Side Trip to the VW Beetle Graveyard

Yesterday morning, while on the way to meet friends for breakfast at a restaurant located at the airport, I stopped at the spot I call the VW graveyard, to take photos.

The burgundy colored Beetle is one I spotted in the parking area of City Mall in October.

I'm reasonably certain that the convertible Beetle is the same one I came upon at the corner of Predices and Luke Wright Street, in July.

The red colored VW looks new to me. I have no idea regarding the car under the blue tarp.

Mango Shake from Gabby's Bistro - on Rovira Dr.

There are three Gabby's located in Dumaguete; one, in Brgy. Daro, a second one on Rizal Blvd. and third, which I visited today, on E. Rovira Dr.

I reviewed the the mango shakes from the Gabby's on the blvd. and attempted to review the mango shakes from the Daro location. Today, I purchased a mango shake from the Gabby's Bistro on Rovira.

Had I tried this shake before getting a mango shake from Panda's Ice Cream Haus, I would have called this one a thick shake. However, being made with milk and not ice cream, this Gabby's shake can't compare in creamy thickness. The taste was nice. The slightly tangy taste of the mango gave the milk based shake a bit of a yogurt flavor.

Like the shakes at the other Gabby's this one cost 75 pesos. Again, if I'm comparing this shake with Panda's, I'd have to give the Mango Fruit Shake from Panda's the prize.

I once called the mango shakes at Gabby's the sine qua non of mango shakes. I no longer feel that way. Although delicious, the Gabby's mango shakes have met their match.

Superman

A few days ago, I came upon a five minute video clip, posted onto Facebook, from the first episode of a 1948 movie serial, Superman. The serial starred Kirk Alyn as Superman/Clark Kent, Noel Neill as Lois Lane, and Tommy Bond as Jimmy Olsen. Neill would later be cast as Lois Lane in the T.V. series, Adventures of Superman. As a child, Bond was best known for his work as Butch in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) comedies.

After watching the short video clip, I went in search for the entire 15 episode serial online. The serial isn't available on Youtube, but it is available on the dailymotion.com website. A link to episode one is found here.

In 1950, another 15 part serial, starring the same characters was released. This serial, Atom Man vs Superman also starred Lyle Talbot as Lex Luthor. This serial can be found on dailymotion.com as well.

I've watched the entire 30 episodes and found the serials entertaining in their own way. The only negative I can say, is that special effects being what they were during the late 40's - early 50's, animation was used to show Superman in flight and the effect is a bit cheesy.

After watching the two serials, I searched for videos of the Adventures of Superman TV series. Season one is the only season available online, and unfortunately, not all the original 26 episodes are to be found.

In season one, Phyllis Coates played the part of Lois Lane, Noel Neill taking over beginning with season two.

 I want to make special mention of episode 13 from season one of the TV series, The Stolen Costume. The early episodes of the TV series were unusual in that characters were seen dying on screen. In The Stolen Costume, Superman is actually responsible for the deaths of two characters who had discovered his identity as Clark Kent.

Panda's Mango Fruit Shake

As I mentioned in last Sunday's post, the Panda Ice Cream Haus has both a mango fruit shake and a mango ice cream shake.

 In Sunday's post, I mistakenly wrote that both shakes were priced at 65 pesos. I stopped by this afternoon to try the mango fruit shake, and saw that the fruit shake is actually only 60 pesos.

Even though the mango ice cream shake I had Sunday was very delicious, I noted that there is very little mango flavor to the shake - it's mostly vanilla.

The mango fruit shake was different - it had a wonderful mango taste. No mistaking this for any other flavor. To add even more to the delight, this shake has to be the thickest mango shake I've had. This shake was even thicker than the ice cream shake. It would not surprise me to learn that ice cream was also an ingredient. The mango pieces didn't hurt either.

All in all, a wonderful mango shake.

Return of the Yellow Beetle

It isn't often that I'm able to photograph a VW Beetle in motion. It's particularly difficult if my car is moving as well.

This morning I was lucky. Due to the congested traffic, my lane was not going anywhere - while motionless, I spotted a yellow VW about to turn right onto the road I was on, and soon to be passing me going in the opposite direction.

My camera was on the passenger seat and I was able to snap a shot as the car passed.

