Happy New Year

HERE'S WISHING YOU A WONDERFUL AND VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!


MAY 2008 SEE DREAMS FULFILLED.

MAY YOU ENJOY LOVE AND LAUGHTER,
HAPPINESS AND JOY,
PEACE AND HARMONY,
GOOD HEALTH AND SUCCESS.

MAY 2008 BE YOUR BEST YEAR EVER!

WITH LOVE, LIGHT AND LAUGHTER, ALWAYS,

ABSOLUTE VANILLA...

(& ATYLLAH...)

Stream of consciousness ramble – Culture and Belonging

It’s as hot as hell here and I think my brain has turned to mush, or just melted. In view of the fact that thinking is presently beyond me and my ISP is broken yet again, I’m tunneling out briefly and resorting to something I scribbled a couple of days ago - and sharing some cooling pool reflection shots, which I know those of you in the cold, wet and snow probably really don’t need to see right now.

The previous post on The Material Culture has caused me to ponder a somewhat related concept, prompted by D’s remark that it must be quite fun to have blog visiting to do. My response was to say that I felt that blogosphere was a community to which one belonged and within that community - that culture of blogging - were individual communities of writers, photographers, cooks, gardeners, knitters, dog lovers, scientists, lawyers etc etc. Tribes, I suppose one might call them. And it struck me then, thinking of what I’d posted on the new culture of materialism that blogging goes perhaps, in some way, to also make up for the other crumbling “old” cultures and structures. Of course, there’s no doubt that it’s unquestionably a part of the globalization trend. If I think of those who visit here - there are Americans, Brits, French, Welsh, Irish, Indian, Australians, Canadians and a host of others – although once very separate, in blogosphere we find ourselves very much together, sharing thoughts and ideas, finding ourselves in agreement – and occasionally in conflict - but all reaching out to one another - one being to another, linked through cyberspace. And, as G&G from It Must Be The Vapors pointed out, beyond, for now, the grasp of government.

His comment, which I hope he doesn’t mind me quoting said:

“The interweb blogosphere is a perfect working model of how relationships across the globe serve the same function as tribes, enterprises, and self sustaining trade agreements with no need of government regulation whatsoever. We are much better than governments gives us freedom to be. Not being bound by physical location nullifies the ideas of nations and borders except for the unique cultural contributions we all bring.”

So perhaps blogosphere and cyberspace also go some way to create a new culture where the old cultures are crumbling. Perhaps blogging is another cultural construct, much like shopping – but, perhaps a considerably more meaningful one.

For me, this creation of new cultural constructs is quite pertinent since I have little concept of nationality, of what it is to be a South African. My heritage is central and northern European. My education was very much in the English/British mold. I have never felt a sense of belonging here – it’s just where I am. As such the nationality by which many define themselves has never really had much of a claim on me. Likewise, I belong to no religious grouping – been there, done that and decided to focus on a far broader spirituality than one defined by a particular doctrine and dogma. Similarly, as an only-child, family has little significance so again, it’s not something I feel I belong to. I consider myself, ultimately, I suppose, to be a citizen of the world – whatever that might be, and yet, I also don’t subscribe to the Material Culture.

All this has often left me wondering about belonging and where I belong - and yet, at the same time, I don’t feel like I don’t belong. I suspect, perhaps that being part of other communities, like blogosphere, a community of like-minded thinkers and a community of writers, is what does it. And of course, I also happen to know that I am part of a very different community, a far greater one that goes beyond the Earthly realm and I think that, more than anything else, gives rise to a tremendous sense of being and belonging - and of being interconnected.

How about you? How are you impacted by culture and community? How much do you belong, need to belong? Is blogosphere a cultural concept or a “tribe” for you?


And if none this post makes any sense, you can safely assume my brain has fried, melted and leaked out all over my desk. Now will someone please send some snow! What do you mean it will melt in the post? Oh well, best I go and through myself in the pool then.

The Material Culture

Well, the ISP has been buggering about something terrible these last few days making access to the blogosphere nigh well impossible. A “major international failure” was how D described it. Anyway, before the lines all crashed down, I was able to get to Baino’s site and to this post on seasonal sales and rank consumerism which really struck me. (Please do read it to put my post into better context.) Just what is it, I wondered, that has made the world so increasingly materialistic?

