Gymnastics in Benin City, Nigeria

On By Rick McIn gymnastics, travelLeave a comment

I first led a Gymnastics Coaching course in the capital, Abuja, Nigeria in 2013. They were quite disorganized at the time.

Returning in 2023 — this time to Benin City — I was astonished to see how much progress had been made.

In fact, Nigeria was the best organized of these camps I’ve had over dozens around the world.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Gymnastics in Nigeria 2023

Coaches from across the country traveled to Benin City, which built a world class facility 3 years ago. It’s in Edo State, by far the one most supportive of sport.

(NOT the country of Benin, formerly Dahomey, a small nation nearby.)

Busy, busy … I only got the chance to do a driving tour of Nigeria’s 4th largest metropolitan area. There is not much western tourism. Benin City has not got a great reputation.

I did not see any other pale human like myself, for a week. 😀

I stayed at a very good 3 star hotel, the Marriott Protea Hotel Benin City.

Mostly ate spicy Nigerian food. They love their food in Nigeria. Spicy.

This video gives a good feel of how this city feels on street level.

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Purity of Vengeance by Jussi Adler-Olsen

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Adler-Olsen is a Danish crime fiction writer best known for his Department Q series.

Purity of Vengeance is the 4th book in the series. (2018)

Jussi Adler-Olsen is Denmark’s #1 crime writer. The films based on his books are popular.

The lead detective, Carl Mørck, is just a jerk. BUT less a jerk in this book. Perhaps he’s getting better.

I do like his sidekick, Assad.

In 1987, Nete Hermansen plans revenge on those who abused her in her youth, including Curt Wad, a charismatic surgeon who was part of a movement to sterilize wayward girls in 1950s Denmark.

More than twenty years later, Detective Carl Mørck already has plenty on his mind when he is presented with the (cold) case of a brothel owner, a woman named Rita, who went missing in the eighties …

But when Carl’s assistants, Assad and Rose, learn that numerous other people disappeared around the same weekend as Rita, Carl takes notice.

As they sift through the disappearances, they get closer and closer to Curt Wad …

jussiadlerolsen.com

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Randy and Val’s Karaoke Online

On By Rick McIn McCharles family, musicLeave a comment

Randy and Val have been hosting an online music event since the pandemic.

I sat in LIVE for the 18th episode.

My brother’s Suspicious Minds in full Elvis costume was the highlight. 😀

One of the guests played a version of Dancing in the Moonlight (1970) written by Sherman Kelly, originally recorded Kelly’s band Boffalongo.

It became a worldwide hit single by King Harvest in 1972.

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In 2000, a cover by English band Toploader became a worldwide hit.

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Culper Ring trilogy by Brad Meltzer

On By Rick McIn books, governmentLeave a comment
  1. The Inner Circle
  2. The Fifth Assassin
  3. The President’s Shadow

I’m not much of a fan of thrillers, especially political thrillers.

And didn’t manage to get through all 3 books.

Beecher White is an interesting character, however. A government archivist in Washington D.C.

I did enjoy enjoy reading about the archives and historical anecdotes.

Author Brad Meltzer is interesting, too.

His novels touch on the political thriller, legal thriller and conspiracy fiction genres, …

… Meltzer counts former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush as fans, and both have helped him with his research. …

The Culper Ring books imagine that a secret spy ring, founded in real life by George Washington, continues to exist today. 

Though they didn’t work for me, many others really enjoy these books.

Of the 3 books, I felt the first — Inner Circle — was best. And I did finish that one. 😀

You could try it and see if you want to continue with the trilogy.

The Taylor Swift Economy

On By Rick McIn economics, GOP USA, musicLeave a comment

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is the biggest in history.

… Kanye who? 😀

Business students will study how she built this music empire.

If you are a Republican strategist, your worst nightmare is Taylor Swift campaigning for Biden. Her fans are even more fanatic than Trump’s deplorables.

I’m a fan girl myself, but wouldn’t pay to see the show LIVE. Too expen$ive.

I will see the movie.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

related – How Taylor Swift became the world’s biggest pop star, again

Photographer Steve McCurry

On By Rick McIn photos, travelLeave a comment

Some call Steve McCurry (born April 23, 1950) the greatest photographer all time.

You might not know the name, but you’ve seen his photos in National Geographic.

For example, Afghan Girl, a 1984 photographic portrait of Sharbat Gula, an Afghan refugee in Pakistan during the Soviet–Afghan War. 

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen

On By Rick McIn books, moviesLeave a comment

Not a bad book, actually.

Copenhagen Deputy Detective Superintendent Carl Mørck returns from vacation to discover that his tiny cold case unit, Department Q, has been reshuffled, and a citizen’s complaint has reopened a 20-year-old case on which all the relevant documents have disappeared. …

Kirkus

Six rich students are suspected of killing Lisbet Jørgeneon and her twin brother two decades ago.

But they were never seriously investigated as a young man admitted he had murdered the two. And is still in prison.

Reluctantly at first, Carl (the jerk) and his likable Syrian assistant, Hafez el-Assad, AND his new secretary, Rose Knudsen start building a case against the students, some of whom are now rich and influential.

A popular Danish film was adapted from the book.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The River we Remember by William Kent Krueger

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

William Kent Krueger (born November 16, 1950) is an American novelist and crime writer, best known for his series of novels featuring Cork O’Connor, which are set mainly in Minnesota.

I’ve read them all. Excellent.

In addition, he’s written several books of historical fiction. More ambitious and literary than the Cork O’Connor series.

His 2023 book — The River we Remember — is very good. A bit slow for my liking.

Memorial Day (or Decoration Day, as it was still called in 1958) takes on new meaning for the residents of Jewel, Minnesota, when its wealthiest—and least-liked—citizen is murdered and a war veteran is suspected of the crime.

The brutish victim, Jimmy Quinn, is found floating in the Alabaster River, shotgunned and chewed up by catfish.

Suspicion immediately falls on Noah Bluestone, a veteran who is doubly persecuted for being a Dakota Sioux and married to Kyoko, a Japanese survivor of Nagasaki.

The sheriff, Brody Dern, a highly decorated and traumatized war veteran who spent time in a Japanese prison camp, thinks about letting whomever killed Quinn, destroyer of people’s lives, go free. …

Kirkus Reviews

FICTION: The latest from the Minnesota author may be his best work yet. 

Review: William Kent Krueger’s ‘The River We Remember’ takes us back to 1958 Minnesota

The Future of Video

On By Rick McIn videoLeave a comment

Since the pandemic, my #1 hobby has been videography.

In 2023 there are two obvious trends:

  • Expensive cameras no longer needed. You can do anything 4K or lower resolution using phones, drones, and action cameras.
  • Artificial Intelligence will become increasingly important in editing. Soon.

Increasingly I find TV and movies too slow. Too boring. I like watching short videos with quick cuts. Like this.

This masterpiece in Tunisia uses no AI.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

As cost drops and technology is available to everyone, storytelling will be what separates the best from the rest.

That video is by Erik Hedenfalk, a young guy from Sweden who joined YouTube 2017.

By 2023 Apple is using his video. #respect

He’s done work for Mazda, Marriott, DJI, and more.

WHY Bikepacking ?? … 🚲

On By Rick McIn best bike rides, cycling2 Comments

For me bikepacking was a logical extension of hiking.

Cycle to the hike.

It’s easier, as well, and I’m not getting any younger.

My favourite cycling vlogger is Ryan Van Duzer. This short video explains better than any other exactly the attraction of multi-day cycling trips.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.