CARAVAN

"The eternal quest of the human being is to shatter his loneliness." – Norman Cousins



A song in Greek today sung by Yorgos Perris, from a French original by Raphaël. Terrible video clip, but I rather like the Greek lyrics better, so here they are:

Καραβάνι

Αν ξυπνήσεις το πρωί
Κι η καρδιά σου πάει να σπάσει,
Ήλιο σύμμαχο θα δεις
Μπόρα είναι θα περάσει…

Αν στο δρόμο σου χαθείς
Και δεν ξέρεις που σε πάει,
Στην καρδιά φάρο θα δεις,
Άς την να σε οδηγάει.

Ξέρω ψάχνεις το γιατί
Και το ψέμα σ’ αρρωσταίνει,
Σκέψου αυτό είν’ η ζωή
Καραβάνι που πηγαίνει.

Σαν κι εσένα είμαι κι εγώ
Κλαίω, γελάω, αγαπάω,
Καραβάνι είναι η ζωή
Και μαζί σου προχωράω.

Ξέρω νοιώθεις μοναξιά,
Και τις νύχτες σε βαραίνει,
Μα ταξίδι είναι η ζωή
Καραβάνι που πηγαίνει.

(Έλα πάμε)

Caravan

If you wake up in the morning,
And your heart is about to break,
The sun is your ally,
It’s just a storm, it’ll soon be over.

If you get lost on the road,
And you don’t know where it’s taking you,
In your heart there is a lighthouse,
Follow it and you will find your way.

I know you’re searching for the reason why,
Lies make you sick,
Remember that life is just
A caravan on its way.

I am just like you,
I cry, I laugh, I love,
Life is just a desert caravan
And we’re travelling on it together.

I know you’re lonely,
And at night it weighs heavily on you,
But life is just a journey,
A journey on a caravan…

(Come on, let’s go)

And here is the original




Est-ce que j'en ai les larmes aux yeux
Que nos mains ne tiennent plus ensemble
Moi aussi je tremble un peu
Est-ce que je ne vais plus attendre

Est-ce qu'on va reprendre la route
Est-ce que nous sommes proches de la nuit
Est-ce que ce monde a le vertige
Est-ce qu'on sera un jour puni

Est-ce que je rampe comme un enfant
Est-ce que je n'ai plus de chemise
C'est le Bon Dieu qui nous fait
C'est le Bon Dieu qui nous brise

Est-ce que rien ne peut arriver
Puisqu'il faut qu'il y ait une justice
Je suis né dans cette caravane
Et nous partons allez viens
Allez viens

Allez viens
Tu lu tu tu, tu lu tu tu...

Et parce que ma peau est la seule que j'ai
Que bientôt mes os seront dans le vent
Je suis né dans cette caravane
Et nous partons allez viens
Allez viens

Allez viens
Tu lu tu tu, tu lu tu tu...
Allez viens
Tu lu tu tu, tu lu tu tu...

EATING OUT IN BRISBANE

“In general, mankind, since the improvement in cookery, eats twice as much as nature requires.” - Benjamin Franklin

I took my staff to lunch today as a little bit of a social, team-building exercise but also as a small way of acknowledging their continuing efforts in doing their job well. In the past when I was a junior staff member at University, I remember working very hard, doing my job well and getting very little recognition for my work. It often takes very little to show people that work for you your appreciation of their work. Today’s lunch was a case in point. I let them choose the venue and was pleasantly surprised as it turned out to be a little of a revelation. I guess I should not have been surprised given that they were academics.

We walked to the restaurant, which is about a kilometre from our College and I had some reservations as the skies over Brisbane today were leaden grey and we had a few downpours during the morning. Nevertheless, the weather held fine during our walk and we were able to enjoy our lunch in dry clothes. The place is called “L’ Académie” and it is a combination hotel, restaurant, bar, patisserie. The interesting thing about it is that it is the training establishment for a cooking academy, catering and hospitality industry school. It is where the aspiring chefs get to try out their skills under the watchful eye of their supervisors. The advantage is that the prices are extremely reasonable ($15.00 for a three-course meal!) and one gets the satisfaction of helping these young people develop their skills.

I must say that I was quite impressed by the venue, the service and the food. The interior is in harmony with the late Victorian exterior of the establishment and the sensitively renovated generous rooms have dark red and green walls on which hang suitably lurid Victorian oil paintings, with the regulation potted palms. An open central kitchen and food preparation area allows one to watch the young chefs at work and it is wonderful to see them busily working away producing one’s selection from the menu. I had the Mediterranean platter for entrée (marinated baby octopus, eggplant and capsicum antipasto, tomato and onion appetizer and toasted home made rusks). This was followed by a well-done steak on a bed of mashed potato and spring vegetables, and for dessert a tiramisu parfait. It was accompanied by a very good Western Australian shiraz wine.

Although not “gourmet” quality, my meal exceeded my expectations and was ten times better than the (much more expensive) meal that I had the previous night in my hotel’s “gourmet” restaurant. The evening meal last night was abominable. I chose to have only main course and dessert, and unfortunately I selected the grilled pork. I always like my meat well and truly cooked, even steak (what did Woody Allen say? “I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead - not sick, not wounded - dead.”), but pork especially has got to be very dead, very well cooked. The pork last night was blood-red raw inside and seared on the outside. Add to that the fact that it took just over 50 minutes to arrive (and I was one of only three patrons in the place!). Needless to say, I did not eat my pork, only nibbled on the sickly sweet stewed apple that accompanied it and made do with the broccolini on the side. The dessert was a standard chocolate mud cake – nothing to write home about.

