From Erbil to Washington DC

Nina-Maria, TV training in Erbil, Iraq Kurdistan. 

Now back in Washington DC.

Update 21 March 2013

On Hospitals and Nursing

There is much media comment on the state of hospitals and nursing in some European countries, from Greece to the UK.

It doesn't reflect the experiences of people I know who have been hospitalised or who have had excellent care and successful operations in the past few years; but there is clearly cause for concern. 

A lack of respect and compassion is almost as bad as a shortage of medicines and other supplies.

The Telegraph (update)

'Contempt for patients', a 'culture of cruelty', doctors who smoke inside the hospital...none of this is new, or a direct result of recession and austerity measures.

Any good news stories out there?

Little Richard: The Originator; "The Architect of Rock 'n' Roll"

Little Richard is 80 today - Happy Birthday, Mr Penniman!

Let's hear it for- Lucille

Long Tall Sally

Long Tall Sally, Radio Recording, Australia 1957

Radio interview 1957

He got what he wanted (but he lost what he had )


Tutti Frutti

"All new music changes the world, but no music changed the world the way this song did...a seminal text in American culture, as much as ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’ ‘Song of Myself’ and the great documents of the civil rights era are. In a sense, it’s America’s Other National Anthem.”
David Kirby, Little Richard, The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll

Greece, New Tax Codes- and other cautionary tales

Kathimerini Report

Corruption Index

A Migrant's Tale (Reuters)

Grim stories, and S & P downgrading to "Selective Default" too.

Paul Rayment, EU knew (Letter to the Guardian)

Tiwi Artists, Tiwi Islands; Jennifer Isaacs book

Here's a new book (Tiwi, Art, Culture, History, by Jennifer Isaacs) that I must certainly order soon. It will be launched in Australia between December 11th-14th (for details, see link, or below).

Amazon

Google

"The dangerous waters separating mainland Australia from Bathurst and Melville islands have seen the blossoming of an art and culture unique to the Tiwi people. Often abstract and geometric, with strong patterns and use of colour, it is the basis for the shapes of traditional carvings, such as that used in used in burial ceremonies, and, more recently, on fabric, paper, pottery, canvas and jewellery"

I've always admired the work of Tiwi Island (Melville Island) artists such as Aileen Henry and Janice Murray, their wonderfully patterned ochres on canvas. 

 Janice Murray

Thanks to Jeremy Eccles, Aboriginal Art Directory, for the information about the book..

BOOK LAUNCH
Tuesday, 11 Dec at 6.00pm

 PUBLISHER:
 Melbourne University Press
 Melbourne University Press
 CONTACT:
 t: +61 3 9342 0300
 f: +61 3 9342 0399
 e: mup-info@unimelb.edu.au [mailto:info@vivienandersongallery.com]

 WEBSITE:
 www.mup.com.au

A Chinese, American or Dorset Christmas? Ferlinghetti's Christmas Poem

Here is Lawrence Ferlinghetti reading his Christmas poem, published in "A Coney Island of the Mind" (first UK edition, 1959).

It's one of those poems that has stayed with me since I bought my first books by the beat poets round about then. Here is another reading of the poem, found on YouTube.

Literary globalisation? I've never been against globalisation as such. I made my pilgrimage to City Lights bookstore in San Francisco.

At this time of the year it can get to seem a step too far, when the local (ie Dorset, UK) environmentally-friendly garden centre devotes a large amount of space to a highly commercial Christmas grotto and award-winning display of (mostly imported from China) Christmas decorations and seasonal novelties. I am not sure of the environmental impact or the "greenness" of such undoubtedly popular displays. The number of cars parked around the square is evidence of a high level of  impact. I don't see so much activity around "The Quiet Space".

Good for the local economy in a time of prolonged austerity (wait for the UK Mini-Budget in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement later today). Even better for the Chinese economy?

Which is perhaps part of the reason why the Ferlinghetti poem still has so much resonance and relevance.

Every year I read it again, along with several Christmas poems by William Barnes. That's my idea of a traditional Dorset Christmas.

Not forgetting a few very "traditional" Elvis songs like "Blue Christmas" and "Santa Claus is Back in Town"!

Maybe I'll have a very American Christmas in the States this year. The Ferlinghetti poem may seem even more relevant there.