HOROSCOPY, AGAIN

“A physician without a knowledge of Astrology has no right to call himself a physician.” -
Hippocrates

The stars, the moon (in June), high up on Mars, poetry finds words to lay bare our innermost and most hidden thoughts, emotions. Gazing up on the night sky with wonder, we try to fathom secrets of our existence, and as we gaze we wonder whether up there revolving around another distant star, is there someone gazing up at ours? Writing poetry perhaps?

Casting Horoscopes

Trine Jupiter and square Mars,
The moon in opposition
While Mercury yet again is retrograde.
I gaze up counting all the stars,
Trying to define my position,
While searching for your hand, so much afraid.

Sextile Jupiter and Saturn,
Gemini in the eleventh house,
Aquarius on the ascendant.
You left me once, now it’s my turn,
Trying my love for you to douse,
Ignoring all the pains attendant.

The sun sets, Venus will follow
The zodiac rotates, and high up in the sky,
Cybele reflects in the moon’s shade.
My heart is empty, feels so hollow,
I cast the die, I try to push thoughts of you by,
But time reminds me of a fate I can’t evade.

The sky is dark,
My thoughts so stark;
My hand still languishes lonely,
Stars for my company, only.
I cast you far away,
The moon to keep at bay
My maddening, whirling thoughts of you.
I read my horoscope and find in it a taunting déjà vu.

LITERARY TIDBITS

“The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean; not to affect your reader, but to affect him precisely as you wish.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

I am in the middle of reading a novel by Peter Elbling called “The Foodtaster” and first published in 2002. Peter Elbling is an actor and screenwriter (he is one of the screenwriters of “Honey, I Blew Up the Kid” and has been in many TV shows). The novel is set in Renaissance Italy and is the tale of an Italian peasant, Ugo DiFonte. Supposedly, the book is the author’s translation of the diary of Ugo, which has fortuitously fallen into his hands. A common literary device these last few years…

Ugo is widowed young and finding himself back in his father’s house, with a baby daughter, he tries to make ends meet. By chance, he and his young daughter Miranda are snatched and taken to the estates of Duke Federico Basillione DiVincelli, the Duke of Corsoli. Ugo thinks life can't get any worse, until he is forced to replace the recently de-tongued royal food taster. Though this elevates his position considerably, it also places him in the midst of court intrigues that constantly endanger his life and his position.

An added complication is that Miranda is growing up into beautiful womanhood and needing Ugo’s protection from her suitors and her own desires. Miranda teaches Ugo how to read and write, and Ugo eventually writes his fantastic tale as a memoir. The novel is full of memorable meals, sex, intrigue, action and humour. The style is mostly picaresque and often reminiscent of a fairy tale (as told by Monty Python!), but there are touching moments, scenes that allow the author to lightly philosophise and enough colour and historical detail to keep the reader interested throughout.

Not for the faint-hearted, this novel is often earthy (or even bawdy, and in places reminiscent a little of Gargantua and Pantagruel), and has quite a lot of operatic situational tension. A touch of Rigoletto here and there keeps the readers on their toes. A good, light-hearted read, justifying its best-seller status in several countries.

Lady Day is the day when the church commemorates the feast of the Annunciation. It was on this day that the archangel Gabriel proclaimed to the Virgin that she would conceive and bear a son nine months later. His name would be Emmanuel.
Ave Maria, gratia plena
Dominus tecum:
Benedicta tu in mulieribus.

Hail Mary, full of grace
The Lord is with you:
Blessed are you amongst women.
Luke I:28

This is the fulfilment of the prophet Isaiah’s prophecy:
Ecce, virgo concipiet,
Et pariet filium
Et vocabitur nome ejus Emmanuel.
Butyrum et mel comedet,
Ut sciat reprobare malum,
Et eligere bonum.

Behold, a virgin shall conceive,
And bear a son
And he shall be called Emmanuel.
Fed on butter and honey,
He will grow to the age of refusing what is bad
Choosing what is good.
Isaiah VII:14-15

This day is also the National Day of Greece, commemorating the beginning of the struggle for the liberation of Greece in 1821, from nearly 400 years of Ottoman rule. The day is celebrated with especial brilliance in Greece, as it is a national holiday, as well as a great religious feast day. Although it falls in Lent, the fast is relaxed on this day and traditionally fish is eaten.

ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΠΟΛΛΑ ΣΤΟΥΣ ΕΟΡΤΑΖΟΝΤΕΣ
ΚΑΙ ΣΕ ΟΛΟΥΣ ΤΟΥΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΕΣ!

LET'S GET MARRIED!

"It is not from reason and prudence that people marry, but from inclination." - Samuel Johnson

Recently we have come to view relationships rather more liberally than the traditional model as espoused by church and society in most countries in the West for the past few centuries. Marriage in particular, has been seriously questioned and the traditional, monopolising role of the church in celebrating wedding ceremonies has been upstaged by other ways in which a couple may “tie the knot”. Ceremonies officiated by marriage celebrants in parks, homes, gardens, more exotic locations; ceremonies in town halls celebrated by mayors; ceremonies in all sorts of places carried out by all sorts of people.

However, even marriage as such is not as popular as it used to be and many people simply live together in a “de facto” relationship. The state recognizes such relationships and legally, they can be as binding as official marriages with each partner having the same rights as those in an “official” marriage. Gay relationships, couples separated by an enormous age gap and other unorthodox relationships also abound.

Many people also do not have a permanent relationship and choose to live alone. They opt for the casual encounter and eschew the commitment that a longer-term relationship entails. In fact for some people the idea of marriage or any permanent sort of relationship is absolute anathema. We live in an age where such casual encounters in both our public as well as private lives are becoming increasingly more common.

The increasing numbers of divorces seem to also contribute to the idea that marriage as an institution is having a tough time of it. Or is it? For Movie Monday today, a French film that explores these ideas and does so in a refreshing and humorous way. The movie is Eric Lartigau’s 2006 film, “Prête-moi Ta Main” (“I Do: How to Get Married and Stay Single”).

This sparkling comedy is just the thing for a night in, while you snuggle up to your significant other (or not!) and the rain falls outside. It concerns a confirmed bachelor who is besieged by women. Firstly his family: A widowed mother and his countless sisters and nieces. Then by his girlfriends (of the one-night stand variety). A bolt out of the blue is the decision by his family that it is high time he got married, seeing he is in his forties. Poor Luis (played wonderfully by Alain Chabat) is steamrollered into dating suitable matches (as arranged by his mother and sisters). He decides he has had enough and hires the charming Emma (Charlotte Gainsbourg) to pose as his girlfriend and intended wife-to-be for his family. All will go smoothly until the bride does not turn up at the ceremony and the heart-broken Luis will have found his peace of mind again, seeing his family will respect his heartbreak. Well that’s the plan, anyway…

The plot is as old as the hills, but it is well done and the performances are excellent. As a French farce, the contrivances are excessive and the characters stock and shallow. However, who cares? This is a feel-good bit of fluff that is played for laughs. As is the case with all comedies, however, even the most shallow ones, there is pointed social criticism aimed towards the mores of our times. An interesting subplot revolving around Emma’s adoption of a Brazilian child provides another more sobering dimension to the plot and the escalating statistics that show that many women in the West now are having great problems conceiving shows us that the family as we think of it may need serious reconsideration in the very near future.

