Eric (TV 2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Eric (TV 2025): Benedict Cumberbatch plays Vincent, the creative genius behind a long-running TV puppet show in the 1980s in NYC. His son is kidnapped and his personal and professional lives start falling apart. Too many side issues are packed into six episodes, including urban decay, crime, AIDS, homophobia, alcoholism, and mental illness. B-

Netflix

POTD: Urbi et Orbi

From 2024 12 22 Rome

Today's photo-of-the-day is from St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on Christmas Day. Our family is attending the Pope's Urbi et Orbi address. According to Wikipedia; "The Urbi et Orbi address and blessing is the most solemn form of blessing in the Catholic Church, and is reserved for the most solemn occasions. These occasions include Easter, Christmas, and the proclamation of a newly elected pope concluding a conclave...Urbi et Orbi blessings are usually given from the central loggia of Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, at noon." So, even though we were just there on Christmas Eve, we returned on Christmas morning to hear Pope Francis's address and receive his blessing.

Bonus photos are after the jump.

POTD: Hot Chocolate by the River Tiber

From 2024 12 22 Rome

Today's photo-of-the-day is from a cafe by the River Tiber outside Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome. It's where we stopped on our walk back to our hotel from the Vatican to enjoy hot chocolate. Our family's Christmas Eve in Rome will forever be our favorite Christmas memory.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

POTD: Christmas Eve at Saint Peter's

From 2024 12 22 Rome

Today's photo-of-the-day is from St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The photo was taken on Christmas Eve during our family vacation in Rome. We witnessed (via a big screen TV in Vatican Square) Pope Francis opening the Jubilee Door.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

I Still Believe in Empathy

I've been keeping a collection of civic virtues that I once thought were generally non-controversial in American politics, but as I get older I'm finding aren't universally valued at all. Civic virtues like tolerance, compromise, and civility, even virtues like kindness, and democracy itself are no longer valued by some.

Untamed (TV 2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Untamed (TV 2025): Murder mystery makes Yosemite National Park just as gritty and corrupt as any TV police precinct in New York City. The body count climbs, as well as child abductions, missing persons, drug cartels, and bad marriages. Even El Capitan gets splashed with blood. B-

Netflix

Thunderbolts* (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Thunderbolts* (2025): Misfits are separately recruited to assassinate each other until they figure out they've been set up and unite to fight back. Much of the movie feels like a cheap bottle episode set in a dark vault, but it does reach a satisfactory conclusion. It's more about dealing with PTSD and grief than about action heroes. B-

Disney+

The Thursday Murder Club (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Thursday Murder Club (2025): Four old thoroughbreds ham it up playing residents at a senior living center who investigate murders as a hobby. You won't remember the plot, but you will remember these actors playing off each other. That might be enough for you. C+

Netflix

Rules of Order and Procedure

The Richardson City Council's "Rules of Order and Procedure", as approved by Resolution No. 24-03 on February 26, 2024, is the single best place to get your questions answered about how things are run at City Hall on Monday nights. I don't have a change history for that document, but rereading it just now, I see that it (finally) answers questions that I first had years ago. I still have some ideas on future changes needed.

POTD: Victor Emmanuel II Monument

From 2024 12 22 Rome

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Victor Emmanuel II Monument in Rome. It's at the head of the Roman forum, but it looks too modern to be from ancient Rome. That's because it is modern. According to Wikipedia, "The monument would celebrate the legacy of the first king of a united Italy and would become a symbol of national patriotism. The project was realized by Giuseppe Sacconi in 1885, in an eclectic style."

A bonus photo is after the jump.