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Rotten Tomatoes |
Monday, March 4, 2019
Russian Doll (TV 2019)
Friday, March 1, 2019
Idle Thoughts: Why I Hate Analogies
Tweets from February, 2019:
- Feb 1 2019: Why I hate using analogies.
"Analogies, in particular, can illuminate, but they can also obscure and confuse. They need to be handled carefully, like rhetorical high explosives." - Feb 1 2019: Mamma Mia! at PHS: The music of ABBA onstage in RISD. Pop hits before these kids were born, maybe before their parents were born, brought back to life with great fun. Live orchestra, great voices, big cast. Be sure to stay for the curtain call and dance in the aisles.
- Feb 1 2019: In this drama, the role of "American woman" is played by Donald Trump.
American woman: I think you're cheating on me.
Russian boyfriend: If you'd just agree to an open relationship, it wouldn't be cheating.
American woman: Deal.
After the jump, more idle thoughts.
Thursday, February 28, 2019
POTD: Raphael Loggias in the Hermitage
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From 2018 08 12 Winter Palace & Hermitage |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Hermitage in St Petersburg, Russia. This photo is not the throne room or a ballroom, but of a humble hallway. It's the gallery known as the "Raphael Loggias, designed by Giacomo Quarenghi and painted by Cristopher Unterberger and his workshop in the 1780s as a replication of the loggia in the Apostolic Palace in Rome frescoed by Raphael." (Wikipedia).
Bonus photo after the jump.
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Review: There There
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Amazon |
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But what we are is what our ancestors did. How they survived. We are the memories we don’t remember, which live in us, which we feel, which make us sing and dance and pray the way we do, feelings from memories that flare and bloom unexpectedly in our lives like blood through a blanket from a wound made by a bullet fired by a man shooting us in the back for our hair, for our heads, for a bounty, or just to get rid of us."
There There is a short novel of many characters, each with a story of what it means to be a Native American in an urban setting, in this case Oakland, California.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Leave No Trace (2018)
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Rotten Tomatoes |
Monday, February 25, 2019
POTD: Leonardo's "Madonna Litta"
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From 2018 08 12 Winter Palace & Hermitage |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from one of the world's great museums, the Hermitage in St Petersburg, Russia, founded by Catherine the Great. On most days, like this one, the Hermitage hosts huge crowds of tourists, all come to see art treasures like Leonardo da Vinci's "Madonna Litta". In this case, I found the tourists more photogenic than the artwork.
A bonus photo after the jump.
Sunday, February 24, 2019
POTD: Doorway to Riches
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From 2018 08 12 Winter Palace & Hermitage |
Through these doors lie some of the world's great artworks. Come in and browse. Today's photo-of-the-day is from one of the world's great museums and historic palaces: the Hermitage, founded by Catherine the Great, housed in the Winter Palace, home of Russian tsars for 200 years, from Peter the Great to Nicholas and Alexandra.
Saturday, February 23, 2019
Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018)
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Rotten Tomatoes |
Friday, February 22, 2019
The Wheel Award for Excellence in Motion Pictures
The Academy Awards will be given out February 24, 2019. This will be the third year in a row that I've seen all the nominees for Best Picture before the Oscar is awarded. That means my opinion means something. Right?
2018 had a diverse set of movies, as did 2017. I'm not in complete agreement with the Academy's choices, but overall, I'm not complaining with the nominees they've given me to vote on (even though they haven't actually, you know, given me a vote on anything).
2018 had a diverse set of movies, as did 2017. I'm not in complete agreement with the Academy's choices, but overall, I'm not complaining with the nominees they've given me to vote on (even though they haven't actually, you know, given me a vote on anything).
