Review: The Last Days of New Paris

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From The Last Days of New Paris, by China Miéville:

The other Messerschmitt veers toward the Seine. The roofs shake again, this time from below. Something comes up from inside Paris. A pale tree-wide tendril, shaggy with bright foliage. It rises. Clutches of buds or fruit the size of human heads quiver. It blooms vastly above the skyline. The German pilot flies straight at the vivid flowers, as if smitten, plant-drunk. He plunges for the vegetation. It spreads trembling leaves. The great vine whips up one last house-height and takes the plane in its coils. It yanks it down below the roofs, into the streets, out of sight. There is no explosion. The snagged aircraft is just gone, into the deeps of the city."

That description of a WWII aerial battle is beautifully written. But in China Miéville's "The Last Days of New Paris," the language isn't figurative. It's literal.

After the jump, my review.

Hell or High Water (2016)

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Hell or High Water (2016): Western. Crime story. Buddy movie (x2). And Jeff Bridges as a curmudgeonly Texas Ranger. What's not to like? B+

POTD: Rue Saint-Pierre

From 2016 09 09 Quebec City

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Rue Saint-Pierre in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. A walkable street in a walkable city.

Moonlight (2016)

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Moonlight (2016): Growing up gay in broken home in Miami. World apart for me. Strong story. Great acting. Left me mad. What can be done? A-

Grading Our Schools

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) released "What If" A-F grades for schools across Texas. The ratings are based on student achievement/progress, closing performance gaps, post-secondary readiness, and community and student engagement. The RISD received a "B" in each of the four domains.

The ratings are new, not yet finalized, and only "what if" at this time, but they've caused quite a stir around the state. Richardson ISD Superintendent Dr. Jeannie Stone released the following statement:

Assigning a letter grade, based substantially on the outcome of a standardized test taken on one day of the year, simply can't capture the year-long efforts of students, teachers, principals and everyone who supports teaching and learning. Entire school and communities will be painted with the brush of a single letter grade, even though individual students perform across a wide range of achievement levels on a number of different indicators. The A-F concept has been attempted - and has failed - elsewhere. We owe our students, teachers and communities better than this system.

Source: RISD.

I have two problems with this statement.

La La Land (2016)

IMDB

La La Land (2016): Hollywood can still make feel-good musicals, an art form worth saving. Not Astaire/Rogers, but good. Emma Stone++. A-

POTD: Birdman?

From 2016 09 09 Quebec City

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Rue du Sault-au-Matelot in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It's a photo of...well, I don't know what. I didn't see a sign. Google didn't help me.

Closeup photo after the jump.