The Post (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Post (2017): The decision that made Kay Graham and her Washington Post an icon for freedom of the press. An important movie for our threatened times. A fine drama, even thrilling for at heart a legal drama. Streep and Hanks? Very good but no Oscars this year. A-

Governor Doesn't Know Best

I recently saw a link to a page on Texas Governor Greg Abbott's personal campaign website, along with the endorsement, "I'm starting to like this guy..." I clicked on the link hoping to find proposals for how local governments are supposed to fund local needs -- you know, things like education for special needs, relief of overcrowded classrooms, giving teachers raises, repaving our streets and alleys, keeping swimming pools open, etc. But it turns out that those aren't the problems Governor Abbott cares about. And he certainly isn't interested in working with local government in coming up with solutions.

POTD: Beer Here

From 2017 12 01 Galveston

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Strand in Galveston.

I, Tonya (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

I, Tonya (2017): Comedy? Tragedy? Exposé? Mockumentary? What? Everyone in this movie is abusive or an idiot...or both. Movie lets viewers decide whether Tonya was a victim or another abusive idiot. Great performances by Margot Robbie and Allison Janney. B+

POTD: A Portrait of the Artist

From 2017 12 01 Galveston

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Strand in Galveston.

Neighborhood Schools, Segregated Schools

Two societal values are in conflict when it comes to school attendance boundaries. On the one hand, parents want their children to attend their neighborhood school. On the other hand, schools segregated by race are considered harmful to society.

Courts allow school districts to take demographic information into consideration when drawing school attendance zones. But because the concept of the neighborhood school is so strong, school districts tend to shy away from using that power. A common result is schools that reflect neighborhood segregation.

Neighborhoods in the Richardson ISD range from almost all white to almost all minority, with everything in between. How do the schools in those neighborhoods compare with their surrounding neighborhoods?

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (TV 2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

Marvelous Mrs Maisel (TV 2017): Energetic, witty, privileged stay-at-home mom struggles to break free of 1950s conventions. Greenwich Village's beatnik/stand-up comedy scene is her opportunity. Rachel Brosnahan is a delight, supported by Alex Boorstein. A-

Why Teach Music...and Mathematics

I'm not musical. I never played an instrument. My choir classes ended in eighth grade. My music appreciation class in ninth grade gave me my lowest grade in my whole high school career. Yet, I've come to appreciate a musical education for all the reasons given in the Facebook post below.

Darkest Hour (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

Darkest Hour (2017): Good depiction of the free world on the brink. Great acting by Gary Oldman. Good history allows a new generation to see current events in a new light. Unexpected thought: could Donald Trump be our era's Winston Churchill? A-

OTBR: The New Virginia Avenue Tunnel

Latitude: N 38° 52.710
Longitude: W 076° 59.694
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 (not actually) last month that are "off the blue roads".