Butter

Butter by Asako Yuzuki
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Sorry, I cheated, so far I read only 3 pages of this book but I think I got already important points to report.
Firstly - translation - the narrative is very rough so, not being able to read original, I blame the translator.
Secondly - one of protagonists - Rika - is going to buy butter for her friend Reiko. She visits 3 shops, there are announcements that due to product shortages supplies are limited to one item per customer.
So, I assume she could have bought easily 3 packs of butter but somehow she brought margarine to her friend.
Exciting!
To be continued...
===

I forced myself to endure (skip over) some 20 pages and reaad about a visit in the Detention Centre and the real taste of butter.
This was quite convincing...
I do not remember specifically eating boiled rice with fresh butter but I remember a sensation of butter melting in my mouth in the hot company of bread or potato...
And then...
I tried to read few pages more but gave up on page 77.

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Pensioner's Diet

 Bernie woke up.
He heard the soft, regular sound of the bell. The date flashed on the screen: March 17th, 7:00 AM.
He jumped out of bed, feeling a slight knot in his stomach – his last day of work. Meanwhile, the gym logo wavered encouragingly on the screen. A box in the lower left corner contained the summary:

Bernard M. Scott – age 59, male.
Height 178 cm, weight 73 kg.
Burn 600 calories.

Bernie grabbed a towel and ran downstairs. When he returned after 45 minutes of swimming and working out at the gym, he felt very hungry. He glanced at the screen with some apprehension.

Morning portion: 450 calories – the screen announced.
- Not bad, - muttered Bernie, holding the cup under the spout. The cup filled with a yellowish mush.
It wasn't bad - he confirmed,rinsing the cup with water and drinking the last of the nutrient.

- What could that be? – he wondered – 524 or 628?

ANP – Automatic Nutrition Program was the project Bernie was most proud of.
He had spent the last five years programming and testing this colossal undertaking, which revolutionised human nutrition.
ANP monitored each subscriber's energy, mineral, and vitamin needs and delivered the correct mixture to the customer's kitchen tap.

After several months of laborious development, the project turned out to be a resounding success. This was undoubtedly due to the government's support, which implemented the system in the military and government institutions.
Soon, large corporations followed suit, and now virtually all people employed in larger institutions and living in retirement homes were connected to the system.

It was already 8:28 AM when Bernie finally connected to his official portal. A list of daily tasks appeared on the screen:

12:30 PM Finish work on task 132
2:30 PM Prepare final report
3:00 PM Bernie Scott's farewell ceremony (afternoon tea)
3:30 PM End of work.

They remember everything. - Bernie sighed with relief.

He looked at the list again. And what a generosity, almost a quarter of a day off. Well, I guess  a man deserves some consideration after 35 years of work.

He read the text of task 132 carefully and immersed himself in testing some intricate function. The work went smoothly; he felt a pleasant, warm wave of effort and satisfaction flowing through his brain. Bernie liked this job and thought with some trepidation about his impending retirement.

- Other people get used to it, so I’ll get used to it too - he reassured himself.
Bernie remembered Frank.
That guy spent all his time after work in his well-kept garden. And since he retired two months ago, he’s been carousing all over the world. The last postcard Bernie received from Frank was from Peru.
- Two months ago, Frank wouldn't have been able to find Peru on a map - chuckled Bernie. - People really do change their lifestyles when they retire.

It was a fact that the government strongly encouraged people to maintain an active lifestyle after retirement. Those who transferred all their savings to the government pension fund, received a bonus of a three-month foreign vacation fully funded by the government.

- How does one feel when they don't use the Automatic Nutrition Program? - Bernie wondered. It must be very unhealthy and stomach-wrenching, eating in hotels and restaurants.

It was only 11:25 when Bernie finished his tasks for the day. He looked around in surprise. - So I'm already retired.

He began to browse folders and throw away some files. He paused at one of his ANP programs, which was activating a module that optimised the mixture for the next meal. He quickly entered his personal information, today's date, set the time to 8:00 a.m., and launched the program.
- Number 628 - it appeared on the screen.
- So I guessed correctly what was for breakfast—what will they give me for dinner? - He reset the time to 6:30 PM and pressed a button.

- Number 1371.
- 1371? - Bernie wondered - What could that be?

But there was no time for further thought, as the lunch announcement appeared on the screen.
- Lunch - 300 calories (reduced for afternoon snack).
- The bastards thought of everything - Bernie muttered, filling his mug with the thin mixture. He didn't even bother to guess what it might be.

He returned to work and was just finishing his final report when the terminal prompted him to switch to conference mode.
The screen was now divided into three sections.
Ken McCormick's ruddy face smiled at Bernie from the left, the center of the screen was blank and the right side was filled with a list of  names of those present at the ceremony.

- Dear colleagues, - Ken began, and the center of the screen slowly began to fill with the text of his speech. Bernie placed the cursor on Greg's name and clicked the mouse button.

