Howdy, and happy Australia Day from Down Under. There’s a hot wind coming off the Outback today, as is often the case during the antipodal summer, and it hits you in the face like a blast furnace. Australia is remarkable, simultaneously bland and exotic, depending on what aspect or feature of the nation you’re focusing on. I just want to take a break for a moment to acknowledge how much I admire this culture. Oh, it’s not perfect. It has had problems and dark episodes, but it’s an amazingly diverse, tolerant, freedom-loving, fair place, where opportunity abounds.
There was a wonderful feature about Australia Day (it’s their equivalent of the Fourth of July) in the continent’s national newspaper, The Australian today. Read it if you’re at all interested in this culture.
There’s also a fascinating book about the Australian nation and character that tends to blow up all the dumb clichés about crocodile hunters, mateship, et al ,but in a loving, fascinating, well-reasoned way. Like the best sociology, it reads like exciting non-fiction. It’s called The Lucky Country, if you're interested.
More tennis soon. Henin-Hardenne just beat Sharapova in a great match.