ART SUNDAY - PYSANKY

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.” -
Pope John Paul II

Happy Easter to those of you celebrating this holiday on this Sunday!

The day has been a glorious one here in Melbourne and many people have been out celebrating, on vacation as well as in churches. We are in a strange season this time of the year – traces of summer with heat and bright sunlight during the day, but cool nights and even a little dew in the morning.

Easter has been traditionally a spring and fertility holiday that was syncretised with the resurrection of Christ when Chrsitiniaty overtook the pagan religions of Europe. Eggs are associated with springtime because the rooster is considered the herald of the sun and because egg production increases in springtime. Thus, from ancient time decorated eggs were believed to help the cycle of the seasons and to bring on spring and the new growth of animals and crops; the potential to bring fertility was enhanced by the symbols.

Ukrainian decorated eggs or pysanky, are world famous for the richness of the designs and colours. The designs drawn on the egg include ears of wheat, grapes, rakes, cross-hatchings symbolizing the plowed field, pictures of chicks, rams and other farm animals, and, of course, pictures of the sun. Decorated eggs were buried in fields to transfer their fecundity productiveness to the earth and in houses to protect the home. Archaeological excavations of these buried eggs tell us how ancient pysanky are. When Christianity came to Ukraine, pysanky acquired a Christian meaning. They became Easter eggs. Old symbols were reinterpreted in the Christian context. Thus, representations of the sun, the four-spoked solar wheel, for example, came to represent the cross. New symbols were added and pictures of churches were drawn on eggs, as were the first letters of the words “Christ is risen”.

Pysanka comes from the word "to write" - pysaty. Making Easter Eggs in Ukraine dates back to thousands of years. Many Slavic groups paint eggs with their own interpretations. The writing of Easter eggs was suppressed by the Soviets in the past century and many beautifully decorated eggs were destroyed in museum. Throughout Ukraine the pysanka has enjoyed a resurgence as with other customs. Every region decorates eggs in their own distinctive style and meaning.

Another form of the pysanky which is also very common at Easter time are the krashanky. It comes from the verb - krasyty - to color, to dye. The eggs are dyed a one single color. Years ago Ukrainians used various varieties of plant material to color the eggs. A very popular method even now is to save onions skins for any months and then boil them in water. The eggs are dropped in later, boiled and turn out various shades of brown.

Symbols of Easter Eggs can be grouped into 6 main categories which are: 1) solar symbols, 2) bezkonechnyk - never ending lines, 3) plant symbols, 4) animal symbols, 5) geometric symbols and 6) Christian symbols. When Ukrainians accepted Christianity in 988 AD, the eight-pointed star, the then sign of a sungod, became a symbol of Christ. Dots depict stars in the heavens, and also recall Mary's tears when a legend tells, Pilate refused her plea for mercy. Deer and other animals of the Carpathian Mountains signify prosperity. Waves and ribbons circling an egg, without beginning or end suggest eternity. Originally pysanky symbolized the release of the earth from the shackles of winter and the coming of spring with its promise of new hope, new life, health and prosperity. Folklore has it that a decorated egg can avert any evil, bring good crops, and help a young maiden to win the man of her desire. After the advent of Christianity, the decorated eggs took the new symbols of the Resurrection with its promise of a better world.

Colours also have a symbolic meaning. Some examples: Yellow - is the symbol of light and purity. It speaks of youth, happiness, the harvest, hospitality, love and benevolence. It is the colour consecrated to the light deities and is the Christian symbol of recognition and reward. Red - the magical colour of folklore is considered a positive colour signifying action, fire, charity, spiritual awakening. It also glorifies the sun and the joy of life and love. In Christian symbolism, it denotes the divine love and passion of Christ. As seen in spring renewals, green symbolizes the breaking of shackles, freedom from bondage. It is the color of fertility, freshness, health and hope. In the Christian context, it represents bountifulness, hope and the victory of life over death. It is the color of Christmas, Easter and Epiphany. Blue carries with it wishes for good health, blue skies or the life-giving air.

Pysanky are magic symbols of life. The egg itself is magic in that it resembles an inert object, and yet contains the potential for a new life, of food for those already living. When they become pysanky, eggs are become more magical in that they are dyed. This is done using a technique similar to batik: Colours are protected with beeswax from subsequent dyes, rather than painted on. As an egg is worked, colour after colour disappears under the dark wax, to be magically revealed at the end when the wax is removed.

Many folk tales have been told about the origins of Ukrainian Easter Eggs. These stories may vary 
somewhat from one to another, but all show the importance Ukrainians placed on their pysanky. A legend that is 1,000 years old tells of a young woman who was on her way home 
one morning from the market in town with a basket of eggs and a jug of fresh water. When she 
was traveling the home to her home, she met a stranger sitting on a rock. Thinking He must 
be tired, she offered Him a drink of her water and was startled to see there were wounds on 
His hands. The stranger said nothing but accepted her offer and then continued on His way. 
When the woman arrived at her home, she uncovered her basket and discovered her eggs 
were transformed into pysanky. The stranger was Jesus Christ - and that morning was the first Easter.

Another story tells of a poor peddlar who was on his way to market to sell his basket of eggs when
 he came upon a crowd who was mocking and jeering a man carrying a heavy cross. The peddlar ran 
to help the man carry the cross for a while. When the peddlar returned to his basket of eggs by the
roadside, he found that they had been transformed into beautiful pysanky. The peddlar was 
Simon the Cyrenian, the man carrying the heavy cross was Christ.

A legend sometimes told is of one year long ago when birds who were traveling south 
were surprised by a sudden sharp freeze. The poor creatures fell to the ground, too frozen to fly. The generous Ukrainian peasants took the birds into their homes and nursed
 them until spring when they could fly away on their own. In gratitude for the kindness shown, 
the birds returned with decorated eggs for the peasants who saved their lives. And so, it is said, ever since then, eggs are decorated in beautiful pysanky every spring.

LIFE IS LIKE AN OLD FILM

“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.” – Tom Bodett

My mother talks of her school days now and then, and the stories she recounts are sometimes amusing, sometimes unbelievable, sometimes scary, sometimes sad, but always enjoyable to listen to. She used to go to a girls’ school and things then were very strict, but she also says that they had a good time of it. School uniforms, lots of homework, girlish pranks, secret loves, dreams and illusions, sighs and scrap books full of poetry and flowers.

