And When I Woke Up, I Thought, Now That's a Funny Place to Put One of Those
I will not admit to any hallucinatory experiences while going in or out of consciousness in the course of my surgical adventures recently, but I am somewhat put in mind of at least the potential for the anaesthesiologist with the grey hair sticking out from under his cap to have morphed perversely by reason of the drugs he was causing me to ingest in combinatoin with my own perversity of imagination into a more, let us say, native form, which was the first thing that came to mind when I read about the Hero 'Roo (who I think now ought to take a new name: rather than Lulu, I think Nelson, as in Lord Nelson, the Hero of Waterloo, yeah?). Wild creatures, howsoever domesticated, who save humans, this one even engaging in some basic first aid, are evidence to me that we ought to take their lives into greater concern with our own than we usually do.
30 April 2004
27 April 2004
Appendages and Their Disposition
I've learned a valuable lesson: if your gut hurts but there are no symptoms of indigestion, check if it might be your appendix, because if you delay, it's going to hurt a lot more. Not that having your appendix out doesn't hurt. Nothing that involves a two-inch incision through the abdominal muscle wall followed by somebody poking around in there and cutting stuff out isn't going to result in pain. If, however, I'd been more aware, I think I might have gone in for the surgery prior to my appendix having become gangrenous (apparently mere minutes away from bursting and resultant peritonitis, although the doctors all said that's not the problem it used to be, my appendix was rushed out of my body and into the parking lot, where specially developed robots were used to detonate it safely). Then the doctors had to find something else, and they had to tell me about it in the most ominous fashion. There was Something Else we found. Pause. Nothing serious (brightly). Apparently I had a small, congential leftover from my days as a fish in mommy's belly. The small intestine has a bit that's part of the umbilical or connected in there somehow or other, which usually detaches and goes away. Mine detached but stayed, a small diverticulic (I think I made that word up) pouch that doesn't do anything (like the appendix), usually doesn't ever cause trouble later but can sometimes (like the appendix) and was right there where they could find it and a bit infected because of the appendix situation. Well, imagine that; I come to Australia and discover I'm a marsupial from birth. No wonder I've wanted to come here for so long. So anyway, I got two surgeries for the price of one. Sort of like when you take your car into the garage and the mechanics change the oil and the plugs but don't overcharge you for the unspecified work. Socialized medicine. Wonderful. This has, however, left me with a two-inch incision instead of the smaller, "keyhole" variety and a longer healing time. It's also meant I've been off-line for four days and will probably spend more time staring stupidly at the television than surfing the 'net. I will also probably spend a lot of time re-reading really bad books instead of any of the great works of literature lying around the house, because I'm sick, so I'm allowed. I will make an effort to get to at least one Martin Beck mystery, however, just to save face.
I've learned a valuable lesson: if your gut hurts but there are no symptoms of indigestion, check if it might be your appendix, because if you delay, it's going to hurt a lot more. Not that having your appendix out doesn't hurt. Nothing that involves a two-inch incision through the abdominal muscle wall followed by somebody poking around in there and cutting stuff out isn't going to result in pain. If, however, I'd been more aware, I think I might have gone in for the surgery prior to my appendix having become gangrenous (apparently mere minutes away from bursting and resultant peritonitis, although the doctors all said that's not the problem it used to be, my appendix was rushed out of my body and into the parking lot, where specially developed robots were used to detonate it safely). Then the doctors had to find something else, and they had to tell me about it in the most ominous fashion. There was Something Else we found. Pause. Nothing serious (brightly). Apparently I had a small, congential leftover from my days as a fish in mommy's belly. The small intestine has a bit that's part of the umbilical or connected in there somehow or other, which usually detaches and goes away. Mine detached but stayed, a small diverticulic (I think I made that word up) pouch that doesn't do anything (like the appendix), usually doesn't ever cause trouble later but can sometimes (like the appendix) and was right there where they could find it and a bit infected because of the appendix situation. Well, imagine that; I come to Australia and discover I'm a marsupial from birth. No wonder I've wanted to come here for so long. So anyway, I got two surgeries for the price of one. Sort of like when you take your car into the garage and the mechanics change the oil and the plugs but don't overcharge you for the unspecified work. Socialized medicine. Wonderful. This has, however, left me with a two-inch incision instead of the smaller, "keyhole" variety and a longer healing time. It's also meant I've been off-line for four days and will probably spend more time staring stupidly at the television than surfing the 'net. I will also probably spend a lot of time re-reading really bad books instead of any of the great works of literature lying around the house, because I'm sick, so I'm allowed. I will make an effort to get to at least one Martin Beck mystery, however, just to save face.
