It's been said, I have a ponshon for languages. I don't doubt this, although I have no idea what a penchant is. Being in Italy has awakened my foreign language brain module, but I don’t feel like it’s yet wiped the sleep from its eyes nor stretched the stretches out of its sleepy limbs.
I am troubled by the access to Italian grammar that I have. The LP book contains but a few phrases, useful though they are. We’ve also a tiny Italian phrasebook, with a decent mini-dictionary at the back. But what I really like when I’m learning a language is a nice thorough guide to conjugation, prepositions and other key words like ‘more’ and ‘too’. Without this, how the hell am I going to construct whatever sentences suit my fancy at the minute, such as “Do you have life insurance?” Hang on, the little book might actually help me figure this out… “Ha l’assicuarazione della vita?” Alright!
As I was saying, the mini-dictionary is decent, and does include some verbs and some conjugations, but it doesn’t spell out the rules that I might determine for myself how to conjugate some newly discovered verb. Anyway, this might all be an excuse for me not to immerse myself fully in the oily waters of the Italian language and frolic in the frothy bubbles of the Venetian dialect. Mi piace questo reggiseno! E tuo?
Perhaps I’ll go and join the Potsdamer Institut for Klimaforschung, thus combining my love of languages with my love of institutes. Wifey encourages this development, so long as she gets first dibs on housespousehood. And the child still sleeps. But before any of that could happen, I’d have to establish myself as a bona fide climate scientist, and I’m yet to do this. In fact I have a fear that perhaps I’m only good for studying, not doing science.
The other night I was reminded of a habitual dream I used to dream, in which I am somewhere about a school or campus, and vaguely uneasy, because yes I’m late for, or have completely forgotten to go to German class! Oh no! I’ve actually missed a heap of these classes! Granted, my German has fallen from a great height, so even down here it’s ok. There’s not too much to worry about. But it’s not like me to miss classes! Ah, blast. Hang on, am I even studying German? Apparently so. Sometimes I realise in the dream that I’m not any more. But the dreams have always taken place at a time when I don’t study German. What a strange recurring dream.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Susudio
I may just have discovered Phil Collins' inspiration for this song. The Italian verb Sudare means 'to sweat'. Assuming he had a few problems in translation, the chorus of this song means 'I'm sweat-sweat-sweating'. What a revelation! This could be my career highlight to date.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Springtime in Venezia and the weather is warm. Big surprise!
As I write this, I am looking into the Cannaregio apartment that my family and I have been staying in since last Friday. On the wall in front of me there is a watercolour of a big white cruiseship entering Venice, browns and blues and mustard. To my right, three windows line the wall, and through them I can see old tiles and older tiles, wires and antennae, the odd rooftop deck and in the distance, a hazy blue grey horizon. Rain must be coming, I think, until I look up into the bright blue sky. Just a dirty sky then.
The whole thing is 32 square metres, twice the size of the Saarbrucken apartment I called home for a year waaaaay back in 2000. It feels small because of the design, not the absolute size. The bathroom is a walk in closet, narrow enough to make turning around a difficulty. The kitchen is a kitchenette, fitted out with gas hotplates but no oven. The bedroom is probably the nicest room in the house. No need to make things cramped there. Just a nice big bed, beautifully firm yet soft (how do they do that?), a set of drawers and a wardrobe. There is room for little Saskia’s portacot to sit beside the bed.
The worst feature of the bedroom is the low doorway, against which I have crushed my lovely head at least three times.
We are on the fourth floor, and despite my best intentions I do not foresee any of us (save Saskia) gaining weight this holiday. Not only do we need to drag our sorry carcasses up four flights, but there’s a 7kg baby, a three kilo pram, a variable weight backpack and any shopping we may have been foolish enough to do. Last night this included 18 kilos of water, half naturale and half frizzante. I was comforted only by the though that we weren’t drinking osmium, 22.4 times denser than water.
I continue to be amazed by our little girl Evie. Just now she put herself back to sleep by plunging her head down onto the recently abandoned dummy lying in her cot. She has been sluggish this morning and is covered in mosquito bites, the poor thing. Dio mio, for a fly screen. The day before yesterday she rolled over for the first and second times. The first time Rebecca and I both missed, as we studied our phones with new sims intently. I looked down, saw Evie on her stomach, nonchalant as you like, and gasped in shock and delight. A few hours later, the scene was repeated, fortunately I saw the whole thing. Sadly for Rebecca, she was in the can at the time. Even worse, her parents saw the whole thing too (Evie rolling, not… you know).
Evie charms and woos people wherever she goes. I can almost see her ego swelling as she fells one stranger after another with her knockout smile. It has been hot and I hope she’s not suffering for it too much.