A couple of times a year they used to be taken on excursions and that was the highlight of their year. Laughter and music, giggling and high jinks, covert glances at the cute young teacher that used to be every girl’s dream lover. No wonder when a Greek film of 1959, starring the fresh young face of Aliki Vouyouklaki that was destined to become Greece’s national star, came out it was an instant success. It is called “Το Ξύλο Βγήκε Απ΄Τον Παράδεισο” (Spare the rod and spoil the child) and it concerned a high school senior who falls in love with her teacher.

When I first saw the film, it was just like my mother’s school stories. A fresh and sparkling comedy with witty dialogue, an innocent script and two young good-looking actors who were to become a real life couple. Here is a song from the film, where on a school excursion, the young Aliki Vouyouklaki sings of her love for her teacher, Dimitris Papamichael.

I Have a Secret

I have a secret that shines in my glance,
The plains know it, the mountain has guessed it.
The nightingales sing of it on the tree boughs,
And the swallows have written it in the sky.
I have a secret that makes everything beautiful
And for the first time I am inundated with happiness.

I have a secret that has become tangled in my lips
Even though it is a single little word, just one.
When night the enchantress falls, the stars will write the word
And the jasmines will say it in their flowerpot.
I have a secret that has changed my life
But I have no intention of telling you what it is.



Έχω ένα Μυστικό

Έχω ένα μυστικό που στη ματιά μου μέσα λάμπει
Το ξέρουνε οι κάμποι το ΄χει μάθει το βουνό.
Το τραγουδούν τη νύχτα στα κλώνια όλα τ΄αηδόνια
Και το ΄χουν γράψει τα χελιδόνια στον ουρανό.
Έχω ένα μυστικό που όλα τα ομορφαίνει
Και πρώτη μου φορά με πλημμυρίζει η χαρά.

Έχω ένα μυστικό που μες στα χείλια μου έχει μπλέξει
Κι είναι μια λέξη μόνο μια λεξούλα μόνο μια.
Σαν έρθει η νύχτα η ξελογιάστρα τη γράφουν τ΄άστρα
Κι όλο τη λένε μες στη γλάστρα τα γιασεμιά.
Έχω ένα μυστικό που τη ζωή μου έχει αλλάξει
Μα δεν το ΄χω σκοπό ποτέ μου να σας το πω.

HOT CROSS BUNS ON GOOD FRIDAY

“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” - Luke 23:46

Today is Good Friday for the Western churches (Orthodox Good Friday is on the 25th April this year). The name of the holiday may be derived from “God's Friday” in the same way that “good-bye” is derived from “God be with ye”. Some people maintain it is derived directly from “good” because the barrier of sin was broken and hence this day is good for our soul. The Anglo-Saxon name for Good Friday was Long Friday, due to the long fast imposed upon this day.

Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday and on this day, Christians remember the day when Jesus was crucified on a cross. The date of Good Friday changes every year because it is related to the phases of the moon and the Spring equinox. The date of the original Good Friday is not definitively known, but many scholars believe that the event took place on April 7th, 30 AD. If they are right our calendar is wrong, by three years.

On Good Friday, Jesus was arrested and tried, in a mock trial. He was handed over to the Roman soldiers to be beaten and flogged with whips. A crown of long, sharp thorns was thrust upon his head. Jesus was forced to carry his own cross outside the city to Skull Hill. He was so weak after the beating that a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was pulled from the crowd and forced to carry Jesus' cross the rest of the way. Jesus was nailed to the cross. Two other criminals were crucified with him, their crosses on either side of him. A sign above Jesus read "Jesus Nazarene, King of the Jews."

According to the Bible, on the third hour of the day, Jesus was nailed to the cross. (9:00 am). On the Sixth Hour of the day, darkness covered the land (12:00 noon). On the ninth hour of the day, the darkness dissipated, and the Lord died (3:00 pm). The hours in the scriptures are calculated from the first hour of the day, this being 6:00 in the morning. Christians believe that Jesus stood in our place in an ultimate sacrifice in order to liberate us from sin. His death paid the penalty not for his own wrong doings but for ours.

Since the early nineteenth century, before the introduction of bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day were the only two days of leisure which were almost universally granted to working people. Good Friday today is still a public holiday in much of the Western world. This means that many businesses are closed on this day. Some Christians fast on Good Friday. This helps them remember the sacrifice Jesus made for them on the day of crucifixion. If people do not fast, it is traditional to eat fish on Good Friday instead of meat.

Many churches hold a special service. This may be a communion service in the evening or a time of prayer during the day, especially around 3 o'clock as that is about the time of day when Jesus died. Some Churches hold services lasting three hours or more. They may celebrate the Stations of the Cross, or take part in Passion plays and dramatic readings. Some Christians take part in a procession of witness, carrying a cross through the streets and then into church. Churches are not decorated on Good Friday. In some churches, pictures and statues are covered over. It is seen as a time of mourning.

It is traditional to eat warm “hot cross buns” on Good Friday. Hot Cross Buns with their combination of spicy, sweet and fruity flavours have long been an Easter tradition. The pastry cross on top of the buns symbolises and reminds Christians of the cross that Jesus was killed on. The buns were traditionally eaten at breakfast time, hot from the oven. They were once sold by street vendors who sang a little song about them.

“Hot cross buns, Hot cross buns, One a penny, two a penny, Hot cross buns.”

At the London Pub, The Widow's Son, a Hot Cross Bun Ceremony takes place each Good Friday. In the early 19th century, a widow who lived on the site was expecting her sailor son back home for Easter, and placed a hot cross bun ready for him on Good Friday. The son never returned, but undaunted the widow left the bun waiting for him and added a new bun each year. Successive landlords have kept the tradition going after the pub was opened.

There are a number of superstitions relating to Good Friday. Traditionally Good Friday was the day when everything was cleaned and whitewashed in preparation for Easter Sunday.

From the reign of Edward III to that of Mary Tudor, monarchs used to bless a plateful of gold and silver rings every Good Friday at the Chapel Royal. By rubbing the rings between their fingers, the royal touch was believed to cure cramp and epilepsy. The custom was abolished during the reign of Elizabeth I.

• A child born on Good Friday and baptised on Easter Sunday has the gift of healing.
• Many fishermen will not set out for catch on Good Friday.
• Bread or cakes baked on this day will not go mouldy.
• Eggs laid on Good Friday will never go bad.
• The planting of crops is not advised on this day, as an old belief says that no iron should enter the ground (i.e. spade, pitchfork etc.).
• Hot cross buns baked on Good Friday were supposed to have magical powers. It is said that you could keep a hot cross bun which had been made on Good Friday for at least a year and it wouldn't go mouldy.
• Hardened old hot cross buns are supposed to protect the house from fire
• Sailors took hot cross buns to sea with them to prevent shipwreck.
• A bun baked on Good Friday and left to get hard could be grated up and put in some warm milk to stop an upset tummy.
• Having a hair cut on Good Friday will prevent toothaches the rest of the year.

