*Quote of the Day from Goodreads this morning: “Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.” ― George Orwell
The blurb reads: September 18, 1917: On this day, dystopian fiction novelist Aldous Huxley began teaching at Eton. One of his pupils was Eric Blair, a young writer who would grow up to write 1984 under the pen name George Orwell.
A very true quote in the sense that every generation thinks along these lines – though in my case of course, it’s perfectly true! I am more intelligent than my forebears – and it’ll probably be seen in the future that I was far wiser than people in generations to come (if we survive that long, that is!) 😉 I sometimes wonder what’s happening to the human race – a few minutes ago Julian was looking at photos of a German submarine built in 1918 – almost 100 years ago! Yes, we’ve advanced technologically, or perhaps taken a different technological path, but the engineering and construction of that submarine is absolutely phenomenal! The materials used to build and run the machine might have changed – but the method and the basic engineering principles haven’t! Take a look at education – especially in the U.S.A.! Teaching Creationism in schools, because evolution isn’t true? Because there’s no proof of evolution? Their absolute insanity about “the only thing to be able to stand against a bad man with a gun is a good man with a gun”? This is from some of their politicians – their leaders! What is happening to the world? The refugees flooding into Europe because the “powers that be” are fighting over control of Syria and surrounding areas. The insanity of Fundamentalism is rising, and the logic of science and education quickly fading, as world leaders (not just in the Middle East!) adopt more and more stringent invasions of privacy, and the curtailing of civil liberties. The propaganda of fear abounds; the media fan the flames of hatred, and the governments allow it – and sometimes even encourage it. This is just plain wrong! We have the technology, the knowledge, and the materials to build a peaceful world – all it would take would be international co-operation, an agreement to help or subsidise poorer countries, and a UN that wouldn’t hesitate to pull down, by any means necessary, any aggressive leader attempting to invade or disrupt another country, or attempting to force their will on their own people at gunpoint. The current UN is a joke, and dictators and tyrants wreck their will on their own people with bullets and gas. Most world leaders either turn a blind eye, or bleat that “sovereign rights” can’t be trampled upon, and argue and bicker about what to do with the fleeing refugees, and how little they can possibly get away with spending on the problem. Quite frankly, I’m very glad that my two daughters have not reproduced, and our line will die out with them. I don’t think I want to see, or know, what the world is going to be like in another fifty years! There was a time when I – and most of the free world – looked up to America – they were the world’s policeman and champion, they stood, like Superman, for Truth! Justice! and, of course, “The American Way”. Well, that “American Way” has become well and truly tarnished over the years, and warped into something almost unrecognizable. I no longer believe that a hero is going to come leaping out of the rubble and destruction that characterises the world today, holding aloft a blazing torch, to lead us in the right direction. If we want a better life, we have to make it for ourselves – because our leaders ain’t about to do it for us! …Think about this: what would happen if they gave a war, and nobody turned up?
Gosh, it’s months since I had a good, refreshing rant like that! 🙂 Hope you don’t mind too much – after all, I don’t do it often 😉 It was just that looking at the photos of that submarine, I was struck by the fact that – things haven’t really changed all that much since the beginning of World War I. Julian believes in humanity, and believes that we can and will rise above these world problems and that a civilisation similar to the one often portrayed in Star Trek will come about. I’m afraid that I don’t. I happen to think that we’ve come too far along this path, that we’ve passed the tipping point, and that it’s too late to go back. Say la Vee, as the French say… 
This morning Julian took the dry cleaning over to Doncaster (Yayyy! I’ll have some clean clothes to wear! 😉 ) picked up some clocks and the four wire slide-out basket stands from our wardrobe at the apartment – this house is almost totally devoid of time pieces, and I really need one in the bathroom – and in here – and once we get the bath measured properly, Julian can go out and get a piece of Masonite or whatever cut to size, and blu tack or superglue it to the rim of the bath so that I can put the slide-out basket stands on it, to give me a bit more room – I’m afraid I just can’t wait the six weeks until Clarke can start on the renovations! Julian also went and checked out our nearest Nando’s, which is up at KMart Plaza, on the corner of Blackburn Road and Burwood Highway, and not really all that far away from us – so he’ll just phone in the order tomorrow morning and someone can volunteer to go and pick it up. He did end up buying another salad spinner, and he also got a chocolate mud cake for the four of us who are eating “proper food” – Lee and I will make do with our Optifast bars 🙂 While himself was out this morning, I Rifted. I got Rubymoonshine back to Meridian – managing to die another two or three times (*sigh*) once again by thinking that a level 9 could take on a level 15! Will she ever learn?! It’s really weird – all these characters I have are all “me” – and yet each one plays differently, and has a different attitude and style of fighting – this one, for instance, seems to have a distinct lack of forethought and sense of self-preservation – so far, anyway! Most of the others would have looked before they leaped! Still, it does make the game more exciting, and less predictable! 😉
Weigh-in this morning. Yep, we’re making hay while the sun shines alright! I went down half a kilo this morning, from 74.6kg to 74.1kg! This means that I’ll either sky-rocket up tomorrow morning, or stay at 74.1kg for the next three weeks! 😦 I certainly hope not, but that’s the way this idiotic body of mine seems to work, most of the time! Stay tuned! 🙂
Well, tomorrow, as you all know by now, is going to be our very belated “Father’s Day” for Julian. It should be a really good day – I don’t believe the weather’s supposed to fall apart until the mid to late afternoon, so we might even get to go and sit out at the table on the deck! That would be novel! Me? voluntarily going and sitting outside?! As the warmer weather’s approaching, I must start nagging Julian to buy a couple of those bug-zapper things. I actually do like sitting and doing things outside (as long as I’m not in the sun! I’m allergic to sun!) it’s just the insects, mosquitoes, and creepy-crawlies that I can’t abide! I don’t like nagging, and usually won’t do it, even when he begs me to because he forgets things – but in this case, for the bug-zappers, I’ll make an exception! 🙂 I’m looking forward to starting our veggie garden – it’s going to be one of those built-up ones made out of sleepers that you don’t have to break your back weeding – and I’m so looking forward to home-grown tomatoes, celery, carrots, beans, sugar peas, parsley (but not coriander! I hate coriander!) I’d like to put in a fig tree, too, but that might have to go in the front garden. And a peppercorn tree – I love peppercorn trees – they’re so romantically graceful and yet gnarly! (with all the things I want, maybe we should have moved out to a farm! 🙂 ) So once again I’ve just about come to the end of tonight’s missive – do drop in again tomorrow (though I warn you all now – tomorrow’s blog is likely to be rather late – there’s a lot going on around here tomorrow, you know! 😉 ) and see what the day brought us – how the luncheon went, if my weight did sky-rocket back up again, and whether or not we ate outdoors – and all sorts of other interesting and vaguely amusing stuff 🙂 Until then, though, please at least try to bee good, don’t forget that the human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter; remember to look after yourselves, to drive carefully, and I’m almost tempted to say “to keep cool”! But most importantly, remember to stay safe! 🙂 ciao, all! 🙂
My Word! 