Galchenkos

Speaking of juggling, I am and always shall be in awe of these kids (okay, they aren't kids any more, but they were when they did a lot of their acts, and their acts are pretty awesome):



In this clip, they were 14 and 12. When I was twelve I could barely walk in a straight line.

Come to think of it, I can still barely walk in a straight line...

Time passes

My colleges have taken to occasionally mocking me for the number of degrees I have or intend to have. They like to rub it in whenever I try to plead dumb about something or other - "you can't be stupid, you have X number of degrees".

What they fail to realise is that my education has less to do with my intelligence than my restlessness. I'm basically standing still in most other areas of my life, but as long as I'm studying something with an actual structure and pathway, I'm getting somewhere.

If I look back over the past three years of my life, I really only have my education and hobbies to distinguish one year from the next. Same job? Yep. Same position? Yep. Same social/personal life? Pretty much. Same abode? Yep. Have you done anything at all in the last three years? Yes! I have a Master of Information Management and I'm now partway through a Diploma of Modern Languages. Also, I've moved on from obsessing about juggling to obsessing about cycling to starting to obsess about fencing.

That reminds me, I need to juggle more often.

People with children have a bit of an advantage when it comes to having something to show for the passage of time. They can see that their lives have moved on because three years ago they were the parents of toddlers, and now they are the parents of school-aged children. Three years ago they had kids in school, but now they have young-adult offspring in university. Three years ago they were only parents, but now they are grandparents. And so it goes.

Me? I'm surrounded by people who have grown up and are now incrementally growing old. And I'm one of them. If I don't do something with my time, I'll just be treading water for the rest of my days. I want to move on - move forward - be somewhere else in my life from one year to the next. I'm not interested in moving "up" in my career (I've always been more interested in moving sideways), but I haven't been moving much at all of late.

So, I take another course and dream about getting a new job in a new town. One of these days I'm going to "move along" literally, but in the meantime I mark time by learning something new - gaining something I didn't have before. Sure, half the time it's a piece of paper and a few letters to stick at the end of my name - but I always wanted to have more letters after my name than in it.

Rætswīn

So, here's something I didn't discover until today:

http://ang.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rætswīn

Wikipedia has an Ango-Saxon version.

There aren't very many entries, and the ones I've seen are a bit short, but still. Anglo-Saxon Wikipedia entries.

Anglo-Saxon is one of the languages I should be avoiding because I find it most diverting.

I studied it for a semester in my undergrad degree, and it has helped me greatly in both my understanding of English and my studies in German and Estonian.

It actually has no resemblance to Estonian at all, but a lot of the concepts I wrestled with when studying Anglo-Saxon (or Ænglisc, as the cool kids are calling it) laid the groundwork for studying other LOTEs. I could, like, totally dig the whole Nominative/Genitive thing thanks to Ænglisc. Of course the no-Accusative/Dative thing was terribly disturbing, especially when mixed with the Partitive/Illative/Inessive/Elative/Allative/Adessive/Ablative/Translative/Terminative/Essive/Abessive/Comitative thing...

One of my ideas for a Masters or PhD project was to create an "Introduction to Anglo-Saxon" book using the same techniques used for modern "Introduction to German" books. Or something similar with Latin and Italian - but to do that I'd have to learn Latin and Italian, and I am so not learning Italian.

I'd have to put some serious effort into learning Ænglisc properly, if I was going to try that project, but I could be okay with that.

Right now, though, I should probably be focusing on Estonian and German, and not letting myself get side-tracked with Anglo-Saxon. Or, you know, Italian. Vabbè.

Heavy Liquor

I want to put a distillery on Palm Island.

I started getting this idea while waiting for the ferry to Magnetic Island, which departs from the same point as the ferry to Palm. There was a sign there pointing out that no one is allowed to take any alcohol onto Palm Island beyond a single carton of light or mid-strength beer, and heavy penalties would apply to anyone caught with anything stronger.

For some reason, as I read this sign, I thought "that would make it hard to start a distillery, then." Although, I wonder weather making your own alcohol is under the same prohibition as bringing it in from the mainland...

Now, I'm not talking about one of those backyard distilleries like my uncle has at his place. I'm thinking more along the lines of a boutique distillery, like I've visited in various parts of Tasmania. Like Lark Distillery, or Hellyer's Road Distillery.

One of those little places that make something for the gastronomic tourists. You know the ones I'm talking about - those people who (a bit like myself) stop into places offering tastings of wine/cheese/whisky/chocolate/liqueur and end up buying something to give their grandmother for Christmas.

You know, something that can support a visitors' centre with a restaurant/cafe and art gallery attached.

One of the islands in the Palm Island group is called Fantome, and that would make a great name for a vodka or liqueur. You could use one of the shells that frequently wash up on the beaches around these parts as the logo...

Now, there may be some people wondering why you can't take heavy liquor onto Palm Island in the first place. It's because of a little something called "paternalism".

Basically, whenever people of a certain socio-economic status have access to cheap alcohol, they have a tendency to get drunk and engage in violent and destructive acts in lieu of something called "getting your life together". They don't all do this, but those that do can make a rather large mess of things.

With communities of white people, what generally happens is everyone thinks these people are jerks and avoids that neighbourhood. With communities of aborigines or islanders, the government traditionally attempts to ban alcohol - especially if they have helpfully sequestered themselves on an island.

Now, there are those who think this is a good idea, because it cuts down on the amount of alcohol related violence. It is also seen to have a positive effect on nutrition, as people who would otherwise be more likely to buy booze than food have difficulty organising their finances in this manner.

