SUPERMARINE WALRUS

RARE SUPERMARINE WALRUS TO FLY AGAIN
GULL PERCH FLYER

Cool video. I like the way he has combined old footage, animation and new stuff. The Vought Kingfisher was the American version of this airplane. The PBY Catalina was also big in search and rescue. The Walrus was tiny compared to the Catalina. The Walrus was a quarter of the weight and had less than half the wingspan.

Foundation of Western Civilization

The 14th-century carving Nine Good Heroes at City Hall in Cologne, Germany

David Warren opens his post about Charlemagne with this paragraph:

That triad of triads — the Nine Worthies of medieval antiquity, from Hector and Alexander to Godfrey of Bouillon (three pagans, three Jews, and three Christians, to whom Falstaff was added by Doll Tearsheet in Shakespeare) — are not celebrated today. We must relearn that, without historical characters much larger than life, our own little lives will shrink smaller.

I've heard some of those names before, but not the Nine Worthies, so I asked Google and got back this:

The Nine Worthies were a collection of ideal heroes—three pagans, three Jews, and three Christians—who embodied the ideals of chivalry in medieval Europe, first listed by Jacques de Longuyon in 1312. The pagan figures were Hector, Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar; the Jewish figures were Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabeus; and the Christian figures were King Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey of Bouillon. These figures represented a historical continuum of heroic leadership and were seen as worthy of study and emulation by aspiring knights. 

The Three Groups of Worthies

The Nine Worthies were grouped by their religious and historical origins, creating a universal history of heroic virtue: 

• Pagan Worthies:
• Hector of Troy: A courageous and noble warrior from the Trojan War. 
• Alexander the Great: The ancient Macedonian king who conquered a vast empire. 
• Julius Caesar: The Roman general and statesman. 
• Jewish Worthies:
• Joshua: The biblical successor to Moses, who led the Israelites into the Promised Land. 
• King David: The biblical King of Israel, known for his bravery and harp-playing. 
• Judas Maccabeus: A Jewish leader who fought against the Seleucid Empire. 
• Christian Worthies:
• King Arthur: The legendary British king. 
• Charlemagne: The king of the Franks and founder of the Holy Roman Empire. 
• Godfrey of Bouillon: A leader of the First Crusade and the first ruler of Jerusalem after the Crusader conquest. 

Significance

• Chivalric Ideal: The Nine Worthies provided a framework for understanding the ideal knight, whose life served as a model for aspiring to chivalric virtues. 
• Universal History: This compilation linked figures from different eras and cultures, presenting a broader vision of history and heroism. 
• Cultural Popularity: The concept became popular in literature, art, and tapestries across Europe, reflecting its enduring appeal as a symbol of knightly excellence. 

Falstaff and Doll Tearsheet are characters from Shakespeare's play. Falstaff is also the main character in the opera Falstaff by Verdi.

Hal's main companion in enjoying the low life is Sir John Falstaff. Fat, old, drunk, and corrupt as he is, he has a charisma and a zest for life that captivates the Prince. - Wikipedia [Hal is Prince Hal, future King of England]

Dorothy "Doll" Tearsheet is a fictional character who appears in Shakespeare's play Henry IV, Part 2. - Wikipedia

Soviet Space Program - Condensed

ППК Перезагрузка feat. Время первых
IamPanikaha

Very cool. The Voskhod 3KD inflatable airlock shows up just after the 1:30 mark.

How the First Spacewalk Nearly Ended in Disaster – Alexei Leonov Voskhod 2 - by The Curious Droid

Google translates the title as PPK Reboot feat. Time of the First

Screw You IKEA

New Kitchen Cabinets

A couple of weeks ago I spent five days helping younger son install some IKEA kitchen cabinets. You wouldn't think a simple project like this would take so long, but you aren't allowing for the fact that we only managed to put in a couple of hours a day, and half of that time got ate up with driving to Lowes.

The project was a little tricky because the duct for the vent was right on the edge of the middle cabinet. We cut out the corner of the cabinet which meant the hanger in that corner went away. We got around this by bolting the two cabinets together.

The biggest headache was mounting the range hood. Because of our complications, we had to install the vent after we hung the cabinet, which means we had to hold the hood in mid air and align the screw holes that were up inside the hood with the brackets bolted to the cabinet. For reasons known only to IKEA, these screws, and only these screws, had tiny Torx heads (T-10) and none of the bits in our box of driver bits was small enough. Never fear, IKEA has a solution:

IKEA Torx Bit Adaptor for Range Hood
(Cabinet and Hood are shown upside down)

It was awkward but it worked, until the tip of the adaptor snapped off. 

Bon Appétit, Your Majesty - Netflix Series

Bon Appétit, Your Majesty | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB]
Netflix K-Content

Silly Korean historical drama / romance. Modern day woman has just won a prestigious cooking competition and is flying home to Korea. She opens an ancient book she is carrying, some of the characters on the page start magically glowing and presto! She magically gets transported back a thousand years in time to the Joseon Dynasty.

