Monday, 30 July 2012

Biological Reflection

A girl whose cheeks are covered with paint
Has an advantage with me over one whose ain't.

-Ogden Nash

This fellow's a genius, I tell you.
Take this, for example:

A Caution To Everybody

Consider the auk;
Becoming extinct because he forgot how to fly, and could only walk.
Consider man, who may well become extinct
Because he forgot how to walk and learned how to fly before he thinked.


 
Or this:
 

Bankers Are Just Like Anybody Else, Except Richer

This is a song to celebrate banks,
Because they are full of money and you go into them and all
you hear is clinks and clanks,
Or maybe a sound like the wind in the trees on the hills,
Which is the rustling of the thousand dollar bills.
Most bankers dwell in marble halls,
Which they get to dwell in because they encourage deposits
and discourage withdrawals,
And particularly because they all observe one rule which woe
betides the banker who fails to heed it,
Which is you must never lend any money to anybody unless
they don't need it.
I know you, you cautious conservative banks!
If people are worried about their rent it is your duty to deny
them the loan of one nickel, yes, even one copper engraving
of the martyred son of the late Nancy Hanks;
Yes, if they request fifty dollars to pay for a baby you must
look at them like Tarzan looking at an uppity ape in the
jungle,
And tell them what do they think a bank is, anyhow, they had
better go get the money from their wife's aunt or ungle.
But suppose people come in and they have a million and they
want another million to pile on top of it,
Why, you brim with the milk of human kindness and you
urge them to accept every drop of it,
And you lend them the million so then they have two million
and this gives them the idea that they would be better off
with four,
So they already have two million as security so you have no
hesitation in lending them two more,
And all the vice-presidents nod their heads in rhythm,
And the only question asked is do the borrowers want the
money sent or do they want to take it withm.
Because I think they deserve our appreciation and thanks,
the jackasses who go around saying that health and happi-
ness are everything and money isn't essential,
Because as soon as they have to borrow some unimportant
money to maintain their health and happiness they starve
to death so they can't go around any more sneering at good
old money, which is nothing short of providential.


 

Wednesday, 25 July 2012

In one of those moods again...

I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change.

No matter how many times I listen to the song- even if I listen to it over and over- I still feel the same feelings. The sadness and the desperation of a world torn apart. The dreams and beliefs of a section of humanity that simply doesn't want to fight any more. The vigourous dream that maybe, just maybe, things will change- that, one day, we will all stand together, dump all our money on Wall Street, and usher in a new age of peace and freedom.
That dream seems unlikely, but maybe, just maybe...





Monday, 9 July 2012

Hello there. It's been a shamefully long time since I've blogged, so, keeping with tradition of slacking off when I'm supposed to be studying, I've decided to finally sit down and write something. Not that anything noteworthy hasn't happened. I mean, there were debates (in various languages), arguments, football matches, investiture(s), band practices... in short, more than I ever thought I was capable of pulling off in a month's time. It's not like there wasn't time either, in between the long hours of slacking off in front of my books. There just never was the inclination. (Lord help me, the grammar in that last one was atrocious).

Anyway, we had a band get-together this Sunday, and I can honestly say that I have never, ever run around that much in my life before, even when I was a kid. First we had to set up the Treasure Hunt, then we had to guide the search parties, then we had to clean up the remains of the Treasure Hunt. Noon to ten-thirty. Ten-and-a-half hours. I swear, it was almost as bad as Expressions. Actually, no. Nothing could ever be as bad as Expressions. That was at least a hundred-and-twenty hours, non-stop.
There was a lot more besides the Treasure Hunt, of course, and, all in all, it was rather amazing.
I'm already preparing for my farewell speech for next year, lest I break down like my seniors.

As usual, the dream was shattered the next afternoon, when the grim reality of the world outside the band hit. I did, however, learn a valuable lesson, and that is that taking the blame and feeling guilty is far easier than voicing your convictions. Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way, and, also, according to research, apparently the best way. I finally understand what PK was talking about. Damn.

So there you have it, a resurrection, if you will, of the blog, and a precursor to what will hopefully be a long list of future blog-posts.