FUNERAL MARCH FOR A MARIONETTE

“And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.” - Gilbert K. Chesterton

It was a busy day today with lots to get done, and much running around. The rain did not help which was quite heavy. At least our reservoirs are filling up with the total capacity being up to 50% full. Tonight I went out with friends to a restaurant in Southbank (“The Red Emperor”, a favourite Chinese restaurant of mine) and that was very enjoyable.

The restaurant was full as it was Derby Day today (poor horses must have swum to the finish!), so all the women were in their finery and millinery. Add to that the young people dressed up in fancy dress for Halloween and it was a very festive atmosphere. We had a Chinese banquet which was delicious and there was much mirth and conversation, laughter and gaiety. Everyone’s horse seems to have won…

For Music Saturday today, I am continuing on the Halloween theme: Here is Charles Gounod’s “Funeral March of a Marionette”. The music in the beginning represents two members of a Marionette troupe that have had a duel and one of them has been killed. A party of pallbearers is organised and the procession sets out for the cemetery in march time. The music soon takes on a more cheerful spirit, for some of the troupe, wearied with the march, seek consolation at a wayside inn, where they refresh themselves and recall the many virtues of their late companion. At last they get into place again and the procession enters the cemetery to the march rhythm - the whole closing with the bars intended to reflect upon the brevity and weariness of life, even for marionettes.

“Alfred Hitchcock Presents” is well known for its title sequence, which uses this music as its signature. The camera fades in on a simple line-drawing caricature of Hitchcock’s characteristic profile. As the program's theme music, Charles Gounod's Funeral March of a Marionette, plays, Hitchcock himself appears in silhouette from the right edge of the screen, and then walks to center screen to eclipse the caricature. He then almost always says “Good evening” and introduces the programme…

PUMPKIN RECIPES

“Witch and ghost make merry on this last of dear October’s days.”

With Halloween approaching, Food Friday must pay an obligatory tribute to Halloween food and drink!

Pumpkin Fritters
Ingredients

500 grams mashed pumpkin (not too young a pumpkin, as it can be watery)
125 grams flour
2 level teaspoonfuls baking powder,
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Ground nutmeg, mace and fenugreek to taste
1 beaten egg
A little milk if the consistency is too viscous
1 extra egg and breadcrumbs for coating
Vegetable oil for frying

Method
Mix well all ingredients and dip into beaten egg before coating with breadcrumbs
Drop with a tablespoon into hot oil
Lightly brown both sides
Drain on absorbent paper and serve hot

Pumpkin Scones
Ingredients

2.5 cupfuls self-raising flour
1 cupful mashed pumpkin
55 grams butter
1 egg
0.5 cupful milk
1 teaspoonful of salt
1 teaspoonful of mixed herbs
Pinch nutmeg
Pepper to taste

Method
Beat butter until soft
Add pumpkin and egg and mix well
Add milk, mixing well
Slowly add flour
Turn dough onto a floured board and knead well
Roll out dough to 2 cm thickness and cut with cookie cutter into 5 cm circles
Place on greased baking tray
Bake at 200˚C for 15 minutes.

Pumpkin Milkshake
Ingredients

1/3 cup cold mashed pumpkin
1/4 - 1/2 cup cold milk
1/4 teaspoonful vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoonful ground cinnamon
A pinch of ground cloves
A pinch of ground nutmeg
A pinch of ground mace
2 tablespoonfuls brown sugar
2 cupfuls vanilla ice cream
1-2 cinnamon cookies

Method
Place all ingredients except for the cinnamon cookies in a blender
Start with 1/4 cupful milk and then slowly add more if needed to make the blender process it all
Sprinkle with crushed cinnamon cookie crumbs and dust with cinnamon before serving.

A BOOK REVIEW - THE KITE RUNNER

“For my part I believe in the forgiveness of sin and the redemption of ignorance.” - Adlai Stevenson

I am reading a book by Khaled Hosseini, “The Kite Runner”, first published in 2003. Khaled Hosseini was born in 1965 in Kabul, the Afghani capital. His father was a diplomat with the Afghan Foreign Ministry and his mother taught Farsi and History at a large high school in Kabul. The Afghan Foreign Ministry relocated the Hosseini family to Paris in 1976 but when they were ready to return to Kabul in 1980, Afghanistan had witnessed a bloody communist coup and the invasion of the Soviet army. The Hosseinis sought and were granted political asylum in the United States. In the autumn of 1980, Hosseini’s family moved to San Jose in California. Khaled graduated from high school in 1984 and enrolled at Santa Clara University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology in 1988. The following year, he entered the University of California School of Medicine in San Diego, where he graduated with a Medical Degree in 1993. He now lives in northern California.

While in practicing medicine, Hosseini began writing his first novel, “The Kite Runner”, in March of 2001. In 2003, as soon as the novel was published it immediately became popular and has since become an international bestseller, translated widely and published in 48 countries. In 2006 Hosseini was named a goodwill envoy to UNHCR (United Nations Refugee Agency). His second novel, “A Thousand Splendid Suns” was published in the Spring of 2007. Khaled has been working to provide humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan through “The Khaled Hosseini Foundation”, which he founded after an emotional trip to Afghanistan made by the author in 2007 with the UNHCR.