This restaurant was at the “Watermark Hotel” a four star establishment which would only manage a maximum of three stars on my scale. Admittedly the staff were solicitous when they saw that I did not eat my meal an enquired whether I would like something else. I politely but firmly refused and they did have the decency to cut my bill. Nevertheless, I don’t think that this type of meal or service is representative of a four star hotel or a gourmet restaurant.

I am now home after a flight which was (surprisingly for a Friday night) on schedule. Needless to say that I shall be relaxing at the weekend (although there is some work to do, as well). Tomorrow night we are going out to a very nice restaurant in Melbourne (entertaining overseas guests), and certainly in Melbourne the standard of the food and service is easily the best in Australia. That concludes my Food Friday entry, even though it included a little beef…

BRISBANE POSTCARD

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.” - Robert Louis Stevenson

My day today has been full of meetings, interviews, consultations with staff and many administrative duties that go hand in hand with my visits to Brisbane. A very hectic schedule, but also very satisfying, as at the end of the day one gets the feeling that much has been achieved and the trip is worth it. Although the weather has been very pleasant I have not had a chance to enjoy it as I have spent most of my time indoors. However, I did walk to work in the morning from my hotel, which is a good 2 kilometres away, and I walked back there this evening. Spring is evident in the gardens and parks and the subtle fragrance of the mauve jacaranda mixed with the headier creamy frangipani blossoms, perfuming the streets.

I shall be spending the day in Brisbane tomorrow also and then returning home for the weekend on Friday evening. There is lots of work to be done at the weekend as every time I come to Brisbane I take home a new project or two. Such is the lot of a peripatetic worker! Hence our word of the day:

peripatetic |ˌperipəˈtetik| adjective
1 Travelling from place to place, esp. working or based in various places for relatively short periods: The peripatetic nature of military life.
2 (Peripatetic) Aristotelian. [ORIGIN: with reference to Aristotle's practice of walking to and fro while teaching.]
noun
1 a person who travels from place to place.
2 ( Peripatetic) an Aristotelian philosopher.

DERIVATIVES
peripatetically |ˈpɛrəpəˈtɛdək(ə)li| adverb
peripateticism |ˈpɛrəpəˈtɛdəˈsɪzəm| noun

ORIGIN: Late Middle English (denoting an Aristotelian philosopher): From Old French peripatetique, via Latin from Greek peripatētikos ‘walking up and down,’ from the verb peripatein.

SPRING IN BRISBANE

“A little Madness in the Spring Is wholesome even for the King.” – Emily Dickinson

I am in Brisbane again for work and the Spring has sprung gloriously here. The sun was brilliantly shining today, the flowers blooming and the heat already beginning to become almost uncomfortable. A poem by John Keats for today’s Poetry Wednesday offering, suitably in season!

Daisy’s Song

The sun, with his great eye,
Sees not so much as I;
And the moon, all silver, proud,
Might as well be in a cloud.

And O the spring – the spring!
I lead the life of a king!
Couched in the teeming grass,
I spy each pretty lass.

I look where no one dares,
And I stare where no one stares;
And when the night is nigh,
Lambs bleat my lullaby.

John Keats (1795-1821)

THE BUBBLE BURSTS...

“Ask five economists and you'll get five different explanations (six if one went to Harvard).” - Edgar R. Fiedler

The world economic crisis seems to be worsening and the share markets continue to totter. The multi-billion dollar rescue package approved by the US congress seems not to have affected the sinking confidence of investors and the world may have to brace itself for a very serious economic downturn. I was speaking to a friend today who is close to retirement and his superannuation funds have taken a hiding, making him contemplate yet another few years in the workforce. Nervousness abounds and trepidation is uppermost in the mind of some of the more parasitic of professionals: Bankers, stockbrokers, consultants, agents, non-producers of all sorts… The skimmers of the cream are anxiously watching the layer of cream get thinner and thinner and the milk get watered. This is the time of the lean cows.

Every now and then, we must have this reality check and the high-flying cowboys of Wall Street must come down a peg or two. The trouble is the ordinary person in the street will hurt also, or rather will hurt more. Where did the $700 billion come from? From where did this largesse rain down like manna from heaven? Surely not the bank account of Mr Bush or his cronies. The failure of the US bailout plan brought credit markets to a virtual standstill and some US traders believe US banks may start cutting credit card lines if the crisis worsens. It is also becoming virtually impossible in the US to secure new credit.

In the face of the world crisis, a slowing economy and tumbles in our own share prices, our Reserve Bank has cut official interest rates by 100 basis points to 6 percent in an effort to shield the Australian economy from further fallout from the global financial crisis. The central bank may make further cuts by Christmas, economists believe. This is a dramatic move and evidence enough that things will get worse before they get better. The Australian dollar fell 1.6 US cents in the minutes after the Reserve Bank announcement at 2:30 pm, to 70.36 US cents, but it has since risen back above 72 US cents. This is quite a dramatic drop as a few months ago it was almost on par with the US dollar.

The fear that a “recession” will escalate to a “Recession” is uppermost in most people’s minds at the present time. Economists may theorise and try to explain the burst soap bubble of Wall St in terms of economic cycles and the ideas of Marx and Engels, however, the moral of the story is that working people will just have to bear the brunt of factory closures, increasing unemployment, house dispossessions and descent into poverty that is inevitable in a Recession. Oh, by the way all of the unemployed dispossessed and poverty-stricken ordinary citizens must try and save some money to help the poor Wall St financiers and the bankers, the stock-brokering cowboys and the agents. They must maintain their million dollar lifestyles somehow. It’s so tough when their cooks and their butlers and their maids and their chauffeurs are all so poor, we must give them another $700 billion…

TEN FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!

“Always make the audience suffer as much as possible.” - Alfred Hitchcock

I’ll give you a pot-pourri report of several movies we have watched over the past few weeks and I haven’t had a chance to report on in Movie Monday. I’ll provide a brief outline of the plot and my recommendation as a mark out of ten.

