VOCALISE

“Nostalgia is a seductive liar.” - George Wildman Ball

As time passes our memory dulls acute pains of yesterday while the pleasures we have felt in former times become idealised into something exquisite. The nostalgia we feel for the past sometimes intrudes into the present moment and jars our experiences, which somehow feel deficient. If used well our album of memories can be a balm, a soothing unguent for the present’s woes. If we look backward all of the time and choose to live in the past, nostalgia becomes poisoned wine.

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) is one of my favourite romantic composers – perhaps the last great romantic. Here is a piece of his that reeks of nostalgia. There is both balm and poison in this piece and depending on your frame of mind it can heal or kill…

“Vocalise” Op. 34 No. 14 published in 1912 as the last of his Fourteen Songs, Opus 34. Written for voice (soprano or tenor) with piano accompaniment, it contains no words, but is sung using any one vowel (of the singer's choosing). It was dedicated to soprano Antonina Nezhdanova. Here is Renée Fleming singing it with orchestral accompaniment.

TV CHEFS

“He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise.” - Henry David Thoreau

Today is World Television Day and seeing as it is also Food Friday, I’ll combine the two and talk about TV chefs and TV food programs. Any channel worth its salt has one or two of these programs around and it is not unusual for TV chefs to become national or international celebrities as a direct result of these programs. Julia Child, Jeff Smith (a.k.a. The Frugal Gourmet), Justin Wilson (a.k.a. The Cajun Cook), James Beard (a.k.a The Father of American Cooking), Jamie Oliver (a.k.a The Naked Chef), Gordon Ramsay (a.k.a The Chef of Hell’s Kitchen), Nigella Lawson, Madhur Jaffrey, Kylie Kwong, Stefano de Pieri, Iain Hewitson, Vefa Alexiadou, Ilias Mamalakis, Gabriel Gaté, etc, etc, etc.

They come from all places, cook in an amazing array of styles, national idioms, have mind-boggling variety of approaches, employ different gimmicks and have hundreds of thousands (some millions!) of loyal followers that often extend beyond the confines of their own nation. Their programs can be quite straight-forward and to the point “how-to-cook-xyz”, brief and no-nonsense, but many of them have themed extravaganzas that pull out all stops and besides the obvious primary theme of food, have secondary themes including travel, culture, nutrition, self-sufficiency, etc.

The term “celebrity chef” is often applied to these TV chefs in a derogatory way. They are often seen by the serious foodie as charlatans who prostitute their art and who are peddling their craft to the marketplace in a virtual world where the products of their toil in the kitchen are not enjoyed as they would be if they worked in a restaurant. A real chef working in a real restaurant, producing real food for real people is what a foodie would describe as an ideal situation. If that real chef is consummate in his art, then his fame will be well earned and surely his celebrity status is deserved.

I personally don’t like the TV chef. Especially so if they are gimmicky and rely on heir notoriety more than their skill to attract viewers. I abhor the tactics of Gordon Ramsay and find his manner odious, in fact I doubt whether I’d even taste any of his food (remember the finger incident?). Jamie Oliver is similarly distasteful. The ones I like tend to be low key and rather boring for general consumption. They tend to be more pedestrian in their approach and they see themselves as teachers of their craft. There is much science in food – chemistry, physics, thermodynamics. One must understand the processes in order to be successful and some TV chefs are happy to share their knowledge.

The celebrity chef is not a new discovery. The first such chef to attain this status was Antoine Carême (1784-1833) who was called “The king of chefs and chef of kings”. He built on the “haute cuisine” style of French cooking, full of elaborate, complicated and grandiose dishes. Although born in poverty and abandoned by his parents as a child, he managed to be apprenticed in a cheap Parisian eatery and gradually worked his way to the top in a fashionable patisserie. He progressed to being the chef of many a crowned head and many an influential person in Europe.

Carême is credited with creating the standard chef's hat (the toque), with the invention of new sauces and dishes, and the establishment of the haute cuisine. He published a classification of all sauces into groups, based on four basic sauces. He is also credited with replacing the practice of service à la française (serving all dishes at once) with service à la russe (serving each dish in the order of courses). He wrote several cookery books, above all L' Art de la Cuisine Française (5 volumes, 1833–34), which included, aside from hundreds of recipes, plans for menus and opulent table settings, a history of French cookery, and instructions for organising kitchens – a veritable encyclopaedia of cooking. He died at the age of 48 in Germany, possibly from the effects of inhaling toxic gases from the burning coal of the kitchen fires he was constantly exposed to.

ThE DORD OF THE PRONIAL BREAN...

“Be not the slave of Words.” - Thomas Carlyle

Do you know what a “ghost word” is?

ghost word |gōst wərd|noun
a word that is not actually used but is recorded in a dictionary, grammar or other reference work. It usually gets into that scholarly work as a result of a misreading or misinterpretation, as by mistaking a typographical error for an actual word.

The classic example of a ghost word is the word “dord”. It began its short life in 1931 when G. and C. Merriam Company's staff included it in the second edition of its Webster’s New International Dictionary, in which the term was defined as “density”. It is due to an error made when transcribing a card that read "D or d" (meaning a capital D or lower case d) as an abbreviation for “density”, such as in “The formula for finding density is D = V/M” (Density equals volume divided by mass).

A new typed up slip was prepared for the printer and the part of speech assigned along with a pronunciation for typesetters to include in the printing. The word got past proofreaders and appeared on page 771 of the dictionary around 1934. In 1939, an editor noticed “dord” lacked an etymology (word origin, or derivation) and investigated. Soon an order was sent to the printer marked “plate change/imperative/urgent”. The word “dord” was removed and the definition of the adjacent entry “Dore furnace” was expanded from “A furnace for refining dore bullion” to “a furnace in which dore bullion is refined” to close up the space.

