SONG SATURDAY - PARTING

“They who go Feel not the pain of parting; it is they Who stay behind that suffer” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We had a leisurely day today, with a long, drawn-out breakfast and then a stroll in the garden. We then decided to go to the St Andrews market where we hadn’t been for ages. It was packed as the weather was good and the traders were there in full force. We enjoyed it and then went to the St Andrews Hotel for lunch. A nice drive back through Panton Hill, Kangaroo Ground and Eltham where we enjoyed the green fields and the clear transparent air. We watched a movie in the afternoon and then night fell, quite suddenly…

For Song Saturday, a beautiful Greek song with music by Manos Loïzos, lyrics by Manolis Rasoulis and sung by Haris Alexiou: “Everything Reminds me of You”



Όλα σε θυμίζουν

Όλα σε θυμίζουν,
απλά κι αγαπημένα,
πράγματα δικά σου, καθημερινά
σαν να περιμένουν κι αυτά μαζί μ εμένα
νά ρθεις κι ας χαράξει για στερνή φορά.

Όλη μας η αγάπη την κάμαρα γεμίζει
σαν ένα τραγούδι που λέγαμε κι οι δυο,
πρόσωπα και λόγια και τ όνειρο που τρίζει,
σαν θα ξημερώσει τι θαν’ αληθινό.

Όλα σε θυμίζουν,
απλά κι αγαπημένα,
πράγματα δικά σου, καθημερινά.

Όλα σε θυμίζουν,
κι οι πιο καλοί μας φίλοι.
Άλλος στην ταβέρνα, άλλος σινεμά.
Μόνη μου διαβάζω το γράμμα που ‘χες στείλει
πριν να φιληθούμε πρώτη μας φορά.

Όλη μας η αγάπη την κάμαρα γεμίζει
σαν ένα τραγούδι που λέγαμε κι οι δυο,
πρόσωπα και λόγια και τ όνειρο που τρίζει,
σαν θα ξημερώσει τι θαν’ αληθινό.

Όλα σε θυμίζουν,
απλά κι αγαπημένα,
πράγματα δικά σου, καθημερινά.

Everything Reminds me of You

Everything reminds me of you
Simple and beloved things
Things of you, of everyday life
As if they wait along with me for you to come,
And then, it may as well dawn for the last time.

All of our love fills the room
Like a song we both used to sing.
Faces and words and the dream that creaks
When it dawns, what will be real?

Everything reminds me of you
Simple and beloved things
Things of you, of everyday life.

Everything reminds me of you
Even our best friends
Some in the tavern, some at the movies
Alone, I read the letter you once sent me
Before we kissed for our first time.

All of our love fills the room
Like a song we both used to sing.
Faces and words and the dream that creaks
When it dawns, what will be real?

Everything reminds me of you
Simple and beloved things
Things of you, of everyday life.

FOOD FRIDAY - SPINACH LASAGNE

“A man travels the world in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” - George E. Moore

I am finally back home after a delayed flight back to Melbourne and a considerable delay in getting the baggage off plane. It made for a long and tiring day, especially after the four very full days that I away in Brisbane for work. Being Food Friday, here is a recipe for lasagne, seeing how we had this for lunch at our workshop (meant I did not need any dinner at all!):

Spinach Lasagne
Ingredients

1 bunch spinach
3 onions
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
Melted butter to taste
1 tsp dried, ground oregano
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp tomato paste
250gm grated tasty cheese
250gm grated soft cheese
1 pkt of Mountain Bread
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp parmesan cheese
200gm button mushrooms
fresh ground black pepper

Method
•    Trim white stalks from spinach and discard, then rinse leaves thoroughly.
•    Place wet spinach in a large saucepan with chopped mushrooms, cover and cook on high for ten minutes or until tender. Drain, lightly squeeze and set aside.
•    Saute garlic and onion in oil until transparent, stir through spinach and mushroom mixture with nutmeg.
•    Mix 
together cheeses, milk and pepper and combine with tomato pieces, oregano and tomato paste.
•    To assemble, line a lightly buttered casserole dish with one slice of Mountain Bread and brush the bread with melted butter. Layer with one third of the tomato, one third of spinach and one third of cheese.  Top with buttered Mountain Bread, and repeat twice, finishing with a layer of bread. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake at 180˚C for 30-40 minutes.
•    Serve with green garden salad

POSTCARD FROM BRISBANE

“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.” - Oscar Wilde

I’ve had another busy day at work in Brisbane at our Academic Professional Development workshop. It is a rather difficult task to be organising everything, ensuring that all is running to schedule, moderating sessions and then also presenting two of them. Nevertheless, it was all worth it and another successful day concluded this evening. All of the attendees were most complimentary and gave positive feedback. One more day tomorrow and then flying back home tomorrow evening.

Tonight I decided to have a quiet evening and after eating something I went for a long walk. It was a quiet night and rather warm so it was pleasant to walk in the street and look at the houses lit by the street lights, catch snatches of music behind closed shutters, laughter from balconies and disjointed conversations wafting in the air and dissipating as I walked on by. The heady, heavily aromatic smell of night-blooming Jessamine (Cestrum nocturnum) hard to ignore, as it made the air redolent with its perfume. The large white trumpet blooms of the thorn apple (Datura stramonium) also sweet smelling, shone out in the darkness, while the more refined, delicate scent of the stocks although distinctive gave no indication of where exactly the blooms were.

I think I met all of two other people walking in the street and it was quite pleasant to say “good evening” and have them reply back with an equally cheerful greeting. There must be many other places in the world where in a city of Brisbane’s size one would not dare venture out in the street after dark, much less greet strangers in this way. How sad! Such is urbanisation and civilisation, then…

I walked back to the hotel and lay down in bed putting some music on and relaxing. It was quite a restful, peaceful time that I devoted to me and my thoughts. The darkened room, one corner lit by a bedside lamp which cast its yellow light dimly around it, and the soft strains of the second movement of Bach’s Concerto In C Minor For Oboe & Violin allowing my mind to trace endless spirals while it followed the mellifluous melody in its wanderings.

Almost time to sleep now, but here is an offering for Word Thursday:

redolent |ˈredl-ənt| adjective
1 [ predic. ] (redolent of/with) strongly reminiscent or suggestive of (something): Names redolent of history and tradition.
• literary strongly smelling of something: The church was old, dark, and redolent of incense.
2 archaic or literary fragrant or sweet-smelling: A rich, inky, redolent wine.
DERIVATIVES
redolence noun,
redolently adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘fragrant’): from Old French, or from Latin redolent- ‘giving out a strong smell,’ from re(d)- ‘back, again’ + olere ‘to smell.’

POETRY WEDNESDAY - NOCTURNE

“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul” - Plato

I am in Brisbane for work and the weather has been marvellous. The nights are soft, warm, balmy and the subtropical vegetation lush and beautifully green. Walking to the hotel tonight the air was perfumed with the aroma of some subtropical bloom and thinking to the picture stimulus of the latest Magpie Tales challenge it was easy to be quite literal and rhyming in my interpretation once again, influenced no doubt by the sweet, subtropical night. Henri Rousseau’s mysterious and beautiful painting is very evocative of music and its power, and his “Snake Charmer” charms also the viewer who feels drawn into the depths of the image.

