JOE DOLCE NEWSLETTER
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Friday October 9th, 2009
Nymphs
“Don't go by one text only.”
St. Teresa of Avila
(in reply to St. Paul's injunction
that women should be silent in church.)
Hi folks,
Fishing textbook definition: ‘Nymph: A wet fly that imitates the larval and pupae form of aquatic insects.’ Includes such exotic names as the Hare’s Ear Nymph, the Pheasant Tail Nymph, the Red Fox Squirrel Nymph, the Serendipity Nymph, and the Peacock Soft Hackle Nymph.
Entomological textbook definition: ‘Nymph: The immature (unwinged) stage of an aquatic insect. The life of a nymph is spent underwater for periods of one to three years.’
From the Oxford Dictionary definition: ‘Nymph: any of the class of semi-divine spirits regarded as maidens inhabiting the sea, rivers, hills, woods and trees.’
‘Liriope, Liriope
such a lovely nymph
in forest shape and fair -
the river god, Cephisus
did thee ensnare
and rape
abandoned there
surely to perish
but for the dryads' care.’
~ Joe Dolce ~
( from ‘Narcissus.’)
Other references:
Nymphaea – Common white water lily. Nymphaea caerulea is also known as the Blue Egyptian water lily or sacred blue lily.
Nympha – chrysalis, or the labia minora of the vulva (now rare).
Nymphon – bride-chamber; sea spider.
Nymphaeum – a grotto or shrine dedicated to sacred nymphs.
Nymphal – a meeting or gathering of nymphs.
Nymphalid – a butterfly with degenerate forelegs, included danaids and satyrids.
Nymphet – a young or small nymph; an attractive or sexually mature young girl.
Nymphomania – Excessive or uncontrollable sexual desire in a female (cf. male version: Satyromania.)
Nympholepsy – after epilepsy, a state of rapture supposedly inspired in men by nymphs; an ecstasy or frenzy caused by the desire for the unattainable.
Nympholept – caught by nymphs; or a person inspired by a violent enthusiasm. (En-theos: God in You.)
Personally, I find worms work just as well. But that’s me.
SHELTER: ON KINDNESS - EXHIBITION
‘Real kindness is an exchange with essentially unpredictable consequences’
Phillips & Taylor
The exhibition Shelter: On Kindness is an experiment, the results and impact of which as a show will continue to resonate beyond the moment of material completion of the artworks. Presented by RMIT Gallery in association with ArtPlay and Melbourne International Arts Festival, the exhibition Shelter: On Kindness examines ideas of nurture and kindness through the filter of the writings of Adam Phillips and historian Barbara Taylor in On Kindness (Penguin 2007). Curated by Suzanne Davies, Vanessa Gerrans and Sarah Morris, the exhibition explores philosophical and material concepts of shelter through the work of 50 participating architects, artists, writers and philosophers, including: Charles Anderson, Robert Bridgewater, Gregory Burgess and Pip Stokes, Peter Corrigan, William Eicholtz, Terunobu Fujimori and Jun Sakaguchi, Stephen Haley, Alan Johnston, LAB Architecture Studio, Ronnie Lacham, March Studio, Paul Memmott, Murdo Macdonald, John R Neeson, NMBW Architecture Studio, Adam Phillips and Barbara Taylor, RMIT Indigenous Arts Unit and Alan Saunders.
The exhibition brief was not prescriptive. Participants were asked to respond instinctively to the notions of shelter and kindness. They have had to work together, demonstrating their ability to accommodate each other’s desires and needs.
