POTD: Peterhof Portrait Hall

From 2018 08 14 Peterhof

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Peterhof, the St. Petersburg palace built by Peter the Great of Russia. It shows the Portrait Hall. Seeing 368 portraits chock-a-block on the wall is amazing enough, but look closely and you'll convince yourself that all 368 are of the same young woman. Maybe yes, maybe no. Judge for yourself.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Avengers: Endgame (2019): It is a satisfying finale to the saga. Tons of characters, tons of action, a simple quest movie but with many complex interleaved timelines. Best parts were when it didn't take its absurdities seriously. Next best were the few scenes without CGI. B-

Idle Thoughts: We're All Going to Die

Tweets from April, 2019:

• Apr 2 2019: Sen. John Cornyn on health care: "In the end we're all going to die, I hate to tell you. Don't dwell on it though!"
• Apr 3 2019: The Highwaymen (2019): Two retired Texas Rangers track down Bonnie and Clyde. This pair is less charismatic than the outlaws, but Costner/Harrelson can carry a movie. They are always a little too late on the scene, making for a slow movie. Seeing Texas in the 1930s is a treat. B-
• Apr 3 2019: Jim Schutze describes Dallas mayoral candidates pandering to whites at the Citizens Matter forum. Schutze calls it the Loons Matter forum. About Jason Villalba, he says, "That man just straight-up loves him some Confederate stone."

After the jump, more idle thoughts.

The Spy Who Fell to Earth (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Spy Who Fell to Earth (2019): Documentary about death of Ashraf Marwan, an Egyptian who spied for Israel in Oct '73 war, or was he a double-agent? Oddly, both countries today consider him a hero. A gripping detective story, a war history, and an enduring mystery. B-

Building Trust

This article was originally published in "Richardson Living" magazine. Read it on that website or read it here. Or read it in print. In mail boxes now.

When it was unveiled in 2013, an artist's rendering for the massive mixed-use Palisades development included a feature that was never built: a pedestrian bridge over US 75 to the Galatyn Park DART station. I personally loved that feature. But people did not love another feature, one that did get built: hundreds of new apartments. This happened despite the campaign statement by then mayoral candidate Laura Maczka (now Laura Jordan) that we don't need apartments near neighborhoods, and despite overwhelming neighborhood opposition during public hearings.

How did we end up in this situation anyway? Suspicion fell on Mayor Maczka and her personal relationship with the developer Mark Jordan. Eventually, evidence uncovered during an FBI investigation resulted in bribery convictions. Development of Palisades now appears to be stalled, with those apartments built but retail and offices lagging. The City is left with a big black eye.

POTD: Room after Room after Room

From 2018 08 14 Peterhof

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Peterhof, the St. Petersburg palace built by Peter the Great of Russia. It shows a hallway that runs along the length of the palace. Actually, it's not a separate hallway at all. More like a series of doors that connect all the rooms. Walking through them, you go through room after room after room. It's quite unlike modern buildings, like hotels, where the hallway is like a spine and the rooms are all off to the side like ribs. I guess that's because the occupants of the palace owned *all* the rooms so there was no need to keep them separate for privacy as one walks around the palace. Or maybe there's another reason that historical architects might be able to explain.

Review: Black Leopard, Red Wolf

Amazon

From Black Leopard, Red Wolf, by Marlon James:

The child is dead. There is nothing left to know. I hear there is a queen in the south who kills the man who brings her bad news. So when I give word of the boy’s death, do I write my own death with it? Truth eats lies just as the crocodile eats the moon, and yet my witness is the same today as it will be tomorrow. No, I did not kill him."

Black Leopard, Red Wolf is an epic African fantasy. It's been described as an African "Game of Thrones." Don't believe it.