Since we don’t live by politics alone (I sincerely hope), what did people get up to this weekend? Join in, share some tales, regulars and lurkers all!
Life, Culture and Politics from BrisVegas
Larvatus Prodeo was an Australian group blog which discussed politics, sociology, culture, life, religion and science from a left of centre perspective. more»
De-possumed the toilet.
Listened to the rain, and watched the car sink further into the mud.
Terangeree you mentioned on another thread that one of the Columbine shooters was Harlequin.
Do you mean enacting an archetype or something? I’m fascinated. I would have asked on the other thread, but its pretty noisy.
Yesterday was a bit of a fun day. I’ve reached the point of diminishing returns in my research for the 2 chapters on Grose, Collins, Ross,Shea and Johnston and Proctor at the siege of Boston, 1775-76 and am ready to start writing again. (I do have two more primary sources to get, but have all the material for Boston in them from other sources.) So I decided, that done, I’d take the day off and watch some DVDs. Watched Balibo, Enemy at the Gates and Gangs of New York.(I believe in rewrading myself when I get to certain points in my work, but not for too long.)
Woke up this morning full of good intentions. Took more notes from the several thousand page long Naval Documents of the American Revolution vol 5 – on Halifax, Virginia and New York. Then, big mistake though I did not know it, went on line, to Google News and found out about the Arizona massacre, not having watched TV news last night. It was one of those things – I wanted to know everything I could about it for some reason as it really touched a chord, so have spent most of the day surfing the web about it and commenting on the relevant LP thread.
Fixed me microwave, by leaving it unplugged for four days. Back on LP.
Tonight, when I finally get off line, will watch a couple of episodes of Raffles.
Oh, and I turned 66 today, but didn’t realise it till halfway through the day.
I finished reading The Windup Girl (review at my blog) and I’m setting off for a few hours’ table tennis with a Kazakhstani Doctor. Fun!
Happy birthday, Paul. I hope your 67th year is wonderful.
Thanks, Fiona, so do I. At 66 I have four more years to go to 70. Which might mean the book I’m working on + another one finished.And published.
Jules @ 2:
It was a reference to the Comedia dell’Arte characters, not the US High School now notorious for one of the many US High School massacres of the last 30 or so years.
Happy Birthday, Paul.
Happy Birthday Paul.
Clickety-click..good on you Paul and many more to pass.
Happy Birthday, Paul.
Terangaree @7. Well thats so over my head its dry. Unlike the roof.
Comedia dell’Arte is a fascinating looking thing tho, thanks for that.
Happy birthday Paul. Does this mean you share a birthday with Elvis??
I cleaned out the fridge and replaced its contents with the sort of food I couldn’t buy before – meaning for starters stuff with mushrooms in it.
And read the owners’ manual for my car. This thing even says goodbye to me when I switch the engine off FFS.
All the best for the next year paul.
Jules @ 11:
Some argue, apparently, that Harlequin makes a demonic appearance in Canto XXI of Dante’s Inferno.
No Columbina, though.
bmitw @ 12
With Elvis? Cool. I didn’t know what date he was born on.
Thanks everybody for your birthday greetings.
Happy Birthday, Paul.
I turned 60 just before Christmas, and frankly I never thought I’d get this old. You seem to be travelling well.
DI (nr)
No. I never thought I’d make it either. I didn’t think I’d get past 59. Considering the self-destructiveness of my long youth (to about age 40)I reckon I’m a remarkable survivor, touch wood.
PS. I’ve even given up growing old disgracefully. It takes too much effort. Rather enjoying growing old sedately.
And belated birthday greetings from me too, Paul. I’ve held on to 68 and it’s not disastrous so far.
Odd Sunday observation which caused some reflection: While driving my cab I passed by the home of an intellectually disabled bloke I take in the cabs a bit.
He was sitting on the front fence and gave a sort of wave, to which I immediately responded with a big wave back. He in turn gave a delighted thumbs up of recognition.
It reminded me of a very early childhood ritual of when I was about 3 years or maybe younger. Our grandparents would visit us, and their eventual departure was of course a little sad. I always watched the car go off. As it reached the corner, my grandfather’s arm would appear through the side-curtain flap (it was an old Morris Cowley tourer) to signal a right turn. After the signal there would always be a back wave to us kids waiting out the front.
I used to delight in that wave directed to us and would always look forward to seeing it, never venturing back inside until it occurred.