“The Kite Runner” is well written, but part of its appeal is its superficial simplicity through which the author touches on some important, profound concepts, and evergreen but also contemporary issues: Friendship, betrayal, forgiveness, guilt, redemption, childhood, sacrifice, politics, terrorism, nationality, violence… The novel reads like a memoir and obviously the author was inspired by some events of his own life, but it really is a novel, not a biography. The numerous and startling twists and turns of the story (sometimes implausible) make for good reading and there are many poignant moments. However, the characters are memorable and through an Afghani’s eyes we see his own anguish over his birthplace and the sad state of affairs that have made this previously obscure country, fodder for the first pages of the press every now and then in recent times.

The story of the novel centres on Amir, the son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, who is raised in a privileged and protected environment. His friend Hassan, is the son of the servant of Amir. The two children live an idyllic childhood in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s and become inseparable. They fly kites, tell stirring stories of magic places and brave warriors until a violent event forever changes their relationship, eventually bonding them in ways than neither of them could have guessed. After Amir and his father escape to America, Amir remains haunted by his past actions and his betrayal of his friend. The major part of the book is Amir’s attempt to exorcise the demons of his past and his efforts to redeem himself of the cowardice that motivated his actions in childhood.

If you haven’t read this book I recommend it most highly and although many parts of it are harrowing, it is full of humanity and deeply felt emotion.

redemption |riˈdemp sh ən| noun
1 The action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil: God's plans for the redemption of his world.
• [in sing.] figurative A thing that saves someone from error or evil: His marginalisation from the Hollywood jungle proved to be his redemption.
2 The action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.
• archaic the action of buying one's freedom.
PHRASES
Beyond (or past) redemption (of a person or thing) too bad to be improved or saved.
ORIGIN late Middle English: From Old French, from Latin redemptio(n-), from redimere ‘buy back’.

AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL CHILDREN'S DAY

“We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.” - Stacia Tauscher

In Australia today we celebrate National Children’s Day, which is marked every year on the fourth Wednesday of October. It is not a particularly well-known or well-observed commemorative day, which may be partly because it conflicts with the “Universal Children’s Day”, taking place on November 20th annually. There is also an “International Children’s Day” celebrated in some parts of the world on June 1st. Many other nations declare days for children on various other dates. I guess that is because every day is children’s day really, as children are the future of our world and they need to be loved, nurtured, protected and educated.

In honour of this day, a poem that celebrates childhood.

Childhood

Through a small child’s eyes
The world’s a place of wonder,
And time cannot run fast enough
To keep up with the turning wheels
Of its mind’s new, shiny machine.

A child’s heart still pure and gentle,
Has enough love in it to spread
Around the world and still have
Some left over to give generously
To whoever needs it most.

A child’s questions ever asked,
Will often cause a wise man
To muse over and in perplexed vexation
He will not answer, his wisdom not enough,
His ponderings unfruitful…

A child’s touch is a breath from God,
Living reminder that He is not yet
Discouraged of sinful Man;
Allowing the human race to run its course
In hope through new generations.

A child needs love, tenderness, affection
Understanding, guidance, counsel.
The young mind like a sponge absorbs,
The young heart simply trained
To love, equally as easily to hate.

The child, a being of light and optimism,
Of endless prospects and untold possibilities;
How grave the duty to have and raise a child,
How immense such a responsibility,
How profound and critical such a commitment!

IN PRAISE OF MELBOURNE

“My hometown was so dull that one time the tide went out and never came back.” - Fred Allen

Well, it’s official! Melbourne is the best city in Australia to work, play and live in. We Melbournians knew that all along of course, but kept it a secret just incase we had an influx of immigrants that want to share our good fortune! A national survey was just published indicated that our nation’s Number 1 tourism destination for sport, culture, shopping, theatre, restaurants, bars and nightlife is Melbourne, eclipsing Sydney and the up-and-coming pretender Brisbane… It is the country’s sporting capital and confirmed as the best Australian city to host sporting events, as well. Melbourne was also commended for being home to world-class golf courses, a capable host for musical and theatre experiences and also for having top regional experiences close to the city.

Well, I can’t be an objective commentator as I love my hometown and I am proud of Melbourne. Its lifestyle and facilities, its parks, its galleries, museums, roads, public transport and also of course its people are amongst the best in the world. Melbournians are generally friendly, approachable, cosmopolitan, fashion-conscious, trend-setting, cultured and with a good sense of humour. Having lived here for several decades I have seen Melbourne blossom into a world metropolis from what originally was a large town masquerading as a city. Progress has been staggering and the development that has occurred in the last couple of decades is astounding, to say the least!

Progress though, comes at a price… I shall now be the devil’s advocate and try to become less subjective. The already immense population increase in our city has statisticians predict that Melbourne will become Australia’s most populous city in the next few years, rapidly overtaking Sydney. This will create all sorts of issues that have city planners cringe. Increased traffic, demand for living space, housing, resources, pressure on the surrounding countryside, inadequate public transport and roads, are all bound to become very real threats in the immediate future. Increasing crime, pollution, smog, overcrowding, creation of ghettoes and rising property prices are also anticipated. We are already experiencing some of these problems and no doubt we should brace ourselves because they are likely to worsen, given the refractory nature of bureaucracy and city planning.

It should be noted that most respondents of the survey were people living interstate and contemplating Melbourne as tourist destination. I would hate to city my hometown become “a lovely place to visit, but I wouldn’t like to live there” type of place (incidentally exactly the way that think of Sydney!). Incidentally, Victoria rated fourth in world-class natural attractions, behind Queensland, Northern Territory and New South Wales. It also came fourth on unique history and heritage attractions, the Tourism Victoria survey shows.

