Krakatoa - extremely East of Java

I just love NPR. I tend to stay away during major political eruptions (like elections) or post-disaster when they become all-one-story, all-the-time until my sympathy and attention span are completely burnt out. But I'll sneak back now and then, hoping for some decent signal amongst the horrible noise and I got lucky this morning.

Michael Sullivan opened his fascinating report on Anak Krakatau (Krakatoa Volcano: The Son Also Rises) with a brief description of the 1969 movie Krakatoa, East of Java (carefully pointing out that even the title is wrong, because Krakatoa is - as we all know by now - west of Java). Then we get the part that improved my commute, when Sullivan said: "The volcano blew and so did the movie."

The rest of the report reminded me how interesting I find volcanos. I didn't get to climb Mt. Etna while in Italy, but several friends did and told me how odd it is to see slow moving lava wandering down the hill a few feet away. (Jealousy, it seems, never goes away. I still envy them that experience.) I did fly near Mt. Ruapehu in New Zealand when it was active in 1996 and I did tour Pompeii, possibly the saddest place I've ever been and a great example of the triumph of real estate over experience. Mt. Vesuvius isn't dead, but there are entire housing developments on the hillside leading to Pompeii.