Random Thoughts: Picked Off One By One

Random thoughts from January, 2019:

• Jan 2 2018: Bird Box (2019): The rule in "A Quiet Place" was "don't talk." Here, it's "don't look." Not quite a zombie movie, but a close cousin. Movie cuts between the present and five years before, which robs the earlier scenes of all suspense. Large wasted cast, picked off one by one. C+
• Jan 2 2018: Texas Governor Abbott hates taxes more than he likes kids.
• Jan 3 2018: RT @RepColinAllred: "On my first day in Congress, I'm proud to lead the charge against this partisan lawsuit attacking Americans’ health care. We will not stand idly by while special interest forces and their allies in Washington look to rip away health care from millions of hard-working Americans."
  God it feels good to have a Texas representative in Washington finally standing for individuals.

After the jump, more random thoughts.

High School Musical at BHS

High School Musical at BHS: High school musical about trying out for a high school musical. Kinda meta. With great singing, dancing, a live orchestra, talented tech and an inspiring message of "We're all in this together!", it all makes for a fun night of musical theater in RISD.

More photos after the jump.

Legally Blonde at RHS

Legally Blonde at RHS: A rom-com, a murder mystery, and a coming-of-age tale with a #MeToo subplot. Add in talented singing, dancing, laughs, a large cast, a live orchestra and a talented theater tech team and you have a fun night of musical theater in RISD.

More photos after the jump.

Mamma Mia! at PHS

Mamma Mia! at PHS: The music of ABBA onstage in RISD. Pop hits before these kids were born, maybe before their parents were born, brought back to life with great fun. Live orchestra, great voices, big cast. Be sure to stay for the curtain call and dance in the aisles.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Idle Thoughts on "The Map"

The whole universe depends on everything fitting together just right. If one piece busts, even the smallest piece...the entire universe will get busted.

Source: Hushpuppy, Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012).

The Richardson ISD is adopting single-member election districts. The proposed map is drawing many comments, pro and con. The more I think about all the different careabouts this map has to balance, the more interesting it is. Here are a few of my own idle thoughts. OK, maybe not so few.

RISD Single-Member Districts: The Public Speaks

Finally, after a long year of school board trustees discussing the lawsuit in executive session, after a long year of lawyers sparring over procedural issues in court, the public finally got a chance to weigh in on the Richardson ISD's legal settlement agreeing to introduce single-member districts in elections.

Let's Quit Fixing Potholes

The City of Richardson has council elections coming up in May. Community Impact Newspaper has published Q&As with five candidates. Snippets of the responses are below. I've chosen to focus on what is the classical focus of local government, what I'll call fixing potholes. Here is what Bob Dubey (Place 1), Mark Solomon (Place 2), Janet DePuy (Place 3), Franklin Byrd (Place 3), Dan Barrios (Place 3), and Ken Hutchenrider (Place 5) have to say. And afterwards, why I say let's quit fixing potholes.

On the Basis of Sex (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

On the Basis of Sex (2019): If this were fiction, you'd knock it for having an obvious arc. But it's not. It's a dramatization of why every girl, every woman, and yes every man owes RBG a debt of gratitude. She's not just a character on SNL. She's a real American superhero. A-

Cinderella at LHHS

Cinderella at LHHS: Great singing, dancing, live orchestra, sets, costumes, sound and lighting by RISD students, music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hammerstein, what's not to like? A delightful evening of musical theater. Support local live theater. Support RISD.

More photos after the jump.

Donald J. Ozymandias

Just a reminder that while we're bringing our country to its knees over a border wall with Mexico, the atmosphere and oceans continue to warm, threatening pretty much everything in the country we're supposedly trying to protect.

Consider this headline ripped from this week's news: "Pentagon Fears Confirmed: Climate Change Leads to War, Refugees." I tell you, it's not the wall, it's climate change that we ought to be focused on. If you want to stop refugees, start by stopping climate change.

From Immigration Impact