Kenny (2006)
This Australian movie is a “mockumentary” about the trials and tribulations of Kenny, a portable toilet plumber who works for the Splashdown company, supplying executive lavatories for all occasions, from the humble church fête to the huge crowd magnet, the Melbourne Cup. It is set in Melbourne and the first few minutes are amusing, but the poo jokes get a bit much after that and Kenny’s philosophies are bit trite and predictable. A few laughs here and there, but despite what most people that I talked to about this think (recommending it highly), I wasn’t terribly impressed. Clayton Jackson, the director, delivers a dud…
5/10

The Castle (1997)
“A man’s house is his castle” says an old English proverb and this is where this film takes its title from. I mention this film here, even though it’s been ages since we’ve seen it, by way of contrast from the film above. This Australian film is a gem and delivers a great punch. A Melbourne family is very happy living where they do, near the Melbourne airport "practically their back yard". However, they are told that their house it to be acquired by the airport authority and they have to leave their beloved home. The film is a wry look at their fight to keep their house, fighting Government and airport authorities, taking their case as far as the High Court. Very well done and excellent direction by Rob Sitch with ace performances by the leads.
8/10

Blithe Spirit (1945)
This classic film by David Lean is based on the play by Noël Coward and has Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings and Kay Hammond playing the leads, with Margaret Rutherford stealing the show. The plot is silly enough, but Coward keeps it light and fluffy and David Lean directs it with gusto. To get background for a new book, author Charles and his second wife Ruth light-heartedly arrange for local mystic Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford) to give a séance. The unfortunate result is that Charles' first wife Elvira returns from beyond the grave to make their life something of a misery. Ruth too gets increasingly irritated with her supernatural rival, but Mme Arcati is at her wit's end as to how to sort things out.
7/10

Beowulf (2007)
Beowulf is the great Anglosaxon epic poem written sometime between the 8th and 11th century AD. This is not the first film of the epic, but it has the dubious honour of being the first animated 3D projection one. One has to admire the technology, but it is still quite clunky and one wonders why they bothered…
Set against the coming of Christianity, this is the story of the last hero, Beowulf. Grendel, a monstrous troll wreaks havoc in the mead hall of the Danish king, Hrothgar. He offers rewards for the death of Grendel, so Beowulf, a great and boastful Geat warrior, arrives with his thanes. Beowulf sets aside his armour and awaits the monster; a fierce battle ensues that leads to Beowulf's entering the watery lair of Grendel's mother, where a devil's bargain awaits. Beowulf returns to Herot, the castle, and becomes king. Jump ahead many years, and the sins of the father are visited upon Beowulf and his kingdom. The hero must face his weakness and be heroic once again. Very violent, very clunky, some beautiful moments.
5.5/10

Bonbón - El Perro (2004)
This Argentinian film by filmmaker Carlos Sorin is a little gem. It is a simple and deceptively superficial tale about ordinary people living in the wilds of Patagonia. The actors are non-professional and the plot revolves around a 52-year-old man, Juan "Coco" Villegas, who has been a petrol station attendant for twenty years. When Juan finds himself unemployed overnight, he first tries to survive by selling his hand-made knives. Business is bad and he can't find real work, until one day, after fixing a vehicle on a farm, he gets paid by means of a beautiful Argentinian watch-dog, Bonbón! From this day on, his life changes as he is convinced to start showing the dog. A heart-warming tale, told without artifice and with no pretense. Quite charming!
8/10

15 Minutes (2001)
This is a film written and directed John Herzfeld that takes a critical look at America and the forces that drive its culture. It uses the ploy of two external stressors that come into a system and cause it reach a crisis. The two stressors in this case are Oleg and Emil, criminals who come to New York City from Eastern Europe to pick up their share of a heist. Oleg steals a video camera and starts filming their activities, both legal and illegal. When they learn how the American media circus can make a remorseless killer look like the victim and make them rich, they target media-savvy NYPD Homicide Detective Eddie Flemming and media-naive FDNY Fire Marshal Jordy Warsaw, the cops investigating their murder and torching of their former criminal partner, filming everything to sell to the local tabloid TV show "Top Story." The result is explosive. This is a very violent and confronting film, not for the squeamish. However, it does make a point and points an accusing finger at mass media and its often underhanded methods.
7/10

Deep Rising (1998)
Stephen Sommers wrote and directed this potboiler of a thriller/horror movie that is embarrassing to watch. The only reason I bought it was because it was $1.99 at our video shop and the cover was rather attractive in a surrealistic way – bad move! Bad movie! A band of ruthless hijackers invade the world's most luxurious cruise ship and they're shocked to discover the passengers have mysteriously vanished (shades of the Marie Celeste!). However, they soon find that they are not alone. Something horrible is lurking just out of sight - a deadly creature from the unexplored depths of the ocean is on the ship and it begins to snatch the horrified intruders one by one. There’s blood (lots of it), there’s violence (gratuitous), there’s guts and gore and goo and glop and glime (I made that last one up – glistening slime). OK for a rainy Sunday afternoon when there’s nothing else to do and you can’t watch something decent.
4/10

