November is American Indian Heritage Month, so a great way to learn more about these peoples is to visit the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC.

This is the 18^th of the Smithsonian’s famous museums and opened on the National Mall in 2004. It features the lifeways, history and art of Native Americans throughout the Western Hemisphere (North America, Canada, Mexico, and some from South America, such as Quechua), partly as a major exhibition space, and partly as a center for performances, films, events, and educational activities.

First, walk all around the outside of this museum to look at the interesting architecture—warm, honey-colored and cream sandstone blocks built to resemble a cliff, with gardens on three sides, demonstrating the types of plant environments many of the Indians had in their lives and what natural resources they had to work with, such as marshes, ponds, hardwood forests. There’s a small area of cultivated crops—corn, cotton, beans, and rows of bright green leaves that museum staff were picking.

They looked a little like kale, but the color was more emerald green than blue-green. I stopped to ask and it turns out that they are mustard greens, which have done very well this year, and the leaves are going to the café’s kitchen to be prepared as some dish tomorrow. What fun. The Mitsitam Café has foods from different regions, served at different stations, for example Great Plains and Meso-America. The food looked very good and interesting, but some were a little pricey for the serving size, I thought. I had a cup of wild fowl and rice soup, which was delicious.

The entrance to the museum is a huge, roughly-circular atrium bedecked with strings of flags from various Indian tribes. The displays are on three levels around the entrance level, and the exhibition and display spaces seem to continue largely with the circular theme: in the main exhibition, each Indian tribe that’s featured has a circular space that’s mostly self-contained, that then flows to another similar space. It’s nicely done and seems a good way of fitting a lot into a given area, probably much more efficient than the traditional square or rectangular open space.

On the 4^th level you find permanent exhibits, “Our Universe” and “Our Peoples”, which aim to tell about the lives, culture, and history of the different tribes and groups. Part of this history includes how these people were affected by the arrival of those from Europe and what these people brought with them, such as guns, diseases and horses. On the 3^rd level is “Our Lives”, which focuses on contemporary Indian life and how it’s affected by other cultures and ideas. The 2^nd level has a smaller permanent exhibit on the local Indians from the Chesapeake area.  

The museum also has changing exhibitions, the larger one on the 3^rd level. When I was there, it was the works of Brian Jungen, whose father was Swiss and his mother a Canadian Indian. He makes objects that look almost traditional Indian, but are made from modern items; for example, a totem pole made of backpacks and a mask made of sports mitts. Some are interesting, some a little strange but all have a story to tell.

The other, smaller, exhibition when I was there was called “Indivisible”, on those people of African-Indian mix. It consists mostly of informational boards, with lots of quotes and pictures, but was amazingly well-attended and was generating quite a buzz, especially among the largely dark-skinned visitors. It makes me wonder how many of these people of this mix there are, and just how isolated they have been and felt. Is this country finally starting to come to terms with some of its racial issues? At least an exhibit like this does bring the subject up for discussion, does open up new areas of thinking, which can only be good. I, for one, had never really thought about an Africa-Indian mix, but now I will. I can only imagine some of the isolation and discrimination they must have been through, and the feelings of “being different” they must have had, because this country hasn’t had a good track record on racial issues (still doesn’t in some ways—but let’s not go there!). Anyway, this exhibit was interesting and thought-provoking, so has achieved something.

All the displays show plenty of movies and videos, and have interactive features. Many school groups visit, so hopefully multi-cultural awareness will slowly grow. All in all, it’s a great museum and a wonderful addition to the already wonderful assortment of museums in the city. Situated between the National Botanic Garden and the Air and Space Museum, it is free and open daily (except December 25).

I’ve just returned from a trip to Washington DC, and will post more info soon.

For now, I (along with millions of other visitors) had the obligatory picture taken outside the gates of the famous White House. Unfortunately, President Obama was not in the capital at that time, but still I’m glad my picture was taken during his presidency.

Also outside the White House is a semi-permanent, rather makeshift, tent with many boards and signs adorning it. This is the White House 24 Hour-A-Day Antinuclear-Peace-Vigil, which says it’s been there since 1981. If that’s true, hats off to them! When we passed by there was always a person sitting outside—or inside, depending on the weather. When it was dark, when it was raining.

