Playoffs: Allen 63, Lake Highlands 6

From 2013 11 15 Allen vs Lake Highlands

The Lake Highlands Wildcats faced off against the undefeated Allen Eagles in the first round of the 2013 Texas UIL football playoffs Friday night at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. Allen more than lived up to their #1 state ranking in beating the Wildcats 63-6. The Wildcats end their playoff season with a district record of 5-2 (overall 5-6). Thanks for the good season, Wildcats.

More photos after the jump.

S2L77: Ephesus

From 1977 04 08 Turkey

Most people today, if they know of Ephesus at all, recognize the name from Paul the Apostle's epistle to the Ephesians. Some might know Ephesus as the burial place of John the Apostle, the author of one of the four Gospels. Some others might know it as the home of the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. In any case, today Ephesus is the site of a large archaeological dig, giving the modern traveler an entrancing peek into the world of the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Christians.

More photos after the jump.

Review: Empire of the Summer Moon

Amazon

From Empire of the Summer Moon, by S.C. Gwynne:

Behind it all is the story of the rise and fall of the Comanches. No tribe in the history of North America had more to say about the nation's destiny. Quanah was merely the final product of everything they had believed and dreamed of and fought for over a span of two hundred fifty years. The kidnapping of a blue-eyed, nine-year-old Cynthia Ann in 1836 marked the start of the white man's forty-year war with the Comanches, in which Quanah would play a leading role. In one sense, the Parkers are the beginning and end of the Comanches in U.S. history."

After the jump, my review.

The "Wow Factor" of Richardson's Goals

After complaining for months about the Richardson City Council's non-transparent process for deciding its near-term action items, I guess I ought to say something now that the goals have been revealed. But first, go ahead, read 'em yourself.

After the jump, my own reaction.

42 (2013)

IMDB

42 (2013): America needed Jackie Robinson. A hero for his time, for all time. Hagiography at its finest because it's true. Take the kids. B+

A Round of Applause for Paralysis in Sports

You know the ritual when a kid playing high school football goes down with an injury. When he eventually gets up and hobbles off the field, he gets a round of applause from the fans in the stands. Apparently, in the Richardson ISD, that might be all he ever gets, even if he can't get up at all and might never walk again.

Catastrophic care insurance offers a safety net for students who suffer life-altering accidents or illness while participating in an extra-curricular school activity, with policies providing as much as $7.5 million of coverage in cases such as spinal cord injuries, brain injury, infection or stroke. But coverage is not mandatory in Texas, nor is it officially recommended by the state's public school extracurricular governing body, the University Interscholastic League. A Dallas Morning News survey of 65 of the largest school districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area found five that don't provide any catastrophic care coverage: Birdville, Burleson, Cedar Hill, Mansfield and Richardson ISDs.

Source: The Dallas Morning News.

Richardson ISD?!? No coverage? Seriously?

After the jump, WTF?

Make Believe (2010)

IMDB

Make Believe (2010): Teens from world over compete in magic contest in Vegas. Great kids but not much magic in this documentary. C-

Season Ender Game: Skyline 48, Berkner 13

From 2013 11 08 Skyline vs Berkner

The 9-1 Skyline Raiders defeated the Berkner Rams 48-13 Friday night at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. The Rams' season comes to a close with a record of 4-6. From the 104 degree season opener at South Garland to the final playing of the Berkner fight song in 58 degree weather, it was a wild season of blowout wins ... and losses. Thanks for the fun, Rams.

More photos after the jump.

S2L77: Turkey's Aegean Coast

Kusadasi, Turkey
April 14, 1977
First sight of the sea since Kota Bharu, Malaysia.

Source: Personal travel notes.

From 1977 04 08 Turkey

Finally, in Kusadasi, Turkey, on the Aegean Sea, after more than 7,500 miles and eight countries, I saw the sea again for the first time since standing on the beach of the South China Sea in Kota Bharu, Malaysia.

The history of the area around Kusadasi goes back 5,000 years. Everyone sooner or later had some reason to come to here -- the Aeolians, Ionians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Christians, Byzantines, Venetians, Ottomans, the modern Turks, and, in 1977, yours truly.

More photos after the jump.

OTBR: Autumn Leaves on Utah's Mt. Nebo

Latitude: N 39° 58.104
Longitude: W 111° 41.442


A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously last month that are "off the blue roads".