diary of a cold

Two days ago:
So I am sick in bed and this perhaps explains my reluctance to work even though (even though!) I have a huge amount of material to read, write and edit/comment on. Insane! I was lying there feeling all maudlin and rank and I developed a theory, about however labour-saving our lives become, we still manifest some kind of resistance to labour – because I had all the work on a memory stick, and all I had to do was get my computer out, and put the memory stick in it, and that mere act seemed as daunting as whatever my pre-industrial forebears must have had to do – get on a boat to Africa to pluck an ostrich feather and squeeze a squid for ink or whatever.

I just have a stupid cold, it’s never going to go away it’s a fixture now. I thought I had chased it off last Friday, and now it’s returned doubly monstrous, and I’m losing my voice.

Today:
Well I didn’t take it seriously enough and now I have pneumonia – haven’t had this particular gift since 1986 when it spelt my last days ‘living’ in London. Last night I was shaking uncontrollably and in some pain but strangely also some indescribable angsty discomfort. What can that be? The discomfort was worse than the pain. The ‘after hours’ doctor came and said I had pneumonia and gave me antibiotics and I was quickly much, much better though I seemed to wake up every hour and regarded the night as something to endure.

When I had pneumonia in 1986 I had to go to a hospital in Iforgetwhere, actually Hammersmith, and I had a blood test, and I remember asking the doctor if he could tell me my blood type, and he said that cost more money than they could afford, so I now assume it was an HIV test, though someone might be able to set me straight on that. Then he asked me how I thought I had become so sick and I went into a weird reflection on probable psychosomatic causes (that I had somehow sensed it coming). He took this in his stride and I became of the opinion soon after that I only talked like that because I was a bit mental from the illness. That said, I have reflected that over the last few weeks I have been extremely eager for the pressures of the end of semester to be past, and wishing I could go on holiday… so perhaps there is a bit of psychosomaticism involved, though whether it’s causative or responsive I can’t say. Nor can you.

ezra

I have been reading Sandra Hall’s 2008 biography of Ezra Norton, a stocky little tome which is at least as much about the times in which Norton was active (50? years within the 20th century; he was born just before the turn of it) as it is about the man himself who remains nonetheless something of an enigma. A lot of things bother me about this book, not many of which have much to do with the book itself, though I do have my complaints, which I have to admit are probably more related to my own historical interests than they are to Hall’s account of Norton’s life.
Ezra Norton was a newspaper publisher and editor, who ran successful tabloid newspapers in Sydney. One of Hall’s initial issues, and you don’t need to be a historian to sympathise with her here, is that she didn’t actually have much to go on in terms of personal papers. Ezra Norton – possibly because his father John was famously such a notorious famous violent alcoholic and by all accounts a complete shit – was a relatively private man who took pains to cover up his private life. Yet Ezra was a public figure, and there is entirely no doubt that he enjoyed an ongoing ‘public life’ insofar as he was responsible for literature that made its way into millions of people’s lives on a daily basis.

One thing that bothers me about this book is that I didn’t know it had been published until I saw a copy on a remainder table at my local shopping centre. It may have been under-publicised though I am notorious (in my own mind) for being unable to concentrate on the weekend papers as they annoy me so much with their glib prescriptiveness so it is perfectly possible that I passed over a review.

Another thing that bothers me is that, while it was probably a good idea of Hall’s to spend pages contextualising Norton’s life with events of the time, the general lack of knowledge of Australian history that this implies/ that makes this necessary is highly irritating. Still, no point in griping about that I suppose, and in any case after a fashion I arguably benefit from that personally (because history teaching is a string on my bow).

What bothers me the most however – and this seems to be more and more of a gripe of mine and may be one of the keys to the grumpy old man phenomenon – is the lack of mention of two things I know something about, and which are entirely ignored in Hall’s text. A sensible person with perspective would say, well, that’s because my in-depth knowledge of these special things are entirely distorting my perspective if not my perception of their importance to the narrative. There’s probably a little McDonalds-style inner know-it-all inside me jumping up and down and saying ‘I know! I know! Me! Me!’ as well, the way kids in primary school with answers would emphatically shoot their hands in the air like a nazi salute. But then you also think that perhaps these are important things that shouldn’t be missing from the Hall book. If you’re reading this, Sandra, you’ve got a very good handle on Ezra Norton but there are at least two facts-events missing:

