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'A Time for Dogs...' Ranked Number One on Yahoo! Drama Poll

"A Time for Dogs and Wolves," a drama series which aired on MBC last year, has been chosen by Korean and Japanese internet users as the best drama series of the year. According to the organizing committee of the annual Seoul Drama Awards, the drama received 60.1% of the total votes cast from September 4 to October 5 on Yahoo! Korea and Yahoo! Japan. The recent poll was conducted solely online. A total of 16.8 million people cast their votes on Yahoo! Korea while 17.8 million people cast votes on Yahoo! Japan. However, as one person could cast votes more than once, the total number of votes is likely to be more than the actual number of people who took part in the poll. 2TV's "Hong Gil-dong, the Hero" took the second spot with 36.9% while MBC's "Coffee Prince" took the third spot with 2.0%. Actors that starred in "A Time for Dogs and Wolves" also topped the rankings. Lee Jun-ki and Nam Sang-mi shared the number one spot with 60.1% and 47.9%, respectively. Actor Kang Ji-hwan took the number two spot with 36.8% while Sung Yoo-ri took the number two spot in the female category with 39.1%.

New research reveals Edwardian doctors' prescription for the 'disease' of love sickness... sex

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:17 PM on 18th October 2008

In matters of love, the Edwardians were notoriously strait-laced.

But lovesickness, apparently, was another affair altogether.

This, according to recently uncovered documents from the era, was regarded as a serious medical illness.

And the cure for such a malady in those times of buttoned-up desire and repressed longing?

Randy Victorians recognised love sickness as a medical illness and were prescribed sex as a treatment

According to doctors back then, the best thing was an energetic session of lovemaking.

Dozens of previously unseen doctors' reports, diaries and prescriptions show how patients were treated in hospital for the 'disease' of lovesickness.

Symptoms listed included depression, inflammation of the body, excessive erotic desire, irrational thoughts and a loss of self-control, researchers from the University of Bristol found.

Remedies included potions, diets, mental exercises and listening to music.

In drastic cases, doctors performed bloodletting.

But the best remedy for lovesick patients was sex, according to Dr Lesel Dawson from the university, who led the research.

'Lovesickness was often quite a "class crossed" love when a rich person was in love with a servant or a poor girl but they weren't allowed to express that,' Dr Dawson said.

'Lovesickness was particularly prevalent when people were not allowed to express love which caused anger and frustration and then turned into a mental illness.

'When they visited doctors, love was represented as an infectious malady caught through the eyes which triggered an immediate physical reaction.

'Edwardians believed that the liver malfunctioned, the blood became corrupt, and the body deteriorated and a number of different methods were used to fight the effects.'

Anatomists from the time logged cases of burned and damaged hearts in patients who had died complaining of love sickness.

Many sayings such as 'burning with desire' and 'dying of a broken heart' are believed to originate from the period.

Other remedies of the time included examining the patient's astrological chart - and even travelling to 'free the mind'.

Many patients were prescribed music as a way to lift their spirits and 'expel the harmful vapours' which doctors believed intensified the disease.

' Lovesick individuals were encouraged to keep busy, to exercise and to confess their passion to a friend,' Dr Dawson said.

'But the best cure for lovesickness was thought to be sex - and doctors would often recommend this to the patient's family.'

Dr Dawson added: 'According to early modern writers, sex expelled energies which accumulated in the body and putrefied, releasing harmful vapours that could cause

Greece hails Lord Byron a hero and dedicates a day of celebration in his name

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:46 PM on 17th October 2008

Greece has dedicated a day of celebration to mark the anniversary of Lord Byron, depicted here in his costume as a Greek patriot

Greece has declared the anniversary of the death of Lord Byron, the British Romantic poet who fought in its 19th century war of independence, as a day of celebration to hail Greek culture.

Byron died of pneumonia fighting Ottoman rule on April 19, 1824, and a parliament statement said this day would now be marked by events to keep alive the memory of 'a man who believed deeply in democratic values and Hellenism.'

Byron was a celebrity during his own lifetime for his Romantic poetry and his support of revolutionary causes. He paid for the refitting of the Greek fleet and refunded part of the ragged revolutionary army after arriving in Greece in 1823.

He died a year later in Messolonghi in western Greece, where a cenotaph is said to contain his heart. His support for the Greek cause helped inspire young men from Britain, Italy and the United States to join the uprising.

Greece won its war of independence in 1832 following the intervention of the Great powers: Britain, France and Russia.

Though Byron enjoys hero status in Greece, he was shunned in Britain.

Westminster Abbey in London refused to bury his remains in its Poets' Corner because of his Bohemian lifestyle.

He was famously described by a contemporary as 'mad, bad and dangerous to know'.

The other man on the podium

By Caroline Frost

Peter Norman wore a badge supporting the protest Enlarge Image

When Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave a gloved Black Power salute on the Olympic podium in October 1968 it sent a shockwave through sport. But what happened to the other man on the platform?