On the other side of the White House, on the Elipse facing the Washington Monument, workers are busy setting up the National Christmas Tree, which is slated to be lit on December 3rd. What fun.

On our recent visit to Korea we really enjoyed the Royal Palace Museum in Seoul and wanted to find out more about one of the famous kings. Why spotlight this king? He is considered to be one of the greatest Korean kings and is especially remembered for the development of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet. This is also the king who is on the face of the 10,000 won note.

Recently (October, 2009) the newspaper, the Korea Times, had an article titled “Statue of King Sejong the Great Unveiled”. They reported that a new statue of Sejong the Great was unveiled in Gwanghwamun Plaza, in downtown Seoul, on the occasion of the 563rd anniversary of the invention of the Korean alphabet, Hangeul, in 1446. The statue is just behind the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin, the key Joseon Kingdom era military commander.

(Note that the exact date of the completion of the alphabet is not clear as some say it was 1443, others 1446).

King Sejong the Great is one of only two Korean kings to be called Great, and is regarded as one of the finest rulers in Korean history. King Sejong was born in 1397, and ascended the throne in 1418 at the age of 21. He was the fourth king of the Joseon dynasty (1397-1910). He died in 1450 at the age of 54 after ruling for 32 years. He ought not to have been king, as he had two older brothers. However, they were wise and realized their younger brother was the best future ruler for their country. So, they both pretended to be incompetent boors, and were deemed unfit to rule. The mandate to rule fell to the third brother, Sejong.

Without doubt, King Sejong was a remarkable man: a Confucian scholar, philologist, musician, poet, and a skilled swordsman. He believed a person needed to combine physical training with education and spiritual practices to become a whole person. He promoted research in the cultural, economic, and political heritage of Korea, and he sponsored many new developments in the areas of science, philosophy, music, and linguistics. To encourage young scholars to study, he established grants and other government support.

King Sejong believed that the basis of good government was a ruler with wide-ranging knowledge, virtue, and the ability to recognize and use talented men for government service. 

As an administrator, King Sejong introduced many progressive ideas and reforms to improve the life of the common people. For example, in times of drought and flood, he established relief programs and opened centers to provide food and shelter. For farmers with poor harvests, he reinstated a loan system from the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) that loaned surplus grains to them from government stores, for repayment in kind with nominal interest.

Very early in his reign, in 1420, King Sejong established the Chipyon-chon (Hall of Worthies), a royal research institute. He had the best scholars and writers of the time compile many valuable works on history, geography, astronomy, mathematics, military science, agriculture, and pharmacology, which included encyclopedias on Chinese medicine and Korean medicine (hanyak). In addition, 

over the years King Sejong commissioned a large number of literary works, as he saw books as a way of spreading education among his people. One of the first works he commissioned was a history of the Goryeo Kingdom. Others included a handbook on improved farming methods to increase production, a revised and enlarged collection of model filial deeds, and an illustrated book of the duties and responsibilities in human relationships. A collection of King Sejong’s own poems praising Buddha, entitled Worin Chon-gangjigok, was also published.

Realizing that literacy was key to a powerful nation, he gathered a group of scholars to develop a phonetic writing system that would correctly represent the sounds of spoken Korean and that could be easily learned by all people. The result was the creation of the Korean Hangeul alphabet, and this scientific alphabet is his best-known achievement. The system was completed in 1443 (or 1446). This alphabet allowed the general population to become more literate, as before this they were unable to master the classical Chinese language and script that was the official written language of Korea at the time. In addition, Chinese is very different to Korean in its vocal patterns and sentence formation and so could not represent Korean sounds and structure adequately. Like Hungarian, Turkish, Mongolian, and Finnish, Korean is classified with the Ural-Altaic language group. The Hangeul system is a simple alphabet, with 24 characters (10 vowels and 14 consonants), that is apparently easy to learn, and the shape of the characters actually instructed readers where to place their tongues, thus making it easier for uneducated people to grasp.

