THE SWANS

“A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.” - Chinese Proverb

A Greek song tonight from Aristophanes’ play “The Birds”, first produced in 414 BC. Ancient Greek plays had much music, solo and choral songs in them. This of course was the inspiration for opera in Renaissance Italy.

Manos Hadjidakis (1925 – 1994) was one of the great Modern Greek composers who wrote “serious” music as well as many popular songs. He wrote the incidental music and for the songs in the play.

Maria Farandouri is a well-known singer who worked with Mikis Theodorakis primarily. She also collaborated with other composers and musicians (eg John Williams). Her rich husky voice is perfect for this song.



The Swans

So the swans on the banks of the Hebrus,
Tio, tio, tio, tio, tiotinx,
Mingle their voices to serenade Apollo,
Tio, tio, tio, tio. tiotinx,
Flapping their wings the while,
Tio, tio, tio, tio, tiotinx;
Their notes reach beyond the clouds of heaven;
All the dwellers in the forest
Stand still with astonishment and delight;
A calm rests upon the waters,
And the Graces and the choirs in Olympus
Catch up the strain,
Tio, tio, tio, tio, tiotinx.

WINTER BREAKFAST

“Hear! hear!” screamed the jay from a neighboring tree, where I had heard a tittering for some time, “winter has a concentrated and nutty kernel, if you know where to look for it.” - Henry David Thoreau

Today was a very cold morning. When I woke up and heard the weather report on the 5:00 am news bulletin, it was 3˚C, with the wind chill factor bringing the temperature down to almost freezing. It wasn’t much better an hour-and-a-half later when I was catching the train. Today was the sort of morning when breakfast has to be a substantial meal, with something piping hot and fragrant. Warm toast with lashings of butter and that wonderful smell of toasting bread filling the kitchen hits the spot. Alternatively, pancakes with honey and cream are good, or if completely spoilt one may indulge in handmade doughnuts (prepared by someone else of course!). But these latter foods are more of the weekend indulgence variety, rather than the ordinary weekday fare when time is at a premium.

Winter mornings are a wonderful experience. The prolonged darkness of night that lingers until later in the day and the bright stars overhead, made all the more bright by the crispness of the cold air are a sight to behold. Walking in the morning twilight, watching one’s breath cloud up and feeling that tingle of the cold on the face is a bracing, invigorating feeling that prepares one for the rigours of the day ahead. Snuggled up in a warm coat, with a scarf wrapped around the neck and gloves warming one’s fingers, walking to catch the train makes for a vibrant start to the day. Then, at work, discarding one’s overclothes layer by layer and luxuriating in the heated comfort of the office, watching the city come alive and the milky whiteness of winter morning gradually dispersing the wintry twilight is a good thing to experience.

For Food Friday today, some versions of a winter breakfast recipe for a wintry weekend morning tomorrow. “French Toast”, which is not really French nor is it strictly speaking toasted. Most French toast recipes have in common bread slices dipped in an egg batter mixture and pan-fried. The first such recipe seems to have originated in Rome. Today, just about every country around the globe has their own version of this classic breakfast food. And if you want to eat this in France don’t look for French Toast (Pain Français Grillé?) on the menu because the French refer to it as “pain perdu” (lost bread) or “pain doré” (gilded bread) depending on whether you are pessimist or an optimist.

It is said that French toast recipes evolved when even staple foods like bread were expensive and every bit of it had to be used up – even stale bread. The cooks of old found that dipping stale bread in a mixture of eggs and milk helped rejuvenate it. They then cooked it in a pan and served it up, much like our modern version. Another French toast recipe was reserved only for the wealthiest people of the olden times because it used expensive white bread, exotic and costly ingredients like vanilla, cinnamon and sugar.

Classic French Toast
Ingredients
• 8 slices of bread
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup flour
• Butter
• Icing sugar

Method
Mix together the eggs, milk, and flour and pass through a strainer. Dip slices of bread into the mixture and fry in the butter on both sides in a hot frying pan. Before serving, sprinkle with icing sugar.

Oven-Baked French Toast
Ingredients
• 8 slices white bread
• 3 tablespoons softened butter
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Icing sugar for dusting

Method
Spread butter over each slice of bread, coating both sides. Place on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes at 175˚C. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in milk, cinnamon, salt, maple syrup, and salt. Place bread slices in a lightly greased casserole dish and top with the egg mixture. Bake until nicely browned, approximately 30 minutes. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Savoury French Toast
Ingredients
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• Spices and herbs (as desired)
• 1/3 tsp dried mustard
• Olive oil for frying
• Grated cheese
• Parsley for garnishing

Method
Mix the eggs and milk very well. Mix in the dried mustard, your favourite herbs and spices with the eggs and milk and beat until well-blended. Preheat your pan with a little olive oil to a medium temperature. Quickly dip each side of the bread into the egg/milk mix and place in the pan. Cook until the bottom side is golden brown; flip and cook the other side. On the top, sprinkle a little grated cheese and let it melt.

Cinnamon French Toast
Ingredients
• 4 eggs
• 6 slices thick bread
• Cinnamon to taste
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup milk
• Cooking spray

Method
Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add milk, vanilla, and cinnamon, and beat well. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray, and heat over a medium fire. While the skillet heats, soak bread in the milk mixture, turning to coat both sides evenly. Cook bread over medium heat until nicely browned, approximately 4 minutes per side.

One of course may alter these recipes in a variety of ways. For example using raisin bread, brioche, cake or panettone instead of plain bread, buttermilk or cream instead of milk. Allspice and nutmeg instead of cinnamon. A variety of sauces and fruits to accompany the bread, etc, etc.

Enjoy your weekend!

CYBER-BULLYING AND SUICIDE

“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide.” – Albert Camus

Last Friday night a 14-year-old schoolgirl in Geelong (a city 75 km southwest of Melbourne with a population of 161,000) committed suicide. She is the fourth student connected to a Geelong high school who has taken her own life in the last six months. This is frightening not only because of the age of the girl and the associated suicides at the same school, but also because the suicides appear to be connected to the internet and “cyber-bullying”. The unfortunate girl, Chanelle Rae killed herself hours after receiving a pernicious message on the internet.

The girl’s mother said her daughter was having “trouble” with some friends from school. After spending some time on the internet on Friday evening, Chanelle Rae went to her mother and said she had received a message that made her “want to die”. Mother and daughter spoke about it, the mother spending an hour with her and then after the mother thought the issue was resolved, left the daughter alone. When the girl’s father came home about an hour after the discussion of his daughter with his wife, he found the girl dead in her room.

I cannot imagine the plight of these parents, cannot comprehend the magnitude of the anguish they must be feeling in the wake of this disaster. To be speaking to your daughter one minute, to believe that you have discussed with her problems and resolved them (or at least lightened the perceived burden she was carrying) and then to find her later dead in her room must be one of the most horrific of experiences. The way in which the girl was reduced to the psychological state that drove to self-harm is also an alarming and chilling reminder of the pervasiveness of the internet and how it is affecting our everyday life.

