Driving Miss Daisy (37 Years Later)

Driving Miss Daisy is probably one of the most famous Hollywood movies of the 90's which has been known to me for a long time but has never had the chance to watch it until just last week.

The interesting thing about this movie is despite its simple story, it attracts you and you go along. 

When the movie started, after just a few scenes, I wondered who the actress was. She looked so familiar. I'm referring to the British actress Jessica Tandy. It hit me suddenly: The Birds! Yes. She also had a major role in the Alfred Hitchcock's movie. 

Tandy circa 1959. It was this face that brought The Birds scene back to my mind but this portrait is not from the film

Morgan Freeman plays the other major character: An old driver who is hired to take Miss Daisy here and there and that's where the story begins. I think if I had seen the movie 10 or 15 years ago, it would have felt different but tears came to my eyes while watching it just a week ago as this is a movie of human connection. It has tons of meaning and lots of affect on lonely people. Enjoy if you can get your hand on it.

(Photo, top: Jessica Tandy in the OSCAR. She passed away five years after the movie)

Cancelled the NY Trip

I just cancelled my trip to The State of New York. This was booked back in Dec. for this Sep.! How insane is that. I also cancelled the hotels (there were three of them) and have to do the last.
Why? To much uncertainty, too costly and not most likely very pleasant for my taste. Why the hell did you consider that in the first place, one might ask. The first thing is I had not yet seen so much violence and disorder in N. Y. City. There're thousands of clips. This new guy, Mamdani which has created so much division within the city had not been yet elected the mayor. The US and Israel had not started their endless and devastating attacks in my country of origin and ICE had not yet been so tough on people. I thought to myself: The purpose of a trip is to stay safe and enjoy. What's the point of going somewhere that I might be questioned simply because I was born in a country that I left 25 years ago and now is in a head-to-toe war with the US? What's the point of going somewhere that you cannot comfortably take a public transit and have to grow eyes on your back to make sure you're not mugged!
These are all excuses! The fact is I'm tired of travelling alone and driving from JFK to Albany which was supposed to be the first part of the trip does not seem to be easy. Lack of confidence has recently gotten the better of me. Based on this poor analysis, I cancelled my Marriot hotel which was about US $1200 and the Lake Placid lodge. I will cancel the last hotel and the rental and my focus will be shifted to the upcoming IT-SW trip although I have a lot to do complete that plan which will be a separate post if needed. I hope I can make this trip some another time and with a better itinenary) 

(Photo: WestJet flies to JFK directly without any damn stop in between)

Trash Bin Salman is Worried

I follow the news of the war within Persian Gulf and western Asia region. No. That's not middle east. Middle east (I purposely do not use capitals to defy the theory of being it being the correct term) is an incorrect term, used first by an ignoramus person which has no meaning. Just the way of using the term Indian for the Native People of North America has no meaning and is pure stupid and absurd! Yes. Read a few books, get some good education. Life is not just Faceless Book, Beer, Weed, Casual Sex or making babies. There's a whole lot more to it.
Yes. I left the country of my origin nearly 25 years ago and I haven't been back for almost 12 years but there're still things about the country that I love and I have so many good memories from the years I lived there. I left when the country started its decline and the decline had a very steep angle. People had so much hope and were very optimistic because war had just ended and there were news of reconstruction and new developments every day. That's why I still read the news to see what's going on in the region. I do not support the regime but I do not believe in war especially from someone who calls himself The President of Peace! All those nonsense of The help is on the Way and such meant nothing to me from the beginning but for the people who were desperate and had made so much mistake, supporting the wrong government, for the past 20 years or so, it sounded the only option left.  

UAE and specifically Dubai is the destination of the poor and devastated, mostly and I'm not saying that because I consider myself a prosperous and successful individual. I'm probably one of the biggest losers on the face of this Earth but the UAE is the final hope for Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakestani, Nepali, Sri Lankan and Filipino to get themselves our of the whilrpool of poverty and make some money by working the jobs that no Arab would like to do. It also is the destination of the cheap Americans and others who would like to have an inexpensive vacation. Add to that prostitution which is also big in the country and the last but not least the trade of drugs! It's understandable how much the recent war has impacted millions of people just in the past few months. This picture shows the Dubai Airport hit by either a drone and missile.  

The fact is all the Government of Iran was doing throughout the Progress and Development Plan years was building military infrastructures and proxy groups within the region of western Asia, countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. I personally do not believe there's anything wrong with investing on defense but it should be done in a manner that the society is not deprived of their basic needs such as secure jobs, safety, affordable housing, available medical services, affordable groceries and good education. The fact is all the said was ignored and overlooked for the sake of building thousands of drones and missiles and spending billions, yes billions of dollars on the proxy groups. 
When the war started in late Feb., I was really shocked. I, probably like many, had believed in Trump when he said he would stop the war in Ukraine and he was The President of Peace. What I didn't know is he is a weak narcissist! He loves attention and what attention is better than being in the center of a war, forced by the Israelis?! The thing that he didn't expect is Iranians hitting back hard! 
I don't understand how someone who claims to be so smart and having the strongest army in the world does not appreciate the fact that when they have several bases within the ranges of the enemy missiles, going into the war will not result in quick favorable outcomes!! 
That is why Trash Bin Salman has contacted Trump and asked him to hold the f*** back! The damage to the US bases and his allies infrastructures has passed billions of dollars. The Saudis know that if the war continues, it will become a continuous war and that is what the Government of Iran wants and that will cost them a lot. Hothi Yamanis just got involved and the Trash Bin is not worried about the US or the innocent civilians of Iran. He's worried about himself. Trump is worried too because his popularity has been declined significantly and the cost is to the roof. He covers his anxiety by lying as usual and doesn't care much about the loses. The Trash Bin, however, does. We will see how long this new uncalled ceasefire remains in effect. 

