Episode 12: Flowers, Cheese, Costumes and Singing

Join us in this next episode as we discover the the outcome of the Estonian Singing Revolution, discuss award winning costume designer Edith Head, examine the amazing design of the Lotus Temple, learn about the Italian Robiola Cheese, and finish the episode with in Ireland!    Coming on June 2, 2020!

Transcript

Welcome to Trivial Knowledge: A Little bit about a Whole Lot. My name is Stephanie and I’m excited to bring to you this next episode of Trivial Knowledge.  I hope you enjoy learning about the topics of today’s episode as much as I did.  From a famous costume designer to a singing revolution that led to independence, this episode has it all.  Anyway, before we start, here’s s little bit of background for those who are listening for the first time:  Each podcast episode brings you a weekly dose of knowledge from five different topics drawn from four broad categories and to add to the fun one topic will be acquired from a random Wikipedia page. With such an extensive range of topics there’s going to be something here for everyone!  If you enjoy this episode please subscribe to my podcast on apple podcasts, spotify, google podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Now let’s dive in to Episode 12:  Flowers, Cheese, Costumes and Singing.

I first came across this first topic that we are going to discuss when it was briefly mentioned in an article I was reading.  While I no longer remember the main topic of the article, the few sentences describing the Estonian Singing Revolution stuck in my head, and I want to talk about it today.  Estonia is the northern most country of three Baltic States located in Europe.  To the south of Estonia lie the other two Baltic states, Latvia and Lithuania. Estonia, about the size of New Hampshire and Vermont combined is home to approximately 1.3 million people. Estonians have lived on their land for between 5000-8000 years and remained independent until the early 13thcentury when Germany invaded.  Over the next several centuries, the rule of Estonia passed between Germans, Danes, Swedes and Poles until eventually landing with Russia in 1721.  Following WWI, Estonia briefly regained independence but unfortunately did not hold it for long.  On August 23, 1939, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pactwas signed between Germany’s Hitler and Russia’s Stalin, effectively dividing up Europe between the two countries.  One month later, Stalin delivered an ultimatum to Estonia, telling the country that either they allow Russia to maintain military bases in their countries and retain their independence or Russian would invade with the plan to occupy the country.  Estonia, backed into a corner, agreed to the military bases but Stalin did not keep his side of the bargain and in June 1940, the Soviet Union occupied the country.  Many of Estonia’s business and political leaders were executed, while other Estonians who were not killed were deported to working camps or to Siberia.  Russians were brought into Estonia to dilute their population and Estonia would end up losing ¼ of their population due to the “Russification” of their country.  Flying the Estonian flag and speaking the Estonian language became illegal but despite all this, Estonian’s never lost their national identity.   They fought back using a variety of methods to eventually regain their independence and one such method has become known as The Singing Revolution.

            Music has long been a cherished part of Estonian culture and national identity and in fact the first great song festival, known as Laulupidu, was first held in 1869, and has continued to be held regularly since then.  This became a cornerstone of the Estonian resistance.  The first festival after the Soviet occupation occurred in 1947.  Soviets’ allowed the festival to be held planning to use it as part of their propaganda with the lyrics of the songs being changed to support Soviet values and history.  What the Soviets didn’t realize, due to the difficulty of learning the Estonian language, was that the Estonians were able to hide their agenda by using hidden meaning in the words.  One such song was composed by Gustav  Ernesaks who set an old Estonian poem, My Country is my Love to music, which quickly became the unofficial national anthem, being sung at subsequent festivals as well.  While song help Estonians maintain their national identity, the Singing Revolution truly took hold in the late-1980’s.  In 1985, Michael Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union and announced new policies include perestroika and glasnost, meaning greater political openness.  With these changes, Estonians began to test their limits starting with a protest over phosphorite mines that the Russian’s had plan to build in Estonia despite environmental concerns.  The Estonians were successful and the construction of the mines was stopped.  In 1988, three large music festivals took place in Estonia and would become the heart of the Revolution.  The first, a pop music festival took place in May where four songs, written by Alo Mattisen, a leader of the independence movement, were highlighted at the festival.  One month later in June, Medieval City Days was held where 100,000 Estonians gathered for five nights of singing protest songs.  Then on September 11, 1988, a festival was held at the Song Festival Grounds outside Tallinn, bringing 300,000 people or over 20% of the population to the grounds.  Patriotic songs were sung and many Estonians dressed in folk costumes made by their grandparents many years before.  That same year in 1988, the Estonian Soverignty Declaration was signed stating Estonian laws were superior to Soviet laws.  On August 23, 1989, the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, over one million Estonians joined with their Baltic state neighbors Latvia and Lithuanian, who were also fighting for their independence from Soviet occupation, held hands.  They created a human chain that stretched over 360 miles or 600 km through the country’s capitals of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius and sang patriotic songs together. On August 20, 1991, Estonian’s declared their independence from the Soviet Union.  The following day Soviet troops tried to take control of Tallinn TV Tower and several radio stations but Estonia’s Prime Minister sent out a message and unarmed Estonians rose to the occasion protecting the buildings with their own bodies.  The Soviet troops backed-off, and would soon recognize Estonia’s independence.  Since the success of the Singing Revolution, the Republic of Estonia’s has become a member of both the European Union and NATO and in 2011 adopted the Euro currency.  For those who would like to learn more about the Singing Revolution a documentary film was made in 2006 called The Singing Revolution and has won several award including Best Documentary at the 2007 Savannah Film Festival and has 83% on the website Rotten Tomatoes.  This film can be rented or bought from a variety of websites and has its own website at www.singingrevolution.com which I will link to on my website.  Of note, based on the preview on the website and the review on IMDB I would recommend parents preview the film before showing to their children due to violence, especially noted in first 10 minutes.  