Because this is TV, she escapes being executed (happens in every episode I think) and ends up running the kitchen in the king's palace. Meanwhile, the king is writing the book that she was carrying.

Stand out element of this show is what happens to people when they taste our girl's concoctions. It is like a psychedelic experience and their faces glow with rapture. There have been times when I have tasted foods that were exceptional. I enjoyed them, but seeking out these flavors has never been a high priority with me. I can see that for some people it could become a bit of an obsession. I mean witness all the cook books and all the cooking shows. Some people are really into this fancy food thing. Kind of like some people are into football, cars, or opera. People are just weird, man.

Have you ever tasted something that reminded you of a taste from childhood? That has happened to me on occasion and even now it influences my food selection. For instance, tuna fish. My wife fixes hers with Miracle Whip and celery, I fix mine with mayonnaise and sweet relish. I put a dash of catsup on my scrambled eggs. I can eat tuna or eggs prepared other ways, but it just isn't the same.

12 episodes 90 minutes each.

Cast

• Im Yoon-ah plays Yeon Ji-young. A talented, assertive chef from the modern era who is transported to the Joseon Dynasty. 
• Lee Chae-min plays King Yi Heon. The young, charismatic but tyrannical King of Joseon, known for his discerning taste. 
• Kang Han-na plays Kang Mok-joo. A passionate woman who is a long-term concubine in the King's court. (Villain)
• Choi Gwi-hwa plays Prince Jesan. A powerful and influential figure within the royal family.  (Villain)
• Seo Yi-Sook plays Queen Dowager Inju. The powerful Queen Dowager of the Joseon Dynasty. 
• Oh Eui-Sik plays Im Song-jae. The King's cunning Chief State Councilor, who forms an alliance with Ji-young. 
• Park Young-woon plays Su-hyeok. 
• Yoon Seo-Ah plays Seo Gil-geum (our girl's best bud).

1992 | Tráiler oficial | Netflix España

1992 | Tráiler oficial | Netflix España
Netflix España

Alcoholic security guard is sleeping in his car when a bomb goes off down the block. The explosion kills a big-shot, but it also kills another man who was a friend and sponsor of our guard. The man's wife finds an unburned plastic Curro figure in her dead husband's hand indicating that someone put it there after the explosion. The Curro figure was the mascot of the 1992 World's Fair (Expo '92) that was held in Seville, Spain.

Amparo, the wife, is determined. Richi, the guard, in not the least interested in solving an unsolvable crime, but he keeps stepping up to help and/or protect Amparo on account of she keeps stirring up trouble.

Curro - Mascot for Expo '92 in Seville Spain

The story has several accidents that befell the Expo. There were some accidents at the Expo, but they are not a 100% match with accidents in the story. Real accidents:

Major Incidents

Bus Crash (August 1992):.
A bus carrying 56 tourists from Barcelona to Seville, the site of Expo '92, skidded off the road and toppled down an embankment on the A-7 highway near Torreblanca. The accident resulted in 45 deaths and 11 injuries. The bus driver lost control while taking a bend at excessive speed.

Pavilion Fire (February 1992):.
A significant pavilion, slated to house Spanish exhibits, was destroyed by a fire while workers were making final preparations. The blaze was determined to be accidental, and the pavilion was not rebuilt.

Viking Ship Disaster (May 1992):.
Two replica Viking ships, part of Norway's exhibit, were swamped by a severe storm and wrecked at sea while en route to Seville. While the crew was rescued, the ships were lost.

The makeup / special effects people had their work cut out for this show with all the grisly bodies that keep popping up. We not all have the victims of arson and explosions, but our guard is hallucinating and his visions are not all lollypops and roses. The wife meanwhile gets some spectacular nightmares. And I haven't even mentioned the villain. He's particularly gruesome.

6 episodes 45 minutes each.

Cast

The Spanish series 1992, which premiered on Netflix in December 2024, is a thriller set against the backdrop of Seville's Expo '92. The story follows a widow and an ex-cop as they investigate a series of mysterious murders. 

Here is a list of the actors and their characters: 

Main cast

• Marian Álvarez as Amparo. A widow who begins investigating a series of murders after her husband is killed in an explosion.
• Fernando Valdivielso as Richi. An alcoholic ex-cop turned security guard who helps Amparo with the investigation.
• Víctor Rivas as Victor. The serial killer, who is also referred to as "the Flamethrower killer" and "the hooded".
• Paz Vega as Carmen. A character who aids Richi and Amparo in their investigation.
• Carlos Santos as Fernando Victoria. An influential man who becomes entangled in the investigation.
• Álex Gadea as Álvaro. Amparo's husband, whose death sets the story in motion. 

Supporting cast

• Gorka Lasaosa as Police Commissary Robledo.
• Marieta Sánchez as Rosa. Victor's caretaker.
• Jaime Ordóñez as Palacios. One of the killer's victims.
• Darío Frías as Zamorano '92.
• Guillermo Barrientos as Domingo, a farmer.
• Pablo Puyol as Valcárcel '92.
• Francisco Boira as Quintas. 