Nocturne

In the stillness of the night
To the silvern moon’s delight
Sweetly does the flute resound
Spilling music all around.

Ebon skin and hair that shimmers
Shiny glance that softly glimmers,
Sinuous and sweet’s the air
Luring beasts from out their lair.

Music makes the jungle tame
Calms and yet ignites a flame.
Music soothes the savage beast
Rouses passions in the priest.

Neath the moon’s resplendent orb
Flowers music strains absorb.
Snakes start to slither, slide,
And up to the flautist glide.

She charms serpent, beast and bird
With her music not her word;
Now the snakes around her creep
Up they climb, roused from sleep.

Music heals the deepest wound
Makes the air around perfumed.
Music calls to arms and strife,
Yet assassins drop their knife.

And each gentle leaf unfurls,
Flower twines and softly curls;
As the music upwards floats
Rhythm, melody, sweet notes.

In the stillness of the night
To the silvern moon’s delight
Sweetly does the flute resound
Spilling music all around.

MALE BONDING IN BRISBANE

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one” - C.S. Lewis

I am in Brisbane for work currently and after arriving late for my morning meeting, because of the airline strike disruptions, we got off to rollicking start as the group was really primed up and ready for a good dialogue. There were several presentations, and this being an executive team, discussion was at fairly high level and of strategic importance to the organisation as a whole. It was a gruelling meeting that went from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (including a working lunch) but much was accomplished and the team worked well through some challenging and confronting issues. My presentation went well and I kept within the allotted time, surprising for me, as I usually tend to go over time. However, I think in my maturity I have learnt the importance of succinctness and usually manage to keep within the recommended time frames by being epigrammatic and suggestive, rather than painfully explicit and using many examples. Short, punchy delivery with the use of analogy seems to work well and certainly helps me keep to strictly applied time constraints.

After the meeting we went to our hotel for a bit of a freshening up before reconvening for dinner at Moda Restaurant at 12 Edward St in Brisbane City. This is a great place to relax in and have a good meal, attended by excellent waiting staff. The menu is eclectic and multiculturally modern Australian. Although there were no outstanding dishes, the fare was good quality, fresh, well cooked and served impeccably by experienced staff, who were not pushy, but attentive.

I had a seared scallop entrée followed by sirloin steak and Spanish crème caramel for dessert. By Melbourne standards this was an average meal, however, for Brisbane it was very good and as I said earlier enhanced by the attitude of the staff, who seemed to hover around and respond to our requests immediately, but at the same time were never pushy or overbearing – quite a rare thing nowadays.

After the meal, three of us decided to walk the 1.5 km back to our hotel, but on the way back stopped at a pub to have a nightcap. The three of us have a good working relationship and we usually manage to get together at these national meetings. Although we usually have teleconferences and operate collaboratively quite effectively across the country, these face-to-face get-togethers allow us to cement our connection on a deeper level and take it a step above the purely professional work relationship.

Tonight’s get-together after the meal consisted of drinking a couple of drinks together at a pub, which we stopped at on the way back to the hotel. We sat down, chatted casually about all sorts of things, joked, talked about a few work matters, about sport, about some family matters, photography and about the day’s session. It was a relaxed, de-stressing, unwinding session where we “male-bonded” and shared some experiences. We laughed, talked freely, confident in divulging our feelings and thoughts, but at the same time respectful of each other’s privacy and commonly agreed boundaries. There was not a single swear-word uttered, quite a lot of intellectual repartee was exchanged and a good time was had by all.

In the context of relationships, male bonding describes friendship between men, or the way in which men befriend each other, in an interaction described as camaraderie, or to use the Australian vernacular “mateship”. These friendships amongst men are typically based on shared activities, instead of emotional sharing (which is more common in women’s friendships). Male bonding usually involves playing video games, musical instruments, shopping, sporting activities, fishing, hunting, camping, gambling, social drinking, or working with tools. The first widely-noticed use of the term was in Men in Groups (1969) by anthropologist Lionel Tiger.

This special relationship is a very satisfying one as it allows men to come together in a “safe” environment where competition and rivalry are brushed aside and each man finds something that he shares with another man. It matters not that men in such relationships are very different and their interests are quite varied, their personalities often quite disparate and even their social classes widely apart. It is enough that the men share one single common interest, which can serve as powerful unifying force to create a special link that will allow quite a strong and special relationship to develop, despite the huge number of differences.

Aristotle’s classical description of friendship is often taken to be the prototype of male bonding or “bromance”. He wrote around 300 BC: “It is those who desire the good of their friends for the friends’ sake that are most truly friends, because each loves the other for what he is, and not for any incidental quality.” It should be noted that these relationships are not at all sexual and the bonding that occurs is of a “homosocial” type rather than a “homoerotic” type. This type of relationship adds a marvellous depth to social interactions and allows men to develop a richer, powerful emotional dimension to their personality.

MOVIE MONDAY - THE BOX

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” - Arthur C. Clarke

In the sixth edition of “The Theory of Moral Sentiments”, published shortly before his death in 1790, Adam Smith added a remarkable thought experiment to his discussion on the “Influence and Authority of Conscience”. The experiment had to do with the effects of physical distance on moral judgment. Having suggested that any moral adjudication between two parties must proceed from the place and with the eyes of a third person, who has no particular connection with either, and who judges with impartiality between them, Smith went on to remark how infrequently such judgments actually appear in practice.

If the “great empire of China” were suddenly destroyed by an earthquake, for instance, how would the average European react to the news? Though he might, in the initial shock, “make many melancholy reflections upon the precariousness of human life,” or in a soberer moment consider “the effects which this disaster might produce upon the commerce of Europe,” he would eventually return to his normal life “with the same ease and tranquillity, as if no such accident had happened”. Out of sight, out of mind; the death of distant millions would in the long run fail to register its fated and objectively terrifying imprint on his conscience…

There is a passage in the novel, “Père Goriot”, where French author Honoré deBalzac refers to a place in the works of J. J. Rousseau where he asks the reader what he would do if, without leaving Paris and, of course, without being discovered, he could kill an old mandarin in Peking, with great profit to himself, by a mere act of the will. He makes it possible for us to guess that he does not consider the life of this dignitary very secure. “To kill your mandarin” has become proverbial for this secret readiness to kill someone distant and unknown, if the perpetrator had sufficient self-interest int his death.

This is a rather long introduction to Movie Monday today, but it is quite apt as we watched a film, the basic premise of which related to “killing your mandarin”. The movie was Richard Kelly’s 2009 “The Box”, starring Cameron Diaz, James Marsden and Frank Langella. Its basic premise relates to human nature and what many of us may be capable of doing if a large sum of money were to “fall in our lap”, no questions asked...