Oxygono (2003)
The tag team of Greek writers/directors Thanasis Papathanasiou and Michalis Reppas have a made a very strange film – “Oxygono” (= Oxygen or its pulpy English title “Blackmail Boy”). It is set in a small provincial town where Magda, the matriarch, tries to maintain a balance within a family facing many serious problems. The family’s apparently “normal”, bourgeois, every-day existence is threatened by internal stress that will crack it open, bringing to the surface hatred and passion. At the bottom of everything lies money, the root of all evil. Sex is the other motivating force, which makes many of the characters commit acts that are neither pleasant nor moral. Magda runs a bakery while caring for her invalid husband injured in a car crash that killed one of her daughters. The other money-hungry daughter is married to Stelios, with whom Magda is having an affair. Christos, is Magda’s son who is bisexual and is sleeping with a young girlfriend, an older woman and an older bisexual man, the city official Yorgos who is married with children and is in charge of the city planning. Yorgos chief project involves the land Magda owns. The plot boils down to a blackmail plan that will gain money for the land the family owns. The blackmail plan involves Christos' affair with Yorgos in which videotapes are made of Christos' assignations with Yorgos. The lives of all the characters are altered once the greed consumes them and there are discoveries, betrayals, twists and turns that end with tragedy. This is violent film with graphic sex scenes – quite confronting and once again not for the viewers with weak stomachs.
6.5/10

Reign of Fire (2002)
Hmmmmm, another little dud of a movie here… Rob Bowman paints a picture of post-apocalyptic Britain where the destruction has been caused by a brood of fire-breathing dragons. A B-grade science-fiction/fantasy shoot-them-up-arcade-style-game type movie with lots of action, special effects and a scientific explanation of how dragons breathe fire! It got a bit tiring because they were all being so earnest about everything… If they injected a bit of humour, it may have been a bit more enjoyable!
5/10

Water (2005)
Indian-born, Canadian director Deepa Mehta has made a very beautiful and sensitive film about the plight of a group of widows forced into poverty at a temple in the holy city of Varanasi in the 1930s. Mehta focuses on the relationship between one of the widows, who wants to escape the social restrictions imposed on widows, and a man who is from the highest caste and a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. “Water” was not allowed to be filmed in India and Mehta had to go to Sri Lanka to make the film. It was subsequently banned in India and Pakistan as “irreverent and seditious”. The film is one of a trilogy, the other two “Fire” and “Earth” also being quite controversial.
8.5/10

ART SUNDAY - PALLIDA MORS

“Death is a distant rumor to the young.” - Andrew A. Rooney

For Art Sunday today, a painting by James C. Christensen, an American artist whose works are very much in the surrealistic/fantasy style. This is one is called “Pallida Mors” (Pale Death) and superposes the young girl on the verge of womanhood with the skeletal remains of bird and reptile skeletons in the tradition of the “memento mori” paintings of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Certainly an arresting image and a skilful portrait.


All but Death, can be Adjusted-
Dynasties repaired-
Systems - Settled in their Sockets-
Citadels - Dissolved-

Wastes of Lives - Resown with Colors
By Succeeding Springs- -
Death Unto itself - Exception -
Is exempt from Change -

Emily Dickinson

SECRET GARDEN

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

I am rather tired tonight after a busy day doing chores and running around here and there. Always something to do around the house at the weekend, shopping, going to the market, going to the library… In any case the day ended well and that’s what matters.

For Song Saturday today, a video that I made when I was a student. We had to make a piece of “Video Art” in which the story was to be told in images only, no words. My piece was called “Secret Garden” and it tried to give a picture of a garden steeped in mystery and intrigue. A garden where the statues looked upon strange goings-on and where murder was in the air…

I also composed and performed the music (with the help of my computer). I have composed quite a lot of music and with the technology nowadays, one can hear quite easily anything from a solo, to a quartet, to a band piece, to a full orchestral score. Tell me what you think…

EXERCISE, DIETS & RESVERATROL

“Why do strong arms fatigue themselves with frivolous dumbbells? To dig a vineyard is worthier exercise for men.” - Marcus Valerius Martialis

You would think that if you had a nice fast walk you would work up an appetite and not only eat your dinner more eagerly but also more of it in quantity. Apparently not! Latest research has shown that being a couch potato and not exercising will cause you to feel hungrier and would require you to eat more in order to feel replete. Sitting around apparently increases hunger more than exercising. It all has to do with psychological factors and our perceptions of hunger. A recent study in the USA, examined young people who were either active or inactive and the effect it had on their appetite.

The volunteers were followed through days when they active (spending 12 hours being active – not exercising but rather walking, doing chores, housework, etc, with only 10 minutes rest in every hour) and when they were being sedentary (sitting watching videos and playing computer games, even being pushed around in a wheelchair if they wanted to go somewhere). The results were quite startling: After the active or sedate days, they were given breakfast and asked how hungry they felt before and after eating breakfast. The sedentary group felt the hungriest (up to 17% more than the active group) and they also did not feel as satiated as the active group did after the meal.

The moral of the story is simple. Keep active, adhere to regular meal times and eat a healthy diet and this will not only maintain your shape, but you will feel better and more satisfied with your meals. Needless to say your health will improve also!

Another interesting study related to dieting, and especially the way that dieters banished sweet foods from their immediate environment so as not to be “tempted” to break their diet. The Belgian study led by Kelly Geyskens found that dieters who kept some “tempting” sweet treats around the house actually increased willpower and helped dieting.

The researchers presented female students with tempting foods and found that the women actually had greater self-control when they were confronted with a sweet treat to which they had access, rather than pictures or smells. It seems counter-intuitive to keep sweet treats in the house while dieting, but having them available, apparently can increase the person’s willpower, which can be “trained up”. So while dieting it helps to have some bon-bons and chocolate treats around which will constantly challenge you and by avoiding them you can activate you self-control strategies, which ultimately will cause you to not eat what you shouldn’t!

Another interesting study that I read about recently, concerns a substance that is found in high concentration in red wine and fruit: Resveratrol. This is an almost miraculous compound that has anti-ageing effects and important anti-oxidant properties. A radiation oncologist, Joel Greenberger, chemically altered resveratrol by adding acetyl groups to it (the compound found in vinegar). When the altered acetyl-resveratrol compound was given to mice it proved to be effective in preventing radiation damage.