25 September – 25 October 2009
RMIT GALLERY
Storey Hall, RMIT Building 16
342 Swanston Street, Melbourne
http://www.rmit.com.au/browse;ID=0akbempvmxrq
PIZZA PIZZA
There’s a nice little interview about my song ‘Pizza Pizza’, the audio for the song, AND a few of my own pizza making techniques on Stephen Millar’s ‘Australian Pizza News’ website:
http://pizzanews.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=146:pizza-pizza&catid=903&Itemid=300046
‘PIZZA PIZZA’ AT THE WORLD PIZZA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ITALY
Brilliant uTube compilation that was put together using, ‘Pizza Pizza’, performed live by The US Pizza Team. Folks, this is some serious acrobatic pizza twirling!
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=FJaDmbQV_ng
FAVOURITE LETTERS OF THE WEEK
Helloooo!
I love getting your emails, am going on maternity leave after today, call it a career change.
Can you please [change my email address?]
I couldn’t bear to stop getting your news, and will need the distraction in weeks to come.
Thanks again for being you. Jenni xxx
hi joe!
best of the festive high holiday season to you and your familiy--l'shana tovah!
i can quite literally smell that josephine rowe poem... Cheers, Joan Besen
Hey Joe,
I've been getting your newsletter for ages now and although I must admit I don't always get time to read it on a Friday (I'm a graphic designer and for some reason everything's always due on a Friday arvo) but I usually get around to reading most of the articles by early the following week.
If you're not terribly busy this coming week the Melbourne Fringe Festival is on and my musical comedy band and theater duo "Anyone for Tennis?" are performing a show called "Cutthroat" at the mighty Trades Hall on Lygon Street [in Melbourne]. It's a musical/theatre comedy about the last day we worked in advertising together, true story as well ;) Once again, love your newsletter, Keep up and good work! Doody
http://www.anyonefortennis.com.au
Dear Joe,
RE: Ode to a Wombat
My apologies, I understand the workings of e-mails far better than that of Facebook. I'm really rather a failure at some of my generation's finer contributions!
But to answer your question, yes indeed I am the person that wrote "Ode to a Wombat" those glorious melancholy beasts! I am rather intrigued that there are snippets of it cruising the world! I should very much like to hear where you glimpsed them. Should you wish for a full copy of the poem I am sure I could spend the time to post it to you or type it out. Oh I suppose I could even send you the little book that it's printed in, that has a CD of it being read as well. Whatever would be to your liking. Thank you kindly for taking an interest in it. I hope to hear from you whenever may be convenient. Becca Kellaway
(Note: What a nice kid! There’s hope for the poetry world with some of the open minds of these younger poets. Not like some of the selfish bastards I’ve been running into in my own generation who are no longer even worthy of the term poet. Shame on you – you know who you are – and learn from the bella ragazza. I got quite a few replies to my request for the complete poem including this email from the author herself! I purchased a copy of ‘Literary Creatures,’ by Raffaella Torresan, in which the poem appears, from the National Library, as it also contained a lot of poems by friends of mine such as Phil Motherwell, Barry Dickins, Kris Hemensley, the late Geof Eggelston, as well as Les Murray and Bruce Dawe - but then found the book also available at Kris Hemensley's Collected Works, in Melbourne.
I’d like to thank Andre Steyl, (Western Australia), Arie Koelwyn (MI, USA), Dick (CA, USA), Dr Holmquist and the reference librarian from the National Library for help in tracking it down. Becca has given me her permission to print the full version of ‘Ode to a Wombat’ in this newsletter which you can read down at the bottom of the page.)
FAVOURITE GRATUITOUS MENTION OF THE WEEK
“Towards the end of Chicks With Dicks recording career they were moving towards a hip-hop dominated sound. The band produced a rap record - Tooti Frutti Booty, featuring MC Mumbles distinctive rapping over samples of the Airwolf theme, and Joe Dolce's Shuddupa Your Face.”
http://www.angelfire.com/art/chickswithdicks/
PYREX CAN EXPLODE!! – WARNING!
A long, long time ago in a country we all know and love was a company named Corning. They made Pryex dishes. The material they used is called borosilicate glass. This stuff is indestructible. But like everything else, the Bottom Liners had a great idea: sell the technology to another company.
