You Can See Everything (2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

You Can See Everything (2026): Documentary filmmaker is given total access to Liz Holmes, CEO of Theranos, in her home, for 34 days before she reports to prison. Is she really that naive, or is she that good a liar? Or is she just brainwashed by the men in her life? WTAF is really going on here? A-

In theatres

POTD: Flamenco in Salamanca

From 2026 01 02 Salamanca, Spain

Today's photo-of-the-day is from a Flamenco performance in Salamanca, Spain. According to Wikipedia, "Although it is often described as a folk, popular or oral tradition, flamenco is also regarded as a complex and sophisticated musical system. Its forms combine song, guitar, dance, compás, modal and tonal harmony, falsetas, handclaps, footwork, melodic ornamentation and improvisatory variation. The musical identity of a palo may depend on several features at once, including rhythmic cycle, mode, chord progression, stanzaic form, geographic origin and performance convention. This musical sophistication, together with the development of concert flamenco guitar and formal conservatory study, has helped flamenco appeal not only to popular audiences but also to listeners and performers from classical-music backgrounds...On 16 November 2010, UNESCO declared flamenco one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity."

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"Red skirts sweep the air.
Heels thunder like rain; hands clap.
Six strings keep the beat."
— h/t ChatGPT

POTD: Salamanca, a University Town for Centuries

From 2026 01 02 Salamanca, Spain

Today's photo-of-the-day is from University of Salamanca. According to Wikipedia, it's "a public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the world in continuous operation. It has over 30,000 students from 50 nationalities."

30,000 students and one famous frog. It's a carving at the entrance of the university. According to legend, new students were challenged to spot the frog without help. If they succeeded they were to be rewarded with academic success as well.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Book Review: Exit Party

From Exit Party, by Emily St. John Mandel

Amazon

"In the first spring after the collapse of the United States, the blossoming of the jacaranda trees felt to Ari like grace. The trees bloomed in the same week that international peacekeeping troops withdrew from Los Angeles, and the convergence of flowers with the absence of foreign soldiers brought a delirious kind of hope. Everyone in the spring of 2031 knew the city was one terrorist attack away from disaster, but that peril made the season more vivid, not less."

Council Recap: Affordable Housing Through HFCs

Source: ChatGPT

On October 19, 2026, the Richardson City Council discussed ways to address housing needs identified in the City's 2025 housing study. The discussion focused on only two closely related methods, HFCs and PFCs. HFC (Housing Finance Corporation) and PFC (Public Facility Corporation) are public instrumentalities in Texas used to partner with private developers for affordable housing through property tax exemptions. Other approaches that are promised to be on future agendas include Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), Opportunity Zones, and zoning changes to foster missing middle housing. But for this meeting, it's all about HFCs and PFCs.

Lanterns (TV 2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

Lanterns (TV 2026): Retelling of the handoff of the ring from Hal Jordan to John Stewart. It's a superhero movie, but it's a human story. It could be a character study of any retiring veteran and the intern replacing him. A-

HBO Max

Disclosure Day (2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

Disclosure Day (2026): Extraterrestrials exist (sci-fi). A TV anchor can communicate with them telepathically (mystery). The government conspires to keep their existence secret (thriller). A scientist races to leak the truth (action). Disclosure Day is Steven Spielberg's genre junk drawer. Worse, the movie ends just where it should begin: with the disclosure. C+

Peacock

POTD: Walkable Salamanca

From 2026 01 02 Salamanca, Spain

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Salamanca, Spain. The photo shows the heart of the Old City. It's medieval. It's beautiful. It's walkable. It's been walkable for a thousand years. The historic Via de la Plata, a branch of the Camino de Santiago, passes through Salamanca. For centuries, it's carried Christian pilgrims for hundreds of kilometers from Seville to Santiago de Compostela.

Bonus photo after the jump.

POTD: Salamanca's Plaza Mayor

From 2026 01 02 Salamanca, Spain

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Salamanca, Spain. Our river cruise ship docked on the border between Portugal and Spain where we transferred to coaches for a day trip to Salamanca. Settlement in Salamanca dates to the Iron Age. The ancient Romans founded a city there. The Christian Kingdom of Leon took hold in the 11th century. So, yeah, Salamanca is old. It's also beautiful and off the beaten track.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Council Recap: 4 Wins for Public Outreach

Source: City of Richardson

On October 12, 2026, the Richardson City Council discussed three public engagement strategies and the venue for its annual State of the City presentation. I've already covered one of the outreach proposals, coordinating town hall meetings, in "Council Recap: City to Coordinate Town Halls". Today, I'll cover two other proposals (monthly video updates on Council meetings and Facebook livestreaming of meetings) as well as the decision to move the State of the City presentation to a larger venue. All told, the Council reached agreement on four public outreach improvements, though some members raised doubts along the way. That's four wins for public outreach in one Council meeting. I call that a good night's work.