Cottonwood Art Festival - Spring 2014

From 2014 05 04 Cottonwood Art Festival

Sunday was sunny and warm, perfect weather for Richardson's twice yearly Cottonwood Art Festival, now in its 45th year. After the jump, more photos from this Spring's festival.

Cinco de Mayo - Garland 2014

From 2014 05 03 Garland Cinco de Mayo

Excellent music and dancing was provided by México 2000 Ballet Folklórico.

More photos after the jump.

OTBR: Stony Ground in Nevada

Latitude: N 38° 14.556
Longitude: W 116° 20.016

A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously last month that are "off the blue roads".

Repeat Tweets: POTUS is Dancing in the End Zone

Repeat tweets from April, 2014:

• Apr 2 2014: MT @SenTedCruz: "POTUS is dancing in the end zone while millions of Americans hurt." Cruz 2016 depends on getting voters to believe that.
  
• Apr 2 2014: MT @SenTedCruz: Bill Kristol: "No way, Mr. President. We do not accept this deplorable piece of legislation." Old Man Yells At Cloud. #wacko
  
• Apr 2 2014: MT @SenTedCruz: "#SCOTUS decision in McCutcheon v. FEC is a victory for the [one percent]." Corrected. You're welcome. #wacko
  
• Apr 2 2014: MT @SenTedCruz: "Our democracy works better when the free speech rights of the [one percent] are unfettered." Corrected. You're welcome.
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Who is Stefani Carter Carrying Water For Now?

What do exotic animal ranches, North Texas' need for water, money, and politics all have in common? Give yourself 100 points if you guessed Richardson's state representative Stefani Carter was at the center of that unlikely Venn diagram.

After the jump, connecting the dots.

Departures (2008)

IMDB

Departures (2008): Japanese cellist gives up music to prepare dead for burial. A homecoming. A love story. Simple tale, beautifully told. A+

Lightning Strikes at School Board Candidates Forum

The League of Women Voters of Richardson and the Richardson ISD Council of PTAs jointly hosted a forum for school board candidates Thursday night at the RISD Administration Building.

The candidates for school board trustee are:
Place 6 - Justin Bono, Rachel Chumney.
Place 7 - Kristin Kuhne, Judy A. Yarbrough, Bonnie Abadie.

The election is May 10. Early voting begins April 28.

The full video of the forum is available on the LWV's website. Watch it. Or just read my take on what was most important, or entertaining, or both. It's your choice. It's a free country.

Separated by 6,060 Miles

Award yourself 100 points if you can correctly identify the countries in which these two photos were taken.

Review: Oh Myyy!

Amazon

From Oh Myyy!, by George Takei

Fans (and the press) often wonder how a 75-year old actor who had his heyday in a science fiction series from the 1960s came to have some three million fans on Facebook. I honestly often wonder the same thing."

After the jump, my review.

12 Years a Slave (2013)

IMDB

12 Years a Slave (2013): Important history. Soul-deadening drama. Nothing redeeming about slavery, America's original sin, still with us. B+