22 April 2004
An Unhealthy Interest in Literature
It doesn't seem a univeral truth, Byron et al. excepted, I suppose, but poets die young. Well, younger, anyway, than novelists, and even at that, it appears to be largely a question of noteriety. Nevertheless, for longevity, nonfiction is the literary discipline of choice, which I suppose will give a leg up to most 'bloggers.
It doesn't seem a univeral truth, Byron et al. excepted, I suppose, but poets die young. Well, younger, anyway, than novelists, and even at that, it appears to be largely a question of noteriety. Nevertheless, for longevity, nonfiction is the literary discipline of choice, which I suppose will give a leg up to most 'bloggers.
Trench Life
This weekend is Anzac Day, the nearest U.S. equivalent being Memorial Day, I suppose, given that Veterans’/Armistice/Remembrance Day is more-or-less universally 11 November. Usually, for the weekend, in addition to parades and memorial services, you can head to the local RSL (Returned Serviceman’s League) club and have a nice game of Two-Up, an otherwise illegal form of gambling, involving the use of a flat stick to hurl two coins high into the air and betting on their arrangement, head and tails, when the land. Why is it illegal? I don’t know; maybe because you could put your eye out. Since the coin denominations below five cents were eliminated, it may be tough now to find pennies to “give a toss” anyway.
This weekend is Anzac Day, the nearest U.S. equivalent being Memorial Day, I suppose, given that Veterans’/Armistice/Remembrance Day is more-or-less universally 11 November. Usually, for the weekend, in addition to parades and memorial services, you can head to the local RSL (Returned Serviceman’s League) club and have a nice game of Two-Up, an otherwise illegal form of gambling, involving the use of a flat stick to hurl two coins high into the air and betting on their arrangement, head and tails, when the land. Why is it illegal? I don’t know; maybe because you could put your eye out. Since the coin denominations below five cents were eliminated, it may be tough now to find pennies to “give a toss” anyway.
Think Globally, Act Locally
I’ve never been one to work the system particularly, although political activism has had its place in the family over the years, from dinner table argumentation to active registration of voters, attendance and participation in protests to fund raising activities. Since becoming an expatriate citizen of the U.S., however, and as a long-standing registered Democrat myself, it has been increasingly important for me to find ways to act on my political principles. Usually, it’s been writing barbed posts here regarding the professional characters and disreputable activities of the present administration in Washington D.C. Back some months ago, M. and I began down a more activist path, one which last night became ever so much more so, as I attended a meeting (or ”meet-up”) of Democrats Abroad, a new chapter of which is being formed in Australia, at the invitation of one of the more active members. The goals Democrats Abroad – Australia are simple: increase the presence and thus the strength of the chapter, thereby making the many thousands of Americans living in this country a more effective part of the political process at home; register voters; and raise campaign funds. (That last bit is the one a lot of people might focus on, myself included, since it sounds like we’re creating an organization that will dun its members for endless monetary contributions, but really, it’s like voting: everything counts; contribute a dollar, or twenty, or two thousand, because it won’t go to waste.) The meeting, held the third Wednesday of each month at the Lord Nelson Hotel in the Rocks, last night was a new experience for me, not just because I’m Australia, but because I’ve never actually been this politically active. The other members present were all very impressively engaged and committed individuals, not to mention personable, which made for a pleasant enough evening, but what is particularly exciting is the level of organization already accomplished. So, although I don’t expect I’m getting much of an ex-pat audience here, I’m going ahead and using this as a means of putting out the call to other Democrats to join in. Donate time, money, both, but this year it’s beyond important that we learn and we act.
