Hackers: Musings on a Molehill

by Gregory Walton-Green

(source: mikeashworth.co.uk)

Musings on a Molehill

I saw a molehill in a field

Break through the lines of living green,

With regimented rows of wheat

Usurped by poppies, which lowered their yield.

I gazed awhile upon this scene;

This thought appeared within my head:

Those moles who ravage ordered crops

Free the Earth for blooms of red.

My mind fell down a rabbit-hole

To investigate the mole.

Released from how the surface seems

I burrowed into Forms of dreams.

I was a sewer-rat in France

Amidst the dank of hell

In haste I scurried

Eternally worried

Scared lest the walls fell.

Drudging through the dirty Styx,

I came to a drain beneath the granary;

And there in a hollow,

Where none should have followed,

I placed my base offspring.

I was gold music in a cage,

A mole dragged me deep underground,

He quarried hope to earn his wage

When suffocating greed was found.

I stopped myself, self-sacrifice

My voice in exchange for his life:

For silence hides the darkest crimes

Unchallenged moles control the times.

When underneath the soil living,

Grieve if there are no birds singing.

But I've deceived you.

I spoke as if Ideals were reality;

Unashamedly anthropomorphising,

My musings made a mountain.

No poppy can bloom near the work of farming men.

Poppies are delegated to the slate thin soil of forgotten wastelands,

While moles luxuriate in the riches of the earth.

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England In India – 2nd Test

by Sampad Sengupta

Monty Panesar

After a disappointing outing in the first Test, England bounced back in fine style to register a convincing win over rivals India which now leaves the series wide open.  The Mumbai Test ended with England beating India by 10 wickets after the Indian batting line-up faltered against the English spin twins in both innings of the match.

Both teams made changes to their sides from the first Test, deciding to boost their bowling attack by including more spinners. England dropped Tim Bresnan for Monty Panesar, which proved to be a wise move, something they should have done first time round. He ended up playing a vital role in India’s demise. India too added another spinner, Harbhajan Singh, to their line-up at the expense of a fast bowler. This left them with three specialist spinners and Zaheer Khan as the sole pacer.

Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook

India won the toss and decided to bat first but then fell short of answers as soon as the spinners came on. Panesar proved to be the destroyer as he took 5 wickets including the ones of Sehwag and Tendulkar (both of which were brilliant deliveries). Pujara was the only Indian batsmen who stood tall amongst the ashes and scored a century, his second in 2 tests. England’s innings however, panned out far differently. After a couple of early hiccups, captain Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen settled in to post a mammoth first innings score. The Indian spin trio were trying their best but had no answer to some fine batting displayed by Pietersen and Cook. The two toyed with the bowlers, both reaching their centuries with boundaries. The flamboyant stroke play of Pietersen helped him get to 186, later earning him Man of the match. The Indian second innings then proved to be worse than the first with them being bundled out for 142, only  Gambhir and Ashwin reaching double figures. It was once again Panesar and Swann who shared the 10 wickets between them. With only 57 runs to win, England breezed to the finish-line with all wickets intact.

The match was a complete reversal of the first Test and now leaves India with many things to ponder upon. The ease with which Pietersen and Cook negotiated their three spinners (taking absolutely no credit away from the two batsmen) should worry India. Were three spinners at all necessary? And in that case, what was the outcome? Another thing to look at is their batting which has now collapsed far too often, with the big names not firing in unison. The England camp would be elated at this result and would definitely be carrying the momentum into the next Test at Eden Gardens at Kolkata which will be an enticing encounter. The form of their top batsmen, success of their spinners and the inconsistency of the Indian team are all playing in their favour. The spinners took 28 out of 30 wickets in this Test and there was one run-out which gives some indication of the show by the pacers. The inclusion of Panesar in the side and Pietersen’s return to form has put a spring in the step of the England players; and can captain Alastair Cook (4 centuries in 4 consecutive matches as captain) now lead his team to victory in the series? The next Test is now definitely something to look forward to.

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Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Charlotte Knighton

If you haven’t read the book or seen the film here’s a bit of background. The Perks of Being a Wallflower was first published in the USA in 1999, but only reached the UK in 2009. It tells the story of a teenage boy (Charlie) who never feels like he fits in and is trying to figure out what exactly is wrong with him. Unusually, the novel is written purely in the form of Charlie writing letters to a person he has never met. The book starts by describing the death of his friend, Michael. This would appear to be where his troubles start as it is clear to see how the death affects him; however as the novel progresses it is hinted that his problems started before then and there is something deeply wrong that has happened to him as a child.   

Now I admit one of the main reasons for me wanting to watch the Perks of Being a Wallflower was the fact that Sam (the main female character), was played by Emma Watson and, being a fan of the Harry Potter series, I felt I needed to see what she had moved on to. I hadn’t realised until a short while before I went to see the film that it was an adaptation of a book, so a rush to buy and read the book before I saw the film ensued. It’s a small book, only 231 pages in my edition, and it didn’t look like it would be a particularly difficult read, and indeed it didn’t take too long. However, in those 231 pages, are so many small references to future happenings and so many hints about Charlie's past that it is a book that you have to read carefully, not one you can skim read (as I found out). The plot twists and turns in many places weaving an intricate, and slightly confusing, pattern of people and implied experiences. You are left wondering about the significance of the mysterious Aunt Helen until the very last letter that Charlie sends, although she was mentioned continually throughout the book from the very beginning. In some of Charlie’s very first correspondences he mentions his advanced English teacher, Bill, who will later become key in Charlie's struggle against his past.

