got a job

 

there is an equivalent to a seven eleven on Sydney Road and the guy behind the counter, you can tell he is an ice addict. He is on the public telephone near the entrance at least five times I am there and all I want is change for the laundromat. The last call gets an answer and the constant question he asks - where have you been?

I hand over a twenty and all I want is ten dollars in change. He gives me twenty dollars in change. The transaction has ended and he is back on the telephone. Maybe investigating and expanding his options.

so here is a dilemma. Blind Freddy could tell this person is speeding off his tree and I wish him all the best because he is gainfully employed, but to what degree? He is obviously chasing scores on the job. 

now I am curious but not so much to take it, but what is the difference between ice and speed, as I knew it all those years ago? Maybe occasionally, every six months at best I would take speed to enable me to drink more alcohol with a good friend of mine. It wasn't a drug unto itself. One detracting factor was the next day where I would sweat this black ooze out of my pores and it smelt weird.

the overall experience was one of novelty but at the same time was terrifying. What if I got the taste for this? Thinking of now, what if I got the taste for what they are peddling now? Surely, It must be far more potent than the drugs of old. Working for the courts, I have seen the results of this drug in action. The apprehended violence orders in regional Victoria alone, it must be far more potent than the drug I knew.

I once worked down at the court in Geelong for six weeks in the basement. Every day the same woman let me in through the door next to the front counter. I couldn't help noticing the amount of people applying for apprehended violence orders. There was a large pad of orders - one order per page. It looked at least three hundred pages thick. When I started they had started with a new pad that day. On the last day they torn the last page off the pad. I remarked to the woman who let me in, you have issued that many apprehended violence orders in the time I've been here?

she pointed across the counter, "There's three pads."

now and then

this makes no sense and all the sense in the world. With all the nonsense of now for some strange reason I find myself thinking back to when my sons were babies. There were those moments on the change table when they arched up and pissed all over me and themselves and the look of glee on their face. Then the times when I had just finished changing them and the look of concentration on their face - then the look of happiness, knowing that they just shit themselves again. The paradox is that none of this was an ordeal or a chore. It all went under the description of hilarious fun. Then there were times on the very same change table I wanted to gobble their toes up in a fit of adoration.

now I have read all this advice to the contrary but the greatest moments were when they were lying on my chest and fell asleep. That moment beyond relaxation. I wondered even at this early age, what were they dreaming about? They would smile. What subconscious thought generated that smile? Then the moments were I fell asleep as well and the feeling when I woke up. It didn't happen often, but when it did it felt awesome.

they are 18 and 20 now and there are so many moments along the way but I can't help thinking back to these moments in time. It felt real and whole. It also felt like yesterday.

yesterday I saw a sleeping baby in a pram on the street. maybe as a cure to now we have a day of looking at sleeping babies. Whilst thinking and reveling in the idea that there can be a future. 

bring him back

 

Christopher Hitchens. What if there was a way to bring him back from the dead? Even some form of overview that expressed the essence of his style or outlook in relation to now. The clip gives us some insight as to how he would deal with what we are working with now. I miss the very idea of him. What he said about Trump was priceless.

civilization returns

 

the Retreat Hotel in Sydney Road. Never in a million years would I thought I could be so happy to see something reopen. Not only reopen but to see people sitting out the front. Plus the added bonus that the pub, being dog friendly, had a few animals out the front today, ready for a friendly scrub behind the ear.

Before the closure, I used to walk past on a Saturday afternoon and not only comfort the dogs outside but have a chat with their owners and friends. The pub exhibited a real sense of community. Then there is the added bonus of the courtyard behind. Apparently it is the oldest building in the area. Certainly one of the most inviting.

If this comes across as a shameless plug - I don't care. The place is all that and more.

finally

so we are finally open, to some degree after being locked down for so long. I have to say that it feels really strange. There is a large volume of traffic on the road and with so many stores open, it all feels frenetic, busy. Speaking of busy, I ventured into the local JB hi-fi to look for a compact disc. Because they had been closed for so many months, the was a large queue for returns that was greater than purchases. Because returns take so much time, they decided to create a dedicated queue. A weird variation on a theme, rather than queuing up to control the volume of people in the store, K Mart is by appointment only.

the feeling of late has been beyond the pace of a Sunday but not quite the pace of a Christmas day. It felt somewhere in between and how strange it was I got used to it. Or moreover, how it was imposed upon all of us.

yesterday, your leader ( I won't call him my leader; I didn't vote for the nut job. I voted for another nut job) came up with this convoluted plan about visitation involving people not visiting more than one relative or significant other. How they are going to monitor such behavior or enforce any breach of said behavior is god's private mystery. It seems like he has become addicted to the control he imposed in the giddy days of recent times. This feels like one last stab at control.

I can only hope that this goes well because if the powers that be make some attempt at locking down the state again, there will be a rage generated beyond any description of the term. Anyway, the restrictions imposed were convoluted, prohibitive and dumb.  

I voted

so I guess I don't have to put in my usual political caveat because of so many variables as candidates go, save to say I really don't care. 

the deadline for the local council elections was on Friday and I actually got my vote in early. Without naming those I voted for on a local and state level in recent times, I actually voted for the two people I met on a regular basis without seeking them out. All the other ones I wouldn't have the slightest idea who they are.

I do like to have a fair overview of who is campaigning but here is the dilemma; for the local election we have 18 candidates. Putting the first one is easy by virtue of the message they put across and then researching the candidates the ones they put two to eight on their campaign flyer. Then there are the rest. Especially in this electorate - who to put last. The dregs. 

maybe by virtue of the dross they are peddling you just know they are in the pocket of property developers. Then there are the ones who have some obscure platform that they don't distribute flyers and their web presence is so obscure that you really have no idea of what it actually is the are standing for. As far as the list goes, I only made it to candidate fourteen and I gave up - just exhausting.

in my sons electorate they only had seven candidates and one was the same age of my eldest- twenty. A friend of my son went to secondary school with him and was universally and intensely hated for the entire six year period by students and teachers alike. So at least that narrowed down the field the six. What a great service that candidate provided for extending that luxury. 

