n E exponentiation ezine [2.0] ISSN 1555-693X http://www.anus.com/zine Modern society conforms us with bureaucratic linear thinking, contents us with sanitized entertainment, pacifies through meaningless wealth and plastic rewards, domesticates with democratic and moral rhetoric, destroys irreplaceable environments and ecosystems with a blind lust for wealth. We have "rights" and "freedom" but only in the context of such a society; we are not free to live apart from it. Where did meaning go? Heroism? Great art, not pop culture? We throw our bodies onto the fire to keep society running just long enough for the next generation take over. And they, through "youth culture" and media values, rebel against the impossible, fail, and are drawn in to the same servitude. It is an invisible slavery that is enacted over us, and its method is a loss of values and a replacement of those values with materialism and an ever-expanding, "unique" human population. Where the ancients saw a world in three dimensions, we see a line stretching from atechnological poverty to wealth and independence in an age of machines; it is a footnote that these same machines chew up our world and leave poisons behind, as well as people whose evolution in this system has made them dependent upon these machines. The future is a few who crawled up from the ruins, and then an endless sea of lumpenproles. How can one escape? We must willfully step outside, above, beyond the linear mindset if we wish a future. Revolutions murder and replace one elite with a new one, much as economic competition takes the servants of yesterday and makes of them equally oppressive elites today. If we take to heart what is manifest in the natural world and discover what is significant about life, and what has meaning to us as beings, we have discovered a greater "freedom": an independence from the illusion that is modernity. Finding this autonomy requires no allegiance to any one particular doctrine, or manifesto, or political stance. It is simply embracing what makes life both joyful and terrifying; it is accepting that what was true in ancient times is also true now, and it concerns our souls and hearts and minds more than our physical sustenance and political equality. The goal of exponentiation ezine is to restore this vision of infinity through nature, to rid ourselves of the mundane, and to welcome the possibilities of the eternal. CONTENTS I. News II. Culture III. Features IV. Literature _~= News =~_ Corporate Scientists say Refuse is Good for Wildlife and Environment August 23, 2005 BENTONVILLE, AR - In an unprecedented study, scientists have concluded that the refuse created by disposable products is in fact helpful to the environment and its creatures, reversing a previous assumption that toxic byproducts and non-degradable waste were harmful. The six-month study, sponsored by the Corpoate Ethical Research Society, analyzed the behavior of wildlife in environments saturated with corporate waste. "Wildlife find homes and improved lifestyles in the landfills," scientist David Lyons stated. "Many cute furry animals, such as the chipmunk, attain superior shelter from the harsh natural environment and its amoral predators." Fellow researcher Danica Weathers agreed. "Our negative view of trash is out of date. These animals would otherwise be left in the rain and snow, where predators can find them, but now they are protected by quality homes such as this box from a Toshiba 24-inch LCD TV. Besides, about the only open space left for animals is landfills and trash-strewn ghetto lots." Lyons, sponsored by the Wal-Mart corporation, said the research was groundbreaking. "It proves that chemicals leaking from this waste are killing off the weaker and excess members of each species, making each animal stronger over time. Also, by making larger predators extinct, it guarantees these creatures long and happy lives not unlike our own." The study found that the only species eliminated by trash are the ones we would like to see less of. "Primitive species such as rats and cockroaches survived the plagues and famines of a less civilized time," said Weathers, "but now they are obsolete. They had their day in the sun, and it's time to move on to a better future through technology." When Citizens for Ethical Animal Consumption, a grassroots environmental preservation organization, was contacted for a comment, spokespersonn Erika Richards said trash was a low priority. "The Kraft Food Corporation is re-releasing Roadkill brand fruit snack candies, telling youth that wildlife is edible. Trash can wait until we have addressed this crisis," she said, returning to a McDonalds hamburger and large strawberry shake. -=- New Scholarship for Americans Gifted in Trivial Ways October 13, 2005 MINNEAPOLIS, MN (FNN) - President Bush, in an early-morning ceremony attended by fewer than three of those honored, promoted multiculturalism and equality with a new scholarship for Americans with unconventional gifts. The new federally-funded scholarship, Opportunity for Americans Gifted in Trivial Ways, goes into effect next semester, providing funding for those with skills not conventionally recognized as important. "These are America's heroes, too, and they're helping us defeat terrorism," said Bush. Recent nominees for the scholarship included a suburban kid who figured out on his own how to clean a toilet; an inner city dweller who refused to spraypaint obscenities on the project walls; office workers who have made fully-functioning neck supports entirely out of paperclips; rural slackers who lack a single rusting automotive object stored on the premises. 2004 nominee Fuzzy Jackson, who was recognized for having sold a 2003 HP laptop without lying, inflating the price, or exaggerating its specifications, said he believed the award celebrated America. "It's what makes this country great," he said. "You go into some job, and do less than absolutely failing it, and they give you a medal. I love America!" -=- Al-Qaeda "Chronic Marijuana Abusers" says CIA October 24, 2005 LANGLEY, VA (NNN) - Most Americans see Osama bin Laden as a diabolical, Hitleresque character with malevolence on his mind. Not so, says a recent CIA report, which construes bin Laden as being more like a neighborhood criminal: destitute, watches bad TV, and chronically addicted to the drug marijuana, which is illegal in America. The CIA's Rosenberg Research Center released the report, "Psychological Analysis of Al-Qaeda Leadership," on Monday, citing a number of sources throughout the middle east and America which have studied the terrorist leader and his murderous brethren. "A typical day for bin Laden starts with a heaping bowl of some fine indica, perhaps sprinkled with tobacco," said William A. Rauschweig, leader of the think tank's middle east study project. According to the report, bin Laden was unaware of the success of the September 11 attacks because he did not wish to be disturbed during a massive drug bash in which he and Ayman Al-Zawahiri, his second-in-command, smoked more than a kilogram of Indian sinsemilla and Nepalese hashish while playing consecutive games of "Grand Theft Auto." While the CIA report does not state this, a highly-placed anonymous source near the top-secret Pakistan hideout of al-Qaeda reveals that al-Zawahiri won. "For some time, we've been baffled as to the leader's choice of reclusive hideouts and random activity," said Marshall A. Redstone, with the Middle East Peace Policy Project, a non-profit corporation devoted to solutions to earth's longest running conflicts. "While we've been trying to find a guerrilla fortress, what we should have been looking for was a dark, smoky room with a Nintendo." The report details al-Qaeda's habits, including vast binges on marijuana, massive expenditures on snack food and videogames, and hating our freedom. Brent Hubbart, chairman of the Washington-based Media Bias Foundation, explained. "It shows us that these people are motivated more by laziness and drug addiction than Islam. It must be accurate because our press always is, and is never, ever influenced by hidden oligarchies of government or business. Right?" -=- Stricter Environmental Regulations in New York September 19, 2005 NEW YORK, NY (FWN) - At a groundbreaking ceremony for the city's new $4.6bn water and sewage treatment plant, Mayor Bloomberg announced a new initative to clean up New York's environment. Straining his voice to be heard at the waterside ceremony, Bloomberg elaborated. "Unlicensed cigar smoking contributes over forty metric tons of carbon dioxide to our atmosphere. We're also cracking down on excessive methane from unsanctioned bean consumption, and the use of toilet flushes to dispose of condoms." According to Bloomberg, the new regulations are tougher than those in any other major city in America and represent a "major boost" for environmental efforts. "In this city, every year, public urination and spitting creates 300,000 gallons of ammonoid waste," he said. At times Bloomberg was nearly drowned out by the roar of passing cars, but he expounded upon the need to cut back on waste in many ways. In the background, the deep-sea tanker Marie Belle, skippered by some guy who'd be making twice as much doing something else if it weren't for his alcohol problem, ran aground, releasing six million gallons of dioxin. Bloomberg cited dripping faucets, CD players left in "pause" mode, electric razors and security lights. His speech was momentarily interrupted by trucks loaded with plastic souvenir Statues of Liberty drag-racing down the Long Island Expressway. "These actions are weakening America by polluting our environment and leaving us open to attack by Islamic fundamentalists and Nazis," he said. "They're now banned, and it's up to you underlings to enforce it." He then exited the podium, leaving behind a styrofoam cup half-full of coffee and two pages of notes. -=- Child Abuse Major Factor in Success of CEOs August 11, 2005 CHICAGO, IL (FWN) - A new study from The Thinking Group, Inc. reveals insight into the complex world of the psychology of America's leading CEOs. "The good news is that the people who keep this nation the wealthiest on earth are not driven to succeed by soulless material lust," said Dawn Montpellier, project manager. Montpellier showed members of the press a video of one of America's most famous CEOs. "At first I wanted to succeed so I wasn't a failure," he said. "Then I realized, the only reason I did not want to fail was that my father might come back for my nightly beating, cigarette-burn torture and rape." Montpellier said it was unusual that over 92% of the subjects surveyed displayed clinical signs of child abuse such as twitching when touched, screaming at the sight of parental photographs, and sodomizing their own offspring. "Twenty years ago we thought CEOs were either Jesus figures or megalomaniacs, but now we have a better understanding of the psychology of success," said Madelaine von Savant, a professional psychic and intelligence consultant in the New York area. The CEO continued, "I've done some soul-searching and where I once wanted a big house and car, now I realize all I want is a house and car with impenetrable locks." von Savant said that adversity was a "healthy, nourishing" factor in the development of the children of today's CEOs. "Busy modern lives are full of terror of failure and empty rewards," she said. "A common response is to rape a child, which gives them a chance, through modern psychology, to overcome this adversity and see the beauty and tolerance in all of us, no matter how scarred by anal violation." The anonymous CEO was not so sanguine about the situation. As our interview team left the building, he grabbed the hand of a cameraman and begged for a candy bar wrapper the man had tucked in his pocket. "It's the last thing my father gave me," he wept. "He would always bring one upstairs before beating me senseless and raping me." _~= Culture =~_ MUSIC Karjalan Sissit: Karjalan Sissit (Svartvintras/Coldspring 2001) The name of this act is in Finnish although the composer is Swedish. The reason for this is that he was born in Finland, and his uncle who died in the war was part of the Karjalan Sissit, "Karelian Elite" in English. The music on this album is a sinister ambient soundscape of the bleakness of the reality on the field during the war between Finland and Russia. Often bombastic with ferocious drumming, sometimes eerily calm, the unrelenting desire for victory in the surrounding wasteland of shrapnel and corpses just radiates from the music. The desire isn't arrogant or pompous but the silently strong will of men made from stone. There are also two old Finnish songs, track 4 "Suomi Marssi," an old march song, and "Säkkijärven Polkka," another traditional song. Both have a scratchy sound as if played through a gramophone, and they fit very well in the overall context of the album. A worthwhile representation of the Finnish 'sisu', or 'guts' in English, at the least. - frostwood -=- Fripp and Eno: "Evening Star" (EG Records, 1975) Unassuming at first yet building itself from a simple arpeggio or shimmering tone cluster are the sublime melodic narratives that envelope the listener, providing, like ambient music was intended for, either pleasant background music or an immersive experience, depending on the degree one wants to devote their attention span to perception of such a form. At the time, ambient may have been seen as some new kind of avant-garde music that could barely be recognized as such, but going against the grain of other blues-slasher contemporaries, Robert Fripp helped advance a language of musicality outside of pop-based forms with of all possible instruments, an electric guitar. Fripp meanders but works within a loose collection of ideas, while layering occasional counterpoints to keep coherence. In contrast Brian Eno stays within more controlled territory playing simple piano lines in between lead guitar as heard in "Evening Star". Both complement each other nicely by providing musical adventurousness with a stable foundation to work against. Upon getting to "Wind on Wind", the listener may realize how well this duo can shape atmosphere itself to create the kind of amorphous melody that, while impossible to hum, is just as musically profound as anything made by a master composer. In this case, Fripp is one of those contemporary masters in the world of guitar music. Some who are to used to worshipping over-hyped heroes that build entire songs from recycled blues licks may not understand what the fuss is about. After all, there are no flashy solos or accessible riffs. Though Fripp is certainly esteemed in his respective niche, most people prefer the smash appeal of an AC/DC or Eric Clapton; not many rockers have the ability of Fripp to holistically compose distinctive compositions conveying a variety of moods with more depth than one might find in the average food court's sampling of 'ethnic' cuisine. Each track is solid in its own way, and if these two musicians are to be lauded for anything associated with this project it should be for the enlightened and creative use of shifting melodic layers over simple ostinatos to create a sublime tension between divergent