“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” - Thomas Paine
Happy Fourth of July!
Today, as it is Independence Day for the USA, something appropriate. A march by John Philip Sousa, the famous “Stars and Stripes Forever”. This is one of my favourite Souza marches, especially the lyrical second part beginning at 1:10.
And to stay in an American mood, today is also the birthday of Stephen Foster (1826 – 1864), the “Father of American music” and composer of many classic songs such as “Oh, Susannah!”, “Old Folks at Home”, Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair”, “Camptown Races”, etc. Here is a lovely lullaby, “Beautiful Dreamer”, sung by another great Roy Orbison:
“If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.” - Carl Sagan
When I was visiting the USA several years ago, I was invited to dinner at a colleague’s house. The family was delightful and the dinner very good. However, what stuck in my mind was the excellent apple pie, which was definitely home made and the pride of the hostess (with good reason too)! She was even kind enough to supply the recipe:
American Apple Pie IngredientsPastry:
• 3/4 cup butter
• 5 tablespoons cold water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
Filling:
• 6 large new season apples
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 4 tbsp. apple cider
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 6 tbsp. blanched, toasted almonds
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp. milk or cream
Method
1. Peel, core and slice the apples. Put in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Toss the apples with the cider, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Let stand for up to an hour, tossing from time to time.
2. Preheat oven to 200°C. Place butter, water, flour and salt in food processor bowl. Process just until dough clumps together - about 5 seconds. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a 6-inch pancake. Center one pancake inside a 25 x 30 cm plastic bag. Sprinkle a few drops of water on the countertop to hold the plastic bag in place. Smooth out the bag and begin rolling the pastry from the center out in alternating directions to form an even circle. After every few strokes, lift the top surface of the bag from the dough and smooth it down again flip the bag over and lift the other surface and smooth it down. Continue this "roll, lift, flip" pattern until your circle of dough is about two cm wider than the rim of your 25 cm pie pan. Loosen both sides of the plastic bag from the dough and slide the pie pan upside-down into the bag and center it over the circle of dough. Turn the pan and bag over so the dough rests in the pan and slide the pan and dough from the bag. Gently press the pastry into the pan and trim the edges about one cm beyond the rim.
3. Sprinkle the almond-sugar mixture over the bottom of the shell. Keep the rest of the dough chilled until ready to use.
4. Transfer the apples to the pie shell, mounding them higher in the centre and leaving the sugary liquid behind in the bowl. Add the heavy cream to this liquid and beat until it is slightly thickened. Pour the mixture over the apples to coat them.
5. Put the remaining dough pancake inside the bag and roll it out using the same "roll, lift, flip" routine. When the top crust is rolled, cut the bag on 3 sides and peel off the top sheet of plastic. Use the remaining sheet of plastic to turn the top crust over the filling, center it, then peel off the plastic. Trim the top crust to once cm beyond the edge of the pie pan. Fold the top edge under the bottom crust and flute. Make several slashes in the top to allow steam to escape. Brush with the egg yolk beaten with the milk to form a glaze.
6. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 175°C, and bake for 50 more minutes or until the crust is golden. If the edge darkens too much during the baking, cover it with foil, leaving the center open, and continue baking. Cool and serve with ice cream, if desired. Makes 8 to 10 servings.
“To speak and to speak well are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks.” - Ben Jonson
Seeing that Yahoo 360 is soon closing, and the bloggers here are looking for a new home, it is apt that I share with you an interesting snippet of news I read in the newspaper today. “Twitter” is the new rage, it seems, and is threatening “Facebook” in supremacy. This is no surprise as we live a society where communication seems to be in a process of ever-shrinking dimensions. The “140 character message limit” of Twitter constitutes a “tweet” and is perfectly suited to the SMS, telegraph-like brevity of the communication of the modern person. Our ancestors once communicated effectively with short grunts, so why not us? Let’s get back to our roots…
Twitter and Facebook, Yahoo 360 and Blogger, MySpace and Multiply, just to mention a few of these social networking sites, are big business. There is much money to be made wherever people congregate in large numbers and that goes for the virtual community, not only the real one. Hence the big competition in the popularity stakes and the extreme marketing associated with each of these platforms for ascendancy. Alas for some, popularity (ever fickle), has by-passed them and hence the decadence of Yahoo 360 that we have witnessed lately.
Seeing that Twitter is the new wunderkind on the block, is it a surprise that various para-service industries have sprung up to cater to the advertising needs of the twitterer market? Brisbane-based company uSocial has launched a service that allows twitterers to buy “packages of followers” if they can’t attract any of their own. For only $87 you can purchase 1,000 followers and for $3497 you can buy the maximum of 100,000 followers!
So how is that? You can buy yourself admirers! You can purchase your own fan club! So when you write: “I am now thinking of going out for a stroll because it’s a nice day here in Melbourne, and I feel like a leisurely walk.” (122 characters), your fan club can know about it and rejoice in your excellent thought so pithily communicated. The world must know of course about such important events in your life.
Humour aside, if a company buys 100,000 followers on Twitter and keeps bombarding them with advertising, it’s well worth the $3497 investment. Another uSocial service puts paying customers’ websites on the prestigious front pages of social networking sites such as Digg, Buzz and StumbleUpon. Another revolves around positions of prominence for your company in search engine results. What did I tell you before? It’s big business!
Meanwhile, keep on blogging!
confabulate |kənˈfabyəˌlāt| verb [ intrans. ] 1 [formal] Engage in conversation; talk : She could be heard on the telephone confabulating with someone. 2 [Psychiatry] Fabricate imaginary experiences as compensation for loss of memory. DERIVATIVES confabulation |-ˌfabyəˈlā sh ən| noun confabulatory |-ləˌtôrē| adjective ORIGIN early 17th century: From Latin confabulat- ‘chatted together,’ from the verb confabulari, from con- ‘together’ + fabulari (from fabula ‘fable’ ).
