First Day of Summer in the Steger Garden (2015)

From Flowers

Bonus photos after the jump.

Chef (2014)

IMDB

Chef (2014): Talented but unappreciated chef quits and buys a food truck. As feel-good a movie as you could want. I just didn't want. C+

POTD: Thai Street Food

From 2015 03 16 Bangkok

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Bangkok, Thailand. It's a photo of a
street food vendor. Here are some quotes from just a few of the first
hits you get if you Google "Bangkok street food."

• "Bangkok is the best city in the world for street food."
• "For the best food in Bangkok, hit the streets."
• "Nowhere is the Thai reverence for food more evident than in Bangkok."
• "Known as the unofficial outdoor dining capital of Asia, Bangkok's street food is unlike anything else in the region."
• "You can wander the streets of Bangkok for weeks, pointing at every single thing that looks tasty, handing over a couple dozen baht [less than a dollar], and eating until you burst, all without ever trying the same thing twice."

Good times.

Real Sweet Deal for RealPage

Here's what I wrote in October, 2014.

"State Farm's move to Richardson will leave behind big blocks of empty office space." That was the headline to a story in The Dallas Morning News revealing the ugly secret behind the big win for Richardson. ... It turns out that many of the 8,000 employees moving into those new State Farm office towers will be moving from just down the road, where State Farm is currently leasing space in five office buildings in Richardson's Galatyn Park. That will leave a huge hole behind that will need to be filled, perhaps with the city trying to lure other big tenants to move.

Source: The Wheel.

It's time for an update on this game of musical chairs.

Oldboy (2003)

IMDB

Oldboy (2003): Korean thriller. Man imprisoned for 15 years by unknown enemy. When released, seeks revenge. Mystery and lots of violence. C-

POTD: Stanley Cup Champions

From 2010 06 Northwestern

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Chicago, home of the 2015 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks also won the Cup in 2013 and 2010. Dynasty!

The photo is from the 2010 Cup year and shows the Blackhawks banner flying from the Michigan Avenue Bridge over the Chicago River. In the background is the Wrigley Building.

Good times.

A bonus photo after the jump.

Filling a Vacancy on City Council by Appointment

At Monday night's meeting, the Richardson City Council is scheduled to appoint a person to fill a vacancy in the Place 5 position on the council.

Some people just can't let go of the false idea that filling a vacancy by appointment instead of special election is a violation of the Texas State Constitution. And that the city charter itself gives the city council the option of calling a special election. By some people, I mean specifically local gadfly Cheri Duncan-Hubert. She's been corrected before, including here, but in a (long) Facebook thread she demonstrates a remarkable persistence of willful ignorance. So here we go again.

Late Spring in the Steger Garden (2015)

From Flowers

POTD: Water Taxi

From 2015 03 16 Bangkok

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Bangkok, Thailand. Specifically, the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok's main thoroughfare. After a while, there's only so many temples you can stand to tour. You have to get away from the crowds, out on the river and breathe in some fresh, clean... diesel fumes from the river buses, cross-river ferries and water taxis. Good times.

Review: Salvage the Bones

Amazon

From Salvage the Bones, by Jesmyn Ward:

It's summer, and when it's summer, there's always a hurricane coming or leaving here. Each pushes its way through the flat Gulf to the twenty-six-mile manmade Mississippi beach, where they knock against the old summer mansions with their slave galleys turned guesthouses before running over the bayou, through the pines, to lose wind, drip rain, and die in the north. Most don't even hit us head-on anymore; most turn right to Florida or take a left for Texas, brush past and glance off us like a shirtsleeve. We ain't had one come straight for us in years, time enough to forget how many jugs of water we need to fill, how many cans of sardines and potted meat we should stock, how many tubs of water we need."

It's a Hurricane Katrina story, but so much more. After the jump, my review.