- How are you, Bernie? - Greg asked.
- What a bore.
- Don't be cynical, Bernie, we all value your work.
- Turning... -  Bernie stopped mid-sentence, because Ken had just finished and was looking at him from the screen with an expectant expression.

Bernie hurriedly scrolled through the list of files and pressed a key. He listened in disbelief for a moment, not recognising his own voice, then relaxed as he recognised the lines of his farewell speech.

- Congratulations! Well done! Take care, Bernie! -  Wishes floated across the screen, each in its own cloud-shaped balloon. A long list of signatures scrolled along the right margin.

Bernie requested a printout. At that moment, Neil's smiling face appeared on the screen.
- Hey Bernie, what are you going to do next?
- I don't really know yet, but I'm going to take a long break first.
- Another traveler, eh? Do you remember Patrick? I just got a postcard from him from Spain.
- By the way, Neil - interrupted Bernie - do you know what a 1371 mix is?
- I have no idea, but all those numbers above a thousand are a special government program. Why do you ask?
- Nothing, I was just checking what's for dinner tonight.
- Right, Bernie, you're retired, on a government allowance. Let me tell you something, this allowance is very economical. Very much so."

- Break over -  the screen flashed. Bernie returned to work mode and soon ended the session.
- I'm free -  he said, looking around.
The suitcase was already packed and everything was ready for the trip. There was nothing left to do.
He switched the terminal to leisure mode. Sports, some quizzes, a children's program. Perfect for children and pensioners, he thought, stretching out on the couch.

When he woke up, the room was already dark.
- So I took a nap. - he muttered in surprise.

- I'm a pensioner," he declared. Oh, I was going to ask Neil about that government allowance - Bernie remembered, and typed Neil's name on the keyboard.
- Terminal busy, leave a message - the computer replied.

Bernie canceled the call and glanced at his watch. It was after seven, and he was feeling hungry.
- I must have slept through the lunch announcement. - he thought. Well, let's try this government mess. - - Number 1371, get out! - Bernie commanded, entering a meal order into the terminal.

- Bernard M. Scott – age 60, male
- Height 178 cm, weight 73 kg.

Bernie waited a moment for the meal's energy value to display, but nothing else appeared on the screen. He held the cup under the faucet and watched as the brownish substance filled the vessel.
- It smells good, - he noted,  - and it tastes not bad, - he added after the first gulp.

He took a long sip and sat down on the couch.
- It's not bad, - he repeated.
And then he felt a hot wave gather in his stomach, grow, rise to his throat, to his brain…
- Number 1371, - Bernie whispered with effort and collapsed onto the couch. His glassy eyes stared blankly at the screen, which displayed the instructions:

ANP – summary: effectiveness  =100%

Tasks:
– remove body
– disinfect room
– transfer all personal items to storage
– send postcards from Route 17 to mailing list 378.

The End

P.S. Above story was published in a Computeing magazine in October 1988 and was a monthly winner of a competition for a story involving some computer technology.
At the end of the year a yearly winner was announced.
It was a story about using computers in the court. To test the system, police fabricated some bank fraud. Then all the evidence was fed into a computer and it was supposed to make the judgement.

In the next number of Computing I read that they invited the winner to the office to hand over to him the prize... but he could not come, he was in the prison serving a sentence for a... bank fraud.

Star Show

Last Thursday we followed our granddaughter's suggestion and visited a nearby theatre to watch The Guardian of the Star - a production of The Melbourne GangShow - CLICK.

The theatre - The Besen Centre - CLICK - promised the best quality, artists delivered :)

Artists...
After entering the theatre foyer we realised that we are in the midst of Australian Scouts. Most of people around, young and old, were wearing either a scout scarf or some other scout insignia.

Before the show... I had to admit that I was bit worried... Melbourne Gang - I felt a promise of a very loud, aggressive music, sloppy behaviour, maybe some vulgarity, although presence of Scouts neutralised the last objection.

Title - The Guardian of the Star - promised some obscure legend.

The show started and our hearts and objections melted.
Pleasant music, great singing - both - choral and solo and wonderful choreography. Quite frequently we watch ballet performances and here, there was no dance but perfect coordination of many people on the stage.
In the background - impressive decorations.

Our rating 10 out of 10!

We just wondered that this performance was not advertised outside the close knit Scouts Community - great loss for many Melbournians.

Now we will keep our eyes and ears wide open.

The final scene of the performance - HERE - warning - sometimes preceded by a short ad.

Anniversary

 Me and my wife reached a milestone - 60 years of marriage.
Somebody advised me to contact my local Member of Parliament as they can organise greetings from Australian officials.
I contacted the office of our local M.P. - Carina Garland - Labor.
They confirmed - yes, we can do it. Actually, for 60th anniversary you will receive greetings from the King.

The date came, we received.... nothing.
I queried the office... they replied that it looks I do not understand the process...
Well,  I understand that if someone declares something to be delivered on 10th of June then it should be delivered on 10th of June - period.

