To wine or not to wine - The value of red wine for health

The debate on the dangers of alcohol consumption versus the value of red wine in providing protection against heart disease have not as yet shown much signs of being resolved however some progress has been made with isolating and developing the magic key of red wine. Resveratrol, the molecule which is believed to provide red wine with its protective power is the focus however it's notoriously unstable and difficult to synthesise into compounds useful for human use. Likewise the polyphenols which plants derive from resveratrol to protect themselves from fungi are so small in quantity that it has been impossible to isolate and utilise them in the laboratory. 

Columbia University however has made progress with developing some polyphenols from compounds similar to, but not, resveratrol itself including an alternative process for synthesising additional compounds with an array of potential health properties including anti-cancer values in addition to protection againt heart disease. One of nature's most beneficial but hard to replicate secrets may yet be unlocked.

United States - calculating the cost

US Debt Clock - going up - (click here)

Just how far will the US debt level rise ? The US Congress has approved a new debt ceiling but judging from the debt clock, the reality is stark already.

Film Review -Tree of Life by Terrence Malick

Jessica Chastain in silhouette in 'Tree of Life'

Terrence Malick's latest film 'Tree of Life' won the Palme d'Or at the 64th Cannes Film Festival and like his other film work is considered to be a masterpiece by those whose taste is strong on visual aesthetics, the use of metaphor, allegorical meaning and a foundation in existentialist narrative. For this reason, this is not an easy film to view and the juxtaposition of various exploratory questions of life, the concepts of beginning and ending together with movement between present and past timeframes for the central characters can make the film seem choppy and disjointed.

With a quotation from the Book of Job, the film commences with "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation...while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" A mysterious blueish wavering light that resembles a flame emerges and will reappear throughout the film and at the conclusion.

The central story revolves the relationships in a family consisting of two parents and their three adolescent sons with most focus placed on the eldest son and his authoritarian father (Brad Pitt). Commencing at a later point in time, Mrs. O'Brien (Jessica Chastain) receives a telegram informing her of her second son's death at age 19 with Mr. O'Brien being notified by telephone. There is palpable grief for the parents as the family struggles to cope with the news.

In adult life, the eldest son, Jack O'Brien (Sean Penn) is an architect but is increasingly lost in his work and when in contact with his father by phone, he admits to constantly remembering his deceased brother. On seeing a tree being planted in front of his tall building, the central reminiscences of family life commence - the vast majority of the film focusses on a very narrow timeframe of a couple of years of family life when the boys are adolescent so the father-son relationship is defined within a micro lense.

The film mixes the family drama with the formation of the universe. With galaxies expanding, planets forming within giant gas clouds, the voices of the family members are heard asking various existential questions.The development of life on earth is presented through the images of various dinosaur species and forest and concludes with the image of an asteroid heading to and striking the earth heralding the end of an era of evolution.

The O'Brien family appear again living in a different, much older home in tree-lined, wide expanse yards of a residential neighbourhood in Waco, Texas (the location is conveyed through a municipal labelled truck spraying DDT insecticide slowly driving down the local streets). Images of the happy young couple, besotted by baby Jack, with his two brothers quickly following dominate, as the family grows. With this context established the film settles on the family dynamics as the ledest son, Jack (Hunter McCracken) reaches adolescence. Mr. O'Brien is a stern, physical, authoritarian man caught in a struggle to balance a sense of paternal duty with the unambiguous love he has for his three sons. His boxing training for his eldest son contrasts with his shared love of playing music with his middle son. Yet he can be deeply affectionate and nurturing towards all of them. Mrs. O'Brien is portrayed as softer and empathetic, having a more permissive attitude towards her sons yet still commanding their respect.

Mr. O'Brien has regrets with his life, particularly for not pursuing his interest in becoming a  musician and while  he files patents for various enigineering inventions, nothing of substance comes from them and he remains disappointed. While he is away on an overseas trip his son Jack experiences, elements of rebelliousness, commiting acts of vandalism and animal cruelty while responding to urging from other boys.

With the closure of Mr. O'Brien's plant and his forced relocation to another job elsewhere with his family, he reconciles with Jack seeking forgiveness for his harsh treatment.

The film concludes with the adult Jack, walking on rocky terrain and through a wooden door frame,almost part of a ruin strangely erected on the rocks. On a wide expanse of beach leading to a sandbar, Jack is reunited with all the people lodged in his memory and his family in particular. The film ends with the same mysterious, wavering light seen at the opening.

This is not a film with much dialogue for its' characters but relies on an array of visual images and the conveyance of meaning, behaviour and moods through expressions and mannerisms. It can be frustrating, if not confusing at times and therefore it is a film for enthusiasts of this genre of almost abstract performance-art storytelling (some scenes are reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick) and the directorial style of Terrence Malick.

