Elbow - A Rough Guide

   "Elbow is a Mercury Prize winning English alternative rock band.  The
   band formed in Bury, Greater Manchester, in 1990....  The band is named
   after a line in the BBC TV mini-series "The Singing Detective"; a
   character says that the word "elbow" is the most sensuous word in the
   English language, not for its definition, but for how it feels to say
   it."  [Wikipedia]
    <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbow_%28band%29>

   The band's official website:
    <http://www.elbow.co.uk/>

   The links in the guide below are to movies on YouTube.  If the links
   are blocked, try viewing clips using the "Media Player" on the band's
   site:
    <http://www.elbow.co.uk/mediaPlayer.html>

   The "rough guide" ...

   1. Asleep in the Back
    <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=9YxojGykvuw>
   This is the amusing music video of the title track and single from the
   band's debut album, released in 2001.  It's representative of the band's
   slower, melodic sound.

   2. Newborn
    <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=5jECvwTj9bM>
   Another melodic single from the band's first album.  This song is
   a bit longer and shows how the band uses bridges and other musical
   digressions in many of their songs.  This clip uses images from the
   official edited video, but with audio from the album version of the
   song.  That's why the images finish part-way through.

   3. Fallen Angel
    <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=QScXn5ipJKs>
   This song showcases the band's louder side, and is from the second
   album, "Cast of Thousands", released in 2003.  It starts off looking
   like a standard performance video, but the twist kicks in when the lead
   singer starts knocking off the other members of the band.

   4. Switching Off
    <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=eLj9senIroM>
   IMHO this is the standout track from the band's second album.  The clip
   isn't that exciting, but I've picked it for the beauty of the song.

   5. Fugitive Motel
    <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ECgsIPp9p_c>
   Another strong single from "Cast of Thousands".

   6. Forget Myself
    <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=wDddtQN7Fdg>
   First single from the band's third album, "Leaders Of The Free World",
   released in 2005.  Probably the band's loudest record.

   7. Leaders of the Free World
    <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb_j36qZsa8>
   Another quirky video, this the second single and title track from the
   band's third album.  This is also probably the band's strongest political
   statement: "The leaders of the free world are just little kids throwing
   stones."

   8. Everthere
    <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=8b1mf75ETPU>
   A slower track from "Leaders of the Free World".  The clip is from the
   bonus DVD that was released with the album.

   9. Grounds For Divorce
    <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=iL4mywCOJXA>
   Video of first single from the band's fourth and latest album, "The
   Seldom Seen Kid" (2008).

   10. One Day Like This
    <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=hooPU2mdsH4>
   Another single from the band's Mercury Prize-winning album, "The Seldom
   Seen Kid".

   11. Tear Drop (Cover)
    <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=5l9Q2m1P4Xo>
   Bonus track: This is my favourite Massive Attack song, covered live by
   Elbow.  It's strange hearing it performed with a male vocal, but I think
   the band manages to pull off a decent cover.

The Brothers Karamazov + Fables of Aesop

   1. "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
    <http://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Karamazov/dp/0374528373>

   I finished reading this book a few weeks ago, but I've put off reviewing
   it until now.  It's not that I didn't like it - in fact I think it's a
   fantastic novel.  The problem I has was deciding what to write about it.
   Many great writers have cited this book as an influence, and you can
   read what they've said about it elsewhere on the Web.  In this review I'm
   hoping to keep it simple and brief.

   Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov is a wealthy landowner.  He's a "sensualist":
   overindulgent, brash, hedonistic, and not ashamed of these qualities.
   He's been married twice, has three legitimate sons, and we discover that
   he may have an illegitimate son too.  Both wives died when they were
   young, and Fyodor showed little interest in raising his sons.  He was
   too busy having a good time, and preferred to leave the boys in the care
   of his servants before shunting them off to get educated.

   The three brothers are quite different from each other.  Dmitri is the
   eldest, and like his father, he's a sensualist prone to letting his
   emotions get out of control.  Ivan is the middle brother, and is the
   "smart" one.  He's a brilliant student, intellectual and rational.
   Alexei is the youngest, the spiritual one, and is the least like his
   father: sensitive, considerate and modest.  He wants to become a monk.

