Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

Here.

Yesterday evening, Katherine and I watched War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) at a nearby theater. This is the third prequel in the Apes series, following Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014). The movie was long (over two hours), but we enjoyed it. The special effects are amazing. When I think back to how crude the ape characters were in the original Charlton Heston movie in 1968, I shake my head in wonder. I also loved the setting for the movie. The mountains, forests, waterfalls, and valleys were gorgeous, especially in the snow. I believe it was filmed in Alberta. Some parts of the movie were designed to appeal to children, which is odd, because the movie is far too violent for children. (It's rated PG-13.) I also chuckled when I saw 400-pound (or heavier) apes riding horses. Here is the trailer.

Siren (1975).

Here are highlights from Stage 15 of the Tour de France. Tomorrow is a rest day.

To the editor:

Yes, media coverage of Trump’s tweets is out of hand. Yes, Trump baits the media by tweeting to his heart’s content, so as to feed “content” to media that are always ravenous for a story. Yes, the media keep eating the tweets up when they should by now be gorged. We, the readers and viewers, have certainly had our fill.

Personally, I would like to see CNN and every other media outlet announce future presidential tweets this way:

“This morning, President Trump tweeted. If you want to know more about that, go to Twitter and find out. We have actual news to cover, so stick with us if you’d like to hear it.”

CNN, are you listening?

Jeff Pollak​​​​​​​, La Crescenta

Note from KBJ: As I have been saying from the beginning, Donald Trump is five steps ahead of his critics. His tweets are designed to keep CNN talking about trivial matters. CNN is too stupid to realize this.

With all of its phony unnamed sources & highly slanted & even fraudulent reporting, #Fake News is DISTORTING DEMOCRACY in our country!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2017

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Here are highlights from Stage 14 of the Tour de France.

Katherine and I went to Scotland for a week in late May 2016. I've been meaning to write about our meals there, so, without further ado, let me get started. I think I have pictures of every meal, or at least every dinner. The first meal was in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, not long after we arrived from London (our connecting city). It was a long flight from the United States and we were tired. After checking into our hotel downtown, we set out to find a restaurant with authentic Scottish food. We knew what we wanted: fish and chips. It had been raining or drizzling for some time prior to our arrival, as you can see from this street scene:

Here I am, happy and hungry, in my red rain jacket:

After walking for half an hour or so (while consulting a tourist map), we located the restaurant (The Butterfly and the Pig) that I had read about in my Fodor's guide:

As you can see, the restaurant is below street level. Katherine ordered a pint of hard cider and I ordered water:

My fish and chips were exactly as I imagined them to be, as you can tell by my smile:

The meal, which was delicious, came to £25.80 (about $33.78), not counting the tip. We loved the relaxed atmosphere in the restaurant and took our time eating. Later, I walked around inside. There were fliers on the walls indicating that the restaurant has local bands on weekends. It would have been nice to hear one. The bar and stools were made of aged wood. By the way, the fish and chips came with "mushy peas," but the peas had ham mixed in, so, since I don't eat pork (or beef), I passed on them. Apparently, it's a British custom to have mushy peas with fish and chips. Here, in case you're interested, is the menu description of our meal:

Tittys traditional fish and chips, battered to death haddock fillet with mushy peas (all veggies beware they have nasty ham through the peees) and a slice of lemon. (Please be careful there may be one or two bones in the fish they had to move about you know) (GF)

The menu was funny. By the time we finished eating, the rain had stopped. There was no more rain during our entire vacation!

Here.

Here.