Adolescence (TV 2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Adolescence (TV 2025): 13 year-old boy is charged with murdering a female classmate. He denies doing it, but there's video evidence. Each episode is shot in a long single take, increasing the story's own inherent tension. It's technically brilliant and the acting is superb. A+

Netflix

Book Review: Wild Chocolate

From Wild Chocolate, by Rowan Jacobsen:

Amazon

"Cacao is ridiculously rich. Coffee beans have about 12 percent fat. Whipping cream has 35 percent. Cacao beans have 55 percent, and these Criollo beans top out around 60. They are butter bombs. That makes them extra delicious, and it also helps the chocolate to defy gravity in the right hands."

POTD: Stacked Boxes

"Containers at rest.
Order pressed against the sky.
Stacked intentions wait."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 09 10 Ljubljana

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Ljubljana, Slovenia. It shows stacked shipping containers at the port where our cruise ship docked. No story here, just a captivating image of geometric regularity imposed by humans on a natural landscape.

POTD: Beyond Net Zero in Slovenia

"One small capital
turns a climate tale around —
Slovenian green."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 09 10 Ljubljana

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Ljubljana, "the capital and largest city of Slovenia, located along a trade route between the northern Adriatic Sea and the Danube region, inhabited since prehistoric times. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center." It's also progressive regarding its movement away from fossil fuels, judging by these snapshots from around town.

More photos after the jump.

POTD: Sea Organ

"The tides softly play
Adriatic Sea music,
symphonies of waves."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 09 09 Zadar

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Zadar, Croatia. It shows that city's Sea Organ, "an architectural sound art object located in Zadar, Croatia and an experimental musical instrument, which plays music by way of sea waves and tubes located underneath a set of large marble steps...The waves interact with the organ and create somewhat random but harmonic sounds."

More photos after the jump.

North of North (TV 2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

North of North (TV 2025): Warm-hearted, character-driven dramedy set in the Canadian arctic. Borrows in a good way from "Northern Exposure", "Parks and Recreation" and maybe "Schitt's Creek." It grows on you as you become familiar with the characters and relationships. A-

Netflix

Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Captain America: Brave New World (2025): Mostly a tired international thriller only loosely tied to the Avengers. Marvel has lost its magic. Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford have plenty of scenes together, but their charisma doesn't mesh. Are they allies or enemies? C-

Disney+

POTD: Bright Orange Roofs

"From damage to gem,
Dubrovnik doesn't forget—
It only rebuilds."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 09 08 Dubrovnik

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Dubrovnik, Croatia. "In 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence, Dubrovnik was besieged by the Yugoslav People's Army for seven months and suffered significant damage from shelling." Dubrovnik's iconic orange tiled roofs have since undergone repair and today have an orange-red shine, brighter than before. Once again, Dubrovnik is one of the Mediterranean's top tourist destinations.

POTD: Watching the World Go By

"In a rear courtyard,
Smoking grandmother keeps watch,
While clothes dry on line."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 09 08 Dubrovnik

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Dubrovnik, Croatia. Dubrovnik is heavily touristed, but as this photo shows, there are still locals behind the walls who make Dubrovnik their home.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

POTD: Dubrovnik Rebuilt

"Dubrovnik stands proud,
A jewel cupped by the coast—
Stone walls kiss the sea."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 09 08 Dubrovnik

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Dubrovnik, Croatia. Dubrovnik is a walled city on the Adriatic coast. You can explore the city on foot. You can walk the walls that surround the city. Dubrovnik is a gem from any angle.