Memes and musings
15/03/2013 10:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
izmeinaIzzie’s been a busy but flustered serpent of late. The stinking sizzling weather is gone and there’s even been lots of rain lately. But in spite of all this good stuff just cannot snap out of this present state of doomy gloomy awfulizing. Been so many dramas with the ant man, dodgy taps and the roof repairs that just seem to be dragging on and on and now we will soon be in the middle of the rainy season. All this shit should have been finished on their first visit in early February
So much gossip and so little squiggled. Been taking a peek in the old Pensieve from many moons ago and could not help but think that way back in 2003 and 2004 with two jobs and three subjects at uni and no computer or internet in the Lair, managed to squiggle far more stuff in Livejournal land than now with all the time in the world and a Big Mac with its very own Portkey to the magical world of Cyberia
Had so much fun back in 2005 putting bets on the new owner of the ‘Fisherman’s Shoes’ Almost as a joke and sign of utter evilness was hoping that a certain Joseph Ratzinger would get the top job. It’s up there with Barack Obama or Henry Kissinger getting the Nobel Peace Prize
This time had the old forked tongue crossed for George Pell for Pope and Tony Abbott for the Lodge (there’s a federal election in Oz this September. It’s already been nicknamed the Yom Kippur election due to the impeccable timing)
Lucky it was only Monopoly money as the silly bugger blew his chances by claiming that the Papal resignation was setting a bad precedent and was ‘just not cricket’
So we end up with some outsider who bears an uncanny resemblance to one Alberto Luciano. If it is more than skin deep he will definitely not last long in that job. Only got a proper peek at the papers today but it was the big story all yesterday.
The minute I heard he was going to take the name Francis was very impressed. Francis of Assisi must be the nearest thing that Christianity has to a Buddha.
Was ever so amused how the only local journalist who saw any significance in this was one Walid Ali - a card carrying Muslim! Turns out that he had thought of a second Francis. Had forgotten about the Xavier fellow. Must go googling Francis Xavier. Always getting him mixed up with Ignatius Loyola.
Here’s hoping that he will resurrect liberation theology and all the left wing stuff that his predecessors wanted dead, buried and cremated.
Bring it back from the dead. Zombie theology is just what the world needs right now. Maybe he will even restore Anthony De Mello to the pantheon of saints where he belongs. His predecessor said such awful things about him and that was how Ratzi first appeared on the Izzie radar
Anthony de Mello was the Peter Cundall of Catholicism
Not that it should matter to this agnostic serpent. The Roman Church has become rather known for all the wrong sort of stuff lately - the stuffy bureaucratic old boys club that considers looking after its own much more important than doing the right thing and the whole obsession with sex, suffering and virgin mothers. But one thing that they do brilliantly is smells and bells. Religion without rituals is just missing a certain something.
And of course it was these lovely folks who brought us the Inquisition which reminds this serpent of a recent request for questions from an online friend
An Inquisition Meme
Izzie doesn’t do many of these lately. There’s way too many other distractions. But now and again a nosy Inquisitor comes along with ways and means of persuading serpents to respond. It was even tempting to answer some of the questions she gave to her other victims
The Dinner party is always an interesting and revealing hypothetical
1 What made you decide to go and work in Germany
Many moons ago, Izzie found herself asking the question "Is it better to take a chance and be disappointed than to play safe and spend the rest of your life wondering "What if...? or even worse "If only...."?"
The boring job I had back then in 1988 had a shelf life of 12 months and after that, it would be time to go looking for another one. But while at this job, a letter came from a cultural exchange program where you could get a 12 month work placement in Germany. Accomodation would be provided and the jobs would be fairly unskilled with house elf wages. It was not necessary to be fluent in German to apply for such jobs because the whole point of the exercise was to live and work in a foreign country and pick up the language at the same time.
But like the job I previously had, it would be valid for only 12 months as the purpose was to then give another newbie a chance.
I had always been a shy and ever so unadventurous little mouse and this sounded all a bit too out of the Izzie comfort zone. But at the same time, I always had imagined how wonderful it would be to live in a foreign country as a resident rather than a tourist. In the end resorted to one of my favorite decision making devices - asking the question "How will you feel about your decision ten years from now?"
So I packed up my bags and in February 1989 arrived alone and friendless in D'land to be met by the couple who had organized and arranged this particular job placement which was in a nursing home run by the local church in a little town about an hour's drive west of Hamburg. They were remarkably like the Weasleys and that was long before the Potters had been written. The husband was a pastor in the local Lutheran church. That most definitely must be the Muggle equivalent of the Ministry of Magic
Nine months later the Berlin Wall came down. Was on holidays from work at the time but much too broke to go over and join the party. But still it was truly an amazing time to have been there. If I had chosen not to go because it was all too scary would be spending many many years moaning “If only.”