Cirque du Soleil - Saltimbanco Review

Cirque du Soleil is a French Canadian performance company based in Montreal, Canada and have come to represent the contemporary circus of the modern era. Cirque du Soleil's various shows employ approximately 4,000 people from over 40 countries with an estimated annual revenue exceeding US$810 million with permanent shows on offer in Las Vegas in the United States.

Saltimbanco, currently on tour in Australia is Cirque du Soleil’s oldest active major touring show and is being staged in major sporting arenas rather than under the Grande Chapiteau which is the trade mark Big Top of the company. Saltimbanco consists of a series of circus feats loosely connected by an abstract narrative with powerful use of a lead female singer and music accompaniment to form the links across the entire performance. As with all Cirque productions the costuming of the performers is colourful and lavish. The show’s running order was Adagio, Chinese poles, Clowning, Bicycle, Canes/Contortion, Juggling, Boleadoras, Russian Swing, Trapeze, Clowning, Hand to Hand, Bungee and a Finale. The extensive use of clown acts between major acrobatic performances allows rest for performers and a change of pace for the audience but watch out, as the clown acts are audience participatory and some lucky people usually find themselves on stage as a partner for the clowns. For Saltimbanco, an added technique involves using the spotlight across the audience to locate a lucky victim with whom the clown then engages with.

All performances are agile, polished and seamlessly delivered with flair, panache and style. The performers have an exceptional standards delivered with confidence and the air of complete mastery of their art. Saltimbanco is a mixture of interperative dance, artistic gymnastics, acrobatics, juggling and mime (being the main form of communication). As Saltimbanco is not a production with large complicated set design, the performers and musicians are fully exposed and visible to the audience which only underscores their skill and ability.  

Perhaps the only drawback for this show is that it is being staged in sports arenas and stadiums hence it lacks the atmosphere and connection of the Grande Chapiteau. The acoustics and spatial dimensions are quite different as stadiums are built for sporting events not performances of this medium. Being the oldest touring show, Saltimbanco also lacks the depth and diversity of imagery and sentiment that Cirque du Soleil's other Australian productions provided - Quidam, Varekai, Alegria in particular but less so with Dralion.  Nonetheless  it remains a show worth seeing and live performance is the most enjoyable with Cirque du Soleil.

The Great Barrier Reef and climate change

Great Barrier Reef, Queensland Australia

New Australian research casts doubt on the forecasts that the Great Barrier Reef will be destroyed within a generation by climate change, while finding that corals are capable of better adaptation than previously believed.  The study, reported in the international journal Science, accepts that reefs are threatened by global warming and are already deteriorating but not at a rate which predictions given for the Great Barrier Reef.

Coral reefs are, by nature, highly diverse and resilient, and could cope with climate change in various ways. In the conclusion, the research report  states that “New knowledge confirms that coral reefs, at least as presently structured, are indeed threatened by climate change, but that current projections of global-scale collapse of reefs within the next few decades probably overestimate the rapidity and spatial homogeneity of the decline"

Prominent reef scientist Ove Hoegh-Guldberg said in April 2011 the reef would die unless carbon emissions were dramatically cut within the next decade.

The review of the science on global reef health by Professor Connolly and three other leading researchers, including Dr John Pandolfi of Queensland University, found that recent mathematical modelling of coral thermal tolerances suggested a wide range of outcomes, from a complete collapse of reefs by mid-century to maintenance of existing coral cover to 2100 and beyond.

The study stated that abundant evidence of coral sensitivity to ocean warming and acidification had played a key role in many predictions that the disappearance of coral reefs on a global scale will be irreversibly under way within a matter of decades.  However, this may not "adequately take account" of the capacity of corals to cope with and adapt to environmental stress. On the negative side, the Great Barrier Reef was more vulnerable to acidification hitting calcium carbonate levels, which are the building blocks of coral growth.

Science 22 July 2011:
Vol. 333 no. 6041 pp. 418-422
DOI: 10.1126/science.1204794

Review - Circus Oz Steam Powered

Circus Oz is an Australian Circus troupe based in Melbourne and have an impressive 30 history of circus acts. In the current show, titled Steam Powered, led by their Ring mistress (also quasi diva vocalist) Boss Lady with the musically diverse Circus Oz band, an enthusiastic performance punch is delivered with Steam Powered's  mixture of acrobats and musicians.

With a vaudevillian appearance and a Victorian era industrial aesthetic setting the scene, Circus Oz is able to communicate various contemporary social and political messages in a subtle and not-so subtle manner.