Venice is an amazing city, in a totally different way to how Saskia is amazing. It’s like a golden rock rolling downhill into a bottomless chasm, onto which hundreds of thousands of people keep flinging themselves. It’s hard for me to imagine how this charming, difficult city has a future.The people grow old and the local population wanes, the city gets dirtier and dilapidateder, supplying it with food and energy gets costlier, tourists demand more and more, but contribute little to the infrastructure needs of the town. And if those crazy scientists are right, sea level rise is a’coming too. But I love the lack of cars.
Today I’m off to the Ludoteca, an ye olde church being used for an art exhibition by some Aussie artists. I’m supposed to bath Evie before we go, but it’s getting on and I don’t want her to go totally psycho and still be 45 minutes away from Rebecca.
I’m finding myself more and more in harmony with the Tao these days, though of course having said that now I’ve thrown it off balance and it’s disappeared. )Incidentally, I also discovered there is no Tao on airplanes.) I’m thinking of my family and friends. I’m wondering if the Bulldogs beat the Dragons.
The whole thing is 32 square metres, twice the size of the Saarbrucken apartment I called home for a year waaaaay back in 2000. It feels small because of the design, not the absolute size. The bathroom is a walk in closet, narrow enough to make turning around a difficulty. The kitchen is a kitchenette, fitted out with gas hotplates but no oven. The bedroom is probably the nicest room in the house. No need to make things cramped there. Just a nice big bed, beautifully firm yet soft (how do they do that?), a set of drawers and a wardrobe. There is room for little Saskia’s portacot to sit beside the bed.
The worst feature of the bedroom is the low doorway, against which I have crushed my lovely head at least three times.
We are on the fourth floor, and despite my best intentions I do not foresee any of us (save Saskia) gaining weight this holiday. Not only do we need to drag our sorry carcasses up four flights, but there’s a 7kg baby, a three kilo pram, a variable weight backpack and any shopping we may have been foolish enough to do. Last night this included 18 kilos of water, half naturale and half frizzante. I was comforted only by the though that we weren’t drinking osmium, 22.4 times denser than water.
I continue to be amazed by our little girl Evie. Just now she put herself back to sleep by plunging her head down onto the recently abandoned dummy lying in her cot. She has been sluggish this morning and is covered in mosquito bites, the poor thing. Dio mio, for a fly screen. The day before yesterday she rolled over for the first and second times. The first time Rebecca and I both missed, as we studied our phones with new sims intently. I looked down, saw Evie on her stomach, nonchalant as you like, and gasped in shock and delight. A few hours later, the scene was repeated, fortunately I saw the whole thing. Sadly for Rebecca, she was in the can at the time. Even worse, her parents saw the whole thing too (Evie rolling, not… you know).
Evie charms and woos people wherever she goes. I can almost see her ego swelling as she fells one stranger after another with her knockout smile. It has been hot and I hope she’s not suffering for it too much.
Venice is an amazing city, in a totally different way to how Saskia is amazing. It’s like a golden rock rolling downhill into a bottomless chasm, onto which hundreds of thousands of people keep flinging themselves. It’s hard for me to imagine how this charming, difficult city has a future.The people grow old and the local population wanes, the city gets dirtier and dilapidateder, supplying it with food and energy gets costlier, tourists demand more and more, but contribute little to the infrastructure needs of the town. And if those crazy scientists are right, sea level rise is a’coming too. But I love the lack of cars.
Today I’m off to the Ludoteca, an ye olde church being used for an art exhibition by some Aussie artists. I’m supposed to bath Evie before we go, but it’s getting on and I don’t want her to go totally psycho and still be 45 minutes away from Rebecca.
I’m finding myself more and more in harmony with the Tao these days, though of course having said that now I’ve thrown it off balance and it’s disappeared. )Incidentally, I also discovered there is no Tao on airplanes.) I’m thinking of my family and friends. I’m wondering if the Bulldogs beat the Dragons.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
human kindness
sitting, huddled over his computer, perpy tapped away at the keys. with his beak. for perpy was a bird! but in fact, perpy was, like you and me, a robot. bruce got to thinking - if i can't snap out of this funk then i'll never achieve my goals in life. and if there's one thing i want to achieve in life, it's my goals! perpy pecked a hole in bruce's teeth until bruce cried with pain. stoppit! it was all too much so perpy went to bed, and bruce followed her. as is so often the case these days, the bed was cold, so perpy warmed it up by releasing body heat. for this bruce was thankful and bruce thanked perpy in the usual way - a five star salute to the dog star sirius, using only a teaspoon and some bubic. they were so tired - dog tired - that they very easily entered a state of almost dreaminess, and this was a real pleasure.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
a sports guy
In which we realise the folly of predicting the future, and pass judgement on all 16 NRL teams.
A frequent way of gauging how a team is doing is to check out how their opponents have fared. Lost to team x? Well that's ok if team x has been on fire lately. Beaten team y? So what, so have everyone. Only problem is this doesn't seem to have been very informative thus far. Or to be more explicit, my tips have been unfailingly failing of late.