I’ve never been one to work the system particularly, although political activism has had its place in the family over the years, from dinner table argumentation to active registration of voters, attendance and participation in protests to fund raising activities. Since becoming an expatriate citizen of the U.S., however, and as a long-standing registered Democrat myself, it has been increasingly important for me to find ways to act on my political principles. Usually, it’s been writing barbed posts here regarding the professional characters and disreputable activities of the present administration in Washington D.C. Back some months ago, M. and I began down a more activist path, one which last night became ever so much more so, as I attended a meeting (or ”meet-up”) of Democrats Abroad, a new chapter of which is being formed in Australia, at the invitation of one of the more active members. The goals Democrats Abroad – Australia are simple: increase the presence and thus the strength of the chapter, thereby making the many thousands of Americans living in this country a more effective part of the political process at home; register voters; and raise campaign funds. (That last bit is the one a lot of people might focus on, myself included, since it sounds like we’re creating an organization that will dun its members for endless monetary contributions, but really, it’s like voting: everything counts; contribute a dollar, or twenty, or two thousand, because it won’t go to waste.) The meeting, held the third Wednesday of each month at the Lord Nelson Hotel in the Rocks, last night was a new experience for me, not just because I’m Australia, but because I’ve never actually been this politically active. The other members present were all very impressively engaged and committed individuals, not to mention personable, which made for a pleasant enough evening, but what is particularly exciting is the level of organization already accomplished. So, although I don’t expect I’m getting much of an ex-pat audience here, I’m going ahead and using this as a means of putting out the call to other Democrats to join in. Donate time, money, both, but this year it’s beyond important that we learn and we act.
21 April 2004
Distillations
I’ve had Canadian (rye), American (bourbon), Scottish and Irish (scotch), and I’ve meant to try Japanese, at least now I’ve had Australian whiskey, specifically, Tasmanian single malt. It’s comparable to many high-quality single malts I’ve sampled from the Highlands, and tops most of the best blends, too. The climate’s similar, by all accounts, as is, apparently, some of the flora, insofar as there is peat to be had for the smoking process. Only in operation from 1995, the whiskey’s still got some ageing to do, but for immature spirits, to be this good is remarkable. I’ll be sure to follow up periodically as the barrels roll out. Spirits being taxed so highly here, however, international visitors are not exempt from stopping at the duty-free shop.
I’ve had Canadian (rye), American (bourbon), Scottish and Irish (scotch), and I’ve meant to try Japanese, at least now I’ve had Australian whiskey, specifically, Tasmanian single malt. It’s comparable to many high-quality single malts I’ve sampled from the Highlands, and tops most of the best blends, too. The climate’s similar, by all accounts, as is, apparently, some of the flora, insofar as there is peat to be had for the smoking process. Only in operation from 1995, the whiskey’s still got some ageing to do, but for immature spirits, to be this good is remarkable. I’ll be sure to follow up periodically as the barrels roll out. Spirits being taxed so highly here, however, international visitors are not exempt from stopping at the duty-free shop.
Respected Leader of the Opposition
We watched Mark Latham last night on the ABC addressing a panel of residents from his Parliamentary district and fielding questions on the various topics presently framing the campaign issues for the elections next Spring: taxes, of course, both personal and business; immigration, especially regarding illegal entrants to the country and the present policy of mandatory detention; the “war on terror” and Australia’s relationship with the U.S.; and when will Australia become a republic. Outside one question regarding governmental subsidization for IVF procedures that I think he might have dealt with more forthrightly if he hadn’t been flummoxed by the selfishness it represented, I was perhaps only disappointed with Latham’s response to the issue of illegal immigration and detention, and that is tempered by how he means to address the issue. I’m very impressed by Latham generally. I think he takes a good line on the country’s place in the region and how it should engage with its neighbors and with the U.S. He is nobody’s lapdog internationally. The fact that he intends to take the country into the future as a republic is, I think, very positive indeed. However, mandatory detention is a problem. At least the prospect of indefinite detention will be largely removed: Latham wants immigration status sorted out within 90 days, at which point it’s either deportation or integration. I’m a little worried over the effective placement of immigrants into outlying areas; although it will decrease the burden on cities, especially Sydney, the destination of choice, is there or can there be sufficient infrastructure and employment opportunities to support the policy? At least he’s thinking of these things and trying to work up the policies and budget to address them. How successful he’s actually going to be is, I think, more dependent on getting more than one term in office than in getting the top spot alone.