Thursday, February 21, 2019
The Wheel Award for Excellence in Animated Short
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IMDB |
- One Small Step (USA and China): Young girl dreams of being an astronaut. With perseverance, the support of her father, and the shoes he makes for her (One Small Step, get it?), her dream...well, you'll just have to watch yourself. A-
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Not Just On Track, It's Double Track
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
The Wheel Award for Excellence in Live Action Short
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IMDB |
- Fauve (Canada): Two boys play in the woods, on a train track, in a surface mine, until they get in trouble. Fun and games turns serious. Good acting. A complete short story in 17 minutes. A-
Monday, February 18, 2019
"Einen veritablen Shitstorm"
"Einen veritablen Shitstorm." That's how Kronen Zeitung, a German-language Austrian newspaper, described the reaction to Richardson, Texas, City Council member Scott Dunn's ill-advised tweet. If somehow you've been on another planet for the last two weeks and don't know what I'm talking about, read the Recap. If you just want my opinion on the whole sorry mess (oops, I may have given myself away there), jump to "My Not-So-Hot Take".
Sunday, February 17, 2019
POTD: Winter Palace and Hermitage Museum
From 2018 08 13 St Petersburg |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from St Petersburg, Russia. It's a photo of one of the world's great museums and historic palaces: the Hermitage, founded by Catherine the Great, housed in the Winter Palace, home of Russian tsars for 200 years, from Peter the Great to Nicholas and Alexandra.
Saturday, February 16, 2019
POTD: "The Worst Hard Time"
From 2018 06 17 Pueblo |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Texas Panhandle. It may not look like much, but it's one of the earth's great landscapes, flat and stretching in all directions to the horizon. It's in the heart of the Dust Bowl, the site of perhaps the nation's worst ecological disaster in our history (at least until our own impending global warming disaster). Drive through it sometime. Stop the car. Get out. Take it in.Ike Osteen's life spans the flu epidemic of 1918, the worst depression in American history, and a world war that ripped apart the globe. Nothing compares to the black dusters of the 1930s, he says, a time when the simplest thing in life -- taking a breath -- was a threat.
Source: Timothy Egan.
Bonus photo after the jump.
Friday, February 15, 2019
Oscar Snubs
Each year, when the Academy hands out its Oscar nominations, it snubs some deserving films. Some of my favorites from 2018 weren't nominated. Let's call these snubs, even if very few (none) of the critics liked these movies as much as I did. In hindsight, I'd only add one, "If Beale Street Could Talk," to the list of eight movies the Academy did nominate. So, I'm not complaining. But before we get all caught up in the Oscar ceremony, let's take a moment to remember these overlooked gems from 2018.
Thursday, February 14, 2019
POTD: "In Every Grain of Sand"
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From 2018 06 14 Great Sand Dunes NP |
Today's photo-of-the-day is not on a beach. It's not within 900 miles of any ocean. It's from the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado. And there's a great story of the earth there. Go and read it sometime. And play in the sand when you do.In every outthrust headland, in every curving beach, in every grain of sand there is the story of the earth.
Source: Rachel Carson.
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Homecoming (TV 2018)
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Rotten Tomatoes |
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
POTD: Herd on the Street
From 2018 06 12 New Mexico |
Today's photo-of-the-day was taken on the street in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Kind of creepy if you ask me, but there's no accounting for taste. I ask: is it any creepier to buy one of these than it is for me to take a photo of all of them?
Monday, February 11, 2019
Review: The Gulf
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Amazon |
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For a people to be permanently settled without the requirement of food crops was rare in North America and across the globe—a luxury, in a way. There was no imperative, either, for the Calusa to migrate from hunting ground to hunting ground stalking food, because it came to them. Big fish, little fish, shrimp, sea turtles, crabs, lobsters, manatees, and even sharks, whales, and West Indian seals—it was all easy gathering with spear, net, or quick hand."
500 years of the story of the Gulf of Mexico: natural history, politics, economics, you name it, it's all here. What it was when the Europeans found it in the 15th century (see the quote above) to what it is today (we'll get to that). And a lot of things that have been done to it along the way.
Sunday, February 10, 2019
The Other Side of the Wind (2018)
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Rotten Tomatoes |
And, if this isn't meta enough for you, there's the documentary about Welles making this movie. It's "They'll Love Me When I'm Dead."
