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Frenchy

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Written by: Rod Boyle
Category: People
Hits: 124

I'm not even sure he's French...

I mean, French-Canadian. Which he strikes me as being for some reason that encompasses my prejudices on Tree-Planters and younger French-Canadian (Quebecois) in general.ย 

My height, maybe an inch or two shorter, long hair, bad facial hair that oscillates between a full beard with chops and a moustache/goatee, typical Quebecois clothing...and spotted, every morning, at the thrift shop, shopping; for what? Despite looking entirely homeless he fills his basket every morning and it disappears by the time I find him on the street an hour later. He's bought a bunch of recorders, and is trying to busk/learn to play the recorder...he can already play the guitar (he has one with him), but he'd prefer to learn the recorder. I've heard him on the guitar, he's not bad...

And so he'll lie here in the sunlight for a few hours, guitar case open for donations but never playing, and then, in the evening, he switches over to a Tai-Chi regimen beside the patio of a local Baker St. Pub. Tai Chi because it looks like a Martial Art or something, I'm not sure what, but he's fucking shite at it regardless...

Or just dancing down the street, headphones on, maybe heading to the Soup Kitchen or the Library, completely oblivious but clearly living his best life...

And I really like the guy, despite never speaking to him, wonder where he lives (if ??), he's always in good humour, smile on his face, not much to say, just doing his own thing, the comical French-Canadian, and - his own thing, well, it's Tai Chi beside the Pub Patio, or maybe it's MMA, only he would know, but he's pleasant and is character is so much attuned to the community...

Anyways, him beside so many of the other arriving despondents and homeless, him any day of the week...

๐—œ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—ฏ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—•๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—น๐˜ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ-๐—•๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—”๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐˜ ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฎ ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ต ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜

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Written by: Rod Boyle
Category: Blog
Hits: 384
Trolling Facebook....
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๐€๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐ฅ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ–, ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ“ โ€” ๐Š๐ž๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ข๐ค๐š๐ง, ๐€๐ฅ๐š๐ฌ๐ค๐š
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A team led by inventor and oceanographic enthusiast ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐˜† ๐—–๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜‚ has unveiled a new experimental submersible designed to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Constructed from a proprietary paper-based composite, the vessel โ€” named ๐‘ถ๐’„๐’†๐’‚๐’๐’Š๐’” ๐‘น๐’†๐’™ โ€” is slated for a deep-sea descent in early August.
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Cousteau, who identifies as a grand-nephew of famed explorer Jacques Cousteau, described the craft as โ€œ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก, ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘™๐‘’, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘™๐‘–๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก.โ€ He emphasized that the materials, although unconventional, have undergone what he called "๐‘Ž ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘Ž๐‘‘โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ฆ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘ ."
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The project has been privately funded by a small group of ultra-high-net-worth individuals who, according to a press release, will comprise the entire passenger list. โ€œ๐ท๐‘ข๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘–๐‘ž๐‘ข๐‘’ ๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘”๐‘›, ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘š๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘–๐‘™๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ฆ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ฆ,โ€ said Cousteau. โ€œ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘Ž ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘Ž ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘–๐‘“๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘.โ€
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The ๐‘ถ๐’„๐’†๐’‚๐’๐’Š๐’” ๐‘น๐’†๐’™ will be remotely piloted from the surface using a custom-designed interface based in part on legacy control hardware. โ€œ๐‘‚๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘™ ๐‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘š ๐‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘  ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘› ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘”๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘™๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ฆ,โ€ said project engineer Carla Voss, referencing the modified Atari joystick used for navigation.
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While the decision to use paper-based material has raised some eyebrows in the marine engineering community, Cousteau remains confident. โ€œ๐‘‚๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ฅ ๐‘œ๐‘“๐‘“๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘  ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘œ๐‘ฆ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘–๐‘™๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ฆ,โ€ he said, adding that the vessel โ€œ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘ง๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘š๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘™๐‘–๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘ ๐‘ฆ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘š ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘™๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘’.โ€
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The voyageโ€™s stated purpose is twofold: to document deep-sea ecological impacts and to conduct preliminary assessments of underwater mineral potential. โ€œ๐‘…๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘™๐‘ฆ 71% ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘’๐‘กโ€™๐‘  ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘›โ€™๐‘  ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘’, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ'๐‘  ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”...โ€ said one spokesperson. โ€œ๐‘…๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘—๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘Ž ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘๐‘–๐‘™๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ฆ โ€” ๐‘–๐‘กโ€™๐‘  ๐‘Ž ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ฆ.โ€
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Safety precautions have been outlined in the mission briefing, which includes strict air quality controls and a no-smoking policy, in consideration of the vesselโ€™s flammable construction.
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When asked about the future of this design approach, Cousteau replied, โ€œ๐‘Š๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘™๐‘–๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘”๐‘›๐‘–๐‘“๐‘–๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ค-๐‘–๐‘š๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘ก ๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ ๐‘ฃ๐‘’โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘๐‘™๐‘’๐‘  โ€” ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘œ๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›.โ€
The ๐‘ถ๐’„๐’†๐’‚๐’๐’Š๐’” ๐‘น๐’†๐’™ will undergo a series of buoyancy and pressure chamber tests prior to its scheduled deployment in the Challenger Deep.