I've looked through my photos, and it's possible that this VW could be the same as one I saw in the VW graveyard July of 2017. The color looks the same, but I can't be 100% certain. The July 2017 yellow Beetle also made a show in March of 2018 - also at the VW graveyard.

Of course, I could stop by the VW graveyard, walk in and see if there's still a yellow VW parked there. I might just do that next time I'm in the area - depending on the flow of traffic.

An Ice Cream Mango Shake

On Google Maps, the address for Panda Ice Cream Haus is given as #3 Silliman Ave..The map location is correct, but as far as the address given, the store is actually located on Ma. Christina St..

Although I've passed by several times, I had not stopped in until today when I thought I'd see if mango shakes were available. On the plus side, Panda Ice Cream Haus has both mango fruit shakes and mango ice cream shakes - each costing 65 pesos. I decided that today, I'd try the mango ice cream shake and the fruit shake next time.

Another plus for the store is their utilization of metal, reusable drinking straws. I'm one of those folks who try not to use plastic straws, and an old fashioned paper straw would not hold up with this thick, creamy shake.

The shake I had was quite delicious, but I have to deduct points due to the fact that the mango shake does not taste like mango. Yes, the shake was delicious, but it had a vanilla flavor instead of mango.

I'll return soon and see if the mango fruit shake is more to my liking.

A Black VW

After having breakfast at Gie Gie's Sports Bar yesterday with a few friends, I spotted this black VW Beetle along the Bacong Road.

It was sprinkling rain at the time, so getting out to photograph the VW wasn't something I wanted to do. I pulled off the road behind the car and snapped these from inside my car.

Looking through my VW photos, I was unable to find another this color. Therefore, I'll name this one # 57.

New Democrat House Member Calls for Trump Impeachment

I want to state at the beginning that I will not censor so-called profanity in this post. If you find such words objectionable, then discontinue reading this and retreat to your safe zone.

Rashida Tlaib is half of the duo that became the first Muslim women to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, the other being Ilhan Omar, of whom I wrote about when some became upset when they believed the removal of the House ban on headgear would allow Omar to wear a Hijab on the House floor.

I've come upon a few comments on Facebook by some folks who've gotten the vapors over Muslims being elected to office. Ironically, these are the same folks objecting to government discriminating against Christians. If someone wants to cast their vote for a Christian, Jew, Muslim, Atheist or worshiper of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, then it's none of our business.

It isn't Tlaib's religion that has her in the news today. Speaking to a crowd at an event sponsored by progressive Democrats - yes, I know I'm being redundant - Tlaib said, regarding President Trump, ".......we're gonna go in there and we're going to impeach the motherfucker."

Of course, that comment caused more Americans to get the aforementioned vapors. One isn't allowed to say the word "motherfucker" in polite society, after all.

Others were upset that the vulgar word "impeach" was also used.

Obviously, I'm not easily offended by the word "motherfucker" - I wouldn't have used it so many times in this post if I were. You know, "sticks and stone......." and all that.

I just see the absurdity of trying to impeach Trump. Sure, there are enough far-out Democrats -again I'm being redundant - in the House to impeach him, but the whole thing will come to nothing because the Republican controlled Senate will not vote to remove him from office.

Any Democrat who believes otherwise is just a stupid motherfucker.

My Mango Shake from Gie-Gie's Sports Bar

I don't believe I've mentioned this before, but once a week I'll meet up with a couple of fellow Americans for breakfast. Truth be told, I don't always order breakfast - I frequently have breakfast earlier at home, and just meet the guys for a bit of conversation.

For several weeks we've been gathering at Senorita's Mexican Grill located at the Dumaguete airport compound. We decided to change it up this week and meet at Gie-Gie's Sports Bar located on the opposite side of Dumaguete on the Bacong Road.

This morning I had already eaten breakfast with my son before taking him to school, so when I arrived at Gie-Gie's I decided to have a mango shake. It's been quite some time since I've reviewed a mango shake - not since November 29 as a matter of fact, and it's long over due.

At the beginning of this post, there is a photo of the mango shake I ordered at Gie-Gie's. You might say, "That doesn't look like a mango shake - that looks more like a place mat". You'd be right. I was unable to photograph anything other than a place mat because they could not serve mango shakes this morning.

