Highly Readable

It would be misleading in the extreme to claim that the second part of Frederick Douglass's Life and Times is a gripping or compelling read. Little of interest happens to Douglass other than his achieving a fruitful life in terms of supporting his chosen causes, unless you happen to find the finely wrought rhetoric of his many speeches something that demands attention. This wasn't true for me, though I suspect that hearing the speeches delivered live by the great man might have done the trick. But I've found it very easy indeed to break off from reading this part of the autobiography.

On the other hand, I've also found it very easy to pick up the tome and start reading again. There's always much to admire in terms of Douglass's supreme command of his rhetoric, such that just following the flow of his thoughts is pleasurable. And I find it striking just how often I've found myself recognising that this isn't empty rhetoric. The style is allied to substance. The thinking is clear but can be complex, as in his speech on the unveiling of the Freemen's monument to Lincoln, in which the dead president comes in for some pretty trenchant criticism in places, making the praise for his achievements all the more convincing.

Douglass spares nobody, not even himself. But his readiness to praise the good he sees in others, and himself, is deeply refreshing.

Making Connections

Got back from Penang in time to get to the office of our service provider in order to re-establish the functioning of our modem. We've been a bit lost moving around without Google Maps to guide us for a couple of days now, though we somehow managed to get where we wanted to go. Which was a reminder of the seemingly distant past when we get to all sorts of places without any electronic assistance. Mind you, we also managed to get spectacularly lost on occasion. Particularly in Bali for some reason.

By the way, the helpful assistant at the shop who did the necessary for us commented that our modem was very old. That struck me as odd as I had the impression it was fairly new. But since anything that lasts longer than 12 months is now by definition old I suppose I can see where the guy was coming from.

On The Beach

Enjoyed watching the world drain of colour as day turned to night on the beach at Batu Ferringhi. And good food from a very pleasantly appointed beach restaurant made it all even better. Restful, much.

Cause For Complaint

We're very much getting out and about here in Penang. We got ourselves on the funicular railway up Penang Hill in the late morning and spent a few hours in the evening wandering the streets of George Town, playing the role of dedicated tourists. In between we enjoyed the hospitality of our excellent hotel, which keeps a lounge open round the clock with free drinks & snacks in lieu of providing drinks in guests' rooms. Nice concept which definitely suits us. 

Just one fly in the ointment. There's a sort of open air restaurant across the road which clearly does good business. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, we just purchased some chicken wings as a late night snack, bringing them across to consume later in our comfortable lounge. But the problem is that at 9.00 pm the live music starts and it's uncompromisingly loud. I thought it might be over by 11.00 pm yesterday, but it went on to midnight featuring a particularly strident female singer who seemed to get more excited as the evening wore on. I thought I would easily nod off to the background noise, but her voice was individually irritating enough to keep drawing attention to itself such that it never quite became background, if you see what I mean.

Not a soothing experience, and sort of being repeated as I write. But tonight we know what's in store and intend to rise above it. 

Just Wandering

Spent the evening sampling the considerable charms of George Town in Penang. The streets are authentically run-down, yet quietly pulsating with life. We ate at a P, Ramlee-themed restaurant and found ourselves treated to music from the man himself that genuinely sounded amicably charming - and the fact that the food was excellent made for a gently memorable evening.

And since the journey here from KL was uneventfully easy-going, and the hotel we're in is more than a bit pleasant, today joins the count of highly-satisfactory days scored in this vacation.

Just Watching

Took delivery of a new television set today. Now receiving Apple TV, but having problems installing the app which will enable Noi to watch her Malay dramas. Our old Astro box no longer plugs in, so it looks like we'll be abandoning that subscription and watching stuff online. Nice to be able to watch a bit of telly together, but I'm struck by how little we really need this. Still, need to acknowledge we're lucky to have it.

A Force For Good

Very glad I decided not just to skim-read the early chapters from Frederick Douglass's Life and Times on his years of slavery on the grounds that almost everything therein is a repeat of the material on those years from My Bondage and My Freedom, which is in itself an expanded account of the pithy Narrative of the Life. For some reason the painful injustices of slavery as experienced by Douglass seemed even more intense on this re-reading and his remarkable strength of personality came through even more vividly than ever.

I'm now embarked on his account of the years of his freedom, so the narrative has a sense of novelty about it as I've only got the vaguest notions of what he achieved in those years. But you wouldn't need to be a detective to guess that his life is going to be an extraordinary one given the qualities he shows in his youth. The man is one of the most abundantly formidable I've ever read of. I'm not sure he always gets it right, but I am sure he lives with an overwhelming drive to do what is right that is deeply inspiring, and chastening. 

Catching Up

Enjoyed a neighbourly makan session at our place this evening with Susan & Mike & their daughter, Ashley. Good to catch up on the gossip from the taman, and Malaysia in general, and share tales of adventures overseas - nattering about everything in general and nothing in particular.

In The Background

Did you know that there are people who need to have the tv series Friends being screened in the background so they can lull themselves to sleep? It seems that the show has been a mainstay of the streaming service Netflix for several years, but now they're dropping their screening, and there's been an outcry from fans who desperately need the comforting familiarity of the many episodes to drop off to. According to the article I was reading about all this, it's the predictability of the rhythms of it all that do the job for these folk, sending them happily to the land of nod. I certainly didn't know this, or suspect anything like it, until I read about the phenomenon today, and I don't think the new information has in any way enhanced my life

Indeed, the way in which I found it out, idly scanning the news just to fill in time, frankly, is strangely reminiscent of what these viewers, or, rather, half-viewers are doing. I'm feeling acutely guilty at the moment at just how little of real value I've accomplished today. I've read hardly anything of genuine value, requiring effort and attention. Just trivial stuff off the phone, with me sometimes scrolling pointless comments on the pointless stories simply to fill in time, it being too much trouble to extend myself further.

So instead of feeling complacently superior to those who employ an old favourite comedy as a narcotic, I'm worrying that I'm only too ready to embrace my own version of brain-rotting substances at the first opportunity. 

Keeping Still

Nephew Ashraf popped round today to help us make some sense of the problems we're having with the electrics of the household. Not quite solved everything yet, but achieved a reasonably steady state. Stayed on the hill; a deliberately quiet, unadventurous day was in order and we've been enjoying it.