Forty years ago, two black Americans, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, won gold and bronze medals in the 200m final at the Mexico Olympics, and used their time on the victory podium to protest with a Black Power salute.

The photograph of the two men with their heads bowed, each of them with an arm raised in the air and a fist clothed in a black leather glove, is one of the most striking images of the 20th Century.

Their actions caused havoc at the Games, ensuring the pair were ejected from the US Olympic team. But three men won medals in that race, and the consequences for the third athlete on the podium would be every bit as significant.

The silver medallist was a laid-back Australian, an up-and-coming runner called Peter Norman who, in the words of his coach, "blossomed like a cactus" when he got to Mexico. While observers expected the Americans to make a clean sweep of the 200m medals, Norman kept them interested by breaking the world record in the heats.

BLACK POWER SALUTE Raised fist traditionally used as salute by left-wingers and radicals Origins of gesture's adoption unknown Fist symbols adopted by Black Panthers in the 1960s

An apprentice butcher from Melbourne, he had learned to run in a pair of borrowed spikes. More significantly, he had grown up in a Salvation Army family, with a set of simple but strong values instilled from an early age.

As his nephew Matt Norman, director of the new film, Salute, remembers: "The whole Norman family were brought up in the Salvos, so we knew we had to look after our fellow man, but that was about it."

In Mexico, that was enough for Norman, who felt compelled to join forces with his fellow athletes in their stand against racial inequality.

Norman was one of Australia's foremost athletes but was ostracised

The three were waiting for the victory ceremony when Norman discovered what was about to happen. It was Norman who, when John Carlos found he'd forgotten his black gloves, suggested the two runners shared Smith's pair, wearing one each on the podium.

And when, to the crowd's astonishment, they flung their fists in the air, the Australian joined the protest in his own way, wearing a badge from the Olympic Project for Human Rights that they had given him.

The repercussions for Norman were immediate. Seen as a trouble-maker who had lent a hand to those desecrators of the Olympic flag, he was ostracised by the Australian establishment. Despite qualifying 13 times over and being ranked fifth in the world, he was not sent to the following Munich games, where Australia had no sprinter for the first time in the Olympics. Norman retired soon afterwards without winning another title.

Sydney hope

Divorce and ill health all weighed down on him over the next few years. He suffered depression, drank heavily and grew addicted to painkillers after a lengthy hospital stay. During that time, he used his silver medal as a door-stop.

One of the things that kept him going was the hope that he would be welcomed and recognised at the Sydney Olympics. As his nephew puts it: "Then his life would have come full circle."

The US monument to the protest has an empty space

He was to be disappointed. In 2000, Peter Norman found himself the only Australian Olympian to be excluded from making a VIP lap of honour at the Games, despite his status as one of the best sprinters in the home country's history.

But the US athletics team were not going to ignore this omission. They invited Norman to stay at their own lodgings during the games, and welcomed him as one of their own. In an extraordinary turn of events, it was hurdling legend Ed Moses who greeted him at the door, and that year's 200m champion Michael Johnson who hugged him, saying: "You are my hero."

In 2004, Peter's nephew Matt started work on Salute, a documentary that, for the first time, brought all three athletes together in a room to tell their story of that day in Mexico.

Two years later, Peter had just seen the film for the first time and was about to embark on a publicity tour to the US when he had a heart attack and died. Tommie Smith and John Carlos, to whom he had always stayed close, travelled to Melbourne to act as pallbearers at his funeral, and remember their friend.

Empty place

"Peter didn't have to take that button [badge], Peter wasn't from the United States, Peter was not a black man, Peter didn't have to feel what I felt, but he was a man," says Carlos.

"He was that committed, and I didn't know that," adds Smith.

In 2004, a 23ft statue honouring Smith and Carlos was erected in San Jose State University. This huge replica shows each of them with their fists in the air, just as they stood four decades ago in Mexico.

Smith and Carlos were pallbearers at Norman's funeral

The place for the silver medallist is empty. It is where students and tourists stand to have their picture taken, when they want to take their place in sporting history.

In the film now being shown all over Australia, the absent athlete reflects on his legacy.

"I'm a firm believer that in a victory ceremony for the Olympics, there's three guys that stand up there, each one's been given about a square metre of God's earth to stand on, and what any one of the three choose to do with his little square metre at that stage is entirely up to him.

"If it hadn't been for that demonstration on that day, it would have just been another silver medal that Australia picked up along the line. No one would ever have heard of Peter Norman."

The film Salute is now on release in Australia, and being shown at various film festivals around the world.

Global crisis sends east Germans flocking to Marx

By Erik Kirschbaum Erik Kirschbaum – Thu Oct 16, 11:36 am ET

BERLIN (Reuters) – Two decades after the Berlin Wall fell, communism's founding father Karl Marx is back in vogue in eastern Germany -- thanks to the global financial crisis.