Hot Cross Buns
(recipe makes 24) Ingredients
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
4 eggs
5 cup flour
1 1/3 cup currants or raisins
1 egg white

Glaze
1 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tsp. finely chopped lemon zest
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1-2 Tbsp milk

Method
In a small saucepan, heat milk to very warm, but not hot. Pour warm milk in a bowl and sprinkle yeast over it. Mix to dissolve and let sit for 5 minutes. Stirring constantly, add sugar, salt, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and eggs. Gradually mix in flour, dough will be wet and sticky. Continue kneading until smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough "rest" for 30-45 minutes.

Knead again until smooth and elastic, for about 3 more minutes. Add currants or raisins and knead until well mixed. At this point, dough will still be fairly wet and sticky. Shape dough in a ball, place in a buttered dish, cover with plastic wrap and let rise overnight in the refrigerator. Excess moisture will be absorbed by the morning.

Let dough sit at room temperature for about a half-hour. Line a large baking pan (or pans) with parchment paper (you could also lightly grease a baking pan, but parchment works better). Divide dough into 24 equal pieces (in half, half again, etc., etc.). Shape each portion into a ball and place on baking sheet, about 2 centimetres apart. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

In the meantime, pre-heat oven to 200° C.

When buns have risen, take a sharp or serrated knife and carefully slash buns with a cross. Brush them with egg white and place in oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350° F, then bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack. Whisk together glaze ingredients, and spoon over buns in a cross pattern. Serve warm, if possible.

Stories abound about the origins of the Hot Cross Bun. Yet, the common thread throughout is the symbolism of the "cross" of icing which adorns the bun itself. Some say that the origin of Hot Cross Buns dates back to the 12th century, when an Angelican monk was said to have placed the sign of the cross on the buns, to honor Good Friday, a Christian holiday also known as the Day of the Cross. Supposedly, this pastry was the only thing permitted to enter the mouths of the faithful on this holy day.

Other accounts talk of an English widow, whose son went off to sea. She vowed to bake him a bun every Good Friday. When he didn't return she continued to bake a hot cross bun for him each year and hung it in the bakery window in good faith that he would some day return to her. The English people kept the tradition for her even after she passed away.

Others say that Hot Cross Buns have pagan roots as part of spring festivals and that the monks simply added the cross to convert people to Christianity.

HORROR-SCOPES

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

Do you believe in Astrology? I am interested it in simply because it seems to have so many adherents in the population. It is an interesting psychosociological phenomenon, if nothing else. Believing very strongly in something as tenuous as that, can make it true. Then again, “astrology” is the word that describes the rubbish that people read in their daily horoscopes in the newspaper and the same word “astrology” is used to describe the mystical, self searching exploration that many people embark on when they have their horoscope cast by an experienced astrologer, who uses their art in order to help the person begin a voyage of self-discovery.

I glance at the daily astrology column in the newspaper and have a chuckle. One twelfth of the population is meant to experience the same day that I am going to experience. Can you imagine it, there are twelve sets of occurrences that all of the people on earth are experiencing at the same time each day, as their horoscopes predict:
“You have hopes and dreams that you know you have to work hard to make come true. But you're also going to wish you could have more fun. For some, a child,/creative project/romance will be demanding your attention when you know you really ought to be doing what you can to achieve your aims. Also this coming month, you could find that your wider social circle takes a back seat, as you focus on one person - most likely a romantic partner or prospect. Depending on your personal cycles, a creative project could be planted now - or come to fruition.”

Is this double-talk, speak-slippery, generalised, all purpose hogwash or isn’t it? The sort of thing you read and forget immediately you read it? And yet it’s so popular! Most people would gravitate to the horoscope section in the newspaper and read their star sign (or maybe even their partner’s)!

However, When one’s horoscope is cast, there some interesting concordances that seem to be too close to one’s character to be pure coincidence. For example, here is what my cast horoscope said (amongst other things about me – a friend cast it for me a long time ago at University):
“You like plenty of variety in your everyday activities, in your friends, and even in your diet. Your interests are many and diverse--almost anything will attract your attention if only for a brief time. Truly, this is the sign of the jack-of-all-trades. As the story goes, you may find that unless you can develop your powers of perseverance, you may be the master of none. Your varied interests can result in a tendency for you to spread yourself too thin, sometimes failing to follow through on projects you've begun.”

That was the sun-sign. The moon sign description observes:
“You can be overly optimistic, sometimes looking at the world through "rose colored glasses." Emotionally naive, you continually overlook other people's shortcomings and deficiencies. You are essentially so romantic that you may rarely see life as it really is. You are tremendously unselfish, trusting and open-handed. Sometimes you can be a little too generous, especially with your boundless sympathy. Highly sensitive, you connect with others on an unconscious, emotional level. You actually feel what they feel. Thus, you have a most sympathetic and compassionate nature, and these fine instincts can be invaluable to you in the everyday world. In many situations, you can be too giving and overly-idealistic.”

Apparently, Mercury is in Gemini, my sun-sign:
“Gemini is the natural home for Mercury, and the placement produces pure logical reasoning of the highest order. This Mercury denotes a lightning quick thinker. Your concern is with fact and unbiased understanding, rather than personal preference. Communication is easy, rapid, accurate and often eloquent. You are an interesting and incessant conversationalist. Mercury is at its quickest and best when it resides in Gemini. If given proper training, you excel in mathematics as well as in language. You are very logical, and your mind moves very quickly. You love logic, a fact making you an excellent teacher or reporter. When engaged in arguments, you may miss a basic premise, but you are clever enough to win anyway. The opponent is convinced by your rational remarks. You have a great variety of interests, and your mind may flit from one idea to the next, never digging in very deeply. You have an intense curiosity leading you to want to know a little about nearly everything. This makes you a very interesting person, but rarely an expert in any particular field.”

Venus in Taurus creates an interesting mixture:
“Venus in Taurus produces a practical, stable, and constant persona. Your approach to love and romance is simple and direct. Your sincerity is attractive and often irresistible. You take love seriously and with careful consideration. Yet, you can be so much fun to be around. You are rarely too serious-acting, moody or unhappy. You know how to have a good time and to help others to do the same. You are easygoing and cheerful most of the time. There is an attraction to the luxuries of life, and often a tendency to overindulge in sensual pleasures. You may have a weakness for good food, good wine, fine furnishings and clothes, and many more objects and activities that delight the senses. The best of everything will be yours if you can figure a way to afford it all. This large appetite extends to love-making and romantic involvement. This sign produces the most earthy sex drive. When you fall in love, it is usually permanent and dependable. Your nature is faithful and permanent. You require a deep commitment from your partner and you are willing to give the same in return. You are loyal and a one-love person. But your demands on that one lover can be great. If you feel insecure, you may become jealous and overbearing with your mate. Just as you are loyal and dependable, you are very possessive and jealous if your emotional security is threatened.”

