Separated at Birth?

Candice from The Great British Baking Show and Natalie Dormer, Anne Boleyn from The Tudors.

Look me in the eye and say goodbye

For the past few years I've noticed more often that people I've known, some for decades, do not look me in the eye. I can ask them a question and they can answer, but there will be zero eye contact. Zipping around the internet gives these possible explanations:

• Social Anxiety
• They Like You
• They Aren’t Interested in What You are Saying
• You Aren’t Visually Appealing
• Low Self Esteem
• They Are Hiding Something
• They Are Having a Bad Day
• They Don’t Want You to Think They Like You or Come Across as Flirty
•  They feel that you know a part of him that them they are ashamed of.
• They feel guilty of something
• You did something that they don't approve of and are trying to avoid you and the no eye contact is a hint for you to stay away.

You're a shining star no matter who you are

The Galaxy Name Generator will, at the press of a button, give you a list of ten random galaxy names. Very cool. And if that wasn't fun enough, there's the Song Title Generator. The same Fantasy Name Generator site offers vampire names, elf names, library names, and hundreds of others in every imaginable category. I could spend a very long time at this site and I think I will!

Nothing can stop them

In the  Genesis song "Return of the Giant Hogweed," they mention the plant's name as Heracleum mantegazzianum, a name I thought they made up as something that sounded botanical and similar to regular hogweed's real name. Being far more into music than vegetation, I honestly didn't know giant hogweed was real. Come to find out, giant hogweed is native to the Caucasus ("The Russian Hills") and central Asia. It may or may not have been a "Victorian explorer" but someone brought it "long ago" in the 19th century to Britain as an ornamental plant. It has also spread to the northeast and northwest US, southern Canada and parts of Europe. It's considered a noxious weed that displaces native plants. Described as "Queen Anne's lace on steroids," a phrase Genesis may wish they thought up, umbrella shaped white flowers might be attractive but the plant's sap is phototoxic and can cause blisters and black or purple scars on human skin. Maybe next I'll find out Triffids are real.

18 and I like it

Starting this past  month every 18 year old (about 575,000) in Italy, including foreigners, is entitled to a bonus of 500 euros, about $550 US dollars. It's the idea of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi who wanted to match the billion euro increased defense and security spending with another billion designated to be spent on culture since "culture beats ignorance." Take that, rock paper scissors lizard Spock. The teens have until the end of next year to spend the entire bonus. After they register, which can be done online, they can choose from museums and galleries, theatre, ballet, concerts, movies, books, archaeological and heritage sites. Says Renzi about this unique way to fight terrorism, “They imagine terror, we answer with culture. They destroy statues, we love art. They destroy books, we are the country of libraries.”

It's cool for cats

While watching Celebrity Name Game, I heard a contestant say if she won, she wanted to visit Cat Island. Not Catalina. Cat Island. Sounded like a place out of a children’s fantasy book. Turns out, there are many Cat Islands. The one she most likely meant was Japan’s Aoshima Island.

With an elderly declining population of about 100 people, Aoshima residents are now outnumbered by the stray/feral cats living there. In the past the islanders raised silkworms so cats were kept to help keep mice from the silkworms. Now they seem to be kept because people believe feeding them will bring good luck and prosperity. The only way to reach Aoshima is by a ferry which can transport 34 visitors per day. Not a lot of tourist trade, especially since no stores exist on the island. At least it sounds like the cats are being fed.

Separated at Birth?

Tove Jansson's Moomin character Little My and Olympic gymnast Aly Reisman? It's the bun, really.

 

I am envied by senior girls

Movie: The Bronze. Starring Melissa Rauch and co-written by her and her husband Winston. This is not your Big Bang Theory's Bernadette. This is a raunchy, potty mouthed, graphic but very funny (I LOL'd several times) view of Olympic gymnasts. Released just in time for the Rio games. Melissa's character, Hope, has a moment of glory at a previous Olympics. After an injury sidelines her, she continues to use her celebrity to manipulate and try to make everyone around her as miserable and bitter as she is. As events progress, she does learn something (how to give back) and changes her lifestyle a little. She was and will always remain a hometown hero. Guest stars and cameos from the likes of: Dominique Dawes, Dominique Moceanu, Olga Korbut. Not for the faint of heart, but neither is gymnastics.

Wavelength you never let me down, no

The Great Mica Plate Search of 2016. One Sunday I was about to make cookies. When I went to soften some butter in the microwave, sparks started flying around inside the thing. Hit stop. Not what I was going for. Take out butter. Look inside. Is that something stuck to the metal thing on the side? No, it's a hole in the metal thing on the side. The metal thing, the internet informs me, is called the Wave Guard. It protects food from the micro waves, logically. Rather than buying a new microwave, all one has to do is go to your local appliance or hardware store, buy a $5 mica sheet (see photo above) and cut it to the appropriate side. Replace.

