides a message that steals upon the viewer surreptitiously and when it hits, it is a revelation and packs a strong emotional punch.

The film makes a feminist statement, it looks at nationalism through eyes sick of the violence that nationalism often engenders, and it represents patriotism coming second after humanity. The final scenes when Veer is in the courtroom and recites his poem as his only contribution to the proceedings is a powerful, moving and poignant moment. The film is like an opera. There is sentiment and drama. There is coincidence and destiny. There is emotion and epic storyline. If you wish to see reality, go and see a documentary or a new-wave, grunge-city, crime drama. I recommend this, but only if you do not mind subtitles, if you do not have a cynical attitude, if you are pure of heart and open of mind…

ART SUNDAY - GEORGE KORDIS

“Certain thoughts are prayers.  There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees.” - Victor Hugo

For Art Sunday, a contemporary Greek artist, George Kordis (Γεώργιος Κορδής). George Kordis was born in Greece in Makryracchi of Phthiotis in1956, and grew up in Athens. He studied theology in the Theological School of the University of Athens and concurrently studied Byzantine iconography under the tutelage of Cypriot hagiographer Symeon Symeou. He obtained a Master of Theology at the Holy Cross Seminary in Boston and also studied art at the School of Art of the Boston Museum. When he returned to Athens he continued his art studies in painting and engraving under Fotis Mastichiadis. He has become an expert in theology and the aesthetics of Byzantine painting. In 1991 he obtained a Doctorate of Theology and since 2003 he is a lecturer in the Theological School of the University of Athens.

His painting style owes much to the Byzantine tradition. He uses examples of Byzantine lay painting to set the stage for his subjects, which are often indebted to the West for their iconographic references and technique. He has exhibited his work widely, in more than 25 personal exhibitions and even more collective ones. His works are in many public and private collections.

As a hagiographer, he has an intimate knowledge of the past Byzantine riches of the icon, but he does not simply copy old works, he creates his own personal style, which although is traditional and builds on solid historical foundations, is fresh and startlingly original. He has painted many icons, but also has created the mural decorations of many churches in both Greece and abroad.

The painting above is his personal interpretation of the seasons personified. First comes Autumn losing a page of manuscript in the rising wind. Then pensive ageing Winter, playing with his worry beads. A youthful Spring rejoices in the flower-filled meadow at the feet and the flying kite of the beginning of Lent. Summer s a young fisherman, grasping the sun and ready to set sail with his nets in the green sea. A beautiful tableau of the year’s cycle.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

“I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend?” - Robert Redford

A special piece of music for World Environment Day, which is today. It is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No 6 in F major, “The Pastoral”, Op. 68. It is one of the most easily accessible of Beethoven’s orchestral works as it follows a program. Beethoven's own full title for the work was “Pastoral Symphony, or Recollections of Country Life”. It was composed in the same time period and dedicated to the same people as the more famous Fifth symphony. However, the two works have many differences. The “Pastoral” is known as a “characteristic” symphony and Beethoven publicly declared the piece’s “extramusical” purpose: It is an expression of nature. His affinity for nature and his love for walks through the country outside Vienna were captured in the Sixth, as well as in the notes scribbled on sketches of the symphony.

Here is the first movement:

FEEDING THE HUNGRY

“The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich. Consequently, the modern poor are not pitied but written off as trash. The twentieth-century consumer economy has produced the first culture for which a beggar is a reminder of nothing.” - John Berger

We are lucky in Australia compared to many places around the world. I am grateful for having a job, a house to live in, food on the table every day, being able to lead an existence that has dignity, comfort and safety. I realise that many people have nothing of these and their very existence is threatened daily. It is an indisputable fact that millions around the world starve, have no clean fresh water to use, the lives of many are threatened, or indeed taken, by warfare or terrorist action. Thinking of this every day can chasten one somewhat and when confronting those few have-nots that we come into contact with in our everyday life, our help becomes spontaneous and genuine. There are several beggars on the streets of the city that I see daily, some professional (you can tell by the designer sneakers and the mobile phones they use), some genuine down-and-outers.

