Smog
Today is a sick day. Called yesterday afternoon when I realized I have been truly envirused. Much sympathy, since we are no longer crazy busy. Also, I sounded nearly as bad as I felt. One nostril would not open yesterday, no matter what I tried, and I tried everything. Today is marginally not as bad, nyquil & sleep help. The hot shower actually worked, unlike yesterday. Breathing out of both nares, more or less. Frightening sneeze series.
Air is even more dreadful(PM2.5 - 82.9 µg/m3)* although the air is merely cold, not frigid. Not really a fair trade, as I would prefer it the other way.
So, the dancing is on hold, but not forgot. Likewise the ZYX essays. It all must abide, as must I.
Thinking about Brits doing American accents. All but the best actors get it unmistakably, but subtly, wrong. As though mixing Texas with Brooklyn accents. In reality, there isn't really a Southern accent, Kentucky and Maryland, Florida and Alabama all sound different, although they are closer to each other than the "Northern" accents of Maine & Minnesota, or the city accents in the various New York boroughs, Boston (South or North Ends). Getting the flat, accentless midwest seems most attainable - although Tracy Ullman seems to get them all right. But hearing Le Carre read his works, or Stephen Fry, doing American voices, the Rs are hit slight off, too hard, alternate with being inadvertently missed. Peri Brown on Dr. Who was downright painful.
And I'd like to apologize for Dick Van Dyke, even we could tell he'd got it completely wrong. Even as kids watching Mary Poppins. I'm really sorry.
I think it is related to the idea that Americans are homogeneous. About the size of Britain. Both are staggeringly mistaken. The South and North have never really made it up since the war, and the West hates the East - considering them snobs, while the East hates the West as splashy upstarts. Each state has it's own laws, and looks down on and envies other states. Really, if we could all get along, we'd be doing this better.
Off to have more tea.
*
0 - 12.0 µg/m3
Good
12.1 - 35.4 µg/m3
Moderate
35.5 - 55.4 µg/m3
Unhealthy for
Sensitive People
Air is even more dreadful(PM2.5 - 82.9 µg/m3)* although the air is merely cold, not frigid. Not really a fair trade, as I would prefer it the other way.
So, the dancing is on hold, but not forgot. Likewise the ZYX essays. It all must abide, as must I.
Thinking about Brits doing American accents. All but the best actors get it unmistakably, but subtly, wrong. As though mixing Texas with Brooklyn accents. In reality, there isn't really a Southern accent, Kentucky and Maryland, Florida and Alabama all sound different, although they are closer to each other than the "Northern" accents of Maine & Minnesota, or the city accents in the various New York boroughs, Boston (South or North Ends). Getting the flat, accentless midwest seems most attainable - although Tracy Ullman seems to get them all right. But hearing Le Carre read his works, or Stephen Fry, doing American voices, the Rs are hit slight off, too hard, alternate with being inadvertently missed. Peri Brown on Dr. Who was downright painful.
And I'd like to apologize for Dick Van Dyke, even we could tell he'd got it completely wrong. Even as kids watching Mary Poppins. I'm really sorry.
I think it is related to the idea that Americans are homogeneous. About the size of Britain. Both are staggeringly mistaken. The South and North have never really made it up since the war, and the West hates the East - considering them snobs, while the East hates the West as splashy upstarts. Each state has it's own laws, and looks down on and envies other states. Really, if we could all get along, we'd be doing this better.
Off to have more tea.
*
0 - 12.0 µg/m3
Good
12.1 - 35.4 µg/m3
Moderate
35.5 - 55.4 µg/m3
Unhealthy for
Sensitive People
Posted by Zhoen on Tuesday, January 08, 2013
2 comments:
We now have a smoggy smudge of a sunset, with the particulates from the fire (now controlled) in Nelson in the South Island and those in Oz- to think that we are sweltering, and they are 20 degrees hotter still....
we are getting more smog days here than we used to. Fortunately we are getting more precipitation this winter than we did through the summer, so that periodically clears out the air.
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