The plot revolves around Norma Lewis (Diaz) and Arthur Lewis (Marsden), an “average” suburban couple in Richmond, Virginia who has a young son (Sam Oz Stone). The film is set in 1976 and as Arthur is a NASA scientist, there is connection with the space program. One day the family receives a wooden box on which is a button, seemingly unconnected to any mechanism in what proves to be an empty box. A mysterious stranger (Langella) delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million if the button is pressed. However, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world, someone they don’t know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves on the horns of a moral dilemma and must face their true character.

The film was compelling viewing and if one saw it for what it really was, the old “kill your mandarin” story in 1970s clothes, then one has the basis of a good morality tale, which may be quite a useful piece from which to begin a discussion with one’s class in Philosophy 101. True enough, there are ambiguities and irrelevancies, a supernatural/sci-fi underpinning to the story (in attempt perhaps to make marketing it to the teen age group easier), however, the fact remains that one can be sympathetic to the main premise on which the film rests.

The acting is quite good and the 1970s feel is quite convincing. The cinematography, special effects and make-up are good (as one expects nowadays from all bar the very worst Hollywood offerings), making for quite an enjoyable movie. If you watch this film expecting sheer horror (with ghoulies and ghosties and things that go bump in the night), you’ll be disappointed. However, there are some chilling scenes in the film and the feeling of horror is more subtle and depends on the psychological manipulation of the viewer’s emotions and feelings.

There are many loose ends in the film and perhaps there is too much in it. It could have ben tighter and shorter than its 115 minutes. Nevertheless, it is an interesting movie and well worth seeing, especially if you are interested in what I described in my introduction: Are we humans more than likely to “kill our mandarin” than not? Are we basically selfish with altruism a rare exception amongst us? Do we care only for our near and dear and have no interest in nor compassion for those distant and far removed from us? Would you press the button?

ART SUNDAY - JACQUES-LOUIS DAVID

“Indeed, history is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes.” - Voltaire

For Art Sunday today, a painting by Jacques-Louis David: "The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons". This is a large painting Oil on Canvas, about 3m by 4m, painted in 1789 and now exhibited in the Musée du Louvre, Paris.

The full title of this work is “Brutus Returning Home after Having Sentenced His Sons for Plotting a Tarquinian Restoration and Conspiring against Roman Freedom; the Lictors Bring their Bodies to be Buried”. Having led the fight which overthrew the monarchy and established the Roman Republic, Brutus tragically saw his own sons participate in a plot to restore the monarchy. As a judge, he was called upon to render the verdict, and unhesitatingly condemned his own boys to death.

In bringing up such a topic in 1789, David generated hot controversy, and reveals how deeply committed the artist was to the new ideas and enlightenment principles of the French Revolution. Had the revolution not occurred, this picture would almost certainly never have been exhibited publicly. But in the exciting days following the fall of the Bastille, David’s picture was seen as a republican manifesto, and greatly raised the artist’s reputation.  The picture’s influence was immediately felt in other ways, including taste, fashion and even morals.

A commentator noted: “After it was exhibited, fashion returned to hair without powder and women adopted loose hair styles, soon to be followed by men... Corsets were banished, as were high-heeled shoes and women got into the habit of replacing so-called court dresses by light and simple clothes, which were more elegant than sumptuous.” Artistically, David achieved his effect through an uncompromising clarity and a subordination of color to drawing. This economy of statement was in keeping with the new severity of taste, while his themes gave expression to the new cult of the civic virtues of stoical self-sacrifice, devotion to duty, honesty, and austerity.

Seldom have paintings so completely typified the sentiment of an age as David’s “The Oath of the Horatii” (1784), “The Death of Socrates” (1787), and “Brutus and his Dead Sons” (1789). They were received with acclamation by critics and public alike, and have become identified with the ideas of the French Revolution. In all of his historical paintings done in the years immediately preceding the great revolution, David worked hard to introduce the themes of the triumph and role of reason and one law common to all. These high ideals were the kindling that fired up people’s minds and their will to purse equality, fraternity and liberty.

MELANCHOLY SATURDAY NIGHT

“Many men are melancholy by hearing music, but it is a pleasing melancholy that it causeth; and therefore to such as are discontent, in woe, fear, sorrow, or dejected, it is a most present remedy” - Robert Burton

A very busy day in the garden today with lots done, but extremely tiring… Every muscle and bone in my body is aching and I nearly ripped a nail off on my right hand (very painful!). The results are work the effort, “no pain, no gain as they say”. And the day slowly wound down to an evening of wind a couple of short showers, and suddenly it was night. A melancholy feeling has taken hold of me tonight and I can't seem to shake it off. So, instead of going against it, I am going with its flow and immersing myself in it.

What better music for this dark, liquid, blue journey than Anna Moffo singing Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise” with the American Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski in what is now a classic recording of this gem. Enjoy this melancholy music, that makes of sadness a pleasure.

FOOD FRIDAY - ASPARAGUS

“Asparagus inspires gentle thoughts.” - Charles Lamb

The day was long, full and exhausting today. A couple of “heavy” meetings that went for hours, a one-to-one conversation with a “difficult” staff member and as well as that all of the usual, “routine” bits and pieces of every-day business. When I got home I was quite tired, having put in a 12-hour day. Fortunately, this does not happen every day, but it seems to have increased in frequency of late.

It was good to get home and relax, enjoy a home-cooked meal and exchange some pleasant conversation on everything and anything except work. Springtime brings with it many delicacies and one of these is the tasty and nutritious asparagus (Asparagus officinalis). Widely cultivated for its tender, succulent, edible shoots, asparagus began to be cultivated more than 2,000 years ago in the eastern Mediterranean region. Its unique, distinctive, herbaceous flavour assures the popularity of fresh asparagus, which has stood the test of time. Spring signals the start of the asparagus season and a time when we can take advantage of its health-giving properties.

Asparagus is packed with nutritional goodness, with not only useful vitamins and minerals, but also dietary fibre and cancer-fighting components. It provides the complement of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin and vitamin B6, all of these vitamins helping enzymes do their job in the normal metabolism of the body. B group vitamins help the body convert fuel from the diet, such as carbohydrate, into energy. With sufficient B vitamins it is easier for us to be active and get the best out of each day. One B vitamin is folate, and asparagus is rich in this, meaning that the vegetable is excellent to consume in pregnancy for a healthy baby. Adequate folate is also associated with a lower risk of heart disease and stroke. One serve of asparagus (about 4 spears) provides over 20% of the folate we need daily.

One serve of asparagus, provides a quarter of our daily needs of vitamin C, which acts as an antioxidant and helps in the absorption of iron in the diet. Iron is a very important mineral for healthy blood. Although asparagus provides only a modest amount of iron, being high in vitamin C, the body is better able to absorb the iron that asparagus provides. Asparagus has also plenty of potassium and virtually no sodium. A diet high in potassium and low in sodium (salt), helps keep a steady heartbeat and healthy blood pressure.

