TRAVEL TUESDAY 489 - ATHENS, GREECE

“The basis of a democratic state is liberty” - Aristotle

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.
There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.
Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

The prominent equestrian statue of Theodoros Kolokotronis, a key leader in the Greek War of Independence of 1821, is located in Athens, Greece. The statue is situated in front of the Old Parliament House (Constitution Square), a location that underscores its historical significance. The statue was sculpted by Lazaros Sochos.

The statue commemorates Theodoros Kolokotronis, a prominent leader in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. The statue was crafted in 1895 and installed with great ceremony on April 23, 1901. The costs for the erection of the statue and the celebration following its unveiling were raised through a pan-Hellenic fundraising campaign, which started in 1877. There are many other statues of Kolokotronis in Greece, including one in his birthplace Ramovouni, Messenia.

The celebration of the Greek Revolution of 1821 (Greek: Εορτασμός της Ελληνικής Επανάστασης του 1821, Eortasmós tis Ellinikís Epanástasis tou 1821), less commonly known as Independence Day, takes place in Greece, Cyprus and Greek diaspora centres on 25 March every year, coinciding with the Feast of the Annunciation. The day is a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus.

Usually, celebrations include parades and other celebratory events on the same day or its eve. The largest event is the military parade in Athens on 25 March, while on the previous day, celebrations take place throughout the schools of the country. In other municipalities parades of military divisions, students, clubs, etc. are held, as well as church services.

More broadly, the holiday acknowledges the successful Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) was fought to liberate and decolonize Greece from four centuries of Ottoman occupation. After nine years of war, Greece was finally recognised as an independent state under the London Protocol of February 1830. Further negotiations in 1832 led to the London Conference of 1832 and the Treaty of Constantinople (1832); these defined the final borders of the new state and recognised the king, King Otto of Greece. The holiday was established in 1838 with a Royal Decree by King Otto's government.

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ART SUNDAY

"Art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics." - Victor Pinchuk

POETS UNITED - AVIATION

“I have often said that the lure of flying is the lure of beauty.” Amelia Earhart 

The Midweek Motif for Poets United this week is “Aviation”. The word aviation was coined by French writer and former naval officer Gabriel La Landelle in 1863, from the verb avier (synonymous with flying), itself derived from the Latin word avis (“bird”) and the suffix -ation. The word, easily transferred without modification in its written form to English, is used to describe “the flying or operating of aircraft”. December 7 is International Civil Aviation Day.  Here is my poem:

Need to Fly

The wild flapping of feathered wings,
Caged and desperate to escape;
Cries in the night, powerless
To make the moon approach closer;
No amount of war paint can make you
Fearsome enough to overcome your foe.

Memories of a distant flight,
Some place in the past;
The freedom of air rushing by you,
Caressing your every fibre;
No amount of struggle can make you
Break your chains and escape.

The faint glimmer of sunlight
And visions of broken chips of blue sky;
Remembrances of green meadows,
Flowers: Do they still exist?
No amount of wishing can make you
Fly, liberated, untethered, free.

A gilded cage is still a cage, Amelia;
Your every need taken care of
Is no guarantee of happiness;
A captive soul imprisons heart and flesh, too.
No amount of solid earth can make you
Forget the lightness of air…

MOVIE MONDAY - Z

“That government is best which governs least.” - Henry David Thoreau

One of my strongest childhood memories concerns the early morning on the 21^st of April of 1967 when we were living in Athens. We were awakened by the noise of tanks rumbling on the city streets outside our windows, punctuated by a few distant shots being fired now and then. We rushed to the window and saw the soldiers and tanks marching on the street below and as we turned the radio a blare of military marching band music was enough to realise our worse fears. A coup had been staged by a group of colonels of the Greek army and the democratic government was deposed. The king had been put under observation in the palace. Within a few weeks the country was under the fist of a military dictatorship...

I remember this very vividly today, even though I was only nine years old at the time. I am thinking of how many more such dictatorships are in place around the world. Central and South America have had a string of such juntas to contend with and each new coup brings with it arrests of dissenters, torture, murder, destruction. Tyrants and dictators never seem to be in short supply and the trail of destruction they leave behind them scars a country and its people for decades after they are deposed.

The situation in Myanmar has only just started to resolve itself following the first free elections for 25 years. These polls are the first openly-contested election held in the country since 1990, which was annulled by the military government after the National League for Democracy’s (NLD) victory. The poll was preceded by the 2010 General Election, which was marred by a widespread boycott and allegations of systematic fraud by the victorious USDP.

On 11 November 2015, chairperson of the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, called for “national reconciliation” talks with incumbent president, Thein Sein, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Shwe Mann to be set for a later date. All accepted her invitation.

On 12 November 2015, incumbent President of Myanmar, Thein Sein, who has led political reforms during his tenure, congratulated Aung San Suu Kyi and her party on his Facebook, promising that his current government will “respect and obey” the election results and “transfer power peacefully”. Commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, also took to Facebook to congratulate Ms Suu Kyi, vowing that the Tatmadaw will co-operate with the new government following the transition. This was after a meeting conducted within the Tatmadaw’s top ranks.

US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Suu Kyi on her victory and praised Thein Sein for his organisation of the election. Suu Kyi also received calls from French President François Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But what has all this to do with Movie Monday, you may ask… Read on!

The novel “Z” byVasilis Vasilikos is a novel based on fact and centres on the assassination of Grigoris Lambrakis, a left-wing politician and dissenter during the early 1960s. Vasilikos has written a fictionalised account of the assassination, but it is thinly veiled and the work of fiction describes actual political realities and historical events that can be seen for what they are by anyone familiar with the actual events.

