When the dialogues are this enigmatic, I ask Malgorzata to explain them. Here’s what she said:
Hili’s stance indicates that she is seeing something, something tangible, something material. So she pronounced that she was seeing something. Andrzej asked what it was. And it turned out that Hili was peering into the future and could see the new times (new world order). She didn’t like what she saw and she shuddered out of dread.
Or it can just be that she sees winter coming… this is simpler explanation.
As always, we won’t know, for the ways of Cats are inscrutable.
Hili: I see.
A: What do you see.
Hili: New times.
A: And?
Hili: I shudder already.
In Polish:
Hili: Widzę.
Ja: Co widzisz?
Hili: Nowe czasy.
Ja: I co?
Hili: Już mi zimno.
Maybe ‘a new age’ then instead of ‘new times’?
By the way, today is International Translation Day, which is why I thought of that…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Translation_Day
The two — new times and a cold winter — may actually be linked. I’ve heard rumors that the British Isles are facing natural gas shortages which could lead to a lack of domestic heating this winter…if so, that would be the first major example of a post-peak-petroleum crisis, with potentially more piling up sooner rather than later….
b&
Potential gas shortages are a political issue, rather than an absolute shortage of fuel. Something to do with a war on the Russia-Ukraine border.
Yes…but it’s also a political issue because the gas that used to be right there in the North Sea isn’t there any more, meaning that the UK now has to go hat in hand to Russia rather than just open up their own spigots. That’s how these shortages are going to play out…local at first causing political inconveniences as exporters switch to importers…but then today’s exporters are eventually going to be looking for importers, and eventually there won’t be any importers left….
b&
[SHRUG] So they need to invest more money in searching for more gas supplies. Or switch to non-gas energy sources.
They very literally do have my phone number.
Aye, but there’s the rub. Especially considering Russia’s remaining reserves, can gas be mined at a profit at today’s open market prices? And, if not, when prices do rise enough for profitability, will anybody be able to afford to pay the requisite rate?
At first, it might be a choice between adjusting the thermostat by a few degrees and going to that fancy restaurant. But at the other end of that gradient is the choice between turning the gas on at all and eating, period…and a few are already in such a predicament, with more to follow as the gas gets harder and harder to find and drill, and thus more and more expensive. Plus, all that money that goes to gas exploration is no longer going to paying for other things, and thus paying the salaries of those people making those other things, and that depresses the economy even further, eventually lowering the price people can afford to pay for gas, making it less profitable to extract…a vicious economic circle.
This is, indeed, the solution. It’s easier said than done, of course, but I’ve personally already done it, and Germany is well on its way to doing it for the whole country.
The big problem, after fear of change and laziness and the rest, is that it requires a substantial capital investment, even though it offers a much better long-term return on that investment. But if you don’t have any capital to invest because you’re living hand-to-mouth because you’re spending all your money on what little gas there is just to keep from freezing…you’ve got a problem.
For your sake, I hope it doesn’t stop ringing….
b&
Two hours on the phone last night. I’d better go and do some work!
Drill, baby, drill!
…er…wait…didn’t come out right….
b&
You’re starting a career in dentistry?
Compare and contrast:
b&
Last night I dreamt that there was a big snow storm. In the dream, I grumbled about the snow but then I realized how bad it was, with dread: it was only July! I remember exclaiming, “It’s like a nuclear winter!”.
I think it’s because I read a Stephen King short story in an anthology called Wastelands before falling asleep.
Hili’s glimpse into a bad future/winter seem in line with my dream.
I shudder too at all that’s wrong with the world and the people who inhabit it.
There’s a logical chain of inference that goes from Schroedinger’s cat being locked into the box, through to cats developing time travel. It’s very silly, but is it silly enough to be true?
I’m sure it’s been exercised often enough around here.