I did find another job before the end of the twelve months but because of the Wall and the massive immigration from both East Germany and the rest of Eastern Europe and Yugoslavia, the cost of housing had simply gone through the roof and become totally unaffordable for unskilled workers. So I had to get one of those nasty house elf jobs where accomodation is provided and where you invariably get screwed by the boss which is exactly what happened. But that is another story altogether.
The whole housing shortage situation meant that there was no future in Germany for anyone at the bottom of the pecking order. So that was the reason to come back to Oz. And now the very same thing has happened here and I knew several Germans working in low skilled jobs who returned home because this bit of Oz had become so unaffordable
2. Would you go and live in another country for an extended period, now, or have you put down roots here?
The serpent’s Lair is certainly here but with a bit of organization it should certainly be possible to slink about elsewhere for the occasional 3 months or so. The Lair would provide the loot to live on so that is just another good reason for getting it respectable enough to rent out. Presently there’s dramas with roof repairs so cannot even think of letting out the spare room to a student until that is all sorted out.
3. If you could go back to uni and study any degree, what would it be?
Sort of already doing that with Coursera. Dabbled in a few things but found nothing yet that would provide sufficient motivation for several years of serious hard slog. Most likely something to do with permaculture or a philosophy course that is more about ideas than about what a bunch of Ancient Greeks had to say. It’s not that their ideas aren’t interesting but it seems like they get mentioned to the exclusion of just about anyone else. It would also have to be a course where the interaction and exchange of ideas with other students is central otherwise could just go learn stuff online.
I love going to the various university Open Days and always lurk around the science and geekish stuff - usually physics and chemistry. But all this fun stuff is mainly to lure folks in. When they’ve hooked you they then unleash all those evil equations, theory and drudgery
If anyone made a course based on Michael Shermer’s book “Why people believe weird things” would sign up on the spot.
4. Most successful plant from which you've saved seed?
Nasturtiums. You don’t even have to try. They keep coming back whether you want them to or not. But anything intentional has to include rocket and coriander. Bigger critters include a few waist high macadamias grown from seed but that is a success rate of less than one in ten
5. Favourite vegetarian dish cooked by someone else (and where you had/have it).
How can I possibly choose just one?
Anything with lentils, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, spinach or potatoes usually scores high on the Izzie list
The Hari Krishnas food is generally bland but they had a totally addictive dish called Potato Gauranga which has layers of potatoes baked with rosemary, turmeric, sour cream and far too much salt to be healthy
Otherwise pretty much anything from The Juicy Beetroot or Annalakshmi
So much gossip and so little squiggled. Been taking a peek in the old Pensieve from many moons ago and could not help but think that way back in 2003 and 2004 with two jobs and three subjects at uni and no computer or internet in the Lair, managed to squiggle far more stuff in Livejournal land than now with all the time in the world and a Big Mac with its very own Portkey to the magical world of Cyberia
Had so much fun back in 2005 putting bets on the new owner of the ‘Fisherman’s Shoes’ Almost as a joke and sign of utter evilness was hoping that a certain Joseph Ratzinger would get the top job. It’s up there with Barack Obama or Henry Kissinger getting the Nobel Peace Prize
This time had the old forked tongue crossed for George Pell for Pope and Tony Abbott for the Lodge (there’s a federal election in Oz this September. It’s already been nicknamed the Yom Kippur election due to the impeccable timing)
Lucky it was only Monopoly money as the silly bugger blew his chances by claiming that the Papal resignation was setting a bad precedent and was ‘just not cricket’
So we end up with some outsider who bears an uncanny resemblance to one Alberto Luciano. If it is more than skin deep he will definitely not last long in that job. Only got a proper peek at the papers today but it was the big story all yesterday.
The minute I heard he was going to take the name Francis was very impressed. Francis of Assisi must be the nearest thing that Christianity has to a Buddha.
Was ever so amused how the only local journalist who saw any significance in this was one Walid Ali - a card carrying Muslim! Turns out that he had thought of a second Francis. Had forgotten about the Xavier fellow. Must go googling Francis Xavier. Always getting him mixed up with Ignatius Loyola.
Here’s hoping that he will resurrect liberation theology and all the left wing stuff that his predecessors wanted dead, buried and cremated.
Bring it back from the dead. Zombie theology is just what the world needs right now. Maybe he will even restore Anthony De Mello to the pantheon of saints where he belongs. His predecessor said such awful things about him and that was how Ratzi first appeared on the Izzie radar
Anthony de Mello was the Peter Cundall of Catholicism
Not that it should matter to this agnostic serpent. The Roman Church has become rather known for all the wrong sort of stuff lately - the stuffy bureaucratic old boys club that considers looking after its own much more important than doing the right thing and the whole obsession with sex, suffering and virgin mothers. But one thing that they do brilliantly is smells and bells. Religion without rituals is just missing a certain something.