themes while maintaining a consistently satisfying mood. - sothis -=- Arcana: Cantar de Procella (Cold Meat Industry 1997) Melancholic, brooding, epic, and sweeping are all words that come to mind to describe this wonderful album. Cantar de Procella, Arcana's second full-length album, is one of might and melancholy; it creates both intense and bombastic atmospheres alongside subtle and gloomy ones. Arcana build their songs on this album slowly as this is a band that loves to dwell in atmosphere created by looping harmonies and melodies along with ethereal vocals. But make no mistake Arcana is not really what one would call a minimalist band, though they are minimal. Arcana are fanciful, epic, and dim and they are capable of subtle shifting between these moods within songs. The music on this particular album can be labeled medievalist darkwave as there are many medieval styled melodies and structures to be found on this album while the mood and atmosphere of the music itself is firmly in the darkwave camp. The songs are also composed with a lot of reliance on electronic sources, but organic instruments are also mixed in it, thus making the composition approach akin to Dead Can Dance in those respects. Overall the music found on this album is on par with Arcana's first release, Dark Age of Reason. Arcana can often sound similar to soundtrack music as the atmospheres they create can be complimented very elegantly with visuals and the songs easily fall into the background to create an ambiance for scenes in an epic film or game. At times it seems appropriate to compare Arcana to the darker side of Dead Can Dance, as Arcana's compositional approach can be very similar to that of DCD, though Arcana does not stray far from the minimalist approach. Arcana aren't as varied as DCD in terms of moods and sounds, but nevertheless a DCD direct or indirect influence can be picked up and traced through many of the songs on this album. The electronic and organically created melodies that lace this album weave together to carry across the spirit of a murky forest in the evening, as they can be soft and subtle, but also quite brooding. The atmospheric hums, the sequencers, violins, vocals and flutes are at times reminiscent of the winds when rushing through the trees. Horns sound, choir vocals echo and flutes softly resonate as electronic drums pound a soft funeral hymn or powerful war march; it's as if the music were at times written for the great gasp before the storm of war where peace and violence reside side by side. The melodies are brooding and the atmospheres shift like the waves at night. Arcana have masterfully crafted a soundtrack to be played at ancient moors, near arcane ruins in the forests and on cliffs overlooking the ocean at dusk. Arcana stand as atmospheric masters in a genre known for atmosphere, and that is a testament towards the bands strength. The weakness is that at times the band can lose focus and become too repetitive or lack creative focus by creating moods that are too deep and never lighten to express the completeness of a moment. This fault, however, is not detraction from the beauty of this music as a whole. This album is for those who have a taste for brooding, ethereal music. Highly recommended for fans of darkwave, medievalist, dark ambient or dark industrial music. - phantasm -=- My Bloody Valentine: "Loveless" (Sire, 1991) My Bloody Valentine were placed at the forefront of the so-called "Dream Pop" movement in 1991 when this classic came out. Utilizing layers of atmospheric keyboards, overdriven guitars and eerily delicate singing, this band creates a massive wall of often discordant but harmonious sound that could only be the result of studio wizardry. Although this album is considerably rock-based and heavily harmonic, it also possesses a sense of melody natural and profound in construction that makes it alien to the scope of most pop recordings. While most songs in the Top 40 rely on inoffensive chord progressions and mildly catchy hooks, frontman Belinda Butcher and co. whisper melodies that seamlessly flow together in steady cadence as if leading the essential song structure by themselves. The result is something appealing but much emotionally deeper than most bands in pop and rock. I would recommend this album to anyone with a half-decent musical taste but especially to those practitioners in the realm of black metal who could learn from this album. In the musical aesthetic they were seeking, My Bloody Valentine were not that far off from classic Burzum. Album highlights: Loomer; To Here Knows When; What You Want; Soon. - sothis -=- Niccolo Paganini: The Best of Paganini (Naxos) This Italian violinist revolutionized violin playing in the early 19th century, placing himself at the horizon of the forthcoming Romantic movement and personifying that era's unique emphasis on the musician as deeply self-conscious artist rather than mere musical craftsman for royalty. Indeed, true to this non- conformist spirit, these works remain some of the most difficult and challenging pieces ever written for violin. Although Paganini is most known for his 24 caprices, he also wrote in a variety of other forms ranging from symphony and guitar/violin concertos to even solo guitar pieces. On this outing, Naxos has put together a decent introduction to the artist showcasing his various works including 6 of his 24 caprices as performed by Russian violinist Ilya Kaler. It becomes evident after a few listens why his caprices are as famous as they are. Each are furiously technical but spirited pieces that work through one or two dominant ideas crafted from a flurry of scale runs, arpeggios and wide intervallic leaps that bounce around to a steady rhythmic pattern. His visually compelling use of chromatics gesture towards future developments in tonality as the Romantic era wore on but like Beethoven stays mostly to a Classical ideal of consonance while aiming for melodic complexity. Kaler is no doubt technically proficient, but with maybe some understanding of his plight of having to learn these inhumanly difficult pieces, I have to say I was left a little disappointed in his performance. It could be just my taste, but I found his tone to be forced, brittle, flat and sometimes noticeably offkey. This man won gold medals at three of the most prestigious competitions, but at least from what I can tell on this recording, I do not understand what the enormous accolades are for. The guitar with violin compositions are pleasant if sometimes simplistic and predictable works that aim for melodic accessibility. These songs are broken up by soft periodic lulls that pick up with return of motif. In his concertos, the violin not surprisingly takes the spot light after sufficient staging with orchestral instruments, by gradually unfurling and leading off from the instruments only to unite with them again with each dynamic peak. The orchestrations gave way to a single thought: Beethoven-lite. They are mainly there to support Paganini's virtuosity. Overall, this CD is a good and cheap introduction to this musician but noting the deficiencies of Kaler, there are probably better disks out there for the same purpose. - sothis -=- VNV Nation: Matter and Form (Metropolis Records, 2005) If you are a latecomer to the world of electronically-produced music, getting your feet wet in the wide expanse of artists and styles found within this spectrum can be a daunting task. It's very easy to dismiss this style as cold and lifeless, since attempting to find a human presence - be this emotion, passion, or "soul" - in such a ruthlessly technological aesthetic is oftentimes hopeless. It seems to be a habitual staple of most electronic acts to desire only to produce the type of brash, saccharine, repetitively rhythmcentric tripe that is pounded through the speakers of nightclubs the world over, as opposed to an exploration of this medium for the artistic potential it could conceivably unlock within the creator. As in all things though, exceptions to the rule are out there, and these exceptions have discovered that great art can be made utilizing a technological framework of abstraction and mechanized sound to elucidate a distinctly organic vision of reality and our place within it. VNV Nation has successfully transcended the one-dimensional expectations of this musical avenue to produce a work of intellect, zeal, and morbid optimism in the face of a world gone mad. A certain innocent hopefulness ("Arena") intertwined with an assertiveness defined by its resilience ("Strata" "Interceptor") and underscored by occasional solitary introspection ("Endless Skies") paint a picture of an enduringly pragmatic yet personalized idealism bound within every note and theme of these rich and darkly sonorous tracks. Most likely due to preconceptions of the vapidity of most writers in this genre, the lyrical content is surprising, and self-aware, while at the same time marred by an infrequent moribund reliance on sentimentality to convey its sense-impressions. Vocals are recognizably human in tone, lending an immediacy to the overall impact, in direct contrast to the distancing which can be observed in the over-industrialization of most vocal patterns found in this music. The final track "Perpetual" is a summation of the several different moods found within the album, with strong development of central themes and concepts beyond the limitations of its outward form through a calculated repetition of its sonic palette into a dissolution of naked synth-derived atmosphere. It serves as a fitting conclusion to a highly recommended album for those disgusted by the scarcity of worthwhile music to be found in a modern era. - blaphbee BOOKS Absolute Friends, by John Le Carré. 455 pages, Little, Brown and Company, New York (2003). Former British Foreign Service officer Le Carré is famed for his cynical portraits of spycraft: the corrupt local governments, the political infighting that hobbles each side, and the creeping bureaucracy that takes the highest ideals and turns them into bumbling administration which accomplishes its task in name and not ideal. With his latest, Le Carré strikes for a more philosophical target, and turns not from the methods of spying but to its justifications, or the ideological underpinnings of political ideals themselves. No one but an enigma like Le Carré could write this. Rejecting and rejected by right and left alike, he inhabits the middle ground favored by those who, having seen the mechanism of government, are perpetually distrusting of loyalty to abstractions which hover above that which we call life, the everyday process of being able to live and eat and have families. Previous books touched on this topic by showing the sacrifice of individuals and normal life for political means, and offered solutions that even if tainted, suggested an end was at hand. In "Absolute Friends," the writer brushes beyond the everyday and offers us a big picture that is an alarm cry screaming from Hell. The story is convoluted, mainly through its disorienting telling which flits from present tense to past, establishing connections and then taking the reader on backfill within recollections. Its core however is simple: a young man meaning well stumbles into leftist ideology and makes a friendship that lasts a lifetime. His new partner in crime, an enigmatic revolutionary named Sasha, becomes his guide and ally. Sasha goes farther into extremes than our main character, a hapless everyman named Mundy (perhaps contraction of "Mundane"), and defects to the Communist state of East Germany. Over time, he finds that much as the capitalist West was to his mind oppressing its people, the East does the same, in a different variation. From this point on, intrigue and deception, for which Le Carré is perhaps the most able writer in the English language, take over, leading Sasha and Mundy through various paths which do not turn out, bringing the narrative to the present tense. What we the readers see at this point is a solidity of experience in these men's lives, by which different central powerful agencies exploit people for money and political gain, and despite often finding them pedantic and disorganized as people, the reader is shown an honest reaction to the tragedies of their lives. Mundy grew up in British-occupied India, and sees in the Faulknerian dissolution of his family a metaphor for occupation as a whole, where Sasha grew up in the dying days of the Nazi regime, and became opposed to Nationalism as a result. As a result, these two ideologues are convinced of an absolute reality, one in which fascism threatens a goodwill toward all humans and a brotherhood of humankind. Without ever clearly meaning to, they devote their lives to this belief, and gradually discard all past assumptions of what will make their Utopia coming to pass. Every stage of life seems to fail these men, from their student rebellions, to their work with governments, to finally, their activism as writers and members of local communities. Eventually, with all options exhausted and their lives expended in activism, they turn toward a final hope which transcends politics, nationalities, and specific ideologies. If such a thing would betray them, they reason, there might be no hope in absolute belief at all, and no clear path to salvation. It is with ironic mastery that Le Carré brings this to pass, as he shows us humanity with warts and all. Mundy is pathetic, but well-meaning. He partners up with a Turkish whore out of what the reader cannot feel is cynically revealed as pity; he lives humbly and wears his politics on his sleeve, even to the point of seeming, like the limousine liberals of America, to be constructing his self- image entirely from it. Sasha is shown as a half-crippled, pathetic man empowered sexually and socially by his political vision, and when social approval goes away, he becomes only a shrewd but heartless implementer of ideas too abstract to exist as examples in daily life. Governments both left and right are pictured as oblivious to anything but bureaucracy and function, the blind leading the blind. The book concludes dramatically but in sparse detail, contrasting the obvious conclusions with the muddle of human drama that comprises the buildup to that point. Although it hammers out in detail many previous themes from this author, there is a new and almost paranoid, but realistic, distrust of something that is not manifested by a side or character but by all actors in this drama. In a time when we are led off to war by high-flying linguistic acrobatics about the importance of democracy, or crushing fascism, or the rights of X or Y ethnic or gender group, Le Carré is reminding us that words are just words, and if we take them as absolutes, we risk being misled - to our collective doom. - vijay -=- "Hooking Up" by Tom Wolfe. 293 pages. