I have learned that my sister and her boys had a close encounter with John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister, in a bakery in Gisborne recently; they seem to have survived unscathed. Apparently a short unattractive man came over, surrounded by cameramen and people holding big fuzzy mikes, and asked my older nephew his name. The answer was barely audible, as it was directed to my nephew's armpit - incontestably preferable to the creepy man with a wince where others have a smile. So the balding PM turned to my sister before making his way to a table of tea-drinking bikers. Bemused by the absurdity of it all, including the boys' savvy preference for sausage rolls over sleazy pols, my sister then had a nice chat with a shapeless woman who sat down at her table - and turned out to be Mrs. Howard! The story will be even better when it's about the ex-PM!
On another topic entirely, our Religion & Theater class has made it to Bertolt Brecht's Life of Galileo. To help students see that the play is not about "science and religion" in the 20th century American sense I drew on the board a telescope with the words DAS KAPITAL on it, under the caption "Brecht's telescope." Everyone admired my draughtsmanship, but none of the students knew what Das Kapital was. Lordy! (They do now.)
