Wolfs (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Wolfs (2024): An action comedy in which Clooney and Pitt play fixers who clean up crime scenes to protect high profile clients. The contrived plot's loose seams are connected with action sequences that don't require acting skills of either star. Still an entertaining watch. B-

AppleTV+

POTD: Newton Food Centre

"Lively hawkers call,
Seafood sizzles, flavors dance,
Night market alive."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 12 24 Singapore

Singapore has always been known for plentiful, great food. Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Newton Food Centre in Singapore. It's described as a "lively market with numerous stalls & hawkers offering seafood & local specialities." It was an easy walk from our hotel. The offerings were delicious and numerous enough for us to choose this market for meals on two nights.

POTD: Supertree Grove

"Vertical giants,
Holding gardens in their arms,
Nature redefined."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 12 24 Singapore

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Supertree Grove in Singapore's Garden by the Bay. "Supertrees are the 18 tree-like structures that dominate the Gardens' landscape with heights that range between 25 and 50 metres. They are vertical gardens that perform a multitude of functions, which include planting, shading and working as environmental engines for the gardens." They also provide a great view of Singapore.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

Volkswagen: About that Mural...

Clay Cooley VW. Photo or Rendering?
Before or After? You decide.

At the September 23, 2024, meeting, the Richardson City Council approved by a vote of 4-3 a request by Clay Cooley Volkswagen to add a repair shop, a body shop, and a vehicle storage lot on their property in the Interurban District. That was all covered in "Council Recap: Sell Out for a Mural", which was already a long post, so I left out a couple of points that should be made. About that mural. And about that landscaping.

Council Recap: Sell Out for a Mural

At the September 23, 2024, meeting, the Richardson City Council approved by a vote of 4-3 a request by Clay Cooley Volkswagen to add a repair shop, a body shop, and a vehicle storage lot on their property in the Interurban District. This is the district Richardson once envisioned as an "edgy, mixed-use district built upon the existing bones of the district, focusing on adaptive reuse of existing buildings and targeted infill development." We are now faced with admitting that the Interurban District would have been better named the "Car Lots and Repair Shops District."

Beetlejuice (1988)

Rotten Tomatoes

Beetlejuice (1988): To prepare to watch the 2024 sequel, it's time I watched the 1988 original for the first time. It holds up as a silly horror movie, more surreal than scary. Seeing a cast full of big movie stars early in their careers is a treat. B-

Max

#VeryTardyReview

Sunny (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Sunny (TV 2024): Japanese. Is this sci-fi, a study in grief, a crime story? Yes??? American woman living in Japan loses husband and son in a plane crash. Suspicions grow. She receives an AI homebot as compensation, her mother-in-law seems determined to go to prison, and yakuza search her home. C+

AppleTV+

POTD: Dinner in the Bush

"Dinner in the bush,
Stars above and beasts below,
Wild eyes watch, unseen."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 11 04 Zimbabwe

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Zimbabwe. It's at a dinner in the bush just outside Zambezi National Park. There's really nothing separating us from the wildlife, so I guess either 1) the animals are more afraid of us than we are of them, or 2) the animals are well fed and see no need to challenge humans, or 3) the people in charge of safaris and bush dinners don't value tourists' lives. You decide. On the drive back to our resort after dinner, we were driving down a dark, dirt track when we suddenly came across two male elephants facing off. Our vehicle driver quickly stopped, reversed course and took another route, saying that it's a really bad idea to get anywhere close to elephants fighting.

