Idle Thoughts on "The Map"

The whole universe depends on everything fitting together just right. If one piece busts, even the smallest piece...the entire universe will get busted.

Source: Hushpuppy, Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012).

The Richardson ISD is adopting single-member election districts. The proposed map is drawing many comments, pro and con. The more I think about all the different careabouts this map has to balance, the more interesting it is. Here are a few of my own idle thoughts. OK, maybe not so few.

RISD Single-Member Districts: The Public Speaks

Finally, after a long year of school board trustees discussing the lawsuit in executive session, after a long year of lawyers sparring over procedural issues in court, the public finally got a chance to weigh in on the Richardson ISD's legal settlement agreeing to introduce single-member districts in elections.

Let's Quit Fixing Potholes

The City of Richardson has council elections coming up in May. Community Impact Newspaper has published Q&As with five candidates. Snippets of the responses are below. I've chosen to focus on what is the classical focus of local government, what I'll call fixing potholes. Here is what Bob Dubey (Place 1), Mark Solomon (Place 2), Janet DePuy (Place 3), Franklin Byrd (Place 3), Dan Barrios (Place 3), and Ken Hutchenrider (Place 5) have to say. And afterwards, why I say let's quit fixing potholes.

On the Basis of Sex (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

On the Basis of Sex (2019): If this were fiction, you'd knock it for having an obvious arc. But it's not. It's a dramatization of why every girl, every woman, and yes every man owes RBG a debt of gratitude. She's not just a character on SNL. She's a real American superhero. A-

Cinderella at LHHS

Cinderella at LHHS: Great singing, dancing, live orchestra, sets, costumes, sound and lighting by RISD students, music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hammerstein, what's not to like? A delightful evening of musical theater. Support local live theater. Support RISD.

More photos after the jump.

Donald J. Ozymandias

Just a reminder that while we're bringing our country to its knees over a border wall with Mexico, the atmosphere and oceans continue to warm, threatening pretty much everything in the country we're supposedly trying to protect.

Consider this headline ripped from this week's news: "Pentagon Fears Confirmed: Climate Change Leads to War, Refugees." I tell you, it's not the wall, it's climate change that we ought to be focused on. If you want to stop refugees, start by stopping climate change.

From Immigration Impact

How Richardson Can Combat Climate Change

Just a reminder that while we're bringing our country to its knees over a border wall with Mexico, the atmosphere and oceans continue to warm, threatening pretty much everything. But instead of wringing our hands over Washington's abdication of responsibility to do something about this existential threat, we can and ought to look closer to home for at least partial or incremental solutions. The Washington Post recently published an op-ed with ideas, the first of which is aimed right at the City of Richardson.

No Drive-Through for Eiland

The Richardson City Council rejected an application from Eiland Coffee Roasters for a location off US 75 in Richardson.

The Wife (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Wife (2018): Glenn Close as the quiet, reserved wife behind a man awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature...until the awards ceremony brings her true self to the fore. An important lesson in gender roles. Great performances by both Close and Jonathan Pryce. B+

Lessons for the City from RISD

The Richardson ISD has settled a voting rights lawsuit by agreeing to change its at-large election system into a hybrid system of five single-member districts and two at-large. What can the City of Richardson learn from RISD's experience?

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Crazy Rich Asians (2018): Traditional rom-com. Super rich boy falls for super smart girl. Obstacle? His family disapproves. Only thing novel about it is the large Asian cast. Change mahjong to bridge and it could be set in the Hamptons. Biggest plus? The jokes aren't racist. C+

POTD: Kokopelli on a Balcony

From 2018 06 12 New Mexico

Today's photo-of-the-day is of Kokopelli on a balcony of a building on Santa Fe Plaza.

Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018): Documentary of forgotten Polish sculptor. At first it seems like a profile of quirky, eccentric old man living in SoCal. Later, when his career in Poland between the wars is covered, it gets much deeper and darker. C+

POTD: Cross of Burgundy

From 2018 06 12 New Mexico

Today's photo-of-the-day is of the flags flying at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe Plaza, the oldest continuously occupied public building in the United States of America.

