With all the worry they had been having of late her cheeks had become pale, but, while they were talking, Mr. and Mrs. Samsa were struck, almost simultaneously, with the thought of how their daughter was blossoming into a well built and beautiful young lady.
It reminds me of Peter Carey’s The True History of the Kelly Gang, which could be interpreted as much about the way in which history is told as it is about Ned Kelly.
This sense of change reminded me of when my mother passed. I was so focused on her last days that I had overlooked how the world had continued to go on changing around me.
In getting the backyard organised for my daughter’s birthday this morning, it dawned on me that during the last month when the last thing on my list of things to do was cutting things back and nurturing the garden, that the garden didn’t care, it just kept on growing. Whether it be the passionfruit vine stretching out even further along the fence line or the lemon tree growing even taller, the garden had kept on going.
To me this is all a part of something bigger that I have come to realise. Whether it be illness, mourning or even extended holidays, the world around us does not stop.
Marginalia
No English translation disputes that Gregor wakes from troubled dreams to find himself transformed in his bed. But into what, precisely?
The adjective ungeheuren means “huge”, the noun Ungeziefer some form of “creepy-crawly” but also “vermin” – obviously more suggestive of rodents than insects, yet applicable to both, the shared characteristic being pestilent, repugnant qualities.
“Some kind of monstrous vermin” is how it was rendered by the story’s first English translator, AL Lloyd. “A gigantic insect” was the reading of Edwin and Willa Muir. “A monstrous cockroach” is how Michael Hofmann phrased it more recently.
Welcome back to another month of magic or blood, sweat and tears. Depends who you ask.
At work, I have been continuing my work associated with improving the end of year process. This has involved a lot of time spent setting up data and capturing screenshots, only to have to do it all over again when somebody points out an issue. It all seems to be coming into place, however a part of me will be glad when we have burst the rocket through the outer atmosphere.
On the family front, my wife and I have both had our second jabs and have started the long road out of lockdown. This has included getting out to Bunnings, catching up with relatives and having a few park dates. Associated with this, the children are back to school. However, it only took three days for the school to be shutdown. With so many cases still in the local community, still seems premature to be popping any champagne.
Personally, I have read a number of books this month, including Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Tony Martin’s Lolly Scramble, Albert Camus’ The Plague and Dave Grohl’s The Storyteller. In regards to music, I have been listening to new albums from Client Liason and Herbert. My wife and I also binged our way through The Crown and Maid. In respect to tinkering, I moved to AntennaPod for listening to podcasts and have been scratching my head about how to get all my self-mentions back on my site which mysteriously disappeared. Ah, the pleasure of owning your own space.
Here then are some of the posts that have had me thinking:
Education
In the Pursuit of Knowledge, There Be Dragons
danah boyd explains why it is important to consider the limits of data and the biases embedded within visualisations.
Gary Paulsen Understood That Children Live in the World
Jonah Walters reflects on the life and legacy of author Gary Paulsen.
Why Alan Tudge is now on the history warpath
Naomi Barnes unpacks Alan Tudge’s challenge to the history curriculum.
Laptops
Gary Stager discusses Coombabah State School and Methodist Ladies’ College, the first two schools to engage with the 1:1 laptop revolution.
Videogames or homework? Why not both, as ACMI has 75 game lessons for you to try
Amber McLeod and Jo Blannin discuss ACMI’s Games Lessons library.
Technology
How To Recognize When Tech Is Leading Us Down a ‘Slippery Slope’
Clive Thompson speaks with Evan Selinger about how to understand when technology is leading us down the slipery slope.
Drummer to WordPress
Frank Meeuwsen explores the intigration between Dave Winer’s new application Drummer and WordPress.
The Wrong Question
Chris Betcher on the importance of focusing on the verb not the noun when it comes to technology.
RSS Discovery Engine
Brandon Quakkelaar provides another potential for serendipity and possibly rewilding attention.
General
On the Internet, We’re Always Famous
Chris Hayes suggests that the star desires recognition from the fan, but as the star does not recognise the fan’s humanity, all they can ever receive is attention.
Rachel Roddy: An A–Z of Pasta Twenty-one letters, fifty shapes, unlimited possibilities (Eat This Podcast)
Jeremy Cherfas speaks with Rachel Roddy about all things pasta.
Real Dictators
The Real Dictators is a podcast series which dives into the world of some of histories infamous leaders.
Is mandatory COVID-19 vaccination ethical?
Margaret Somerville explores the ethics associated with mandatory vaccination.
Read Write Respond #070
So that was October for me, how about you? As always, hope you are safe and well.
Image by Bryan Mathers
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