I finally got a call back from one of the candidates in our election from the number I got in a flyer in the mail. This call would have to have been one of the most, how can I put it? .... depressing calls I have ever received in my life. Even at hello, her whole voice screamed I don't want to talk to you. Or anyone, for that matter. All I wanted to know was the actual date of the election because it didn't appear on the flyer. Then, with a magical blend of disinterest and depression, she replied - 

"The actual election is on October 23rd. Mail in balloting begins on the 5th. You'll be getting a ballot in the mail

then - I swear. She let out a sigh. Conveying please, let this be over. I thought that whilst this beacon of light was here, I might as well ask about an issue I was concerned with. Because of the new Moreland station, they destroyed the Gandolfo Gardens. I wish that they would try to restore it to some semblance of it's former glory.

"That would be a State issue"

well, you got my vote - not. I made the very special effort of putting her last.

the shocks of the new

 

this picture of Leonard Bernstein is the subject of the last shock I will talk about but the most I can say right now is that for me - he is the glue that molded all this together. To provide an overall perspective and understanding. 

1. the shock of the old meets the new

maybe the first musical shock of the old meeting the new was a CBS recording Bach - the Greatest Hits Album. Walter, later Wendy Carlos performing the final movement of the Brandenberg Concerto on a Moog synthesizer. The strange thing is, although I have heard this so many times I have never heard the original to this day. Bach was my first introduction to classical music and many other composers just don't seem to cut it in comparison. He was a power house and add to it being performed on a synthesizer that was gutsy and majestic

 

almost at the same time I heard Emerson Lake and Palmer do a version of Aaron Copeland's Hoedown from the Trilogy album - all at the tender age of around eight.

my first introduction to glorious and powerful Hammond organ and Moog synthesizer in combination. I still revel that this much power came from a trio. This led to listening to assorted pieces of progressive rock and Yes. Yessongs. Triple gate fold sleeve, live.

2. A precursor to the shock of the new

Krautrock certainly had it's roots in 70's electronic music but it transformed it into it's own identity with bands like Can, Neu and Kraftwerk that influenced later punk and new wave music. But among all this was a freak of music that combined Indian Raag music with prog rock. It only goes just over eight minutes but feels like forever, in a grand way. In his early days he was in a group that had precursor members of Neu and Kraftwerk. The saddest thing that this was his only solo recording. He was stabbed in a bar in Dusseldorf by two drunks. This piece screams get a high end stereo.

Himmelblau from Wunderbar by Wolfgang Riechmann

3. the shock of the old and new in combination

Harry Partch. Now this is a music I had to grow into but when I finally got there, I was hooked. There is nothing that conveys such emotions and subsequently such sounds and there will never be. He organised his own 43 note scale and built and modified instruments to accommodate that scale. The first piece I heard was Delusion of the Fury.

this recording came with Harry Partch explaining each instrument in turn, as well as revealing many aspects of his musical philosophy. 

my favorite quote of his involves musical truth and the time he spent striving for the truth. He discovered there were many truths and I am walking among those truths.

Listening to this opened a world of listening opportunities involving microntal tuning, but mainly the music of the guitar orchestra composer Glenn Branca who tuned his instruments to the harmonic series. Even built a number of his harmonic guitars and one of them is my main axe to this day. Play it really, really loud. Also, if you want to get out of renting a flat, to quote John Zorn, play something like this at a decent volume and I will guarantee you, you will be out of there by the end of the week, if not sooner. When my sons were small I played this in the car for them with all the windows down. A woman in heavy traffic in a car next to us accused me of child abuse. The boys thought it was majestic.

4. the shock of the old as new

Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West. Western swing music more addictive than heroin.  I like to describe it as hot rod music. The precision engineering of the Telecaster playing of Jimmy Bryant combined with the funny car styling of Speedy West. I had heard the names spoken in reverential terms but never heard them. In the final days of a dedicated store where you could actually buy music, one lunchtime, I heard this - 

the title track from the compilation Stratosphere Boogie. Without pause I asked the guy by the counter what is this, quickly followed by I don't care if this is your own personal copy, I am buying this today - name your price. He sold it to me right away for 20 dollars. He could have got triple that. There was no way I was leaving without that disc. Later I got a four CD set and had my mind blown so many times. It has been said that Speedy West is the most recorded pedal steel player in history. That kind of information just makes me want to hear more. From that boxed set, then there was this - Railroadin'

 

all the sets and subsets of amazing, blissful, mental and yum all in one song

5. the shock of the new

maybe I am doing the title of this section an injustice but maybe it's my own fault. I sucked up so many different styles that I became a glutton and got a severe dose of musical gout. I came across one group by chance and I was hooked. Their use of odd meters was so refreshing and mesmerizing. Probably one of the few groups that have spun my head around in recent times, that felt "new".

Nik Bartsch's Ronin. They spun my head around on heavy rotation when I first heard them, but this piece sealed the deal for me. Modul 29 14

5. understanding the shock of the new

In the 70's, Leonard Bernstein made a video lecture - a six part lecture that goes for over 13 hours, at Harvard called the Unanswered Question. It examined the syntax and approach to music as we moved into the 20th century, including examples of it's origins. For the title of the lecture and as a jumping off point he used the piece the Unanswered Question by Charles Ives

the conclusion is interesting because of all the examples cited he doesn't know what the question is but he knows the answer is yes. Take time to watch it on Youtube. I never thought that a series of such a length could be so enthralling, also provide such a detailed overview as to how we arrived at this concept called now. Even though Ives experimented with quarter tones he expressed a compelling approach using the same twelve notes as everyone on the standard keyboard.

now these examples are a mere jumping off point. So much music came my way by the action of letting my ears follow them. These are just some examples that go under the category of epiphany; that were the catalyst for heading in so many directions. There are so many examples from minimalism, music concrete and even as an extension of that  - rap. 

I could not go without mention a dear friend, Andrew, who is no longer with us. I used to go around to his flat, armed with a pad and pen and revel in his record collection of over 10000 lps. I never asked him to play anything. He just put something on with me responding with the constant question.

what the fuck was that?  

