LA DONNA E MOBILE*

* I'm not sure that The Old Girl agrees.

Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had control over northern Italian theatres at the time, the opera had a triumphant premiere at La Fenice in Venice on 11 March 1851.

The work, Verdi's sixteenth in the genre, is widely considered to be the first of the operatic masterpieces of Verdi's middle-to-late career. Its tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his hunch-backed court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto's daughter Gilda. The opera's original title, La maledizione (The Curse), refers to a curse placed on both the Duke and Rigoletto by the Count Monterone, whose daughter the Duke has seduced with Rigoletto's encouragement. The curse comes to fruition when Gilda falls in love with the Duke and sacrifices her life to save him from the assassin hired by her father.

OK, I guess that you might have guessed that we are going to see Rigoletto tomorrow in Auckland. I'm looking forward to this as we love opera and Verdi's Rigoletto is a good one.

We'll drive down late morning, visit a sick friend and then check in to our hotel. The performance is at 7.30 but we'll grab a quick bite earlier at one of our favourite eating places - The Federal Delicatessen which is in the same street as our hotel.

It's crappy weather up here but hopefully it won't be raining tomorrow. I hate driving in the rain and, with heavy downpours there would likely be slips and delays on The Brynderwn Hills road. We'll leave early just in case.

I'll have to pack tonight as I'll have to wear my 'grown-up clothes' as The Old Girl won't like attending the opera with me weraing shorts and T-shirt. There's always a downside. Heigh-ho.

"THEY'RE EATING THE DOGS ..."

 

" I FEEL LIKE DANCING"

 It's Tuesday today. We woke to a cold and rainy day - 13 degrees inside and 13 degrees outside. I won't be playing tennis today.

I wonder what the Catholics are doing? Probably celebrating the feast day of Saint James the Dismembered or Mother Hermione the Dysfunctional.

Either one brings tears to your eyes.

Music schoolteachers no doubt, even if there's a polar blast blowing up their skirts, can take solace in the fact that the government is welcoming back the old, the infirm, the incapable and the cacographic into the teaching fold to make up numbers. I guess they can reinstate the old values.

As a treat I might drive into Onerahi and pick up my medication prescription.

Oh the thrill!

AND NOW FOR SOME HIGH BROW STUFF

 OK, I've got the low-brow stuff out of the way now. While it's good for sparking interest amongst the other bloggers I find it basically unsatisfying  - like going to see a chimps tea party at the zoo. So ...

... onto something important.

WHO'S TRUMP SCREWING NOW?

Apart from all of us of course.

One of the funniest things I've seen in US politics this week is that old sad sack Marjorie Taylor-Greene (MJT) showing her jealousy at her idol Donald Trump throwing his hat (and probably his 'tightie-whities') into Laura Loomis's circle.

MJT vs LOOMER

MJT  said that Laura Loomer is a problem and doesn’t represent MAGA as a whole. This is pretty funny coming from someone as extreme as Taylor-Greene who is as far right as it gets and a loony to boot.

It really does sound like a lover's tiff although I'm not saying that Trump and MJT have been an item - give the old guy some credit. She however has, over the last year been trying to cosy up to Trump to get into his inner circle which is where she sees the power is and it must be very disconcerting for her to, at the last moment be gazumped by another right-wing loony.

Laura Loomer certainly has quickly inveigled her way into that inner circle with Trump seeming to make a fool of his old self, fawning over her and pawing her like a dirty old uncle at a Christmas party.

It's sad to see and, even if the speculation of something going on is wrong it's not a good look for a married man especially one who is trying to make everyone believe that his wife supports him.

I wonder what Robert's Pope thinks of this?

STILL AT IT

 

OK - AFTER THE SECOND SONG

 

MEANWHILE OVER AT THE JAM IN WELLINGTON TODAY

 

SEEING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HATS

 Richard has been showing off his new trilby hat.

Can you find him?

A

B

C

D

E

F

WHO'S A SILLY OLD C ... CODGER THEN?

 No, not that silly old ex-schoolteacher who wears funny hats it's ... hold on, another silly old ex-schoolteacher who wears funny hats.

Pope Francis on Friday slammed both US presidential candidates for what he called anti-life policies on abortion and migration, and he advised American Catholics to choose who they think is the “lesser evil” in the upcoming US elections.