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York (2000) Literature is paradoxical because, in going into the world of fantasy, it seeks out meaning, and in doing so, denies illusion. Tom Wolfe approaches literature much like Hemingway did, as a journalist of his time and a demi-philosopher of values, and thus sets forth on a war of invective unparalleled in print at this time. His target: the "new" America and its steady replacement of values and character with external machinations including sex, money, digital computers, psychology, and biology - in short, anything that lets us off the hook (plea of woman in final chapter of Ulysses) from the task of having to shape our own futures, gives us something to blame and to justify our regressive behavior. And with his classic deep-research style, Wolfe points out just how regressive our behavior is, while simultaneously damning with superlative praise our "freedoms" and "progressive" society. This is a book of essays, some from early in his career but the most influential ones from recent times, named after the first in the series, an analysis of modern sexuality as a "liberation" that has in fact numbed us to all subtler things. "Hooking Up" looks at the degeneration of courtship into fornication as a result of our desire to "empower" our young ladies, and points out that the discipline which raised us from the level of animals is now dissipating. The effect, as Wolfe concludes, is to make us numb and distant from one another. No more devastating seventeen pages has been levelled at this aspect of modernity. Additional essays provide bounty: his analysis of the goldrush mentality at the founding of the semiconductor industry, and how it created a hybrid of liberal values and conservative finance, providing a new culture within America's culture based around a public image designed to justify the empty pursuit of wealth behind (Wolfe is too deft to spell it out in such easy terms, but for the sake of a book review, such things are required). Another article bites into the question of biological determinism, and its heavily politicized opposition, casually taking a stand in the middle suggesting that perhaps, until we understand more, we should stick to our guns and believe we have some control over our own character and actions. The excellent short essay "In the land of the Rococo Marxists" analyzes Superpower America as a falling empire, collapsing from within for lack of ideological vision. Each of these essays includes a classic sense of humor and sharp vision of the human soul behind these political and technological developments, but reveals in the margins a growing sense of unease within this author regarding his predictions for a human future. "The Great Relearning" is a mockery of our desire to return to an original state, illustrating that as we peel back the layers of social assumptions which our politics tell us are "bad," we are devolving to a state where we must relearn the basics of living as herd animals. Its refulgent metaphor is that of the hippies in San Francisco who, upon going to a simpler and more communal way of life, literally reintroduced ancient diseases to modern medicine through sheer lack of accepted hygenic practice. It's a barrel of laughs. Arguably the high point of this book is "Ambush at Fort Bragg," a novella which describes the ambitions of a fat, frumpy, ugly Jewish journalist and his vapid blond companion as they attempt to entrap a group of soldiers responsible for beating up a gay colleague. Having read his Nietzsche, Wolfe takes an ambiguous moral point of view, and illustrates how the impulse that seems to be "for the good" can have the same impetus as the "bad" against which it crusades. In a time of wars for moral absolutes and hyperbolic political ideals like "freedom," it's a worthy lesson. The volume then closes out with some works from early in Wolfe's career, mostly notably a satire of the New Yorker which was so dead-on that it didn't come across to this reviewer as satire. Like most books of assembled pieces, "Hooking Up" requires a quiet moment and a cup of coffee, but rewards the diligent reader. Interestingly, one can see the history of Wolfe's research and novels here, in that "The Great Relearning" hearkens back to "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test," the essays on semiconductors and politics in art suggest background to "A Man in Full," and clearly "Hooking Up" was a precursor to "I am Charlotte Simmons." Wolfe writes to point out reality to us, differing quite clearly from the trend of the last fifty years toward symbolic and abstract detachment from reality for the sake of unanchored, hyperbolic emotion. In this he is still a journalist, but by bypassing such "literary" ambitions, he returns to the function of literature: to praise life and analyze life. "The Invisible Artist" gives us a glimpse of his thinking here. For those who haven't yet discovered this writer, he represents the next era in literature, which will be a brushing-aside of our imaginary worlds and a return to realism of a pragmatic yet idealistic type. Nietzsche would be proud. - vijay -=- The Iliad, Homer. Translated by Robert Fagles. 683 pages, New York (1990) This Greek epic poem about the Trojan War sings its tale of pride and conflict as nothing else can. Homer's work fully envelopes its listeners into both a world of warring personalities and warring nations, and into the prideful warrior psyche that values honor over just a simple existence. Robert Fagles' translation of The Iliad eschews demonstrating the author's vocabulary in favor of presenting Homer's poem in a powerful manner. Fagles' translation does not attempt to impress the reader through obscure and archaic English. He uses conversational language, and uses it well enough to paint the full picture of the war in vivid detail. The death of a warrior is presented with an amazing description of the gore, which allows the reader to imagine exactly how it would look and feel for the cold, sharp point of a spear to tear through their flesh. The dialogue has a passion and urgency fitting a commander appealing to the man who was once his friend to forget that he has been slighted and to join the war effort. The lust for glory and asserting oneself onto the world drives this work. It is what caused Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek army to steal a slave girl from the Greek's greatest warrior, Achilles, when he had to give up one of his in order to appease Apollo. This unquenchable fire is what the Trojan archer Pandarus felt when he foolishly fired the arrow that would shatter the truce and ultimately cause his city to erupt in flames as it was ransacked by the Greek army. When the Trojans sought to set the Greek fleet ablaze and ruin their forces, they were inspired by that same lust, as was the best friend of Achilles, Patroclus, as he tore through ranks of Trojans after witnessing the Trojans nearly succeed at their goals. When Patroclus' death allows Achilles to forget his rage at Agamemnon, and the greatest Greek warrior challenges and defeats Hector, this is what spurred him on. This lust even held sway over the men outside of war; at Patroclus' funeral games, the Greek captains Ajax and Odysseus strain against each other in a wrestling match, neither wrestler giving way to the other. The end of this tale is known to nearly all potential readers, however this strengthens it, rather than weakens it. As Achilles and Priam, king of Troy, embrace, each weeping over the fate that they know awaits them, this element of inexorability allows the reader to empathize with the two characters struggling with their own mortality more profoundly than if this fated end had come as a surprise for the reader. Even though The Iliad was written over two thousand years ago, it remains current even today. The basic realization of death, and the resulting struggle to make one's time have meaning, is familiar to all people. It is strongly recommended by this reviewer for upholding heroism rather than comfortable passivity. - cynical -=- "I am Charlotte Simmons," by Tom Wolfe. 676 pages, Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, New York (2004). Literature aims to render a song of reality, describing it as it exists outside of the small worlds in our own heads, but part of that process is singing: bringing to light the mundane and showing it as the conflict between ideals that in human terms it is. Set in a fictional Ivy League college called Dupont University, Tom Wolfe's latest book, I am Charlotte Simmons, is a careful exploration of the reality faced by college students, during what one might presuppose to be the most idealistic time in a young person's life. Turning his back on current literary convention, Wolfe does not use any grand- sounding metaphorical or scientific allusions to make his point, as a Pynchon or DeLillo might, but creates instead a literal story, and from within it alludes to the ideals that are being manifested in the path of his protagonist. Eighteen-year-old Charlotte Simmons is a prodigy by our terms, having proven herself in education, but is an everyperson in her confusion regarding social and moral issues. This confusion is deepened when she goes to Dupont, in which the elite of our nation's learners demonstrate an aptitude for lust, degeneracy, sloth, filth and illusion - in short anything but learning, which one might assume is the process of compiling knowledge about reality. Wolfe crafts his story in a flexible hand, borrowing freely from the past century of American literature as well as classic Bildungsroman archetypes, but his style is determined by what he portrays, and like a good journalist he is an able chameleon. Charlotte is portrayed in the primary color absolutes of childhood mixed with the dense greys of abstract concepts applied without the context that adulthood patiently teaches. While not perhaps as exactingly pure in voice as a character study would be, her language captures the conceptual conflict of her age and the time in which she lives. Much as in the literary heritage of F. Scott Fitzgerald, characters merge the allegorical and the organic into a portrayal of experience as if contemplated in the small hours of a dying day. They are important as much for what they do see as what they do not, but we as readers divorced from any particular individual, can infer from the whole of the situation. What is gratifying about this approach is its reality. Contemporary literature has deviated into an almost entirely symbolic realm at this point, as if deluded by its own power of metaphor into confusing language with reality, and Wolfe yanks us back from that not as much through the gritty elements of the story - Charlotte's paranoid and delusional deflowering, or the fistfights of drunken college males, or the excreta and pathos of young people aping in extremes an adult world they cannot understand - but through his attentive eye to the images and concepts of areas in which we have no experience after which we pattern our behavior. He connects impressions to action, and shows the reader how despite our most animal impulses, we are creatures of mind who program ourselves according to what we have learned. This literal story, like the most epic of literature, has a basic structure wrapped in a proliferation of detail through its unfolding plotline, but its theme sounds consistently throughout. Where Wolfe is most deft is his ability to nudge a concept into every scene by not mentioning it explicitly, letting the action conclude and the characters then contemplate where they have arrived and what it means, in contrast to what they expected. Although Charlotte is a vivid flesh and blood character, her struggles mirror those of the society around her, and through that device Wolfe peers into the evolving psyche of our society, much as "The Great Gatsby" chronicled the outlook of its time so well as to be emblematic. Fitzgerald provides an interpretive starting point that gives us some clue as to what this book is about. Much as Gatsby was an allegory for "ambition," as the author revealed in later interviews and critique, "I am Charlotte Simmons" is about a similar phenomenon, but at a more fundamental level of psychology. Where in the 1920s ambition to succeed financially dominated all else, and Fitzgerald's backward warning was to the American establishment that it would soon be replaced by more aggressive newcomers, since it had lapsed into a lack of values, Wolfe tackles the lack of values by showing us an unreal situation of sublime but not obvious danger. This allows him to point out what replaced our values, and what obsession obscures our desire to rise above. Looking at this through the allegory of Charlotte Simmons, we see a young girl who wants to rise above the world, represented by her dingy and impoverished hometown with its hopeless and fatalistic local culture. She goes to a place she sees as a gateway to knowledge, but out of need for personal growth in a sexually aggressive and socially elitist climate, becomes displaced, and spends much of the book trying to get back on track. Wolfe raises the question, however, of an invisible mental infection that cannot be described by the morality of her God-fearing mother, the love of knowledge of her professors, or the polyglot of political attitudes that encrust the campus. Using literary negative space, he shows us what's missing, and like a mirror reveals the attribute of the world we cannot normally see and thus do not attribute to our actions as cause or fixation. Where "Gatsby" was about ambition, the unstated theme of "I am Charlotte Simmons" is the first word in the title. No matter how much we wrangle over the named institutions and concepts of society, the book hints, we cannot overcome our fascination with ourselves, and our habit of constructing our worldview around our self-image. Characters of all stripes in this book become misled by not their egos per se, but their social desire to be seen as having certain "good" or powerful motives; what they cannot see is the situation as a whole. We can hear in this an echo of Nietzsche's warning against "grand statements" of emotional meaning, but little pragmatic value. From the yuppie fratboys to the academically amotivated athletes, this book abounds with characters myopically blind to all but themselves as constructed, externalized image. As a result, this is a highly subversive book, and not only for its frank treatment of disposable sexuality, racial recognition politics, academic Marxist groupthink and excessive use of alcohol and drugs. Its assault on us is cordial, but it bears the emblem of death as a warning, revealing a worldview which defeats us in every form because of its hook into our brain at a level we cannot even detect. Wolfe avoids battering us with this as a dominant metaphorical structure but lets it ring out in the soft spaces between action and the unarticulated but visible emptinesses characters encounter even when succeeding. On the surface, "I am Charlotte Simmons" shows us a young woman attacked by the world, but when we read below the surface, it shows us a species decimated by its inability to distinguish the small worlds within individual minds from the larger world beyond. - vijay -=- FILM Un Chien Andelou (dir. Luis Bunuel, 1929) Un Chien Andelou is a film of dreams and tantalizing irrationality. The film title translates to "An Andelousian Dog," and it's the first example of a surrealist film. This is also surrealist Luis Bunuel's first film, thus