 

 

not so fast

now before you go thanking all of us for our stoicism and sacrificing so much, there's a few items that deserve attention.

all of this. This is not normal, it is irrational and unnatural. I personally, have done my best to comply with your rules, restrictions and regulations but I hate them. To say I despise them is an understatement. I know I have said this before but instead of your words of thanks, maybe you should submit a humble, grovelling apology. Once all this is over there is a lot you have to do. A lot you must do.

specifically, maybe you should start small. At what age do you explain to children what the hell was all that about? How young are they and they may not speak but do they perceive everyone is wearing masks; does that mean I have done something wrong? Or the basic question why was everybody wearing masks?

then there is interaction. Wearing those damn masks has hampered our communication in so many detrimental ways. Here's a challenge; get as many people to laugh until they cry as a reparation. That, would be the first thing to do but by no means the least. If only for a short period of time.

a day of people gathered in open spaces together, sitting in seats or lying on blankets. Without masks on. The strangest thing is as far as masks go, the amount of people on public transport wearing their masks under the chin. What was the point? Of all the places to wear a mask properly.

you may dismiss this as a load of hippy dippy nonsense. I define all this as the opposite of now. These are just a few things that come to mind. I am sure people could suggest more.

the new rules

in court cases they have suppression orders to prevent sensitive information jeopardizing the outcome of a trial that are enforced on all types of broadcast media with an emphasis on the fastest and most voracious of them all - the internet. News can spread like wildfire and can generate strange derivations of information as it spreads. 

the other day I was told about something about information pertaining to the impending presidential election and all news about that information had disappeared. Maybe there is a new term to describe this phenomenon. Not so much that we are dealing with the rules of evidence but the rules of information. The strange thing is, with the scant information I had been given so far, I didn't have the chance to form any kind of view, rumor or otherwise.

It's happened to a number of articles, but it begs the point that what is the point of doing this? Markets aren't going to crash or a multitude of outcomes manifest themselves as a result. Some nonce in the office of an internet service provider or some social media page is currently dictating what I can't see.

for what reason and based on what authority? Is there some risk that I can make an informed view of my own? From information?

remember that nickname for the internet all those years ago? What was it called? The information super highway.

that's it

 

I give up. Of all the stupendously stupid things to put a restriction on, this takes the cake. First I thought it was banning the self service car wash but now we have something that defines an all time low. 

so I have to download a document and print it out, scan another and photocopy some items for the purpose of identification. I head down to the local internet cafe and even though it is open, I can't use any computers because they are under restriction. I can buy a can of coke or a mars bar and I can freely walk around the store but no internet.

kind of makes me think what kind of slow day they were having to devise this new epoch of stupidity.

whatever they were taking that day; either stop it or double it. I laughed at the man behind the counter - I thought he was joking.

Pepys diary entries January 1666

 

 

now I don't want to give the plot away; you can read ahead online, but there is a strange duality to this time. Plague numbers are no where near the amounts mentioned six months ago and overall numbers are far greater than those of the plague. That gives hope to the everyday business of living, but not without reservation. The entries are smaller but are intense.

(3/1)

"Then comes my wife, and I set her to get supper ready against I go to the Duke of Albemarle and back again; and at the Duke’s with great joy I received the good news of the decrease of the plague this week to 70, and but 253 in all; which is the least Bill (Bill of Mortality) hath been known these twenty years in the City. Through the want of people in London is it, that must make it so low below the ordinary number for Bills."

notice there is no mention of international borders being restricted, but providing a duty of care in the form of lodgings for an associate, even if it was not offered previously in turn due to the circumstances of the time. 

(6/1)

"At night home to my lodging, where I find my wife returned with my things, and there also Captain Ferrers is come upon business of my Lord’s to this town about getting some goods of his put on board in order to his going to Spain, and Ferrers presumes upon my finding a bed for him, which I did not like to have done without my invitation because I had done [it] several times before, during the plague, that he could not provide himself safely elsewhere."

a general hope for secure business lodgings

(9/1)

"Up, and then to the office, where we met first since the plague, which God preserve us in!" 

but then there is a focus pertaining to the Bills of Mortality and the erratic nature of the plague

(10/1)

"Thence to the ’Change (the Royal Exchange) , and there hear to our grief how the plague is encreased this week from seventy to eighty-nine."

and yet the plague continues to increase, which generates a fear of what could happen in the long term

(13/1)

"Home with his Lordship to Mrs. Williams’s, in Covent-Garden, to dinner (the first time I ever was there), and there met Captain Cocke; and pretty merry, though not perfectly so, because of the fear that there is of a great encrease again of the plague this week." 

"if the plague continues among us another yeare, the Lord knows what will become of us."

still the numbers are nowhere near the numbers of old and are smaller than the general numbers, but still the fear of the duration of the sickness. The idea of having fear with reason, when really, no reason is apparent. 

(16/1)

"So home late at my letters, and so to bed, being mightily troubled at the newes of the plague’s being encreased, and was much the saddest news that the plague hath brought me from the beginning of it; because of the lateness of the year, and the fear, we may with reason have, of its continuing with us the next summer. The total being now 375, and the plague 158."

discussion about the general exodus from the city as a mechanism for survival but news of a new technology - the respirator. One interesting entry was the mention of Gresham College - An unusual institution of higher learning off Holborn in central London. It enrolls no students and grants no degrees. Gresham College has provided lectures free and open to the public since its foundation under the Will of Sir Thomas Gresham in 1597, long before there was any university in London.

(22/1)

"I back presently to the Crowne taverne behind the Exchange by appointment, and there met the first meeting of Gresham College since the plague. Dr. Goddard did fill us with talke, in defence of his and his fellow physicians going out of towne in the plague-time; saying that their particular patients were most gone out of towne, and they left at liberty; and a great deal more, &c. But what, among other fine discourse pleased me most, was Sir G. Ent about Respiration; that it is not to this day known, or concluded on among physicians, nor to be done either, how the action is managed by nature, or for what use it is. Here late till poor Dr. Merriot was drunk, and so all home, and I to bed."

the number of deaths were lower than previous times and in comparison to general fatalities, but still persistent.

