Charter Review: Articles 1,2,17,18

Artist: John Trumbull.

On January 30, 2025, the Richardson Charter Review Commission started their review of the Richardson City Charter, article by article, beginning with Articles 1, 2, 17, and 18. (Only the five visitors in attendance saw what happened. Maybe someday, someone will invent something that could record government meetings for the convenience of people who can't attend in person.)

The Commission was looking for changes to the Charter to suggest to the City Council to put before voters in November. The City Council has the last word about what goes on the ballot. The citizens, at the ballot box, have the last word about what goes in the Charter. In three hours of deliberation, there was only one substantive change that was deliberated.

POTD: Street Life in Izmir

"Street food delights.
Dress shop filled with modern flair.
Sweet Danger Menu."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 05 19 Ephesus and Izmir

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken in a shopping district of Izmir, Turkey, "a city on the west coast of Anatolia, the third most populous city in Turkey, and the largest urban agglomeration on the Aegean Sea."

Bonus photos after the jump.

Random Thoughts: My CFP Bingo Card

2025-01-01: On my CFP bingo card I didn't have Ohio State blowing out Oregon and Arizona taking Texas to two overtimes. Crazy day of football.

2025-01-03: Georgia lost to Notre Dame by 13 points. National reaction: Notre Dame is good.
Indiana lost to Notre Dame by 10 points. National reaction: Indiana is bad.

POTD: Walkable Ephesus

"Columns line the way.
Gentle slope and stone beneath
Worn by countless feet."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 05 19 Ephesus and Izmir

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken in the ancient Roman city of Ephesus, Turkey. It shows Curetes Street, which is "one of the three main streets of Ephesus. It runs between the Hercules Gate and the Celsus Library. The street was an archaic Processional Way, an important sacred route that lead to the Temple of Artemis. Therefore, it takes its name from the priests that would walk the street during religious ceremonies."

One Hundred Years of Solitude (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

One Hundred Years of Solitude (TV 2024): Spanish. Adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez's classic, multi-generational, 1967 novel (or at least part one). The magical realism makes it surreal. The family stories make it a soap opera. The revolution makes it a war movie. All together, it's an epic. B+

Netflix

Lonely Planet (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Lonely Planet (2024): Romance at a writers' retreat between an unlikely couple. The Morocco setting drew me to this movie, but the plot put me off. Laura Dern isn't given enough to work with. And if Liam Hemsworth was cast for anything other than his looks, he never shows it. A trifle. C+

Netflix

No Good Deed (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

No Good Deed (TV 2024): Couple wants to sell their house. Audience first wonders what's wrong with the house, then what's wrong with the couple? Show morphs into an absurd black comedy murder mystery that eventually finds its way to a more or less satisfactory ending. C+

Netflix

The Brutalist (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Brutalist (2024): Hungarian architect who is a traumatized Holocaust survivor rebuilds his life in America. He gets a major commission for a community center. Are we seeing an immigrant success story? Or a story of an arrogant, obsessed, artistic genius? Deeper study reveals it may really be a love story. A-

In theaters

City Charter: Ending Pretext Stops

On December 2, 2024, the Richardson City Council appointed eleven members to a Charter Review Commission, as required by law every ten years to review and suggest changes to Richardson's City Charter. Here, in a series of posts, I am presenting my own suggestions.

POTD: Lunch on the Turkish Riviera

"Sun and turquoise sea,
Relaxed lunch by quiet waves,
A perfect escape."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 05 16 Bodrum

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at the Flamm hotel on the beach in Bodrum, Turkey.

Bonus photos after the jump.

POTD: Doner Kebab and Pide

"Sizzling doner meat,
Lamb and herbs in harmony,
Bodrum's bustling streets."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 05 16 Bodrum

Today's photo-of-the-day is of doner kebab in Bodrum, Turkey. "Doner kebab is a dish of Turkish origin made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Seasoned meat stacked in the shape of an inverted cone is turned slowly on the rotisserie, next to a vertical cooking element. The operator uses a knife to slice thin shavings from the outer layer of the meat as it cooks."

After the jump, another Turkish savory treat.

TIL: The "Migrant Crisis" is Self-Inflicted

Source: Carlos Barria / Reuters.

I learned more about the so-called "migrant crisis" from an article in "The Atlantic" from almost a year ago than I've learned from anything else since.

A Gentleman in Moscow (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

A Gentleman in Moscow (TV 2024): The story of the Soviet Union from revolution to Stalin's death as seen through the life of one man and one hotel. A Russian count is sentenced by Bolshviks to a lifetime of house arrest in the elegant Metropol Hotel. Ewan McGregor is charming. B+

Paramount+

---

Compare with the original novel: "A Gentleman in Moscow".

Drones are Ready. Red Tape Is Also

Source: City of Richardson.