Hmmmm, so the word of the day:

horoscope |ˈhôrəˌskōp; ˈhärə-| noun
Astrology: A forecast of a person's future, typically including a delineation of character and circumstances, based on the relative positions of the stars and planets at the time of that person's birth.
• a short forecast for people born under a particular sign, esp. as published in a newspaper or magazine.
• a birth chart. See chart .
DERIVATIVES
horoscopic |ˌhôrəˈskäpik| adjective
horoscopy |həˈräskəpē| noun
ORIGIN Old English: via Latin from Greek hōroskopos, from hōra ‘time’ + skopos ‘observer.’

So you’ve read my blogs, now what do you think of my cast horoscope, is it accurate…?

HOME SWEET HOME

“Home is where the heart is.” - Pliny the Elder (Caius Plinius Secundus)

How welcome a sight one’s home is after one has been away. No matter how enjoyable travel may be, no matter how exciting the distant destinations and no matter how good a time one has while away, the home hearth is where the heart feels most comfortable. Like the migratory bird that returns to its nest year after year, the traveller will come home and settle in, content in familiar surroundings.

But there is also another kind of return… The return of the traveller who having spent many years in foreign lands one day returns to the place of his origin. How expectant is that return! Nostalgia has made of memory a sacred shrine. Remembrance has eradicated all unpleasantness and time has conspired with distance to idealise the lost homeland. How disappointing that return is when all one sees is a poor parody of what the expectant heart wishes to find… All is changed, all has progressed, all is well nigh unrecognizable. Here is the foreign land now, this place which one called home before, is now but a travesty of that sacred place that one had so carefully preserved in one’s innermost secret chambers of the heart.

The Return

My heart searches to slake its thirst
In heady wine of the return, so ruby-red.
Vermillion poppies are sweet draughts
In emerald chalice of unripened corn.

My heart searches to revivify itself
With life-giving blood and godly breath.
Anemones like drops of blood on hillsides
And in the azure of sky a breath of god.

My heart searches for a familiar word to hear,
A smiling friendly face to warm itself.
In every boat of the Aegean I see a letter writing “welcome”
While ancient statues smile at me like next of kin.

My heart searches far and wide for honey, balsam,
A therapy for all its wounds so that it love again.
Violet-coloured, scented evenings in islands white
And fragrances are medicine enough in nights so sweet.

My heart searches for all of these and more,
But time inexorably flows, it passes, destroys all.
Time conquers all that I knew and fondly recalled,
Return is poison, soured wine and bitter gall.

POSTCARD FROM BRISBANE

“Travel and change of place impart new vigour to the mind.” - Seneca

Brisbane is a thriving, modern, metropolitan centre and capital of the state of Queensland. It is Australia's third-largest city and although it looks like a big-city there are no pretensions and the locals are down-to-earth and remind one of the smaller town from which it initially arose. The city centre sits within a tropical landscape through which flows the undulating Brisbane River, and it boasts a pleasant climate for most of the year. It has been pleasantly cool (25-27˚C) while I have been here and there is the occasional shower keeping the gardens lush. This is certainly a contrast from the South, with Melbourne and Adelaide roasting in the over 40˚C heatwave.

Although I am here for work, there has been opportunity to visit friends and also do a bit of sightseeing. The restaurants have been largely very good too. Last night we had dinner at the Pier Nine Restaurant right by the Brisbane River. This is an excellent seafood restaurant and somewhat of a Brisbane icon. It offers great views, fantastic service and the food is wonderful, with the freshest of fish, shellfish and steaks served simply but imaginatively. The location right on the Eagle St pier affords great views and it is just the place for celebrating a special occasion.

It was a rather full day today and much was done at work. Tomorrow is my last day here in Brisbane and then I fly home for Easter. Or the first Easter, I should say, because Greek Easter is on the 27th of April. Always an annoying state of affairs, these two Easters. Why the powers that be from all religions don’t get together to agree to have Easter at the same time is beyond me. Much better would be the situation of agreeing to have Easter on the same date every year. Say the third Sunday in April, wouldn’t that be sensible?

I haven’t had much time to read while I’ve been away. Too busy and too tired. At night I manage to have a look at the morning paper and then all I want to do is flop down into bed and sleep. I think being away from home for three days is OK, but anything above that starts to get a bit tiring. Just as well I don’t get to do it for more than three days all that often.

THE FUGITIVE

“It is in justice that the ordering of society is centered.” - Aristotle

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Saint Patrick’s Day is a predominantly Irish holiday honouring the missionary credited with converting the Irish to Christianity in the 5th century AD. He was born around 373 AD in either Scotland (near the town of Dumbarton) or in Roman Britain (the Romans left Britain in 410 AD). His real name is believed to be Maewyn Succat. He was kidnapped at the age of 16 by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland. During his 6-year captivity, while he worked as a shepherd, he began to have religious visions, and found strength in his faith. He finally escaped, going to France, where he became a priest, taking on the name of Patrick.

When he was about 60 years old, St. Patrick travelled to Ireland to spread the Christian word. Reputedly, Patrick had a winning personality, which helped him to convert the fun-loving Irish to Christianity. He used the shamrock, which resembles a three-leafed clover, as a metaphor to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity. Saint Patrick allegedly drove all snakes out of Ireland. This may be an allegory, as the snake was one of the revered pagan symbols.

Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated all around the world in countries with a large Irish migrant population (e.g. Australia and the USA). In these countries people of Irish sympathy wear green and party. Green is associated with Saint Patrick’s Day because it is the colour of spring, Ireland, and the shamrock.

For Movie Monday today, I have a film I saw a while ago, which features a scene with a St Patrick’s Day parade in Chicago. I really enjoyed this film, because it brought back memories of watching TV when I was a child in the 60s. I remember watching raptly the adventures of “The Fugitive” with David Janssen. The stories of poor Dr Kimble on the run, after being falsely accused of a crime he did not commit (and sentenced to die for it) were quite amazing for my young eyes. It was a great TV show and I hope to watch some episodes again if I can get hold of them.

In 1993, Andrew Davis made “The Fugitive” into a movie inspired by the series, casting Harrison Ford as the ill-fated Dr Kimble. The film works for me and I think it is one of the few movies that have followed a TV series and have done so successfully. Tommy Lee Jones in his Oscar-winning role as Marshal Sam Gerard, plays excellent foil to Harrison Ford’s performance. It is shades of Javert and Jean Valjean in “Les Misérables”, as two acutely intellectual opponents pitch their wits and dogged persistence against each other. The psychological thriller that results is good entertainment.