(23/1)

"Up and to the office and then to dinner. After dinner to the office again all the afternoon, and much business with me. Good newes beyond all expectation of the decrease of the plague, being now but 79, and the whole but 272. So home with comfort to bed. A most furious storme all night and morning."

so Pepys has separated the members of his family home as a method of prevention and was happy as such, but still took a great deal of pause as to what had happened by the evidence of those who had perished overall 

 

(30/1)

"This is the first time I have been in this church since I left London for the plague, and it frighted me indeed to go through the church more than I thought it could have done, to see so [many] graves lie so high upon the churchyards where people have been buried of the plague. I was much troubled at it, and do not think to go through it again a good while."

one final and optimistic footnote for the end of the month.

(31/1)

"blessed be God! to do so, the plague being decreased this week to 56, and the total to 227."

I really don't feel I am repeating myself in relation to these posts, due to the every changing nature of the plague itself. There is the very nature and approach as to what the author thinks about what he is currently going through - parts of fear and trepidation; what he has experienced so far and what he thinks about the future.

 

 

fear

now this post goes out to my dear friend Janice, whom I officially bequeath the honorable title Genius of Yum in too many departments I can mention in the space of one blog, but the number one department would have to be turning my head around on heavy rotation to think differently from her perspective alone.

yesterday I am sitting in Moreland Road at the usual place and two women are walking by. One is wearing a shield and not a mask which is odd because they have been banned. But the look she was giving me; a look of pure determination as she got closer. Then it happens.

she grabs me with a force the envy of ten men combined and throws me off the seat. I am petrified. The woman with her states that she is intellectually disabled and starts apologizing for her actions. Once she had left I had a thought for the others I have mentioned in this blog who have some kind of mental impairment and what they might be going through right now, as everything is amplified. Intense. Then I had a thought about another aspect of all of this that could be a category all of it's own.

countless mentions of Covid deaths but not one mention of Covid related deaths. People who died in relation despair or loss in so many areas. Getting fired from a job they love or their business closing altogether. The loss of a soul mate or significant relative. Can I be blunt? Just how many people have killed themselves during all this?

Being exposed to a fear so fundamental that it confronts their very existence. Then there is a disorder that may develop and result in agoraphobia and all the fears that go along with that. I am only mentioning this in passing but hoarders, how are they coping during all this?

Can we get a statistical read out on those numbers? 

serial amnesia

 it seems I don't have to use my usual apolitical caveat for this one but I'll put it in anyway. Don't take anything I say as embracing or dismissing any inherent bias or affiliation - that's your baggage and I don't give a shit.

now this is a weird one because this seems to be an affliction well on the way to epidemic proportions. Politicians of assorted stripes in numerous states along with public service officials both state and federal. Giving evidence to different inquiries, making media statements, attending cabinet meetings or on the campaign trial; they all seem to be suffering from the same ailment - memory loss.

one particular problem I have had in relation to this is clear and accurate compiling of statistical data. It seems they can remember how to gather information in regards to one association say, age ranges in relation to deaths, but apply any other sub sets to the information they have compiled and they seem to have forgotten how to use a spreadsheet. Maybe even then there is no guarantee a brush up course will jog the ol' memory of how to do it.

then there are the methods and devices used to aid memory that seem to work to no avail. Emails, phone calls, group meetings and the like.

maybe the very idea of taking notes in relation to these methods and devices would be fruitless. If you can't remember you simply can't remember. Some of these people have lost their jobs over what they have forgotten. Think if we applied that standard to everyone what kind of mess we would be in?

I used to record proceedings in the courts. One thing I learned in relation to evidence is this; not only does a liar have to have a good memory but a lie has a memory.

hallelujah!

 

this morning on national television, a prominent New South Wales church leader has claimed corona virus restrictions on religious gatherings are bordering on discrimination. I find it odd that religious leaders can make statements, on national television no less and yet they don't seem to have their house in order.

take this prominent New South Wales church leader for example. His father, also a pastor, didn't discriminate when he serially and sexually abused nine boys between the ages of seven and twelve. Even confessed to one of the crimes. This prominent New South Wales church leader allegedly used his position within the denomination to conceal the crimes of the father. The solution? It's O.K, we forgave him!

maybe a few other examples that would go some way to addressing the institution of this prominent New South Wales church leader and getting their house in order. Being financially transparent, discriminating against homosexuals, a member lying about having cancer and where the funds he raised went, just to name a few.

I know this goes some way to the political but this prominent New South Wales church leader traveled all the way to America to meet the President of the United States with our Prime Minister. He was promptly shunned by the President and call it a hunch but, probably wanted nothing to do with the serial pedophile apologist. Kind of makes me think, wouldn't it be nice if the media here applied the same standard here?

I once worked with a devotee of the church of this prominent New South Wales church leader. I was having a conversation with a work mate about a news article on the television last night that scientists have discovered that people have a genetic disposition to observing and following religion, to which she promptly, loudly and abruptly interjected

"I don't believe that!!

We had no idea this person was behind us, let alone in the room. My response was well, thanks for your contribution to the conversation you had absolutely no part in. Also, doesn't your response come across as an oxymoron? As far as belief goes - that's all you have. Maybe use your precious belief to disprove this scientific research. But my recently lost internal dialogue was screaming

"Butt out you creepy freak!!

an internal dialogue I wish the media in this country would apply to this prominent New South Wales church leader.

