Kissinger/Musk

Douglas Murray on Kissinger – much fairer than some of the insane ramblings from old hippies I know. A couple of years ago, I read the Isaacson book about him and got a fuller picture – I was inspired to do so when I attended a Munk Debate (over a decade ago now!) where Kissinger was one of the speakers. What struck me was that, even though he was about 90 at the time, he was able to sum up important points quickly, suss out the weakness/nonsense in his opponents’ arguments and express himself with great economy. I was reminded of that debate when I heard Elon Musk speaking with Isaac Herzog in Israel this week. Spot on analysis of what needs to be done. No nonsense. Brevity.

Stories to Distract

Overwhelmed by the news? Consumed with horror that someone you had previously thought to be sane is shrieking anti-Israel/antisemitic nonsense in the public square or pulling down posters of kidnapped children and stomping their feet till they get a ceasefire so that their friends at Hamas can commit October 7th over and over again (their stated desire)? I have a couple of lovely reads for you: 1) The Last Lighthouse Keeper in America, and 2) Baby Puffins in Iceland – cutely called pufflings – meet their saviours.

Life’s Sad Moments

So we lost a family member about two weeks ago – the husband of my cousin. He was just short of his 49th birthday and left a loving wife and daughter. They are heartbroken. This tragic turn got me going through my little “quote book” – as its name suggests, a book where I write down quotes and lines of poetry that I like. I found a couple I wanted to share, both having to do with the randomness of luck and life, and always the joy and wonder of it.

From John Steinbeck:

But I do feel strange – almost unearthly. I’ll never get used to being alive. It’s a mystery. Always startled to find I’ve survived.

From Jhumpa Lahiri:

Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.