Saturday: Today, October 11, was the last day for this year’s Farmers’ Market, and it was a good last day for the market, weather-wise. I used to really enjoy going to the downtown market before my surgery, but I’ve been avoiding it because of the crowds, including kids and dogs, that always show up. Too many chances to be bumped, my cane bumped, maybe even knocked down. I’ll go back next year when it reopens and I am more stable. We never bought a lot there, but I liked to get some pickles, bread, and maybe some Indian food for lunch. And maybe a bottle of local wine. Local corn was also good in season. The produce there was expensive, so we only bought a few things during any visit; still, I always enjoyed the experience.
Shopping, even at discount grocery stores, is already damned expensive. Even though we have modest dietary habits and very seldom buy anything extravagant or expensive, and we try to avoid any American products or produce, our weekly grocery bills are still skyrocketing.
Did two 20-minute pedal sessions early today (130-150 cal), an 800m walk, and a shorter 600m walk. I slept reasonably well last night, with my knee less troublesome than in the past. Hope that’s a trend. Other exercises I did, as usual, trying to push myself a bit more. I really want to reach the 120° bend as quickly as possible. And this coming week may be my last week in physio, depending on how well I measure up at the end of the week. Of course, the therapist can always say I still need more work… getting my knee to bend further is not easy and after I exercise, my knee stiffens up quite a bit.
I’d also like to stop using my cane when we go outdoors. I have been leaving it on a banister indoors and not using it for the last week. I think I’m ready to walk outdoors without it. I’ll try tomorrow or Monday and see how it goes. I can always lean on Susan… assuming she lets me (that’s a joke: of course she would…).
I found an odd hardcover book in a local “little library” recently: Moscow 2042, described by Wikipedia as a “satirical novel … by Vladimir Voinovich.” It is also described on the cover flap as a dystopian novel (published in 1986). Voinovich (died in 2018) was a dissident Soviet writer, exiled from the USSR in 1980. In the 1980s and ’90s, around the time I was reading a lot of European and Soviet history, I read several Soviet dissent novelists, including Anatoly Rybakov, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (whose work I found turgid and depressing). I have not read any for many years, so I look forward to reading this one. It’s about a writer who time-travels to a future Moscow, still under Communist rule. I suspect there will be relevance to modern Washington (which looks more and more like a Stalinist city every day).*
Doomscrolling: The fascist Trump administration has already pushed forward in another Project 2025 (and helping Putin’s agenda): firing thousands of federal employees. Four thousand got their notices at the time of this writing, and many thousands will follow. The libertarian goal in Project 2025 is, of course, to reduce the entire government to a mere stub, destroy entire departments and agencies that Americans depend on for security, safety, health, and education. And that small remaining group will be composed solely of people who swear an oath of loyalty to the dictator. And, of course, MAGA’s real goal is to achieve Putin’s agenda: to destabilize, weaken, and ultimately break apart the USA.
Update: I had a vision loss episode last night. Back in the fall and winter, I sometimes found that, around 9-9:30 p.m., my eyes would slowly slip out of focus and I would not be able to see the TV clearly. The effect lasted 15-30 minutes before my sight slowly returned. I got a complete checkup with my optometrist, blood tests, and even an MRI. No reason could be found, but around March, I stopped having these episodes. My doctor suggested they were TIA events: transient ischemic attacks (“a short period of symptoms similar to those of a stroke. It’s caused by a brief blockage of blood flow to the brain. A TIA usually lasts only a few minutes and doesn’t cause long-term damage.”). I was unprepared for another one after so long without them, and, frankly, it was upsetting and unnerving.
Sunday: Started with my usual pedal session (21 mins, 130 cal), and the rest of the exercises, while I watch YT videos and commentaries, and check the news. I did a second set just after lunch (another 20 min pedal), but our company arrived mid-afternoon, and I by the time they left, I was tired. We’re not used to having company and it’s a bit of a strain. I didn’t even remember to ice my leg before bed, which I usually do.
Milestone: I went for a walk with Susan and Bella without using my cane. Did a 1km walk in the morning and 600m after lunch. And, of course, I have not been using my cane indoors for a few days. I am still slow while walking without it, and have to be careful of uneven ground (like our rough streets in Collingwood), but I can do it.
