Fences (2016)

IMDB

Fences (2016): Denzel Washington in a Willy Loman role, raising questions about what it means to be a husband, father, man. Oscar-worthy. A+

OTBR: South Mountain Creamery

Latitude: N 39° 27.918
Longitude: W 077° 36.498

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".

POTD: This Guy Needs a Beer

Today's photo-of-the-day is was a panorama from the Liberty of the Seas, a cruise ship out of Galveston that cruises the Western Caribbean. (The blog's ability to display the panorama was, sadly, lost during some website update or other.)

POTD: Rue du Petit Champlain

From 2016 09 09 Quebec City

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Rue du Petit Champlain in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. A walkable street in a walkable city.

Main Street Mixed-Use

The City of Richardson announced that it had approved a mixed-use development in old downtown Richardson.

A proposed mixed-use development at the northeast corner of Central Expressway and Main Street was approved unanimously by the City Council Monday. The 14.5-acre development will include residential, commercial and restaurant space. It is the first significant private sector development in the downtown area since the adoption of the Main Street/Central Expressway Form Based Code last year...A highlight of the development is the mixed-use portion planned for the corner of Main and Interurban streets. In addition to 15,000 square feet of retail/commercial space, it will have multifamily units located above the retail space, surrounding private courtyards, and a 700-space parking garage, which will be shared with tenants from the Chase Bank building. Immediately to the north of the mixed-use area will be townhomes with private yards and garage parking. The for-lease units will be two or three stories each and average 1,800 square feet per unit.

Source: City of Richardson.

After the jump, why I am cautiously optimistic.

Repeat Tweets: Conspiracy Theorists

Repeat tweets from January, 2017:

• Jan 1 2017: Am I wrong in thinking that conspiracy theorists are the kind of people most likely to not recognize irony or sarcasm?
• Jan 2 2017: More bowl game teams than not have serious off-field reasons for me to want them to lose. Why isn't there a "Good Guys Bowl"?
• Jan 2 2017: Penn State had worst play calling in their last two possessions. Three runs and a punt, then a run and two crazy passes. Deserved to lose.
• Jan 5 2017: Rogue One (2016): A rollicking fun adventure...just like all the others. Fighting an authoritarian regime has new relevance in 2017. Sad! C-

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Beauty and the Beast at BHS

Beauty and the Beast at BHS: Superb voices (leads and chorus), production numbers ("Be My Guest"), comedic acting, backed by a great pit!

Bonus photos after the jump.

Mary Poppins at LHHS

Mary Poppins at LHHS: The stage play, not the childhood movie. With RISD, not Hollywood, talent. Great singing and dancing. And flying!

POTD: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec

From 2016 09 09 Quebec City

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, a one-day professional bicycle road race held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

Bonus photos after the jump.

Rethinking a Falling STAAR

I get a little thrill whenever something I read leads me to change a long-held belief, or even just forces me to question it. Spoiler alert: thrill coming.

I've long believed in the need for standardized testing in our schools. As I put it in "Falling STAAR":

We should constantly examine both our teaching methods and our methods of assessing the effectiveness of our teaching. We can try cutting back on standardized testing (the direction we seem to be going). But we still need some form of standardized testing to see if that results in anything good. So, let's ease up, watch the results closely, and take care that we don't over correct.

Source: The Wheel.

I haven't changed my mind about any of that. It's what's done with the results of those standardized tests that I am now forced to rethink. After the jump, what leads me to that.