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Sabrina, Samson and Delilah and A Place in the Sun were all popular and famous movies of the mid 20th century.  They also had one other thing in common, Edith Head as their costume designer, known for designs ranging from sophisticated simplicity to elaborate flamboyance.   Edith Head had a long and historical career in Hollywood as a costume designer and she did this despite starting her career off in an entirely different field of work.

            Edith Head was born on October 28, 1897 as Edith Claire Posener in San Bernandino California to Max Posener and Anne Levy.  Shortly after her birth, her parents divorced and her mother remarried a mining engineering, Frank Spare, when she was 7 or 8 years old.  Because of his job, the family moved a lot in her early years, mostly in mining towns and camps in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.  After finishing high school, she attended the University of California, Berkeley where she received a bachelor of arts in letters and sciences with honors in French.  She then moved to Stanford University earning a Masters of Arts degree in romance languages.  Following her graduation she became a language teacher at Bishop School in La Jolla before moving to the Hollywood School for Girls where she taught French and also requested to teach art, despite having no formal education in this subject.  To help supplement her teaching, she enrolled in night classes at Otis Art Institute and Chouinard  Art College, where she met her first husband, Charles Head who was a brother of one of her classmates.  They married on July 25, 1923 and she changed her name to Edith Head.  The summer of 1923, she found a classified ad for a sketch artist at Paramount Studios.  Needing extra money, she used a borrowed portfolio to obtain the position, though Howard Greer, the Chief Designer at Paramount at the time, realized she did this and hired her despite it.  Edith Head initially worked as a sketch artist, before working her way to becoming a costume designer.  One of her first memorable costume designs was Dorothy Lamour’s first sarong in The Jungle Princess, released in 1936.  She quickly made a name for herself at the studio and in 1938,  became the chief designer at Paramount, the first woman to head a design studio at any major studio.  That same year she divorced her husband though remained known as Edith Head professionally.  In 1940, she remarried to Bill Ihnen a famous set designer at Paramount.  Her designs started gaining national publicity including the mink-lined gown she designed for Ginger Rogers in Lady in the Dark, released in 1944.    She was the favorite costume designer for the leading female stars of the 1940’s and 1950’s, including Grace Kelly, Aubrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor, not only for her incredible costumes but also for her willingness to consult and work in collaboration with the actors.

            In 1949, the academy award for costume design was created and Edith Head would be nominated for the award 35 times, winning it a record 8 times.  Her design style was even noticed by the United States Coast Guard who asked her to design new uniforms for the women of the Coast Guard for which she received a Meritorious Public Service Award .  She worked for Paramount studio until 1967 when, at 70 years old, she joined Universal Pictures after an invitation from Alfred Hitchcock, who she had worked with when he was at Paramount.  She remained there until her death at 83 years old on October 24, 1981 from myelofibrosis myeloid, a rare disease of the bone marrow.  Her legend lives on and in 2003, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp honoring Head as part of a series commemorating behind the camera people on movies.  She also has a star on Hollywood Boulevard located at 6504 Hollywood Boulevard.  Some people believe that her personal style of two piece suits, bangs and large glasses, was also the inspiration for Edna Mode in the Pixar movie The Incredibles.  If you would like to see the costumes from the movies she worked on I have links on my website to an Elle article and an article from The Cut website that have many pictures to view of her fabulous designs.

