Uncut Gems (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Uncut Gems (2019): Fast-talking gem dealer is a compulsive gambler whose debts spiral out of control. Shouting, bullying, foul language, and manic intensity from start to finish. Like watching a pot boil over. Adam Sandler is great and atones for every bad movie he ever made. A-

Little Women (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Little Women (2019): Clever meta-adaptation of the classic novel. If you are unfamiliar with it, the many characters and arcs and jumps in timeline will be challenging to follow. But by the end, it all comes together. Great acting all around but Saoirse Ronan excels. A-

POTD: Bajada de los Baños

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Bajada de los Baños neighborhood in the Barranco District of Lima, Peru. It's a narrow pathway down from the city to the sea, today lined with restaurants and amazing street art.

Bonus photo after the jump.

POTD: Pageant Queen

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Bajada de los Baños neighborhood in the Barranco District of Lima, Peru. The district provides beautiful backdrops for beautiful women to be photographed beautifully.

Bonus photo after the jump.

POTD: Mujeres

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Bajada de los Baños neighborhood in the Barranco District of Lima, Peru. It's a narrow pathway down from the city to the sea, today lined with restaurants and amazing street art. It's a must-visit scene in Lima.

Bonus photo after the jump.

POTD: Vermillion Flycatcher

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Lima, Peru. It shows a Vermillion Flycatcher perched on a, well, I'm not positive what kind of tree this is. Can anyone help?

Vitruvian Lights 2019

Merry Christmas from Vitruvian Lights in Addison, Texas.

More photos after the jump.

POTD: Lima Street Art

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from a city street in Lima, Peru.

POTD: Breastplate in Museo Larco

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Museo Larco in Lima, Peru. It shows a pre-Columbian turquoise and clay breastplate.

The Aeronauts (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Aeronauts (2019): Account of a record-setting balloon ascent in 1862. Not a documentary, not a biopic, not even a very good drama. Story arc is entirely predictable. But still, it gives some idea of a time of life-risking scientific exploration mostly forgotten today. B-

POTD: Sala Erótica del Museo Larco

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Museo Larco in Lima, Peru. It shows a pre-Columbian pottery piece from the Sala Erótica. It's one of the tamer pieces in this gallery. Enough said.

POTD: Lima Hillside

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Lima, Peru. It shows a residential neighborhood far from the city center. There are countless stories here, waiting to be told. Unfortunately, I don't know any of them, so all I can offer is an enticing photo.

POTD: Lonely Isolation

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Pachacamac, an archaeological site outside Lima, Peru. For 1,500 years it flourished with a large population and 1,500 acres of pyramids, temples, palaces, government buildings, and residences. Today it stands in magnificent isolation, desert all around except to the west, where the Pacific Ocean stretches out seemingly without end.

Bonus photo after the jump.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019): Love letter to a grand old house and one man's search for roots, family, friends, and belonging. Story avoids predictable paths. Characters surprise in their resistance to stereotypes. Except for the whites. B+

POTD: Pachacamac

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Pachacamac, an archaeological site outside Lima, Peru. The site dates from about 200 A.D. The pyramid shown probably dates to about 1400, just prior to the Inca conquest of Peru. The whole site flourished until the Spanish conquest in the 1500s.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019): 28-yr-old, not very likable woman with low self-esteem decides to train for a marathon to get in shape. Totally predictable plot, starting with the title. Only very occasional laughs. Still it could be inspirational for the right audience. C+

POTD: The Park with Three Names

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Miraflores district of Lima, Peru. It shows Parque Central de Miraflores, now known as Parque Kennedy, dedicated to the US President back when US Presidents were still respected. And everyone knows it as the cat park. The church in the park adopted cats to deal with a rat problem in the 1980s. The rats are gone, but the cats remain. Whatever you call it, it's the place to dine, dance, shop, or do whatever it is this group of young people is doing.

More photos after the jump.

POTD: CityBike Lima

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Miraflores district of Lima, Peru. It shows an option for cheap, convenient transit: CityBike Lima. Nothing special here. And that's how it should be everywhere.