beginning the start of an iconoclastic and wild film career for Bunuel. The 17 minute short was co-written with fellow surrealist great Salvador Dali. This is one of the most notorious and well known short films in existence, in part because of its shocking, disjointed and dreamy imagery which remains potent to this day. The film opens with one of the most memorable sequences in film history. A tango plays as a man (Bunuel) is sharpening a barbers razor. A thin veil of smoke from his cigar dances around his head as he pears into the moon. The shot switches to the inside where a woman is sitting down in a chair and looking forward. The Bunuel character approaches her and takes the razor to her eye and slices it open. The sequence then ends and the meat of the surrealist short begins. The film takes us on a seemingly incoherent ride as if we are in a dream, experiencing these phantasm's first hand. The plot circulates around a young man and a women whom he desires but cannot obtain. The two challenge each other while strange things happen and scenes just mysteriously change before our eyes. One sits in wonder taking in all the dream like imagery of this short film. There is an undeniable passion in the method and work of Bunuel. His iconoclasm as a film maker is unrivaled and his willingness to push the boundaries is applauded. Un Chien Andelou is a short that attacks rationality, Catholicism and the bourgeoisie. The film expresses the desperation of a man who can never truly have the woman he seeks. Bunuel seems to portray the underlying beast behavior of the bourgeoisie who have come to believe they are no longer an animal but something outside of nature. These are common themes that would follow Bunuel throughout his career. While Bunuel would later say in an interview that the film had no meaning, it was just a poke at the avant-garde cinema of the day that relied more on form than substance, it is apparent that there are some themes presiding through the film. Bunuel was known for being an iconoclast, often threatening to burn his films and making rash comments for effect; it is quite possible he did so by denying the film had to say anything at all. Bunuel was a true surrealist after all (except for a brief period in the 30's where he was under the influence of Communism, probably in part because it was a radical idea. Bunuel later revoked and vehemently condemned Communism and throughout his career there exists anarchistic sympathies and an attack on snobbery). This is a piece of cinematic history that should not be missed by anyone into this medium. This is a pure work of surrealistic iconoclasm. At its very base Un Chien Andelou is a trip through the seemingly incoherent world of dreams and nightmares. Love for the irrational was a cornerstone of the surrealist style and this is apparent from the beginning to the end of this brilliant short film. Bunuel manages to create something hauntingly memorable by shooting this film with such bravado and charisma. - phantasm Download the film here: http://epc.buffalo.edu/sound/mp3/sp/bunuel_luis/UN%20CHIEN%20ANDALOU.m pg -=- "Triumph Of The Will" (dir. Leni Riefenstahl, 1935) In the first decades of the 20th century, some nations adopted political regimes which were brought forth by theories and philosophies that constituted a complete renewal of the system previously in vigor, most notably fascism and communism. In order to strengthen their political base and gather more adepts, the rulers of those countries used some types of propaganda to spread the word, including cinema, which was at the time a relatively new and powerful art form. Nevertheless, there are at least two examples, one from each of the two regimes mentioned, of films that had initially mere propaganda purposes but turned out to be true masterpieces: The Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Potyomkin, 1925), directed by Sergei Eisenstein and filmed in the Soviet Union, and Triumph Of The Will, directed by Leni Riefenstahl and filmed in Nazi Germany. Due to the efforts of the media and western governments to condemn and boycott things that are connected to National Socialism since the end of World War II, Riefenstahl's picture is not remembered by critics as often as Eisenstein's piece is, despite the fact that it was one of the most groundbreaking movies of its time. The film depicts the Reich Party Congress which took place in Nuremberg in the year of 1934 and the events connected to it. At the beginning, after a brief explanation of the context that led to such celebration, there is a display of beautiful images of the city and scenes of Adolf Hitler being enthusiastically hailed by a devoted crowd as he arrives at the airport and goes on to his destination in his car. What follows afterwards are the Führer's inspections of the national army and workers, political rallies, military parades and speeches of members of the government. Considering its content, the movie could have been just an ordinary political documentary, but it achieves a great deal more than that not only because of the unique nature and magnificence of the Reich, but also due to the incredible talent of its director, as Triumph of the Will is, indeed, technically irreprehensible. Innovative techniques such as multi-angle camera shots, cranes and tracking rails were utilized and the result is nothing less than spectacular. From the beginning till the end, there is a succession of masterfully edited and beautifully photographed scenes which at the same time capture the essence of the events in a realistic way and exalt their grandeur. Ultimately, this documentary is highly recommended to anyone who is interested in modern history and to those who would like to see rare images of a nation united under the banner of heroism and ancient symbols of might, as if in a fortified island surrounded by a world where industrialism and conformism had long swallowed honor and pride, in a time where such things were already practically nonexistent. - monolithus -=- "Apocalypse Now" (dir. Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) Why people love this movie: it puts into poetry a song of the decline so vast, so carefully considered, that it does not register as propaganda as much as honest emotion. It leaves aside social considerations, such as what might or might not offend, and supplants them with a view of the world in which we find ourselves, as if crafted from the inner self we all nourish and hide away from the uncomprehending, thickly vengeful world out of outer society. In brief, it is a synthesis of T.S. Eliot's "The Wasteland" and Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," both poems that deal with the collapse of the West through an inward lack of will and spirit that corrupts all things and cannot be addressed by ordinary political means. Modernizing it somewhat, the directors set this descriptive fantasy in the jungles of Viet Nam, and add to it period pieces of music and culture and language, showing us how much the safe world of television and plastic-sealed products cannot change the beast within. Our perspective follows that of a military man sent up a long river deep into the jungle, having been given instructions to eliminate a man superior to him; our protagonist is recovering from his own failures, and is expected to restore himself to good graces with this mission. Over this creepy narrative line is woven an elaborately detailed simple story of a team of people fighting their way into a war-wracked, disorganized territory in which every "official" reason is supplanted by a darkly subconscious actuality, one in which predation and profit obliterate all idealism. To understand this movie, realize that it is not a war movie; war is one of its metaphors, but specifically, modern war is, in that it shows us the pretense of an organized society in a disorganized, manic pursuit in which all intentions are hidden behind layers of starchy bureaucratic justification. "Apocalypse Now" is anything if not lavish; A-level names from its era, magnificent battle scenes that replace special effects with the guaranteed effect of simply blowing up huge things in coordination, and excellent cinematography highlight its passage and make a linear storyline come alive in depth if not permutation (fortunate, since the latter is destructive to emblematic themes as used here). In this light, the movie is a strike against not only the mentality it describes, but the artistic community that, drunken on the same mentality, refuses to produce honest work describing it. While it is mainly a work of overbearing mood, this movie is lightened by humor and the pathos of human real-world survival in illogical circumstance, touching on French existential philosophy as much as proto-modernist realism. For all of this it is a great work of filmmaking, but what makes this movie a form- independent great work of art is its articulation of finely observed reality in poetic form, looking beyond the temporal to see the spiritual, philosophical and psychological dilemma of this cycle in our Western civilization. - vijay -=- FOOD "Chicken and Forty Cloves" This is simultaneously the easiest and best dish you could ever cook. It requires one pan (more or less), it makes one of the lesser utilized cuts of chicken shine, fills your home with an absolutely heavenly aroma, and the flavour is incomparable. You will never have better chicken in your life, unless of course you brine the chicken first, which carries this dish right over the top. 1 dozen chicken thighs skin removed, or one whole chicken, split into eight pieces Salt and pepper 3/4 to 1C extra virgin olive oil, plus three tablespoons 40 peeled cloves of garlic (this amount can be reduced serviceably to ten if you feel squeamish, but it is traditional to use forty) Several sprigs of fresh thyme 6 bay leaves Optional ingredients: halved Yukon Gold potatoes, cored quarters of apple or pear, whole peeled shallots, chili peppers, olives, grapes 1. Preheat oven to 350F. 2. Season the chicken very liberally with salt and pepper, and toss with three tablespoons of olive oil. Brown these pieces in a hot skillet over high heat until caramelized all over. 3. Add the chicken to a casserole dish large enough to accommodate the chicken in one layer, and scatter the garlic and herbs over top. This is also where you would add any of the optional ingredients mentioned above. Add the remaining oil, cover tightly and bake for one and a half hours. 4. Allow to cool slightly before consuming, as you have basically just finished slowly deep-frying the chicken; it will be quite hot. You can stir some of the poached garlic into mashed potatoes, and the resulting oil can be used in any application requiring that a flavorful fat be incorporated - salad dressings, sauteeing meats and vegetables, pastas, etc. - hieronymous botch -=- Gnocchians In philosophy, we often deal with abstract notions, which prompts a desire for something tangible, perhaps even soft and easily digestible, causing us to desire a simple but delicious recipe such as the following. It is based on the ancient Italian food "gnocchi," or potato-flour dumplings, which may have even been served to such luminaries as Virgil and Marcus Aurelius. Ingredients 2 lbs potatoes (bonus for sticky ones like Yukon Gold) 1 tsp ocean salt 1/2 stick butter 1 tbsp cracked pepper 1.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour Boil these potatoes gently; you don't want to roast the damn things into tastelessness. This usually takes an hour on medium heat, but can be done in a half hour on high if you rotate them so they do not burn. When they're boiled, set them aside to cool, then peel them and mash them into paste. Slice butter into small saucepan, add pepper, and melt. Pour into the potato mash and knead thoroughly. Form a small "mountain" of the resulting greasy substrate, and poke in the top so that it creates a cup. Beat egg and dump into this cup, then follow up with salt. Knead this mixture. Surround this mound with flour on a clean surface, then dump the required flour into it and knead. It will gradually take on a doughy texture; massage this into a uniform consistent and then divide it into four equal parts. With your clean hands, roll these over flour, adding more if the mixture is sticky (potatoes vary in consistent with ethnicity, breed, season and shelf life). Roll each part into a rope about one inch in diameter, and then cut into one inch pieces. You can imprint these with a fork to give them the "classic gnocchi look." Boil water and drop these in carefully, stirring water to avoid their sticking to the bottom of the pot and resulting carbonization. When done, serve with shredded parmesan cheese and/or tomato sauce. Here's a quick tomato sauce recipe. Ingredients 24 oz crushed tomatoes 4 cloves garlic 1 medium onion 1 tbsp olive oil or 1 tsp olive oil and 1 pat butter 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 1 tbsp oregano, dry 1/2 tbsp basil, dry 1 tbsp vinegar Fresh ingredients work even better than what is listed above, but most of you have oregano and basil in your spice cabinets (if not, consider it; the first thing the FBI will check to make sure you're a loyal American is your spice collection). Put a saucepan on the stove, chuck in your oils, crushed peeled garlic, and red pepper. Simmer on medium and add finely chopped onion. Cover, adding water if the mixture is dry, and uncover only when onion is visibly carmelized (shiny, translucent). Dump in vinegar and tomato puree, then stir in spices. Cook for another five minutes on medium and you've got a quick and dirty sauce. You can add green peppers or other vegetables for texture and flavor, but they will take longer to cook. Gnocchians and sauce should serve 4-8 people, depending on size, ethnicity, season and shelf life. Most philosophers tend to favor this dish with red wine. - vijay -=- "Parsnip and Arugula 'Tagliatelle'" This is a great vegetarian dish to serve to anyone still braindead enough to disregard all sensible nutritional advice to the contrary and follow the Atkins diet. Makes a killer side dish to heartier meat-oriented fare, as well. 1 bunch arugula, cleaned and hard stems removed 3-4 medium size parsnips, outer layer peeled 1 medium sized carrot 1 green zucchini 1 C cooked or canned white beans, drained 1/2 C Vidalia onion, thinly sliced 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp wine vinegar, the kind does not matter (sherry is particularly nice though) Salt and pepper to taste 1/4 tsp chili flakes 1. Using a mandolin or hand peeler, shave thin lengthwise strips of the parsnips, carrots and the zucchini until no more decent "tagliatelle" can be peeled. 2. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil, and begin sautéing the onion for two minutes. 3. Add the carrots and parsnips, and continue to sauté briskly for another minute. Then add the zucchini, and season this mixture with the salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Allow 1-2 minutes for this mixture to reduce in volume and cook through. 