Organisations such as the Salvation Army, the Smith Family, Anglicare and St Vincent De Paul Society are active in Australia and there is never a shortage of people that need help and rely on the resources of these charities in order to survive. It is a given that our problem here in Australia is minimal compared to other parts of the world, but I was shocked to learn that in Melbourne, there are about 400,000 people who do not have food on their table every day and rely on the kindness of charities to provide them with their daily bread…

This is quite a frightening statistic, especially considering that three million tonnes of food are thrown out each year in Australia! That’s 136 kg of food wasted per year, for every person living in Australia! Research by The Australia Institute shows that Australians throw away about $5.2 billion worth of food every year. This includes $1.1 billion of fruit and vegetables. The Institute estimates that the average Australian household throws away $616 worth of food per annum. This is frightening, considering so many people around the world starve to death every year and so many in Australia go hungry every day.

I have become aware of a campaign in Melbourne that attempts to right some of these wrongs and feed the hungry in our city. The Feed Melbourne Campaign is a means of raising funds and receiving food donations. Donations can be received online, but also at any Woolworths supermarket or by phone at (03) 9008 0685. It is a fantastic way of helping those people who are genuinely in need of help and whose tables are bare every day.

Another great initiative for feeding the hungry in Melbourne is Fare Share. This group attempts to limit the wastage of food and reclaim some of the good food that would normally be thrown out. The services that Fare Share provides, is the supply of free, tasty, nutritious meals to the hungry and the homeless using donated food not needed by markets, caterers, and retailers around Melbourne. This charity group does a great deal in order to reduce food wastage and feed the hungry, frequently organising special campaigns, functions and fund-raising drives.

One of the fund-raising events to be held this month is being organised by the m.a.d.woman group, which specialises in campaigns to improve our world. These include corporate social responsibility, public relations, communication, cause-related marketing, events and strategic philanthropic advice. It involves a special dinner where single men donate money in order to attend a dinner on 24th June. m.a.d.woman and Fare Share are hosting the largest Single Volunteers event to date as part of the Feed Melbourne campaign - a campaign to raise $1 million to help charities collect, store and distribute food to Victorians who are doing it tough (see illustration above).

Food Friday today has been about feeding the hungry, which can be found right next to us, even if we live in a rich, industrialised, Western, first world country… We only need to open our eyes and hearts in order to become aware of this problem and help in its solution in every way we can.

ANOTHER VIOLENT CRIME

“We live longer than our forefathers; but we suffer more from a thousand artificial anxieties and cares. They fatigued only the muscles, we exhaust the finer strength of the nerves.” - Edward George Bulwer-Lytton

Are we going mad collectively? Has our society reached such a level of stress and distress, that we are being driven insane by the massive shocks that assail us every day? Have we lost the ability to cope and are we being driven crazy? The more I listen to the news, the more convinced I become that this is indeed the case with more and more those around us losing touch with the reality that is so traumatic, that they become demented.

The latest news out of one of England’s most beautiful places, the Lake District, is an example of this.  The 52-year-old man, cab driver, who killed 12 people and injured at least 26 others as he drove around for three-and-a-half hours, surely must have snapped! The man is a divorced father of two and was described by shocked friends and family as a quiet, “regular” guy. Yet, this ordinary person purposefully drove around the tranquil countryside of Cumbria and indiscriminately shot people he didn’t know: An elderly shopper whom he beckoned to approach him before shooting her in cold blood; a father of two in his 30s, gunned down as he trimmed a hedge; and a 64-year-old grandfather who unluckily was riding his bike past the cab driver’s taxi.

But it gets worse! The man is believed to have been driven to execute his terrible rampage after he and his twin brother had a bitter row over his mother’s will. He shot his twin brother and then executed a solicitor who had been advising the family. He then went to kill some of his colleagues, taxi drivers with whom he had argued previously. The deadly carnage ended in even more blood as finally the unhinged cabbie shot himself fatally in remote woodland. Police were initially concerned that the man had also killed his mother, but she was found alive and is now being taken of by family.

How much pent-up hatred must have been festering inside this man for so long! How the lure of filthy lucre must have corrupted his logic, drowned any sense of morality, destroyed any sense of love or even sense of duty and respect towards his own family! How I pity the poor mother who now has to deal with the death of her twin sons, but also the knowledge that one had succumbed to fratricide and then to suicide after a bloody spree which killed so many and destroyed so many lives. It would be understandable is she were to go mad herself…

We live in an increasingly toxic society, surrounded by daily occurrences that subject us to countless tensions, engender anxiety, cause endless strain. We are constantly assailed by messages through the mass media that try to convince us that consumerism means happiness and that money can buy everything and everyone. We accumulate anger, frustration, dissatisfaction, disappointment, we bottle up our negativity and discontent. If we fail to develop mechanisms to resist this onslaught, the spring snaps and breaks. We move into an uncontrolled cycle of insanity that may end in violence – against others, against ourselves.