Although Vasilikos is not writing history, he is intent on setting the record straight. A record that was whitewashed by the right wing governments in power after the murder and also of course by the military junta that came in power in 1967. It is a powerful novel and despite it being based on actual events, it is not a simple “newspaper report-type” documentary, it is a worthy work of fiction that obeys the rule of engaging narrative fiction.

The novel was made into an equally famous movie (“Z”) by Costas Gavras in 1969 and it starred Yves Montand, Irene Pappas and Jean-Louis Trintignant. The film is an excellent adaptation of the novel and is a great thriller. An added bonus is a fantastic soundtrack by Mikis Theodorakis, a Greek composer who certainly had his own personal bitter experiences as a political prisoner to draw inspiration from.

The film was nominated for a large number of awards, including an Oscar for Best Picture, (winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Film). It also won the Golden Globe award for Best Foreign Language Picture, and is named best picture by the New York Film Critics Circle Awards and National Society of Film Critics Awards. The film was also nominated for a Golden Palm award at the Cannes film festival. The film was banned in Greece as was the soundtrack during the Colonels’ rule. The film ends with a list of things banned by the Junta which include the peace movement, strikes, labor unions, long hair on men, mini-skirts, the peace symbol, the Beatles, Sophocles, Tolstoy, Aeschylus, Socrates, Eugene Ionesco, Sartre, Chekhov, Mark Twain, Samuel Beckett, free press, new mathematics and the letter Z, which pronounced as “zee” means 'he lives' in Greek...

POETS UNITED - FREEDOM

“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.” - Voltaire

This week, Poets United has as its theme “Freedom”. No doubt, this has been inspired by the proximity of Independence Day on July 4th. Happy 4th of July to all US readers!

My poem today is either ironic (especially given the events in Greece), or just another love poem… You pick what you like!

The Pain of Freedom

Come hither enslave me,

Once again bind me

Save me from all the pain of freedom,

The dreaded spectre of alternative,

The cackling hag of free choice.

I’ll follow blindly your instruction

Speak, and your command will be obeyed.

My will a leaf that flutters

In the strong gusts of your whims and fancies.

Without you what am I?

What can I do?

How can I feel without your presence?

Without your hand to guide me,

How can I tell the why, how and wherefore?

Come hither once again

And free me from the pain of choice

The agonies of independence.

MOVIE MONDAY - THE LIVES OF OTHERS

“Courage is grace under pressure.” - Ernest Hemingway

We watched Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck 2006 excellent film “The Lives of Others” starring Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur and Thomas Thieme. The director also wrote the screenplay, which must have made this film one that is very close to his heart. This is definitely one film that is worth the 78 wins and 27 nominations for awards that it achieved, including the 2007 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

The plot has as follows: Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) is an officer with the Stasi, the East German secret police. It is 1984 when Wiesler attends a play written by Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), who is considered by many to be the ultimate example of the loyal citizen and a man of letters that supports the East German Socialist regime. Wiesler has a gut feeling that Dreyman can’t be as ideal as he seems and believes surveillance is called for. The Minister of Culture (Thomas Thieme) agrees but only later does Wiesler learn that the Minister sees Wiesler as a rival and lusts after his partner and leading actress, Christa (Martina Gedeck).

Dreyman’s apartment is bugged and Wiesler is in charge of surveillance. The more time Wiesler spends listening in on them, the more involved he becomes in their lives and he comes to care about them. The once rigid Stasi officer begins to intervene in their lives, in a positive way, protecting them whenever possible. Eventually, Wiesler’s activities catch up with him and he must prove himself loyal to the regime and his superior, Lieutenant Colonel Anton Grubitz (Ulrich Tukur)…

The film is 137 minutes long, but never did we look at the clock and it kept our interest up throughout. The acting was exceptional, the cinematography, sets, costumes and music splendid and production values wonderful. This was a stellar film in all categories. That everyone involved in its making believed in it is supported by the fact that the entire budget of the film, about 2 million dollars (1.6 million Euro), was possible only because the actors were willing to work for 20% of their customary salary.

The themes running through the movie are art (literature, music, acting, etc), and the positive effect it can have on people’s lives; conscience, and for how long we can choose ignore it; betrayal, and the way we can fall into its trap; redemption, and how we can salvage our self respect and humanity in the face of past wrongdoing. The manner in which a person may realise the error of their way and how they can actively take steps to make right their wrongs in a pivotal element in the film and is it this positive transformation of character that makes the movie a powerful one.

I would recommend this film most highly, but be warned, it is a gritty, “heavy”, confronting film that challenges viewers and exposes many of the atrocities of totalitarian regimes, highlighting the abuses of human rights and personal freedom that is inevitable in such regimes. It is a robust, substantial and absorbing film that one can sink one’s teeth into. We found it poignant, moving and extremely satisfying as both a movie and as a political statement.

READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN

“Learn as if you were to live forever; live as if you were to die tomorrow.” Proverb

Azar Nafisi’s “Reading Lolita in Tehran” (published 2003) is a controversial book, and that is reason enough to make one read it. However, it has a theme that is of utmost importance to every thinking person: How literature and art empower us and make us able to challenge the established world order.  Other themes running through it of course, are intellectual freedom, censorship, oppression by the State, the status of women in general and more specifically in Muslim countries.

It is a very well written work, literary in its aspirations, as one would expect from the author (who was a professor of English literature at the University of Tehran), but at the same time a work that tries to record objectively a transition period in Iran’s history where after the ousting of the Shah, numerous contenders tried to fill the power vacuum, the Ayatollah Khomeini being finally the successful leader.