4. Add the white beans, arugula leaves and the vinegar, toss everything together, and cook just long enough for the leaves to wilt. Serve immediately. You can go wild and add any fresh herbs you have handy to this; I wouldn't recommend rosemary unless it's used very sparingly, but anything else would work. - blaphbee -=- "Mediterranean Cornucopia" This is a take-off on the legend of the Horn of Plenty, one I serve in my restaurant as a side dish to meat-oriented dishes, or else as a dish of its own with other small accompaniments. It never fails to win them over. For the pastry cornucopia: 1-2 sheets of store-bought puff pastry (depending on size) a six-to-seven inch wide soup bowl four six-to-seven inch wide circles of thin cardboard (old cereal boxes work great for this) aluminum foil aerosol spray fat For the ratatouille: extra virgin olive oil 8oz of canned whole tomatoes, roughly crushed by hand 2 medium white onions, diced 4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin A healthy pinch of saffron 3 red and 3 green bell peppers, diced 1/4" pieces 1 large eggplant, diced 1/4" 2 green and 2 yellow zucchini, diced 1/4" Possible additions to the ratatouille: halved olives, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, etc. 1. Take the cardboard circles, and grab an exacto knife. Find the center of each circle, and cut a radius on all four. Fold these circles around so that you end up with four distinct cone-shapes, each with a 3-4 inch wide mouth. Seal this with two staples across the overlapping seam. Take some tin foil and cover the outside of the cones over tightly, and try to keep the foil as smooth as possible (this will only benefit you in the long run). Spray these lightly with the aerosol fat, and set aside on a baking sheet. Set your oven to 400F. 2. Roll out the puff pastry to an eighth of an inch thickness, and set the bowl mouth over it so that you can either end up with four circles of pastry per sheet, or two circles, depending on the size of the sheets. Cut around the circumference with a knife. Once done, cut out one quarter of the pastry circle, and drape these circles lightly over the foil cones (the top of the cones could puncture the pastry, which isn't necessarily bad, but be careful all the same), and smooth the wrinkles in the dough out so that a homogenous exterior surface is achieved. Spray the outside of the cones with fat, and place in the middle of the oven for 14-17 minutes - this may take longer or shorter depending on the unreliability of your oven. You're looking for a golden brown, puffed appearance. If you wish, spray the scraps of puff pastry you have left with the fat, lightly sprinkle on some sugar and bake along with the cornucopias for about the same time, for a snack while you prepare the rest of the meal. Once they're out, give them two minutes before you attempt removal from the cones (this can be tricky, but the necessary technique is to lightly hold the pastry itself while gently twisting the cardboard slightly. It will eventually give way. You will appreciate the care you took in smoothing the foil at this stage, I'm sure). Set these aside until you plate the meal. 3. The ratatouille: Put a medium soup pot on high heat, and a medium sauté pan on high heat (Non stick sauté pans work tremendously well here). Add two tbsp of the olive oil to the pot, and add the onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and sauté these for five minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and saffron and a touch more salt (not much), and lower the heat to medium low. Simmer this concoction for twenty minutes. Once the pot is turned down, take the by now smoking pan and add 2 tbsp of oil. Add the zucchini BY ITSELF, season with S&P, and sauté quickly for two minutes, stirring the whole while. Don't let the heat scare you. After two minutes, these should be just cooked through. Remove from the pan, and place it back on the heat until it smokes again. Repeat the process with the peppers, and then again with the eggplant (however, you will find that the eggplant absorbs all the oil immediately - just keep adding oil so that it sautés, instead of dryly burning.). 4. Once all this is done, combine the sautéed vegetables with the sauce, and remove from the heat. When ready to serve, hold the pastry in your hand with a towel, just in case any hot liquid splashes, and spoon in enough filling to come to level with the opening. Place one on each plate so that the cornucopia rests on it's side, and the ratatouille spills out onto the plate. Repeat for the rest of the plates, and spoon the remaining ratatouille on top of what's already spilling out so that it looks as though it truly is filled to bursting. Garnish as you wish, with a sprig of rosemary, an edible flower, anything at all. Serve with simple roast chicken, grilled lamb, or for that special vegetarian in your life. - blaphbee _~= Features =~_ Opposing Angel: The Metaphysics of Averse Sefira Averse Sefira exemplifies the paradoxical nature of black metal. The meaninglessness inherent to modern society wars against the Romantic desire to give wings to the soul, to restore once more the spirit and vitality claimed by ancient humanity. These artists balance these factions in an occult esotericism by sublimating themselves into an Idea, bringing that Idea into action and then reality. They unify the physical world with the aesthetic of the infinite and otherworldly such that both threads of being, through this, become one. According to vocalist/bassist Wrath, Nature "is a presence in all things, one which we as humans have wronged egregiously. Nature is that which we cannot deny, be it in ourselves or the world around us." The natural world employs an evolutionary mechanism in its construction and continuity of life through time; as each generation turns, organisms spring forth and pass away, leaving those which were better-adapted to the requirements of survival as the shapers of the future development of the species. "Nature creates things to serve purposes, to fill voids. Everything we have ever seen that naturally occurs has some specific role to play, however unwitting. By comparison art is part of justifying an existence, not serving one." Within the human sphere, civilizations throughout time have arisen, flourished and perished as the organisms which comprised them ascended from birth into their inevitable deaths as all things which live must; many cultural achievements are still visible to us through the mists of time - the relics of those once mighty empires, the accumulated wealth of knowledge, and the artistic works which shaped and defined culture remain for us to contemplate the boundless energy and creativity it took to create them. Art is a different form of communication than that of direct speech or experience. It is created through the willful abstraction or metaphoric symbolization of what are otherwise concrete ideas, presented through a certain aesthetic filter for consideration by others who are capable of reassembling the conveyance locked within the puzzle. When the message is found, it is judged by its perceiver on the scale of its worthiness to their world, and the meme is adopted into their outlook, oftentimes unconsciously. "I think art is a human device in that art comes from intent, a decision to communicate an idea," says Wrath. "Life is a situation foisted upon each of us against our respective wills. The question then becomes what is it worth and how is the time best spent?" Although many people have attempted to find such an answer through their work, thought, or art, even more have turned to God in resolution of this problem. Wisdom, and God by extension, were states of mind achievable through hard diligence and deep thought turned toward comprehending the vast esoteric depth of meaning rooted in this concept. As time passed, and we arrive again in the modern day, the masses have thrived, a status quo of mediocrity prevails, and God has been sublimated into a marketable caricature of Its former meaning to placate those masses. Not before the damage was done to our spirits and values, however; we now understood God as outside of our world, unknowable, and thus we have been left to our own materialism. Certain individuals in ancient and modern times have stood against this rising tide of spiritual nihilism. Black metal was an artform which coalesced in opposition to the values which characterize mob rule: "I stand for support of the vital and productive, I stand for art over entertainment, I stand for acknowledging female contributions to said art, I stand for quality over quantity, I stand for achievable goals, I stand for consistency, I stand for directness, I stand for lack of compromise in the face of mediocrity and enclavishness, I stand for the eradication of YHWH, his flock, and the according status quo." Black metal stood for, in the eyes of its originators, ascendancy in the face of stagnation, for warlike honour and integrity of artistic vision, and a rejection of the plastic culture which had robbed the world of vibrancy and meaning. Uncomprehending imitators and social outcasts have since turned it into a gross parody of what it had uncomprimisingly decried. "One element that sets us apart from many bands in this genre is the amount of time and thought we invest in every aspect of our work. Too many bands think that the way to create Black Metal is to just pick up instruments and just bang it all out. That to me is the recipe for hardcore/punk, old Discharge stuff. In that case I don't think it is so much a preferred method as it is a way to avoid learning how to effectively write music. Nobody can accuse us of not investing any effort into Averse Sefira, whether or not they like us." "...Our message is paramount to our content, to the point where we cannot write music without first finishing all the lyrics. We avoid single-mindedness in that our mythos is in large part about tapping into the infinite, and accordingly there are many story arcs we address between the songs and albums. That said, everything is still connected but it is a considerably large area to cover, and even then it is but a microcosm, an overview of the ideas in question." The conception Averse Sefira seeks to impart is the effort to reincarnate God within Man, to reconcile the separation which has occurred via religious and secular dualism. This is conveyed by their artistic works, in which they represent themselves as the conduits of the Sephiroth, a group of extracelestial beings who, having previously served underneath its yoke, now find the concept and manifestation of Jehovah to be a mirror image of the modern psychology of its creator - bitter, resentful, materialistic, stagnated beings with no ability to dream - and they correspondingly find this situation repugnant. The Sephiroth see divinity as not outside the realm of Man, but a fundamental structural facet of Man that can only be grasped when the exterior mental dominance by a spiteful deity and its inherently limiting values are removed from Man and destroyed utterly, to allow that divinity opportunity to reveal itself, and guide us anew. The art and music serve as the conduit for this storyline and idea; in terms of artistic image-representation, Averse Sefira resurrects out of the degraded farce of black metal's original usage of "corpse-painting" a certain obligation or necessity to adorn themselves in their occult armor and demonic facial visages, which have been altered to take on a certain regal nature: it is a fundamental component of the presentation of their art that they appear otherworldly - they are the creators of the art, yet the art and message underlying it is what impels them to act; a grand reciprocal synthesis of the two merges and becomes a phenomenon greater than its individual parts. "I would say my strongest area would be my imagination. It is the touchstone of everything that motivates me. Second to that would be my sense of determination. When I truly feel strongly about something I tend to see it though unwaveringly. I don't know if I can say this connects mind and body in that I am ultimately a cerebral person and not a physical one." As "regular" beings of this physical world - "I am no different than many Hessians in that I wear black army pants and band shirts almost exclusively, but at this same time this was the case well before I became embroiled in the Black Metal subculture" they of course have thoughts on what occurs within it: "for the record I strongly disagree with this war and I abhor our government, particularly the current administration," says Wrath. "In western nations it is christianity that tells us that it is 'right' to breed endlessly. In regards to other nations such as India and Africa, it is christianity that says to intervene and implement some kind of hard-line population control is 'wrong.' Maybe we should go to war with more populist nations? None of these of course are plausible solutions; it seems that when it comes to mankind the time of plausible solutions in general has long past," he adds. "If I may adopt the posture of Sun Tzu for a moment, I will say that [the USA is] a threat to the world the way a clenched fist threatens a hornet's net. The first strike causes great harm, but the survivors will still be many and attack the fist from all sides. The outcome becomes fairly obvious past a point." Their art is what motivates their most visible actions: "I have a difficult time speaking in direct terms about such topics, as Averse Sefira is not a political entity nor do we wish to be one." Their art is merely one manifestation of who they are, a selective process of action to bring about the recognition of a better reality than the one we are currently shackled into. The thoughts which have shaped them as men find their reflection in the art which they have created and sublimated themselves within upon its manifestation in the world. "...Averse Sefira members regularly abandon reasonably paying desk jobs in the interest of touring various parts of the world. At this point, I seek the glory of our art. Past that, I am not terribly worried about what will befall me. It will take care of itself..." These men actively seek to make choices in their art and in their personal lives which deliver a non-insane, assertively-defined reality, extended from the art they create to a life that is not compromised by the pervasive virus of modernity. "Anyone who meets me finds that I am outgoing and generally sociable, assuming the person in question is someone I am interested in meeting. I am self-assured, I am jocular, though even in my best moments of levity I am told I am intense. I tend to leave little doubt that I like who I am and what I am about. With all this in mind, there tends to be the polarized perception that I'm either interesting and agreeable or arrogant and insufferable." It is rare to see such self-conviction found in a world dominated by self-image and standards of political correctness.There is thus a duality to the outside observer: the onstage or artistic representation of these men seems far removed on the surface from how they conduct a "normal" life outside of their artistic realm of choice, where they are addressing concepts not rooted in the everyday; on a deeper level, there is however no duality, as the root value system which drives