On the other hand, there are people who think councils and governments have no business telling one group of people they aren't allowed to do something when other groups have no such limitations. Why should it be perfectly okay for Magnetic Island, with its white middle-class residents, to have as much alcohol as they please - while Palm Island, with its largely low socio-economic aboriginal/islander population, has the alcohol highly regulated?

Do you know what does a better job of curing delinquency than prohibition? Economics. People need industry to break out of the bad habits that come with unemployment and poverty.

So I personally think a boutique distillery (selling their wares to restaurants and other tourism outlets in the greater North Queensland area) with a visitors' centre would do a lot more for the island (which costs a fortune to visit) than an edict about how much beer people can take on the ferry.

And for anyone who thinks the level of alcohol abuse might increase, I ask you this: when was the last time you heard of someone on welfare getting tanked on high-priced limoncello?

If you assume the best, the best will come.

I'm disappointed with you, BBC...

So I bought a copy of BBC Active's Biongiorno Italia! - not because I'm learning Italian (I am so not learning Italian), but because I will be visiting Italy later in the year and want to be able to read signs and ask for food and things.

I bought it specifically because it was made by the BBC, and I knew it was connected to a televised language course. I bought it because it called itself "A complete multi-media course".

I bought it because I assumed one of the three discs that came with it would contain at least clips from the TV show - something, I don't know, multi-media-like to go with their "multi-media" course.

I mean, it's the 21st Century, right? We've had CD-ROMS for decades now, DVDs are old hat and people get eBooks with video inserts for almost the same price as a normal print book (slightly cheaper, normally - which is a bit crazy when you think it through).

Surely a "complete multi-media course" from the BBC with a TV tie-in would have video clips? It's not unreasonable to think something like this might exist, and the BBC is usually at the forefront of everything cool and useful...

But, no, turns out "multi-media" just means "sound" in addition to "print". The discs are entirely audio. The book politely informs you that you may be able to catch repeats of the TV show occasionally and that you should check out their website to see when they might be screening...

Are you kidding me? You mean to tell me that, not only is putting video onto a disc too hard for the BBC but they can't even manage to put clips on the website? You have to catch a repeat?

What the Heck?!? It's a multi-media course package! This isn't 1975, where having a tape to play in your car is the latest thing in language learning. "Multi-media" in this day and age kind of implies "more than two".

Come on, BBC. You can do better than this. If anyone is likely to be able to produce a true multimedia package, you're the ones to do it. Step up, dudes.

Or, as they might say in Italian: fare di meglio.

Happy Birthday Typhoid Mary...

Over on Hark! A Vagrant Kate Beaton is examining Sarah Josephine Baker, who had the wonderful joy of trying to convince "Typhoid" Mary Mallon to stop cooking for people.

Seriously, that woman just would not stop cooking. No matter how often people pointed out that illness and death followed her around and she should, I don't know, wash her hands occasionally and maybe get a job that didn't involve food handling, she still ended up working as a cook somewhere. Maybe she felt it was her calling. Maybe it had more respect than the other domestic positions. Maybe she just liked cooking.

Still, after 20-something cases of typhoid and three deaths, you'd think even she would work it out...

I have a rather strange reflex reaction to the mention of Typhoid Mary - I start washing my hands to the tune of happy birthday.

It's because of this little number here:



It's put out by the same people who's Why don't we do it in our sleeves? is the reason why I cough into my sleeve - which just goes to show their corny little videos work.

And their videos are extremely corny. They actually aim for corny, and they nail it. That Soap in the City thing was a parody of Sex in the City that was so awful even I thought it was ghastly - and I never watched the show.

And yet, they are strangely appealing, for being hilariously terrible. For some reason, I was completely won over by the line: "I just wanted to know why you weren't on my side in the dream?"

So, yeah, whenever I hear about Typhoid Mary I start singing happy birthday when I wash my hands. Most of the time I do it in my head.

Planning for the future

I know that the odds of my ever getting married are somewhat slim (due to the fact that I'm both afraid of change and afraid of commitment - which is actually a bit contradictory, but thankfully I'm not also afraid of contradictions otherwise it could get awkward), but I think I've seen the wedding cake I want. It's at the bottom of this post:

http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2012/3/22/ahhhhhgoof-off.html

You'll know if this applies to you

And I guess I'll found out soon enough if this doesn't say what I think it should.

Brownsville

Meine Heimstadt heißt "Brownsville", aber das ist ein bisschen Witz. Wir nennen sie "Brownsville" weil sie ist immer braun. Aber, sie ist nicht immer braun. Manchmal ist sie ist nass und sehr grün. Für zwei oder drei Monate regnet es immer und die Bäche überschwemmen. Dann ist alles grün und frische. Das ist unser Sommer.

Aber, das Wetter ändert, und die Sonne scheint und scheint...

Es ist gut im Herbst, weil alles ist noch ein bisschen grün und die Sonne scheint. Im Winter ist alles trocken, aber die Blumen blühen und die Vogel singen. Unser milden Wintern sind angenehmen. Sie sollten us im Winter besuchen. Naturlich ist alles braun, aber das ist nicht so schrecklich...


What that should say:

My hometown is called "Brownsville", but that's a little joke. We call it "Brownsville" because it is always brown. but, it is not always brown. Sometimes it is wet and green. For two or three months it always rains and the creeks flood. Then everything is green and fresh. That's our Summer.

But, the weather changes and the sun shines and shines...

It is good in Autumn, because everything is still a little green and the sun is shining. In Winter everything is dry, but the flowers bloom and the birds sing. Our mild winters are pleasant. You should visit us in Winter. Of course, everything is brown, but that's not so bad...