Gleason (2016)

IMDB

Gleason (2016): Documentary of former NFL player with ALS. Raw and relentless as real life, clichéd as movie. Needs more of wife's story. C+

Fences (2016)

IMDB

Fences (2016): Denzel Washington in a Willy Loman role, raising questions about what it means to be a husband, father, man. Oscar-worthy. A+

OTBR: South Mountain Creamery

Latitude: N 39° 27.918
Longitude: W 077° 36.498

A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously last month that are "off the blue roads".

POTD: This Guy Needs a Beer

Today's photo-of-the-day is was a panorama from the Liberty of the Seas, a cruise ship out of Galveston that cruises the Western Caribbean. (The blog's ability to display the panorama was, sadly, lost during some website update or other.)

POTD: Rue du Petit Champlain

From 2016 09 09 Quebec City

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

Main Street Mixed-Use

The City of Richardson announced that it had approved a mixed-use development in old downtown Richardson.

A proposed mixed-use development at the northeast corner of Central Expressway and Main Street was approved unanimously by the City Council Monday. The 14.5-acre development will include residential, commercial and restaurant space. It is the first significant private sector development in the downtown area since the adoption of the Main Street/Central Expressway Form Based Code last year...A highlight of the development is the mixed-use portion planned for the corner of Main and Interurban streets. In addition to 15,000 square feet of retail/commercial space, it will have multifamily units located above the retail space, surrounding private courtyards, and a 700-space parking garage, which will be shared with tenants from the Chase Bank building. Immediately to the north of the mixed-use area will be townhomes with private yards and garage parking. The for-lease units will be two or three stories each and average 1,800 square feet per unit.

Source: City of Richardson.

After the jump, why I am cautiously optimistic.

Repeat Tweets: Conspiracy Theorists

Repeat tweets from January, 2017:

• Jan 1 2017: Am I wrong in thinking that conspiracy theorists are the kind of people most likely to not recognize irony or sarcasm?
• Jan 2 2017: More bowl game teams than not have serious off-field reasons for me to want them to lose. Why isn't there a "Good Guys Bowl"?
• Jan 2 2017: Penn State had worst play calling in their last two possessions. Three runs and a punt, then a run and two crazy passes. Deserved to lose.
• Jan 5 2017: Rogue One (2016): A rollicking fun adventure...just like all the others. Fighting an authoritarian regime has new relevance in 2017. Sad! C-

After the jump, more repeat tweets.