"And why", you might also ask, "were you unable to get a proper mango shake this morning?"

It seems that the owner of the sports bar had taken the blender home. That's par for the course in this area.

Having already eaten breakfast, I thought my second choice would be the homemade apple pie with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. The above photo is serving double duty today as it is also a photo of my apple pie à la mode. After being unable to get the first two items I ordered, I settled on a coffee.

They were able to serve me coffee. Perhaps I should have photographed that.

Stupid Meme

In the past couple of weeks, I've seen an anti-muslim meme posted onto Facebook on at least two occasions. Posted as a jpg., the meme reads, as follows:

How stupid are we?
"We allow our government to flood our nation with Muslims, give them welfare for life (with multiple wives), and then tell us we must not offend them 'or we will go to prison'. Islamic immigration has destroyed every country in Europe, and it will destroy both Canada and the US.
Are we so stupid that we'll stand by and let this happen to our country?"

The first time I came upon this meme, I left a comment on the Facebook page where it appeared. I was highly critical of the meme but it was obvious that I wasn't going to change anyone's mind.

I came across the meme again yesterday, and I was tempted to leave another critical comment, when I was reminded of a quote by one of my favorite writers, Elizabeth von Arnim -

"............the less a person knows, the more certain he is that he is right, and that no weapons yet invented are of any use in a struggle with stupidity."

The person who had posted the meme was obviously a person described in the von Armin quote, and I'd be wasting my time trying to change the mind (such as it is) of that person.

However, I could not leave this unanswered. I could, at least comment on the meme in this blog.

From the content of the meme, there's no way of knowing if the original writer was American or Canadian. The posters I knew are Americans, so I will address it from the standpoint that they believe it applies to the USA.

I'll address the wording in sections.
"We allow our government to flood our nation with Muslims.......". According to the US Constitution, the government cannot exclude immigrants based on their religion. There's freedom of religion in the US and Muslims can't be prevented from immigrating.

"......give them welfare for life......". I know a few Muslims and none are on welfare.

".....(with multiple wives)...". I worked with a Muslim whose family had immigrated from the Middle East. At the time of their immigration, his father had two wives. The US government would only allow him to bring one wife.

".........and then tell us we must not offend them 'or we will go to prison'.......". This is a totally ridiculous notion. No one is in prison in the United States for offending Muslims.

As I said, I don't expect to change anyone's opinion, but I feel better after putting in my 2 cent's worth.

The 2018 Book List Redux.

With the posting of the 2017 book list, I learned that the list did not read so well on a mobile device. To remedy that, I did a screen shot of the list and posted the list as a jpg in the next post.

I'm doing the same this year. The list, such as it is, follows below.

The 2018 Book List

It's New Year's day. As I write this, it is just past 7 AM. I've returned from my morning walk, and I'm ready to begin my first blog post of 2019.

It's been a New Year's day tradition of mine,for quite a few years, to post a list of the books I'd read the previous year. This year will not be an exception. Sadly, I read fewer books in 2018 than I had in several years previous. In 2017, for example, the total books read for the year was 45. In 2018, if one counts Alexandre Dumas' Celebrated Crimes as eight separate volumes, then my number for 2018 is a lowly 17.

The list, such as it is follows:

Celebrated Crimes Volumes One Through Eight   Alexandre Dumas,père
The Maltese Falcon   Dashiell Hammett
The Adventures of Sam Spade and other stories   Dashiell Hammett
Remembrance of Things Past : Swann's Way   Marcel Proust
The Shape of Things to Come.   H.G. Wells
Payment Deferred   C.S. Forester
The African Queen   C.S. Forester
Plain Murder    C.S. Forester
The Peacemaker    C.S. Forester
Hunger                  Knut Hamsun

Part of the reason why the number is so low, is that I began reading a number of books, but stopped reading before I finished the entire book. Two of those include Middlemarch by George Eliot and Aldous Huxley's Eyeless in Gaza. There are no consolation prizes for unfinished novels (read or written).

As I discovered with the 2017 reading list, the list doesn't transfer well when viewed on a mobile phone. With that list, I added a post which was viewable on a mobile device. I'll do the same with this list immediately following the publication of this post.

A word on the photo - I've included a photo of C.S. Forester because four of his novels appear on this list.