“The greater absurdities are, the more strongly they evince the falsity of that supposition from whence they flow.” – Francis Atterbury
How easy it is to delude ourselves. We are eager to substantiate our dreams, see our hopes bear fruit, yearn to realise our desires. How often we can succumb to the sweet insistence of a spurious but so attractive premise! We are our own accomplice in the duplicity of the feelings that we manufacture to make our fantasy an actuality. Alas, the virtual reality that we concoct is so flimsy that it seldom fails to survive the probity of logic and fails the test of time…
False Pretences
Drowning in your sea of insinuations Clutching the bright straws of your gaze (How duplicitous those eyes!) I may as well try to capture A sunbeam in an attempt to save me From an inevitable death.
I lie, you lie, we lie And in the midst of all of our lies There is a truth, so richly dressed; She looks at us, beaming innocently Because we cannot tell her apart From our naked lies.
Too late to turn back now, We’ve missed our chance We’ve bypassed the turn-off Of that saving grace of the detour… On false pretences, we career on, And like lemmings, we shall plummet to our death.
This is a poem that I wrote several years ago when sweet lies were so easy to consume. Lies always hide poison beneath their pastel-coloured sugary coating…
The sunflower, Helianthus annuus, is today’s birthday flower. The generic name means sunflower in Greek and it has been a symbol of the sun in many cultures including the Incas (the plant is native to the Americas). It symbolises adoration, affection, infatuation, glory, false riches, constancy and gratitude. In the language of flowers it means: “You are splendid”.
The birthday of: John Gay, poet and playwright (1685); Baron von Mueller, Melbourne Botanic Gardens founder (1825); Stanley Spencer, artist (1891); Harold (Joseph) Laski, politician (1893); Walter Ulbricht, statesman (1893); Czeslaw Milosz, Nobel laureate (1980) author (1911); Ruskin Spear, artist (1911); Lena Horne, singer (1917); Buddy (Bernard) Rich, drummer (1917); Susan Hayward (Edythe Marrener), actress (1918); Tony Hatch, pianist (1939); Mike Tyson, pugilist (1966).
At around about this time, the people of Appleton in England ceremoniously “Bawm the Thorn”, that is they decorate an ancient hawthorn tree growing in the middle of town. A procession marches to the tree and everyone bedecks its branches with ribbons, flags, banners and flowers. The children then proceed to dance around it. It is thought this ceremony is a remnant of the pagan tree-worship rituals.
“In war, truth is the first casualty.” – Aeschylus
While it was a very busy Weekend, during which I worked mainly on my book, we found time to watch a really good Dutch film last night. It was Paul Verhoeven’s “Zwartboek” (The Black Book) of 2006. It starred Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, Halina Reijn and Waldemar Kobus. It was a slickly made, excellent production with a satisfying story and was extremely well-acted and well-directed. Its long duration (about 145 minutes) was hardly noticeable as the story kept you involved and the images were engaging. Hard to believe that the film was made with a moderate budget, about $20 million. I guess Paul Verhoeven is a well-seasoned director (think “Total Recall”, “Basic Instinct” and “Showgirls”) and he knows how to spin a good yarn.
The film is based on a real story, which makes it all the more appealing, but also chillingly disturbing. It is set in Nazi-occupied Holland towards the end of World War II. The film centres around a young Jewish woman named Rachel, who is forced to assume the identity of a Dutchwoman called Ellis so as to save her life. She dyes her hair blond and pretends to be a singer in order to avenge the death of her family. She joins the Dutch resistance and through an odyssey of determination and sheer luck she manages to survive. There a few twists and turns to the plot (some quite predictable), but the overall package is impressive. It is an old-fashioned film, one that you can sink your teeth into.
There are several poignant moments and an unexpected love story, especially given the way the film starts. Carice van Houten, the Dutch star who plays Rachel/Ellis is luminous and charismatic in her role and Verhoeven maximises her acting talents and she gives a winning performance. Her character has to adapt to many different emotional states and contrasting situations and van Houten is able to carry them through without blinking an eyelid in an effortless and utterly believable way.
The film makes a statement about war and drives home the point that all is not black and white. There are no “good guys and bad guys”, the line is fuzzy. Heroes are not born they are made, and circumstances can often force them to become the hunted instead of the hunters. The film succeeds because it upsets many conventions and the viewer’s interest is maintained because of the subtle interplay of concealed emotions between the characters. What is not immediately obvious is what makes the film interesting. I would happily see it again in the future, as I am sure that I would enjoy it again.
There is a great deal of violence and nudity in the film, but these are features that are not intrusive, they are an integral part of the story. It is a powerful and life affirming film, although there are several instances when Verhoeven seems to take a cynical view of humanity and doubts its ability to survive long term…
“I have had dreams, and I have had nightmares. I overcame the nightmares because of my dreams.” - Dr. Jonas Salk
For Art Sunday today, a bit of an odd bird, Henry Fuseli, a Swiss-born British Romantic Painter (1741-1825). As well as a painter he was a draughtsman, and writer on art, one of the outstanding figures of the Romantic movement. He was the son of a portrait painter, Johann Caspar Füssli (1707-82), but he originally trained as a priest; he took holy orders in 1761, but never practised. In 1765 he came to London at the suggestion of the British Ambassador in Berlin, who had been impressed by his drawings. Reynolds encouraged him to study painting, and he spent the years 1770-78 in Italy, engrossed in the study of Michelangelo, whose elevated style he sought to emulate for the rest of his life.