Saturday, February 9, 2019
Annihilation (2018)
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Rotten Tomatoes |
Friday, February 8, 2019
POTD: Kitchen Makeover
From 2018 06 12 New Mexico |
Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, which is an immersive art experience that is,..., well,..., you just have to visit it yourself.
Bonus photo after the jump.
Thursday, February 7, 2019
RISD and SMD and CVAP
It's another blog post full of acronyms and numbers. Bear with me, please.
The Richardson ISD school board formally adopted single-member districts (SMD) for upcoming elections. Five trustees will be chosen by voters in geographic districts and two will be chosen at-large by all voters. The districts were carefully drawn to ensure two of them would have minority populations that make up a majority of the voters in those districts. The data show how tenuous that turned out to be.
The Richardson ISD school board formally adopted single-member districts (SMD) for upcoming elections. Five trustees will be chosen by voters in geographic districts and two will be chosen at-large by all voters. The districts were carefully drawn to ensure two of them would have minority populations that make up a majority of the voters in those districts. The data show how tenuous that turned out to be.
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
They Shall Not Grow Old (2019)
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Rotten Tomatoes |
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
POTD: Santa Fe Spider
From 2018 06 12 New Mexico |
The spiders in Santa Fe are yuuuge. Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, which is an immersive art experience that is,..., well,..., you just have to visit it yourself.
Monday, February 4, 2019
Random Thoughts: Picked Off One By One
Random thoughts from January, 2019:
- Jan 2 2018: Bird Box (2019): The rule in "A Quiet Place" was "don't talk." Here, it's "don't look." Not quite a zombie movie, but a close cousin. Movie cuts between the present and five years before, which robs the earlier scenes of all suspense. Large wasted cast, picked off one by one. C+
- Jan 2 2018: Texas Governor Abbott hates taxes more than he likes kids.
- Jan 3 2018: RT @RepColinAllred: "On my first day in Congress, I'm proud to lead the charge against this partisan lawsuit attacking Americans’ health care. We will not stand idly by while special interest forces and their allies in Washington look to rip away health care from millions of hard-working Americans."
God it feels good to have a Texas representative in Washington finally standing for individuals.
After the jump, more random thoughts.
Sunday, February 3, 2019
High School Musical at BHS
High School Musical at BHS: High school musical about trying out for a high school musical. Kinda meta. With great singing, dancing, a live orchestra, talented tech and an inspiring message of "We're all in this together!", it all makes for a fun night of musical theater in RISD.
More photos after the jump.
Saturday, February 2, 2019
Legally Blonde at RHS
Legally Blonde at RHS: A rom-com, a murder mystery, and a coming-of-age tale with a #MeToo subplot. Add in talented singing, dancing, laughs, a large cast, a live orchestra and a talented theater tech team and you have a fun night of musical theater in RISD.
More photos after the jump.
Friday, February 1, 2019
Mamma Mia! at PHS
Mamma Mia! at PHS: The music of ABBA onstage in RISD. Pop hits before these kids were born, maybe before their parents were born, brought back to life with great fun. Live orchestra, great voices, big cast. Be sure to stay for the curtain call and dance in the aisles.
Bonus photo after the jump.
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Idle Thoughts on "The Map"
The Richardson ISD is adopting single-member election districts. The proposed map is drawing many comments, pro and con. The more I think about all the different careabouts this map has to balance, the more interesting it is. Here are a few of my own idle thoughts. OK, maybe not so few.The whole universe depends on everything fitting together just right. If one piece busts, even the smallest piece...the entire universe will get busted.
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
RISD Single-Member Districts: The Public Speaks
Finally, after a long year of school board trustees discussing the lawsuit in executive session, after a long year of lawyers sparring over procedural issues in court, the public finally got a chance to weigh in on the Richardson ISD's legal settlement agreeing to introduce single-member districts in elections.