(1) Grant Hervey spent two or three (can’t remember) years in jail for trying to blackmail John Norton’s wife, i.e. Ezra Norton’s mother. Hervey went into prison a maverick and a criminal and came out unhinged and spent another ten years of his life being a walking disaster to everyone. Hervey was a bad poet and a crappy prose writer and even if the blackmail trial/ imprisonment is something that happened to Hervey, not the Nortons, still (a) Hervey knew Mrs. Norton and since Hall goes into quite a bit of detail about another public/controversial insinuation of infidelity, here’s another aspect to the Nortons’ tempestuous marriage that deserves a little coverage (b) the whole fiasco was heavily publicised so… that’s important, to (or in) my mind. (2) Boofhead. R B Clark invented Boofhead and it ran in an Ezra Norton newspaper. The story about Boofhead often published, never proven is that Clark, who worked in the railways, went to his editor (Norton?) at some stage and said he thought he should take drawing lessons and the editor wouldn’t hear of it. Boofhead is, well, less of an important figure these days though he did have a life of his own after Clark’s death in the early 1970s (and the termination of the comic strip) through the work of Martin Sharp, etc. So I think that’s a valid thing to bring up, in terms of Norton’s contribution to the culture. Hall has her own narrative to pursue which has to be respected; she’s more interested in the troubles Norton experienced in actually gaining government permission to publish a new newspaper during the Second World War and it’s true, that’s interesting. But I’ve read through the first issues of that paper and it was definitely a mass appeal tabloid, just like the publication the Nortons were famous for, Truth. Its comics were a part of that important element.

It would be nice to wrap this up with some kind of stylistic so there but ultimately I support Sandra Hall’s right to publish a book on any aspect of Ezra Norton she pleases. I suppose I have made a slightly patronising assumption that she probably didn’t know about the Hervey thing and found the Boofhead bit irrelevant. The biography is very readable anyway. My grandfather was a journalist in Melbourne in the 30s and Sydney in the 40s and 50s and then Melbourne again till his retirement. I wish I’d discussed it more with him though it also has to be said he did not have an objective perspective on it and why would he.

A week later PS: The only time Ezra Norton was ever happy - the one time - was when he spent a train trip singing show songs with his wife. Later, he lost his temper again.

i don't know how i feel about the new dragon

I notice they are making a new album of all-new songs (I couldn't even bear to think about the last one, of Aust classics kicking off with 'Most people I know'). I also notice that men can only buy Dragon t-shirts in large, extra large and fuckin' unbelievable wear it or wrap it round your house size.

(Mind you, this doesn't seem so large. And has this man got it on backwards?)

wasted a day while the north koreans were doing constructive things like launching missiles over japan