This is an important study as there have not been any drugs until now that help to limit radiation damage. This new compound can perhaps be used in nuclear accidents, or to help protect the body when cancer is being treated with radiation therapy. More research is being carried out.

In the meantime, exercise, have plenty of sweet treats around the house but resist temptation and sip on soured red wine!

HAPPY EID AL-FITR!

“Surrender is faith that the power of love can accomplish anything... Even when you can not foresee the outcome.” Deepak Chopra

Today is Eid al-Fitr, the joyous celebration ending the month of Ramadan in the Islamic calendar. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims observe a strict fast and participate in pious activities such as charity and alms giving and peace-making. It is a time of intense spiritual renewal for those who observe it. At the end of Ramadan, Muslims throughout the world observe a three-day celebration called Eid al-Fitr (the Festival of Fast-Breaking).

Eid al-Fitr falls on the first day of Shawwal, the month following Ramadan in the Islamic lunar calendar. It is a time to give in charity to those in need, and celebrate with family and friends the completion of a month of blessings and joy. Before the day of Eid, during the last few days of Ramadan, each Muslim family gives a determined amount as a donation to the poor. This donation is of actual food (rice, barley, dates, rice, etc) to ensure that the needy can have a holiday meal and participate in the celebration. This donation is known as sadaqah al-fitr (charity of fast-breaking).

On the day of Eid, Muslims put on new clothes and gather early in the morning in outdoor locations or mosques to perform the Eid prayer. This consists of a sermon followed by a short congregational prayer. After the Eid prayer, the faithful usually scatter to visit various family and friends, give gifts (especially to children), and make phone calls to distant relatives to give well-wishes for the holiday. These activities traditionally continue for three days. In most Muslim countries, the entire 3-day period is an official government/school holiday. In 2008, Eid al-Fitr is between the 2nd and 5th of October.

Common greetings during this holiday are the Arabic greeting EĪd mubārak ("Blessed Eid") or ‘Īd sa‘īd ("Happy Eid"). In addition, many countries have their own greetings based on local language and traditions.

The word of the day is Islam:

Islam |isˈläm| noun
• The religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah.
• The Muslim world: The most enormous complex of fortifications in all Islam.

Founded in the Arabian peninsula in the 7th century AD, Islam is now the professed faith of nearly a billion people worldwide, particularly in North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. The ritual observances and moral code of Islam were said to have been given to Muhammad as a series of revelations, which were codified in their holy book, the Koran. Islam is regarded by its adherents as the last of the revealed religions, and Muhammad is seen as the last of the prophets, building on and perfecting the examples and teachings of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. There are two major branches in Islam: Sunni and Shia.

DERIVATIVES
Islamic |ɪˈslɑmɪk| adjective
Islamicisation |isˌlämisiˈzā sh ən; iz-| noun
Islamicise |isˈlämiˌsīz; iz-| verb
Islamism |ˈisləˌmizəm; ˈiz-| noun
Islamist |ˈɪsləməst| noun
Islamisation |isˌlämiˈzā sh ən; iz-| noun
Islamise |ˈisləˌmīz; ˈiz-| verb

ORIGIN from Arabic 'islām ‘submission,’ from 'aslama ‘submit (to God).’

SOLITUDE

“I was never less alone than when by myself.” - Edward Gibbon

Solitude
Who are sitting in company under the bright window?
Two of us – my shadow and I.
The lamp is burning itself out and forces me to go to bed,
Forsaken now even by my shadow.
Ah, such misery!
How desolate am I!
Xiang Gao (born ≈1100)

HAPPY JEWISH NEW YEAR!

The first book was printed on this day in 1452. It was Johann Gutenberg’s Bible.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, occurs on the first and second days of the month of Tishri. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, “head of the year” or “first of the year”. This name is somewhat deceptive, because there is little similarity between Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the year, and our New Year, which is a time of partying and drinking. There is something in common, however, the New Year’s day is a time to plan a better life, making "resolutions." One engages in introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year. The name "Rosh Hashanah" is not used in the Bible to discuss this holiday. The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar). The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25.

The shofar is a ram's horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar in the synagogue. A total of 100 notes are sounded each day. There are four different types of shofar notes: Tekiah, a 3 second sustained note; shevarim, three 1-second notes rising in tone, teruah, a series of short, staccato notes extending over a period of about 3 seconds; and tekiah gedolah (literally, "big tekiah"), the final blast in a set, which lasts 10 seconds minimum. The Bible gives no specific reason for this practice. One that has been suggested is that the shofar's sound is a call to repentance. The shofar is not blown if the holiday falls on Shabbat.

No work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah. Much of the day is spent in the synagogue, where the regular daily liturgy is somewhat expanded. In fact, there is a special prayerbook called the machzor used for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur because of the extensive liturgical changes for these holidays.

Another popular observance during this holiday is eating apples dipped in honey, a symbol of our wish for a sweet new year. Bread is also dipped in honey (instead of the usual practice of sprinkling salt on it) at this time of year for the same reason. Another popular practice of the holiday is Tashlikh ("casting off"). People walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and empty their pockets into the river, symbolically casting off our sins. Small pieces of bread are commonly put in the pocket to cast off. This practice is not discussed in the Bible, but is a long-standing custom. Tashlikh is normally observed on the afternoon of the first day, before afternoon services. When the first day occurs on Shabbat, many synagogues observe Tashlikh on Sunday afternoon, to avoid carrying bread on Shabbat.

The common greeting at this time is L'shanah tovah ("for a good year"). This is a shortening of "L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem" (or to women, "L'shanah tovah tikatevi v'taihatemi"), which means "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."

So, happy Jewish New Year 5769!

