Cuba trip research

Well, the trip planning is ramping up. I just purchased a Lonely Planet Cuba guide, looked up recommended vaccinations, and shopped for travel insurance.

Anthony Bourdain- Cuba from IUEP on Vimeo.

North Korean news anchor gets new apartment

This is the lady with the overly dramatic delivery. I was surprised to learn she's in her 80s.

A tribute to Motorweek's Pat Goss

Andrew Zimmern eating hot wings

Whenever someone interesting (to me) is on this series, I watch it. Zimmern looks very different with the white beard. And the Travel Channel was definitely a small powerhouse when it had Zimmern, Bourdain, and Richman on at the same time.

RIP Louie Anderson

Another comic legend passed away. I didn't follow Louie's career too closely until he co-starred in Baskets. He channeled all of his life's struggles-- a drunk father, ten dysfunctional but loving siblings, weight, repressed sexuality-- into that singular character. The show is not everyone's cup of tea, but I highly recommend watching a few to see if you like it. 

I just discovered Futurama

A friend just introduced me to the show. Better late than never! I am almost done with the first season. It's so creative, smart, and different.

Bangladesh's first trans news anchor

Remembering Bourdain

I am still not over his passing. But with the new documentary out, I decided to finish watching his final season of Parts Unknown 1) to prepare myself emotionally for the movie and 2) to see what he was like in the months before his death. I'm up to the Indonesia episode (episode 3) and I must say you can see that he had already checked out. And in this episode, he talked about how he would die in a jungle, alone, and that he didn't care what they did to his body.

Yesterday, my son was at the bookstore and saw this book. I read it in an hour. It was a quick read. It's full of photographs of Bourdain at various exotic locales along with heartfelt messages left by fans, both famous and not.

The boy saw this at the book store and asked my wife to buy it for me because I like this guy. pic.twitter.com/0bMxwS4oPu

— Tamerlane's Thoughts (@TamerlaneBlog) July 22, 2021

Sabine Schmitz

A shitty day yesterday turned even shittier with the news of Schmitz's death due to cancer. This really hit home. As some of you know, my wife was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer last April. After chemotherapy, a mastectomy, and radiation, this is exactly what my wife looked like:

Thankfully, my wife's prognosis is very, very good. But the chance of a relapse is always a concern.

I'll leave this with a happy memory. Most of us were introduced to her in this Top Gear segment in which she tried to beat the 10:00 mark in the Nurburgring in a Ford Transit. Rest in peace.

Huell Howser eats cow tongues

Huell Howser visits a tuna cannery

Tuna!

I made it on Jeopardy!

 H/t to @slirt.

Ice T

Marc Maron interviewed Ice T on his WTF podcast. What a life and career.

In the 1980s, he was a rapper with a penchant for AMGs:

In the 1990s, he was infamous for his very controversial Cop Killer album. My freshman year roommate would place it loudly every friggin' day. My favorite song was Freedom of Speech (very NSFW lyrics):

And then, he started acting, like in New Jack City:

Now, he's been on Law & Order: SUV for 20 years! That's 416 episodes. It's a joke:

Good thing he doesn't take himself too seriously:

Huell's Gold podcast is back!

One of my favorite podcasts was Huell's Gold. Two friends in Bakersfield would watch an episode of Huell Howser's California Gold and then comment about it on their podcast. Well, life got in the way, and they were off the air for almost a year. I thought that was the end of that.

Well, with the pandemic, the hosts suddenly have free time. They're back!

This week's episode is about railcars. The video is here. And the podcast is below. Enjoy.

Joe Exotic's I Saw A Tiger music video

Over three nights, we watched all seven episodes of Netflix's Tiger King. The story and the characters were unbelievable.

Traveling from Western Sahara to Libya via Mauritania and Algeria

This is an excellent documentary, from the Tropic of Cancer BBC series by Simon Reeve. A great snapshot of 2010 North Africa.

Ricky Gervais Golden Globes monologue

This is brilliant and hilarious.

#RickyGervais outstanding 👏🏻👏🏻#GlodenGlobes pic.twitter.com/DMNbokIUzk

— GrumpyUlsterman 😡 (@GrumpyUlsterman) January 6, 2020

Popular tweets over Thanksgiving weekend

You vs the guy she told you not to worry about. #MacysParade pic.twitter.com/VfNiq6mck4

— Tamerlane's Thoughts (@TamerlaneBlog) November 28, 2019

I am looking for a clean E34 wagon. pic.twitter.com/d7cbWT32Lj

— Tamerlane's Thoughts (@TamerlaneBlog) November 29, 2019

That local white 9-4X is still for sale. What’s the worst thing that can happen if I get it? I had such bad luck with the 9-3 SportCombi, I feel like I have a large reserve of good karma. pic.twitter.com/5ewdzQRZXO

— Tamerlane's Thoughts (@TamerlaneBlog) December 1, 2019

Full House (of Mustaches)

Taco Chronicles on Netflix

This is a very well-made documentary series. Each episode covers a different style of taco. They interview food experts, cooks, farmers, servers, and customers. It's just beautiful all around. And, it's subtitled.