Detropia (2012)

IMDB

Detropia (2012): Scenes from the hollowing out of a great American city, Detroit. No politics, no preaching, no prescriptions, no hope. C+

Repeat Tweets: "A Bucket o' Business"

Repeat tweets from July, 2013:

• 2 Jul 2013: RT @AngieChenButton: "Perry to announce future plans on Monday." Future plans. That's the best kind of plans.
  
• 8 Jul 2013: "No rocky coast, no sylvan hiking paths, no loons, whales, etc. Just a bucket o' business and a booming economy." globalperspective.bangordailynews.com
  
• 8 Jul 2013: What's it say about me that Facebook suggests I might like the TV show, "My Favorite Martian?"
  
• 8 Jul 2013: RT @BudKennedy: "@TomPauken says @GregAbbott_TX is from an 'Austin that has grown stale with insiders.'" If anyone knows stale, it's Pauken.
  
• 8 Jul 2013: Headline: "Stefani Carter announces bid for Railroad Commissioner." That's why she favored gas fracking near homes. trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

S2L77: Peshawar

From 1977 03 17 Pakistan

We were back on the road ever westward after a relaxing (!) stay in Pakistan's Swat Valley (!!). Do a Google search -- the only time the words "Swat Valley" and "relaxing" are used together any more is when the military relaxes a curfew there. It only gets worse to the west. There's not much room between the Swat Valley and Afghanistan. All roads funnel through Peshawar, the capital of what used to be called the North-West Frontier Provinces. This is at the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, the key point on the strategic route connecting Central Asia and South Asia.

After the jump, Peshawar today... and in 1977.

Review: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Amazon

From The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Díaz:

They say it came first from Africa, carried in the screams of the enslaved; that it was the death bane of the Tainos, uttered just as one world perished and another began; that it was a demon drawn into Creation through the nightmare door that was cracked open in the Antilles. Fukú americanus, or more colloquially, fukú -- generally a curse or a doom of some kind; specifically the Curse and the Doom of the New World."

After the jump, my review.

Angie Chen Button Draws a Primary Challenge

My state representative, Angie Chen Button (HD 112) has drawn a challenger in the 2014 GOP primary. It's Jared Patterson, a former Sachse city council member.

When I say Button is my representative, I use the word loosely. I can't recall any position she's taken where she represents me, but I don't hold that against her. I have that problem with most politicians.

Maybe Jared Patterson will be different. After the jump, I give him a look-see.

Big Lake Break

Once again we spent our summer vacation at the cottage on Big Lake, Shawano County, Wisconsin. Once again words escape me (me!?!) and I turn to images:

From 2013 06 Wisconsin

More photos after the jump.

Saying No to Walmart

After months of speculation, Walmart officials have decided to move forward with the construction of a 90,000 square foot Walmart Supercenter in the northwest corner of Coit Rd and Arapaho Rd. The location is in Dallas just across the street from Richardson. Because of how the property was zoned, Walmart did not need to seek any approval from the City of Dallas to build there. A neighborhood grassroots opposition movement was unable to convince Walmart not to build there.

The City of Richardson was a spectator to this drama, but didn't waste any time to take action to make sure history doesn't repeat itself in Richardson. On the Richardson City Council agenda for its meeting July 22, 2013 was the following item. Call it the "Say No to Walmart Amendment."

PUBLIC HEARING, ZONING FILE 13 - 12 AND CONSIDER ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 4013, AMENDING THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RICHARDSON, AS HERETOFORE AMENDED, BY AMENDING THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE (APPENDIX A), ARTICLE I, SECTION 2, DEFINITIONS, BY ADDING THE DEFINITION OF LARGE SCALE RETAIL STORE AND BY AMENDING ARTICLE XXII - A, SECTION 2, SPECIAL PERMITS, TO ALLOW LARGE SCALE RETAIL STORES UPON APPROVAL OF A SPECIAL PERMIT IN NON-RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICTS.

Source: City of Richardson.

The amendment to the zoning ordinances passed 7-0.

After the jump, my thoughts.

Cherry Blossoms (2008)

IMDB

Cherry Blossoms (2008): Aging German couple estranged from their adult children, dream of visiting Fuji. A story of late-blooming love. A-

S2L77: Partying Among the Taliban

From 1977 03 17 Pakistan

That photo above was taken in Pakistan, in the heart of Taliban country. Obviously, it demands explanation (and probably my apology). After the jump, I take my share of responsibility for the whole bloody mess that whole part of the world has become.

Richardson is "Running with the Big Dogs"

The Dallas Morning News published an editorial in which it described Richardson as "cruising on a massive dose of adrenaline." Specifically it highlighted the superlatives of the real estate development underway at the Bush Turnpike and Central Expressway.

Go ahead and read the editorial, then come back here for my thoughts ... after the jump.