Initially, many scholars and government officials opposed the use of Hangeul. Despite this, King Sejong ordered popular poems, religious verses, and well-known proverbs to be translated into Hangeul to encourage its use. Hangeul was therefore also a political as well as a linguistic achievement.

King Sejong’s rule is remembered as an age of peace and prosperity. Besides the creation of the alphabet, his masterful way of dealing with invading Japanese pirate ships made him beloved by the Korean people. King Sejong contributed to Korean civilization and society in a number of other ways, through his great understanding of then-current technology. He made improvements in the movable metal type that had been invented in Korea around 1234. He started the development of musical notation for Korean and Chinese music, helped improve designs for various musical instruments, and encouraged the composition of orchestral music. King Sejong also sponsored many scientific inventions, including the rain gauge, the sundial, a water clock, celestial globes, astronomical maps, and the orrery, a mechanical representation of the solar system.

Indeed, a king to be proud of.

The Emotional Power and Pull of Music

“Music gives access to regions in the subconscious that can be reached in no other way.” (Sophie Drinker). The more complicated our thoughts and emotions, the less effective is language as a tool of expression. Music is a form of communication that conveys meanings that cannot be expressed with ordinary words.

Music has the power to soothe (think of mothers singing lullabies to their babies), to captivate, to stimulate, to encourage, to rally or rouse, and evokes a deep emotional response in many people.

How can we explain this deep fascination with music, this impact of music on our emotions?  Our emotional response to music is highly complex—linked to our listening experience; memory and associations (a sound reminds us of an earlier experience, or sound can help us visualize some event); conditioning (we’ve come to think of major chords as being happy and minor chords as sad, for example); a rhythmic connection between ourselves and our world; mood at the moment; and expectations. And yet, it’s also true that composers through the ages have exploited the mathematical relationships among rhythms, melodies, harmonies and other aspects of music to create and change emotions.

Neuroscientists have tried to study the connection between auditory pleasure and a deep physiological response. Some researchers have also tried mathematically to quantify the emotional impact of music. They found that they could accurately quantify (only) a few of the basic elements in music’s ability to change our emotions. It is true that some music can pulse through one’s brain and body, mirroring and triggering some electrical impulses and patterns, thereby creating feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment, or even fear.

I believe that ultimately this is unquantifiable, that certain music evokes a deep personal response that will vary from person to person; that the same piece of music may bring one person to tears and have no effect on another, regardless of the music’s mathematical composition.

How to explain the deep feeling of joy or sadness evoked by the haunting quality of a clarinet concerto, for example? That feeling that the sounds are entering into your very soul and becoming part of your consciousness, or perhaps sub-consciousness? I don’t think you can. It just IS.

Anyway, the main point here is that music of various kinds is very important for most people all around the world in some way, and our lives are vastly enriched by it.

What do you think?

Something Fishy? Yes, please

October is National Seafood Month, at least in the USA. (I understand ‘seafood’ to include both shellfish and fresh fish).

Started in the 1940s by the National Fisheries Institute, National Seafood Month was originally a week-long event, but evolved into a month-long festival in the 1950s as a way of trying to encourage people to prepare more seafood.

It has long been realized that seafood is an important part of a healthy, well-balanced diet, but many people (especially in parts of the USA) seemed to have an aversion for fish, especially if it looked and tasted like fish. So, they would heavily coat it, deep fry it and serve it with highly flavored, high-calorie sauces, thereby negating most or all of the benefits. Recent studies confirm that eating fish or seafood helps lower the risk of heart disease, for example. The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two servings of fish a week as part of an overall healthy eating pattern. We are told facts such as: cold-water, fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, lake trout and albacore tuna contain the highest concentration of healthful omega-3 fatty acids; and shrimp, lobster, clams, oysters and fresh water fish are another significant source. The Association is also trying to promote cooking the seafood in different, more healthy, ways. It’s important to use the best cooking methods—baking, broiling, grilling, microwaving and sautéing in just a little olive oil. Deep-frying adds calories and saturated fats, and extremely high cooking temperatures destroy omega-3s. Poaching and steaming are also good.

