More Street Art and Public Art

“I see drawings and pictures in the poorest of huts and the dirtiest of corners.”

-       Vincent Van Gogh

Quote: Edmund Burke

 

“Because half-a-dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field ring with their importunate chink, whilst thousands of great cattle, reposed beneath the shadow of the British oak, chew the cud and are silent, pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field; that of course they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little shrivelled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome insects of the hour."

-          Edmund Burke 

Edmund Burke (1729 -1797) was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party.  He is mainly remembered for his support of the cause of the American Revolution, and for his later opposition to the French Revolution. The latter led to his becoming the leading figure within the conservative faction of the Whig Party, which he dubbed the "Old Whigs", in opposition to the pro–French Revolution "New Whigs", led by Charles James Fox.  Burke was praised by both conservatives and liberals in the 19th century,  Since the 20th century, he has generally been viewed as the philosophical founder of modern Conservatism as well as a representative of classical liberalism. 

“All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.”
-      Edmund Burke

Swastikas - Part 4

 

The previous parts of this post have looked at the use of the swastika before and after the adoption of that ancient good luck symbol by the Nazis.  

Before looking at the final instalment –postcards featuring swastikas – I will briefly mention another local example of the swastika use as a good luck symbol. My son, Thomas, a budding lawyer who works with in my office, and I travelled to the south coast on business. On the way back we stopped off at the Nan Tien Temple at Berkeley (near Port Kembla), about 80 kilometres south of Sydney. It is the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern hemisphere and displays swastikas in various locations, including on the chests of the giant Buddha statues:

Part of the Nan Tien Temple

Before its demonisation by the Nazis, the swastika was often featured on postcards as a good luck symbol. The following examples are from around the early 1900’s:

The Nazis, not unsurpisingly, also had swastika postcards . . .

but there have been attempts to rehabilitate the swastika. . .

Sporting Moments

 

Eight female Olympic badminton players have been disqualified for deliberately trying to lose their preliminary-round matches.  The players – two from China (the gold medal favourites), four from Korea and two from Indonesia - lost the rounds on purpose in order to enter the knockout round with a lower seeding, thereby avoiding having to compete against a more talented team early in the tournament. 

The head coach of South Korea, Sung Han-kook, admitted his doubles players threw their games, but only after the Chinese started playing to lose.  "The Chinese started this. They did it first," Reuters quoted Sung as saying.  

-           News report

At least one commentator has asked whether the above is cheating or strategising, pointing out that the Japanese women’s soccer team was instructed to not score in their final group game Tuesday against South Africa, which gave them a more favourable match-up in the next round. Michael Phelps admitted to not swimming his best in the trials to save energy. Yet officials issued no punishment in these two situations.   Whether it is strategy or cheating is a discussion for another time. 

The fact of the players and coaches seeking to take advantage of the rules by deliberately losing brought to mind two famous, or more aptly infamous, examples.  If they weren’t true one would be forgiven for thinking that they are episodes from a Monty Python movie.

#1  West Germany v Austria, 1982 FIFA World Cup: 

The first part of the World Cup (football for the purists, soccer for the argumentative) is the group stage. Each group has four teams that play each other, with three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. The top two teams advance past the group stage and the bracket continues with single-elimination games. 

These days the 4 teams in the group play simultaneously, so that advancing to the next group depends not only on a team’s own performance but also on the outcomes of the other games. 

That was not the case in 1982.  At that time matches were played sequentially, one after the other, so that teams were aware of the standings of other teams and points needed to advance.  In addition, bizarre rules that related to the number of goals scored also affected the outcomes.   

In the last match of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, Group B, West Germany was to meet Austria.  A West German victory by 1 or 2 goals would result in both teams advancing to the next group.   If Germany scored less goals than that, it was out; any more and Austria was out, with Algeria advancing. 

When Germany and Algeria had met earlier in the group matches.  It had been expected that a German win was a certainty, Germany being the reigning world champions with a squad containing numerous internationals and elite players.  Algeria, a country which had never previously been to a World Cup, prohibited its players from leaving the country before age 28. 

The Germans were so confident of victory that one German player declared at the press conference before the match that "We will dedicate our seventh goal to our wives, and the eighth to our dogs.”  Another stated that he would play the game with a cigar in his mouth 

In the shock upset of the Cup, Algeria defeated Germany 2-1. 

Against Austria, Algeria lost 2-0. 

In the match between Germany and Austria, Germany scored after 10 minutes to make the score 1-0.

Horst Hrubesch scores the winning goal for Germany’s 1-0 win over Austria. 

According to a commentary on that match from The Guardian in 2010: 

In the 10th minute of that match Horst Hrubesch put the Germans in front. Then … nothing happened. Realising the scoreline suited both of them, Germany and Austria effectively stopped playing. In the ensuing 80 minutes there were no shots, and barely any tackles, crosses or sprints. The game was no longer a contest, it was a conspiracy. The teams' cynicism provoked universal scorn. 