   The main action occurs at a rare point in time where the brothers are
   living together in the same place, that is, near or where their father
   lives.  In fact, they've been living apart so long that they barely know
   each other.  When the father is found murdered, there's a lot of
   evidence pointing to Dmitri as the killer.  For example, it was well
   known that he was competing with his father for the affections of a
   certain young woman, and that he was always short of cash.  He even
   shows up at an official's place with blood on his hands!  He's soon
   arrested and brought to trial.  While Dmitri is the formal accused, in
   many ways all the brothers are on trial.  Each brother represents a key
   aspect of the Russian nation in the late 19th Century.  In other words,
   these aspects (Sensualism, Intellectualism and Spirituality) are on
   trial too.  Fittingly, the case and trial have become well-known across
   the land: the "Trial of the Century", you could say.

   I won't go into much more detail with the plot, since it's a big book
   and a lot happens.  Many topics are covered, including: morality, faith,
   romance, rationality, money, pride, jealousy, opportunism and justice.
   In short, the characters are fascinating and the plot is intriguing.

   Like "Crime and Punishment" (which I read earlier this year), "The
   Brothers Karamazov" is another epic page-turner by Dostoevsky.  There
   are sections where characters are given space to express their
   individual philosophies, and these might a bit deep for some readers.
   But overall, these give the book substance.  It is definitely worthy of
   its status as a classic.


   2. "Fables of Aesop"
    <http://www.amazon.com/Aesops-Fables/dp/159308062X>

   As you probably know, the structure of each of Aesop's fables is simple:
   an entertaining short story, typically using animals as the characters,
   that conveys some moral or lesson.  Examples include "The Tortoise and
   the Hare", "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", "The Goose That Laid the Golden
   Eggs" and "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing."

   I decided to reread a collection of Aesop's fables as a terse contrast to
   the epic nature of "The Brothers Karamazov".  Many of the insights stand
   the test of time and are relevant today, but a handful of fables don't
   sit that well in the modern era.  In particular, the generalities and
   stereotypes regarding women and certain races are very politically
   incorrect.  Despite this minor quibble, the fables are worth revisiting.

Of Nobels, Ig Nobels and Other Prizes

   This year's Nobel Prizes were awarded recently.  You can check out the
   details of the winners at the official Nobel web site:
     <http://nobelprize.org/>

   For scientific fields, there is usually a large time lag between the
   original discovery and the actual award.  For example, this year's
   winner of the prize in economics, Paul Krugman, wrote the original
   papers almost 30 years ago.  The lag allows enough time for the results
   to be extensively verified.  This reminded me of an article I read last
   year about the longevity of award winners:
   "Nobel Prize Winners Live Longer"
     <http://www.livescience.com/health/070118_nobel_longevity.html>
   According to the article, "an analysis of 524 nominees for the Nobels
   in physics and in chemistry between 1901 and 1950 showed that the
   group's 135 winners lived about two years longer than the also-rans."

   The article concludes that receiving a Nobel improves the winner's
   status and thus extends their life span.  I question the rationale
   for this finding, and propose that the correlation may in fact be the
   other way: living longer may help a scientist win a Nobel!  Here are
   a couple of reasons:
   1. Nobels are often awarded for the body of work over a lifetime, not
      necessarily just a single discovery.  Living longer means a larger
      body of work.
   2. Only living persons can be nominated for a prize.  Any substantial
      time lag could deprive a worthy recipient of the prize.

   Some other, lesser known, awards...

   * "2008 Ig Nobel Prize Winners""
     <http://improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html#ig2008>

   * "Best Microscopic Images of 2008 Announced"
     <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/photogalleries/best-
        microscope-photos/index.html>

Sigur Rós - A Rough Guide

   As much as I enjoy listening to music, I haven't often written about it
   on the B-List.  To rectify this, I will start posting "rough guides" to
   artists that I like a lot, but may not be that well known.  And to kick
   things off, I'm going to feature a band that I only got into recently:
   Sigur Rós.  The band comes from Iceland, home of Björk, The Sugarcubes
   and Emiliana Torrini, among others.  A former workmate put me onto the
   band.

