Petra – Page 24 – FrogBlog | Translating Los Angeles

Forever Strong

So the first American movie about rugby opened in selected cinemas on September 26th and of course we went to see it. Normally sport movies are not my thing – I’d rather work or do other things than sit and stare at a screen watching some actors pretending to be athletes; but once again, with this being the first US film featuring rugby – so, yes, that was a must.

First things first: the movie was not as bad as expected. It certainly is not a highlight in the history of cinema, just a pleasant run-of-the-mill story about sport being a way of redemption for some troubled young man.

But – and this is what made the film enjoyable, leaving the slightly cookie cutter-story aside – the rugby scene were marvelous (as they should be, especially as real All-American rugby players were involved). Yes, I know, editing and sound mix and whatnot do play their part; still, these scenes were so great, I could watch the film all over again.

Really – even though I do not like sport movies.

Could We Have Some Rain, Please?

Last year the rainy season started on September 23rd.

Today, on September 30th, we had 95° F (35° C) at 5:30 PM; in the Valley it was even hotter. These temperatures are supposed to last until the weekend. Whether there will be any rain later is still somewhat doubtful.

On the upside: the mornings are wonderful. It is cool and dark and quiet. No rain, but a wonderful waning moon hanging over the tree tops. Daylight and the heat are still a bit away (as it is only right and proper at 6:00 AM).

Rear End Of A Legend

In 1959 the craze for fins on cars reached its pinnacle. None other than the car maker Cadillac, famous for the most elegant and glamorous cars, set the record: with fins a breathtaking 42 inches (107 centimeters) high, crowning the rear end of the Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz.

To call this Cadillac a car is actually a bit of an understatement; land-yacht would be more appropriate. All models seated six and came with the famous 6.3-litre V-eight engine; the convertible had a whopping 345 bhp.

Fuel consumption was somewhere in the 8mpg range. With gas being slightly cheaper in the days of the glorious finned automobiles, nobody really cared.

And here is a Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz fin in all it’s shiny and chrome-glossy glory. Start drooling. I did. Plenty.

Lament Of A Siamese Cat On The First Day Of Autumn

It’s 8:20 AM.

Where is the sun?

What do you mean,

Autumn has begun?

Do I care what date it is?

Turn on the sun, if you please.

P.S.: The demands of the Siamese cat were answered at 10:14 AM.

This One Is For You

Yes, your very own friendly residential street in Long Beach.

BYOB

Yes, in California that means “Bring Your Own Bag.” Julchen (aka “The Beach Bum”) was kind enough to pose in front of the bags to give an idea of the scale of these reusable shopping bags. They are not tiny, they are sturdy and one can stuff them with an amazing load of groceries. Instead of using up 10 plastic bags, two bags do the trick – again and again and again.

These bags are available at IKEA. For the whopping price of $1.99 each. A bargain, I would say – and good for the environment.

Stylish

With the crazy summer being over (work wise – the madcap politics will stay with us for a while longer) it is time to wind down a bit. With a visit to the zoo, for example, to check out what is stylish in the animal kingdom – just in case one is into amazing headgear!

Pronghorn

Giraffe

Desert Bighorn Sheep

Markhor

Reading In Times Of Storm Surge

“Der Schimmelreiter” (The Dykemaster) by Theodor Storm paints a very good (and well researched) picture about life in the coastal regions of Northern Germany, which has been threatened by storm surges for thousands of years.

For the more Google-inclined some good links to check out are:

Maeslantkering
Oosterscheldekering

These are projects in the Netherlands, even more endangered by floods and storms.

Of course these storm barriers/levees are expensive to build and keep in running order. But they bring safety to the people living there, something they are very well aware of. Nobody complains about money spent on these structures. They are indispensable.