POTD: Reverend Zombie's House of Voodoo

From 2016 12 15 Louisiana

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the French Quarter in New Orleans. No, that isn't the Reverend Zombie in the doorway. And, no, there's no truth to the story that this is the facility where Ellen's bone marrow transplant was performed. #FakeNews

Engraftment

From 2017 06 30 UT Southwestern

Pop quiz: Which of the following describes the photo above?

1. Dallas 4th of July fireworks as seen from Ellen's hospital room
2. X-ray of Ellen's intestinal system after chemotherapy
3. Joy in my heart when Ellen's bone marrow transplant engrafted
4. All of the above

The correct answer is "All of the above" but the Fourth of July is long gone and the nausea is mostly gone, so "engraftment" is the answer that prompts this celebratory post. Engraftment is when, after a bone marrow transplant, new blood-forming cells start to grow and make healthy blood cells that show up in your blood. It is an important milestone in your transplant recovery. Ellen has reached that milestone. After chemotherapy and full body radiation, Ellen's white blood cell count had dropped to zero, as intended. Within three days of engraftment of transplanted stem cells, her white blood cell count rebounded to "normal" range, a level Ellen hasn't seen in two years. She was discharged from the hospital to continue her recovery at home. I'd say that's reason enough for fireworks. Celebrate.

More photos after the jump.

POTD: Let the Good Times Roll

From 2016 12 15 Louisiana

Today's photo-of-the-day is from a wedding celebration in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

The BFG (2016)

IMDB

The BFG (2016): Orphan girl helps BFG end bullying in Giant Country. Sweet, even with CGI fart jokes. Good for kids and sick adults. C+

POTD: Rollin' on the River

From 2016 12 15 Louisiana

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the stern of the Steamboat Natchez on the Mississippi River in New Orleans.

The Salesman (2016)

IMDB

The Salesman (2016): Iran. Collapsing apartment; collapsing relationship. Actor's wife is attacked. Tale of revenge with powerful ending. B-

Crocodile Tears

From his perch in a downtown Dallas skyscraper, D Magazine's Peter Simek gazes northward and professes to see all that's wrong in Collin County. Too many people. Congested roads. Crowded schools. Cheap apartments. All caused by a focus on economic growth based on a car-centric infrastructure. Simek could have shifted his gaze downward, but didn't. It's not like Dallas's own lack of growth has been the magic formula for fixing potholes.

Now I don't live in either the City of Dallas or Collin County. From my own vantage point in Richardson, I see shells being lobbed over my head. And like shells in real wars, some are on target and others widely miss their mark. All do more damage than offer constructive criticism. Just because I'm feeling cranky today, let's look at the shells that landed wide of their mark.

Review: The Sympathizer: A Novel

Amazon

From The Sympathizer: A Novel, by Viet Thanh Nguyen:

The month in question was April, the cruelest month. It was the month in which a war that had run on for a very long time would lose its limbs, as is the way of wars. It was a month that meant everything to all the people in our small part of the world and nothing to most people in the rest of the world. It was a month that was both an end of a war and the beginning of . . . well, 'peace' is not the right word, is it, my dear Commandant?"

"The Sympathizer" is a novel of the aftermath of the Vietnam War from the point of view of an undercover Vietnamese agent who describes himself as "a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces." His ability to see any issue from both sides makes him an invaluable narrator for Americans to make sense of that horrible war.

POTD: Great Moral Conflict

From 2016 10 10 Washington DC

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington, DC.

"The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict."
— Martin Luther King

Evergreen words. One of our generation's great moral conflicts is the battle over universal health care.

OTBR: Illinois Farm Land

Latitude: N 42° 06.870
Longitude: W 088° 31.524

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 (not actually) last month that are "off the blue roads".

POTD: Happy Fourth

From 2016 10 10 Washington DC

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the base of the Washington Monument in Washington, DC. George Washington. Now he was a President.

