We Are Only Making One Post Today,

as we are extremely busy,

 as usual the day started out with my exercises, today on the first floor, taking my usual 3 minuet break between sets, in the distance I could see this,

the side of the hotel being painted,

with two intrepid painters,

with buckets, planks and rollers painting the side of the building,

I just hope the bits of rope holding them aloft is up to the job!

in the evening we were out for our Wednesday evening meal, to The Caddy Shack Inn,

nicely laid out,

with plenty of tables, we almost had the place to ourselves,

we decided to share two starters, vegetable spring rolls,

and a plate of garlic prawns,

'Cheers!',

between courses a quick look around the bar area, 

and seating area in the restaurant,

next our main courses, a half a chicken for Diana,

and 4 sausages, onions, mash and peas for myself,

another 'Cheers!', from me, and with the promise of lots of news tomorrow,

arriving home after watching a few game shows, it was a real trip into fantasy land for us with Dark Shadows, what a feast for the macabre, a really enjoyable movie, with ghost, vampires, psychiatrists, trouble teens and dreams, not to mention the occasional insane character, what more could a movie want? did I mention the undead risen from the ground? if not I apologize, as one was! and with that we were off to bed.

In The Afternoon,

another trip to the market,

 this time for some fresh fruit, a quick look at one of the durian stalls, from the stall holders side of the stall, 

 on the way home I just had to stop, and take a picture of this beauty,

a Ducati Streetfighter 848,

which is a slowed down almost detuned version of the too-powerful Streetfighter 1098, yes Ducati produced a motorcycle so powerful people did not want it, it was just too fast! later in the afternoon Mark called around for a tea and a chat, after saying our goodbyes,

it was time for our evening meal, next it was feet up for a couple of game shows, then US Marshals, great story with a neat twist, 

we followed that with The Avengers, the 1998 movie, great fun in a surreal sort of way, and by now it was nearing the midnight hour so we were off to bed.

What Am I Looking At Here?

a book with roses on a plate?

well it looks like it,

 but it and these others are more than they seem,

 they are all good enough to eat!

 yes they are all cakes,

and not sculptures in the strict sense of the word,

and they are big,

as this picture of their creator shows, at just 31 years of age, Elena Gnut, Pastry Chef from Kaliningrad, Russia, is already recognized as one of the world’s most talented cake artists, and looking at her impressive portfolio, it’s easy to see why, 

 for more amazing cakes, check out Elena Gnut’s Instagram, yes they really are just too good to eat!

I Came Across These Stunning Pieces Of Artwork,

with a difference, 

 artist Josie Morway uses geometric linework, colorful paint drips and occasional pieces of Latin text in her portraits of wildlife, Morway often features birds in her oil and enamel paintings, using the graceful shapes of the animals’ elongated necks and sweeping wings to draw the viewer’s eye around the artwork, 

 many of Morway’s works also interweave plants: ferns, succulents, and blossoming flowers emerge from around her animal subjects’ bodies,

in an interview Morway says that the Latin lettering that embellishes some of her paintings is heavily abstracted from old mottos. “I don’t mean for them to be read too literally, but rather hope they lend a certain feeling of portentousness to the pieces,” 

 Morway explains, “I like referencing religious icon paintings and other forms of ‘serious’ historic painting, but using animals and birds in the place of saints, etc. I’m going for the feeling of narrative realism, but working with a narrative that’s mysterious, missing some information, open to the viewer’s interpretation.”

Morway will have a piece on view at Antler Gallery in Portland starting June 9, 2018, as part of PDX/LAX II, a collaborative exhibit with Los Angeles gallery Thinkspace Projects, as well as a two person show in October, You can also find her work in Australia at Beinart Gallery’s group show starting July 13, the artist shares updates on her work via Instagram, and no I am not on commission, I just think the paintings are stunning, with or without the geometric linework, colorful paint drips and occasional pieces of Latin text.

