Johnny Depp, Theseus and Mrs. S’s Kayak

A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drowned,” he said, “for he will be going out on a day he shouldn’t. But we do be afraid of the sea, and we do only be drowned now and again.”—John Millington Synge, The Aran Islands.

Credit: Pixabay contributor 51581

If you’ve watched any movies since the late 1980s, you will have listened to a musical genius named Hans Zimmer. His movie soundtrack credits and multiple awards include:

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AI – the Toddler that’s Getting Dumber Every the Day.

(as at July 2023. Since then I’ve become more impressed, at least with Dall.E-3)

[Photo credit: karatara, Pexels.com]

AI – artificial intelligence – may have a bright and/or scary future when it grows up. With apologies to the proud parents, though, the particular AI that I’ve played with over the last few weeks (June-July 2023) shows no signs of being gifted. And unlike many other toddlers, it appears to be getting dumber as it ages.

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Down the Rabbit Hole with the Butcher of the Somme

In a chance conversation, I referred to General Haig as “The Butcher of the Somme” and mentioned his supposed disdain for machine guns. [Haig was the Commander in Chief of the British forces in France during the WWI Battle of the Somme in July 1916.]

I decided I’d do a little research to justify my words (or not). I ended up going down an uglier rabbit hole than I’d intended. Occupational hazard for authors.

The Butcher of the Somme, showing off some bling and two curtain sashes. [Wikimedia ]
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Improving Great Art. One Cat at a Time.

I ran a series of social media posts about Grisou the Cat. In each post I inserted him into some well known work of art – usually a painting – to show the artist how it should be done right. Then I challenged viewers for the best caption, to win international bragging rights. While there were great captions, the judges ignored MY captions. Quelle frustration! So by popular demand from the adoring millions (rounded up to the nearest millions) this post is dedicated to MY captions. At last! Take that, stupid judges!


God: More bloodied angel wing feathers in the garden? This has to stop.

[Hi-res version and more artist info at https://www.photo.net/photo/18654743]

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Building a Garage Kayak Hoist

A Nobel Venture

And no, I didn’t misspell that.

A few weeks back Pascale and her friend, Alison, decided they would each buy a kayak. They drove up to Nobel, Ontario to try out different models, thanks to the good folk at White Squall Paddling Centre. Husbands Gary and self tagged along to provide company and to look decorative while the women tried out kayaks.

After on-the water tests, Alison chose a green beauty – a Delta 12 – and Pascale chose a shiny red Delta 12.10.

I didn’t want to store the kayak in the garden over winter because:

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