BEIJING: "Xia, please give Xiaobo a big hug from the rest of us who value liberal democracy," asks PLInkletter, "and keep hope alive for his release."

Be all that as it may, meanwhile:

'In other news…'

08^th October 2010

Friday: To bed this 'morning' at about one this afternoon, and up at five; yes, another day night day blurring.

Before hitting the low thread count polycottons, I found Cadbury killing a dove she'd caught out the back door among the bamboo. I am aware of the irony of loving the natural world and owning a domestic cat that has still got outdoor freedom, and if and when it becomes feasible, I'll set up a large outdoor enclosure that will prevent such sad happenings. I cannot quantify how much joy this little Maine Coon has brought into my life since finding it abandoned early this year as a kitten. And my word the killer instincts of spoiled domestic cats are alive and well.

The delicate dormouse and I drove to Adelaide Terrace and began an evening with The Babies Ink&Peggletter. We got there about seven, and then went to Victoria Park to Chi Restaurant, where we treated them to a meal as a reward for Baby Inkletter getting through her recent ten week horror practical teaching stint, with the mentor teacher from hell.

It is our (we wrinklies) second time there, and we are very impressed with the standards, from the very nice Chinese food to the friendly and professional staff, topped off by the relative inexpensiveness of the cuisine and service.

After this we went for a walk along the Perth foreshore, before dessert and a board game back at The Babies' place. It wasn't till about midnight that we got home, with a fuel stop locally.

I settled in to watch recorded current affairs till almost four a.m., with killer Cadbury on my lap, bless her fat little heart.

Lateline: The Tick(y Fullerton) Check Mark: Ms Fullerton looked lovely in her simple long-sleeved coral red blouse, and subtle-effect makeup, her only jewellery small pearl earrings, her hair appealingly convex flaring and tucked behind her ears:

How nicely Ticky Fullerton sets off her coral red blouse!

She conducted a riveting long interview – 21 minutes no less! – about today's Murray Darling Basin Authority's announced plan, with Water Minister Tony Burke, splendid in his grey jacket white shirt and blue shades striped tie combo, Professor Mike Young, resplendent in a pastel-coloured combo grey jacket white shirt and yellow shaded tie, and Rob Black, who was the most colourfully attired, minus a jacket with a striped light shirt and zingy blue and red striped neck strangler.

Ms Fullerton was the ideal journalist to conduct this discussion, given her personal extensive knowledge of the water challenges facing the Australian nation. I was impressed with the civil contributions of each of the interlocutors, despite some very serious financial consequences for Mr Black's stakeholders, the valid environmental solicitude of Mr Young, and the political concerns of Mr Burke.

Mr Young's contributions stood out; he was a delight to listen to, with a very positive outlook and preparedness to pay praise where praise is due.

Well done all of you, and thank you Ms Fullerton for how tightly you kept your guests on subject.

I went for a walk about half four, and the eastern horizon was lightening on my return.

I spent many hours at the keyboard, with the sun heading to midday before I retired.

+paytontedwithlove+

BARNSTAPLE: "Four gypsy moths and thousands of jigsaws later, he put his stamp on the globe, though neither dead nor royal," PLInkletter circumspected

Be all that as it may, meanwhile:

'In other news…'

17^th September 2010

Friday: I picked up Mum at Melville and got her to the skin specialist for her 11.30 appointment.

He decided to shave the skin cancer growth off her left leg, rather than excise it. The needles for anaesthetic hurt Mum greatly, as did the needles for the excision two months ago behind her ear. However, the shaving procedure meant she could walk and carry on, whereas a deep incision would have been a different story.

The growth was an inch or so from where she had the deep incision to remove a cancer near her ankle a couple of years back, which necessitated her resting with her leg up for many days.

When I got back home, about half three, I took Janny shopping, and so this spent the day. I was so tired I had to sleep for an hour till nearly seven.

During the evening, with Cadbury on my lap, I saw some live coverage a few times from the BBC on ABC24 of el Papa on his visit to London, from Edinburgh the day before. The irony of the grandiosity of it all is so stark, with both sides of the Christian schism so far removed from much that Jesus lived for.

Lateline: The (Leigh) Sales Graph: Sad to learn, sweetened with some Shakespeare from Leigh Sales, that Stephen Long will be away for a few weeks Four Cornering; his riposte was also Shakespearian. Stay safe Stephen and come back with more wisdom with which to scent this economic coil.

Shakespeare's sentiments blossomed during Stephen Long's LATELINE appearance with Leigh Sales

Mr Long was asked, during his 3 minutes of glory, by Ms Sales what's going on with this mob of businesses backing a carbon tax, and that mob opposing one; as per usual, we got his wisdom illuminating the matter: there is no unanimity, just prejudices in the newspapers' reporting on BHP's stance so far, and schisms (great word, Stephen!) within the business world.

