A real ragbag

A real rag bag tonight I'm afraid. Bits and pieces. Ends of roll. Apart from 4 hours when we got out and cleared a load of weeds behind the incinerator area it has rained on and off all day. It started badly when I got up this morning and despite a sunny prospect it rained on me as I left to go downstairs - there was just the one rain cloud in the entire sky: directly above my head - thanks!

In a world that relies on sympathy, philanthropy, and pity, to address disasters and injustice I feel genuinely sorry for the peoples in Guatemala in particular and central america in general who are suffering the devastation left behind by hurricane Stan. Being second on the list of "deserving causes" behind those affected by the earthquake in Asia must be a bit of a bummer.

The earthquake in Pakistan set me wondering about the sort of nuclear ambitions that that country has and how readily it would pursue it's choices if there were real penalties associated - likewise with India, Suppose for just one moment that International Agreements were drafted in such a way that some kind of natural justice were involved. For example: "if you want to have nuclear weapons go ahead - it just means you agree not to be eligible for any disaster relief aid or and food or foreign aid of any description". On second thoughts, there is an inherent injustice in that too because it would be the populace who would suffer while the decision to have nuclear arms would be made by politicians - it would have to be reversible somehow in order to permit the electoral mandate to change things (not a solution in Pakistan though - the don't look likely to get democracy any time soon despite being America's big buddies). I guess Saudi Arabia might be prepared to swallow such a pill to get level with Israel.

The new Rachel Whiteread installation at the Tate Modern looks wonderful. It takes up the entire Turbine Room and if you've ever been there you'll know just what a gargantuan space that is. If you've not seen it check it out (it appears in the BBC News site under Entertainment! is the BBC so politically in thrall to the masses these days that it doesn't discriminate Art and Entertainment?). There's not a lot I miss about London life but Tate Modern is one of them. I often used to catch the 77 bus down to the South Bank and spend a couple of hours in the Rothko room!

In the next week or so we can expect to hear the winners of the Nobel prize for literature and the Man Booker prize. Whispers have it that Joyce Carol Oates and Philip Roth are up for the Nobel - they're both good novellists but the Nobel? Julian Barnes is favourite for the Man Booker and I personally believe his best work is behind him - John Banville might be a better choice.

G has spent most of the day when not helping out with the weeding, killing vast numbers of the flies that have been plaguing the entire area since the rains started - more power to her swatting elbow say I.