#Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Last night we went to see the movie ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’. Awesome movie. One wonders how they make those movies. It was in 3D.  The Apes were so lifelike and almost human. In fact, they acted a lot like humans. There were only a few humans left on Earth because of a virus that wiped out most of humanity. When a band of humans ran across the Apes in the forest, the meeting did not go well and the problems began. I don’t want to give away the plot. The movie ended okay and left much open—for another great installment in the franchise.

Some of the reviews I read were negative. No surprise there. It doesn’t matter what it is, be it a restaurant, a hotel, a book, or a movie that is reviewed. Most of the reviews can be positive and even raving, there will always be those who find something wrong for whatever reasons. Some people will write a negative review on principal. Some may even write a negative review without seeing the movie. It happens all the time with books. There are people out there who find pleasure in tearing something down for no reason at all. I never rely solely on reviews, but I do read them. Sometimes they help me make up my mind. I’ve written many reviews myself about places I visit, restaurants I go to, and hotels we stayed in, and I will always write it the way I experienced it. I won’t make anything up to sound important. Unless something is really bad, I won’t write a negative review.

Despite the few negative reviews, we went to see the movie. We saw all the ‘Planet of the Apes’ movies. The very first one, staring Charlton Heston, we saw in Salt Lake City in 1968 when we came back from a holiday in Santa Barbara, California. That was a wonderful movie and a shocker for some viewers. Not so much for me, because I read the short story and I knew how it ended; but I was still excited to see a story I read made into a movie. I became a Science Fiction fan the day I read my first Science Fiction novel at the age of 14. I read every Science Fiction book that was published in the early years in Germany. I was a member of the ‘Science Fiction Club Deutschland’. I still have my membership passport. My membership number was 750, which means I was the 750th fan to join the club. I don’t know how many members the club had at the height of its existence. There were not many German Science Fiction writers in those days. Most of the books were translated from English. I’ve read all the great Masters and I have most of their books in my library.

Now I’m a writer myself and I write mostly #Science Fiction stories. Even though I write in other genres, Science Fiction is still my favorite genre.

But I strayed a little off the subject. My wife and I we enjoyed watching ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’, and we are looking forward to a sequel. The movies these days are sure different from the ones thirty and forty years ago. The technology has advanced so much, and it is amazing what movie producers create with the use of computer-generated images. Add 3D and it seems you are almost there when you watch the movie.

We paid $24.00 for the two of us, and that’s just for the tickets—seniors even. It is expensive to go to the movies. We don’t buy popcorn and drinks and Nachos and other stuff. I can eat all that at home. When I go to a movie, I don’t want to eat. That’s what restaurants are for. I just want to enjoy the movie, but everyone thinks differently. For some people movie and popcorn just go together. Of course, always the people who should not snack have the largest popcorn buckets, the Nachos with sour cream, and the largest soft drinks.

Many people our age don’t go to the movies anymore and they miss out on great entertainment. I’m fortunate my wife also likes those Action and Science Fiction movies, otherwise I would have to go by myself, which probably means I would never see any of them.

I can only recommend ‘Dawn of the Planets of the Apes’, but only to those who love these kinds of movies. It’s Science Fiction, Fantasy. Not everyone is into that kind of stuff. Some people may even think it is juvenile and stupid to watch movies like that. Well—it is something that keeps us young and entertained, and sometimes it even instills in us that sense of wonder that is mostly missing in people our age. We’ve seen and done so much that sometimes we get bored with watching all those regular shows on TV. The same old crime stories, the same comedy routines, the same romance stories; that’s why it is great to see what technology can achieve in the entertainment field; and it is wonderful to be able to watch and experience something new and fresh. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Science Fiction is stories from the future—and the future is now.

Another fishing trip

I went fishing yesterday with my friend Rudi and Cousin Manfried. It was a good day, sunny and warm. The forecast for wind was favorable. We were after Goldeye. When we got to the boat launch we found the water level in the Winnipeg River low. The water was calm and I didn't bother with my Gravol, which I carried in my pocket, just in case.