Many grocery stores have a special seafood feature during the month of October, with colorful informational boards, reduced prices on a lot of their seafood, and many delicious recipes. More and more restaurants around the country also offer seafood special dishes during October and some well-known chefs even hold classes, to show people how to achieve the best results using this bounty from the sea (and fresh water too). For example, you can steam fish or shrimp in beer or wine, and then add garlic and your favorite herbs. For an Asian-type dish add lemon grass, ginger and green onions. For a dish with European flair, poach the seafood in white wine and slices of lemon. These poaching or steaming methods add flavor without adding fat.

However, a relatively new issue linked with eating seafood is the question of sustainability. As more people become aware of the benefits of eating seafood, the number of species that are being over-fished and becoming endangered is increasing. So, many restaurants are trying to find the balance between offering good, healthy menu items and using sustainable species of seafood. Sometimes, they have to be creative in getting people to try other new dishes using seafood that is not endangered. I found an interesting blog about restaurants in the UK that think sustainably/or not. Go to www.fish2fork.com/blog

Our family loves seafood, so serving it two or three times a week is no problem. We find it very versatile and have discovered countless ways to prepare it. We love going to local markets that have fresh seafood, usually armed with a shopping bag and a camera. We had an especially wonderful time when we lived in Paris for 6 months, as our small neighborhood market carried a great selection of seasonal seafood. We discovered many different types of fish, all sizes of oysters (huitres), and the marvelous Coquilles St Jacques (large scallops with their sac still attached). I haven’t been able to find these scallops here in Illinois, but most recipes do fine with the sac-less scallops. I won’t give recipes here, but what about some of these ideas:

—Make fish tacos. Grill or steam your favorite fish, mix it with fresh cilantro, olives, vegetables such as green onions, sliced cucumber and tomatoes, and a light olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing, then wrap it in a soft-shell tortilla;

—Use smoked salmon in sandwiches and in salads;

—Make more salads using tuna or shrimp, like the many wonderful French salads composées;

—Use leftover cooked fish in scrambled eggs, or in a quiche or a frittata for a tasty brunch.

Just Be Fishy!

Scottish splendor in the sub-tropics of Zimbabwe.    Welcome to Nesbitt Castle.

(Written and published elsewhere a few years ago, but I want to put a spotlight on Zimbabwe again—as it needs all the TLC and attention it can get! The financial, economic and humanitarian crisis in the country is dire indeed.)

You wouldn’t think there were any similarities between the city of BULAWAYO in Zimbabwe, and the city of ABERDEEN in Scotland. In sharp contrast are southern hemisphere versus northern hemisphere; dry, dusty thornveld in clear sunlight, versus a soft, green and misty land; a land-locked area famous for cattle ranches and wildlife, versus mountains, dotted with woolly white sheep, overlooking the North Sea.

And yet…they are twin cities and each flies the other’s flag. And there’s another similarity, even more unexpected; they both have castles.

Nesbitt Castle in Bulawayo is based on an archetypal Scottish castle. Built in 1905 by mayor Theodore Holdengarde, it was converted in 1990 to an exclusive luxury hotel by the Nesbitt family.

Nestled in the quiet suburb of Hillside, Nesbitt Castle is a huge rambling stone building that really does look like a Scottish castle, with massive grey, hand-hewn stones, small towers and crenellations. It’s set in an enormous 14-acre garden, part green and landscaped, part bush with a number of ostriches and impala (antelope) in a fenced enclosure—a mini wild-life park.

The hotel is/was well-known as a conference and entertainment venue—what a beautiful setting for a wedding reception—and also offers lunches and dinners.

But perhaps the most spectacular offerings are the lavish afternoon teas, presented outside on the lush green front lawns, under huge jacaranda trees, fringed with flowering bushes. Guests sit on lacy, wrought-iron chairs with fat burgundy cushions, at a wrought-iron table graced with a cream colored tablecloth, burgundy cloth serviettes, and heavy silver cutlery. It’s the quintessential setting for a formal British Colonial afternoon tea, with the added touch of an African bush park and gorgeous indigenous African birds twittering in the trees above.

