POTD: Child Labor

From 2025 09 17 Khiva

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a child with a chisel cutting into a board in a courtyard in Khiva, Uzbekistan. So many questions. Shouldn't he be in school? How many hours a day does he do this work? How much does his finished work sell for in the market? I feel bad that I know so little about this. A short search with Google suggests that child labor during the cotton harvest used to be a significant problem, but by 2022, the international "Cotton Campaign" coalition announced it was ending its global boycott of Uzbek cotton after concluding that state-imposed forced labor in the cotton sector had largely been eliminated. Of course that is not what my photo is all about. It's about one child in a city making a wooden craft.

Bonus photo after the jump.

POTD: Cosplay in Khiva

From 2025 09 17 Khiva

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a passing parade of locals cosplaying Khiva nobility in Khiva, Uzbekistan.

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"Gold embroidery
Glitters beneath smartphone screens.
Centuries collide."
— h/t ChatGPT

Greenland (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Greenland (2020): Disaster movie. Planet-killing meteor is headed towards Earth. A family embarks on a journey to Greenland seeking shelter in a government bunker for nuclear war. Civilization falls apart quickly. Nothing new here, but it does old perfectly well. B-

HBO Max

#VeryTardyReview

Council Recap: The Car Repair Shop Lives

Source: ZF 26-08 (enhanced by ChatGPT).

On June 8, 2026, the Richardson City Council approved a special development plan and special permits for the motor vehicle body shop and motor vehicle storage lot in the Interurban District, including all City Plan Commission conditions such as fence screening so vehicles are not visible from public view and completion of required improvements within 180 days of the ordinance's effective date. The vote was unanimous.

Monday Night Follies at City Hall

"I wish I knew how to quit you" — Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) to Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain.

Years and Years (TV 2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Years and Years (TV 2019): Set beginning in 2019, this drama follows an extended British family through the dystopian 2020s. It's part family drama, part political thriller, part sci-fi. Watching it in 2026 (midway through its fictional setting) shows how it got some things right, and how we can still fulfill its misses. B+

HBO

#VeryTardyReview

POTD: Public Art on the Silk Road

From 2025 09 17 Khiva

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a sculpture in Khiva, Uzbekistan. It shows a camel train on the ancient Silk Road.

Bonus photos are after the jump.

POTD: Minarets in Khiva

From 2025 09 17 Khiva

Today's photo-of-the-day is a selection of minarets in Khiva, Uzbekistan. The largest is unfinished. The ruler of Khiva, Muhammad Amin Khan, ordered construction of the minaret in 1852. He wanted it to be the tallest minaret in Central Asia, possibly 70-80 meters. Muhammad Amin Khan was killed in 1855 during a military campaign, and construction stopped. The political turmoil that followed meant nobody resumed the expensive project.

Bonus photos are after the jump.

Solos (TV 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

Solos (TV 2021): Sci-fi anthology series. Not a drama as much as character studies of seven compelling people each in their own world. The premise of each episode is set up, but nothing much happens after that. B-

Prime

#VeryTardyReview

The Boroughs (TV 2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Boroughs (TV 2026): Sci-fi. A group of residents in a senior-living community have to investigate what's behind a string of deaths. It's like Stranger Things except instead of kids, its senior citizens who are the heroes. The story doesn't quite make sense, but that's not the point in these stories. B+

Netflix