The Edge of Democracy (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Edge of Democracy (2019): How Brazil's fragile democracy was overthrown "legally" by right wing authoritarians. I thought this stuff happened in "banana republics," not in America, but the same script is now playing out here. Constitutions can be subverted everywhere. B+

Who Wore It Better?

Who wore it better?

On the left is the new sculpture "Flow" designed by RE:site Studio and installed at Richardson's new Fire Station #3 at the corner of Lookout and Custer. It mimics water shooting out of a vintage brass fire hose nozzle.

On the right is one sculpture of a four piece collection, "Shuttlecocks" by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City. It mimics, well, a shuttlecock.

Who wore it better?

SARS and Me

I want to offer some exculpatory information about China's role in the COVID-19 pandemic. And point a finger back at ourselves— collectively. We are guilty of ignoring warning signs that have been flashing for years. Let's start with SARS. Bear with me. Eventually, I'll get to the "...and Me" part of the story and the excuse I have for talking about a global issue on a personal blog at all. Hint: it's related to that photo.

POTD: Sphinx Wannabe

From 2019 11 17 Ancient Cairo

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the ruins of Memphis, one of the capitals of ancient Egypt, just south of present-day Cairo. The Sphinx here (which is not the famous Sphinx of Giza) is one of the few intact artifacts on display at the site. The dog is just a modern-day Sphinx wannabe.

Review: This Tender Land

From This Tender Land, by William Kent Krueger:

The tale I'm going to tell is of a summer long ago. Of killing and kidnapping and children pursued by demons of a thousand names. There will be courage in this story and cowardice. There will be love and betrayal. And, of course, there will be hope. In the end, isn't that what every good story is about?"
	Amazon

"This Tender Land" is the 2020 selection for "Richardson Reads One Book."

POTD: Don't Touch Your Nose

From 2019 11 17 Ancient Cairo

Don't touch your nose. You can spread the novel coronavirus that way. Don't touch Pharaoh Ramsses II's nose. You might spread ancient viruses that way. This has been a public service announcement. Today's photo-of-the-day is from the ruins of Memphis, one of the capitals of ancient Egypt, just south of present-day Cairo.

Making the Cut (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Making the Cut (TV 2020): Tim & Heidi's successor to Project Runway, worse in every way. Contestants are experienced, not new designers. They get seamstress help. Emphasis is on selling on Amazon and building a "global brand." Runway fashion is unrewarded. Auf wiedersehen. C-

Planet of the Humans (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Planet of the Humans (2020): Michael Moore's takedown of environmental movement, rejecting solar, wind and biomass because they aren't 100% clean. Also pissed that capitalism finds ways to profit and big environmentalists can be hypocrites. The movie's solution: depopulation. C-

POTD: Don't Touch Your Face

From 2019 11 17 Ancient Cairo

Don't touch your face. But it's OK to touch the Sphinx's face. Or it was in November when foreign travel was still free and easy. Good times. Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Great Sphinx of Giza. "The face of the Sphinx is generally believed to represent the pharaoh Khafre," whose pyramid is nearby.

Bonus photo after the jump.

American Factory (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

American Factory (2019): Former GM plant in Ohio reopens as Chinese-owned auto glass factory. Cinema verité documentary. It's crazy that Chinese owners allowed cameras fly-on-the-wall access. Culture clash in America's heartland is sharp and unsettling. You feel for workers. A-

Contaminated Groundwater in Richardson

This agenda item for the Richardson City Council caught my eye:

City staff will review the process for consideration of a Municipal Settings Designation [MSD] for a commercial property near Coit Road and Arapaho Road. A Municipal Settings Designation is an official state designation within a municipality that certifies that designated groundwater at the property is not used as potable water and is prohibited from future use as potable water.

Source: City of Richardson.

Why wouldn't you want to use groundwater as potable water?