We watched Mark Latham last night on the ABC addressing a panel of residents from his Parliamentary district and fielding questions on the various topics presently framing the campaign issues for the elections next Spring: taxes, of course, both personal and business; immigration, especially regarding illegal entrants to the country and the present policy of mandatory detention; the “war on terror” and Australia’s relationship with the U.S.; and when will Australia become a republic. Outside one question regarding governmental subsidization for IVF procedures that I think he might have dealt with more forthrightly if he hadn’t been flummoxed by the selfishness it represented, I was perhaps only disappointed with Latham’s response to the issue of illegal immigration and detention, and that is tempered by how he means to address the issue. I’m very impressed by Latham generally. I think he takes a good line on the country’s place in the region and how it should engage with its neighbors and with the U.S. He is nobody’s lapdog internationally. The fact that he intends to take the country into the future as a republic is, I think, very positive indeed. However, mandatory detention is a problem. At least the prospect of indefinite detention will be largely removed: Latham wants immigration status sorted out within 90 days, at which point it’s either deportation or integration. I’m a little worried over the effective placement of immigrants into outlying areas; although it will decrease the burden on cities, especially Sydney, the destination of choice, is there or can there be sufficient infrastructure and employment opportunities to support the policy? At least he’s thinking of these things and trying to work up the policies and budget to address them. How successful he’s actually going to be is, I think, more dependent on getting more than one term in office than in getting the top spot alone.
20 April 2004
Sustainability
We’ve recently made a couple of transitional changes at home to decrease our environmental footprint: a little old lady shopping trolley so we don’t have to have our groceries delivered in endless plastic bags (which will eventually save us from the tax levies proposed in NSW and in use elsewhere in Australia already), and organic fruit-n-veg via Lettuce Deliver, an on-line shopping service that buys from local area organic farmers and delivers seasonal produce to your door (in boxes, which are re-used week-to-week). I bring it up following my discovery of Eat Manifesto, a topical weblog devoted to traditional cookery and food production.
Addendum: Over at Beyond Brilliance, Beyond Stupidity, a number of posts have gone up recently on environmental matters, including: solar power cell phone batteries and the relationship between renewable energy and jobs.
Update: What's your ecological footprint? We'd need two more planets if everyone lived like us.
We’ve recently made a couple of transitional changes at home to decrease our environmental footprint: a little old lady shopping trolley so we don’t have to have our groceries delivered in endless plastic bags (which will eventually save us from the tax levies proposed in NSW and in use elsewhere in Australia already), and organic fruit-n-veg via Lettuce Deliver, an on-line shopping service that buys from local area organic farmers and delivers seasonal produce to your door (in boxes, which are re-used week-to-week). I bring it up following my discovery of Eat Manifesto, a topical weblog devoted to traditional cookery and food production.
Addendum: Over at Beyond Brilliance, Beyond Stupidity, a number of posts have gone up recently on environmental matters, including: solar power cell phone batteries and the relationship between renewable energy and jobs.
Update: What's your ecological footprint? We'd need two more planets if everyone lived like us.
Asking for It
Why do Condolezzaa Rice’s comments about a terror attack in the U.S. before November sound like wishful thinking? Is this the kind of National Security Advice she’s been feeding George II? I’m probably just reading unintended meaning into what she’s said, as parsed by the relentlessly liberal media. Thank goodness the President hired such eminent academics to help him run the country, people who really know how to form a sentence. “We hope” – who’s “we”?
