THE PIG WHO SANG TO THE MOON

“Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them.” - Samuel Butler

There is a passage in C.S. Lewis’s book “The Silver Chair” where Eustace and Jill (the children who are transported by magic to Narnia, the land of Aslan) find themselves amongst giants. They are mollycoddled and made much of, fed all manners of things delicious and made as comfortable as possible. All seems to be delightful and they enjoy their sojourn there until they discover a giants’ cookery book that has this in it:
“MAN: This elegant little biped has long been valued as a delicacy. It forms the traditional part of the Autumn Feast, and is served between the fish and the joint. Each man...”

When I first read this as a child I felt a shiver of morbid fascination and abhorrence down my spine. I imagined myself in the place of poor Eustace and Jill, being fattened by giants so that I would be part of a rare and gastronomically delightful course in the Autumn Feast banquet. Cannibalism fascinates us and at the same time strikes us as the utmost indication of barbaric behaviour. Yes most of us think nothing of biting into a delicious ham sandwich, or a juicy steak or a serving of coq-au-vin.

The art of dining has been elevated to an exquisite art form and all manner of exotic ingredients are combined with the staples from the garden, the vegetable patch, the orchard and of course the farmyard to concoct delicious dishes to tempt even the most jaded palate. Vegetarians are few and far between, although the percentage of vegetarians in Western countries is on the increase (about 1% of Western populations would be classed as strict vegetarians – see this interesting [though dated] article: http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/poll.htm).

For our literary Tuesday today, I offer you a book that is a veritable bible for vegetarians and animal activists, as it considers the plight of farm animals – animals raised for the sole purpose of providing food for humans. The book is “The Pig who Sang to the Moon” by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (2003). He argues convincingly that farm animals have feelings and consciousness. Intelligence and curiosity, self reliance and humour, sociability and bravery, grief and dignity are hardly the words that would immediately spring to our mind to describe goats and pigs, cows and chickens; however, Masson demonstrates that these emotions and attributes are evident in these ‘lowly’ animals.

In his 300-page book, Masson devotes each chapter to an animal: Cow, pig, chicken, sheep/goat, duck, etc and examines through history, literature, anecdotes, scientific studies and his own personal experience the way that we describe these creatures as “dumb beasts without feelings” is completely wrong. We all have immense sympathy for companion animals and pets like cats and dogs. We would think it enormously inhumane and barbaric to kill cats and dogs for food, but most of us would not blink an eyelid at eating a ham sandwich. However, pigs are cleaner than dogs and easier to housetrain, of all animals their physiology and flesh is most like ours, they are incredibly friendly and will curiously follow us all day, more so than our pet cats. In fact, “mini” pigs have been successfully adopted as pets by some people.

Masson’s position in his book is that farm animals that have been specifically bred for our table fare are living in a completely artificial environment (in some cases analogous to a medieval prison in human terms). These animals find themselves struggling to cope in an environment that is all wrong for them. The specific instinctual behaviours that these animals carry in their genes do not have a chance of being expressed in these wrong environments. They have been unable to adapt as adaptation takes hundreds of thousands of years and we have domesticated them for only thousands of years. How can a cow that is separated from her calf immediately it is born and bred to be milked by a machine daily, carry out the incredibly tender and loving rearing of her young that we see in wild cattle? How can a battery hen luxuriate in an obviously enjoyable dust bath that the free range chicken can? How can a pig be curious and companionable and clever if it is confined to an indoor “factory farm” sty and never sees the light of day in its life?

This is a book that will elicit gut-wrenching emotion from most of its readers, as it really does pack a punch in the stomach (both puns are intended!). Masson describes a harsh and brutal reality (and yes, the truth is bitter), but he is also optimistic about the way that some enlightened farmers go out of their way to make an environment that is more pleasant for the animals they rear, seeing that we are unable to completely do away with farm animals.

To be a devil’s advocate, Masson does fling some wild hypotheses around in his book (which are not substantiated or even argued through logically). He can become emotional over what he discusses and tugs at our heartstrings rather than the intellect in places. He can jump around from topic to topic without much connection or the rigour of a scientific paper. He often preaches from his self-righteous pulpit and can be extremely negative about some things (for example, arguing that even when raising chickens humanely in a free range farm, it is immoral to take their eggs from them).