   According to Wikipedia,
     <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigur_Ros>
   "Sigur Rós are an Icelandic post-rock band with melodic, classical and
   minimalist elements."  The music is not easy to describe, but it is
   often very atmospheric, laid-back and contemplative.  Other adjectives
   people have used include: ethereal, eerie, melancholic, uplifting,
   dreamy, and gloomy.  Music, like other art forms, is subjective, so not
   everyone will react to it the same way.  The band's name translates to
   English as 'Victory Rose', and is the name of the singer's young sister.

   In addition to the standard guitar, piano, bass and drums, the band uses
   instruments not normally found in rock music, such as a bowed guitar,
   glockenspiel, flute, brass, Hammond organ and even a toy piano.  The
   band is often accompanied by a string quartet.  The singer uses a
   falsetto voice, and sings in Icelandic or a variation of gibberish that
   has been given the name "Hopelandic".

   A couple of years ago the band released an interesting music DVD called
   "Heima" ("at home"), which documents a special tour of their native
   Iceland.  Basically the band went around to various places around
   Iceland and performed free concerts for the locals.  The DVD shows some
   of the unique landscape of Iceland, as the band performs in some of the
   more remote and unusual locations on the island.  Clips from "Heima"
   will be used as the basis for this rough guide.

   There's a website for the DVD, which contains more information about the
   tour and the DVD:
     <http://www.heima.co.uk/>

   The links in the guide are to movies on YouTube.  If the links are
   blocked, try the "Video" link on the Heima site to view the trailer:
     <http://www.heima.co.uk/video/>
   You can also select some background music by the band while visiting
   that site.

   Now, on to the "rough guide" ...

   1. Starálfur
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=_sUVm77WjE0>
   This clip is from "Heima", and is representative of the band's style and
   tempo.  The girls in the string quartet are actually part of a band in
   their own right (Amiina).  The original version of the song is on the
   band's second album, "Ágætis Byrjun".  The studio version also featured
   in movie, "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou".

   2. Svefn-g-englar
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=rWR-jJ3v1pk>
   Another song from "Ágætis Byrjun", this is a longer epic in a live
   setting.  This version shows how the guitarist/singer uses a bow to
   create some of the sounds.  The studio version is also featured on the
   "Vanilla Sky" soundtrack.

   3. Ágætis Byrjun
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=mYA-PG_6ERA>
   A live performance (from the BBC Electric Proms) of the title track from
   the second album.

   4. Glósóli
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=4HqcjgJCDuw>
   This is a single from the band's fourth album, "Takk...".  It's used
   here as the background music for a trailer for the BBC series, "Planet
   Earth".

   5. Vaka
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=VqoLDc_7nLQ>
   This is a song from the band's third album "()", and the clip is an
   acoustic version from "Heima".  Not long after filming, the valley where
   the band performed was dammed and flooded to provide power for a new
   factory.

   6. Hoppípolla
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=vH-jfqNjegY>
   This is the official music video for another single from "Takk...".

   7. Samskeyti
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=YRB7fx0QqgA>
   An intimate, moving performance from the "Heima" DVD.  The original
   version of this song appears on "()".

   8. Von
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=hme5jf2Z_ow>
   This is a reworking of the title track from the band's first album.
   The clip is also from "Heima".

   Sigur Rós has just released a new album, which starts off a bit more
   mainstream than the material featured in this post.  On later tracks
   the band returns to its more familiar sound.

   Coincidentally, you may have heard about impact of the financial crisis
   on Iceland, e.g. see:
   "Iceland Won't Default on State Debt, Premier Says"
     <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=a3llLVzKd1k8>

   The country's three largest banks have massive debts and the value of
   the currency has plummeted.  This is disastrous for the citizens of this
   remote island country: many have lost their savings, and the prices of
   imports have skyrocketed.

WhoCallsMe?

