(no subject)

Today I'm thinking about the Yorta Yorta instead of working. They have not been successful in their native title claims, which is ironic (in a really bad way, especially this weekend, which is the Mabo anniversary) because they have given so many wonderful people and been a force for good in this country.

My favourite Yorta Yorta man of all time is always William Cooper. He led a delegation to the German Embassy and protested Kristallnacht at a time when nearly the whole world just wanted Jews to disappear.

At a time when his people had very little in the way of human rights, he had an enormous compassion that still resonates deeply with me. It's so much easier to hate. It's so much easier to echo unhappiness. Whenever I get angry with racist idiots I try to stop and remember Cooper, and what he did. I imagine the long, long walk to the German Consulate and the protest that Cooper and his friends and family made against the persecution of innocents. There is a bigger picture, and it starts with compassion and understanding.

(no subject)

I had planned to do a lot today, but my body is reminding me that four out of the last eight days were spent getting medical and dental stuff done. This means I built up lots of tense muscle and today that muscle is depositing a lot of garbage into my system. I'm doing all I can to hasten its departure, but in the meantime, my body is rather uncomfortable and focussing on anything (work or fun) is hard.

That's the bad news, and it isn't bad, just annoying. I should have a great deal more energy shortly, possibly as soon as tonight.

At least I found a pile of notes I had carefully put aside for myself and then forgot where I put. This may well be all the work I get done before dinner, finding these notes and entering them into the right text so that I can lose them again, this time intentionally.

Anyhow, if you want some grouching done or anything forgotten, then I'm your person.

(no subject)

How do I stop being so very grumpy? The smallest things set me off today. Also the biggest things.

I want idiots to stop picking on my friends. I want my technology to work the way it's supposed to, first time. I want to not forget the drink the hot drinks I make myself. All of this makes me grumpy.

I want the order of invasions (cultural, physical, religious) into Britain over a 1500 year period to be clear to everyone I talk to, and for them to understand what this actually means for culture. I want public service to do what it promises. I want there to be more chocolate and less fat in my life. All of this makes me grumpy.

I want a magic wand of wellness for myself and for several of my friends. I want reviews that tell me what I need to hear, not how much the writer of the review thinks this is the best thing since sliced bread (just like the last three books s/he wrote about). I want people to stop thinking they can get understanding by osmosis and to put the work in that the subject requires. All of this makes me grumpy.

I want to stop discovering things that need doing around my flat before I have the capacity to do any of them. I want to be able to dance, now, preferably something Romanian. I want my dishes to wash themselves. All of this makes me grumpy.

I want answers to a lot of questions and those answers are slow to arrive. I want my siblings to ring me and find out what the specialists think. I want to stop dropping things! All of this makes me grumpy.

I want to stop grumping about unfinished writing. I want... mostly I want to stop hurting. Physical pain is so often the real cause of me being grumpy.

(no subject)

For la_marquise_de_ - this is the approach used for international students at the ANU. In the next room, I believe we have the periodic table...

(no subject)

The two duckframes made into stock with onions, carrots (the last of the heritage carrots, so not much carrot) and a bunch of herbs and spices made just the best broth. That broth (now that I know how much and what it tastes like) will be 4-6 meals of soup, 3-4 main meals (a side dish - rice steamed in the broth instead of in water) and 2 meals of rice porridge with the meat and the remnants of the carrot and other various things. Sharyn was right, for the record, and native basil is even better with duck than thyme is. And I was right (also for the record) and fat is not a problem when one slowcooks frames.