Nevertheless, when we consider that 10 billion farm animals are killed for human consumption annually in the USA alone, Masson’s book is extremely thought-provoking. We have known for hundreds of years that we don’t need to eat animals to survive (vegetarians and vegans have lived long healthy lives throughout recorded history). Increasing evidence shows that vegans live a longer and healthier life than others. Gandhi said: “…first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight with you, then you win.” Masson closes his book by suggesting a variety of ways that we can help the plight of farm animals (not necessarily by becoming a vegetarian or a vegan).

Jeff Masson’s other books on animals are also worth looking at:
“When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals”

“The Emperor’s Embrace: Reflections on Animal Families and Fatherhood”

“Dogs Never Lie About Love: The Emotional World of Dogs”

“The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats: A Journey Into the Feline Heart” 

MOVIE MONDAY - BACKDRAFT

“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honour. - Aristotle

We have had some bushfires already here in Victoria, so the fire season has officially started. This is always an important issue every Summer in Australia, and as the season progresses we dread the news of highly destructive bushfires breaking out and causing loss of bushland, homes or even worse, lives. I think with gratitude of the dedicated people that fight fires, which in the countryside are often volunteers of the Country FireAuthority. They do much to educate the public, prevent fires through clearing and back-burning, and if there are fires, doing their utmost to save properties and lives.

So for Movie Monday a film that I have watched and has fires and firefighting as a theme. The bravery and self-sacrifice of firefighters is something that we seem to forget or push to the back of our minds until a time of crisis. However, these people can be called upon to put their lives at risk on a daily basis in order to save others’ lives, property and uphold social order during times where most of us would crack under immense physical and psychological strain.

The film is Ron Howard’s 1991 “Backdraft”. This could easily have been a film where overacting, over-the-top special effects and heavy-handed directing were the way that things could have turned out. However, despite what the detractors say, the film is satisfying, the performances are good and the directing is excellent. The plot revolves around sibling rivalry and unresolved psychological problems from the past, but overall, I feel, it is a tribute to firemen and a way of saying thank you to these men on whom we rely so much in times of catastrophe and when emergencies threaten our very lives.

The film immerses us in the lives of two firefighters, the brothers McCafferty, Stephen and Brian. The younger (and now rookie fireman) Brian, watched his firefighter father die in a fire when a child. Stephen, the older is in the force and in the same station as Brian. The two brothers have had a hard time seeing eye to eye and the conflict between them is inflamed by working together. A series of suspicious blazes begin to occur and each has been set in order to kill someone. Brian starts to investigate the suspected arson and this seems to cause more friction between himself and his brother.

Robert De Niro, Kurt Russell, William Baldwin and Donald Sutherland give good performances and as it is to be suspected, the female roles in the film are rather underplayed and of secondary importance. The special effects are effective and keep one on the edge of the seat. A subplot involving political corruption is an essential part of the movie and underpins the action at several key points. The script could have been tighter, but still the movie works. This is certainly a film that is worth seeing.

ART SUNDAY - ZURBARÁN

“Sic transit gloria mundi.”

For Art Sunday today, Francisco Zurbarán, a Spanish artist. He was born in the suburb of Fuente de Cantos in Estremadura, on the boundaries of Andalusia, Nov., 1598; died probably at Madrid about 1662. From his early years he showed great aptitude for drawing. His parents, honest peasants, placed no obstacle to his artistic tastes. While a young boy he frequented the studio of Juan de las Roclas, of whom he became a favourite pupil. Zurbarán's apprenticeship was undertaken in Seville, where he met Velazquez and became one of the city's official painters. His commission to decorate the king's palace in Madrid was most probably the result of his continuing friendship with the older, and more successful, Spanish artist.

Zurbarán was chiefly a portrait painter and his religious subjects, depicting meditating saints, found favour with southern Spain’s clergy. From 1628, he worked on a number of paintings to be sent to monasteries in the Spanish colony of Guadalupe. After 1640 his austere, harsh, hard-edged style was unfavourably compared to the sentimental religiosity of Murillo and Zurbarán's reputation declined. In 1658, he moved to Madrid in search of work and renewed his contact with Velazquez.