Steam powered is a well-paced show cemented by the numerically small co-operative ensemble that has made Circus Oz so widely acclaimed. Characters such as Fantasia Fitness and Neville Neville Steam provide the light hearted comedy send-ups while acrobats perform often impossible feats of balance, concentration and strength such as balancing on top of a mountain of drums. How many people can you fit on a single bicycle circling around the stage in the Big Top ? Circus Oz can fit almost a dozen seemingly effortlessly.

Technical discipline, rigour and a easily conveyed pleasure of performance form the basis of Circus Oz. In many respects, although often overshadowed by the international Cirque du Soleil, Circus Oz is every bit as professional and talented.

Film Review - Transformers 3: Dark Side of the Moon

Decepticon transporter ship in Chicago

Michael Bay's third film in the Transformers series fits nicely as a sequel to the second of the series, Transformers II: Revenge of the Fallen. The film has high production values in sets, design, CGI and has been filmed in 3D with some post production 3D work as well. It has high action content and some small level of political messages contained within its narrative as well as some thinly disguised social critique reflecting director Bay's own experiences (main character, Sam Witwicky, should be seen as a stand-in for Michael Bay himself). The lack of good acting, thin storyline (even for a sci fi film of this genre), poor characterisation and the mis-casting of Rosie Huntington Whiteley (a mobile shop front mannequin would do just as well) as Carly, Sam's love interest, all distract from the film.
 
The story commences in 1961 when an alien spacecraft crash lands on the far side of the moon. Referred to as the Ark, it was the last ship to escape the war devastated planet, Cybertron and it is carrying Cybertron’s most prominent scientist and leader, Sentinel Prime and technology known as "the Pillars", which can transform and rebuild Cybertron.  On Earth, the crash of the Ark is detected and President John Kennedy authorizes a mission to put a man on the moon as a cover story. Apollo 11 thereupon lands on the surface of the Moon to investigate the crashed spaceship in 1969.

Many years later during a mission to Chernobyl at the request of the Ukrainian government, Optimus Prime discovers a fuel cell from the Ark which the former Soviet Union had attempted to use as a power source, resulting in the Chernobyl disaster. Discovering the origin of this power source, Optimus launches his own mission to retrieve the Pillars and revive Sentinel Prime.

Elswhere, Sam Witwicky frustrated after graduating from college with no job but a Presidential Medal is finally given a post in the mailroom of a technology company. To his discomfort his current girlfriend, Carly Spencer has a close relationship with her playboy boss, Dylan Gould. A work colleague passes information to Sam about  the coverup on what is on "the dark side of the moon" but is assassinated by Laserbeak, a condor-like Decepticon which then tries to kill him as well.

Sam uncovers information which shows the Decepticons have returned and are systematically killing scientists connected to the space missions of the US and Russia. He realizes that the Decepticons have already been to the Ark decades beforehand and have set a trap to lure the Autobots into reviving Sentinel Prime and activating the Master Pillar.  On revival, Sentinel Prime reveals his own deal with the Decepticons and betrays both the Autobots and the humans. Sentinel uses the Pillars to establish a space bridge with the Moon, where hundreds of Decepticons have lain in wait for decades and they descend on the Earth.

Dylan Gould is revealed to be the Decepticons' agent on Earth, kidnaps Carly and with his help, the Decepticons establish themselves in Chicago and start to fortify the city. Gould reveals to a kidnapped Carly that the Decepticons intend to rebuild Cybertron, strip mine the Earth for resources and use humans as slave labor. The Decepticons have placed Pillars around the world and are using them to bring Cybertron itself through a space bridge.

Following this betrayal, Sam locates USAF chief Robert Epps and the disbanded NEST team is reformed and heads to Chicago to confront the threat and rescue Carly. Sam, the Autobots and NEST advance on Gould's penthouse to retrieve Carly and disable the Master Pillar before Cybertron appears in the sky. Battling through the city with the autobots, NEST progressively destroys  the Decepticon leaders until Sam reaches the Master Pillar where he confronts Gould. Gould is electrocuted by the Pillar when it is destroyed by an Autobot. The connection to Cybertron now broken, the half-formed planet collapses inwards. With Cybertron seemingly destroyed, Optimus and Sentinel battle in the ruins of Chicago until Megatron intervenes against Sentinel. With a three way contest, Optimus finally defeats both Megatron and Sentinel. The Autobots accept that Earth is their home now that Cybertron is gone.

The film overall is reasonable escapism but tends to be too long in the battle sequences. The 3D effect also in a number of scenes reduces the CGI animation to appearing to be exquisitely designed models rather than to- scale or true-to-life machines of destruction. Definately a cinema only experience which would be reduced on the small screen.