Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

IMDB

Star Wars VII (2015): Felt like a scene-by-scene remake of original. Like a greatest hits collection covered by a new band. No freshness. C+

POTD: Stairway to Heaven

From 2016 02 09 Jaipur

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Jantar Mantar monument of Jaipur, India, which is a collection of architectural astronomical instruments built almost 300 years ago.

Really, today's photo-of-the-day is just an excuse for me to talk about Led Zeppelin's 1971 song Stairway to Heaven, the subject of a 2016 plagiarism lawsuit. It's sad how one of the greatest rock songs of all time has been reduced to an ugly spat over money.

Two Days, One Night (2014)

IMDB

Two Days, One Night (2014): Depressed woman fights (kind of) to save her job. Drama with no drama. Marion Cotillard is sadly underused. C-

Falling STAAR

"Messy STAAR season causes education commissioner to scrap 5th-, 8th-grade results." Can standardized testing in Texas schools fall any lower? That's a rhetorical question.

Standardized testing in Texas has a long history. It predates even the George W. Bush governorship in the 1990s. Standardized testing and accountability was given credit for narrowing the achievement gap between whites and minorities. The New York Times had good things to say about Texas in 1999 when Governor Bush was leveraging Texas's reputation in his own bid for the White House.

This has stemmed partly from a unique accountability system that predates Mr. Bush's tenure and requires all Texas schools to give an array of standardized tests and record the results for each subgroup -- white, black, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged. The schools are judged on the performance of each group separately. Other states give tests but no other uses the performance of subgroups separately to determine success.

Source: New York Times, May 28, 1999.

Late Spring in the Steger Garden (2016)

From Flowers

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

IMDB

Sunset Blvd. (1950): Billy Wilder classic. As out of date today as silent movies were when this was made. But dead-on casting and cameos. C+

POTD: Biff Henderson

From 2016 02 09 Jaipur

Today's photo-of-the-day is from City Palace in Jaipur, India. In case you ever wondered whatever happened to Biff Henderson, stage manager for "The Late Show with David Letterman," ever since Dave retired, well he's working as a security guard at the City Palace. Or maybe the guard only looks like Biff Henderson. In any case, here's another example of the nice, bright colors that make India so photogenic.

Bonus photo after the jump.

RISD Shell Game

Last week, I brought up my fear that magnet schools in the Richardson ISD were leading to an increase in segregation along socio-economic lines. I didn't have data to test whether my fear is warranted (and I still don't) because as far as I know, the RISD doesn't make such data easily accessible to the public. As long as that's the case, my fear, grounded or not, persists.

The feedback to my article suggests that magnet schools may only be a small component of a larger problem with transfers.

POTD: Beckoning Doorways

From 2016 02 09 Jaipur

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Amber Fort in Jaipur, India. This sprawling complex has more courtyards, halls, chambers, and passageways than you can count. There's always another treat through each beckoning doorway.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Review: Seveneves

Amazon

From Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson:

The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason."

What a great first line. Unfortunately, it's the best sentence of Neal Stephenson's novel "Seveneves." Still, this long novel features a global crisis that prompts some what-if questions that can be very entertaining to ponder (as long as it's only fiction).

After the jump, my review.

POTD: Elephant Help Desk

From 2016 02 09 Jaipur

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Amber Fort in Jaipur, India, where elephants are used to carry tourists up the hill to the main courtyard of the fort. I prefer to believe that the existence of a help desk for the Elephant Owners Development Society is evidence that the animals are treated humanely. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

The Wheel Award for Excellence in Motion Pictures

Oscar night is long gone. "Spotlight" was the Academy's pick for "Best Picture." I couldn't say at the time whether it would be my own pick for best movie of 2015 because I hadn't seen most of the nominees at that time. Well, now that it's summer, I've can finally say I've seen all eight Oscar nominees for 2015's "Best Picture" and I can pick a winner. Can I get a drum roll?

The Revenant (2015)

IMDB

The Revenant (2015): One note survival tale. Live action "Oh, No! Mr Bill!" Oscar for Leo DiCaprio for wheezing and grunting. Great look. B-

Brooklyn (2015)

IMDB

Brooklyn (2015): Irish girl emigrates to Brooklyn in 1950s but home still tugs. Simple, sweet love story. Enchanting look and feel. B-

The Double-Edged Blade of Magnet Schools

The big news out of the May 31 school board meeting was that the Richardson ISD decided to build two new elementary schools in Lake Highlands, one at Walnut Hill Rd and White Rock Trail and another to serve the area bounded by I-635, Abrams Rd and Royal Ln.