MOVIE MONDAY - BABEL

“It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others.” - John Andrew Holmes

On Sunday we watched Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2006 film, “Babel” starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Iñárritu won the Cannes Film Festival’s Best Director award with this film and he has several other important films under his belt: “Amores Perros” and "21 Grams". This film is constructed in an almost signature way, with several interlocking stories connected by a common thread. In this case, this is a high powered rifle that makes its way from Japan to Morroco and manages to change the life of people in the USA and Mexico, as well. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett give good performances, but they pale into insignificance when compared to the actors playing the Moroccan family and the Mexican family, who do a really exceptional job.

An American couple holidaying in Morroco are victims of a freak accident involving kids playing with a rifle. A Japanese father and daughter try and cope with the results of suicide, while in Mexico the children of the American couple survive an ordeal in the desert after their nanny tries to do the right thing by everyone. The film is strong and cleverly juxtaposes all four stories, but it could be cut as its 138 minutes makes it drag somewhat. The cinematography and the direction are wonderful, but the impact is lost somewhat by its slow pace in parts.

Similar to the same director’s “Amores Perros” the interlocking stories theme highlights common factors of human existence at various levels of society the world over. The message is simple: The universality of humanity - what causes us pain and joy is the same all over the world and as humans we all experience the same despair and hope in similar situations.

Well worth seeing, but quite a violent film with some very graphic scenes…

ART SUNDAY - MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” - Edgar Degas

Yesterday I had to go the University of Melbourne, my alma mater, and as always found many changes, especially so as the last time I had been there was about 2 years ago. Nevertheless, some things had not changed and one of them was the art around the campus. The gallery of the University is the Ian Potter Museum of Art. It is worth visiting both for its collection and its own architecture. Designed by one of Melbourne's most interesting contemporary architects, Nonda Katsalidis, it incorporates parts of older university buildings such as the Napier Waller Art Deco stained glass window from the old Wilson Hall (which burnt down). The gallery is a bequest to the university from the businessman, Sir Ian Potter. The very distinctive façade has this striking sculptural mural, where classical art burgeons forth from the interior of the museum! A tribute to the excellent collection of Greek pottery housed n the museum, perhaps. There are some very good 19th century paintings and many contemporary art pieces. Temporary exhibitions make the bulk of the exhibited material.

Whenever I visited the Baillieu Library as a student I could not help but notice the monumental sculptural group just outside, on the lawn adjacent to the library. The bronze sculpture known as “Charity Being Kind to the Poor”, was originally the “crowning piece” of the massive entrance portico of the Equitable Life Assurance Society headquarters in Collins Street. The building was demolished in the late 1950s and the owners presented the sculpture to the University. Created by architect Edward W Raht and sculptor Victor Tilgner at the Imperial Art Foundry in Vienna in about 1893, the substantially-scaled Charity, sheltering a huddled family, is a clear statement on the advantages of buying life insurance. Originally situated at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning’s Mount Martha site, it was relocated to its present location in 1981.

Fifty metres away from the Baillieu Library are James Gilbert’s Atlantes, a pair of massive stone classical male figures supporting the western entrance to the underground car park. Everyone is aware of the Caryatides, the female figures supporting the porch of the maidens of the Erechtheum on the Acropolis in Athens. The male equivalent of a Caryatis is an Atlas (as in the giant Atlas of mythology who supported the heavens on his back). Atlantes is the plural and refer to the architectural device of male figures supporting an architectural feature on their backs. Both Caryatides and Atlantes were very common in the past as standard architectural features.

This imposing gateway was originally part of the Colonial Bank of Australasia Building on the corner of Elizabeth and Little Collins Streets in the City of Melbourne. The bank donated them to the University in 1932 following the demolition of that elaborate 1880s city building. Unfortunately, the unrelenting wheels of progress have meant that many a fine building was demolished in the past to make way for some modern monstrosity that adhered to the tastes of the time. At least some vestiges of these original buildings have been saved and through the sensitivity of some souls can still be enjoyed today.

The abiding relevance of Classical Greece is also reflected in the Melbourne Greek Orthodox Community’s gift to the University to commemorate the 1956 Olympiad in Melbourne: Poseidon, a modern cast bronze copy of one of the finest examples of early classical sculpture. The original (c. 460 BC) is in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. It was recovered in 1928 in the sea off Cape Artemision after fishermen found its arm in their nets. It depicts Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, about to hurl a trident (which is now missing from the original statue and therefore from this cast also). An alternative interpretation of the iconography is that it depicts Zeus about to hurl a thunderbolt.

The statue is one of only two approved castings; the other is in the United Nations Building in New York. It was initially located in the University’s Beaurepaire Centre sporting complex, built in the 1950s and used as a training pool for the 1956 Olympic Games. Poseidon was relocated to the courtyard of the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Building in 1994.

The University as a place of intellectual pursuits, a temple of learning, a refuge for the arts and sciences, teaching and research ensures that art will always have a place in its environs.

THE NUN

“We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love.” – Jonathan Swift

I must begin by saying that I dislike Céline Dion when she sings in English. However, many of her songs in French are very good. One of these is called “La Religieuse” (The Nun) and in a few verses creates a psychologically taut duality, amplified by the religious organ strains contrasting with the rock beat: Passion versus chastity; love versus abstinence; prayer versus revelry, reality in a convent with the nostalgic remembrances of nights of love in hotel rooms...


