Succession - Season 1 (TV 2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Succession - Season 1 (TV 2018): Aging patriarch of family-owned media empire faces succession. Schemes, double-crosses, undisguised ill will. Think King Lear, Murdochs, Trumps. Lots of foul language. Lots. Not a likable character in the show. But yet, riveting television. B+

#TardyReview

Bad Education (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Bad Education (2020): Drama based on real life. Embezzlement in a Long Island school district by a popular but smarmy superintendent. Plot unfolds like you'd expect. Great cast does their best with so-so script. Maybe screenwriter should have gone all in on black comedy. B-

Code of Ethics: Curiouser and Curiouser

It's been a long time since we had to talk about Laura (Maczka) Jordan. Remember, Richardson's former mayor was convicted of bribery. Then she got her conviction thrown out. Now she waits a possible retrial. She is content running out the clock until the prosecution or the public lose interest. Or both. It could easily be ten years after she left office before her case is settled and justice is served. Or not. That's the legal system in America.

How about the legislative system? The City of Richardson has a Code of Ethics that utterly failed at either preventing the behavior that led to the mayor being tried for bribery. Or even in discovering the alleged criminal behavior after the fact. The City had a reason for that, a reason that didn't sit well with me. But the City, too, seems to be playing a long game, perhaps also hoping that the public eventually loses interest.

POTD: Aswan Spice Market

From 2019 11 19 Aswan

Today's photo-of-the-day is from a spice market in Aswan, Egypt.

Bonus photos after the jump.

POTD: Aswan Street Market

From 2019 11 19 Aswan

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a street market in Aswan, Egypt.

Bonus photos after the jump.

Review: The Mirror & the Light

From The Mirror & the Light, by Hilary Mantel:

Once the queen’s head is severed, he walks away. A sharp pang of appetite reminds him that it is time for a second breakfast, or perhaps an early dinner."
	Amazon

The Mirror & the Light is the third volume of Hilary Mantel's life of Thomas Cromwell, chief minister of Henry VIII. It covers the four years from the execution of Anne Boleyn to his own downfall, with all the court intrigues in between. It's a masterfully written view of England in mid-1500s. B+

Random Thoughts: I Can't Wait for the Presidential Debates

Tweets from September, 2020:

• 2020-09-03: I can't wait for the Presidential debates so I'll finally know who to vote for.
• 2020-09-03: Radioactive (2020): Biopic of Marie Curie. Rosamund Pike plays an unlikable character, a prickly genius. It crams 60 years into one movie, as well as peeks at future benefits and ills of nuclear energy. You'll learn a lot about history, an amazing scientist and kickass woman. B-
• 2020-09-07: An American Pickle (2020): Immigrant falls into a vat of pickle brine in 1919 and is rescued in 2019. Just accept the premise. Seth Rogan plays the immigrant and his great grandson. Touching story of reconnecting with family and culture. Not what I expected from Seth Rogan. B-
• 2020-09-07: When I "hide" an ad on Facebook (hoping FB will quit serving ads of this type to me), it asks me why I wanted to hide the ad, offering choices like "already purchased," "irrelevant," and "repetitive." Why doesn't it offer as a choice, "Insults my intelligence"?
• 2020-09-08: Neighborhood yard sign poll: 3 Colin Allred signs, 2 Genevieve Collins signs. So with 55 days to go, it's 60%-40% Allred.

After the jump, more random thoughts.