The writers at the Babylon Bee..............

 

.....need to get out of their bubble every once in a while.

Captivated...................

 

We live in an era that often feels defined by great despair. War rages, lawlessness spreads, politicians betray their values, and it can seem, at times, that we are simply drowning in the uncertainty of it all.

And then something breaks through. For the first time in more than 50 years, we sent human beings to the moon and back. For 10 days, we watched as they beat a new path for exploration beyond anything we have ever known.

We watched them record detailed scientific observations of the lunar surface. We pored over their remarkable images of the far side of the moon. We saw them collect biological samples, test radiation-monitoring equipment, and conduct bone marrow experiments, all while traveling more than 24,000 miles per hour through the solar system.

For 10 days, we were captivated by achievements most of us could never imagine. And yet, the most compelling part of it all was not how foreign it felt, but how familiar.

-from The Free Press

Opening paragraphs.....................

 

A LETTER FROM CAPTAIN GULLIVER TO HIS COUSIN SYMPSON.

Written in the Year 1727.

I hope you will be ready to own publicly, whenever you shall be called to it, that by your great and frequent urgency you prevailed on me to publish a very loose and uncorrect account of my travels, with directions to hire some young gentleman of either university to put them in order, and correct the style, as my cousin Dampier did, by my advice, in his book called “A Voyage round the world.” But I do not remember I gave you power to consent that any thing should be omitted, and much less that any thing should be inserted; therefore, as to the latter, I do here renounce every thing of that kind; particularly a paragraph about her majesty Queen Anne, of most pious and glorious memory; although I did reverence and esteem her more than any of human species. But you, or your interpolator, ought to have considered, that it was not my inclination, so was it not decent to praise any animal of our composition before my master Houyhnhnm: And besides, the fact was altogether false; for to my knowledge, being in England during some part of her majesty’s reign, she did govern by a chief minister; nay even by two successively, the first whereof was the lord of Godolphin, and the second the lord of Oxford; so that you have made me say the thing that was not. Likewise in the account of the academy of projectors, and several passages of my discourse to my master Houyhnhnm, you have either omitted some material circumstances, or minced or changed them in such a manner, that I do hardly know my own work. When I formerly hinted to you something of this in a letter, you were pleased to answer that you were afraid of giving offence; that people in power were very watchful over the press, and apt not only to interpret, but to punish every thing which looked like an innuendo (as I think you call it). But, pray how could that which I spoke so many years ago, and at about five thousand leagues distance, in another reign, be applied to any of the Yahoos, who now are said to govern the herd; especially at a time when I little thought, or feared, the unhappiness of living under them? Have not I the most reason to complain, when I see these very Yahoos carried by Houyhnhnms in a vehicle, as if they were brutes, and those the rational creatures? And indeed to avoid so monstrous and detestable a sight was one principal motive of my retirement hither.

-Jonathan Swift, as culled from this version of Gulliver's Travels

well travelled...................

Every time Gulliver travels
into another chapter of Gulliver’s Travels
I marvel at how well travelled he is
despite his incurable gullibility.

I don’t enjoy travelling anymore
because, for instance,
I still don’t know the difference
between a bloke and a chap.

And I’m embarrassed
whenever I have to hold out a palm
of loose coins to a cashier
as if I were feeding a pigeon in a park.

Like Proust, I see only trouble
in store if I leave my room,
which is not lined with cork,
only sheets of wallpaper

featuring orange flowers
and little green vines.
Of course, anytime I want
I can travel in my imagination

but only as far as Toronto,
where some graduate students
with goatees and snoods
are translating my poems into Canadian.

-Billy Collins,  Safe Travels

Thinking...................

 

And you can fly

High as a kite if you want to

Faster than light if you want to

Speeding through the universe

Thinking is the best way to travel

-Mike Pinder, The Moody Blues, The Best Way to Travel

Splash down.........................

 

Crew-9 returns safely.  What a story............................

Did I mention we just got back from Napa Valley?

The Fireballs......................................Bottle of Wine

 

the most fundamental freedom..............