Since major dictionaries are very carefully compiled and edited (I should know!), ghost words are rare in reputable reference works. However, dictionary writers have been known to copy entries from one another without looking for citations, where the word is in use (i.e. in books, magazines, newspapers, journals, etc), which means that some ghost words can be propagated.

Other examples of ghost words are: “pornial”, a mistake for “primal” which appeared first in the Century Dictionary and was then copied into Funk & Wagnalls Dictionary. When the original Oxford English Dictionary was being compiled ghost words would regularly appear, or were close to appearing in the dictionary. One which almost did appear was the word “brean” The lexicographer was suspicious, however, contacted Robert Louis Stevenson directly (from whose work came the citation which contained the word) and asked him about it. It turns out “brean” was a printer’s mistake and the word should have been “ocean”.

Bad eyesight, bad handwriting, bad transcription, bad work by volunteers and bad dictionary writing practice (copying other dictionaries!) all traditionally contributed to the appearance of ghost words in dictionaries. However, apart from traditional dictionaries, there are a whole host of less scrupulously compiled word lists that pander to people’s lurid appetite for odd or unusual words. A mistake, or even a misleading definition, can definitely propagate ghost words (especially nowadays with the Internet where odd words get passed around – no questions asked!).

So if you want to know the “dord of the pornial brean”, it was less dense than today’s oceans because there was less salt dissolved in it!

WITHOUT YOU

“Love is, above all, the gift of oneself.” - Jean Anouilh

Without your Love

Without leaves, a twig is dead wood.
Without water, a river is not worthy of the name.
Without music, a song is so many empty words.
Without your love, I am nothing.

Without stars, the night sky is an abyss.
Without fish, the sea is but a bucket full of water.
Without birds, the air is not alive with song.
Without your love, I am not whole.

Without an oasis, the desert is endless hopelessness.
Without sunshine, the night will last forever.
Without abatement, the storm will drown all.
Without your love, the world ends for me.

IN GOOD HUMOUR

“In nothing do men more nearly approach the gods than in giving health to men.” - Cicero

I had a meeting with my publisher today and we discussed a project of mine concerning a book to come out next year. In our discussions we started talking about the history of medicine and more specifically we talked about the ancient humoral theory of disease. This was a philosophy that originated with the ancient Greeks and which aligned the four “elements” (earth, fire, water and air) with the four body fluids or “humours” (blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile). The importance of this system of medicine in history cannot be stressed enough as it held sway for many centuries before it finally gave way to the new ideas heralded by the Renaissance and which took over in the age of enlightenment.

The four elements was an attractive theory, because it seemingly explained how all things were made up. If one took wood, for example, it was full of water when fresh and one had to dry it to remove it. When one heated it, it was set alight, liberating its content of fire and ultimately, as the air was driven out of it in the form of smoke, ash would be left behind as the last component, earth. Different things were made up of different proportions of earth, fire, air and water, accounting for their different textures and properties.

Similarly, the four humours of the body made up the flesh and fluids. When one was healthy, there was a good balance of these humours. We still speak of someone being “good-humoured”. There are disorders of the blood that the haematologist still refers to as “dyscrasias” – literally a “bad mixture”.

An excess of blood made the person “sanguine” or “plethoric” and these people tended to be obese, but also robust and active, moderately hypersexed with a good appetite and a full strong pulse. The way to treat them was to bleed them, relieving them of their excess of blood! Many poor patients were bled to death by the overzealous ministrations of their physician. A sanguine person nowadays still describes someone cheerfully optimistic.

Too much phlegm made the person “phlegmatic”: Flaccid and obese with thin hair, narrow blood vessels and white pasty skin. They were said to be slow in movement and intelligence, even-tempered and not given much to gastronomic or sexual pleasures. We still use the word rather disparagingly to describe someone who has an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition.

Having too much black bile in your body made you “melancholic”, which term has been retained in the language to describe someone who feels sad, gloomy, or depressed. In humoral medicine the melancholic type was usually, dark, hairy, with narrow blood vessels, slow pulse, large appetite and inclined towards excessive sexual activity. Quite often these people were purged with powerful drugs or herbs in order to rid the body of the excess humour.

The last humour yellow bile, in excess, made someone “choleric” (meaning today bad-tempered and irritable). This type of person tended to be thin, energetic, with a strong inclination to sexual pleasure, fastidious of food, a strong rapid pulse and good blood vessels. Emetics were prescribed to rid the body of the yellow bile which was in excess (an obvious in the vomit brought up!).

Around about 450 BC, the Greek philosopher Empedocles developed the theory of correspondence between the four elements with the four bodily humours and described disease in terms of imbalances between the elements and the humours. Unfortunately, this philosophically attractive theory which was not based much on fact or supported by experiment became the dominant theory in medicine, influencing many Greek and Roman medical schools, Islamic medicine and subsequently European medicine well into the Renaissance.

We no longer think there only four elements, and we know precisely what makes up the body and it’s not four humours. We know about disease, its causation, its diagnosis and its treatment. However, it is amusing that even in this day and age we retain the antiquated terms of the humoral theory even in our common language…

MOVIE MONDAY - APOCALYPTO

“We are born princes and the civilising process makes us frogs.” – Publilius Syrus

Last weekend we watched Mel Gibson’s 2006 film “Apocalypto”. I had been aware of the mixed reviews this film received when it first opened, but had missed catching hold of it until now, where once again I found it in the bargain bin of our local video store. The concept was an interesting one and when reading the back of the disc package I was intrigued to see that the film was in the Maya language with English subtitles. This was reason enough to see the film as I had never before had heard a single word of Mayan! This represents an authenticity that some films nowadays try to attain where one is transported to a time and place where the film-maker has attempted to recreate as much as possible the atmosphere and ambience as realistically as possible. It actually reminded of the other Mel Gibson film “The Passion of the Christ”, which was shot with the actors speaking Latin, Hebrew and Aramaic, the language actually spoken by most people at Christ’s time in Palestine. I love subtitles, so these are not an issue for me and the authenticity of hearing the right language spoken in the time and place the movie is set is a great touch.

