After seventeen years in Kenya, Karen Blixen has lost everything. She regains the will to live and takes up the writing dreams of her childhood again.
Start Here
Episode 1: Part 1
45m
Karen Blixen returns home from Kenya. Destitute and uneducated, she lives at the mercy of her family. She wishes to be independent and tries to become a writer.
Languages:
Danish, English
Country:
Denmark
Director:
Jeanette Nordahl
Cast:
Connie Nielsen, Joachim Fjelstrup, Lars Mikkelsen, Lochlann O’Mearáin, Josephine Grau, Clara Ellegaard, Hanne Uldahl, Lene Maria Christensen, Solbjørg Højfeldt, Johannes Kuhnke, Katinka Evers-Jahnsen, Didier Colfs, Missoum Slimani, Filippa Suenson, Anne Fletting
Food for thought. Some of the numbers quoted are dubious to say the least, even so, the killings of innocent people are not only the domain of Muslims. Reading the ABC Drum today, one gets the impression from many of the racist intolerant responses that Islam is responsible for all our woes.
Remember that weird death cult when people were nailed to crosses? It started well over two thousand years ago and it does not seem to have abated since.
The second Chinese dynasty was that of the Shang (1600 – 1050 BC). The region governed by the Shang Dynasty was small, roughly the size of modern day China’s five northern provinces.
Th Shang best known for introducing written language based on glyphs, a direct precursor of modern Chinese characters. Their kings and shamans* used glyphs on Oracle Bones. To pose questions to the gods and spirits, they chiseled questions into the bones, heated them and interpreted the answers depending on the shape of cracks that formed.
The remains of Shang tombs reveal that both humans and animals were sacrificed when the king died to help make the gods and ancestors stronger. In some cases, victims were the king’s servants and volunteered to be buried alive. In others, they were prisoners of war or criminals who were executed first. In the late dynastic period, victims were expected to commit suicide.
The absolute power of Shang kings was based on their military prowess in keeping rural clans and peasants under control. By 1200 BC, the Shang had adopted horse cavalry and chariots from the steppes nomads on their northern border, as well as the composite bow (see Barbarian Empires of the Steppes). Their infantry were conscripted farmers, and their military technology included bronze tipped arrows and spears and body armor made of bamboo and wood padded with cloth.
Chariot drivers were trained in royal hunts (at a time when northern China was still heavily forested) for bears, tigers, boards and rhinoceros.
The construction of Shang cities was funded by booty confiscated in battle, tribute paid by conquered vassals and tax. They weren’t as dense as Mesopotamian cities (which were as dense as modern Manhattan). Structurally they consisted of a cluster of artisans (potters, jade and bronze workers, textile workers, etc) and industrial zones (which included bronze foundries), surround by agricultural workers’ homes, surrounded by farmland. Bronze tools and dishes were reserved for the elite. Peasants used stone tools.
Yin (modern day Anyang) was the last capitol of the Shang dynasty. It was surrounded by rammed earth walls that took 10,000 workers 10-20 years to construct.
*Shang shamans facilitated worship of the ancestors and the supreme god Di.
This link should guide you to the Landline Program from Sunday the 3rd of July, 2022.
Fine-dining regional restaurants offer new opportunities for local producers; One of the nation’s smallest and most unique farms; Mixing with the top dogs at the Casterton Kelpie show; 200 years of agricultural education.
First trailer for The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson.
Writer director and leading actress Leah Purcell talks about her deep connection to the Snowy Mountains landscape in making her new feature film The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson. Whilst filming the acclaimed drama Jindabyne in 2006, Leah Purcell felt a deep connection to the land of the Snowy Mountains and knew she’d be back to make a film. “We went up to Mount Kosciuszko and we stood on the top and I yelled out ‘I think I’m coming back! And it’s gonna be to do with a movie! I think I’m going to write it. I think I’m going to be in it. And I think it’s going to be The Drover’s Wife!’” enthuses Purcell. In this behind the scenes video, Purcell discusses the huge casting process required to find the right First Nations child actor for the crucial role of Danny Johnson, the power in asking for help even when you’re the director and how the long told story of The Drover’s Wife from her childhood has held such treasured memories for her. The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson releases in Australian cinemas on 5 May 2022.
I watched tonight this new episode of Call the Midwife! It is 1966 in this episode. Peter and I were at this time already quite well settled in Australia. We had three children and lived in our own home since 1964. Gabriele unfortunately was severely disabled due to a polio outbreak in 1961. Our third child had been born in Australia in April 1960. I had great trouble with wanting to avoid a fourth pregnancy, for the pill just did not agree with me. This is why any sexual relationship for the most part did stop for years on end. This was not a very good situation. Still, Peter and I had a strong marriage and never considered separation. At least I never had to face an unwanted pregnancy. An abortion would have been totally out of the question.