Near the start of the novel we are introduced to one of the main characters. He is initially introduced as “Nothing” but we find out his real name is Patrick. Later in the novel Patrick will become Charlie’s link to Sam and his only real friends. Sam, the person to whom Charlie feels closest, is the one who brings him out of his shell and teaches him what most people find out on their own about life. Despite this it is Patrick who first sees Charlie for who he really is. "You see things and you understand. You're a wallflower." This quote is so significant because it is the first time that Charlie feels noticed, the irony is that it is the first time he has not been a wallflower.

In Charlie's last letter he explains to some extent what he has been through and he also shows you how far he has to go.

Throughout the whole book, through all the letters and the drama that Charlie has to deal with, the point seems to be that Charlie can realise “there comes a time when you have to see what life looks like from the dance floor”. A simple enough quote, yet perhaps it tells his whole story. And not just his. Maybe it tells the stories of all the wallflowers in the world who have at some point realised that they can't remain in the shadows forever.

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Heroes or Zeroes?

by Charlie Albuery

Queen Gorgo – Near the end of 300, we take a break from all the slow-motion homoeroticism (slomoeroticism?) to show the Council deciding whether or not to send Leonidas the reinforcements that he desperately needs. Leonidas' wife, Queen Gorgo, is explaining to the council the painfully simple logic of "If we don’t send the reinforcements or we are all going to die," and then some doofus in a toga accuses her of trying to seduce him. The council are horrified, judging by the series of gasps and face-palms that follows. However, Queen Gorgo defuses the situation by stabbing Theron in the crotch, causing a bundle of Persian coins to spill onto the floor. The council recognizes that he was a traitor, and Leonidas has his reinforcements sent(and then he dies anyway, but that's beside the point). Her response to an accusation of treachery was to literally stab him with a sword, right in front of everyone else?

Um, OK.

There's no way the queen could have known that he had chosen to bring his bribe to the meeting, and she sure as hell didn't know that he was carrying the coins in that particular vicinity, otherwise she could have just said, "Hey, check out this guy's loincloth, it's full of coins with the Persian King’s face on them!"It was only the queen's astonishing luck -- and the fact that Theron was an idiot with a belt purse -- that saved the situation. Why would Theron carry the evidence of his treason into the meeting in which he was planning to accuse someone else of being the traitor? Because he’s a baddy and baddies have no pattern recognition; that’s why they never think they’ll be defeated.

The Watchmen – Toward the end of Watchmen, we learn that the recent string of superhero murders is part of a vast conspiracy headed by one of the heroes, Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias, to destroy the entire planet. The only two remaining heroes who aren't either the bad guy or on Mars decide to check out Veidt's office for clues about what the hell is going on. After logging in to his computer, Nite Owl and Rorschach find evidence that Veidt is behind everything and travel to his Antarctic hideout to confront him -- leaving New York just in time to avoid an attack that kills half the city's population.

You guys see what’s wrong with that, right? They got into his computer with little-to-no effort. Did he leave it unlocked? Was he downloading the new iTunes? Did he just not have a password? No, Veidt wasn't stupid. The password turned out to be "Rameses II," the Egyptian pharaoh also known as Ozymandias.Hold on. Veidt used his own superhero name as his password? The smartest man on the planet? That’s seriously like the level of stupidity of those people that use ‘password’ as their password.The luckiest part here is that Nite Owl even bothered trying to guess the password, when there was absolutely no reason for him to believe that it would be anything less than 8,000 random characters mixed into some sort of complex sequence. I would’ve just given up and focused on trying to force his top desk drawer open. With my superpowers, which I have in this scenario, God I want to be a Watchman…

Aladdin – Ok, maybe not badass, but he does have a tiger and a monkey with a fez. Anyway, Aladdin is a street urchin who goes from stealing food in markets to hanging out with the Arabian upper class in a matter of minutes after coming across a mystical lamp.

Jafar steals his magic lamp and uses it to become the most powerful sorcerer in the world. While no one in the movie ever thinks to ask the genie for infinite wishes, Jafar does the next best thing --- he wishes for virtually infinite power, turning himself into a giant red smoke monster.

Things seem pretty hopeless, but Aladdin has one more trick up his sleeve. When Jafar proclaims himself "the most powerful being on Earth," Aladdin taunts him by pointing out that the genie is more powerful. Jafar uses his last wish to become "an all-powerful genie" ... and becomes trapped inside a magic lamp, just as Aladdin planned.

Seems like a brilliant plan doesn’t it?

There’s only one problem.

It was a stupid plan, and it shouldn't have worked.

His success relied entirely on Jafar using the exact words that, by astonishing coincidence, he happened to use. If Jafar had said "I wish to be more powerful than the genie" or "I wish to be the most powerful entity in the universe" or pretty much anything else logical, then the Aladdin’s situation would have gone from hopeless to ‘the-world-was-about-to-end-and-it-would-be-all-his-fault-levels-of-hopeless’. And yet Aladdin is so convinced that his misguided plan will work that he pulls an expression that can only be described as the world's first troll face.