There is a good mix of action, mystery, suspense and thrills-and-spills, all pinned on a story with enough substance to keep the intelligent viewer interested. The relationship that builds between the hunter and his prey is interesting on a psychological level, and what starts out as a mindless chase of an escaped convict ends up as a mutual respect between two men, who gradually understand that they are on the same side of the law.

“The Fugitive” is an intelligent movie, full of rich characterisation, enough thrills to entice even the action-movie junkie, and performances that shine forth. Good movie, go out to your DVD shop and borrow it to watch if you haven’t seen it!

ART SUNDAY - DIEGO RIVERA 3

Rivera was in the United States from 1930 to 1934, where he painted murals for the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco (1931), the Detroit Institute of Arts (1932), and Rockefeller Center in New York City (1933). His “Man at the Crossroads” fresco in Rockefeller Center offended the sponsors because the figure of communist Vladimir Lenin was in the picture; the work was destroyed by the centre but was later reproduced by Rivera at the Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City. After returning to Mexico, Rivera continued to paint murals of gradually declining quality. His most ambitious and gigantic mural, an epic on the history of Mexico for the National Palace, Mexico City, was unfinished when he died. Frida Kahlo, who married Rivera twice, was also an accomplished painter. Rivera's autobiography, “My Art, My Life”, was published posthumously in 1960.

This is the South wall mural of the Detroit Institute of the Arts, painted in 1933. American Industry is depicted here, with the Caucasian race and Asian race shown above.

ART SUNDAY - DIEGO RIVERA 2

In 1923 he began painting the walls of the Ministry of Public Education building in Mexico City, working in fresco and completing the commission in 1930. These huge frescoes, depicting Mexican agriculture, industry, and culture, reflect a genuinely native subject matter and mark the emergence of Rivera's mature style. Rivera defines his solid, somewhat stylized human figures by precise outlines rather than by internal modeling. The flattened, simplified figures are set in crowded, shallow spaces and are enlivened with bright, striking colours. The Indians, peasants, conquistadores, and factory workers depicted combine monumentality of form with a mood that is lyrical and at times elegiac.

Rivera's next major work was a fresco cycle in a former chapel at what is now the National School of Agriculture at Chapingo (1926–27). His frescoes there contrast scenes of natural fertility and harmony among the pre-Columbian Indians with scenes of their enslavement and brutalisation by the Spanish conquerors. Rivera's murals in the Cortés Palace in Cuernavaca (1930) and the National Palace in Mexico City (1930–35) depict various aspects of Mexican history in a more didactic narrative style.

This is a fresco from the Alameda Hotel in Mexico City. The central section of the large mural depicting Sunday in the Park is shown here.

ART SUNDAY - DIEGO RIVERA 1

“Art is made to disturb. Science reassures. There is only one valuable thing in art: The thing you cannot explain.” - Georges Braque

For Art Sunday today, the art of Diego Rivera. A great Mexican artist and the partner of the equally great artist, Frida Kahlo. He was born on December 8, 1886, Guanajuato, Mexico and died on November 25, 1957, Mexico City. He was a Mexican painter whose bold, large-scale murals stimulated a revival of fresco painting in Latin America. A government scholarship enabled Rivera to study art at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City from age 10, and a grant from the governor of Veracruz enabled him to continue his studies in Europe in 1907.

He studied in Spain and in 1909 settled in Paris, where he became a friend of Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and other leading modern painters. About 1917 he abandoned the Cubist style in his own work and moved closer to the Post-Impressionism of Paul Cézanne, adopting a style ivolving simplified forms and bold areas of flat colour.

Rivera returned to Mexico in 1921 after meeting with fellow Mexican painter David Alfaro Siqueiros. Both sought to create a new national art on revolutionary themes that would decorate public buildings in the wake of the Mexican Revolution. On returning to Mexico, Rivera painted his first important mural, Creation, for the Bolívar Auditorium of the National Preparatory School in Mexico City.

This is the "Day of Flowers" of 1925. The calla lillies were a great favourite of his and used in many of his paintings.

HUMAN FRAILTY

“Ninety percent of the world's woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties, and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves.” Sydney J. Harris

The fabric of our life is so thin and so easily torn, our existence so easily disrupted. We can be very optimistic and think ourselves invincible, invulnerable, as though we can conquer the world. We lunge forward recklessly like the fool on the tarot deck, mindless of the yawning precipice in front of us. We are like ants scurrying around and busily marching onward unaware of the foot that hovers above us ready to crush us out of existence.

Everything was going well and then early this morning I found myself in the emergency department of the hospital accompanying a friend who became acutely ill. On the way there I spoke to the ambulance driver who told me that this Friday night in Brisbane was a particularly nasty one. Drunkenness, brawls, fights, accidents, incidents. In the Emergency department the whole gamut of injuries: Cracked heads, acutely ill patients, comatose people, broken limbs, druggies groaning in withdrawal, drunks abusing the medical staff, concerned friends and relatives hovering about, police investigating accidents, nurses and doctors purposefully and efficiently to-ing and fro-ing… And so many young people all around! What are our youth doing to themselves? Drugs, alcohol, violence, destructive relationships, self-mutilation, social crippling.

An emergency department teaches us important lessons about human frailty. This a tour that the vainglorious and proud must take; a guide should show the place to the young and self-professed “invincible”; the healthy and the self-assured should see on what a razor’s edge we balance every day of lives. Time conspires with fortune, luck would play at dice with fate, and human frailty must suffer the vicissitudes of chance. Our only aids for survival are faith and prudence, the only sweeteners of our afflictions are love and hope.

I am not a fatalist, nor do I believe in some inscrutable kismet determining our existence. We are the masters of our own destiny, to a large extent. However, circumstances out of our control, unfortunate coincidences, unplanned-for exigencies and cascading torrents of consequences of thoughtless choices may lead to that mass of tortured broken humanity that confronted me this morning in hospital. Here is Sting, singing what is possibly his best song, “Fragile”:



PS: My friend is feeling better tonight. She was diagnosed with renal colic and treated.

PIE FLOATERS

“What is food to one, is to others bitter poison.” – Lucretius

I am in Brisbane for work today and it has certainly been a very tiring week with Melbourne, Adelaide and now Brisbane all in the space of four days… However, I shall be spending the weekend here and relaxing a little. It is unusual that we have had searing temperatures in the South and then here in the North the temperatures are much cooler. It’s been interesting going around Australia and getting to see people in our organization face to face. It makes the travelling worthwhile, seeing the people one has been talking to and emailing across the table rather than their virtual presence. Although modern technology s great fro communicating efficiently and rapidly all around the world, there is still a lot to be said about sitting around a table together and conversing, being able to interpret body language, to work together on a table or a diagram and then have a cup of coffee together over which one may continue to work, but also there is a chance for more informal socializing and team-building.

