Frog Brained

Last night I was sitting up in my bed re-reading “The Van” by Roddy Doyle (having just read “The Commitments” and “The Snapper”, they’re all in one volume, very handy). I don’t know how many times I’ve read these books, but it’s a lot. In fact, nearly everything on my shelves has been read and re-read and in the case of “The Year of the Cornflake” I can recite chunks of it off by heart i”ve read it so much. Therefore, I’m forced to admit i am in a Reading Rut, sticking to the same familiar authors - Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Orson Scott Card, Roddy Doyle, Zadie Smith, Amy Witting…

Of course, I work in a library and therefore have free access to something like 50,000 titles. I might have made that number up, but let’s go with that. So, in order to broaden my horizons in the reading stakes I am playing a game with myself, which I’d like you to try too if you’re in the same rut I am (Move over will you?). Here’s the rules:

• Start with one book, chosen at random from your library. Close your eyes and grab it off the shelf, pick a number between 1 and 200 and count from the end of the shelf, wander along and pick one in your favourite colour, it doesn’t matter how, just grab a random book.
• READ your random book, even if you think “I’ll hate this” at least try it. Because i believe life is too short for shitty books, if you’re not into it by the end of chapter two, you may leave it, but you have to read at least 2 chapters.
• Go back to your library and search the catalogue for one of the words in the title of your random book. Find an book with that same word in the title, borrow it. Read it (or the first two chapters) and repeat with a different word from the title.

Hopefully, I’ll find new authors and exciting stories, as well as a pile of dross. If you want to play along with me, leave a comment below, it’ll be nice to have friends! I’m starting tonight with “On and Island With Consequences Dire” by Kelly Ana Mora, which I picked out while shelf reading this morning. I liked the title, and there’s a lot of words in it…

We are on this planet for a remarkably short time. Sure, it feels long, but it’s not. Our lives are literally a flash in the pan, and if you’re lucky enough within that time to meet your other half, you are blessed indeed. Finding the person who completes you, who lets you live your life more fully and more joyfully (apart from all those arguments about taking out the trash and leaving the lid off the toothpaste) it’s a wonderful thing.

Unless you happen to be gay. Then, apparently, it’s an abomination and no you can’t have marriage rights and no you can’t be listed as next of kin and dear god, you want kids? No freakin’ way, freakazoid.

Where does this come from? The Bible? Well maybe, but the Bible also says a woman can’t enter a house of the lord when she’s having her period, and that slaves are okay if they’re not from your own country. We’ve managed to move beyond these things, how long till we move beyond the rest?

I’m not Bible bashing here, really I’m not. I’m bashing a world where you can’t marry your life partner unless you happen to be straight. I’m bashing a world where you can live with someone in a loving, monogamous relationship for 10, 15, 20, 30 years but you can’t be on their contacts as next of kin.

You cannot tell me love is a sin. Love is supposed to be a wonderful thing, it’s supposed to be a joy and frankly you can’t tell me that a gay man feels any less for his partner than a straight man does. You can’t tell me that a straight woman loves her partner more than a gay woman loves hers.

For the love of pete, please can we have an end to “commitment ceremonies” and a beginning of marriage for any two people who are of legal age and happen to be madly, deeply, wildly in love.

Thank you. Speaking as an Australian, and therefore a close ally to your country, thank you.

I hadn’t really dared to hope that Obama would win. Even here on the other side of the world we had constant election coverage, and the whole time I would think “Man, it would be awesome if Obama won, that would really be brilliant”.

And here we are, and there he is and I’m almost crying with excitement.

Dear voters of America, not only the impressive result, but the record numbers of you who decided this was an election that you NEEDED to vote in - these things deserve congratulations.

Thank you.

Watch the above video, it’s one of the most mind blowing performances you’ll ever see on a bog standard talent show. I particularly love the look on Simon Cowell’s face about 2 bars in.

I’m not much of an opera buff, but like most people, a well sung Nessun Dorma can move me to tears, this one most certainly does.

When I was reading up on giant bugs, I was told to be careful when digging up adults, as they might have babies. I’ve checked every time but tonight after I dug up my big roaches and chatted to them a bit, I didn’t notice the babies until I went to tidy the tank. Careful digging around revealed 10 baby roaches, each about 7mm long. Nine of them look healthy and bright, the other one might not make it. There might also be more I couldn’t find, i didn’t want to be rough in the sand considering the teeny adorable babyfaces.

BABIES!

This morning when I left for work, my leafbugs were about 7cm long. Give or take. Tonight, I peeked into the tank to find one of them was almost finished her moult, and the other was just starting hers. This was exciting enough until I realised they had almost doubled their size to 13cm with a single moult. They’re resting up now, the one in the photo (Cafe) had a terrible time trying to shed the last of the skin from her rump, so in the end I reached in and tugged gently to help her out. She was pretty pleased with that. Sadly it looks like one of her front legs has malformed, but I think there’s one more moult in them yet, so it will fix then. Latte hung herself upside down and hooked her back legs to the lid of the tank, pretty much just walking out of the skin. It was fascinating to watch.

Also, don’t forget Nanowrimo. If I can do it, so can you. I’ve got Alison, Mum and Kirsty doing it so far. What’s stopping you?

Five days to go until Nano starts, eeeeeeeeeep. I have worked on my two plots over and over and now I’m bored with them so I’m starting all new on Saturday. I’m trying not to think too much about my plot as I’m scared i’ll get bored of this one too, so apart from some basic backbone I’m leaving it vague until I type it.

Otherwise, the only thing of note today is the lack of genuine jobs for men in romance novels. They’re all Greek Tycoons, Sheiks, Princes… I want to read “The Tax Accountants’ Secret Wife” “The window cleaner and the virgin” “Bob From Bob’s Carwash and Saloon and his missus”. Far more interesting.