Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017): Four teens get transported to a video game jungle as game's characters. Teen girl gets Jack Black's body, yuck, yuck. Makes original 1995 movie seem better in comparison. Neither enough excitement nor jokes. C-

POTD: Gatun Locks

From 2018 01 23 Panama Canal

Today's photo-of-the-day is of the "old" Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal. These are the locks that have been in service since 1914. The "new" larger locks are also available, but the old locks continue in service for ships small enough to fit (so-called Panamax size).

The Greatest Showman (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Greatest Showman (2017): Musical that's part fanciful biopic, part tale of fall and redemption, part love story, part celebration of humanity. It should have picked one of those and put all its energy there. Sum is less than the parts. B-

POTD: French Canal in Panama

From 2018 01 23 Panama Canal

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Atlantic Ocean entrance to the Panama Canal. The canal is the channel to the left. The smaller, wilder channel to the right is the original, failed French channel.

Isle of Dogs (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Isle of Dogs (2018): A noble but failed effort from Wes Anderson. Great stop-motion puppetry and hand-drawn animation, but plot is plodding and tone is flat and robotic. C-

POTD: Atlantic Bridge

From 2018 01 23 Panama Canal

Today's photo-of-the-day is of the Atlantic Bridge over the Panama Canal at the entrance to the canal from the Atlantic Ocean. It's still under construction.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Coco (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

Coco (2017): Oscar for animated feature. Boy travels to land of the dead in search of his gg-grandfather.  Sweet tale about power of music and family. More music please. B-

Justice League (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

Justice League (2017): Only as much plot as needed to give each superhero his or her time in front of the camera. With wisecracks. I guess the Flash stands out as most interesting character but that isn't saying much. C-

Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017): Aging civil rights lawyer has trouble fitting into modern legal system. Vehicle for Denzel Washington and he is superb, but character overwhelms story. C+

Repeat Tweets: Picking Winners and Losers

Repeat tweets from March, 2018:

• Mar 1 2018: RT @Neil_Irwin: "Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs as reflected in today's stock market:
  US Steel +6.6%.
  Century Aluminum +7.1%."
  Picking winners and losers.
• Mar 1 2018: Is there any polling for the Democratic primary in TX District 32? @ColinAllredTX, @EdforTX, @Lillian_Salerno, @brett_shipp all could give @PeteSessions a run, but who has the edge in the primary?
• Mar 1 2018: Shipp had the name recognition but not money or organization and has faded on my betting sheet. Meier had the national backing and money and is the (very slight) favorite. Allred and/or Salerno also up there. A run-off is likely.
• Mar 1 2018: Dem activists have shown some distaste for @EdforTX. (Too establishment?) Still I think it's going to be a run-off between him and either @ColinAllredTX or @Lillian_Salerno. Sorry George.
• Mar 1 2018: "I'm from the Hillary wing!" shouldn't get votes either. Dems need to learn to move on and focus more on the issues (including Trump/Ryan/McConnell) than each other. Country can't survive two dysfunctional parties.
• Mar 1 2018: "Texas college baseball coach fired after rejecting Colorado recruit because of state’s weed laws."
  I did not see that coming. Kudos to Texas Wesleyan University.

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

POTD: Adios, Cartagena

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the stern of the Norwegian Star as it sails from Cartagena, Columbia, a beautiful city with beautiful people. Hasta la vista.

POTD: Adapting to Climate Change

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Cartagena, Columbia. Does it look like this city is prepared for the already present effects of climate change, to say nothing of the future? And this is a city that isn't in denial. But, despite the gleaming high-rise condos, on the whole it is a poor city.

Plan 4C estimates the cost of adapting Cartagena to coming climate change challenges to be around $500 million.

It calls for the 100 hectares of the walled old city of Cartagena – declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984 – to be kept at least 200 meters from the sea. As sea level rises, this will require a system of dams, dikes and breakwaters.

Without those, up to 86 percent of historic Cartagena – including much of the old city – will be invaded by the Atlantic, the climate plan warns. One third of the industrial sector could also be impacted, and all the city’s beaches could vanish, it says.

Source: Reuters.

POTD: Modern Cartagena

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Cartagena, Columbia. It's two cities in one. The walled old city is a well-deserved UNESCO world heritage site and its sprawling beachfronts are filled with high-rise hotels and condos.

Review: Mad City: The True Story of the Campus Murders That America Forgot

Amazon

From Mad City, by Michael Arntfield:

Unless he’d blown town for another spot on the map, there’s nowhere else he could be. He’d be there watching, waiting, stalking. She’d stop him this time. She’d have to. It was, after all, her purpose in life, a world shaped by torment and obsession. It was an all-consuming calling—alpha to omega."