And of course it was these lovely folks who brought us the Inquisition which reminds this serpent of a recent request for questions from an online friend
An Inquisition Meme
Izzie doesn’t do many of these lately. There’s way too many other distractions. But now and again a nosy Inquisitor comes along with ways and means of persuading serpents to respond. It was even tempting to answer some of the questions she gave to her other victims
The Dinner party is always an interesting and revealing hypothetical
1 What made you decide to go and work in Germany
Many moons ago, Izzie found herself asking the question "Is it better to take a chance and be disappointed than to play safe and spend the rest of your life wondering "What if...? or even worse "If only...."?"
The boring job I had back then in 1988 had a shelf life of 12 months and after that, it would be time to go looking for another one. But while at this job, a letter came from a cultural exchange program where you could get a 12 month work placement in Germany. Accomodation would be provided and the jobs would be fairly unskilled with house elf wages. It was not necessary to be fluent in German to apply for such jobs because the whole point of the exercise was to live and work in a foreign country and pick up the language at the same time.
But like the job I previously had, it would be valid for only 12 months as the purpose was to then give another newbie a chance.
I had always been a shy and ever so unadventurous little mouse and this sounded all a bit too out of the Izzie comfort zone. But at the same time, I always had imagined how wonderful it would be to live in a foreign country as a resident rather than a tourist. In the end resorted to one of my favorite decision making devices - asking the question "How will you feel about your decision ten years from now?"
So I packed up my bags and in February 1989 arrived alone and friendless in D'land to be met by the couple who had organized and arranged this particular job placement which was in a nursing home run by the local church in a little town about an hour's drive west of Hamburg. They were remarkably like the Weasleys and that was long before the Potters had been written. The husband was a pastor in the local Lutheran church. That most definitely must be the Muggle equivalent of the Ministry of Magic
Nine months later the Berlin Wall came down. Was on holidays from work at the time but much too broke to go over and join the party. But still it was truly an amazing time to have been there. If I had chosen not to go because it was all too scary would be spending many many years moaning “If only.”
I did find another job before the end of the twelve months but because of the Wall and the massive immigration from both East Germany and the rest of Eastern Europe and Yugoslavia, the cost of housing had simply gone through the roof and become totally unaffordable for unskilled workers. So I had to get one of those nasty house elf jobs where accomodation is provided and where you invariably get screwed by the boss which is exactly what happened. But that is another story altogether.
The whole housing shortage situation meant that there was no future in Germany for anyone at the bottom of the pecking order. So that was the reason to come back to Oz. And now the very same thing has happened here and I knew several Germans working in low skilled jobs who returned home because this bit of Oz had become so unaffordable
2. Would you go and live in another country for an extended period, now, or have you put down roots here?
The serpent’s Lair is certainly here but with a bit of organization it should certainly be possible to slink about elsewhere for the occasional 3 months or so. The Lair would provide the loot to live on so that is just another good reason for getting it respectable enough to rent out. Presently there’s dramas with roof repairs so cannot even think of letting out the spare room to a student until that is all sorted out.
3. If you could go back to uni and study any degree, what would it be?
Sort of already doing that with Coursera. Dabbled in a few things but found nothing yet that would provide sufficient motivation for several years of serious hard slog. Most likely something to do with permaculture or a philosophy course that is more about ideas than about what a bunch of Ancient Greeks had to say. It’s not that their ideas aren’t interesting but it seems like they get mentioned to the exclusion of just about anyone else. It would also have to be a course where the interaction and exchange of ideas with other students is central otherwise could just go learn stuff online.
I love going to the various university Open Days and always lurk around the science and geekish stuff - usually physics and chemistry. But all this fun stuff is mainly to lure folks in. When they’ve hooked you they then unleash all those evil equations, theory and drudgery
If anyone made a course based on Michael Shermer’s book “Why people believe weird things” would sign up on the spot.
4. Most successful plant from which you've saved seed?
Nasturtiums. You don’t even have to try. They keep coming back whether you want them to or not. But anything intentional has to include rocket and coriander. Bigger critters include a few waist high macadamias grown from seed but that is a success rate of less than one in ten
5. Favourite vegetarian dish cooked by someone else (and where you had/have it).
How can I possibly choose just one?
Anything with lentils, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, spinach or potatoes usually scores high on the Izzie list
The Hari Krishnas food is generally bland but they had a totally addictive dish called Potato Gauranga which has layers of potatoes baked with rosemary, turmeric, sour cream and far too much salt to be healthy
Otherwise pretty much anything from The Juicy Beetroot or Annalakshmi