GRADUS AD PARNASSUM

“The lunatic, the lover, and the poet, are of imagination all compact.” - William Shakespeare

I really must moderate my expectations of everything, as setting them too high can so often lead to disappointment. It so often is the case with movies, especially if the marketing machine has drummed up some of these films to be so wonderful and so definitely worth seeing that one goes in and expects the great heavens to open up! We had such an experience yesterday when we watched Terry Gilliam’s 2009 “The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus”. The film was an extremely self-indulgent fantasy which was based on a Faustian “pact with the devil” story, serving as a springboard for some hallucinatory excursions in the fantastical.

The plot is set in modern-day London where Doctor Parnassus sets up his itinerant and antiquated sideshow troupe. Accompanying him are his young daughter Valentina, the midget Percy, and his assistant Anton. The sideshow is called an “Imaginarium”, and while in trance, Dr Parnassus is able to transport anyone who enters into it into an imaginary world where their dreams come true. Meanwhile, the troupe rescues Tony, a young man that was hanged on a bridge by the Russian Mafia. Tony and Valentina fall in love with each other and the jealous Anton discovers that his competitor for Valentina’s affections may be a liar. The Doctor claims to have lived for more than one thousand years because long ago he made a deal with the devil (“Mr Nick”), in which he gained immortality. Many centuries later, on meeting his one true love, Dr Parnassus made another deal with the devil, trading his immortality for youth, on condition that when his first-born reached its 16th birthday he or she would become the property of Mr Nick. Valentina is now almost the doomed age and Doctor Parnassus makes a new bet with Mr. Nick, that whoever seduces five souls in the Imaginarium will have Valentina as a prize. Dr Parnassus promises his daughter’s hand in marriage to the man that helps him win the bet. While the race for the souls is running, Dr Parnassus must fight to save his daughter and overcome surreal obstacles, while trying to undo the mistakes of his past.

The movie belongs to veteran actor Christopher Plummer who gives a magnificent performance as Dr Parnassus. Often of course, he has to act drivel, but that doesn’t take away from his marvellous recital. He relishes the role and the character and makes the most of the material that he has. Heath Ledger, who plays Tony, gave a middling performance although once again the script failed him. It was poignant watching him not only because this was his last role (what a waste of a life!), but also because at one point he has some lines that seem to be very prophetic: “But...Rudolph Valentino, James Dean, Princess Di... All those people... They’re all dead. Yes, but immortal, nevertheless. They won’t get old or fat. They won’t get sick or feeble. They are beyond fear. Because, they are forever young. They are gods...”

As Ledger died during the shooting of the film he was replaced by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell as “Imaginarium Tonies 1, 2 and 3”. The plot was convoluted enough to allow face-changing and the stitching is almost invisible. Depp, Law and Farrell were paying tribute to a fellow actor and friend and their contribution is summed up by Depp’s statement: “Well... the unfortunate passing of Heath was such an utter devastation, obviously to his family and friends, but also he was in the middle of... Dr. Parnassus with Terry Gilliam. Gilliam was kind of stuck... We got together - three actors, Colin Farrell, Jude Law and myself - and finished up the role basically for Heath. Basically, what we said was ‘just give Heath... it’s Heath's money and it should go to Matilda [Heath Ledger's daughter].’”

Valentina is played with verve by Lily Cole, and Anton is played well enough by Andrew Garfield. Percy the Midget steals the scene every time he appears, played by Verne Troyer. On the other hand, Mr Nick is a caricature, a cheap and tawdry pantomime Mephistopheles played in a rather pedestrian way by Tom Waits who at least looks suitably slimy and repulsive for the role. The remaining supporting cast is greatly variable, ranging from the excellent to the ordinary. The music by Jeff Danna and Mychael Danna was unobtrusive but not memorable and the cinematography good, although as far as imaginative computer-generated fancies go, I still prefer “MirrorMask” and “The Fall”.

An interesting aside that seasoned piano players will appreciate. There is a visual pun in the film where a giant staircase is being climbed to a lofty peak, that that refers to the Latin phrase “Gradus ad Parnassum”. This means “A Step to Parnassus”. Parnassus was used to denote the highest point of a mountain range in central Greece, a few miles north of Delphi, of which the two summits, in Classical times, were called Tithorea and Lycoreia. In Greek mythology, Mount Parnassus was sacred to Apollo and the nine Muses, the inspiring god and goddesses of the arts. The phrase has often been used to refer to various books of instruction, or guides, in which gradual progress in literature, language instruction, music, or the arts in general, is sought. “Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum” is a satirical piano composition by Claude Debussy, from his suite “Children’s Corner”, poking fun at Muzio Clementi’s original collection of instructional piano pieces called “Gradus ad Parnassum”.

I will probably see this film again in a few years time, and I shall be interested in reviewing it again. As it was, I still recommend it to others to see, having all that I have written above in mind, I am sure that you will enjoy it more than I did.

A FEW PICNICS

“Bad artists copy. Good artists steal.” – Pablo Picasso

Seeing it’s Pablo Picasso’s (1881 - 1974) birthday tomorrow, for Art Sunday today let’s have a Picasso painting. A Picasso painting in fact, which pays homage to that of another artist: Édouard Manet 
(1832-1883). Manet shocked Paris when he exhibited his highly controversial “Luncheon on the Grass” in 1863. Manet was paying homage another artist before him, Giorgione and his painting “The Tempest” of 1508. Each of the artists admired his predecessor’s art but reprocessed that art into a completely new and satisfying work, which contained more of each of the copier’s personality and talent than a work simply being copied.