Chanelle Rae’s mother is on the record as saying: “I can guarantee you if she didn’t go on the internet on Friday she’d still be alive today…” I find this statement as indication of a particularly abominable and deleterious use of a technology that is meant to make our life easier and more pleasant. How true of most inventions, one may say: We split the atom and unlocked the marvels of the atomic age and limitless energy, only to quickly harness that power into the destructive atom bomb. We discovered the wonderful therapeutic effects of narcotics, only to turn them into the drug menace that kills so many people around the world. We set satellites upon the heavens to enable the information revolution and help in our communication, but also perverted their use to enable them to function as spy machines and as a means to enable star-wars warfare. We use the internet as a tool, as entertainment, as a boon to communication and knowledge acquisition, only to also find in it the perfect medium for terrorism, bullying, pornography and every form of deception tat human mind can devise.

Are we so flawed, we humans? Do we suffer from a species-wide form of dissociative identity disorder that condemns us to perpetual expressions of our split personalities? Are we so dualistic in our collective psychology that we must forever fight within us a battle of good versus evil and find that the balance is so finely poised that we can tip so easily either way?

How easy it seems to be to give in to this gnawing, poisoning demand of evil upon our weak mind. When one reads the newspapers, watches television, listens to the radio, it seems that as a species we are becoming ever more likely to choose evil over good. Some of the news that I hear every day disappoint me more and more, and revulsion, horror, disgust, abhorrence and outrage overcome me. We seem to be more and more like the proverbial lemmings, stampeding towards the precipice that will seal our collective doom. It’s depressing stuff. Enough perhaps to drive some of us to suicide…

And yet, as humans we have redeeming qualities. We still create, we love, we can perform remarkable acts of self-sacrifice, heroism, altruism. We overcome adversity, we master our suffering and conquer disaster, transform tragedy into hope, defeat despair and transmute it into joy. The truly special human being is not the one to whom evil is unknown, not the one who lives like a hermit removed from the temptations of the world. The true hero is the one who battles the degeneration and vileness that lies within each one of us and has the strength to overpower them in order to do good, to be good, to resist following the easy path of depravity. To be able to choose to do battle in order to stay on course and follow the rocky, winding and steep path of integrity, dignity and virtue. Funny how we tend to hear those last three words less and less nowadays…

Cyber-bullying |ˈsībər-ˈboŏlē’i NG| noun
The use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.
ORIGIN: From Greek kubernētēs ‘steersman,’ from kubernan ‘to steer’ and probably from Middle Dutch boele ‘lover’. The original usage was as a term of endearment applied to either sex; later becoming a familiar form of address to a male friend. The current sense dates from the late 17th century.

Jacqui BB hosts Word Thursday

A SEA POEM

“The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.” - Isak Dinesen

A poem tonight which is transcribed from an old journal I used to write in, before blogs and the internet! Funny how the keyboard and screen has now all but replaced paper and pen… I must admit though that pens, pencils, crayons, markers, paper of all sorts are never far away from reach on all of my desks (including at work!).

Afterimage

Seashell, sun-blond with crimson sound
Tears lonely air apart, rips silence;
And on a sea-blue negative
Records the gift of thirsty air.

The rosy cockle speeds through pink light years
To impale itself through black irises
Engraving an everlasting memory,
On marble slabs of my mind.

Sea murmurs, as if a lullaby singing,
In cool palaces of unstepped on ocean depths,
To put to sleep infant tritons
While Amphitrite smiles enigmatically.

The sea, pearl-embroidered, calls to me
Its sweet voice echoing in my empty heart
While my salt-water blood flows slowly
In veins of dolphin body.

Salt, sweetness, coolness, fire of flesh
Are kneaded with sun, and sea and sounds of waves,
With green darknesses in depths of eyes
Illumined by a flash of love, but for a moment.

Now drops of salty sea roll down my cheeks
To water my infertile desert.
The memory is with me, nonetheless
Even if the sea has long dried up.

I open up the locked chest of my mind
And there, I find your afterimage
Containing all of you in it,
Just as the seashell carries within it all of the sea.

In clenched fist I hold tight the conch,
A fragment of sun shines in my gaze,
My blood is salty and sea-green
My thoughts mirroring the has-been,
On my retina your blue-green afterimage
Burnt indelibly.


Jacqui BB hosts Poetry Wednesday, so visit her site for more poems!

ON HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION

“I don’t believe in astrology; I’m a Sagittarius and we're skeptical.” - Arthur C. Clarke

Tonight, I turn my eyes to the heavens as there are several stories in the news lately that concern heavenly bodies. First there was the 40th anniversary of the moon landing of the Apollo 11 mission on the 20th July 1969. As the astronaut Neil Armstrong climbed down from the landing module and set foot on lunar soil, he uttered the famous phrase: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”. Edwin Aldrin soon followed and the two astronauts bounced about on the lunar surface with its gravity one-sixth that of earth’s.

I remember clearly that momentous event as I watched it together with half a billion people around the world on television. That was in fact watched on our first television set, bought especially for that purpose (well, it was a good excuse, anyway!). It was an amazing experience, especially for me, a young impressionable child watching history being made and witnessing the beginning of a brave new age of space exploration. Seeing the realisation of mankind’s dreams and the making of science fiction into science fact.

The second astronomical event of note, looming ahead, is the eclipse of the sun soon to occur. On Wednesday, 2009 July 22, a total eclipse of the Sun will be visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses half of Earth. The path of the Moon’s umbral shadow will begin in India and will cross through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. After leaving mainland Asia, the path will cross Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and curve southeast through the Pacific Ocean where the maximum duration of totality reaches 6 minutes 39 seconds. It will be the longest total solar eclipse in this century. The next longest total solar eclipse will happen on June 13, 2132.

This astronomical event has already begat numerous astrological discussions and predictions, especially in India, where astronomical observations and their astrological interpretation are seriously and widely pursued. Indian astrologers are of the view that the solar eclipse will usher in changes. Astrological predictions indicate that there are chances of massive floods or other disasters associated with water. Some astrologers are of the view that Capricorns, Cancers and Leos will experience some bad effects in the wake of the eclipse. Other astrologers are even more pessimistic and predict that there are chances of war and other politically related problems.

Some astrologers maintain that since the eclipse is taking place in Cancer, people governed by this sign should be careful while driving and avoid undergoing surgery for the time being. The period is not considered auspicious for Cancer, Libra, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces. On the other hand, the eclipse will be beneficial for signs like Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Leo, Virgo and Sagittarius. It is obvious that different astrologers will give conflicting predictions regarding the eclipse…

On July 28 and 29 the Southern Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower will be visible. The Delta Aquarids usually produce about 20 meteors (“shooting stars”) per hour at their peak. The shower will peak this year on July 28 and 29, but meteors can usually be seen from July 18 to August 18. The near first quarter moon will set early, providing an excellent viewing experience after midnight. The radiant point for this shower will be in the constellation Aquarius. Best viewing is usually to the east after midnight.