Within the space of a few months, Nafisi relates, Iran went from what was essentially a modern, westernised society to the non plus ultra Islamic Republic. Her loyalties were divided early on. Her western ways and previous life in the USA as a student were extremely attractive, but also her feelings of allegiance to her country and her desire to improve the lot of the common people, were important factors contributing to the conflict of her emotions. Nafisi concedes that Islam as a religion is the right of her countrymen, but has difficulty in reconciling herself with the fact that it should also drive the machinery of the state as absolutely and as brutally as it ended up doing.

The major theme running through the novel is that of free choice. The Islamic Republic wants to make people adhere to the law of the Koran by depriving them of any other choice except what the Koran prescribes. This is censorship to the ultimate degree. Nafisi argues that as free, rational, ethically and morally responsible adults, people should be educated so that they make the right choice, even if they are presented with many other wrong, but nevertheless even more attractive options. This is of course is nothing new, and Christian philosophy preaches the same point. The lot of women in an Islamic state is the other major theme and it is this, which she develops most fully as the lives of women are woven into the narrative at many levels.

One can learn a great deal by reading this book, but at the same time there are things that do not surprise one. The extreme cruelty of one human being to another is something that I have learnt gradually, but I am fully aware of at this stage of my life. The other thing is that fanaticism and extremes of politics, religion or ideology are capable of generating much hate and are responsible for the great majority of human suffering on this planet. The human spirit nevertheless soars above all this and as much repression one suffers, as many tortures and brutality are experienced, intellect can save one, one’s spirit cannot be broken if one’s resolved and true to oneself.

POETRY JAM - BARRIERS

“Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.” - Coco Chanel

Poetry Jam  this week has a theme comprising two options: “Baseball and Barriers”. I have chosen the latter, with the barriers I wrote about being walls. Walls enclose, protect, keep out, but also keep in. They can delimit, cut off, secure, imprison and separate. Walls are more than supports for a roof, as they can be free-standing and serve a purpose of isolating the thing enclosed. Walls can be built around us by others, but how often is that we knowingly and willingly build our own tall walls around ourselves? Here is my offering.

Walls

The walls around me keep standing tall,
They close in, stifling all my sighs,
Their chains keeping me in thrall.

Silence covers me with its deathly pall
Each evening as my icy heart dies,
The walls around me keep standing tall.

My lonely prison drips black, bitter gall,
As walls grow higher, obscuring skies
Their chains keeping me in thrall.

I have no other choice but to stumble, fall
As brick by brick, barriers ever higher rise;
The walls around me keep standing tall.

I feel defeated, powerless and small
As walls around me grow in size,
Their chains keeping me in thrall.

Your name without effect I call,
You left me with unanswered whys;
The walls around me keep standing tall,
Their chains keeping me in thrall.

VALE, NELSON MANDELA

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” - Nelson Mandela
 

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary who was imprisoned and then became a politician and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative election.
 

His government focussed on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997. Internationally, Mandela was the Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999.
 

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was one of the world’s most revered statesmen after preaching reconciliation despite being imprisoned for 27 years. He had rarely been seen in public since officially retiring in 2004. He made his last public appearance in 2010, at the football World Cup in South Africa. Mandela had been receiving intensive medical care at home for a lung infection after spending three months in hospital.
 

Mandela was an inspiration not only for the people of South Africa but for everyone around the world who believed in race equality, freedom and fair treatment of all people. His life was a shining example of how a single individual can change the course of history and positively affect the lives of millions. A sad day for the world, but also a day for celebrating his many achievements.
 

Many South Africans, who love Nelson Mandela like a father, say that their grief was tinged with uncertainty, and some fear over what their future holds without him.

Vale, Nelson Mandela

NEED TO FLY

“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.” - Voltaire

A dark angel has been provided by Magpie Tales as the creative spark for all who will take up her challenge. Here is my offering:
 

Need to Fly
 

The wild flapping of feathered wings,
Caged and desperate to escape;
Cries in the night, powerless
To make the moon approach closer;
No amount of war paint can make you
Fearsome enough to overcome your foe.
 

Memories of a distant flight,
Some place in the past;
The freedom of air rushing by you,
Caressing your every fibre;
No amount of struggle can make you
Break your chains and escape.
 

The faint glimmer of sunlight
And visions of broken chips of blue sky;
Remembrances of green meadows,
Flowers: Do they still exist?
No amount of wishing can make you
Fly, liberated, untethered, free.
 

A gilded cage is still a cage,
Your every need taken care of
Is no guarantee of happiness;
A captive soul imprisons heart and flesh, too.
No amount of solid earth can make you
Forget the lightness of air…

MOVIE MONDAY - THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS

“When a white army battles Indians and wins, it is called a great victory, but if they lose it is called a massacre.” - Chiksika, Shawnee
 
When I was young I read the classics of literature, some appropriate for my age, others not so. One of them I remember vividly was James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Last of the Mohicans”. This was a rollicking tale quite exotic and full of adventure, battle and a plot full of incident and brave deeds. After reading it, I remember also a version of the same novel falling into my hands in the “Classics Illustrated” series – remember those? As a consequence, the novel stayed relatively fresh in my mind, well into my adulthood. And so often it is with the classics – we read them at a young age and then they get relegated to the depths of the bookcase, to remain there and not get re-read.
 
When I caught sight of the Michael Mann 1992 movie of “The Last of the Mohicans” starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe and Russell Means, I smiled and had to get it to watch as it conjured up visions of my youth and flights of my imagination. The film did not disappoint, and sure enough it stirred up my memories and the tale was told well enough cinematically.
 