Apocalypto is set in Central America, at the peak of Mayan civilization. The film starts innocently enough in a small village where a group of villagers hunt a tapir (yes, it is a scene full of blood and gore). Jaguar paw, is a simple villager whose idyllic life with his young family is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force of more “civilised” Mayans. The village is burnt and pillaged, many are killed and the young men are taken as slaves to the Mayan kingdom’s capital. Jaguar Paw faces certain death but through a quirk of fate he manages to escape and tries to return to his village in order to save his trapped wife and child.

In this film, Gibson combines many elements that spell success in Hollywood: Drama, adventure, hero versus villain, struggle and final redemption. However, what is novel is the exotic setting, the many authentic details (although the film is not historically accurate in its totality) and the richness of the striking visuals. The movie is very violent and if human sacrifice depicted graphically will disturb you then this is not the film for you. This is a major problem with the accuracy of the movie as it was the Aztecs and not the Mayas that sacrificed humans in the way depicted. The other inaccuracy has to do with the solar eclipse that seems to surprise everyone, but this is unlikely as the Mayans had excellent astronomical knowledge and very accurate calendars.

However, if you do not see the film, you will be missing out on some touching, some spectacular, some highly entertaining and some poignant parts that make the whole of the film quite enjoyable and overall a positive viewing experience. The cinematography is quite spectacular and the central portion of the film set in the Mayan capital is awe-inspiring in its barbaric splendour. I would have preferred more scenes in this very visually rich and amazingly intricate setting rather than the long chase sequences in the rain forest, however, the film works as it is. The music was not memorable, which I guess can be interpreted as an advantage – it must have not been jarring or obtrusive at the time and complemented the visuals. The acting was excellent and Rudy Youngblood as Jaguar Paw does a remarkable job. The other actors (nearly all completely unknown and draw from the native populations of Mexico and central America) all play well also.

The film’s last scene depicting the arrival of the Spaniards is another historical boo-boo (The peak of the Maya civilisation was between 200-900 AD, and the Spaniards arrived about 600 years later!), but one can forgive Mr Gibson for introducing this as it is a warning to us. Just as the “civilised” tribe terrorized and destroyed Jaguar Paw’s village, the more “civilised” Spaniards would go on to pillage, destroy and massacre all of the pre-Columbian societies they came into contact with in Central and South America. This can be a warning to our present “civilised” society also with its overwhelmingly destructive “globalising” pressures.

ART SUNDAY - ALONE IN LONDON

“Twilight drops her curtain down, and pins it with a star.” - Lucy Maud Montgomery

For art Sunday this week, a favourite painting of mine by Thomas A. Graham (1840-1906), a Scottish artist. I don’t know much about this artist, nor can I find out much from the internet. However, I like this painting as it has a great deal of atmosphere and a beautiful sense of luminosity that is evoked in the twilight it depicts. The solitary figure, looking towards the horizon is forlorn and withdrawn, in keeping with the loneliness implicit in the title: “Alone in London”.

Enjoy your week.

IF YOU WERE TO COME BACK...

“In every parting there is an image of death.” - George Eliot

For Song Saturday today, a beautiful Greek song from one of the most popular female singers in Greece currently, Peggy Zina. I have translated the lyrics for you.



If you were to come back

And suddenly all became dark in front of me,
And suddenly, I met up with loneliness.
My eyes became filled with pain,
Because you’re not with me any more.
I know what went wrong,
And I am not angry with you,
You know what went wrong too.

And if you are far from me now,
I can still love you,
To worry about you, to wait for
A sign from you to see.
If you were to come back,
You’d see how much I have missed you –
If you were to come back,
You’d see how I love you more than anybody else.

And hurriedly, you left and went away for ever
And hurriedly, you hide yourself in someone else’s embrace.
And I don’t care where you are,
As long as I know that you are happy and well.
And if they ask me how I feel about you,
I’ll have much to say…

And if you are far from me now,
I can still love you,
To worry about you, to wait for
A sign from you to see.
If you were to come back,
You’d see how much I have missed you –
If you were to come back,
You’d see how I love you more than anybody else…

If you were to come back,
You’d see how much I have missed you –
If you were to come back,
You’d see how I love you more than anybody else…

Να ‘Ρθεις

Και ξαφνικά όλα σκοτείνιασαν μπροστά μου
Και ξαφνικά συνάντησα τη μοναξιά
Κι είναι γεμάτα τα μάτια μου πόνο
Γιατί δε σ’ έχω πια.
Ξέρω τι φταίει, και δε σου θυμώνω,
Ξέρεις κι εσύ καλά.

Κι αν είσαι τώρα μακρυά μου,
Εγώ μπορώ να σ’ αγαπώ,
Ν’ ανησυχώ, να περιμένω
Ένα σημάδι σου να δω.
Να ‘ρθεις, να ‘ρθεις –
Πόσο μου έλειψες να δεις,
Να ‘ρθεις, να ‘ρθεις –
Που σ’ αγαπώ όσο κανείς…

Και βιαστικά φεύγεις και χάνεσαι για πάντα
Και βιαστικά πηγαίνεις σ’ άλλη αγκαλιά
Και δε με νοιάζει καθόλου που θα ‘σαι
Φτάνει να ‘σαι καλά.
Κι αν με ρωτήσουν για σένα πως νοιώθω
Θα ‘χω να πω πολλά.

