Is Russia actually losing this war, or is it just media propaganda?

No-one really wins a war. People lose their lives over a conflict of resources. It’s just a faster way of destroying everything. But in another way, Russia is actually winning it. For a country that’s been dominated by a dictator, they’re certainly getting closer to taking back their own country than they have been in a long time. People are leaving the country in droves to avoid being called up to the front line as labour depletes. There’s plenty of decent people there who are protesting the war and are standing up to their ‘government’ while there’s very few people who can enforce it since they’re serving on the front line. At some point, people will say no to this action and will stand up against their authorities. They may attempt to control their little sector of the world. There might even be a weak border that will allow others to infiltrate. I just wish they’d hurry up.

Goldielocks

He sits like a gummy bear on his pedestal while meditating. At first glance, he looks like he’s got a bling chain spelling out the word ‘LIFE’ beneath his jacket, but on closer inspection it’s actually a swastika. It’s no wonder that the Nazi Party decided to rotate this symbol forty-five degrees to disrupt this intended symbol of peace. He also wears a red armband to show that he’s a paid-up resident to get into the all-you-can-eat buffet, and there’s also discs behind his hand that he could be getting ready to throw at you. There must be a fair bit of gold in it, though that shouldn’t bother the Buddhists. It’s mounted up high to stop people from getting up there easily and it could be a wooden statue painted gold for all we know. I like the hair. I wonder if it’s made out of brushes so that it’s easier to maintain. Those candles look a bit more like light bulbs than a proper wick and flame though. Considering it’s a Jade Temple, there’s not that much of it on display.

Wombats

What is a wombat? How does it differ from a normal bat? Is it able to travel about more freely because it’s not nocturnal? Does it have a womb which makes it a female bat? Perhaps it’s cuter and cuddlier than a normal bat. Is it a type of bat that’s confined to one continent? Perhaps it doesn’t fly at all and burrows its way around rather than use wings. Does it emit a different noise to that of other bats? Is it a rounder more traditional purple bat that you tend to see in cartoons rather than the blue/grey bat with cat-like ears that you might spot in the woods late at night? Does it shake up and down in flight to try and balance its body as opposed to a regular bat which flies like a dart? Is it extinct or endangered which explains why so few people know about them? Perhaps there was a mistake in a pet shop and the customer meant to say ‘wrong bat’ or got given Ron the bat instead.

Monkie Business

Our last site of the day was to a Buddhist temple. The outside courtyard looked like a Chinese hobbit hole with its circular doors leading into the buildings, while the bonsai tree outside looked very worn. The buildings were very decorative though, and hygiene must be important to them since they were jet washing parts of the floor during our visit. It’s a shame that it was dwarfed by towering city apartment blocks outside. Within the building were some very beautiful deities on display. There were lovely ornate purple statues on a gold background that were surrounded by floral displays to match. There were huge masked being entrapped behind framed windows as if they were looking into us from another dimension. Some were happy, some were sad, and some just jeered at you in jest when you had to make a choice as if they knew the right solution but they weren’t going to give away anything. 

Word of the Day

It’s nondescript. There’s no real definition to it. Just like its voice really, apart from the introduction being read out like a zany show host with a pause for an annoying theme tune that’s yet to be inserted, then it flicks back to its regular voice.  The pause between the two voices isn’t long enough so you get confused as to who’s speaking and what’s being said. I like the fact that it spells it out for you in case you’ve misheard it, but this would be more useful before hearing the definition. It’s also a shame that there’s not an opportunity to hear it in a sentence like a traditional spelling bee. I wonder how the words are picked. Is it a random selection from the dictionary each day? Would my Word of the Day be the same as someone else’s? And how does it work in another country with a different time zone? At least it’s not in alphabetical order. 

Musing Around

After lunch we were whisked off to a museum. This was an unexpected stop on our tour, but it was a substitute for some gardens that were closed. There were three floors to explore, and we picked out a few of the exhibits that we wanted to see and we’d put the rest aside to view if there was time. The first exhibition we saw was how trade was established with the use of tools and the creation of the earliest coins which were simply circular discs with squares punched through them. There were also some very colourful costumes, although you do begin to question them when a man had a unicorn horn sticking out of his turban. We also saw some very beautifully decorated longboats and some musical instruments. I loved the pottery including a very strange water jug that might have functioned as a bedpan, and a huge chest with handles that could have been used as a gigantic teapot.

Mysterious Angel

He’s a mystery man that I don’t think that I’ve ever met. I’ve only spoken to him, but it conjures up an image of a bearded man with wings sprouting out of a grey fleece gently descending with a firkin in his hands. The conversation was something to do with beer. Perhaps he was asking for directions as to where to bring it. He might have even won an award during the event. According to the good book he’s still brewing, but I haven’t heard of him or seen any of his beers on anyone’s bar since. Have we done something to offend him? Maybe the novelty has worn from trying a new brewery and that his beers weren’t that good later down the line. There’s certainly nothing on display outside the address but it might not be something that you want to advertise anyway if you can’t afford to make the site secure. I’ll have to ask the locals.