His 1867 critical analysis of capitalism, "Das Kapital," has risen from the publishing graveyard to become an improbable best-seller for academic publisher Karl-Dietz-Verlag.

"Everyone thought there would never ever again be any demand for 'Das Kapital'," managing director Joern Schuetrumpf told Reuters after selling 1,500 copies so far this year, triple the number sold in all of 2007 and a 100-fold increase since 1990.

"Even bankers and managers are now reading 'Das Kapital' to try to understand what they've been doing to us. Marx is definitely 'in' right now," Schuetrumpf said.

The revival of Marx's treatise reflects a broader rejection of capitalism by many in eastern Germany, a communist country until 1989 and now racked by high unemployment and poverty.

A month of intense financial turmoil has toppled banks in the United States and forced a series of government bailouts in Germany and elsewhere, reinforcing anti-capitalist sentiment.

Chancellor Angela Merkel -- herself an easterner -- unveiled a 500 billion euro (388.5 billion pound) financial rescue package this week, a move decried as a reward for irresponsible bankers.

A recent survey found 52 percent of eastern Germans believe the free market economy is "unsuitable" and 43 percent said they wanted socialism rather than capitalism, findings confirmed in interviews with dozens of ordinary easterners.

"We read about the 'horrors of capitalism' in school. They really got that right. Karl Marx was spot on," said Thomas Pivitt, a 46-year-old IT worker from east Berlin.

"I had a pretty good life before the Wall fell," he added. "No one worried about money because money didn't really matter. You had a job even if you didn't want one. The communist idea wasn't all that bad."

CAPITALISM EVEN WORSE

Unemployment in the former communist east is 14 percent, double western levels, and wages are significantly lower. Millions of jobs were lost after reunification. Many eastern factories were bought by western competitors and shut down.

"I thought communism was shit but capitalism is even worse," said Hermann Haibel, a 76-year old retired blacksmith, who was strolling near Alexanderplatz in the heart of old East Berlin.

"The free market is brutal. The capitalist wants to squeeze out more, more, more," he said.

Free market hopes were high in the east when Chancellor Helmut Kohl promised "flourishing landscapes."

But while some areas on the outskirts of Berlin, in Leipzig and along the Baltic shore are thriving, much of the rest suffers from depopulation and high unemployment.

The opposition Left party, which traces its roots to Erich Honecker's SED party, has capitalised on the frustration and become the east's most popular party with support of 30 percent.

"I don't think capitalism is the right system for us," said Monika Weber, a 46-year-old city clerk.

"The distribution of wealth is unfair. We're seeing that now. The little people like me are going to have to pay for this financial mess with higher taxes because of greedy bankers."

Like many other east Germans, Ralf Wulff said he was delighted about the fall of the Berlin Wall and to see capitalism replace communism. But the euphoria was ephemeral.

"It took just a few weeks to realise what the free market economy was all about," said Wulff. "It's rampant materialism and exploitation. Human beings get lost. We didn't have the material comforts but communism still had a lot going for it."

But not everyone condemned capitalism. Astrid Gerber was a master tailor in East Berlin before her company was shut down.

"It was my dream job," said Gerber, 42. She was unemployed for seven years, then opened up a newsstand but gave it up after her family disintegrated due to her 90-hour work week.

"Capitalism has its advantages but so does communism," she said. "I can't say one is better than the other."

Ugandans ban female circumcision

In some countries FGM is seen as a way to ensure virginity

A community in eastern Uganda has banned the deeply rooted practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), an official has said.

Kapchorwa district chairman Nelson Chelimo said it was "outmoded" and "not useful" for the community's women.

The Sabiny are the only group in Uganda that practises FGM, which involves cutting off a girl's clitoris.

Mr Chelimo said the council had submitted legislation to parliament for the ban to become law nationwide.

"The community decided that it was not useful, that women were not getting anything out of it, so the district council decided to establish an ordinance banning it," Mr Chelimo told AFP news agency.

He said there was a local belief that women who married without circumcision would be stricken by illness, but that this was "really outmoded".

FGM is seen in some countries as a way to ensure virginity and to make a woman marriageable.

In Africa, about three million girls are at risk of FGM each year, according to the UN.

UN agencies have called for a major reduction in the practice by 2015.

They say it leads to bleeding, shock, infections and a higher rate of death for new-born babies.

VOTE NO ON 8

On Columbus Day, correcting Columbus’ legacy

By Mark Anthony Rolo, October 13, 2008

On Monday, Oct. 13, schoolteachers across the nation should find the courage to speak the truth about the man who sailed the ocean blue in 1492.

Trying to explain to youngsters how this country came to be is surely no easy task.

How can you sugarcoat telling a fourth-grader that Columbus did not “discover” the “new" world — that he more accurately opened the door to conquering it?