Κι αν είσαι τώρα μακρυά μου,
Εγώ μπορώ να σ’ αγαπώ,
Ν’ ανησυχώ, να περιμένω
Ένα σημάδι σου να δω.
Να ‘ρθεις, να ‘ρθεις –
Πόσο μου έλειψες να δεις,
Να ‘ρθεις, να ‘ρθεις –
Που σ’ αγαπώ όσο κανείς…

Να ‘ρθεις, να ‘ρθεις –
Πόσο μου έλειψες να δεις,
Να ‘ρθεις, να ‘ρθεις –
Που σ’ αγαπώ όσο κανείς…

If you liked this song, here is another of this singer, called “With you”:

WORLD DIABETES DAY 2008

“He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors.” - Chinese Proverb

November the 14th has been designated as World Diabetes Day (WDD) and has become the day for highlighting a global awareness campaign of people suffering from diabetes, and their families. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1991 introduced the concept of a world day to raise awareness for diabetes in response to the sharp rise in diabetes incidence around the world. The United Nations marked the observation of the Day for the first time in 2007 with the passage of the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution in December 2006, which made the existing World Diabetes Day an official United Nations World Health Day.

World Diabetes Day is a campaign that features a new theme chosen by the International Diabetes Federation each year to address issues facing the global diabetes community. While the themed campaigns last the whole year, the day itself is celebrated on November 14, to mark the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, first conceived the idea, which led to the discovery of insulin in 1922.

In 2007 and 2008, the theme of World Diabetes Day is Diabetes in Children and Adolescents. Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. Type 1 diabetes is growing by 3% per year in children and adolescents, and at an alarming 5% per year among pre-school children. It is estimated that 70,000 children under 15 develop type 1 diabetes each year (almost 200 children a day). Currently, an estimated 440,000 children live with type 1 diabetes globally. Type 2 diabetes was once seen as a disease of adults but today, it is growing at alarming rates in children and adolescents.

The International Diabetes Federation's two-year focus on children through the World Diabetes Day campaign, aims to increase awareness among parents and caregivers, teachers, healthcare professionals, politicians and the public. World Diabetes Day is celebrated worldwide by the over 200 member associations of the International Diabetes Federation in more than 160 countries, all Member States of the United Nations, as well as by other associations and organizations, companies, healthcare professionals and people living with diabetes and their families.

The World Diabetes Day logo is the blue circle (being the global symbol for diabetes which was developed as part of the Unite for Diabetes awareness campaign). The logo was adopted in 2007 to mark the passage of
 the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution. The significance of
 the blue circle symbol is overwhelmingly positive. Across cultures, the circle symbolizes life and health. The colour blue reflects the sky that unites all nations and is the colour of the United Nations flag. The blue circle signifies the unity of the global diabetes community in response to the diabetes pandemic.

In terms of diet and diabetes, there is a common misconception out there that eating too much sugar or too many sweet foods habitually will give you diabetes. This is not true. The connection between diet and diabetes is that certain types of diabetes that people are predisposed to genetically, will be manifested when the person becomes overweight. Overweight people who have a poor diet (including much processed food and simple carbohydrates like sugar) often present with diabetes (especially type 2). Of particular concern are overweight children who are increasingly being diagnosed with this type of diabetes. However, if your genes do not predispose you to diabetes and if you are of normal weight, even if you live on sugar alone you will not get the disease.

A good way to prevent many types of diabetes is to maintain your weight within normal range, eat sensibly, have a balanced diet and exercise regularly. Even people who are genetically predisposed to diabetes can stave off the disease if they modify their lifestyle sufficiently.

AEROPHOBIA

“There are only two emotions in a plane: boredom and terror…” - Orson Welles

I am in Brisbane again for work. The flight was rather bumpy as we encountered a great deal of turbulence, and we landed with quite a thump, which elicited quite a few gasps from my fellow travellers. This was to be expected with our Spring weather - cloudy skies, winds and changeable outlook over the next few days. The traffic into the City from the airport was horrendous, driving home the point that Brisbane infrastructure is not coping well with increasing population and increasing tourism. The day has been a bit of whirlwind, with much activity and lots of things getting done. Another busy day here tomorrow with a special workshop/seminar to attend.

My word for the day is “aerophobia”:

Aerophobia |e(ə)ˈro-ˈfōbēə|noun
Fear of flying; this is a fear of being on a plane while in flight. It is also sometimes referred to as aviatophobia, aviophobia or pteromechanophobia. Related to it is the term aeronausiphobia, the fear of vomiting secondary to flying.

Each year, fear of flying causes millions of people needless distress. One in eight people deliberately avoids commercial air travel, and for some the feelings are so intense it is a phobia. More than a healthy concern about airline safety, fear of flying is a significant problem that can cause panic attacks even when a person contemplates the possibility of being in an airplane. Symptoms often include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, feeling of dread. Though anti-nausea drugs are often prescribed for people suffering from this phobia, they do not always help and side effects can occur.

On the other hand, ornithophobia relates to an irrational fear of birds and herpetophobia is an irrational fear of reptiles… Now think of the situation of an aerophobic/herpetophobic on a plane watching the on-flight movie “Snakes on a Plane”!

LOVE KILLS

“Ah me! Love can not be cured by herbs.” – Ovid

I found an old letter amongst some papers I was clearing out in my office today and I was slightly taken aback because amongst the detritus of work correspondence, old meeting agendas and yellowed timetables there was a billet-doux. Sweet nothings scribbled on a piece of lavender paper, a pet name, an envelope sealed with a kiss… That old flutter of the heart has long disappeared, but its memory lives on and it was enough for that little slip of lavender paper to bring old emotions to the fore, like dance steps that one automatically remembers, once the old tune begins to play.

One of the wonderful joys of love as it awakens within our heart is the bittersweet insecurity it breeds deep within us. “She loves me, loves me not…”, “Shall I speak or remain silent?”, “Is this true love or a simple infatuation?”. The joy of love is only one side of the coin, the misery of love is the other side of the coin. When we love we toss the coin up and await breathlessly for it to fall, hoping against hope that we win the toss…

Love Kills

I stand before you and will only say:
My love can thrill
My love can kill;
You choose, and tell me what will play.

You love me back and you shall see
My love will grow.
My love will throw
Back towards you, love thrice three.

