Beautiful Margaret
Both babies are growing
nicely and they’re developing individual personalities. Margaret is
forceful, whereas James is fairly placid. James takes after his
brother, but Margaret has a unique character in terms of not being
similar to Kathleen or Michael.
The picture shows how beautiful her eyes are. She has long dark
eyelashes. She spent an hour tonight in my office while the big kids
played on the other computer. That’s when I took this photo. The full-size picture is currently here.
Religious experience
I took the train from Seymour to Melbourne again today, snatching a 20-minute nap on the way in. That was most refreshing after a 5.30am wake-up and 3km run before breakfast.
The train arrived in town about 90 minutes before my meeting, so as I sometimes do, I took time out for prayer and reflection in St Francis’ Church, Lonsdale Street.
St Francis’ is Victoria’s oldest Catholic Church and my great-grandfather, Edward Gorey, was among the earliest baptisms there in 1849.
Anyway, today’s contemplation was distracted by the odd habits of others.
Firstly, an elderly woman prostrated herself before the altar, rose to her knees and sort of wiggled along on her knees with arms outstretched before bowing, retreating and starting the strange process all over again, repeating it several times. I’ve never seen this before and I suspect her sanity is doubtful.
I was in the church for the start of 11am Mass, when the second incident occurred. During the first reading a middle-aged bald man with a distinctly Irish accent waltzed down the aisle singing at full volume It’s A Long Way To Tipperary. I kid you not.
He had a pleasant melodic voice, but the solemnity of the occasion was shattered.
That’s the thing about big cities … you see and hear all kinds of things that are less likely to happen in places like Porepunkah.
Baby update
Margaret is rolling over now by herself. This is a couple of weeks after James, but he’s stopped doing it now that the novelty of
achievement has waned.
We’ve started both babies on formula to try and fill their tummies before bedtime. They still wake up too much at night, and we thought this was worth a try. They’re more comfortable in the bike trailer now and both slept for most of the 10km trip today.
Deal Breaker
Just a short note to say that I’ve finished Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben. It’s very similar in style and enjoyment to Gone for Good, so I won’t go into full detail here.
The lead character this time is a sports agent, who again has a mysterious and powerful friend and a gorgeous love interest.
Together they solve the disappearance of the love interest’s sister and discover her killer. It’s a great read, with a twist in the tale at the finish.
This book was funnier than Gone for Good, but travels less well in terms of international comprehension due to the American sports focus.
Zimbabwe shambles
The latest news from Zimbabwe is that Australia’s cricket tour will be downgraded to three ODIs. This is obviously a defensive measure on behalf of the ZCU to prevent the embarrassment of losing test status.
How long are they delaying the inevitable?
No country can afford to lose 15 of its best players, especially a country where the player base is small.
I initially thought the “rebel” players were stretching their demands too far, but maybe they’ve done the right thing. The only threat the ZCU will take any notice of is losing test status, and that’s what it’s come to.
I’m fond of Zimbabwe and hope the situation can be resolved. Obviously cricket there requires a transparent selection system that recognises merit and talent, rather than race.
The West Indies used to have a lot of white players, but as the game evolved they were replaced. The same evolutionary process should occur in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
4km run achieved
Today I ran 4km for the first time in at least 22 years. I doubt I’ve run that far more than a dozen times in my life. I did it without stopping, except for two small breaks to suck in some air and blow my nose (I thought you needed to know that).
Yesterday I ran 3km in 15 minutes and 56 seconds. I thought that was fairly good until tonight when I learnt that 11-year-old boys run the distance in less than 11 minutes at the Victorian state championships.
One of our neighbors achieved that honor and will run in Melbourne in a few weeks. I’ve offered to help him train, now in the knowledge that I will be soundly beaten over the distance.
Dude ran in the recent zone championships at Wangaratta, against boys from there, Benalla, Wodonga and Shepparton, and came 54th out of more than 110 runners. He’s only eight years old and most of them were nine or 10.
Batavia’s Graveyard
Batavia’s Graveyard by Mike Dash gives a fascinating account of mutiny, shipwreck, murder and survival. It tells the true story of a 17th century psycopath who orchestrated the murders of more than 100 people.
Jeronimus Cornelisz was a chemist who fell on hard times and signed up as a low-ranking officer in the Dutch East India Company.
The book describes his early life and probable background, including family association with a radical Baptist sect and personal ties with a renowned heretic.
He was assigned to the Batavia for its maiden voyage from the Netherlands to Java. Although a state-of-the-art vessel, the Batavia was only 160 feet long and carried 340 passengers plus animals, supplies and trade goods.
The ship’s captain was a malcontent in conflict with the company’s senior officer. Indications are that Cornelisz and the captain agreed to mutiny before reaching the Indies. However, a storm struck and the ship ran aground off the Western Australian coast in Houtman’s Abrolhos. These are basically rocks, mud flats and shallows with little water.
Most passengers survived the shipwreck and made it ashore to one of the barren islands. The senior officer and captain took the longboat and set off for the long journey to Batavia, which they eventally reached against great odds.
