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High Winds
Sep. 19th, 2023 10:12 am Sunday night we had an electric storm- just the sky lighting up, with no thunder until the very end. Since then we've had high winds and rain- some of it heavy. Ailz says there's a hurricane on the way- with wind speeds getting up to 30 and 40mph
In yesterday's post about Russell Brand, I initially called him Russell Grant. I put the the post up- complete with libellous mistake- and it stood for half an hour or so until the nagging feeling that it wasn't quite right turned into a conviction- and then I changed it hastily- before Grant's lawyers got in touch. I've got those two guys mixed up before- not their personalities, just the names. Russell Grant is "the nations favourite astrologer". He used to be on TV- perhaps still is- and writes newspaper columns. I don't know how good an astrologer he is, but he's amusing. I looked up his vital stats and found we're near contemporaries. I was born at the end of Jan 1951 and he was born at the beginning of Feb. How nice that we're both still alive.
I'm reading Peter Ackroyd's great big book about London. It comes in at a little under 800 pages. We're currently in the Middle Ages. Who knew that so much documentation- mostly about crime and misadventure- survives from the 12th and 13th centuries.
Also, who knew that Herman Melville wrote poetry and short stories. I did Moby Dick at uni. My course was in English and American Literature- and it couldn't be circumvented. I didn't like it much, but then I didn't much like any of the books we were required to read- with the odd exception of Wells' The New Machiavelli. Having to read against the clock takes the fun out of a book. I had assumed- out of ignorance- that all Melville's works were Leviathans and Behemoths but it ain't so. (though some of them are). Yesterday I read Bartleby the Scrivener- which, set alongside Moby Dick- is a mere wisp of a thing and yet- size being unimportant- at least as remarkable. I also read a short poem about the hanging of John Brown (who raided Harper's Ferry) and that was good too. I need to read more...
In yesterday's post about Russell Brand, I initially called him Russell Grant. I put the the post up- complete with libellous mistake- and it stood for half an hour or so until the nagging feeling that it wasn't quite right turned into a conviction- and then I changed it hastily- before Grant's lawyers got in touch. I've got those two guys mixed up before- not their personalities, just the names. Russell Grant is "the nations favourite astrologer". He used to be on TV- perhaps still is- and writes newspaper columns. I don't know how good an astrologer he is, but he's amusing. I looked up his vital stats and found we're near contemporaries. I was born at the end of Jan 1951 and he was born at the beginning of Feb. How nice that we're both still alive.
I'm reading Peter Ackroyd's great big book about London. It comes in at a little under 800 pages. We're currently in the Middle Ages. Who knew that so much documentation- mostly about crime and misadventure- survives from the 12th and 13th centuries.
Also, who knew that Herman Melville wrote poetry and short stories. I did Moby Dick at uni. My course was in English and American Literature- and it couldn't be circumvented. I didn't like it much, but then I didn't much like any of the books we were required to read- with the odd exception of Wells' The New Machiavelli. Having to read against the clock takes the fun out of a book. I had assumed- out of ignorance- that all Melville's works were Leviathans and Behemoths but it ain't so. (though some of them are). Yesterday I read Bartleby the Scrivener- which, set alongside Moby Dick- is a mere wisp of a thing and yet- size being unimportant- at least as remarkable. I also read a short poem about the hanging of John Brown (who raided Harper's Ferry) and that was good too. I need to read more...