On his return to England, he exhibited highly imaginative works such as “The Nightmare” (1781), the picture that secured his reputation when it was shown at the Royal Academy in 1782 and whish is seen above. This is in the Detroit Institute of Art, but there is another version of this work in the Goethe-museum, in Frankfurt). It is an unforgettable image of a woman in the throes of a violently erotic dream. The painting shows how far ahead of his time Fuseli was in exploring the murky areas of the psyche where sex and fear meet. His fascination with the horrifying and fantastic also comes out in many of his literary subjects, which formed a major part of his output; he painted several works for Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery, and in 1799 he followed this example by opening a Milton Gallery in Pall Mall with an exhibition of forty-seven of his own paintings.
Fuseli was a much respected and influential figure in his lifetime, but his work was generally neglected for about a century after his death until the Expressionists and Surrealists saw in him a kindred spirit. His work can be clumsy and overblown, but at its best has something of the imaginative intensity of his friend Blake, who described Fuseli as “The only man that e'er I knew / who did not make me almost spew”. Fuseli's extensive writings on art include “Lectures on Painting” (1801) and a translation of Winckelmann's “Reflections on the Painting and Sculpture of the Greeks” (1765). Enjoy your week!
“And weep the more, because I weep in vain.” - Thomas Gray
A very busy Saturday today, with much work on my book. I am finalising the illustrations and this takes much care and time. While doing that, however, I can listen to music and this was one of the pieces I heard. Immortal Handel!
An aria from George Frederick Handel’s opera “Rinaldo”, called “Lascia ch’ io pianga” (Let me weep).
The clip is from the Gérard Corbiau film “Farinelli” (1994). Farinelli, was the artistic name of Carlo Broschi, a young singer in Handel's time. He was castrated in his childhood in order to preserve his voice. During his life he becomes to be a very famous opera singer, managed by his mediocre brother
Lascia ch'io pianga
Lascia ch'io pianga la cruda sorte, E che sospiri la libertà! E che sospiri, e che sospiri la libertà! Lascia ch'io pianga la cruda sorte, E che sospiri la libertà!
Let me weep
Let me weep over my cruel fate, And that I long for freedom! And that I long, and that I long for freedom! Let me weep over my cruel fate, And that I long for freedom!
Most people seem to think that eating nuts is not good for their health because they contains lots of calories and fats. However, a great deal of research has now found that the nuts are very beneficial for health. Nuts are full of proteins, are good sources of fibre, vitamin E, folic acid, copper, magnesium and the amino acid arginine. If people add nuts to their regular diet, many health benefits ensue. Fats present in nuts are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated which have ability to lower LDL cholesterol, (“bad” cholesterol, which is a contributory factor for heart disease). Research has shown that if a diet regimen includes nuts, it can lower the chance of heart disorders.
Nuts can be a great source of energy and because they contain ample amounts of antioxidants, they also have an anti-ageing action. Nuts are a major source of antioxidants like selenium and vitamin E. The more often nuts are eaten the better as the benefits appear to increase as the frequency of nut consumption increases. The risk of fatal coronary disease and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes both appear to decrease steadily as nut consumption increases from less than once a week to once or more per day.
Just what quantity of nuts should be eaten? Studies suggest that 30 to 60 grams of nuts should be consumed daily to gain the maximum benefits seen. Whether even larger amounts confer further benefits is currently unknown. Which nuts are best? The definitive answer to this question is currently unknown. In most studies peanuts, almonds, walnuts, macadamias and small proportions of others are usually investigated.
There are a few problems with nuts you should be aware of. Aflatoxin: Peanuts are among the top three crops that are subject to infestation by moulds that produce aflatoxin, a potent human carcinogen. The toxin has been found in both peanuts and peanut butter, as well as corn, rice, wheat, soybeans, and sorghum. Testing peanuts and peanut products is regularly carried out by government bodies to ensure that they do not exceed acceptable levels of aflatoxin.
Allergies: Peanuts and tree nuts are both on the list of the eight most common allergens. Children are more likely to develop allergies if their parents or siblings suffer from allergies to legumes or nuts, but even those with no family history of allergies are susceptible. It is recommended that particularly in families with histories of peanut allergies, nursing mothers should not consume peanuts and tree nuts. It is also advised that children under the age of three not eat peanuts.
Environmental: Pesticides abound in the production of nuts. Endosulfan, Cyfluthrin, Phosmet, Atrazine, and Diazinon, are all used widely in nut production. Continued exposure of even small amounts can be toxic. Once harvested, nuts are often fumigated with methyl bromide, a toxic pesticide. While methyl bromide probably won't cause any harm to you when you eat nuts or other treated crops, it is quite dangerous for the farm workers who use it. Also, it is such a large factor in ozone depletion that the countries around the world are phasing out its use.
Nuts are sold in many different forms. Whole nuts, still in their shells are less expensive and will last up to a year without going rancid. Keep them in a cool, dry place. Shelled nuts especially if they're roasted, may last longer if they are kept in the fridge. If you plan on storing them longer than six months, consider putting them in the freezer. On the whole it can be confidently said that nuts are amazingly and surprisingly power-packed food. They provide a unique protection against heart related diseases as well as having anti-ageing properties. They are a good source of energy as well.
Yesterday, I had a message from a far away friend, with whom I had not kept in contact for quite a long while. Our busy lives had kept us from seeing and talking to one another. The pleasure was firstly one of learning that she is well and still working away on her interesting projects, and secondly, that we have once again made contact and that we will no doubt spend many pleasant hours in the future exchanging news, thoughts and ideas.
A blessing associated with modern technology is the ease of communication. The internet has certainly made keeping in contact as simple as sending an email or tapping away a message on a messenger program. Skyping or video-Skyping is even more conducive to effective communication and a conversation can be carried out in more or less normal fashion, especially if you are able to see the smiling face of your interlocutor. Work-related communication has never been easier with the all of the modern means of keeping in touch.