The Chinese discovered that using soda lime glass was almost as good as borosilicate glass and a lot cheaper.
Today, Wal-Mart is the largest distributor of Pryex products. Corning not only sold the technology to a company called World Kitchen, they also sold the rights to the original Pyrex logo. Seamless. The consumer will never know. Now it seems people are getting hurt using soda lime Pyrex.
http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/pyrex.asp
(thanks to Bill Lempke)
SAND DRAWING
'Ukraine's Got Talent' winner Kseniya Simonova does something we've never seen before -- drawing in the sand.
Set to music, Simonova depicts the invasion of Ukraine by Germany in World War II.
http://www.popeater.com/2009/08/28/ukrainian-talent-winner/
(thanks to Anne Fiume)
What I’m Reading This Week
New Land, New Language, edited by Judith Wright. An anthology of Australian verse compiled by the influential Australian poet.
What I’m Watching This Week
Beyond the Gates of Splendor (also Beyond the Gates) is a feature-length documentary film made by Jim Hanon that was first released in 2004. It chronicles the events leading up to and following Operation Auca, an attempt to contact the Huaorani tribe of Ecuador in which five American missionaries were killed.
The title references Elisabeth Elliot's 1957 bestseller, Through Gates of Splendor. First published in 1957, the book told the original story of the five martyred missionaries. One year after Gates was published, the first successful peaceful contact with the Huaorani tribe was made. In the years that followed, many Huaos were converted to Christianity and changed their lifestyle. Beyond the Gates recounts the unfolding story up unto the present day. The film also included new information that has since come out about the Palm Beach Massacre through communication with the Indians. Beyond the Gates was very influential in the production of the drama film, End of the Spear, which was released four years later. Many of the same events recounted by the Huaorani interviewees in Beyond the Gates were depicted dramatically in End of the Spear.
There were also interviews from all five widows (two years before both Marilou McCully and Marj Saint died) members of the search party, and members of the Huaorani tribe.
End of the Spear is a 2006 docudrama film that recounts the story of Operation Auca, in which five American Christian missionaries attempted to evangelize the Huaorani (Waodani) people of the jungle of Ecuador. Taking a unique spin on actual events from the 1950s in which five male missionaries were speared by members of the Waodani tribe, the movie tells the story from the perspective of Steve Saint (the son of Nate Saint, one of the murdered missionaries), and Mincayani, one of the tribesmen who killed the missionaries. The two eventually form a bond that continues to this day. End of the Spear is Jim Hanon's second movie production and his first major one. His first was "Beyond the Gates of Splendor".
What I’m Listening to This Week
Sonatina for Guitar – written by Cyril Scott. Played by Tilman Hoppstock. Album: Memories of the Alhambra. Scott was born in the UK in 1879 and was admired by Debussy, Percy Grainger, Sorabji, Richard Strauss and Stravinsky. The Sonatina for Guitar (1927) was commissioned by Segovia was thought lost and has acquired almost legendary status among guitar historians. Rediscovered in 2001, it was hailed by Angelo Gilardino, director of the Segovia Museum as "one of the summits of the guitar’s repertoire of the 20th century". It is alleged that when Segovia saw the finished score, he remarked that it was beyond his technique to play it. Scott didn’t play guitar.
http://www.cyrilscott.net/Music.html
(thanks to Bianca & Gerald)
Billy T – Gotta Keep On Dancing
Rare 1976 clip of Billy T shot at The Last Laugh, by Chris Lofven. Early footage of guitarist Ross Hannaford (Daddy Cool) and Joe Creighton (who played bass on my latest album, ‘The Wind Cries Mary’.) Director, Chris Lofven, one of my first and oldest Australia friends, is the prolific and way-ahead-of-his-time filmmaker who made the classic movie ‘Oz’, and all of my videoclips (including ‘Shaddap You Face’) as well as just about every seminal Mushroom Music band clip, including (wait for it!):
SPECTRUM- I'll Be Gone
DADDY COOL- Eagle Rock
MOTHER GOOSE- Baked Beans
SPLIT ENZ- Bold as Brass
- I Got You
- I Hope I Never
Never Ceases to Amaze Me
- Next Exit
- Dirty Creature
- Six Months in a Leaky Boat
- History Never Repeats
- I Don't Wanna Dance
OL' 55- Stay
DRAGON- Shooting Stars
THE ANGELS- Coming Down on Me
SKYHOOKS- Women in Uniform
THE SPORTS- Boys! (What Did the Detective Say?)
