Morning Report: Halloween 2019

Woke very late, sprawled on my sofa.  The sun was already up and pressing light against every corner of my house.  My 20 pounds of housecat sat at the center of my living room, staring at me.  Inside my gut, something has been churning for the last two days.  It feels as though my internal organs have liquefied, expanded greatly.  Something at the end of my Manila adventure did not agree with me.

Home again.  Queasy.  Weak.

The expanse around my house white with snow.

Seeing me awake, my cat approached, pressed his cold nose against my hand where it lay exposed at the edge of the sofa.

Love you, buddy.  

—Mitchell Hegman

Flying against the Sun

Yesterday, leaving Manila and Desiree, I flew entirely against the sun to get home.

Well, partway home.

I made it as far as Seattle.  I had to overnight here, having arrived too late for connections to home.

I left Manila at 9:40 Tuesday morning, October 29, and flew 4 hours to reach Narita Airport in Tokyo.  After a 4-hour layover in Tokyo, I departed Narita at 6:45 PM, Tuesday, October 29.  I flew for 8 hours toward North America in the dark of night—racing to meet the sun, now hurtling toward me from around the Earth in the opposite direction.

Back across the International Dateline.  Backwards in time.

I arrived in Seattle at 11:30, Tuesday morning, October 29.  Technically, only 2 hours on the clock after I left Manila.

I think I managed about 2 hours of sleep on my night flight back to North America.  I also zonked-out for a bit in the afternoon in my hotel room.

As I sit writing this, the local time here is Seattle is 2:18 in the morning, Wednesday, October 30.  I woke at 1:15 AM after four hours of sleep.  I got up and made a cup of coffee after flopping around in bed for a while.

I cannot flip back to my normal times just yet.  I begin my day in this early morning.  Later today, I will fly back to my snowy, inland mountains.

Mostly, I am thinking about Desiree in the tropics a half-world away from here.

—Mitchell Hegman

“Street” Wiring in Manila

It’s impossible for me to go anywhere without spending a bit of time “admiring” the power and communications wiring along the streets.  Manila, as much of Southeast Asia, makes for some interesting studies.  On a trip to West Rembo, Makati City, Desiree’s neighborhood along the Pasig River, I took a few photographs of the wiring.

Most of the wiring falls under the category: “Hey! It works!”

Desiree under the Wiring

A Man in the Air

A Car under the Man in the Air

—Mitchell Hegman

My Chinese Dinner Experiment

Posted today is a photograph of a weird experiment I conducted yesterday.  For my experiment, I surrounded myself with a bunch of nice-looking Filipinos in a Chinese restaurant and then had our photograph taken by a waiter.

I should be pretty easy to spot here.

—Mitchell Hegman

Meeting Clay in Manila

“Hey, kid!   Hey, kid!  Hey, you up there!  Can you give me a hand?”

I was a bit out of my element when I heard this.  I was a third-grader who just transferred from the Catholic school on one end of East Helena, Montana, to the public school on the “other side of the creek.”

I didn’t know many kids in the public school.  And I didn’t know the kid yelling up at me from his house down in a kind of hole below the street I was walking on while heading home after a day of school.  The kid below me was a fourth-grader.  I knew that much.

“I need a hand down here,” the kid yelled up at me.

I went down to help the kid open the door to his house.  His name was Clay Whitaker.

We became friends from that day on.

Clay and I ran around together quite a lot throughout grade school and into high school, but somewhat lost track of one another beyond that.  The last I saw of Clay was somewhere in the mid-1980s.  He stopped by my house in East Helena while on a visit from his work on fishing boats in Alaska.  Clay became a Facebook friend some years ago.  He now lives in Boso-Boso, in the Antipolo Province, just outside of Manila.

Yesterday, Desiree and I met Clay and his significant other, Renelle, at Venice Grand Canal Mall.  The mall is a mere ten minutes from our tower in Manila.  Clay and Renelle drove through two hours of insane, junkyard, honking, and flying-at-you-from-all-directions traffic to reach us.