            Architecture has always interested me and at one point in my life I wanted to become an architect.  Now I live out those dreams vicariously building houses in the Sims.  Whenever I travel, my favorite types of pictures to take are of unique architectural designs and while I have not had the opportunity to see the building we will talk about today yet, you can definitely say its been uniquely designed.  The Lotus Temple is located in New Delhi, India and is one of the eight continental Baha’I  Houses of Worship located around the world that celebrate the Baha’I faith.  .”  The temple opened to the public in December 1986 and its unique design brings >10,000 visitors a day to its 26 acres of land.  Canadian architect Arthur Erickson describes this project on the Bahai House of Worship website as “One of the most remarkable achievements of our time, proving that the drive and vision of spirit can achieve miracles

            Upon the decision to create a new House of Worship in New Delhi, India, the Universal House of Justice, which is, the international governing body of Baha’I sent out a request to architects worldwide asking them to submit their designs.  At the end of the interviews, Fariborz Sahba  was chosen to design the House of Worship.  Sahba was born in Mashhad, Iran and his dream of becoming an architect started at age 5 when his mother told him stories of the first Baha’I House of Worship in Iran.  He finished his schooling, completing a Master’s Degree in Architecture in 1972 from Tehran University and now lives between Canada and the United States.   After being selected as the architect, Sahba traveled throughout India to learn more about Indian architecture to help him design the Temple.  During his travels he met with an Indian Baha’I friend, Mr. KamrudinBarter, who was the first to mention using the Lotus flower as the inspiration to build the Temple.   In his own words, quoted from The Bahai House of Worship Website, he says on finalizing the design inspiration “The deep respect for the lotus, spontaneously evoked in Indian hearts everwhere, and their loving attachment to this sacred flower, convinced me to end my search for further ideas for the design.”  Sahba designed the building to look like a half-open lotus flower floating on water.  With the design of the building complete, the truly hard work began as the design had to be converted into geometrical shapes, that could be expressed in mathematical equations for structural analysis and to complete engineering drawings.  The geometry to achieve this was so complex it took 2.5 years to complete.  Fariborz Sahba stayed on as project manager and Flint and Neill Limited, now called COWI, were the consulting structural Engineers.  Once this was finished, construction began on April 21, 1980 and was completed on December 21, 1986, taking a total of 6 years and 8 months.  The temple was constructed by ECC Construction Group.  For those who are interested in knowing exactly how the construction was complete, I have linked a PDF called Architectural Blossoming of the Lotus by S. Naharoy from the Bahai House of Worship website to my website at www.trivialknowledgepodcast.com.  Upon completion, the Temple consisted of 27 petals or leaves separated into nine groups of three to make a nine-sided circular lotus.  The outermost leaves, open outward and cover the nine entrances to the Temple.  The middle set of leaves open inward and protect the outer halls while was the innermost set of leaves form the main structure that houses the central hall.  The lotus was designed so that the entire structure acts like a skylights so natural light passes through into the interior.  The petals or leaves are made of concrete slabs covered by marble that was obtained from Greece, before being sent to Italy to be cut to size and shape.  Once the marble arrived on site, carpenters, who had learned the art of marble fixing within a few weeks completed the work of attaching the marble to the concrete slabs.  Because the top of the lotus is half opened a glass and steel skylight was created to protect from rain.  The central hall, with a 40 meter high ceiling, is located in the center of the Lotus and can hold 2500 people.  It’s floor is made of marble and there are no pictures, statues, altars or platforms inside.  People of all religions are allowed to worship in the central hall of prayer but no sermons or ritualistic ceremonies are allowed.  On the outside are 9 pools representing the floating leaves of the lotus and they also help cool the air that passes over them, which is another unique function of the Temple.  Because the cost of using air conditioning to keep the temple cool would have been tremendous, it was designed so that ‘natural ventilation could be used.  This is how it works in Sabha’s own words from the Bahai House of Worship website:  “It is based upon the results of “smoke tests” which were performed in the Imperial College of London on a model of the Temple.  The results demonstrated that with openings in the basement and at the top, the building would act like a chimney, drawing up warm air from within the hall and expelling it through the top of the dome.  Thus constant drafts of cool air passing over the pools and through the basement flow in the hall and out through the opening at the top.”  

            The Lotus Temple and its architect, Sahba, have won many awards for its design.  One of the biggest was awarded in 2000 when Sahba won the GlobArt Academy 2000 award for in quotes “the magnitude of the service of this Taj Mahal of the 20th century in promoting the unity and harmony of people of all nations, religions, and social strata, to an extent unsurpassed by any other architectural monument worldwide.”  

            Cheese.  One of my favorite foods to snack on, whether on a cracker, with pretzels or on its own, it’s a food I always make sure I have in my fridge.  Today we are going to talk about a specific type of cheese, made in the northern Italian region of Lombardy and Piedmont called Robiola.  Robiola, an ancient cheese, is a soft-ripened cheese with a texture similar to Brie.  There are several different types of Robiola cheese but they are all made with some combination of cows, goats, and or sheep milk.  The milk can either be pasteurized or raw.  The cheese is believed to get its name from the latin word rubere, which means ruddy, due to the reddish color its seasoned rind.  The cheese is generally eaten as a table cheese and can be eaten alone or with oil, salt, pepper, honey or on crackers or bread.   The cheeses can be found as either mature or fresh cheese.  The fresh cheese is riped for 4-10 days and the rind may be a light natural bloom or may not be present.  The body of the cheese is a white to straw-yellow color and is soft and creamy with the flavor ranging from tangy to slightly sour.  Mature cheese is ripened longer for 11 or more days which forms a rind that becomes slightly reddish in color and from which the cheese gets its name.  It becomes creamier with age and this is from changes in the protein within the cheese itself.