Because of the lower water level there were strange currents in the river. Some stretches were calm and others wild with whitecaps. A took my Gravol after all. Why take chances.

Fishing was not good. Couldn't locate the Goldeye. They were probably there, but we found dead fish-flies floating on the water, which meant the fish had plenty of food and they could not be enticed to take our offering of night-crawlers. A little mishap which gave us a bit of concern: We ran onto a sandbar because of the low water. They can't be seen until you're on top of them. Even though we had a depth finder, also called 'fish'finder', we managed to get stuck on a sandbar in the middle of the river. We finally got free and with careful maneuvering Rudi found the way back to deeper water. Once, back on land, we discovered the propeller on the motor had been damaged, that's why the motor had been laboring a little on our way back to the boat launch. It could have turned our badly.

I've never seen the river like that. Calm water and then a sharp line like a drop off, and wild, churning water. Here is a picture what it looked like, but the reality was much more impressive, even a bit scary. It was like riding the rapids in a fast flowing river:

Those are not boulders, they are high waves. The white line you see is my fishing line with a red bobber at the end. Beneath the bobber is the hook with the worm.

I took a few more pictures. One with a mother loon and her baby and one of a mother deer with her fawn.

After trying all day for Goldeye, unsuccessfully, we switched gears and tried our luck for Pike. We caught a few Pike and a couple of Perch but didn't keep them.

This picture is from our last fishing trip to the Big Whiteshell Lake. A much more successful day.

A live-well full of Walleye and Perch

8 Northern Pike. Just the right size for eating.

My Cousin Manfried caught a 57 cm long Walleye, which we had to release again because it was too large to be kept. A couple of Walleye we kept were around 40 cm long.

Manfried with his 57 cm Walleye

#Summer Flowers

It’s Sunday today and I thought instead of venting my disgust about what’s going on in the world, I might just post something nice and uplifting. Aside from all the mosquitoes, July is a good month to enjoy what the outdoors has to offer. Everything in my garden is growing. We’ve been eating fresh lettuce for some time now. There are many small peppers already on the plants. The tomato plants are loaded with small fruit, and the Swiss Chard, the Red Beets, and all the other vegetables the deer dined on are actually recovering nicely. Last night we had our first meal featuring Swiss Chard. Anyone who has never eaten Swiss Chard, let me tell you it is delicious. It is the alternative to Spinach. I used to grow Spinach, but it doesn’t last long in the garden and when the weather gets hot Spinach shoots out and goes into seeding. That’s the end of Spinach for eating.

My wife strips the leaves of the Swiss Chard from the stem, boils the leaves. Then she gently fries up oil, flour and onions (I believe you call that ‘blanching’). She adds that to the boiled Swiss Chard for flavor. You need a lot of Swiss Chard to make enough for a meal. That’s why this kind of food is never available in a restaurant. It would be too expensive.

We eat the Swiss Chard with fried eggs, Wieners, and mashed potatoes. To add a bit more flavor to the Chard we add some ‘Maggi’ to it. Soya sauce would be okay, too.

Many flowers are blooming now in the garden. Some are already finished, though, but new ones are opening up. We haven’t seen too many butterflies this year. I don’t know why. Last year we had so many when the lilacs were in bloom. None this year.

Here are a few pictures to lift your spirit:

Flowers on Russian Blue Potato plant

Picture of a lovely lily

A splash of colors on lilies

A yellow lily

Part of our yard

For more flowers go here: Pictures

12 Years a Slave

Last night we watched the movie ’12 Years a Slave’.

What a great movie. It surely deserved the Oscar. It is a true story, written by a slave in the 19th century. He was a free man, got abducted and sold as a slave to slavers in the South of the US. It is amazing he survived those 12 years. He was beaten and humiliated, but he never gave up and was finally freed. Colored people were treated like animals—beasts. That’s what they were called. They were property—like dogs or cattle. It is difficult to believe such terrible things actually happened and it is almost impossible to fathom human beings can treat other human beings with such cruelty. My wife and I had tears in our eyes while watching the movie (yes, it is that sad and powerful).