LA RELIGEUSE

Même à genoux même en prière
Elle se souvient de l'Italie
Jésus Marie et notre Père
C'est peu vous dire qu'elle vous oublie

De l'autre côté de l'enfer
Elle se souvient d'avoir dit oui
À la passion à la lumière
À l'amour fou à l'infini

Et prier cet homme sur la croix
C'est encore se donner à lui
Et quand lui viennent ces idées là
C'est à peine si elle en rougit
La religieuse a comme moi
Des nuits d'amour en nostalgie
La religieuse a quelques fois
Des sanglots longs de jalousie

Même à genoux même en prière
Elle entend sa voix qui l'appelle
Elle voit des bateaux sur la mer
Elle revoit des chambres d'hôtel

De l'autre côté de ce mur
Il y a le soleil de la vie
Il y a des lèvres qui murmurent
À des lèvres assoiffées d'envie

Et prier cet homme sur la croix
C'est encore se donner à lui
Et quand lui viennent ces idées là
C'est à peine si elle en rougit
La religieuse a comme moi
Des nuits d'amour en nostalgie
La religieuse a quelques fois
Des sanglots longs de jalousie

Même à genoux même en prière
Elle a des frissons de désir
Tellement de sorciers l'ensorcellent
Que le diable y prend du plaisir

Elle a beau nouer ses cheveux
Sous une cornette anonyme
Elle ne sait pas baisser les yeux
La peur du mal l' enféminine

Et prier cet homme sur la croix
C'est encore se donner à lui
Et quand lui viennent ces idées là
C'est à peine si elle en rougit
La religieuse a comme moi
Des nuits d'amour en nostalgie
La religieuse a quelques fois
Des sanglots longs de jalousie
THE NUN

Even when kneeling, even deep in prayer
She still remembers Italy.
“Jesus, Mary and our Father…”
Just saying the words and forgetting them.

On the other side of hell
She remembers having said yes
To passion, and to light,
To love until infinity…

And while praying to this man on the cross,
She is still giving herself to the other.
And when these ideas come into mind,
It's just as if she blushes
The nun, like me,
Has nights of love in nostalgia
The nun sometimes has
Bitter tears of jealousy.

Even while kneeling, even in prayer
She hears his voice calling.
She sees boats on the sea
She sees the hotel rooms again.

On the other side of the wall
There is the sun of life,
There are lips that whisper
For the envious lips thirsty for kisses…

And while praying to this man on the cross,
She is still giving herself to the other.
And when these ideas come into mind,
It's just as if she blushes
The nun, like me,
Has nights of love in nostalgia
The nun sometimes has
Bitter tears of jealousy.

Even while kneeling, even in prayer
She shivers with desire
So the wizards weave their sorcery
So the devil brings her pleasure.

Even if her beautiful hair is hidden
Under a nun’s anonymous wimple,
She does not know to cast her eyes down
Has no fear of the feminised evil.

And while praying to this man on the cross,
She is still giving herself to the other.
And when these ideas come into mind,
It's just as if she blushes
The nun, like me,
Has nights of love in nostalgia
The nun sometimes has
Bitter tears of jealousy.

DAIQUIRI

“Spirit has fifty times the strength and staying-power of brawn and muscle” – Mark Twain

The Daiquiri cocktail was originally conceived as a way to cool off under the hot Cuban Sun, and it’s been the standard of outdoor refreshment ever since its conception. The classic Daiquiri, as originally invented, was hand shaken and never frozen or blended with fruit.
In 1898, in the small mining town of Daiquiri, Cuba, a mining engineer by the name of Jennings Stockton Cox invented a cocktail to help boost his men’s morale during the hot summer months. Jennings was compensated with a generous salary along with a monthly gallon of his favourite Bacardi Rum. After experimenting with local ingredients he showed his men how to combine lime juice, sugar, crushed ice and Bacardi Carta Blanca to create what he later named the Daiquiri.

This cocktail still remains the most popular way to taste the spirit of old Havana. Its exotic taste and versatility make it a modern classic.

DAIQUIRI

Ingredients
2 limes, juiced
3 teaspoonfuls sugar
3 parts white rum
cracked ice

Method
In a cocktail shaker mix the cracked ice, lime juice, sugar and rum until a frost forms. Strain into a chilled martini glass and add a lime twist as a garnish.

Enjoy your weekend!

WATERCRESS

“Salad freshens without enfeebling and fortifies without irritating.” - Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

The plant for today’s birthdays is the watercress, Nasturtium officinalis. It is one of the nine sacred herbs of the Hebrews, who consume it as a side dish during the Passover Feast. The herb is symbolic of the coming of Spring and suggests renewal, hope and redemption. The ancient Greeks also held it in high regard and the saying “eat cresses and get wit” is attributable to this. It is a lunar herb and symbolises stability and power.

Blackberries should now be ripe and ready for gathering. In Scotland, it was said that this should be done before Old Holy Rood Day (September 26th) as the Devils poisoned the brambles on that day:
Oh weans! Oh weans! The morn’s the Fair
Ye may na eat the berries mair
This nicht the Deil gangs ower them a’
To touch them with his pooshioned paw.

In most of England, the Devil is thought not to spit or urinate on the berries until Michaelmas (September 29th) or even until Old Michaelmas (October 10th). It depends on how many good berries are still around it seems! Blackberry tarts can be made with the gathered berries.

watercress |ˈwôtərˌkres| noun
A cress that grows in running water and whose pungent leaves are used in salad. • Nasturtium officinale, family Brassicaceae.
ORIGIN Old English cresse, cærse; related to Dutch kers and German Kresse.

THE BOTTICELLI VENUS

“He does not need opium. He has the gift of reverie.” - Anais Nin

In my job I often have to interact with many representatives of the health system, both on an individual as well as at an institutional level. Hospitals, clinics, practitioners, professional bodies, government organisations, politicians, officials can all be included in a day’s work. Today I had a meeting with the manager of a unit of one of our major hospitals here in Melbourne. The unit was an acute detoxification centre, which provides services for drug-dependent adults and children. After our meeting I was taken on an inspection tour of the facilities and met a few of the inmates.