Often, though, the problem with keeping in touch is not how easy or difficult it is, but rather the amount of finite time that we have at our disposal in order to carry out everything that we are compelled to do in a day. Work has increased its demands in the last few decades and many people now work extra long hours in order to keep up with the demands of their job. Unfortunately, this leads to our neglecting many of our other activities, not spending as much time as we would like with our families and friends. Needless to say that the less pressing tasks, as well as the activities that give us personal and selfish pleasure, our hobbies, are often the first to be sacrificed.
The workaholic is very much a product of our modern society and is nowadays in many cases the rule rather than the exception that we were familiar with in the past. Work makes enormous demands on our time, not only in the workplace, but it also invades our own space and private life. How easy it is nowadays to take work with us every night? Simply a matter of loading some files onto a USB flash drive and the computer at home takes over from where the computer at work left off. Or even more to the point, many people work on the same laptop both at work and at home (and also on the train, perhaps, on the way there and back)! Email access is universal and it is often expected to be able to send and receive work emails at any place and at any time. Mobile phones increase our accessibility and students expect to receive instant replies to their emails.
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” is certainly something that applies to today’s world as much as it did, all those centuries ago when the folk sage came out with this saw. It is surprising that in this day and age of labour-saving devices, increasing leisure time, and strictly legislated work hours many of us still manage to run out of time in order to amuse ourselves and take pleasure in the company of our friends and dear ones.
This issue becomes all-important as the mid-year break approaches and a window of opportunity presents itself to many of us. A time to take a break and indulge in some annual leave. If you can afford to, consider taking some time off to have a break from work and relax as you catch up with family and friends, read a novel, fly a kite, go away somewhere, take a drive, bake a cake, put your feet up. “Taking time away from the stress of work can improve job performance, decrease stress-related illnesses and add years to our lives”, says Joe Robinson, author of “Work to Live: The Guide to Getting a Life”.
The seal in the illustration is one of Confucius’ wisdoms from his Analects: “Is it not a pleasure to have friends come from afar?”
workaholic |ˌwərkəˈhôlik| noun informal A person who compulsively works hard and long hours. DERIVATIVES workaholism |ˈwərkəˌhôlizəm; -ˌhäl-| |ˈwɔːkəhɒlɪz(ə)m| noun ORIGIN Work + alcoholism
“Things that were hard to bear are sweet to remember.” - Seneca
The context of our existence changes our experience of the same stimuli. Sun warms, sun burns; flowers we can delight in or flowers can repel us; an odour attracts us and the same odour can seem noisome; an appealing pallor can become a loathsome sickliness… Our feelings colour the perception of our world and our emotions filter the impressions we process inside our head.
Yellow
Yellow was the sun high up Warm the beams that gilded us. Yellow was the wheat that ripened On sun-drenched field. Yellow was the daisy Looking at the sun. Yellow was your hair Soft, sunlit and shining.
Yellow, burning orb The sun blazes, scorches. Yellow, the wheat that rots On yellow muddy soil. Yellow the daisy dried, singed By drought and unrelenting sun. Yellow your hair, fading, Now only a memory.
Yellow was the dress you wore, The muslin golden in the sunlight. Yellow were the sunflowers I gave you, each a shining sun. Yellow was the lemon That you picked, sweet-tasting. Yellow was the saffron That we dined on, exquisite.
Yellow, the tatters of your dress Rags, now in the wardrobe. Yellow, the pollen stains Of long-dead sunflowers. Yellow, the lemons Hanging, all unpicked, all bitter. Yellow, the saffron Now uneaten, ghastly.
“In youth and beauty, wisdom is but rare!” - Alexander Pope
I don’t know if you kept up with the story of Kimberley Vlaminck of Belgium and the furore she caused when she accused a tattooist of “ruining” her face by tattooing 56 stars on it after she allegedly asked for only three… The 18-year-old Vlaminck is suing the tattooist Ruslan Toumaniantz, claiming she had asked him for only three stars - and had fallen asleep during the procedure, waking up to a “nightmare” in her Belgian hometown of Courtrai. The tattooist said that Kimberley Vlaminck had absolutely agreed she wanted 56 stars tattooed on the left side of her face. However, he said that he would help pay for them to be removed. This, because Vlaminck had claimed because Toumaniantz is Rumanian and spoke only Flemish, he didn’t understand her when she spoke to him in French (which with Flemish, is the other official language of Belgium) and English.
The girl said last week: “It is terrible for me. I cannot go out onto the street. I look like a freak.” She also mentioned that her father had become furious when he had seen her on her return home. The family was going to sue Toumaniantz for the cost of having the tattoos removed by laser treatment. The story gave rise to intense media interest and it circled the world. Such interest is fuelled in part by the increased number of young people that undergo various forms of body mutilation and modification – piercings, tattooing, cosmetic surgery, implants, etc.
Ms Vlaminck has admitted today that she has been lying. She confessed that she had asked for 56 stars, and not only did she not fall asleep, but that she had loved the result. When she got home and her father became furious, she said that she had fallen asleep and that the tattooist had made a mistake. This apparently mitigated somewhat her father’s wrath.
Toumaniantz (who himself is covered in tattoos and piercings) has withdrawn his offer to help pay for the laser removal of Vlaminck’s tattoos and, wisely, has indicated that from now on, he will obtain a written and signed consent form from his client before he embarks on their embellishment.
This is story that is disturbing on many levels. Firstly, I shall divulge and then dissociate completely my own views on body modification so that I shall not prejudice my case. Piercings and tattoos are not my thing. I do not wear jewellery of any kind and I can barely tolerate a watch on my wrist. To even think about a piercing makes me wince and I would not consider having any tattoo. However, I believe that mature people who wish to modify their body can do so, full well knowing the consequences of such procedures. It is very much a case of “I disagree with you, but I defend your freedom of choosing to do what you wish with your own body”.