them as individuals is also the progenitor of the art manifested through them. In this, one can begin to see the incarnate divinity believed in and invoked through the hymns of the Sephiroth, in an effort to readdress the concepts of evolution, artistry, and ascendancy in man. - blaphbee -=- "German Expressionistic Cinema (1919-1933)" In these times the entertainment money making machine (Hollywood) has helped to destroy the capabilities for high art in the cinematic medium. Too much time is spent trying to sell a story that will appeal to the masses and too little time is given to those seminal voices willing to guide the masses through an enchanted and artistic wonderland. Unfortunately due to the required man power and high amount of money it takes to create a film, this does not appear to be something that will change in the future, at least not in our society. An unwavering dedication to thematic and artistic expression is a rare trait in the movie business these days which is full of money making morons, pseudo-artists and over-socialized brats from the suburbs. Very few good filmmakers are left (and perhaps ever existed when looking back on film as a whole) and the new generation looks stale. But for those who enjoy the cinematic expressions like the Greeks enjoyed plays, there exists optimism yet! In these times there still are seminal forces who have recognizable talent. But these forces are not necessarily new, in fact the forces I'm referring to in particular are old; the past is where the breadth of the beauty lay in film. Great art is great art, it has no time boundaries, it matters not whether it was created four thousand years ago or yesterday, its transcendent greatness is a testament to its endurance. German Cinematic Expressionism should be noted as a movement that deserves special recognition for being an influential and more artistic movement in film making that pushed out great works. German Expressionist cinema was born out of the desolation of post-WWI Germany. The cinematic movement created atmospheric pieces of cinematic art which helped promote cinema as a medium which truly could have artistic merit all while being entertaining (much like a play). German Expressionism's greatest artistic value is perhaps in its ability to create atmospheres that absorb the viewer and take them into another world where the themes are made present in the actions and environment of the characters; in essence Expressionism works like fantasy in that it takes ones feet off the ground and places them in another realm. The fantasy of German Expressionistic Cinema is very Kafkaesque in nature as the stories which Expressionism revolves around are often planted in complex environments which are full of impending dangers and psychological distress which is all wrapped up in a dream-like distortion of reality. Expressionism portrayed all the feelings and sentiments of Germany in the post war state. Germany in the post-WWI era was a land in turmoil due to the loss of the war. The loss caused economic turmoil and a radical change in life for the German people. This feeling of loss, despair and uncertainty in Germany became evident in the expressionist styled art forms that were popular during the 1920's. The emotional state of Germany blended with cinema to create one of the most unforgettable movements in cinematic history, German Expressionistic Cinema. Time line of German Expressionistic Cinema: Arising during the post-WWI years when Germany was at an economic low point, German Cinematic Expressionism ascended to prominence as an artistic representation of the times. The film movement expressed the feelings and sentiments of a war-torn Germany residing in a depressed post war state. Feelings of loss, despair and uncertainty were high in the German people and those emotional conditions were evident in the expressionist style coming from Germany in the 1920's. Expressionistic cinema also stands as a revolutionary force in cinematic history. Many great films that have come after expressionism was over as a movement have directly or indirectly been affected and influenced by the cinematic changes imposed by expressionism. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, released in 1919, is historically agreed upon to be the start of the movement and the ending is usually agreed upon to be sometime around the making of Vampyr or M, which was approximately in 1932-1933. Some debate does exist, however, as to the official ending time of the movement. Dynamics and themes of Expressionism: Reflections on objects, actions or emotions coming from the perspective of the artist or the object itself are dominant narrative styles in Cinematic Expressionism. An inward perspective on a moment or theme is given though the expressions of characters and objects. In this way it is an opposite of impressionism, which seeks to give an outward impression of the object. This subjective or introverted approach to explaining emotions, objects and themes almost likens it to the Romanticisms sense of passionate ideals and love for the irrational and subjective. The filming technique used to display the scenes and objects are themselves supposed to represent ideals and symbols of both broad thematic story elements and of the inner emotions of the characters. German Expressionism is a style of film that creates its atmosphere using many influential dynamics such as high contrast lighting, sharp camera angles and distorted set decoration. The expressionist's objective was to paint symbolic pictures and expressions in order to convey the deeper meanings of the film. These themes involving loss and despair were greatly influenced by a Germany greatly devastated and affected by Allied ultimatums such as the Treaty of Versailles. Expressionistic cinema sought to convey the emotions of the times through odd characters and radical set decoration. Every twisted design, every ethereal shadow, and every dramatic character movement was designed to express interior motivation and thematic symbols. Some expressionistic films, such as the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, drew on budding sets that cut into the background like the artwork of Dr. Seuss. In many ways German expressionism rests on similar themes as Franz Kafka's novels. There is a sense of loss and melancholy, need for being and an eternal search for meaning. The characters are lost effigy's in most cases, whose expressions and sentiments are expressed though their surroundings and bodily actions more than their words. In this empty world they live in where nothing is certain they are granted obtainment or release, although the obtainment of something greater is not always satisfied through heroic means; Nosferatu is destroyed and set free by being burned in the sun, in Metropolis the workers are freed from doing menial labor in an industrial system and in M a child murderer is brought down by the criminal underworld in Germany. Feelings of displacement or not belonging are also very common themes in German Expressionist cinema. Films like Metropolis reflect the growing concerns of a people left dehumanized in the Industrial factory fumes. An aspect of the films voice has an undeniable relevance to today, a time in which we face the destruction of the environment and culture in favor of a mass producing industrial system where all that matters is that we are good consumers, feeding and producing so that the system may roll on and continue focusing on the lowest common denominator. Influence: The influence of German Expressionism could be seen far and wide. Most directly, Expressionism was an influence on most all atmospheric horror films to be produced since. The Gothic Romanticism undertones of the plots and designs of the Expressionistic horror films such as Nosferatu, Vampyr and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari served to influence countless horror films, particularly the universal films of the 1930's. Expressionism also was very influential in film noir, the style of film that took fruition in post-WWII America. Film noir made stylistic use of many of the Expressionistic dynamics such as heavy shadows, dark empty areas, alienation, and melancholic, distressed and dishonest characters. Quite often the lead would be an anti-hero stuck in a situation he couldn't control, often holding a dark secret that would be their eventual downfall. "Imagine we are sitting in an ordinary room. Suddenly, we are told that there is a corpse behind the door. In an instant, the room we are sitting in is completely altered; everything in it has taken on another look; the light, the atmosphere have changed, though they are physically the same. This is because we have changed, and the objects are as we conceive them. That is the effect I want to get in my film." [1] - Carl Theodor Dreyer This quote from director Carl Theodor Dreyer, director of Vampyr, highlights some of the aims of expressionism and touches on the dynamics of its influence. Looking deeper into Dreyer's quote we can see that there is the very real possibility of expressionistic influence on surrealistic cinema. Both blended the fine lines between fantasy and reality into a cohesive whole in which one does not know whether they are awake or dreaming. The environment and actions of characters serve as symbols which convey deeper, more thematic meanings. Other similarities include the common use of atmospheric lighting for a dramatic dynamic which symbolizes the emotions of the characters and helps to express the films theme(this is especially apparent in the surrealist films of Jean Cocteau). The film's of the Expressionistic era have even managed to poke their influence into the present through film makers like Tim Burton whose set designs and dark, brooding settings and tales of alienation are straight from the Expressionists. Common motifs of German Expressionism: Thematic: Displacement: A common theme in Expressionistic Cinema was feelings of displacement. Characters often would be out of place in a setting and objects would not be as they appeared. It was almost a direct reflection of the psychology of the German people after World War I. Characters are unsettled with society: Often the characters are dissatisfied with the status of society. The have an inner longing for more and they are fed up with the status of modernity. Seeking meaning and a sense of being: The characters also have a seeking spirit and wish to obtain meaning in a world that seems meaningless. There are a lot of existential undertones. The form represents the inside: The environments and the actions of the characters represent their emotions. This is a much more thematic (as in play) way of conveying the emotions of the characters and the themes of the play. The characters exaggerate motions and actions in order to convey what they were thinking (like a mime). The set designs all played an integral part in the conveying of emotions and themes as well. In Dr. Caligari the use of sharp, cutting sets was used so as to convey the emotions and attitudes of the characters who were lost and disjointed. Technical: High contrasts in shadows are a common theme in German Expressionistic Cinema. Often times a chiascuro style of lighting is employed (heavy use of shadows and controlled lighting which highlights very specific points). Sharp camera angles are used which adds a sense of distortion and wackiness. It is done very purposefully to give more insights into the characters and overall themes. Often bizarre, sharp angled set designs are imployed which, like the camera angles, are done to convey the emotions and thoughts of the characters and overall themes of the film. German Expressionist Films of merit: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) Dir. Robert Wiene This is the film that started it all. Regarded by many to be the first true expressionist film. This is the product of an era lost in the despair of losing a war. Caligari is the manifestation of the dark and bleak days that post-WW1 Germany found itself entangled in. There was no other movie to come sense that had such sharp set designs that rivaled the imagination's greatest endeavors. Dr. Caligari is a stunning piece of visual art and it conveys the internal expressions of a dark and macabre tale. It was films like this that influenced some of the most influential horror films to come in the preceding years. The dark shadows, the music, the methodical zombie like behavior of the characters all served to present an atmosphere adept at conveying the thematic elements of loss, despair, endless wandering and Kafkaesque soul-searching. Dr. Caligari's plot circles around a murder. Caligari gets sent to an asylum, which happens to be the one he is the head of. The emotions of the characters are understood though the creepy and demented set designs and haunting makeup. This is expressionism in full stride. The crisp contrasting lighting helps created effective shadows that cast the viewer into the mind and world of the mad man. the film teeters on the boarder of reality and fantasy as one knows not what In terms of set design this film may have the most radical sets ever created for a motion picture. The sharp wacky sets pop out of the ground and resemble a Dr. Seuss book. The first modern filmmaker who comes to mind who imposes a similar set design technique is Tim Burton whose film making technique is extremely influenced by this era of filmmaking. Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrors (1922) Dir. F.W. Murnau F.W. Murneau's masterful horror film that remains an atmospheric powerhouse to this day. This is often regarded as the most chilling and haunting of all films done on Dracula. The shadows cast upon the wall ravish the imagination and cast impressions inward that dwell and claw themselves deeper and deeper with every passing second. The long dangling claws of Nosferatu almost appear to lift themselves from beyond the silver screen and into your heart. The film is chilling. This is perhaps the most ethereal and haunting vampire film every made. Murneau was never able to gather the rights to Dracula so this instead was his retort. Nosferatu is essentially the Dracula story retold with the character of Count Orlok, the grim being who wanders his cavernous castle deep in the woods of Romania. Orlock is the manifestation of a dismal existence, a lost soul wandering in an abysmal time, an introvert who's only satisfaction is derived from the workings of his own mind but whose only ability to live is from the taking of blood. This film goes beyond just horror and seems to reflect the very real fears and alienation of the German people in a time after war where their country was torn and economically battered by the Treaty of Versailles. Beyond any subconscious sociological reflections however, Nosferatu is at its heart a timeless, chilling and atmospheric film; it's a piece of film making art. Metropolis (1926) Dir. Fritz Lang Often regarded as the highlight of German Expressionism and often sited as the greatest picture of the silent film era. Metropolis is a feast for the eye and an impressive artistic accomplishment. This film is a look into the future where the world has become a Metropolis. No more is there vast green fields to walk or mountain's and forests to roam in, there is now only the darkened city with it's bellowing alleys and sharp cutting features. The walls and buildings are endless, representing the caged world of the Metropolis that lacks any method of escape. The story circles around an upper class son of a rich and ruthless capitalist who owns the city. The very situation of Metropolis is at times hauntingly reminiscent of our present in which we are consumed by capitalism and growing metropolises. M (1931) Dir. Fritz Lang Early Fritz Lang sound film about a psychotic child murder who wanders the Berlin underground. The police crack down looking for the killer and interupt the criminal underground instead. This prompts the organized criminals to go on a hunt for the child murder themselves. M is a chilling film that is one of the first sound films by Lang. The common expressionist films of alienation and despair are present against film noir backdrops. In fact this can be looked at as an early noir film in many ways as it has a lot of the same locations (dark city streets) and involves similar character struggles. Vampyr (1932) Dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer One of the last Expressionistic films. Vampyr is a Gothic tale that plays like a dream. The set design is reminiscent of aspects of Caligari as the two films share the same art director. A young occultist goes to castle inn in which case he is confronted with strange happenings. The film is an atmospheric piece of Gothic horror that is remembered as another seminal moment of German Expressionistic cinema. Like Nosferatu, the atmospheric qualities in Vampyr would go on to influence atmospheric horror and fantasy films that would proceed it. Some criticism comes in the area of sound as this was one of the first sound films and thus lacks polish and is washed out in places. - phantasm Works Cited: [1] http://silentmoviemonsters.tripod.com/germanexpressionism.html [2] http://milgram.tripod.com/works/gefilm1.html -=- "Globalization and its Effects on the Ecosystem" Before humanity invented means of traveling over oceans and to other continents, animal life was isolated to their respective continents or islands, separated by bodies of water. In these virgin ecosystems everyone has a certain place in the food chain, from tiny insects to gargantuan mammals, so a certain balance is maintained between them. Insects, among others, are trying to adjust themselves to this big world and some are inevitably killed, some are not, leaving the rest to be bird's prey. Some birds starve, their corpses feeding the earth and it's crawling inhabitants, reducing the number of birds eating insects, who may once again gain in numbers in this fluctuating cycle. Creatures whose main prey birds are may have to stalk upon other animals to feed themselves, and the same chain continues ever round and round, leaving even "the highest one" vulnerable and dependent on continuous harmony. Now, as globalization reigns, and every place on Earth is linked to every other, species can find their way to ecosystems alien to them via human transport, and cause much disruption there because of a possible lack of natural enemies. A good example of this is water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), which wreaked havoc at Uganda's Lake Victoria. Originally a South American waterplant, it was transplanted to Uganda, presumably as a gift of some sort, and it spread quickly. This plant thrived in Lake Victoria because the lake lacked it's natural adversaries, which helped to keep the plant at bay in South America. The plant clogged the shores, effectively halting transport across the lake, and eventually killed the fish due to lack of oxygen. In addition to ruining a means of transport and a bountiful food source wasn't enough, the plant provided an excellent habitat to bilharzia snails and other pests by forming zones of stagnant water near the shorelines. A document by National Geographic discussed this subject, and it explained how a cure against the water hyacinth was invented by bringing in the natural enemy of the plant. These small insects were transported from South America, after carefully examining them and thus making sure that they wouldn't bring any further harm to Lake Victoria's ecosystem. The same document told of a mass extinction when two new, exotic species of fish were introduced to Lake Victoria, Nile perch and Nile tilapia. The results were devastating, as these two fishes ate most species. The reason for this is that European sports fisherman liked the idea of fishing there for Nile perch, which however had not managed to swim into the lake due to various falls and cataracts along the way. So, they were assisted to make that final jump. The same document tells how the processing of the Nile perch's oily flesh requires more firewood, and thus resulting in deforestation. "Before the 1970s, Lake Victoria (Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya) contained more than 350 species of fish from the cichlid family. Today over 50% of these species are extinct or found only in small populations (92W1). This was largely due to the introduction of two exotic species, the Nile perch and Nile tilapia. By 1983 Nile perch made up almost 70% of the catch, and the Nile tilapia and a native sardine made up most of the balance (90A1)." [1] Those were examples of what a simple human error or accident can cause. It is a quite another thing with international ports, where incoming ships introduce new species into the environment every day. A prime example of this is the invasion of the San Francisco bay, which has been dubbed as "the most invaded ecosystem". This is because countless ships pass through the bay, possibly letting their ballast waters to the bay, effectively transporting species to a foreign ecosystem. Some stowaways prefer traveling within the cargo, packaging materials and such. In the previously mentioned document, some scientists examined the discs they had left in the water for two years for accumulated sealife. Of all the species clung to the discs, 99% were non-native. It has been estimated that over 234 nonnative plant and animal species are now established at the San Francisco Bay. The species attached to the discs are small forms of life, some not even visible to the bare eye, but when thinking how the food chain is built, for example, these seemingly small numbers are important as well for sustaining a stable environment. In the case of Hawaii, the trouble caused by an alien plant was quite severe. Landslides would occur, when Miconia (Miconia calvescens), later fittingly named "the green cancer", would overshadow other, smaller native plants with it's large, up-to-80 cm long leaves and take over. Miconia itself can grow even in dense shade needing as little as 0.02% of full sunlight. It was originally from Central America, and the man who found it was delighted by it's beautiful purple-black leaves. He took a sample of it along, and researchers were fascinated by it. In the 1960's, this plant was presented as a gift to a research institute at Hawaii. It spread vigorously at the islands, because the plant can bear up to 195 seeds per fruit, and 208 fruits per infrutescence, and it has at least three major flowering peaks in one year. It grew over the smaller flora, as a fully mature tree can have a height of fifteen meters, and as those original, deeply-rooted plants died, landmasses became prone to slide, because this new plant had quite shallow roots. It has become one of the most invasive plants in Hawaii. Most of the alien species there are introduced because of horticultural reasons, like ornamental purposes. The plant is being uprooted now, though with slow success, because people have realized the problems it causes, namely the landslides and eradication of native flora, since they have been severe enough. These examples show that ecosystems are far beyond our understanding, and the simple thoughts of "repairing the world" and "human superiority" appear very naive in the light of this. As with the case of Lake Victoria, seemingly insignificant changes can have unpredictable results. But "repairing" does sometimes work, as the Yellowstone nature conservation area has shown us; humans hunted off the wolves there, and because of this forests started to suffer, because elks, deers and such were free to eat the growing trees. Beavers lacked aspen, which is optimal for building dams, which then in turn flood the land, helping more aspen to grow. But, in this case, humans repaired what they had caused by replacing the missing block they had decimated before to protect themselves. However, there's much more to be "repaired", and it isn't practically possible to undo what globalization has done to our world. The basic "leftist green"- style of approach, which first and foremost values human rights, doesn't work. While we trample around from one corner of the world to another, we don't always see what it's doing to the ecosystem. Totally unnecessary causes of alien invasion like transplantation for ornamental purposes should be prevented completely, that should be clear enough to understand, and while there could be some trading, it should be reduced to only the necessary, especially in the case of transcontinental trade, as ships and planes can travel between very different ecosystems, and carry many of their species along to all over the world. This is detrimental to human development in the present sense of the word, but we must choose between our desire for immediate welfare and a lasting way of life. Simple pleasures aren't to be put first if we are to have a healthy environment in which to live. - frostwood This is a wonderful world we are of, truly. Sources: 1. Bruce Sundquist - The Earth's carrying capacity - Fishery degradation chapter 5 http://home.alltel.net/bsundquist1/fi5.html (2003) -=- "Analysis of Claude Debussy's - Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" Distinguished as the most daring and genuinely pioneering composer of the 20th century, Frenchman Claude Debussy's music has also undoubtedly composed the artistic peak and the triumph of the Romanticist movement; not only has he revolutionized the technique of piano playing, stretched the boundaries of tonal music with his highly personal harmony and eloquent expression, but his attitude also gave birth to the typical concept of the romantic musician; when he was asked by one of his professors of what musical rules does he observe in his music, he replied ''None, but my own pleasure''. While most of his piano music, however subtle and graceful, in a sense conformed to the libertarian-romanticist norm of a general lack of structure and a rejection of the great achievement of German music, the sonata form (exposition- development-recapitulation), it is his symphonic music that should be considered his grand offering to the tradition of great classical composers like Beethoven and Wagner. Probably among equals, his ''Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun'' is the work that stands above all, being one of the most recognizable orchestral pieces of all time. Debussy was considerably influenced by contemporary artistic movements of his time, and has irrevocably connected his name with Impressionism at the exact moment he came up with the idea to base this particular composition to the same titled poem of Staphane Mallarme, a prominent poet and leader of the Impressionist movement who, along with other painters and poets of similar inclinations, Debussy enjoyed the company of. Though Debussy never fancied the title, his music was possibly the closest musical incarnation ever of the aesthetic and principles of the movement: the naturalist and sentimental themes, the abstract structure, the liberating (for the romanticist aesthetic) view of the world not as an absolute truth but as canvas painted from the objective impressions of each man must surely prove this point. This 9 minute instrumental opus attempts to enter into and depict a world of fantasy: the world of neraids, fauns, spirits, gods and goddesses, the primordial anthropomorphic and poetic metaphors of nature's beauty and valuable fruits, in other words, a theme that has offered some of the greatest pieces of european art ever, from Weber's 'Oberon' to Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Consequently, the harmony that is being used by Debussy in the Prelude is of a diatonic and chromatic nature, meaning that while the music is based on relatively simple scales of a melodic character (though not always of the usual minor-major type, since Debussy had a preference for 'unconventional' harmonies like ancient Greek scales, pentatonic and whole-tone harmonies) their development and contrapuntal layering (the melodies that are being played at the same time by different instruments of the orchestra) results into a colourful, ethereal harmony that often reaches the borders of a multitonality that interpolates in between the basic notes of the scales without betraying the solid tonal structure of the work; indeed, and unlike modern 'avant-garde' music, the listener is at all times able to follow the course of the music, without being able to guess of course the next step (of all classical composers, the most unexpected and surprising would be Debussy). The composer's already established trademarks are obviously to be found again; namely the 7th and 9th intervals of the chords that are not solved according to the tradition, the parallel intervals and generally the bold and often defiant of 'rules' instrumentation that gave his music such a personal, lyrical and Dionysian character and was later 'borrowed' to provide the basis of mostly jazz and generally modern music, from pop to Hollywood soundtracks (just listen to the Star Wars soundtrack shortly thereafter this work...) Theoretically, the piece can be divided into three movements, although the standard organization of a concerto or symphony is not to be found and the structure is reminiscent more to a loose form of the symphonic poem, a style introduced in the romanticist era by Lizst. The first theme of the work is the most characteristic that could have been; a flute introduces the theme of the faun, a slow chromatic melody that from the very start gives away a direct impression of a vivid image - one cannot help to imagine our playful hero and the magical environment that surrounds him. The response to that idyllic theme is given shortly afterwards by the orchestra with the ethereal glissando of the harps and the anxious entrance of the other wind instruments; the theme of the faun is replayed but now with the full support of the orchestra. The theme begins to develop as the flute part moves on to a soloist performance; the other instruments not only support the basic melody harmonically in the background but add other melodies that appear in the context of the whole synthesis. Debussy is a mood painter, his music serves for the main purpose of aesthetical influence and not as a mathematical construction of an autonomous nature. In that manner he is at the same time distant to tradition but loyal to the primordial