On August 6 there will be a penumbral lunar eclipse. This eclipse will be visible throughout most of the Americas, Europe, Africa, and western Asia (for a full list of astronomical events, refer to: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy_calendar_2009.html). All of this activity in the heavens, is of course happening every year, but maybe we are paying a little bit more attention to it this year as 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy!

On Heavenly Contemplation

Don’t waste precious time gazing at stars,
Or plotting conjunctions of Venus with Mars.
Too many earthly woes and cares abound,
Our lives with thorny misery surround.

If cause of your misfortune search ye to find
Look not through telescope, nor planets mind;
Thoughts, actions, deeds must you probe
And find solutions for our troubled globe.

With outstretched hand seek that of brother,
A kindly deed will find a keen reception.
Render not ill to self or to another,
Do good, give kindness not deception –
How harder such a course, and not the other!
Easy to scan the sky, blunt our perception…

MOVIE MONDAY - THE MUSIC TEACHER

“Revenge is always the weak pleasure of a little and narrow mind.” – Juvenal

We watched Gérard Corbieau’s 1989 film “Le Maître de Musique” (The Music Teacher) at the weekend. This was a sumptuous French film for classical music lovers and although the plot was thin, the music and cinematography more than made up for it. Corbieau’s other forays into cinema have explored music and arts and his famous 1994 “Farinelli” and his “Le Roi Danse” also adhere to the genre.

In this film, the ageing Joachim Dallayrac, a famous and brilliant concert singer retires from the stage and retreats to his countryside mansion. He takes on the talented Sophie in order to teach her the singer’s art. He also brings Jean, a petty thief, into the household because he hears him singing and detects a wonderful voice. The relationships that develop are complex and involve as well as Joachim his partner, Estelle, Sophie and Jean. After rigorous and harsh training, Sophie and Jean manage to attain a standard that pleases their teacher. The two young singers are then invited to participate in a singing contest staged by Prince Scotti. Scotti himself was defeated in a singing contest by Dallayrac and Scotti is acing for revenge. Scotti’s protégé is set up to exact this revenge through the way that Scotti has organised the contest.

The music in the film is absolutely marvellous and performed well. It is also well chosen and underlines the plot. For example, Gustav Mahler’s (1860-1911) lied “Ich bin der welt abhanden gekommen” is associated with the teacher. The lyrics translate as: “I am lost to the world with which I used to waste so much time. It has heard nothing from me for so long it may well believe me dead… …I live alone in my heaven, in my love, and in my song”. In the climax of the film, “Sempre Libera”, the wonderful duet from Verdi’s “La Traviata” is used to great effect, sung by Sophie and Jean, who up till then have not sung together.

The cinematography of the film is one of its strengths and beautiful scene succeeds beautiful scene, with glowing colours and exquisite visual composition. I can easily imagine, however, someone who doesn’t like classical music finding the film tedious and boring. We certainly enjoyed it and would recommend it to fellow music lovers.

You may like to visit Dangerous Meredith's blog, who has also posted some films she has seen and recommends...

ART SUNDAY - VIDA PEARSON

“Earth laughs in flowers.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

For Art Sunday today, a linocut print by a contemporary Australian artist, Vida Pearson. She was born in 1957, near Wonthaggi in Victoria, Australia.She spent 3 years at the North Adelaide School of Art between 1982 - 1984 majoring in printmaking and drawing. She has been a professional artist/printmaker since 1985. Vida has won over 100 prizes in art competitions. She exhibits regularly with several galleries and usually has a solo exhibition every couple of years.

The main thrust of her work is hand-coloured linocuts of birds and flora - particularly Australian banksias, grevilleas and eucalypts, which are particularly suited to this medium. She goes on field trips regularly within Australia and overseas to source new material and inspiration. A trip to Antarctica in 2004 was probably the most exceptional and inspirational of these trips for her. She also works in watercolour and pastel when the subject matter calls for it.

The linocut above is of a native Australian flower, perhaps the most magnificent one, the Waratah (Telopea speciosissima). Robert Brown (1773-1858) named the genus Telopea in 1810 from specimens collected in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Sir James Smith (1759-1828), a noted botanist and founder of the Linnaean Society in England, wrote in 1793: 'The most magnificent plant which the prolific soil of New Holland affords is, by common consent, both of Europeans and Natives, the Waratah. It is moreover a favourite with the latter, upon account of a rich honeyed juice which they sip from its flowers'.

The generic name Telopea is derived from the Greek 'telopos', meaning 'seen from afar', and refers to the great distance from which the crimson flowers are discernible. The specific name speciosissima is the superlative of the Latin adjective 'speciosus', meaning 'beautiful' or 'handsome'. 'Waratah', the Aboriginal name for the species, was adopted by early settlers at Port Jackson.

Telopea is an eastern Australian genus of four species. Two are confined to New South Wales, one to Tasmania and one extends from eastern Victoria into New South Wales. Telopea belongs to the family, Proteaceae, which is predominantly Australian and southern African. The Waratah is a stout, erect shrub, which may grow to 4 metres. The dark green leathery leaves, 13-25 cm in length, are arranged alternately and tend to be coarsely toothed. The flowers are grouped in rounded heads 7 to 10 cm in diameter surrounded by crimson bracts, about 5 to 7 cm long. It flowers from September to November and nectar-seeking birds act as pollinators. Large winged seeds are released when the brown leathery pods split along one side.

The species is fairly widespread on the central coast and adjoining mountains of New South Wales, occurring from the Gibraltar Range, north of Sydney, to Conjola in the south. It grows mainly in the shrub understory in open forest developed on sandstone and adjoining volcanic formations, from sea level to above 1000 metres in the Blue Mountains. Soils within its range tend to be sandy and low in plant nutrients. Rainfall is moderately high. Waratah plants resist destruction by bushfires, a natural element of their habitat, by regenerating from the rootstock. Flowering recommences two years after a moderate fire.

The Waratah is a spectacular garden subject in suitable soil and climate; it flowers prolifically and tends to be long-lived. The Waratah occurs naturally in at least ten national parks in the geological formation, know as the Sydney Basin. Brisbane Water, Dharug and Macquarie Pass National Parks are among the areas where this species is conserved. Waratahs are cultivated north of Sydney and in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria. They are grown in Israel, New Zealand and Hawaii for the cut flower trade. It was introduced to England in 1789 but cannot survive English winters out of doors except in the south-west coastal regions, and it rarely flowers in glasshouses. It is also cultivated in California.

