Dosty

News blurb: "Trump turned the border wall into his Alamo. That didn't end well, and this won't either."

That's about the government shutdown. It's a clever line, but I'd still prefer to be in bed. I am having what we used to call a five o'clock morning. I only hate it more with age.

I'm particularly concerned that "The Brothers Karamazov" is not going to make it as an audiobook for me. I just don't find the situations and characters that compelling. I am enjoying it as a reading experience, as something of an intellectual exercise; it just doesn't do it for me emotionally. If I were a devout Christian, it might be otherwise. If I were a devout Christian, I'd also have the audiobook edition of the Bible, but you definitely won't find that on my Amazon wish list.

This is also making me think that the novel, even as a conventional book, isn't really in the same class as "The Magic Mountain", "Lolita", "1984", and a number of the Shakespeare plays -in terms of being the books of my heart, the books I cannot get enough of.

I might keep Dosty as part of my reading life. It depends on whether I will feel the need to keep my focus very tight, or if I feel the freedom to wander out of my circle a little more broadly. Remember, it was just a few weeks ago when I was seriously flirting with the idea of making my reading life 'all Hamlet all the time'. That's an idea that still has some appeal for me.

As for audiobooks, I think I'm just going to stick to Shakespeare for now when it comes to new purchases, playing it safe. I actually have a brand new "Richard III" that is still in its wrapping. I think I'm going to open that up today. Then I'll probably try a couple of more disks of "Karamazov". I still would like to get at least one 'listening' out of it. I'm glad I didn't pay forty dollars for it, because if they had asked for that price, I probably would have paid for it. Shakespeare is a great blessing, but I really would like some diversity in my audiobooks.

Home Life

Wow, it can't be today.

When I took out the trash, I made a point of seeing the flood situation in the back yard, and I realized that I cannot let the cats go, despite this being the second day of good-burning sunlight. The ground must have been fully saturated before the last rains. I don't know if the cats will be cool about this. That clear sunshine streaming in through the windows makes them antsy to go out, and they are ready to rebel. But, frankly, even an extra day might not be enough. We are so underwater.

You might think this should be good news for the new grass, but I don't believe it's going to stick. It simply looks like soggy hay. I'm already bracing myself for the prospect of that new grass blowing away over the coming weeks and months. I might have to see if Pop will get some new grass this spring or summer for that back corner.

AT&T fucked us. They could have laid that new grass back in October, when it might have had a better chance of catching on, but they pointlessly waited until late December in the very dead of winter.

Ancient Rome

My reading life is in chaos, but maybe in a good way. Amazon threw up another tempting recommendation: "SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome" by Mary Beard. It enjoys rave reviews as one of the best books of 2015. And it is written with a mind toward our current era, drawing the parallels sharply - the throes of a dying republic to tyranny. And it seems pretty reader-friendly, though perhaps not novel-like. The clincher: it's going for five-something. How does one turn away that kind of offer?

But I've been burned before on my interest in Rome. I have two volumes on my shelves on the same history by H. H. Scullard, and they have been sitting there for about ten years, entirely unread. Why should I buy a newer rendition of that history? Though, the Scullard books are much drier, being more like school textbooks rather than a popular history, and yet more authoritative for that.

Nevertheless, I have picked up the Scullard books and blew the dust off them. And I am surprised by how readable I am finding it, as if I have gotten smarter in the last ten years. I am actually inclined to go on reading them. My main concern is whether I really want this educational excursion. Remember, my mood has been that life is very short now and I might as well stick to my favorite heart-core books and just live in them as deeply as I can. The time to take on big subjects such as the Roman empire has past me by. Regardless, I find myself now enjoying Scullard's work, and I want to run with it and act as if I am still a thirty-something with all the time in the world in front of me. I kind of like the feel of that. Taking up the battle not to go gently into that good night.

Wanked Routine

I'm a little off-routine today. I opted for the late-afternoon-into-evening wank, a liberty afforded me by Pop's stay-over at Kay's. When I was done, I saw the cats sitting by the empty food-plate. "Oh, I'm sorry, babies!" I thought they were just crying to be let outside. Then, I realized that I forgot to take out the recycling bin for tomorrow's pick-up. Man, I give myself a couple of hours of personal me-time and the world veers off into hell.

National Emergency

"The moment the president declares a “national emergency” — a decision that is entirely within his discretion — he is able to set aside many of the legal limits on his authority."

-- The Atlantic

Next to declaring oneself 'president for life', gratuitously declaring a national emergency for self-aggrandizement has to be about as Third World as it gets - America as banana republic. If anyone can take us there, it's Trump. He is actually threatening to do so, ostensibly to get the military to build his wall, buy one can see how the idea could grow on him.

Twilight Zone. Twitter

Goodnight

I gave the old "Twilight Zone" show a chance. Netflix is hosting it. I thought that I knew all the episodes by heart, but when I read the summaries, no show from season one was ringing any bells with me. So, I thought it might be fun to watch it. But, no, it was just too blah. The contemporary show "Black Mirror" blots it out, in terms of both style and content. A half a century makes a big difference. In its time, "Twilight Zone" was new and daring - even a little chilling - and very successful.

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I'm nervous about checking Twitter now. I cropped a tweet from my post on Trump possibly invoking his emergency powers, and since it's a starkly negative tweet, I'm afraid I might have to deal with countless Russian bots attacking me. So far, I have received, rather strangely, just a couple of retweets from Jesus freaks. I'm not sure what that's about. Just chance, maybe.

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I didn't get any chores done in Pop's absence. I should've shaved, and cleaned my toilet. I intend to get to the toilet in the morning. My face can wait, as nothing will help much there anyway.