Meanwhile, Cornelisz emerged as leader from the power vacuum and set about imposing his authority. What followed was a murderous regime that featured random killing, rape, tyranny and terror. Saddam Hussein is a nice guy alongside Cornelisz.
His main threat was a soldier, Wiebbe Hayes, who Cornelisz cunningly despatched to inspect and settle a nearby island before the killing began. Hayes emerges later as the hero. Cornelisz believed Hayes and his little band would perish without supplies, but they struggledashore on the only island in the Abrolhos that has permanent water. There were plenty of birds and fish for food.
The brutal killings on Cornelisz’ island continued. The psychopath made plans to storm any rescue ship that might arrive from Batavia, but Hayes’ unexpected survival raised the spectre of failure. He had to deal with Hayes.
Instead, Hayes dealt with Cornelisz. He captured the brigand and held him prisoner in a filthy pit. The rescue ship came and the sorry saga was revealed.
Cornelisz and his fellow perpetrators were summarily tried and executed, in most cases after lashings and hand amputations in accordance with company rules.
The Dutch kept meticulous records of all things. The author of this book recounts the detail in a way that doesn’t interfere with the narrative. What a great yarn. It’s hard to conceive fiction this real and brutal.
Fascinating sidelines include descriptions of the vessel and life aboard, insight to the company’s mercenary commercialism and information about the Indies.
Although it’s an historical non-fiction work, Batavia’s Graveyard reads in the style of a novel, albeit a dark and macabre tale.
Gone for Good
Gone for Good by Harlan Coben is a gripping crime mystery thriller that left me enthralled from start to finish.
Set in New Jersey, and written through the eyes of Jewish youth worker Will Klein, it revolves around the disappearance of Will’s brother Ken.
Accused of murder, falsely according to his family, Ken vanished to escape prosecution and retribution. Assumed dead, he reappears shortly before his mother’s death in the form of a photograph delivered to her.
Will finds the photo and starts investigating. At the same time, his girlfriend Sheila also disappears. Her fingerprints are found at a murder scene and she is later found murdered herself.
In turmoil, Will is supported by a well-connected friend Yogi Squares and begins to unravel the mystery.
I won’t give much away here, but there are more twists and turns than a Luna Park rollercoaster.
The book doesn’t moralise, doesn’t convey deep and meaningful themes and doesn’t give much social insight, except into the seedy underworld.
It does entertain through gripping and amusing narrative. As with any thriller there are elements that stretch belief, but who cares?
This was my first encounter with Coben and I’m now reading another of his novels called Deal Breaker.
Gay marriages are wrong
I’m opposed to same-sex marriages because I think they’re sacrilegious. I make this comment in response to news that an American state has allowed gay weddings.
I can tolerate homosexuality as a human imperfection and I oppose discrimination against homosexuals.
But recognising gay relationships as marriages is wrong. It sends a message that this is an ordinary state of being, and it’s not. It’s unnatural and morally questionable.
A fair solution, in my view, is to establish a system for people to register as partners. For some reason the law has recognised defacto heterosexual couples as man and wife, even if they’re not legally married. This is also wrong, but socially understandable.
People who aren’t legally wed, but who choose to live in a permanent relationship, should be allowed to register their union with the state, whether homosexual or heterosexual.
In the event that a partner becomes ill, separates or dies, the law should acknowledge the union. If they live as partners, but don’t register the relationship, the union should have no legal rights.
In terms of rights I’m talking about inheritance, hospital access, shared bank accounts, etc. In terms of responsibilities, I’m talking about health care and entitlements after separation.
Applying the term marriage to any homosexual relationship is an insult to those of us who believe in holy matrimony. I take the same view about defacto heterosexual relationships, which traditionally have not had the term “marriage” applied to them.
Danish royal wedding
The Australian public has gone ga ga over the Danish royal wedding, mainly because Tasmanian Mary Donaldson has been elevated from real estate agent to princess. It’s a genuine fairytale and that’s what monarchies are in the modern age.
Reading some comments attributed to the Lutheran Bishop who performed the wedding ceremony, he said the monarchy is an important part of the Danish social structure and the newlyweds belong to the people.
The wedding has to be a good thing for Australia, as it will strengthen relations with Denmark and open up new opportunities in trade and tourism. The wedding wasn’t arranged, of course, but just like in the old days there are diplomatic and economic benefits in having marital ties between countries.
And the common folk love a good royal wedding. I’m ambivalent myself, but Juliet, Kathleen and their friends have been discussing all week what will Mary wear, when will they have the first kiss, etc. I’ve been impressed with Mary’s grace and how she carries herself.
Given the public interest in monarchies generally, it’s incongruous that Australia is heading towards a republic.
Perhaps the tide will turn. For the past decade or so the people who feel strongly on this issue have mostly been republicans. Seeing how much the Danes love their royal family, and having an Australian royal connection, may sway public opinion.
It all comes down to symbolism, because the monarch has no day-to-day political power. Do we value the symbol? Public opinion this week said yes.
Seeing photographs of Tasmanian school kids dressed as Vikings and princesses suggests we all love a good fairytale.
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