September 2018 – Dr Rod’s Odd Blog (almondemotion)

What did yesterday teach me?

Well, a few things; probably. Lesson one: This first one won’t apply to everyone, although, if like me you are in middle-age clutter, at times overwhelmed by too much, consider daily reduction. Every day get rid of one thing, item of clothing, utensil, book you no longer need – reduce, reuse and recycle. This shouldContinue reading “What did yesterday teach me?”

What makes us human?

And Lot’s wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human.

Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut

Rag and bone

Alte-zachen They used to shout. It was father and son Who had come across from Qalquilia To facilitate early-days recycling. Ambushing Yiddish And Hebrew, Transmogrified Into Arabic. Their donkey was close to its end; staggering in the heat. Melting Tarmac And Heat haze Wavering. No one was quite sure how toContinue reading “Rag and bone”

Little blood pressure thing.

(In health your blood pressure rises when changing position; in disease if it falls, the blood supply to your brain, at times precarious, drops, you feel woozy, light-headed, you fall.)

Drugs and drug reps

I refused.

She did not like that.

I love you, no, I don’t, not really.

This dullard says A, B or C

And this other

nonentity agrees

and

you are left in limbo.

Thinking, feeling, disunity.

I won’t expand on the place of introverts and extraverts; I always imagined that computers would prefer peace and quiet to bombast.

Someone I know

He looks So very like someone I know. A man. I don’t really know them Other than I am aware I Dislike them. Where do you begin When considering not quite Doppelgangers But similars? In the winter I took a photo of a pitta-bread maker in Jaffa Who looked just like myContinue reading “Someone I know”

Ossification

Evolution has taught us to read and understand facial expression beyond language or other forms of expression. From a distance you can usually detect friend or foe. The stranger may be carrying a weapon, but their eyes reveal all.

I am very old.

‘I am very old, I don’t think I can manage any more.’ That was how it began, as I listened. He is old. Next birthday will be 97. So far, living alone, supported by occasional carers. He is thin despite a healthy appetite; ruddy cheeks and soft hands; fingernails thick. The hair on his headContinue reading “I am very old.”

Superficial analysis of complexity

It Keeps everyone happy; Like Freewheeling downhill having forgotten your repair kit. Focusing excessively on the details, Holding Too thick a lens up to what is small Can sometimes Slow us down, Keep us back, Postpone the inevitable. I prefer to skip, Skeeter Over the surface; Jittery they call me When things areContinue reading “Superficial analysis of complexity”

BlacKkKlansman

Where to begin? I went to see this movie yesterday with my son, not quite knowing what to expect other than it had scored 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. I won’t mention the shenanigans at the front desk; It blew me away. Afterwards, my son told me that I say that about every film I watchContinue reading “BlacKkKlansman”

How do I put it aside?

My family gathered last night for another season of Strictly. I tried. Honestly. Most years I don’t even join them in the room; Last night I balanced on the settee, albeit with my laptop for comfort and half and half sat through contestants spiralling onto the screen amidst glitz and glamour. Well, the inevitable happened;Continue reading “How do I put it aside?”

Left and Right; Time for a tax?

I think I have provided an evolutionary explanation for the existence or right and left; Democrat and Republican, Whig and Tory. (here). I suspect the caveat is that in our modern society these inherited advantages break-down; they can and seemingly do become counter-productive. I’ll take as an example food and fat. We evolved to live in smallContinue reading “Left and Right; Time for a tax?”

South Yorkshire Tribe (care sans frontieres)

The pull of this is so strong it overwhelms our logic.

And so, we compete.

Compete for nurses, doctors and so on.

Scare resources don’t go a long way in a finite economy.

Crisis – response

She is caring, friendly and intensely loyal.

Attack!

I guess we need those people who can take a beating and come back for more, who can’t ignore their beliefs or principles.

Everyone enjoys a crisis (unless you are a patient)

Give a man a McDonalds and he’ll eat it; give him a thousand and he’ll develop metabolic syndrome.

Left v Right

If your mum is a Tory, the likelihood of you being one increases, mum and dad, the odds are doubled.

Bread

I’ve written before about our local pond; mostly my observations about ducks and their offspring, oh, and there was the slightly ungainly goose I named Ewan. There isn’t much to it; a round of tired concrete, a few benches with surrounding cherry and sycamores. Old folk sit, the ice-cream man visits at weekends when theContinue reading “Bread”