After a lunch at Friday’s (the very same chain as that in the U.S.), Desiree and I rode out to Boso-Boso in the car with Clay and Renelle to see their “place in the jungle,” as Clay referred to it.

It took three hours to drive the twenty-some miles out into the jungle.  We dodged motorcycles, jeepney rigs (some with passengers actually clinging to the roof), pedestrians with a death wish, and one cagy traffic cop at a traffic circle to get there.

After visiting a bit, Clay drove us halfway back into Manila.  We caught a taxi for the second half of the return.  Our taxi driver was very aggressive in traffic—which added a whole new element to driving though Manila.

All in all, a great adventure.

Here are a few photographs from the day:

Venice Grand Canal Mall

The Four of Us at the Mall

The Province Countryside near Boso-Boso

Clay and a Local Dog that Adopted Him

—Mitchell Hegman

Pomelo and Mangos

Pomelo—sometimes called shaddock—is the largest fruit in the citrus family.  Though pomelo looks very similar to grapefruit, the taste could not be more different.  Pomelo fruit is extremely mild in taste.  The segments within the fruit are also very firm and structural—as if this particular fruit were engineered by a carpenter.

Mango—sometimes called “the king of fruits”—is a member of the stone fruit (drupe) family.  This family includes everything from olives to peaches.  Mango has always been among my favorite fruits.  At least, if fully ripened.

Yesterday, Desiree and I walked to Market Market for a (pun intended) repeat shopping spree.  We purchased some mangoes from one of the open-crate vendors. 

I am a heathen, by the way.  When it comes to picking ripened mangoes I have been using a bulldozer where a feather duster is more appropriate.  I have always squeezed mangoes to see if they are a bit soft—my measure of ripeness.

“No,” Desiree admonished, “this will bruise the mango.”  She picked up a mango and sniffed at the stem on the end.  “If the mango is ripe, you will smell the sweetness.”   

We purchased three perfectly scented mangoes and brought them back to our tower to eat along with some pomelo we had purchased a few days ago.

We ate the fruits together as a way to cool off from our walk.

Nothing compares to fresh pomelo and mango.

Desiree Opening a Pomelo

Pomelo

Pomelo and Mango

—Mitchell Hegman

Intramuros (Old Manila)

Yesterday, Desiree and I, after a walk around the block near our tower, caught a Grab ride to Old Manila.  While in the old city, we took a pedicab tour of Fort Santiago and some of the oldest buildings in the surrounding area.

John, our pedicab operator, assured us Americans are the best and Russians are mean.

“A Russian tried to choke my friend,” John told us.

“Why did he try to choke your friend?” I asked.  Choking a pedicab dude seemed fairly implausible to me.

“He thought my friend charged him too much.”

To be fair, Desiree and I wanted to choke John at the end of our three-hour tour.  But Desiree is perpetually sweet and I am a “best” American.

Anyhow, John gave us a pretty fun tour.  He knew a great deal about local history, especially history of the fort and most of the older buildings.

Sadly World War II took a heavy toll on everything, but what remains and what has been rebuilt is impressive.

Posted are a few pictures from yesterday.

Global City

Old Chinatown

Riding in John’s Pedicab

Desiree

—Mitchell Hegman

Merry Christmas, People!

Yesterday, Desiree and I walked to Market Market.  Yes, the name is Market Market.  Apparently, it is worth repeating.

But that is not the weirdest part of the trip to the market.  The weirdest part is that they are celebrating Christmastime here.  Though we are barely teetering here at the edge of October, its Christmastime here in the Philippines.  I heard Christmas carols as we walked through a mall.  Stores and just about all public spaces are adorned with showy Christmas decorations.

The Philippines take the Christmas “Season” seriously.  They have the longest Christmas celebration of any country in the world.  We are talking four full months.  All the “ber” months are included.  The celebrations starts right at September 1, extends through October, November, December, and really doesn’t end until January 6 during the Feast of the Three Kings.

Filipino society not only adopted Christmas, they wed it to their keen family-centric values.  The season is long and all about family and gathering together.