Not so fast, Blofeld. I apparently live in the Middle of Nowhere. Every store I checked for mica had never heard of it. Bringing along my hole-y sample did not help. Employees looked at it like it was some strange metal from an alien spaceship or similar and looked at me as if I was from Mars. "I've never seen anything like this," they said, one after another. So much for shopping locally. Frustrated, I went home and magically ordered some mica sheets off the internet. They needed to take the slow boat from Hong Kong but arrived safely after about three weeks of microwaveless living. With scissors, I carefully cut one sheet to size and slid it in the wave guard spot and voila! Microwave works perfectly. It was a four dollar fix. Worth the wait. And since the mica comes in sheets of two, I still have a spare should this ever happen again.

WTF

Movie: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. When the box said pervasive language it really meant it. Based on the book by Kim Baker, an American journalist who volunteers circa 2003 to cover the no longer fashionable war in Afghanistan. Why she volunteered is beyond me (the challenge, maybe?) but her experiences shown in the movie made me want to read the book. The movie was well done, insightful and thought provoking. Actually, she made a point to her boss that is something I've wondered about for years: why we don't see what's going on over there on our news stations. Apparently we don't want to. That's news to me! Interesting or something (creepy?) seeing Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton together again post-Fargo. Freeman's affected Scottish accent helped erase some of those Fargo images because yes, I believe it's true, no matter if you're not the best looking or nicest person, a Scottish accent will make anyone appealing. He turns out to be an okay guy, after all. Why this movie didn't do so well at the box office when Fey's clunker, horribly sophomoric Sisters did seems criminal. 

By any other name

Documentary: Meet the Hitlers. More disappointing than interesting, which it could have and should have been. Concerned the stigma of having your name be Hitler. The European fellow seemed to believe he was related and subsequently ostracized but likely wasn't related at all but just a loner or recluse. The American teenager with an extra T appeared well adjusted, with friends and only slightly teased at school. Gene, also no relation, was endearingly memorable for his touching love for his late wife. His family seemed great.

Where we ran into difficulty was with a White Supremacist with children of questionable names, one being Adolph Hitler, another Aryan Nation. Names aside, the man seemed in need of education about totalitarianism and the Holocaust. Fascism means giving up individuality and your individual rights. As for the creation of Hitler's master race, this meant many millions more than Jews were exterminated. Political opponents, authors and artists considered subversive, priests, mentally and physically disabled, Boy Scouts, prisoners of war, etc. Where does it stop once it starts? He needs to learn the answer is not to start.

The other disturbing part was the journalist hounding the three actual great nephews who only wanted to be left alone. They changed their name and vowed to stop the bloodline. They've done the right thing. Let it go, dude. Most sensible thing about the documentary was the interview with the Holocaust survivor, a nice elderly man who understood any descendants of Hitler are not responsible for their unmet great uncle's crimes.

What's in your head?

Movie: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Based on the book by Seth Grahame-Smith. I've never been interested in the zombie craze that has permeated popular culture the past few years. Guess I prefer my monsters with a little more substance. Vampires and werewolves have personalities, Cybermen are tying to upgrade everyone to a super robot race, Daleks are globs of pure hate but zombies have nothing besides the Eat Brains Obsession. That said, their inclusion in this Jane Austen parody/alternate history makes for entertaining viewing. Who would expect the five Bennett sisters to be proficiently trained in combat arts? Good for them, not just sitting around in an old book gathering dust and playing endless games of Whist. Nice to see Matt Smith post-Doctor and witty as ever.

I want to fly like an eagle

Movie: Eddie the Eagle. I remember some things about British ski jumper "Eddie the Eagle" Edwards from the 1988 Winter Olympics. How happy the sport made him despite his placing last. There was controversy as to whether or not he should be allowed to compete at all since he wasn't proficient at the sport. At the time, he did what he needed to do to qualify (the rules have since been changed so a lesser skilled competitor would not be allowed at the Olympics) and he loved the sport. His excitement at breaking the British ski jumping record is something everyone watching must remember. At the time, as it still does, the controversy seemed unfair and I thought and think anyone saying he shouldn't have been allowed to compete should just once (much less 60 times a day as  Eddie was) have to jump the 70 meter. It took enormous courage and strength and that's what the Olympics should be about, not just who can win gold. The movie takes some license with conversations but not with the competitions nor Eddie's spirit. Good for him and good for everyone involved with the film for winning our hearts.

Floating on a sea of love

If you're looking for a new and exciting place to call home (and who isn't) and you have several million to spare, look into the stunning Floating Seahorse villas. Built on a man-made archipelago two miles off Dubai's coast, the Signature Edition home has 4,000 square feet on three levels of everything you could want, like wi-fi, televisions, and a butler service, whatever that entails. The lower underwater/submerged level has a master bedroom and bathroom with floor to ceiling windows that give you perfect views of marine life swimming around artificial coral gardens. The second level has a kitchen, dining area, a sundeck and pool. The upper level features a glass bottom Jacuzzi. By 2018 there should be 125 or more villas, perhaps depending on the demand. Get yours while there's time. Apparently the first 42 are already sold out.

