2010 — 11 November: Thursday... R.I.P. dearest Christa!
It's just after midnight.1 I'm recently back from watching the extended collector's edition (translation: let's make even more money) of James Cameron's colourful extravaganza "Avatar" over with Mike and Bryan in Winklechestershire. Now, as I munch a supper sandwich, listen to the weird stuff on "Late Junction", and sip a supper cuppa, I can gently reflect on my state of mind three years after Christa's death. I'm certainly surviving. Perhaps in some ways I am even thriving. But I'd still be a lot happier with her around, I have to say. All part of Life's rich tapestry, as dear ol' Dad used to remind me...
I've also just been invited over to Boise Idaho by her High School exchange chum Cay, who's only had a week or so to get used to the idea that Christa's died, but I think that will stay on my back burner for a while. I'm not yet in the mood for travel of that sort. Not that I ever have been, if I'm honest — when I travelled with Christa it was almost always purely for her sake. Although I was delighted to accompany her, and pleased at the pleasure she extracted, I remain largely indifferent to geography! But if I have enough books with me, I can go anywhere for a while.
KBO :-)
It's no surprise...
... to see the barometer's needle has dropped back to the "noon" position, given the overnight (and continuing) rain out there, the wind being another clue. Still, the temperature is 11C higher than when I got home nine hours ago. It's a day for staying at home and pretending to be a PC technician. Should be fun :-)
Sue Perkins has been a fun listen on the 6Music breakfast show. And here's a nicely-written piece on the "science" of "self-help". Source and snippet:
Classics of the genre have included... Dr. Laura Schlessinger's Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives (her nude photo is on the Internet for proof that she writes from experience);
Three recent books... examine high achievement — literary, musical, business, sporting — down the ages, in the light of recent discoveries in psychology and neurology. What all three writers agree on, despite some obvious ideological differences, is that hard work, so-called deliberate or deep practice, extremely intense and pursued over many years, makes the difference between the remarkable and the less accomplished. Inborn genius, to which we commonly attribute success, is in fact so rare that it doesn't really figure in the calculations.
My opening snippet shouldn't deter you from the rest of the article, but it made me smile. I've only ever seen one other "Algis" — the SF writer Algis Budrys, the 1973 film of whose 1958 book Who? was offered to me by Amazon within the last 24 hours. Spooky? Not really. Stuff just happens.
Living in a rank(ed) country
This isn't a list to be proud of being too far down, as it were. You'll see what is being ranked if you click on it. You may even guess...
Well chosen, Big Bro!
It's shortly after 11:00. Even though I now need a fresh hanky, I have to admit that a two-minute pause for remembering on this of all days is no bad thing.
After noon
My cupboard is once again less bare. So, time now to look at a lovely film quiz here, set by the film buff's film buff. He (David Thomson) asks people not to hazard guesses in the comments section. Here's one of the comments from that section:
Multiple choice bonus question: This comment thread demonstrates what principle of human nature? a) No one reads instructions. b) People are inherently cooperative. c) The human love of free stuff is outweighed by inability to keep the human mouth closed. d) Movie nerds cannot help showing off, even at the expense of losing contests. e) No one reads instructions, ever.
I'd go with some combo of "a" and "e" :-)
Back from (a)loft...
... carrying, once again, the AMC AV81c control unit. This last saw serious action back in April 2001. As my new little electrostatic headphones amplifier (picture here) has just one stereo input, I'm going to use the AMC (which has eight!) to route all the analogue audio neatly into it. No doubt my A/V system diagram will sooner or later reflect this minor upheaval. But certainly not before my next cuppa.
It's 15:28 and apparently there's a 70 mph blast of air heading our way soon. Won't that be nice? [Pause] As I potter around, I've been listening to the "Magic Roundabout" CD. Sheer magic. Suddenly it's 18:44 and time for an evening meal. [Pause] Next thing you know, it's 22:02 and time to do the dishes and make a supper cuppa. The A/V system diagram is now one step ahead of the physical reality — there's a little matter of seven stereo audio phono leads to be rounded up. They are currently cowering under Junior's bed.