But something else was in the announcement, the ninth of nine bulleted action items, that deserves more attention than it will probably get: "Expand Northlake Elementary to include magnet programming if evaluation determines demand exists."

OTBR: A Free, Self-Service Guesthouse in Estonia

Latitude: N 59° 05.892
Longitude: E 025° 32.268

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 last month that are "off the blue roads".

POTD: Shave and Haircut, Two Rupees

From 2016 02 09 Jaipur

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Rajasthan, India, where sidewalk barbers are common. Sometimes the barber sets up literally on the sidewalk, sometimes (like in this instance) his barbershop is open to the sidewalk. I don't know the standard rate for a shave in India (I had my own Mach 3 razor along), but I know it's not two rupees (worth about three cents). The equivalent of two bits, like the jingle says, is probably a better budget guideline for travelers.

What Does Lake Highlands Get?

The last time we checked in on the drama surrounding enrollment growth in Lake Highlands schools, we asked, "What Does Lake Highlands Want?" The answer was impossible to discern. It was easier to say what was not wanted. Some faction or other rejected pretty much any and every proposal that would relieve overcrowding in the area's elementary schools.

The way things go in situations like this, when a community can't decide for itself, someone is going to decide for them. In this case, the burden is on the Richardson ISD administrators and school board. Although a final decision hasn't been made about the exact grade configuration, the RISD is planning to build a new elementary school on Walnut Hill Ln at White Rock Trail.

At the May 31 school board meeting, it was also announced that the RISD is pursuing land acquisition for a second new elementary school in the area bounded by Abrams Road, Royal Lane and I-635.

Repeat Tweets: Cruz's Last Days as Presidential Candidate

Repeat tweets from May, 2016:

• May 1 2016: RT @NBCPolitics: "Cruz Defends Fiorina's Business Record." Who'd have guessed that Cruz would spend the days before Indiana this way?
  
• May 2 2016: Spare Parts: Poor Hispanic kids in Phoenix enter an underwater robotics contest. Inspiring, infuriating. A call for immigration reform. B-
  
• May 3 2016: Try to get people's attention about urban planning. Crickets. But watch them go all ape-shit over a new standalone, drive-thru Chick-fil-A.
  
• May 3 2016: Run, Ted, Run. Don't come back to Texas. Head to California and Oregon and then back to Canada. Please?
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

About Elly (2009)

IMDB

About Elly (2009): Iranian friends holiday by the sea when tragedy strikes. Who invited Elly? Why? Lies pile up. No one blames America. B-

POTD: Kodachrome was Made for India

From 2016 02 07 Ranthambore

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Rajasthan, India. India is a nation of vivid colors. Everywhere a photographer looks, he wishes he was shooting in Kodachrome's "nice bright colors."

Best of Enemies (2015)

IMDB

Best of Enemies (2015): Buckley vs Vidal, 1968. Reflection of our political discourse in distant mirror. They started it for good or ill. A-

POTD: Sustainable Energy

From 2016 02 07 Ranthambore

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Rajasthan, India, where not much goes to waste. The disks stacked on this house's roof are made of cow dung and are used as fuel. I'm not sure whether burning coal or burning cow dung is worse for the environment, but cow dung is cheap, efficient, and sustainable. It's also photogenic, at least for this tourist.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

IMDB

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012): Asteroid collision in 3 weeks. Implausible random stuff, then, let's fall in love. C-

POTD: Animal Fodder

From 2016 02 05 Agra

Today's photo-of-the-day is from India's Rajasthan province. Overloaded animal fodder trucks are a common sight on highways.

Bonus photo after the jump.

What Does Lake Highlands Want?

Let me start by saying that I don't have a dog in this fight. Call me agnostic. Non-denominational. Unitarian Universalist. ☪☮⚥✡☥☯✝. Whatever. I don't have children in Lake Highlands schools. I don't own a house in Lake Highlands. Whatever is decided there to address overcrowding is unlikely to affect me. I'd go along with pretty much any solution that the community there can rally around. That's the nut of the problem. The community is not rallying around any solution. Anything that's proposed gets shot down by some faction or another. I'd hate to be the Richardson ISD administrators or school board. It's beginning to look like any solution that they adopt is going to piss off one group or another. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

The Hateful Eight (2015)

IMDB

Hateful Eight (2015): Like an Agatha Christie dinner party murder mystery stage play shot in 70mm by Quentin Tarantino. If you like him... A-