Winters of Discontent

I loved The Winter of Our Discontent, Steinbeck. Here's a speil from Amazon, I don't know why: "The Winter of our Discontent" was published in 1961, just before Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize in 1962. The story is set in the late 1950s in New Baytown, a small (fictitious) New York -New England town which, Steinbeck tells us, had flourished during the whaling days of the mid-19th century. The main protagonist of the book is Ethan Allen Hawley. Ethan ("eth" to his friends is descended from early pirates and whaling captains. His family had lost its capital through speculative business ventures during WW II and Ethan, with has backround and his Harvard education, is reduced to working as a clerk in a small grocery store he once owned. Marullo, an Italian immigrant, owns the store and calls Ethan "kid"."

Sydney is hot. Shorts and short sleave shirt weather. Interviewing Erin Pizzy later today for radio. She fascinates me. She has just returned from Bahrain where she opened a refuge for domestic violence victims, and says there, unbrainwashed, when men present they are not treated with contempt, disbelief, ridicule or laughter. The West has a lot to answer for. Self-loathing of the wanking class. How sceptical we had become. The age moved faster now than it had ever been before; and the currents and circumstance were misplaced, the courage with which we invested our actions.

Sydney is hot, beach weather at the end of autumn, and people are fresh faced and in threateningly good health from walking around the cliffs. I've felt absolutely drained by evening; intense calm under intense difficulty. This is the view from the Tambar Springs Hotel, fiddled with a bit on the camera. The Bolt Hole, surrounded by ferals and the rural poor. A job doesn't seem to cross their minds. Shame dissolved into action, clutching at tomorrow is another day as if the old saying was our only true saviour. Perhaps, some days, it really was.

THE BIGGER STORY:

John Howard, too, is much in the news, although the tone is decidedly different:

Howard offers to pay fine for skipping Zimbabwe tourRadio New Zealand, New Zealand - 4 hours agoBut the Prime Minister John Howard signalled a hardening of his stand against the troubled country ruled for 27 years by President Robert Mugabe. ...Howard ready to pay price of tour pullout The StandardHoward offersto pay tour penalty NEWS.com.auChristian Joins Howard In Condemning Mugabe, as Cricket Tour in ... Christian Today -- AustraliaEurosportall 130 news articles »
The Age
Howard decides to bend on WorkChoicesABC Online, Australia - 13 hours agoJOHN HOWARD: What this proves is that I'ma Prime Minister who listens to people's concerns. I mean, people have said to me that they are not themselves ...PM ‘buckles’ on IR laws Border MailLeaders do the workplace shuffle Brisbane TimesHoward's jobs nip and tuck Melbourne Herald SunStuff.co.nz - Courier Mailall 150 news articles »
Sydney Morning Herald
Tit-for-tat week with Labor the winnerBrisbane Times, Australia - 9 hours agoDid John Howard insist Heffernan publicly apologise to Julia Gillard? No, he didn't. Did Gillard or Kevin Rudd or the then Labor leader Kim Beazley utter a ...What price a snap election? The Canberra TimesComments ‘hurt public’ Border MailAussie senator backs down after childless woman jibe Gulf TimesOcala.com - Sunday Times.auall 325 news articles »
CricInfo.com
Zimbabwe Cricket exposed by John Howard's actionCricInfo.com, UK - 27 minutes agoThe news that John Howard, Australia's prime minister, has offered to pay any fine levied on Cricket Australia should it refuse to send a side to Zimbabwe ...
Melbourne Herald Sun
Scouts say ‘tanks’ for Howard’s $17mBorder Mail, Australia - 1 hour agoAnnouncing the Year of the Scout honour at a Melbourne scout hall, Prime Minister John Howard said the movement would receive $17.7 million for tanks at its ...Howard a smash with kids Melbourne Herald SunScouts get $17.7m for rainwater tanks Brisbane Times2008 the Year of the Scout NEWS.com.auNinemsnall 21 news articles »
Angus Reid Global Monitor
Punters back HowardMelbourne Herald Sun, Australia - 13 hours agoPrime Minister John Howard's odds have firmed for the first time since Kevin Rudd took Labor's reins. At the start of the week, Mr Rudd was the punters' pal ...Pragmatic Howard once again refuses to be fenced in by finer points The AustralianFriedman Notices Australian ‘Big Dry’ It's Getting Hot In HereBudget travellers Courier MailThe Age - The Australianall 18 news articles »
The Age
Gracious exit as Campbell retiresThe Age, Australia - 13 hours agoPrime Minister John Howard forced Senator Campbell to resign in March after it emerged that he had had a 20-minute meeting in his office with disgraced ...Ex-minister Campbell to quit Daily TelegraphSenator Campbell to quit after 17 years in Politics ABC OnlineCampbell quits for lifestyle, not Burke Bendigo Advertiserall 56 news articles »
John Howard is too good for usBrisbane Times, Australia - 3 May 2007John Howard knows it for sure, but of course he can't say so out loud. He tried. He did his dog-whistle thing, saying Heff's entitled to his view, ...For Pete’s sake, this has got to be his last budget Border Mailall 3 news articles »
Sydney Morning Herald
The power behind the PMSydney Morning Herald, Australia - 12 hours agoArthur Sinodinos was there for one of the lowest moments of John Howard's life. It was May 10, 1989, and the day before Howard had been deposed as leader of ...Secret of power, from PM's lieutenant Sydney Morning HeraldWheat groups to discuss single desk models in Melbourne ABC Onlineall 4 news articles »
Australian Prime Minister John Howard Lauds Glenn McGrath As An ...Cricket World Cup Latest, UK - 3 May 2007Australia Prime Minister John Howard on Thursday welcomed the World Cup winning team back from the Caribbean at a breakfast reception in Sydney. ...