The plot takes place in the mid-1700s in the Canadian/USA border where British and French troops do battle in colonial America, with aid from various native American war parties who have sided according to different loyalties. The British troops enlist the help of local colonial militia men, who are reluctant to leave their homes undefended. A budding romance between a British officer’s daughter and an independent man who was reared as a Mohican complicates things for the British officer, as the adopted Mohican pursues his own agenda despite the wrath of different people on both sides of the conflict.
 
There is plenty of spectacle in the movie, carefully orchestrated battle scenes, hand-to-hand combat, adventurous escapades, trekking through the wild frontier and lots of noble derring-do as the forces of good do battle with evil, personified by Magua (Wes Studi), the Indian with a grudge against the British who killed his family. It’s interesting that some Indians are represented as noble and good and others as evil and scheming – rather than the typical Western where the Indians are all savages hell-bent on rampaging and killing and scalping. The British get a rather bad write-up as well, with the French being depicted as wily and diplomatic. The colonials are the stock “good guys” – perhaps with good reason, given the way that they were taken advantage of by the ruling British.
 
Academy Award Winner Daniel Day Lewis does a great job as Hawkeye, the legendary warrior who encourages the Colonial militia to desert and is definitely the hero of the movie. Madeleine Stowe plays Cora with fiery strength and sensitivity when she needs to, a perfect foil to Day Lewis’s Hawkeye. Jodhi May is the blonde Alice, Cora’s younger timid sister, who manages to rise up to the challenge of the final scenes of the movie with great aplomb. Russell Means is powerful as the Mohican elder Chingachgook who acts as point of reference for all that is noble and good in the Native American. Wes Studi plays Magua, the infamous Huron Indian, perfect as the strong, vibrant villain consumed with hatred. The cast is directed well by Mann, who keeps the pace furious and well-suited to the breathes action of the text.
 
Overall we enjoyed this movie quite a lot, although it was quite violent and graphic in parts (yes there are scalping scenes!). Definitely one for those rainy Sunday afternoons where one needs a good rollicking film to watch.

HAPPY US INDEPENDENCE DAY!

“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” - Nelson Mandela
 
The Declaration of Independence, in U.S.A history, is the document that was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, announcing the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. It explained why the Congress on July 2 “unanimously” by the votes of 12 colonies (with New York abstaining) had resolved that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be Free and Independent States.” Accordingly, the day on which final separation was officially voted was July 2, although the 4th, the day on which the Declaration of Independence was adopted, has always been celebrated in the United States as the great national holiday, the Fourth of July, or Independence Day.
 
On April 19, 1775, when armed conflict began between Britain and the 13 colonies (the nucleus of the future United States), the Americans claimed that they sought only their rights within the British Empire. At that time few of the colonists consciously desired to separate from Britain. As the American Revolution proceeded during 1775–76 and Britain undertook to assert its sovereignty by means of large armed forces, making only a gesture toward conciliation, the majority of Americans increasingly came to believe that they must secure their rights outside the empire.
 
The losses and restrictions that came from the war greatly widened the breach between the colonies and the mother country; moreover, it was necessary to assert independence in order to secure as much French aid as possible.  On April 12, 1776, the revolutionary convention of North Carolina specifically authorised its delegates in Congress to vote for independence. On May 15 the Virginia convention instructed its deputies to offer the motion, which was brought forward in the Congress by Richard Henry Lee on June 7. By that time the Congress had already taken long steps toward severing ties with Britain. It had denied Parliamentary sovereignty over the colonies as early as December 6, 1775, and it had declared on May 10, 1776, that the authority of the king ought to be “totally suppressed,” advising all the several colonies to establish governments of their own choice.
 
The passage of Lee’s resolution was delayed for several reasons. Some of the delegates had not yet received authorization to vote for separation; a few were opposed to taking the final step; and several men, among them John Dickinson, believed that the formation of a central government, together with attempts to secure foreign aid, should precede it. However, a committee consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston was promptly chosen on June 11 to prepare a statement justifying the decision to assert independence, should it be taken. The document was prepared, and on July 1 nine delegations voted for separation, despite warm opposition on the part of Dickinson. On the following day at the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, with the New York delegation abstaining only because it lacked permission to act, the Lee resolution was voted on and endorsed.
 
The convention of New York gave its consent on July 9, and the New York delegates voted affirmatively on July 15. On July 19 the Congress ordered the document to be engrossed as “The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America.” It was accordingly put on parchment, probably by Timothy Matlack of Philadelphia. Members of the Congress present on August 2 affixed their signatures to this parchment copy on that day, and others later. The last signer was Thomas McKean of Delaware, whose name was not placed on the document before 1777.
 
The Declaration of Independence was written largely by Thomas Jefferson, who had displayed talent as a political philosopher and polemicist in his “A Summary View of the Rights of British America”, published in 1774. At the request of his fellow committee members he wrote the first draft. The members of the committee made a number of merely semantic changes, and they also expanded somewhat the list of charges against the king. The Congress made more substantial changes, deleting a condemnation of the British people, a reference to “Scotch & foreign mercenaries” (there were Scots in the Congress), and a denunciation of the African slave trade (this being offensive to some Southern and New England delegates).
 
The Declaration of Independence has also been a source of inspiration outside the United States. It encouraged Antonio de Nariño and Francisco de Miranda to strive toward overthrowing the Spanish empire in South America, and it was quoted with enthusiasm by the Marquis de Mirabeau during the French Revolution. It remains a great historical landmark in that it contained the first formal assertion by a whole people of their right to a government of their own choice. What Locke had contended for as an individual, the Americans proclaimed as a body politic; moreover, they made good the argument by force of arms.
 

Happy Independence Day to all USA readers of this blog!