 Or, you know, Jafar could have simply wished for the genie (aka Aladdin's friend) to kill himself in the most gruesome manner imaginable, and he would have been forced to do exactly that. Had the villain taken a moment to consider his wish, the straight-to-video sequels would have been about Jafar continuously playing tetherball with the earth for all eternity.

The original slumdog millionaire is a lucky man.

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#8reasonswhyimontwitter

by Louisa Dassow

#8reasonswhyimontwitter was a trend on November 7^th 2012 and the majority of my Twitter timeline consisted of “Because Twitter is better than Facebook”. I disagree. It's not better, it's different. So I thought I would compile my own reasons :

#1 Hashtags and Trends

Who actually used hash tags before Twitter? I've always liked the thought of a hash tag; its place on the keyboard intrigued me, but I had never used it before Twitter. Now I can use it in my tweets and press the button on my keyboard as often as I want. Hash tags weren't originally part of twitter and were incorporated in later after users started using them of their own accord, introducing trends to Twitter.

#2 Trends

Trends show what people in a certain place are talking about. There are some interesting trends; I could give examples, but the funniest ones appear when you're least expecting them. The beauty of the trends is that they accurately cover the world, and you can see exactly what is being discussed in Bogotá, Columbia whenever you want. I find it entertaining to investigate the trending topics of small foreign countries and see how many of their trends are in English.

#3 The Fandoms

This is a good and bad point. Twitter seems to be the home of Beliebers and Directioners; they're nightmares and it is unfortunate how their (“MARRYME!!”) rubbish seeps into the trends (No I do not want to #PartyHardwithDirectioners). On the other hand there are Potterheads, Whovians and Sherlockians. There are rugby and cricket fans who you can chat with and when the Olympics were on it was lovely to see how everyone on Twitter got behind their country. You can discuss issues with the team or the show, or gossip about the actors in your favourite film with people who love them just as much as you do.

#4 The People in general

I find that most tweeters are nice people, it's probably because I choose to follow the people who have similar interests to me. I've found people who share exactly the same views as me and it means that I can have an interesting conversation with a person who ordinarily would never be part of my life. And it's nice to be able to talk to them and read snippets of their lives or to hear their opinions, whilst knowing it's unlikely that I'll remember their username in a couple of months.


#5 It's completely safe if you're not stupid.

Everyone is anonymous, including yourself. You can say what you want and no-one will find you hidden away in your house and this unfortunately leads to the abusive tweeters. I think of them as the darkest side of Twitter, even worse than Beliebers. But they're avoidable, blockable, and, if their petty comments offend you, then you can report them (or give them 140 characters of your mind). I personally think that if Twitter wasn't anonymous then it would really be dangerous – the people you interact with are strangers and, whilst there are some wonderful strangers, there are also really weird ones. So if you tweet keep your anonymity; as a rule, I don't post any personal details that I wouldn't reveal to a person I met on the street and I won't post anything I wouldn't show my family.

#6 The Sad Depressed Anxious People who need to be cheered up.

You will find a lot of these people on Twitter; they use it because they have no-one else to talk to and it's their last resort. I suppose this is not a particularly great thing to have on Twitter, but these people do exist and Twitter is their outlet of choice. Whenever I see a tweet where the person is worried about an upcoming event in their life, I'll wish them luck. If it's someone's birthday, then I'll wish them a Happy Birthday. And if someone posts a tweet along the lines of “I'm useless and worth nothing.”, then you can talk to them and try to make them smile. I've learnt about a girl who is jealous of her older sibling and feels pressured by her parents to act like him and so I spoke to her about it and by the end she said she felt better. That's a great reason to be on Twitter. (Although I'm not suggesting it's advisable to give out your personal information see #5) I've been wished luck and I've had Happy Birthday wishes from my followers. It takes very little effort and it can really brighten your day.

#7 It's a great source of news.

I've got to be honest I found out who won the American election by skimming down my timeline when I woke up the day after the election. This morning I found out through Twitter that one of my favourite BBC television series, Merlin, was being cancelled. And Twitter is always one of the first places to know when someone famous has died, and often when they haven't actually died. Of course I follow all of the BBC news accounts, but I find the best news comes from the average person. I must also point out that not all “news” on Twitter is true and it may just be speculative gossip which is what makes up a lot of Twitter.

#8 Sometimes I can't face Facebook.

Twitter is where I put all of my amusing thoughts and sometimes Facebook is not a suitable place for those outbursts. Sometimes I know that my Twitter followers will be more interested in a particular thought than my friends will be. And everything that you do on Facebook you will be judged by people visiting your profile and the judgements feed back into your everyday life, but on Twitter there is no-one to judge you and you can speak with people who share your opinions without their judgement. That doesn't mean to say I don't spend equal amounts of time on both websites, but they are different types of social media and I use them for different purposes.

They are my top eight reasons for spending so much time on Twitter, but the best reason for why I’m on Twitter is that I enjoy it.