Asparagus provides some powerful antioxidants, such as rutin, carotenoids (e.g. beta-carotene), flavonoids, vitamin C, saponins and glutathione, all helping to keep our bodies healthy, reducing the risk of cancer and slowing the ageing process. Asparagus is low in kilojoules, without fat or cholesterol, while providing fibre. That makes it a must for any diet, including a weight loss diet.

Green asparagus is the main variety grown in Australia, but there are also white and purple asparagus varieties, that can dress up a dish quite spectacularly. Although asparagus is easy to cook it is difficult to grow. The asparagus plant is unpredictable in its growth and rather whimsical in the way that it may crop. It is fragile and tender, vulnerable to frost, hail, heat and wind, which bends the spears and, under extreme conditions causes “sand blasting” of the tender spears. The growing, harvesting and packing of asparagus are extremely labour intensive processes and once harvested, asparagus is a highly perishable product. This is reflected in its price, making it a relatively expensive vegetable.

We had a delightful asparagus omelette tonight, which was a delicious, filling yet quite light meal.

Asparagus Omelette
Ingredients
4-5 asparagus spears per person
4 medium eggs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A little ground mace
1 tbsp clarified butter
3/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
Chopped fresh chives

Method

• Prepare asparagus by snapping the woody ends off.
• Blanch the spears in boiling water for 3–4 minutes or until tender.
• Refresh briefly under cold water and cut into bite sized pieces.
• Whisk eggs together with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper and mace.
• Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add butter, allow to melt then pour the egg mix into the pan, spread evenly and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the base has set.
• Place the asparagus on half of the omelette with grated cheese and chopped fresh chives.
• Fold remaining half over the asparagus side.
• Finish under a grill or in a hot oven and serve straight away, with a fresh green salad.

ZOROASTER, PARSIS AND VULTURES

“He who sows the ground with care and diligence acquires a greater stock of religious merit than he could gain by the repetition of ten thousand prayers” – Zoroaster

Zoroaster (Zarathustra in Avestan) was a Persian sage who lived around 1400-1200 B.C. He is recognised as the prophet that developed a way of life and belief, and a religion known as Zoroastrianism. He is also credited with the authorship of the Yasna Haptanghaiti and the Gathas, which are hymns that form the liturgical core of Zoroastrianism.

The gods of the Persians in Zoroaster’s time were many. Zoroaster reformed the polytheistic beliefs of the Persians when he perceived that many of these deities worshipped were unworthy of adoration, being evil in character, hostile to all good. His teaching in regards to this was: “If the gods do something shameful, they are not gods.” Although Zoroastrianism is not a monotheistic faith, its highest deity is Ahura Mazda. Ahura Mazda is described as the most frequently invoked deity in the Yasna and is the creator and upholder of Arta (truth). Ahura Mazda is an omniscient, but not an omnipotent god. This god is thought to eventually destroy evil. Ahura Mazda’s evil counterpart is Angra Mainyu (Ahriman), the “bad spirit” and the creator of evil who will be destroyed before frashokereti (the destruction of evil).

Zoroaster taught that water (apo, aban) and fire (atar, adar) are agents of ritual purity, and the associated purification ceremonies are considered the basis of the ritual life of Zoroastrianism. Both water and fire are considered life-sustaining, and both water and fire are represented within the precinct of a fire temple. Zoroastrians usually pray in the presence of some form of fire, and the final rite of the principal act of worship constitutes a “strengthening of the waters”. Fire is considered a medium through which spiritual insight and wisdom is gained, and water is considered the source of that wisdom. Earth is also sacred as it is fruitful and gives man his bread.

In Zoroastrian tradition, life is a temporary state in which a mortal is expected to actively participate in the continuing battle between truth and falsehood. Prior to being born, the soul (urvan) of an individual is still united with its guardian spirit (fravashi), of which there are very many, and which have existed since Mazda created the universe. During life, the fravashi acts as a guardian and protector. On the fourth day after death, the soul is reunited with its fravashi, in which the experiences of life in the material world are collected for the continuing battle in the spiritual world.

In Zoroastrian scripture and tradition, a corpse is a host for decay (druj). Scripture stipulates the safe disposal of the dead in a manner such that a corpse does not pollute the “good” elements of creation, i.e. earth fire and water. This is the doctrinal basis of the traditional practice of “ritual exposure” of the corpse, most commonly identified with the so-called “Towers of Silence”. The practice of ritual exposure is only practised by Zoroastrian Parsi communities in India, where it is not illegal, and where traditionally vultures and other scavenger birds have disposed of the corpse. Other Zoroastrian communities either cremate their dead, or bury them in graves that are cased with lime mortar.

Zoroaster’s disciples were a nomadic people, speaking a tongue ancestral to modern Farsi, who moved south into present-day Iran. The state faith of successive Persian empires, Zoroastrianism was brought to India in 936 AD by refugees fleeing persecution by Arab Muslim conquerors. On the round-the-world trip chronicled in his book Following the Equator, Mark Twain stopped off in Bombay (now known as Mumbai) and, as part of the standard tourist circuit, he was taken to the “Towers of Silence”, where the Parsi community brought their dead. He wrote: “On lofty ground, in the midst of a paradise of tropical foliage and flowers, remote from the world and its turmoil and noise, they stood. The vultures were there. They stood close together in a great circle all around the rim of a massive low tower - waiting; stood as motionless as sculptured ornaments, and indeed almost deceived one into the belief that that was what they were.”

The scavenger birds that Twain saw are almost all gone now. The vultures have vanished from Mumbai, and populations of three vulture species have dropped all over the Indian subcontinent. This has had profound consequences for public health, as well as for Parsi funerary practices. Biologists identified an anti-inflammatory drug called diclofenac sodium (widely used in veterinary as well as human medicine) being the cause of the birds’ demise, as it accumulates in their bodies.

The solution for the Parsis of Mumbai (numbering 40,000 of India’s total number of 70,000) is to build a giant aviary, six stories high and bigger than football field in which scavenger birds like vultures will be bred in order to be used for the “sky burials” above the “Towers of Silence” – a sacred hilltop where the Parsi corpses are exposed since the 17th century.

Parsi |pärˈsē, ˈpärsē|(also Parsee) noun
An adherent of Zoroastrianism, esp. a descendant of those Zoroastrians who fled to India from Muslim persecution in Persia during the 7th–8th centuries.
ORIGIN from Persian pārsī ‘Persian,’ from pārs ‘Persia.’

In the illustration, some Sassanian relief work at Tagh-e-Bostan near Kermanshah, Iran, showing the Investiture of Ardashir II (r. 379-383) (centre) by the supreme God Ahuramazda (right) with Mithras (left) standing upon a lotus. Trampled beneath the feet of Ahura-Mazda and Ardashir II is an unidentified defeated enemy. Note the object being held by Mithras. This may be some sort of diadem or even a ceremonial broadsword, as Mithras appears to be engaged in some sort of “knighting”of Ardahsir II as he receives the “Farr” (Divine Glory) diadem from Ahura-Mazda.

