A Melange

In the wake of our dog having her little stroke, and subsequently beginning to recover, writing this blog did fade in importance for a little while. However, as the beast begins to bark and climb sofas once again, things recede into their normal levels of importance. That's right, everything is equally unimportant again! Woohoo! Meaningless trivia is on the rise, and we all should be happy. No, don't pay attention to the grand stupidities of contemporary politics until the actual elections, and do try to be happy.

Oh, politics is such a mess right now, mainly due to the word 'politics'. Why can't people just try to do the right thing? Why is it acceptable for people to talk about 'the politics of power' as a means to an end? Shouldn't that invalidate those people from any position of authority whatsoever? What on Earth is going on with Trump? How can we address the horrors of Syria, and a ruling ideology here that is so far to the right that moderates look like the far left? It's all very bizarre, and best not talked about, as this space could easily be talked about Batman's bat-spring shoes or the wonders of 'Quincy, ME'. They, at least, have some resolution or sense to them.

The Marx Brothers mini-marathon continues, as I clock through their Paramount movies with much enjoyment. Ah, nobody could make movies like those guys and their deeply subjugated writers and directors. It's hard to imagine any of Groucho's dialogue being written, but some bunch of people managed to put it all together. More on this later, once it has all sunk in. How many people realise that the joke at the beginning of 'Monkey Business' isn't that they're playing cards inside barrels, but that they wouldn't have been able to see anyone else's cards? That is the joke, yes? Well, that and singing 'Adeline'.

Yes, let's get back to trivia and nonsense. I've already initiated experimental freewriting with my English students to see if it improves their fluency. After a certain point, it should work wonders. The power of freewriting is potent indeed, as many of the better posts here do attest. This is a freewriting blog at its core. Planning? Ha! Anyone who reads the stories knows there is no planning!

O.