La Dolce Villa (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

La Dolce Villa (2025): American father and daughter fix up a rundown Tuscan villa and find fullfillment and new purpose in life. The entire movie is revealed in dialog in the first 7 minutes and 40 seconds, then predictably plays out to its happy ending. Still, it was a welcome palate cleanser after "Black Rabbit." C+

Netflix

Transparency is Not Like Pregnancy

Transparency is not like pregnancy, where either you are or you aren't pregnant, and there are no in-between states. Transparency, like democracy itself, has an endless number of in-between states. No matter where a city government is on the spectrum, there is the opportunity to achieve greater transparency. No one should ever be satisfied with the status quo. It's important to celebrate whenever government takes small steps in the right direction. The Richardson City Council did just that October 6, 2025.

Black Rabbit (TV 2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

Black Rabbit (TV 2025): Jude Law plays the owner of a hot NY restaurant when his prodigal brother, played by Jason Bateman, returns from the West Coast and everything goes to shit. Did you think "The Bear" had a restaurant's intensity dialed up to 10? Black Rabbit needs a whole new dial. B+

Netflix

POTD: No I.C.E.

From 2025 03 13 Bangkok (1)

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a sticker posted to a light post in the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok. I think it speaks for itself.

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"Texas to Thailand,
Sticker's global defiance,
Under golden spires."
— h/t ChatGPT

POTD: Emerald Buddha

From 2025 03 13 Bangkok (1)

Today's photo-of-the-day is of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok. According to Wikipedia, "Wat Phra Kaeu is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. The complex consists of a number of buildings within the precincts of the Grand Palace in the historical centre of Bangkok. It houses the statue of the Emerald Buddha, which is venerated as the country's palladium." I'm not too proud to admit that I had to look up the meaning of "palladium." It means "protective relic."

Whereas the nearby Reclining Buddha lives up to its hype (46 meters long really is looooong), the Emerald Buddha falls short, for two reasons. For one, it's only about 26 inches tall. And second, it's not made of emerald (beryl). It's made of a semi-precious stone, usually described as jade (nephrite) or jadeite, maybe even jasper, but testing has never been done to confirm its composition.

P.S. Cameras are not allowed inside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This photo was taken through the open front door. I don't think I broke any rules.

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"Jade not emerald,
A green stone guards the kingdom.
Bangkok's beating heart."
— h/t ChatGPT