I.M. Beck - quote unquote

On Friday, down at Viset's new harbour-side development, the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts shoehorned the National Orchestra, Voices and multifarious other artists of calibre onto the ad hoc stage to put on Gershwin's version of Candide and, verily, a great time was had by all.

This was a concert version (which I, along with the other musical apostates present, found out means that a couple of funny hats are put on but otherwise, there's no acting) but it was a really enjoyable event for all that. In fact, there's something to be said for eliminating all the silly prancing about and over-blown costumes that accompany some operas and letting the imagination take over. When a narrator who seems to take his inspiration from John Cleese and Stephen Fry combines with soloists of the sheer class on display, you don't need costumes or scenery.

As I wrote earlier, I am essentially a musical apostate, so I shouldn't really try to imitate my elders and betters (the serious music critics) and pass judgement on the quality of the proceedings. But not knowing anything about a subject has never stopped me from shooting my mouth off before, now has it?

So, here goes. In no particular order, I was mightily impressed by Juan Gambina, Carla Huhtanen and Claire Massa, but writing this gives short shrift to the others, who were also very good. The National Orchestra performed to the high standards we have come to take as a given nowadays (it wasn't always thus) and the Voices Choir did the same, again as always.

The only niggles I have relate to the comfort of the venue (not the most comfortable I've ever attended) and the time-keeping that seems to plague so many public events in this blinking country. I suppose I'll just have to grin and bear it.

I am also here declaring that my war on applause between numbers in musical events, rather than at the end of a movement or whatever, is hereby over: I'll just have to accept that Maltese audiences seem to think it is incumbent on them to put their hands together every time someone finishes doing something.

And if only the catering establishments would get their act together, the venue will become a top attraction. We only managed to get something to eat because we had a fantastic waitress who managed to overcome the trials and tribulations placed in her way by a management that seems to have been taken by surprise by the horde of people who wanted nourishment.

But I should stop whining: such a good feeling pervaded the harbour-side last Friday that I felt privileged to have been there.

End of good feeling

The good feeling you get when attending something like Candide is instantly dispelled when you log on to the RRR's website.

This being the weekend for me climbing down, I will also give you the site's address, so you can surf across and see for yourself why I think it is important for these people to be exposed. Every single person I've told about the site has reported back a feeling of revulsion at some of the opinions expressed there, so I now have no problem with giving them enough rope: go to vivamalta.org and have a look for yourself.

Just so you'll know what to expect, you will find, on this site, people expressing the notion that the Holocaust was nothing but a "Holy Hoax", others telling us that there will eventually be a statue of "the Hero" (Adolf Hitler) in every square of importance in Europe, others yet giving directions on how to get to websites created by American White Supremacist Common Criminals and so on and so forth, even to the extent of one character extolling the virtues of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea, just in case you missed the reference to democracy) of all things.

You will also find column inch upon column inch upon column inch of impenetrable pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo masquerading as solid evidence of some warped theory or other. These theories generally involve "the Jews" (the race is generally described in grossly insulting terms, of course) being responsible for everything or the non-Europids (aren't you glad you're a Europid?) being genetically inferior.

You can tell when the rubbish you've got in front of you is, well, rubbish, because the source is usually nationalvanguard.org (or something like that) or the stuff usually comes from the British National Party (BNP for short) an outfit that inspires disgust in anyone with a decent bone in his or her body.

The really disturbing stuff on vm.org, of course, is the stuff that refers to local events. Anyone who dares to express a view that is not racist or that does not condemn refugees out of hand to death by drowning or dehydration becomes, instantly, the object of insult, derision and vilification by the semi-literate (to judge by their command of English or Maltese) louts who populate the threads.

A few examples

Just to save you the trouble of trawling through this noisome website, let me give you some examples, all of which are penned by "Imperium", a nickname that Norman Lowell has made his own and to which he has admitted.

According to this luminary (remember, he mostly writes in three-line verses, for reasons known only to himself) "We will be merciless to them all: / to all traitors: NGOs, media moguls:/ porky columnists, perfidious priests..." and he goes on in much the same vein to describe what is to be done to these people.

Well, Mr Lowell, this particular porky columnist is completely un-impressed with your rabid rhetoric. The fact that a few - a mere handful - of social inadequates and pretentious pseuds lionise you and your filthy theories, if your rants can be graced with the description "theory", does not mean that these so-called theories have any validity whatsoever. Your continuous reference to your own expressions of policy (such as making Latin the national language and tearing down anything built after 1800) and to your own screeds of scarcely coherent theorising is indicative only of the fact that your philosophy has no foundations outside of your own mind and the minds of others who swallow this stuff whole.

Another instance of Mr Lowell's thoughts to be getting on with and for you to delight yourself with is when he howls with reference to religion: "Christianity:/that poison:/that religion fit for children and slaves." He refers to the Holocaust and declaims "The Holy-Hoax! / The biggest lie since the Virgin Mary:/ at a Holy-Cost to us all".

After the tsunami, Mr Lowell wrote: "Not a penny to the KKK! Not a penny to Asians, Africans, Mongolids and what not. / Not a penny to anyone except our Europid brothers". Oh well, he is nothing if not consistent in his racism.

I could go on, but I think you get the message. The people who infest vm.org and who go to barbecues with Mr Lowell "at the Sacred Spot" (Dwejra) as if they are participants in some Druidic ceremony on hallowed ground will probably rub their hands with glee at all this publicity. All I can say to that is, well, good luck to them if they think that this publicity is doing them good.

On the other hand, those of you who end their letters to the Editor with "after all, charity begins at home" or start them with "I am not a racist" might wish to give some consideration to whether you really, really want to be associated with that garbage.

Those of you out there who sometimes mumble that "well, Lowell has a point, really, all these blackies all over the place" and then go off to receive Holy Communion, as is your right, would do well to give some thought to what it is you're supporting, actively or passively. Do you really agree that the klandestini should be left to drown? Or that they should be herded into quarries in the blazing sun? Well, those are two of the solutions that your "hero" has proposed: you might want to consider your position.

My apologies if this segment was a bit heavy: I feel a bit strongly about pollution, especially of the moral kind.

Take aim

You can tell, in Malta, when a politician is doing a decent job: his opponents (and more often than not, his friends too) try to shoot him down.

Austin Gatt, that blushing violet who is hampered by a disposition that tolerates fools and knaves way, way too much, is currently being sniped at by the Republic's Loyal Opposition. The chatterati (a lovely new word I gleaned off the Net) also seem to delight in trying to have a slash at him every so often, perhaps because he doesn't suck up to their friends and cousins all the time.

Which leads me to the conclusion that, just maybe, Dr Gatt is doing something right.

More wine please

In my never-ending quest for pleasing locales where you can ingest the fermented juice of the grape and some tasty morsels (flippin' 'ell I can be twee can't I?) I came across a new place in Balzan, Fra Giuseppe right next to the parish church. I will be investigating its offerings further but the quick glass and snack we had there last week was pretty much up to standard.

Handy, too, being as it's virtually next door to Chez Beck.

bocca@waldonet.net.mt