   I have "calling number display" enabled on my home phone line.  This is
   useful not only for call screening, but also if I'm out and miss a call.
   The phone records the number along with the date and time.  Obviously
   there are some cases where the feature doesn't work: private numbers are
   not displayed, and calls from overseas are displayed as "unavailable".

   Last week I googled the number for a missed call and found that it was a
   local real estate agent.  I'm glad I missed that one.  Then yesterday I
   missed another call.  When I searched for it (08 8243 9200), there
   wasn't anything conclusive.  But Google did return a link on a site
   called WhoCallsMe?:
     <http://whocallsme.com/>

   According to the site:
   "This is a user supplied database of phone numbers of telemarketers,
    non-profit organizations, charities, political surveyors, SCAM artists,
    and other companies that don't leave messages, disconnect once you
    answer, ignore the Do-Not-Call List regulations, and simply interrupt
    your day."

   And bingo!, the number of yesterday's missed call is in the database:
     <http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/0882439200>

   It seems this could be a dodgy number, so I guess I can ignore it :)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being + I Malavoglia

   Hmmm, it's been a while since I last wrote any reviews.  Here are
   reviews of two books I read a few weeks ago.

   1. "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera
     <http://www.amazon.com/Unbearable-Lightness-Being/dp/0060932139>

   This is basically the story of a man Tomas, and his wife, Tereza, who
   lived in Czechoslovakia and Switzerland during the 1960s and 1970s.
   There's a parallel subplot involving one of Tomas' (many) lovers,
   Sabina, and another of her lovers, Franz.  All this unfolds against
   the backdrop of Czech history and politics during the era, including
   the Prague Spring (1968), the subsequent Soviet invasion, repression,
   and secret police.

   The novel opens with a very philosophical style, and I was looking
   forward to see where it would go.  As the story evolved, I didn't get
   to like the central male character that much.  Tomas is a respected
   surgeon in Communist Czechoslovakia, but he seems obsessed with sleeping
   with as many women as possible.  He rationalises this behaviour rather
   clinically as the need to explore the differences between women.  His
   motto is: "it must be".  He's a bit like a collector, always on the look
   out for something new and different.  But he also has a yearning for
   love, so he stays with Tereza in the hope of attaining true love.
   Tereza is aware of Tomas' infidelity, but she puts up with it because
   she believes she loves him.

   Tomas has a wife and son by a previous marriage, but he makes no effort
   to keep in touch with them after the separation.  In fact, when his
   teenage son contacts him with a proposal that could form the basis for
   an ongoing relationship between them, Tomas decides against it.

   The story is told using episodes told out-of-order, rather than as a
   continuous sequence of events.  Some episodes are told from the points
   of view of different characters, emphasising the subjectivity of
   individuals.  The author provides a rather superficial survey of the
   characters - they are basically tools for exploring philosophical
   concepts.  In particular, the author is concerned with the concepts of
   "heaviness" (or "weight") and "lightness", of being, and of sex and
   love.  At various points, the author butts into the story to explain
   and analyse proceedings.

   Overall, while I found many of the concepts interesting, I was a little
   disappointed with this novel.  My expectations, especially after reading
   the opening chapters, were probably too high.  The mixture of philosophy
   and narrative reminded me a little of Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art
   of Motorcycle Maintenance":
     <http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance/dp/0061673730>
   I found Pirsig's book more engaging and inspiring.


   2. "I Malavoglia" or "The House by the Medlar Tree" by Giovanni Verga
     <http://www.amazon.com/House-Medlar-Tree/dp/1417931116>

   The story is set in a small Sicilian fishing village in the mid-19th
   Century.  It's about the Toscano family from Aci Trezzo.  The family's
   ironic nickname, "i Malavoglia", basically means "the lazy ones",
   despite the fact that traditionally the family has been known for being
   hard workers.  I should point out that the use of nicknames for families
   (not just individuals) was quite common in Italy, and in many cases
   families adopted the nicknames in place of their legal surnames.
   Interestingly, the English translation uses title the "address" of the
   family's house as the title of the novel.

