Review: The Nickel Boys

From The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead:

The discovery of the bodies was an expensive complication for the real estate company awaiting the all clear from the environmental study, and for the state’s attorney, which had recently closed an investigation into the abuse stories. Now they had to start a new inquiry, establish the identities of the deceased and the manner of death, and there was no telling when the whole damned place could be razed, cleared, and neatly erased from history, which everyone agreed was long overdue."

Amazon

The story of one of the victims of a 1960s Jim Crow reform school for boys. Fiction based on a real school in Florida. Story arc is depressingly predictable but offers some surprises. A timely contribution to today's Black Lives Matter movement.

Richardson Police Policies

In response to attention placed on local police nationwide since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Richardson Police Department (RPD) Chief Jim Spivey was asked to brief the Richardson City Council on the department's policies, training practices, community engagement, and transparency initiatives. The briefing took almost two and a half hours. Here are my takeaways.

Space Force (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Space Force (TV 2020): Think Get Smart but with fewer laughs and even less bite. Not even "POTUS" will be offended. Steve Carell plays, well, Maxwell Smart. Or Michael Scott. Lisa Kudrow is wasted in a subplot that makes no sense. John Malkovich tries but can't save this. C-

Les Misérables (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Les Misérables (2019): French. Abusive cops patrol a Paris housing complex full of racial and class anger ready to boil. Theft of a lion cub sets it off. Audience learns the ropes through the eyes of the new cop on the team. Plot-driven, not character-driven, but what a plot. A-

What Not to Say

Last week, I pointed to a statement by Richardson Chamber of Commerce CEO Bill Sproull as an example of what to say in response to all the tragedies experienced by our country in the last days and months. He used plain language. He was direct. He named the problem. Today, I want to highlight a statement by someone else that exemplifies the things not to say.