The Sandlot (1993)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Sandlot (1993): Family-friendly nostalgia from the '90s about growing up playing baseball in a neighborhood sandlot — in 1962, just like I did. A Christmas Story did the nostalgia better. So did TV's The Wonder Years. But this movie comes in a close third. I don't know why it's not better known. B-

Disney+

h/t to Leo for this #VeryTardyReview

An Open Letter to Our New Mayor

Dear Mayor Amir Omar,

Congratulations on winning election to become Richardson's Mayor. You worked long and hard for this. You deserve it. Before you decided to run this year, you individually met with 200 Richardson residents for coffee. Friends, foes, and strangers. You tried to understand what the community cared about. Then, after you decided that you had something to offer, you kept on meeting with Richardson residents. Your latest count of coffee meetings is over 400. You had your finger on the pulse of Richardson. And the voters rewarded that. You were the clear choice of a majority of voters to lead our City.

Aftersun (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Aftersun (2022): Divorced dad and 11 yr-old daughter vacation at a beach resort in Turkey. Mostly seen from the girl's point of view as she's coming of age and trying to figure out what's going in her father's life. Requires patience and empathy from audience, as there is little action. B-

Max

#VeryTardyReview

Industry - S01 (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Industry - S01 (TV 2020): A steaming, uh, streaming soap opera. New grads hired at an investment bank get six months to prove their worth to the firm. Instead, they spend their time on sex, drugs, and in abusive working relationships. I won't be watching seasons 2 and 3. C-

Max

#VeryTardyReview

POTD: Soaring Over Lillehammer

"From launch she rises,
Skier flies like summer bird.
Olympic dreams."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 07 07 Lillehammer

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Lillehammer, Norway, site of the 1994 Winter Olympics. With the ski jump behind her, "L" soars over Lillehammer, demonstrating mastery of the sport in her first jump.

POTD: Walkable Lillehammer

"Olympic glory
Fades into bright flowerbeds—
Peace outlives the flame."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 07 07 Lillehammer

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Lillehammer, Norway, site of the 1994 Winter Olympics. The city has a population of 28,560. As you can imagine, a small city that caters to tourists, even in the summer, would be very walkable. And so it is.

A Change Election

Source: BBC.

Habēmus Maiōrem Urbis! We Have a Mayor! Richardson elected a new mayor on May 3. Mayor Bob Dubey will be succeeded by Mayor Amir Omar. It might not make headlines the world over like the selection of Pope Leo XIV did in Rome, but it's significant news here in Richardson, Texas.

Richardson hasn't had a mayor lose re-election since 1987. That was undeniably a change election. Three council members lost, two more retired. We didn't have that kind of turnover on the council May 3. But any election that results in an incumbent mayor being sent packing is a change election. It's up to the rest of us to understand just what change the voters are looking for.

The Acolyte (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Acolyte (TV 2024): Young girl wants to become an apprentice Jedi. Her twin sister thinks Jedi are evil, perhaps with good reason. Plot centers on how connected these two sisters are, to each other and to the Force. Series lacks the sense of fun that made the original Star Wars such a hit. C+

AppleTV+

The Electric State (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Electric State (2025): An alternate reality 1990s universe where robots lose an uprising against humans. Evil humans run the world by tapping into the brain of a genius boy. Plot is messy but it's the robots who are the stars of this child-friendly, sci-fi, dystopia. Critics hate it. C+

Netflix

Final Look at COR Money Race

It's often said that history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. In some ways, that was true in 2025. To see why, we have to go back to what I wrote in this space in 2013:

Money *did* make the Richardson mayoral election go around, but like a carnival ride that goes around and around and never gets anywhere. And here's the irony: for the backers of direct election who thought this would increase democracy, know that the cost of entry into electoral politics in Richardson just went up big time. Electoral politics in Richardson are likely to get less democratic in future, not more. Who has the deep pockets who can pay that cost of entry? Land developers, for one.

That brings me to the one money angle to this election that, had I noticed in time, I just might have made something of. Laura Maczka collected $5,000 from a developer who has come before the City Council seeking zoning approval for development projects in Richardson, and may do so again in future. That's sketchy, especially when it's this guy. It may not be illegal, but it just looks bad. Really bad.

Source: The Wheel, May 16, 2013.