Thus far, I have found the people here to be very pleasant and kind.

Yep…Merry Christmas!

Desiree at Market Market

—Mitchell Hegman

Manila

Manila is the most densely populated city proper in the world.  At 46,000 people per square mile, the city maintains twice the density of New York City.

Manila is also notable for being the second most natural disaster-afflicted city in the world.  Only Tokyo has experienced more natural strife.  Floods are perpetual in the city. 

The area now occupied by Manila had been the site of a settlement as far back as 1258.   In 1570 Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, having previously established a Spanish settlement on the Nearby island of Cebu, sent an expedition to the northern island of Luzon, arriving there himself the next year.  He quickly deposed the local Muslim ruler, and by 1571 established the city of Manila, which became the capital of the new Spanish colony.

Manila soon became a center for the spread of Catholicism and commerce connections with Asia.   

Manila today is a city of great contrast.  Here, the haves and the have nots are but thinly separated both physically and financially.  The streets are chaotic. Motorcycles squeeze through stalled vehicle traffic like platelets though kinked capillaries.  Very few streetlights help control the traffic.

But the people are friendly and calm.

I landed in Manila just in time for evening rush hour.  Desiree scooped me up in a Grab ride and pulled me away into the commotion of the city.      

I am staying in Global City, the shiny new part of the Manila.  I managed a 15^th floor room at the Ascott.

Posted are two photographs captured from my window.

Last night upon arrival

Sunrise this morning

—Mitchell Hegman

Sources: Wikipedia, Business Insider, Britannica.com 

The Void

I am in something of a void.  It’s weird place.  A bustling place.  All Windows and sunshine at the moment.

You know this void as Hong Kong.  Well, more specifically the Hong Kong airport.

I slept in the sky to get here.  We pretty much descended from the sky just as the sun cleared the horizon to reveal mountains and water right below us.  The Asian dude with broken English seated next to me showed me how to access a forward-looking camera mounted on the tail of the craft.  We watched live video of our landing sent to the monitors mounted to the seats in front of us.  I really enjoyed that.

I gave the dude a piece of gum as reward.

After bumping into a few walls and some false starts inside the concourse I managed to find my way to a charge station and a rough idea of where I am headed.  

I am here on another long layover before my last jump to Manila.

One more hop.  And, if all goes well, Desiree will be there to greet me and make sure I don’t bump into more walls or lose my luggage.

Hong Kong Airport

Hong Kong Airport

Desiree

—Mitchell Hegman

Travel Update

I left Helena almost three hours late due to aircraft mechanical problems—something about a deicing thingy related to the engine.

I am guessing I (and every other passenger) would appreciate the deicing thingy in operating order.

Anyhow, the thingy was poked at by a mechanic until it responded to his liking and we took off for a turbulent, jostling flight to Seattle.

The Cascade Mountains caused the bumps, thank you.

Here in Seattle, I bought some calamari for myself and dinner for a nice couple heading to Florida.  The husband was recovering from heart surgery.  The wife loved the husband very much.  Also, they were raising their granddaughter.

They both loved the granddaughter very much.

Okay, we shared drinks.      

I am now waiting to board a plane for a 13-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean.

My plan is to sleep in the sky tonight.

A lofty plan, that.

—Mitchell Hegman

A Lost Day

I am about to lose an entire day.

I am boarding a plane in Helena, Montana, this afternoon.  A two-hour flight will land me in Seattle.  After a nine-hour layover in Seattle, I will jump off the edge of North America and fly across the Pacific Ocean.  Somewhere, about halfway across the Pacific, the aircraft will cross the International Date Line and I will instantly lose 12 hours.  At the end that flight (a bit over 13 hours) I land at Hong Kong.

Another 9-hour layover awaits me there.

From Hong Kong I will fly to the Philippines on a flight of something a bit over 2 hours in length.   

Put simply, I am Leaving Helena, Montana, at 4:00 this afternoon, Sunday, October 20, 2019.  After a series of flights and layovers (and the passage of 36 hours), I will touch down in Manila at 4:00 in the afternoon on Tuesday, October 22, 2019.