Although the consumer culture is true of most places today, I thought specifically of South Africa because it’s where I am and it’s a place where everyone noticeably suffers from an incredibly bad dose of “Gotta Have”. Do bear in mind though that most here live well below the poverty line, that the vast majority struggle to put food on the table and that unemployment is high. One of the worries at this time of year is how many school leavers will pass their final year – not because there’s a worry that many will fail – but that the pass rate will be too high and there is little hope of employment for most of these children. But here’s the thing, everyone, rich and poor, have to “Have”. Interest rates are running high as it is, inflation is looking skywards and the government consistently urges low or no spending. But do the general populace heed any of this? Not a chance – they’re out there spending and buying like there is no tomorrow - buying on credit, running up debts with little or no concept of the true cost. I asked a woman I know how, when she had to borrow money for school fees and had defaulted on her electricity and municipal payments, she could even think of buying a new TV, a microwave, a ceiling fan and a computer. She said it was important to have these things or others thought less of you, to have them meant you had “arrived”. And if you had them and someone else didn’t then you were better than them. The confusion of values struck me forcibly. And perhaps I should add that this woman lives in a tin shanty in what was originally a squatter camp. Her debts are not insignificant and she regularly receives “red letters” from various credit agencies but this doesn’t seem to trouble her – so long as she “Has”, she’s fine. Yet hers is not an isolated case, and, more curiously, the “condition” is not isolated to only the impoverished. South Africa, like so many places is caught up in the mayhem of consumer greed. Gotta Have is the new culture, the new means of defining who one is.

And see, here’s the thing, in pondering the Rise of Stuff: Stuff - materialism - has become the new culture, the new religion, the new family and value system – the thing that defines us - in a world that has seen the increasing demise of the role of the nation state. And along with the watering down of nationality through globalization, there has also been a whittling away of religious influence and the break up of the family unit – as a result of both the former. In South Africa this break down is felt particularly acutely.

Apartheid saw to the destruction of the family when men were forced away from the rural areas to work on the mines, leaving women, children and old folks at home. Traditional family values were corrupted and families were scattered. In a similar way, these same people have been propelled from separate “tribes” (Xhosa, Zulu, Sotho, Venda, Tswana etc) into homogeneous South Africans at an incredible speed. They’ve also shot from rural lifestyles into cities (in the constant search for employment – so they can buy stuff) and, increasingly, the global village. They’ve gone from thatched mud huts to New York skyscrapers and the “glamourous life of plenty” through the medium of television and Hollywood movies. They’ve gone from donkey cart to jets in a few short years. Traditional religions have likewise given way first to Western religions and then the erosion of those Western religions. But it’s not just the impoverished masses who are affected, everyone is. The guy storming along the motorway in his brand new BMW 6 series or his Bentley is not really that much different. He too clings to Status as a means of defining who he is. See, where he used to business in Cape Town and perhaps Johannesburg, he now does business in Hong Kong, London and New York. Where his family used to be all around him, he now has kids in Sydney, Los Angeles, Toronto and London. Where he used to have just one family unit he now has three scattered families courtesy of his three wives. Where Church gave him direction he now thinks it’s a load of old cobblers. And so, Materialism and Fun have become his culture, his religion, his family and his value system – and, as such, his means of defining who he is.

The reality is we are “developing” so fast that we have spiraled out of control and the things that held us together, the old values, have flown out the window as we whizz through time and space attempting to (re)define ourselves. It seems that we are not yet sufficiently evolved to get along without needing to define ourselves - and so enters the Culture of Materialism. We are our stuff, and we are defined, made meaningful, by the amount and kind of stuff we own. And of course those who don’t fit the box, who do not conform, are the heathens – because they too, by definition, must be defined and boxed in some way by all those others.

Christmas gifts by way of happy accidents

Well, that's done and dusted for another year and I probably won't have to cook for the rest of the week either - by which stage we'll have had our fill of leftovers and if I see anything Christmassy again before December 2008 it will be way too soon.

Amidst the various preparations, Christmas dished up some happy photographic accidents. You know the kind of shot that you weren't expecting which then leads to an entire photo-shoot to capture similar effects? Well, this was my additional and unexpected present courtesy of shaky hands and long exposures. There are plenty of steady shots too (as you'll see from the first and last images here) as a result of using the tripod but they're not quite as colourful.

Hope you enjoyed a happy Christmas and are now all set for your New Year's bash - if indeed you indulge in such a thing.

Season's Greetings and Scenes from my Tree

The vanillekipferl, the cinnamon stars and the marzipan fruits are all baked. The gammon is cooking, the food shopping is done, the tree is decorated and the presents are wrapped. The weather is unseasonal - thunderstorms to start the day which have now given way to blue skies and fluffy clouds - I'm not complaining, it's better than the sweltering 33 degrees C we had on Saturday. And so, as you can gather, I have surrendered to Christmas and have joined in the mania. I'm wearing my Santa beanie, humming to myself, smiling at all the frazzled and irritated shoppers and wishing the people working on the tills good cheer, good luck and Merry Christmas - and so I do the same to you.

I wish you a happy and festive and blessed Christmas and a peaceful and joyful New Year. May 2008 bring you good health, laughter, love, harmony and happiness and may all your dreams come true. If you do not celebrate the season, I wish you well and I send you love and laughter and joy.

Have a wonderful holiday season!
Merry Christmas to one and all!

You will notice that aside from the usual baubles and beads and whatnot, my tree is peopled with all sorts of folk who, when the lights are dimmed come out and celebrate the magic.

And here's what I've been humming to myself recently...