As he mainly worked for monastic orders, the majority of Zurbarán’s work consisted of religious imagery. Many of his theologically inspired paintings are simple, yet emotionally compelling, works that showcase his naturalistic style, as well as his skilled use of light and shadow. Zurbarán’s few secular pieces include exquisite still life images, such as “Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose” (1633), and a “Labours of Hercules” series painted for the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid.

Although Zurbarán was an accomplished artist, some of his work has revealed his limitations. The creations of his workshop were occasionally of poor quality, perhaps due to his unfit assistants. And when Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s work became popular in Seville, Zurbarán found himself displaced as the city’s foremost painter, even though he tried unsuccessfully to imitate Murillo’s style. Zurbarán’s career was at its height in the 1630s. In the 1640s, monasteries offered fewer commissions, reducing his opportunities. With his domestic market in decline, Zurbarán turned to the New World, exporting a number of canvases. However, fleet seizures kept him from receiving some payments, which exacerbated his financial difficulties. In the 1650s, he once again focussed on domestic commissions, though Zurbarán no longer commanded the high fees he once had.

Zurbarán moved to Madrid with his third wife in 1658. He died there, in straitened circumstances, on August 27, 1664. Zurbarán’s artistic reputation may have varied during his lifetime, but today his best pieces mark him as a leading painter from the Spanish Baroque period.

The work above is oil on canvas, 46 cm x 84 cm, painted in 1650, and exhibited in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. The painting depicts household items on a ledge: Plates and various containers, three ceramic and three metallic. The artist represents successfully different textures, shiny or matte strikingly illuminated on a black background. The very simple arrangement of elements highlights their forms and subtle colour. It is one of the few still lifes of the Extremadura master and, as is usual with him, he is content with the pleasure of painting the different shapes and textures. The simplicity of the painting eludes any symbolic meaning.

MUSIC SATURDAY - MICHEL CORRETTE

“The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.” - Aristotle

Michel Corrette (10 April 1707 – 21 January 1795) was a French organist, composer and author of musical method books. Corrette was born in Rouen, Normandy. His father, Gaspard Corrette, was an organist and composer. Corrette served as organist at the Jesuit College in Paris from about 1737 to 1780. It is also known that he travelled to England before 1773. In 1780 he was appointed organist to the Duke of Angoulême and some 15 years later died in Paris at the age of 87.

Corrette was prolific. He composed ballets and divertissements for the stage, including “Arlequin”, “Armide”, “Le Jugement de Midas”, “Les Âges”, “Nina”, and “Persée”. He composed many concertos, notably 25 concertos comiques. Aside from these works and organ concertos, he also composed sonatas, songs, instrumental chamber works, harpsichord pieces, cantatas, and other sacred vocal works.

As well as playing the organ and composing music, Corrette organised concerts and taught music. He wrote nearly twenty music method books for various instruments (the violin, cello, bass, flute, recorder, bassoon, harpsichord, harp, mandolin, voice and more), with titles such as “L'Art de se perfectionner sur le violon” (The Art of Playing the Violin Perfectly), “Le Parfait Maître à chanter” (The Perfect Mastersinger) and “L′école d′Orphée” (The School of Orpheus), a violin treatise describing the French and Italian styles. These pedagogical works by Corrette are valuable because they give lucid insight into contemporary playing techniques.

Here is some delightful chamber music by this composer:

Sonata in D minor, Op. 14, No. 1

“Les delices de la solitude”, Op. 20: No. 6 Sonata in D major 7:00

Sonata in D major, Op. 14, No. 2 18:07

Sonata in E minor, Op. 25, No. 4: “Les Amusements D’ Appollon Chez Le Roi Admete” 25:35

Sonata in A major, Op. 14, No. 3 38:30

Sonata in F major, Op. 14, No. 4 45:18

Sonata in D minor 51:27Sonata in G major, Op. 14, No. 5 57:07

Sonata in E minor, Op. 14, No. 6 1:06:15

FOOD FRIDAY - SALMON PASTA

“I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you till China and Africa meet and the river jumps over the mountain and the salmon sing in the street.” - W. H. Auden

A light pasta dish today for Food Friday. There is usually some smoked salmon lurking in our fridge and the cupboard always has some pasta. However, if one uses fresh pasta, it’s all the better…

