Nope (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Nope (2022): It had me at Jordan Peele. Strong characters and an eerie atmosphere with a crazed chimp and a murderous cloud, but it comes up short when it's time to explain what's going on. Is it a Western? Horror? Sci-fi? Social commentary? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Is it good? Yep. B-

Random Thoughts: Russians Win the Space Race to the Moon

Tweets from July, 2022:

• 2022-07-05: For All Mankind - S01 (TV 2019): Alternative history of NASA where Russians win the Space Race to the Moon. A few references to alternative facts that people familiar with history will appreciate, but also a lot of soap opera storylines and convenient plot developments. B-
• 2022-07-07: Review: Sea of Tranquility: A time travel story in which a glitch in time brings centuries together. And sends characters from earlier novels into alternate timelines. These stories slowly weave together into a mesmerizing whole. B+
• 2022-07-10: In a world of Jenna Ellises, be a Simone Biles.

After the jump, more random thoughts.

Review: Cloud Cuckoo Land

From Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

“Ah,” says the first sister, “fine choice,” and they sit on either side of him and the one who fetched the book says, “On a day like this, when it’s chilly and damp, and you can’t get warm, sometimes all you need are the Greeks”—she shows him a page, dense with verse—“to fly you all the way around the world to somewhere hot and stony and bright.” "
	Amazon

Cloud Cuckoo Land: A mashup of the fall of Constantinople, a modern-day crime thriller, and a future sci-fi journey to another star, all connected by an ancient Greek story. The characters are memorable, the plots compelling, but the sum is less than the parts. B+

POTD: Go Rams!

From 2019 11 23 Luxor

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt. It shows just a few of the many (and by "many" I mean hundreds) of 3,000 year-old ram-headed sphinx statues at the site. There's even a road connecting Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple that's lined with Rams. I think it would make a grand place for Berkner High School to hold victory celebrations like Egypt's own celebration of the restoration of the road in 2021.

POTD: Egypt Offers a Wealth of Images

From 2019 11 23 Luxor

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt. It shows a typical tourist taking a photo of a family member. Clearly, he isn't taking a photo of what I'm taking a photo of. No matter. Egypt offers such a wealth of images that no matter which direction you point your camera, you'll likely have as good a background for a photo as any other direction.