Cold War (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Cold War (2018): Poland. Three Oscar noms. Arty. Ill-fated love story set in post-war Europe, mostly Poland and Paris. Beautiful B&W cinematography evocative of the times. Characters can find passion but can't find happiness with each other. Why not is a recurring mystery. A-

Random Thoughts: Trump is a Snake Whisperer

Tweets from April, 2020:

• 2020-04-01: "Trump is a snake whisperer." -- Edward Countryman.
  What a great addition to the political dictionary, alongside "dog whistle."
• 2020-04-01: A tradition in American journalism is that the reporter must not become the story. It's impossible to live up to that at a televised Presidential press conference. Trump thrives on his insulting interactions. One solution? Stay away. Don't let Trump make you a part of his shtick.
• 2020-04-02: Yesterday was Census Day. Forgot to fill it out for your household? Not to worry. Do it today. It still counts. You still get credit. And so does your community.
• 2020-04-02: Those toilet paper shortages probably are caused less by panic buying and hoarding than by our economy's fine-tuned supply chains being unable to rapidly adjust to the new normal.

After the jump, more random thoughts.

POTD: Giza Pyramid Complex

From 2019 11 17 Ancient Cairo

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Giza Pyramid Complex in Cairo. Our visit in November, 2019, allowed "L" to check off the seventh and final item on the "bucket list" that she compiled in high school.

Bonus photos after the jump.

Tapping the Paycheck Protection Program for $126M

2013: Braemar Rings Opening Bell on NYSE (Stefani Carter on left)

You may remember Stefani Carter. The former Texas state representative for parts of Richardson, swept into office in the 2010 tea party wave. The ambitious politician who attempted to climb to statewide office (Texas Railroad Commission) in 2014 only to discover that the moneyed interests had other candidates in mind. Who scrambled back to her legislative race in north Texas but lost her seat anyway when even GOP voters abandoned her for Linda Koop. All that was covered by The Wheel back in the day. Well, Stefani Carter is back in the news, or at least her business is.

Horse Girl (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Horse Girl (2020): Lonely woman sleep walks, hears voices, and has surreal delusions in a descent into mental illness, but it's all her truth. Part dark comedy, part thriller, but mostly psychological character study. Based on family history of Alison Brie, who shines. C+

POTD: 2560 BC

From 2019 11 17 Ancient Cairo

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Great Pyramid of Giza. It was built as a tomb for the pharaoh Khufu in 2560 BCE. Try to wrap your mind around that. That's 4,580 years ago. Or 54,960 month-long stay-at-home quarantines strung back to back. That's what's called an unhelpful analogy. Not only doesn't it really help you grasp just how old that tomb is, but it doesn't make your current spell of being housebound feel any better either. By the way, pharaoh Khufu himself left his tomb no one knows how long ago. They say grave robbers. I suspect cabin fever.

Bonus photo after the jump.

COVID-19: Financial Impact on Richardson

Everyone's attention has been rightly focused on the health implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the City of Richardson, which has put public health at the top of its list of priorities. The question of "Who's in Charge?" has gradually settled on the answer, Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The City of Richardson will not enforce any provision in the City's own March 23, 2020 Order that is inconsistent with the Governor's Executive Orders GA 15, 16 and 17. With the Governor in the driver's seat on the pandemic response, the City can start giving some attention to the impact COVID-19 will have on other City matters, particularly the City's finances.

Code 8 (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Code 8 (2019): In a future of people with super powers, we still don't have universal health insurance, so our hero pays for his sick mother's treatment with a $10m drug heist. If you're going to make sci-fi on a small budget, you need fresh ideas, not a mishmash of old ones. D+

POTD: Gezirah Palace in Cairo

From 2019 11 17 Ancient Cairo

Today's photo-of-the-day is from outside the entrance to the Cairo Marriott Hotel, on an island in the Nile River, originally constructed as the Gezirah Palace in 1869 for the Khedive Isma'il Pasha. We stayed there in November of 2019, which was only five months ago, but it seems like five millennia ago (but more of that in later posts). Good times.

Bonus photo after the jump, of the patio restaurant in the back of the hotel.

Blow the Man Down (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Blow the Man Down (2020): A small fishing village in Maine is the setting for a murder mystery, or two. Great characters, all deserving more screen time. You can't tell the good guys from the bad guys, as the plot unfolds or even after. Just how a great whodunnit should be. A-

Tales from the Loop (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Tales from the Loop (TV 2020): Sci-fi with less focus on the science and more on the characters, lots of them kids, who live naturally in a world of time travel, parallel universes, robots, and machinery with a 1980s retro futuristic tech feel. Stories are slow but charming. B-

POTD: The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

From 2019 10 10 State Fair of Texas

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the State Fair of Texas. It just looks hopeful somehow. Despite the rain, with proper precautions we can remain dry until the sun comes out, which it will.

