The weather hasn't been great although not as bad as Wellington's at the moment though.
"Still, I can get my Abm7 Db7 Gbmaj7
(G#m7 C#7 F#maj7) progression going."
It has kept me indoors so no kayaking, golf, walking, gardening or pottering about. Also I've been feeling 'a bit under the weather' which has made time seem to crawl along.
Never mind eh. I'm off to Christchurch on Tuesday for some time with The Old Girl. We have an 'action packed' itinerary of travel and adventure plus theatre, restaurants and some greater Christchurch exploring so no doubt I'll be complaining that time is going too fast.
It must be a slow day down south because Richard's latest post is about one of the silliest and low-brow American TV comedy series My Mother The Car from the 1960s. No doubt it was his favourite.
He rightly wondered if reincarnation was a thing if Robert would come back as a 1956 Vauxhall Velox. I think he's spot on with that although I thought that he was a 1955 model.
I now wonder what car Richard would be should he be reincarnated as one and the most fitting one would be a Nash Metropolitan.
I imagine that I'll come back as a 1952 Maserati A6.
Donald Trump touts himself as being a great businessman and dealmaker. Well, I guess we all know that's not true and he's a windbag but this latest fiasco is breathtaking.
The Qatar offer of a '400 million dollar' tricked out Boeing to Trump and then the US Defence Department and then, supposedly, the US Government was an obvious and transparent bribe given for favours in return. Trump however just saw the glitz and gold toilets - see his windy waffle here:
What a fucking goose! Obviously he's done no due diligence other than sticking his head inside - the aviation equivalent of kicking a car's tyres before buying. The fact is that the Qatar Boeing is 13 years old and Qatar has been trying to sell it for at least the last five years with no buyers coming forward. It was initially designed in 2012 for the former Qatari prime minister, but it sounds like the expensive jet was just more trouble than it’s worth and they don't want it - according to a Forbes report.
Here's an interesting summation from Chris Hayes of MSNBC:
“The Royals have failed to sell the plane, which was put on the market in 2020,” it went on. “Giving it away could save Qatar’s rulers a big chunk of change on maintenance and storage costs. Making Trump happy would be an added bonus.”
But the real kicker was a July 2020 article about the plane in One Mile at a Time by Ben Schlappig, who concluded, “I can’t imagine Qatar will find a buyer for this plane. So one has to wonder who this 747-8 will be gifted to.”
Hayes read the quote and added, “Well, looks like Qatar finally found a sucker to pawn it off on.”
That's what I thought when I saw the Maori Party challenging David Seymour's bill about the treaty with an amazing and very, very watchable challenge in Parliament.
Also, yesterday when I saw Brooke van Velden shock Parliament with - gasp- the 'C' word I thought "lovely" go for it woman. The fact that van velden is an Act MP and a compatriot of that dick Seymour didn't affect my opinion. I thought that what she said and was doing was spot on and matches my values.
OK, I might be stepping outside of my demographic here - a white, middle class, Labour voting septuagenarian - who is probably expected to be shocked at both of these antics but fuck it! Sometimes institutions, social mores and conventions need to be shaken up.
I wonder if Robert has an opinion on this or will he have to confer with St Faustina?
I was going to write another, slightly political post but at least half of the readers have been clamouring for a post about my new tennis shoes.
As you know, I play tennis, badly, usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My old shoes were getting a bit battered ...
... even though they were only about 8 years old! It was time for drastic measures.
I bought a new pair on-line from Sketchers. They were on special at $79 - down from $220 which seemed to be a pretty, pretty, pretty good deal.
I think that they're quite smart and marvelled at the deep-cut special until one wag at tennis suggested that they looked a bit 'orthopedic' and another asked if they lit up when I walked. Cheek!
I'm sitting at the computer in the study filling in time before I have to take my car in to town for its 12 month service.
It's a gorgeous day but I haven't gone for a walk because when I drop the car off I'll have a 3 hour wait which I'll use for walking around town, probably walking about 8 kms in a loop.
I've been thinking about where we might live in Wellington if ever we sell our house and make the move. The Old Girl wants to live in an apartment while I'd prefer a townhouse. Apartment living is OK as long as the apartment is roomy enough but generally they are cramped and restrictive. If we do go down that route I hope that we can find one with nice views that is also affordable. The thought of sitting in a study looking at a wall or out a window to another building depresses me. In this study I have a view across some farmland that often has cattle, horses, goats, geese, pukekos and other wildlife wandering around in the foreground and Mount Manaia in the background. It's most pleasant.
Most rooms in this house have views of either Mounts Manaia, Mount Aubrey or the bay which I will sorely miss.
I apologise for the quality of the photographs but my iPhone 8 is a bit dated and underpowered. Since dropping it in the bath a couple of months ago it behaves erratically as well. Last night as I hadn't heard from The Old Girl by 8 PM I called her only to receive a dressing down:
"Where have you been. I've called several times on FaceTime, normal cell phone line and texted you?" She said.
"Sorry" I replied "My phone had no alerts or messages."
"Well buy a new one." she said.
