The Notebook (2004)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Notebook (2004): Old-fashioned melodrama, a sad tale of summer romance and missed opportunity. Can love conquer class difference and parental interference? Hits all the right notes. The second tragic tale is of trying to remember youth as Alzheimer's steals your memories. B-

#VeryTardyReview

Mucho Mucho Amor (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Mucho Mucho Amor (2020): Documentary of Walter Mercado, a flamboyant TV astrologer/fortune teller/motivational speaker from Puerto Rico. Think Liberace. Or Tiny Tim. If you're a fan, you might love this; if you've never heard of him, you'll be shaking your head in wonder. C+

POTD: Pigeon Towers of Cairo

From 2019 11 18 Old Cairo

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Cairo, Egypt. It shows a pigeon tower. "Perched on rooftops across Cairo, like water tanks on elevated platforms, are rickety wooden cages where Cairenes keep their pigeons." It's a thing. If you're ever in Cairo, look up.

Comet NEOWISE...and Saturn

We went out Saturday night to see Comet NEOWISE. According to Space.com, the comet "is delighting skywatchers around the Northern Hemisphere." I'm here to say, "delighting" is an overstatement. At least if you are in a city. Even on a clear night, in a location with no nearby lights, there's enough ambient light pollution to make it hard to do much star-gazing of any kind. Because the comet was low on the horizon, that ambient light pollution is even more of a problem. From Richardson, Plano is kind of bright. And Comet NEOWISE was hanging low over Plano.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Rotten Tomatoes

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968): Classic Western. Lots of desolate scenery, haunting music, stoic staring. Plot stripped down to essentials. Product of its times. Macho showdown between Hollywood tough guys, with an Italian femme fatale. Sexist with a touch of racism. B+

#VeryTardyReview

Closed Mic in Richardson

Richardson City Council meetings used to feature a "Visitors" section of the agenda. Members of the public were allowed to address the City Council on any topic. Each visitor was given five minutes at an "open mic." The City Council seems to have used COVID-19 as an excuse to do away with the "open mic" portion of meetings.

POTD: Hanging Church

From 2019 11 18 Old Cairo

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Cairo, Egypt. It's a photo of what's best known as the "Hanging Church" in that it was built above a gatehouse of the much older Babylon Fortress. As near as I can figure out, the Babylon Fortress was built about 100 CE and the Hanging Church about 500 years later. I'm guessing Nile River floods filled in the area in that time and the church was originally built at its era's ground level. Sometime in the last 1,400 years, the fortress was excavated and stairs had to be built to reach the now "hanging" church. If so, it isn't the only such architectural oddity we saw in Egypt.

Bonus photos after the jump.

The Old Guard (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Old Guard (2020): Ancient gang of immortals, led by world-weary Charlize Theron, are hunted by evil Big Pharma CEO intent on learning their secret to immortality. Actually a better movie than that synopsis might suggest. How much of a burden would immortality be anyway? B-

Best quote: Are they good guys? Bad guys? "Depends on the century," says Joe.

Defund the Police?

Joe Gamaldi, Houston Police Officers Union President and National FOP VP, posted on Facebook some data from a Pew Research Center survey. Gamaldi's post was shared by the Richardson Police Officers' Association FOP Lodge 105. That's where I saw it.

First, a summary of the Pew data. 42% of Americans favor keeping spending on policing about the same. 31% favor increasing spending by a little or a lot. 25% favor decreasing spending by a little or a lot.

Review: Trust Exercise

From Trust Exercise, by Susan Choi:

All fall and spring of the previous year they lived with exclusive reference to each other, and were viewed as an unspoken duo by everyone else. Little remarked, universally felt, this taut, even dangerous energy running between them."
	Amazon

Trust Exercise: A coming-of-age tale of a volatile relationship, made more electric by a charismatic drama teacher. Then a shift in time and narrator throws everything into question. A brilliantly constructed story of the weaknesses of memory. B+

The Pandemic Next Time

It's time to worry about the next pandemic. What? Too soon? I don't think so. Ebola, HIV, SARS, H5N1 "bird flu," MERS, COVID-19. It's not like we don't know another pandemic is coming. The fact that we escaped the worst with each of these recent diseases, doesn't mean we always will. We've been lucky, even with COVID-19, which, even though the US has suffered 133,000 deaths and counting, turns out not to be the extinction-level pandemic it might have been. The "big one" is still coming. It's not a matter of if, only when. It's time to consider the pandemic next time.

