Modern Love - S02 (TV 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

Modern Love - S02 (TV 2021): Anthology series. Dramatizations of personal essays from NY Times about love stories. How people fall in and out of love. Story arcs are sometimes flat. Stories are watchable, even if afterwards, they are quickly forgotten. C+

POTD: History is Unwritten by the Victors

From 2019 11 21 Kom Ombo and Edfu

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Temple of Horus in Edfu, Egypt. It shows a detail of one of the countless carvings on the walls of the temple. Tourists usually take photos of the best preserved (or restored) artifacts, giving people who have never been to Egypt a false idea of the reality of ancient ruins. Besides the natural erosion of time, there's also much evidence of deliberate vandalism. A new dynasty wants to eliminate monuments to the old dynasty. A new religion wants to eliminate icons representing the old religion. And Egypt has seen many dynasties and many religions over the millennia. There's been plenty of time for people to deface the treasures bequeathed to them by those who came before. When this particular wall carving was defaced is lost to history, but it is not rare.

Counterpart - S01 (TV 2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

Counterpart-S01 (TV 2017): Spy thriller set in the present but with a Cold War feel. 30 years ago, the universe split into two with a gateway in Berlin. People in the parallel worlds must grapple with their doppelgangers. Actors get to play two versions of the same character. B-

#VeryTardyReview

TIL: Reparations

For years, there's been talk of reparations for slavery. The reactions fall into one of three categories:

• It's about time!
• Noble idea, but expensive. And impractical. Impossible.
• Hell no. I never owned slaves.

I don't intend to litigate the issue here. Readers have probably heard the arguments and sided with one or another long ago. What I want to do here is mention something I learned. It's a perspective gained from Britain, which is doing some soul-searching of its own on the subject.

POTD: Temple of Horus

From 2019 11 21 Kom Ombo and Edfu

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Temple of Horus in Edfu, Egypt.

The city of Edfu was known as Apollonopolis Magna in the Roman period, after the chief god Horus, who was identified as Apollo by some kind of magical decoder ring used by ancient Greeks. In any case, the temple was built in the Ptolemaic Kingdom in about 100 BCE. It is one of the best preserved shrines in Egypt.

Don't get temple fatigue already. We still have Luxor and the Valley of the Kings to see.

P.S. Apollonopolis Magna would make a great name for a professional wrestler.

Rejecting TOD Adjacent to a Transit Station

When we last looked at that land north of UT-Dallas, I was ready to blame UT-Dallas for killing a proposal for more student housing. Last night, at the Richardson City Plan Commission meeting, UT-Dallas managed to keep their fingerprints off the body. So we have to take a closer look at other suspects. Hanlon's razor says, "Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence."

Amazing Grace (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Amazing Grace (2018): Documentary movie of Aretha Franklin's Gospel music concert from 1972. She was only 30 years old and at the top of her form. Watch it after 2021's Respect to better understand the context of the concert. Or just watch the Queen of Soul at her best. B-

#VeryTardyReview