Why do Condolezzaa Rice’s comments about a terror attack in the U.S. before November sound like wishful thinking? Is this the kind of National Security Advice she’s been feeding George II? I’m probably just reading unintended meaning into what she’s said, as parsed by the relentlessly liberal media. Thank goodness the President hired such eminent academics to help him run the country, people who really know how to form a sentence. “We hope” – who’s “we”?
Roadside Attraction
Up until sometime around when I was in college, the Peter Pan Diner was an iconic chrome steel-faced hash house. They refaced it and expanded the seating in the '80s, as I recall, but left everything else intact: from the basic menu to the wait staff. Well, actually, I think maybe the changed their cole slaw receipe, but that was probably about all. It's all different now, of course, but it's still good to know it's there, even without the original sign. (Via Andy, who linked there in service of an entirely different subject.)
Up until sometime around when I was in college, the Peter Pan Diner was an iconic chrome steel-faced hash house. They refaced it and expanded the seating in the '80s, as I recall, but left everything else intact: from the basic menu to the wait staff. Well, actually, I think maybe the changed their cole slaw receipe, but that was probably about all. It's all different now, of course, but it's still good to know it's there, even without the original sign. (Via Andy, who linked there in service of an entirely different subject.)
Recommended Reading
I'm taking up Boswell's suggestion and keeping up with Lypton Village. And thank you for the kind words.
I'm taking up Boswell's suggestion and keeping up with Lypton Village. And thank you for the kind words.
19 April 2004
Empty Garage
From about age 16 onward, I have invariably received strange looks at the revelation that I have never held a driver’s license, although those looks are often subsequently tempered when I mention that a significant portion of my lifespan have been spent in NYC and now in Sydney (just 5 minutes from Central and the heart of the city – and now Dave Edmunds is singing in my head). In fact, I haven’t been behind the wheel of the car since my eldest niece was born and I circled the block at Beth Israel while her father went in to retrieve her and her mother. We think about getting a car now and then, although renting the car space we own does provide a nice little supplement to our income, one more necessary now than when we bought the place, given the wages at Parramatta working for the Catholics, and at least I’d have the advantage of not having to unlearn too much. Thanks to the web goddess, I can practice developing my skills – o.k., my knowledge base - on-line. I may end up one of the few drivers in town to actually know the rules for using a round-about.
Addendum: for the roundabout-challenged, behold the Swindon magic roundabout. For those who would scoff at carlessness, I provide this handy calculator. It's a dollar-sixty here for a one-zone trip on the bus, for comparison.
From about age 16 onward, I have invariably received strange looks at the revelation that I have never held a driver’s license, although those looks are often subsequently tempered when I mention that a significant portion of my lifespan have been spent in NYC and now in Sydney (just 5 minutes from Central and the heart of the city – and now Dave Edmunds is singing in my head). In fact, I haven’t been behind the wheel of the car since my eldest niece was born and I circled the block at Beth Israel while her father went in to retrieve her and her mother. We think about getting a car now and then, although renting the car space we own does provide a nice little supplement to our income, one more necessary now than when we bought the place, given the wages at Parramatta working for the Catholics, and at least I’d have the advantage of not having to unlearn too much. Thanks to the web goddess, I can practice developing my skills – o.k., my knowledge base - on-line. I may end up one of the few drivers in town to actually know the rules for using a round-about.
Addendum: for the roundabout-challenged, behold the Swindon magic roundabout. For those who would scoff at carlessness, I provide this handy calculator. It's a dollar-sixty here for a one-zone trip on the bus, for comparison.
Smug-duggery
Cheney only emerges from under his undisclosed location in order to and long enough to remind us of what an evil creep he is. If for no other reason, Kerry deserves to be President because then Dick Cheney won’t be Vice President. Does anyone else think he’s taken the term “vice” in the wrong sense?