POETRY WEDNESDAY - THE REVENANTS

“Out of her favour, where I am in love.” - William Shakespeare

A grim picture with a terrible title for this week’s Magpie Tales challenge: Andrew Wyeth’s “The Revenant” painted in 1949. An apt choice perhaps for the sad anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. However, as soon as I saw it, my mind filled in the lower left of the painting where the man’s hand was cut off. What was he holding? A flower of course, for whom? I needed to fill in more, and I did. A tale of forbidden love, deceit, discovery and punishment. A love that transcends death and haunts the revenants…

The Revenants

The moon how loud she howls tonight
As she-wolf glares with shining eyes;
The pallid flowers glow with a deathly light
By graveside growing, under leaden skies.

The dead man shifts in his sleep and wakes
As midnight strikes the witching hour;
He lifts his bony hands and legs he shakes
His face skeletal, grey, unsmiling, dour.

The wind in nearby pond reflections shatters
In sparkling waters fracturing the moon;
In murky depths the moonlight quickly scatters,
To vivify the drowned woman of the lagoon.

She turns, she swims, her red hair tosses
And swiftly upwards she floats and rises,
Picking the hyacinths, and the dank mosses
A chaplet for to make and adorn her guises.

The full moon’s shrill cries she hearkened
Just as the wolf’s red-eyed glare he espied;
And as clouds waft and moonlight’s darkened,
A monthly rendezvous they tenderly abide.

He leaves the grave, she quits the lake,
They run to cross the barren churchyard;
A meeting to relieve eternal heartache
A few moments ease for two souls scarred.

They fall into each other’s cold embrace
And momentarily caress and sweetly kiss;
Is it the lake’s water on her bony face,
Or is it tears welling from her heart’s abyss?

The star-crossed lovers gaze at each other
With thirsty eyes whose love’s unquenched;
Their endless kisses, airless lungs smother
Their fingers tangled, in each other’s clenched.

The moon she starts from clouds to peer,
The magic’s broken it’s time again to part.
The wolves stand by motionless and leer,
As lovers cleave, again to break their heart.

He to the sepulchre goes, she to the pool,
And in his hands clasps a withered flower;
Their fate unhappy and their lot so cruel,
The face of destiny on them does glower.

She languished married to a lord, whom she deceived;
He dared to claim her, and both the lord’s wrath received…

TUESDAY 13th

“Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy the mad daughter of a wise mother. These daughters have too long dominated the earth.” – Voltaire

Today is Tuesday the 13th, a very unlucky day according to Greek tradition, just as Friday 13th is considered the unlucky day in other cultures. The reason is historical and harks back to events going back centuries. In ancient times, Tuesday was sacred to Mars, the god of war (dies Martis being Tuesday in Latin – “day of Mars”). Mars wasn’t the nicest of gods and he was disliked not only by mortals but also by his fellow gods and goddesses. Hence Tuesday was shunned for initiating projects and for doing anything that required a degree of luck, with people deferring important decisions until later in the week – Friday for example, (dies Veneris being Friday in Latin – “day of Venus”), which was dedicated to the much more genial and well-liked goddess, Venus.

Greeks shun Tuesday as unlucky because of another reason. It was a Tuesday on the 29th May 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks. This was a black and ill-starred day and subsequent to this sad and sorry event, people did not celebrate anything on Tuesdays, nor did they receive visitors at home. It re-enforced the ancient tradition of Tuesday considered an unlucky day. However, Tuesday 13th is also considered unlucky in Romania and some areas of Spain and Latin America (called “martes trece” there). The reasoning behind the unluckiness of Tuesday 13th in this later group of countries is linked to the belief that the biblical confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel ostensibly happened on a Tuesday, the 13th!

The number 13 has been considered unlucky for millennia. Ancient Persians believed the twelve constellations in the Zodiac controlled the months of the year, and each ruled the earth for a thousand years, at the end of which the sky and earth collapsed in chaos. Therefore, the number 13 is identified with chaos and is the reason why Persians leave their houses to avoid bad luck on the thirteenth day of the Persian Calendar, a tradition called Sizdah Bedar.

In Christian tradition the people sitting at the Last Supper were 13, with Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus being the dreaded unlucky one identified with this number. The number 13 is a prime number, which comes after the “beautiful” number 12. Twelve is considered perfect in many ways as it can be divided evenly by 2, 3, 4 and 6. It has been widely used in “sacred” groupings, for example: 12 months of the year, 12 disciples of Christ, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 zodiac signs, 12 labours of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 days of Christmas, 12 Great Feasts of Orthodoxy, 12 Imams – legitimate successors of the prophet Muhammad, 12 adepts in a Wiccan coven, 12 Jyotirlingas (manifestations of God Shiva) in Hindu Shaivism, etc. it is clear that the extra number added to the perfect twelve mars the total with 13 being considered inauspicious (keep in mind that Tarot card number 13 is Death!).

Superstition is an irrational thing, although the human mind may invent a thousand “reasonable” explanations to explicate common superstitions. Some people even today are extremely superstitious and will go to great lengths in order to avoid whatever the superstition they believe in dictates. Others are oblivious to such nonsense and will ignore or be completely unaware of any such unfounded beliefs. Others still, will purposefully go out of their way to flout superstitions, which demonstrates perhaps another type of unreasonable belief…

MOVIE MONDAY - THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

“Historical sense and poetic sense should not, in the end, be contradictory, for if poetry is the little myth we make, history is the big myth we live, and in our living, constantly remake.” – Robert Penn Warren

We watched a very interesting film at the weekend, made all the more absorbing as it was about a real political figure and actual events surrounding his life. It was the 2006 Kevin MacDonald film “The Last King of Scotland” which was based on the events of the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin’s brutal regime as seen by his Scottish personal physician during the 1970s. It was another of these films that we had got because it was on special and we had thought would be good viewing. In this instance, we were proven right and we enjoyed watching this movie, even though it was quite violent and confronting. Being old enough to remember the events in the news at the time they were happening also helped engage us and overall, we were absorbed by it during the whole 121 minutes of its duration.

For his portrayal of Idi Amin in this film, Forest Whitaker won the Academy Award for Best Actor, a BAFTA, the Screen Actors’ Guild Award for Best Actor (Drama), and a Golden Globe. He does a phenomenal acting job and the film is his in terms of carrying off the acting laurels. James McAvoy plays the role of a young, recently graduated Scottish doctor who travels on a whim to Uganda as a means of escaping from his domineering father and secondarily to do some medical work in a developing country. His role is a fictional one (coming from Giles Foden’s novel of the same name on which the movie is based), but the character has been incorporated into the actual events seamlessly. He plays the role well and with gusto, supporting Forest Whitaker ably. Gillian Anderson, David Oyelowo, Kerry Washington and Simon McBurney also play their supporting roles with panache and are every convincing.

