Idle Thoughts: Family of Grifters

Tweets from November, 2019:

• 2019-11-01: Parasite (2019): Korean. Family of grifters con a rich family. All is going well until a complication arises. Then it's chaos. A black comedy with violence, suspense, and farce. Just when you think writers have written themselves into a corner, they escape. Over and over. A-
• 2019-11-02: Whose was bigger? The Washington Nat's World Series victory celebration or the Trump inauguration crowd? Trick question: the correct answer to any question about whose is bigger is never Trump.
• 2019-11-04: Echo in the Canyon (2019): Documentary about a magical place and time when the mid-60s California Sound was in its prime. Reminiscences by many of the musical geniuses of how they inspired each other. Lots of 2015 tribute concert. Lots overlooked. Not enough old video. B+
• 2019-11-04: Thread. Maybe the most important message you'll read during the 2020 election campaign.

After the jump, more idle thoughts.

The Irishman (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Irishman (2019): Scorsese directs De Niro, Pacino, Pesci (that's all you need) in a 3.5 hour intimate epic (there can be such a thing) about the mob and the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. A disapproving look from De Niro's daughter, just a look, supplies the morality. A-

POTD: Geysir and Strokkur

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day is from central Iceland, the land of fire and ice. Here is a basin of geysers and hot springs. This particular geyser is named Strokkur. A larger, but less regular geyser (we didn't see it erupt during our visit) is named Geysir. It's the geyser that gave all other geysers around the world the name.

Stuber (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Stuber (2019): Big fan of Kumail Nanjiani but this movie misuses him. More a violent action movie than comedy. Does neither genre justice. Dave Bautista is given more role than he can carry as an actor. C-

Knives Out (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Knives Out (2019): Wry murder mystery that's worthy of and pays tribute to Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, CSI, and Murder, She Wrote. Convoluted plot (a donut hole inside a donut inside a donut hole) that never takes itself seriously (*cough* Daniel Craig's accent). B+

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? (2019): Cate Blanchette as an manic-depressive, anti-social architect whose problems stem from leaving her career. Artists need to create. Great lead performance in a role that the audience can never quite connect with or cheer for in the end. C+

POTD: The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Revealed

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day is from central Iceland. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mountain range located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean on the dividing line between the Eurasian and American tectonic plates. For most of its length, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is under water, but a portion of it is visible above sea level. That's Iceland. The tectonic plates are pulling apart at a rate of about 1 inch per year. This photo shows where that pulling apart is happening in Iceland. Find just the right crack in the ground, perhaps right under that house, straddle it, and you can claim you are standing with one foot in Eurasia and the other in America.

POTD: Geothermal Energy in Iceland

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day is from a geothermal power plant in Iceland. Hot water is pumped into the ground, where it is heated by geothermal energy. Steam is used to drive turbines to generate electricity. When the water has cooled too much to drive the turbines, it is piped all the way to Reykjavik, where it is used to heat homes and businesses and even pavement to keep the city ice-free in winter.

Geothermal power plants provide Iceland with some of the cheapest electricity in the world. A New York Times story explains how Iceland captured American aluminum smelters, an electricity intensive industry. Ore is shipped to Iceland from as far away as Australia, to be smelted into ingots which are re-exported for things like auto manufacturing in Japan. Bitcoin mining, another hugely electricity intensive activity, now consumes more electricity in Iceland than homes do. BBC has that story. This photo shows where it all comes from.

POTD: Check Off the Northern Lights

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day shows the reason we went to Iceland, and the reason we went in winter, when nights are long and dark. It shows the Aurora Borealis as it appears in Thingvellir National Park, a suitably remote vantage point away from the lights of Reykjavik. The Northern Lights have been on Ellen's bucket list since high school. She can now check them off.

POTD: Bathing in the Blue Lagoon

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken on a late winter day at Iceland's Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa in a lava field in southwestern Iceland. It is supplied with water used in the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power station. Boiling water is pumped up from underground. Steam drives turbines to generate electricity. When the water cools too much to generate any more electricity, it is released into ponds for humans to enjoy warm bathing even on cold winter days.

Bonus photo after the jump.