“Both are against life, be it the one who kicks out migrants, or be it the one who kills babies,″ Francis said.

Here's the full story: 

POPE LOSES IT

I think that he's treading on very dangerous ground here in an election that is closely run and could result in the worst president ever getting re-elected. This is likely to have dire consequences to world peace and stability and will affect the health and living standards of millions of Americans and maybe billions of people around the world and ... this silly old man in a frock and a funny hat thinks that it's a good idea to rally the Catholic and Christian vote to support Trump.

I previously had some admiration for Pope Francis, seeing him as a force for change in the Catholic Church and Vatican policies but he has been disappointing of late. It may be due to old age or more likely that the cardinals and the Vatican power base have worn him down. 

He's lost it. Let's just hope that many millions of American women who under under the influence of Christian patriarchy vote against Trump.

SILLIER THAN RICHARD'S HAT

Did you watch the US Presidential debate on Wednesday?

It was pretty good. Harris started off slowly and missed a few easy lobs but eventually nailed the silly old fool to the wall. Professional news agencies and reputable analysts have given Harris the nod as winner and polls are clearly showing it like this one.

 This hasn't stopped Trump with coming out with lies like:

In the after debate interviews Trump came out with absolute garbage about poll numbers he's been told of, throwing out numbers like 90%. 72%, 89% etc margins of him winning. The guy is deluded. Watch this:

I haven't seen stuff like this since Robert's last blog post defending Catholicism.

WASP IT SOMETHING I SAID?

Someone on Facebook (Neighbourly) posted a pic of the Brit TV series Are You Being Served recently.

I put up a comment:

"Amongst the worst of the low brow British comedies, On The Buses was worse though."

Boy, did this get some response - over 150 replies, overwhelmingly anti and vicious with denigrating comments about my character, 'wokefulness', having no sense of humour etc. etc. It actually confirmed my belief that low brow is the default setting for most people. I've written on this before: LOW BROW and GROWING UP

Facebook can be like a wasp nest where posting or commenting is like poking a stick into it and watching or fleeing as thousands of angry, mindless insects fly out at you. While it can be funny it often is sad to see how many stupid people are out there which reminds me - my last comment on that Facebook post was:

"It’s amazing how making a comment based on a personal view can elicit so much hostility. There are a lot of angry and stupid people out there."

I'll return later to see the results of that grenade I lobbed in. 

CUTTING THROUGH ALL THE CRAP

 I was baptised as a Catholic. I attended Catholic schools. I was an altar boy and a sacristan. I was indoctrinated in the idiocy of the Catechism and, at secondary school given a bit of an insight into theology. The result of all this is that I'm an atheist.

Atheism isn't a belief or a 'religion'. It's just a commonsense view that all this belief in deities and the trappings of religion - all religions - is rubbish.

Robert throws into his blog posts regurgitations from Catholic Apologists and Sunday Mass sermons peddling the 'Vatican line' of the month and occasionally publishes treatises from some very clever yet deluded historical theologians. The whole thing becomes turgid and stultified and quite frankly, not worth reading. That's why, today, Richard, another ex-Catholic-educated and indoctrinated atheist brilliantly cut through all this bullshit with a rather concise view of it.

Now I know that I'm a curmudgeon. I know that I can be acerbic. I admit to using irony wherever I can (Donald Trump would mistakenly describe that as sarcasm) but I'm being honest here. Richard cut through all of Robert's bullshit in this post HERE

If you can't be arsed going to the link then, as the post is short, I'll copy and paste it for you.

"Robert admires a Catholic apologist, named Trent Horn*, who likes to use big arguments to prove that Catholics are correct in their beliefs**. Okay, let's take a look at God's number one enemy - Satan. Okay, God creates the angels. Let's assume that he gives them free will so that, if they fuck up, it's their own fault. Remember, if He doesn't give them free will, God is responsible for whatever they do.

Now you must remember that God is all knowing and therefore sees the future (which, incidentally, must make His 'life' a bit boring). As He is about to make the angel Lucifer, he knows what Lucifer's fate will be - Hell forever***. Wouldn't a kind, loving God think, "Ah, look, I just won't make him." Remember that He knows how much Lucifer will suffer.