Nowhere else perhaps does one experience such a feeling of acute dismay and consternation as when one sees people with drug problems in a setting where they need acute intervention to save their life. Especially so when these people are young. One individual stood out and I shall remember the look on her face for a long time. It was a young girl of 13 or 14 years, sitting on the couch of the common room, her legs curled up and held tightly by her enfolding arms. Her face as beautiful as a Botticelli Venus but her eyes vacant and distant as if they had already beheld death. Her youth in years belied most certainly the breadth of her experiences in the cruel world of the night and the gang-ridden streets. The innocence that should still have been hers was usurped by a life lived prematurely and an awareness of the terrors of life that many other people would never experience. The vacant stare, the indifference, the remoteness, the denial painted on that beautiful young face was devoid of hope and the surroundings did little to inspire confidence in the long-term success of detox program.

If one works in such an area, one learns detachment very quickly. When one is surrounded by disease, distress, misery, death, hopelessness, one must remain strong and rather remote in order to be able to help the ones that need one’s efficient intervention. A detached, professional manner, however, doesn’t imply an underlying insensitivity or lack of sympathy or pity. The young Venus of the detox centre affected my thoughts for the rest of the day and stimulated these lines:

The Botticelli Venus

Which wind blows sweet, spice-scented air
To play with your golden curls?
What spring flowers lend their pastel colours
To tint your rosy cheeks?
What melodies will sound so that they
Give you tones with which you speak?
What paradise will bestow its setting
So you can walk in bliss in your meanderings?

The crystalline white powder concealling
A million colours, sweet scents, rich tastes
In its deceptive insipidness;
The whirling smoke of the false-friend herb,
The few clear drops of death injected
In an unwary but receptive vein.

What lends your face the serenity of such euphoria?
What secret vision gives your eyes such burning brilliance?
Which rare delight loosens your limbs in such languor?
What stunning imagery empties your mind
Of all gloom and only sunny thoughts allows?
Which friend, companion, helpmate is at work
To aid your every step and counter each adversity,
Negating all of life’s vicissitudes?

The glass of sparkling spirit promising
A welcoming oblivion;
The magic, problem-solving pill,
Delivering every delight;
The overdose that wipes clean every slate
And ends what should have been but a beginning…

VERNAL EQUINOX

“There is no reality except the one contained within us.” - Hermann Hesse

Astronomically speaking, today is the first day of Spring in the Southern hemisphere as yesterday we had our vernal equinox. On this point of the earth’s trajectory around the sun, the sun is situated at a point directly above the equator at noon. Night and day are equal and beyond that the days begin to lengthen and the nights to become shorter as we progress towards summer. In the Northern hemisphere, the opposite occurs of course, as the autumnal equinox heralds autumn and the shortening of the days and lengthening of nights as winter approaches. In Japan the autumnal equinox is termed Higan, meaning the “other shore”, implying heaven. Buddhists will pray in temples and in cemeteries for the souls of the dead in ceremonies reminiscent of All Souls’ Day.

The day today was more wintry than spring-like in Melbourne, with rain, cold and grey skies giving us the last taste of winter before he leaves us. At work I was quite busy, catching up after my time away from the office – work tends to accumulate when one is away and it takes some time before one catches up. I had a record number of emails yesterday and today and I tried to deal with all 200 or so of them, but it was an impossible task. I had to answer the urgent ones and the rest remained to be dealt with later. A couple of meetings, several memos to write and the day ended before I quite knew it.

Today is the national day of Armenia, which is the smallest of the 15 republics of the former USSR. It gained its independence in 1991. It is about 30,000 square km in area with a population of 4 million people. It is East of Turkey and North of Georgia. The capital city is Yerevan with other main centres being Karaklis, Kumayri and Kamo. It is a mountainous, landlocked country with small but fertile regions of arable land. The main industry is machine-building with chemicals and textiles also contributing to the economy. Farming and raising of sheep, goats and cattle is also important.

A COMEDY

“God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.” – Voltaire

Today I was in Adelaide for work. Commuting to a different city for a day is rather tiring, but one can achieve quite a lot if the scheduling of the appointments has been organized well. And this was the case today. Rushing from one place to another, from a Minister’s office to a Government Department, from a College to a University, it was hectic and we had to battle with the weather as Spring showers were definitely the order of the day. Nevertheless, all went well and I managed to get home at 8:30 pm…

Yesterday we watched an old film, but one that we had missed when it first came out. It was “The Man Who Knew Too Little” (1997) with Bill Murray. Jon Amiel directs this spy-thriller spoof with his tongue lodged firmly in his cheek and the laughs are plentiful. The plot concerns an American, Wallace Ritchie, who flies to England planning to spend his birthday with his brother, James. James has business guests coming over and must find something to occupy his brother until dinner's over. Conveniently, James sees an ad for the "Theatre Of Life," which promises to treat the participant as a character in a drama staged in a neighbourhood and signs up Wallace for the immersion performance. Wallace decides to participate, but unfortunately he gets in the way of a real spy assignation and becomes tangled up in a plot to kill Russian dignitaries on the eve of the signing of an important peace agreement. For him, it's all an act and he has great fun being a participant in the drama, however, to the men who want a second Cold War, Wallace is an agent who must be “liquidated”.

Yes, it’s corny and conventional in its gags, and the end is predictable, but nevertheless the light fun is conducive to a few laughs and one may spend a pleasant 90 minutes or so enjoying the antics of funnyman Murray. One of the highlights is his Russian Cossack dance. Richard Wilson (from the funny UK TV series “One Foot in the Grave”) has small funny part and the romantic interest is provided by Joanne Whalley, rather ably.

Definitely not highbrow, not witty or very intelligent, but quite enjoyable as a bit of escapist fluff, good for a few laughs. If you do not enjoy Bill Murray’s brand of humour, then obviously avoid this flick.