In all cases a naked woman is depicted with men, who are dressed. This is perhaps what shocked the public, affronting its morality and insulting propriety. Hence the cries of “obscenity”. But many admired and lauded the painting. Émile Zola was one of these, who wrote in defence of the painting:

“The Luncheon on the Grass is the greatest work of Édouard Manet, one in which he realizes the dream of all painters: to place figures of natural grandeur in a landscape. We know the power with which he vanquished this difficulty. There are some leaves, some tree trunks, and, in the background, a river in which a chemise-wearing woman bathes; in the foreground, two young men are seated across from a second woman who has just exited the water and who dries her naked skin in the open air. This nude woman has scandalized the public, who see only her in the canvas. My God! What indecency: a woman without the slightest covering between two clothed men! That has never been seen. And this belief is a gross error, for in the Louvre there are more than fifty paintings in which are found mixes of persons clothed and nude. But no one goes to the Louvre to be scandalised.”
Claude Monet also admired the painting, being inspired to do his own less controversial but nevertheless monumental and striking version of “Luncheon on the Grass”.

Picasso turned his attention to Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass, in the early 1960s, working intensively for almost two years on some 150 drawings and 27 paintings. As Manet had taken the right to renew the theme of Giorgione, Picasso took his right to extrapolate hundreds of commentaries on the situation proposed by Manet. These variations, with their many shifts in mode, were in keeping with Picasso’s intense interest in what makes a painter a painter—why a landscape with a nude and some clothed men can release so many emotional resonances.

Pablo Picasso was a Spanish artist whose name is almost synonymous with 20th century art. No artist was ever as famous as Picasso was in his own lifetime. The controversies over his strong personality, extreme arrogance, multiple affairs with younger women, and unwillingness to be classified in the art world only added to his fame and public appeal.

Whatever his human flaws, as an artist Picasso was a true genius. He was able to create incredibly complex and powerful paintings with a few strokes of the brush, or capture the essence of someone’s face as though viewing it in three dimensions, all captured on the flat expanse of canvas. As an individualist, Picasso was a founder of art movements, such as Cubism, but paradoxically refused to do what other people did, and whenever the art world caught up with him and thought they knew what to expect, he would change completely and surprise them.

When he was a child, Picasso was as skilled in realist portraits as in expressionist symbolism. He was also incredibly proficient, especially near the end of his life, when he would often complete three paintings in one day. It was as if he believed he could delay his death through painting. At the time many of these works were dismissed, in the words of Douglas Cooper, as “the incoherent scribblings of a frenetic old man”. It wasn't until long after Picasso's death that critics took a new look at his later works and realized that Picasso had invented neo-expressionism and was, as usual, decades ahead of his time.

BLACK COFFEE

“Coffee makes us severe, and grave, and philosophical.” Jonathan Swift

The day dawned gray and dreary today, so it was a lazy breakfast with plenty of hot coffee, toast, orange juice and some beautiful classical music on the weekend breakfast show on radio. We then went out and did some grocery shopping and came back to watch a movie. In the evening it was time to relax and listen to some more music, this time with some wine and in a little bluer mood. And then, there’s nothing like strong black coffee just before bed!

Here is KD Lang singing “Black Coffee” being as laid back as they get!

LEAN CUISINE

“It is better to rise from life as from a banquet - neither thirsty nor drunken.” – Aristotle

One of the most concerning and recurring items in the news nowadays is the epidemic of obesity and obesity-related diseases that plague the Western, industrialised nations. One of the most worrying aspects of it is that younger and younger children are becoming obese and affected with an alarmingly high incidence of diseases such as diabetes and heart problems. The abundance of food (and especially so of the readily accessible and cheap “fast food”) is partly to blame, but some of the blame lies with lifestyle, where most of us lead sedentary existences in front of the TV, sitting behind a desk all day, on the couch or in bed.

Traditional diet in Asia, around the Mediterranean, Central and South America, as well as the active lifestyle in all of these countries is associated with a low incidence of obesity and its attendant misfortunes. It seems the more civilised we become, the more urbanised and technologically advanced we are, the greater the risk of moving away from the healthy lifestyle and the good diet that our ancestors enjoyed.

There is also of course the other side of the coin: Body image and weight has become a status symbol in highly industrialised societies of the Western world. To be trim and slim with a fit and healthy body is a highly desirable body image to have and the higher the social status, the more one will find pressures to adhere to this “body beautiful” image. To this end, there are large numbers of personal trainers, dietary advisors, bariatric specialists, surgeons and special services all dedicated to manufacturing the desired body shape and weight, that projects “wealth and high status”. Needless to say that this is another extreme, which itself can lead to disease and complications.

As is the case with all things, the middle way is the best policy. No obesity but no extremities of slimness, either! No excesses of eating, but also no starvation. A balance in diet and a reduction in the calorie consumed will lead to reasonable body size and weight. We must say no to inactivity and the sedentary lifestyle, but also no, to a stringent exercise regime that can damage the body and lead to muscle, joint and bone problems.

Here is a traditional Mediterranean recipe, which is vegetarian but also delicious and stuffed full of fibre, vitamins, minerals and complex carbohydrates.