Repeat Tweets: CEO of GE: Climate Change is Real

Repeat tweets from June, 2017:

• Jun 1 2017: RT @JeffImmelt: "Disappointed with today’s decision on the Paris Agreement. Climate change is real. Industry must now lead and not depend on government." CEO of GE is just discovering what the rest of us have known for months. This government can't be depended on to do the right thing, ever.
• Jun 1 2017: Right move by Elon Musk, but a little late to shower him with any praise. Only when his electric car business was threatened did he act.
• Jun 1 2017: RT @rachelheldevans: "It's just so damn short-sighted, so isolationist and small, so gleefully ignorant, so pointless. #ParisAgreement" But it does piss off liberals, so there's that in its favor, according to scorecard used by Trump and the right.
• Jun 1 2017: "A crucial crack in an Antarctic ice sheet grew 11 miles in only 6 days." Make Antarctica Great Again.
• Jun 1 2017: Five Came Back (TV): Doc of 5 Hollywood directors who enlist in WWII to make movies for the war effort. Fascinating behind-the-scenes look.

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Day Zero

The Prelude is over. In the next movement, shit gets real.

The day you receive your new cells is often called "Day Zero". It's your new birthday. The cells are put into your body through an intravenous line. The procedure is like a blood transfusion. The donated cells 'know' where they belong in the body. They move through your bloodstream to settle in your bone marrow. This is where the cells will begin to grow and produce new red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Schutze vs Lieber; Toler vs Schutze

In May, Lynn Davenport lost her bid for a place on the Richardson ISD school board. Afterwards, Dave Lieber of The Dallas Morning News wrote about the election campaign. Lieber listed a harassing tweet, rumors about Davenport's conservative politics, and a hack of her website that redirected traffic to a porn site. Lieber wrote, "Her problems stemmed, she believes, from her opponent's veteran political consultant, C.P. Henry of Dallas." That accusation in Lieber's column caught the attention of Jim Schutze of The Dallas Observer.

Anne with an E (TV 2017)

IMDB

Anne with an E (TV 2017): Simple story of a charming, imaginative girl turned into something much darker. Whimsy is lost. So is Anne. C+

POTD: The Test of Our Progress

From 2016 10 10 Washington DC

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, DC.

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."
— Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Evergreen words. Will this generation fail the test?

E Pluribus Unum. Or Not.

E Pluribus Unum. A sentiment as dead as the Latin it's written in.

I'm collecting words that I used to think were universally considered to be virtues, like motherhood and apple pie. You know, words like tolerance, and compromise, and civility. And even kindness. Spoiler alert: many conservatives no longer consider those to be virtues. Now there's another word to add to the growing list: unity.

POTD: Honoring Those Who Served in WWII

From 2016 10 10 Washington DC

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

There were 16,112,566 members of the United States Armed Forces who served during World War II. Today, these veterans' ranks are rapidly diminishing with age. In 2016, the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 372 World War II veterans were dying every day (Wikipedia).

A bonus photo is after the jump.

Café Society (2016)

IMDB

Café Society (2016): Nostalgic '30s Hollywood & NY clubs & parties. Golden cinematography. Typical Woody Allen dialog. Watchable trifle. B-

POTD: Neenah Everywhere

From 2016 10 10 Washington DC

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Washington, DC. Don't just look up at the monuments, look down at your feet, too. No matter where you are, the chances are good that, stamped in iron, the name of Neenah, Wisconsin, will be there, even at the base of the Washington Monument. The Neenah Foundry has been manufacturing cast iron manhole covers, gratings, and similar items since 1872 for use all over the country and world.

The Beginning of the End for DART

With the runoffs to Dallas City Council races over, three incumbents were defeated. There are, perhaps, many reasons to cheer the overturning of the old guard in Dallas. But the future of DART for Richardson is not one of them.

As reported in December, 2016, the Dallas city council voted unanimously on a resolution that did not include the Cotton Belt line as one of its transit priorities. Then, it named Patrick Kennedy to the DART board. Kennedy is opposed to converting the Cotton Belt line to passenger service from Richardson to the DFW Airport. I concluded with, "Richardson is going to have a fight on its hands to get that Cotton Belt line developed." Developments since then have only gotten worse. It's not just the Cotton Belt line at risk, but the whole DART system.

POTD: Let's Go Fly a Kite

From 2016 10 09 Alexandria

A belated Happy Father's Day to all fathers. Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Washington Monument in Washington, DC., where a father is flying an eagle-shaped kite with his two girls.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

Heathers: The Musical at PHS

Heathers: The Musical at PHS: Cliques, bullies, damaged kids. Black comedy with a body count. Meaty subject for high school. Powerful.