One Of The Many Childhood Memories I Have,

is of our cuckoo clock,

 my mother bought one in the early 1950s, and for what seemed like hours, well I guess they were, I would wait for the cuckoo to make it's appearance, well here is a new slant on the famous clock, Cuckoo Blocks,

 German multidisciplinary artist Guido Zimmermann reinterprets the iconic German cuckoo clock using examples of modern architecture, the artist notes that while “the classic cuckoo clock stands for the prosperity of the middle class and counts as a kind of luxury for the staid home, the updated version as a panel construction shows today’s urban and social life in apartment blocks.”

Zimmermann drew on specific examples of modern architecture to create his sculptural “Cuckoo Blocks,” including the Glenkerry House by Brutalist architect Ernő Goldfinger and Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer’s Flaine hotel, 

 grids of windows peek out of flat concrete surfaces, with contemporary details such as satellite dishes and cactus houseplants,

 the artist studied at the Academy of Visual Arts in his native city of Frankfurt, where he currently lives and works,

You can see more of Zimmermann’s diverse projects, including paintings and murals, on Instagram, it must be me, being a traditionalist, I will stick to the normal cuckoo clock.

I Guess We Have All Head Of The Term 'Hacked',

that is when some one breaks into a technology system to steal or change data,

well it is not a new idea, back in 1834 the French government's communication system was hacked, the world’s first national data network was constructed in France during the 1790s, it was a mechanical telegraph system, consisting of chains of towers, each of which had a system of movable wooden arms on top, different configurations of these arms corresponded to letters, numbers and other characters, operators in each tower would adjust the arms to match the configuration of an adjacent tower, observed through a telescope, causing sequences of characters to ripple along the line, messages could now be sent much faster than letters, whizzing from one end of France to the other in minutes, the network was reserved for government use but in 1834 two bankers, François and Joseph Blanc, devised a way to subvert it to their own ends, the plan was genius: they conspired to add in a code that they could intercept ahead of their competitors in order to manipulate the market, now this is the neat bit, the Blanc's were ground-breakers, in that communications security was a completely new concept and there was no law yet against what they did, so no crime had been committed! for the full story have a look here.

First Stop Of The Day,

the Kodak shop on Pattaya Tai,

 as many know we are coming up to the time we have to renew our yearly visas,

 and we needed some passport sized photographs, the shop is almost opposite Friendship, 

 and has a very nice marine aquarium inside the shop,

 the Regal tang, (Paracanthurus hepatus) looking as splendid as ever,

  next for us breakfast, we decided to go to Dongtan Beach, and on the way after parking our motorcycle spotted this beauty,

 a Triumph Rocket Three, with it's 2,294 cc engine pumping out 148 BHP, that is just 2 BHP less than my 3,000 cc turbo charged truck, this motorcycle is no slouch, in case you are wondering it does a standing start to 60 MPH in just 3.3 seconds! although it is a full second slower to 60 MPH than the 2006 Suzuki GSX-R1000, it is still blisteringly fast,

 we made our way to the beach,

 during the day this part of Beach Road is closed to traffic,

 we had the road to ourselves,

 on the recommendation of Alex we called in here, the Sandbar,

 a coke for Diana and a ice coffee for myself,

 we sat under the umbrellas, but we were plagued by small flies that have a nasty habit of flying very close to your eyes, 

 which was easily solved by moving to a table with a fan above it,

 prawn fried rice with egg for Diana,

 prawn bisque soup for myself,

  also at this time of the year the motorcycles need to be taken in for their yearly inspection, road tax and government insurance certificates, first the Honda, 

 we use the facility just before the Bangkok Pattaya hospital on the way out of Pattaya heading towards Bangkok, I will pick up the paperwork in the next few days and also have the Kawasaki tested,

 later in the afternoon,

 off to the local market,

 Diana popped in for some fish,

so I just sat on the motorcycle taking a few pictures, then home for our evening meal,

after our meal we watched a few quiz shows, also Barry called round for a wine and chat, after saying our farewells it was feet up for Sherlock Holmes, A Game of Shadows, which we both enjoyed, and both agreed that a third in the series is long overdue, and with that we were off to bed.