   'Ntoni Malavoglia is the patriarch of the family.  He's a widower, who
   lives with his son (Bastiano), daughter-in-law (Maria), and their five
   children ('Ntoni, Luca, Mena, Alessi and Lia).  They own a fishing boat
   and live in the "house by the medlar tree".  The men in the family try
   to make a living by catching fish along with the rest of the fishermen
   of the village.  The women stay at home and do other odd jobs like
   weaving and preserving anchovies.  The story of the Malavoglia provides
   a stark contrast to that of their contemporaries in Sicilian literature,
   the aristocratic Salina family of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's
   "The Leopard".

   In an attempt to secure the futures for the children (i.e. dowries and
   inheritances), the elder 'Ntoni borrows some money to buy lupins (a
   type of bean) and deliver them to another village using the family's
   boat.  This is where the family's run of bad luck starts.  Bastiano and
   another man from the village perish during a storm, along with their
   cargo.

   They manage to retrieve the boat, and after repairs the grandfather and
   his eldest grandsons go back work to pay off their debt.  Another blow
   is dealt when Luca, the second eldest and hardest working of the boys,
   is drafted into the navy.  Luca is unfortunately killed in battle.  The
   eldest grandson (also called 'Ntoni after his grandfather), had also
   been drafted, but he received an early discharge when his father died.
   The younger 'Ntoni lacked the work ethic of the rest of the family, and
   this will plague the family throughout the novel.  The family is forced
   to give up the house to pay off the debt, and this compromises the
   futures of the grandchildren.

   As you can see, the family is having more than its share of troubles.
   And things don't get much better either.  But, despite all the setbacks,
   you have to admire their courage to keep battling.

   The style of the novel is realist: the events are laid out clearly and
   in a matter-of-fact manner.  The author had intended this to the the
   first in a series of novels, "Il ciclo dei vinti" (the cycle of the
   defeated).  Each story was meant to represent the often futile struggles
   of a different strata or classes of society, from the lowest to the
   highest.  He only managed to complete the first two of five novels.

   Reading the book I got a better understanding of the desperation that
   drives people to leave their homes in the hope of a better future in
   another city or country.  Apart from that, I would only recommend this
   novel to anyone interested in the everyday lives and struggles of
   Sicilians and other southern Italians before the modern era.  You won't
   find any Mafiosi here, but you'll get an appreciation of the rivalries
   between families, and the customs and superstitions of the people living
   in a small village.

   The novel was the basis for a neorealist film by Luchino Visconti, "La
   Terra Trema".

Odds and Ends, Wed 1 October 2008

   1. "How to Work Better" by Fischli/Weiss (1991)
     <http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/2008/how-to-work-better-in-ten-easy-
        steps/>
     <http://www.tate.org.uk/tateetc/issue8/fischliweiss_workingitout.htm>

   2. "The Differences Between Star Wars & Harry Potter"
     <http://www.bspcn.com/2008/09/16/the-differences-between-star-wars-
        harry-potter/>

   3. "Bring your own light sabre: Uni launches Jedi course"
     <http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/12/2362719.htm>
   "According to its publicity material, the course, Feel the Force: How to
    Train in the Jedi Way, teaches the real-life psychological techniques
    behind Jedi mind tricks."

   4. "Introducing Fortune Cookies to China"
     <http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/funny-little-
        curved-cookies/>
   "Are fortune cookies Chinese? Clearly not. They are arguably more
    American (by way of Japan), judging by the way that people in China
    react to fortune cookies -- with a mixture of confusion and amusement."

   5. "19 Really Cool Gadgets for Your Office or Cubicle"
     <http://thehottestgadgets.com/2008/09/19-really-cool-gadgets-for-your-
        office-or-cubicle-001534/>

   6. "The 50 Worst Cars of All Time"
     <http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/completelist/0,,1658545,00.html>

   7. "Klein bottle, 1995-1996."
     <http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/images/I046/10314758.aspx>

   8. "World's Smallest Book"
     <http://www.selectism.com/posts/archive/2008/august/27/worlds_smallest_
        book/index.htm>