As long as you will find the proper way,
My love will flourish
My love will nourish.
Or else, all will be death, an end, decay.

But even if all is as it should be, Love,
My love corrupts,
My love disrupts,
It brings all which lies below, above.

Beware, don’t tempt me, love me true;
My love can lie
My love can die,
You are the one who will decide my cue.

I stand before you and you’ll agree:
My love can thrill
My love can kill;
You choose, and tell me what will be.

REMEMBRANCE DAY AND POPPIES

“Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.” - John F. Kennedy

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month represents a very important moment on what is commemorated as Remembrance Day in many countries around the world. Thousands of people attended a service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra today, and in Australia in nearly all cities and towns, ceremonies were held, 90 years after the end of World War I. The guns fell silent on the Western Front on November 11, 1918, but not before ten million soldiers lost their lives in the Great War, with 60,000 of them being Australians.

The sacrifice of fallen soldiers is on the minds of all Australians today, as we commemorate this anniversary. The tradition of Remembrance Day began soon after World War I, what is still known as the “Great War”. It really affected everybody, and it certainly affected every family in Australia at that time. Crowds at today's ceremony were invited to lay poppies on the tomb of the unknown soldier in Canberra, while everywhere artificial poppies were on sale to raise money for the veteran community. Poppies are significant for Remembrance Day because they were the first flowers to bloom on the Western Front at the end of the First World War after all the fighting had finished.

Claude Choules, a107-year-old veteran of both World Wars has used Remembrance Day to call for Australian troops to be brought home. He enlisted in the British Royal Navy when he was 14-years-old and was present at the scuttling of the German Fleet at Scapa Flow at the end of World War I. He moved to Western Australia in 1926, and served with the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. Mr Choules says he would like to see an end to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan: "I don't want to see any more wars. Seeing war is not exciting, like it used to be.” As they say, old age brings wisdom…

Here is a poem by Siegfried Sassoon, a World War I soldier and poet:

Suicide in the Trenches (1918)

I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.

In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.

You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you’ll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.

Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967)

MOVIE MONDAY - FLAWLESS

“Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets.” - Arthur Miller

What is the price of a life? If you are walking down a dark, deserted alley in a part of town that is noted for its illegal activities, your life may not be worth much at all – just the loose change in your pocket. Similarly, if you are a soldier on a battlefield, or the hostage of a terrorist, your life is worth as much as the toss of a coin – heads you win, tails you lose, as chance would have it. If, however, you are living peacefully in a developed country, if you are a law-abiding citizen, your life begins to gain value. The higher up the social scale you climb, the greater the price on your life. You only have to look at the bodyguards surrounding the rich and famous, protecting one individual’s life with their own to understand what I mean.

But think of a person you love. How much is the life of your son, your daughter, your spouse worth? What value do you put on that life? To what lengths would you go to preserve that life, to what lengths would go to defend it, to what lengths to avenge its wrongful discontinuation? Maybe it all boils down to whether you are giver or a taker by nature… The film we watched last weekend is superficially a thriller, a comedy, a heist caper. But more deeply it examines the questions I’ve just asked. It is the Michael Radford’s 2007 “Flawless”. It stars Demi Moore and Michael Caine, both of whom do a sterling job of their roles.

The story is set in swinging 1960s London, which nevertheless is very conservative and where the business world is very much a man’s domain. Demi Moore is Laura Quinn, an intelligent and beautiful executive at the London Diamond Corporation. She finds herself frustrated by a glass ceiling after years of faithful employment, and all sorts of sacrifices including her choice of career over relationship and family. Man after man is promoted ahead of her despite her greater experience and ability. Michael Caine is Hobbs, the night-time cleaner at London Diamond who is all but invisible to the executives that work there. Hobbs has over the long time of his employment amassed a great deal of knowledge about the company. His astute eye catches Laura’s frustration and he convinces her to help him steal a thermos flask full of diamonds, which will be enough to set both of them up more than comfortably for the rest of their lives.

The film has a good atmosphere, one that almost convinces you that it was actually made in the 1960s. The soundtrack was very mush an element in this, with “Take Five” by the Dave Brubeck quartet being just perfect foil for the slick imagery. Ms Moore has an astonishing wardrobe that sets off her rather lissome figure and Michael Caine shows in his maturity a worthy restraint in what is a very underplayed but significant role. The production is excellent and the film hangs together very well. It can be watched superficially as a typical heist movie, however, the message is much strong with several well developed sub-themes: Equality of the sexes, greed, power, the value of life, money and the value we place on it, corruption, generosity, social stratification, belief in a worthy cause, are all elements of this film and one can view it as deeply or as shallowly as one wishes. We enjoyed it quite a lot and despite its “message” or “moral”, deeply it can be enjoyed as a bit of an escapist flick, as well.

Enjoy your week!

ART SUNDAY - OEDIPUS

“Fate laughs at probabilities.” - E.G. Bulwer-Lytton

A painting by the 19th century French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme. It is an example of the popular “orientalist” movement popular at the time, where things exotically Eastern were depicted with enthusiasm. This school was particularly popular in France amongst the circles of the Academy painters (the one abhorred by the impressionists), which produced highly polished works the subject matter of which often allowed depictions of nudes, and which were therefore quite saleable.

This painting is an interesting as it depicts Napoleon during his Egyptian campaign, gazing at the Sphinx of Giza. It is titled “Oedipus” and is a reference to the Greek myth. Oedipus was the one who was separated from his royal parents as a baby after an oracle foretold of tragedy and death which would be caused by him. Instead of being killed, Oedipus was taken into the forest, abandoned there an found and raised by shepherds. When he grew up he went back ot Thebes, on the road meeting the Sphinx, which asked him her famous riddle, which had been the undoing of many before him:

“What is that goes with four legs in the morning, Two legs at noon and Three legs in the evening?”

Oedipus successfully solved the riddle and destroyed the Sphinx. Unfortunately he went to unknowingly kill his father and marry his mother, fulfilling the prophecy.