Eels - turned the corner or just lucky to run into a Cowboys team that did the opposite of turning the corner (Took a step backwards? Nah, too cliched. Let's say the Cowboys turned around, headed back to the corner they'd just turned, saw the Eels lying face down in their own vomit, picked them up, nursed them back to consciousness and then drank the dregs of whatever it was the Eels had been drinking)
Cowboys - doing shocking, but you can never write off a team with JT, Matty Bowen and Aaron Paine. Hang on, sure you can. Good things to miss the semis. Which reminds me - have you noticed how somehow Cooper Cronk has snuck into Melbourne's elite four? Everyone keeps saying you can't write off a team with Greg Inglis, Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and... Cooper Cronk. What the? From now on I'm calling Cronk Ringo.
Sea Eagles - assuming Brett Stewart returns in 10 weeks, Sea Eagles are hoping 20 points is enough to sneak in to the top 8. Because they can't lose with him and can't win without him. And I still think he can win top try scorer of the year.
Storm - remind me of the Bulldogs of 2007. Gutted by a bad loss to end their season, they never really got rolling. They kept promising to... but never did. Still, any team that's got....
Titans - remind me of the Titans of 2007 and 2008. They need to tank a few games now so they can turn the corner in the second half of the season.
Rabbitohs - I hate to say it, but I don't think they can win with Jason Taylor as coach. Sure, they've got a stack of other problems, but the comp's pretty close this season and a good coach makes a big difference. He's helped make them competitive again, but like Ivan Cleary with the Warriors, doesn't appear to be capable of getting them over the hump from threateners to genuine contenders.
Sharks - I've tipped them more times this year than they've completed sets. Surely they've gotta pull together for Sticky and pull out a win against (...checking their next game...) the Panthers. At Penrith. I am definitely tipping the Sharks to win that one.
Roosters - Brad Fittler, wonder coach. I just wanted to see what those words would look like together. The Dogs have got some good players coming through this season, so the Roosters are looking specials in 2010.
Knights - ever noticed how the media is suddenly taking them seriously, and pretending that they've taken them seriously since the preseason? And that Brian Smith is a good coach again? For Smithy's sake, I really hope they don't tank in a grand final qualifier.
Broncos - I had them down as the only consistently good team this year til they stunk up the joint at Novacastria. Only team I would bet my wife's savings on to make the top 8.
Raiders - they are good things to put together a run at some time this year and have Matty Johns tell us how they are going to dominate seasons 2011-2014, once their young blokes get some experience. Someone remind him no one good has stayed in Canberra into their prime since Clyde, Sticky and Tooley (look up Roy and HG's State of Origin commentary).
Panthers - equal 7th, in the 8 on for and against. A couple of losses away from Elliot getting fired. Wait, they re-signed him? For two years? I love my footy!
Dragons - Dragons fans are shitting themselves because everyone expects them to play consistently now they have Wayne "Zen Master" Bennett as coach. I don't think the rest of the comp minds StGeorge being favourites now either. That's ok, because even if they don't win this year, Wayne's building something very beautiful.
Warriors - everyone's tip to go on with things this year after their spirited finish last year. Just blew games against the Dragons and Storm because they have too many Kiwis in the side. Is there a player with a higher games odometer than Steve Price? It's more than just first grade games too, this guy hits it up and tackles and charges down and still plays rep footy, what, five years after leaving the Dogs? Unbeeeeeelievable.
Bulldogs - preseason good things to miss the eight this year, once again no one in the media admits surprise at their form. To be fair, they haven't set the world on fire, but they're topping the table despite losing two points in the Penrifgate. Was anyone else suckered by the write up a few weeks back in which Jamal Idris was touted as a potential 100m sprinter? Maybe after lap band stomach surgery. Patten made a bust, passed to Idris only for Idris to pass back to him. Would Usain Bolt do that? I don't think so.
Tigers - Is Tim Sheens a master coach? I'll have to do some research and get back to you on that. In the mean time, I'm scared by the parallels between Taniela Tuiaki and Matt Utai. And Tank goes much better with Tuiaki's name too. Let's hope he catches a few bombs before he becomes a head case.
Eight rounds in, and I don't think we've learned too much. No one is quite looking premiership material yet, but a few have ruled themselves out. In fact I can state quite confidently (i prefer to make confident bad predictions rather than unconfident bad predictions) that the table has settled into two rough groupings. The upper half (ending at the Warriors) and the lower half (Cowboys down). Don't expect much movement between those two groups.
In a side note, foxsports is reporting that Tim Sheens (or the all mighty and all powerful selectors) has showed loyalty to the Kangaroos side that lost last year's world cup final, by picking them for the anz test. Am i missing something, or is loyalty normally shown to victorious sides? I can just see Sheens informing players who missed out. Yeah, sorry mate, but Lockyer played too poorly in that test last year to be dropped on poor form this year alone. Good, I knew you'd understand. Now can we just quickly go through your lines for the media tomorrow? "Mate, I just gotta keep playing my game and not worry about the selectors." Perfect. Alright, catcha later...i love you too.. catcha". Click.