THE FERRETS- Are You Looking at Me?
RENEE GEYER- Money
LITTLE RIVER BAND- Reminiscing
MONDO ROCK- The Fugitive Kind
CHEETAH- Walking in the Rain
DARRYL COTTON- I Don't Want to Lose You
MIKE BRADY- How Does It Feel
JO JO ZEP & THE FALCONS- All I Wanna Do
LIN VAN HEK- Ain't Been Missing You
- Intimacy
MONDO ROCK- Summer of 81
AUSTRALIAN CRAWL- Shut Down
THE LITTLE HEROES- Young Heart
KIDS IN THE KITCHEN- Change in Mood
JOHN PAUL YOUNG- War Games
JIMMY BARNES- Promise Me You'll Call
GOANNA- Common Ground
UNCANNY X-MEN- I Am
(Whew! I knew that kid was creative! Now I understand why.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yrie1mwT5wQ
Pumpkin Beer
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2009/10/pumpkin_beer.php
(thanks to Justine Stewart)
ITALIAN DOGGY-STYLE
If you don’t laugh at this, you’re not a dog person.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upm5aTl7Lzo
The People's Court - Judge Milian Flips out on Defendant
Judge Milian gives a fellow University of Miami law student back a piece of his mind after he disrespects her in court.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnJnA_mt_UA&feature=player_embedded
(thanks to Frank D.)
~ FAMOUS DOLCES OF THE WORLD ~
Playing the character of Michael, in Billy Eliot
FRANK DOLCE is excited to be a member of the Billy Elliot
original cast for his Broadway debut!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L2u5DgJDw8
RECIPE
Watermelon Pickle Redux
Justine Stewart, a regular contributor to the newsletter, wrote me and asked about what dishes Watermelon Pickle would go with.
(Recipe in last week’s newsletter. http://members.iinet.net.au/~dwomen/files/nlOct22009/index.html#PWS)
I replied that it was simply a condiment like any pickled vegetable ie. pickled turnips, pickled beans, pickled cauliflower. A lot of people only use the watermelon rind. I suggest that she have a look on the internet for ideas.
Well, she went a-hunting and came up with a lot of interesting bits and pieces:
1. "Pickled watermelon rind (alas, I buy mine) is delicious wrapped in thick-cut bacon and cooked at a high temperature (400-425F) for about 20 minutes. Salty + sweet + sour = yum."
http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2007/10/pickled-watermelon.html
2. Then there's this whole other kind of watermelon pickle which is actually a sweet treat, more like candied watermelon:
http://mysisterskitchen.wordpress.com/2006/08/15/watermelon-picklesor-is-it-candy/
3. Apparently pickled watermelon (rind) is a favourite in both German/Russian and Vietnamese as well as Southern cuisine. I love this quote: "my guess is that people couldn't stand to see anything go to waste - including watermelon rinds - so some clever farm wife devised this pickling process to create a sweet treat out of otherwise inedible material. Sort of similar to how the Italians have about 500 soup recipes relying on leftovers and stale bread."
http://ifthataintcountryillkissyour.blogspot.com/2006/09/watermelon-pickles-no
4. "Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle," by Debra Woolard Bender, who is "an American artist/poet residing in Orlando, Florida who has concentrated on Asian verse forms since October 1999. Recent genres include haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka, imayo, sijo, and ren-forms in both traditional and experimental forms."
http://raysweb.net/haibun/pages/debi_bender1.html
http://www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/ad265.htm
5. Beyond pickles—Medicine from Watermelon Rind? Watermelon Ingredients Deliver Viagra-Like Effects!
A slice of cool, fresh watermelon is a juicy way to top off a Fourth of July cookout and one that researchers say could keep fireworks going long into the night.