In any case, seeing I have been travelling around this nation of ours so much lately, I thought I would share with you a typical regional Australian recipe: The South Australian Pie Floater. It is based on the old stalwart of the English cooking tradition the meat pie. A meat pie is a beef/gravy filling encased in rich pastry, baked to a crisp golden finish. Take this delicacy and drop it unceremoniously in a bowl of steaming green, split pea soup! Top with tomato sauce (ketchup, the less sweet it is ad the more savoury the better – some people in fact prefer Worcestershire sauce to the ketchup!).

I must admit that pie floaters look disgusting on first encounter with them, but really they do taste good! At least, many South Australians (and lesser numbers of visitors) think so. The meal is traditionally eaten at kerbside from a ‘pie cart’, the most famous being Cowleys’, which still stands alongside the GPO in Victoria Square in Adelaide. The name ‘floater’ may come from early English slang expression describing a dumpling in soup.

The South Australian origins date to early colonial times when vendors with horse or hand-drawn carts sold pies baked in a wood-fired oven, and soup from a simmering pot. 
These pie carts became a meeting place where cabbies, police, nightwatchmen and other workers rubbed shoulders with theatre patrons in formal evening wear, musicians, politicians and businessmen. So the pie floater actually was an egalitarian repast and thus may have important historical and social connotations.

The first pie cart was licensed in 1871 and by 1915 there were nine, sustained until 1942. In 1938 the City Council, prompted by other food traders’ complaints, decided to abolish pie carts as current owners ceased trading. By 1958 only two remained in the city - at the GPO site and the one now outside the Adelaide Railway Station. The pie floater’s curb-side consumption by people from all walks of life for more than130 years makes it an authentic and uniquely South Australian culinary tradition.

Bon Appétit!

LOOKING HEAVENWARDS

“Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another” – Plato

Today’s birthday plant is the ivy flowerheads, Hedera helix. It is symbolic of a need of support, tenacity, wedded love, fidelity and immortality. It is a plant of Saturn and in some circles considered an evil omen as it kills whatever it embraces.

The planet Uranus was discovered on this day in 1781 by the astronomer William Herschel. The planet was originally called Georgius Sidus to honour king George III, patron of Herschel.

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and is the third largest in the solar system. It has an equatorial diameter of 51,800 kilometers and orbits the Sun once every 84.01 Earth years. It has a mean distance from the Sun of 2.87 billion kilometers. It rotates about its axis once every 17 hours 14 minutes. Uranus has at least 22 moons. The two largest moons, Titania and Oberon, were discovered by William Herschel in 1787.

The atmosphere of Uranus is composed of 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, 2% methane and small amounts of acetylene and other hydrocarbons. Methane in the upper atmosphere absorbs red light, giving Uranus its blue-green color. The atmosphere is arranged into clouds running at constant latitudes, similar to the orientation of the more vivid latitudinal bands seen on Jupiter and Saturn.

Uranus is distinguished by the fact that it is tipped on its side, so that its poles are on the equator, so to speak. Its unusual position is thought to be the result of a collision with a planet-sized body early in the solar system's history. Voyager 2 found that one of the most striking influences of this sideways position is its effect on the tail of the magnetic field, which is itself tilted 60 degrees from the planet's axis of rotation. The magnetotail was shown to be twisted by the planet's rotation into a long corkscrew shape behind the planet. The magnetic field source is unknown.

In 1977, the first nine rings of Uranus were discovered. During the Voyager encounters, these rings were photographed and measured, as were two other new rings and ringlets.

The name of the planet was settled upon to be in keeping with the other planets, which all had nemes of gods and goddesses of Greek mythology. Uranus, also known as Ouranos, was the embodiment of the sky or heavens, and known as the god of the sky. He was the first son of Gaia (the earth) and he also became her husband. According to Hesiod, their children included the Titans: six sons (Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus and Cronus) and six daughters (Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe and Tethys).

There were other offspring: the Cyclopes, (who were named Brontes, Steropes and Arges and were later known as "one eyed giants"), and also the three monsters known as the Hecatonchires, who each had one hundred hands and fifty heads. Their names were Briareus, Cottus and Gyes. Other offspring of Uranus and Gaia were the Erinyes, who were spirits of punishment and goddesses of vengeance. The Erinyes avenged wrongs which were done to family, especially murder within a family.

Uranus was aghast by the sight of his offspring, the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires. (In a differing version Uranus was frightened of their great strength and the fact that they could easily depose him). He hid them away in Tartarus (the bowels of the earth) inside Gaia, causing her intense pain. The discomfort became so great that she asked her youngest son, Cronus, to castrate his father, as this would cease his fertility and put an end to more monstrous offspring. To accomplish this deed Gaia made an adamantine sickle, which she gave to Cronus. That night Uranus came to lay with Gaia. And as the sky god drew close, Cronus struck with the sickle and cut off Uranus's genitals. From the blood that fell from the open wound were born nymphs and giants, and when Cronus threw the severed genitals into the sea a white foam appeared. From this foam Aphrodite the goddess of love and desire was born.

After Uranus (the sky) had been emasculated, the sky separated from Gaia (the earth) and Cronus became king of the gods. Later, Zeus (the son of Cronus) deposed his father and became the supreme god of the Greek Pantheon.

The word of the day, today is: Uranus!

Uranus |ˈyoŏrənəs; yoŏˈrā-| noun
1 Greek Mythology a personification of heaven or the sky, the most ancient of the Greek gods and first ruler of the universe. He was overthrown and castrated by his son Cronus.
2 Astronomy a distant planet of the solar system, seventh in order from the sun, discovered by William Herschel in 1781.

THANKS TO LIFE!

“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” G. K. Chesterton
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton

I am in Adelaide for two days for work. The temperatures have been scorching for the past 9 days in succession and today the mercury rose to 37˚C! This is definitely a heat wave that we have been spared from in Melbourne. Walking in the streets today was quite a task as the asphalt was radiating the accumulated heat of several days. The sun was relentlessly sending searing rays down and people had that listless look of powerless resignation that comes with an onslaught of the elemental forces of the weather, over which we have no control.

However, the up side was that my work commitments were successfully carried out and there was a tremendous feeling of achievement and of a job well-done at the end of the day. We had a delicious dinner at a wonderful Thai restaurant called “Star of Siam” – definitely worth visiting if you ever go to Adelaide! Gouger Street is certainly a bustling place and wall to wall restaurants and cafés line its lively neighbourhood.

Sitting here in my hotel room, after a full day, busy with satisfying work commitments, replete after a delicious meal, content with my lot in life, pleased with my decisions of the last few months, I can only come to the conclusion that life has been good to me and for that I am deeply grateful…

Thanks to life
( By Violeta Parra)

Thanks to life, which has given me so much
It has given me two eyes, and when I open them
I clearly distinguish black from white;
In the high sky, the starry depths,
While in the crowd, I can single out the man that I love.