Another photo after the jump.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

IMDB

Fantastic Beasts (2016): Magical suitcase mixup in 1920s NYC. Hogwarts meets Jumanji, Ghostbusters, Alien & MIB. See any of them instead. C-

POTD: Congress In Her Hand

From 2016 10 10 Washington DC

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Washington, DC, where for a brief moment, Ellen held Congress in her hand. All in all, a better arrangement that maybe should have been made permanent.

Passengers (2016)

IMDB

Passengers (2016): Think Robinson Crusoe in space. Or The Martian with fewer challenges to solve. Or a love story with a jerk of a guy. C-

The Future of Education

As always, society is engaged in a great battle for the future. Education is ground zero. The New York Times reports on how the heads of tech giants like Netflix, Facebook, and Salesforce are using philanthropy to try to improve education.

In the space of just a few years, technology giants have begun remaking the very nature of schooling on a vast scale, using some of the same techniques that have made their companies linchpins of the American economy. Through their philanthropy, they are influencing the subjects that schools teach, the classroom tools that teachers choose and fundamental approaches to learning.

Source: New York Times.

POTD: No Glory

From 2016 10 09 Alexandria

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the streets of Alexandria, Virginia.

Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower (2017)

IMDB

Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower (2017): In Egypt, Russia, even America, democracy retreats. Here, it's Hong Kong. Hope lies in youth. B+

OTBR: Blueberries and Stones in the Czech Republic

Latitude: N 49° 07.494
Longitude: E 015° 15.450

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 (not actually) last month that are "off the blue roads".

Wonder Woman (2017)

IMDB

Wonder Woman (2017): Best. Superhero. Ever. Movie is smart, funny, romantic, even believable for a comic book movie. Please, no sequels. B+

Richardson Needs Inclusionary Zoning

The Dallas Observer's Jim Schutze scolds the Dallas City Council for trying to drive poor people to the suburbs by restricting low-income housing options in the city. He supports instead what is called inclusionary zoning.

In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio has made inclusionary zoning the centerpiece of an ambitious affordable-housing program. It’s basically a win-win bargaining tool for cities dealing with developers who want to build more units on one piece of land than the law allows.

We’re talking about zoning law, which is well within the purview of city councils to amend. In other words, the council can change the law at the stroke of a vote and give developers some or all of what they want. Under inclusionary zoning, before the council gives away the company store, it is required to ask for a little something in return for the people in the way of affordable-housing units.

Source: Jim Schutze, Dallas Observer.

I doubt this will be popular, but if Dallas wants to drive poor people out of their city, cities like Richardson ought to accommodate them.

Bob Townsend, 1933-2017

Mayor Voelker honors Bob Townsend

The City of Richardson announced that former Mayor and longtime city council member Bob Townsend passed away.

Townsend was first elected to the City Council in 2001 and served until deciding not to run for re-election earlier this year. His term ended last month. During his time on the Council, Townsend also served as Mayor from 2011-2013, Mayor Pro Tem from 2007-2011 and again from 2013-2015.

Source: City of Richardson.

To mark the sad occasion, we republish Bob Townsend's responses to questions posed by The Wheel last year in our first (and so far, only) online Town Hall Meeting.

Alien: Covenant (2017)

IMDB

Alien: Covenant (2017): Inept crew, androids and aliens like monkeys in Oz. Exploding bodies. Dripping goo. Joe Bob says check it out. C+

Repeat Tweets: Iconic Art Space is At Risk

Repeat tweets from May, 2017:

• May 2 2017: Have you ever been to the UT-Dallas Art Barn? This may be your last chance. The iconic art space is at risk.
• May 2 2017: The Circle (2017): Telegraphed morality tale about loss of privacy to online big data. Nothing novel here. Watch Black Mirror instead. C-
• May 3 2017: "James Comey Says He's 'Mildly Nauseous' at Suggestions He Swayed Election." Word nerd alert: Yes he is and he makes me feel nauseated.
• May 4 2017: Beauty and the Beast (2017): Visual feast but uninspired remake of Disney 1991 animated movie. Most believable beast and love story yet. C+

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

IMDB

Pirates of the Caribbean (2017): Jack Sparrow's an old drunk. Movie franchise is just old. Too many characters. Too many ships. Too much. D+

POTD: Politics Gone

From 2016 10 09 Alexandria

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the streets of Alexandria, Virginia.
From before the election.
When America was Great.

