Bad choices

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It’s been a week punctuated by a couple of “bad food choices.”

I’ve had a run of sleepless nights this week, and I’ve been feeling a bit foggy in the head. I know that poor sleep can affect mental cognition in ways similar to ethanol intoxication.

The reasons for my sleepless nights are manifold; suffice it to say, I’m craving a night of quality sleep.

On the mornings when I’ve felt most exhausted and like a zombie incapable of thinking clearly, I’ve turned to a carbohydrate-rich pastry.

On Thursday, it was a cinnamon scroll, and today it was a cream-and-jam bun.

On a high note, today has been glorious. It’s been drizzling all day, and the humidity is comfortable.

A screenshot of my weather app with today's relative humidity
#warmandmoist

What have I been reading?

In an unusual twist, I’m reading a book rather than listening to the audiobook. The audiobook will be released at some point, but I wanted to read it now.

The New Dark Age: Why Liberals Must Win the Culture Wars[i] by Nigel Biggar. Nigel Biggar is a British Anglican priest, theologian, and ethicist known for his work at the intersection of Christian ethics, public life, and contentious historical questions.

What have I been watching?

Not much. I’ve been putting in extended hours. After dinner, I’ve been returning to work to complete tasks.

Last night I watched an episode of Hawaii Five-0 before bed.

What have I been eating?

You mean apart from bakery goods?

Here’s a gallery of photographs.

I hope you’ve had a good week.


[i] The New Dark Age is an intervention into the contemporary “culture wars,” arguing that these conflicts are not trivial distractions but deep moral and political battles that shape the future of Western civilisation. Biggar challenges the claim that culture-war debates are superficial or manufactured. He insists instead that they concern questions such as:

  • the welfare and moral formation of children
  • How societies manage ethnic and cultural diversity
  • the nature of truth, civility, and public reasoning

Biggar contends that unless liberals, understood in the classical sense of valuing free inquiry, civil disagreement, and intellectual honesty, actively resist these trends, the West risks sliding into a “new dark age.”

Comments

13 responses to “Bad choices”

  1. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella Avatar

    Sorry to hear about your lack of sleep. I get very grumpy when I haven’t slept well. The baked goods do look fantastic though! What is the spread on top of the toast that looks like mince?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Gary Avatar

      Thanks, Lorraine. That was a small tin of corned beef which I place atop a piece of frozen sourdough and cooked in some leftover beef fat on my Weber Q+ with the hood cover. The bread become crispy and the beef was nicely warmed through. It was like beef hash on fried toast.

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  2. Merryn Galluccio Avatar
    Merryn Galluccio

    Lovely bakery delights; plump and sweet. Your cooked dishes are always amazing, great meat offerings well cooked with a little butter, sourdough and plenty of charring. We clearly have different tastes in books but it’s good to encourage writers of every genre. Have a fantastic week Gary :D

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Gary Avatar

      Thanks, Merryn.
      I’ve not any of Biggar’s work before. The book was recommended to me.
      His being an Anglican philosopher piqued my interest.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Merryn Galluccio Avatar
        Merryn Galluccio

        It will be a very interesting book after reading a review elsewhere as considering political policies and cultural attitudes do affect our individual and country choices; you are right it will make for great reading Gary. I also hope you start sleeping well again, soon :D

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Gary Avatar

          Thanks, Merryn. Because I’ve fallen out of the habit of reading books rather than listening to them, this one is taking longer than usual to get through. The situation that societies like Australia find themselves in, particularly around the intersection of culture and politics, feels dangerous. The more I read, the more concerned I become for the young people of Australia.

          Liked by 1 person

  3. ckennedy Avatar

    The pastries look divine. Cheers! (Hope you’re getting more sleep. Pastry comas are real–so maybe?)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Gary Avatar

      Thanks, Cecilia. It’s true about pastry coma 😊👍

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Karen Avatar

    Well, I guess sometimes we need to be a little bad. Sorry to hear of your sleep problems…I too have the problem as well. Hopefully you will get the needed sleep soon.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Gary Avatar

      Thanks, Karen. I slept much better last night. I hope you soon enjoy sound sleep.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Eha Carr Avatar

    Good Saturday evening – nice to see you post ere I ‘retire’ to watch the always hugely enjoyed Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and trying to make sure I partake of more seaweed than dark chocolate whilst doing so. I am totally straight but do appreciate the ‘other side’! Especially this time every year. Since the closest to a ‘diet’ I follow is Mediterranean or DASH and have really no desire for a Carnivore one and don’t appreciate items sweet at all > no comments on your intake for the week :) ! I am truly sorry tho’ if everything is not going quite along the way you had hoped and planned . . . trust you can work matters out to your satisfaction! I am normally quite a voracious reader – these days almost 100% non-fiction . . . must look up the volume in which you are absorbed – as far as I am concerning we have been ‘delving’ into a new dark age quite a while already. . . You used to do quite some walking . . . hope that is still on the agenda >>> can’t you walk past some fruit and veg stores instead of the ones selling all that sugary stuff > you know better, kind Sir . . . you do . . .

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    1. Gary Avatar

      Thanks, Eha. The last time I ate seaweed was while body surfing and I got a mouthful at the end of the wave. It was fresh!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Eha Carr Avatar

        Mmh . . . kind Sir > you do not know what you are missing AND Dr Lum, don’t you know the value of the natural product with natural iodine etc etc et al . . . :) ! Oh, you – be well!

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