Brendan I. Koerner's Blog, page 105

Be Thankful for What We've Got

A pal of ours is on jury duty this week, and reminded us of one of the great pleasures of the process (at least in New York): getting to view Enter the Jury Room on your first morning. Narrated by the late Ed Bradley, the short film is surprisingly witty and informative, especially for those potential jurors whose legal knowledge may be close to nil. The best part undoubtedly comes toward the beginning, as Bradley describes the bad ol' days of trial by ordeal. The point is clear—while we may ...

Renewal to the North

Aware of our fascination with the current wave of Bhutanese refugees alighting in the U.S., our favorite correspondent from the Nushagak Bay area alerted us to this great A/V feature from the Anchorage Daily News. Apparently a small group of the Lhotshampas have landed in the Land of the Midnight Sun, after a gobsmacking 17 years spent in refugee camps along the Bhutan-Nepal border. Now they're finally free to celebrate Dashain in the proper manner.

The slide show got us thinking about...

But Do They Know About the Rubio Mess?

The NBA fans in the audience are surely aware that the Minnesota Timberwolves are about as hapless as they come nowadays—an even less promising squad than Microkhan's beloved Los Angeles Clipppers, a team once declared "The Worst Franchise Ever" by Sports Illustrated. But the T'wolves' woeful prospects haven't affected the loyalty of a certain Nairobi matatu driver, whose vehicular tribute we snapped on Saturday. Perhaps he was just a big Kevin McHale fan back in the day? Or, more likely, he ...

In Tragedy, Inspiration

For those of us who worship at the altar of hops and malted barley, no trip to Kenya can be complete without sampling a bottle or twelve of Tusker, East African Breweries' flagship beer. It's by no means a great lager—when served cold, it reminded us of the thin-yet-refreshing Brazilian brew Antarctica. But Tusker gets point for its intriguing back label, which declares that the beer is named after the elephant that killed one of the drink's creators.

Really? Such an explanation struck us as ...

Mzungu Back on the Scene

After an interminable 27-plus hours in transit from Nairobi, punctuated by some dire experiences aboard Swiss Air, we finally made it back to Microkhan HQs late yesterday. Great to be back in sunny Atlah, though an enjoyable and productive time was had by all in Kenya. We'll be posting plenty of East Africa-related material in the coming days, but let's just start with a few quick observations as we recharge the mental batteries:

*The Kenyan drought is a true disaster—driving across the...

Truly Unsafe at Any Speed

This is the last post we scheduled before departing for Kenya last weekend—a Bad Movie Friday entry that rankles with its unrealistic depiction of vehicular combustion. Even the 1971 Ford Pinto wasn't quite this fragile.

Thanks to those of you stuck with us this week, despite knowing that a WordPress bot was at the posting controls. Transportation deities willing, we'll be back at the helm on Monday. Wish us luck, especially with avoiding lethal boredom at Jomo Kenyatta International...

Misled by Nicholas of Cologne

We can't say we're utterly convinced as to the verisimilitude of the Children's Crusade. But there is, at the very least, a primary source. And it doesn't mince words:

About the time of Easter and Pentecost,without anyone having preached or called for it and prompted by I know not what spirit, many thousands of boys, ranging in age from six years to full maturity, left the plows or carts which they were driving, the flocks which they were pasturing, and anything else which they were doing...

At Play in the Fields of the Crow

An absolutely haunting collection of photographs that document America's push westward. The one above is by no means the most dramatic, but something about the facial expressions stuck with us. The caption simply reads:

A noon meal in Ferdinand V. Hayden's camp of the U.S. Geological Survey. Red Buttes, Wyo. Terr., August 24, 1870. Hayden sits at far end of table in dark jacket; W. H. Jackson stands at far right. By Jackson. 57-HS-282.

Hayden, it turns out, has his share of avid fans.

Escape from Cat Island

Back in March, we brought you news of mankind's triumph over the rodent denizens of Rat Island, Alaska. Now comes word that many thousands of miles to the south, a veritable Cat Island (aka Wake Atoll) has been similarly scourged of its furry invaders (PDF):

At the end of the second week in July, we had completed 343 trap nights, caught 37 cats and shot 39 for a total of 76. By the end of the first month, 104 cats had been removed. In the fifth week, we resumed trapping but cats were wary...

"Took the Dodge Dart, a '74″

If all goes precisely according to plan, this post will publish at the exact moment our flight departs Zurich for Nairobi. But we scheduled some goodies to keep you tantalized in our absence. And we'll also try to post an update or two from the road, assuming something noteworthy happens as we journey west from the capital. So, please, keep checking this space at semi-regular intervals. And know that we should be back to full strength next week.

In the meantime, enjoy the above song...