What It Is: 5/5/2008

What I’m reading: Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, on my Kindle via Manybooks.net. And Lush Life, Richard Price’s new novel, via Amazon’s Kindle store.

What I’m listening to: Third, by Portishead. It sounds like them, but not like them in 1995. There’s one song on the album that annoys me a bunch, but I bet it’ll turn out like Ring Road from the new Underworld record, which got all resonant for me during my Belfast trip.

What I’m watching: Juno, which was cute. And we started the third season of the wire, at last!

What I’m drinking: More G’Vine G&Ts, plus Circus Boy by Magic Hat.

Where I’m going: Nowhere this week, but I’ll be working at home mid-week when the tree-removal guys show up to clear out a bunch of the more hazardous trees in the yard. I’ll take before-and-after pix.

What I’m happy about: That my trip into NYC yesterday to donate platelets at Sloan-Kettering went off without a hitch, despite the presence of the Five Boro Bike Tour, which would shut down the southbound FDR Drive later in the day. If I’d gotten caught in that traffic on the way into the city, I’d have been quite peeved. Good thing I’m an earlybird!

What I’m sad about: That a tick managed to evade the combined efforts of Frontline and my vigilant eye, leading to a nasty-looking bite on one of Rufus’ forelegs. Now I’ve gotta get him to the vet. Grr.

What I’m pondering: When I went to that pharma-event in Atlantic City last Monday, the keynote address was given by Linda Ellerbee. She didn’t have anything to say about clinical supplies and outsourcing, but she did give a funny and warm speech about her own history, women’s roles in the workplace, cheating husbands, breast cancer, and the messed-up-edness of the media. Some of it showed a real datedness, insofar as a lot of women under 35 simply don’t have the same limits that Linda butted up against when she was trailblazing. But that’s not what I’m pondering.

No, what I’m pondering is why, of all people she could quote throughout history to illustrate the need to change one’s own ways, she went with Anwar Sadat. Now, I can understand why his words — “He who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality, and will never, therefore, make any progress.” — were relevant to her speech.

I just think that maybe she could’ve looked for someone whose change of thought — in this case, visiting Israel and working for peace — didn’t lead to his being assassinated by his own army.