The Lair of the Emerald Serpent

The weather is slowly cooling down here in the Wild West of Oz so I may finally get back to the odd squiggle or two

Aside from the usual Dementor problem, it looks like some of them have flown over to Canberra to keep slimy Scomo company, it has also been a month of many distrsctions

February began with an unexpected 5 day lockdown but then it got back to business as usual. Both the Fringe World and the yuppie art festivals were on during the month.

So when I wasn't going to shows (to make up for that lost week) I was watching the drama over in Washington.
I caught snippets of the impeachment proceedings which was badly timed not to be on during the first week of February. But then I went for a YUUUUGE binge on the final stretch. I went to bed early on the evening of Saturday 13th February and set my alarm clock for 11pm, 2am, 3am and 4am (to wake me up just in case I fell asleep during the shit show)
The proceedings started at 11pm local time. Most of the time I wasn't actually watching the screen but just had the phone near the pillow and listened to the lawyers.

I did eventually fall asleep when the crazy Philadelphia cheese cracker was carrying on but woke up just in time for the final count. Of course the acquittal was a forgone conclusion but I was there for the theatre of it all.

I most definitely thought I was hallucinating when just after the vote, Mitch McTurtle delivered an astonishing rant about trump provoking but not inciting the riots followed by the big BUT... he did it but is no longer President so case dismissed. In spite of the fact that they started with a discussion and a vote about whether impeaching an ex president is constitutional. If the vote had failed, then the whole proceedings would have been terminated.
But more importantly, in spite of the fact that it was Mr Mitch himself who deliberately delayed proceedings so that trump would in fact no longer be president when the case got to the Senate

I thought I was hallucinating listening to him tearing strips off trump while having most definitely voted to acquit.
Probably the most blatant bit of gaslighting that I have ever witnessed


Lucky I could sleep in late on Sunday but still suspected that losing so much sleep would make me a zombie for most of the week.

But just when I thought that politics was about to get boring again, the shit hit the fan closer to home.

It's a long and sordid story. Disgusting and despicable actually. The simplest way to describe it is that the current Cabinet are a creepy bunch of Brett Kavanaughs. Quite literally.

Adding fire to the flames was the recent first anniversary of the murder of Hannah Clarke and her 3 children at the hands of her ex. A nasty control freak who stalked her to her parents' place where he set her and her children on fire in their car as she was about to do the morning school run

( A Cabinet of Creeps )

Today was the day I finally managed to visit the zoo after an absence of at least a year. The highlight of the day was feeding time in the sneke pit where the pretty little pythons were offered little mouse and rat snacks.
Personally, I would have preferred to see some of the squealing kids on the menu instead.

Izzie never ever imagined that it would be necessary to turn on the heater during October. This is Oz after all and we are supposed to be sizzling and certainly not snuggling up, toasting our toes and listening to the howling wind and the rain lashing the window panes.

Just the perfect weather in fact for listening to the radio and catching up on podcasts.

First there was the history of a rather infamous book (I tried to read it many moons ago but it was just too whiny)
I nearly died laughing on hearing a BBC program about it which claimed that "Mein Kampf" is a best seller in India where it is seen as a sort of self help book. How one man began as a down and out doing time in jail to become the leader of a powerful nation in such a short time. The fact that he made things so difficult for the British Empire just adds to the allure. (The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that)

Or to put it in more modern business jargon
"They see it as a kind of success story where one man can have a vision, work out a plan on how to implement it and then successfully complete it"
source

Then there's the more recent cult courtesy of Old Mr Hubbard. The good old days seem well and truly over with Anonymous and an assortment of whistle blowers spilling the beans on the monstrous cash cow. Unfortunately this program starts at the witching hour of midnight and I've usually fallen asleep half way through it. Of course there's always the podcasts but a serpent needs 9 lives to catch up with all the tasty morsels.

Then there was a fascinating exploration of the subtle difference between scary and creepy

I love the list of dodgy jobs. It will make perfect nanowrimo prompt. This year's sad and sordid story will need to feature at least four of the following occupations with bonus points for all of them.


Clown
Taxidermist
Sex Shop Owner
Funeral Director
Taxi Driver
Priest
Janitor
Garbage Collector
Security Guard
Writer
Actor