Gérôme makes a poignant statement about Napoleon in this painting, hinting at the conquest of Egypt, Napoleon’s rise to power and his subsequent downfall and ignominious end, just like a new Oedipus.

FRANÇOIS VILLON & BULAT OKUDZHAVA

“I am,
indeed,
a king,
because I know how
to rule myself.” - Pietro Aretino

It is timely perhaps to post this song up for Song Saturday, today. It is by the Russian/Georgian singer-songwriter Bulat Okudzhava (1924-1997). It is based on a poem by the French poet François Villon (born ca 1431). It is generally known as François Villon’s prayer and a translation runs thus:



François Villon’s Prayer

Before the earth stops turning
Before all lights grow dim,
To each one Lord, I pray Thee
Grant what is needful to him:

To the wise one a ready wit,
To the coward a horse, pray do
To the fortunate some money
But remember, I’m here too…

Before the earth stops turning
Of thy power without end;
To the one in want of power
Thy appointed portion of land.

To the one whose hand is open
Grant rest form charity,
A gift of remorse to Cain,
But also remember me…

O, Lord, Thou art all-knowing,
I believe in thy wisdom then,
As the fallen soldier believes
In Heaven he’s alive again.

As every man believes
Thy great word as true,
As all men must believe…
They know not what they do!

Before the earth stops turning
Before all lights grow dim,
And the fires are still burning
Grant each what is meet to him:

Grant to each some little thing
And remember I’m here too…

WINGÉD THOUGHTS

“I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

I must say that for the person who needs to travel often, airline frequent flyer lounges are a great boon. One does have to pay an annual membership fee, but it is well worth it even if one uses the lounge on 5 or 6 occasions in the year. I am a member of the Qantas Club and get to frequently use the club lounge wherever I travel as there are lounges at all Australian airports. Some international airports are also part of the Qantas Club and when one travels a lot it is gratifying to have a place where one find refuge in away from the usual mad rush of an air terminal.

I am in Sydney today for work and it has been a day of meetings, which overall went very well. However, there was not time for lunch and one can only have so many coffees during the course of a day full of discussions. The lounge at the airport at the end of the day has been quite a blessing. There different areas and one may choose a lounge where one can relax on easy chairs sipping a cool drink or coffee from the café and read a paper or a magazine; a couple of bars where complimentary alcoholic drinks are served; some snack and food counters where one may help oneself to food appropriate for the time of day; as well as airline service counters where one may get one’s boarding pass or book another flight. Needless to say that a business centre is always available with computers, printers, faxes, meeting rooms, free wireless internet and of course toilet, shower facilities where one can freshen up.

The food in these lounges is not a true, substantial meal, but one may eat very well and enjoy some delicacies that are representative of the better side of airline food. Most of the day there is soup available that one may help oneself to, with croutons or fresh rolls to accompany it. Creamy roast pumpkin soup is a favourite of mine, although as the year progresses towards summer one may enjoy spring vegetable, cream of asparagus or tomato soup. The cheeses on offer are usually very good, with tasty cheddar alternating with brie or camembert, or an excellent Australian blue. At lunchtime or evening there are various hot tidbits including mini quiches, sausage rolls, fried morsels of fish, chicken nuggets, bacon and tomato tartlets, sandwiches, a range of sliced meats, ham, smoked salmon, some vegetarian tidbits. There are always a couple of salad selections and various bits and pieces like nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit, water crackers, rice crackers, etc, etc.

Once again it’s a case of being able to eat all sorts of things, without eating a plate full of a “proper meal” and in fact reach a level of satiety very quickly. I would much rather have this smorgasbord to choose from rather than a tray of rather uninspiring airline food on the plane. In fact when I on the plane, I decline the offer of food on board, having eaten to satiety in the lounge.

Watching the people in the lounge is a very interesting occupation. Mostly it is business travellers, but what a variety of them. The sleek well dressed executives with not a hair out of place, the middle management types, rather more casually dressed, the progressive creative types with that daggy, careless look that has cost a fortune, and occasionally the tradesmen with shorts and T-shirts, who nevertheless probably earn more than all the previous types mentioned. There occasional exceptions: The young families, the elderly couples, the solo young travellers, the “hangers-on” (one may bring one guest along with one’s membership).

The range of activity and inactivity is also quite vast. From the exhausted sleeping toddler in his mother’s arms, to the very relaxed businesswoman reading a magazine while sipping a glass of champagne in an armchair, to the group of executives watching the giant screen TV over a beer in a good mood because of a business deal success, to the young couple sipping coffee while gazing at each other’s eyes, to the frantic manager trying to get his computer to print a vital report, to the blasé creative department type chatting idly on her i-phone, to the rather overwhelmed elderly man who is obviously a hanger on, watching with incredulity at the busy goings on…

And the best thing of course knowing that it’s Friday afternoon and very soon there will be a call over the PA system informing you that your flight is boarding at Gate 23 and that in 70 minutes you will be home…

Have a good weekend, everyone!

KARMA, TRAINS, PLANES AND DEATH ROW

“Lovers of air travel find it exhilarating to hang poised between the illusion of immortality and the fact of death.” - Alexander Chase

Another trip to Sydney looms ahead tomorrow. I have an early flight to catch just after 6:30 am and then after a day of meetings, back to Melbourne at 6:00 pm. Commuting with an airplane rather than a train can be rather tiresome, but yesterday it took me 90 minutes to get home rather than the usual 15-minute train journey. The inconvenience and delay in getting home would have greatly irritated me and my fellow travelers, but once I learned the reason, I was very grateful that I was experiencing the delay and that I did get home at all.