How can we prevent it? Is it possible to prevent it? Of course it is. There are so many people around us who live in the same environment as those who become unhinged and manage to live balanced and contented lives. I mentioned in yesterday’s blog that although I have a demanding job with many challenges, much responsibility and many stressors, I manage to remain free of stress and function well. How do I do it?

Firstly, one must be able to think coolly, control emotions positively and channel one’s energy away from negativity. One must have a sense of the spiritual. There must be creativity and humour in one’s life. People who work hard must learn to relax and play hard as well. Here are some pointers:

• If you have no control over something, stop trying to alter it, check it or curb it. Rather accept that you cannot change it and move on. This can generate an enormous sense of peace and liberation.
• Stop and reflect on situations that stress you. Take deep breaths, calm yourself down and remove your thoughts from the situation that is causing you angst. 
• Meditation and yoga are another step in the right direction and if you can get into these, you will find that serenity will enter your life.
• Regular exercise can also have a positive de-stressing effect.
• Take the initiative to have a mental health day. We need a day like that every now and then to restore and renew our mind and soul. Don’t feel guilty, remember this is for your mental health and you are taking care of yourself.
• Pamper yourself. Take a warm bath. Get a massage!
• Read a good book that will allow you to enter another world and escape. Relax and let your imagination run riot.
• Play! With your kids, play with your friends or your partner, but play!! You are never too old.
• And last, but perhaps most important of all, laugh…

stress |stres| noun
1 pressure or tension exerted on a material object: The distribution of stress is uniform across the bar.
• the degree of this measured in units of force per unit area.
2 a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances: He's obviously under a lot of stress | [in combination] stress-related illnesses.
• something that causes such a state: The stresses and strains of public life.
3 particular emphasis or importance: He has started to lay greater stress on the government's role in industry.
• emphasis given to a particular syllable or word in speech, typically through a combination of relatively greater loudness, higher pitch, and longer duration: Normally, the stress falls on the first syllable.

verb
1 [ reporting verb ] give particular emphasis or importance to (a point, statement, or idea) made in speech or writing : [ trans. ] They stressed the need for reform | [with clause ] She was anxious to stress that her daughter's safety was her only concern | [with direct speech ] “I want it done very, very neatly,” she stressed.
• [ trans. ] give emphasis to (a syllable or word) when pronouncing it.
2 [ trans. ] subject to pressure or tension: This type of workout does stress the shoulder and knee joints.
3 [ trans. ] cause mental or emotional strain or tension in: I avoid many of the things that used to stress me before | [as adj. ] ( stressed) She should see a doctor if she is feeling particularly stressed out.
• [ intrans. ] informal become tense or anxious; worry: Don't stress—there's plenty of time to get a grip on the situation.

DERIVATIVES
stressless adjective
stressor |-ər| noun (in senses 2 and 3 of the verb) .
ORIGIN Middle English (denoting hardship or force exerted on a person for the purpose of compulsion): Shortening of distress , or partly from Old French estresse ‘narrowness, oppression,’ based on Latin strictus ‘drawn tight’.

KIPLING

“The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all.” - Leo Rosten

I enjoy my work and find that on most days I am challenged, amused, satisfied and I have fun. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the sheer volume of matters that I have to be aware of, deal with, resolve, comment on, initiate, check on, conclude, sign off on, etc. Not so frequently I am irritated, annoyed, perplexed or puzzled. However, I manage to be relaxed and not stress out, but that is not so much because of the nature of the job but because of my own character traits. Some of my colleagues with less responsibility than me manage to be in a state of constant stress. I don’t know how they cope because such a high level of stress can have dire physiological effects, not only negative emotional and psychological ones.

For Poetry Wednesday today, I’d like to give you a famous poem by Rudyard Kipling, which I first read when I was a child, growing up in Greece in translation. I have since enjoyed many times in the original and its simple construction and rich texture always complements well its message.

IF...
Rudyard Kipling

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

START OF WINTER

“I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show.” - Andrew Wyeth

It’s the first day of Winter here in Australia and the weather has been very pleasant. Cool and sunny, but with the good news that our water reservoirs are at 32.7% (592.9 billion litres) full, compared with 26.5% (469.3 billion litres) at the same time last year. We are hoping for more good rains over winter and spring to keep those dams full! I had a very busy day at work today, full of meetings, hundreds of emails, phone calls and letters. At least much was achieved!

