Umbrella

There's a restaurant and/or bar in West Hampstead that specializes in pizza and "Caribbean cocktails," according to the shopfront. It's not a combination that appeals to me -- it makes me think of pineapple and rum & Coke and college dorm rooms. But maybe that's the demographic they're going for.

Anyway, outside in the morning I often see these paper umbrellas scattered around. A cocktail umbrella is quite beautiful, when you look at it closely. I picked this one up because it was one of the few that hadn't been mangled, and indeed, it's so delicate, it's amazing to think it survived a night on the sidewalk.

Lately I've been reading blogs on my downtime at work, but for some reason the school's Internet filters block some blogspot blogs, categorizing them as "mature." So I'm not able to get to all the links on my blogroll. It's very strange. What are you people writing about?!

I've also been reading the news, but I have to say, I almost can't stand it. And I'm a former journalist! I've probably written about this inner conflict before, but I've always believed it's essential to be informed in order to participate wisely in Democracy. Common sense, right? I was always proud of my role as a journalist. But so much of the news is so distressing these days -- yesterday, for example, I read an article about rhino horn smuggling complete with pictures of assassinated rhinos and I can't do a damn thing about it, and I really wonder why I need to torment myself. I've come to believe that unless I can take action it might be better to live in ignorance.

Wildlife stories I find especially upsetting, but politics is no better. I haven't been reading much about Kavanaugh. I already know I disagree with his outlook and the orange charlatan who nominated him and the slight Senate majority who will probably confirm him, or someone equally reprehensible. So why wallow in it?

Don't even get me started on the UK's national disaster, Brexit. Every Brexit story literally turns my stomach.

Dave says maybe I need a news break. And maybe I do. Or I need a news umbrella, made of something stronger than tissue paper, to protect me from all the news raining down.

We've been watching some good TV lately. I finally bought the Laura Dern HBO series "Enlightened" on Amazon. When we watched a few episodes several years ago I loved it, but I was never able to see the whole series (it only lasted two seasons before being prematurely canceled). So I caught up on all that and I'm sad there's no more. We finished the BBC series "Bodyguard," which was excellent, and we're almost done with "The Americans," and we're following "Ozark" and "This Is Us" and a quirky Netflix series called "The Good Place." And there's a new season of "Bojack Horseman," which might be my favorite thing on television!