The film manages to capture the madness of the man who was responsible for over 300,000 deaths in Uganda during his rule and there is an almost documentary feel to the movie. It has an excellent music score with some local African song and music, but also some unlikely renditions of Scottish songs and popular hits “African-style”. The cinematography is taut and sparse, lingering on critical key scenes as it should in order to heighten their dramatic impact. One got the immediacy of a newsreel, but with quite good touches of good cinema that involved the viewer and kept the interest up. The documentary feel of the film is heightened by some actual footage that has been incorporated into the film (once again quite seamlessly and unobtrusively), which contribute to the authentic feel of the movie.

The transformation of Dr Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) character from a devil-may-care, free-thinking, shallow, adventure-loving, womaniser, to a scared, concerned, and enlightened person who becomes aware of the damage he has done to countless people is a strong narrative counterpoint to the portrayal of Amin initially as Uganda’s saviour and then the country’s torturing and murderous jailer. His instability of mind and his increasing brutality are introduced gradually until at the end of the movie one is horrified by the image of the dictator who sheds the blood of his countrymen quite nonchalantly.

We recommend this film, with one reservation. The use of “faction” (fictionalised fact) by contemporary novelists has produced some very compelling work, such as the novel on which this film is based. There is some caution to be exercised in this type of literature (and the work derived form it), however, as confessing to write “faction”, writers exonerate themselves from any real obligation to the truth. They can altering or invent events to suit their own purposes and give a false impression of history. Invented characters like that of Dr Garrigan can prove to be particularly tenacious in our collective consciousness and may assume a life of their own, especialy as people are more likely to see this film rather than read history books or examine the primary sources that relate to the life of Idi Amin.

Our post-literate society encourages us subscribe to the mentality of: “If you believe it, then it’s true”. We can throw overboard rules of evidence, the search for authentic documentary sources, the naked truth surrounding events (however dull and boring they may be sometimes) with disastrous consequences. When fictionalising history, whether in novels, in films or on television, we can fall into a trap and raise a new generation that will believe anything that popular media will feed it, holus-bolus. As a literary invention the character of Dr Garrigan is compelling, as a factionalised persona, he blunts the truth and can obscure the appreciation of historical actuality by a lazy audience.

An interesting article on faction by ‘The Guardian’ journalist Anthony Beevor can be found here and makes for quite interesting reading.

A SAD ANNIVERSARY

"Light of Peace will End All Wars" - Children aged 6-9 years

“When I say that terrorism is war against civilisation, I may be met by the objection that terrorists are often idealists pursuing worthy ultimate aims – national or regional independence, and so forth. I do not accept this argument. I cannot agree that a terrorist can ever be an idealist, or that the objects sought can ever justify terrorism. The impact of terrorism, not merely on individual nations, but on humanity as a whole, is intrinsically evil, necessarily evil and wholly evil.” - Benjamin Netanyahu

9th September, 2011. Ten years after the horrific acts of terrorism in the USA. A sad anniversary, so Art Sunday today is devoted to the theme of war and peace and multicultural tolerance and is painted by Pakistani children. Pakistan like many other developing countries has a large number of children belonging to the lower socio-economic group. Children from the privileged class have art in their schools but the underprivileged children have no opportunity of experiencing the joy of painting. Funkor Childart Centre, reaches out to such children and gives them the opportunity for self-expression through art.

Funkor Child Art Centre is a part of Initiative for Rural & Sustainable Development (IRSD) a registered (Reg:RS/ICT/145,dated Islamabad 1992 Societies ACT), private non- profit , non political voluntary organisation. Funkor uses the medium of art and books to extend children’s outlook and awareness of the concepts of environment and heritage protection, human rights, equality, tolerance and peace. Funkor is committed to promoting art among children and generating healthy and creative activities for children from a broad spectrum of society.

Art and book reading is a luxury not many children can afford in Pakistan. Art activities and book reading sessions are non-existent in schools for the children from the lower income group. The majority of underprivileged children art is a luxury they cannot afford and going to libraries is a rarity. Funkor Childart Center was founded in Islamabad, in 2002  by artist and children’s writer Fauzia Minallah , to organise workshops and events for children who rarely get a chance of experiencing the joy of painting and book reading.

The paintings here are part of a mural done to foster peace, tolerance and brotherhood amongst all people around the world. If we cannot save the world, maybe our children can…

"Multicultural Harmony" by Sara 10 years, Zehra 12 years, Ayla 11 Years

"Stop War" by Children aged 9-12 years

FIREWORK EYES

“At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.” -  Plato

A quiet Saturday today with many chores done at home. The weather rainy and cool, not much to inspire a forage outside. A rather melancholy day…
A beautiful Greek song today, sung by George Dalaras, with lyrics by Michalis Bourboulis and music by Stamos Semsis.



Your Firework Eyes

I turned on all the lights and gave a performance:
Once a love is dead it cannot be resurrected.

Your firework eyes shine like phosphorus
Like ships at night passing through the Bosporus.

You turned off the light and went, you became invisible
A cloud taken by the wind in a city like an automaton.

Your firework eyes are a holocaust
And loneliness falls on the floor like rain.

I am trapped in your perfume, in your name
And in your eyes, yes your cold firework eyes.

Your firework eyes shine like phosphorus
Like ships at night passing through the Bosporus.

Τα βεγγαλικά σου μάτια

Άναψα όλα τα φώτα κι έδωσα παράσταση
σαν πεθάνει η αγάπη δε γνωρίζει ανάσταση

Τα βεγγαλικά σου μάτια φέγγουν σαν το φώσφορο
σαν νυχτερινά καράβια που περνούν το Βόσπορο

Έκλεισες το φως και πήγες έγινες αόρατη
νέφος που το πήρε ο αέρας σε μια πόλη αυτόματη

Τα βεγγαλικά σου μάτια ένα ολοκαύτωμα
και η μοναξιά να πέφτει σαν βροχή στο πάτωμα

Είμαι πια εγκλωβισμένος στ' άρωμά σου στ' όνομά σου
και στα μάτια ναι στα μάτια τα ψυχρά βεγγαλικά σου

Τα βεγγαλικά σου μάτια φέγγουν σαν το φώσφορο
σαν νυχτερινά καράβια που περνούν το Βόσπορο

ENJOYING BEING A HOMEBODY

“A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.” - Benjamin Franklin

Oh what a day in Melbourne today – Melburnians would probably say a typical Melbourne day! We really did get all four seasons into one, with rain, hail, sunshine, cold and then slightly warmer temperatures! Just as well I was busy at work and except for short foray to the bank across the road, I was quite sheltered from the changing and quite inclement weather with many meetings, and much desk work. However, Winter was certainly showing his teeth today just as he is departing…

When I came home this evening, I felt like a drink before dinner, which is something quite unusual for me these days. However, once every blue moon, a little apéritif is quite nice to enjoy prior to dining and especially so on a Friday. Here is what we enjoyed this evening:

DRY MARTINI BITTER
Ingredients
    • 2 measures of gin
    • ½ measure of dry vermouth
    • A couple of drops of lemon juice
    • 1 drop of lemon essence (or a tiny piece of lemon peel)
    • 1 drop of Angostura bitters
    • Stuffed green olive.
    • Strip of lemon peel

Method
Pour the spirits in a cocktail shaker, add several ice cubes and the drop of lemon juice, essence and bitters.  Shake until the martini is ice cold.  Drain into a chilled martini glass and keep this in the freezer until ready to drink.  Wrap the strip of lemon peel around the olive and secure with a toothpick.  Drop the olive in the martini and serve ice-cold.