On January 7, 2025, the Richardson City Plan Commission (CPC) approved, but only with a special permit, ZF 24-33, "a City-initiated PD Amendment to the Collins/Arapaho TOD and Innovation District Form Based Code Planned Development to allow a 'Drone Operations and Maintenance Center' as a permitted use in the Employment Sub-District."

Do you even know what a Drone Operations and Maintenance Center is? I didn't. And, judging by the discussion by the CPC members, neither did they. I have three comments.

Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Joker: Folie à Deux (2024): Joker on trial for murders committed in earlier movie. Is he criminally insane or just evil? Critics hated it. Audiences avoided it. But I liked it. It was a powerful depiction of how our criminal justice system fails the mentally ill. And...it's a musical! B+

Max

Charter Review: Sneak Preview of Changes

Source: Arefin Shamsul Facebook.

On December 2, 2024, the Richardson City Council appointed eleven members to a Charter Review Commission to review and suggest changes to Richardson's City Charter. I've been presenting my own suggestions (see links at bottom). The Commission held their first meeting Thursday, January 16, 2025. It was an orientation meeting. Nothing much was supposed to happen, and nothing was made of it when it did, but guessing how things will go tells me we got a sneak peek at some big changes that will be coming to Richardson's Charter. I'll get to those eventually, but first some scene setting.

POTD: Souvenir Hunting in Bodrum

"Crowded stalls abound,
Colors, scents, and voices call,
Bargains all around."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 05 16 Bodrum

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Bodrum, Turkey. "L" is souvenir hunting in the Bodrum Grand Bazaar.

POTD: White Peacocks are not Albino

"Feathers pure as snow,
Against Bodrum's ancient walls,
Graceful as the past."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 05 16 Bodrum

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a white peacock on the grounds of Bodrum Castle in Bodrum, Turkey. The castle was built "by the Knights of St John (Knights Hospitaller) as the Castle of St. Peter or Petronium. A transnational effort, it has four towers known as the English, French, German, and Italian towers, bearing the names of the nations responsible for their construction. The chapel was built around 1407 and the first walls completed in 1437."

Oh, yeah, about that white peacock. "These birds are usually not albino, as they're sometimes called, but rather leucistic, meaning they're born with a genetic condition that strips them—or parts of them—of pigment."

Black Doves (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Black Doves (TV 2024): Keira Knightley plays a spy-for-hire married to an unwitting UK Foreign Minister in an action-thriller/black comedy. The plot details require too much explication in the wrapup of the last episode, but I'll forgive it. Supporting cast is great. B+

Netflix

TIL: Ranked-Choice Voting in the Texas House

Source: The Texan.

The Texas House's first order of business of the 2025 term was to elect Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) Speaker in a runoff over David Cook (R-Mansfield). Ana-Maria Ramos (D-Richardson) had been eliminated after coming in third in the first round of voting.

That got me thinking about how this election might have played out if the Texas House used ranked-choice voting (my favorite system), sometimes called instant-runoff voting.

Maria (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Maria (2024): Biopic of last 7 days of opera star Maria Callas's life. Oscar bid by Angelina Jolie. Callas comes across not as bigger than life, but as a sad, faded star, looking for something, needing something, but what? She doesn't know and neither does the director. C+

Netflix

Anora (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Anora (2024): Worker in a strip club gets involved with the immature son of a Russian oligarch. The relationship goes too far, the parents find out and send some heavies to put a stop to it, who get more than they expected subduing Ani. Mikey Madison deserves the Oscar buzz. Movie deserves its R rating. B+

In theaters

City Charter: Transparent Appointment of Boards and Commissions

Source: Arefin Shamsul Facebook.

On December 2, 2024, the Richardson City Council appointed eleven members to a Charter Review Commission, as required by law every ten years to review and suggest changes to Richardson's City Charter. Here, in a series of posts, I am presenting my own suggestions.

POTD: Old Men Dancing on the Bar

"Where marble tomb stood,
Pride of an ancient empire,
Now old men play games."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 05 16 Bodrum

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the port town of Bodrum, Turkey. "Known in ancient times as Halicarnassus, the town was once home to the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, also known as the tomb of Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World." Nothing from the tomb remains.

Today, restaurants line the waterfront where tourists dine and old men gather to play backgammon. Playing board games dates back to before the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. I like to think old men like those in this photo have been gathering here ever since.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

POTD: Mighty Aphrodite

"Under Augustus,
Prosperity built temples.
Aphrodite reigned."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 05 15 Hierapolis

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the ruins of Aphrodisias, an ancient Roman city in southwestern Turkey. "Aphrodisias, named after its patron goddess Aphrodite, was founded in the 2nd century B.C. on the site of a rural sanctuary of Aphrodite. In the 1st century B.C., Aphrodisias came under the protection of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus, and this initiated a period of prosperity and growth. A nearby marble quarry supplied the ancient city and sites around the empire such as Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, with a supply of high-quality white and blue marble."

