Monday Night Follies at City Hall

Néro the Assassin (TV 2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Néro the Assassin (TV 2025): French. An assassin is on the run across 16th century France with his daughter who does not trust him. Everyone wants him dead—his employer, the church, a fanatical religious group, and maybe a deadly witch. Lots of myth-building with no clear lines between good and evil. Lots of violence. B-

Netflix

In Remembrance of Sydney J. Harris

Resemblance to real persons is strictly coincidental.

"I am a man of firm principles; you tend to be stubborn; he is pigheaded."

The lesson behind such I/you/he constructs is that we tend to choose words that flatter our side and diminish the other side. They remind us that our own perspective is not neutral. The same behavior, depending on our point of view, can be called thrift, penny-pinching, or greed. Or confidence, arrogance, or bullying.

POTD: Vuelva Pronto

From 2025 06 03 Oaxaca

The tourist bus says, "Traveling through Mexico is taking you towards adventure." As we leave one adventure waypoint, we are invited to "Come Back Soon" ("Vuelva Pronto"). This photo will serve as our last photo-of-the-day in Mexico, at least on this visit. Next stop: Uzbekistan.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

POTD: San Pablo Villa de Mitla

From 2025 06 03 Oaxaca

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken in the town of San Pablo Villa de Mitla in Oaxaca, Mexico. According to Wikipedia, "The main attraction is the ruins of the pre-Hispanic city of Mitla, which is best known for its buildings decorated with mosaics of small flat stones that fit together to create designs, especially fretwork." Of course, there's a Christian church built on the ruins.

Bonus photos are after the jump.

How to Get to Heaven from Belfast (TV 2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

How to Get to Heaven from Belfast (TV 2026): Mystery/Comedy. Three friends attend the funeral of a fourth friend from high school and begin to uncover unpleasant facts about the coverup of a crime they all were part of. The story is quirky, which is good, but way too convoluted, which is bad. Still, their interactions are hilarious. B-

Netflix

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Robert Fulghum's 1986 best-seller distills life's biggest truths into simple, everyday behaviors that people are taught in kindergarten. These behaviors create the conditions that lay the groundwork for academic success (and success in life in general).

• Share and be kind
• Play fair
• Clean up your own mess
• Say you’re sorry
• Wash your hands (and take care of yourself)
• Live a balanced life
• Be aware of wonder
• Hold hands and stick together
• Keep learning
• Remember the basics still apply

Monday Night Follies at City Hall

Pizza Movie (2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

Pizza Movie (2026): It's a dumb movie about college life, hazing, friendship, and growing. Emphasis always on dumb. Redeeming feature: it's not raunchy, unless you consider fart jokes raunchy. If so, you won't last five minutes. D+

Hulu

Eric Eager's Cri de Coeur

The meeting of the board of trustees of Richardson ISD on April 2, 2026, focused on the district's upcoming 2026-2027 budget, specifically the plan for almost $26 million in budget cuts. Watch the board meeting video for details. Here I want to highlight one trustee's passionate appeal to Austin for more public school funding. Eric Eager is running for re-election. With this speech from his chair on the dais, he made a powerful argument why he should be re-elected. He may be a David fighting against the Goliaths in Austin, but he left no doubt that he's not yielding. He's rallying support for public education.