OK, while browsing the internet I researched the best deals on an iphone 15 or 16 so might look to buy one of these this morning while mooching around town.
Richard of RBB (Richard's Basic Bag) has once again cast aspersions on this blog suggesting that there is one reader. He wrote this as a comment on my last post:
Richard (of RBB)
Personally, I'd be more worried about Donny renaming the Persian Gulf. Hey, you presently have a regular readership of one. O-n-e = 1. I don't think many people will single out your blog. I'd say that Robert's blog is incredibly safe, though maybe not from Protestants. He does insult them a lot. Anyway, Pope Leo XIV might order it, through the church, to be closed down. As pope, he's probably got it in for Donny and Robbie for impersonating him.
Look, you know me - I'm not contentious. Like Melania Trump I say - "be best" but I need to challenge Richard's erroneous statement with some cold hard facts as found in Google Blogger analytics.
The latest stats for The Curmudgeon blog show:
We welcome Brazil to the list of watchers which is new and sounds rather exotic (please send us pictures from the beaches at Rio) and to our Mexican friends I say "Hola".
It looks like we have more countries on the list that we communicate with than old Donald Trump's so-called list of countries that he is negotiating tariffs with.
I don't often delete posts that I write but now and then, after I've written and published one I think about how that post and the images used might affect other people and whether there are any privacy issues with information sharing.
A Google search provided this:
Sharing personal information and photos on a blog, like on Blogger, can carry risks including privacy invasion, identity theft, and cyberbullying. It's crucial to be mindful of the information you share and its potential impact, especially regarding minors. Here's a more detailed look at the potential dangers:
1. Privacy Invasion:
Information Access: Sharing personal details, including photos, on a blog can make that information accessible to a wide audience, including unintended individuals, such as marketers or malicious actors. Data Collection: Platforms like Blogger may collect and store data about your usage, potentially revealing your preferences and habits.
2. Identity Theft: Personal Information Usage: Cybercriminals can use shared information, such as names, addresses, and birthdates, to steal your identity, open accounts in your name, or commit fraudulent activities. Password Compromise: Using weak or easily guessed passwords for your blog can allow unauthorized access to your account and potentially reveal more personal information.
3. Cyberbullying and Harassment: Target for Abuse: Personal information shared on a public blog can make you a target for cyberbullying, harassment, or stalking.
Public Comments: Blog comments can be a platform for malicious users to engage in bullying or harassment, targeting you or others.
Fairly good advice that.
I note that Richard follows this and doesn't publish photographs of his grandsons.
I'm usually careful about publishing photographs of The Old Girl as well although do occasionally drop one in to match the post theme.
I republish photographs of Robert and Richard that they themselves have published on their blogs and they do the same with photographs of me.
I guess that we just have to take care and ask ourselves if the person we are writing about or whose images we're using would approve.
I finalised the purchase of the mooring yesterday. It cost $4000.
No doubt you remember that I wrote about this a while back. Just in case you've forgotten here's the link: "MOORINGS CAN BE BORING"
As luck would have it the mooring is just opposite our house.
It can be seen from the deck and this photo I took this morning from the bedroom shows the buoy. This makes it a secure option from a future owner who might moor a boat there.
The real estate agent is pleased as this will help in the marketing of the house.
He said that he'd been talking to the harbour master who told him that moorings in the bay may soon be capped so no new ones will be licenced. This will raise the value of the current moorings which could go as high as $16000 which is the average cost in the next bay along which has a limit on the number of moorings.
Every little bit helps (not hurts) when selling a house.
Who said that the Vatican and the Catholic Church aren't a political force?
Not me - I've seen religions as being political forever, in fact, that's why they really exist. It's a means of social control.
Oops! Wrong Marx - try this one:
The election of an American to the position of pope was in the past never seen as a viable possibility. This is because it was seen, in modern times anyway, that the position shouldn't be given to someone from a leading and powerful country as that might not be beneficial to the poor and underprivileged. For this reason not many people saw an American pope coming. I didn't.
Robert Francis Prevost has been chosen as the new pope and will take the papal name Leo XIV. He's only been a cardinal for just over two years which makes me wonder if this hasn't been a Vatican plan all along - fast tracking a replacement for Pope Francis - one with some of his more liberal and progressive ideas and not one of the more conservative ones that Donald Trump and his cronies would like.
"Sorry about that Donald"
It can be no coincidence that Prevost has been fast-tracked and elected at a time when Trump and his Project 25 co-conspirators have been systematically moving America to the extreme right, dismantling and abolishing democratic and social institutions, giving billionaires and oligarchs political power to go with their obscene wealth, disenfranchising the poor and underprivileged and aligning themselves with fascist leaning and authoritarian nations. The Vatican and the Catholic Church have wielded political power under the guise of Christianity for much longer than the USA and many other countries have existed. They make Trump and his cronies look like babies. I'm just glad that, this time, the Church is continuing with a centrist or even a slightly left leaning liberal (I hope).
Donald Trump had a book written for him which he put his name on and claimed authorship. It's named The Art of the Deal and supposedly has been instrumental in shaping Trump's public persona, particularly his image as a successful businessman and negotiator.