COVID-19: Reopening the Country

Source: Libertarian Party of Kentucky.

This Venn diagram illustrates the challenge we face reopening the country during the COVID-19 epidemic. Many of us are in the middle of this Venn diagram. We support the stay-at-home and social distancing orders because we are in the upper left circle of the Venn diagram: "People taking COVID-19 seriously." We supported the $2 trillion relief package passed by Congress because we are also in the bottom circle: "People concerned with economic devastation." And we supported strong oversight in the distribution of that relief because we are also in the upper right circle, which I'll paraphrase as: "People worried about government accountability." In balance, we are in the bulls-eye of the Venn diagram.

But the people who are nearer the outside edges of the circles are getting restless. The cries that the cure is worse than the disease are growing louder from those firmly in the bottom circle. People on Facebook wring their hands and say, "People die every day. Life has to go on." (Maybe they aren't even wringing their hands. It's hard to tell sometimes.) Such people are being joined by people who fit snugly in the upper right circle, those who distrust government, which is most of us, although some go farther than others. "You shut down people's businesses and lives and civil war is the next step."

How do we return to normal in an environment like we're in?

POTD: Back in the Saddle

From 2019 10 10 State Fair of Texas

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the State Fair of Texas. It's time for more photos-of-the-day.

COVID-19 Response: Who's in Charge?

The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to a flurry of government orders in an effort to stem the pandemic. I don't claim to be an expert on any of them. They seem to change every few day, so don't rely on anything written today to be accurate tomorrow. But here's what I think I know, and here's what I think about what I think I know.

Review: Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming

Amazon

From Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming, by László Krasznahorkai


he could hardly even remember that he had a daughter at all, who, as people tended to put it, was 'from the wrong side of the blanket,' he'd forgotten about her, or, to put it more precisely, he'd learned not to think about her, at least when he was able to do so, there were periods — even if transitory — when he was left in peace, sometimes even for years, just as now, he’d been left unperturbed "from that direction," he'd washed his hands of the entire matter, as in general he did with his entire past, he'd washed it away, and as for a good few years now nobody had been pestering him, he'd already reached the conclusion that he was free of all this, free, that is, until yesterday afternoon when out of the blue, unexpectedly, this daughter had just suddenly shown up here, and grabbing a megaphone, yelled out to him 'I'm your daughter, you basest of skunks,'"

This Hungarian novel by László Krasznahorkai, translated by Ottilie Mulzet, won the 2019 National Book Award for Translated Literature.

Ozark - Season 3 (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Ozark - Season 3 (TV 2020): Same dark story of dealing with a drug cartel. No more breathers for the audience. All characters are in danger, all subplots are life-threatening. Wendy shows she's as badass as Marty. Ruth steals every scene she's in. Emmy noms for both. B+

2020: When Sh#t Got Real for RISD

Source: AwTeez.

It's only early April, but it seems like 2020 has already been the longest year of our lives. America has experienced other bad years: 1952 (57,628 victims paralyzed by polio in that disease's peak year); 1968 (16,889 US deaths in the Vietnam War's peak year); 2001 (2,996 deaths on one day alone, 9/11). Queen Elizabeth II had a term for such years. She anointed 1992 her family's personal annus horribilis: divorce or separation of three of her children and a disastrous fire at her royal residence Windsor Castle. For children today, too young to remember any of those other tragic years, they now have their own. 2020 is on track to be worse than any other. How quickly COVID-19 turned this year from one of innocence and joy to an annus horribilis when sh#t got real.

COVID-19: A Follow-On Crisis is Brewing

While we have all been preoccupied with matters of life and death (rightly so), a follow-on crisis is brewing. As unemployment skyrockets, the ability to pay mortgages and rents craters. We need to direct some of our efforts from quarantining to preparing for the follow-on disaster that quarantining brings in its wake. 40% of the housing units in Richardson are occupied by renters. What is the City doing to prevent the disaster that comes when renters miss their rent payments?

