* Tomorrow morning really but I know that readers are starved of good reading material.
So, Richard is off on a sleepover. He's probably gone back to Wessex**. Inconsiderate of him really because he normally writes in the bog in the morning. Yes, I know, we'd be better off without his 'Nui (Wainuiomata) attempts at humour. Chloe did it much better and with nicer footwear.
He's ased me to write his morning post for him so here goes.
First up is a video of a song about making people laugh by a 70s rock band.
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Well, locally I am writing this blog to myself, now that Robert has disappeared again. Fortunately, I have many overseas readers.
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Well, that should meet my obligations. I don't want to show him up too much, poor old 3G guy! Most of us are now using 4 and even 5G and leaving him back in the dust.
Look, I'm an old man - I admit it. I can't deny it as I'm 72 years old but that doesn't mean that I can't think for myself and, as shown in my previous posts, think for others especially my many numerous pair of readers.
I've mentioned the excellent US news channel MSNBC before and one of their great presenters and essayists Lawrence O'Donnell and, hopefully, the more enlightened (and less Catholic) of you have read and listened to what he and the other intelligent essayists have said.
For years now I've been struggling with the questions why Donald Trump has such a great following and why US Republican senators, congressmen and people in power cow-tow to him and vote on bills according to what the orange idiot has requested. It just doesn't make sense.
Now, surprisingly as it may seen - given the massive popularity of this blog - my opinions have not resonated with nor impacted on American political thinking. Go figure! Fortunately (for you readers) the said Lawrence O'Donnell shares my views as you will know if you've followed the links I provided before.
Tonight O'Donnell presented a great essay titled 'The Banality of Cruelty' and it is really worth watching. See here:
O'Donnel sums up with the statement:
"He's not there!"
And neither should he be. He's a cunt and, probably all his miserable life has made other people around him suffer. In his current 'not giving a fuck' position, exacerbated by his power, he is making uncountable people suffer who would not have suffered if he'd never been there.
Which leads me to this clip of the excellent Zombies song 'She's Not There':
OK, OK, it's a stretch but I love this song. Anyway, the lyrics do suggest some connection to the orange fool and his idiocy with only some minor tweaks:
Well, no one told me about her (HIM), the way she lied Well, no one told me about her (HIM), how many people cried But it's too late to say you're sorry How would I know, why should I care? Please don't bother tryin' to find her (HIM) She's (HE's) not there Well, let me tell you 'bout the way she (HE) looked The way she'd (HE'd) act and the colour of her (HIS) hair Her (HIS) voice was soft and cool Her (HIS) eyes were clear and bright - (doubtful) But she's (He's) not there Well, no one told me about her (HIM), what could I do? Well, no one told me about her (HIM), though they all knew But it's too late to say you're sorry How would I know, why should I care? Please don't bother tryin' to find her (HIM) She's (HE's) not there Well, let me tell you 'bout the way she (HE) looked The way she'd (HE'd) act and the colour of her (HIS) hair Her (HIS) voice was soft and cool Her (HIS) eyes were clear and bright (doubtful) But she's (HE's) not there But it's too late to say you're sorry How would I know, why should I care? Please don't bother tryin' to find her (HIM) She's (HE's) not there Well, let me tell you 'bout the way she (HE) looked The way she'd (HE'd) act and the colour of her (HIS) hair Her (HIS) voice was soft and cool Her (HIS) eyes were clear and bright (doubtful) But she's (HE's) not there
My fashionista Riccardo Testacoli advised that I should ask for a discount when having a haircut.
I did have a haircut this morning but before I could ask the question the hairdresser said that she would reduce the fee from $30 to $20 as I was a good customer.
I'm not sure what makes being a good customer - certainly not frequency as I last went to her in January. Maybe it's because there's not a lot of hair to cut and sweep up. Anyway, I'm happy and The Old Girl should be as well as the cut isn't as severe as The January one was.
First of all I want to acknowledge that Richard wrote a new post this morning.
OK, now that we've got that out of the way let's move on to more serious issues.
Milk.
I went to have my usual breakfast this morning - Weetbix with my All Bran/apple sauce/prune juice mixture and fresh milk. Imagine my consternation when I noticed that the best-before date on the milk is 2 July. That's today! While The Old Girl is not averse to using rotten old milk I don't like it. I'll have to go to the shops this morning for fresh supplies.
Robert's blog
It comes and goes like the tide or, to use a more accurate metaphor, the scum, flotsam, jetsam and other detritus that floats in with the tide. Fortunately all that disappears quickly. What's that about? Why bother?
Primitivo
I ordered a case (6-pack) of wine for the old girl yesterday (Masso Antico Primitivo 2023) because she likes primitivo and zinfandel only to be informed by her that she had ordered a six-pack of American zinfandel to be delivered! We will be awash in Italian and Italianesque wines for a while.
Haircut
Richard, in a blog comment, rather rudely suggested that I need a haircut so I'll get that done this morning on my 'milk run' :
Overweight
With The Old Girl being away and me being unsupervised I've been sneaking things into the supermarket trolley like potato chips, chocolate and cheesecake-type desserts. As a result I've gained a bit of weight. I've now started to use the stepping machine to see if I can cut this back before she gets back here. I normally use the rowing machine and the exercycle (because they are easier) and have left the stepping machine alone (because it's harder) but a couple of days ago I got into it. 10 minutes at the moment (before rowing) which I hope to build up to 15 or 20 minutes a day should do the trick.
Note to self
Get rid of the potato chips, chocolate, desserts and any other 'forbidden' things in the freezer before she gets home.
