Once Again, BOOJUM! Is A Trifle Ambiguous
You may be casting your mind back over the past couple of years, thinking and wondering if 'Stan' is a mountain peak in the Dolomites, which was ascended by either Bruno Pisani or Andraz Egert, which Conrad described in detail.
Nope. Although I do have another recent vlog that the effervescent Bruno shot recently in the Dolomites. Art!
This guy's vlogs are absolutely life-assuring, being as basic as can be: man versus mountain. He never fails to be positive and optimistic, eve
ANYWAY that's entirely off the beaten and unbeaten track.
If you were listening to music <horrified shudder> 24 years ago, you might well think Conrad is referring to the iconic album 'Rockin' The Suburbs' by Ben Folds, because there is indeed a track on there called "The Ascent Of Stan". Art!
It concerns the loss of youthful rebelliousness, and of becoming part of The Establishment that he once rejected and abhored. Not only that, it's also a play on an epic BBC/Time-Life series called "The Ascent Of Man", written and presented by one Professor Jakob Bronowski, dealing with the development of human civilisation by focussing on science. Conrad was aware of it being broadcast at the time yet never cared to watch it (in 1973). Art!
It's also a rebuttal of yet another title, "The Descent Of Man", written by Charles Darwin, which sparked off the field of evolutionary biology, and a million tired jokes about monkeys. Also, the 'Darwin Awards', where blithering idiots improve the human gene pool by removing themselves from it, before they have time to breed. Art!
Hilarious and terrifying at the same time
Nope nope nope nope nope. With a side order of nope, a nope dressing, and a big steaming cup of nope.
What we're going to be looking at in this Intro is a geo-politcal area I already threatened you with: the 'Stans', as they are known: four ex-Sinister republics in Central Asia. Kazakhstan, whom we have already mentioned; Uzbekistan, of whom more to come; Tadzhikistan, also to come; Turkmenistan; Kyrgyzstan, last of them. These nations are overwhelmingly Muslim, and their populations look Asian, rather than Caucasian. Art!
Jay, probably hearing that Putinpot fell down a flight of concrete steps
He was living in Kyrgyzstan in 2010 when riots broke out there, the locals being dead set on laying hands on and killing any Uzbeks they could find. The Kirgy government pleaded for help from Ruffia, which refused to do anything, possibly because there weren't enough bribes on the table. Jay described hearing shooting all day long as a worrying and chastening experience. Art!
Then, in 2021 and 2022, Tajikstan and Kyrgyzstan - whom seem to be a fractious lot - clashed along their mutual border, allegedly over a dispute about water rights. Once again, Mordorvia sat back and did nothing. 'What's in it for us?' seems to be written into their political DNA.
Uzbekistan, having seen the writing on the wall, turned it's back on the CSTO all the way back in 2012, and has as little to do with Moscow as it possibly can. They are seeking further integration with the EU, in a snub for Putinpot. Also, there was an alleged assassination on a senior Uzbek official, Khashimjon Allamjonov, the trail leading back to Chechnya, that nation being used as a stalking donkey. This is hardly the way you win friends and influence people, and seems to be Moscow acting out in a fit of pique that the Stans are no longer under it's political heel, and are making their own destiny. Hence the 'Ascent' part of today's title. Art!
AI Art Generator thinks along Bruno and Andraz lines, too
The Ruffian political commentator quoted on Twitter by 'Natalka', Igor Dmitriev, says:
"Apparently, the Kremlin believes that if they manage to destroy Ukraine, all the problems will dissolve on their own and 2021 will return."
Not in the Stans, it won't, the geopolitical landscape there has evolved into very different forms that aren't going to revert. For the past 40 months Mordorvia has neglected this region, which is now looking to the EU, Turkey, the UK and China.
Wow, I just read that back and it looks as if I know what I'm talking about.
The Melbourne Metaphorical Meat Massacre Redux
You recall the tale of a Store Manager sacked for 'unrelated issues' after being severely admonished for trying to retain and resell unsafely-stored meat? Conrad is not so sure about the allegedly 'unrelated' status. Art!
If you recall, the emergency generator failed to start up. This particular piece of kit ought to have a regular inspection schedule, as with all electrical office equipment I've ever worked with, except more so, as this generator would enable the store to function during a blackout. Plus a six-month practical test to see if it was still in running order. I bet Stupid Munter didn't bother.
Secondly, it took 3 hours for a refrigerated truck to turn up, by which time all the meat had to be binned. Once again, I bet Stupid Munter didn't have the contact information for a refrigerated truck at No. 1 on his Rolodex, because this would be time-critical. Conrad also suspects you'd need more than a single 18-wheeler to accommodate all the meat, chilled and frozen over-stock from a very large supermarket at Christmas. Art!
Lastly, there was the cost of the binned meat: $25,000 in Australian money.
Don't look to them for a reference, matey!
"The War Illustrated Edition 210 6th July 1945"
I have had to use my digital camera, as I've got to plug my phone in to charge it up, in Stand-by mode, which prevents it from taking pictures. Dog Buns technology! Art?
O dearie me, that's not good, is it! Very blurry. Let me detail that, from port to starboard you see (!) General Slim, G.O.C. of 14th Army, Air Marshal Vincent, and General Chambers. I did a bit of digging and found a slightly better resolution from the Imperial War Museum files. Art!
Hopefully the rest will be of better quality or I'm going to be using the camera again. Technology, it's great when it works.
Incidentally, with a mere month of the war left to run, I'm only at Page 160 of a total of 800. One supposes that there will be a focus on reconstruction? Perhaps the Nuremberg Trials?
Say Hello To My Little Friend
You ought to recall asteroid 2024 YR4, the one with an original possibility of hitting Planet Earth of 3.1%, which had all the doomsayers and worryworts - like worrywarts except slightly worse - up and pogoing about in panic.
Then, inevitably, more data was acquired and, as is always the case with these Near Earth Objects, the probability dropped to 0%. Doomsayers and worryworts all look sheepish and exit stage left. Art!
HOWEVER, yes that word at last, the European Space Agency has now calculated 2024 YR4 has a 4% chance of impacting the Moon in 2032. Slim, yet a definite risk. Thing is, nobody is entirely sure what will happen if this does occur, as an object of this size has not hit the Moon in modern times. Lay in a stock of popcorn, just in case.
More Synchronicity, Or Serendipity, Or The Coincidence Hydra Again
There I was, looking for a small item and an illo, to bump up the Word Count and get it over 1,300 words, and what do I spot on Youtube? Art!
That's Konstantin Samoilov, whom I have dubbed 'Big K', and an upcoming vlog he has, which I shrewdly guess involves the 'Stans. Presumably including Uzbekistan, where he now resides in Tashkent, the capital city, alongside hundreds of other Ruffian exiles who quit before they were either imprisoned or conscripted. This harbouring of political exiles is another reason the Kremlin Gremlin dislikes Uzbekistan. Let him, he can't do anything about it. Har har!
Finally -
Forgot to check my sauerkraut today. Tomorrow morning at breakfast, I promise.
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