Follow the Portsmouth Point on twitter @PortsmouthPoint

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The Legendary Paddy Leigh Fermor

by Josh Brown

Patrick Leigh Fermor
(source: Daily Telegraph)

In the late 1930’s a young Anglo-Irishman set out to walk to Constantinople. His account would lead him to become a world-renowned travel writer. Patrick Leigh Fermor (Paddy) was the kind of tall, handsome, mild-mannered hero that now seems, sadly, part of the past.

Despite an unimpressive school record, his fluent Greek led him to be parachuted into Crete to coordinate opposition to the Nazi occupation. This role was crudely parodied by Louise De Berniere in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin but Fermor had the grace not to respond. Famously, a drunken night in a taverna led to Paddy and a compatriot William Moss devising and executing a plan to kidnap the German in charge of the occupation, General Kriepe. Despite vicious reprisals, the full might of the Luftwaffe and an almost impossible journey over the mountains, the scheme was successful. Moss’s account, “Ill Met By Moonlight”, was made into a film by Powell and Pressburger with Dirk Bogarde cast as Fermor.

Settled in the Marni on the Greek mainland with his wife, Fermor emulated that other British champion of Greek freedom, Byron, and swam the Hellespont. Byron was thirty-two, Paddy Fermor was sixty-nine!

An acclaimed new biography of Patrick Leigh Fermor by Artemis Cooper was published last month. From Robert Macfarlane's review:

"Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Patrick Leigh Fermor's legendary life is that it lasted as long as it did. He died in 2011 at the age of 96, having survived enough assaults on his existence to make Rasputin seem like a quitter. He was car-bombed by communists in Greece, knifed in Bulgaria, and pursued by thousands of Wehrmacht troops across Crete after kidnapping the commander of German forces on the island. Malaria, cancer and traffic accidents failed to claim him. He was the target of a long-standing Cretan blood vendetta, which did not deter him from returning to the island, though assassins waited with rifles and binoculars outside the villages he visited.

 . . .  Yes, Leigh Fermor was an insurer's nightmare, an actuary's case-study, and his longevity was preposterous. He might best be imagined as a mixture of Peter Pan, Forrest Gump, James Bond and Thomas Browne. He was elegant as a cat, darkly handsome, unboreable, curious, fearless, fortunate, blessed with a near-eidetic memory, and surely one of the great English prose stylists of his generation."

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Mao Zedong: Re-evaluating His Legacy

by Billie Downer

Mao Tse Tung, 1930s
(source: drben.net)

China is in the global spotlight at the moment as Xi Jinping becomes leader, supposedly through election by over 2,000 party delegates but more likely by the choice of a few Communist Party elders. China is now one of the most powerful countries in the world economically; we probably all remember growing up as a child the phrase ‘Made in China’ stamped on many toys, games and everyday items.

But, as a history student, what I believe is more interesting is how our understanding of China today has been influenced by the Communist Revolution and subsequently the reign of Mao. I’m going to evaluate the legacy that Mao Zedong has had on modern day China and argue (probably controversially) for his achievements.

Before Mao came to power in China in1949, the Chinese economy was near the bottom of the world development scale. It had little industry and agriculture was backward and inefficient. China's industrial economy under Mao grew impressively through his 5-year plans, averaging a growth rate of 10 percent per year, even during the Cultural Revolution, and agriculture grew by 3 per cent per year. China, the former "sick man of Asia," was transformed into a major industrial power in the years of Mao’s rule between 1949 and 1976, one of the greatest leaps forward in history. 

Mao’s social policy, it could be argued, decreased the standard of living greatly of the ordinary Chinese people. It is believed that the Great Leap Forward caused the deaths of between 30 and 45 million people and the Cultural Revolution caused havoc throughout China, resulting in many people being tortured and killed. However, between 1949 and 1975, life expectancy within socialist China more than doubled, from about 32 to 65 years of age. By the early 1970s, infant mortality rates in Shanghai were lower than in New York City. The extent of literacy swelled - from about 15 percent in 1949 to between 80 and 90 percent in the mid-1970s.

Equal rights for women
(image source: womanandchina.wordpress.com)

Equal rights for women were addressed under Mao; previously, foot binding, arranged marriages, and child brides were widespread social practices. These practices were forbidden and women were given the same rights to work and learn as men. The 1950 Marriage Law of revolutionary China established marriage by mutual consent, right to divorce, and outlawed the sale of children and infanticide.  A new women's movement, larger and more sweeping in vision than any in history, set out to break down the subordinating division of labour between men and women and to break down the walls of domestic life.

Furthermore, China under Mao, accomplished what the USA still has yet to achieve;  it managed to establish a system of universal health care, providing health services for free or at low cost, guided by the principles of cooperation and egalitarianism. Maoist China integrated Western and traditional medicine with around 1.3 million peasants training to become health care providers ("barefoot doctors") to meet basic health needs in the countryside.

Finally, although the quality of life may have suffered for many under Mao, and indeed, some may still be suffering in China today. China’s reputation and status as a superpower can be, at least partly, attributed to the legacy of Chairman Mao Zedong.

Read, also, Billie Downer's article, In Defence of Eric Hobsbawm.

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Larry Hagman: A Tribute

by Emma Bell

"You're a loser, Barnes. Always have been, always will be."
(source: Daily Mail) 

Larry Hagman has died aged 81. It seems scarcely possible that this larger than life actor is no longer striding across the terrace at Southfork, glowering and sneering in equally majestic proportions. 