And Ms Sales put the question of why the Aussie dollar is going gangbusters, and of course, we received very sensible reasons, such as our comparitively high interest rates and the dollar's link with our high priced commodities.

I can never get enough of Stephen Long's straight talking common sense; if only our politicians could be so candid. I look forward to Mr Long's 4 Corners report.

Ms Sales' long interview was the Friday night fight club, with Scott Morrison and Tony Burke, in-studio, and all behaved most civilly, (and each was presented superbly, with Ms Sales, unsurprisingly, being the most soothing to the eye):

Beauty and the beasts: Leigh Sales attempting to tease some manner of political sense from Scott Morrison and Tony Burke on LATELINE

although the performances were predictable, on the subject of immigration and asylum seekers, especially the boat arrivals. And as ever, it seems the Opposition is having a struggle with bitterness and smallness, even though it was very well controlled by Mr Morrison. I keep noting in this blog how small and negative this last three years long Opposition has been; it's as if they think it's somehow justified.

Thankfully, Ms Sales' good sense of humour helps to lift the tone and keep it up at more acceptable levels. She began funnily with a remark that the interview was almost over due to the length of the pollies' titles.

A wonderful moment occurred when Mr Morrison said "…the Coalition's very united on it (climate change)", and Ms Sales interjected while wrestling with her own laughter: "Well really? …You've got Malcolm Turnbull in your ranks. We've had Tony Abbott previously say climate change is crap and now embracing direction action?" Mr Morrison steamed ahead trying to make nothing of that fact, while the smile that staked its claim on Mr Burke's moosh was a sight to behold. I recommend you watch the podcast just for this sight:

Priceless moment: Tony Burke and Leigh Sales catch Scott Morrison with his rhetorical pants around his ankles!

*

I managed a very late walk, on this relatively warm evening. Janny spent some hours awake in the middle of the night. It's a nuisance when this happens, coz she either wants to gab on with me, or get me to write emails for her, and I can't get my writing done. The burdens of husbandhood…

I was still at the keyboard till well after sunrise.

+paytontedwithlove+

TRARALGON: "Not immune to shyness, he was feverishly interested in his p's & q's, canaries in test tubes, and railed against baccy," PLInkletter says.

Be all that as it may, meanwhile:

'In other news…'

03^rd September 2010

Friday: I had high hopes of taking Bob swimming today, but a poor quality of sleep in the first few hours put paid to that, and I realised I'd be dangerous on the road if I tried, so Janny contacted his people (I got my people to contact his people) and rearranged for Wednesday coming. Thus I returned to sleep till dark.

During din dins, given a guest, he who cannot be graciously differed or debated or examined with, but who insists on a preponderance of spontaneous opinions, the shine was taken a tad from the TV watching over the ensuing hour. Just one of the small crosses to bear…

Lateline: The (Leigh) Sales Graph: Doubtless fortified with two or three Pramin, Leigh Sales, looking really good by the way, did a sterling job of interviewing a couple of our federal politicians still in limbo, Christopher Pyne and Tony Burke (the medication needed due to the former, according to some severe commentators), both men, as usual, looking crisply turned out. I wish I couldn't say it, but as per usually usual, the Labor man was less small, bitter, nasty, hysterical, arrogant, and hyperbolic than the Coalition man.

I have been pining (pun intended: see above) away for my weekly Stephen Long fix, and at long last he returned to give us The Long View: It is difficult to overestimate the quality of Mr Long's assessments; they are usually confined to things economic, but even when he strays from his specialty, the pearls of wisdom keep coming. Oh, by the way, I wouldn't blame him for gloating tonight, because he was given over 4 minutes! He went white shirt tonight, with a most fetching tie, within the background of his dark blue suit. His mum had less curls to tousle, given the shearing he must have recently undergone.

Ms Sales quizzed Mr Long on the hullabaloo surrounding the Coalition's election costings finally submitted to and chewed over by Treasury. And true to his habit, Mr Long set about telling it more as it is, and in fact came out very fair for both sides, and supported the Opposition's suggestion of a budget office to cost both sides' election commitments.

There was a funny and joyous moment when Ms Sales asked Mr Long to the effect why Australia's financial world hadn't imploded due to the political uncertainty during this limbo, and his answer was embarrassingly true to our politicians' detriment: the economy is run by Treasury and the Reserve Bank.

Stephen Long reveals Australian federal politicians' worst kept secret, to Leigh Sales delight: economically speaking, they're irrelevant!

Mr Long came up with a pair of gems as he expounded on the reasons for the steady course freighter Australia is plying – that we won't be ending up with a "Julia Chavez or Adolf Abbott".

+paytontedwithlove+