S2L77: Kathmandu

Kathmandu, Nepal
February 21-27, 1977

I met a guy at the Kathmandu airport. I shared a taxi into the city and then a hotel room for 40 rupees. Kathmandu is quite a change from Bangkok. It's a step back in time hundreds of years. There are narrow little streets with carts and animals and people who could be from the 1800s ... or the 1200s. I spent the day suffering from a bad cold. Kathmandu nights can be very cold.

Source: Personal travel notes.

From 1977 02 21 Nepal

In the 1970s, Kathmandu was the ultimate counter-culture destination. For hippies, mountain trekkers, Buddhist pilgrims, and me (who was none of the former), Kathmandu was an irresistible magnet. To get in the mood for the following photos, first listen to this 1980 performance of Katmandu by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. Good times.

More photos after the jump.

LBJ/Skillman: So Was I Right?

Recently, I commented on the news that the City of Dallas was planning a makeover of the LBJ/Skillman/Audelia intersection, just south of Richardson. My hopes and dreams were, shall we say, kept in check. Well, the first public hearing on the proposed makeover was held. Ellen Raff has the story.

After the jump, let's find out if I was right to be doubtful.

Basketball: Berkner 91, Lake Highlands 59

From 2013 01 Lake Highlands vs Berkner

The Berkner Rams men's basketball team defeated the Lake Highlands Wildcats 91-59 Tuesday night in the Rams' gym. The Rams, ranked 8th in the state, extended their District 9-5A record to 8-0. It's a great time to be a Ram!

Next game for Berkner: Friday, January 25 at 7:30 at home against Jesuit. Come out and support the school. Lake Highlands plays Skyline away.

More photos after the jump.

Alcohol and Coffee are your Friends

Wick Allison, publisher of D Magazine, bemoans the lack of amenities in the Dallas Arts District for people to "sit and settle, to imbibe an adult beverage, enjoy brunch, or just people-watch over a cup of coffee." Even the addition of the Klyde Warren Park hasn't changed that. Allison pleads with the City of Dallas:

Oh, beloved Arts District people, how many times do I have to say it: alcohol and coffee are your friends. Embrace them. Use food and drink as welcoming arms to invite people to your mini-fortresses of Art. Klyde Warren Park has given you the gift of people. Open up your gates to them!

Source: FrontBurner.

After the jump, lessons for Richardson.

Perry, Schools, and the Truth-o-Meter

At a Capitol news conference on the second day of the legislative session, Texas Governor Rick Perry made a factual claim about public school funding:

We've had public education funding growing at three times the public education enrollment. So you've had a 70 percent increase of funding from 2002 to 2012. You've had a 23 percent increase in enrollment growth. I think under any scenario over the last decade, the funding that we have seen in the state of Texas for public education has been pretty phenomenal.

Source: Texas Tribune.

Surprised? As Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." No matter what you think about the proper level of funding for public schools, we all ought to be able to agree on whether or not Texas public school funding grew three times the rate of enrollment from 2002 to 2012. Right?

After the jump, PolitiFact Texas hooks up its truth-o-meter to Rick Perry.

Basketball: Richardson 55, Jesuit 34

In a battle of once-beaten District 9-5A teams, the Richardson Eagles defeated the Jesuit Rangers 55-34 Friday night at the Eagles gym. At the district halfway mark, Richardson is 6-1 and Jesuit is now 5-2.

More photos after the jump.

S2L77: Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

Bangkok, Thailand
February 12-20, 1977

The weekend market is on again, telling me that I've spent too long in Bangkok.

Source: Personal travel notes.

From 1977 02 11 Thailand

My last excursion in Thailand was to the Bang Pa-In Royal Summer Palace. It's located on the Chao Phraya River about 10 miles south of Ayutthaya and 50 miles north of Bangkok. Originally built in the 1600s, it served Thai kings when the capital was at Ayutthaya. It fell into disrepair when Ayutthaya was sacked in 1767, but restoration took place in the 1800s. Most of today's gardens and buildings date from that era.

More photos after the jump.

God and Ross Perot

Everybody is gushing about the newly opened Perot Museum of Nature and Science, made possible by a generous $50 million donation by the Perot children in honor of their parents, Ross and Margot Perot.

Q. What is the difference between God and Ross Perot?
A. One is an all powerful being, an object of worship, the source of all that is good, and the other one is God.

See what I did there? Comedy gold. Top shelf. (With apologies to Craig Ferguson.)

Well, not *everyone* us gushing. There's at least one person in north Texas who doesn't worship Ross Perot and that's Jesse Morrell, or at least he doesn't worship the Perot museum. Morrell is a minister dedicated to "open air outreach," that is, a street preacher from Tyler. Morrell recently visited the new Perot Museum and blogged about it.

After the jump, my review of Morrell's review.

Review: Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Amazon

From Behind the Beautiful Forevers, by Katherine Boo:

Abdul rose with minimal whining, since the only whining his mother tolerated was her own. Besides, this was the gentle-going hour in which he hated Annawadi least. The pale sun lent the sewage lake a sparkling silver cast, and the parrots nesting at the far side of the lake could still be heard over the jets."

After the jump, my review.

Spendthrift Sam and Judicious Janet

Recently, I bemoaned the bipartisan agreement that the government needs to "tighten its belt." This conventional wisdom is just plain wrong. I pointed to a column by economist Paul Krugman to explain why.

Apparently, some readers had trouble understanding how inflation and debt can sometimes work to our advantage (and by some readers I mean one in particular). Admittedly, it's counter-intuitive. If government debt contributed to our economic stagnation, how can more government debt get us going again?

After the jump, my attempt at paraphrasing Krugman's argument.