POTD: Happy Hour in the Bush

"At the water hole,
Safari pauses for cheers,
A toast to wild ways."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 11 04 Zimbabwe

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Zimbabwe. After a safari ride in the bush of Zambezi National Park, our safari driver stopped our vehicle at a watering hole, got out and set up a bar on a shelf attached to the front of the vehicle. Time for a sunset Happy Hour in the wild.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

Civil War (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Civil War (2024): Four journalists determined to get the story head to Washington during the climax of a future civil war in America. Apolitical. Too much by the numbers. Watch the much better A Private War instead. C+

Max

To The Wonder (TV 2024)

IMDB

To The Wonder (TV 2024): Chinese. Han girl dreams of being a writer in a big city, but returns to her remote Xinjiang village when she fails. A simple, heartfelt tale with beautiful scenes and rare insight into nomadic life in rural China. Only watched 2 of 8 episodes but want to watch more. B-

Inflight

Atlas (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Atlas (2024): Jennifer Lopez in a star vehicle sci-fi movie whose problem isn't her acting, but the script. Advertised as runaway AI, the robots' threat comes from their super strength, not their brains. Using a neural link to combine a still loyal robot's strength and knowledge database with J-Lo's ingenuity saves the world. C-

Netflix

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 (2024): Kevin Costner sets the American Western back 75 years. Indians are the bad guys. Cavalry are noble. Ruthless gunmen run the place. Too many undeveloped characters. Three hours of plodding subplots, and this is just chapter 1. C+

Max

POTD: Into the Bush

"Bushland, river, sky,
Each new path holds wild wonders,
Eyes wide, hearts alive."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 11 04 Zimbabwe

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Zimbabwe. It's a track through the bush of Zambezi National Park. We took a half dozen rides of several hours through such bush, sometimes thick like this, sometimes open grassland, sometimes along a river, sometimes through wooded land. Sometimes we took to the water in boats, looking for hippos, crocodiles, or even elephants crossing the Zambezi River. We did this in South Africa, in Zimbabwe, and in Botswana. Watching for wildlife never got old.

POTD: Mosi-oa-Tunya, "Thundering Smoke"

"Mile-wide in full flood,
Rainbow in Thundering Smoke.
We stand in wonder."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 11 04 Zimbabwe

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Victoria Falls, "a waterfall on the Zambezi River, located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is one of the world's largest waterfalls, with a width of 1,708 m (5,604 ft)." We were there in the dry season, which is why there are gaps in the waterfall. We were told that in the rainy season, the falls are filled a mile wide with so much water that all you can see is mist. That's what gives the falls the name Mosi-oa-Tunya, "Thundering Smoke." All in all, we were more than happy with the view we got.

POTD: The Big Five - Lion

"Resting in the bush,
Lioness with steady gaze,
Full belly at ease."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 10 25 Wildlife of Southern Africa

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Chobe National Park. It is Botswana's first national park, proposed back in 1931, and also the most biologically diverse.

Today's photo-of-the-day is a lion, resting under a bush, guarding her kill, an impala (not shown), of which only the hindquarters are left. We saw another pride of lions, about four or five females and one male, not too far away, also resting under a bush. We were able to drive right up to them to get this close-up photo from about 10 meters away. They pretty much ignored us. We guessed their bellies were full.

POTD: The Big Five - Leopard

"Under Kruger's sky,
Leopard rests in silent grace.
Hunter in repose."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 10 25 Wildlife of Southern Africa

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Kruger National Park in South Africa. It became South Africa's first national park in 1926 (although Hluhluwe—iMfolozi Park was already a game reserve dating back to the Zulu kingdom of the early 1800s).

This is a photo of a leopard, one of the game animals in the so-called "Big Five". "The term was coined by big-game hunters to refer to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot." We saw fewer leopards than any other of the Big Five game animals. This particular one was difficult to spot. It was resting on an outcrop of rocks about 50 meters from the trail we were driving on. Our guide spotted it, and that's how "L" was able to get this photo.

POTD: The Big Five - Rhinoceros

"In Africa’s heart,
Rhinos push with gentle might,
Power without rage."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 10 25 Wildlife of Southern Africa

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Hluhluwe—iMfolozi Park in South Africa. It's the oldest nature reserve in Africa. "Thanks to conservation efforts, the park now has one of the largest populations of white rhinoceros in the world, although this population remains severely threatened by the poaching of hundreds of rhinos every year in the park."

This is a photo of two White Rhinos locking horns. They pushed and shoved each other for a bit, but never really broke out into serious fighting. Maybe they were just posing for the tourists. ;-) Many of the rhinos we saw lacked their distinctive horns. Rhinos are dehorned to make them less attractive to poachers, but there are still some in all of their fighting glory, like these two.