Greek Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients

•    1/4 cup olive oil

•    2 cups chopped onions
•    
1 cup uncooked rice
•    
1/4 cup freshly roasted pine nuts
•    1 1/4 cups water
•    1 teaspoon tomato paste
•    1 can of peeled tomatoes
•    
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
•    1 teaspoon allspice
•    1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
•    
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
•    2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
•    
3 tablespoons lemon juice
•    Eight small to medium sized green bell peppers
•    1 cup water
•    Lemon wedges for garnish

Method
•    Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over moderate heat and sauté the onions, stirring frequently, until light brown.
•    Add the rice and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add the toasted pine nuts and cook no longer than an additional minute.
•    Add the water, tomato paste, tomatoes, salt, pepper, allspice, and nutmeg, and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes.
•    Add the mint, parsley and lemon juice and toss gently with a fork to mix and fluff the rice.
•    Cut the top of the peppers about 1 cm down from the top and seed them carefully so that they remain whole.
•    Stuff the peppers with the rice mixture, place the tops on them again and put the stuffed peppers in a baking dish so that they remain standing next to each other.
•    Add 1 cup water to the bottom of the baking dish and bake covered in a preheated 170˚C oven for 45 minutes, or until the peppers are tender. Allow to cool and remove the remaining water from the bottom of the baking dish.
•    Chill the peppers in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or overnight. Serve chilled or at room temperature, garnished with lemon wedges.

ON BOOKS AND LIBRARIES (AGAIN...)

“I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.” - Anna Quindlen

I love books, as you may know if you are a regular reader of this blog. It goes without saying that I love reading, yes, but I also love the physical, printed, paper-based book as opposed to the electronic book. There is something wonderful about holding a book and leafing through the pages, feeling the texture of the paper against one’s skin, smelling that wonderful odour compounded of ink, paper and in many cases, of age (aren’t the best books old ones?). A happy room is a room full of books and I am glad to say that most rooms in our house are happy rooms.

About ten years ago we extended our house so that all of our books would fit and we ensured there was space to spare too! Needless to say that ten years afterwards we have run out of space for our books, again. It is a constant battle to find a little bit more room to fit another bookcase, put a shelf for a few more books. We have tried stopping buying books, but it is impossible! We have also tried to do a cull, but it ended up as an extended reading session, each of us surrounded by open books and showing each other the treasures we found. We cannot extend any more so some solution has to be found and it has to be found quickly!

Today I had a meeting in the City and on my way back I popped into the State Library of Victoria (illustrated above). This is one of my favourite haunts in the City and whenever I can I duck in, even if it just for a few minutes. There is always something going on in there, special exhibitions, books displays, cultural events, art exhibitions, but also of course the books themselves! The great Dome Reading Room is a magnificent temple of knowledge and sitting in the midst of it, seeing all of the galleries of books around, one feels warm, content and secure. And the joy of having all those billions of printed words just screaming out to be read!

One of the things that is advertised in the library is a donation program. One may donate worthy tomes to the State Library, which I guess is a fate that all good books in private home libraries aspire to. We may consider this option when the situation at home gets insupportable. The books in the State Library belong to all of us and I can go and access them whenever I like. It’s just that I want my books at hand, near me, in my house, within reach!

library |ˈlīˌbrerē; -brərē| noun ( pl. -braries)
A building or room containing collections of books, periodicals, and sometimes films and recorded music for people to read, borrow, or refer to: A school library | [as adj. ] A library book.
• A collection of books and periodicals held in such a building or room: The Institute houses an outstanding library of 35,000 volumes on the fine arts.
• A collection of films, recorded music, genetic material, etc., organized systematically and kept for research or borrowing: A record library.
• A series of books, recordings, etc, issued by the same company and similar in appearance.
• A room in a private house where books are kept.
• (Also software library) Computing a collection of programs and software packages made generally available, often loaded and stored on disk for immediate use.
ORIGIN late Middle English: Via Old French from Latin libraria ‘bookshop,’ feminine (used as a noun) of librarius ‘relating to books,’ from liber, libr- ‘book.’

LOVING

“By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth.” - Bible - Song of Songs, Solomon

A date to remember today, 20102010! Funny how we humans seek patterns and significance in the most insignificant and arbitrary of details… But to be playful is within our nature and to seek order, pattern and rule is part of the joy and curse of being human. I remember lying in bed when a child and gazing at the cracks of the ceiling trying to make out shapes and figures, pictures and whole scenes. Or looking at the clouds and seeing monsters, angels, animals, a thousand objects everyday or fanciful.

I had a phone call from a friend today, with whom I had not spoken for a while. He has been divorced for about five years now and was living the life of a bachelor all over again, enjoying it shortly, but then becoming increasingly miserable as he was used to married life and loving before that. He was ecstatic when he talked to me revealing he had fallen in love all over again. I shared his happiness with him and we prattled on for a while, until I asked him if she was in love with him too. And then he clouded over, became insecure, stuttered, was tongue-tied in fact and finally admitted that he thought so but had so many doubts…

How hard it is to love! I jotted down a poem and I dedicate it to LB.

Loving

It’s hard to love and love full well,
Giving one’s heart, risking its breakage.
It’s hard to give one’s all, and be so vulnerable
As to chance an utter devastation.

It’s hard to make one selfless, weak, and put
Another person’s happiness above one’s one.
It’s hard to willingly be hurt, weep, pine
While floundering in uncertainty and doubt…

It’s hard to live beholden to one’s beloved;
Breathing each breath, as though it’s borrowed.
It’s hard to lie awake and nourish oneself
Only with tears, sighs and gray disquiet.

But how easy to love when the beloved’s sun
Shines bright and one smiling glance is enough
To vapourise all misfortunes, apprehensions,
And answer all questions in the affirmative.

How easy to love when one touch reassures,
A kiss that’s freely given, a priceless treasure;
When blissful joys are shared by two
And raise both lovers clear to heaven!