I love my footy!
A frequent way of gauging how a team is doing is to check out how their opponents have fared. Lost to team x? Well that's ok if team x has been on fire lately. Beaten team y? So what, so have everyone. Only problem is this doesn't seem to have been very informative thus far. Or to be more explicit, my tips have been unfailingly failing of late.
Eels - turned the corner or just lucky to run into a Cowboys team that did the opposite of turning the corner (Took a step backwards? Nah, too cliched. Let's say the Cowboys turned around, headed back to the corner they'd just turned, saw the Eels lying face down in their own vomit, picked them up, nursed them back to consciousness and then drank the dregs of whatever it was the Eels had been drinking)
Cowboys - doing shocking, but you can never write off a team with JT, Matty Bowen and Aaron Paine. Hang on, sure you can. Good things to miss the semis. Which reminds me - have you noticed how somehow Cooper Cronk has snuck into Melbourne's elite four? Everyone keeps saying you can't write off a team with Greg Inglis, Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and... Cooper Cronk. What the? From now on I'm calling Cronk Ringo.
Sea Eagles - assuming Brett Stewart returns in 10 weeks, Sea Eagles are hoping 20 points is enough to sneak in to the top 8. Because they can't lose with him and can't win without him. And I still think he can win top try scorer of the year.
Storm - remind me of the Bulldogs of 2007. Gutted by a bad loss to end their season, they never really got rolling. They kept promising to... but never did. Still, any team that's got....
Titans - remind me of the Titans of 2007 and 2008. They need to tank a few games now so they can turn the corner in the second half of the season.
Rabbitohs - I hate to say it, but I don't think they can win with Jason Taylor as coach. Sure, they've got a stack of other problems, but the comp's pretty close this season and a good coach makes a big difference. He's helped make them competitive again, but like Ivan Cleary with the Warriors, doesn't appear to be capable of getting them over the hump from threateners to genuine contenders.
Sharks - I've tipped them more times this year than they've completed sets. Surely they've gotta pull together for Sticky and pull out a win against (...checking their next game...) the Panthers. At Penrith. I am definitely tipping the Sharks to win that one.
Roosters - Brad Fittler, wonder coach. I just wanted to see what those words would look like together. The Dogs have got some good players coming through this season, so the Roosters are looking specials in 2010.
Knights - ever noticed how the media is suddenly taking them seriously, and pretending that they've taken them seriously since the preseason? And that Brian Smith is a good coach again? For Smithy's sake, I really hope they don't tank in a grand final qualifier.
Broncos - I had them down as the only consistently good team this year til they stunk up the joint at Novacastria. Only team I would bet my wife's savings on to make the top 8.
Raiders - they are good things to put together a run at some time this year and have Matty Johns tell us how they are going to dominate seasons 2011-2014, once their young blokes get some experience. Someone remind him no one good has stayed in Canberra into their prime since Clyde, Sticky and Tooley (look up Roy and HG's State of Origin commentary).
Panthers - equal 7th, in the 8 on for and against. A couple of losses away from Elliot getting fired. Wait, they re-signed him? For two years? I love my footy!
Dragons - Dragons fans are shitting themselves because everyone expects them to play consistently now they have Wayne "Zen Master" Bennett as coach. I don't think the rest of the comp minds StGeorge being favourites now either. That's ok, because even if they don't win this year, Wayne's building something very beautiful.
Warriors - everyone's tip to go on with things this year after their spirited finish last year. Just blew games against the Dragons and Storm because they have too many Kiwis in the side. Is there a player with a higher games odometer than Steve Price? It's more than just first grade games too, this guy hits it up and tackles and charges down and still plays rep footy, what, five years after leaving the Dogs? Unbeeeeeelievable.
Bulldogs - preseason good things to miss the eight this year, once again no one in the media admits surprise at their form. To be fair, they haven't set the world on fire, but they're topping the table despite losing two points in the Penrifgate. Was anyone else suckered by the write up a few weeks back in which Jamal Idris was touted as a potential 100m sprinter? Maybe after lap band stomach surgery. Patten made a bust, passed to Idris only for Idris to pass back to him. Would Usain Bolt do that? I don't think so.
Tigers - Is Tim Sheens a master coach? I'll have to do some research and get back to you on that. In the mean time, I'm scared by the parallels between Taniela Tuiaki and Matt Utai. And Tank goes much better with Tuiaki's name too. Let's hope he catches a few bombs before he becomes a head case.
Eight rounds in, and I don't think we've learned too much. No one is quite looking premiership material yet, but a few have ruled themselves out. In fact I can state quite confidently (i prefer to make confident bad predictions rather than unconfident bad predictions) that the table has settled into two rough groupings. The upper half (ending at the Warriors) and the lower half (Cowboys down). Don't expect much movement between those two groups.