MOVIE MONDAY - ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ

“Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it.” - Malcolm X
 

I must say that I have grown to like what Clint Eastwood has achieved in the movies. Beginning from a rather mundane and stock acting career as a Hollywood tough man, he has matured into a redoubtable character actor and significant director. Having seen some of his recent films such as “Gran Torino”, it is difficult perhaps to go back and appreciate his earlier work with equal fervour. However, there are still some gems (I guess we can call them classics), which will remain in his oeuvre as landmark works. We watched one of these again last weekend and it was a very enjoyable experience.

It was the 1979 Don Siegel film “Escape from Alcatraz”, starring Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Roberts Blossom. It is one of those films which although deals with a stock plot contains such an excellent cast and builds up to a well thought out climax via series of engaging episodes, that it easily becomes one of the classics. The characters also help, of course, as does the direction and cinematography. The plot is based on a true story and perhaps that is part of the appeal of the film, but also maybe it is the fascination that seizes the viewers when they realise that suddenly one feels a sense of sympathy for the antiheroes that the cast comprises – a group of prisoners locked up in Alcatraz, some for the rest of their lives, some for having committed heinous crimes.
 

This is very much Clint Eastwood’s film and his solid, tough man performance sustains it with every other character very much dependent on his. In the 29 years of Alcatraz’s existence, and despite almost impregnable defences, 39 prisoners tried to escape from this maximum-security prison during its existence. Thirty six of these escapees failed. This film is about the other three, of whom nothing is known. They may have drowned in San Francisco Bay, or they may have got away. Eastwood plays Frank Morris, a new prisoner brought to Alcatraz for bank robbery, and his induction into the prison including an interview with the sadistic warden (Patrick McGoohan) plunges us straight into the claustrophobic environment of the prison.
 

Frank finds his new fellow inmates to be overtly hostile or hopeless and resigned to their fate. Among the desperate prisoners, Frank meets “Doc” Dalton (Roberts Blossom), a convict with a talent for painting who resorts to violence when the warden refuses to let him paint. The Anglin brothers, Clarence (Jack Thibeau) and John (Fred Ward) are a pair of prisoners with a reputation for attempting to escape from the prisons they have been incarcerated in. Frank and the Anglins put into action an audacious escape plan. Using stolen spoons they dig their way to a ventilation shaft while an elaborate camouflage scheme keeps their activities covert.
 

The film doesn’t contain mindless fight scenes, impossible action scenes, cartoon-like special effects or cardboard cutout characters that film-makers nowadays are obsessed about. It is a well-realised story of an escape from a high security prison. Some aspects may be considered clichés but they are part of the story and not all of it. By concentrating on the brutality of the warden’s mini empire the film makes the viewer sympathise with the escapees at the price of suggesting that prison break-outs are actually a good thing. This is a successful film that has aged well, with no excess sentiment or melodrama. The plot concentrates on the unadorned details of the story, and the director uses a subtle approach to bring the full force of the story out.
 

Fans of Eastwood and McGoohan, who both give excellent performances, will appreciate this movie. Prison movie fans will love this movie. Fans of suspense movies in general should love this. If you are after endless fight scenes, car chases, violence for the sake of it, computer generated special effects and explosions, don’t bother looking at this movie. It is instead an intelligent, low-key suspense movie, with excellent performances all around.  We watched it again with the same interest as we did several years ago and we highly recommend it.

MOVIE MONDAY - BRAVEHEART

“If it’s a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on.” - Alfred Hitchcock

At the weekend we watched Mel Gibson’s 1995 film “Braveheart” again as we were given a Bluray disc with the 15th Year Anniversary re-release. I had forgotten much about this film, although I remember that I had enjoyed it the first time round. Now, in the comfort of our own living room, quite relaxed and with the remote control firmly grasped (seeing the film was about three hours long, a couple of breaks were required!) we were able to take it in very objectively and with the benefit of having read an encyclopedia entry on William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and Edward I, just before watching it.

The screenplay of the film is based loosely on historical facts, but there are several fictional interpositions and some gross misrepresentations of the historically verified events. For example, Princess Isabelle was only nine years old at the time of Wallace’s death and her son (later to be crowned Edward III), was born in 1312, which is seven years after the death of Wallace and five years after the death of Edward I. Hence there is no way that she was “Princess of Wales” as the film suggests and also there is no way that William Wallace fathered Edward III. But it makes a good story and people love scandal!

The story centres on the historical figure William Wallace, who is a Scottish rebel who leads an uprising against the cruel English ruler Edward I (“Longshanks” as he was 6’2”), who wishes to take the crown of Scotland for himself. When William was a young boy, his father and brother, along with many others, lost their lives trying to free Scotland. Once he loses his wife to the barbarity of the English, William Wallace begins his bloody struggle to make Scotland free once and for all, thus giving assistance to Robert the Bruce, the heir to the Scottish throne, to become the king of Scotland.

The film was good enough and Mel Gibson manages to direct well and star in it at the same time. Sophie Marceau looks delightful as the Princess. The cinematography is truly stunning and some of the Scottish landscapes are absolutely breathtaking. The brutality of many of the scenes is quite striking and seeing that Gibson got into trouble with “The Passion of the Christ” for excessive violence, I am wondering if this is one of his trademarks or some penchant of his… There are crucifixion-like images in the film and visual imagery of martyrdom, too.  It is a formulaic Hollywood film and panders to the Scottish nationalistic ideals. The English are depicted as absolute barbarians and heartless, cruel oppressors – which may have an element of truth in it, however, the Scots are no angels either, considering the treachery of some of their lords, also shown in the film.