Enjoy your week!

BACH ON A SATURDAY NIGHT

“If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music.” - Gustav Mahler

Tonight I feel I need to just listen to Bach and then have a long sleep. Glen Gould playing the Prelude from English Suite no 5 is just right.

A MATTER OF TASTE

“Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good.” - Joe Paterno

I suppose it would be remiss of me not to mention on this “Food Friday”, the finals of the Australian MasterChef TV program. Although I do not watch the show, it is very hard to escape the publicity it generates. Last night saw the elimination of a Melbourne contender and it is now a battle between the last two remaining contestants, NSW mother-of-three, Julie Godwin against Po Ling Yeow, an Adelaide artist. Apparently 2.36 million viewers tuned into the show last night, giving Channel 10 a ratings buzz. This is the fourth consecutive episode where MasterChef has won the ratings battle with competing channels.

The moral of the story is that food-related content sells. It sells on TV, in bookshops, on radio, in newspapers and magazines, on the internet. Food is such an integral part of our culture and of our life that it is an inescapable component of our existence. People apparently not only enjoy eating food, they also like to read about it, watch it being prepared, listen to people talking about it. We are all willing to experiment, try out new recipes, taste new dishes and tempt our jaded palates with new and thrilling combinations of ingredients.

The plethora of cooking programs on TV is matched by the countless cookbooks that are published every day, it seems. It is not by chance then, that the Australian MasterChef challenge centres around the contestants cooking recipes they would love to include in the first cookbook they will have published after their victory… Do you detect a marketing spin-off, here? Could this lead perhaps to a future TV cooking program where the winning contestant will continue the success generated by the publicity around the program?

I occasionally watch as a podcast the cooking program “The Cook and the Chef”, with Maggie Beer and Simon Bryant respectively. This program for the most part makes me cringe. I find the chef revolting as he must touch everything with his fingers, even when he doesn’t need to. His palpatory adventures apparently give him a high. The absolute revulsion is to see him eat the cooked food with his fingers (often getting burnt in the process, or having goo running down his wrists as he gulps down the food he tastes). I was expecting him to eat soup with his fingers in one of the episodes. I find most of the recipes he gives uninspiring and his manner is annoying, his mannerisms irritating. I guess you can say I am not a Simon Bryant fan.

Maggie Beer, as the cook, is much more sensible, although her association with the chef is contaminating her gentility! She used not to touch ingredients and food, but lately she is getting as bad as Simon. Maggie’s recipes tend to be more appealing and they do not depend so much on the effect a chef strives for. Lately I have gone off the program in a major way and will not watch it in the future, I think (for the reasons stated above, but mainly the disgusting handling of everything and the non-washing of hands – I haven’t seen them wash their hands once!).

I have blogged before about TV chefs, so I’ll stop myself promptly here. My palate has become quite jaded and I will not stomach many more of these programs or swallow any more of these unpalatable celebrity chefs. I like good food (increasingly of late, the simpler the food the better; the fresher it is of course, the more appealing I find it), but my life doesn’t revolve around it and gastronomic indulgences are not my style. In terms of your own taste, bon appétit to you if TV cooking is your thing!

TO FLIRT OR NOT TO FLIRT?

“If you're a gifted flirt, talking about the price of eggs will do as well as any other subject.” - Mignon McLaughlin

I had an extremely busy day today, with a workshop that involved staff from all of our campuses that are visiting Melbourne for two days in order to resolve some issues and plan ahead for the next semester. It was an intense day with much happening, presentations, discussions, work groups, activities and then dinner out for about 40 people. This dinner provided a good opportunity to relax and to talk with colleagues on a social level rather than a professional one. These social activities are a good way to build the teams and to relate to people that one works with.

Dinner was at Max’s restaurant in Hardware Lane in the City. This is a great restaurant with a good menu and wine list, reasonably priced and with great service. Although the food is down to earth, simple and not adventurous, it is done well and with style. We were served very quickly considering there 40 or so of us and we all enjoyed it immensely.

Another reason for the dinner was that we were saying farewell to a member of staff who is leaving our organisation and going back home to the USA. He has been with us for three years and as his contract is up (and his family wants to go back home) he thought it best to go back. He was an excellent professional and a good co-worker and he will be missed.

We gave him a couple of Australian art pieces as a farewell gift and we had the regulation speeches. In his speech he said how much he enjoyed living in Australia and how he would miss the place. One thing he said he would miss a lot would be the “flirting”. He said that a lot of the innocent flirting that went on in the workplace in Australia would lead to serious trouble in the USA and possibly people could get sued. That is so sad…

Flirting if done well is such fun. Max O'Rell said, “flirtation in attention without intention” and this is so true. It is a mark of high civilisation and the playfulness that is implicit in it is harmless. As I said, it must be done delicately and there is an element of innocent humour and good natured fun that underlies it (especially so in the workplace). Now to be sued for that, is completely crazy, in my opinion.

flirt |flərt| verb
1 [ intrans. ] Behave as though attracted to or trying to attract someone, but for amusement rather than with serious intentions: It amused him to flirt with her.
• ( flirt with) Experiment with or show a superficial interest in (an idea, activity, or movement) without committing oneself to it seriously: A painter who had flirted briefly with Cubism.
• ( flirt with) Deliberately expose oneself to (danger or difficulty): The need of some individuals to flirt with death.
2 [ trans. ] (of a bird) Wave or open and shut (its wings or tail) with a quick flicking motion.
• [ intrans. ] Move back and forth with a flicking or fluttering motion: The lark was flirting around the site.
noun
A person who habitually flirts.

DERIVATIVES
flirtation |-ˈtā sh ən| noun
flirtatious |-ˈtā sh əs| adjective
flirtatiously |-ˈtā sh əslē| adverb
flirtatiousness |-ˈtā sh əsnəs| noun
flirty |ˈflərdi| ( flirtier |ˈflərdiər|, flirtiest |ˈflərdi1st|).

ORIGIN mid 16th century: Apparently symbolic, the elements fl- and -irt both suggesting sudden movement; compare with flick and spurt . The original verb senses were [give someone a sharp blow] and [sneer at]; the earliest noun senses were [joke, gibe] and [flighty girl] (defined by Dr. Johnson as [a pert young hussey] ), with a notion originally of cheeky behaviour, later of playfully amorous behaviour.

Jacqui BB hosts Word Thursday

MOONTIME

“Time is the fire in which we burn.” - Delmore Schwartz

Time is an elastic concept. It’s made of mist and moonbeams, sunrays and shadows. Time crawls, time flies, time cheats us and rewards us. Time mocks us and is deadly serious in its dealings with us. Time alters our perspectives, shifts our judgment, changes our emotions and wreaks havoc with the way that we view the world. Time laughs with us, and at us. It can dry our tears or evince a flood of them where there was only pure joy just before.