Work, work, work harder You say

Movie: Joy. Somewhat based on the life and work of Joy Mangano, the creator of the Miracle Mop although the movie does not call it that. An engaging film about how she came up with the idea, found financing for it and tried to market it. At first she didn't succeed and the try, try again ending to that phrase is what made her successful in the long run. Isabella Rosellini was wonderful as her father's girlfriend. It seemed very true to life how family members like her father (Robert De Niro) would be giving her negative advice, like, it's never going to work, you should give up, you tried but failed so file bankruptcy. I think we all learned how important it is to follow your instincts and stick by what you believe in. Nice to see Dascha Polanco released and out of the orange and/or khaki. I wondered why the Joan  Rivers impersonator was so spot on until seeing in the ending credits that Melissa Rivers played her. Marvelous.

The queen of my highway

While watching wonderfully humorous travel writer Tony James Slater's video experiences on his and Roo's driving the electric Twizy car, and laughing along with them, I decided to look into this unique car. Made by Renault and manufactured in Spain, Twizy is powered by a litium-ion battery pack, located underneath the front seat. Due to its ultra-compact small size (under 8 feet in length, about 3 feet in width and a height of just under 5 feet) it seats two people, one driver and one somewhat folded up and flexible passenger in the back seat and is classified in Europe as a "heavy quadricycle." Whatever that is. A vehicle with limited speed, I guess. The Twizy averages 30 to 40 mph.

There are three models, costing somewhere between seven and nine thousand euros, not including the battery pack. That's a separate monthly fee to lease (around 50 euros), but does include roadside assistance and a battery replacement, should you need one. In some models the door are optional. Others have no windows so dress according to the weather. It takes about three hours to charge the battery. It's scheduled to be released on the Canadian market soon. No word on the U.S. It looks like a blast to drive.

I've seen a lot of what the world can do

Documentary: Where to Invade Next. Michael Moore-lite. Not what one would expect from the title, which would be a rehash of where the US has invaded up until now or what countries we should invade (although the latter would be a very short film, since the answer to that should be none.) More of a travelogue, this concerned some very interesting practices of a variety of different countries that perhaps the US should implement, especially since the ideas, the film claims, seemed to originate with us. Examples: Italian work ethic, or more likely, Italian relaxation ethic which serves to improve their quality of work. French school lunches being a gourmet meal on fine china everyday. I cringed to see Moore introduce American fast food to these wonderful French children. The Slovenian concept of free college tuition for anyone on the planet. Norwegian prisons that are without uniforms and more like dormitory living. Finnish excelling at education although they have no homework, no testing, and spend very little time in school. I found the discussion most interesting where they were pointing out the difference in mentality, the community minded versus the individually minded. On the down side, sadly every country has issues. No place is perfect to live. It's unfortunate we can't all be have the resources to find where we fit in best and live there.

You're gonna need a bigger room

Movie: Room. I thought this was very well done. While some claustrophobic people may have had difficulty watching the first part where the action is enclosed in 11x11 or less, it didn't bother me. The acting was wonderful, especially Ma and Jack (Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay.) The little boy emoted so well, often without saying anything. I haven't read the book so I don't know how it compares. The only thing that bothered me was the reporter/interviewer and her stupid question of didn't Ma think she should have given Jack to Old Nick to take anonymously to a hospital so Jack could have a better/normal life and Ma's response which was to question herself and send her into a downward spiral, not helped by PTSD as it was. I was hoping Ma would defend herself and say, hey! How could I possibly know Nick wouldn't have immediately killed the child? The question was totally unreasonable and the correct answer missing.

Probably the oddest thing in the Universe

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books, radio series, television show and movies all employed the Babel Fish: a small, yellow alien fish that you could put in your ear. Once there, it fed on your brain waves and somehow translated any languages coming into your ear to your language. It served well as a translator throughout the universe. Many times I have wished for one of these little critters in real life to make it easier to understand foreign languages without taking the time or effort to learn them. Now there may be such a thing for real. Called The Pilot System, developed by Waverly Labs, it seems to work on a similar principle as Google translates. It you wear it, it listens to your conversation and communicates with your phone to translate what you hear, whispering it back into your ear possibly by magic.  Current languages it works with are French, Spanish, Italian and English.

Alone until I get home

Movie: The Revenant. Very loosely based on novel loosely based on some incidents in the life of trapper Hugh Glass, circa 1823. I admit to ff'ing through some of the violence and gore because that's not my deal so I can't speak for normal speed, but in ff that bear didn't look very real. Leo, beyond the beginning, didn't have many lines as he was trying to recover from his mauling. Really no one came across very good but life was hard back then. Unfortunately they made the bad guy the only one to spout religion. It's been done before (see Les Miserables) and far better. The vision at the end made it seem like Hugh was mortally wounded and drifting off to the Heavenly Realm but he lived for ten years after these events. Also, it was tough to figure out locations. We guessed the Dakotas just by the landscape and yes, it was South Dakota. I never heard mention of any places that would've answered definitively. Towards the end they talked about Yellowstone, but that's Wyoming, so I was totally confused. If the states were not yet states, they could have shown a map of sorts to give us some frame of reference. Overall, they probably should have stuck closer to the book because compared to the likes of Jeremiah Johnson, all this has to offer is great scenery.