OFFICE CONFIDENTIAL

“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” - William Shakespeare

I was printing a confidential document on a shared colour printer at work the other day and before printing it, I ensured that people nearby knew that it was confidential and that I would go there to pick it up immediately. Between the time I clicked on the “print” button and when I went to the printer to pick up my document I saw the staff member that I had warned about the confidentiality of the document, reflected on the window glass opposite the printer. She was sneaking a look at my document, and then blissfully unaware that she had been observed, she quickly went back to her desk…

Common enough scenario? I am sure that you have similar stories to tell. The snoop with the long nose is alive and well and lives in every office. How often have we experienced this situation and we have realized this s one of the ways that “leakages” occur in work situations. Sensitive information is disseminated around the office in this way and then one wanders where the leak occurred. If you smiled wryly and thought: “We have a woman like that at my office”, think again!

A study carried out by Canon Australia last August and September found that although women are more likely to peek at a work colleague’s printout, men are more likely to linger and thoroughly read it! So much for stereotyping! And as far as printing is concerned, the same study found that nine out of ten workers, on average, were likely to print personal documents at the office. No wonder people don’t want others to have a look at their print-out! Another interesting finding was that one in three women was likely to print something at least twice every hour, compared to one in six men. Maybe this is why women thought that they were the only ones who refilled the paper trays in the printers and copiers (twice as many women thought this compared to men).

Of course, one can immediately see why Canon Australia were very interested in all of these office statistics and behaviours. They can target the advertising and marketing campaigns to the appropriate work groups if they have such information at hand. It’s quite amazing the amount of money that is spent on such studies all for the benefit of big business, however, some time one can garner some interesting information that has some use elsewhere also.

In case you are wondering what happened with my confidential document and what I did with the snoop, I shall tell you: As soon as I picked up my document I warned the colleague that I was going to print another even more sensitive document and would she please make sure that nobody picked it up or looked at it. She nodded her head with alacrity and put her head down. I went back to my computer and printed the following in large, bold type:

THIS IS MEANT TO BE A CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT AND SHOULD NOT BE SEEN BY ANYONE, ESPECIALLY SO THE PEOPLE THAT KNOW THEY SHOULDN’T BE PEEKING AT IT!
PLEASE BE A LITTLE MORE CONSCIENTIOUS AND COURTEOUS…

When I went to pick up this second document, sure enough the colleague was returning to her desk. She had her head down and did not look at me when I collected it, but at least she was blushing!

MOVIE MONDAY - SPY GAME

“Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.” - Hunter Thompson


Last weekend we saw the 2001 Tony Scott movie “Spy Game”, starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. As the title intimates this is a spy thriller all about CIA agent Nathan Muir (played by an ageing Redford) who is about to go to work for his last day before his retirement. Unfortunately for him, he receives a desperate phone call informing him that his protégé Tom Bishop (played by a very young Pitt, comparatively speaking) is in a Chinese prison awaiting execution for espionage. It quickly becomes apparent, that the CIA does not want to “meddle” in this particular “embarrassing” situation as it could damage sensitive trade deals. Muir knows all about the Machiavellian machinations of the CIA and uses all of his skill, experience, knowledge and inside information to try to save Bishop’s life. In the process, he recalls their relationship and developing friendship over the years, which will not allow him to abandon Bishop to his fate.

This is an archetypal “dick-flick” with lots of action, male bonding, war, spies, dirty business involving politics, espionage, double-crossing, capitalism, communism, double standards, terrorism, counterterrorism, revolution, and all of the other things that make our modern times so wonderful to live in… I like a good spy thriller as much as the next guy, however, this one left me a little bit flat. Maybe I expected a lot more and with such high expectations for an A-grade film I was disappointed that it was only a B-Grade one.

Redford does a good enough job, but at times he looks bored with the whole thing and one thinks that, yes, he would rather be in the Bahamas working away at his retirement. Pitt was at one time hailed as the “New Redford” and I certainly saw the resemblance. He could have easily played Redford’ son. He was the fresh-faced young, enthusiastic actor that seemed to outdo the older one. He played with verve and definitely wanted to be on the set doing the movie, the Bahamas could wait.

The direction was slick enough and the flashbacks were done well, the messy storyline was handled well and the “love story” of sorts that threatened the friendship of the two men was portrayed with restraint as befitted the genre of the film. Scott is experienced enough in this type of movie: “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3” (2007); “Déja Vu” (2006); “Enemy of the State” (1996) “Crimson Tide” (1993), etc, etc. As one would expect with such credentials, the production was good and the standards high. However, something was lacking – je ne sais quoi!

As far as recommending the film goes, yes I would recommend it as a standard one of its type and most men I think would enjoy it. We watched it with friends and the two women weren’t particularly taken with it, they often chatted between themselves during the film and wouldn’t be drawn by it. As I said, I expected more than I got, but I imagine if my expectations were lower at the outset, I may have enjoyed it more. The verdict? 3.5 out of 5

ART SUNDAY - MARCEL PAJOT

“A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.” - William Strunk, Jr.

A painting by the French artist Marcel Nino Pajot, today. He was born February 24, 1945 at Vergt, Dordogne. “The subjects of my paintings”, the artist writes, “are rarely premeditated, they emerge at random from my brushes, according to my pleasure or despair ... What counts is the preliminary drawing, of course, and painting as a material, the with colours, lines, scratches, the random mix of inks, gouache, acrylics... Pleasure is also the variety of media, canvas, and especially the paper which materially imposes its most sensual contraints.”