This poem was written more than twenty years ago, when times were different for me and when the end of the world threatened to engulf me. Tears, pain, agony were mine then, and now I can barely remember the depths of the despair that I felt; the reminder being these words scratched on an old notebook. Time heals the wounds of the heart and dulls the pain of our soul. Our mind conspires with it and what was madness then, is only a sweet nostalgia now.

Nocturne in G Minor

In the serenity of sweet night
Which glides on softest skin like a caress,
I seek you still…
And when the moonlight calls out to me,
To bathe in its beams anew,
I cannot bear it, I must remember you.

But how can I find you?
How can I run to meet you
Now that my heart has lost its compass,
Now that there are no signs from you?
I seek you still…
And reason screams, and warns against it!
I must not repeat the same mistakes it tells me.

And yet, I search for you,
Your image faint and delicate,
Wandering like a lone firefly
In the dark fields of my mind.
I seek you still…
How can I not remember you,
How can I not desire you more than ever?

You left, and I promised I’d forget you.
I said it would be hard, but I would do it
Even if I had to reforge myself in steel.
And yet, each evening of the full moon
When that shining orb of ours rises,
It’s then that I miss you most.
I fail to keep my promises and I admit,
I love you even now,
I remember you evermore,
I seek you still…

Jacqui BB hosts poetry Wednesday

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.

MOVIE MONDAY - THE WILD BUNCH

“There is a great streak of violence in every human being. If it is not channeled and understood, it will break out in war or in madness.” - Sam Peckinpah

At the weekend we watched one of those Hollywood genre films that made Hollywood what it is, for better or worse. It was rather nostalgic watching it and seeing some of the actors that have long since passed away, such as William Holden Robert Ryan, Edmond O’Brien, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson and one of the old school who has good genes and is still hanging on at 92 years, Ernest Borgnine. The film was Sam Peckinpah’s Western of 1969, “The Wild Bunch”. The film was very violent as far as Westerns go, but I guess it had to cater to late 1960s tastes (remember the violence in “Bonnie and Clyde”?).

Pike Bishop (Holden) and his ageing gang of outlaws have staged a daring train robbery at Starbuck, South Texas in the first decade of the 20th century. The robbery goes awry and the gang head south across the Rio Grande and into Mexico. They are being pursued by Deke Thornton (Ryan, a former partner of Pike’s who doesn’t want to go back to jail and for whom killing the bunch is the one unpleasant means of securing his freedom) and his men, made up of bounty hunters. They had been hired by the railroad to stop Bishop and his gang from robbing the rail depot and now have 30 days to track them down and kill them. Bishop and his men plan to spend only a short time in Mexico and then cross back into Texas to continue their banditry. However, a violent Mexican generalissimo who wants them to rob a U.S. train carrying arms persuades them to stick around and reap the $10,000 in gold. They carry out the robbery successfully, but it leads to a terrifying final confrontation.

The film is one of the last big Westerns to come out of Hollywood seeing how the genre had its heyday in the 40s, 50s and early 60s. In the 70s, the traditional Western gave its place to the offbeat one and in a way, the plot of “The Wild Bunch” is an indication of the end of an era in Hollywood. The myth created by John Wayne as the “Good Cowboy”, the shining angel-like presence of Shane, the heroism of Gary Cooper in “High Noon” are all negated by the immorality and gross realism depicted in this demythologising movie. Peckinpah takes every opportunity to “tell it like it was” and the bloody, violent images assault the senses of the viewer with their grimness. One of the most disturbing images for me was in the opening sequences of the film with some children torturing scorpions and ants. This sets the scene for the horrors that follow and prepares the viewer for the bloodbath of the ending.

The movie is acted superbly and the direction is masterly. Cinematography is wonderful and the colours fresh and brilliant (OK, the blood was a bit too red!). The scenes in Mexico are extremely authentic and the poetry of some of the faces Peckinpah shows us is quite amazing. In fact the Mexicans in the background observing the action and who become unwittingly involved are almost like a silent Greek chorus in a tragedy.

The film is loved and hated equally vehemently, and personally I enjoyed seeing it, although violence for its own sake, gratuitous violence is abhorrent. There was a similar controversy about Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ”. We also watched this recently and I must admit that I felt that the violence in the Gibson film was too much and detracted from the plot. Too much violence loses its power and in the case of “The Passion”, the gratuitous violence made one believe that the film was a vehicle for sadists rather than as a demonstration of man’s inhumanity to man and the condemnation of an innocent to a terrible death. Oddly, I did not have the same feeling with “The Wild Bunch”, although I admit that the faint-hearted would find this film challenging.

Peckinpah depicts violence graphically in his movies and with the release of “The Wild Bunch”, easily the most violent Western made and one of the most violent movies of all time, he earned his nickname “Bloody Sam”. A drunk, a coke addict, a sentimental romantic, possibly schizophrenic, a little man with a big chip on his shoulders, Peckinpah was said to be many things. By the end of the 1970s, he disappeared into obscurity; yet after he died, he began to re-emerge as an influential director who left a rich cinematic legacy (“Straw Dogs”, “The Osterman Weekend”, “The Ballad of Cable Hogue”, “The Getaway” and many more).

Have you seen this film? What did you think?

ART SUNDAY - TURNER AND THE END OF AN ERA

“As contraries are known by contraries, so is the delight of presence best known by the torments of absence.” - Alcibiades

For my last Art Sunday blog on Yahoo 360, a painting by J.M.W. Turner, “The Fighting Temeraire” of 1838. It is displayed in the National Gallery in London, and shows the last ship from Admiral Nelson’s force at Trafalgar. It rises ghost-like, but still majestic, on the left of the canvas, and is shown being towed towards its final berth in East London in 1838 to be broken up for scrap. It is being passed by a steamboat. The painting shows the end of the sailing era and the beginning of the steam era. The old ship rises ethereally and elegantly above the water on a background of mist and blue sky, while the steamboat, dark and solid, hugs the water and pollutes the air above it with clouds of smoke. One technology is coming to an end, and another is beginning. The painting illustrates change, the only constant thing in this world.

On the right, close to the horizon is the sun, which may be setting or may be rising, depending on which boat you are travelling on. High up on the left is the moon, waxing or waning, once again depending on your perspective. One may look back or forward, may embrace change and make the best of it, or else may stick with things that have passed and be, in time, an amusing anachronism.

There is a strong sense of nostalgia and loss in the painting. Turner is thought to have represented here the decline of Britain’s naval power, so for him it is definitely a waning moon above the sunset and hence the ethereal sailing ship rising wraith-like above the waters, evoking the glorious past. Turner was in his sixties when he painted this canvas and his mastery of the medium and the artistry of colour usage is manifest. Sea and sky are rendered in paint laid on thickly and the essence of the light of the sun’s rays striking the clouds is beautifully done. The ship's rigging is meticulously painted, by contrast, in thinner and carefully applied colour.