How do you explain to a fifth-grader that the only measurable blood spilled in Columbus’ encounter was that of indigenous Caribbean islanders?

Can you even use the word “genocide” in a sixth-grade classroom?

There was a time in this country once when celebrating the feats of Columbus and his successors was less complicated. Only a generation ago, students did not learn the full extent of Columbus’ impact on the peoples who inhabited this continent.

But let’s set the historical record straight.

Hundreds of thousands of indigenous Taino Indians were raped, murdered, and forced into brutal slavery as a result of Columbus’ conquest. Much of the Taino population fell to new diseases such as smallpox. Extinction is all that remains of the Taino today.

Those who like to honor Columbus would have us believe that bringing up the darker side of the explorer is an attempt to blow the man’s memory off course.

But these facts of genocide and land theft are not part of a revisionist, false history. In his own words spelled, out in his personal diary, Columbus acknowledged his scheme to subjugate the Taino Indians: “I could conquer the whole of them with 50 men, and govern them as I pleased.”

Columbus’ men rounded up 1,500 people and selected 500 as slaves to be shipped off to Spain. Two hundred died en route. This did not deter Columbus, who, according to historian Howard Zinn, later wrote: “Let us in the name of the Holy Trinity go on sending all the slaves that can be sold.”

Some defenders of Columbus fall back on the rationale that he was just a man of his time, with the prejudices that prevailed. But one of Columbus’ own contemporaries, Bartoleme de las Casas, a Spanish colonist turned priest, spent his last years trying to wash the indigenous blood from his hands by calling for an end to the slave trade.

This year many teachers may stress tolerance of opposing views as they try to bring a broader and more balanced view of Columbus’ legacy into the classroom. But a lesson plan on tolerance won’t do.

Putting an end to the hero worship of Columbus begins with telling the truth: Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 not to explore, but to conquer with domination, brutality and — yes — genocide.

Mark Anthony Rolo is an enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe in Wisconsin. He can be reached at pmproj@progressive.org.

Sydney brothel-goers lose a Touch of Class

Cheaper rivals force bordello out of business after 40 years of infamy

By Kathy Marks in Sydney
Thursday, 9 October 2008

AP

Kerry Packer once hired the venue so his polo-playing friends could enjoy some 'good, clean girls'

There is still a welcome mat outside A Touch of Class, and its website promises visitors "sumptuous earthly delights". But gentleman callers will be disappointed. After nearly 40 years of serving the local community, Sydney's most infamous brothel has shut up shop.

Politicians, judges and the late media magnate Kerry Packer were, reportedly, among those who frequented "Toucha", as it was fondly known. Mr Packer, Australia's richest man for nearly two decades, once hired the entire venue, it was rumoured, so that his polo-playing friends could enjoy themselves with "some good, clean girls".

Now the brothel, which operated out of three Victorian terraces in an unassuming residential street, is up for auction. The manager, Peter Lazaris, blamed competition from a rapidly proliferating number of cheaper establishments. He declined to comment on whether a raid by tax investigators had also played a role.

While the fixtures and fittings – including Roman fountains, crushed velvet furnishings and themed rooms complete with silk sheets and ensuite spa baths – are not included in the package, the bricks and mortar come replete with decades of colourful history.

A Touch of Class has been a Sydney landmark since 1972, but enjoyed its heyday in the 1980s, under the watchful eye of its most flamboyant madame, Zara Powell. Mrs Powell, a former convent girl, wrote a book about it, after leaving to found her own establishment, Zazzi's. But to the relief, no doubt, of many a pillar of society, she betrayed few secrets. The brothel prided itself on its discreet image; according to the Sydney Morning Herald, the adjoining terraces were known as the Three Wise Monkeys. For several years, there was a large truck parked permanently outside, ensuring that coming and goings were protected from prying eyes, including people sitting in a popular beer garden directly opposite. Rowdy drinkers, it was said, would heckle patrons on approach.

The truck collected a legendary number of parking tickets, and was replaced in the 1990s by a high wooden fence, which the local council declared illegal. In recent years, a dark green wrought-iron screen has shielded the premises. The brothel, located in a semi-gentrified neighbourhood near the city centre, was one of many local establishments – a search on Google lists 41 others within two miles.

But none had the same cachet, nor the same notoriety, nor the same knack of getting themselves into the papers. When someone was caught behaving badly, or using their company credit card to pay for services, it always seemed to be at "Toucha".

The brothel, which could fetch more than A$6m (£2.3m), also featured in a 2006 Australian film, Candy, starring the late Heath Ledger. The brothel was popular with visiting sailors, but had been open only intermittently of late, and missed out on what other establishments say was one of their busiest periods: World Youth Day in July, when thousands of Catholic pilgrims descended on Sydney for a week-long celebration.

Devo - Freedom of Choice

Class surprises lesbian teacher on wedding day

Jill Tucker, Chronicle Staff Writer

Saturday, October 11, 2008

More...