Watermelons contain an ingredient called citrulline that can trigger production of a compound that helps relax the body's blood vessels, similar to what happens when a man takes Viagra, said scientists in Texas, one of the nation's top producers of the seedless variety......
http://cbs11tv.com/watercooler/watermelon.viagra.citrulline.2.762377.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3741/is_9_51/ai_108550683/
ODE TO A WOMBAT
The day breaks and my lamenting eyes heavy
At the dreary bleakness, as though of goon I had drunk
Or numbed my brain with dull Judge Judy.
The hours seep. Into a common lethargy I have sunk.
Through my tissue soft tent
Through the miasma of mozzies, tis thee, sweet Wombat of the bush
With sublime happiness, trilling from thee,
That seems by devils’ sent
To haunt my melancholic tush
To deny me of my nepenthe.
O! for a cool slab of VB, that hath soaketh
In an esky, chilled by its icy embrace
Tasting of angels’ piss; but it so inebriateth
Mine mind, that I no longer see her face.
Instead tis thee, Wombat,
Roo grass dripping from smirking jowls, as you scoff at my demise.
Waggling your salacious booty, turning up your behairèd nose
Your brown body, jolly and fat, like Santa Claus all out of whack
Tis to thee whom I whisper my last goodbyes.
Tis to thee my hopes and sorrows flow.
Come, Wombat, let us elope from this turbulent dream.
In my Comodorian chariot we’ll hoon away. Dissipate, freckle, and cease to be.
O! before the felling begins, let us rollick in those old growth forests, buckling streams.
Drink of those moist airs and verdant ferns that beckon me.
O! Wombat! Let us burrow beneath the harsh broiling earth.
Snuggle mischievously in her volatile, parchèd breast
Where at doleful dusk we will emerge and make merry.
The world will envy us, in our rapturous mirth.
Giggling, with akubras on, as we run from death.
Ne’er to cross the Styx on that doomnèd ferry.
Yet, Wombat, forlorn anthem of my desolation.
Tis as a dream, and though, divine marsupial, proud parader of my pestilential cheers,
You mock me. Knowest not that sorrow is my vocation?
Mine anguish only redoublèd with thine wistful imaginings and rumbling cheers.
Alas! Leave me, brave wombat, in this chrysalistine despair.
To your infectious grins, smug ambling tune, I am immune.
Leave me, kind Wombat, trudge into the sunset where you belong.
Leave me. Crumble not into sadness with the weight of my cares.
Adieu, silken sleep comes for me soon.
Adieu, Wombat, fore’er I shall weep, lusting for your ecstasy in this song.
~ Becca Kellaway ~
THE FINAL HURRAH
Talking Dog
A guy is driving around the back woods of Montana and he sees a sign in
front of a broken down shanty-style house:
'Talking Dog For Sale '
He rings the bell and the owner appears and tells him the dog is in the backyard.
The guy goes into the backyard and sees a nice looking Labradorretriever sitting there.
'You talk?' he asks.
'Yep,' the Lab replies.
After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he says,
'So, what's your story?'
The Lab looks up and says,
'Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the
government, so I told the CIA. In no time at all they had me jetting from
country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no
one figured a dog would be eaves dropping.
I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running.
But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger so I decided to settle down.
I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in.
I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals.
I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired.'
The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog.
'Ten dollars,' the guy says.
'Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?'
'Because he's a liar. He never did any of that shit.’
(thanks to Frank Dolce)