The Death of Stalin (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Death of Stalin (2018): Maliciously funny black comedy about Kremlin infighting following Stalin's death. More frat house farce than deadly serious power struggle. It helps if you know a little history of the times. If not, what you learn here makes a fun history lesson. B+

The Politician (TV 2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Politician (TV 2019): Ambitious high school student runs for class president as first step in life goal of becoming POTUS. Political satire with over-the-top, absurd elements and plot twists. Politics is properly skewered but questionable treatment of sexual orientation. B-

Random Thoughts: After South Carolina

Tweets from March, 2020:

• 2020-03-01: Expect Trump to suddenly get interested in Hunter Biden again after South Carolina.
• 2020-03-02: Anyone notice how Biden, Klobuchar, and Buttigieg are all going to be in Texas today, the day before Super Tuesday? With so many states to choose from, Texas is the big prize. Quite a turnaround from the usual flyover status candidates give the state in campaigns.
• 2020-03-04: The Souvenir (2019): Student filmmaker and her sketchy boyfriend. He exploits her and she apologizes too much. Instead, run away! Movie has an arty look and feel. Lots of long takes with mirrors and windows and reflections. See the movie poster. It all feels pretentious. C-
• 2020-03-05: The state of American politics in five words: "Democracy is not a meritocracy." -- Jennifer Rubin

After the jump, more random thoughts.

Golf Courses and Playgrounds and Coronavirus

The following is an open letter by Andrew Laska to the City of Richardson. Laska has lived in Richardson for decades. He served five years as President of the Richardson Heights Neighborhood Association and four years on Richardson’s Environmental Advisory Commission.

Sherrill Park, 3/26/2020. Photographer anonymous.

The English Game (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

The English Game (TV 2020): The FA Cup in the 1880s, cotton millworkers vs Old Etonians, with class warfare, mill strikes, and a lot of romantic melodrama by Julian Fellowes. Predictable storyline and subplots but if you liked Downton Abbey, you'll like this. B-

When Can We Start to Relax?

According to FiveThirtyEight.com, expert medical estimates of the number of Covid-19 deaths that we can expect in the US range between 36,000 and 1.1 million. Dr. Fauci, a member of President Trump's coronavirus task force, issued his own estimate of between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths, which is in that same range. The biggest variable in determining which end of the estimates prove true is our own behavior. Will we be more like Dallas County or more like Collin County? Will we have the fortitude to keep stay-at-home measures in place long enough?

Tiger King (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Tiger King (TV 2020): Grudge between exotic big cat zookeepers turns into true crime story of arson, a missing husband and murder-for-hire. Bigger than life low life characters starring a "gay, gun-carrying redneck with a mullet," a tiger lover and reality TV star wannabe. B+

Conventional Wisdom Gets Whiplash

Conventional wisdom is getting whipped around by this pandemic. Remember in January, when China was first getting locked down because of coronavirus? Conventional wisdom (and by conventional wisdom I mean the Trump administration) said China's loss would be America's gain. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said, "I think it will help to accelerate the return of jobs to North America." Could coronavirus hurt America in any way? In the same interview, Ross said, "I think it’s almost physically impossible for there to be a recession this year." When you put an out-of-touch grifter in a responsible government position, you get what you should expect, political hackery, not expertise. Unless you live under a rock, you know where this goes next.

Fist Bumps

It's too early to predict what permanent changes COVID-19 will bring to life in America. Personally, I don't think I'll be shaking hands ever again. For years already, I've substituted fist bumps for hand shakes, but going forward I don't think even fist bumps are a good practice in a world of infectious disease. Right now, my favorite is the Namaste prayer hands with a head bow.

A Look Back at Peru

From 2019 08 20 Machu Picchu

As we say goodbye to Peru and all of its wonderful and surprising experiences, this photo-of-the-day shows the main reason why we went to Peru in the first place. It's the classic photo every tourist takes of Machu Picchu. But this photo is not today's photo-of-the-day. Today's photo-of-the-day is after the jump. It shows the spot where the classic photo in everyone's vacation snapshots is taken. It's called the Guardhouse and it overlooks Machu Picchu from above. The photo shows one tourist posing just like we did in the photo above and it shows the queue of tourists patiently waiting their turn for their own photo.

