2012 — 21 October: Sunday
No matter what one's thoughts or opinions of the intellectual landscape that produced medieval liturgical polyphony1 — in this case, a beautiful piece of Palestrina — it's a lot more soothing when heard "with the seat in an upright position" on the living room audio system than while continuing to try to breathe through my "splendid cold" while upstairs and horizontal in bed.
If the common cold isn't a perfect illustration of the kludge-filled nature of Darwinian evolution of the human respiratory system, I'm not sure what is. This, too, shall pass.
What? Again?
Just as on the morning after Christa's death (and several times since then) BBC Radio 3 is now playing Brahms' Academic Festival overture which invariably reminds me of a 1951 Cary Grant film that we both loved. Time for my next soothing cuppa, methinks. It will be dawn fairly soon. Well, in a mere two and a half hours.
Having just walked down to what used to be the 'Midland' (mostly to clear my head in the fresh air) I now know that the Chalvington road upheavals are all in aid of street lighting, and will continue to the end of November (if the estimate posted is accurate). They must be pacing themselves.
The only...
... household task I detest more than pushing a Dyson around is ironing — and I have yet to switch the iron on in over five years. It's noon, and I'm about ready to drop. Lemonses is next on my agenda. [Pause] Actually, come to think of it, cleaning out the Dyson is pretty detestable, too. It's 14:23 and by my book that makes it time for tea.
It's always interesting...
... to see things from a different angle. Here are a couple of examples. Source and snippets:
Mr. Obama also has new challenges caused by Innocence of Muslims, the extraordinarily scandalous anti-Islam film produced in California. It has rightly aroused the ire of Muslims everywhere just as the killing of the American ambassador in Benghazi has justifiably generated universal condemnation. What is somewhat incomprehensible is the reaction in America which is best summed up in Hillary Clinton's reported remark: "How can this happen in a country which we helped liberate?" The Americans are genuinely baffled by this display of ingratitude, as they see it, of the Libyans, Egyptians and others, for the huge favour America has done to them by ushering in democracy in their countries.
The two main candidates, their parties and "outside money" will likely splurge $2.5 billion by the time the campaign fog clears in November. Throw in spending on the Congressional races, says the Centre for Responsive Politics (CRP) — the country's foremost poll-spending tracker — and the total would close in on $6 billion. (That's roughly Rs. 32,000 crore. A sum on which you could run the mid-day meal programme for 120 million Indian school children for three years).
Golly! I never expected to see 'Dolores Landingham' in an episode of "The Mentalist" but there she was, Season #4, episode #14. Whatever next?