Dolemite is My Name (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Dolemite is My Name (2019): Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore, a struggling comic who succeeds making raunchy records for the black community. Then he makes a blaxpoitation movie that's so bad it's good. Unfortunately, this biopic is only bad. Dolemite is no Tommy Wiseau. C-

POTD: Selfie with Police

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Plaza de Armas de Lima in Peru. The unidentified woman is obviously taking a selfie with the Cathedral of Lima in her background. What the police in riot gear are expecting to happen was never discovered. On another side of the plaza is the presidential palace. Maybe a political protest there?

After the jump, another tourist getting a photo with the police in front of that presidential palace.

POTD: Catacombs of Lima

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the catacombs of the Basilica de San Francisco de Lima in Peru. If the few skulls visible through the grate in the main aisle of the church are not enough to impress the certainty of death on you, just take a walk down into the catacombs, where 25,000 bodies were interred up until the early 1800s.

More photo after the jump.

POTD: Memento Mori

From 2019 08 17 Lima, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Basilica de San Francisco de Lima in Peru. Walk up the main aisle of the basilica and halfway to the altar you walk over a grate in the floor. Below are these skulls, reminders of our own mortality, that this world is only our temporary home.

A less jarring photo of the basilica is after the jump. The dark spot in the aisle floor is the grate.

Marriage Story (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Marriage Story (2019): Intimate portrait of a marriage coming apart. Lots of touching scenes, heart-breaking scenes and searing scenes. Lots of dialog gives lots of opportunity to dissect everything about this relationship. Scarlet Johansson and Adam Driver deserve Oscar noms. A-

POTD: Tulips for a Good Cause

From 2019 04 09 Waxahachie

Today's photo-of-the-day is to brighten your day between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when winter approaches and spirits might be low. It's from Waxahachie's Poston Gardens.

"Poston Gardens is only open during tulip season (spring) when the tulips are blooming. When you visit, you'll see hundreds of thousands of tulips blooming. Pick your favorites, take them home and even buy your own tulips to plant at home. And get the best pictures to share with family and friends. Poston Gardens is a 501 c3 organization helping to fund scholarships at Daymark Living for adults living with intellectual and developmental delays."

Next spring, make it a point to pay them a visit. Until then, enjoy the pretty picture.

POTD: Fridheimar

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day shows the Fridheimar greenhouse in Iceland. Visting Iceland, the land of fire and ice, in winter, might give you the impression of a barren land. But then you come across this greenhouse, filled with tomatoes, and not just that, a restaurant among the plants serving fresh vegetables year round.

Bonus photos after the jump.

Review: The Sixth Extinction

Amazon

From The Sixth Extinction, by Elizabeth Kolbert:


Very, very occasionally in the distant past, the planet has undergone change so wrenching that the diversity of life has plummeted. Five of these ancient events were catastrophic enough that they're put in their own category: the so-called Big Five. In what seems like a fantastic coincidence, but is probably no coincidence at all, the history of these events is recovered just as people come to realize that they are causing another one."

In a calm, reasoned, tone, Kolbert lays out the case that we are living through a mass extinction on Earth. We should be tearing out hair out, but we are not. Despite the intelligence of our species, humans are such obtuse creatures.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019): Magazine writer with anger issues with his father is assigned to write a profile of Mr. Rogers. The interview turns into therapy. Rogers is a saint, the same off camera as on. Hanks has Rogers down. The movie is more Matthew Rhys's. B+

POTD: Gullfoss

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day shows Gullfoss (Golden Falls), a waterfall located in the canyon of the Hvítá river in southwest Iceland. It was both very cold and very windy the day we visited in late winter.