The body modification that is being carried out more and more by minors, by teenagers I find quite worrying. They are being influenced (while quite vulnerable) by family, friends, peers, fashion and this influence can have harmful consequences. Firstly, unless the piercing or tattoo is performed under suitable conditions by a reputable practitioner, there is the very real risk of infection: Hepatitis, HIV, etc etc… Secondly, even if the body modification is carried out under strict aseptic conditions, there are all sorts of complications that may occur: Secondary infection, gangrene, excessive scarring, keloid, damage of underlying tissue, interference with physiological function, etc, etc… Thirdly, the body modification that may have been undertaken in a fit of youthful enthusiasm or inebriated bravado, may on reflection prove to be a regrettable decision. Furthermore, as the young person grows into adulthood, the body modification may prove to be an embarrassment or inappropriate in an adult context.
The story is disturbing for me because the young woman felt she could get away with accusing an innocent person as being responsible for a decision she herself had made. She felt no compunction in lying brazenly and shifting the blame from herself to a “foreigner” who could not “speak her language and hence did not understand her”. Add to the deception and dissimulation, blatant racism. This is a very silly young woman, completely immature and childish in her outlook. The tattoos are an example of the decisions she may be making in her life for which she has no responsibility or real understanding.
The decision by the tattooist to give half the money required for the removal of the tattoo (even though he full well knew the girl was lying) has a certain nobility and gentlemanly charm. A gracious gesture showing maturity and responsibility. The withdrawal of the offer once the girl confessed, a justifiable business decision.
We have become obsessed in our society with instant gratification, satisfaction of the basest instincts, the quest for momentary pleasures, the selfish pursuit of personal goals at whatever cost. Peer acceptance based on superficial criteria is one of the measuring sticks of “success” and “popularity”. Decisions are made instantaneously with no real thought of the consequences or their impact on other people. We place value on things that are worthless and neglect the real treasures.
I wonder what made Vlaminck confess the truth? A sudden upswelling of remorse and attack of conscience? I don’t think so. My gut feeling is that the father divined the truth and pressured the girl into admitting her mistake. What a sad and pitiful story. What have we evolved into? If this is civilisation, then what is primitive humanity? We have popular music that is like some primordial noise made by cannibals before a feast. We dance nowadays like monkeys jumping up and down on trees. We value baubles and gold above and beyond all else. We kill and maim and annihilate our peers like some primordial pre-humanoid intent on dominating its fellows. We decorate ourselves with piercings and tattoos like some ancestral savages. This is decadence…
“If the cinema is any kind of force for social change, then it's a force for the bad, because most films are about one guy with a gun solving a problem.” – Ken Loach
At the weekend just been we watched a typical Hollywood film. I had heard nothing about it, but the big names attracted me to it: Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Basinger, Eva Longoria, etc, etc. The 2006 Clark Johnson film is “The Sentinel”. The film is formulaic and slickly made, the acting is borderline competent and the story is predictable. I expected more action and car chases, but the film was more of a blood and guts, shoot ‘em up type. In fact, if you like violence and get off on seeing people getting shot, you would probably enjoy the movie.
As far as the plot is concerned: American secret service veteran agent Pete Garrison saved the life of president Ronald Reagan in the past and became a legend. Years later, he is responsible for the personal security of the American president Ballentine and the first lady Sarah Ballentine. Garrison is having a love affair with the first lady. Walter, Garrison’s informer discloses that there is a traitor in the secret service and a plot to kill the president (by neo-Nazis or Russians or Communists – who knows? Bad guys, I guess). David Breckinridge, who used to be Garrison’s best friend, and the chief of the secret service, William Montrose, are put in charge of the investigation. All the agents are submitted to a polygraph test, which Garrison fails because of his involvement with the first lady. As a result he is accused of treachery and is apprehended. He escapes and conducts his own investigation trying to find who is the mole all the while being pursued by the secret service, his former friends.
Now that I’ve written out the plot I’ve realised how ridiculous it all is. “The Sentinel” is representative of the present-day decadent Hollywood mass-produced movie and displays the trashy lack of imagination present in so many movies nowadays. The film is generic, contrived and lazily put together. It is a film that depends on the big names as drawing cards, on an efficient marketing and advertising machine and hordes of pap-consuming public that have been trained to consume such films.
A film about an assassination plot of a president could be riveting stuff if well made and directed. However, this one is uninspired and the direction is flat and gives the impression that Clark Johnson was very bored when he was making it (he probably was). Eva Longoria’s role was so underdeveloped that it was inevitable to suppose that she was just a token pretty face, the token woman in the secret service – she hardly had any lines to speak! The affair between the first lady and Garrison was left unresolved and the president is depicted as a complete cretin. The real mole was spottable ten minutes into the movie and there were some terrible stereotypes in it. My advice is, avoid wasting your time seeing it!
“Science and art belong to the whole world, and before them vanish the barriers of nationality.” – Goethe
Today is officially the first day of Winter in the Southern Hemisphere, as it marks the Winter Solstice, when the sun has reached its Northernmost point in the sky at noon, and hence we see the shortest day and the longest night of the year. The sun rose at 7:35 am and set at 5:08 pm today, a short day of just over nine hours. The days will begin to get progressively longer from tomorrow and the nights shorter. The day was cool, but not excessively cold and we did have some showers now and then – no rain, however!