This was very nice to sip while relaxing before dinner. For dinner tonight we had some steamed broccoli with a simple lemon and olive oil dressing, some cheese with crackers, and mushroom crêpes, washed down with some nice pinot gris. Fridays are very nice, especially in a warm house while it is wet and cold outside. After dinner, it’s time for curling up with a good book. Much better than being out and watching the football – grand final weekend or not!

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR LITERACY

“If you are planning for tomorrow, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.” – Chinese Proverb

Today is International Literacy Day and it is of particular importance worldwide, as there are now close to 1.5 billion illiterate people in the world. A combination of ambitious goals, insufficient and parallel efforts, inadequate resources and strategies, and continued underestimation of the magnitude and complexity of the task accounts for the unaccomplished goal of literacy for all.

Literacy is a fundamental human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development. Educational and employment opportunities depend on literacy. Basic education for all implies that we make literacy possible, and this is essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy.

Basic education of good quality will allow students to develop literacy skills for life and further learning; literate parents are more likely to send their children to school; literate people are better able to access continuing educational opportunities; and literate societies are better geared to meet pressing development needs. One in five adults is still not literate today and about two-thirds of them are women while 67.4 million children are out of school.

The General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution A/RES/56/116, proclaimed the ten-year period beginning 1 January 2003 as the United Nations Literacy Decade. Furthermore, in its “Education for All” resolution A/RES/57/166, the Assembly welcomed the International Plan of Action for the Decade and decided that UNESCO should take a co-ordinating role in activities undertaken at the international level within the framework of the Literacy Decade. The evidence collected is uncontested: Education has a direct impact on health, nutrition, employment, and citizenship. Education drives the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals for developing countries as it equips people with knowledge and skills to break the cycle of poverty and shape their future life chances.

Three major priorities that governments and international institutions must urgently act upon in order to achieve literacy are:
Firstly equality, with all children being able to enjoy their right to education. Girls in the poorest 20% of households are over three times more likely to be out of school than boys. Disability, gender, minority status, language, and emergency situations remain causes for exclusion from an education. Geographic factors and schools too distant to be practicable are also important factors contributing to illiteracy.

Secondly, quality is important. 

Far too many schools are under-resourced with even the basics missing: Desks, blackboards, pens, textbooks, electricity, sanitation, and running water are often inadequate or completely lacking. How many classes are held in the open air with lessons scratched on soil? Qualified teachers, by far the most important resource, are lacking. Thus, basic reading and numeracy skills after more than six years in school are still inadequate in many communities.

Thirdly, finances are a priority, and without funds specifically directed towards schooling, many children will not get an opportunity to an education and may even remain illiterate. 

The financial crisis has forced many countries to cut their spending on education and parents remove their children from school or simply do not send them at all. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) estimates the financing gap to reach Education for All in low-income countries at $16 billion annually.

Unfortunately, illiteracy is not only a problem in developing countries. In Australia approximately 200,000 people are estimated to be illiterate. In the USA, as many as 3 million people were reported to be illiterate in 2002, as published by the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook. These are astounding statistics for two of the world’s richest and most well-developed countries. The issues are complex and many of the illiterate people in these populations belong to minority or disadvantaged groups. However, there are some mind-boggling stories where the most unlikely people are revealed to be unable to read. The National Adult Literacy Database of Canada has remarkable stories of people’s battle with illiteracy. Jamie Simon, a school dropout at 16 describes his life-changing experience when he resumed school as an adult. Danny Haines tells of how literacy saved his life.

Most of us in this community are fortunate and cannot even imagine what the life of an illiterate must be like. A glance at the script illustrated above shows you what an open book must look like to someone who is illiterate. If you are reading this blog, consider yourself very lucky…



literacy |ˈlitərəsē, ˈlitrə-| noun
The ability to read and write.
• competence or knowledge in a specified area: wine literacy can't be taught in three hours.
ORIGIN late 19th century: From literate, on the pattern of illiteracy [late Middle English: from Latin litteratus, from littera]

POETRY WEDNESDAY - FOSSILS

“Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, The last of life, for which the first was made.” - Robert Browning

We have been replacing a shade tarpaulin in the garden every 8-10 months or so for the last three years. It’s become quite a problem as it fits over an oddly shaped frame and only its manufacturer can supply the custom-made weather-resistant cloth. Unfortunately, the material is poor quality and is designed to last for a blink of an eye. Buy, consume, throw away – such is our society, things are not made to last for a long time, nowadays. It explains the popularity of antiques. Old things were made to last for a lifetime – or several, in fact! Whether they are furniture, vintage cars, machinery, specialist equipment, hand crafted instruments, old things last and one can see in them the pride that went into their making. Old is beautiful, functional, classic, made to withstand the ravages of time – within reason…

Here is my latest contribution to the writing group hosted by Magpie Tales, which this week used the photograph above to stimulate the creative efforts of the talented people that regularly write in response to these visual stimuli.

The Fossils

A fossil in the making
Its paint flaking:
Half-buried truck in mud and landslide –
It’s seen better days.

The rain leaches it,
The sun bleaches it.
Each scratch a memory,
It’s been a long time since it was on the road.

The rust consumes it
And time subsumes it;
The years bite, each day its last –
For so many years, countless last days now…

And yet it stands
Embraced by sands,
Resistant, immune to changing fashion,
Defiant, indifferent to the passage of time.

As corrosion gnaws
With all-devouring jaws,
The old truck stands bravely, still
Weathering storms, droughts, floods, searing sun.

Just like the old van,
A strong old man,
My grandfather stands tall and proud.

His joints eroded
His bones corroded.
His skin peeling, rusty, wearing thin.

Each wrinkle a memory,
His touch rough emery,
Smooths the passage of time.

An old man, an old truck,
The images ’ve stuck,
They’ve seen better days.

ON POLITENESS IN THE WORKPLACE

“I place a high moral value on the way people behave. I find it repellent to have a lot, and to behave with anything other than courtesy in the old sense of the word - politeness of the heart, a gentleness of the spirit.” - Fran Lebowitz

I was rather incensed at work today with one of the contract staff that occasionally comes in and teaches for us. She is very experienced, knowledgeable and a teacher that usually gets quite good feedback from her students. However, other staff members have sometimes raised concerns about her approach and manner. Apparently she can be opinionated and overbearing and is very forthright with her views. Today I had the opportunity to see her in action and I was able to find out for myself that her manner was quite abrupt and dismissive, and what really annoyed me were her constant interruptions and interjections to the discussion and the very impolite way in which she talked over other people who were speaking. In the end I was unable to control myself any further and laid down the law. I warned her that if she continued acting in this way she would be ejected from the meeting (to which she was only an invited guest) and if she wanted to contribute to the discussion she was welcome to, but would have to do so only via the chair’s permission (i.e. mine).