Those were dark days in the history of the United States of America, the ‘Land of the Free’. People always talk about the Germans and the Nazis and the awful things they did and the media constantly reminds us of it, but those things happened only for a few years. Slavery in America went on for centuries. No country is innocent. Here is a short list of atrophies committed throughout the history of mankind:

*The Egyptians kept slaves.

*From 1975 to 1979 an estimated 3 million people were murdered in Cambodia by members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea

*In 1932 Stalin let over 10 million people starve to death in the Ukraine

*In the 20th century (around 1940) millions of Chinese were murdered by military personnel from the Empire of Japan.

*In the 1500s members of India’s Thuggee murdered an estimated 2 million people as sacrifice to their goddess Kali

*An unknown number of people were murdered during the Medieval Inquisition in the 13th century in Europe.

*The Romans in the first three centuries murdered an unknown number of Christians

*In the 14th century the Aztecs killed about 20,000 people each year to appease their sun god.

*In the holy wars (Islamic Jihads) millions were killed over more than ten centuries. More are killed to this day.

*The Spaniards wiped out the Mayans and other native people in Central America.

*The English and French were no better in North America the way they treated the native people.

The list goes on and on.

Atrocities were committed by so-called ‘righteous’ people throughout the history of humankind.

Will this madness ever end?

The Phone call

The other day I received a phone call from someone claiming to be from some service company. I didn’t catch the name. He gave me his name and employee number. He was a computer technician and he asked if I remembered him. I said I didn’t. He said he was going to help me with my computer. When I told him there was nothing wrong with my computer, he said this was just some information I needed in case there was something going to be wrong with my computer. This was just an after-service call. Then he asked if I was at my computer and if it was turned on. I said yes. He assured me we wouldn’t have to go on the internet.

When I asked again what this was all about he told me it a service his company performed. Then he asked me to check my cable. Oh, I forgot to mention he spoke with a heavy India accent.

Anyway, this is how the conversation went:

Me: What should I look at?

Him: Look at the left bottom. Do you see the letters ctrl?

Me: No.

Him: Just look at the left bottom corner. Do you see it?

Me: I see nothing. Should I look behind the monitor? Or where should I look?

Him: No, no, not behind the monitor. Look at the left bottom corner of your cable.

Me: Is this some kind of a joke?

Him: No joke. I am just trying to tell you what to do when you need to find out if your computer is working.

Me: My computer is working. Why would I look at the cable for that?

Him: Why don’t you understand what I’m saying? Look at the left bottom corner of your cable. Do you see the letters ctrl?

Me: I don’t see anything. There is nothing there.

Him: (frustrated): Just look at the left corner of you cable.

(I finally did see the letters Ctrl. On my Keyboard. In the left bottom corner.)

Me: I found the letters. They are on my keyboard.

Him: That’s what I said: Cable.

(It still sounded like Cable to me and I suddenly felt I was talking to Inspector Clouseau, except this guy didn’t have a French accent but Indian)

Me: Okay. What now?

Him: Just press down on Ctrl and (I forgot which other button he said).

(At this point I disconnected the internet cable from the cable box)

Me: Okay. I pressed them.

Him: Do you see...? (It was some kind of box that popped up)

Me: Yes.

Him: Now write these letters into the box. (He dictated a few letters.)

Me: I did, but all I get is this message: Windows cannot find the file. What should I see?

Him: (obviously frustrated now): Not that. Type those letters again.

By this time I was done playing around and I said: “Listen. You may be legitimate or not. I don’t know what this is all about. My computer is working fine and if I have trouble I’ll take it to a technician. Thank you and good bye.” Then I hung up.

Now, this guy might have been on the up and up and maybe from the company I bought my computer from. But why don’t they use people who speak English without an accent so they can be understood. I have enough trouble hearing without listening to someone who can’t speak proper English and trying to decipher what he’s saying. I get annoyed when I call the bank or some government or public place and someone answers with a heavy French or even a Bahama accent, never mind an accent from India. When I press that ‘For Service in English press One’ button I expect someone who speaks proper English.

