Thursday, December 24, 2020

POTD: Crocs

From 2019 11 19 Aswan
Today's photo-of-the-day is from a Nubian village on the Nile River near Aswan, Egypt. In Texas, the house decoration might be Longhorn skulls. In Egypt, it's crocodile skulls.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

How To with John Wilson (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes
How To with John Wilson (TV 2020): Quirky looks at subjects from everyday life (scaffolding, risotto, plastic furniture covers) that lead Wilson to quirky people. Part documentary, part comedy. Much of the humor comes from the film snippets he pairs with his commentary. B-

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

The Great Conjunction 2020

Nature cooperated (for me anyway). Clear skies, warm temperatures, longest night of the year. That's Jupiter on the left. The slightly oblong smudge on the right is Saturn. None of the moons of Jupiter or Saturn are distinct enough with my camera to be visible in this photo. So, in the second photo, it's our Moon. By the way, if you didn't catch this last night, go out tonight, or tomorrow night, or the next. Jupiter and Saturn will be drifting away from each other only slowly, so they'll be putting on a celestial minuet in the southwestern sky soon after sunset for the next few weeks.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020): Adapted stage play about a 1927 recording session by the "Mother of the Blues." She demands respect. Her band's ambitious young trumpet player wants a shot at stardom. Energy like a tea kettle about to boil over. Deserves Oscar nominations. A-

Monday, December 21, 2020

The Flight Attendant (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes
The Flight Attendant (TV 2020): Woman on layover in Bangkok wakes up with a dead man in her bed. Murderer and police are both after her. So is her alcoholism. Kaley Cuoco's performance is surprisingly good. Too many bad guys, too many murders, too many confusing subplots. B-