Blue Jasmine (2013)

IMDB

Blue Jasmine (2013): Like winner of a "Bad Woody Allen Movie" contest. Artist is tapped dry. Cate Blanchett does most with weak script. C+

Basketball Playoffs: Berkner 41, Plano 39

Torey Everett and two impressed young fans

In a tense finish, the Berkner Rams men's basketball team held on for 41-39 victory over the Plano Wildcats Friday night at the Pearce gym. It was the first round of the Texas UIL playoffs. Win and play another day. Lose and go home.

With a minute left and the score tied, the Rams played for the last shot. With seven seconds to go, Keenan Evans, the lead scorer of the game with 19 points, drove to the basket, was fouled, and hit two clutch free throws to give Berkner a 41-39 lead. Then at the other end of the court, a blocked shot with less than a second to go protected the lead. Finally, an inbounds pass under the basket was tipped harmlessly away at the buzzer to seal the win. Exhale. Fittingly, it was tight defense in the end, as throughout the whole game, that won the game for the Rams.

It's a great time to be a Ram!

Nipping Potential Problems in the Bud

Mayor Laura Maczka:

One of the strengths that our city has is that we recognize potential problems before they become problems.

Source: neighborsgo Richardson.

The Richardson city council is always on the lookout to nip potential problems in the bud. Or seed. Or pod. Or whatever.

What's the potential problem this time? The answer, after the jump.

Let's Bury Power Lines. No Let's Don't.

After the December ice storm in Richardson, when whole neighborhoods were without power for hours or even days, one lonely person on Facebook repeatedly posted a status update along the lines of "Let's bury our power lines." He was quickly dismissed with answers along the lines of "It's too expensive."

Well, now that it's the southeast and east coast who are dealing with an ice storm, the question is resurfacing there. After the jump, the pros and cons.

S2L77: Innsbruck and Salzburg

From 1977 05 04 Austria

With the XXII Olympic Winter Games going on in Sochi, it's a nice coincidence that the next waypoint to revisit from my 1977 route from Singapore to London happens to be Innsbruck, site of the XII Olympic Winter Games in 1976. The Olympics were over by the time I got there, but the spirit remained. I also visited Salzburg. Good places. Good times.

More photos after the jump.

Stefani Carter's Terrible Accident

First a confession. When I reported on the District 112 candidate forum, I buried the lede. No, that's not it. I missed the story altogether. Yeah, I showed why I am not getting paid for this.

I never mentioned Stefani Carter's opening remarks where she informed the forum audience that she had recently suffered a "terrible accident" that triggered a "moment of truth when you feel like your life could end." Turning to retired Captain Sam Brown, who actually did suffer exactly that, Carter said "I know that our colleague here, Sam Brown, understands that." In 2008, in Afghanistan, an IED blew up near Brown, burning much of his body. To this day Brown bears disfiguring scars on his face and head (and elsewhere, less visibly). Then Carter moved on, sounding extremely conservative and ambitious, pretty much like she has always sounded, pre-life-altering event.

I may have missed the story, but professional journalists Tim Rogers of D Magazine and then Tom Benning of The Dallas Morning News didn't. After the jump, catching you all up on what I should have caught.

Review: The Flaw of Averages

Amazon

From The Flaw of Averages, by Sam Savage:

Just as a handle helps you grasp something with your hand, I define a Mindle (first syllable rhymes with 'mind') as the analogous concept for the mind. In this section I will present five fundamental Mindles for grasping various aspects of uncertainty. Although you may have been exposed to these concepts in the past, they were likely cloaked in Steam Era anachronisms such as VARIANCE or STANDARD DEVIATION."

After the jump, my review.

All Is Lost (2013)

IMDB

All Is Lost (2013): Lone sailor faces death. Gutsy minimalist script. Redford shows grit, not much else. More plodding than exciting. B-

The Myths of the Myths of Climate Change

According to his biography, Thomas Donelson is chairman of "Americas PAC," a PAC that specializes in expanding the free market conservative coalition. He has been involved in conservative Republican politics for the last three decades. There's nothing in his bio that indicates any scientific background or expertise, or for that matter, any connection to Texas, but that doesn't stop something called "Texas GOP Vote" from publishing Donelson's article on climate change titled "The Mythology of Climate Change."

After the jump, an examination of the so-called "myths." No ridicule. No snark. Just straight talk.

Beauty and the Beast at PHS

Beauty and the Beast at PHS: Lavish sets, beautiful voices, funny enchanted objects, enthusiastic chorus and wolves to give you nightmares.