Postscript to my entry of yesterday…
Even at the bottom of the planet we are not safe from the spread of Islam.

In this morning's newspaper it is reported that Muslim terror groups have sent representatives from the Islamic movements Al Haramain, Hizb Ut-Tahrir and Wahhabi, promoters of physical jihad including suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism, to preach their beliefs on campus at Auckland University.
These visiting Muslims have caused a split in the original Islamic society at the university, holding Friday prayer meetings and preaching sermons to pressure peaceful Muslims to acknowledge the full extent of their faith, Islam.

Clearly the members of the original Islamic society on campus are not practising the principle of nasikh where later Qur'anic revelations are to mansookh or cancel out earlier ones. Muslims remaining in the original group are citing earlier revelations to "prove" that the Qur'an is a peaceful religion. Either they are practising taqiyya (holy hypocrisy and deception) or if genuine, they are not adhering to the true teaching of their faith.
Their more devout brothers will have them in their sights for the sword of Islam too.
Yes, devout Muslims kill other Muslims as well.
Nothing is to stand in the way of Islam… according to the Qur'an.

From Middle Eastern religion to Eastern music with Western multimedia elements… a recent concert by the NZ Symphony Orchestra featured a modern Chinese composer who showed us the most amazing sounds that could be produced by an orchestra of classical instruments.
Tan Dun's composition "Death and Fire" was full of sharp piercing animal calls simulated by the orchestra, quite un-nerving to listen to but very interesting (to me anyway) as well, together with hints of Bach and some unusual witty humour.
Even the names of the inserts (distinctly separate parts of the overall composition) were intriguing… Animals at Full Moon, Twittering Machine, Earth Witches, Intoxication.
Yes well, although it was interesting, I think my preference was for Mahler's "Das Lied Von Der Erde" which comprised the second half of the programme.
Even so, this was partly a work of depression and despair as Mahler contemplated his own mortality, having no belief in a personal hereafter, although finished with a drinking song through which his intention was to evoke the desire to drown his senses and transform them into an intense intoxication with the beauty of this Earth.

I was looking forward to something a little more happy as an encore, and that was provided by our host's invitation to drinks and canapés with members of the orchestra afterwards.
We certainly enjoyed chatting at some length with the chief trumpet player who was likewise challenged in his definition of "music" by the Chinese composition, preferred Mahler's earlier works, and was a great fan of Rachmaninov.
I think I'm really a classical romantic by heart.