We went to the Ian Potter Gallery today, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Rather than try and look at all of the exhibits, we chose to simply concentrate on a couple of wings of the gallery only and these were the special exhibitions area and the Indigenous Art exhibit hall. The latter is a gallery filled with mostly Aboriginal art works: Paintings on bark and on canvas, sculptures, some basketwork and a few drawings. The variety of works was quite extensive and one could happily spend several hours looking at all of these treasures.
However, we moved on to the special exhibitions area where a John Brack (1920-1999) retrospective exhibition is currently being held (24/4/09-9/8/09). This is the first John Brack retrospective to be held in more than twenty years and surveys the artist’s complete work, including drawing, painting and all of his major series. The gallery is showcasing its latest Brack acquisition, “The Bar” (1954) bought for $3.2 million (see illustration).
“The Bar” was Brack’s largest oil painting at the time he painted it. Considered radical for its time, “The Bar” presents a stark view of life in Melbourne suburbia, the infamous ‘six o’clock swill’ as patrons hurry to finish their drinks before early closing time. It is also an ironic parody of Edouard Manet’s important 1881 work, “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère”. Brack’s “Collins St., 5p.m.” was completed a year later in 1955 and purchased by the NGV in 1956. Like “The Bar”, “Collins St., 5 p.m.” exemplifies the style for which Brack is renowned.
The exhibition was well worth seeing and the iconic nature of many of these paintings bring to mind some pages of Australian history, values, personalities and the Australian psyche.
John Brack (1920 - 1999)Biography 1920 Born in Melbourne 1938-39 Night classes at National Gallery Art School, Melbourne 1946-49 Full time classes at National Gallery Art School, Melbourne 1952-62 Art Master, Melbourne Grammar School 1962-68 Head of National Gallery Art School 1999 Died, Melbourne.
“Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons. You will find it is to the soul what a water bath is to the body.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes
Today is World Refugee Day. Refugees are a growing concern worldwide and most of the developed nations around the world have many different types of refugees entering their borders legally or illegally. Prior to the 19th century movements from one country to another generally did not require travel documents such as passports and the right to asylum was commonly recognised and honoured. Although there have been numerous waves of refugees throughout history, there was no refugee problem until the emergence of fixed and closed state frontiers in the late 19th century. By the 1920s and 1930s the tradition of political asylum had deteriorated considerably, partly because of growing insensitivity to human suffering and partly because of unprecedented numbers of refugees.
For many centuries, refugee movements were a result of religious and racial intolerance. Entire groups were uprooted, exiled, or deported by various authorities in an effort to enforce conformity. For example, the expulsion of Jews from Spain in the late 15th century, the exodus of Huguenots from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, and the eviction of Jews from Germany, Austria, and Sudetenland (now in the Czech Republic) in the 1930s. Political and economic refugees are more common nowadays, as in most countries religious tolerance and freedom of belief has meant that religious persecution is less commonly seen.
International relief for refugees did not start until the 1920s. In 1921 Fridtjof Nansen of Norway was appointed by the League of Nations as high commissioner for refugees and devised a so-called League of Nations Passport (“Nansen Passport”), a travel document that gave the owner the right to move more freely across national boundaries. After Nansen's death in 1930, the protection of refugees was entrusted to the Nansen International Office for Refugees, but this office accomplished little before its mandate expired in 1938.
Other refugee-assistance organisations have included the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (1938–47), the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Refugee Organisation (1947–52), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), established in 1950. The Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (renamed the Intergovernmental Committee for Migration in 1980) was founded in 1951. Several nongovernmental and voluntary agencies, such as the International Rescue Committee, have also been established throughout the world.
Since the 1960s large populations of refugees have been located in Africa and Asia. Although the numbers varied from year to year, each of the two regions accounted for more than three million refugees in 2005. In the same year, the total number of refugees worldwide was estimated to be roughly nine million. Western Europe, North America and Australia have seen an increasing number of economic refugees in the last ten years or so. This has created special problems for both the nations receiving such refugees as well as for the refugees themselves. The economic downturn over the last few months will no doubt influence the number of refugees throughout the world.
To commemorate the day, I am giving you Ariel Ramirez’s “La Peregrinación”, which comes from his song cycle “Navidad Nuestra” and describes perhaps the most well-known refugees, Mary and Joseph, taking flight to Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath and save the life of the baby Jesus. It is sung by José Carreras.
La Peregrinacion
A la huella, a la huella, Jose y Maria, por las pampas heladas, cardos y hortigas. A la huella, a la huella, cortando campo, no hay cobijo ni fondas, sigan andando. Florecita del campo, clavel del aire, si ninguno te aloja, adonde naces? donde naces florcita que estas creciendo, palomita asustada, grillo sin sueño. A la huella, a la huella, Jose y Maria, con un Dios escondido... nadie sabia!
A la huella, a la huella, los peregrinos. Prestenme una tapera, para mi niño. A la huella, a la huella, soles y lunas, dos ojitos de almendra, piel de aceituna. Ay, burrito del campo! Ay, buey barcino! que mi niño ya viene, haganle sitio un ranchito de quincha solo me ampara dos alientos amigos, la luna clara. A la huella, a la huella, Jose y Maria, con un Dios escondido... nadie sabia!
The painting is Guido da Siena’s “Flight Into Egypt”.
“I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” - Thomas Jefferson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson
I travelled to the Gold Coast and to Brisbane today for work. Once again it was a very full day, with hardly any spare time. An early morning flight and late evening flight back to Melbourne ensured that I was able to get everything done. However, it was quite pleasant to catch the train from Brisbane Airport and commute to the Gold Coast, about 60 km away for a morning meeting and then on the train again for my meeting in Brisbane in the afternoon. The Airport train ensured that I was bale to get to the airport quickly during peak hour traffic conditions on the road. I am a strong supporter of public transport and utilise it at every opportunity, including of course, my daily train commuting to work.