POTD: Babylon Fortress in Cairo

From 2019 11 18 Old Cairo

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Cairo, Egypt. We've moved on from ancient Cairo and those pyramids from 4,500 years ago and into modern times, if you consider 2,000 years ago to be modern. That's the gobsmacking thing about visiting Egypt. Its history stretches back so far that it's hard to reckon with.

The original Babylon Fortress was built in the 6th Century BCE. This photo, though, is of a slightly later version of the fortress, attributed to the time of Roman Emperor Trajan (ruled 98-117 CE). He rebuilt the fortress at its present location because the Nile River itself had shifted course. Even in its present location, it's still about 300 meters from today's course of the Nile. Its foundation is about 15 meters below street level. Wait long enough and everything changes.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Getting the Facts Right but the Guidance Wrong

The CDC originally did not recommend face masks because they knew viruses are small enough to get through all but medical grade masks. They didn't want a run on face masks, especially medical grade masks, which were in desperate need in hospitals. They didn't want people to think they were invulnerable wearing non-medical-grade face masks. By April 4, CDC realized they had the facts right but the guidance wrong. So they changed the guidance. Stay home, but if you really have to go out, wear a face mask. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing. If everyone who has to go out wears a face mask while doing so, we can cut transmission of coronavirus and save lives. That's still pretty much the guidance today, three months later.

The Witch: Part 1. Subversion (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Witch: Subversion (2018): Korean. Confusing title, great movie. Has feel of "Kill Bill" or "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Girl has magic inside, and maybe evil. What drives her? Survival, revenge, or love of family? Whatever, she's a girl to be reckoned with. B+

This was made in 2018, but not released in the US until 2020.

Term Limits for Heroes

Statue of George Washington in Smithsonian Museum

Statues of Confederate heroes* are coming down all over America. So are statues of Christopher Columbus and conquistadors. Not even the slaveholders George Washington and Thomas Jefferson have escaped notice. There are passionate voices on both sides. I have a simple solution that takes the passion out of the equation, now and forever after.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020): Musical comedy about Iceland's entry in European contest. More musical and better comedy please. Like a too long SNL sketch. Will Ferrell is miscast. Too old. The accents grate. The movie laughs at Iceland, not with it. C+

POTD: Continuing Education in Egypt

From 2019 11 17 Ancient Cairo

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Oriental Carpet School near the step pyramid of Saqqara outside modern Cairo.

Bonus photos after the jump.

Europe Erects Wall to Keep Out Americans

According to The New York Times, "E.U. Formalizes Reopening, Barring Travelers From U.S. The bloc will allow visitors from 15 countries, but the United States, Brazil and Russia were among the notable absences from the safe list."

It's fitting in more ways than the obvious one.

Random Thoughts: I Never Had a Black Teacher

Tweets from June, 2020:

• 2020-06-01: Wow. I'm embarrassed to say I don't remember *ever* having a black teacher. And being blithely unaware of that fact until just now. :-(
• 2020-06-01: Irony. Many of the 2A crowd who insist on arming themselves to defend liberty from government oppression are now calling on that same government to impose martial law to put down protests against the government.
• 2020-06-01: I admit, when Trump was elected, I feared he would start a war, but I never would have guessed the war would be against American citizens in our own country.
• 2020-06-01: Trump is still pissed he didn't get his military parade in Washington, DC.

After the jump, more random thoughts.

Living in Exhilarating Times

2020 will go down in history as a pivotal time in American history, along with 1968, 1929, 1860, and 1776. The year has already seen a presidential impeachment, the coronavirus pandemic, economic collapse, and widespread demands for racial justice. All that in just the first half of the year. Still to come is a presidential election that will determine whether our nation survives as a democratic republic. We are witnessing history.

Hail, Caesar (2016)

Rotten Tomatoes

Hail, Caesar (2016): Farce about a 1950s Hollywood problem fixer. The Coen Brothers' homage to Ben Hur, Esther Williams, Gene Kelly, Gene Autry, and more. Add subplots with Hedda Hopper and Communist screenwriters, and the whole is a game of spot-the-references. B-

#TardyReview

LBJ's Civil Rights Grade

President Lyndon Johnson was responsible for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, thus doing more for civil rights in this country than any President since Abraham Lincoln. Still, the country erupted in violent protests against police brutality in the summers of 1967 and 1968. What went wrong? Maybe it was the unrealistic expectations that racism could be solved with a stroke of a pen. LBJ understood that progress is made in fits and starts.