In a side note, foxsports is reporting that Tim Sheens (or the all mighty and all powerful selectors) has showed loyalty to the Kangaroos side that lost last year's world cup final, by picking them for the anz test. Am i missing something, or is loyalty normally shown to victorious sides? I can just see Sheens informing players who missed out. Yeah, sorry mate, but Lockyer played too poorly in that test last year to be dropped on poor form this year alone. Good, I knew you'd understand. Now can we just quickly go through your lines for the media tomorrow? "Mate, I just gotta keep playing my game and not worry about the selectors." Perfect. Alright, catcha later...i love you too.. catcha". Click.
I love my footy!
Monday, April 27, 2009
The return of Selby
Well, I barely believe it even though I've seen it with my own eyes.
Selby is back.
I was rather surprised to receive an apartment buzz about 15 minutes ago, as it is late and we weren't expecting anyone. It was my neighbour from downstairs, telling me to come and see, a bike was there. This came in the wake of me putting up a sign in the foyer last night - with none of the messages contained in my previous post, i hasten to add. My neighbour's english is not the best, so there was some nuance missing in our conversation, but there is something very fishy going on here, and my poor wife is now wracking her brains trying to figure out whodunit. The most plausible scenario we've come up with is just bizarre but sometimes, the truth hurts. Wait, I mean sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction.
Selby!
Selby is back.
I was rather surprised to receive an apartment buzz about 15 minutes ago, as it is late and we weren't expecting anyone. It was my neighbour from downstairs, telling me to come and see, a bike was there. This came in the wake of me putting up a sign in the foyer last night - with none of the messages contained in my previous post, i hasten to add. My neighbour's english is not the best, so there was some nuance missing in our conversation, but there is something very fishy going on here, and my poor wife is now wracking her brains trying to figure out whodunit. The most plausible scenario we've come up with is just bizarre but sometimes, the truth hurts. Wait, I mean sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction.
Selby!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Farewell Selby, I hardly knew you
I can't believe it, but I have to. Some time between Friday night and today (Sunday morning) someone stole my bicycle - Selby, I called her - from our foyer. I stupidly hadn't chained her - pretty much the first time - but she still should have been protected by a locked front door. I am working through the seven stages of grief and right now I'm going through sadness. Poor Selby. There's also a little rage left over, though that's mostly subsided. It got me thinking, if there was some way I could leave a message to the thief - putting a note up on our building, or on our street, or on every telegraph pole in enmore - what could I say to make them feel bad? Or uncomfortable? Or to turn them off ever touching Selby again? Or to make me feel better? Or should I come to terms with it and stop the wheel of karma? When I suggested this to my wife she thoughtfully noted that I don't believe in karma. Sigh.
Possible messages
- i hate you i hate you i hate you
- i often rode Selby bareback and i have a bum disease
- i love you and last night i fantasised about you
- a witch doctor has cursed the bike and whoever rides it now
- i got so angry when i found the bike was stolen that i beat up some innocent people, including my loved ones
- if you plan on selling Selby, you're getting ripped off if you get any less than $400
- i forgive you
- you, your children and your children's children are banned from enmore! for three months.
- i'll see you next week eating the pudding
- you have 48 hours to return Selby before bombing commences
- if you wanna get involved, next week we gon' help the unemployed
- i know who you are, where you live, and what your insecurities are
- Selby likes to be taken out just before dusk, she needs attention several times a week, and go easy on her gears, they've had a tough life.
- the combination to the lock you also stole is 6362
- do you know who i am?
- smile - you're on candid camera
- your a looser
- you'll regret the day you ever messed with me. raaarrgh!
- i never got a bell for Selby but it was my dream to get her one of those honking clowny type ones. it would mean a lot to me if you helped me realise this dream.
- enjoy her, you lucky s.o.b.
Possible messages
- i hate you i hate you i hate you
- i often rode Selby bareback and i have a bum disease
- i love you and last night i fantasised about you
- a witch doctor has cursed the bike and whoever rides it now
- i got so angry when i found the bike was stolen that i beat up some innocent people, including my loved ones
- if you plan on selling Selby, you're getting ripped off if you get any less than $400
- i forgive you
- you, your children and your children's children are banned from enmore! for three months.
- i'll see you next week eating the pudding
- you have 48 hours to return Selby before bombing commences
- if you wanna get involved, next week we gon' help the unemployed
- i know who you are, where you live, and what your insecurities are
- Selby likes to be taken out just before dusk, she needs attention several times a week, and go easy on her gears, they've had a tough life.
- the combination to the lock you also stole is 6362
- do you know who i am?
- smile - you're on candid camera
- your a looser
- you'll regret the day you ever messed with me. raaarrgh!
- i never got a bell for Selby but it was my dream to get her one of those honking clowny type ones. it would mean a lot to me if you helped me realise this dream.
