Le Baron's casual reading log

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Le Baron
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Re: Le Baron's casual reading log

Postby Le Baron » Mon Oct 31, 2022 2:45 pm

Since this log will come its natural end by December (and I plan to start a new and different one) I'll let it wind down. My language learning apart from reading has been negatively affected for the last month or so.

If anyone is interested, after my cat died I was in grave doubt about the treatment she'd been offered and with a clearer mind I started to think about certain failures and it started with the second course of antibiotics, which I felt was unnecessary, and which seemed to me to have a wholly deleterious effect. I noticed that it differed form the first batch (synulox) and was flagyl, and I remembered that the same antibiotic had negative effect on my neighbour's dog. I was not told that it was a different medicine or given a box/leaflet or advised about the differences. Sure enough I discovered that it has common side effects of induced anorexia, nausea and acute ataxia. Exactly what happened at a rapid pace. Then there was the issue of consultation availability despite being 'urged' to make appointments. I was going to take this up with the college of veterinary discipline, but I decided to speak to him first, last week, and my argument must have been convincing because he was caught on the hop and agreed to our appointment today.

I just had that discussion. He agreed with me that I was correct about the second antibiotic, that it brings on rapid anorexia/weight-loss, nausea and acute ataxia and is contraindicated in the circumstances I had. I knew this and he had to 'research' it. It's not a really comforting thought is it? I tried to explain that my concern is that if there are procedural/system failures then finding these and correcting them would be the very best outcome. I also told him that it's crucial that the vets inform you about what you can't know rather than only relying upon patients' questions, because you might not know what ask which will be relevant.

Above all I didn't want to run into some overblown complaints procedure without even giving him a chance to see what could be put right. He admits several failures and promised to address these. I was clear though that it's not just about disciplining the lower staff, but a system where they're also not at a loss about what to do, because it isn't necessarily their fault. Though they all seem to me to have been a bit lax. So it's a creeping culture.

I wanted to cremate the cat so I didn't have to leave her languishing in the back garden should I leave this place, which could well happen. He said he would arrange and pay for that if I wanted it. He also apologised to me for the clear failures. Maybe this is concluded to some extent.

Maybe I can also feel like doing a bit of learning, though I don't really.
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Re: Le Baron's casual reading log

Postby Carmody » Mon Oct 31, 2022 3:37 pm

Le Baron

Thank you very much for your very informative posting. You said things that people need to hear. You also handled the obviously highly emotional topic in an unbelievably responsible manner.

When it came time for my wife and I to euthanize our cat due to illness, I literally could not talk or discuss it with the vet; she had to.

If you care to post a picture of your cat I am sure many of us would love to see it.

Thank you again for sharing your intensely emotional journey so honestly; it was a real empowering lesson for us all.
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Re: Le Baron's casual reading log

Postby grayson » Mon Oct 31, 2022 3:43 pm

I'm so sorry about what happened to your cat. It's doubly horrible for having happened under the circumstances you described. I hope your discussion with the vet, and particularly his response, bring you some closure.

I have the cremated remains of someone dear to me, and for years I would take a little bit with me on every trip I took and scatter them in a field or a lake or a forest, wherever I felt was beautiful. It was a symbolic way to have that person be there, too. I don't know if that sort of thing appeals to you, but wanted to offer the idea.
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Le Baron
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Re: Le Baron's casual reading log

Postby Le Baron » Sat Nov 19, 2022 9:02 pm

Here's how many hours of active study I've done in the last month: 0 hrs.

I haven't felt very motivated. And yet I have engaged with media in all active languages. Films (some of which are noted on here elsewhere), books and radio. The majority of podcasts have been in French from Radio France, Canadian or Belgian radio. Some German ones from DW and Spanish from the 'How to Spanish lessons & podcasts' (unwieldy name). The Spanish are about B1 level. After quite some time hardly engaging with Dutch media I've started listening to more podcasts in Dutch. It's about time I caught up with all the nefarious goings-on in the country. I'm giving a lecture on 'post-Keynesian' economics at the end of the month. Which my local socialist party are attending.

Mostly I've been investigating music I haven't heard before (modern classical) and working. It's a month today since my horrible day and only feels like yesterday.

Aside from the modern music I find a lot of solace in Bach's music and even though a lot of people do not like Bach played on the piano, I found this marvellous:

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Re: Le Baron's casual reading log

Postby DaveAgain » Sat Nov 19, 2022 10:21 pm

Le Baron wrote:Mostly I've been investigating music I haven't heard before (modern classical)
Did you find anything among these that you particularly liked?
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Le Baron
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Re: Le Baron's casual reading log

Postby Le Baron » Sat Nov 19, 2022 11:24 pm

DaveAgain wrote:
Le Baron wrote:Mostly I've been investigating music I haven't heard before (modern classical)
Did you find anything among these that you particularly liked?

Yes. I've been listening to this sort of music for about 30 years, but the output was always greater than the availability of the recordings for quite a long time. The internet era has brought bucket-loads of it to places like YouTube. In the past I was lucky to get late neo-classicism or someone like Malipiero. If you remember when Naxos CDs came out around the late 80s they started to record a lot of music not many others had touched. Or it had been recorded and forgotten.

I do like avant-garde type music, but it's more than that. Often it's lesser-known composers writing in a sort of 'poystylist' way like Alfred Schnittke. Also just music I never got round to listening to up to know, like André Jolivet (great bassoon concerto) and Darius Milhaud's works which I'd never really listened to. The best thing I've been listening to over the last year or so are British composer Alan Rawsthorne's works. Before that I was pursuing those of Dutch composer Willem Pijper.
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Re: Le Baron's casual reading log

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Sun Nov 20, 2022 7:20 pm

Le Baron wrote:Aside from the modern music I find a lot of solace in Bach's music and even though a lot of people do not like Bach played on the piano, I found this marvellous:
Listened to, bookmarked. Thanks.
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Le Baron
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Re: Le Baron's casual reading log

Postby Le Baron » Thu Nov 24, 2022 3:39 pm

Réquiem por un campesino español - Ramón J. Sender. Will be the book I'll likely finish the year with in terms of a 'learning' book. I'm reading books in other languages alongside, but I'll read this one, now extensive, now intensive until the year changes. Then take stock. Assuming I finish it, though I'm finding it congenial enough so I expect so.

Image
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Kullman
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Re: Le Baron's casual reading log

Postby Kullman » Thu Nov 24, 2022 6:22 pm

It's a good one. I remember reading it a while ago.

If you are willing to try something different, you could get "A Esmorga" next, which is a classic of the galician literature written by Eduardo Blanco Amor, and my favourite novel in this language.

It's about the bender of three galician men, which ends before a judge.

In fact, the book is the tale of one of the protagonists in front of the judge, whose words are ommited in the novel, because he speaks in spanish, while the protagonist speaks in galician.

It was obviously censored by the spanish dictatorship back in the 50s, and published in Argentina as many books of the galician liiterature those years.
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Le Baron
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Re: Le Baron's casual reading log

Postby Le Baron » Thu Nov 24, 2022 8:11 pm

Kullman wrote:If you are willing to try something different, you could get "A Esmorga" next, which is a classic of the galician literature written by Eduardo Blanco Amor, and my favourite novel in this language.

It seems interesting I shall look it up. Thanks for the recommendation.
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