"The monumental gateway to the city's main sanctuary, the Tetrapylon at Aphrodisias is one of the city's most impressive monuments. The remarkable preservation of the structure—about 85% of its physical fabric survives—allowed for a complete scientific reconstruction, which was completed in 1991."

The Great Snowstorm of 2025

This caused the Dallas area to shut down for two days.

Banned by Facebook

Original source unknown.

" 'Banned in Boston' is a phrase that was employed from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century, to describe a literary work, song, motion picture, or play which had been prohibited from distribution or exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts...Commercial distributors were often pleased when their works were banned in Boston—it gave them more appeal elsewhere."

The modern equivalent is "Banned by Facebook."

TIL: The Evolution of Morality...in Politics

Source: The New Yorker.

In a book review in "The New Yorker" of Hanno Sauer's new book "The Invention of Good and Evil: A World History of Morality", Nikhil Krishnan writes:

It was five million years ago, Sauer tells us, that creatures rather like ourselves, having only just evolved from some now extinct ape, started to develop the psychological dispositions that made them capable of coöperation. Unlike the chimpanzees and bonobos of the dense forests around central Africa, our ancestors had to survive in exposed grasslands. Coöperating for mutual defense against our predators, and for collectively pursuing prey, was our way of compensating for our new vulnerability. Among the dispositions that emerged to help us get along, Sauer writes, was the capacity for altruistic behavior: “putting aside the interests of the individual in favour of a greater common good.”

Source: Nikhil Krishnan.

In short, according to this theory, there was a competitive advantage for our species to cooperate. Today, when we're good, it's because we evolved that way. So, how do we explain wars? Or even closer to home, how do we explain the rancorous divisions in America's body politic?

WAIW: Guess the Neighborhood — Addendum

Source: City of Richardson.

In yesterday's special Tuesday edition of "Where Am I Wednesday?" we were in southwest Richardson, specifically in the Richardson Heights neighborhood where the City of Richardson has encroached with new sign toppers branding residential streets as "Heights." What is wrong with the "Richardson Heights" sign toppers already in use, you may ask? That's the subject of today's speculation.

WAIW: Guess the Neighborhood

Source: Google Maps.

Where Am I Wednesday! (Special Tuesday Edition)

Fifty points to the first person to identify where this photo was taken. Specifically, what is the name of the neighborhood? Before you answer, read on.

A Complete Unknown (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

A Complete Unknown (2024): Bob Dylan biopic. I admit I can't be objective. This is the music of my life. I titled my blog after a Dylan lyric for gosh sakes. The movie has more Dylan music than story. Unfortunately, the movie disses other heroes of mine, but does give Joan Baez the best line: “You're kind of an asshole, Bob.” A-

In theaters

City Charter: Video Record of City Council Meetings

Source: Adobe Firefly.

On December 2, 2024, the Richardson City Council appointed eleven members to a Charter Review Commission, as required by law every ten years to review and suggest changes to Richardson's City Charter. Here, in a series of posts, I am presenting my own suggestions.

POTD: An Ancient City of Hot Baths

"Hot springs still bubble.
Terraces gleam in the sun.
A city of spas."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 05 15 Hierapolis

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the ruins of Hierapolis, Turkey, a city that dates back to ancient Rome, and before that to ancient Greece, and even before that to peoples lost in the Iron Age. What drew everyone to this site then, and still does today, are the hot springs and the limestone terraces deposited by them. Even today tourists soak in the hot pools. The Romans went all out at Hierapolis, building a city that exceeded 100,000 inhabitants between 100-200 CE.

P.S. I first visited Hierapolis in 1977. It looked great then and it's even better today, if more crowded.

Bonus photos after the jump.

POTD: On the Turkish Riviera

"Turquoise waves embrace
Antalya's cliffs standing tall.
History meets now."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 05 14 Antalya

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Antalya, Turkey, an ancient city on the Turkish Mediterranean coast. Turkey is such a delight to visit because of its diversity of tourist attractions. Antalya is a microcosm, with historic sites dating to ancient Rome paired with beaches and resorts. Antalya is "recognized as the 'capital of tourism' in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera."

Bonus photos after the jump.

The Worst Places to Eat in Richardson Last Month

The City of Richardson is rightly regarded as having some of the best, most diverse, dining options in north Texas ("Eat & Drink"). Feeling a bit like "Opposite Man," I thought I'd offer a list of the ten worst places to eat in Richardson last month. It's based on the City of Richardson's Health Department Restaurant Scores for last month. That is, not all restaurants are included in this ranking. Each month, different restaurants are visited by the Health Department. Only those visited last month are ranked here.

Random Thoughts: 2026 primary battle, Paxton vs Cornyn

2024-12-01: Re: Potential 2026 primary battle by Ken Paxton for John Cornyn's Senate seat: "Cornyn has cast Paxton as too shady to be a U.S. senator, an argument that could appeal to Republicans who worry about Paxton’s legal entanglements."
lol. Are there any Republicans "who worry about legal entanglements" anymore?
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