(*) Fly then, damn it!

Oh my gawd, I'm feeling awful, basically - emotionally, physically... sheesh. I think it's just a stoopid ol' sugar-hangover! I ate too many chocolate biscuits last night sitting up late! D'oh! to me! You'd think I'd realise that sort of thing after 41 years, wouldn't you? hahahaa.

Three more books are coming my way sometime in the next week... one is a very rare Charmain Clift book of her first collection of essays 'Images in Aspic' (1965) that was only $15! Then I finally remembered to find a good copy of a recent book exploring the mythology of George Johnston & Charmain's Clift's marriage. And finally I found a copy of a great book I used to have - (but during my xenophobic christian phase I actually burnt my first copy - fark! What was I thinking?!?) - a great biography of Robert Lowell by Ian Hamilton. Wow - just when you think there's little else to find from your favourite authors and poet - there is! Ack! Yes yes, I know... retail therapy is a very level-one kinda thing to be doing, but for the first time in farking 20 years I've actually got a disposable income! It's not as though I'm totally pissing it away... now, where are those gold-plated undies I got from Paris the other day...? ;)
Did I tell you about my telescope, Ms Paige? Yes, I bought myself a nice telescope the other week... first time I've had one since I was about 12-ish. I had a huge spinnout looking at a nearly full moon last week late one arvo - I got in so tightly that I could actually observe it moving thru the sky! Gosh! Unfortunately, with lots of evening cloud cover - and a full moon making the night sky too 'light' to see too much, plus it's too bloody cold (it was -3c the other night!) - I haven't used it too much yet! But I'm looking forward to continue one of my childhood joys - stargazing... staring into infinity.

I won two books from the local radio station the other day - both perfect for Ix's reading level [ages 6 and 7] - that's why I rang to win! I'll give them to him on JD's birthday in a few days' time. JD needs braces for his teeth, apparently, and a bill of $6,000 will be covered when mum's villa finally sells eventually. He's excited I've put $1k in his bank a/c already - he's not to spend it all on a PS2! hahahaa. Took the boys to see "Herbie Fully Loaded" at the flicks on Sunday - a good time was had by all. We had a laff after being at the Motor Racing museum the other week - and then watching a VW Beetle on a racetrack!

I'd been planning to go for a bit of a drive and visit an old friend in Victoria this month, but I'm finding it hard to get motivated to get up and go... farking 'black dog' is barking loudly again recently. It's nothing personal. Life is so quiet it's all feeling quite stale... haven't even been able to concentrate much to do much music-playing or even sketching. It's just cyclical... who said men don't get their monthlies?!? It's a bit of a kickback delayed response after my birthday on Saturday. I only received one card and no phone calls. No, none. Not even from the boys - not a call or a card. To be honest, it was the worst birthday I've ever had in 41 years. M has done her job well. I was really pissed off on the day, tho by yesterday I was feeling fine about it (my brother had been sick and rang the next day!), and a few e-cards helped put a smile on my dial. I guess sometimes these subconscious emotions just catch up with you. Maybe that's why I'm feeling so 'blech' this arvo. Perhaps it was sleeping in until 2pm...?!? Do you think...?!? Fark! Forehead slap.

Change of tack. From the library I borrowed a great book on the art works of Aussie artist Sidney Nolan. Remember the Ned Kelly's with the funny black heads during the opening of the Sydney Olympics? That was a Nolan image! Anyway, he's the connection (for me) between George Johnston and Robert Lowell (my favs) - he knew both of them and painted works for both of their works! Pretty damn cool. Go Icarus.

Blogging's seemed to taken a slightly different tack lately... not as many people seem to be blogging like they used to - I guess people are 'getting over it' a bit. There seems (to me) to be a whole lot more commercially-focussed blogs than personal ones when I've had a look around lately, which, to me, isn't the whole point of a weblog! Anyway, what would I know?! I've been blogging for about a year now. I've been enjoying it, sharing contributions from all sorts of different people from all over the place. It's the same when I was chatting heaps about 3 years' ago - lots of people have come and gone, as life changes for them. That's fine - that's reality. It's funny when you go to read someone's blog that you've been journeying with for a while - and they're no longer there! Oh well... It's a bit like a mature-aged lady I used to be in regular chat and email contact with in upper Michigan a few years ago. She just suddenly disappeared, and no-one has heard from her since. The hard part is - I have no idea what happened. Did she get sick, or pass away, or... I don't know. That's a bit of a strange experience, after building up an online friendship over the period of a year and then - nothing! Oh well. One of the mysteries of being online. Miss your friendship Samme - and PinkVelvet/FieldFlower too!

One thing I've been experimenting with a bit online recently... I've been getting my email spam-filtered thru a site - to get rid of the farking spam. http://www.despammed.com is free and easy to use, and I can still get all my mail thru my normal email addie, just with most of the spam and junk mail removed. Well, it works so-so... I'm not so sure if sometimes the mail from my blog doesn't get wiped also! D'oh! Like I said, it's just an experiment and nothing permanent. Another experiment recently was exploring a bit of my spiritual journey thru http://clik.to/ulc - but it's just a good idea that sits largely idle. That's cool. I don't mind. It's a journey. There's also a new Weebl and Bob in town and it's going to rock "the fat one" as todays youth say in the common vernatcular. If you too wish to be "hip" and "down" then you may view it here: http://www.weebls-stuff.com/wab/piepod/

On This Day...
Died: Richard Burton 1984.
Useless Trivia: The square root of 13 is 3.606
My Soundtrack: "Matchbook" Ian Moss
Footwear: Ugh boots and thick sox
Weather: cool but sunny, moderate westerly winds - nice winter's day.

Cyalayta
Mallard d'Quackers :o)
"Excuse me, which way is the stage?" (Audience member, lost at Altamont, 1969)

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