- enjoy her, you lucky s.o.b.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Fridge Feelings
This evening I felt the satisfaction and pride of having an empty fridge. Vegetables eaten, leftovers finished off. I am a fortunate son of Goddess, and so do not need to worry about where my next meal is coming from.
There is also the satisfaction of a full fridge - a week of meals and snacks laid out before one's eyes, packed snugly and with tetris-like efficiency. For me this satisfaction is occasionally tinted - albeit to a minor degree - by the time old fear of wastage, spoilage and of you will, shop soiling.
Freezer feelings are separate to fridge feelings. Pantry feelings are too, but are closer kin to fridge feelings.
There is also the satisfaction of a full fridge - a week of meals and snacks laid out before one's eyes, packed snugly and with tetris-like efficiency. For me this satisfaction is occasionally tinted - albeit to a minor degree - by the time old fear of wastage, spoilage and of you will, shop soiling.
Freezer feelings are separate to fridge feelings. Pantry feelings are too, but are closer kin to fridge feelings.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Right and wrong
Alright, I'll say it. The Tao is Silent is a delightful book. There. I said it.
That's not exactly the preface that this deserves but I'm not of a mind to worry about matters such as that at the moment.
The this is this:
If you want to get at the plain truth,
Forget about right and wrong.
For the conflict between right and wrong,
Is the sickness of the human mind.
I'm not sure if this is Lao Tse quoted in an Alan Watts book, or Watts himself. Must be the former.
~~~
Incidentally, the neighbour(s) across the way have had a penchant of late to repeat certain songs repeatedly. Sex on Fire by Kings Of leon and I'm Alone With You (Tonight) by.. who's that by again? Perhaps strangely, this repetition doesn't bother me (yet).
That's not exactly the preface that this deserves but I'm not of a mind to worry about matters such as that at the moment.
The this is this:
If you want to get at the plain truth,
Forget about right and wrong.
For the conflict between right and wrong,
Is the sickness of the human mind.
I'm not sure if this is Lao Tse quoted in an Alan Watts book, or Watts himself. Must be the former.
~~~
Incidentally, the neighbour(s) across the way have had a penchant of late to repeat certain songs repeatedly. Sex on Fire by Kings Of leon and I'm Alone With You (Tonight) by.. who's that by again? Perhaps strangely, this repetition doesn't bother me (yet).
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Having a baby and tiredness
I know I should be going to bed earlier. After all, little one could wake up at any moment. The earlier you're in bed, the more sleep you get, and the healthier and happier you are. But I *can't* go to bed earlier. I'm too weak. I want to stay up and drink tea and surf the innernet. I need to decompress after an easy day at the office.
What does it matter, what does it all mean?
A few thoughts on this. I've just started reading The Tao Is Silent, by Smullyan. In it, he talks about the difference between allowing oneself to sleep when one is sleepy, and forcing oneself to sleep because it's sleepytime. So i'm sadly in the latter category at the moment. I don't know what kind of life I'd have if I allowed myself to sleep when sleepy - if I could even do it. I'd probably get fired for starters, plus go to sleep around 7pm. Can you believe my eyelids start getting heavy around 7 or 8? I have well and truly bade farewell to my old late night self. And yet - an even later self has emerged, nappy in hand, somewhere between 12:30 and 1:30 recently.
But let me now backtrack and say that I feel lucky. Little Miss Hammertime has caused us very few problems. My health is fine, despite occasionally interrupted sleep. From my straw poll of other parents, I think we're pretty darn lucky. The devil of sleeplessness and concomitant insanity and rage and desperate resignation has not bedevilled us, nope, not at all.
My new goal, as of this sentence, is to get in a nap - hang on, not to nap, but to allow myself to sleep when sleepy at some point this weekend. I am going to Canberra for the wedding of a close friend - maybe too close. No, not too close after all.
Canberra, where I'll allow myself to sleep when sleepy. I'm excited!
What does it matter, what does it all mean?
A few thoughts on this. I've just started reading The Tao Is Silent, by Smullyan. In it, he talks about the difference between allowing oneself to sleep when one is sleepy, and forcing oneself to sleep because it's sleepytime. So i'm sadly in the latter category at the moment. I don't know what kind of life I'd have if I allowed myself to sleep when sleepy - if I could even do it. I'd probably get fired for starters, plus go to sleep around 7pm. Can you believe my eyelids start getting heavy around 7 or 8? I have well and truly bade farewell to my old late night self. And yet - an even later self has emerged, nappy in hand, somewhere between 12:30 and 1:30 recently.
But let me now backtrack and say that I feel lucky. Little Miss Hammertime has caused us very few problems. My health is fine, despite occasionally interrupted sleep. From my straw poll of other parents, I think we're pretty darn lucky. The devil of sleeplessness and concomitant insanity and rage and desperate resignation has not bedevilled us, nope, not at all.