 

As creatures who are self-moving, freedom of movement would seem to be the most fundamental freedom there is, a minimal condition for that basic animal pleasure that makes life sweet. . . . What is at stake is not simply a legal right, but a disposition to find one's way through the world by the exercise of one's own powers.

-Matthew Crawford,  Why We Drive: On Freedom, Risk and Taking Back Control

My Sweetie and I...........................

 

..................just returned from a ten-day jaunt in Spain and Portugal.  A fabulous experience we highly recommend.  The weather was about perfect.  Mostly sunny blue skies, high day-time temperatures in the 70s, low night-time temperatures in the 50s.  We traveled with another couple.  None of us had familiarity with either the Spanish or Portuguese languages, but that fact created no issues for us.  Our lodgings were clean and comfortable and the hotel staff helpful. Restaurants abounded and we ate and drank well—menus typically had English sub-titles.  We enjoyed more gelato than is reasonable.  We were pleased not to be driving ourselves.  Both countries feature awkward traffic patterns and signals for those not familiar with them.  The idea of clearly identifying street names never apparently occurred to them, and the older parts of the cities (which are very old compared to anything in America) mostly consist of short, winding, narrow lanes.  Having said that, getting around was simple.  For local trips, splitting cab fare between four people made it easy and economical.  Having a map handy resolved any language issues.  If we couldn't understand each other all we did was point and say "here".  For longer trips, their high-speed rail was amazing.  The people we encountered treated us well and for the most part they seemed very pleased to be living where they were living.  Happy and there by choice.

      Both my Sweetie and my well-travelled cousin commented that we tried to fit too much into too short a time.   That being the only complaint, count this trip a success.  We highly recommend it.

Barcelona................

 

        We landed on day-one in Barcelona, a fairly sizeable city.  Depending on where you stop counting, there are about 2 million people living there.  We barely scratched the surface of seeing the city.  Many of the highlights required pre-booking. We only pre-booked one thing: a day-two guided tour of The Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi's amazing masterpiece (still under construction).  We got on one of the hop-on, hop-of tour buses and saw a considerable amount of the city, without any understanding of much of what we were seeing.  Did drive past Camp Nou, the home of the Barca football team, looking unsuccessfully for the ghost of Lionel Messi.  Did spend an afternoon walking along the Mediterranean Sea.  Was amazed by the amount of graffiti—it was everywhere.  A piece of advice about visiting Barcelona: know what you want to see before you get there, and pre-book it.  But, do go!

The Sagrada Familia

Construction began in 1882.  Expected completion date: 2026

Gaudi loved the play of light.  Stained glass windows create the color pattern

Gaudi loved nature.  The support columns are designed as trees

Another Gaudi designed building

The Catedral

The Catedral

A hotel on the Mediterranean

Spanish architecture seems opposed to straight lines

We were entertained.  A group of younger folk sitting behind us were
singing along with this street performer.  Lots of laughs and smiles

No sense having a beach if you can't enjoy it.

Andalusia.......................

 Probably should understand the internal governance of Spain better than I do.  Andalusia is the main reason I wanted to be in Spain.  It is considered an "autonomous community," that includes the cities of Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada.

We hopped on a regional airline and flew from Barcelona to Sevilla, where we spent four nights.  Loved Sevilla.

We took a day-trip from Sevilla to Grenada to see the Alhambra.  Did this one right.  Pre-booked an English-speaking driver for the two-and-a-half-hour drive from Sevilla and pre-booked an English-speaking tour guide for the Alhambra.  Lots of learning.

Cordoba.........................

 

      An easy cab ride took us to the Sevilla train station where we caught the high speed, non-stop train to Cordoba.  The historical tug of war between Islam and Christianity in southern Spain is well displayed here, especially in the Mezquita.

along the Promenade of Kings at Alcazar of Cordoba

the gardens at the Alcazar of Cordoba

a monument for Averroes

Sevilla........................

 We spent four nights in Sevilla and loved every minute of it.  Of course, it was the time of the Feria, which made it even more fun.