A group of San Francisco first-graders took an unusual field trip to City Hall on Friday to toss rose petals on their just-married lesbian teacher - putting the public school children at the center of a fierce election battle over the fate of same-sex marriage.

The 18 Creative Arts Charter School students took a Muni bus and walked a block at noon to toss rose petals and blow bubbles on their just-married teacher Erin Carder and her wife Kerri McCoy, giggling and squealing as they mobbed their teacher with hugs.

Mayor Gavin Newsom, a friend of a friend, officiated.

A parent came up with the idea for the field trip - a surprise for the teacher on her wedding day.

"She's such a dedicated teacher," said the school's interim director Liz Jaroflow.

But there was a question of justifying the field trip academically. Jaroflow decided she could.

"It really is what we call a teachable moment," Jaroflow said, noting the historic significance of same-sex marriage and related civil rights issues. "I think I'm well within the parameters."

Nonetheless, the excursion offers Proposition 8 proponents fresh ammunition for their efforts to outlaw gay marriage in California, offering a real-life incident that echoes their recent television and radio ads.

"It's just utterly unreasonable that a public school field trip would be to a same-sex wedding," said Chip White, press secretary for the Yes on 8 campaign. "This is overt indoctrination of children who are too young to have an understanding of its purpose."

The trip illustrates the message promoted by the campaign in recent days, namely that unless Prop. 8 passes on Nov. 4, children will learn about same-sex marriage in school.

"It shows that not only can it happen, but it has already happened," White said.

California Education Code permits school districts to offer comprehensive sex education, but if they do, they have to "teach respect for marriage and committed relationships."

Parents can excuse their child from all or part of the instruction.

On Friday, McCoy and Carder, both in white, held hands on Newsom's office balcony overlooking the rotunda and recited their vows.

"With this ring, I thee wed!" Carder said, shouting the last word for emphasis.

After traditional photos, the two walked out City Hall's main doors where the students were lined up down the steps with bags of pink rose petals and bottles of bubbles hanging from their necks. McCoy, a conferences services coordinator, was in on the surprise and beamed as the children swarmed around Carder.

The two said they have participated in the campaign against Proposition 8 and planned to travel around San Francisco on Friday afternoon in a motorized trolley car with "Just Married" and "Vote No on 8" banners.

The two met on a dance floor two years ago.

"This is one girl I can honestly say deserves happiness, and it came in the form of Kerri," said Carder's friend Dani Starelli.

Creative Arts administrators and parents acknowledged that the field trip might be controversial, but they didn't see the big deal. Same-sex marriage is legal, they noted.

"How many days in school are they going to remember?" asked parent Mark Lipsett. "This is a day they'll definitely remember."

Carder's students said they were happy to see their new teacher married.

"She's a really nice teacher. She's the best," said 6-year-old Chava Novogrodsky-Godt, wearing a "No on 8" button on her shirt. "I want her to have a good wedding."

Chava's mothers said they are getting married in two weeks.

The students' parents are planning to make a video with the children describing what marriage is to them.

Marriage, 6-year-old Nolan Alexander said Friday, is "people falling in love."

It means, he added, "You stay with someone the rest of your life."

As is the case with all field trips, parents had to give their permission and could choose to opt out of the trip. Two families did. Those children spent the duration of the 90-minute field trip back at school with another first-grade class, the interim director said.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's not controversial for me," Jaroflow said. "It's certainly an issue I would be willing to put my job on the line for."

E-mail Jill Tucker at jtucker@sfchronicle.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/11/MNFG13F1VG.DTL

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Offended neighbors get Utah park statue moved

AP Photo: In this Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008 photo provided by the Edge of Cedar State Park...

By PAUL FOY, Associated Press Writer Thu Oct 2, 6:02 PM ET

SALT LAKE CITY - A Utah state park moved an American Indian-inspired statue of a humpbacked flute player Thursday after objections that it was offensive because the male figure is anatomically correct.

Officials at Edge of the Cedars State Park moved the sticklike figure from in front of its museum to a spot behind it so it can't been seen from the street, park manager Teri Paul said.

The park, in Blanding, is the site of an ancient Pueblo Indian ruin, as well as the modern-day museum.

The sculpture is a modern interpretation of a Hopi symbol of a flute player. Made by artist Joe Pachak, it has welcomed visitors to the park for 19 years.

It raised objections only recently from a group of Blanding's more conservative residents, who were concerned that the figure has male anatomy, Paul said.

At first park officials were going to ban the figure from the park altogether. But another group of citizens complained of censorship.

"So, our solution — I believe we have served everyone the best we possibly can," Paul told The Associated Press on Thursday. "It's not right in the front of the museum on the street, where everyone can see it."

The statue depicts an image commonly found on rock panels in southern Utah, a man believed to be announcing the arrival of spring with a flute.