(Photo, top: The Trash Bin Salman is the Crown Prince of the Saudis, the family who has named the lands that they have occupied by their family name, although there's no family name in Arabic and people go by their father's or their tribes name. He runs everything. Nevertheless it's like someone in Pakistan changes the official name of the country to Bhutland on the houner of the Bhutu family!)

The Smell of Cigarette

I was imprisoned at home for two days! Not that I could not go out. The weather has been horrible. Smoky. I couldn't go for my rutine jogging. What else is to do when you're single? Going to a bar and drinking? I'm not a frequent bar visitor and certainly not a big drinker. Besides, I hate going to the same place regularly. It makes me sick. I go to different supermarkets, as much as I can, when it comes to shopping. 
I checked Environment Canada last night and decided to go to Bob Creek Wildland, the place that I've been to many times and failed to reach Thrift Peak as the ultimate goal. That seemed to be far away from the smoky area. Bad mistake. I woke up at 04:45 and went down and there was this strong smell of cigarettes! I  knew some lowlife trash in the neighbourhood regularly and even heavily smoke but I barely smell that! That is by the way one of the reasons I have planned to move out and find a nicer place. That was when I realized it was the damn smoke from the wildfires in British Columbia and perhaps Washington. 
I left home after loading my stuff but  turned back after only going as far as Piegan Tr.! I don't know what's wrong with me rather than being bored with going to the same destination and driving a long distance! I went for a little shopping and had breakfast and at around noon I said to myself: I can't sit like this. I have to go for jogging and I will see what happens. One guy was cycling when I reached there. I started jogging after 1 round of walking and finished the exercise with another round of walking. When I got home I felt a little discomfort but I'm fine now. If I die later soon and nobody notices at least you'll know what the caused has been! 

(Photo: You can clearly see the smoke in the air. Welcome to New Delhi! This area is not too big for cycling but it's safe because there're no car. My old Steve Bauer bicycle have been sitting in the garage for a long time. I don't know weather I should have it fixed, buy a new one or forget about it!)

XRF Level II Examination

I wrote my XRF Level II examination this week. It was a very easy exam. I failed though! Why? The answer is simple. I was lazy and discouraged and didn't study enough! I have to re-write the damn exam and pay again and the employer only covers the cost of the exam which I show the proof of passing. The stupid thing is you only need 70% to pass. I barely passed 66%! 

The misleading part of the material is sections which says Recommended for Level II! My understanding was that the question will only come from this sections of the material! Dead wrong! The entire material was covered! It's an excuse. I should've studied the entire material and completely and I will. I will try to book it for the end of Aug. I month will be enough now that I even now what sort of questions there will be. The funny thing is I think I had answered some of them in my Level I exam.! I might be wrong. They could be quite similar. Here are some of the topics of interest:

a) The different laws and regulations that govern XRF activities.

b) Unit conversion.

c) Some basic physics about atom and all the related.

d) Safety and calibration of the analyzer and related devices.

e) Other usages of the analyzer such as soil analysis. 

This is just a reminder for me so I won't waste time and money again, although most of my life has been waste. I hope your hasn't been and won't.

(Photo: A case of Olympus hand held XRF analyzer)

The West's Gift to the World

I did not go hiking for the third week. Why? This damn ugly, polluted and hot weather doesn't allow a good sleep, so despite the fact that I wake up when the clock goes off at early hours, I'm so freaking tired that I can't even get out of the damn bed. I hardly can get out of the damn bed even during the week but I do as I have to go to work.

There was a program on CBC 1 (AM 1010) about the poor asthmatic children whose lives are in danger now. This program was about the B. C. Interior, and I think one of them has already passed away as a result of extreme air pollution in the region. So sad but who's fault is that? Every issue we have in the world is the fault of the greedy Western companies. Their non-stop hunger for money has brought the universe to the position that many environmental scientists believe there's no cure for it. Who introduced plastic to the world and have been using it non-stop in every aspect of life? They introduce a ridiculous law at different levels of the governments and think they have done plenty. They have banned plastic bags from groceries and many opposed that at government levels at the time I remember, and then they repealed it. What a bunch of filthy disgusting, nasty, sewer rats! Then you go to a freaking supermarket and there are thousands of, literally, thousands of disgusting nasty, filthy, vomit causing, processed food items wrapped and bagged in several layers of plastic! That's how they protect the environment. They have wars all around the world and imagine how much waste and how much smoke and other health threatening items are going into the atmosphere every year. Who has started or lengthened the wars in Ukraine, Iran, Sudan, Yemen (all current) and Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria?! 

They do nothing or minimum and brag about it. I hope the temperatures drop at least a little in the few next days so I can go hiking. 

(Photo: This little storm pond is close by. I went for a half an hour running around it. It is so peaceful and there's barely anyone there and there's a nice breath. You don't even feel the heat!)