It set me thinking whether there was something in our primal mind that took great pleasure from this form of greeting. I am at loss to explain it and would welcome any comments. Of course it is part of our rituals at public parades – celebrities give us a wave and we lap it up.
Wish I knew why. My best guess is that it is some warmth that can be displayed without language.
Couldn’t stand being rained-in in my flat with all my washing hanging inside to dry, so caught a train to Ipswich, had a bowl of laksa and caught the train back to Brisbane.
Belated Happy Birthday Paul.
Happy birthday Paul B.
yes a belated happy birthday Paul and many happy returns.
I saw Tap Dogs on Saturday at The Capitol. It’s a fabulous theatre but it could use more comfortable seats!
Tap Dogs was something of a crossover between dancing and percussive performance. The sound, choreography and lighting created a richly layered and textured experience, and the energy from the two backing drummers was inspiring.
Happy birthday, Paul and many more.
Wow! Rain. It’s as dry as a chip here, not a drop for weeks, so if anyone wants to send a few inches to SA, we’ll be grateful.
Jane – I’m sick to death of the ridiculous wet crap falling out the Melbourne sky. Have it all, SA.
It’s making my tomatoes explode (the fruit, and literally) though also keeping the cavolo nero and green beans cranking well past their usual cutoff, so… y’know…
Will gladly accept it, FDB. We’re more likely to have dust storms, here.
Have go to Adelaide in a fortnight, so will be interested to see whether Lake Albert is still lapping at the edge of the road and if the Murray has spilled any further onto the flood plain at Swanport. The Coorong is chokkers as well.
It might even be worth the extra time to take the Wellington punt on the way home and see how lake Alexandrina is going.
Apparently, the river has been flowing so strongly that houseboats are moored because it’s too hard to battle the current. And there’s talk that they’ll open the barrages.
I’m going to quickly post this here. It’s kind of random, not really whimsical, no make that definitely not whimsical.
I wonder if you guys know how bad personal theft is over here in Germany. It is incredible. Much, much worse than anything I’ve personally experienced in Australia. That is mainly Sydney and the North Coast of NSW. Well, ok, in the country, you almost don’t have to lock the door, when you go out, although that too, apparently, is changing… Onward and downwards!!
Anyway, you leave anything unlocked over here it’s gone in 5mins. Every second time. 2 days ago, my 5 yr old daughter’s bike light was stolen– while her bike was at her kindergarten. Today may bike light was stolen, while I was at uni for the morning. My wife’s bike was stolen from out of our bike-cellar last year, etc. But, this is maybe a better story, I was at the sauna a few months ago, and left my bottle of soap on the shelf, when I got back it was all used. People had just helped themselves… That’s how people roll in Germany.
Couple of lessons to be taken from this – cakes of soap are better, people over here are strangely enough, very hygiene sensitive. B-But, and more importantly, there’s also this somewhat suffocating moral attitude stuff over here. This is anything but transparent– “Oh, god, I would never steal…” and meanwhile, everyone’s out for all they can get. This is the modern world — forget ethics, anything like that. Don’t get caught but other than that: just gofer it! Steal, beat people up, take what you want. Be a G-angster. Just don’t let your neighbour cramp your style. That’s what rights are for.
And don’t forget this is the very trappings of modern sophistication and pluralism! Maybe we need to go back to religion? And large families. Kill all those smart arse modern philosophers/ sociologists/ psychologists/ economists… Just go back to doing what’s in The Book. Because otherwise, it’s damnation for eternity. Even most of the idiots seem to understand that.
Maybe we should have our won law and order thread. I read this morning that one of the Ibrahim brothers was shot in the knee caps this morning, after a car was driven into a tattoo parlor owned by know Comanchero associates.
Remind me again why we don’t have a scorched earth policy against these people? Besides the human rights issues? And the police’s ability to actually find out who the bad guys are. I mean what goods and services are these people supplying?
Drugs, prostitution, violent coercion, illegal weapons. They also help to keep insurance companies in business, I guess. Like, when they rob banks, and break other people’s stuff.
And, they’re such total pigs. You know, big muscle bound arrogant macho swine. I’m pretty certain that I couldn’t even be bothered trying to find out, what’s behind that ugly exterior.
Joe, both your latest comments belong on a Saturday Salon thread, not a Lazy Sunday thread. You should know this by now.