The Master and Margarita (2024)

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Written by: Rod Boyle
Category: Film
Hits: 463

Now, the one good thing about facebook - and - not a good thing particularly, it just means I'm too much there. But there was a clip with an AI narration, interesting, and I recognized the plot points as being from "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov.

A favourite book of mine.

SO, a fair bit of digging and I found a place to download the movie - the 2024 edition, in Russian/German and searched a dozen other sites and tried a variety of subtitles before I found one that was any good and synced with the movie.

And watched it, of course. I've not had a lot of luck with movies lately, tried some early 2000's horror, was pretty lame, bailed on it, another horror - "Late Night with the Devil" - which begins with an annoying narrator introducing the plot, the star, and continuing for 10 minutes, 12 minutes, and I'm still not into the movie and he's still narrating the back-story and I just give up, it's nonsense...

So this was a treat. Adapting that novel for the screen - well, not an easy chore, but well done. A bit heavy on the CGI (not a fan of the CGI landscapes), but otherwise, acting, theme, atmosphere - all relatively close to the source and true to the author.ย 

And since I had to go to great lengths to find a copy and working subtitles I've saved you the effort by uploading them to "WeShare"; a file hosting site, the links are good for about 27 days from today.

Link (Movie): https://we.tl/t-pLUNvolmVY

Link (Synced and working subs): https://we.tl/t-xKdG9NRzR9

Note, Woland is speaking in German to the Master, hence the annoying Russian Voiceover. And - Bulgakov wrote in the Russia of the 30's, but in regards to the political motifs the same is happening here...

Some pricey lingerie, and a fine first edition...

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Written by: Rod Boyle
Category: Found
Hits: 329

The morning in the thrift shop, as I suspected many people are clearing their curbs of the trash left over from the weekend's "TRASH TO TREASURE". So no end to unpacking rubbish and discouragement, that and it being month end, half-used tubes of toothpaste, bars of soap, bottles of scope, rusty razors, empty shampoo, I should be on the door turning these people away...

But - I find this:

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Too good to leave behind, and nobody wants to price it for me...In the end, fifty cents.ย 

The item appears new. Now - zoom into the new-price-tag in the bottom right corner. That's right, $1, 240.00.

Now to find the person I can best offend with this...there's not enough action in my world to require it, but somebody has to want it...given the number of Burlesque Dancers in town it shouldn't be a problem.ย 

One other find, a fine copy of "The ascent of Everest" by John Hunt, 1954, First Edition and signed by the author. By donation. Doing a little research online I find another copy in similar condition, priced near enough to $900.00. Treasure, for sure, but the first treasure of the day made for a better picture...ย 

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