My new goal, as of this sentence, is to get in a nap - hang on, not to nap, but to allow myself to sleep when sleepy at some point this weekend. I am going to Canberra for the wedding of a close friend - maybe too close. No, not too close after all.
Canberra, where I'll allow myself to sleep when sleepy. I'm excited!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
I am still
unable to judge your present feelings, as to past events. I am a widow. I just feel so goddanged inspired. That's why I'm letting it all hang out - so to speak - for the very first time. I love. I sing. I dance, often while wearing clothes inside out. Have you ever ironed your clothes inside out? It hurts! Now that that's been said and done, we can all breathe easily. Pomegranate, Mr Neville? Do you love? Can you smell my whole life? I have been tricked, hoodwinked and I cannot believe it! A cautionary tale indeed.
~~~
There once was a man named Begbagda
he always poke his mind
and wished that he'd be wined
that's why they called him DeChauncey Begbagda
~~~
day in day out
i smile not pout
cause you're inside my brain
a vision splendy
you are trendy
quite unlike john wayne
what a hottie
yummy body
the most lovely face
how is it
that this here twit
is even in the race?
tell me that you like me
and i'll sigh a deeply smile
tell me that you love me
and i'll name our first son Gile-
s
~~~
There once was a man named Begbagda
he always poke his mind
and wished that he'd be wined
that's why they called him DeChauncey Begbagda
~~~
day in day out
i smile not pout
cause you're inside my brain
a vision splendy
you are trendy
quite unlike john wayne
what a hottie
yummy body
the most lovely face
how is it
that this here twit
is even in the race?
tell me that you like me
and i'll sigh a deeply smile
tell me that you love me
and i'll name our first son Gile-
s
Friday, March 20, 2009
Finding joy in a moments
It's amazing how relaxed a man can be after a single glass of wine. These days I not only don't drink much, I don't desire to drink much. It's not a frustrated feeling, just an acknowledgment of the reality of having a supercute three and a bit month old baby. But tonight, it's the end of the week, a big week, and the wife and I are having a glass of wine.
From time to time I wonder about the good life, or the good moment. I'm enjoying this one now, even though I didn't plan or predict it, or maybe because of that. Once again, I get the feeling that the minute you start searching - and hoping to find - you're lost (searching for the pleasure of it is a different thing).
Here's to calling the search off.
By the way, I keep getting the urge to let fly with some massive cursewords at inappropriate times. As above, not out of frustration, just my own silly sense of humour.
From time to time I wonder about the good life, or the good moment. I'm enjoying this one now, even though I didn't plan or predict it, or maybe because of that. Once again, I get the feeling that the minute you start searching - and hoping to find - you're lost (searching for the pleasure of it is a different thing).
Here's to calling the search off.
By the way, I keep getting the urge to let fly with some massive cursewords at inappropriate times. As above, not out of frustration, just my own silly sense of humour.
Friday, March 13, 2009
public transport observations
- there's an inexhaustible supply of ineligible L-bus hailers
- there's an inexhaustible supply of heartless bus drivers
- you can count on seeing someone run for the bus/train before too long
- you can never quite tell which emotions will be invoked by seeing someone run and miss. sometimes schadenfreude, sometimes bellylaughter, sometimes deep sadness, sometimes frustration.
- you can count on someone unnecessarily running at strathfield train station. i find this both amusing and incredible frustrating. no, there's no train there, so you don't need to push past everyone and sprint faster than you've ever done in your life and if you just poked your head up you wouldn't need to sprint all the way to the platform before realising all of this. i do understand the anxiety induced by having your view of the platforms obstructed by going underground from one platform to the next.
- the space dimensions of a train will always make it a different ride compared to a bus. you got levels, you got places to hide and hide trash, you got multiple carriages separated by flirt with death. trains are much more likely to be dreamt of than buses for these reasons and others.
- sometimes i understand why people sit at the edge of a vacant seat, but mostly i loathe folk like that
- very rarely i understand why people don't move down the back of the bus, but pretty much all the time i shake my head at people like that.
- many people are so anxious about missing their stop.
- people never talk to each other on public transport
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Definitionism
The tendency to excessively define (and occasionally thereby create) things, so as to bring them under control and demonstrate one's superior understanding of the world.
With apologies to D Coupland.
With apologies to D Coupland.
Imaginary wages
Imaginary wages war. Real wages. Fantasy land on downtime. 9 to 5 he said. He told me. Cody. Imaginary wages war. There for all to see, and them to ignore. Still there some thirty years on. The moment I was born, I never thought I'd live to see 30. Still don't. Fenestration collapse, two more to follow. Seed funds. Take it to the bank. Drift Floaters. Everyone's throwing this expression around and I don't even know what it means, though it sounds good. Wait for it. Foam.
Marketing
"The industry's regular task is to create uninformed consumers who will make irrational choices, thus undermining market theories."