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Ford v Ferrari (2019): A sports movie. A good one, but still. Predictable plot. Two-dimensional characters. Clichéd dialog. The guys from Ford are supposed to be the good guys, but I found myself cheering for the "wops" from Ferrari. Good performance by Christian Bale. B-

Idle Thoughts: Family of Grifters

Tweets from November, 2019:

• 2019-11-01: Parasite (2019): Korean. Family of grifters con a rich family. All is going well until a complication arises. Then it's chaos. A black comedy with violence, suspense, and farce. Just when you think writers have written themselves into a corner, they escape. Over and over. A-
• 2019-11-02: Whose was bigger? The Washington Nat's World Series victory celebration or the Trump inauguration crowd? Trick question: the correct answer to any question about whose is bigger is never Trump.
• 2019-11-04: Echo in the Canyon (2019): Documentary about a magical place and time when the mid-60s California Sound was in its prime. Reminiscences by many of the musical geniuses of how they inspired each other. Lots of 2015 tribute concert. Lots overlooked. Not enough old video. B+
• 2019-11-04: Thread. Maybe the most important message you'll read during the 2020 election campaign.

After the jump, more idle thoughts.

The Irishman (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Irishman (2019): Scorsese directs De Niro, Pacino, Pesci (that's all you need) in a 3.5 hour intimate epic (there can be such a thing) about the mob and the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. A disapproving look from De Niro's daughter, just a look, supplies the morality. A-

POTD: Geysir and Strokkur

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day is from central Iceland, the land of fire and ice. Here is a basin of geysers and hot springs. This particular geyser is named Strokkur. A larger, but less regular geyser (we didn't see it erupt during our visit) is named Geysir. It's the geyser that gave all other geysers around the world the name.

Stuber (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Stuber (2019): Big fan of Kumail Nanjiani but this movie misuses him. More a violent action movie than comedy. Does neither genre justice. Dave Bautista is given more role than he can carry as an actor. C-

Knives Out (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Knives Out (2019): Wry murder mystery that's worthy of and pays tribute to Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, CSI, and Murder, She Wrote. Convoluted plot (a donut hole inside a donut inside a donut hole) that never takes itself seriously (*cough* Daniel Craig's accent). B+

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? (2019): Cate Blanchette as an manic-depressive, anti-social architect whose problems stem from leaving her career. Artists need to create. Great lead performance in a role that the audience can never quite connect with or cheer for in the end. C+

POTD: The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Revealed

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day is from central Iceland. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mountain range located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean on the dividing line between the Eurasian and American tectonic plates. For most of its length, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is under water, but a portion of it is visible above sea level. That's Iceland. The tectonic plates are pulling apart at a rate of about 1 inch per year. This photo shows where that pulling apart is happening in Iceland. Find just the right crack in the ground, perhaps right under that house, straddle it, and you can claim you are standing with one foot in Eurasia and the other in America.

POTD: Geothermal Energy in Iceland

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day is from a geothermal power plant in Iceland. Hot water is pumped into the ground, where it is heated by geothermal energy. Steam is used to drive turbines to generate electricity. When the water has cooled too much to drive the turbines, it is piped all the way to Reykjavik, where it is used to heat homes and businesses and even pavement to keep the city ice-free in winter.

Geothermal power plants provide Iceland with some of the cheapest electricity in the world. A New York Times story explains how Iceland captured American aluminum smelters, an electricity intensive industry. Ore is shipped to Iceland from as far away as Australia, to be smelted into ingots which are re-exported for things like auto manufacturing in Japan. Bitcoin mining, another hugely electricity intensive activity, now consumes more electricity in Iceland than homes do. BBC has that story. This photo shows where it all comes from.

POTD: Check Off the Northern Lights

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day shows the reason we went to Iceland, and the reason we went in winter, when nights are long and dark. It shows the Aurora Borealis as it appears in Thingvellir National Park, a suitably remote vantage point away from the lights of Reykjavik. The Northern Lights have been on Ellen's bucket list since high school. She can now check them off.