Anyway, Lucifer rebels and tries to defeat God. This is an impossible task, and not a fair fight, because God can do anything - He's always going to win. It's like the All Blacks playing a primary school rugby team. Hey, no mean jokes about the ABs!

Make no mistake, God is responsible for Lucifer's (now known as Satan) actions. He just won't own up to it.

Brilliant.

IT'S A FUNNY THING

I see hat my last post appealed to the old music and religious bloggers Fiddle & Diddle.

 I'm pleased to be of service but it's a funny thing when I, a confirmed* atheist get compared to either The Holy Spirit or to Satan. I must be doing something right - or wrong.

Robert has suggested that this blogging community is some sort of holy trinity not unlike his Holy Trinity I guess. He infers that I'm needed to make up the third as the Holy Spirit. 

Whether that's due to my experience in the liquor industry I'm not sure but it raises the question about the other two. To make up Robert's Holy Trinity we need God and his son Jesus. Who's god and who's Jesus then?

I guess that Richard has more gravitas along with the fact that he's a lot older and can appear quite grumpy at times. It's not a stretch of the imagination to see him smiting hordes, drowning civilisations and getting a thrill out of duping Adam so maybe he is god (the father).

Robert, with his prissy Christian and Catholic sermonising and going about loving everyone is Jesus (the son) I guess. The way he bangs on about religion it makes sense that people might 'get cross' with him.

Oh well, I'd better 'confirm' this post so that it's published.

* Nothing to do with that silly Catholic ceremony of Confirmation:

"YOU'LL MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE"*

* Was what my mother used to say to me when I was 'cheeky' to her.

She's right, I do miss her.

Those other bloggers Richard and Robert have, for it seems ever, made fun of my blog posts and it seems have protested too much.

Because I didn't post for three days the poor, sad old men obviously missed me and took to writing about it in their blogs and comments. I guess that they need some sort of inspiration in their blogging, even from negative sources.

SATURDAY (UP NORTH)

 The Old Girl's home, I picked her up from the airport at midday.

The house seems to have passed muster except for my standard of dusting which is quite different to hers and the fact that the dishwasher was dirty. The dishwasher was dirty! WTF? Don't these things clean themselves?

It's indoors today as the weather is a bit crappy. She's complaining that she's cold and that it was warmer in Christchurch. Weird.

Talking of weird those other bloggers are trying to outdo each other with silly and inconsequential posts. Richard went on about a trip to Paraparaumu which is a big outing for a chap of his years but, blow me down. halfway through writing about this planned expedition he decided that he wasn't going. This was about as exciting as ... well, about as exciting as something that isn't very exciting.

Over on Robert's blog it's looking like he's finally flipped his lid. In the best Walter Mitty tradition he thinks that he's been on holiday to Canada and Nepal and probably thinks that these two countries share a common border. Sheesh!

I'm not going anywhere. I'm cooking Italian lemon chicken with Hasselbach potatoes for dinner and have pre-prepared the dish. Later this afternoon we'll share the bottle of Louis Roederer Champagne I put in the fridge and maybe have a couple of games of pool before dinner. Well, it beats fantasising about travel. At least Robert's fantasy trip involved some OE.

SOME WEIRD SHIT*

 * No, not the posts from the other bloggers. That rubbish they've been posting is just business as usual.

The other day I went to Mole Mapping NZ for an appointment. I don't have any particular problems but, living up north in a hot and sunny environment and having friends reporting of skin spots that have had to be cut out, I thought that I'd seek peace of mind.

Fortunately there seems to be no problems but I did get a lecture on using sun screen and a floppy hat instead of the caps I wear when gardening, playing tennis and golfing.

The technician did alert me to some keratin spots on my scalp and shoulder that, while not related to melanoma and not serious, could be eradicated with the application of a cream named ....  bugger, I forgot.

At home I referred to my 'other doctor' Google Search and found that:

"Keratosis pilaris develops when keratin forms a scaly plug that blocks the opening of the hair follicle. Usually plugs form in many hair follicles, causing patches of rough, bumpy skin. Keratosis pilaris is caused by the buildup of keratin — a hard protein that protects skin from harmful substances and infection."

