So...

You didn't believe me when I told you I used to be gorgeous!
(Found in a pile of water-damaged photographs.)

Ali Akbar Khan

Isn't it odd how the memory works? This morning, taking a shower, I suddenly thought, "Ali Akbar Khan, who's that?" It's such a great name - rolls off your tongue - and it's loaded with vague 70's recollections. My second thought was Ravi Shankar, but that would mean sitar and Ali Akbar Khan sounds so... Persian. What do I know?! So I, of course, looked him up in Wikipedia and, lo:

In 1971 Khan performed at the Madison Square Garden for the Concert for Bangladesh along with Ravi Shankar, Alla Rakha and Kamala Chakravarty; other musicians at the concert included Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. An album and a movie of the concert were later released.

He was born in Bangladesh in 1922 and died just this June 18th, thus proving that Jung was right, we do share a synchronous unconscious!

Autumnal

I’ve been pretty glib and uncommunicative this summer, gentle reader. It’s kind of you to keep coming back, under the circumstances. But I did get the floor painted, which was the main focus of my summer-burst-of-energy, and managed to extend it into making the kitchen more livable, with a full list of things still to do... next summer. Since then, I’ve been trying to re-intellectualize myself by working on the basic structure of an organization for the hundreds of photographs I’ve inherited. The results of that can be seen at Pomoto (in the sidebar). That, I think, is under control now, although there are still unopened boxes, piled in the basement. I’ve begun using MacJournal both as a place to get myself more involved in writing again, and as an informal connection to this blog, with this entry as the first official example. It doesn’t seem to handle formatting very well, although it is wonderfully fast.

Summer in Sweden is winding down. Most kids are on their way back to school and the tourist mob has dwindled to the point where, individually, they’ve become interesting again. It’s nice to walk around town without getting angry. Fall in Visby is like the pleasure of Spring in reverse. Now the astonishing beauty is tinged with apprehension of Winter. One can still leave the house in shirt-sleeves, but it’s probably prudent to carry a sweater. The rains come in a fairly regular weekly pattern, until they become the dominant aspect and the sky goes steel-gray for Winter. This is the time of year when everyone in my apartment building gathers in the garden to rake leaves, prune bushes, and store furniture - one of four annual events. Swedes are very good about this kind of cooperative rhythm - it gives the year a structure. It’s easier to face the terror of the Future together in small incremental steps.

In case you weren't paying attention...

"And there you have it, a “cybersecurity” blacklist to accompany a potential state takeover of the Internet during a “national emergency.” What will they think of next!" (emphasis mine)

Obama Administration Seeks “Emergency Control” of the Internet,
by Tom Burghardt / August 29th, 2009

Image from The Technium

The miracle of paint.

This is another odd composite photograph (don’t look too closely) which I assembled to overcome the disadvantages of small space and smaller camera. But it gives a pretty good idea of the colors - more accurate here than in earlier attempts - and the almost immediate accumulation of dust-bunnies and fingerprints... a housewife’s work is NEVER done! However, for once in my life, I seem to be in an almost civilized apartment, rather than an encampment or a construction zone. It feels okay. Even the houseplants seem happy!

Test

Dead Cow Mystery

A number of cows have died on the Baltic island of Gotland, leaving vets baffled as to the cause. According to the local newspaper, Gotlands Allehanda, the deaths have been caused by some kind of poisoning, but so far tests for the usual contaminants have proven negative.

Scientists are now testing soil and water samples, with the results expected in a fortnight's time.

Local vet, Annika Melin, told the newspaper she has never seen anything like it for two decades.

Sveriges Radio International - English -- Engelska