A smattering of Algerian fans in the Gijón crowd burned peseta notes to show their suspicions of corruption, while most of the Spaniards in attendance waved hankies throughout the second half in a traditional display of disdain. The next day newspapers in Spain denounced "El Anschluss" and there was outrage in Wst Germany and Austria too. Eberhard Stanjek, commentating for the German channel ARD, almost sobbed during the match as he lamented: "What is happening here is disgraceful and has nothing to do with football. You can say what you like, but not every end justifies the means." The Austrian commentator, meanwhile, told viewers to turn off their sets and refused to speak for the last half-hour. Former West German international Willi Schulz branded the German players "gangsters". 

The gangsters, however, were unapologetic. When German fans gathered at the team hotel to protest, the players responded by throwing water bombs at them from their balconies. 

Even less bothered was the head of the Austrian delegation, Hans Tschak, who made these extraordinary comments: "Naturally today's game was played tactically. But if 10,000 'sons of the desert' here in the stadium want to trigger a scandal because of this it just goes to show that they have too few schools. Some sheikh comes out of an oasis, is allowed to get a sniff of World Cup air after 300 years and thinks he's entitled to open his gob." 

Did the Algerian players take offence? Not at all, Merzekane [the Algerian fullback] says. "We weren't angry, we were cool," he says. "To see two big powers debasing themselves in order to eliminate us was a tribute to Algeria. They progressed with dishonour, we went out with our heads held high." 

From all over the world came calls for Fifa to punish the Europeans or stage a replay, but in the end all the world's governing body did was rule that henceforth the last pair of games in every group must be played simultaneously. "Our performances forced Fifa to make that change, and that was even better than a victory," Belloumi says. "It meant that Algeria left an indelible mark on football history." 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/13/1982-world-cup-algeria

And the ultimate winner?  Italy defeated West Germany 3-1 in the final. 

#2  Barbados  v Grenada, 1994 Shall Caribbean Cup:

If the previous game seemed bizarre and unsportsmanlike, the following item will pale that in comparison. 

The Shell Caribbean Cup was the football championship of the Caribbean. 

The following is a Wikipedia report on one game in that competition, the surreal 1994 match between Barbados and Grenada: 

Grenada went into the match with a superior goal difference, meaning that Barbados needed to win by two goals to progress to the finals. The trouble was caused by two things. First, unlike most group stages in football competitions, the organizers had deemed that all games must have a winner. All games drawn over 90 minutes would go to sudden death extra time. Secondly and most importantly, there was an unusual rule which stated that in the event of a game going to sudden death extra time the goal would count double, meaning that the winner would be awarded a two goal victory. 

Barbados was leading 2-0 until the 83rd minute, when Grenada scored, making it 2-1. 

Approaching the dying moments, the Barbadians realized they had little chance of scoring past Grenada's mass defence in the time available, so they deliberately scored an own goal to tie the game at 2-2. This would send the game into extra time and give them another half hour to break down the defence.  

The home goal scored. 

The Grenadians realised what was happening and attempted to score an own goal as well, which would put Barbados back in front by one goal and would eliminate Barbados from the competition. 

However, the Barbados players started defending their opposition's goal to prevent them from doing this, and during the game's last five minutes, the fans were treated to the incredible sight of Grenada trying to score in either goal while Barbados defended both ends of the pitch.  

Barbados successfully held off Grenada for the final five minutes, sending the game into extra time. In extra time, Barbados notched the game-winner, and, according to the rules, was awarded a 4-2 victory, which put them through to the next round. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Caribbean_Cup 

 In a press conference after the game, Grenadian manager James Clarkson said: 

"I feel cheated. The person who came up with these rules must be a candidate for a madhouse. The game should never be played with so many players running around the field confused. Our players did not even know which direction to attack: our goal or their goal. I have never seen this happen before. In football, you are supposed to score against the opponents to win, not for them" 

Ultimately Trinidad /  Tobago defeated Barbados and went on to defeat Martinique in the final. 

The scoring rules were not used in the Cup after 1994.

Funny Friday

 
Caution: risque items

And a further Olympic item:

A Russian and an American wrestler were facing off for the Olympic gold medal. Before the match, the American’s trainer came to him and said “Don't forget, this Russian has never lost a match because of his pretzel hold. If he gets you in it, you're finished.” 

Immediately after the match began, the Russian got the American in the devastating pretzel hold. The trainer couldn’t watch any longer, so he turned away. Suddenly, there was a scream, and cheers from the crowd. The trainer looked back to see the American had won the match.

Back in the change room the trainer asked “How did you get out of that hold? No one has ever done it before!”

The American answered “Well, I looked up and saw this pair of balls right in front of my face. I thought I had nothing to lose, so with my all my strength I bit those babies just as hard as I could.”

“So!” the trainer said, “That's what finished him off!”

“No, but you'd be amazed how strong you get when you bite your own balls!

"The Prayer of the Sportsman"

 

The Prayer of the Sportsman 

Berton Braley

(although sometimes attributed to American college football coach Knute Rockne, this poem was often quoted by Rockne but not written by him). 

Dear Lord, in the battle that goes through life,
I ask but a field that is fair;
A chance that is equal with all in the strife
A courage to strive and to dare;
And if I should win, let it be by the code,
With my faith and my honor held high;
And if I should lose, let me stand by the road
And cheer as the winners go by. 