Did you accept or deny your last friends request? I accepted a request to drive Toby to Gowrie station. Do you have long legs? Not at all. Was the last person you hugged a male or female? Female. Who will be sleeping in your house tonight? I am hoping I will as I haven't slept properly in weeks. Do you have a pet fish?Unfortunately no.Have you ever had an abortion? Not literally. If you could travel back in time, how far would you go?This is about those abortions, right? What day is your birthday on this year?Monday Are you wearing rings? One. What did you last go see at the cinemas? Knowing Everyone has an awsome family member, tell me about yours: MIllie has long ears and scars on one of her back legs where she had a lump removed, she is AWSOME What is your current annoyance?Hungwy Are you doing well at school?uhm, ish.Are you wearing trousers?You know how I have that little facility to track how people come to my blog? You know how many search on these kinds of questions? Do you like guessing?Yes. Where does your mum work? She is retired. Have you ever seen the film Aristocats? It was my favourite film in 1973.Believe in God? Absolutely not. Is your house rented? Not a bit. Do you read books often? Constantly, except today, what a waste of a day. Did your night suck? Sounds kind of like a Flann O'Brienesque concept. Are you starting to realize anything? Everything. That these lists of questions are preposterous and foul, and I'm mental for taking them on. Do you have empty alcohol bottles hidden anywhere? Not hidden. How late did you stay up last night and why?1 am? Who knows why? Did you go out or stay in last night?Both Where were you at 10pm last nite At Shane and Olivia's surprise FMRUHQ engagementecue. When was the last time something bothered you? Things are always doing that, but probably when I realised I had somehow without thinking started on another of these things hijacked from Polly, whose answers are so much more fun than mine, and I'm not even going to publish it. Are diamonds a girls best friend? There's a problem with the plural-singular (lack of agreement), so I'll say no. Is your hair up or down today?Bit of both. Do you straighten your hair?No Do you wear clothes/ shoes/ jewelry thats uncomfortable? Very occasionally by accident. Do you text message a lot?Not at all. Do you freak out if you miss your favorite show?Used to ^___^Last person you talked on the phone with?Mom What was the first thing you did when you woke up today? Got in a razz. Do you get along with your parents? yeah. Do you believe that what comes around goes around?No, because I am sure it's the other way round. What are your plans for tonight?Bed and read. Is your best friend pretty? Very. Ever felt like you hit rock bottom?yes.(Thanks Polly!) Do you miss anyone?Some dead people - some people in other places - yes, I suppose I do. Do you give out second chances too easily? I bet so. What did you do yesterday? Wedding of the century, engagement barbecue of the century (different people). Do you have any plans for today?It would have been a good idea. Are you happy at the moment? Not especially, but I'll soldier on. Are you a morning person or a night person?Morning. What are your plans for tomorrow? 12 hours of work. Do you know if anyone likes you? As in, fancies me? Don't know or care. Seems unlikely but there are strange people around. Have you ever been kissed in a basement? It's not impossible but I doubt it. Are you open with your feelings to people?I am told I'm not, but christ, I show up. What was the last thing you drank?Soy milk. Will your next kiss be a mistake?I'll try and make it so. Who did you text last?It was weeks ago, can't remember. Do you think you can last in a relationship for 3 months?Just. Are you an alcoholic?Absolutely not in any way.

you know you're stressed when...

you absolutely totally wake up at 1:45 with a minor issue from work the day before suddenly amplified in your head, and you know you're not going back to sleep for some time to come. I am drinking some green tea now, in the belief that possibly this relaxes one, but it probably doesn't. I feel like I am drinking hot water infused with some old paper paste, you know. Yesterday I saw a young man wearing those shoes I drew for converse. I had to speak to him, which I know is not very cool but the whole thing is so bizarre I feel somewhat detached from it anyway. His pair were very worn. I said, 'excuse me, I know this is the kind of thing an insane person would say, but I designed those shoes'. We had a chat about them. Obviously he liked them, and he said people sometimes stopped him in the street and talked to him about them. It's all so bizarre. The only other real discussion I had seen of them away from myself was people on an online chatty thing discussing how they were too ugly to wear. Fair enough. (NB These are James Earthenware's pair not the man I talked to). I feel like saying 'I'm still not sure how all that converse thing happened'. But that's not true, I know how it happened. Bono and the Pope sent a letter to the Cannanes and asked them to assist in the fight against AIDS. 'You're the indiest band in the world,' they said, 'help us battle a deadly disease.' I suppose it's lame to stop someone at the coffee shop and tell them you drew their shoes, but I am still surprised when I see them around and this was the first pair I had seen that were not owned by someone previously known to me. Still, yeah, ok it was lame. I know, I'll wake up at 3:45 and stress about that. (Later: that was a good idea but I was still awake at 3:45)

four coincidences

#1. This morning I read an article by a writer/historian I will refer to as AT, about a specific pre-WWI suburban settlement. In the afternoon I emailed a regional academic I will refer to as MF to ask her details on a historical figure, AL, I have been asked to write a biographical snippet on. She told me that AL's father was one JL, a forester who died in the early 20th century. The book about JL was entirely unconnected to the article I read in the morning, yet it was written by the same AT.

#2. This afternoon I opened a 1930s pulp novel written by another historical figure, CS, who I have similarly been asked to write a biographical snippet on, but who has otherwise no connection to AL. In the list of other books by the same publisher is a book written by someone with exactly the same very uncommon (woman's) name as MF.

#3. In Readings this afternoon I saw a record by the Sand Pebbles. I thought 'I wonder what the Sand Pebbles are doing'. When I got home they'd sent me their record.

#4 How often does one get such an extraordinary batch of coincidences together in the one day? Coincidence!