Review: The Nickel Boys

From The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead:

The discovery of the bodies was an expensive complication for the real estate company awaiting the all clear from the environmental study, and for the state’s attorney, which had recently closed an investigation into the abuse stories. Now they had to start a new inquiry, establish the identities of the deceased and the manner of death, and there was no telling when the whole damned place could be razed, cleared, and neatly erased from history, which everyone agreed was long overdue."

Amazon

The story of one of the victims of a 1960s Jim Crow reform school for boys. Fiction based on a real school in Florida. Story arc is depressingly predictable but offers some surprises. A timely contribution to today's Black Lives Matter movement.

Richardson Police Policies

In response to attention placed on local police nationwide since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Richardson Police Department (RPD) Chief Jim Spivey was asked to brief the Richardson City Council on the department's policies, training practices, community engagement, and transparency initiatives. The briefing took almost two and a half hours. Here are my takeaways.

Space Force (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Space Force (TV 2020): Think Get Smart but with fewer laughs and even less bite. Not even "POTUS" will be offended. Steve Carell plays, well, Maxwell Smart. Or Michael Scott. Lisa Kudrow is wasted in a subplot that makes no sense. John Malkovich tries but can't save this. C-

Les Misérables (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Les Misérables (2019): French. Abusive cops patrol a Paris housing complex full of racial and class anger ready to boil. Theft of a lion cub sets it off. Audience learns the ropes through the eyes of the new cop on the team. Plot-driven, not character-driven, but what a plot. A-

What Not to Say

Last week, I pointed to a statement by Richardson Chamber of Commerce CEO Bill Sproull as an example of what to say in response to all the tragedies experienced by our country in the last days and months. He used plain language. He was direct. He named the problem. Today, I want to highlight a statement by someone else that exemplifies the things not to say.

Book Review: Brief Answers to the Big Questions

From Brief Answers to the Big Questions, by Stephen Hawking:

The obvious next step would be to combine general relativity—the theory of the very large—with quantum theory—the theory of the very small. In particular, I wondered, can one have atoms in which the nucleus is a tiny primordial black hole."
	Amazon

Don't have time to learn quantum mechanics? Read this instead. It's short. Accessible. Still deep. Stephen Hawking talks about the beginning and end of the universe, life, artificial intelligence, time travel, space colonization, and more. A-

Garden & Gun

When my family was young, we used to play a game when we were driving on cross-country car trips. The game was called "McDonald's or Burger King?" I wasn't asking where we should stop to eat. Instead, I'd point out a store name and we'd discuss how good of a name it was for a business. For example, which name is better for selling burgers? Burger King is a great name for that. Which name is better if a burger place wanted to expand into, say, selling sausage biscuits for breakfast? The name Burger King was a handicap for that. McDonald's was the unanimous choice for almost any kind of business expansion we could imagine. Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, etc., were all so limiting. But McDonald's is a nondescript name that could work with any business the company might want to get into, anywhere in the world. It doesn't even have to be fast food.

The Vast of Night (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Vast of Night (2020): New Mexico, 1959. Switchboard operator and radio DJ investigate mysterious staticky humming. Movie doesn't bring anything new to 1950s sci-fi, but it has the look and feel of that era down cold, even including a Twilight Zone vibe. Love the dialog. C+

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Da 5 Bloods (2020): Spike Lee. Four war vets return to Vietnam to retrieve the remains of their fallen leader...and gold. Part history lesson, part action movie, and part study of PTSD. Implausible plot. Characters either stereotypes or cartoons. MAGA? Too much going on here. B-

"Prejudice and Privilege Exist in Richardson"

The best local statement on recent events was made by Bill Sproull, Chairman/CEO of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce. Here is an excerpt.

We are horrified by the murder of George Floyd specifically and send our condolences to his family.
We support peaceful protesters and absolutely believe #BlackLivesMatter
Prejudice and privilege exist in Richardson. It absolutely does.

Source: Richardson Chamber of Commerce.

It's short and to the point.
He names the victim.
He calls murder, murder.
He supports peaceful protest.
He says the three simple words, "Black Lives Matter."
He admits racism still exists in Richardson.