So I turned to AI for help.
I asked ChatGPT to write a sonnet on 60th anniversary of marriage of Australian subjects with Polish roots and here we are:

A Royal Sonnet on a Diamond Anniversary

From throne to distant shore I send my grace,
To hearts entwined through sixty steadfast years—
A union firm, time could not displace,
Nor dim with toil, nor wet with sorrow's tears.
In golden sun beneath the southern skies,
Your love took root on Austral soil anew,
Yet Polish echoes in your voices rise,
A harmony of lands and hearts held true.

O faithful pair, your story speaks to all—
Of journeys made, of cultures woven tight,
Of vows sustained through every rise and fall,
A beacon burning ever bold and bright.
As King, I raise my glass and humbly say:
God bless your love this diamond wedding day.

And what about Wurundjeri People, the original owners of this land?

A Wurundjeri Blessing: A Sonnet for Sixty Years

Upon this land where Bunjil spreads his wings,
We see your path beneath the eucalypt—
Two souls who came with hopes and humble things,
And with your love, this ancient soil equipped.
You brought from Poland dreams the winds had stirred,
And wove them through the gum and wattle gold;
Your laughter joined the magpie’s morning word,
Your story in our story now is told.

For sixty years, your bond has stood like stone,
As rivers carve the earth but do not break;
Together, through each joy and trial grown—
A tree whose roots no storm could ever shake.

Thank You!

P.S. Week after the Anniversary a postman brought a big load of greetings including this one...

Cold enough for Snow - AgaIn

 I could not finish reading this book, actually I put it away very quickly.

I asked ChatGPT how this book could/should be received by an old male reader with European background - the answer below.
Note: I italicised fragments with which I do not agree.

There are books that speak to us in loud, unmistakable voices—books that assert, explain, declare. Then there are books like Cold Enough for Snow, whose voice is quiet, almost ghostly, but persistent. Jessica Au’s novella is a soft, snow-covered path winding through memory, culture, and the quiet, often unreconciled spaces between generations. For a man of European descent who has lived long enough to see the world change several times over, the book felt like a whisper across the years, both foreign and achingly familiar.

The story follows a young woman traveling in Japan with her mother. That is the plot, in the loosest sense. But what Au offers is less a narrative and more a meditation—on identity, language, family, and the way time softens and distorts everything we try to hold onto. It reminded me of the works of W.G. Sebald or even the mood of late autumn European poetry: sparse, elegiac, composed.

Though I grew up in post-war Europe and Au’s narrator is of Asian descent, our concerns overlap in unexpected ways. The disconnection between parent and child—something sharpened by migration, generational distance, and unspoken emotion—feels deeply familiar. In my own family, I recall similar silences, the heavy pauses that carry far more than any sentence. It struck me that while the specifics differ—different countries, different wars, different migrations—the emotional terrain is nearly identical.

The prose is spare but precise. I admired that. Too many modern books seem to chase attention with fireworks. This one sits beside you and waits. There’s a passage where the narrator wonders whether we ever truly understand another person, even our own mother.
That line stayed with me. At 78, I’ve buried both of my parents and still find myself wondering what parts of their interior lives I never glimpsed, what histories they carried quietly to their graves.

I will admit, this is not a book for everyone. There is no plot to speak of, no dramatic revelation or climax. But there is grace here, and a kind of moral stillness that I found moving. For readers like me—who have lived long enough to know that clarity rarely arrives in a blaze of light, but rather in soft accumulations—Au’s novella feels like a small, solemn gift.

In the end, Cold Enough for Snow reminded me of walking in a strange city on a grey winter morning: slightly lost, full of reflection, and at peace with not having all the answers.

Cold enough for snow

Cold Enough For Snow by Jessica Au
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

After reading few pages I got impression that I was unintentionally listening to a conversation of two unknown women.
Conversation was lacking any spirit.
I skipped pages and tried to find spirit in few other places - did not succeed.
I put the book away.

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The Rich Man's House

The Rich Man's House by Andrew McGahan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Did I rate it 3 stars (***) -  that means - Liked it?
Unbelievable - I hated it after few pages and then more and more.

Why I hated it?

For total extravagance - the richest man, mountain 3 times higher than the real mountains.

Of course such extremities have consequences - some unimaginable residence, detailed description of issues facing climbers on altitude over 12,000 m, etc, etc.

So why I read it?
Because it was very well written - very good structure - chapters meander between reports from few hundred years ago to more recent times, mixture of historical characters with fiction.
Probably after reading some 65% of the book I got idea what to expect at the end and I was close to the correct answer.
From the other perspective - I was absolutely not interested in the layout of the residence, facilities available etc so I hurriedly scanned many pages.
Also I do not like reading about suffering - again - number of pages skipped.
Final conclusion - Andrew McGahan is a good writer - hopefully his other books are easier to digest.
I will try.

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