Soul Crushing Suburbia

"Why even driving through suburbia is soul crushing." That's the provocative headline on an insightful article in Quartz by Alex Balashov. Personally, I think the headline ("soul crushing") is over-stated, but almost all twelve points Balashov makes are dead-on. I want to focus on just a couple, because they spotlight problems being repeated as you read this right here in Richardson, in CityLine.

POTD: George Washington Ate Here

From 2016 10 09 Alexandria

Today's photo-of-the-day is of Gadsby's Tavern in Alexandria, Virginia. Yes, George Washington really did eat here.

OTBR: Abandoned House in Iowa

Latitude: N 39° 58.176
Longitude: W 094° 18.120

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".

Repeat Tweets: Two Half-Price Tickets

Repeat tweets from March, 2017:

• Mar 1 2017: Puzzle: If a contest offers a prize of "two half-price tickets" to some event, how much will the winner have to pay?
• Mar 1 2017: TIL: Bradford Pear trees are even worse than I thought. "The curse of the Bradford Pear."
• Mar 2 2017: RT @RichardsonToday: "Print error on page 3 of rec guide in Richardson Today that hit mail boxes today." Best Picture goes to La La Land.
• Mar 3 2017: "Pence Used AOL Account for State Business as He Complained About Clinton’s Emails." Because of course he did.
• Mar 7 2017: "Trumpcare breaks every promise Trump made about healthcare." Because of course it does.

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Walter D. Tiedeman, Jr.

Walter D. Tiedeman, Jr. September 27, 1921 - March 29, 2017

More photos

Walter D. Tiedeman Jr. 95, of Richardson, TX passed away on March 29, 2017. He was a long-time resident of Evansville, IN, moving to Texas in the fall of 2006 to be near his daughter.

POTD: Good Morning, Alexandria

From 2016 10 09 Alexandria

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Alexandria, Virginia.

POTD: Canada Goose in America

From 2016 10 09 Alexandria

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Alexandria, Virginia.

Loving (2016)

IMDB

Loving (2016): 1960s racial injustice maddens us all today. When will today's injustice madden us all? ACLU rocks. Movie? Not so much. C+

Land of Mine (2015)

IMDB

Land of Mine (2015): Young POWs forced to clear land mines in Denmark. WWII Germans get sympathetic treatment! Powerful but predictable. B-

Review: Kafka on the Shore

Amazon

From Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami:

Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step."

After the jump, my review.