This afternoon, I got sick of being cooped up inside. My brother was going for a ride, so I decided to join him. He actually had the better bike, while I had the old road rattler. However, Zach seemed to have wrecked the gear system on his (stupid boy), and the chain kept slipping off, and thusly got frustrated. I tried to fix it with only a few expletives, but to no avail, earning myself very greasy fingers. He decided to chicken off, and rode home. I continued my ride by myself. After a fairly pleasant (the weather is fantastic in spring) but circuitious route, eventually I ended up in Alphington. On the way, I rode past my old Kindergarten. It was surprising that there is still the presence of light industry in inner Melbourne. The streets for the most part, were very quiet, and I have a mind to practice my driving around there. On my way back home, I had to tackle a fairly challenging hill (long and fairly steep). I decided to be a masochist, and went at it in top gear. After a brisk battle, I triumphed. However, I was breathing hard, and it took a good 10 minutes to regain my “puff”. Damn. I am unfit.

Additional lessons:

• Never ride on cobbles unless you have some sort of suspension.
• Watch out for parked people opening their road side door.
• Watch out for pedestrians walking along the road.
• Bike lanes are your friend. People who use them for parking are not.
• Never trust drivers to drive properly.
• Bikes are slightly above pedestrians on the food chain.

P.S: Last night, I watched The Godfather. It was a poignant example of good film-making. It seemed to be able to marry all the various aspects such as camera shots, acting, music, symbolism, etc into an articulate work. Marlon Brando in particular lived and breathed the part of the Don. Al Pachino was excellent too. Despite being made in 1972, it is most definitely timeless. Strangely, it was rated R18+. While there was numerous acts of violence, I did not find it particularly disturbing (perhaps a little desensitisation on my part?). Not that I would show this film to anyone too young, partly because of the aforementioned violence, but also that it deals with fairly mature themes — family, respect, sex, love, betrayal, etc, etc, and thus truly appreciated by an older (or at least relatively more mature) audience. It is a very long film, and quite heavy going. I watched it in 2 sessions (before and after dinner)…

Today, I did something I should have done two years ago. I went and got my learners permit.

I went to the VicRoads center in Eltham. There were heaps of trees around the place. To compound my embarrassment, there were kids there taking the test. One kid looked about 10 years old. Now that made me feel old.

Anyhow, (of course) I got my cheese. I felt a little chuffed given that I didn’t study for the test — and got a nice 88%. That comes to about 28 out of 32, for those who are lazy.

To preempt any questions: I will not buy you cigarettes. I do not condone smoking. However, Alcohol carries a commission of 5% (the LSD). The Lucas Service Deposit — Think of it as a friendlier GST. Special exceptions are a rate of 6.66% for mixed drinks (eg: Cruisers, UDL, etc) and 4.2% for decent beer (eg: Stella, Leffe, Corona, Coupers).

Yep. That oh-so-familliar word: procrastination. Here is what I need to “read” by the end of the holidays:

• The Coming of the French Revolution — Georges Lefebvre
• The Crowd in the French Revolution — George Rude
• Rousseau and the French Revolution — Joan McDonald
• The French Revolution: From it’s Origins to 1793 — Georges Lefebvre
• Citizens — Simon Schama
• Reactions to the French Revolution — Richard Cobb
• The French Revolution — Peter McPhee
• Russia Under the Old Regime — Richard Pipes
• The Russian Revolution — Leon Trotsky

At the very least, I suppose I should skim. I can do that. And collect a few pithy quotes. Hmmmm.

Oh, and Trosky has a really odd writing style. There’s heaps of interjections like “Grave Mistake!”, etc, etc. It’s almost hilarious.

Cheers to Mitchell Brien for this hilarity.

UPDATE: This will image be unavailable until I arrive back in Australia :-(