The movie failed to move me somehow. It was entertaining, amusing, diverting, rousing, sometimes sad, but there was a lack of true emotion and poignancy in it. There was a feeling of authenticity in some scenes, but in others I felt that it was a little phony and the Hollywood view of the history of the world came through more strongly than the illusion of reality. Now why wasn’t it emotionally engaging? I don’t know. Maybe it was Gibson and his hair – we couldn’t take his long locks seriously! Maybe it was the obvious embellishments in the real history to make it more cinematic? Maybe it was the whole package?

Nevertheless, the film is enjoyable and worth seeing (or seeing again, to see what you think 15 years later). It won five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Cinematography and Best Director – which doesn’t mean much, except that it followed Hollywood’s rules and Hollywood recognised these efforts. And did I mention the music by James Horner? Nice unobtrusive generally Celtic-sounding music that sounded a lot like the “Titanic” music. I’m being overly critical maybe, but no, we enjoyed it, truly…

YANNIS RITSOS

“Force is all-conquering, but its victories are short-lived.” - Abraham Lincoln

For Poetry Wednesday today, Yannis Ritsos (1909–90), a Greek poet. He is one of modern Greece’s most widely translated poets and moved from an early concern with classical themes and style to a more deeply personal lyricism. His writing reflects family tragedies, a stay in a tuberculosis ward, and his political engagement against dictatorship that earned him periods of deportation and house arrest. He served time in prison camps during 1947-1952 and after the 1967 coup, thence living under house arrest or surveillance. He took moral power from his poems, and spoke of political enemies with compassion rather than bitterness.

Some of his best known works include: Tractor (1934), and Pyramids (1935). These two works  achieve a fragile balance between faith in the future, founded on the Communist ideal, and personal despair. Epitaph (1936). This was a lengthy poem which uses the mechanics of traditional poetry but expresses in a clear and simple language a message of fraternity and brotherhood. Vigil (1941-1953), and  Districts of the World (1949-1951). These were written from his experiences in prison camps, which occurred because of the Greek civil war and his stance against the Fascists

Later works marked Ritsos’ development and maturity as a Poet: The Moonlight-Sonata  (1956) – When Comes the Stranger (1958), The Old Women and the Sea (1958),  The Dead House (1959-1962) This is a long monologue partly inspired by the ancient Greek mythology and the ancient tragedies:  A characteristic of his latest poems such as: Late in the Night (1987-1989) is that they are filled with sadness and the awareness of suffering. But in a humbly poetic way Ritsos preserves a gleam of hope in his creative tragedy.

With These Stones
Yannis Ritsos

An unexpected wind blew. The heavy shutters creaked.
Leaves were lifted from the ground. They flew away, flew away.
Until only stones remained. Now we must make do with these –
he kept repeating – with these, with these. When night descended
the great, inky mountainside, he threw our keys into the well.
Ah, dear stones—he said—one by one I'll chisel
the unknown faces and my body, with its one hand
tightly clenched, raised above the wall.

May 30, 1968

Ageing
Yannis Ritsos

Saturday, Sunday, Saturday again – and before you know it, Monday.
A quiet dusk without colour, or trees, or chairs.
We have nothing to spend. The old pitcher on the dinner table;
the plates, the glasses, the sad hands, the deserted –
the spoon rises; another mouth finds it – but which mouth?
Who eats? Who grows quiet? In the open window
a small, forgotten moon swallows its own spit.
It's not that we're no longer growing fat, but that we're no longer hungry.

June 4, 1968
Partheni concentration camp
Translated by Scott King

MOVIE MONDAY - FOUR MINUTES

“Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognises genius.” - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I was in Brisbane again for work for the day and it has been another very long, exhausting day. Waking up at 3:30 a.m. even for an early riser like me takes an extra bit of effort and by the time I got home at 10:00 p.m. it is a very long day. Fortunately, the day proved to be very productive and the Audit we had is progressing well. On Thursday and Friday, it will continue on our Melbourne campus, and about eight months of preparation will finally conclude.

At the weekend we watched an excellent, although intense 2006 German film by Chris Kraus called “Four Minutes”. It was one of those films that could prove to be extremely depressing and uninvolving, but instead it was one which was very engaging and interesting, although still quite challenging and sad. The plot is set in a German women’s prison in contemporary times. Jenny is a teenager who is confined there as a convicted murderess. She is psychologically disturbed and extremely violent. It turns out that amongst all of the other things that have plagued her young life she has also been raped by her father, as well as betrayed by her boyfriend.

Jenny is a remarkably gifted pianist, to the extent that she could be a concert pianist. However, she has not practiced for many months and her violent nature means that she constantly damages her hands through affrays with her fellow inmates. Enter Frau Traude who is a prison worker that attempts to rehabilitate the prisoners through music. Through her efforts she manages to get a new piano for the prison and she begins to give lessons to inmates. By chance she recognises Jenny’s genius and convinces her to be coached in order to enter a competition for pianists.

An instant struggle for dominance arises between Frau Traude and Jenny, but Jenny finally accepts her offer and begins to practice. Things are not easy for the pair as various events some contemporary, some from Frau Traude’s past during the Second World War, unhinge the fragile truce between them and bring the film to an overwhelmingly emotional conclusion.

This is a difficult film to watch in terms of the many distressing and provocative topics it dealt with. It was one where one sympathised with the hapless Jenny on the one hand, but at the same time felt repelled by her violent reactions and her inability to relate even to the people who wanted to help her. On reflection, there weren’t too many of those, and even Frau Traude’s reasons for wanting to help Jenny are ambivalent at best. Frau Traude herself is a difficult character to relate to. He manner is repellent and attractive at the same time, while her interaction with Jenny makes us question her motives, especially after we learn of her past.

The warden of the prison is quite a repellent character as is Jenny’s father who appears halfway through the film as a pathetic addendum to the storyline.