 

Pepys diary entries December 1665

It might be prudent to go the diary site and read the whole of December because the grip of the plague seems to be diminishing and there is so much preoccupation with the business of the day. Also, a fair amount of gossip of the day. There is a recurring theme of the plague having some effect on trade and commerce in conjunction with a late warm spell as the seasons change

(13/12)

"Here at a taverne in Cornhill he and I did agree upon my delivering up to him a bill of Captain Cocke’s, put into my hand for Pierce’s use upon evening of reckonings about the prize goods, and so away to the ’Change (the Royal Exchange), and there hear the ill news, to my great and all our great trouble, that the plague is encreased again this week, notwithstanding there hath been a day or two great frosts; but we hope it is only the effects of the late close warm weather, and if the frosts continue the next week, may fall again; but the town do thicken so much with people, that it is much if the plague do not grow again upon us. Off the ’Change invited by Sheriff Hooker, who keeps the poorest, mean, dirty table in a dirty house that ever I did see any Sheriff of London; and a plain, ordinary, silly man I think he is, but rich; only his son, Mr. Lethulier, I like, for a pretty, civil, understanding merchant; and the more by much, because he happens to be husband to our noble, fat, brave lady in our parish, that I and my wife admire so."

so a bit of wheeling and dealing combined with a small amount of nepotism. There is talk of a region still very bad of the plague; I don't know if this implies that other regions are not. If the Royal Exchange is anything to go by, things may be looking up

(17/12)

"After dinner back again and to Deptford to Mr. Evelyn’s, who was not within, but I had appointed my cozen Thos. Pepys of Hatcham to meet me there, to discourse about getting his 1000l. of my Lord Sandwich, having now an opportunity of my having above that sum in my hands of his. I found this a dull fellow still in all his discourse, but in this he is ready enough to embrace what I counsel him to, which is, to write importunately to my Lord and me about it and I will look after it. I do again and again declare myself a man unfit to be security for such a sum. He walked with me as far as Deptford upper towne, being mighty respectfull to me, and there parted, he telling me that this towne is still very bad of the plague."

there were still cases of plague present, but not of the numbers mentioned earlier and not in his local community. He seems to becoming a bit tardy with the books.

(20/12)

"But two things trouble me; one, the sicknesse is increased above 80 this weeke (though in my owne parish not one has died, though six the last weeke); the other, most of all, which is, that I have so complexed an account for these last two months for variety of layings out upon Tangier, occasions and variety of gettings that I have not made even with myself now these 3 or 4 months, which do trouble me mightily, finding that I shall hardly ever come to understand them thoroughly again, as I used to do my accounts when I was at home."

he also seems to becoming a bit tardy with the diary entries, the weather is displaying quite a considerable change but notwithstanding one should be so bold as to abandon hope.

 

(22/12)

"Thence to my lodging, making up my Journall for 8 or 9 days, and so my mind being eased of it, I to supper and to bed.

The weather hath been frosty these eight or nine days, and so we hope for an abatement of the plague the next weeke, or else God have mercy upon us! for the plague will certainly continue the next year if it do not."

a certain amount of hesitation on restoring the house to it's normal state with the hiring of a new handmaid. Things aren't entirely back to normal yet. But as the day passed there was a happy discussion about the spoils of the Dutch trade war and the current plague figures.

(27/12)

"Up, and with Cocke, by coach to London, there home to my wife, and angry about her desiring a mayde yet, before the plague is quite over. It seems Mercer is troubled that she hath not one under her, but I will not venture my family by increasing it before it be safe.

So to Captain Cocke’s, and there sat and talked, especially with his Counsellor, about his prize goods, that hath done him good turne, being of the company with Captain Fisher, his name Godderson; here I supped and so home to bed, with great content that the plague is decreased to 152, the whole being but 330."

although previous entries mention a great deal of doubt and introspection in relation to the plague, the final entry of the year contains tidings of thanks for  the initiative of keeping the family and subsequent in good health. Also, it seems he did not suffer from the spoils of the Anglo Dutch Trade War and merry times. Not without the deaths of some family members, he still conveys a certain hope for the plagues decline as population and industry begins to increase.

(31/12)

"It is true we have gone through great melancholy because of the great plague, and I put to great charges by it, by keeping my family long at Woolwich, and myself and another part of my family, my clerks, at my charge at Greenwich, and a mayde at London; but I hope the King will give us some satisfaction for that. But now the plague is abated almost to nothing, and I intending to get to London as fast as I can. 

I have never lived so merrily (besides that I never got so much) as I have done this plague time, by my Lord Bruncker’s and Captain Cocke’s good company, and the acquaintance of Mrs. Knipp, Coleman and her husband, and Mr. Laneare, and great store of dancings we have had at my cost (which I was willing to indulge myself and wife) at my lodgings. 

My whole family hath been well all this while, and all my friends I know of, saving my aunt Bell, who is dead, and some children of my cozen Sarah’s, of the plague. But many of such as I know very well, dead; yet, to our great joy, the town fills apace, and shops begin to be open again. Pray God continue the plague’s decrease! for that keeps the Court away from the place of business, and so all goes to rack as to publick matters, they at this distance not thinking of it."

Pepys diary entries November 1665

 

 a son of the landlady of Pepys Greenwich lodging was feared with plague so they sent for the medical plasters of the time and "fume", an incense believed to have medicinal properties. This entry may be the first time a form of isolation is mentioned, or at least close interaction. (4/11)

"They sayled from midnight, and come to Greenwich about 5 o’clock in the morning. I however lay till about 7 or 8, and so to my office, my head a little akeing, partly for want of natural rest, partly having so much business to do to-day, and partly from the newes I hear that one of the little boys at my lodging is not well; and they suspect, by their sending for plaister and fume, that it may be the plague; so I sent Mr. Hater and W. Hewer to speake with the mother; but they returned to me, satisfied that there is no hurt nor danger, but the boy is well, and offers to be searched, however, I was resolved myself to abstain coming thither for a while."

there has been discussion about the illogical nature of the spread of the plague, rampant in some areas, sparse in others. But now the fear the entire city has been infected. (5/11)

"To dinner, where a great deale of silly discourse, but the worst is I hear that the plague increases much at Lambeth, St. Martin’s and Westminster, and fear it will all over the city."

so discussion of being glad to be out of the city, but his concerns not being so great as to refrain from interacting with his mistress and "do whatever he wanted" with her, with a bit of plague water; a concoction that won't cure you of the sickness but make you so intoxicated you won't care you have it anyway. (8/11)

"walking up and down the fields till it was dark night, that ‘je allais a la maison of my valentine, —[Bagwell’s wife]— and there ‘je faisais whatever je voudrais avec’ her, and, about eight at night, did take water, being glad I was out of the towne; for the plague, it seems, rages there more than ever, and so to my lodgings, where my Lord had got a supper and the mistresse of the house, and her daughters, and here staid Mrs. Pierce to speake with me about her husband’s business, and I made her sup with us, and then at night my Lord and I walked with her home, and so back again. My Lord and I ended all we had to say as to his business overnight, and so I took leave, and went again to Mr. Glanville’s and so to bed, it being very late."