The tea menu usually offers scones with strawberry jam and cream, lemon cheesecake, chocolate cake, muffins, or flapjacks (small pancakes) with honey. They are all exquisitely served on white china plates, decorated with sprinkles of white powdered sugar, halved Cape gooseberries, and pink rose petals. A charming young Ndebele (the local tribe) waiter in formal black and white serves various teas, or freshly-brewed coffee in a large glass pot.

After a leisurely, relaxing tea you can take a tour of the Castle. The decorations are a mixture of old-English (splendid heavy oak furniture, brocade furnishings) and African, with wooden masks and hunting trophies—elephant, buffalo, and zebra heads—and cured skins. A beautiful zebra skin stands out. A similar hunting theme can be found in many Scottish castles, just with different mounted animals. The hunting theme is not obsolete, even today, as the hotel is also linked with the Nesbitt Safari, a Hunting Safari Adventure, in the Zimbabwe low-veld close to the town of Chiredzi.

Please note that Zimbabwe’s economy is experiencing extreme difficulties, and that the exchange rate changes almost daily. Hence, prices are liable to change. In fact, many place no longer accept Zimbabwe dollars and want foreign currency, so it’s best to check before going. Hotel rates are available on request.

The Nesbitt Castle Hotel, 6 Percy Avenue, Hillside, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Tel: +263-9-282726/282735

Fax: +263-9-281864

Email: castle@mweb.co.zw

During the week September 21-25 we were privileged to witness the creating of a Mandala Sand Painting here on our campus at the University of Illinois. The 5-day live exhibition was sponsored by the Asian American Cultural Center, the Illini Union, Buddhists for World Peace, and other university groups. It featured monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery, re-established in India after the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959 that closed monasteries and forced monks to flee.

Many of the monks from the Monastery in India went on Mystical Arts of Tibet tours to other countries. As a result of these, in 1991 the monks were invited to establish a seat in USA and Drepung Loseling Monastery, Inc came about in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1998 it also became affiliated with Emory University in Atlanta. The goal of this non-profit organization is to study and preserve the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and to promote transcultural understanding. The organization, in conjunction with Richard Gere Productions, co-ordinates the Mystical Arts of Tibet World Tours and oversees the Drepung Loseling Educational Fund to help monks in training.

It was fascinating to watch the young monks at work on the Mandala Sand Painting, a unique Tantric Buddhist artistic tradition. “Mandala” is a Sanskrit word meaning “cosmogram” or “world in harmony”. Generally, all mandalas have outer, inner, and secret meanings. On the outer level they represent the world in its divine form; on the inner level they map how an ordinary human mind is transformed into an enlightened mind; on the secret level they depict the subtle energies of the body and the mind.

To make the mandala, millions of grains of colored sand are laid into place on a flat platform over a period of days. The monks destroy the mandala when it is finished, symbolizing the impermanence of all that exists. They sweep up the colored sands, giving some to those attending the deconstruction ceremony to aid in their purification. The rest are poured into nearby running water, so the healing energies can be carried all over the world.

In the first stage of the construction, the artist monks draw their design on the platform table, using a ruler, compass and white pencil. To apply the sand, the monks use a metal funnel. They fill the narrow funnel with colored sand and then rasp it to release a fine stream of sand. The artists begin at the center of the mandala design and work outward. In the otherwise silent room, we found the rasping sound strangely soothing.

Usually the artist monks use colored sands, but sometimes they use powdered flowers, herbs or grains, or even powdered and colored stone.

Many people passed through the Pine Lounge in the Illini Union to watch the monks at work and many students chatted to the monks too, so hopefully some cultural understanding was also taking place.

(above right: containers with colored sand, and the special funnels)

This one is courtesy of my friend Gill, who lives in Lozere (where we lived on sabbatical).

It’s hilarious (and self-explanatory to English speakers)!  Talk about potential cultural misunderstanding! They found it on a recent trip in the north part of France. Merci, Gill.

I wish I could be in Vienna for this event on October 1st. Vienna and coffee have long been linked but this is coffee with a twist. A makeshift café is being set up in one of the towers of St Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom), and visitors can get a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. The café will offer sweeping views of the Austrian capital from the 72m/236ft-high tower.