The book however has faced criticism for inaccuracies and embellished claims about Trump's business dealings. The real writer is Tony Schwartz who later described it as a "fake marketing idea" and regrets his involvement. The book's accuracy and the extent of Trump's contribution have been subject to debate, with Schwartz stating that Trump didn't write any of the book. Trump however has bragged about the book being his creation and made a career on the back of it which bizarreley has led to his presidency.
It gets so every time I view Trump on TV news he's grandstanding, lying or showing his ignorance and stupidity. It's expected but I was gobsmacked when watching the recent Trump and Canadian PM Carney meeting interview with the Press. Carney reiterated Canada's position on it's sovereignty while Trump sat smirking and squirming before saying "Never say never".
WTF?
This is a meeting between two heads of government discussing critical trade and state issues and this grinning fool has to say "never say never"!
Imagine if Neville Chamberlain had come back from Munich in 1939 and said "Peace in our time - but, never say never".
OK with hindsight we know that there was no peace in their time but that's not what world leaders and diplomats are supposed to do or say.
How about if Winston Churchill had said "Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts but - never say never".
Or if Mahatma Gandhi had said "An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind but - never say never".
Would things have been different if Jesus had said "peace be with you but - never say never"?
The attack, while seeming to come from nowhere was however a symptom of a long-standing conflict between 'brothers' who have coexisted for a very, very long time.
No, we're not talking of the India/Pakistan conflict of neighbouring countries who have a shared history but also unresolved conflicts. The conflict between India and Pakistan arose out of the 1947 Partition of British India which established a Muslim-majority Pakistan and a Hindu-majority India and provided the diverse regions of Jammu and Kashmir the opportunity to choose which country to accede to.
We're talking of the musical differences between old brothers Richard and Robert that surface from time to time regularly enough to imagine a simmering between the surface not unlike Yellowstone and Taupo calderas that threaten to erupt.
The latest rumbling in the Richard/Robert conflict arose in a comment on one of my posts where Robert, unbidden, wrote:
Like a seismological scientist I immediately recognised the danger and responded:
Sure enough, immediately after Richard posted a comment ...
... and the next day wrote a post where he said:
Meanwhile Robert deleted his link to Richard's blog and wrote this comment on my post where all the trouble started:
Robin and Richard Were two pretty men; They stayed in bed Till the clock struck ten. Then up starts Robin And looks at the sky: "Oh, brother Richard, The sun's very high. You go before With the bottle and bag, And I will come after On little Jack nag."
OK, that's from Mother Goose.
The analysis of this reads:
Analysis: "Robin and Richard" is a light-hearted and playful poem that satirizes laziness and tardiness. The poem's simple language and repetitive structure create a humorous tone, while the actions of the two brothers present a comical picture of indolence.
Compared to other nursery rhymes, "Robin and Richard" stands out for its focus on laziness. Most nursery rhymes depict children engaging in active play or adventures, while this poem presents a subversion of that norm. This focus on laziness may have reflected the social attitudes of the time period in which the poem was written, when idleness was considered a moral failing.
The poem's simplicity and humor make it accessible to readers of all ages, while its underlying message about the consequences of laziness adds a layer of subtle wisdom.
Yeah Right.
Robin and Richard were a gay couple who liked to have morning sex.
"Bottle and bag" refers to cock and balls and we can assume that "little Jack nag" is an anla refrence.
It's Sunday and aptly named for where I live. The day has ben sunny with no wind, blue skies and a 'mill pond' bay.
It started off quite cool but has warmed up a lot. I got a few chores done at last including repairing the damaged trellis that encloses the area under the deck.
I hammered in a few extra nails on the other pieces of trellis as well just in case we get another cyclone.
Not much of interest has been happening on the other blogs. Richard babbled about his violin and bass practice. The highlight of his latest post was this:
"Yesterday's gig went well, but some of my newer 'habits' still need work. I'll push on with them today. The older 'habits' worked out fine. In my mind, the most important things are tone and intonation but, as Rob says, expression is very important too. The other things are just icing on the cake."
Richard of RBB
Richard's old and new habits
Robert found an old friend and going by the look of him he might have found him in someone's garden.
"It might be good luck Robert but don't touch me OK?"
These ornaments usually have fishing poles in their hands and are placed beside ornamental ponds - or sitting on stone mushrooms.
Robert also found a pouwhenua and couldn't stop molesting it.
"Watch that hand buddy"
Oh well, better than molesting statues of the Virgin Mary in church I suppose.
"Thank Saint Faustina for small mercies"
I somehow hurt my back from playing golf yesterday so will take it easy this afternoon.
My sister and brother-in-law played golf with me and later came around for dinner (lamb loin fillets, venison sausages and roast vegetables-yummy). She brought around some Basque cheesecakes for dessert that they'd freshly baked. I got the recipe off them and will have a go at making a couple when I visit The Old Girl in Christchurch in a couple of weeks.
Here's the recipe:
My sister also brought along some damson gin that she'd made by steeping damsons in London gin for months. It was delicious and I might try some more later.
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