Fool's Paradise – Infinity on a Shoestring Gender: Male (last time I looked); Writer; Thinker; Studier of the Human Condition (and chickens' entrails); Wonderer; Laugher; Listener; Character; Recent Optimist; Part-of-the-Solution Aspirant; Sarsaparilla, Cocoa, and ex-White Black Tea Imbiber (no sugar - plenty sweet enough); Twenty Eight Thousand and Twelfth Living Wonder of the World; Amateur Worm Farmer Extraordinaire and Professional Worm Admirer; Humus Assist and Humorist; Play Up; Yes-Hoper...
And I reckon: Reality is actually far better than the best any of us can imagine, the universe is friendly and funny, laughter is a powerful medicine as well as an efficacious antidote for self-importance, and the best is yet to come, despite any and all appearances to the contrary...
Tuesday: I slept badly most of the night, despite being incredibly tired. I know the reason this time: a 'distant' family member, the same one whom I spoke of back in the posting of 24th August, has continued applying pressure to a close family member to hassle me for a particular immature, and, I'm highly convinced, disingenuous goal, and this close member is far too emotionally fragile to be involved.
This occurred very recently, spoiling an otherwise most satisfying time spent with the close family member. The tension and stress resulting from it was very difficult to bear for both of us, and the inner turmoil has continued troubling me for too long.
So, another non-rejuvenating sleep, as if I need another one of those…
It was so nice that a little rain came today, and I had the opportunity to curl up on the Player recliner with Cadbury on my lap, and watch several hours of the news on the ABC, covering the decision of the three federal Independents, Katter, Oakeshott, and Windsor, which delivered the election to the Labor Party. Another little piece of history I've managed to catch as it unfolded; now just how much additional good will our nation manage to draw from this minority government situation? – the first in 70 years or so, so they say.
Very late in the day, after Missus Inkletter returned from yet another marathon out and about with The Dear Leader, during a spell between showers, I began cutting the weeds with the electric mower in the front yard, getting maybe a quarter done by dark. I used the catcher and put about four loads of clippings out onto the worm farms in the backyard, which will thrive on the stuff.
Oh, before I forget to mention, poor Missus Inkletter badly scalded her left hand on Saturday, when she was filling a thermos pot for a picnic we went to with sister Mary and Mum at Wireless Hill, where we saw about six or seven varieties of native orchids. Anyway, back to the scald; almost the entire top of the back of her hand and most of her fingers got a drenching with boiling water, and three days later, despite copious amounts of aloe vera applications, the hand looks like it has been roasted in the oven. It hurt her terribly at the time, and has been very tender and sore since.
And also, before I forget to mention, Mum and I visited my dear Uncle M yesterday, who is in a nursing home in Midland (which I did not know until a few days ago, believing it to be in a suburb to the south of there). I first mentioned him back in a very early entry on my Main Site, on Monday, August 20, 2007. Later this month he turns 90, and his life imploded just over three years ago just before the date of that posting, when he went from a fully active life, still driving, to being in a wheelchair, from a serious car accident which almost killed him. We had a chat for over an hour, and he was close to tears when we had to leave.
He amazed me with his sharp mind, and most particularly his kindly disposition given his unpleasant circumstances; the conditions at the home could be worse, but they could be far better, and the states of mind, ethics, and health of some of the residents swarming around him are, frankly, very distressing. I am left convinced, if I needed it, that I have here an uncle of remarkable character. He was a delight all of my young life, and given what has happened to him in recent years, he could have gone two ways; while we were with him he did not complain about his lot once, and was inspiringly cheerful. I look up to him for his wonderful achievement in awful circumstances.
I enjoyed an evening in front of Aunty with Cadbury on my lap again (she has been uber spoiled today). Lateline: The (Leigh) Sales Graph: there definitely are advantages for a journalist being on duty on a momentous news day, and this was Leigh Sales' lucky lot today, given the long awaited decision from the three federal Independents, which has handed ongoing government to Labor. Ms Sales' appearance was simply spectacular tonight (as it was last night by the way, don't you agree?:
Did Leigh Sales make Professor Hugh White see red or gold?
), with a high necked grey jacket over a black camisole, subtle effect makeup, tiny pearl earrings, and a divine convex flaring hair style:
Leigh Sales looked spectacular. (It must be a pain in the bottom to have know-it-alls like me commenting on your appearance all the time!)
Her first interview was with the incomparable, for all the right reasons, Tony Windsor, Independent for New England. Mr Windsor looked excellent, his dark suit and white tie conservative combo set alight superbly with a bold striped tie of black and gold:
It's either this or cry… Tony Windsor after a momentous day in Canberra, still down to earth, still fragrant
Monday: The highlight of today was visiting my Uncle M, soon to turn 90, in his nursing home in Midland. I picked up Mum from Melville, and we drove to Midland to see him. I was under the impression that he was in a home several suburbs south of there. The lovely man still has his wits, and his character is evident in spades, against formidable odds, arising from the car accident that disabled him three years ago, and the enormous challenges from the fellow patients and the environment around him. I have described a bit more of this visit in tomorrow's posting.
Lateline Business: Brigid Glanville looked refreshing, don't you agree, in her simple striped shirt, as she hosted the program:
A delightful bit of colour to spice up the LATELINE BUSINESS program, and a great choice for jammies as well, Brigid Glanville in danger of setting the studio at Ultimo smouldering
A billion dollars of property to be offloaded by Woolies? Not unless Charlie Aitken gives it the go ahead?
Full marks to Charlie Aitken for his stylish combination of textured tie with non-conservative shirt colour, all within a conservative dark jacket package. It certainly had Brigid Glanville taking notice.
She is going to have to watch that financial devil, Charlie Aitken, and the games he's playing with her, or is it some psychic power he wields? – as the picture below attests:
Is Charlie aitken it again? What manner of power can do this to a woman?
On a less lighthearted note, tonight's LATELINE – LATELINE BUSINESS package illustrated the power and value of research and understanding. Leigh Sales' interview with Professor Hugh White demonstated that Ms Sales, by her comments and questions, that she had researched ProfessorWhite's Quarterly Essay 'Power Shift: Australia's Future Between Washington and Beijing', and understood the gist of it. Brigid Glanville, on the other hand, demonstrated the opposite, unfortunately, during her interview with Austin Williams, Director of the Future Cities Project in London.
Mr Williams was courageously blunt here and there with some of his returns to Ms Glanville, and I was left with the impression that she was not around the issues he was addressing. He made a great deal of sense. I wouldn't mind hearing Leigh Sales interview him on the same subject.
To be fair to Brigid Glanville, I don't know how much time she had to prepare for the interview. Preparation time is definitely a factor, in which some ferocious paced reading would need to be done.
Uh oh! I've put my guest to sleep! Brigid Glanville tests Austin Williams' fortitude and stamina on LATELINE BUSINESS 6th September 2010