Clint, Say It Ain't So

It's not easy for me to criticize Clint Eastwood. I've been a fan of his since the days when he played Rowdy Yates in the t.v. series, Rawhide. I'm a bit confused, however after reading about a couple of comments he is reported to have made in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.

For the article, he spoke briefly on his two year term as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea in the late 1980s.

One of Mayor Eastwood’s first acts—widely reported at the time—was to reduce the onerous municipal prohibitions on the public sale of ice cream. More than three decades later, he laments that the Golden State is “like Regulation City right now.” An excess of rules is “making California a place other than a democracy.”

Fine, I certainly approve of any attempt to reduce government regulations. However, at the very end of the article, Eastwood is quoted as saying, regarding the upcoming Presidential election, "The best thing we could do is just get Mike Bloomberg in there".

Wait a minute. As mayor of NYC, Bloomberg was the emperor of the "sugary drinks portion cap rule" (aka soda ban). As mayor, Michael Bloomberg never saw a government regulation he didn't love.

If Eastwood is critical of California being "Regulation City right now", how could he support a candidate that would make the entire U.S. just like California?

Eleven Million - Plus

In January of this year, I made note of the fact that the photos I've uploaded to Google Maps had received more than 10 million views. Today, I am pleased to say that my photos have now received in excess of eleven million views.

As I've mentioned before, I don't receive any financial benefit from these photos - this is strictly a hobby for me. Never the less, I'm proud that my photos have been viewed so many times by folks looking for information about the locations I've photographed.

Two Toned Beetle

After dropping my son off at school this morning, I thought I'd take an alternate route home in order to take a few photos for Google Maps.
Mission accomplished. I was able to add photos of Hayahay Treehouse Bar - Lantaw Native Restaurant - and - Cafe Racer.

Just as I passed Cafe Racer, I spotted a VW Beetle parked on the opposite side of the street. I parked my car and took these photos. This VW is # 68 in my collection.

From Russia With Love

Earlier this month, I noted that I had been watching the early James Bond films on the ok.ru website. Watching the films led me on a hunt for the Ian Fleming novels as e-books. I discovered that the books are in the public domain in Canada and thus available at fadedpage.com.

It was my original intention to read all 15 books in the series in the order they were published. My favorite of the early Bond films is From Russia With Love, and it turns out that it's also my favorite of the first five Bond books I've read. I like that the film and the novel are so similar - we all know that isn't always the case. The only difference between the two is the very different endings. I'm not the sort to do spoilers (even for 63 year old spy novels). I'll just say the endings are not the same.

I thought I'd be taking a break from James Bond after From Russia With Love, but I've gone back to my original plan, however, after reading it. Because of the ending, I wanted to go straight into book #6 - Dr. No.

The revised plan is to take a short break after Dr. No and read something unrelated. I'm thinking of reading a book recommended by Dr. Jordan Peterson - The Charterhouse of Parma.

A Hidden VW.

A few days ago, while passing Rusi Ball Field on San Jose St., I saw a dilapidated VW Beetle parked at a house across from the ball field. I drive thru that area quite often, but had never seen this VW before this. The gate was opened that day, which explains why it was noticeable to me for the first time.

I didn't have my camera with me that day, so I wasn't able to photograph the Beetle until this morning as I returned home from taking my son to school.

The gate was closed, so I wasn't able to get as clear a shot as the view I got a few days ago. Also, it was 7:00 AM on a cloudy morning; the light wasn't the best for taking photos.

Is Anyone Buying This?

We all get advertisements popping up on Facebook. However, because of the nature of Facebook, we aren't necessarily seeing the same ads.

Because I live in Philippines, I often see ads for an online store here - shoppe.ph -. I'm posting screenshots of items recently featured in the shoppe.ph Facebook ads. These items all display an old style hammer and sickle from the now defunct Soviet Union. Is there really a market for these items here in Philippines? I can't imagine these things being purchased in this country.

Am I wrong?

On the other hand, after coming upon coffee mugs with swastikas I shouldn't be surprised at anything.

Books and Movies

I mentioned in an earlier post that after having reread Albert Camus' The Stranger, I moved on to rereading H.G.Wells' The Invisible Man.

This must have been a "reread cycle". Following The Invisible Man, I took up Franz Kafka's The Castle. It's been years since I read - or more accurately - attempted to read The Castle and I was finally able to finish it. Years ago, I looked at the character, K as being a recreation of the character Joseph K from The Trial, but I no longer interpret him in that manner. It's obvious that in The Trial, Joseph K is in no way responsible for the persecution he faces. Looking at the main character in The Castle, I see a man who is a liar who uses people, and as someone who has no right to enter the castle, and as someone who should have left the village immediately after having spent his first night there.

While reading The Castle, I came upon an online discussion of the origins of the theme music used in the James Bond films. That led me to search for the earliest James Bond films online. I've found the first five films at ok.ru - Dr, No - From Russia With Love - Goldfinger - Thunderball  and You Only Live Twice. Unfortunately, the last one is dubbed into Russian and I haven't found an English version available.

Watching these old films led me to search for ebooks of the James Bond novels. These books are in the public domain in Canada and can be found at fadedpage.com. I decided to read all 15 in the series. I've finished the first, Casino Royale and have started on the second, Live and Let Die.

I haven't seen the 2006 version of Casino Royale and the 1967 film - which I saw in '67 - doesn't follow the novel in anyway. Prior to reading the book a day or so ago, the only thing I knew of the story was the famous "open seat - carpet beater" scene.

Live and Let Die has been full of surprises for me. I've been most surprised by the - how should I say it? - less than politically correct language in the book. I can't even write the title of Chapter Five  here.

Another of the more surprising elements of the James Bond novels, is Fleming's description of Bond's appearance as being similar to that of Hoagy Carmichael. Not exactly Sean Connery.