The Umbrella Academy (TV 2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Umbrella Academy (TV 2019): Childhood superheroes, now grown up, reunite to save the world. But first they have to deal with lots of old family issues. Goofy, quirky fun figuring out all that's going on, the central mystery of the apocalypse, and the interrelationships. B+

POTD: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

From 2018 09 11 Yellowstone

Today's photo-of-the-day is of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

POTD: Waiting for the Show

From 2018 09 11 Yellowstone

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. An excerpt from a tourist manual from 1883: "Old Faithful is sometimes degraded by being made a laundry. Garments placed in the crater during quiescence are ejected thoroughly washed when the eruption takes place. Gen. Sheridan's men, in 1882, found that linen and cotton fabrics were uninjured by the action of the water, but woolen clothes were torn to shreds."

After the jump...the show.

POTD: Grown-Up Lincoln Logs

From 2018 09 11 Yellowstone

Movin' on. Today's photo-of-the-day is from Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park.

Nice, but not where we stayed. Where we stayed is after the jump.

POTD: Gilded Monastery

From 2018 08 22 Kremlin

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius about 50 miles outside Moscow. It is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was founded in 1337, closed by the Bolsheviks in 1920, then restored to the Church by Joseph Stalin after WWII. I don't usually think of all these gilded decorations when I think of monasteries and monks and vows of poverty, but here we are.

Bonus photo after the jump.

POTD: I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke

From 2018 08 22 Kremlin

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. It shows Ellen enjoying a Coca Cola while sitting in the gardens of Bol'shoy Kremlovskiy Square, where the czars used to stroll, with the Kremlin Senate in the background.

Bonus photos after the jump.

After Life (TV 2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

After Life (TV 2019): Even if, like me, you don't care for Ricky Gervais, try this series. He's mean-spirited and rude as always, but with a reason. He's grieving the death of his wife. There is wisdom here. Supporting cast is strong. Story arc is predictable. B-

POTD: Church and State

From 2018 08 22 Kremlin

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. It shows two of the many buildings in the Kremlin. On the left are government offices. Vladimir Putin's office is in there somewhere. On the right is the Cathedral of the Annunciation. Church and state. Old and new. Side by side. All that rich history and culture.

POTD: The Kremlin's Churches

From 2018 08 22 Kremlin

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. It shows several of the many churches inside this medieval fortress. That's not to say there aren't massive government office buildings there as well, but it's the number of churches and palaces and gardens and museums and open squares in the Kremlin that surprised me.

Bonus photo after the jump.

POTD: War and Peace

From 2018 08 22 Kremlin

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. It shows the Tsar Cannon, cast in bronze in 1586, "the largest bombard by caliber in the world," according to Wikipedia, whatever that means. Behind it are the onion domes of two churches in the Kremlin. War and Peace.