(source: fumed.com)

Hagman was the son of Broadway legend Mary Martin and joined her in the business as a young man, striking early success with the hugely popular TV series, I Dream of Jeannie. It was a peculiar, and now very dated, show (particularly in terms of its casual sexism), written in response to the huge success of Bewitched on a rival network. Hagman was drafted in to play an astronaut (neatly tapping into the increased public interest in the Space Race). It was broad comedy, and Hagman relished the comedic possibilities of the role.

Hagman worked steadily through the Seventies, although he suffered from being involved with cancelled TV shows, films being of poor quality, and his own ambivalence towards the profession. This all changed with the huge and largely unexpected success of Dallas.

America was used to the soap opera; after all, the genre began on their commercial radio stations in the 1940s and transferred easily to the burgeoning television industry of the 1950s and 60s. America’s soaps were glossy and alluring; doctors in pristine whites arranging tete-a-tetes with glamorous nurses, also pristine (and lipsticked). It was a million miles away from Minnie Caldwell ordering a milk stout in the snug at the Rovers Return, but it was in that hyper-glamourised world that Dallas was conceived. The hair! The shoulder pads! The huge whiskeys poured as JR plotted and schemed! The tears and the dresses and the show downs at the Oil Barons’ Ball! 

JR and Sue Ellen
(source: Daily Mail)

Larry Hagman appeared in every episode of the show’s history and he relished every second on screen. Bright enough to know that he was playing a villain of pantomimic proportions, he nonetheless imbued the role with a believability that was genuinely engaging and at times hysterically funny. Who can ever forget poor Sue Ellen (of the tremblin’ lips) driven to drink, only to be dismissed with the words: "Go to bed Sue Ellen, there's nothing uglier than a woman who can't handle her liquor!"

His long term antagonism with Cliff Barnes ("You're a loser, Barnes. Always have been, always will be!”) provided one of the spines of the labyrinthine plot twists that characterised the show: long lost siblings, takeovers, lovers gained and lost, revenges organised, wives humiliated ( "Sue Ellen, you're a drunk, a tramp, and an unfit mother!") breakfasts taken on the windiest terrace in all of America, back biting and conniving on a Grand Guignol scale.

He played to every preconception of what a duplicitous oil man would be like and then added layer upon layer of bad behaviour, all topped with a wicked glint in his eye and cackling chuckle (see video below). 

Britain LOVED Dallas. When Michael Palin range his mate George Harrison one Wednesday night, the musician was uncharacteristically unwilling to chat, finally muttering, "You're not a a Dallas fan then?" before hanging up. The shooting of JR in Series Three was an international event and Hagman, ever canny, held out renewing his contract with the network before they finally gave in, recognising his huge star power.

Larry Hagman, in the 2012 revival of Dallas
(source: ewingoil.tumblr.com)

Hagman played in Dallas until its cancellation in 1991 and thereafter he appeared in several TV specials and made several well-regarded cameos in films such as Primary Colors, Nixon and JFK. 

He was a hugely popular and kind co-worker; he was famed for his long and loyal friendships. An eccentric man (he refused to speak on Sundays), he was also a legendary drinker and often consumed five bottles of champagne a day on the Dallas set; unsurprisingly, he contracted cirrhosis of the liver and had two transplants. He was well enough to take part in the new revival of Dallas which premiered this year, but died at the weekend from complications due to cancer. 

Legend has it that he wished "The only deal I did not win" to be inscribed upon his gravestone. Even JR couldn't scheme his way out of that one. RIP Larry Hagman.

The Best of J.R. Ewing:

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Portsmouth Point Poetry: 'Strange Meeting'

Following George Laver's commentary on Book 24 of 'The Iliad', George Neame explores Wilfred Owen's haunting poem, 'Strange Meeting'.

It seemed that out of the battle I escaped
Down some profound dull tunnel, long since scooped   

Through granites which Titanic wars had groined.
Yet also there encumbered sleepers groaned,
Too fast in thought or death to be bestirred.
Then, as I probed them, one sprang up, and stared
With piteous recognition in fixed eyes,
Lifting distressful hands as if to bless.
And by his smile, I knew that sullen hall;
By his dead smile, I knew we stood in Hell.
With a thousand fears that vision's face was grained;
Yet no blood reached there from the upper ground,
And no guns thumped, or down the flues made moan.
"Strange, friend," I said, "Here is no cause to mourn."
"None," said the other, "Save the undone years,
The hopelessness. Whatever hope is yours,
Was my life also; I went hunting wild
After the wildest beauty in the world,
Which lies not calm in eyes, or braided hair,
But mocks the steady running of the hour,
And if it grieves, grieves richlier than here.
For by my glee might many men have laughed,
And of my weeping something has been left,
Which must die now. I mean the truth untold,
The pity of war, the pity war distilled.
Now men will go content with what we spoiled.
Or, discontent, boil bloody, and be spilled.
They will be swift with swiftness of the tigress,
None will break ranks, though nations trek from progress.
Courage was mine, and I had mystery;
Wisdom was mine, and I had mastery;
To miss the march of this retreating world
Into vain citadels that are not walled.
Then, when much blood had clogged their chariot-wheels
I would go up and wash them from sweet wells,
Even with truths that lie too deep for taint.
I would have poured my spirit without stint
But not through wounds; not on the cess of war.
Foreheads of men have bled where no wounds were.
I am the enemy you killed, my friend.
I knew you in this dark; for so you frowned
Yesterday through me as you jabbed and killed.
I parried; but my hands were loath and cold.
Let us sleep now . . ."

