When I was a child back in 1967, Frank and Nancy Sinatra had a hit with a song called Something Stupid. It stuck in my mind then, and has remained with me ever since, so that every time I think of the phrase “And then you go and spoil it all…” it primes the completion “by saying something stupid like I Love You.”And then the first verse comes along in its entirety, and there it is again, 43 years on (click to play). It doesn’t matter how incongruous the context; so, even though the intended completion today was “...by sending 200 missiles into South Korea”, I can’t get the wretched tune out of my head.
It's all a tad worrisome, this Korea thing: as the delightfully named Happyzebra.com helpfully informs me, it's only 538 nautical miles, or 1 hour and 29 minutes flying time, from Kobe to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital (Is such precision timing really necessary—or plausible, come to that?!). It does put things in perspective: as I said two posts ago, we should eat our doughnuts—or in Justin's case, drink our formula—while we may, for we never know what's around the corner.
As for Justin, he's been asleep more than usual today, which could be worrying. Of course, had he been awake more than usual today, that could be worrying too :). So the best thing is not to worry: he seems quite unconcerned.
Two thoughts in closing. First, in looking for an apposite quotation about the future, I came across this list. Two I particularly like are the first and last:
The future is called "perhaps," which is the only possible thing to call the future. And the only important thing is not to allow that to scare you. ~Tennessee Williams, Orpheus Descending, 1957.The second thought comes from a video clip of Holly Near, posted by my friend Natasha Warner. Inspirational stuff, only sorry I'd never heard of her until last night: it gives us non-Americans faith that good thoughts and concern for others in the world still have currency in that most introverted of countries.
The future is an opaque mirror. Anyone who tries to look into it sees nothing but the dim outlines of an old and worried face. ~Jim Bishop
And he took up his 'cello, and he began to play. And someone from the press ran out and said 'Sir, why are you out here playing your 'cello while they're dropping bombs?' And he said 'Why are they dropping bombs, while I am playing my cello?'Good night.
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