By Percy Russell
Not 'mid the thunder of the battle guns,
Not on the red field of an Empire’s wrath,
Rose to a nation Australasia’s sons,
Who tread to greatness Industry’s pure path.
Behold a people, through whose annals runs
No damning stain of falsehood, force, or fraud;
Whose sceptre is the ploughshare—not the sword—
Whose glory lives in harvest-ripening suns!
Where 'mid the records of old Rome or Greece
Glows such as tale? Thou canst not answer, Time.
With shield unsullied by a single crime,
With wealth of gold, and still more golden fleece,
Forth stands Australia, in her birth sublime,
The only nation from the womb of Peace!
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I had a very nice day thanks to Vertigo, who met me for lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and brought me Colin Firth movies just in case I didn't have enough. *g* This may be the first time in all the decades I've known her that she and I agree on the hotness of a man, so it's a momentous occasion! Since it was cold out, I had spicy kung pao noodles (which younger son finished for me), and after we ate and chatted for a while, I walked around the lake, stopped in a couple of stores, and came home to fold laundry and watch Girl with a Pearl Earring, which was loads more depressing than I was expecting -- I've been told that in the book, it seems like Griet has more agency because the reader gets to hear more of her thoughts, but in the film I felt like the women were all played against one another and had pretty miserable lives.
I took Adam to tennis, took a walk, read with some concern about the snow we may get on Wednesday, had dinner, then we all watched the State of the Union address together. Daniel had found various drinking games to play while watching and even though he's several years too young to drink, kept announcing when he WOULD be drinking if he could be (I think he concluded he'd be dead, since there were something like 50 standing ovations). I thought the speech was well-delivered but in terms of the particulars it wasn't one of my favorites. Of course, my favorite news of the day was much earlier, when the Oscar nominations came out; I think Nolan deserved a nod for Inception, I think it's a really creative film even if the screenplay has its flaws, but I am so happy The King's Speech got so many nominations that I will not complain about anything else at the moment. And a friend in California is sending me yesterday's Variety with all the Oscar promo stuff from that film, so I am doubly happy! Some Brookside flowers:
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