                                                Wilfred Owen (1918)

 World War One marked the beginning of the end of hand-to-hand combat. Although individual skirmishes were made, the majority of fighting took place either side of ‘No Man’s Land’, with each army occupying their own trench facing the enemy. In some places, the distance between them was only a few hundred yards, in others miles, but, as those of you who have seen or read War Horse will know, the use of swords and horses was limited and, in many cases, useless, the soldiers being killed by machine gun fire before even reaching the enemy.

As detailed in this image, the killing was not completely impersonal. The soldiers could still see the men whose lives they took, could still fire a shot and watch them fall to the ground. But no longer would you stand toe-to-toe with the enemy and look into their eyes as you fought them to the death.

Wilfred Owen’s poem begins with the narrator escaping from the battlefield down a tunnel, where he encounters injured or wounded soldiers, waiting to die. ‘Then,’ he says, ‘as I probed them, one sprang up, and stared with piteous recognition in fixed eyes’. One soldier stands up and recognises him. He tells the narrator how they share the same hopes, the same dreams and lived similar lives; how they both share the same hatred for war and the spilt blood and ruined lives.

The soldier’s speech is personal and hard-hitting; he uses repetition to emphasise the horrors of war, ‘if it grieves, grieves richlier than here’, ‘the pity of war, the pity war distilled’ and contrasts words to highlight their difference, ‘laughed’ with ‘weeping’, ‘sweet’ with ‘taint’.

Then the dying soldier tells him ‘I am the enemy you killed my friend’. The soldier recognises the narrator as he was the one who attacked him the day before and left him wounded and dying. Although not the same honourable, personal fight as is documented in The Iliad, the soldiers in World War One still saw the consequences of their actions and still felt that connection with the men they killed, as Owen makes clear.

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Do You Hear What I Hear?: An Alternative Christmas Selection

by Dave Allen

I’ve written this, in part, in response to the interesting Point piece about Christmas music, 'Top 5 Christmas Covers'. I might have called it 'The Least Likely (to be) Christmas Covers….'.

Around 40 years ago, ‘Prog Rock’ bass guitarist Greg Lake enjoyed a solo seasonal Top Ten hit which reminded us that, “the Christmas we get we deserve”. At a personal level, whether you choose secular or spiritual, family or ‘freedom’, is your business but, if Greg was right, then the collective Christmas we “deserve” in this country appears to one of economic alternatives – giving to charities or, more probably, paying for expensive presents and feasts.

The latter ‘option’ is supported with an unprecedented array of lavish and imaginative television advertisements, the majority of which include soundtracks, which are more or less seasonal. So, for example, while M&S open with a snatch of Rod Stewart urging “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, they conclude with a “Celebration” from Kool & the Gang.

The soundtrack to our collective Christmas seems to me always the strongest affirmation of Greg Lake’s theory. For years, the most common complaints around Christmas have been that it starts too early and is too commercialised (see here). But right behind those come the annual complaints about the music, as we are bombarded again by the obvious songs on the radio, in the stores and on the CDs that come free with newspapers or present themselves in the shrinking music stores.

There seems little variety – but there is. Every Christmas, I take great pleasure in assembling playlists of seasonal music to entertain friends and family and I’ve done so for many years. If some of it is pretty unremarkable, well, that’s the case too with most styles and genres of music – especially the ‘popular’ stuff. But there is an enormous amount of intriguing Christmas music out there and among the variety that I enjoy are recordings by Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Charlie Parker, Low, the McGarrigle/Wainwright family, Chuck Berry, Bessie Smith, Fats Waller and BB King.

I’ve tried in that list to mention familiar names but in truth there are many recordings by less well-known artists and if you’re willing to search, then try the traditional British sound of John Kirkpatrick, the quirky Surfjan Stevens, old-timey American Leon Redbone, soulful Aaron Neville or the exquisite instrumental guitar of John Fahey. There’s also some fabulous Christmas Doo Wop from the late 1950s, including a special favourite, the Marcels’ “Merry Twist-mas”.

 

I have named quite a few black popular acts and this is no coincidence. Many of the first Christmas recordings were religious vocal performances in the best western tradition – for example “Cantique de Noel” by Enrico Caruso (1916). To a large extent, popular Christmas music was an inter-war American phenomenon, supported by many ‘specials’ on the range of radio stations. Henry Hall’s BBC Dance Band offered us a couple of recordings, but the American market was far bigger and, in the 1930s, included “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, “Winter Wonderland”, “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer”, then, in 1942, “White Christmas”, which matched the nostalgic public mood of America’s first Christmas in the War. The market was open and it has rarely closed since.

But while these examples date mainly from the mid-1930s onwards, they were pre-dated by a vibrant black market, not only of religious spirituals and gospel songs but blues by most of the major artists – I’ll suggest as a perfect example Victoria Spivey’s “Christmas Morning Blues”. This black American tradition has persisted through the decades, including the artists I identified above and into more recent Hip Hop and R&B albums on Death Row Records or from Destiny’s Child.

