Ennui

I try to blog everyday, but some days it's not possible so don't worry if a few days go by sans blog -- like the last few, for instance. Those were filled with gloomy weather and a visit to the dentist, not exactly an earth-shaking event. I was tired and bored. I didn't have any good books to read and there was nothing worth watching on TV. I was reduced to watching a few episodes of "Poldark" on the Netflix Instant watch thing.  "Poldark" is a BBC series produced in 1976 about a British soldier returning home after fighting in the American Revolutionary War. It's a 27 episode soap opera. I gave up after Episode 3 when I realized that it was going to become generational. As much as I love watching people in curly white wigs riding along sea cliffs on their trusty steeds or hanging out in dens of iniquity at the baccarat table, I can't stand generational sagas.

Let's see -- what were the spots of cheer in my gloom-filled last few days? Well, after I went to the dentist, I bought a clay pot at one of the upscale thrift stores on Fillmore Street. I intend to cook a chicken in it, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I'm told you have to soak the pot in water first and put it in a cold oven before you increase the temperature, else it will crack.

My other bright spot was reading The London Review of Books. I love to read about British politics since I have very little understanding of them. It's like cracking code. This time I read about the SNP. I bet you don't know what that is, either. Well, let me enlighten you. It's the Scottish National Party and they won big time in Britain's last election. I gleaned that much from the article. It was thrilling to discover references to Labour, Socialists and Communists as if those groups were still taken seriously over there (unlike here where "slight right of center" has become the new definition of left-wing crackpot) though since Blair's disgrace and the Recession, the Tories are presently in power.