Cheney only emerges from under his undisclosed location in order to and long enough to remind us of what an evil creep he is. If for no other reason, Kerry deserves to be President because then Dick Cheney won’t be Vice President. Does anyone else think he’s taken the term “vice” in the wrong sense?
Open Invitation
My last experience with going to a meet-up having been unsatisfactory, I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm put off from further attempts. A personal invitation (also open to any expatriate audience members hereto) is irresistable, although my preference had originally been to attend the weblogger event. With Salam Pax appearing in Parramatta at the Sydney Writers' Festival, I'll wait until next month to do that and meanwhile go to the Lord Nelson Brewery for the politics.
My last experience with going to a meet-up having been unsatisfactory, I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm put off from further attempts. A personal invitation (also open to any expatriate audience members hereto) is irresistable, although my preference had originally been to attend the weblogger event. With Salam Pax appearing in Parramatta at the Sydney Writers' Festival, I'll wait until next month to do that and meanwhile go to the Lord Nelson Brewery for the politics.
16 April 2004
Walk-Thru
Car culture has been at the heart of the fast food empire, even before McDonald’s opened drive-through service. (There’s little more nauseating than the smell of french fries in a car, something about the two kinds of oil in use together.) Salads and adult versions of Happy Meals™ only deflect criticism, even when the toy surprise is a pedometer. Maybe, as part of the new drive to encourage exercise, they can install treadmills in front of the registers.
Car culture has been at the heart of the fast food empire, even before McDonald’s opened drive-through service. (There’s little more nauseating than the smell of french fries in a car, something about the two kinds of oil in use together.) Salads and adult versions of Happy Meals™ only deflect criticism, even when the toy surprise is a pedometer. Maybe, as part of the new drive to encourage exercise, they can install treadmills in front of the registers.
Movies and the Internet
I cannot recall having ever seen better use of the internet in promoting a movie, at least in regard to pure style. I would like to see The Uninvited now. (Via jill/txt - whose instructions are worth following.)
I cannot recall having ever seen better use of the internet in promoting a movie, at least in regard to pure style. I would like to see The Uninvited now. (Via jill/txt - whose instructions are worth following.)
Another Earl of Oxford
Did Vladimir Nabokov steal Lolita? He’d have been 17 when Heinz von Eschwege’s short story appeared in print in 1916, and it would have been 23 years later, when he was 40, that Nabokov first attempted the tale, in “The Enchanter.” Another 16 years passed before story became novel, and with a history of nearly 40 years, I suppose “cryptomnesia” may be a valid explanation. (Source: Arts & Letters Daily.)
Did Vladimir Nabokov steal Lolita? He’d have been 17 when Heinz von Eschwege’s short story appeared in print in 1916, and it would have been 23 years later, when he was 40, that Nabokov first attempted the tale, in “The Enchanter.” Another 16 years passed before story became novel, and with a history of nearly 40 years, I suppose “cryptomnesia” may be a valid explanation. (Source: Arts & Letters Daily.)
Paying Off the Mortgage
He worked until he was 104 years old, but I guess he finally figured he might as well start drawing his social security payments before Alan Greenspan eliminated them or George II lost it all in the stock market. Go fishing already!
He worked until he was 104 years old, but I guess he finally figured he might as well start drawing his social security payments before Alan Greenspan eliminated them or George II lost it all in the stock market. Go fishing already!
Next Up on the Five-Day Forecast: Volcanoes
The next big California earthquake is on its way. Apparently the methods used by Dr. Keilis-Borok’s UCLA team is accurate within months, beating the Jeanne Dixons of the world by a significant margin. So Southern California should see a 6+ ‘quake by September. Fill the bathtub and stock up on canned goods and batteries.
The next big California earthquake is on its way. Apparently the methods used by Dr. Keilis-Borok’s UCLA team is accurate within months, beating the Jeanne Dixons of the world by a significant margin. So Southern California should see a 6+ ‘quake by September. Fill the bathtub and stock up on canned goods and batteries.
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