The flute player is a Hopi clan symbol that's often confused with the ancient fertility god Kokopelli. Tribal elders specifically asked the park to make the distinction clear to visitors, Paul said.

One of those who supported the move, Harold Lyman said he objected to the phallic symbol because it isn't always depicted in traditional rock art images of the flute player. Therefore, he told The Salt Lake Tribune, it's not an essential part of the image.

Susan Dexter was among those who favored leaving the sculpture in place.

"Give me a break. It's not like a massive erection like some of the ones you see on the panels. It's nothing like that," Dexter told the Tribune.

The work is among several pieces of Pachak's sculpture that grace the 17-acre heritage park. The artist didn't return a telephone message left Thursday by the AP at his home in Bluff.

___

On the Net:

Edge of the Cedars State Park: http://www.utah.com/stateparks/edge_of_cedars.htm

Tattoo culture under the spotlight

By Jane Elliott
Health reporter, BBC News

Celebrities including England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen have tattoos

David Beckham, Samantha Cameron and Amy Winehouse all share at least one thing in common aside from their fame - a tattoo.

In the past, tattoos used to be mainly a badge of belonging and were generally the preserve of armed forces personnel, bikers and tribes.

But they are now used to express individuality and can range from the small dolphin on the ankle to huge montages of a fan's favourite pop group, or even tattoos covering most of the body.

On 7 October, the Dana Centre at London's Science Museum is putting tattoo culture under the microscope, looking at not only contemporary fashion, but the history and medical implications of having this procedure and how to get rid of a tattoo.

It is only now in Western culture that tattoos are becoming an expression of individuality rather than being about belonging to a community Katie Maggs

Katie Maggs, associate medical curator at the Science Museum, said there would be a collection of late 19th Century tattoos on display and the equipment used to make them.

"The variety of imagery among those we are displaying is very extensive. There are lots of elaborate, beautifully designed women, naked ladies, military ranks - there is also a pig on a bike and gambling images," she said.

The event will look at how tattoo use has changed and examine whether improving technology may mean they do not need to be a permanent adornment.

Ms Maggs said that, in the past, tattoos had been used for identity whether in a positive way - such as belonging to a community - or negatively to impose an identity, such as in Nazi concentration camps.

In other cultures, tattoos are associated with status or belonging.

"It is only now in Western culture that tattoos are becoming an expression of individuality, rather than being about belonging to a community," she said.

One of the French tattoos on view

Lal Hardy has been a tattooist in London for 30 years and has created images for stars such as Tottenham footballer Ledley King, England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen, actress Patsy Kensit and singer Liam Gallagher.

He said: "Tattooing is now really, really mainstream. I tattoo a lot of football players and celebrities and the profile is being raised."

Dr Raj Mallipeddi, a consultant dermatological surgeon in London, said while he would not advise against tattoos, he would always recommend care.

"There are different types of potential problems following tattooing, including allergic reactions to the ink, which may resemble eczema or even red lumps in the skin.

"Henna tattoos are popular and although Henna itself is safe, the black dye with which it is often mixed, called PPD paraphenylenediamine, is the culprit when an allergic reaction develops.

Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov getting a tattoo

"Another risk is infection, most commonly bacterial, although viral warts could develop in the area treated.

"Furthermore, the transmission of syphilis, hepatitis and HIV have been reported - although this is rare."

He added: "My advice to someone interested in having a tattoo is to go to a tattoo parlour that is reputable and maintains impeccable standards of hygiene and infection control.

"People understandably tend to be focused on the artwork of the tattoo, but as it is usually an invasive procedure on the skin, people should be aware of potential problems, even if the risk is small."

The free event takes place at the Dana Centre on 7 October at 1930 BST. Places should be pre-booked.

National Organization for Women PAC Endorses Obama-Biden

STATEMENT OF KIM GANDY
Chair, National Organization for Women Political Action Committee (NOW PAC)

September 16, 2008

It is with great enthusiasm that I announce today, on behalf of the nation's oldest and largest women's rights organization, that the National Organization for Women Political Action Committee (NOW PAC) proudly endorses Sen. Barack Obama for President of the United States.

It is no coincidence that I am joined in this announcement by so many allied organizations that collectively represent a broad and diverse cross-section of U.S. women. From teachers to social workers, from business owners to college students, women in this country are lining up behind the candidate who is out there every day standing up -- clearly and consistently -- for women. Women of all ages, races and ethnicities are coming together in support of Sen. Obama and his pledge to fulfill this country's promise of equal opportunity for our daughters as well as all our sons.

Although it is very unusual for us to endorse in a presidential election, this is an unprecedented candidate and an unprecedented time for our country. The NOW PAC reviewed Sen. Obama's record and public statements on issues that disproportionately affect the women of this nation, and I spoke with him at length about his commitment to women's equality. For example:

On pay equity. Sen. Obama is a co-sponsor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation to end wage discrimination against women.