Click to see the real photo-of-the-day.

POTD: Last Look at Puno

From 2019 08 23 Puno

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Puno, Peru. It shows the city climbing the hillside on the shore of Lake Titicaca.

After the jump, a view from the city of our hotel across a bay of Lake Titicaca. It's the white building all by itself on the shore. I now claim that is an example of prudent social distancing, not inappropriate classism.

Glitter

Do you know how glitter can be annoyingly hard to get rid of? Attend a wedding where glitter is thrown on the bride and you'll be finding glitter yourself, in your hair, in your clothes, in your carpet at home far from the church. It doesn't matter if you weren't in the wedding party and weren't throwing the glitter yourself. If you attend the wedding, chances are that you will go home with glitter. That's how I like to think viruses behave. They just aren't as visible as glitter. Treat social distancing like you don't want to go home with glitter.

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot (2018): Alcoholic hits rock bottom when he's paralyzed in a drunken crash. Movie shows his climb back up, thanks to his sponsor at AA, Lao-Tzu, and cartooning. Joaquin Phoenix in another unforgettable role. Jonah Hill's best work. B-

"Stakeholders" Over Residents, Part 411

My Facebook feed is usually an endless scroll of coyote and bobcat sightings ("Bring your pets inside!"), loose dogs ("Does anyone recognize this cutie?"), strange sounds ("Was that a gunshot?), traffic enforcement ("A black SUV just ran a stop sign!"), and, especially recently, shopping advice ("Does anyone know where to find toilet paper?").

But today was different. It's a personal appeal that shows that in a time of uncontrolled pandemic, daily life struggles go on. In this case, a tenant's fight with a landlord. This might be a warning sign of a larger issue in Richardson. Main Street in historic downtown is being repaved by the city, in part a gift to a major private redevelopment there scheduled to break ground this summer (Gateway to Core Richardson).

"Richardson lacks a walkable district where people can spend hours and be entertained," said Manasseh Durkin, president of Durkin Properties, one of several private partners in the effort to revitalize Main. "Our hope is that the Core District fills that void."

Source: Community Impact.

You know what "revitalization" has usually meant elsewhere. The people there already have to go. They have to make way for progress. That brings us to today's story from two blocks east of the renewal, where the evictions are apparently underway, by hook or by crook.

POTD: Little Llamas

From 2019 08 23 Puno

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Umayo Lake near Puno, Peru. This time, the attraction is little llamas. And, of course, the obligatory woman's hat. Women of Peru have the world's best hats.

Bonus photo after the jump.

POTD: Umayo Lake

From 2019 08 23 Puno

Today's photo-of-the-day is of Umayo Lake near Puno, Peru. Umayo is an impressive sized lake by itself, but it's nowhere near the size of nearby Lake Titicaca, so no one knows anything about it. The vantage point for the photo was the pre-Inca Sillustani cemetery. What a view for eternity.

Peterloo (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Peterloo (2019): Cavalry massacre of a peaceful crowd petitioning for the right to vote in Manchester in 1819. Lots of speeches and too little character development, but sets and costumes and cinematography are great. Its story is important. Voting rights is our fight today. B-

POTD: Sillustani Chullpas

From 2019 08 18 Sacred Valley, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Sillustani, a pre-Incan cemetery on the shores of Lake Umayo near Puno, Peru. The tombs are built above ground in tower-like structures called chullpas.

Bonus photos after the jump.

POTD: Sillustani Rowboats

From 2019 08 18 Sacred Valley, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Sillustani, a pre-Incan cemetery on the shores of Lake Umayo near Puno, Peru. More photos to come of the cemetery itself. This first photo is not that. It's only a pretty picture of rowboats.

POTD: Llama, Llama, Twice a Llama

From 2019 08 23 Puno

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the countryside around Puno, Peru. It's a herd of llamas, of course. As our time in Peru is winding down, it's time to sing that Llama Song one more time.

Bonus photo after the jump.