(no subject)

Last night was tillanion's birthday party. Special guests were Rogue Traders and Thirsty Merc. One day I'll work out how she does these things.

Miscellaneous everythings

I lost a post somewhere. I have posted more often these last few days than it seems. Maybe I forgot to hit the 'post' button?

I had dinner with friends on Friday and came home with the capacity to see ABC2. They have a new digital set-top box and kindly not only gave me their old one, but set it up for me. It was strange to actually be able to *see* West Wing rather than interpreting occasional bits of it through snow.

I'm up to the pains and traumas of Passover shopping. The only stamped kosher for Passover food Woolworths has is pickled cucumbers, though I can get legal olive oil and tea and milk. Coles may be better. Anyhow, I have 8 tins of pickled cucumbers - one for each day. Eggs will be fine, and so will fresh fruit and vegies. I keep on having visions of eight days of salad, which won't hurt me. I have a sharp knife and kosher for Passover chopping boards. Just not much food to use them on.

My main concern now is what I'm going to do for a seder, since I can't go to Melbourne. I was thinking of having a couple of people over and doing a small one at my place, but I need more than eggs and salad vegies and pickled cucumbers. I was tempted by the Community seder, but they always have fish and that means worrying about fish touching not-fish and me dying of anaphalectic shock. (I don't have to worry when I visit friends, because they know about the allergy and are duly cautious, and I don't have to worry in most restaurants, either, but the Community seder is a big crowd and not many volunteers and short cuts are essential to it.) I will explore Coles and do some thinking.

Speaking of the first week in April, I think I might have a two for one pass to one day of the National Folk Festival. Anyone want to come with me? I suggest the Saturday, because that's always the day of the really cool evening stuff. I want to go because it's rare that I'm in Canberra for it and I have lots and lots of friends from my folkie past and I want to catch up with them. I can't do more than one day because of this idiot health thingie. More contemplation.

My writing right now is overlapping my research something chronic. I'm fascinated by the gap between history as an historian uses it and history as a writer needs it. Right now I'm using my cultural mapping for potential characters for my own writing as exploration of some of the underlying ideas.

My realisation this weekend is that even a few years in age difference between the researcher and the subject can create unexpected issues. I was creating a list of cultural influences for a sixty year old and I got the emphasis wrong. I also missed some key players. I assumed Elvis, but actually needed Crash Craddock.

What gets written down in books and triumphed on the internet is not the same as the memories cast up by a culture during a certain phase. I now have a little focus-group of women around the same age and they have promised to get me back a list of major influences and crazes and crushes from their childhood and youth. I need to do the same for women fifteen years older then take both maps to the Film and Sound Archive, I think, to match memories against records. I have no idea if this is capable be being turned into scholarly writing because the method is a tad wobbly, but if I can create fictional characters whose background feels real to readers of that age group then I will at least know that I'm formulating useful questions and finding useful answers.

And that's most of my missing three days. Except that I'm going to Sydney for a Yiddish conference and have a yummy paper to write. I'm seriously chuffed about this conference and rather nervous as well. I need to do a "where Gillian will be this year" post soon, I think.