On reproductive rights. Sen. Obama is a co-sponsor of the Prevention First Act, to strengthen access to contraception and reproductive health care, and prevent unwanted pregnancies. He strongly supports Roe v. Wade and will oppose any efforts to overturn it.

On violence against women. Sen. Obama supports the continued reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act -- of which Sen. Joe Biden is the chief sponsor -- as well as the Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Act, which is legislation to provide legal, medical and financial support to victims of domestic violence.

On the Supreme Court. Sen. Obama opposed the nominations of George Bush's extreme right-wing nominees to the Supreme Court, who have consistently ruled against women's rights,

For more than a decade, Barack Obama has said "yes" to women's rights, while John McCain has consistently said "no" - NO to pay equity, NO to contraceptive access and reproductive rights, NO to appointing Supreme Court judges who will uphold women's rights and civil rights, NO to funding shelters and other anti-violence programs, and NO to supporting working moms and dads with policies that support work/life balance.

NOW supported Sen. Hillary Clinton in the primary, and now we join with her in saying "NO" -- No Way, No How, No McCain! And we proudly stand arm-in-arm with her in putting our hopes and our dreams, our hard work and our hard-earned money, behind the next President of the United States -- Barack Obama, and his running mate, longtime friend and ally of women, Sen. Joe Biden.

For more information, visit the NOW PAC Obama website.

Sin-Bad did this!

Lily, Tula & Sin-Bad

Lindsay Kemp's Virgin Queen comes to Japan

By NOBUKO TANAKA

Special to The Japan Times

It was a scorching day in July and the air in Tokyo's concrete jungle was shimmering in the heat. But on a visit here prior to next month's opening of his voluptuous production "Elizabeth I: the Last Dance" at Theatre Cocoon, avant-garde performance-art icon Lindsay Kemp — a self-described "stranger in a strange land" back home in England — appeared quite at ease, as perhaps befits a longtime resident of the hotter climes of Italy and Spain.

Madcap queen: Lindsay Kemp's Queen Elizabeth I romps with Mary, Queen of Scots COURTESY OF TATE CORPORATION

With his sparkling, impish eyes, his lovely smile and expressive hand movements, this 70-year-old, sporting a light cotton jinbei summer kimono, immediately brought to vibrant life a cozy meeting room in a Shibuya gallery currently showing his art work, as he made his entrance.

Fresh from a stroll around the eclectic back streets of Shibuya, this multitalented man, who has told some interviewers that his birthplace is Birkenhead in northwest England but others that it is South Shields in the northeast, was soon talking of how he began taking ballet lessons at age 4, "Billy Elliot"-style, with the secret support of his mother and against the wishes of his father, a merchant sailor who was lost at sea in 1940.

It was after Kemp left a boarding school in England, though — where he has described dancing as Oscar Wilde's "Salome" in his dormitory clad in no more than a few sheets of toilet paper — that Kemp first made his mark, when he moved to London in the 1950s to join the legendary Ballet Rambert as a dancer. He later founded his own Lindsay Kemp Company there in 1962 — just as the socio-cultural phenomenon of the Swinging '60s was about to take off. Before long his company's androgynous performances were the talk of the town, as startled critics mulled them sagely and audiences flocked to the shows, which he danced in, choreographed and directed.

Kemp goofs around for The Japan Times at a Shibuya gallery. YOSHIAKI MIURA PHOTO

Then, in 1968, Kemp's fame spread nationwide following his company's triumphant appearance that year at the famed Edinburgh Festival. His reach extended further still in the early '70s, when he got together again with David Bowie, who'd first sung with his troupe in 1967, to direct the glam-rocker's "Ziggy Stardust" shows.

After close-on 50 years in showbiz, it wasn't his colorful history that Kemp was in Tokyo to talk about, but his original, spectacular tale of England's so-called Virgin Queen, the decidedly amorous Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), told in dance, mime, music and outrageously stunning costumes. Kemp himself takes the title role, as well as directing and undertaking both the stage and lighting design.

"Since I was a child, I have had a passion for Elizabeth I," Kemp declares with wistful ardor lighting his face. "In fact, really, it's a passion for her and also that glorious Elizabethan era of beauty, poetry, music and Shakespeare. I have been attracted all my life by everything Elizabeth represented — but most especially by her extreme personal theatricality and her passion. This stage is a story about her life, and it's told in fragments beginning at the end of her life and then through a series of flashbacks to her most memorable episodes — but mostly ones to do with her great loves, the Earl of Leicester and the Earl of Essex."

In fact, Kemp confided that his love affair with the Virgin Queen — one of the most famous women in all of history — started courtesy of his greatest supporter of all, and his "heroine" (along with Isadora Duncan): his mother.

"When I was a child, my mother took me to a 1939 movie that Bette Davis was in, titled 'The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex.' Bette was the Virgin Queen, and I was not just influenced by the beauty of her clothes and that culture, but by the magnificence of the swashbuckling drama, with its sea battles and murders, for example. It was all so action-packed.