I found an old photo in a book today: one of my keyboards and a cat, taken in the mid-1980s. I had a whole collection of musical instruments back then, and used to jam all the time with friends. I sold most of the instruments, including my keyboards, before we moved to Collingwood, but kept a few guitars. These days, I pretty much only play the ukulele. By the way, I recognize some of the books in the photo, and still have some of them in my library, 40 years later. There are two books by Don Marquis on a lower shelf I recognized right away, both from the 1930s as I recall. I’ve been a fan of his Archy & Mehitabel pieces for many decades, ever since I encountered them in a book owned by my grandparents.
The cat was a part-Cornish rex Susan and I picked up when we first lived together, so I’m guessing from her apparent young age that the photo was taken pre-1985.
Doomscrolling: The deranged dictator Trump decided to place another illegal, 100% tariff on Chinese imports, again hurting American consumers who pay these costs. The MAGA-controlled Congress, which has the only legal authority to levy tariffs, simply rolls over and lets him inflict more pain on Americans. But then, Repugnicans never did care about “the people” they represent, only about themselves. As expected, the stock markets plummeted with the announcement. The dictator and his toxic administration continue to advance Putin’s agenda to destabilize the USA.
Monday: This morning, I got dressed and took Bella out for her morning pee. That was the first time I have done it since my surgery, so it’s another milestone. Susan has been taking her outside for morning and evening bio-breaks, because I was unable to walk and manage her at the same time. Now that I’ve shed my cane and have more strength and mobility, I can resume my duties, Bella-wise. Susan will be very happy.
Came back from taking Bella out to do my exercises, starting with a 20-min pedal (125 cal). My knee was a bit stiffer than usual this morning, possibly because of how I slept, but perhaps because I didn’t get in my third exercise session late yesterday. Did another 15 minutes on the bike after lunch, and we did an 800m and 600m walk today, too, sans cane.
I’ve been watching the 1967 film, The Producers, with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. I was thinking it might also be a metaphor for Trump’s administration: producers trying to con the people with a fake show in extreme bad taste, in order to scam the money from investors. Trump has been scamming the American taxpayers with his fake show and his egregious bad taste for years. And, unlike the pair in the show, he’s been successful in his cons. But unlike the show, Trump is not funny, unless you have a dark existential streak. That theme song, “Springtime for Hitler and Germany…” could easily be rewritten for Trump and Washington…
Doomscrolling (true, but funny…): The cosplaying Nosferatu… and the Shadow President and arguably the most evil person in the USA today:
While satire, we cannot underestimate the influence and power Miller has on US policy and its increasing fascism. Miller is the éminence grise of the dictator Trump’s administration and one of the strongest, if not the strongest, drivers towards a racist totalitarian state.
Tuesday: Started with a 20-minute pedal, then the first set of exercises. I do this while watching (or listening to) a range of YT videos, including the monologues from the late-night talk shows, political pundits, and other forays into doomscrolling. Which, of course, leads to my comments here about current events, politics, and other issues. And sometimes my gaming interests, too.
For example, I watched an interesting video during my pedalling this morning about the secularization of Canada, and while I don’t entirely agree with everything it presented, I felt it was worth sharing. Canada, the video claims, is one of the most secular nations, and that intrigues and pleases me. However, I wonder if immigration from more religious nations may change that, albeit perhaps only for a generation or two.
As a non-believer, I have what you might call an unusual (for an atheist) interest in religion, its history, myths, and beliefs. I have several shelves of books about our different religions (including many of their scriptures and commentaries), some of which you can see in the photo on the right (click to enlarge). There are other shelves with similar books, but I can’t get the camera far enough away to include them all. But, as usual, I digress… it’s time for our morning walk. More to come…
Notes:
* I did make it through the thick Gulag Archipelago trilogy many years back, but I admit to skimming through some sections where I simply couldn’t keep track of all the names and alleged crimes. It was a struggle. I much prefer Anne Applebaum’s history, Gulag: A History, which I read a few years back. I think it’s important for people to read about the gulag because it’s what the dictator Trump wants to build across the USA for immigrants, dissidents, political opponents, and anyone else he dislikes. Trump already started building his internment camps with his “Alligator Alcatraz,” but one of the remaining honest judges passed a temporary injunction that prohibits the fascist government from transferring any additional detainees into it. For now. Trump’s fascists appealed the decision, of course, because for them the pain they inflict on others has always been the point. The lessons of both Stalin’s gulags and Hitler’s concentration/death camps should be learned by everyone who cares about the fate of democracy.
And lest I forget the darkly satiric film, The Death of Stalin, which is one of my favourite movies, and if you have not seen it, you are really missing out.
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