The Gold Coast meeting was extremely interesting as it involved getting together with representatives of an Australian company that have developed health science-related imaging and animation products that can be used in secondary and tertiary education, medical illustration, research and public education. The facilities at the Gold Coast are state of the art and the staff includes many talented graphic artists, computer programmers, health professionals and administrators. I have been invited to become an Advisory Board member and it was very illuminating to see the operations and meet other members of the Board, as well as the company owners.
Lunch at the Gold Coast was very enjoyable and once again I was able to acknowledge just how fortunate we are in Australia in terms of our produce. We enjoy an immense variety of fresh food products that are available year round, given the length and breadth of our island continent. We are also very lucky in having a very wide variety of international cuisines available. Often the food is better in quality and preparation than the food in the country of origin!
The lunch was provided by a natural foods café in Helensvale, which has a Japanese emphasis. It was a beautiful spread of sushi, sashimi, smoked salmon, salads, fruits, vegetarian rolls and wonderful organic, freshly baked bread. Real orange juice to sash everything down with provided jus the right tartness and cleansing touch for the palate to wash it all down with.
The afternoon meeting at work went very well also and we achieved several important outcomes. Although I believe that modern technology can do a lot to assist communication and can help people meet over long distances through teleconferencing, skyping, video-linking, face-to-face meetings are sometimes best for achieving some outcomes.
Are there any times when you feel at work that a face-to-face meeting is the only option for a meeting and teleconferencing cannot substitute effectively for it?
“If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.” - Aristotle
The recent events in Iran in the wake of that country’s elections fill me with a great deal of apprehension. They are reminiscent of so many other such “elections” where the ruling party is overwhelmingly returned to power in an election which seems to be rife with “irregularities” and is not transparent. The will of the people seems not to have been represented in the Friday 12th election, the 10th presidential election since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran's presidential elections are tightly controlled, and, once elected, the office holder has limited power, but it remains the highest position determined by popular vote.
The decision of the people was whether to keep hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power for four more years, or to replace him with a reformist more open to loosening the country's Islamic restrictions and improving ties with the United States, represented by Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former Prime Minister of Iran. Mousavi's campaign was propelled in recent weeks by young voters using high-tech campaign tactics. This is significant, as more than 66% of Iranians are under the age of 30 years.
Iranians became very angry at the results of last week’s election since it was quickly announced following the poll. They began daily protests and tens of thousands of people swelled to flood the streets and public squares of the capital, pushing their protest ever forward. Six soccer players on the national team wore opposition green wristbands at a World Cup qualifying game in open support of the official runner up Mir Hossein Mousavi and the favourite before the election.
The government worked on many fronts to shield the outside world’s view of the unrest, banning coverage of the demonstrations, arresting journalists, threatening bloggers and trying to block Web sites like Facebook and Twitter, which have become vital outlets for information about the rising confrontation in Iran. Deaths of about ten protesters were cause of yet more protests and people dressed in black objected to the government’s imputed fraudulent victory. The 63 percent of the vote to Mr Ahmadinejad contrasting to 34 percent to Mr. Moussavi is being hailed as ridiculous and the demonstrators who represent a cross section of Iranian society and part of the clerical establishment have called the official results a fraud.
Iran’s supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final word on state matters and who certified Mr. Ahmadinejad’s re-election, apparently made two concessions to the protests, ordering an investigation into the election and calling for a partial recount. Mr. Moussavi and the protesters are rejecting anything less than new elections.
This is yet another tinder box in this troubled part of the world, waiting for a spark to ignite…
despot |ˈdespət| noun A ruler or other person who holds absolute power, typically one who exercises it in a cruel or oppressive way. DERIVATIVES despotic |diˈspätik| adjective despotically |dəˈspɑdək(ə)li| adverb ORIGIN mid 16th century: from French despote, via medieval Latin from Greek despotēs ‘master, absolute ruler.’ Originally (after the Turkish conquest of Constantinople) the term denoted a petty Christian ruler under the Turkish empire. The current sense dates from the late 18th century. Jacqui BB hosts Word Thursday
“We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.” - Thomas Fuller
Today is the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, as endorsed by the United Nations. It was in December 1994, that the United Nations General Assembly declared June 17 the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. The assembly acknowledged that desertification and drought were global problems because they affected all regions of the globe. The assembly also realised that joint action by the international community was needed to combat desertification and drought, particularly in Africa.
The day is dedicated to highlighting the urgent need to curb the desertification process around the world. It aims to strengthen the visibility of the dry lands issue on the international environmental agenda. Inherent in the various events that are used to publicise this day around the world are issues relating to climate change, as these play an important role in the desertification and drought conditions that are seen in many parts around the world presently.
In Australia, especially in the centre and the southern states, drought has been a perennial problem. In Victoria we have had a persistent drought for the past 15 years. Our water reservoirs supplying the megalopolis of Melbourne are down to 25.8% full today, despite massive campaigns to raise public awareness of water economy, rising water consumption tariffs and stringent water restrictions. We once prided ourselves by saying we lived in the “Garden State”, but many a garden and park are now looking parched, even in the middle of winter…
Drought Flexmore Hudson (1913 - 1988)
Midsummer noon; and the timbered walls start in the heat and the children sag listlessly over the desks with bloodless faces oozing sweat sipped by the stinging flies.
Outside, the tall sun fades the shabby mallee and drives the ants deep underground, the stony drifts and shrivels the drab sparse plants: there's not a cloud in all the sky to cast a shadow on the tremulous plain.
Stirless the windmills, thirsty cattle standing despondently about the empty tanks stamping and tossing their heads in torment of the flies from dawn to dark.