The film is a story of hope in the midst of adversity, of the liberating and soul-purifying effect of music and the redemption that the cultivation of talent can have even in the most unfavourable of circumstances. Jenny’s attempt to express her struggle for freedom and personal absolution in the “negro music” that Frau Traude detests and eschews is a powerful message of self-assertion and liberation within the confines of the prison environment. At the same time Jenny is desperate for Frau Traude’s approval and recognition of the effort she is making to be the concert pianist that Frau Traude always wanted to be but was unable to be.

The final scene is an amazing piece of cinema and a dramatic conclusion full of power and is so satisfying for the viewers, after the emotional roller coaster ride they have endured through the film. Needless to say that the music in the soundtrack is well worth listening to. The performances were exceptional, the direction understated and masterly, while the editing and production standards very high.

A highly recommended movie, although a difficult one to watch!

AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY

“We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers. Our abundance has brought us neither peace of mind nor serenity of spirit.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

African Liberation Day is celebrated on May 25th every year and on this day, many countries in Africa celebrate the hard-fought achievements of their freedom from European colonial powers. Many African countries and African communities around the world play an active role in organising events and celebrating African Liberation Day. Ghana, Kenya, Spain, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, and the United States are all involved in maintaining the momentum of this commemorative day. In Ghana, May 25th is a public holiday. Various activities organised include formal gatherings with panel discussions, street marches, speeches by political and social leaders, rallies featuring cultural entertainment, poetry, and speakers.

The special connection with Ghana is that in 1957 Ghana was the first African country south of the Sahara to secure independence from colonial rule. The newly independent nation took its name from an empire that flourished near that region between the 4th and 10th centuries. African Freedom Day was founded during the first Conference of Independent African States, which attracted African leaders and political activists from various African countries, in Ghana on April 15, 1958. Government representatives from eight independent African states attended the conference, which was the first Pan-African conference in the continent. The purpose of the day was to annually mark the liberation movement’s progress and to symbolise the determination of the people of Africa to free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation.

Between 1958 and 1963 the struggle for independence in Africa grew bigger and there was much support and activism not only in Africa, but also around the world. During this period, 17 countries in Africa won their independence and 1960 was proclaimed the Year of Africa. On May 25, 1963, 31 African leaders convened a summit meeting to found the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). They renamed Africa Freedom Day as “African Liberation Day” and changed its date to May 25. The founding date of the OAU is also referred to as “Africa Day”. African Liberation Day has helped to raise political awareness in African communities across the world. It has also been a source of information about the struggles for liberation and development.

An outline of the map of Africa, or the shape of Africa, is often used as a symbol for the day. Pan-African colors, may also be used for the day, and come in different sets of three colours. For example, the green, gold, and red colors used in the flag of Ghana or the red, black, and green colors adopted by the American-based Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA)

After about 500 years of the most brutal suffering known to humanity, the enslavement of Africa and the subsequent trade in human souls, which cost Africa in excess of 100,000,000 of her children, the masses of African People in the 1950s and 1960s finally were able to shout with a single voice: “Enough! Let us be free and able to shape our own destiny.” The bell of freedom that rang then, still reverberates and fills Africans everywhere with pride, determination and renewed energy for continuing to fight for what is their birthright: Freedom, dignity, self-determination, prosperity and

Happy African Liberation Day to all Africans all over the world!

VIVE LE QUATORZE JUILLET!

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

Happy Bastille Day! July the 14th is the day on which France celebrates its National Day. It commemorates the day of the storming of the Bastille, which took place on 14 July 1789 and marked the beginning of the French Revolution. The Bastille was a prison and a symbol of the absolute and arbitrary power of Louis the 16th's Ancient Regime. By capturing this symbol, the people signalled that the king's power was no longer absolute and that power should be based on the people and be limited by a separation of powers.

The Bastille only held seven prisoners at the time of its capture, however, the storming of the prison was a symbol of liberty and the fight against oppression for all French citizens. The revolution in France upheld the Republic’s three ideals: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity for all French citizens, a symbolism duplicated in the nation’s tricolour flag. It marked the end of absolute monarchy, the birth of the sovereign Nation, and, eventually, the creation of the (First) Republic, in 1792. Bastille Day was declared the French national holiday on 6th July 1880, on Benjamin Raspail's recommendation, when the new Republic was firmly entrenched.

For the wordy types amongst you (me included!), Bastille is an alternate spelling of bastide meaning “fortification”. Bastide comes from the Provençal word bastida meaning “built”. There is also a French verb embastiller with the meaning “to establish troops in a prison”.

To celebrate the day in a suitably French manner, here is something delicious to drink:

CHAMPAGNE PUNCH

Ingredients
1 large pineapple
2 oranges
5 passionfruits
1 apple
1 punnet strawberries
6 tablespoonfuls icing sugar
1 cupful brandy
2 bottles of Champagne

Method
Peel and clean the pineapple, chopping into small cubes and put into a large bowl. Juice the oranges and add to the pineapple. Wash and hull the strawberries, leaving them to drain. Half them and add to the bowl. Peel the apple and chop finely into the bowl. Add the passionfruit pulp to the bowl and stir in the sugar until it is dissolved. Stir in the brandy and put the bowl into the freezer, until almost frozen solid. Break into chunks, put into a punch bowl and pour the chilled champagne over the fruit mixture. Vive la France!

France is a Western European country with shores on the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of 544,000 square km and a population of 60 million. Its terrain is varied with high plateaux, mountain ranges and lowland basins. Its climate is mild ranging from typical Mediterranean in the South, to mild and wet further to the North. Agriculture is favoured by both land and climate making France one of the major European exporters of wheat, barley, sugar beet and wine. Manufacturing is the other major employer with rich reserves of oil, gas and coal assisting greatly the economy. French perfumes and other luxury goods are a major income earner while tourism is also a major industry. Paris is the capital city with other major cities being Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Lille, Grenoble, Rouen, Nantes and Toulouse.