That's how it should be done. And it comes from the Chamber of Commerce.

Book Review: Disappearing Earth

From Disappearing Earth, by Julia Phillips:

Zavoyko was kilometers past all that, making it the last district of their city, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the last bit of land before sea. “It was at the edge of the cliff where the ocean meets the bay.””
	Amazon

A whodunnit about the disappearance of two girls in Kamchatka. But more a collection of vignettes of women of Kamchatka. Each character is fully fleshed out and not just someone to advance the plot. It's also the story of a place previously foreign to me.

POTD: Tomb of Ptahhotep

From 2019 11 17 Ancient Cairo

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Tomb of Ptahhotep. It's near the step pyramid of Saqqara outside modern Cairo. It's connected to the tomb of his father, Akhethotep. Neither were pharaohs, but nobles. They were both named as "Chief Justice and Vizier". What makes their tombs unique is the artwork featuring, not gods and coronations and warfare, as in the tombs of pharaohs, but images of agriculture, fishing, and herding.

Bonus photos after the jump.

Racism Has No Place in Our City

At Monday's Richardson City Council meeting, the council approved unanimously a statement condemning racism. It would have been inspiring...if it didn't have a pro forma feel to it. It came across as a tad defensive. More of a PR exercise than a heartfelt examination of our civic soul.

To see what I'm getting at, read these two statements and see if you can tell which one is from the City of Richardson (from this week) and which one is from the City of Minneapolis (from 2017).

What we look like and where we come from should not determine the benefits, burdens, or responsibilities we bear in our society...We see inequality based on race, gender, and other social characteristics as not only unfortunate but unjust.

Source: Race & Equity.

We stand together in our commitment to justice, peace, kindness and understanding, in order to be the best possible civil servants we can be. We also hold dear the position that [our] municipal government is here to serve everyone, no matter who they are.

Source: Statement on Equality.

One of Us (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

One of Us (2017): Documentary about three who leave the Hasidic community in Brooklyn. Young mother's story is heartbreaking. When peer pressure fails, a biased family court awards her children to her abusive husband because she left the community. Tradition? Infuriating! B+

Unorthodox (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Unorthodox (TV 2020): Young wife flees her Hasidic community in NY. Her husband tracks her to Berlin where she's hoping to make a new life in music. Powerful portrayal of feeling trapped by people who love you, even if they don't try to understand you. Unhappiness all around. B+

The Cruelty is the Point

I saw the Twitter thread of police violence. I saw the old guy with the cane getting shoved down. I saw the old guy without a cane getting shoved down. I saw too many young people getting shoved down, maced and gassed, beaten with batons, shot with "non-lethal" bullets and beaten when on the ground.

Black Lives Matter

The coronavirus is still out there. I've been quarantined for almost three months, leaving the house only for trips to the grocery store and walks in my neighborhood. Marching in a crowd is crazy risky, given my at-risk demographic. Yet three words made me feel that it was my civic duty to march. Black Lives Matter. Those three words brought out about 750 other people to a march and rally at Richardson City Hall Saturday. I strapped on my face mask and marched with them. Because Black Lives Matter.

Babylon Berlin - Season 1 (TV 2018)

IMDB

Babylon Berlin - Season 1 (TV 2018): German. Berlin 1929 is gritty, decadent, corrupt. Socialists, Fascists, WWI vets, vice squad and homicide. A policeman from Cologne gets drawn into several convoluted plotlines. Weimar noir. An early long musical club scene is mesmerizing. B+

Say His Name. Which One?

I haven't protested since Nixon and the Vietnam War. That was fifty years ago this fall. Trump's war on protesters was the thing to finally get me up off my couch and back into the streets. I attended Wednesday's rally and march for justice for George Floyd at Berkner Park in Richardson organized by Berkner High School students. I was with about 500 others. Most attendees looked to be students or recent graduates. There were a number of young parents from the neighborhood with toddlers in strollers or wagons. And then there were three or four geezers like me. Reporters from Community Impact newspaper were there. I saw a van from CBS 11 but didn't see if they were taking video.

White Privilege

Of course I know I'm a beneficiary of white privilege. Of course. But it's so ingrained that I'm not aware of it every moment of every day. That itself is a benefit of white privilege.