And Lord, may my shouts be ungruding and clear,
A tribute that comes from the heart,
And let me not cherish a snarl or a sneer

Or play any sniveling part;
Let me say: There they ride on whom laurel's bestowed
Since they played the game better than I
Let me stand with a smile by the side of the road
And cheer as the winners go by.

A modified version is also sometimes quoted:

Dear Lord, In the battles we go through in life,
We ask for a chance that's fair.
A chance to equal all our stripes.
A chance to do or dare.

If we should win,
Let it be by the code:
With faith and honor held high.

And if we should lose,
Let us stand by the road
and cheer as the winners go by.

Berton Braley (1882 – 1966) was an American poet. Born in Madison, Wisconsin, his father was a judge who died when Braley was seven years old. At 16, Braley quit high school and worked as a factory hand at a plow plant. After a few years, Braley went back to school and received his high school diploma.  Shortly afterwards he discovered the joys of poetry.

Willard Wigan's Wondrous Wee Works

 

Having discussed matters citius, altius and fortius in respect of the London Olympics, let’s reverse it and look at something microious (I made up that word)... 

Willard Wigan creates sculptures so small that they have to be viewed with a microscope and fit in the eye of a needle.  Some were posted at:

http://bytesdaily.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/art-dalton-getty.html 

In honour of the Olympics, Wigan has made his smallest sculpture yet, so small that it is the size of a human blood cell.  The work, which took months to create, is of British Olympic diver Tom Daley on an eyelash.  Wigan created it using a microscope and painted it with the hair from the leg of a fruit fly:

The Wigan sculture of Tom Daley

Tom Daley

According to Wigan, 54:

The idea came to me one day when I had an irritating eyelash in the corner of my eye and was trying to get it out but couldn't. I finally caught it and it was one of those very fine ones right in the corner.  I took it out, put it under the microscope and the first thing I noticed was that it looked like a diving board.  There is a lot of excitement about the Olympics coming up so I decided to make the smallest sculpture I've ever done for one of the biggest occasions we've ever had - and then to make it even smaller I cut it in half. 

I have to work between my heartbeat - this is smaller than a blood cell. It was painstaking but because of my past experience I have learned special techniques like that. It's a very special piece. Most people will find it hard to understand. It's so small I'm even asking myself questions. 

When I finished the sculpture I tried to put it onto the eyelash. But the first Tom I did literally sprang off the eyelash.  Each of the Olympic rings had to be symmetrical while the whole sculpture can fit on a full stop - including Tom and the rings.  My inspiration was Tom as I think he is going to win a gold medal, I'm a big supporter of his. I seriously believe he can take a medal and I'm sure he will.  

The sculpture is made from 24-carat gold because at the end of the day we're going for gold. The '2012' measures about 4-5 microns, while Tom measures less than 20 microns.  It's called ‘In the blink of an eye’' and I'll be putting it on show for the public to see because seeing is believing.   My favourite sport is boxing and I'm hoping when people see this it will knock them out.  I'm hoping it will help raise some money for charity Help For Heroes each time it is exhibited.

 

(Diver Daley unfortunately didn’t feature in the medals in the men’s synchronised diving, coming fourth).

Another Wigan micro sculpture, this time of runner Usain Bolt:

Flame Wars

The above poster is a creation of graphic designer Joe Newton, who apparently wanted to use a modern message as a contrast to the old time typeface so as to set up an internal tension.  Whatever the design qualities, the message itself is a good one.  I have read that there are over 200 million tweets per day sent. 

My reason in displaying it is that I came across it just after reading an item in the Mail Online, the online version of London’s Daily Mail, that not only perfectly illustrated the message but haqd someone using the same message as part of an online argument..  

Maria Fowler, 26, an English glamour model and Page 3 girl, had tweeted during the opening ceremony of the London Olympics "Ahhh wish I was there so bad. Muhammad Ali. No disrespect though but why can't he stand now?"

For those not aware, Muhammad Ali, 70, is an American former professional boxer, three times world heavyweight champion (crowned Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated in 1999 and Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC), who now suffers from Parkinson’s syndrome.

Muhammad Ali at the London Olympics

Fowler’s innocent enquiry brought a hostile response from British internet entrepreneur Jamal Edwards: 
 

He said: “You are so DUMB!  If I don't know a question I would go on the net first to find out especially what I'm talking about. Not go to Twitter & ask.”

Although Fowler responded “I did google and couldn't know why. Parkinson's is so sad. I lost my grandad to Parkinson's. Ali is a legend x”,  the discussion degenerated from there, with some nasty comments made.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2180172/Maria-Fowler-ridiculed-Twitter-asks-Muhammad-Ali-stand-Olympic-Opening-Ceremony.html

Maria Fowler

 

Jamal Edwards

Flaming; Flame War:

An online argument that becomes nasty or derisive, where insulting a party to the discussion takes precedence over the objective merits of one side or another.- Urban Dictionary

Netiquette:

The forms, manners and actions established by the internet community as acceptable or required behaviour in social interactions.  -  Urban Dictionary