The artist has completed several series of works, two of the most characteristic being Venetian carnival scenes and the story of Don Quixote. His canvases are full of colour, rich detail, humour and often a popular, almost caricature-like immediacy. Even though he is undeniably a painter, Pajot is also primarily a draughtsman as he designs his subjects with a spirit imbued with a keen eye and disconcerting truthfulness. By adding a dose of lyricism, a touch of madness, a festive ambience, a touch of mystery and brilliant colour to his compositions, he is able to give an air of comedy or tragedy to the rich repertoire of moods he depicts on his canvases.

I have chosen a rather sparse and Spartan work of his, more restrained than his usual flamboyant style. It is an archetypal image for me of Cervantes’ immortal heroic duo: Don Quixote de la Mancha and Sancho Panza. The highly dramatic sky and the richly detailed foreground more than make up for the lack of rich colour and the two figures are so immediately recognisable and characteristic, that one gets one’s bearings even with a single glance. It is a frugal work, but one that is very poignant and eloquent in its simplicity.

The artist’s website can be found here, however it is in French.

A MUSICAL CARAMEL

“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.” - Roger Miller

Last night we had quite storm – rain lashing down, at some stage hail and then even more rain. It was nice to lie in bed and hear it all happening just outside the window, happy to have a roof over one’s head and a nice warm bed…

Today the weather was erratic and unstable. Sunny and smiling one minute, sullen and weeping the next. Nevertheless we did our shopping, went to the library and then this evening time for rest and relaxation. And what best to do this to than with this piece of Mozart that is pure delight and pleasure? Here is the caramel-like Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, K. 581, which was written in 1789 for the clarinetist Anton Stadler. The work was finished on 29th  September 1789 and Mozart described it as the “Stadler Quintet” in a letter of April 1790. Delicious!

A FRUITFUL TRIP

“Vegetables are the food of the earth; fruit seems more the food of the heavens.” - Sepal Felicivant

The weather all along the southeastern coast of Australia has been terrible. Flooding rains, storms, hail, high winds and in the south, cold… In Tasmania it has been snowing! This is of course right in the middle of our Spring – for all you northern hemisphere readers, our October is equivalent to your April. Such is the situation with climate change, no doubt we shall see many more extreme weather events in the decades ahead. Nevertheless, I think that resourceful Homo sapiens will do something to alleviate the troubles that future generations will have to cope with. Call me an optimist!

The weather wasn’t very conducive to flying and on my way back from Sydney this evening it was a very bumpy ride indeed! When landing in Melbourne there was lashing rain and high winds and the plane jolted on the tarmac and there were hundreds of creaks and snaps, croaks and whirrs, screeches and cracks as the plane landed. My fellow passenger next to me had grown very pale and she took deep breaths and had her eyes closed, while she clutched at the seat, her knuckles white. When finally the plane taxied in, she opened her eyes and murmured “Thank, God!” As far as I was concerned, it wasn’t the worse landing I had experienced and once again, if one flies one must be prepared for the worse…

The workshop in Sydney today was fantastic! It was quite a small group of high-ranking academics from many universities and a few colleges, and we all had a round-table discussion on academic standards, and generic threshold learning outcomes of educational programs in Health, Medicine and Veterinary Science degrees. The discussion was stimulating, engaging and frank. It was quite a useful three hours or so and I came away with quite a good understanding of our new tertiary education quality agency that will be set up over the next couple of years.

We were very well fed during the seminar, but I gorged myself on the extensive selection of fresh fruits that were available, rather than the sandwiches and sweets. We had luscious strawberries, blueberries, grapes, pineapple, melon, watermelon, pawpaw, passionfruit, bananas, apples, tangerines, oranges, peaches, nectarines and cherries for our delectation. The good thing about Australia is that because it is so big, it spans several latitudes and “seasonal” fruit is greatly varied at any time of the year. One can choose from the perennial tropical favourites of the far north, to the delights of the subtropics with their early fruiting varieties of spring and summer fruits and then go to the temperate south with its range of late winter offerings and spring delicacies.

We are very lucky in Australia as the produce is always fresh, of good quality and relatively cheap. Fruit and vegetables are in plentiful supply and when going to the market or the greengrocer, one can go overboard and shop, shop, shop! I don’t think there are any fruits or vegetables that I particularly dislike, even though there are many that I love. I could quite easily give up meat or fish, but I could not give up fruit or vegetables. Which of course is wonderful as fruit and vegetables are full of the goodness of nutrients, minerals, vitamins, fibre, essential microelements, sugars, antioxidants, anti-ageing compounds, active anti-cancer complexes and of course they are all delicious!

JUBILATION IN CHILE!

“The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy.” - John F. Kennedy

The whole world breathed a collective sigh of relief today as the Chilean miners were finally rescued from their living interment. The whole time during their time under thousands of tones of rock, we had all been watching with anxiety the rescue effort and as metre after metre of the shaft was dug, hopes increased for their survival and rescue. Jubilation today was universal as the 33rd and last miner was raised from a potential grave. The chamber 625 metres underground that they were trapped in for 69 days is finally empty and the miners who cheated death and set a record for surviving underground for so long are at last reunited with their families.

I have often thought about the situation and put myself in their position. The first thing that one would have to do immediately the accident happened would be to reconcile oneself with one’s death. To feel trapped beneath 600 metres of solid rock is bad enough, but to also have to contend with stifling conditions, lack of water of and food, overcrowding and the fear of being crushed to death at any time is enough to make one slightly nervous, to say the least! The feelings of doom, depression, anxiety, claustrophobia, despair, hopelessness would all be formidable adversaries in a hole 600 metres underground.