When this painting was first exhibited, a London reviewer by the name of William Makepeace Thackeray wrote the following about Turner’s painting: “It is absurd to grow so politically enthusiastic about a four foot canvas, representing a ship, a steamer, a river and a sunset. But herein lies the power of the great artist. He makes you see and think of a great deal more than the object before you; he knows how to soothe or intoxicate, to fire or depress, by a few notes, or forms, or colours, of which we cannot trace the effects to the source, but acknowledge the power.”

Goodbye to everyone on Yahoo 360, see you at Google’s blogger, where I can be found here:

http://nicholasjv.blogspot.com/

“Don’t be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetime, is certain for those who are friends.” - Richard Bach

TIME FOR GOODBYES

“Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.” - Dr. Seuss

The days of Yahoo are numbered. Every time I log in, I get the message that the countdown is nearing time zero when it will be shut down. It’s sad, as it was here that I became part of a virtual community where I met some wonderful people and had some great conversations. I exercised my mind, I was moved, I was entertained, laughed, shed a tear or two, made a few good friends. Time passes, alters everything, changes us. Nothing stays the same, nothings is so good it lasts forever. All this that we had at Yahoo was a special moment in time and our memories are made of such moments. We enjoyed it while it lasted, now we move on.

You can find me continuing to blog at:

http://nicholasjv.blogspot.com/

Some of my friends from Yahoo have already migrated there, I hope to see you there too. I dedicate this song to all my friends and acquaintances here at Yahoo 360. It’s been great!



Time
Alan Parsons Project

Time,
Flowing like a river,
Time,
Beckoning me.
Who knows when we shall meet again, if ever
But time, keeps flowing like a river, to the sea.
Goodbye my love, maybe for forever.
Goodbye my love, the tide waits for me.
Who knows when we shall meet again, if ever.

But time, keeps flowing like a river...
On and on, to the sea, to the sea...
Till its gone forever
Gone forever
Gone forever
Ah, forever!

Goodbye my friend, maybe for forever?
Goodbye my friend,
Who knows when we shall meet again.
The stars wait for me.
Who knows when we shall meet again, if ever.
But time, keeps flowing like a river
To the sea, to the sea
Till its gone forever
Gone forever
Gone forever
Ah! Forever more!
Forever more!
Forever more!

RECIPE BOOKS

“I refuse to believe that trading recipes is silly. Tuna fish casserole is at least as real as corporate stock.” - Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

Do you own a recipe book? I don’t mean the printed variety, rather, the good old-fashioned handwritten one, where favourite recipes have been added gradually and lovingly. A recipe book with a personal touch. One perhaps that you have inherited from your mother or grandmother? A beloved aunt, maybe? Surely everyone must have one of those kinds of recipe books. Once upon a time of course they were the only recipe books around and they included recipes not only for food, but also recipes for medicines and beauty aids, cosmetics and make-up.

Recipes and recipe books were the glue that bound social networking within families in the past. The circulation of recipes and collections of them in books lubricated the wheels of friendship and united families. They were the means whereby relationships were cemented and maintained the connections between the generations. How many old family recipes are still jealously guarded today lest an outsider get hold of them? Indeed, some of these old recipes still form the basis of many a large and profitable business, for example, Tabasco sauce…

With the advent of printing, recipe books became one of the staples of the industry, together with bibles and other religious books. People’s fascination with food and the way to prepare it assured these early printers of a steady market for their wares. Rather than the plethora of cookbooks that we see today, in the past they were few and famous. Mrs Beeton, for example, published her renowned one in 1861: “The Book of Household Management Comprising information for the Mistress, Housekeeper, Cook, Kitchen-Maid, Butler, Footman, Coachman, Valet, Upper and Under House-Maids, Lady’s-Maid, Maid-of-all-Work, Laundry-Maid, Nurse and Nurse-Maid, Monthly Wet and Sick Nurses, etc. etc.—also Sanitary, Medical, & Legal Memoranda: with a History of the Origin, Properties, and Uses of all Things Connected with Home Life and Comfort.”

As over 900 of the 1,112 pages of the Beeton book, contained recipes, the popular name for the volume is Mrs Beeton's Cookbook. Most of the recipes were illustrated with coloured engravings, and it was the first book to show recipes in the format that is still used today. Many of the recipes were plagiarised from earlier writers, but this was common practice and the Beetons never claimed that the book's contents were original. After all, we all do this with recipes and each cook will add his or her own personal touch.

Older cookbooks are delightful to read as they are very quaint and sometimes use ingredients that are quite outlandish or outright bizarre. Here is a recipe from Anne Fanshawe’s recipe book of about 1664. It is believed to be the first recipe for ice cream in English:

“To make Icy Cream

Take three pints of the best cream, boyle it with a blade of Mace, or else perfume it with orang flowerwater or Ambergreece, sweeten the cream with sugar, let it stand till it is Quite cold, then put it into Boxes, either of Silver or tinn, then take Ice chopped into small peeces and putt it into a tub and set the Boxes in the ice covering them all over, and let them stand in the Ice two hours, and the Cream Will come to be Ice in the Boxes, then turne them out into a salver with some of the same Seasoned Cream, so serve it up at the Table.”

What is the oldest recipe you have? Where did you find, who gave it to you? Is it a good one?

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.” - Mark Twain
Rapa Nui is the indigenous name of Easter Island, a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the most southeastern point of the Polynesian triangle. It is a special territory of Chile annexed in 1888. Easter Island is most famous for its monumental statues, called moai created by the Rapanui people. It is a world heritage site with much of the island protected within the Rapa Nui National Park. An interesting drug which is currently in the news is rapamycin (also called sirolimus). It is an immunosuppressant drug that is used to prevent rejection in organ transplantation (especially useful in kidney transplants).

Rapamycin is a macrolide, drug that was found to be a product of the bacterium Streptomyces hygroscopicus in a soil sample from Easter Island (Rapa Nui, hence the name. The drug was first used as an antifungal antibiotic. However, this use was stopped when it was discovered that it had very potent immunosuppressive and anti-proliferative properties. That is it prevents the rejection of transplanted tissue and also it can reduce the growth of cancers.

A study was published yesterday as a letter to the prestigious journal Nature and it indicates that rapamycin can prolong the life of mice, and I quote from the article:

“…rapamycin fed to mice beginning at 270 days of age also increased survival in both males and females, based on an interim analysis conducted near the median survival point. Rapamycin may extend lifespan by postponing death from cancer, by retarding mechanisms of ageing, or both.”

The increase in lifespan is up to 38% in mice. If this increase in lifespan were translated to human years, it might allow humans to easily live more than a hundred years. The elusive youth serum has been found? The experimental data is certainly highly suggestive, but it may well be more than 5-10 years before we see it on the pharmacy shelves. The interest in its anti-ageing effects may speed up research, there is big money in this.