more talk of neighbors dying from the plague, but also discussion of a brutal riding accident. (10/11)

"In the evening newes is brought me my wife is come: so I to her, and with her spent the evening, but with no great pleasure, I being vexed about her putting away of Mary in my absence, but yet I took no notice of it at all, but fell into other discourse, and she told me, having herself been this day at my house at London, which was boldly done, to see Mary (Pepys chambermaid, who left the household upon being engaged) have her things, that Mr. Harrington, our neighbour, an East country merchant, is dead at Epsum of the plague, and that another neighbour of ours, Mr. Hollworthy, a very able man, is also dead by a fall in the country from his horse, his foot hanging in the stirrup, and his brains beat out. Here we sat talking, and after supper to bed."

more discussion, albeit bleak, about the spread of the plague and the impact it is having on local merchants. (14/11)

"This day, calling at Mr. Rawlinson’s (a wine merchant) to know how all did there, I hear that my pretty grocer’s wife, Mrs. Beversham, over the way there, her husband is lately dead of the plague at Bow, which I am sorry for, for fear of losing her neighbourhood."

the Bill of Mortality, the weekly death statistics, were now being watched with a certain intensity and being compared with previous data entries. (15/11)

"The Plague, blessed be God! is decreased 400; making the whole this week but 1300 and odd; for which the Lord be praised!"

news that a work colleague and an associate who had wined a dined at local taverns was dead of the sickness. (20/11)

"Here I find Mr. Deering come to trouble me about business, which I soon dispatched and parted, he telling me that Luellin (Peter Llewellyn) hath been dead this fortnight, of the plague, in St. Martin’s Lane, which much surprised me."

relief to hear a work associate is alive and plague numbers are decreasing. An early newspaper contained the serious information reflecting the time. There is some good news; news of the impending cold weather. (22/11)

"I heard this day that Mr. Harrington is not dead of the plague, as we believed, at which I was very glad, but most of all, to hear that the plague is come very low; that is, the whole under 1,000, and the plague 600 and odd: and great hopes of a further decrease, because of this day’s being a very exceeding hard frost, and continues freezing. This day the first of the Oxford Gazettes come out, which is very pretty, full of newes, and no folly in it."

the worst time of the plague was in the summer of 1665, the cold weather killed off rats and bacteria, so the spread of the plague slowed down. At this point, good news, winter was on the way. (23/11)

"It continuing to be a great frost, which gives us hope for a perfect cure of the plague"

observations regarding the abatement of the plague in regards to everyday commerce. Something we all yearn for here right now. (24/11)

"Up, and after doing some business at the office, I to London, and there, in my way, at my old oyster shop in Gracious Streete, bought two barrels of my fine woman of the shop, who is alive after all the plague, which now is the first observation or inquiry we make at London concerning everybody we knew before it. So to the ’Change (the Royal Exchange), where very busy with several people, and mightily glad to see the ’Change so full, and hopes of another abatement still the next week. Off the ’Change I went home with Sir G. Smith to dinner, sending for one of my barrels of oysters, which were good, though come from Colchester, where the plague hath been so much."

so good news regarding decreasing numbers and subsequent increasing activity, but still some news to generate some pause for concern. (30/11)

"Great joy we have this week in the weekly Bill, it being come to 544 in all, and but 333 of the plague; so that we are encouraged to get to London soon as we can. And my father writes as great news of joy to them, that he saw Yorke’s waggon go again this week to London, and was full of passengers; and tells me that my aunt Bell hath been dead of the plague these seven weeks."

maybe this month could be seen as a metaphor, but maybe a paradox, for now and here in this state of Victoria. London is opening up as the numbers decrease as the colder months are approaching. We are still locked down as the summer months are approaching.

 

they're open

so the local barber on Moreland Road is open. They were doing a great trade not all that long ago then suddenly they closed down. They were complying with everything possible and things were going fine.

today, their front door was open, so I stood there and gave them a round of applause. I suppose you could say I gave them a standing ovation. Really, not the dumbest restriction but up there with the worst of them. Probably the most stupid one would have to be the prohibition of the self serve car wash. Of all the activities that screams isolation, surely this would have to be close to number one.

maybe our Premier can get a haircut. He sure looks like he needs one. And a face mask. Not for safety reasons; I just want to limit the amount of exposure to his head. It reminds me of an action figure I used to own that I left too close to a heater.

accuse me of a shameless plug but I don't care. Of all the unnecessary nonsense to put a business through they deserve the trade. 

Thelonious

 

I can't get away with a picture of this genius in action. Roll the tape.

part of me thinks it would be more accurate to describe this as Thelonious Monk trancing. Dancing doesn't quite do it justice, it also had a deep and spiritual meaning. It meant the rest of the band were tight. They were playing so well all he had to do was to stand back and swing. Not on the piano but swing his body. Paying tribute to the origins of jazz which are rooted in dance.

when we get back to some kind of idea of normal, maybe we could create a day in assorted public places doing the Monk dance, saying everything is fine. In your own style because no one could quite cut it in the style of Monk. As a method of healing. To the music of Monk. Going into a trance of fine.

to give you some small insight into the mind of this genius, there is a great story about Monk standing outside Birdland with the drummer Joe Jones - not Papa or Philly. It's the middle of winter and they're waiting for a lift in the snow. Monk walks to the other side of the street and pulls a penny from his pocket. He hits a power pole with the penny 5 or 6 times then goes back and stands next to Joe. Says nothing. Joe asks about a minute later, "what the hell did you do that for?" 

the reply. " I thought it would make that sound."

I dedicate this post to someone who I introduced to the dancing of Monk earlier.

