The Serpent Queen (TV 2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Serpent Queen (TV 2022): Historical drama based on life of Catherine de' Medici, cunning queen of France in the 1500s. Scheming over religion and succession fill the series with intrigue that builds to an exciting climax that is suspenseful even if you know the history. A-

Prime

#VeryTardyReview

The Instigators (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Instigators (2024): Two losers (Matt Damon and Casey Affleck) pull off a heist that goes wrong each step of the way, but somehow there's always a fallback plan to keep going. A caper comedy that's easy to follow and fun to watch, with more than a few good laughs. B+

AppleTV+

TIL: A Parallel Between Hezbollah and the GOP

The current issue of The New Yorker has a story by Dexter Filkins on the growing risk of war between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon ("Will Hezbollah and Israel Go to War?"). It delves deeply into not just the current crisis, but the entire history of Hezbollah, which was founded in 1985. Hezbollah has had the military aim of destroying Israel ever since. It has adopted a political strategy inside Lebanon as well, preventing the existence of a functioning government in that nation. American politics aren't explicitly addressed in Filkins's article, but I recognized a similarity between Hezbollah's tactics and the GOP's.

POTD: Swaziland's Hottest Tourist Attraction

"Animal spirits,
Trapped within the shining glass,
Recycled, reborn."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 10 23 South Africa - Part 2

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the glass-blowing factory Ngwenya Glass in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). Tourists can watch being made, and later buy, drinking glasses, vases, and ornamental African animals, all handmade from recycled glass.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

POTD: Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park

"A table stands still.
Warning sign keeps it open.
White rhinos nearby."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 10 23 South Africa - Part 2

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park in eastern South Africa. It was the first of many national parks we toured in southern Africa. It's the oldest nature reserve in Africa. "Thanks to conservation efforts, the park now has one of the largest populations of white rhinoceros in the world, although this population remains severely threatened by the poaching of hundreds of rhinos every year in the park."

The photo was taken at a picnic area in the park. The warning sign is probably what keeps the picnic table open. Click for a bonus photo closeup of another warning sign.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

Rotten Tomatoes

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005): Married couple keep a secret from each other: each is a hired assassin. When they find out, each feels the need to assassinate the other. The premise is silly, but it's fun if you don't take it too seriously. The chemistry between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie is real. B-

Netflix

#VeryTardyReview

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (TV 2024): Two new assassins are paired, fall in love, but begin to distrust each other. Different from the 2005 movie in that these two are unsuited for each other in every way, not just that they want to kill each other. Also, they are bad assassins. B-

Prime

Council Recap: Competing Views of Development

Part 2 of an important topic.
Part 1: "Council Recap: Comp Plan Update"

In the August 12, 2024, review of progress on the City of Richardson's update of its Comprehensive Plan, City Manager Don Magner and Mayor Bob Dubey laid out competing models of how development works in Richardson. Neither view was laid out in detail. I'm not sure either person has given the matter enough thought to do that. I'm not sure either one even sees the conflict between the two models. Going by what little they did say, conflict there is, and both models should raise warning flags.

Council Recap: Comp Plan Update

On August 12, 2024, the Richardson City Council and City Plan Commission (CPC) received an update on the development of a new Comprehensive Plan for the City. The emphasis was on land use with focus on allowed secondary uses, missing middle housing, and identified redevelopment zones. City staff plan to finish the Comp Plan and present it to the City Council for adoption in December, 2024.

My hopes for this update to the Comp Plan, the first since 2009, have steadily fallen during the year-long effort to produce it. Here's why.

POTD: Robben Island

"From prison’s deep shade,
To City Hall’s bright parade,
A new dawn was made."

—h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 10 23 South Africa - Part 1

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Robben Island, off the coast of South Africa at Cape Town. "Political activist and lawyer Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on the island for 18 of the 27 years of his imprisonment before the fall of apartheid and introduction of full, multi-racial democracy. He was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and was elected in 1994 as President of South Africa, becoming the country's first black president."

Click for a bonus photo.