Trixie helps a desperate woman who is pregnant with her fifth child, while Nancy Corrigan reveals a secret about her background that could threaten her relationship with Sister Julienne and Nonnatus House.
While looking for a way to commemorate the 70 years of service from Queen Elizabeth II, a staff member of Mr Hurley’s came up with an idea: if the Queen is unable to travel to Australia now, why don’t we take Australia to her?
Was ist in der Coronakrise wichtiger: Das Recht auf Freiheit oder der Schutz von Menschenleben? Source: Peter Hannemann
Peter Hannemann from Wollongong NSW survived WW II as a nine-year-old in Upper Silesia and Berlin. His father was a taxi driver, veteran of both World Wars and joined the communist party the day after his return from captivity. How does Peter view his childhood today, why did he come to Australia in 1959 and what are his views on COVID-19?
Directed by Sarah PolleyA subtle, poignant, and superbly acted drama about a long marriage that is tested externally by disease and internally by the chords of attachment.2007S&P AwardWinner
Fiona (Julie Christie) and Grant (Gordon Pinsent) have been married for 44 years and live in an isolated farm house in Ontario, Canada. They enjoy cross-country skiing and sex. But their life together in love is threatened by the looming clouds of Alzheimer’s disease. One evening Fiona puts the frying pan away in the refrigerator. At a dinner with friends, she reaches for a bottle but can’t remember the word wine. Later, she says: “I think I’m beginning to disappear.” Grant wants to believe that these memory lapses are a normal part of the aging process but after Fiona loses track of where she is while cross-country skiing by herself, she decides it is time for her to enter Meadowlake, a residence facility for Alzheimer patients.
Madeleine (Wendy Crewson) is the efficient and always cheerful administrator of this fairly new facility which houses patients in their own rooms on the first floor and treats patients who have “lost it” on the dreaded second floor. Grant is upset when he learns that he cannot visit Fiona for her first month at Meadowlake since she will need that period to adjust on her own to the place, the staff, and the other patients. During this transition time, she becomes very attached to Aubrey (Michael Murphy), a wheelchair-bound patient who doesn’t talk and welcomes the attention she lavishes upon him. When Grant is finally allowed to visit, he discovers that Fiona is not interested in spending any time with him; she may or may not remember who he is.
Kristy (Kristen Thomson), the head nurse at Meadowlake, senses Grant’s estrangement and feelings of jealousy. When he turns to her for counsel, she shares her assessment that men usually have rosier memories of their marriages than the women do. He knows she’s right. Just before entering the facility, Fiona reminded him of something she does want to forget — the pain she felt years ago when as a university professor of mythology he had affairs with younger women. Now he is the one who is angry and jealous as he waits for her to leave Aubrey long enough so he can talk to her. Of her new friend, she says, “He doesn’t confuse me at all.” It is a poignant moment in which Grant realizes that his only choice in the name of love is to let go and not be so attached to Fiona.
In one of the best films of 2007, writer and director Sarah Polley has creatively adapted for the screen Canadian author Alice Munro’s short story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain.” Julie Christie gives an Academy Award-caliber performance, and the rest of the cast is also superb. This subtle and poignant drama deals with the nature of love in a long-lasting marriage and the important role memory plays in our lives. It also explores the many ramifications of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s is the most common form. Lewis Thomas has called it “the disease of the century . . . the worst of all diseases, not just for what it does to the patient, but for its devastating effects on family and friends.” Alzheimer’s sufferers unlearn even the simplest skills; eventually they become totally incapable of caring for themselves. With no known cure or preventive treatment, the disease is always fatal.
In the marriage ceremony, couples make a lifetime commitment to each other. Although most of them expect to honor that promise, almost half of them will split before 15 years are over. Away From Her is about the bonds that hold a couple together even when a couple faces challenges that test every ounce of their caring and commitment to each other. Marian (Olympia Dukakis), Aubrey’s wife, provides Grant with the key to dealing with Fiona. What happens is not something he expects or makes sense of afterwards. But it offers him a chance to repair his relationship with Fiona and verify his love for her.
Special DVD features include an audio commentary by Julie Christie and deleted scenes with an audio commentary by director Sarah Poley.
Stan Grant and Yvonne Yong take a fresh look at news from inside China. We go beyond the headlines of trade wars and global posturing to bring you stories of China’s rise in the world, and the changes and challenges at home.
AuntyUta 