Weather
After a cracker day yesterday, today is a bit grey and dreary. After the 'milk run' I think I'll stay indoors, lounge about and try to avoid that junk food.
The old codgers were at it again at the tennis club this morning.
Half of them just can't see the bloody lines and invariable called "out" for serves that were clearly in.
Maybe it's just because I've recently had my eyes refurbished and now have clear vision. After remonstrating with a couple of old dames, I very clearly watched each serve in a game and 4 times out of 6 one of them called "fault" or "out" to balls that were either on the line or just in at the corners. Sheesh!
I think that I'll propose that we have a chalk box like weightlifters use at the server end so that the server can cover the ball with chalk before serving.
Regular readers - well, regular reader now that Robert's blog has gone again - will have noticed that over the years comments on blog posts have become bizarre and othen disconnected from the topic of the post.
I won't get into cognitive decline here as that will be the topic of a future post. What I'll do is select one comment and try to find out what the hell it meant.
On the comment section of Richard's most recent post he wrote this:
IT HAS NO CONNECTION TO THE BLOG POST THEME OR TITLE WHICH IS THIS:
It had no connection to the comments thread either which followed the usual pattern of abuse, slander and insult.
What does it mean? Are my underpants broken? Do I need to get something to fix them?
I have a good selection of quality underpants in different colours (all tartan pattern) see: A BRIEF POST
... and, at last count have about 16 pairs - more than enough for daily changing and they are all in good condition which is a far cry from the state of a pair of my favourite skants from years gone by:
If it was these he's referring to then yes, some repairs would be necessary but The Old Girl tossed them into the rubbish bin a long time ago.
It's time to update the accolades in the 'ACCOLADES' section in the right hand column of the blog.
Thanks to the supporters who provided the current ones that have been there for some time now. Have a look at the blog home page or, for your reading pleasure I've copied and pasted them for you here:
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ACCOLADES
"Alert, conversant, speaking full sentences"
- From hospital doctor's report.
This just to hand - an accolade from one of this blog's followers:
"Reading The Curmudgeon's blog has opened my eyes and mind to the silliness of religion and the stupidity of catholicism in particular. I now see myself as a modernist even if I don't really understand what the term means. Well done that man for giving us the low down. That's why most readers reference Curmudgeon first."
- Robert the apoplectic sinner
And another one:
"What I like about The Curmudgeon is that he's fair. When he posts comments on my blog they are positive and always contain a hint as to how I could improve my own blog. As an older person I find this to be helpful."
Richard (of Richard's Bass Bag).
An updated accolade from Richard:
Hello all. I really like this blog. The quality, humour and professionalism gives me something to strive for in my own blog. Recently I've run out of ideas and have reverted to writing long and boring posts on violin playing. I wish that I could create blog posts as fresh and interesting as The Curmudgeon's.
- Richard of Richard's Bass Bag
"This is the first tantalizing (sic) surprise of many as The Curmudgeon introduces us to ...." - an excerpt from devoted follower Richard of Richards Bass Bag.
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These glowing acknowledgements are as fresh today as when they were first written and published but I'm sure that there are many more to be added.
Please feel free to add some in your comments readers if you want to see your names 'up in lights'.
We all have our own particular tastes and, while we share a lot of things with friends, family members and partners we don't agree all the time.
The Old Girl uses the TV in the other lounge when she wants to watch 'her' programmes. These are different to the TV series and films I prefer, hers being romantic comedies, Formula One type documentaries and dramas, Marvel-type superhero films- you know - crap.
When we had just one television and one lounge set up for watching I used to watch her 'crap' under duress (with the odd huffing and sighing). She would do the same for my 'good stuff'. The current situation works well and she combines her evening TV-watching with working out on the rowing machine, exercycle and stepper. I use the exercise machines in the mid to late afternoon while watching game shows like The Chase and Tipping Point. In the evening I have the TV in the main lounge to watch the films and series I like. It works out well.
On a related topic I hate it when people lend or foist a book on to you to read because "it's a great book - you'll love it". I prefer to make my own reading selections and recently prefer to read a book on my iPad rather than a regular book. It's a habit I've gotten into.
Friend Rod foisted a book on me at tennis on Thursday. It's 'Hunting the Nazi Bomb' by Damien Lewis. "You'll like this" he said "It's topical given the Iranian nuclear situation".
I didn't really want to read this but he was insistent. I know that he will pester me each time I see him now to check that I've read it and what my thoughts on it are. Really! It's like me pestering asking Robert what his opinion is of posts I've written. Sheesh!
I don't think I'll be fighting no matter what Elton John suggested.
I think that I'll be following Sam Cooke's advice and staying in for a quiet night.
Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody I've got some money cause I just got paid Now how I wish I had someone to talk to I'm in an awful way ...
... sounds a lot more believable than:
Don't give us none of your aggravation We had it with your discipline Saturday night's alright for fighting Get a little action in ...
... sung by this guy:
"You lookin' at me?"
Perhaps, for the casual visitor to this blog I should explain that:
While I am on my own this evening I do actually have somebody (The Old Girl) who is in Christchurch at present.
I didn't just get paid because I don't work but The Old Girl told me today that she'd just had a pay rise.
While I can't talk to her face to face at the moment we do converse daily via FaceTime and we've communicated twice today.
I'm not in an awful way... yet. I'm preparing a nice dinner for myself - meatloaf, roasted potatoes, pumpkin and kumara with a vegetable bake accompanied by a couple of glasses of Central Otago pinot noir. If I have more than two glasses of the red wine I might be "in an awful way" tomorrow morning.
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