The Chairman. As far as his backing music alone, I will never be in the position to make this observation - 

" I thought it would make that sound."

back to normal

I have to say this. The sunrise this morning was nothing short of spectacular. Because there are no planes in the sky and less cars on the road the air is so crisp and clean.

living in this area during this time means no planes preparing to land at the airport, so none of that sound as they descend just to the left of the Dandenongs. Sort of like the sound of an earthquake without the physical vibration.

which reminds me of a previous time when all the planes were grounded during September 11th 2001 and I wonder if they are resuming the research now - global dimming. Having no planes in the sky meant no vapor trails and multiple trails grouping together forming artificial clouds. Clouds that reflect the sun's rays and causes all kinds of environmental problems.

there is one factor that makes things better and I don't think I am discussing it in a macabre sense. There are less people around. Sort of a constant Sunday feel. Less crowded and more manageable, especially on public transport.

the paradox is if we finally resume to a state of "normal", will there be a cost as a result of the things we have lost? Based on the things we have gained?

so can someone fill me in?

 

you may not know of this image. It's the logo of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. They got in a whole heap of trouble for publishing cartoons in 2005. The recent beheading of a teacher in France makes my mind go back to this. The very posting of this logo makes my mind go to the thought that have I induced ire in those were offended by publishing cartoons?

then there was the publication Charlie Hebdo that published cartoons that led to the deaths of 12 people and injuring 11 others by 2 brothers armed with rifles and many other weapons in 2015.

so the question I have maybe expanding upon the heading is the very act of doing this blog offensive? The risk of expressing one's self surely may involve the risk of offending someone. Every time I type a word, do I think of all the sets and sub sets of people I could possibly offend?

well the answer is no but a teacher being beheaded for displaying cartoons when discussing freedom of speech gives me some pause for introspection. Recently I spoke about a particular brand of cheese with a controversial name. Nobody commented but I sure got a shitload of emails.

but my main focus and point of reply was the insanity of all this. The name of a brand of cheese went all the way to the human rights commission for a ruling. A name that had it's origins as a derivation of a German surname. So if the original German name is used with it's correct spelling, it still sounds the same, but does that diffuse the offense?

so the question I have is that the press reported the parent of a pupil at the school who denounced the actions of the teacher. so someone throw me a bone here - Is anyone going to denounce the actions of a person who beheaded a teacher for the action of displaying cartoons? As a demonstration about freedom of speech?

guilty

now I have done this more times than I can remember but I will plead guilty without reservation anyway. To add insult to injury and don't consider this some type of plea in my defense, but apparently one of these a day helps you work, rest and play.

every time I go to the local Aldi and there is a homeless person out the front - I buy them a Mars bar. Not just any Mars bar - it's a 2 Pak. The shame... I know.

I sanitize my hands before I enter the store and try to do my best to keep my social distance whilst in there. Yesterday I gave a Mars bar to a man who was thankful because that was the first thing he had to eat that day. The time was 5:24 pm.

but the question I have to ask is have I committed a crime? There is a man who has been living out of his car for months in the car park outside of the Coles in Coburg. Throughout the curfew. I don't know if he got a fine.

now although I am not happy about it I have been positively obsessed with compliance throughout all this. There are people who can't comply, based on circumstances that place them in a certain situation. Beyond their control.

is there some stupid sub-section in the big book of compliance where buying and giving a snack in the afternoon for a homeless person restricted? No, really.

 

babies and dogs

 this post has me wondering what is the opposite of terrorism but, moreover, what is an alternative as far as a definition that displays a contrast to that term? I suppose the best definition I could give is that three weeks after the lock down started I have embarked upon a relentless campaign of domestic levity in the community. Telling corny stories and doing stupid hat tricks are but two of the devices I use on unsuspecting strangers.

One constant throughout all this is the practice of saying "hello boss" to dogs being walked by their owners or babies in their prams or strollers. I usually get the reply, "You got that right" or even the occasional "Like you wouldn't believe" and we all have a quiet laugh. 

But on the same day and in the space of an hour I got two responses I didn't expect. This man was walking his pit bull; all muscles but with a merry disposition. "hello boss" - and the owner gave me the strangest look.

"How do you know my dog's name is Boss?" Even showed me his tag.

later in Sydney Road a couple on the corner of Victoria Street near Bunnings with a stroller and I look down. "hello boss" - and they both gave me an immediate look of confusion

"How do you know her nickname is Boss?"

another phenomenon is the unplanned levity of others. I see this guy as I get off the tram

"What the hell are you staring at?"

"You walk around with a t shirt logo like that? What do you expect?"

we both had a laugh - and the logo?

Fuck Corona-virus

a new perspective and a further variation on a theme

 yesterday - it happened. For background material go to this previous blog

https://somanythoughtsofnow.blogspot.com/2020/09/masks-new-perspective.html

I got all the questions in; she's been working on the other side, I didn't get to see her face again but I know her name. So what was nagging me to my core has found some kind of resolution. We weren't complete strangers so what did this make us? Incomplete strangers? All I know is that I felt whole, especially the where the fuck have you been part.

I didn't see her today but I had an extraordinary scenario all mapped out in my mind to celebrate.

"(name omitted), how are you? So good to see you again (name omitted). I was beginning to think we would never cross paths (name omitted). Anyway, this has been really great (name omitted). Oh, and by the way in case you forgot, my name is (omitted)."

thinking about it, I gave some pause for exactly what I was celebrating. Maybe some of the things that this lock down has removed. Civility, certain pockets of the humane and the common good.

whatever happens in the future, at the very least and based the surreal evolution of this association, is that we become famous friends.

construction zone revisited

 

watch out.... they're back in town. The pedal less bike posse are on the corner of Jessie and Station Street mid afternoon, gazing in awe at the construction of the new Moreland Railway Station. It turns out that this is a regular occurrence most afternoons and a spectacle to behold. Sometimes the parents are more excited than the children. But then the whole thing is lifted up a notch when one of the kids sees a crane doing it's job.

"Look at the orange one!!" 

"Look at the orange one!!" 

"Look at the orange one!!" 

"It's lifting the thing!!!"

"Mum, it's lifting the thing!!!!"

now I have so many mixed emotions about this site, but now a whole new one has hit home. How the posse are going to feel about all this when construction is finished.

myself, I am still coming to terms with the big white crane being taken away.

I'm going out on a limb here....