POTD: The Big Five - Elephant

"Gentle giants walk,
Through Chobe’s golden sunlight,
Majestic in stride."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 10 25 Wildlife of Southern Africa

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Chobe National Park in Botswana. It's a photo of a herd of African Elephants, one of the game animals in the so-called "Big Five". "The term was coined by big-game hunters to refer to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot."

We encountered this family group as they crossed the trail that our 10-passenger, open 4WD safari vehicle was driving down, affording us an up-close view of these magnificent animals.

POTD: The Big Five - Cape Buffalo

"Herd of thirty strong,
Footprints mark the dusty trail,
Brawny buffalo."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 10 25 Wildlife of Southern Africa

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Zambezi National Park in Zimbabwe. It's a photo of a Cape Buffalo, one of the game animals in the so-called "Big Five". "The term was coined by big-game hunters to refer to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot." Our guide warned us that what makes the Cape Buffalo particularly dangerous is that it's apt to charge without any warning signs.

We encountered a herd of 30 or so Cape Buffalo when they crossed the trail that our 10-passenger, open 4WD safari vehicle was driving down, affording us an up-close view of this magnificent animal.

POTD: Stretch Goal

"Graceful, towering,
Necks reach for the highest leaves,
Silent, they wander."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 10 25 Wildlife of Southern Africa

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Zambezi National Park in Zimbabwe. It shows a giraffe in its natural setting. Seeing one of these magnificent animals in the wild walking slowly through the bush snapping off branches to feed on is an unforgettable sight.

A bonus closeup is after the jump.

POTD: Vulture Culture

"Victoria Falls.
Bones picked clean by hungry beaks.
From leftovers, life."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 10 25 Wildlife of Southern Africa

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge in Zimbabwe. The lodge feeds the vultures from leftover meat scraps and bones from the hotel's restaurant. "As well as providing the opportunity for visitors to spot white headed vultures, hooded vultures, lappet faced vultures and white backed vultures, this supplementary feeding program aids the survival of these remarkable, but endangered birds."

The Union (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Union (2024): A regular Joe construction worker is recruited by an old girlfriend into a high-stakes espionage mission. An action/thriller/comedy that doesn't succeed in any of those genres. A talented cast, mostly wasted. C+

Netflix

Freud's Last Session (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Freud's Last Session (2024): Soon before his death, Freud has a fictitious meeting with C.S. Lewis. Naturally, they debate the existence of God. The arguments are simplistic and unconvincing, which they would have known. Freud's daughter is the most interesting character but is undeveloped. C+

Netflix

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024): In a future desert wasteland, people fight for essentials: food, bullets and guzzolene. The action consists of highway battles on Rube Goldberg war rigs. Only good thing in the movie is Anya Taylor-Joy's eyes, but she's given no dialog. D+

Max

Random Thoughts: Westerners Who Set Foot in Russia

2024-08-01: "Any Westerners who set foot in Russia should always understand that they could be the next bargaining chips for some future deal." - The Atlantic
Why we won't be booking any tour of Russia any time soon.
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/...

2024-08-02: On even days, Trumpers are scaring up votes by warning, "She's BLACK!!!" On odd days, they claim, "She's really not Black at all." I remember when campaigns would strive for consisent messaging.

2024-08-02: Headline: "Kamala Harris ‘honored’ after earning enough votes to become Democratic nominee."
Kudos to her...for saying 'honored' instead of 'humbled.'

POTD: Hector Pieterson

"Sister’s tear-streaked face,
Brother carried through the smoke,
Youth's voice silenced here."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 10 23 South Africa - Part 2

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Soweto, a township of the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. Soweto "experienced civil unrest during the Apartheid regime. There were serious riots in 1976, sparked by a ruling that Afrikaans be used in African schools there; the riots were violently suppressed, with 176 striking students killed and more than 1,000 injured."

When we toured the Apartheid Museum in Soweto, we met Antoinette Peterson, a guide working at the museum. Her story is after the jump.