Category: Flotsam and Jetsam

Capturing those floating bits of thoughts that don't fit into neat categories that would otherwise be lost to the sea of time.

Walkie Talkie Kwai

The 15th episode, ‘Kung Fu’ from season 3 entitled, ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ first aired January 18, 1975. The episode is a prequel of sorts, showing the Shaolin priest Kwai Chang Caine’s efforts to escape from China as the Emperor’s troops persue him in revenge for the killing of the Emperor’s nephew. Although this is ostensibly …

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Hell Hitler

The King James version of the Bible has a fair amount to say about Hell. A single case in point: “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the …

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This Means Something – This is Important

I found myself rewatching Close Encounters of the Third Kind this week. It’s been a while since I last saw it. Like many, I thought of the movie as slow paced but on rewatching it I was reminded how truly brilliant it is. The movie falls at an interesting intersection of movie making from the …

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Silence and a Blank Page

Sometimes, that is all that you have in you to share.

I buy civilization

I saw Mister Silverado on the road a number of days ago. Full disclosure: I didn’t actually see the driver, but I’m highy confident it was indeed a, ‘Mister’. The window sticker, ‘TAXATION IS THEFT‘ is what made the encounter noteworthy. There are some trivial times in one’s life that a person fantasizes about having …

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Homunculus

It has been many years (measured in decades) since I first became aware of the concept of ‘Homunculus’. The concept of Homunculus apparently was first documented in the late 1400s. The rough Latin translation is, ‘Little Person’. From a quick bit of reading, one can learn that Homunculus were historically thought of as an artificial …

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Kili Nature Call

This photo was taken on December 30, 2021 on Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro. These crude public toilets sit at campsites. They are nothing more than ‘long drop’ pits surrounded by crude wooden structures. – There are no commodes. One places their feet on either side of a hole and squat. Not surprisingly: not everyone who uses them …

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The Last Number Exchange

Spam is an evil thing as evidenced by the drag it places on our digital lives as well as the genuine bad intentions behind most of it. I received this text spam a week or two ago. Its crafty. I can well imagine many people being fooled into responding: perhaps to tell them that they …

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Pretty in Pink

March’s perfunctory post is again from December 25, 2021. (On our Tanzania trip, we shot over 9,800+ photos and videos, so I can go to this source for a long time when I’m feeling short on posting enthusiasm.) Lake Natron is a remote, surreal landscape. The lake is hyper saline and super alkaline with temperatures …

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Beware of Doctor Bellfield

When one thinks of the Brady Bunch, they probably conjure storylines depicting wholesome family values. Odd then when Alice doesn’t call the authorities to report their neighbor as quite probably a pedophile. At least there were boundaries. – Apparently Carol and Mike need to approve any and all, ‘X-rated swimming pools.’ Trivia: This scene where …

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Color Corrected Killer Kitties

This being another challenging month, I’m just sharing a photo from January 7, 2022 taken in Tanzania’s Tarangire National Park. But I thought, for a change of pace I’d share the raw, uncolor corrected image compared to post color correction and sharpening. All color correction was done in Adobe Lightroom and the sharpening was done …

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Dreaming of Giraffes

The last month has been chaos and trouble and I won’t relate it here. But in spite of some serious mental exhaustion, I’ll fulfill my monthly posting duties and leave this year with a fond recollection of where I was last year in December.

Breaking News

Even though news is no not nearly so soul crushing like it was while Trump was in office, I still find myself burned out on all of it. I’ve often advocated that a democracy depends on a well-informed electorate, so I’ve felt that its almost akin to a patriotic duty to follow the news. But …

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Happy Halloween Kids

Here’s hoping that I never outgrow Halloween. So far… So good…

A Murder of Bats

Instead of world news commentary, here is a piece of inane trivia that I observed one evening while watching a rerun of Columbo. From season 9, episode 6 entitled, ‘Murder in Malibu‘ which was released in May 14, 1990: I wonder how much time was spent looking through stock film before the producers said, ‘Ah, …

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Firestarter of Oldupai Emanyata

Taken at a Massai Boma in Oldupai Emanyata, Tanzania on January 12 2022. With another villager’s help, this man started a fire with friction in less than a minute. A humbling exposure to another culture, another way of life.

More Arbitrary Amazon Parcel Packaging

Got nothing witty to say here. The picture says it all: just another remarkable example of Amazon packaging failure.

Chris Rocked

There are so many serious concerns in the world. Right now, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I feel we’re probably as close to the brink of World War III as we have been since the cold war. Maybe closer. But as is often the case, the more serious the issue, the more depleting it …

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The Rings of Amazon

Let’s talk about Amazon’s upcoming series, ‘The Rings of Power’.  Recently, we’ve learned more based on a released teaser trailer and a vanity fair promo puff piece. Naturally, I won’t spoil anything if you aren’t versed in the subject.  Short Summary Don’t have time to read my ramblings? Understood. Here is my quick take: It …

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Arbitrary Amazon Parcel Packaging

Amazon is a huge company that puts in an amazing amount of effort and intelligence to make for great online shopping experiences. But the capricious nature of Amazon’s packing frequently amazes me. A recent case in point: one order of coffee (about $20 value) and an order of two external hard drives (about $500 value). …

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