Smoked Salmon Linguine
Ingredients
300 of fresh linguine
200 g smoked salmon
200 mL sour cream (light)
3 tbs olive oil
4 sprigs fresh dill
5 Spring onions
Grated Parmesan cheese
salt, pepper to taste

Method
Boil the linguine for about 6 minutes in salted water into which a tsp of olive has been added (helping to keep pasta from sticking together). Try the pasta to see if it is cooked according to your taste (I prefer pasta to be cooked past the al dente stage…). Drain and reserve.
Chop the smoked salmon into 1 cm x 2 cm pieces, reserve. Chop the dill finely (or use kitchen scissors to cut it up). Clean and chop the spring onions finely, reserve.
Put the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and let it heat up. Fry the Spring onions until light golden and add the salmon pieces, stirring constantly for about 2-3 minutes. Add the sour cream and stir thoroughly until heated right through. Season with pepper to taste and add the dill, stirring constantly.
Add the drained pasta to the salmon/cream mixture and fold until covered thoroughly. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and serve immediately. Accompany with a seasonal fresh green salad.

Add your own favourite recipe using the Mr Linky tool below:

THE NAKED TRUTH

“Happiness is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it comes and softly sits on your shoulder.” - L. Richard Lessor

The naked female figure has always been an important image in western art and civilisation. We still talk of the “naked truth” and many paintings take the opportunity to show truth as a beautiful woman, yes, naked. In classical times, goddesses (especially Aphrodite) were shown naked, their perfect body symbolising their divinity.

Phryne was a famous hetaera of Ancient Greece (390-330 BC) who adjusted her prices for customers depending upon how she felt about them. When the King of Lydia wanted her favours she named a truly absurd price because she considered him loathsome; he paid the price and then levied a tax on his subjects to raise the sum. On the other hand, she gave herself to the philosopher Diogenes for free because she admired his mind.

Famously, when she was tried for “impiety” for impersonating Aphrodite in the nude during public festivals, the case was nearly lost and Phryne was ready for the death penalty, when at the prompting of her unconventional counsel and orator Hypereides, she avoided conviction by lowering her robe and revealing her flawless breasts. The judges relented and let her off – not because they were overcome by her body, but because physical beauty was often seen as a facet of divinity or a mark of divine favour.

Athenaeus of Naucratis has the following to say about the event:

“When she (i.e. Phryne) was brought to trial by Euthias on a capital charge she was acquitted; this so enraged Euthias that he never afterwards pleaded another case at law, according to Hermippus. As Hypereides, while defending Phryne, was making no progress in his plea, and it became apparent that the judges meant to condemn her, he caused her to be brought where all could see her; tearing off her undervests he laid bare her bosom and broke into such piteous lamentation in his peroration at the sight of her, that he caused the judges to feel superstitious fear of this handmaid and ministrant of Aphrodite, and indulging their feeling of compassion, they refrained from putting her to death.

And after she had been acquitted a decree was passed that no person speaking in a defendant’s behalf should indulge in lamentation, nor should the accused man or woman on trial be bared for all to see. As a matter of fact, Phryne was more beautiful in the unseen parts. Hence one could not easily catch a glimpse of her naked; for she always wore a tunic, which wrapped her body closely, and she did not resort to the public baths.

At the great assembly of the Eleusinia and at the festival of Poseidon, in full sight of the whole Greek world, she removed only her cloak and let down her long hair before stepping into the water; she was the model for Apelles when he painted his ‘Aphrodite Rising from the Sea’. So, too, the sculptor Praxiteles, being in love with her, modelled his Cnidian Aphrodite from her, and on the pedestal of his Eros below the stage of the theatre he wrote an epigram:

‘Praxiteles hath portrayed to perfection the Passion (Eros) which he bore, drawing his model from the depths of his own heart and dedicating Me to Phryne as the price of Me. The spell of love which I cast comes no longer from my arrow, but from gazing upon Me.’”

In mediaeval times the naked body was considered to be a mark of lasciviousness and corruption and it was in the Renaissance that the classical ideals were once again revived and the naked figure once again glorified.

The painting above is “Phryne Before the Areopagus”, by Jean-Léon Gérôme, who has taken the incident a little bit further than what actually happened!