The courage of these men and their strength that helped them survive is remarkable. The joy of their families to see them alive and well after nearly 70 days underground is indescribable. Their happiness at having cheated death and come back to the surface and the light must be a rebirth.

I am in Sydney for a couple of days and I have a very busy schedule. I shall be attending a seminar and workshop on tertiary education academic standards, which looks as though it will be very interesting. In addition I am inspecting the site of our new campus in Sydney. It looks as though it is in a magnificent location and there will be quite a great deal of refurbishment and rebuilding to order, which should make for a great purpose-fitted facility. Thankfully the weekend is not far off…

A ROSEBUD

“Spring is sooner recognised by plants than by men.” - Chinese Proverb

Oh, how Winter dawdles this year! It’s been so long and even though Spring is here, officially, today the weather was wintry, dreary, gray and wet. My office was cold and I put the heater on. I had to go out at lunchtime and after walking through the wet streets, battling with my umbrella, dashing in and out of arcades as I negotiated the length of the City, on the return I took a taxi as the rain started in earnest and I was laden with shopping bags. This evening when I got home, a single fragrant rosebud greeted me in a vase on my desk in my study. A loving hand had picked it from our garden and its beauty was evidence enough that Winter was departing…

A Rosebud

In driving rain and wind that bites
A rosebud braves the weather.
The sun is under leaden clouds,
But warms the cheery heather.

Departing Winter’s pallid shroud
Is spread on waking garden;
Each flower for its survival fights
Its will to live must harden.

It’s Spring but still, this Winter lingers
With tightened fist and claw persists;
And yet the smile of Flora, melts hearts,
Caresses buds and for her ally sun enlists.

Winter shuffles along, but still departs:
No more the snow, and ice has melted.
Spring touches with her gentle fingers,
And Chloris is with bright daisies belted.

The rose has bloomed, the lily richly smiles!
Love beckons, Spring’s here with her wiles.

VALE, JOAN SUTHERLAND...

“For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.” - William Penn

News this morning of the death Joan Sutherland, “La Stupenda” of the world operatic stage, surprised and saddened me. She was one of the great stars of opera and I had seen her performing live, which made me understand the sobriquet attached to her persona. At 83 years of age, one had to expect that death would soon be calling at her door, but one has in one’s mind a strong image of such immensely great personalities that they seem to be immortal, unable to succumb to the ravages of age, disease, death…

Her death in Switzerland was a shock to my system as the way that I remember her was as that vivacious, larger than life figure, singing on stage looking majestic, commanding, beautiful and ageless. She was born in Australia and shot to international fame in 1959 when she assumed the title role in The Royal Opera’s new staging of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at Covent Garden. From then on she was unrivalled in the bel canto repertoire and continued the revival of interest in the operas by Bellini and Donizetti that had been pioneered at the start of the 50s by Maria Callas. She went on to conquer all the major opera houses of the world, including the notoriously difficult audience at la Fenice, Venice who, after her appearances as Alcina, named her ‘La Stupenda’ (the stunning one).

She possessed a clear, agile, powerful voice and a flawless technique with a great vocal range. This is the reason she excelled in the exacting and demanding roles written for the soprano voice by Donizetti, Bellini and Verdi. She bid farewell to the stage in 1990 in the role of Marguerite in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots with Opera Australia in Sydney and appeared alongside two of her regular on-stage colleagues, Luciano Pavarotti and Marilyn Horne as party guests in the Royal Opera’s staging of Die Fledermaus the same year.

Joan Sutherland had been suffering ill health for some time and died in her home surrounded by the people closest to her, gazing out on the Swiss landscape, in a town near Montreux. Her husband, conductor Richard Bonynge, and their son Adam survive her.

Requiescat in pace, Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE (7 November 1926 - 11 October 2010). The operatic firmament has been robbed of one of its brightest shining stars.


Here she is immortalized by technology for our perpetual enjoyment, singing “Casta Diva” from Norma by Bellini. 
The Elizabethan Symphony Orchestra is
conducted by Richard Bonynge
at the Sydney Opera House.

MOVIE MONDAY - ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

“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

We watched a rather ordinary movie at the weekend. It was Joel Zwick’s 2004 “Elvis Has Left the Building” with John Corbett and Kim Basinger. Zwick has been responsible for the 2002 “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” in which Corbett starred again. This director seems to have a slew of other comedy/romantic comedy movies and TV series in his credits. He handles this genre fairly competently, but there is no innovation or surprises in what turns out to be standard Hollywood grist. The entertainment version of junk food…

The plot is fairly thin and the gimmick is the killing of several Elvis impersonators throughout the film. Basinger plays a Pink Lady make up travelling saleswoman who has the habit of being at the wrong place at the wrong time and managing to get involved with the Elvis impersonator deaths – accidental or otherwise… She manages to hook up with an advertising executive (Corbett) who seem to be running across dead Elvises all over the place as well. You guessed it, it’s a match made in Las Vegas…

The film is pleasant enough to have on in the background while you’re ironing or something like that, but I wouldn’t recommend it for dedicated viewing. The laughs are few and far between and they are more likely to be smiles or half-chuckles in any case. Corbett and Basinger do a decent enough job of what little the script has to offer them and the direction is pedestrian. The Elvis impersonators in most cases deserve what they get and the two detectives on the case are at best annoying or tiresome.

I guess there aren’t that many redeeming features in the film, but if anyone has seen it and has a different opinion, please comment.