For ten parched days it has been like this and, although I love the desert, I have found myself dreaming of upright gums by a mountain creek where the red boronia blooms, where bell-birds chime through the morning mists, and greenness can hide from the sun; of rock-holes where the brumbies slink like swift cloud-shadows from the gidgi-scrub to drink when the moon is low.
And as I stoop to drink, I too, just as I raise my cupped hands to my lips, I am recalled to this drought-stricken plain by the petulant question of a summer-wearied child.
Biography Born in 1913 in Charters Towers, Queensland, Flexmore Hudson was educated at Adelaide High School and graduated from the University of Adelaide. He began a teaching career in 1934 and taught in the Mallee, and at Scotch College in Adelaide and Adelaide Boys' High School. During the period 1941 to 1947 Hudson founded, edited and published the literary journal, “Poetry”. He also edited the 1943 anthology of Australian verse for Jindyworobak and contributed to the Jindyworobak anthologies from 1938 to 1953. He died in South Australia on 4th May 1988.
Some of the inspiration for his poetry came from his pupils. Whilst teaching at a small school (14 pupils) in the Mallee district of South Australia, the children would tell him of the things they had seen on the way to school.
Jacqui BB hosts Poetry Wednesday. Please visit her blog for more poems!
“If you make money your god, it will plague you like the devil.” - Henry Fielding
A childhood memory I have is being given a traditional clay money box in the shape of a fat bell (see picture!). I would put there all the coins that I had and rattle it every day to hear the jangle of the metal against the clay. Learning about saving money was quite an important lesson and when the clay money box was broken, it was satisfying to see all of the hard-saved coins gush forth. I can’t remember what I bought with that money, but many other money boxes followed that first one, metal, wooden, plastic…
Coinage was the first type of “proper” money that was devised and it looks as though it may be the first to become extinct. A news item today reports that Australian Central Credit Union chief, Peter Evers, predicts that loose change will be a thing of the past within ten years. He quoted the situation in Hong Kong and Singapore where already low-value transactions by coin have all but disappeared. What has replaced them is a rechargeable, pre-paid card that can be used everywhere cash would be used.
In Australia, we may soon see a similar situation with technology stepping in to make coins (and perhaps all other forms of “cash”) a thing of the past. We all know about credit cards of course, but they are not legal tender and they attract fees. The technology now exists for “credits” being put in microchips, on mobile phones, on cards, or on an internet-enabled account that can be accessed by wifi. In some holiday resorts a chip on a wristband that can be scanned for credits and the owner can purchase anything that their chip can afford…
The Australian Reserve Bank’s Payment Systems Board is investigating all of these options and is preparing to move Australia to a cashless society. Surprisingly, not much “selling” of this idea has occurred within the population and most people are unaware of it. Needless to say that many may be dead against such a cashless system. People feel safe with cash in their pocket and even nowadays, some are against credit cards. To move towards such an abstract system of credits is quite foreign to most of us.
So, I wonder what sort of moneyboxes kids will save their allowance in the future? Most probably an electronic chip embedded somewhere on their person. Dad will scan his chip over junior’s and perhaps one may even hear the electronic sound of a penny dropping?
“The more I see of man, the more I like dogs.” - Mme. de Staël
We saw a beautiful and well-produced film at the weekend, which I can recommend without reservation if you, like me, are a dog lover. It is Jay Russell’s 2000 film “My Dog Skip”, based on Willie Morris’ book. This is an unassuming film that is honest, down-to-earth and deals with everyday situations, feelings and a believable, moving plot. Part of its charm is in its no-gimmicks, gentle exposition, and the exploration of a serious topic – war and how it affects everyone, not just the soldiers on the frontline, but also the families back home.
The plot revolves around a family of three, Jack, Ellen, and Willie Morris during the summer of 1942. Jack (Kevin Bacon) is the heartbroken father who lost a leg in war some years ago. Ellen (Diane Lane) is the ever-resourceful housewife working much harder than even some men do. Willie (Frankie Muniz) is their ten-year-old son. He has no friends, is bad at sports and teased at school. A mechanic named Dink (Luke Wilson) is the only person who befriends him, but even he is called up by the army and Willie is left all alone. Ellen (against her husband’s wishes) buys Willie a puppy for his birthday. Although Jack opposes the gift because he thinks Willie is too young to look after a dog, Ellen finally wins and Willie gets to keep “Skip”, as the puppy is named. We follow the special relationship that develops between the boy and the dog, and as Willie and his family get involved in the war brewing in the background, he grows and learns about life and death.
The film is a funny, touching, heartfelt coming-of-age story. It’s a wonderful memoir of another time and yet the story of the little boy and his dog is a timeless one. The dark part of the story, of course, comes from the war that’s waging outside the confines of Yazoo and small town America. Dink returns from the war, not as a hero but in disgrace as he went AWOL. Willie will have to cope with the demolition of his former hero, as well as learning about his relationship with his father. Dink doesn’t show up at Willie’s first baseball game, and the disappointed Willie takes it out on Skip, who runs away. The dog’s disappearance and subsequent recovery teach Willie the strength of forgiveness, and give Dink a chance to embrace the power of redemption. Ultimately, it is a dog’s love that teaches Willie Morris lifelong lessons of the human spirit.
This is a movie to watch and enjoy. No special effects, no shoot them up, no big production, but warm and human and full of the every day feelings and emotions we all lived through as children. Skip is the catalyst for Willie’s growth and incipient understanding of himself and the world.
I have been blogging daily on this platform for several years now. It is surprising that I have persisted as the world is changing and "microblogging" is now the norm. I blog to amuse myself, make comment on current affairs, externalise some of my creativity, keep notes on things that interest me, learn something new and to surprise myself with things that I discover about this wonderful, and sometimes crazy, world we live in.
I sometimes get the impression that I am on a soapbox delivering a monologue, so your comments are welcome.