After the War, most top American ‘pop’ stars made their Christmas album including Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis and Nat King Cole. From the 1970s, commercial pop exploited the Christmas market through Slade, Wizzard, Elton John, Cliff Richard and, of course, Band Aid, which placed charity firmly in the commercial field. But one decade was something of an exception – the 1960s. In later years, Bob Dylan, Lennon, McCartney, Bowie, Roy Wood and others made Christmas records but in the ‘swinging’ decade, arguably the period of greatest innovation and iconoclasm, very few of the biggest acts acknowledged the season – or at least very few of the white/rock acts. The black artists continued to record Christmas albums, including one of the greatest when (white) producer Phil Spector assembled his Christmas Gift to You starring his delightful black ‘girl’ groups.

My ‘gift’ to you is to suggest you ignore mainstream commercial culture this month and go searching around Spotify or ITunes – and do have yourselves a Merry Little Christmas.

Dave Allen is an Old Portmuthian. Read his article on The Beatles in Portsmouth and his review of Bob Dylan's new album Tempest, as well as his article on American writer, Jack Kerouac and singer Woody Guthrie. Visit his blog at http://pompeypop.wordpress.com/

Also: Patrick McGuiggan offers his Top 5 Christmas Covers

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What Are The True Origins of Christmas?

by Katherine Tobin



Early image of the Nativity

Belonging to a family with no particular religious views, the topic of Christmas for me simply implies the roast dinner, the Christmas songs hitting the radio a month in advance, the presents and, of course, the snow (fingers crossed, but still doubtful). But, obviously, to many Christians around the world, Christmas is a bit more meaningful than that - a time to celebrate the birth of their saviour, Jesus Christ. Or is it? In the run up to the momentous occasion itself (now only one month away), the topic once again arises round the kitchen table – what is the actual origin of Christmas? Was it indeed the Christians who founded this tradition? Was it the Pagans who laid out the Christmas laws? Or was it simply an excuse created in the 1800s to bring out the bottle of ageing whiskey and pull a few crackers?

Of course, there are no completely reliable facts about the origins of Christmas, given the early nature of its arrival, and the past population’s apparent inability to record accurate dates, but here are the most popular theories about where this joyous holiday came from:

1. Christian Claim

“The earliest records mention a feast held in the Church at Alexandria, Egypt, around AD 200, to honour the Nativity. The celebration of Christmas did not become a church-wide celebration until the late third and early fourth centuries. By the end of the fourth century, almost all Christian churches had accepted the December date. Though the Church at Rome maintained that December 25th was the actual birth date of Jesus, the most likely date (according to civil and historical records) was sometime around the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, which was celebrated in autumn. The unanimous adoption of the December date came about as an attempt by the Church to integrate Christian ideals into the Winter Solstice festivals celebrated during that season. “ Read more here.

 All in all, this belief seems to be credible, if not a little unlikely. Given that the birth of Christ is still not accurately known, why place a festival celebrating his birth right at the time of the Pagan festival? Seems more than a little suspicious to me… But of course the Church has a right to celebrate the birth of its saviour, and when better to do it than at the closing of the year? Makes sense really.

(source: cryhavok.org)

2. The Pagan Point of View

“Nearly all aspects of Christmas observance have their roots in Roman custom and religion. Consider the following admission from a large American newspaper (The Buffalo News, Nov. 22, 1984): “The earliest reference to Christmas being marked on Dec. 25 comes from the second century after Jesus' birth. It is considered likely the first Christmas celebrations were in reaction to the Roman Saturnalia, a harvest festival that marked the winter solstice—the return of the sun—and honoured Saturn, the god of sowing. By 529 A.D., after Christianity had become the official state religion of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinian made Christmas a civic holiday.” Read more here.

This also seems plausible - we are aware of the Pagans as a religious movement, and it seems likely that they would honour their god. The pagans were also the creators of our Christmas tree tradition, which is familiar in many a household across the country and the world today. Of course, this view is still not widely known by people, perhaps showing not only the large number of Christians to which the Christian belief is obviously more popular, but also the incredible hold and influence the church has on the population.

Mithras
(source: rabtessera.blogspot.com)

3. Other Theories

“The origin of this festivity is presumed to be Mithraic and about 4000 years old. Mithra was the god of light in ancient Iran. The symbol of Mithra is Sun. Iranians used this symbol in their flag for at least the last 2500 years. The period of 17th to 24th of December was the duration of this feast. Read more here.

This is perhaps a more abstract take on the Christmas origin, but nonetheless a valid point- why are views like this not more widely known? Perhaps the origin is less substantial than the others, or maybe it has simply not been presented to the masses as an argument? It is obvious that the question is to this day still not an easily answerable one.

Of course these are just some of the many speculations on the origins or Christmas – these being the more well known versions of the story – which have accumulated over the years. But you may be perhaps wondering, what does this have to do with me?  Why does this even matter? Of course the obvious answer is: it doesn’t. In our society, what does it matter where the origin of Christmas came from? I’m just excited to be able to sing ‘White Christmas’ at the top of my voice mid-November.