"However, it wasn't until recently that I realized Elizabeth's clothes have been waiting for me to step into. So, this is the right time: At my age now, I've reached exactly the right time to play this ailing Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth I: the Last Dance" premiered to critical and popular acclaim three years ago in Spain after Kemp created it together with regular, close collaborators Sandy Powell, his costume designer (and former student) who won Oscars for 1999's "Shakespeare in Love" and 2005's "The Aviator"; and Chilean composer Carlos Miranda, his long-term business partner.

"This production," Kemp declares, beaming with enough radiance to light half of Tokyo, "will be full of my color and my trademark of 'total theater' — probably more total than previously." Total theater refers to the practice of mixing different theatrical elements, such as dance, mime and, in this case, opera.

"Moreover, as it was conceived as a form of dance and opera in the first place, singing will be much more prominent than (in my previous productions). There's lots of dancing, singing and drama, and spectacular effects with imaginative projected images as well. I hope you enjoy it," he adds rather humbly.

As if to excuse himself further, he continues: "It doesn't have any of those spectacular effects like in Andrew Lloyd Webber-type commercial musicals. I don't like that very much, nor do I care for the theater of technology, and I don't much care for (the fact) that that kind of theater has replaced the theater of human hearts — the theater of life and passion and real magic. What I bring to the theater I would hope is a real love, a real passion. It is spectacularly emotional and it is also spectacularly beautiful."

Although Elizabeth I is a major figure in European history, she is not so familiar to Japanese audiences. So was Kemp worried that his Virgin Queen (aka Good Queen Bess) may be spurned on these shores?

"Well, you see, I have this possibility, because my talent is to be able to connect with people everywhere. I feel very much part of everyone, but particularly with the Japanese, who have always been my greatest audience and seem to understand me the most. Also, my language of music and dance is very much universal. Furthermore, the story of Elizabeth is really a romantic, universal story. So, I trust the Japanese audience."

Kemp's first official stage appearance in Japan was in his 1986 masterpiece "A Midsummer Night's Dream" — a dance production that remains a legend to this day; a staging so powerful that long after the encores most audience members remained in their seats, stunned by its huge artistic impact. Many critics wrote that they had never before seen a production that boasted such original artistic flair.

Following that, he brought his company to Japan in each of the next 10 years. Interestingly, though, he reveals that his first "unofficial" performance here was at a shrine "somewhere in Tokyo" when he stopped over to visit a friend in 1976 on his way back home from an Australian tour. On that occasion, as they walked past the shrine, they were beckoned inside by a priest who served them sake. But when the priest found out that Kemp was a dancer, he asked for an impromptu performance, and Kemp obliged by returning that evening to perform an improvisation accompanied by Japanese musicians.

Queen Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester

Since that welcoming creative encounter, it seems Kemp — whose sailor father first introduced him to Japan through fans and kimono he brought home from his voyages — has, as he put it, "always felt at home here, as if it is a place for me."

But after having been away for 13 years, how does he like what he finds here now?

"Tokyo nowadays — at least in Shibuya — seems to have a more liberated atmosphere than last time I was here," he says. "Everyone seems to be so well dressed and there's a fun, festive feeling, and people seem to have more individuality in their appearance and don't look as conservative as they used to."

With another of his smiles, he adds: "Perhaps I had a small influence on them; so one day, someone in all-white makeup will come up to me and say, 'It's your fault, Lindsay!' "

If that were ever to occur, it would certainly delight this artist, who explains his motivation for dance creation by saying, "It's probably always been the same since I started — I would like to give pleasure. I want to inspire and to encourage people to dream their own dreams. Really, this way they can maybe change their own lives for the better. Nothing too grandiose; I really just like to bring a smile to people either here or in the street or in the theater. I also like people when they leave the theater to be very liberated. That, I think, is my intention — to liberate, to liberate."

As for his own future liberation movements, this dance revolutionary confesses: "I have no plan for a future production at the moment — like Picasso said, 'I don't seek; I find.' I'm waiting for another dress for me to step into, like I experienced with Elizabeth I this time. But I am enjoying today so much that I hardly think about tomorrow. I'm very much a rock 'n' roller in that respect.

"But really, to be honest, what takes me to the stage is only that I need to be loved — and I need to give love through my performance."

"Elizabeth I: the Last Dance" runs Oct. 4-13 at Theatre Cocoon, an 8-minute walk from JR Shibuya Station in Tokyo. For more details, call the theater on (03) 3477-999 or visit www.tate.jp/LINDSAY/ Lindsay Kemp's drawing exhibition "Elizabeth I" runs Oct. 4-13 at Poster Haris Gallery, an 8-minute walk from JR Shibuya Station in Tokyo. For more details, call the gallery on (080) 2033-0499 or visit posterharis.com