The Journalist - Netflix Series

The Journalist | Official Trailer | Netflix
Netflix Malaysia

It's like watching a scandal unfold from behind the scenes. I'm guesstimating the whole thing unfolds over a period of a year, give or take any number of months. Somebody approves a grant and in exchange somebody becomes the owner of a substantial piece of property and only pays a fraction of its market value. At least I think that's what the scandal is.

Anyway, questions get asked, an investigation starts but is quickly squashed and it's all set to quietly fade away until the miscreants decide they need to cover their tracks. They put together a small group of guys and set them to work editing the records to eliminate any reference to the Prime Minister's wife.

Mr. Matsuda is hanging with the miscreants when they cook up this scheme and he files a formal complaint. Shortly thereafter his complaint is withdraw and he mysteriously falls ill and ends up comatose in the hospital where he remains for the rest of this story. His sister is The Journalist and she is distraught by what happened to her brother, but she has no evidence of what happened to him being anything other than an act of god.

Meanwhile the DCB (Dedicated Career Bureaucrat), one of the guys on the crew rewriting the records, is not happy about this work. He has always prided himself on doing a good and proper job that would be beneficial to the people, and this business of altering records has got him mentally crosswise. It gets so bad that he eventually kills himself, which causes a small scandal. What's going on with this guy? Happily married, career bureaucrat, commits suicide? He leaves a suicide note, but his wife keeps it quiet, for a while.

Now we have Ryo, the handsome young college student, nephew of DCB, who starts to become politically aware and runs into Ms. Matsuda, The Journalist, who wants to interview his aunt, the widow of DCB.

DCB kept meticulous records of the alterations he made on the official records. He put his record of alterations on a flash drive and gave it to his supervisor before he died.

Ms. Matsuda gets hold of some dirt and gets the story published, This irritates the miscreants and they unleash an army social media warriors on her. The have a secure room full of cubicles with a couple of dozen people in there, all bent to the task of raising cain on social media.

6 episodes, 45 minutes each.

I'm watching this show and I'm thinking this is exactly what's going on in the US, and has been since forever. Shoot, the same thing is going on all over the world.

Cast

I've been thinking I should include the cast of characters from these shows, because we watch so many, and there are so many actors that some of them are bound to appear in other shows. But putting together a cast list is a fair amount of work. Most of the cast listings found on the internet give the actor's name and the character's name, which is great, but they don't tell you their role. With foreign films the character's name doesn't help much because they are mostly unpronounceable. We hear what they are calling other characters, but often times the spoken version of the name is just a breath or a grunt and are incomprehensible. When my wife and are talking, trying to figure out what's going on on-screen, we mostly refer to characters by the role they are playing - the fat thug, the skinny detective, the girlfriend, terms like that.

So I decided to ask Google: Can you tell me the names of the actors in the Japanese TV drama 'The Journalist', their characters names and their roles? And presto, this very cool list appears:

The cast of the 2022 Japanese TV drama The Journalist, available on Netflix, includes Ryoko Yonekura as an investigative reporter, Go Ayano as an elite public servant, and Ryusei Yokohama as a student intern. The series is based on the 2019 movie of the same name and the book by Isoko Mochizuki, but features different characters.

 

Main cast and characters

• Ryoko Yonekura as Anna Matsuda (The Journalist): A determined and seasoned investigative reporter for the Toto Newspaper. She is known as a "maverick" in the news industry and is tenacious in her pursuit of the truth behind government corruption scandals.
• Go Ayano as Shinichi Murakami: An elite bureaucrat in the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. He becomes entangled in the government conspiracy.
• Ryusei Yokohama as Ryo Kinoshita: A university student working as a newspaper deliveryman. He becomes motivated to uncover the truth and finds himself drawn into the scandal.
• Hidetaka Yoshioka as Kazuya Suzuki (DCB): A public servant who was initially involved in the corruption but takes his own life after providing the original documents to the Ministry of Finance.
• Shinobu Terajima as Mayumi Suzuki: Kazuya Suzuki's determined wife. After her husband's suicide, she joins Anna to expose the corruption.

Supporting cast

• Yusuke Santamaria as Shinjiro Toyoda (nasty, creepy villain): A political public relations strategist and special adviser to the Prime Minister.
• Tetsushi Tanaka as Tomoya Tada: An official who serves as the bureaucratic voice for the Cabinet.
• Tokio Emoto as Daiki Sato: A former colleague of Shinichi Murakami.
• Kaho Tsuchimura as Harumi Yashiro: A member of the opposition party in the National Diet who pressures for a reinvestigation of the corruption scandal.
• Masato Hagiwara as Kohei Matsuda: Anna Matsuda's late father, also a journalist.

So maybe AI (Artificial Intelligence) has some use after all.