Friends stopped in, some with wings and some without.
10:31 PM 20/07/2020
Bought three albums of Harry Nile stories from the classic radio store, and finished downloading them at last -- last year I didn't download my stuff in time and it was a real hassle. I've got HOUR OF MY DEATH (1994), PAID IN FULL (2007) and SILENT WITNESS (2006). Now to find three months to listen to them all.
11:15 AM 21/07/2020
In Australia years ago, bestsellers used to be determined by surveying a dozen bookshops in a big city and extrapolating their sales. So a new novel that was in high demand would get a good spot on the bestseller list. It was a bit like television survey figures. Then computerised cash registers and bar codes came along, and for the first tine you could know *exactly* how many copies had been sold of every title. I think the first week the new system came in, critics were surprised to see the best selling volume was something like THE BIG BOOK OF STAIN REMOVAL TIPS.
A few days ago I was wondering if I was drinking too much coffee this winter. I may have found a solution. Going through the crockery, I found a mug that is 20% larger than the one I've been using. That means I can have more than one mug of coffee without making a second one. So I can have four of these instead of six of the other size Problem solved..
Kerensky, the last Prime Minister of pre-Soviet Russia, fled to the US and married an Australian heiress. A recent profile notes that "The couple later lived in a farmhouse near the New York-Connecticut border, living a social life and entertaining friends with croquet."
(Hey, you need something to keep your mind off things when you know that both Hitler and Stalin want you dead.)
24/07/2020
Browsing through the DVDs in the op shop, I was momentarily transfixed by one movie whose leading lady rejoiced in the wonderful name of Shonda Whipple. I thought this was such a great name that I was tempted to write a story featuring her, but I believe she's still alive and with my luck she would sue me.
FLAT 2 (1962) -- Mike's Movie Moment
A victim's boyfriend sneaks into a blackmailer's flat to sort him out, but another man's already there. Neither of them realise the crook is already dead. Then Scotland Yard arrive. John Le Mesurier, Jack Watling and Bernard Archard star and there's some nice crisp black-and-white photography in this Edgar Wallace B-movie.
3:16 PM 29/07/2020
Last weekend it was three years since my sister Julie died. Doesn't seem possible. Is that twelve months since the second anniversary? Sunday afternoon I drove Ian & Pat out to the cemetary so we could put some flowers on her graveyard and reflect on her passing. Flights of white cockatoos wheeled overhead as we stood there in the winter sunshine, talking over our memories. In the evening, I dug out a packet of Russian Caravan tea I came across in the kitchen recently; it was one of Julie's favorites, so I made a pot and raised a cup of tea to her memory.
As they'd say in Esperanto, "Ripozi pace, Julie."
1:51 PM 30/07/2020
The "to do" list for Tuesday
- Doctor's appointment -- still can't get used to consulting my GP by phone, what happens if I want to ask "what's causing my hand to look like this, Doc?"
- Croquet club -- have to say I didn't realize how much I'd missed playing until we'd had a couple of weeks back. Although I didn't plan on spending an hour and a quarter on the first game, it just worked out that way.
- Quiz night wasn't bad either, though we didn't finish in the money. It was fun just being there, in spite of the questions we got wrong. Asked to say which element was named after Ernest Rutherford, I wrote down "ruthenium" -- not right. Our table is just next to the quiz-master, who continues to be amused by the banter and discussions in our team.
12:30 PM 31/07/2020
https://www.nosleeplessnights.com/false-awakening/
I'm not often troubled by nightmares or bad dreams, but I had an odd experience the other night. I woke, got up and started going about my day, then found myself back in bed and realized it had only been a dream. So I got up -- then found myself back in bed. And again, and again. I even said to myself "This is crazy. That kind of thing only happens in the movies. When I finally did wake up for real, I felt exhausted.
A little research told me this is called "false awakening" -- there's even a name for what happened to me, it's called "nested dreams", dreams within dreams.
It wasn't that upsetting. I don't know what caused it, maybe I was under more stress than I realized. I'm just happy if it's a one-off.
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