 

a simple process of logic. The virus means less people around. Less people around means less people walking. Less people walking means less people walking whilst texting.

or so I thought...

so a casual stroll along Sydney Road and I cannot begin to believe that this is happening right now. Someone with headphones on is texting whilst walking. To add insult to injury, this is not a person who is wholly competent with the whole getting out of the way thing when confronted with such a dilemma as far as co-ordination goes. I find myself doing a dance routine for a minute just to walk along the street. 

so I sit down on a seat near the tram depot and next to me is this person doing something on his phone. I said, "Did you just see that?" He did - and the response?

"You are going to hate this."

he is working on an app called dotted line and testing it in the local area. The user enters their current location and the place they want to go to. A dotted line on a map display appears on the screen and the line goes bold as to their progress along the line. Then he displays the true moment of terror.

split screen. You can use the app and text at the same time.

no, I'm not going out on a limb here. This is the most dangerous piece of technology developed today and should be banned out of existence.

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

 

I suppose you could call this a statement. If one thing this virus has done to me it has made me just a little obsessive with routine and one particular ritual - lunch. It's either Victoria Street mall near Bell Street or down to the other end of Sydney Road to Barkly Square. I always make it a habit of walking past the sign writers shop, even if he isn't there so I can wave hello through the front window. He opened a week before all this mess started.

So today it's off to the falafel shop and I make it a habit of arming myself with a joke to tell the guy behind the counter, making sure its dirty or inappropriate and to be sure to add a liberal amount of swearing because that's the way he likes it.

then every time I eat in the mall in front of the library and have a chat with Happy Drunk Barry. There is a woman who sits there who seems constantly stressed out; I always manage an innocent "Howya Doin'?" and get a smile. Barry told me recently that it's good you do that because she is raped on a semi-regular basis by other homeless. Not that long ago she lost it and went into a rage, throwing a 1.25 litre bottle of coke at another local.

Mr Oussou from the bar walks past because he lives near here and I ask him how the renovations are going in this time of closure. How I long for this place to open again, not only to play or listen, but to go somewhere I know I can laugh and smile; to talk about a diverse range of topics with a diverse range of people.

down the other end of Sydney Road and I hope the homeless woman there is out the front of McDonald's. She always seems to catch me with no money and I have to go to the bank, get some food then give her some change. The amount of times she has heard me say, "wait, wait - I'll be back!", but at least she knows I'm not just saying that. Part of me thinks that this would be arrogant but I'd really like to ask her for a schedule; only because I get annoyed when she is not there. Maybe stressed would be a more accurate term.

but then there are the observations. As an exercise I caught the tram from Bell Street and traveled along Sydney Road to Brunswick Road - and back again. 63 for lease signs in the windows of shops. There are places that have been closed since March, not even seeing the point of opening. There is a sign on a window - 

WILL RE OPEN 

15 10 2020

STAY SAFE

well, today is the 14th

so today I had a thought. This is my place and I am a part of it. I look out for people and things around here; some things I can address and other things I can't. Maybe it's a blessing and a curse blended into one entity but I belong here and I've never felt it so strong until now. Without being a member of some official committee or interest group or observing a deity like the church of the latter day order of cheese humidifiers or some nonsense like that.

one thing that I would relish once you have applied all your potions and tinctures, opened all the stores and removed all those draconian measures - 

heal this place.

the climbing wall

 

so it's yesterday. My usual excursion to eat some lunch and I'm sitting on one of the benches near the climbing wall on Sydney Road. 

now there's a man sitting across from me and he's not wearing a mask. He's swaying back and forth and lightly but obsessively pinching his bottom lip. He obviously has some kind of mental impairment but that is a fact that is lost on some old guy standing nearby. Then it starts.

"Hey, how come you're not wearing a mask?"

no response but the swaying becomes larger and the pinching faster.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, how come you're not wearing a mask!?!"

now the swaying becomes more animated and changes from back and forth to side to side. The pinching transforms into this manic face rubbing. Before I get a chance to say anything, the old man mutters "Right, I'll get this sorted" and heads across the road to two protective services officers. I can't exactly hear what was being said but I can see the pointing in this direction. Less than a minute later they are in front of the sitting man with the old guy standing behind

"Hey mate, how are you?" They attempt diplomacy because they can obviously see that he has some type of issue. The old man starts arguing with the PSOs, spouting words about how come you two can't do your job. They try to reason with the old man, he mutters something unintelligible and storms off, then starts yelling when he is a little further away. The sitting man adds moaning to his routine and the two PSOs try to console him. The sitting man eventually calms down and walks off.

then I overhear the PSOs chatting with each other - 

"I know this wasn't on the list when we signed up, but I don't get paid enough for this shit."

"Whether it's some turkey not wearing a mask or someone complaining about a person not wearing a mask, that's the fifth one over the last week. The ones not wearing masks are the worst!"

now there's a show I'd like to see....

 one thing I always wanted to see was after Simon Cowell ripped into a young contestant on one of those talent shows was instead of breaking down they simply stated, "Fine. You do it. You're the expert. Show us how it's done"

I digress. I managed to see a small part of Junior Master Chef. These precocious little dweebs serving up this pretentious muck that I am sure no audience member will ever eat, let alone prepare. Instead of being a complete waste of television they should inject a touch of the ironic, with a judge along the lines of Simon Cowell. I can see it now....

"What have you prepared today?"

"I made a three cheese chicken quesadilla with lemon lime rice and a black bean puree"

(judge tastes food)

"Well, it's hard to actually know where to begin. Here's a thought. I want you to go home - no. Go backstage and get on the closest computer and on the internet. Type in repugnant - synonym and you will see a small lexicon of words to describe how I feel about this dish. Abhorrent, revolting, repulsive, disgusting. Vile, foul, nasty, nauseating and offensive. These are but a few descriptors for this epicurean tragedy. Maybe for accuracy you could look up the synonyms of all the other words you find. Not only does it remind me of the time I choked on my own vomit; it reminds me of the time I choked on someone else's vomit. I  wonder if this culinary act of devastation could be registered as some type of criminal offence say, along the lines of a crime against humanity?"

"Now get out!! and someone get me a bucket."

now there's a show I'd like to see....