and essential function of music, its impact on the human psyche. The second part of the synthesis consists of the cradle of the impressionistic approach to music and one of most eloquent and majestic orchestrations of all time. After the initial theme comes to a halt, an abrupt and movement-indicating passage enters and begins to expand itself by transforming it's somewhat lyrical sub-theme into a grandiose melody executed by the wind instruments and soon followed by the strings into the piece's first upcoming crescendo, the intensity tends to waver back and forth for some seconds in an ironic hesitation but finally reaches a loud climax with the horns and the strings crying in surprising agony; but while the last notes of that theme are repeated as if in a echoing, continually slowing down, fading, the final prevailing chord will be not the one previously hinted, but Debussy's all time favourite; the major with seventh, the equivalent of triumphant, strengthful joy. At this point the listener would be able to understand several things about the artist and his personality, the most evident should be the determinative influence of Richard Wagner into the core of Debussy's music; indeed the Prelude owes some of it's finest moments to the latest and most adventurous works (not only harmonically or structurally but also in spirit) of Herr Wagner, even though he would "disown" him later in the future because of his modest aversion to any, supposedly, superfluous and conceited art (that could be also due to the fact that he hated the over-blown forms and harmonic style of Post-Wagnerian romanticists of his time like Mahler and Strauss). In addition, it should be evident that the composer has raised the talent of surprising (not to say shocking) the listener up into new heights; while most expectations for the tonal direction of the synthesis are being triumphantly denied, this is accomplished in an ingenious and not abrupt way, as the listener feels not betrayed by the development of music but impressed and aroused. To illustrate this, that particular passage at the 3.30 minute of the piece could be as well perceived as a 'pseudo-climax' of some sort, an attempt of the composer to mislead us regarding the real core of the synthesis, because shortly afterwards the music does finally seem to walk a sure step forward. On 4.20 this is almost certain; the theme that preceded the crescendo previously is represented, apparently with different orchestration, the music again is beginning to grow in intensity and expressiveness, the ascending and descending layers of the instruments find a common tonal center, the crescendo begins again, a double forte pre-climax breaks up and immediately fades out as the final and devastating ascent begins... voila! The theme is finally represented in all it's glory in a 'clean' and unembellished form of the major chords; if Debussy himself once considered that beauty lies in the simplest of chords imagine what message should be passed over today to contemporary seekers of novelty and progression in art... The third section is for the most part a deconstruction of the piece so far. Having already reached such a high level of complexity and intensity the composer decides to re-establish a state of harmony into the mind of his listeners, kind of like holding their hand while coming back from the enchanted woods of fauns and neraids into the real world; all important themes are recapitulated and in a way stuck out of the multitonal mass of notes to stand out in their lonesome glory; the closing of the book and a song for goodnight. Debussy had initially intended for this orchestral work to be separated into three parts, Prélude, Interlude and Paraphrase finale. In fact, he never succeeded to get past the Prelude, as all his attempts to successfully develop the other two parts have proved in vain, with the most apparent reason probably being that they couldn't match with the quality of the Prelude. Still, even on it's own, the Prelude had managed to make an unprecedented breakthrough at the musical circles of Europe. Debussy's American biographer Oscar Thompson compared it with the Prelude to Lohengrin , in the manner that "at the time it was written nothing like it existed in music." Since then, evolution in music has taken place and brought new theories, new instruments, even new musical systems; but hardly will another musical piece have a larger impact than the "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" to the musical world. - lycaon _~= Literature =~_ "Apparitions of Darkness to Come" The first time I had gazed upon you, A figure bathed in black, In shadows swept, My heart and body were enthralled. Your pearly flesh reminded me Of snowcapped mountains: Heavenly. A river of hair flowed from your scalp, Down your shoulders, Down your back, As long as the tallest mountain Alp. Your eyes, They showed the darkest light, And it was from them, your eyes of ice, They woke me from my lifelong plight Into a world where darkness reigns, The beasts of night supreme; And from the Earth, The darkness gave You to be the Queen. The second time I gazed upon you, My heart arose to behold It's life anew. You, clad in black, with ink in arm, Are the darkness in this light; You, set upon this world so bright, Can save us from this loveless blight. My darkling dear, My fallen angel, Come, let your powers grow To change our worlds, All that we know. - hrothgar -=- "To Face the Night" Pain and Death came calling and the World turned away to flee to the bosom of the Church to the bottle to the needle to the safety of slave pens One turned to face Them to look Them in the eye and found no wolves at his heels nor enemies at his gates but Life in the living and Life to be embraced not as a Martyr suffering to suffer but as a Hero enduring to Live "Apologies to Bill" The mystery of the ages not the void nor that beyond nor the cool sleep of Death but Life itself and the Fates we forge To be - That is the question! "Silly Question" A man once asked me "Which lasts longer, the mountains or the sea?" I thought it strange that he should ask to hear a story begun before the first footfall of Man and shall surely end only after he has passed "That's the World Talking" Give up! Give in! Take your paycheck and run Fill your life with plastic dreams and soothe your heart with pleasant lies "American Socrates" It lay there in the lengthening shadow of an ancient oak no name no words just hand hewn limestone 1819-1872 a monument to a man who knew himself What else even matters? "Pride" I slew Hector in the shadow of Troy's golden walls and learned of duty from Krishna's lips I've sailed with heroes and dined with kings I've stood alone amidst the trees Cities rise Kingdoms fall I've tasted my own blood and I have seen Death but Truth remains if I live, my people live Truth shall never die, so long as we proclaim it - planetary eulogy -=- "Estrella's Walk" In due time, I heard through the scuttlebutt word of a most amazing creature. An Indian Goddess. With iridescent beauty holding forth, standing proud, high atop a lush green hilltop in Armuelles. Our destination! And this Goddess's name was Estrella. Estrella. So this was what it was all about: Estrella. They spoke of her with reverence. Beauty untouchable. Estrella's light feminine mannerisms captivate. A ray of hope shines from above with the mention of this Goddess. Genuine seven crowned Chiriqui. Her dimensions consummate apparition like karat fixates diamond. Blameless vitality shifts through spectrum. Bizarre shades of night. The earth, created for her amusement; water conceived so she might have somewhere to walk. Well formed bare feet, exquisite in their arch. She moves through dreams. And upon them. Every ethereal grace rewards those touched by Estrella. A glimpse of her as she wanders down toward the sea, on midnight strolls with a sleek panther who comes in out of the jungle to nuzzle against the firm of her thigh. Momentary pleasure indulges as they, two together, amble along the noiseless depth of riverside's mist. As if in dance, she'd sway; he'd stretch velvety paws of guile. Heel and paw glisten over shiny slate, over garlands of flowers draped along the bank, sashaying through low fronds brushing against the calves of their legs. Touching the wily innocence of this night. Clinging vines reach for river's succor. Before glowing orchids of Espirito Santo the atmosphere smacks of forever. They absorb the water's babbling gurgle. In plain sight. Reptilian alertness. El Grande Zappo. The sensitive eyes of all God's creatures. Below nesting birds of paradise, the cat's haunching vertebra slithers to the tickle of brazen fingernails. Down to the river's mouth, they step, often carelessly setting foot within the tempting flow, keeping clear of large round phosphorescent boulders. Dappled moonlight gleams. Down to the gushing mouth where white crests of algae-laden sea lap against this peaceful flow, against these deep reflective pools which began their trickle and fall from craggy mountains, clear as day, rolling down through leafy hillsides to vast grasses, dipping to banana plantations. Estrella's native land. Top soil takes on new meaning. Still waters span loamy banks. Aqua elements meet, touch and mingle. Rich dark silt sweats out nutrients. Shallow roots caress. Palms touch the starry starry sky. Thin trees, overgrowth of vine. Shoots and sprouts, scrubby bushes, blossoming bijous. Tiny, scurrying things thrive here. Off to the side of the pummeled footpath, beneath lush cover - small eyes blink. Noises coo. Magic escapes in effervescence. Memory bubbles! To a hallowed opening in this suffocating jungle flora. The melding of fresh water and salt, a frothy bubbling point where the flow's clarity is engulfed. Clouded. Enraptured. This land's sweet nectar gives way to the sea's stiff breeze. Estrella bids the famished black cat drink. Lowering its head, the panther dips its tongue into brackish liquid. Slurping, lapping up juices of life. Sublime juices, pledging elusive powers. His sleek black whiskered mouth stitched with incisors; nimble pink lapper one notch above silence. Need pulsates like spanning rings. Desire craves this vicinity. Estrella parts with her midnight paramour. Puma, lord God of fear and respect. She'll walk with him tomorrow night. And ever after. Her ankles kick. Sand and salt sift through urging toes. Dry beach luminescent against crashing waves. Frothing traces of brine. The wind tugs her hair, a knowing smile glistens; she outshines. Her muscles flex. Shadowy flanks curve. Eager feet prowl. In search of dawn. Yes, this is what I overheard from the beaten and world weary sailors as they made their ways back and forth from the meal table. I was mesmerized. Stunned. My anticipation shot up through the overhead. All I wanted to do was meet this woman. Yes. I needed a goddess like never before. - skeeze whitlow -=- "The Hunters" My eyes opened; the temporary blackness of a slumber caused by some trauma faded and the world took its place. For some amount of time- minutes, hours, I know not- my gaze was fixed upon the leafless branches and the grey sky above, thinking that this must be a dream, but it can't be; the burning cold sensation of freezing white flakes on my face is too strong. The howling of the wind of this winter storm, a beautiful but desolate serenade, haunts my ears, but no feeling accompanies it; perhaps the stump of some tree that did not survive the difficult test of nature's winter is shielding my face from its bite. The sound is unusually high pitched...almost alive. As the after effects of the trauma wear off and reality sets in, the true situation is revealed; the howling is from a source much more powerful than I, and death will beckon if I do not escape. Attempting to pick myself up off of the ground yields no results; my body, like a statue, remains motionless. At my side rests a large limb; seeing this, it becomes apparent how I came into this plight, and what my fate is. I scream in fear of the unknown, of the void that I shall soon know. The limb fell on me, delivering a blow to my spine, temporarily cradling me away from the awareness of this world, only to harshly drop me back into reality with my limbs immobilized. How foolish it was to go hunting on this winter day! Sprawled out beneath the wrath of the storm, I reflect on the irony of the situation; nature is a grisly joker, indeed, and now I am the butt of her insatiable humor. I left my home for a bit of sport, and to kill some animal to have a great meal on this winter night; however, now I have been turned into the quarry, and the feast shall belong to those creators of the howling, the masters of the woods, who are coming ever closer to me. As I lie here, time seems to stand still. How long have I been here? Minutes? Hours? I know not. But now, the incisors of those grand canines, the kings of the woods, are burying themselves into my body; thanks to the spinal damage, I feel no pain, but scream in horror at the visage of my body being ripped apart; the ground is spattered in gore, the snow has become the juice from a strawberry, and the void is calling me to where I was before birth... * * * Hunger is our company; it is time for our mother to administer her cruel test which determines which of us will see the future seasons. The cold wind deals death to her children who did not prepare their winter nest, and those who are in their nests are unavailable to sustain us. Two among our numbers have already failed this test; we fear that none of us shall pass; our bodies are gaunt from this lack of nourishment, and none is in sight. We cry out to our mother, and, in response, hear a scream from a few minute's journey away. She loves us; she has chosen to give us the energy that we need to see another day. Slowly, we stalk the prey that our mother has graciously given to us, being careful that it is not just drawing us in. A few minutes later, his form is revealed; soon, we shall be nourished by one of the two legged weak creatures who carry a loud, lethal weapon, and who have killed so many of us in the past. Our mother, in her infinite wisdom, offers him to us as a way to continue the cycle between life and death, and to strike a balance between the two of our types. Again we cry out to her, this time in thanks for her gifts. Soon, we are upon him; our bodies are invigorated by the energy that we gain from eating his flesh. He releases a cry to our mother, a shrill, piercing, desperate scream, but it does him no good; she has decided to bless us with life on this day. - cynical -=- "Silence" Silence And calmly falling snow Sun shines faintly Through the grey clouds Little creatures of the forests Leave their tracks On the everfalling Snow This will be always And never again - frostwood [ exponentiation ] Published Quarterly by the Center for Nihilism and Nihilist Studies http://www.nihil.org/ With assistance from The American Nihilist Underground Society http://www.anus.com/ Managing Editor: Blaphbee Culture and Features Editor: Phantasm "When a place gets crowded enough to require IDs, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere." -- R.A. Heinlein, Time Enough For Love [EOF]