Two sources of most unexpected insight on this day… A S Byatt and Andre Agassi. Agassi was talking on NPR about his final match at the American Open. The description of his physical pain on the morning he awoke to it was just extraordinary listening and thinking. How he then describes the way he had to use his body or how his body defied being useful in the game reminded me of David Foster Wallace and his calculating the wind direction and speed to lob his balls during his own youthful tennis momentitos. (search youtube for David Foster Wallace and  literary weather forecast to hear the extract I am talking about)

A S Byatt is on a video interview on The Graun. In it she comments briefly on social realism in the novel and a bunch of things around us “not seeing” ourselves and needing surfaces to reflect onto and going to Sainsbury’s and as she trotted on it all added up to something I cannot quite quantify but was insightful. She appeared to reflect, and then settle into the reflection. She also made the point that it is rare to see someone wandering along just thinking. I wonder if that is actually true. I am constantly watching people who aren’t doing anything in particular. I shall have to take a mental note for the next few days on the quantity of wandering thinkers. I don’t think she’s right.

Links? If you want them, I’ll put them up. If you don’t want them, dandy you won’t have curse to trip over them.

Democratic linkage ole!