Read Patrick McGuiggan's "Is it OK to listen to Christmas music in November?"; Read Dave Allen's alternative selection of Christmas songs. Read Jemima Carter's The Countdown to Christmas Begins . . .

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Ten Love Stories Which Are Better Than 'Twilight'

by Hugh Summers

There are at least 10 love stories better than this one
(source: screencrush.com)

When I was trying to come up with an idea for the article, I searched in the deepest darkest parts of the internet for inspiration. I turned to the blog itself and remembered Tom Harper's article on meme theory. I thought of perhaps mimicking the idea behind it, until I was reminded of the recently released Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 2. I am not sure whether many of you reading this are familiar with the “Still a better love story than Twilight” meme, and, if not, I will explain. The idea behind it is to simply take an unsatisfactory or awkward love affair or relationship and simply add the words “Still a better love story than Twilight”. Generally I have found these profoundly amusing and have therefore decided to come up with my very own “Ten love stories better than Twilight”.

10. Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.

Being only one at the time, I had a limited amount of self-awareness, let alone knowing about a scandal which caused such a blow to Bill Clinton’s reputation (although, bizarrely, his popularity with the American people actually increased after the affair was revealed). Yet, if we compare such a frivolous love affair to that of Edward and Bella’s, we can certainly say that we may be more tolerant of the President of the United States having a scandalous relationship with Ms Lewinsky than of watching a guy who has cold skin compete with a guy who has hot skin over a girl who appears to have only one facial expression.

(source: ugo.com)

9. Donkey and Dragon.

It appears to come as a match made from heaven: a Donkey and a Dragon; who would have thought it? Now, I’m not sure what the creators of Shrek were thinking when matching a donkey with a dragon, especially when they later claimed that the tentatively-named “dronkeys” were created. Yet, it must be said, dronkeys are remarkably cute, far cuter than the baby Edward and Bella produce.

8. Luke and Leia.

Yes, even incest is a better love story than Twilight. So they shared a kiss, so what? I still find it less creepy than a one-sided crush between a werewolf and a baby. Plus, their brief encounter is definitely overshadowed by the fact that Star Wars in general is just awesome.

(source: milano-web.it)

7. Scat and His Acorn

I’m sure many of you reading this have watched Ice Age, and, if so, waited at the end of the film, sat through the credits, just to see the short Scat sketch at the end. Whether he’s dragging the acorn from an ice shelf hundreds of feet high, causing it to collapse, or frozen in a block of ice and trying to reach for it, he and his nut make quite the comedy duo. I, for one, had no idea that something could love an acorn so much.

6. Marty Mcfly and his Mother.

Some of you might find it strange that there is a recurring theme of incest; I assure you it is simply coincidence, allthough it does bring up a somewhat worrying topic in that I’m only on my fourth point and have already come across two cases of (almost) incest in film.

(source: hotelivory.com)

5.  Gollum and the one ring.

Of course, I couldn’t make it through this article without mentioning The Lord of the Rings; it’s filled with passionate tales of love and beauty. Yes, I have decided to choose the love between a mutated Hobbit and an inanimate object, yet I am still more compelled to feel emotion for the couple as they tumble to their imminent deaths towards lava over two pasty Americans whose idea of a dramatic and life-threatening situation is being smelt by another pasty American who decides they want to drink the others' blood.

4. Chris Brown and Rihanna

I have heard recently that Chris and Rihanna have decided to get back together. I can’t really provide any  reason other than insanity as to why she has decided to get back together with him. Anyway, let’s move away from my opinions on the odious Chris Brown and back to how this relates to Twilight. At least neither of them comes out with stuff like this: “His fingers were ice-cold, like he’d been holding them in a snowdrift before class. But that wasn’t why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it stung my hand as if an electric current had passed through us.” Yes, that is genuinely a quote from the book.

(source: geeklyinsider.com)

3. Sheldon Cooper and Amy Farrah Fowler.

Of course, I couldn’t omit this couple from the list; those of you who watch Big Bang Theory would have most likely grown to love the Shamy (an abbreviation of Sheldon and Amy, if you weren’t sure). The two seem like a match made from heaven. Both have stunted social skills yet, as the series progress, we see Amy come to gain more and more social knowledge through her impressive character development, leaving us with quite the comedy duo. Amy yearns for Sheldon’s affections while he continues to have a lack of understanding of what a relationship actually involves. Yet they entertain me. But I can’t say that Bella and Edward don’t amuse me, as they allow me the enjoyment of silently judging poor script-writing and, generally, a fairly bland storyline.

(source: openwalls.com)

2. Wall-E and Eve.

Possibly one of the greatest love stories created in film. To me, they represent everything that love should represent. All they need to do to communicate is to say each other’s name, yet they still manage to convey a sense of emotion. Possibly one of the most obscure of relationships, yet at the same time, one of the most touching.

1. Every single love story, ever.

I hope that any of you Twilight fans don’t take that statement too literally; I just hope I have made my point. I’m fairly sure that if you thought of two objects, people, pretty much anything, and connected them on an emotional level, you would achieve a love story which is better than that of Twilight. Obviously that is my opinion; it may or may not be a widespread opinion but it is an opinion none the less. Overall, I hope you enjoyed the article and didn’t take too much offence and, if you did, feel free to mention it in the comment section below.

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