POTD: Lady in Red

From 2024 12 22 Rome

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Capitoline Museums in Rome. The "lady in red" is Dessy.

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"Ancient hall of Rome.
A single spark of crimson
contrasts with gray stone."

—h/t ChatGPT

POTD: Grotesque

From 2024 12 22 Rome

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Capitoline Museums in Rome. I don't know much about the statue itself, even its age. I neglected to look at the information sign for it — my bad. But, according to EBSCO, an online research service, "Grotesque art is a decorative style characterized by strange, fantastic human and animal forms interwoven with elaborate designs and natural elements, such as plants. Originating in ancient Rome, this style gained renewed interest during the Italian Renaissance after the discovery of the Domus Aurea, Emperor Nero's lavish palace. Artists of the Renaissance, including Raphael and Hieronymus Bosch, embraced grotesque motifs, creating imaginative and playful artworks that contrasted with the era's emphasis on realism. The term "grotesque," derived from the Italian word for cave, evolved to encompass both whimsical and absurd elements, which often included bizarre combinations of figures and intricate patterns. While grotesque art peaked in the sixteenth century, its influence persisted, inspiring later artists like Francisco de Goya."

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"Whimsy and terror,
A scream frozen in marble,
Absurdly grotesque."
— h/t ChatGPT

Ballard (TV 2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Ballard (TV 2025): Whodunnit police action movie. Ballard is on the outs with higher ups and is assigned to work cold cases, where she uncovers things that rattle others in the LAPD. There are multiple overlapping murders/crimes, making the plot hard to follow at times, but it pays off in the end. B+

Prime

The Åre Murders (TV 2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Åre Murders (TV 2025): Swedish. Police procedural. Two murders in the winter snow. Both solved by a visiting detective from Stockholm using her intuition and empathy. Some other shows drag out their seasons to fill 8 or 10 episodes, but this one flies by too soon. Two full stories are told in only five episodes. B-

Netflix

The Worst Places to Eat in Richardson Last Month

Graphic by City of Richardson.

The City of Richardson is rightly regarded as having some of the best, most diverse, dining options in north Texas ("Eat & Drink"). But that doesn't mean every restaurant in Richardson exceeds in every measure. Here is a list of the ten worst places to eat in Richardson last month, based on the City of Richardson's Health Department Restaurant Scores for last month. Not all Richardson restaurants are included in this ranking. Each month, different restaurants are visited by the Health Department. Only those visited last month are ranked here. Only the lowest scores are shown.