As soon as I went down to the underground train station yesterday evening, where I usually catch my train home, I saw big signs advising passengers that the normal train schedules were disrupted and my line was closed until further notice. The attendants were not very helpful and only said that if I went down to the Flinders Street station I could get a bus that was replacing my train service. As this station is several blocks down, I decided to take the tram instead, a decision that seemed to be shared by many others, as the trams were packed like sardine cans. Add to that congested peak hour city traffic and a couple of delayed trams ahead of us.

I got off at Blyth St and caught the (also crowded) bus home. At home the explanation was awaiting for me on the TV news. Here is the gist of the story from the Herald Sun:

STEALING LINK TO TRAIN DEATH
Aaron Langmaid
November 06, 2008 12:00am POLICE believe a man who died yesterday afternoon when he was hit by a train had stolen items from a car only minutes earlier. The 51-year-old Reservoir man was struck by the train at North Richmond station about 4.45pm. Police investigating the circumstances of the incident later revealed the man had broken into a car on Regent St before climbing an embankment close to the train lines. "Items stolen from the car were found with the man at the scene," police spokeswoman Julie-Ann Newman said. The man was taken to the Alfred hospital but died two hours later.

I was grateful to be home, grateful to not have to steal, grateful to be alive. Some may say “karma”. But is not death too severe a penalty for such a petty crime as stealing from a car? Who knows what drove this man to steal, what need, what despair or what compulsion? He may have been a hardened criminal, he may have not been. It may have been his 100th car break-in, it may have been his first. He may have been a loner, he may have had a family. What I know is he did not go home last night. Someone must have missed him. I was 90 minutes late home and someone was worrying over me, was relieved to see me home. What of his home? Who waited and waited and waited only to be called by the police later that night…

My mind now turns to the Bali bombers awaiting execution for their crimes. Rather than trivial, their crimes are gross and heinous and made even more ghastly and detestable by the rabid hatred that inspired them under the guise of religious zeal. Amrozi, Mukhlas and Iman Samudr were recently sentenced to death by firing squad for their role in the Bali bomb attacks in October 2002, which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. As the Bali bombers approach the end of their lives their angry rhetoric has increased with a letter from all three urging their Muslim brotherhood to “claim war and kill” everyone involved in their executions, including the Indonesian President. They say they welcome their death as this will ensure their entry into paradise. As they wait to face the firing squad they are happy because they will die martyrs for their faith…

What does a civilised society do in cases like this? In most Western countries the death penalty and corporal punishment have been abolished. I am a believer in this. Conviction of criminals should be followed by incarceration and rehabilitation. Correction rather than punishment. Education and awakening of feelings of social awareness, guilt and remorse. Yet in such cases as these of the Bali bombers I am at a loss. How does one rehabilitate such monsters? Is a change of heart possible in this instance? At what point does one give up on rehabilitation and opt for punishment? What punishment is meet for such crimes?

If karma is indeed at play here, one would argue that these criminals have had it coming. But our civilisation recoils at the thought of the primitive sentiments of “an eye for eye and a tooth for a tooth”. After all, the testament of old has been superseded by a newer one. Our society argues that a civilised person cannot stoop to the level of the murderer and commit murder itself as punishment for such a crime. It’s a vexed issue.

karma |ˈkärmə| noun
(in Hinduism and Buddhism) the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.
• informal destiny or fate, following as effect from cause.
DERIVATIVES
karmic |-mik| |ˈkɑrmɪk| adjective
karmically |-mik(ə)lē| adverb
ORIGIN from Sanskrit karman ‘action, effect, fate.’

CHANGE

“It is as hard and severe a thing to be a true politician as to be truly moral.” - Francis Bacon

The US rejoices as Barack Obama is elected its 44th President. A historic victory that carries with it the euphoria of success and the defeat of pessimism. Scenes reminiscent f the election of JFK all those decades ago. A nation’s hopes are renewed as what had seemed an impossibility becomes reality. Is this a new age dawning in the US? Can this really be the signal of a new maturity, a nation that has come to terms with its internal conflicts? A new-found tolerance and an end to centuries of prejudice?

My cynicism of yesterday is momentarily forgotten as I let my optimism take over in order to compose a villanelle honouring this historic win:

The Time of Change

The time of change is here
Awake, renew, revise,
I feel the freshness near.

There is no need to fear,
Look up with cloudless eyes
The time of change is here.

Smile brightly then, my dear,
Gone are the endless sighs
I feel the freshness near.

Sweet songs again you hear,
The truth defeats all lies –
The time of change is here,

Wipe clean the frown and tear.
As darkness ebbs and dies,
I feel the freshness near…

As we defeat night drear,
Our hope will climb and rise;
The time of change is here
I feel the freshness near.

I do not envy Barack Obama as he is inheriting not only a nation in disarray, but also a world that has been damaged to a point almost beyond repair. There is much work ahead of him and many obstacles in his way. He already has many enemies and his position is tenuous. He has promised much and in order to deliver his promises he has to do much in such a short time. He will have power within his reach, but will he be allowed to use it for the good of his country and the world?

RACES - HORSE AND OTHERS

“What luck for leaders, that people do not think.” - Adolph Hitler

Today the nation stops for the horse race of the year: The Melbourne Cup. The first Tuesday in November marks this occasion, which has been celebrated since the nineteenth century all over Australia. Melbourne’s good fortunes built on the nearby goldfields ensured that the Melbourne Cup was a rich prize and soon its prestige and attraction went far beyond the shores of Australia. It is now well-known throughout the world and many a bet are made on the outcome of this race which is part of the Spring Racing Carnival here in Melbourne. I am not a betting man and even though most Australians “have a flutter” on the Cup, I rarely if ever do. Occasionally at work a sweep is organised, but I think everyone was too busy this year and I did not even enter into one of those today.

So now the Cup has been run and won and the Flemington Racecourse here in Melbourne must have been packed today as the weather was perfect: Warm, sunny with blue skies. I still have not checked to see which horse won or whether there were any “episodes” noted. I always feel rather sorry for the poor horses whenever I catch glimpse of a horse race. They are such magnificent looking animals that to get them to race and whip them into a galloping frenzy seems utterly uncivilised to me. But never mind, I am not a person to pontificate on such matters nor is my opinion worth much. The billions of dollars wagered today is proof enough of that.