The Christmas Gift?

It has finally happened. We've turned into fowl. Atyllah would be proud of us. Or despairing. Time will tell.

So what, you wonder, am I wittering on about this time. Well, see, it's like this.

There was a tremendous squawking of guinea fowl earlier this evening - the sort of squawking that denotes an alarm. Then all fell silent for a while and then... the most strident peeping started. We assumed that it must be one of the three babies who live in the garden who'd managed to lose itself yet again. So we peeked out the front door and found, running around like little wind-up toys, four tiny, newly-hatched baby guinea fowl. There was no of evidence of a parent in sight and Outstanding Feather (the father of the other babies and named because of his one feather that insists on sticking out of his back instead of lying flat) was wandering around not quite sure what to do. He was alternately pecking the new babies and trying to round them up and they were simply out of control, whizzing back and forth across the driveway, peeping their tiny heads off.

I went off to get my camera to take some shots and as I came down the passage I saw a small creature dash into the kitchen (all the doors have been open all day because it's been a sweltering 33 degrees C). D gathered it up and took it back outside. The next thing, two more popped through the front door and scuttled up the passage to the bathroom. We gathered them up and popped them in a box. We searched for the third in the garden, caught it and popped in with its siblings. There was no sign of the fourth until very loud peeping advised us that there was a small bird under the Christmas tree in the lounge.

Despite hunting high and low, there was no sign of the parents anywhere. We even tried leaving the box on the patio so the mother might come for them - but it was already getting dark and guinea fowl retire early - the other lot were already roosting up in the flowering gum.

So D has now officially become the mother hen. The babies are tucked up in a box with a furry dog hot water bottle (water at blood temperature) and a teddy bear under which they're nesting. Whether they'll make it through the night remains to be seen but at least they're safe and warm.

We reckon they're no more than 24 hours old as they still have their egg tooth and their wings are mere stumps. The reality though is the mortality rate for these little birds is very high and they're subject to all sorts of pathogens. The shock of losing their parent and finding themselves in a strange environment - though they do seem to think D is mum - may well be too much for them. So we'll see whether they're still with us in the morning. If they are... then it will be a feeding regime, hand-rearing and... well, look, just don't call me Chicken - that's Atyllah's territory, not mine.

Seasonal Blues and a VanilleKipferl Recipe

This the season to be jolly, tra la-la la-laaa... and bah humbug. For a multitude of reasons this is not my favourite time of year and as the happy day draws closer so I am getting more stressed and more gloomy. Frankly, I think next year I'm simply going to cancel the entire event!

However, that said, as much as I think the Christmas plot has totally been lost in a glut of consumer frenzy, the felling of thousands of little trees, the general stress and mayhem to be experienced on the roads and in the malls, and prolific over indulging, I am, nevertheless, trying enter into some of the spirit. Though frankly, I'd sooner some spirit would enter me (whisky, vodka, brandy would do fine - if only I drank).

To this end, I've decided to do some belated Christmas baking and, in memory of my grandmother - see post below - I'm going to be baking a few things that she used to treat us with at Weihnacht (that's Christmas in German). I thought I'd share one of the recipes with you. Admittedly, it's not my gran's recipe - this one comes from a friend - but the biscuits taste just the same as the one's my granny made.

Evelyne’s Vanillekipferl

250 gr flour
220 gr butter (preferably use salted butter, it gives a better flavour)
100 gr ground almonds or hazelnut (I only use almonds)
70 gr sugar
a few drops of vanilla essence to flavour the dough

1. Mix all ingredients and roll into a ball.

2. Leave to rest for about 1 hour or so.

3. Form crescents by first rolling a little ball in your hands, roll into a sort of sausage and then voilà you form the crescent or half-moon. (This is a recipe originates from when the Turks almost laid siege on Vienna in 1683 or thereabouts, therefore the half-moon.)

4. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet (the dough is greasy enough) at approx. 180 ° Centigrade for about 30 to 40 minutes.
You'll notice when they are done by sticking your finger into the nearest Kipferl. If it gives way, it isn't done yet. They should have a light colour when done, brown is not good.

5. When they are ready take them out of the oven and IMMEDIATELY roll them in sugar. Don't use castor sugar, it just becomes sticky, and normal sugar is a bit too large-grained, so if you can possibly get icing or confectioner's sugar, use that.

6. Store the Kipferl in a tin, they will happily keep for about 4 - 5 weeks.

These little biscuits are decidedly more-ish - the last batch I baked lasted less than a week - never mind how long the kipferl were willing to last in their tin!

And once I've made the kipferl, I'm going to be making zimtsterne - cinnamon stars - and marzipan "fruits". Well, that's the intention anyway... Mice, men, best laid plans, ho ho ho hum.

NOTE:
Posts and blog visiting may be a bit haphazard - my ISP is playing up something horrible and broadband capacity seems to have slowed to a snail's pace - in fact, I'm remembering the days of dial up... Do please bear with me.