Talk about the French accents: I have no problem with that when I call some place in Quebec but not in the rest of Canada. Contrary to what our politicians try to tell us, the rest of Canada is not bi-lingual. We speak mostly English. In Manitoba the Mother tongue of people is 75% English, 6% German, and only 3.9% French. That does not make a bi-lingual province.

Here are some statistics:

Percentage of Ethnic backgrounds in Manitoba: (the numbers are approximate):

English - 22%

German - 19%

Scottish - 18%

Ukrainian - 15%

Irish - 13%

French - 13% 

The rest of the Ethnic groups are under 10%.

If nothing else, the second language in Manitoba should be German.

My revenge shall be sweet

I can't wait for hunting season so I can collect the debt the deer owe me. I'll be smiling when I have my venison in the freezer. I have three apple trees in my garden. Our Battelford tree is old and has been dying slowly over the past few years. Last season we had one five gallon pail full of apples. This may be the last year for the tree. Not many branches left and they are not looking good. We might have had half a pail full of apples, perhaps a few more. Our two Goodland apple trees are still young. Last year we had 17 apples. We had a couple of Goodland apple trees at our last residence, and the last year we lived there (22 years ago) we harvested 350 pounds of apples.Some were 3 1/2 inches in diameter. The apples didn't last long, but they tasted delicious and they made wonderful pies and cakes. So I was looking forward to a nice crop this year.

No more!

Today I discovered that the deer ate all the small apples from all three trees. I counted 5 apples on the higher branches, and they might not make it.

I pulled a fishing line around my garden and hung empty drink cans from the line. The deer can't see the fishing line and when they hit it the cans will jingle, hopefully scaring the deer away. I also set up a trail camera, but so far the only thing I've got on the video is myself walking around and staring at the camera. This means the deer haven't come back. I can only hope they have moved on.

At last check, the beets and the Swiss Chard plants are slowly coming back. Not all will be lost. The deer ate the tops of the tomato plants, but otherwise the tomato plants are fine. And the peppers will grow new flowers and we should still get enough peppers. Unfortunately, they ate most of the cucumber plants and they won't come back. The damage was too severe.

The #Deer came back

We weren't home and they came back. Everybody told us they would, because once deer know where good food is they remember. This time they finished the job. They ate most of the remaining beets, they ate all the Swiss Chard, a few beans, and the Kohlrabi. They also ate the top leaves of my cucumber plants, which I had been so proud of.

The deer were so bold, they walked around the yard, trampled across my wife's flower beds. Fortunately, they didn't do any damage there, except for leaving their footprints, I mean hoof prints, which was bad enough.

I had come home from a day-fishing trip and I was tired, but I needed to protect the rest of the garden and what was left of the vegetables. So I pounded stakes into the ground and stapled some plastic grids, some  Stucco wire and what ever I had to cover up the plants. I was finally done by 10:00 p.m. The mosquitoes were fierce. I wore a headnet and sprayed myself with spray, but those pesky critters still swarmed all around me, buzzing into my ears. Why...why...would anybody create mosquitoes?

The problem now is, I still have to do quite a bit of weeding. That will be difficult with all that stuff covering up the beds. Now I have to take it apart again and then put it back.

Tonight I'm going to put up a camera to see if they come back during the night or what time of day they arrive when we are not home.

We should get a big dog, which really isn't an option for me. I don't care much for dogs. They bark and need to be taken for a walk every  day, especially the kind we would need. Too much trouble. I wish there would be mechanical dogs, like dog robots, that could be used to guard a garden, a yard, or a house. They would bark when they detect an intruder, maybe even chase them away, but they wouldn't need any other care, like feeding and walking them.

Of course, there is another option: No garden. No work, no worries, but no fresh vegetables, like those delicious tomatoes, peppers, beans, tasty cucumbers....NO! That is not an option. The fight is on against Mother Nature. Who will win the battle?