Other drugs may be used as agents for extending life. For example, resveratrol isolated from grape pips (yes, you should eat them together with the grapes!), which has also prolonged life in lab mice. Resveratrol is now a common ingredient in vitamin supplements and heath food store merchandise. Other research looks at identifying what precisely cause some animals to live longer than others. It appears that bats, for example, live longer because of the way their proteins are constructed.

Human beings have been searching for the “fountain of youth”, the “philosopher’s stone”, the “aqua vitae”, the “elixir of youth” for thousands of years. Every culture has legends about perpetual youth and how to attain it. It is a reaction against our mortality, against the ravages of age that manifest themselves all too soon. It is a psychological weapon against the host of terrible disease that become so very much more common the older we get. The Fountain of Youth is the legendary spring that reputedly restores youth in anyone who drinks of its waters. Florida was described as its location and the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, Puerto Rico's first Governor, is associated with its search. He was searching for the Fountain of Youth when he travelled to Florida, which he thought to be an island. He explored Florida in 1513 but never found the elusive fountain.

The scientists investigating Rapamycin may be like Ponce de Léon. Rapamycin can have serious side effects, because of its immune suppressant properties. Long term consumption can make users susceptible to opportunistic infections. It has also been linked to hyperlipidaemia (high levels of triglycerides in the blood), which can lead to heart disease. It's unclear whether these problems would counteract any longevity benefit that rapamycin might provide in humans.

Interesting, considering what may lie around the corner. A prolongation of life, a reduction in cancer incidence, a healthier old age. At the same time, we must learn to accept the idea of senescence, of death, of our own mortality…

senescence |səˈnesəns| noun
Biology: The condition or process of deterioration with age.
• loss of a cell's power of division and growth.
DERIVATIVES
senescent |səˈnɛsnt| adjective
ORIGIN: Latin, senex ‘old man.’

Jacqui BB hosts Word Thursday

LOSS AND REGRETS

“We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” - Kenji Miyazawa

We often hear that one does not appreciate what one has until one loses it. It is certainly true and perhaps it does not apply anywhere more aptly than in the realm of relationships. Taking people for granted is something that is too commonplace. Assuming that the person who loves us will always be there and take anything we dish out has been the undoing of many a relationship. Waking up one morning and finding that special person gone brings home the awful meaning of that old saw: You don’t appreciate what you have until you lose it…

Celebration

I lit the chandelier in the drawing room
And turned the music on, loud.
I feign a cool indifference
As I roam in empty rooms,
Singing sotto voce now and then,
So that I hear a voice in the desert.

I look at an old photograph of yours
And drink drop by drop your wine –
How bitter-sweet it tastes.
My voice breaks and is shattered
By a sob, unexpected, loud.
Each teardrop that falls, is pleading
“Come back, don’t torture me any longer…”

The light burns bright in shining crystal
While within me darkness stifles me.
The music plays, loud, and the house is filled
But my soul won’t hear it, it cannot.
I think of you, I see you, I hear you
But my empty hand won’t be fooled
And clutches emptiness as my fingers grip
A handful of nothing, nowhere, never.

Jacqui BB hosts Poetry Wednesday

TANABATA & SHINTO

“Every man prefers belief to the exercise of judgment.” - Seneca

The Hoshi Matsuri is a Shinto festival celebrated in Japan today. It commemorates the two Tanabata lovers who were separated by a raging river. Magpies took pity on them and formed a living feathered bridge across which the two lovers were reunited. The lovers were fixed in the firmanent as stars (Cowherd Star [Altair] and Weaver Star [Vega]), but unfortunately, still separated by the Milky Way. They get together once every year on the seventh day of the seventh month. Japanese families tie samples of their children’s handwriting to bamboo poles and offer them to the lovers in hope of improving their children’s script. This has evolved from an ancient Chinese myth to which the following Chinese poem alludes:

The Seventh Night of the Seventh Month
To “Magpie Bridge”

Sparse clouds and faintly glowing moon–
Where can the bridge be built?
Surely the magpies are many and the crows few.
Between the mortals a nightly sharing of the net curtains,
But alas! How quickly does wedded bliss grow cold.
For a whole year there is the grief of separation,
And now in early autumn there is the glad reunion.
All through this night the two stars dread the coming of dawn
And I ask: “Had they not been separated by the Milky Way,
How could they have felt the full joy of their reunion?”

Hsü Tsuan-Tsêng (17th century AD)

Shinto is an ancient Japanese religion, which is believed to have started at about 500 BCE (some say even earlier). It was originally an amorphous mix of nature worship, fertility cults, divination techniques, hero worship, and shamanism. Its name was derived from the Chinese words “shin tao” (The Way of the Gods) in the 8th Century CE. Shinto has no real founder, no written scriptures, no body of religious law, and only a very loosely-organized priesthood.

Many texts are valued in the Shinto religion. Most date from the 8th century CE, for example, the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters), which is the the mythological history of Japan. The Gods of Shinto, which is a polytheistic religion, are said to have created Japan as their image of paradise on Earth, and placed the emperor as its true ruler. The Emperor is a direct descendant of Amaterazu, the Goddess of the Sun.

Other famous Shinto texts are the Rokkokushi (Six National Histories), the Shoku Nihongi or Nihon Shoki (Continuing Chronicles of Japan) and the Jinno Shotiki (a study of Shinto and Japanese politics and history), which was written in the 14th century

Shinto recognises many sacred places: Mountains, springs, forests, etc. Shrines are built in these places and each shrine is dedicated to a specific Kami who has a divine personality and responds to sincere prayers of the faithful. When entering a shrine, one passes through a Tori, a special gateway for the Gods. It marks the demarcation between the finite world and the infinite world of the Gods. Believers respect animals as messengers of the Gods. A pair of statues of “Koma-inu” (guard dogs) face each other within the temple grounds.

In the past, believers practiced “misogi”, the washing of their bodies in a river near the shrine. In recent years they only wash their hands and wash out their mouths in a washbasin provided within the shrine grounds. Shrine ceremonies, which include cleansing, offerings, prayers, and dances are directed to the Kami.

Kagura are ritual dances accompanied by ancient musical instruments. The dances are performed by skilled and trained dancers. They consist of young virgin girls, a group of men, or a single man. Mamori are charms worn as an aid in healing and protection. There come in many different forms for various purposes. An altar, the "Kami-dana" (Shelf of Gods), is given a central place in many homes.