Occasionally I come across an example of how I benefit, an example I was only dimly aware of. Like this offhand remark in Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Nickel Boys." An African-American goes into a restaurant and the hostess doesn't seat him immediately. Whitehead writes, "She pretended not to see him and he started up a round of 'Racism or Bad Service?'"

I suspect that's a game played every day by people of color. Not only haven't I ever had to play myself, I had never even heard of the game. That's white privilege. So of course I'm a beneficiary.

Becoming (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Becoming (2020): Michelle Obama's book. Flattering documentary offers a bit of biography and a lot of book tour, with packed arenas with sit-down interviews with celebrity moderators. Best part is inspiring, smaller Q&As with young people. Not a campaign ad but just as slick. C+

Random Thoughts: Former Mayor Gets New Bribery Trial

Tweets from May, 2020:

• 2020-05-02: Former Mayor Laura Maczka of Richardson Gets New Bribery Trial After Court Officer Spoke to Juror
• 2020-05-02: Trump cares more about Kim Jong Un's health than Mitt Romney's. "Romney's in isolation? Gee, that's too bad," the president said. Asked if there was any sarcasm in his remarks, Trump said, "None whatsoever." Which suggests Trump *doesn't* understand sarcasm.
• 2020-05-04: 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-
• 2020-05-05: Pete Sessions has spent $80,000 on legal fees to a criminal defense attorney, and they began in October, the same month his name surfaced in the Ukraine scandal that led to President Donald Trump's impeachment. Why would Waco want to buy this trouble?
• 2020-05-05: Irony is dead: "Trump does not wear coronavirus mask at Honeywell factory that makes masks"

After the jump, more random thoughts.

Review: The Need

From The Need, by Helen Phillips:

Her desperation for her children’s silence manifested as a suffocating force, the desire for a pillow, a pair of thick socks, anything she could shove into them to perfect their muteness and save their lives."
	Amazon

Molly, young mother of two, hears an intruder's footsteps. Molly, paleobotanist, discovers very odd objects in a dig. Is it a sci-fi novel about parallel universes? Is it a psychological thriller about the anxieties of motherhood? Mostly the latter.

POTD: Pyramid of Djoser

From 2019 11 17 Ancient Cairo

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Step Pyramid of Djoser, near modern Cairo. Dating to the 27th century BCE, it predates the more famous pyramids at Giza by a century. "Djoser's step pyramid is astounding in its departure from previous architecture. It sets several important precedents, perhaps the most important of which is its status as the first monumental structure made of stone."

The Lovebirds (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Lovebirds (2020): Rom-com plays more like a buddy cop comedy. Chemistry and banter between Nanjiani and Rae are worth watching as they investigate a crime to keep from being arrested themselvs. Silly plot played silly but just seriously enough to overlook its silliness. B+

Country Meadow Duck Pond

For the last couple of years, I have tried to get the City of Richardson to do something about the standing water in the street in front of my house. So far no luck. In summer it breeds mosquitoes. In winter it's a slip-and-slide ice rink. I've reported it via the "My Richardson" app; my report disappeared from the list of open issues; no work was ever done. I was told that the issue is "closed" when it's passed on to the appropriate city department. Not when it's actually resolved, just when the buck has been passed to someone else. So maybe my issue is sitting somewhere in the system and will be addressed by someone, sometime. Or not. There's no way to tell from the app. In the meantime, the ducks seem to be enjoying themselves on my city-owned and unmaintained duck pond. So there's that.

Bonus photo after the jump.

"Texas Woman Accused in Beating of State’s Former Lieutenant Governor"

Heavy.com

The headline says "Texas Woman Accused in Beating of State’s Former Lieutenant Governor." If that made you think of Stefani Carter, you should be ashamed of yourself. Either that or you know way too many details about the inside baseball of Texas politics. The woman in the headline is Leslie Ann Caron. If that made you think of Leslie Caron the movie star, well you'd be wrong again. But it would prove you don't know way too much about the inside baseball of Texas politics. Our woman of interest, arrested for "injury to an elderly person" (ouch), is Leslie Ann Caron, a political fundraiser. There is a connection to our Stefani Carter. Patience. We'll get to it.

Upload (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Upload (TV 2020): On death, people choose to upload their consciousness to a CGI afterlife. Much of this explores what that's like (not always smartly), but there's also a love story and even a murder mystery. Still, writers didn't have enough material for a whole season. C+