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Let's Quit Fixing Potholes
The City of Richardson has council elections coming up in May. Community Impact Newspaper has published Q&As with five candidates. Snippets of the responses are below. I've chosen to focus on what is the classical focus of local government, what I'll call fixing potholes. Here is what Bob Dubey (Place 1), Mark Solomon (Place 2), Janet DePuy (Place 3), Franklin Byrd (Place 3), Dan Barrios (Place 3), and Ken Hutchenrider (Place 5) have to say. And afterwards, why I say let's quit fixing potholes.
Monday, January 28, 2019
On the Basis of Sex (2019)
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Rotten Tomatoes |
Sunday, January 27, 2019
Cinderella at LHHS
Cinderella at LHHS: Great singing, dancing, live orchestra, sets, costumes, sound and lighting by RISD students, music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hammerstein, what's not to like? A delightful evening of musical theater. Support local live theater. Support RISD.
More photos after the jump.
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Donald J. Ozymandias
Just a reminder that while we're bringing our country to its knees over a border wall with Mexico, the atmosphere and oceans continue to warm, threatening pretty much everything in the country we're supposedly trying to protect.
Consider this headline ripped from this week's news: "Pentagon Fears Confirmed: Climate Change Leads to War, Refugees." I tell you, it's not the wall, it's climate change that we ought to be focused on. If you want to stop refugees, start by stopping climate change.
Consider this headline ripped from this week's news: "Pentagon Fears Confirmed: Climate Change Leads to War, Refugees." I tell you, it's not the wall, it's climate change that we ought to be focused on. If you want to stop refugees, start by stopping climate change.
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From Immigration Impact |
Friday, January 25, 2019
How Richardson Can Combat Climate Change
Just a reminder that while we're bringing our country to its knees over a border wall with Mexico, the atmosphere and oceans continue to warm, threatening pretty much everything. But instead of wringing our hands over Washington's abdication of responsibility to do something about this existential threat, we can and ought to look closer to home for at least partial or incremental solutions. The Washington Post recently published an op-ed with ideas, the first of which is aimed right at the City of Richardson.
Thursday, January 24, 2019
No Drive-Through for Eiland
The Richardson City Council rejected an application from Eiland Coffee Roasters for a location off US 75 in Richardson.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
The Wife (2018)
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Rotten Tomatoes |
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Lessons for the City from RISD
The Richardson ISD has settled a voting rights lawsuit by agreeing to change its at-large election system into a hybrid system of five single-member districts and two at-large. What can the City of Richardson learn from RISD's experience?
Monday, January 21, 2019
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
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Rotten Tomatoes |
Friday, January 18, 2019
POTD: Kokopelli on a Balcony
From 2018 06 12 New Mexico |
Today's photo-of-the-day is of Kokopelli on a balcony of a building on Santa Fe Plaza.
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)
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Rotten Tomatoes |
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
POTD: Cross of Burgundy
From 2018 06 12 New Mexico |
Today's photo-of-the-day is of the flags flying at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe Plaza, the oldest continuously occupied public building in the United States of America.
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)
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Rotten Tomatoes |
Monday, January 14, 2019
POTD: New Mexico Road Trip
From 2018 06 12 New Mexico |
Today's photo-of-the-day was taken during a stop on our road trip at the New Mexico History Musuem.
Friday, January 11, 2019
POTD: New Mexico Highway Hazards
From 2018 06 12 New Mexico |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from rural New Mexico, specifically on Highway 14 ("The Turquoise Trail") between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The sign warns of the two biggest road hazards in New Mexico: loose cattle and UFOs.
Thursday, January 10, 2019
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
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Rotten Tomatoes |
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
POTD: Gas Oil Groceries Campground
From 2018 06 12 New Mexico |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from just west of Tucumcari, New Mexico, along historic Route 66, "The Main Street of America" and John Steinbeck's "Mother Road."
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
POTD: Ranch House Cafe
From 2018 06 12 New Mexico |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from Tucumcari, New Mexico, along historic Route 66, "The Main Street of America" and John Steinbeck's "Mother Road."
Bonus photo after the jump.
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