It was fun to see Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci together.

Pacino plays Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa. 

The acting is surprisingly minimalistic and understated. Even Pacino … for Pacino.

As a movie, I still found it too long. Too slow.

The Irishman is a 2019 American epic crime film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese …

… based on the 2004 nonfiction book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt.  …

With a production budget of $159 million and a runtime of 209 minutes, it is among the most expensive and longest films of Scorsese’s career.

Pesci was offered his role a reported 50 times before agreeing to take part, at first saying he did not want to do “the gangster thing again”, while Scorsese tried to persuade him The Irishman would be “different.”

De Niro played a big part in convincing Pesci to take the role, telling him “We gotta do this. Who knows if there’ll be anything after?” …

Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.

Along the Bow river in Calgary families of Canada geese flock together.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I’m very, very happy Canada has nothing like FOX.

This video shows how nonsense and conspiracy makes it to the mainstream media.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

For more than 3 weeks I cycled the Dictator’s Highway in Chile.

The Carretera Austral runs about 1,240 kilometers (770 mi) from Puerto Montt to Villa O’Higgins through (sparsely populated) rural Patagonia. …

This area is characterized by thick forests, fjords, glaciers, canals and steep mountains. …

Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.

Starting with a side trip through the island of Chiloe, I made it as far as Coihaique. From there I continued on to the far south on foot (and bus).

See my trip report for the 23 days.

Literature. Nominated for the Man Booker.

Ondaatje is a fantastic writer. But would his latest be a pleasure to read?

Yes. Most of it for me.

The end was a bit of a letdown.

It’s non-linear reflections of a young man looking back at his upbringing in wartime London. What really happened when his parents left?

Michael Ondaatje is at the peak of his powers with the story of a man piecing together his troubled adolescence

Guardian review

I love Hank.

Love this series. Book 5 was hilarious.

That said, I feel Robot Farts was the weakest so far.

What a shame. This time the theme was mocking government bureaucracy. It could have been SO GREAT.

I took a 4 hour ferry over to Lofoten Islands planning to tent.

Ended up joining some folks headed to the hostel instead.

Checking out the only restaurant open late Sunday, I couldn’t resist ordering salmon.

With my laptop back on the mainland, this is a test post by phone.

The America First Committee (AFC) was the foremost United States non-interventionist pressure group against the American entry into World War II.

Started on September 4, 1940, it was dissolved on December 10, 1941, three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor …

Trump does not know history. But I can’t believe somebody didn’t let him know he was using the pacifist catch phrase.

“This is not ‘America First’”: Right wing rages at Trump over Syria strike