emma_in_dream: (Corellia)
I can think of only one book I have read that referenced the 1919 flu epidemic as a contemporary event.


In *Back to Billabong* (1921) the flu sweeps through the District and the Lintons, as usual, come to the rescue. Norah and Tommy cook for the district hospital and Jim ferries people around in his Limo, being embarrassed about being thanked.
Any other examples?

good news

Apr. 4th, 2020 07:50 pm
emma_in_dream: (Default)
We have a new dog!!

2020

Mar. 23rd, 2020 03:40 pm
emma_in_dream: (Default)
n 1997 I was working at Griffith University which was situated in beautiful bush land. Unfortunately, there was a bush fire. Which was put out by the freak hail storm. The heavy hail storm blew a hole in the roof of the library and did other damage around campus and to my house. Then the hailstones melted and caused a flood. Which made the animals flee the bush and charge into the university rooms. Like the cute possums and also the many, many snakes were just roaming the corridors.


So that was one four hour period of my life that was quite hectic.


2020 has felt like that four hour period, only continuing for month after month.

Red Cross

Mar. 18th, 2020 03:18 pm
emma_in_dream: (Brookes)
Usually I do the Red Cross door knock. But this year we are advised not to... Instead they have asked that we just ask our circle of friends to donate. So, if you can, that's something to consider.

https://www.redcross.org.au/

C19

Mar. 17th, 2020 05:22 pm
emma_in_dream: (Default)
I have decided what I will re-read in light of the current situation… the bit in Little House on the Prairie where they all go down with a fever and their neighbours rally around and help them out.


I think that’s quite a positive message.
emma_in_dream: (Default)
Frederick Douglass. I'm hearing more and more about him lately. And he was a total hottie.

Just read one of his autobiographies.

life

Feb. 27th, 2020 05:00 pm
emma_in_dream: (Default)
Our power was out for 21 hours after the storm.

Life

Feb. 26th, 2020 03:25 pm
emma_in_dream: (Trek)
Work: The project I am working on is moving with (for Government) astonishing speed. Am amazed and feel that I am running with scissors.



Children: School started successfully. Expectations exceeded (expectations were low).



Health: Have had a minimum of three medical appointments per week for the kids over the last month. Next week – five in a four day period.

life

Feb. 10th, 2020 05:39 pm
emma_in_dream: (bucky)
Moving slightly closer to my home has meant a 100-150 kilometre reduction in my weekly commute. This is amazing and excellent.



(Sadly, the timing with Pearl moving to high school means a no savings in terms of time, despite travelling significantly less. Still working on a better way to organise the beginnings of our days.)
emma_in_dream: (Trek)
I listened to the top 10 for 1968 over these holidays.



I was surprised, so then I listened to the American and British Top 10s for 1968. They were a lot cooler than the Australian version.



America: The Beatles, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding.



Britain: The Beatles, the Monkees, the Small Tops, Tom Jones.


Australia: Guess what was super popular? The Beatles, yes, and then the Irish Rovers. Who, you ask? Well they had a number one with the unicorn song. You remember, the novelty song about a unicorn who won’t get on Noah’s ark. Catchy but not exactly the cutting edge of cool. And also they hit number one later that year with the novelty song *The Orange and the Green*.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EPsuOEH1fY


Now, I instantly recognised these songs – I am pretty sure my parents must have had the album. They’re good for a sing along, but also a sign that Australia in the 1960s was a cultural wasteland. It actually makes me wonder if there was some kind of protectionist tax on musical imports, because local talents like John Farnham also hit number one. With *Sadie the Cleaning Lady*.

NDIS

Jan. 30th, 2020 04:57 pm
emma_in_dream: (Corellia)
Ruby has been accepted into the NDIS. Hooray!



I would say that this is very clearly a system that is set up to repel all boarders. The difficulties I have encountered would certainly deter anyone not in perfect health, full of energy, very determined, a native English speaker, highly literate, and a professional bureaucrat.