The lofty café won’t be permanent. Vienna’s Coffeehouse Association announced it’s a one-day event to help mark the city’s annual Coffee Day on October 1^st.

This is what you might see from the tower: a view of the colored tiled cathedral roof; a long view down to the square below, more than likely lined with horse carriages; panoramic views across Vienna’s roof tops to the River Danube and the hills beyond.

And this is what your coffee and cake might look like. We had these delectable dishes in the famous Café Central. As they say in German, “Wunderbar!”

See below the pics for some background to Stephansdom and its towers.

Destroyed and rebuilt countless times over the last 800 years, St Stephen’s Cathedral in the heart of Vienna is the city’s most famous landmark and symbol. The area around it was cleared of its cemetery in the 18^th century and became St Stephen’s Square, the lively pedestrian area we know today. All that remains of the original 13^th-century Romanesque church are the Giants Doorway and Heathen Towers. The inside is a Gothic extravaganza, with its ribbed vaults and ornate pulpit.

The South Tower, the Steffl, is a 137-m high (450-ft) German Gothic spire. From the Sexton’s Lodge inside, visitors can climb 343 steps as far as a viewing platform at 73m/239ft.

The North Tower, or Adlerturm (eagles’ tower) was never completed, according to legend, because the master builder, Hans Puchsbaum, broke a pact he’d made with the devil, by pronouncing a holy name. The devil caused him to fall to his death and construction stopped in 1511. The North Tower now houses the Pummerin Bell, another potent symbol for the city, as it rings in the New Year as well as pealing on other occasions. The original bell was made from 180 melted-down bronze canons abandoned when the Turks fled Vienna in 1683 and was in the South Tower. That bell crashed down through the roof in 1945, during a fire in the cathedral, and a new, bigger one was cast using the remains of the old. A lift takes visitors to almost the top of the tower at 60m/196ft. After climbing some steps from there, they get to a viewing platform, where they can see the bell, and get a wonderful panoramic view out over the city across to the Vienna hills and the River Danube, and down into the roof.

The cathedral is also known for its beautiful tiled roof. The colorful zig-zag patterns are made up of almost a quarter million glazed tiles, which were carefully restored after damage at the end of WW2. The highlight is the imperial two-headed eagle on the southeast.

Labor Day in the USA is the first Monday in September and is the unofficial end to the summer, heralding the beginning of the fall semester. Most places typically have all kinds of festivals and parades over this long weekend, all a lot of fun.

St Louis, in Missouri, hosts many wonderful events. Two of the most well-known are the Japanese Festival and the Greek Festival. The Japanese Festival takes place in the Missouri Botanical Gardens and this year—2009—is the 32^nd annual festival, sponsored by many Friends of the Japanese Festival. The Greek Festival takes place in the grounds of the Greek Orthodox Church in Central West End. Both of these seem to get bigger and better every year.

Here are a few pictures from the many activities this year. (I’m afraid that the site seems to have some issues right now and it’s impossible to line up the pictures and the text!)

“Koinobori” are carp (koi) banners that are typically flown on May 5^th in Japanese homes that have children, as they are an important symbol for children in Japan. During the festival in St Louis, these banners fly in various places in the gardens. Real koi fish are in the pond in the Japanese Garden, where kids of all ages enjoy feeding the (seemingly always hungry) fish with fish pellets.

Kids enjoy testing “Taiko”, or Japanese drums. Drumming has always been an integral part of Japanese celebrations.

A stall sells “Shibori”, which is cloth tie-dyed with Indigo dye. This art has flourished since the 8^th century BC, and is really lovely.

“Komo-Mawashi”, or Top Spinning, is a form of family entertainment relying on skill to manipulate plain toy tops. At the festival Dr. Hiroshi Tada has a routine that amazes the onlookers.

The Candyman is a typical street entertainer in Japan. Here, Masaji Terasawa is the Candyman—he does conjuring and magic acts and creates small sculptures with spun sugar.

One of the popular foods at the Greek Festivals is the gyros. Volunteers work on the rows of the revolving meat, slicing and assembling the gyros for all the hungry folks in the very long lines. But, the end product is worth the wait! Very tasty.