I chose to read the non-fiction "Mad City" for one reason—my personal connection to the time and place it is set. It details a series of real-life horrific murders of young women on or near the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison beginning in 1968, just before my first year there.

POTD: Panama Hats in Columbia

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Cartagena, Columbia, where Panama hats are sold on the street. It seems a shame that 1) Columbia missed out on having its name attached to the hat style, and 2) Columbia Sportswear was named after the Pacific Northwest river, not the South American country. Anyway, for the purposes of this POTD at least, here are real Columbia hats.

Bonus photos after the jump.

POTD: Ready for Spring?

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the streets of Cartagena, Columbia, a tropical city that always looks like Spring, even on a winter day in January.

Faces Places (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

Faces Places (2017): Oscar-nominated documentary of two artists traveling rural France, meeting people and creating huge portraits and pasting them on sides of buildings. Small art on a big scale. Agnès Varda and JR make an odd couple, as empathetic as they are talented. B-

POTD: Small, Walkable, Beautiful

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the old city of Cartagena, Columbia, a UNESCO world heritage site. The title comes from a tourist review on TripAdvisor.

Betting on Zero (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

Betting on Zero (2017): Documentary about Herbalife from three angles: Wall Street short, Latino community class action lawsuit, and FTC investigation. I always thought pyramid schemes were illegal. Sadly, not in our deregulatory time. Maddening company. Suspenseful movie. B+

Hot Spots of Poverty

I saw a map recently that put everything into perspective for me. It's titled "Spatial Mismatch" and was designed to show "how economic disparity and transportation are intertwined in Dallas." It was published as part of a study by the University of Texas at Arlington's Institute of Urban Studies (insert plug to support research and development universities here). What jumped out at me is something about, not public transportation, but education.

POTD: Heaven's Door

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the entrance to Iglesia San Pedro Claver in Cartagena, Columbia. The doors are closed. There is no door knob. There is no door knocker. The design on the door looks a little like a maze with no path to the center. Read into all that what you will.

P.S. The angel at the door is real.

Loving Vincent (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

Loving Vincent (2017): Death of Van Gogh told as a murder mystery in 65,000 hand-painted frames. Like watching a living, breathing, roiling Van Gogh painting. Don't watch for plot or acting. Watch for the mesmerizing visuals. A-

Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (2017): Oscar winning documentary short depicts a female artist fighting mental illness, depression, anxiety. But what an artist! Narrated almost all by herself. What grit and determination. Inspiring. Watch on YouTube. A-

POTD: Exercise Increased Caution

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Plaza de la Paz in the old city of Cartagena, Columbia. Some areas of Columbia have a probably well-deserved reputation of being unsafe. The US State Department advises "Exercise increased caution in Colombia due to crime and terrorism." But, so far, knock-on-wood, cross-your-fingers, Cartagena itself is safe and friendly and welcoming and a pleasure to visit. Go and enjoy yourself. We did.

RISD's Legal Response

Former Richardson ISD school board trustee David Tyson, Jr., has sued the RISD, alleging its at-large election system is a violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He wants RISD to change to single-member-districts, in an effort to elect more minorities to the school board. As they say, the longer you are personally following a story, the less respect you have for media coverage. It's not always their fault — there are so many stories and so few good reporters. Gone are the days when The Dallas Morning News assigned Jeffrey Weiss to regularly cover RISD. And so instead we get drive-by reporting like The Dallas Morning News's James Ragland's recent coverage of the lawsuit.

POTD: Noli Me Tangere

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a statue of a woman raising her arm to face the sea. It stands in the square fronting the old port of Cartagena, Columbia. The inscription reads Noli Me Tangere (Don't Touch Me), which is from the New Testament. It's what Jesus says to Mary Magdalene when they meet after the resurrection. It's a popular theme in Christian art.

Here in Cartagena it's used to "warn off would-be invaders. Because Cartagena was the storehouse of the Spanish Empire's gold, a slew of 16th century pirates — Englishman Francis Drake included — had attacked and pillaged the city several times." (LA Times).

Ironically, the statue has a message for Spain itself. The statue was erected in 1911, on the 100th anniversary of Cartagena being the first Columbian city to declare independence from Spain. (OfficeHolidays.com).

Black Panther (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Black Panther (2018): James Bond meets Tarzan in a galaxy far, far away. With a touch of Jumanji and Iron Man tossed in. Jokes? Yes. Acting? Minimal. Special effects? All sorts. Plot? As needed. Commentary on global racial divide? Potentially powerful, but easy to miss. C-