I will never see the light of day for October 21^st.

—Mitchell Hegman

Yearning

Light contracts and expands as clouds glove

then unglove the sun.

I see you there across the lake from me

wearing a white sleeveless dress.

When the sun is ungloved you glow like a pearl.

On your side, the lake reflects a city of glass.

My side reflects cottonwood trees,

scudding clouds, the narrow road that delivered me here.

A moment a go, I watched you break the water’s surface

with just a single finger.

The entire the city shivered when you touched it.

And I swear I felt you, too.

A ripple quivered through the earth under my feet

and tickled up through me.

—Mitchell Hegman

A Sure Winner

If you have been thinking, like me, that dinosaurs lost everything when they went extinct millions of years ago, you might be mistaken.  I have unearthed a video that shows dinosaurs can still win an old-fashioned footrace.

In this case, T-rex is a sure winner.

The rare “footage” you are about to see was captured at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington.

Though the video posted here is less than a minute long, I find watching it incredibly satisfying.

—Mitchell Hegman

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNug10NSlK8 

Elk

Today, I am filled with simple needs.  Ancient needs.

Just deliver me alongside a grassy park where I can watch elk feeding at first light.  And allow me to watch the elk until they drift toward the edge of the timber and ghost away in the trees without a sound.

That will be enough for today.

—Mitchell Hegman

Haunted Toys

For some reason, I really enjoy watching “ghost hunting” television programs.  There quite a few different shows available on various channels at this point.  I prefer the type of program that seeks to debunk as a first step.  I don’t find as much value in mediums, electronic “voice translating” devices, or photographs of orbs.

I don’t even know what I really believe at this point. 

In my viewing of these programs, I have seen some compelling evidence.  Shadow figures caught on video.  Disembodied voices clearly heard by the ghost hunters and clearly recorded.  Stationary objects abruptly moving or seemingly tossed in the air.  Occasionally, what might be an apparition.

Last night, I watched a show where the most “compelling” evidence was a toy remote control car that came to like and crawled ahead a couple inches on occasion.

We are talking cheap electronics here.  A television remote, garage door opener, walkie talkie—just about anything—could trigger a toy car to blip to life.

Dolls with porcelain heads and cloth bodies: scary.

Remote control cars from Walmart: not scary.

—Mitchell Hegman

The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie

A song by Colter Wall.

In plain vernacular, he don’t sing pretty but he got somthin’ just the same.

—Mitchell Hegman

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l4gdhPqh3E 

Sex Dolls

Let me begin with an apology.

I’m sorry.  I have been thinking again and we need to talk about sex.

But wait.  I am ahead of myself.  I need to tell you about artificial intelligence (AI) first.

I am a little freaked-out about AI.  The way I have it figured, once we equip robots with AI—actual reasoning and not preprogrammed stuff—they are going to figure out we are assholes and they will, at a minimum, beat the hell out of us.

But…we have an interesting sideshow developing along the way.

Some manufacturers of sex dolls are in the early stages of incorporating AI into their sex dolls.  The idea, obviously, is to produce a doll that truly interacts with humans.  A doll that learns from experience.

A sex robot.

Manufacturers are already pretty far down the road from the inflatable sex dolls your weird neighbor owned. Companies such as 1AM Dolls, have long been striving to produce high-end, realistic dolls.  Now, they are beginning to incorporate AI in more expensive models.

This is all a little creepy, but, at a minimum, mixing sex with AI will be a surefire way to pour a lot of money into the development of AI.  And this stuff is way more intriguing than producing a smart-assed AI car that will eventually drive us off a cliff.

On a final note, Anco Peeters, a doctoral student at Australia’s University of Wollongong, and Pim Haselager, associate professor at The Netherlands’ Radboud University, recently published “Designing Virtuous Sex Robots” in the International Journal of Social Robotics.  Bottom line, they see a day when we have sex “droids” that can refuse to have sex with us.

You can’t get more realistic than that.

—Mitchell Hegman

PHOTO: 1AM Doll