Noam Chomsky, you've done it again.
Noam Chomsky, you've done it again.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
1000 snuggles deep
When I first met him it was funny, because I was his daughter. But I was still admittedly nervous. We went upstairs for coffee. Things began to ravel from there, much as they always do when one refuses to relax the sphinctre of life. Sceptre of death. He's just a snappy dresser.
I grew up wearing suits. I tried jeans but I never felt comfortable as my testes often got caught in the back pocket. Go figure. Everybody knows that the good guys lost, by the way. Stoudemire, Bosh and Davis.
I grew up wearing suits. I tried jeans but I never felt comfortable as my testes often got caught in the back pocket. Go figure. Everybody knows that the good guys lost, by the way. Stoudemire, Bosh and Davis.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Winning through number crunching
In this day and age, it’s become almost passe for journalists, fans and players alike to be able to analyse in-depth the statistics from theirs and other players’ games. We take this for granted, yet this information and sophisticated analysis just wasn’t possible a few short years ago.
And the results, allowing me to appear quite the well prepared commentating genius:
I guess it’s just slowly dawning on me now the enormous potential out there, if the tools are right. Check out the brilliant resultsfromtennis.com.
I’ve just done a fairly basic run, from the perspective of a commentator preparing for a big grand slam match.
And the results, allowing me to appear quite the well prepared commentating genius:
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
rage against the commentators
Well it certainly was a fairytale performance from Jelena Dokic at the Australian Open. She won our hearts and took us on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. It's fair to say that there hasn't been an Open this full of drama and intrigue since last year.
God I hate some of the crap that commentators come up with. First off is Alicia Molik, who is putting on a truly awful audition for a long term commentary position. Lucky for her she's only competing against Johanna Griggs, Tracy Austin and Casey Bevilaqua. Did you see her post-match interview of Dinara Safina?
Molik: How many off seasons have you had?
Safina: [blank look]
Molik: How many off seasons have you had?
Safina: What?
Molik:[thinking to herself: god, i'm asking her a supremely incisive question, that demonstrates my ability as a commentator, and she can't speak english]
Molik: [tugging collar] what i'm trying to say is.. er...ah geez... you look great, i mean when i played you, you were a fat piece of shit. What's your secret?
Safina: Shut the fuck up
The other thing I hate is when an Australian player loses and their performance is called 'brave'. This is especially reserved for really bad players, really bad losses and women players. Oh my fuck, that Jelena Dokic is so brave! If I had to go into the forest at night I'd want her with me. Did you see how she made 45 unforced errors? She's so brave. Can you imagine if Lleyton Hewitt's loss to Fernando Gonzalez was referred to as brave? Or Pat Rafter's loss to Ivanisevic in the Wimbledon final? C'mon, what is that?! Let's all try to use brave far more frequently and inappropriately. By the way, I thought Del Potro's loss to Federer was very brave.
Lastly (for now) I hate it that tennis commentators, more than cricket or league or football commentators, always give advice to the losing players. Dokic really needs to stop going for the lines. She needs controlled aggression. If I was her, that's what I'd do, and it would make me win and beat Safina. I don't know why she's not doing it. Just call the game, give us a little bit of insight due to your years on the tour, and leave it at that. BASTARDS!
God I hate some of the crap that commentators come up with. First off is Alicia Molik, who is putting on a truly awful audition for a long term commentary position. Lucky for her she's only competing against Johanna Griggs, Tracy Austin and Casey Bevilaqua. Did you see her post-match interview of Dinara Safina?
Molik: How many off seasons have you had?
Safina: [blank look]
Molik: How many off seasons have you had?
Safina: What?
Molik:[thinking to herself: god, i'm asking her a supremely incisive question, that demonstrates my ability as a commentator, and she can't speak english]
Molik: [tugging collar] what i'm trying to say is.. er...ah geez... you look great, i mean when i played you, you were a fat piece of shit. What's your secret?
Safina: Shut the fuck up
The other thing I hate is when an Australian player loses and their performance is called 'brave'. This is especially reserved for really bad players, really bad losses and women players. Oh my fuck, that Jelena Dokic is so brave! If I had to go into the forest at night I'd want her with me. Did you see how she made 45 unforced errors? She's so brave. Can you imagine if Lleyton Hewitt's loss to Fernando Gonzalez was referred to as brave? Or Pat Rafter's loss to Ivanisevic in the Wimbledon final? C'mon, what is that?! Let's all try to use brave far more frequently and inappropriately. By the way, I thought Del Potro's loss to Federer was very brave.
Lastly (for now) I hate it that tennis commentators, more than cricket or league or football commentators, always give advice to the losing players. Dokic really needs to stop going for the lines. She needs controlled aggression. If I was her, that's what I'd do, and it would make me win and beat Safina. I don't know why she's not doing it. Just call the game, give us a little bit of insight due to your years on the tour, and leave it at that. BASTARDS!
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