Review: Hillbilly Elegy

Amazon

From Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis , by J.D. Vance:

I didn’t write this book because I've accomplished something extraordinary. I wrote this book because I've achieved something quite ordinary, which doesn't happen to most kids who grow up like me. You see, I grew up poor, in the Rust Belt, in an Ohio steel town that has been hemorrhaging jobs and hope for as long as I can remember. The statistics tell you that kids like me face a grim future—that if they're lucky, they'll manage to avoid welfare; and if they're unlucky, they’ll die of a heroin overdose, as happened to dozens in my small hometown just last year."

I had high expectations from this highly-praised 2016 bestseller. It would explain the mentality of poor and lower working class whites, of Fox News viewers, of Trump voters. Or so I thought.

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

IMDB

What We Do in the Shadows (2014): Mock doc. Cult classic. 4 vampires share a flat and house chores in NZ. Clever concept lacking a plot. C+

POTD: Cavalier Antiques

From 2016 10 09 Alexandria

...or Palace Cleaners. You decide. Today's photo-of-the-day is from the streets of Alexandria, Virginia.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

IMDB

King Arthur (2017): Giant elephants, squids and Kung Fu George in medieval England. Knights with no armor. Over-acted, over-stuffed. D+

Show Us Your Privates

To the command "Show us your papers" we can now add "Show us your privates." After previously approving a draconian anti-sanctuary cities bill, the Texas House now has approved a so-called "bathroom" bill with only the fig leaf of an amendment to claim it's not discriminatory. It is. Despite what the legislators might try to have you believe, all you need to know is that the bill keeps transgender students out of bathrooms that match their gender identity.

"If they are biologically considered to be a female, they must use that [facility]," [Chris] Paddie said in laying out this amendment. "Otherwise, there will be accommodations made for them to use a single-occupancy facility."

Source: Texas Tribune.

Local representatives Angie Chen Button, Linda Koop, and Jason Villalba all voted in favor of this discriminatory bill. Sine die can't come soon enough. Neither can Election Day 2018, when I can register my own vote — against legislators who discriminate. We are living in hard times.

The Lobster (2015)

IMDB

The Lobster (2015): Hotel where singles get turned into animals. Black comedy with deadpan, robotic style. Watch Black Mirror instead. D+

Snatched (2017)

IMDB

Snatched (2017): Mother/daughter buddy comedy. Amy Schumer gets the good lines, not Goldie Hahn. Better than my low expectations for it. C+

POTD: PDA in VA

From 2016 10 09 Alexandria

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the streets of Alexandria, Virginia, where a public display of affection brightens the day.

Colossal (2016)

IMDB

Colossal (2016): Days of Wine and Roses with big monsters. More a study of alcoholism and codependency than a sci-fi movie. Different. B-

Review: To Build a Castle

Amazon

From To Build a Castle: My Life as a Dissenter, by Vladimir Bukovsky:

Only greenhorns, when they come in for their first stretch, look forward to their release and count the days. Life outside appears to them as some bright, sunny, unattainable shore. But I was in for the fourth time, I knew that there is nothing more disillusioning in life than to be released from jail. I also knew that I had never managed to last longer than a single damned year outside — and never would. Because the reasons that had landed me in jail in the first place would land me there again and again. These reasons were immutable, just as Soviet life itself was immutable, just as you yourself could never change."

This 1979 book is a memoir of one man's run-ins with the KGB, prisons, work camps, and the mental hospitals used to suppress dissent in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s. Given the state of affairs today, I thought it would be a good time to research this earlier time, suddenly relevant again, closer to home.

Surge in Democratic Votes in CoR?

According to "Indivisible Richardson", there was a "223% Increase in Democratic turnout in May 6 election." I think that refers to Collin County races, not the City of Richardson, but if true and if it carried over to Richardson, that might explain Cory Montfort's surprisingly (to me) good showing in her city council race, losing by only 284 votes out of 5,488 total. She didn't explicitly run as a Democrat in this non-partisan race, but if asked she didn't try to hide her party leanings either.

20th Century Women (2016)

IMDB

20th Century Women (2016): Single mom enlists help in raising teen boy in 1979 LA. Great acting. Great evocation of the period. Feminism. B-

POTD: Repurposing the Old

From 2016 10 09 Alexandria

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Alexandria, Virginia. Just a block or so from where George Washington enjoyed a pint or two at Gadsby's Tavern is the King Street Blues, purveyor of comfort food with a Southern accent. Old buildings don't have to be torn down to be saved.