POETRY JAM - JOY

“Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.” - Joseph Campbell

The last Poetry Jam of this year has set the theme of “Spread the Joy” for participants. It is a busy time of the year for everyone and more so for me as I have been trying to finish a couple of work projects before Christmas. I dug into my poetry archive for a joyful poem and here is one, that foots the bill.

Have a wonderful Festive Season with health and happiness in 2015, fellow poets of the Jam, and I look forward to seeing you and your work again next year!

The Coming of Spring

A roseate dawn appears
While birds a-flutter sing.
Night swiftly flies and in mid-flight
Lets drop a star so shining bright
On the horizon-shell’s pink lip.

The sun comes up
The day is near.
Blossoms with sparkling dew bedecked,
Unfurl, offering precious gifts
Of multicoloured jewels.

Shimmering heat
And waking world.
A bright new day - promise of joy,
Spring passes by scattering perfumes,
Colours bright, new hopes, illusions...

The evening comes
A welcome guest.
The rising moon tempers the heat of day
And nightingale murmurs an evensong
A blessing uttered in the rite of spring.

THE SYDNEY SIEGE

“He who does not show mercy to others, will not be shown mercy.” – Muhammad Al-Bukhârî

This week in Sydney, two people died, along with an Islamist gunman, after commandos stormed a café in the centre of the City, to bring to an end a 16-hour siege. Local media have named those who died as Lindt café manager Tori Johnson, 34 and lawyer Katrina Dawson, 38. Four people were injured, including a policeman hit by shotgun pellets. Central Sydney was put in lockdown as the gunman, identified as an Iranian refugee, seized dozens of hostages early on Monday.

The incident raised all sorts of questions about our society, the way that we administer justice, the protection we offer to people in society and the way that we deal with people who have emotional and mental problems that need treatment. It also focuses world attention on Australia, which for decades has been wrestling with the issue of “isolation” and the “tyranny of distance” from the rest of the world, both a blessing and a curse, it seems.

The gunman who took innocent victims hostage was Man Haron Monis, a self-styled sheikh who hung a flag bearing the Shahada – “There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God” in the window of the Lindt café at the beginning of the siege. There has been some speculation that Monis was acting on behalf of Islamic State. One of his demands was for an Isis flag, but Isis is yet to claim responsibility for Monis or the siege. Monis apparently was a deeply unstable person with a long history of violence and mental illness and he was on bail while waiting trial for a number of crimes, including the charge of being an accessory to the stabbing murder of his ex-wife, Noleen Hayson Pal, in December last year.

Bail is a core part of the criminal justice system and allows a person to be released from custody pending the outcome of a case against him or her, with certain conditions. Because the decision to refuse bail can impact on a person’s liberty before he or she has been convicted of an offence, it involves a careful assessment of factors including the potential risks posed to the community and the presumption of innocence.

Monis was facing two different sets of charges, the first relating to a series of sexual assault charges and the second relating to being an accessory to the murder of his former wife. He was initially refused bail on 14 April at Kogarah local court but later granted bail on 26 May at Parramatta local court. These decisions would have involved an assessment as to whether Monis might have committed a serious offence, whether he would be a danger to the community, whether he might interfere with evidence and the strength of the prosecution’s case. Questions remain as to why Monis was granted bail and whether it should have been granted, given the violent acts he committed, which resulted in his death and the death of two innocent people.

The head of the Iranian police, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, has told journalists in Tehran that Monis fled Iran in the late 1990s wanted on fraud charges. He said the Iranian government had sought his extradition but Australia rebuffed that request. Rumour has it that Monis arrived as a representative of the Iranian government on a business visa and claimed political asylum later. Monis himself said he was involved with Iran’s ministry of intelligence but fell out with the regime because of his liberal views. He also said his wife and child were being kept under house arrest. The facts of the case are still unknown and an investigation will hopefully shed light on some of these questions.

As Australia becomes more and more involved in international affairs, as we begin to see our citizens becoming embroiled in political, religious, social and security affairs that are now of global concern, we need to examine the way in which our society functions so as to protect its members from events like the Sydney siege. Could our laws, our justice system and our daily life change in a beneficial way so that the quality of life we have enjoyed so far continue into the future? Or should we just bow our head down and acknowledge that the world has become a terrible place and as Australia is part this world resign ourselves to the fact that our “Golden Age” is no more?