Okay, we're back for now. This last week was spent in Newcastle, where we completed the settlement and took possession (as they say) of our new house. We're very excited about this, and have spent a fair bit of time there, i.e. at the new house, as well as with our folks and friends. Somewhere amongst it all, we endured two dust storms, as high winds carried red soil across the country from South Australia and the Northern Territory to the east coast. On the other hand, we missed a minor earthquake in Melbourne while we were away. Also somewhere along the line (actually, the day of the biggest, most spectacular dust storm) we attended a gig at the university bookshop to give The Priestess and the Slave its Newcastle launch, which went very well. Thanks especially to Terry Ryan for his generous and magnificent launching speech.
On Friday night, we went out to dinner with my father, my sister, and her husband for Dad's birthday (which was actually Saturday, but who's counting?).
All in all, it's been an enjoyable but very busy week. There was also a lot of correspondence to deal with this week, in stray moments, much of it emanating from Texas where Damien Broderick's newest project was generating queries (hello, Damien) - I'll explain about that as the project concerned comes to fruition.
Now to collapse for tonight and then face a couple of tightly-packed days before heading off to Los Angeles for a week and a bit. The tightly-packed days include a trip to the doctor tomorrow, to see whether a couple of test results can shed any light on why I've had so much ill health this year. It's probably the wrath of Zeus or some other god that has decided I need punishment for something-or-other.
I'll get back to Australia on 8 October and then have nearly three weeks at home base before the next trip to the US - this time for the World Fantasy Convention. And then we'll need to start organising the big move.
But a lot is happening at the moment, much of it very exciting. If it all works out, we have a wonderful year ahead, but some things are just a little bit in flux, and there'll probably be more of this rather than less in the immmediate future. Still, you wouldn't be dead. :)
About Me
- Russell Blackford
- Australian philosopher, literary critic, legal scholar, and professional writer. Based in Newcastle, NSW. My latest books are THE TYRANNY OF OPINION: CONFORMITY AND THE FUTURE OF LIBERALISM (2019); AT THE DAWN OF A GREAT TRANSITION: THE QUESTION OF RADICAL ENHANCEMENT (2021); and HOW WE BECAME POST-LIBERAL: THE RISE AND FALL OF TOLERATION (2024).
5 comments:
I trust that they'll find your in pretty good shape, and I look forward to meeting you in LA!
Damn; I meant "you're".
Russell, perhaps it's because you're running around like a headless chook? You old types ought to pace yourself. (runs away)
The ill health is probably because of jet lag!
(Seriously - some of it must be - long flights are like virus injection devices.)
I wish I'd been invited to the Boys' Atheist International so that I could meet you and Jerry! But I wasn't!
Okay, it's starting to look as if a lot of my brochitis problems may result from of an allergy to various grasses such as ragweed, rye grass, and on and on. We'll be investigating further - more tests in a few weeks - but perhaps I should never leave the safety of the city!
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