            One type of this cheese is called Robiola Rochetta which is produced by Caseificio dell’Alta Langha located in Alta Langa region of Piedmont, Italy.  It is made from the combination of pasteurized milk from goat, cow and sheep.  The edible rind is the color of brain coral while the cheese itself is an off white.  It has a buttery, tangy, nutty taste with the taste becoming more robust the longer it is aged, which is typically for less than one month.   Another popular Robiola cheese is called La Tur cheese also produced by Caseificio Dell’Alta Langa in Piedmont, Italy.  Many cheese aficionados describe it as a “earthier, funkier brie.”  The La Tur has a soft, moist edible rind and is also known as a bloomy rind cheese which refers to the “bloom” of good bacteria which helps create a delicious rind.  It also is made of the combination of cow, goat and sheep’s milk which is then lightly pasteurized at low temps allowing for natural microbes to boost its final flavor.   The curds are placed in molds which are drained under their own weight which creates a higher-moisture, fragile cheese.  The cheese is then aged for 10-15 days.  This cheese, like other robiola’s are best eaten fresh at room temperature.  It can be refrigerated for several weeks but the flavor will become more robust the longer it is aged.  One last type of Robiola that we will discussed today, also produced at Caseificio dell’Alta Langa is called Robiola Bosina.  This cheese is known as a “due latte” as it is only produced from two milks, a mixture of sheep and cow’s.  It has a thin, white edible crust and the longer it ages the more creamy it becomes.  It has a slight buttery taste, a little like mushrooms with a sweet after taste.  

            For those interested in trying to make this cheese on their own, I have added a link on my website to a recipe from the New England Cheese Making Supply Company.  

            For today’s random Wikipedia page, we are going to travel to County Clare, Ireland to visit a limestone cave called Doolin Cave, best known for its Great Stalactite.  The cave was first discovered in 1952 by two members of the Craven Pothold Club, a caving club from the Yorkshire Dales.  J.M. Dickenson and Brian Varley were with a group of about 12 men visiting the area the cave was located in, known as the Burren, when they decided to explore a cliff face that the group had found earlier.  They noticed that a small stream disappeared underneath a large cliff and the two men followed the water, crawling for ~500 meters before reaching the cave’s main chamber.  According to the Doolin cave website, the men described the main cave, in quotes, “Scrambling over boulders, we stood speechless in a large chamber of ample width, length and impressive height.  As our lamps circled this great hall we picked out a gigantic stalactite, certainly over 30 feet in length, the only formation in the chamber and set proudly in the very centre.  It is really majestic and poised like the veritable sword of Damocles [Dam-o-cleese].  With out headlamps inadequately flood lighting this huge formation we tip toed-believe it or not, to the bottom of the chamber, not daring to speak lest the vibration of the first voices ever to sound in this hall since the beginning of time should cause it to shatter.”

            In 1990, the land where the cave was located was bought by John and Helen Browne, who after a lot of controversy and court proceedings made it into a show cave, opening to visitors in 2006.  An entrance shaft was created of 125 steps leading to the Great Stalactite.  This Stalactite, measuring 24 feet or 7.3 meters in length is the longest free hanging stalactite in Europe and one of the longest in the world.  It is held to the ceiling by a <0.3 sq m section of calcite.  The site is opened to visitors by a 45-50 minute guided tour, with cost listed on its official website.  In an attempt to protect the stalactite the tours are limited in the number of people they can take per tour.  

And that concludes this episode of Trivial Knowledge: A little bit about a whole lot.  Thank you so much for joining me.  I hope you were able to take away some interesting facts that were new to you and that you can share with friends and family or at your local trivia night!  If you would like to learn more about topics that you enjoyed today you can access links to more in-depth articles on my show notes blog post on my website , www.trivialknowledgepodcast.com.  You can also find a sneak peak about next week’s episode that will be posted next week.  If you have questions or would like to leave comments about today’s episode, please e-mail me at trivialknowledge5@gmail.com or contact me via social media links on my website.  And if you’ve enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with your family and friends.  I look forward to our new adventures next week when we will learn about the history of A.E.K Athens Football club and much much more!  I will end this episode with a quote from Platos “Knowledge is the food of the soul.”  Join me next week to learn a little bit more about a whole lot!