Down Cemetery Road (TV 2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Down Cemetery Road (TV 2025): A house explodes. A victim disappears from a hospital and a concerned neighbor investigates, uncovering a government conspiracy. Lots of dead bodies. What causes this show to rise above the ordinary is the tough, spiky-haired private investigator played by Emma Thompson. B+

AppleTV+

Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice (2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice (2026): An action-comedy about gangsters, a single night full of parties, and I'm not kidding, a time machine. Despite the violence that accompanies every party, overall it's a fun ride. B-

Hulu

POTD: Art Gallery Mural

From 2025 06 03 Oaxaca

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken in central Oaxaca, Mexico. It shows a mural on the wall of Galeria de Arte Jesús Villafan. If this draws you into the gallery, you won't be disappointed by the artwork for sale inside.

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"Bright paint on the wall.
Oaxaca's vibrant spirit.
Magic in the sun."
— h/t ChatGPT

POTD: Mercado Benito Juárez

From 2025 06 03 Oaxaca

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken in Mercado Benito Juárez, in Oaxaca, Mexico. Google describes it as a "bibrant covered marketplace with vendors selling produce, prepared foods, crafts & textiles." Some of those "prepared foods" are insects.

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"Beneath the high roof,
Vendors call to passing crowds,
Life in every stall."
— h/t ChatGPT

Warning to City Council: Keep it Legal

Re: Legal risk of using executive sessions to fill a vacancy on city council

Yesterday, we covered the Richardson City Council's draft process for filling a vacancy on the city council ("Council Recap: Filling Vacancies"). I wrote, "I fear that if they come down on the side of taking their own deliberations behind closed doors, they run the risk of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA)." That's so serious that I feel I ought to pull that risk out and give it a blog post of its own, because I believe the council may very well be getting ready to...BREAK THE LAW.

Council Recap: Filling Vacancies

The Richardson City Council met March 23, 2026. The main draw (for me) was the discussion about the process the city council will use to fill mid-term vacancies on the council. But, first, there were a couple of other agenda items that drew my scrutiny as well.

KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

KPop Demon Hunters (2025): Animation. Girl bands, superheroes, boy bands, demons, all tied together with irresistable, infectious beats and lyrics. What's not to like? Other than the one note appeal I mean? C+

Netflix

Wonder Man (TV 2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

Wonder Man (TV 2026): Struggling actor gets an audition for a remake of Wonder Man, a chance for stardom, if he can hold his super temper in check. A Marvel superhero movie where the main character is three-dimensional and he's not trying to save the world, only himself. B+

Hulu

POTD: Monte Albán

From 2025 06 03 Oaxaca

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken in Monte Albán, near Oaxaca, Mexico. According to UNESCO, "Monte Albán is the most important archaeological site of the Valley of Oaxaca. Inhabited over a period of 1,500 years by a succession of peoples — Olmecs, Zapotecs and Mixtecs — the terraces, dams, canals, pyramids and artificial mounds of Monte Albán were literally carved out of the mountain and are the symbols of a sacred topography. The grand Zapotec capital flourished for thirteen centuries, from the year 500 B.C to 850 A.D."

Bonus photos are after the jump.

POTD: MULT Graffiti

From 2025 06 03 Oaxaca

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a random street in Oaxaca, Mexico. MULT is an abbreviation of Movimiento de Unificación y Lucha Triqui, an organization working for unification, human rights, and justice for the Triqui people of Oaxaca.

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"In Oaxaca streets,
Triqui struggles paint the walls.
Hope marching mutely."
— h/t ChatGPT

Nuremberg (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Nuremberg (2025): Russell Crowe plays Hermann Göring on trial. Rami Malek plays the psychiatrist who interviews him in prison. Cat and mouse vibes, but who is the cat and who is the mouse? Mostly talk, little action. A good movie to learn history from. B-

Netflix

Ponies (TV 2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

Ponies (TV 2026): Moscow, 1977. Two secretaries in US Embassy get involved in spy work for CIA. Plot is implausible, but the chemistry between Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson makes every scene between them entertaining. B-

Peacock

Song Sung Blue (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Song Sung Blue (2025): Biopic, not of Neil Diamond, but of a 1990s tribute act. Perhaps because the movie condenses over a decade of their careers, the movie feels rushed. Hugh Jackman does fine work, as does Kate Hudson. Lots of love and respect for Neil Diamond. B-

Peacock

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025): A woman is having a nervous breakdown and spirals downward as her troubles mount as movie wears on. Great one-note acting. Some view it as a black comedy. Try that, as otherwise it's just too bleak. B-

HBO Max

POTD: Oaxaca Street Art

From 2025 06 03 Oaxaca

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a random street in Oaxaca, Mexico. It's a colorful city. That is all.

POTD: Colorful Oaxaca

From 2025 06 03 Oaxaca

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a random street in Oaxaca, Mexico. It's a colorful city. That is all.

The Wheel Award for Excellence in Motion Pictures

Source: h/t DALL-E.

The Academy Awards will be given out Sunday, March 15, 2026. I've seen all the nominees for Best Picture. That means my opinion means something. Right? Regardless, I've ranked the movies in order of my preference for "Best Picture."

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science uses ranked choice voting (RCV) to ensure that the winner has broad support throughout the Academy members. I wish US political elections used something similar (see proportional voting). But that's for another post.

My personal ranked choice of the Oscar nominees is based on the grades I gave the movies immediately after seeing them. In case of ties, I ordered them by my judgment today. Note this is not my prediction of which movie will win but how I would vote, if I had a vote. (The bettors are picking "One Battle After Another". I think "Sinners" could win in an upset.)

The envelope please. The winner of "The Wheel Award for Excellence in Motion Pictures" goes to...

Council Recap: Droning on about Drones

The Richardson City Council met March 9, 2026, with a busy agenda. I'll focus on just one topic: drones.

The council reviewed Amazon's drone operations at its STX8 fulfillment center on Research Dr. near Richardson Methodist Hospital (remember that, it'll come up later). Concerns about noise, privacy, and drone safety were addressed, with Amazon committing to ongoing community engagement, but no specific improvements.

Blue Moon (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Blue Moon (2025): At the bar in NY's Sardi's, Lorenz Hart watches his former partner Richard Rodgers celebrate the opening of Oklahoma! Ethan Hawke is masterful portraying a musical genius in decline. With just one set, and one night, it feels like a stage play, one with little dramatic arc. B+

Netflix

Hamnet (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Hamnet (2025): It's not a Shakespeare biopic. Its fiction that uses Shakespeare to tell a story about parental grief. Grief hangs heavily over the whole movie. But eventually Chloé Zhao uses a Shakespearean tragedy to wring a few drops of catharsis out of tragedy. Heartbreaking. Brilliant. A-

Peacock