The painting above is by an anonymous painter and depicts the storming of the Bastille.

¡VIVA EL CINCO DE MAYO!

“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.” - Abraham Lincoln

Today is a day that is celebrated in Mexico and countries where many Mexicans live, for example the Southern states of the USA. “Cinco de Mayo” (the 5th of May) is not officially the Mexican Independence Day (this is celebrated on the 16th of September), but perhaps Cinco de Mayo should be. Cinco de Mayo is also not an American holiday, but perhaps it should be. Mexico declared its independence from Spain on midnight, the 15th of September, 1810. But it took 11 years before Spanish soldiers were forced to leave Mexico.

So, what is the significance of Cinco de Mayo and why should Americans celebrate this day also? Because 4,000 Mexican soldiers smashed the French and traitor Mexican army of 8,000 at Puebla, Mexico, 100 miles east of Mexico City on the morning of May 5, 1862. The French had landed in Mexico (along with Spanish and English troops) five months earlier on the pretext of collecting Mexican debts from the newly elected government of democratic President (and Indian) Benito Juarez. The English and Spanish quickly made deals and left. The French, however, had different ideas.

Under Emperor Napoleon III (who detested the United States), the French who were sent to Mexico came to stay. They brought a Hapsburg prince with them to rule the new Mexican empire. His name was Maximilian and his wife’s, Carlota. Napoleon’s French Army had not been defeated in 50 years, and it invaded Mexico with the finest modern equipment and with a newly reconstituted Foreign Legion. The French were not afraid of anyone, especially since the United States was embroiled in its own Civil War. The French Army left the port of Vera Cruz to attack Mexico City to the west, and the French assumed that the Mexicans would give up should their capital fall to the enemy (as European countries traditionally did).

Under the command of Texas-born General Zaragosa, (and the cavalry under the command of Colonel Porfirio Diaz, later to be Mexico's president and dictator), the Mexicans awaited. Brightly dressed French Dragoons led the enemy columns. The Mexican Army was less stylish. General Zaragosa ordered Colonel Diaz to take his cavalry, the best in the world, out to the French flanks. In response, the French did a most stupid thing; they sent their cavalry off to chase Diaz and his men, who proceeded to butcher them. The remaining French infantrymen charged the Mexican defenders through sloppy mud from a thunderstorm and through hundreds of head of stampeding cattle stirred up by Indians armed only with machetes.

When the battle was over, many French were killed or wounded, while their cavalry was being chased by Diaz's superb horsemen miles away. The Mexicans had won a great victory that kept Napoleon III from supplying the confederate rebels for another year, allowing the United States to build the greatest army the world had ever seen. This grand army smashed the Confederates at Gettysburg just 14 months after the battle of Puebla, essentially ending the Civil War.

Union forces were then rushed to the Texas/Mexican border under General Phil Sheridan, who made sure that the Mexicans got all the weapons and ammunition they needed to expel the French. American soldiers were discharged with their uniforms and rifles if they promised to join the Mexican Army to fight the French. The American Legion of Honor marched in the Victory Parade in Mexico City. It might be a historical stretch to credit the survival of the United States to those brave 4,000 Mexicans who faced an army twice as large in 1862, but who knows, maybe not…

In gratitude, thousands of Mexicans crossed the border after Pearl Harbor to join the U.S. Armed Forces. As recently as the Persian Gulf War, Mexicans flooded American consulates with phone calls, trying to join up and fight another war for America. Mexicans don’t forget who their friends are, and neither do Americans. That’s why Cinco de Mayo is such a fiesta and should be celebrated by both Mexico and the USA.

¡VIVA EL CINCO DE MAYO!

A DEER IN SPRING

“Him that I love, I wish to be free – even from me.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

For Song Saturday, a magnificent song by Italian singer/songwriter Riccardo Cocciante: “Cervo a Primavera” (1980). Enjoy!


A Deer in Spring

And I shall be reborn
A deer in Spring,
Or rather, I’ll become
A seagull of the reef,
With nothing more to forget
With no more questions to ask,
Just a space to occupy.

And I shall be reborn
My friend, you who understand me
I’ll transform myself into someone
Who can no longer fail –
A partridge of the mountain
Who flies and doesn’t dream
In a leaf or in a chestnut.

And I shall be reborn
My dear friend, oh, my friend,
And I’ll find myself
With no pens nor plumes,
No fear of falling,
Intent only on soaring
Like an eternal migratory bird…

And I shall be reborn
Without any complexes or frustrations,
My friend, I’ll listen
To the symphonies of the seasons
With a definite role to play,
So happy to have been born
Between sky and earth and infinity…

CERVO A PRIMAVERA

E io rinascerò
Cervo a primavera
Oppure diverrò
Gabbiano da scogliera
Senza più niente da scordare
Senza domande più da fare
Con uno spazio da occupare...

E io rinascerò
Amico che mi sai capire
E mi trasformerò in qualcuno
Che non può più fallire
Una pernice di montagna
Che vola eppur non sogna
In una foglia o una castagna...

E io rinascerò
Amico caro, amico mio
E mi ritroverò
Con penne e piume senza io
Senza paura di cadere
Intento solo a volteggiare
Come un eterno migratore...

E io rinascerò
Senza complessi e frustrazioni
Amico mio, ascolterò
Le sinfonie delle stagioni
Con un mio ruolo definito
Così felice di esser nato
Tra cielo terra e l'infinito...