Disclosure Day (2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

Disclosure Day (2026): Extraterrestrials exist (sci-fi). A TV anchor can communicate with them telepathically (mystery). The government conspires to keep their existence secret (thriller). A scientist races to leak the truth (action). Disclosure Day is Steven Spielberg's genre junk drawer. Worse, the movie ends just where it should begin: with the disclosure. C+

Peacock

POTD: Walkable Salamanca

From 2026 01 02 Salamanca, Spain

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Salamanca, Spain. The photo shows the heart of the Old City. It's medieval. It's beautiful. It's walkable. It's been walkable for a thousand years. The historic Via de la Plata, a branch of the Camino de Santiago, passes through Salamanca. For centuries, it's carried Christian pilgrims for hundreds of kilometers from Seville to Santiago de Compostela.

Bonus photo after the jump.

POTD: Salamanca's Plaza Mayor

From 2026 01 02 Salamanca, Spain

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Salamanca, Spain. Our river cruise ship docked on the border between Portugal and Spain where we transferred to coaches for a day trip to Salamanca. Settlement in Salamanca dates to the Iron Age. The ancient Romans founded a city there. The Christian Kingdom of Leon took hold in the 11th century. So, yeah, Salamanca is old. It's also beautiful and off the beaten track.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Council Recap: 4 Wins for Public Outreach

Source: City of Richardson

On October 12, 2026, the Richardson City Council discussed three public engagement strategies and the venue for its annual State of the City presentation. I've already covered one of the outreach proposals, coordinating town hall meetings, in "Council Recap: City to Coordinate Town Halls". Today, I'll cover two other proposals (monthly video updates on Council meetings and Facebook livestreaming of meetings) as well as the decision to move the State of the City presentation to a larger venue. All told, the Council reached agreement on four public outreach improvements, though some members raised doubts along the way. That's four wins for public outreach in one Council meeting. I call that a good night's work.

Council Recap: City to Coordinate Town Halls

Source: City of Richardson

On October 12, 2026, the Richardson City Council agreed to have the City coordinate scheduling for a series of town hall meetings at which council members would answer questions from the public.

Mayor Amir Omar initiated quarterly town halls, rotating among four areas of the City. He has held six such town halls in total. The format is straightforward: members of the public submit questions; all attendees vote for questions they are most interested in; the Mayor answers the questions that receive the most votes. In the first six such town halls, he managed to answer *every* question. A ChatGPT-generated summary of the Q&A from the Mayor's most recent town hall held on August 5, 2026 can be found here: Mayor Amir Omar Town Hall Reference Book.

Book Review: First Person Singular: A Novel

From First Person Singular, by Haruki Murakami:

Amazon

"I was in New York on business and, with time on my hands, took a walk near my hotel and ducked inside a small used-record store I came across on East Fourteenth Street. And in the section of Charlie Parker records I found, of all things, a record titled Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova. It looked like a bootleg, a privately pressed recording."

Margo's Got Money Troubles (TV 2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

Margo's Got Money Troubles (TV 2026): Elle Fanning plays a college student who gets pregnant, drops out, and creates an OnlyFans account to pay the bills. Her parents are a former Hooter's waitress and a former pro wrestler. Not quite as absurd as you might think. Not as satiric as you might hope. C+

AppleTV+

POTD: Almirante Sarmento Rodrigues Bridge

From 2025 12 31 Porto, Lamego, Castelo Rodrigo

Today's photo-of-the-day is of the Almirante Sarmento Rodrigues Bridge, which spans the Douro River in the village of Barca d'Alva, Portugal, about half a mile from the border with Spain.

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"Bridge spans the Douro.
Portugal is down river.
Spain lies up river."
— h/t ChatGPT

POTD: Castle of Castelo Rodrigo

From 2025 12 31 Porto, Lamego, Castelo Rodrigo

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Castle of Castelo Rodrigo in Portugal. According to Wikipedia, "It is believed that the castle was founded in the 6th century based on legends. After the village was conquered by Alfonso IX of León in the late 11th/early 12th century, he ordered to build the castle and reinforce the defensive line. The name of the village, as well as the castle comes from the name of the Count Rodrigo Gonzalez de Girón who was responsible for the defense of the castle. The Castelo Rodrigo was incorporated into the Kingdom of Portugal in 1297 with the Treaty of Alcañices between King Denis of Portugal and King Fernando IV of Castile."

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"On the ancient hill
León and Portugal once
Fought for this stronghold."
— h/t ChatGPT

Human Vapor (TV 2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

Human Vapor (TV 2026): Japanese. Sci-fi. A meteorite transforms a man into a superhuman vapor. He seeks revenge on the people responsible. At heart it's a story of his friendship with a little girl. Leave the yakuza out of it and it would be a tighter story with less need of all of its violence. B-

Netflix