They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018): Documentary of last, unfinished film by Orson Welles, which was going to be a movie within a movie, or maybe a documentary of making it. Sad how an egocentric genius lost his creative spark and focus. Movie fails to get inside his head. C+

POTD: New Mexico Road Trip

From 2018 06 12 New Mexico

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken during a stop on our road trip at the New Mexico History Musuem.

POTD: New Mexico Highway Hazards

From 2018 06 12 New Mexico

Today's photo-of-the-day is from rural New Mexico, specifically on Highway 14 ("The Turquoise Trail") between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The sign warns of the two biggest road hazards in New Mexico: loose cattle and UFOs.

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018): James Baldwin's tale of young love victimized by the justice system. Beautiful looking film that is at times touching, infuriating, and inspiring. Great acting from whole cast. Set in 1970s, it could be a story of today. An important film. A-

POTD: Gas Oil Groceries Campground

From 2018 06 12 New Mexico

Today's photo-of-the-day is from just west of Tucumcari, New Mexico, along historic Route 66, "The Main Street of America" and John Steinbeck's "Mother Road."

POTD: Ranch House Cafe

From 2018 06 12 New Mexico

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Tucumcari, New Mexico, along historic Route 66, "The Main Street of America" and John Steinbeck's "Mother Road."

Bonus photo after the jump.

POTD: Buckaroo Motel

From 2018 06 12 New Mexico

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Tucumcari, New Mexico, along historic Route 66, "The Main Street of America" and John Steinbeck's "Mother Road."

A Settlement is "Close at Hand"

Just as the local election cycle is beginning, there's a nasty little legal challenge that threatens to trip up the candidates before the finish line.

Former trustee David Tyson is suing the Richardson ISD to impose single member districts for election of its board of trustees. But there's good news on that front. The RISD filed a mediation report with the court that says "a mutually agreeable settlement was close at hand" after a recent court-ordered mediation session.

At issue was the Voting Rights Act lawsuit currently pending in this Court, as well as a Texas Open Meetings Act lawsuit currently pending in state court involving the same parties. Although settlement was not reached, Defendants believed that a mutually agreeable settlement was close at hand because Defendants agreed to what they thought were Plaintiff’s central demands.

Source: Pacer.

Vice (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Vice (2018): Part dark satire, part Dick Cheney biopic. Half the country will hate it. Cheney is portrayed as evil, Bush a dupe. Nailed it? Squeezes a career of undermining American democracy and Constitutional government into 132 minutes. Most important movie of the year. A-

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Mary Poppins Returns (2018): Don't compare to original. That's not fair. Sequel is fun, infectious, and true to the original story. Emily Blunt succeeds in the iconic role. Movie has songs, dance, an all-star cast and special appearances, some humor and villainry and fantasy. B+

POTD: Palomino Motel

From 2018 06 12 New Mexico

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Tucumcari, New Mexico, along historic Route 66, "The Main Street of America" and John Steinbeck's "Mother Road."

Bird Box (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Bird Box (2019): The rule in "A Quiet Place" was "don't talk." Here, it's "don't look." Not quite a zombie movie, but a close cousin. Movie cuts between the present and five years before, which robs the earlier scenes of all suspense. Large wasted cast, picked off one by one. C+

Random Thoughts: State TV Network

Random Thoughts from December, 2018:

• Dec 1 2018: Headline: "President Trump is floating the idea of a state TV network for the US that would compete with CNN."
  We already have a state TV network. It's called Fox News.
• Dec 1 2018: The National Flood Insurance Program, which provides subsidized coverage for homes in flood-prone areas, is scheduled to expire December 8. I'm for flood insurance but premiums ought to be priced to risk. If risk is too expensive, so be it.
• Dec 2 2018: For some reason today, I'm thinking of the 1980s AIDS epidemic, Willie Horton race-tinged campaign ads, and pardons for Iran-Contra administration figures. Amazing how Trump's swamp can make one forget the bad from the past.
• Dec 3 2018: The NC election fraud is *not* in-person voter impersonation, which is what Abbott and the GOP is passing all the laws to restrict (which just also suppresses legal voting by the poor, minorities, etc.)

After the jump, more random thoughts.