POTD: Bathing in the Blue Lagoon

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken on a late winter day at Iceland's Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa in a lava field in southwestern Iceland. It is supplied with water used in the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power station. Boiling water is pumped up from underground. Steam drives turbines to generate electricity. When the water cools too much to generate any more electricity, it is released into ponds for humans to enjoy warm bathing even on cold winter days.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Review: A Wild Sheep Chase

Amazon

From A Wild Sheep Chase, by Haruki Murakami:

It was my partner. "Could you come here right away?" he said. There was an edge to his voice. "I have a terribly urgent matter to discuss with you." "Just how urgent is it?" "Come in and you'll find out," said he. "Heaven knows it's got to be about sheep," I said, letting go a trial balloon. It was something I shouldn't have said. The receiver grew cold as ice. "How did you know?" my partner asked. The wild sheep chase had begun."

If that sounds to you like the start of a surreal, absurdist mystery novel, congratulations. You're right.

One Child Nation (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

One Child Nation (2019): Personal documentary about China's One Child Policy. Propaganda, fines, abortions, sterilizations, abandoned babies & abductions, international adoption racket. Policy now relaxed but China still scarred. Thought-provoking in surprising way. Must see. A+

POTD: Scenery in Iceland

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Reykjanes Peninsula, outside Reykjavik, Iceland. It looks back towards the mountains that surround Reykjavik.

Bonus photo after the jump.

POTD: Hressingarskálinn

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Reykjavik, Iceland. It shows Hressingarskálinn (literally, "refreshment hall") which "was built in 1802 and established as a restaurant in 1932. Ever since then it has been just that, a space for locals and foreigners to gather and enjoy refreshments as well as each other’s company. Over the years it has housed some of Iceland’s most talented artists and writers."

Bonus photo after the jump.

The Spy (TV 2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Spy (TV 2019): Sacha Baren Cohen plays it straight in a serious role. And carries it off excellently. Real life story of an Israeli spy in Syria in the 1960s. High stakes. Suspense. What drives him, patriotism or adrenaline? Show lags when Cohen is not on-screen. B-

POTD: "The Best Hot Dog Stand in Europe"

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Reykjavik, Iceland. It shows the hot dog stand Bæjarins beztu pylsur, "the best hot dog in town". According to Wikipedia, "the British newspaper 'The Guardian' selected Bæjarins beztu as the best hot dog stand in Europe." This is it on a sunny day in winter.

POTD: Soaking Up the Sun in Reykjavik

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Reykjavik, Iceland. It shows the sidewalk dining of the Sæta Svínið Gastropub on a sunny day in late winter. People don't hide from winter in Iceland. If the sun is out, they will be, too.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Traveling the World...Without Leaving Richardson

This article was originally published in "Richardson Living" magazine. Read it on that website or read it here. Or read it in print. Look for it in your mail box.

Traveling the World...Without Leaving Richardson

City Hall

The town where I grew up was anything but diverse. It seemed to me like everyone was white and descended from northern European Catholics or Protestants, just like I was. There were no blacks on my street. Or anywhere else in my not-so-small city. There were no Hispanics. Or Asians. No Muslims or Buddhists or Hindus. There were no other ethnic groups in my school. Or in my church. I grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, in the mid-twentieth century. I thought I was unprejudiced. In fact, I just didn't have any opportunities to test me. To me, diversity meant we had a German Catholic church and an Irish Catholic church. There was no Italian Catholic church, but there was a place to get pizza, said to be the first pizza restaurant north of Milwaukee. That was our ethnic food. You get the idea. Appleton has come a long way since I left town fifty years ago to see the world, but that's the place I came from.

POTD: Sun Voyager on a Rainy Day

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Reykjavik, Iceland. The sculpture on the sea front is Sun Voyager, which according to Wikipedia has been "described as a dreamboat, or an ode to the Sun. The artist intended it to convey the promise of undiscovered territory, a dream of hope, progress and freedom."

POTD: Tjörnin Swans

From 2019 03 01 Iceland

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Reykjavik, Iceland. Tjörnin is a small lake in the center of the city. The word Tjörnin in fact means lake or pond, so calling it Tjörnin Lake would be like calling it Lake Lake. According to Wikipedia, the popular pastime of feeding the swans has led to the lake being called "the biggest bread soup in the world."

Bonus photo after the jump.