Rolling up in a trail of dust

I've deslothed for long enough to add some of the blogs I regularly read to the blog roll on the right. Mark was tickled by the Lovebug Rodeo quip, so that's what it's called in the roll. If the joke wears thin, then I'm happy to change it.

I want ...

you.

Link snaffled from the ever wonderful boing boing.

Going, Going, Gone

In news that has surprised noone, Robert Hill has announced his resignation from parliament.

SENATOR Robert Hill, the Minister for Defence, announced his retirement from politics yesterday, saying the decision was not an easy one but after a 25-year parliamentary career he had a responsibility to give other Liberals a chance.

I'm sure there are other government MPs who think this should be standard policy for long serving (prime) ministers.

They stone you when you try to type your blog

I was disturbed to find that missing an 's' when typing in my blogger URL took me here. Blogpot! Bible studies! What more could you want? And what is the connection?

Why Blog

It's essential that any new blog has to start with a "Why I Blog" post, and as I've got that tricky first post out of the way, I may as well tackle this burning issue. I first became interested in blogging during the 2004 Australian election - the first time that there was a real synergy between Aus politics and blogging. I quickly became addicted to the daily roller coaster of emotion on the sadly dormant back pages, though I had been a regular reader of the proto blog WebDiary, then run by Margo Kingston off the SMH web site, but still soldiering on here. While I've read a lot, I've mostly dabbled with commenting on blogs, never really saying much myself.

I thought that I'd try blogging myself simply to practise my writing. I write a bit at work, but mostly these are technical documents, i.e. as dry as a martini should be. I think I do them well, but there's not a great deal of self expression involved. When trying to write something in another context, I often freeze, agonising over a 10 word sentence for half an hour, before deciding that it's all too hard and not writing anything. Of course this might be a worthwhile investment of time if I were a Joycean wordsmith (though if I were, noone in the ruins of time would have the foggiest what I was on about), but as a literary plodder it's a bit pointless. So, here we are, practising.

Mostly I enjoy reading Aus political (mostly lefty) blogs. The Lovebug Rodeo is the black hole of the Aus blosphere, gradually subsuming all other lefty blogs out there. Troppo Armadillo has the excellent but blogged out Ken Parish, while Nicholas Gruen soldiers on. Catallaxy is all quaint and whiggish. I also enjoy David Tiley's musings and I occasionally surf down Tim Dunlop's road. In a non political sense I'm also greatly impressed by the floppy eared one whose enthusiasm has washed away (some of ) my prejudice towards country music.

Debauched Sloth

HMS Surprise is perhaps the most beloved of that dearly beloved series of novels by Patrick O'Brian, featuring the characters of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. HMS Surprisehas the lot - the introduction of the lovely Surprise as a character in her own right, the dynamics of the Aubrey-Maturin relationship, torture, abandoned love, battles, vampires and the debauched sloth:

'In this bucket,' said Stephen, walking into the cabin, 'in this small half-bucket, now, I have the population of Dublin, London, and Paris combined: these animalculae-- what is the matter with the sloth?' It was curled on Jack's knee, breathing heavily: its bowl and Jack's glass stood empty on the table. Stephen picked it up, peered into its affable bleary face, shook it, and hung it upon its rope. It seized hold with one fore and one hind foot, letting the others dangle limp, and went to sleep.

Stephen looked sharply round, saw the decanter, smelt to the sloth, and cried, 'Jack, you have debauched my sloth.'

So here we are, peering with the blear of the sloth, imbibing more gin than is seemly, practicing a studied smear on the couch.