As one of my friends celebrated a birthday today (another crazy Gemini!), this is dedicated to all people celebrating a birthday today. And you are in good company with some of the other birthday boys and girls on this day:

• Henry Francis Lyte, hymn writer (1793);
• Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, physicist (1796);
• Brigham Young, Mormon prophet (1801);
• Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (1804);
• John Edward Masefield, poet (1878);
• John Drinkwater, poet/playwright (1882);
• Frank Whittle, jet engine inventor (1907);
• Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean Baker), actress (1926);
• Andy Griffith, actor (1926);
• Bob Monkhouse, comedian (1928);
• Pat Boone, singer (1934);
• Gerald Scarfe, cartoonist (1936);
• Colleen McCullough, Australian author (1938);
• Robert Powell, actor (1944);
• Frederica von Stade, opera singer (1945);
• Jonathan Pryce, actor (1946);
• Jason Donovan, Australian entertainer (1968).

The plant for today’s birthdays is the marjoram, Origanum majorana.  The name is derived from the Greek and means “joy of the mountain”.  Astrologically it under the dominion of Mercury and it symbolises blushing shyness.  The ancient Greeks crowned married couples with marjoram, as they believed that Aphrodite had blessed the herb and the pleasant fragrance was the result of the goddess’s touch.

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (1804–1857) one of today’s birthday boys, was the first of the nationalistic school of Russian composers. His operas “A Life for the Czar” (1836) and “Russlan and Ludmilla” (1842) introduced a characteristically Russian style into the language of music. He influenced many other composers, not only Russians but also many of the other Slavs. The exuberant overture of “Russlan and Ludmilla” is a gem amongst classical music. Here it is!





St Elmo (also known as St Erasmus), whose feast day it is today, was a bishop from Syria who was martyred by having his intestines drawn out through a slit in his belly with a capstan or windlass.  He is often invoked, therefore, against all sorts of intestinal disorders and bellyaches.  Because a capstan was used, he is also one of the patron saints of sailors.  The term “St Elmo’s Fire” describes the electrical discharges that are seen around ships during storms and are thought of by sailors to be a sign of the Saint’s protective presence.

CELLULAR

“I can't sit around and wait for the telephone to ring.” – Tony Curtis

I rather dislike talking on the telephone. More so on the mobile phone (“cellular phone” for our American cousins). I much prefer to talk to people face to face and interact with them using more than verbal language, and being able to interpret their meaning not only form their words, but from their gestures, facial expressions and body language. Having said all of that, I am very reliant on the telephone for my work, where I see it as tool (and to a lesser extent I rely on the phone for communicating with family). Yes, I do have a mobile phone and I do use it, but not as much as many other people do – at least no so much for making telephone calls on, as today’s mobile phones can do so much more than making telephone calls (I bet there are some that make coffee too!).

Now what has all of that got to do with Movie Monday, you may ask. Well, last weekend we watched the 2004 David R. Ellis film “Cellular”. The movie is a B-grade thriller, but very entertaining and unpretentious. As well as being gripping and tense it also had a good injection of humour that relieved some of the tension, and broached a serious topic (I won’t spoil it for you, in case you wish to watch it). The film stars Kim Basinger who does a good job of being the terrorised but gutsy biology teacher and mum whose life is not only turned upside down, but whose life and that of her family is being threatened in what appears to be a senseless abduction. Chris Evans does a good job of playing the young ingénu who has to help the hapless woman.

The plot centres on Ryan (Evans), a selfish young man, who receives a call on his mobile phone from Jessica (Basinger), a woman who says she's been kidnapped, and knows she will be killed soon, along with her husband and son who the kidnappers have captured next. The communication used is a broken phone that the woman uses to call someone at random. Ryan is the one and after becoming convinced of the woman’s sincerity he decides to help her.

The film is based on a story by Larry Cohen, who also wrote the 2002 film “Phone Booth”, once again on a similar theme, with the telephone in a phone booth being central to the plot. You will enjoy this lightweight film if you like thrillers, although there s considerable violence in this film – more implicit than explicit.

The film highlights the extent on which we rely on technology not only for our everyday communication, but also in an emergency (not to mention the coffee-making!).