Even with these advantages I had to submit Pearl’s application twice and personally contact a lead paediatrician at the State child Development Centre (for confirmatory information) and visit the NDIS office in person. In Ruby’s case it took three applications and getting submission from her paediatrician, developmental paediatrician, OT and teacher.



Once I get through the next administrative step, I will be able to book her into the OT and physio that I hope will really help her.



The funniest aspect of being rejected was still the first one where they looked for (and were unable to find) records of a male person with Pearl’s date of birth and my name. They indignantly informed us that something was wrong.

Life

Jan. 28th, 2020 05:25 pm
emma_in_dream: (Default)
So, started a secondment at the Department of Transport today. This is exciting.

Politics

Jan. 24th, 2020 06:50 pm
emma_in_dream: (Sound of Music)
The Federal Government has gone to a second round of consultation on their idiotic Religious Discrimination bill. This is highly unusual and is a sign that they must have been flooded with negative responses.

If you want to comment on this Bill you can go to: https://www.ag.gov.au/Consultations/Pages/religious-freedom-bills-second-exposure-drafts.aspx

Kipling

Jan. 18th, 2020 08:10 pm
emma_in_dream: (Default)
I am looking for a Rudyard Kipling short story that I vaguely recall. Any advice would be good.

They are in a small cantonment, with a limited number of Anglo administrators. There's an affair and then everyone carries on awkwardly, all knowing the truth.

Does this ring a bell for anyone?

History

Jan. 15th, 2020 05:17 pm
emma_in_dream: (Sound of Music)
I am reading a biography of Churchill. In 1921 his pressing concerns were the Irish question and the British entanglement in Iraq. Plus ca change.
emma_in_dream: (bucky)
So, books in 2019....

111 books, of which 39 were non-fiction.

The vast majority of what I read was printed since 2000. There were 37 from the 2010s and 20 from the 2000s. After that, the most common decades were the 1990s and 1980s. I would attribute this to a lot of Bujold and Jilly Cooper this year rather than Georgette Heyer or Dorothy Sayers.
emma_in_dream: (Default)
First of all, happy Christmas and happy new year.

Also, I attempted to update my Word and Excel... and it has gone into a frenzy and now wants me to sign up for Office 365 for an annual fee.

As far as I am concerned, I have paid for the software so this seems like some kind of ransom.

Advice on returning to my previous Word and Excel for Macs?

1919

Dec. 23rd, 2019 08:53 am
emma_in_dream: (Singin')
I was wondering what people were listening to in 1919, and the answer that Wikipedia gives is... lots of stuff I recognise.

Music my white bread family sings... Lots of stuff I remember my grandfather and mother singing. 'How we gonna keep them down on the farm, now that they've seen Paree', 'I'm forever blowing bubbles' and 'Don't dilly dally on the way'.

I have a terrible ear for music, but basically music hall stuff.

And then, surprisingly, music that is clearly related to popular music in 2019. I listened to 'I ain't gonna give nobody none of this jelly roll' and was like, hey, I recognise this. There's a link from this jazzy rag to jazz, to blues, to rock.

So I wondered if I could find the same thing prior to the war. I had a listen to Wiki's biggest hits of 1909 and the trend to syncopation had not begun.

Frozen II

Dec. 10th, 2019 06:27 pm
emma_in_dream: (CaptainAmerica)
The cinematography of Frozen Two was great – amazing colours. I am not sure of the conclusion. Can a history of colonisation be remedied without any real sacrifice on behalf of the colonisers?

life

Dec. 8th, 2019 07:42 pm
emma_in_dream: (Default)
So, a brief summary of what has happened since September:

It took from 17 September to 3 December, but I finally reached an agreement with the RAC Insurance company. I would strongly state that they dragged their feet at every opportunity and stretched every single thing out for as long as possible. Would not recommend.

The car was written off and I got a new Toyota Yaris. Which is cute, smaller than the previous car, five star safety rating.

I have lost all my grandparents' jewellery and I am still very upset about that.

Ugly security windows will be installed next week. I will buy a security camera in the post-Christmas sales.

Profile

emma_in_dream: (Default)
emma_in_dream

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