His Handle Is "Vandal"

Normally We Here At BOOJUM! Avoid Current Affairs
Except it is my blog and I get to say when the rules get bent, highly-stressed or simply broken.  So, here we have today's title, conjured up after a news broadcast sent your humble scribe into a fit of the giggles.
     "What broadcast would that be, Conrad?" I can hear you asking.  "Not that one the network news closes with, about a skateboarding duck?*"
     No, not at all, in fact it was during a rather po-faced item about the recent Nork missile launch, which would not normally be fertile ground for amusement.  However, the American military officer delivering the briefing was "Commander Thomas Vandal".

A Vandal, watching things being built?
Irony meter hits 95%

     He must have heard every possible pun about his name already, so all Conrad will observe is that, as a man commanding the 2nd Infantry Division, who no doubt thirst to take on the Norks with their bare teeth if need be, his surname is apt.

Oh By The Way
In some parts of the UK, "Norks" is a vulgarism for ladie's chest equipment.  Of course we here at BOOJUM! despite being red-blooded men human male, would never use the word in this NSFW way.  

Close enough

     If the word is pronounced with a sneer, a twist of the lip and the raising of an eyebrow, then it refers to that pariah amongst nations, North Korea.
     If, by contrast, it is pronounced with a touch of fond approbation, a cheeky grin and two thumbs-up, then it refers to that winter wonderland, Norway.
     I'm so glad to get that explanation out in the open.

A short pause to go refill my teacup -

Our Neighbours Must Love Us
Edna, predictably going potty with joy at Derek's return, was given her squeaky plastic bone.  This works on the same principle as those noisy toys for small children - squeeze it and it makes a loud squeaking noise.  Emphasis on "noise".

Tolerable - for a total of 30  seconds

     She's now running around downstairs with it and all one can hear is "EEH-AW-EEH-AW-EEH-AW".  If you try and take it off her she thinks it's a chase-and-catch game, and is thus impossible to catch.  You have to bait her in with a dog treat and a swift hand, so she wins either way.

Er - Quite
Not sure what to make of this.  Oh, to the left one can see part of a matte painting for the initial landscape view of Altair IV, in "Forbidden Planet".  Fantastic stuff, painted on glass and a lost art nowadays thanks to computer graphics.
     Anyway, that has nothing to do with what I was posting about.  Art?

No, no - ignore the weird landscape.  The weird creature.

     Now the Foobs come up with very bizarre Suggested Posts, yet this is an advert in the sidebar.  "Of course!" said the advertising agency.  "People inevitably opening a bank account with duck-billed platypii!"
     Actually, no they don't.  And, cute as they undeniably are, one does not see them roaming the avenues and alleyways of our cities.  Not in the Northern Hemisphere at least.

An Intellectual Cha - GET OFF MY PAPER!
Conrad, emboldened by doing the Cryptic Crossword in The Metro of a morning, decided to tackle The Times version.  I got about 10 answers, being careful to fill them in with a pencil rather than ink, just in case.

Cross?  You bet!

     My intellectual challenge was consistently thwarted by Jenny, who simply had to get out of her cat igloo (visible behind her head) and come lie on the paper.  I'd throw her off and she'd come back straight away, and <ahem> your modest artisan is too soft to chuck her out on an incredibly cold, windy day.  Eventually I gave up, and should perhaps thank Jenny as otherwise I'd probably still be there, pondering whether or not "hubris" is the correct answer ...

Towards The 200 Total
If you recall, the BBC website queried whether it was possible to read 200 books in a year.  If you don't have to work for a living, most certainly you can!  I've just finished reading, or more accurately skimming, "The History of the 51st (Highland) Division", for about the seventh time.  All towards compiling my Index, if you want to know.
     I've also just finished "With Rommel In The Desert", by Heinz Schmidt.  As you might guess, this is an account from the other side of the hill and Heinz confirms some of Conrad's observations about the Desert War:  at all times, the Afrika Korps would be under watch by British armoured cars, who appeared on the horizon to keep constant scrutiny on their opponent; the RAF was a persistent and dangerous presence, Heinz dubbing the British Hurricane aircraft "Huren Kanen", which is rude enough for me not to translate; and the Royal Artillery were never to be trifled with if you valued being alive and in one piece.

The edition I have

     So at least another 198 to go ...

* A real thing.