Thanks to life, which has given me so much
It has given me hearing, which in all its breadth
Day and night detects crickets and canaries,
Hammers, turbines, barking of dogs, dark cloudstorms,
And the tender voice of my beloved one.

Thanks to life, which has given me so much
It has given me sound and the alphabet
And with it the words to think and speak
Mother, friend, brother, and the light that brightens
The path to the soul of my beloved one.

Thanks to life, which has given me so much
It has kept my tired feet walking
With them I walked through cities and puddles,
Beaches and deserts, mountains and plains
And the roads that lead to your house, your street to your courtyard.

Thanks to life, which has given me so much
It gave me my heart, which shakes to its depths
When I look at the fruit of the human brain
When I distinguish the good from the bad
When I look at the depths of your light-coloured eyes.

Thanks to life, which has given me so much
It has given me laughter and it has given me tears
Thus I distinguish between joy and pain,
They are all elements of my song
And of all your songs, which is the same song
And of everyone's song, which is my own song.



Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval (October 14, 1917 - February 5, 1967) was a notable Chilean folklorist. She set the basis for "The New Song" (La Nueva Canción chilena), a renewal of Chilean folk music. Parra was born in San Carlos, province of Ñuble, a small town in southern Chile. She was involved in the leftist movement and the Chilean Socialist Party. She established the first Peña, (now known as la Peña de los Parra). A peña is a social and political community center. The word is Spanish for "hard rock." There are now many peñas throughout Chile, Latin America, and in North America, Europe, and Australia. They serve the expat communities that fled Chile after the CIA-backed coup of 1973 that overthrew Salvador Allende's democratically elected socialist administration.

Violeta Parra is a member of the prolific Parra family. Her brother is the notable modern poet, Nicanor Parra. Her son, Ángel Parra, and her daughter, Isabel Parra, are also important figures in the development of Nueva Canción in Chile. She committed suicide at the age of fifty. Her most famous song, Gracias A la Vida, was popularized in the US by Joan Baez. It remains one of the most covered Latin American songs in history.
(courtesy of YouTube)

KISS KISS!

“A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.” – Roald Dahl

I have just finished a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl (1916–1990), one of the world's most beloved children's authors. He created delightful characters such as Matilda and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but also wrote short stories for adults. The book I have just read is titled “Kiss Kiss” (first published as a collection in 1960, but most of the stories had been published earlier elsewhere). They are a delicious collection of eleven short stories, macabre and dark, but with a sense of wicked humour about them as well.

Roald Dahl was born in Llandaff, Wales, of Norwegian parents. He lost his parents at an early age and he was sent to private schools in England and Wales, at great cost to his remaining relatives who had to sell the family jewellery in order to pay for his education. However, the school system in these institutions did not impress Dahl: "I was appalled by the fact that masters and senior boys were allowed literally to wound other boys, and sometimes quite severely. I couldn't get over it. I never got over it..." he wrote.

His family experiences and terrible time he had in the private school system inspired Dahl to write stories in which children fight against cruel adults and authorities. "Parents and schoolteachers are the enemy," Dahl once said. In his story “James and the Giant Peach”, James’s parents are eaten, and his two aunts terrorise him. In “Matilda” the parents are depicted as terrible people who are completely selfish and irresponsible, while in “Witches” a beautiful woman turns out to be a wicked witch.

“My Uncle Oswald” (1979) was Dahl's first full-length novel, a bizarre story of a scheme for procuring and selling the sperm of the world's most powerful and brilliant men. Dahl received three Edgar Allan Poe Awards (1954, 1959, 1980). In 1982 he won his first literary prize with “The BFG”, a story about Big Friendly Giant, who kidnaps and takes a little girl to Giantland, where giants eat children. In 1983 he received World Fantasy Convention Lifetime Achievement award. Dahl died of an infection on November 23, 1990, in Oxford.

His writing is vivid, amusing, shocking, surprising, delightful, playful, unconventional, always a pleasure to read. Highly recommended!

NORTHFORK

“The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity.” - Seneca

We watched a very curious film, today. It was Michael Polish’s “Northfork” (2003). A strange film in that I find it hard to classify into a mainstream genre, perhaps a little arthouse, maybe fantasy, maybe surrealist, perhaps even a tad pretentious. In any case, a slow and ingrown melancholy fable designed to show off cinematography and period sets. The acting was adequate and the music suitably atmospheric.

The story is set in the town of Northfork, Montana in the 1950s. The Government (represented by the men in black, wearing hats and driving identical cars) has decided to flood the place in order to make a hydroelectric dam, all in the name of progress. The citizens have been evacuated except for a handful who choose to stay on, despite the imminent inundation. The government has sent the men in black to persuade the last remaining Northforkers to quit the town. There is a priest and a young, sick orphan boy he is looking after, the elderly café owner, a man who has built an ark for himself and his two wives, an elderly man who will shoot anyone who tries to approach him and a house full of angels (or are they just a figment of the sick boy’s imagination?).

The film meanders to and fro, nothing much happens and every once in a while there is an amusing comment or two. Fascinating to watch, even though it’s slow and “arty” - one would think that it could be boring, but I wasn’t bored. No doubt within a few months I’ll have forgotten all about it, but nevertheless quite strangely engaging while one watches it.

A friend of ours who saw it some time ago said she fell asleep while watching it in the cinema. Another friend says it’s a masterpiece. I sit somewhere between the two. If you come across it, watch it, but don’t go out of your way to find it…

ART SUNDAY - ENGONOPOULOS

“Everything being a constant carnival, there is no carnival left.” - Victor Hugo
Tyrrhiné Sunday (meaning “Cheese Sunday”) in the Greek Orthodox faith is the last day before the Lenten fasting period and is equivalent to the “Pancake” or “Shrove Tuesday” of the Western churches. On this day, the remaining eggs, milk, butter and cheese products had to be consumed. Nowadays, even meat tends to be consumed, but most people will fast tomorrow.

Note that in the Orthodox faith one has to fast on Sundays during Lent, whereas in the Western churches, fasting is relaxed on Sundays, even during Lent. The Apokriés festival is celebrated on this and the previous two Sundays, but this last Sunday is the Great Apokriá, an enormous carnival with parades and masquerading, eating drinking, carousing and much merry-making. It is the last fling before the great austerity of Lent.
Once the Great Apokriá dawns brightly
Even the staid old maid becomes flighty
Greek Folk Saying

Seeing it’s carnival time in Greece, here is a painting by Nikos Engonopoulos (1907-1985), a surrealist painter and poet whose work always has something festive and carnival-like about it. This is the “Return of Odysseus” (1947).

For more on Engonopoulos, visit the official website managed by his daughter Henrietta.

Happy Carnival, Καλή Αποκριά, Καλή Σαρακοστή, Have a Good Lent!