Her surprised reaction was amusing as it was quite physical. She started back and her chair dragged back on the floor, while her arms were thrown back momentarily. She went to say something, but her mouth gaped and finally closed without uttering a word. The looks of exasperation on everyone’s face were replaced with relief and a little smile here and there. The disruptive teacher shut up and from then on glared at everyone with an extremely sour look on her face, while occasionally I could feel the daggers emanating from her eyes and heading in my direction. Needless to say the meeting progressed without a hitch after that, however, I had another surprise up my sleeve. At one point in the discussion a matter came up which was squarely within her expertise. After I invited some general comments and everyone except her had their say (she was still sulking), I invited her specifically to comment by asking her a leading question in my sweetest voice and with my broadest smile, intimating she was the best qualified person to answer. Another shocked look at me was soon replaced by a smile and she started to talk passionately about the matter at hand, knowledgeably, with a well-considered argument and offering useful advice. Everyone around the meeting table was attentive and appreciative, listening quietly without interruptions. When I invited questions, a couple were asked, which she answered well. I thanked her for her input and proceeded with the next item on the agenda. As the matter was being discussed, she piped up and in her inimitable style proceeded to talk over someone else. I raised my hand and looked at her with a steely eye. She wilted back into her chair and I said “thank you”. The meeting progressed without incident after that.

The meetings that I attend, whether as an ordinary member or chair, have fellow members that are mostly reticent, thoughtful, polite and measured in their approaches. Very few are more vociferous, taking charge and moving things forward quickly and more energetically. These are all legitimate approaches to running a meeting, and any one of them can work well for the benefit of the whole. As my example indicates, however, when one committee member’s personality or approach to the job is such that can throw a wrench into the whole system, then trouble begins. These are the people who try to dominate a meeting, try to push their own agendas no matter what the cost, and try to bully the other meeting members into seeing things their way.

A lack of practical experience and knowledge can cause disruption on the committee as people lobby back and forth on different issues. One person might think they know better than another, but if there is no basis in fact for that belief, troubles can arise.  It’s equally disruptive when a member starts to focus on his or her personal agenda versus the committee’s official agenda. In this particular instance that I have related, I was told afterwards that this teacher’s secret agenda was to impress me so that I would consider her for a permanent appointment in the near future. I was not impressed and her outbursts had decidedly the opposite effect. I dislike rude people and go out of my way to stamp out aggressive and impolite behaviour in the workplace. A team helps each of its members and graciously accepts the help they offer when the need arises. We should be civilised in our interactions and politeness with consideration of others is a non-negotiable desideratum. The workplace is somewhere we spend an enormous proportion of our lives and things there should be as pleasant as possible for everyone.

Controlling disruptive members of committees can be done by an effective chair who needs to to regain and then ensure strict, by-the-book conduct of all meetings. Meetings should be run very precisely – if possible Robert’s Rules of Order should be followed, and the meeting should stay with the heart of compliance and procedure. It’s in the absence of structure that those exasperating and aggressive voices try to fill the vacuum. Robert’s Rules were created for a reason. They allow the weaker members of a group to have a voice along with every other member. And that’s important in an organisation that relies upon the intellectual contribution of each and every person on its committees.

MOVIE MONDAY - THE INVENTION OF LYING

“And, after all, what is a lie? ‘Tis but the truth in masquerade.” - Lord Byron

At the weekend we watched the Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson 2009 film “The Invention of Lying”. We had avoided seeing this film as we do not particularly like Ricky Gervais and seeing this film was co-written and co-directed by him and was one in which he had the leading role, did not seem like a particularly attractive prospect. However, at the video store I overheard a couple of strangers talking about films as they were browsing the shelves and they got into a discussion about this film. Both of them were most complimentary of it, so I had to turn around (to my shame!) to see what they looked like. Although they spoke well and seemed quite cultured, I still wanted to see what they looked like before I finally decided on whether or not to get this film to watch. They looked OK, non-descript, average, middle-aged men, quite ordinary really - just like me! So I decided to get the movie to watch it…

Well, we were glad that I had taken a punt and got the film, as we were pleasantly surprised by it. Ricky Gervais and his plucked, shaped eyebrows aside, the film was a thought-provoking comedy with more than a touch of satire thrown in. It explored the concept of truth versus lies, honesty and integrity, the “black lie” versus the “white lie”, the importance of being honest with one’s self and what ultimate truths finally matter in our lives in the long run. It explored the power of different kinds of love and to what lengths we go to in order to make the people we love happy.

The film has simple premise as its starting point: It is set in a fictitious parallel universe earth where everything is the same, with the exception of a small but significant difference. Lying and fiction do not exist. Everyone tells the truth including just about anything they are thinking. Nobody can even consider lying as a possibility as they are compelled by their nature and the wiring of their brain to tell the truth. Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais) is a bad screenwriter, about to be fired from his job at a film studio making documentaries (what else? There is no fiction). Mark is short, has a snub nose, is chunky and not handsome, but he loves Anna (Jennifer Garner) who is statuesque, attractive, successful and obviously out of his league (as she loses no time in telling him). When Mark loses his job he goes to the bank to withdraw his last $300, but on the spur of the moment and due to one misfiring neurone in his very special brain, he lies! As a result he withdraws $800 because the bank assumes their computers have made an error. As he sees the success his fib has given him, he begins his crusade of lying with amazing results that see him catapulted to success, fame and riches. However, it’s his “white lies” that have the most profound consequences that result in enormous social change. The questions remain, will Anna still reject him as an unsuitable match of poor genetic stock, will his lying get him in more hot water than he bargains for, and will the society that idolises him ultimately reject him?

Good supporting actor performances are given by Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Jeffrey Tambor, Fionnula Flanagan and Rob Lowe (the last-mentioned giving a good self-mocking performance as the “good genetic stock” choice of Anna). The film is well-shot, but wins no cinematography awards, its music is unobtrusive and the comedy is restrained and subtle, while there are some scenes in which pathos and poignancy predominate, with Gervais handling those scenes sincerely and with aplomb (I am being objective here!). The topic of religion as covered by the film may be offensive to some hard-liner fundamentalists, but sociologically and psychologically, the film’s premise dictates quite logically the way that this topic is covered.

I would recommend this film to most open-minded people who watch a comedy not to belly laugh at slapstick, but who rather want a little more depth to the gags, which will more often than not cause one to smile or gently chuckle. The film has much to make one think about, but it’s not ‘philosophy 101’ or ‘psychology 201’. It is a very good B-grade comedy that although of not broad appeal, ticks quite a few boxes and is enjoyable and entertaining. It could quite possibly be a good film to show in year 12 and get the class to discuss, the teens discussing the themes raised with much gusto, I should think.