Another race has been more on my mind than the Melbourne Cup. Two different kinds of candidates are in the race for the White House and the whole world is watching the neck to neck running of Obama and McCain. The prize is the presidential office and ostensibly the chair of the most powerful leader in the whole world. The President of the United States of America is truly the world leader par excellence as the decisions made in the oval office not only will determine the fate of the citizens of the USA, but through a web of intricate connections, the fate of every human being on the planet. Great power, even perhaps in this case, political omnipotence requires great responsibility. Government is a trust placed by the people on a few elected individuals and these individuals must be its trustees.

Is the President of the USA nowadays a person suited to this role of planet leader? The whole world has watched the last few presidents with disappointment as mistake upon mistake has been made by each of them and not only has their own country suffered as a consequence, but the whole world has felt the effects. Economic mismanagement, scandals, internal turmoil, social policy inequity, health system failure, foreign policy blunders, wars, trade bungles, industrial unrest, and now finally the economy meltdown. This is the time of decadence, when the whole world is crumbling and the people are worrying over the trifles they have been brought up to think as important. Is one man responsible for all of this?

I am personally rather indifferent to the outcome of the US presidential poll. It mirrors to a certain extent our recently run Melbourne Cup, except of course it’s a two-horse race. It hardly matters which horse wins, the gross majority of punters are big losers. The organisers of the race are the big winners. The horses will run as they are goaded by their jockeys. They have their blinkers on and the sweat runs off their sleek, beautifully trained, muscular bodies. The most they can hope for is for a good feed after the race, and perhaps a roll in the sand. The race organisers have the race planned and their bets are safe.

Whether Obama or McCain is in the White House next year, the USA will continue to be run by the organisers of the race. That is the nature of the capitalistic system. The people must have their race and their festival. They will shout themselves hoarse as they back their favourite. Most will lose, some will win but the race is rigged. The organisers can never lose, whichever horse wins.

The process of democracy will have been served. The President elect will be invested with the powers of his office and ostensibly he will be the most powerful person on the planet. Ostensibly. It’s funny how that word keeps coming up whenever I talk about politics. Ostensibly: “Apparently or purportedly, but perhaps not actually”… Who runs the USA? Who runs the world? Not the Democrats, not the Republicans (six of one, half a dozen of the other), not the congress, not the senate. It’s big business and the multinationals, it’s money. After all it is a capitalistic system. Ostensibly, there is democracy. But if you had to choose between the devil and deep blue sea, what would you choose?

Have you noticed that after the threat of communism blew over with the collapse of the Eastern bloc and the USSR, we have had to find a new threat to keep us living in fear? After the big Red Bogeyman died, we were kept ever on the alert by the big Muslim Terrorist Bogeyman. After the Cold War we had the War against Terror. We must always a have a Bogeyman, we must always have our champion to fight him and to preserve us from his clutches.

Watching the campaigning, I am amazed by the rhetoric of both sides. These people have been groomed, put through their paces, trained, just like the Melbourne Cup horses (but being humans they’ve been brain-washed also). They talk as if they really believe that they will save their country and the world from the current version of the Bogeyman. They have been given the chrism by their democratic process and their belief in their moral rectitude will install them as the world’s policemen. The US President, the world’s guardian will preserve us. And who will guard us from the guardian, that’s what I’d like to know…

“Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” -C.S. Lewis

MOVIE MONDAY - AN IMPOSSIBLE MISSION!

“Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.” - Hunter S. Thompson

When I was young, I used to enjoy watching the 1960s TV series “Mission Impossible”. Just the sort of thing for a boy growing up in interesting times, where technology was beginning to impinge very seriously into our lives, where rockets were being fired into space, men walked on the moon, electronics was beginning to come into its own and where this particular TV series stimulated the imagination in a real hi-tech boys own adventure way. Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) as the head of a super-secret government agency (“Impossible Missions”) is given secret anonymous covert missions to complete. He and his team unmask criminals, rescue hostages and preserve the security of the nation. The vital ingredient on any Impossible Mission is that the mission must be carried out in top secrecy, often relying on high-tech equipment and elaborate deceptions…

Well, seeing how much I originally enjoyed the TV series I was more than a little suspicious when the Tom Cruise “Mission: Impossible” film came out in 1996 and did not want to see it in case it ruined my boyhood memories. However, the film must have been successful enough as it spawned a sequel “Mission: Impossible II” in 2000 and another one in 2006, “Mission: Impossible III”. However, this weekend just past was a “Mission: Impossible” Marathon as I bought the trilogy on Blu-ray disc, on special.

As far as the movies were concerned, they were typical action-packed thrillers with loads of special effects, blood and gore, chases, fisticuffs, stylized violence, and high tech stories. However, that special (almost cerebral) thrill which was in evidence in the original TV series was lacking from these movies. Tom Cruise gave his usual pedestrian performance complete with stock set of facial expressions and the supporting cast was up to the thrill-seeker audience standard. The second in the series was interesting as most of it was shot in Sydney.

Finally, about the technology: An LCD screen, some decent speakers, an HDMI lead and a Blu-ray player can give you a superior movie viewing experience at home. Both LCD screens and Blu-ray players have come down sufficiently in price to be affordable. When I first saw a Blu-ray disc playing on a high quality LCD screen I was blown away by the picture and audio quality! The sound quality and picture detail were superb and the motion was rendered without pixelisation and jerkiness. Definitely worth the investment if you do a lot of movie watching at home. The Blu-ray discs are still expensive compared to DVDs, but they will come down in price as more and more people demand them. However, I must warn you, once you have watched a Blu-ray disc, it’s hard to go back to the old DVDs…

OK, OK, I know, I’m a technology junkie!