Seasonal celebrations are held at spring planting, fall harvest, and special anniversaries of the history of a shrine or of a local patron spirit. A country-wide National Founding Day is held on February 11th of each year. Other festivals include: January 1st – 3rd Oshogatsu (New Year); March 3rd Ohinamatsuri (Girls' festival); May 5th Tango no Sekku (Boys' festival); and July 7th Hoshi Matsuri (Star festival). Followers are expected to visit Shinto shrines at the times of various life passages. For example, the “Three-five-seven matsuri” involves a blessing by the shrine Priest of girls aged 3 and 7 and boys aged 5 and is held on November 15th.

Many followers are involved in the "offer a meal movement." in which each individual bypasses a breakfast (or another meal) once per month and donates the money saved to their religious organisation for international relief and similar activity.

Origami ("Paper of the spirits"): This is a Japanese folk art in which paper is folded into beautiful shapes. They are often seen around Shinto shrines. Out of respect for the tree spirit that gave its life to make the paper, origami paper is never cut.

Shinto is different to most religions because of a few reasons:

• It is polytheistic, believing in several gods.
• It has very little theology
• It practices no congregational worship.

One of the most recognised Shinto arts is calligraphy, the types of paper, styles of writing, inks and utensils and methods of pressures on the paper are all variables that add beauty and style to this very ancient art.

SUNDAY MATINEE & ROMAN HISTORY

“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.” - G.K. Chesterton

I had a head cold over the weekend and it was a good excuse to stay in and get some work done. Dosing myself on medication so the symptoms abated, I was able to get most of the last work on my book finalised. It is quite a big project and the last part of it is related to illustrations, photographs and diagrams, graphs and charts, about 40 per chapter, at 24 chapters that’s close to about 1000 illustrations. Not a mean feat working through and ensuring that they are all exactly what is required, of adequate resolution, correctly labeled and relevantly placed within the text. Nevertheless, they’re all done and now the completed manuscript will go off to the publishers.

Despite the work, we had some time to relax also and see a movie or two. One of them was an old film, Henry Hathaway’s 1957 “Legend of the Lost” starring a famous trio: John Wayne, Sophia Loren and Rossano Brazzi. This was a real adventure story, a kind of toned down precursor of the Indiana Jones movies. The core of the movie, however, was more serious with a moral, and a love story thrown in for good measure. It was slightly reminiscent of Somerset Maugham’s short story “Rain” in its tale of sin and redemption.

The plot centres on three people and the relationships amongst them. Paul Bonnard (Rossano Brazzi) arrives in Timbuktu in search of a guide to escort him into the Sahara desert. American Joe January (John Wayne) reluctantly takes the job despite misgivings about Bonnard’s undisclosed plans. Dita (Sophia Loren), a prostitute who has been deeply moved by Bonnard’s spiritual nature after a long conversation she has with him, follows the two men into the desert. Once in the Sahara, Bonnard reveals his plans. He has a letter from his father who wrote to him about a lost city in the desert where there is hidden a fabulous treasure. After some days trekking through the sands, the trio arrives in the ruins of a Roman city, where Bonnard hopes to discover the legacy of his father. What Bonnard finds alters him in unexpected ways, with tragic results.

Once you get over the observation that there is almost no chemistry between the leads, John Wayne and Sophia Loren, the movie was fun and reminded me of the sort of movies I used to watch on TV as a child. There was quite a lot of colour and action, adventure and romance (in the sense of a feeling of mystery, excitement, and remoteness from everyday life) and the ruined city was fantastic. The ruined city is referred to as “Timgad” in the film. This is a Holywoodian geographical blooper as the distance from Timbuktu (in Mali) to Timgad (in Algeria) is about 3,500 km – definitely not possible given the time course of the trek depicted in the film.

Timgad was the ancient Roman city of Thamugadi on the high plateau north of the Aurès Mountains in northeastern Algeria, which offers the most thoroughly excavated and one of the most well-preserved Roman remains in North Africa. Thamugadi, founded by the emperor Trajan in AD 100, proved to be of strategic importance in the defence of Numidia. Its long prosperity was derived from the fertility of the surrounding territory. In the late 4th century it became the seat of the bishop Optatus, one of the most ardent supporters of Donatism, a heretical Christian movement, and the stronghold was sacked by Berbers in the early 6th century, toward the end of the Vandal supremacy in Africa.

The 10,000–15,000 inhabitants of Thamugadi lived in a classic Roman type of city, quasi-military in appearance, with all streets intersecting at right angles. That life there was comfortable is evidenced by the remains of a forum, a public library (4th century AD), a theatre capable of holding about 4,000 people, and an exceptionally large number of public baths.

This of course is at variance with the directions given to Bonnard by his father, as the city he described was Ophir, a lost city mentioned in the Bible. This was a mythical place, famous for its wealth. King Solomon is supposed to have received a cargo of gold, silver, sandalwood, precious stones, ivory, apes and peacocks from Ophir, every three years. Many Egyptian pharaohs reported sending naval expeditions to Punt (Somaliland) for monkeys, ivory, frankincense, and slaves lends credence to an East African site. On the other hand, the Jewish historian Josephus and St. Jerome evidently understood that India was the location of Ophir. The Hebrew words for the products of Ophir may be derived from Indian languages; furthermore, sandalwood and peacocks are commonly found in India, whereas, at least in modern times, they do not exist in East Africa.

The real location where the was shot film is neither Timgad, nor Ophir! It is Leptis Magna in Libya. This is a magnificent ancient site, the largest city of the ancient region of Tripolitania. It is located 100 km southeast of Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast of Libya. Lying 3 km east of what is now Al-Khums. Leptis Magna contains some of the world’s finest remains of Roman architecture. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982. The city was founded as early as the 7th century BC by Phoenicians, it was later settled by Carthaginians, probably at the end of the 6th century BC. Its natural harbour at the mouth of the Wadi Labdah contributed to the city's growth as a major Mediterranean and trans-Saharan trade centre, and it also became a market for agricultural production in the fertile coastland region.

Near the conclusion of the Second Punic War, it passed in 202 BC to Masinissa's Numidian kingdom, from which it broke away in 111 BC to become an ally of Rome. Through the 1st century AD, however, it retained several of its Punic legal and cultural traditions, including its municipal constitution and the official use of the Punic language. The Roman emperor Trajan (reigned AD 98–117) designated Leptis a colonia (community with full rights of citizenship). The emperor Septimius Severus (AD 193–211), who was born at Leptis, conferred upon it the jus Italicum (legal freedom from property and land taxes) and became a great patron of the city. Under his direction an ambitious building program was initiated, and the harbour, which had been artificially enlarged in the 1st century AD, was improved again. Over the following centuries, however, Leptis began to decline because of the increasing insecurity of the frontiers, culminating in a disastrous incursion in 363, and the growing economic difficulties of the Roman Empire. After the Arab conquest of 642, the status of Leptis as an urban centre effectively ceased, and it fell into ruin.

So, there you go a B grade movie got me to review my ancient Roman history and to find out something more about Leptis Magna and Timgad.
Enjoy your week!