        - Mayo Clinic 

OK, but what's the treat ...

... "Hold your horses sunshine ... apply moisturiser several times each day, especially after showering while your skin is still damp. Moisturisers with ammonium lactate and alpha hydroxyl acids, such as AmLactin® or CeraVe SA® cream, are the best choices for rough, bumpy skin and people with keratosis pilaris."

        - Cleveland Clinic 

Right. I don't have any of that but I know that The Old Girl uses moisturisers. She keeps them in ...

... THE DRAWER!

Or, more exactly, the drawer in the bathroom cabinet that I'm not allowed to go near.

"Don't touch my stuff Matey!" she warns me.

Well, she's still away (comes home tomorrow) so today I had a look in THE DRAWER.

Blimey! There's all sorts of stuff in there and only about a quarter of which I can vaguely recognise. Creams, lotions, tubes, bottles, tools ... yes, tools that would see an orthopaedic surgeon right.

Why do women have so much weird shit in their cupboards, drawers and handbags?

I didn't see any AmLactin® or CeraVe SA® cream but carefully picked up a small tube of Alterna Caviar replenishing moisture cream.

I say "carefully" because The Old Girl has a near photographic memory and knows 'when I touch her stuff'.

I put a smidgen on the two identified keratin spots and now am hoping for the best and put the tube (hopefully) back in place.

I don't know what this cream is supposed to do but it should be OK shouldn't it?

THE HOUSE NEEDS WORK

It's Friday today but no doubt Richard thinks it's Tuesday or something. Poor old guy. I wonder if Robert's unconditional and only slightly creepy love can help him.

Oh well, never mind eh. I've got bigger problems. The Old Girl is arriving home tomorrow morning after a couple of months away and you know what that means?

House cleaning!

I'd better do a good job on this to distract her attention way from the front deck.

I cleaned the deck with a cleaning agent I bought cheap. This was after I kind of munted it a bit using the powerful Stihl water-blaster which left odd 'crop circle'-type marks. The cleaning agent removed a lot of those but also has made the deck look like a tortoiseshell cat.

I wonder if she'll notice?

Maybe it'd be better if I didn't do housework and instead made the inside of the house even untidier to distract her.

Yes, that'll work.

LOSING MY RELIGION (AGAIN)

 

The topic of religion on the blogs has been in the form of banter between Robert, Richard and me - mocking for sure but there's been a bit of fun in it. Sadly this seems to be changing.

"But that was just a dream
That was just a dream"

Richard and Robert have been at loggerheads in the last few posts where they have been sniping a bit more than normal.

"The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes

Oh no I've said too much"

I know I should keep out of this:

 "That's me in the corner

That's me in the spot-light
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no I've said too much
I haven't said enough"

I hope that the 'boys' don't fall out (any more than usual) over this as frankly (him too) we need all the readers and commenters we can get in this little blogging community.

"Oh life is bigger

It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to ...

... Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it"

We'll give it a few days and see what happens. Maybe the All Blacks will beat the Springboks and put the (our) world back on its axis on the weekend.

"I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try ...

... But that was just a dream
Try, cry, fly, try
That was just a dream
Just a dream"

JUST A FILLER

 Not a lot going on in the blogs at the moment - well, nothing new anyway.

Richard is bleating on about his school days adding to the problems of global warming.

I think it's good that he 'lets it go' though and I just wish that Robert would face up to the fact that his precious Catholic Church was, and probably still is, populated by some very sick and damaged people who prey on the young, the weak and the needy.

Talking of Robert, he's been, as usual, distributing garbage that he gets from his church, his religious reading and the Catholic apologists he follows:

I'm busy this morning and early afternoon but hopefully later will treat you to a serious and thought inspiring post.

FREAKS

 Freak is a good word. I remember in university days the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comics...

... and the iconic hippy images of the day.

These went hand in hand with the music I listened to like Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead etc.

So, why freaky?

We have our own freaky brothers in this blogging community. I don't know how furry they are though - and I don't want to know.

The lead freak has been posting anonymous comments on The Wine Guy's blog suggesting that The Wine Guy is freaky...

... which he denies writing but we know his style:

There are some similarities:

Here's a great 'Dead' song for you.