Review: Normal People

Amazon

From Normal People, by Sally Rooney:

In school he and Marianne affect not to know each other. People know that Marianne lives in the white mansion with the driveway and that Connell’s mother is a cleaner, but no one knows of the special relationship between these facts."

And so begins the story of Marianne and Connell, two young people in school in west Ireland growing up, growing apart, and growing together again, over and over.

The Hustle (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Hustle (2019): Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway play simple cons on rich dupes on the French Riviera. Because the cons are so simple, the only mystery is what is going to be the big twist, which by the time it comes, you might have lost interest. Wasted talent but watchable. C+

POTD: St Petersburg Canals

From 2018 08 14 St Petersburg Canals

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the canals of St Petersburg, Russia. Historical. Beautiful. Magical.

Bonus photos are after the jump.

Bodyguard (TV 2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Bodyguard (TV 2018): British war veteran with PTSD picked as bodyguard for ambitious Home Secretary. A thriller with terrorism, assassination, and blackmail. Plenty of whodunnit head-scratching. Maybe best, it packs an emotional punch as our hero deals with his own demons too. A-

POTD: Peterhof Grand Cascade

From 2018 08 14 Peterhof

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the bottom of the Grand Cascade outside Peterhof, the palace built by Peter the Great of Russia.

Bonus photos are after the jump.

Hello I Must Be Going

The Richardson City Council saw two council members step down, Marta Gómez Frey and Mabel Simpson, after serving only two terms. In contrast, Steve Mitchell and Mark Solomon are beginning their eighth term and sixth term, respectively. At the end of this coming term, both of them will also step down, being the first council members affected by Richardson's term limits. At Monday's City Council meeting, Frey and Simpson gave valedictories, full of gratitude to family and friends, citizens, colleagues, city management and staff.

Love, Death & Robots (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Love, Death & Robots (2019): Sci-fi anthology series. Animation and blended animation/live action. Stories are hit or miss, too many with gratuitous nudity or battles or violent monsters. None really thought-provoking. But entertaining escapism for 10-15 minutes at a time. B-

The Wandering Earth (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Wandering Earth (2019): Chinese sci-fi blockbuster. Sun is dying. Salvation lies in rocketing Earth to another solar system. Things go haywire using Jupiter as slingshot. Preposterous. Absurd. Silly. Non-stop crises. Stock characters. But better than Snowpiercer, barely. D+

Concern Over Growth Sparks A Revolution In Richardson

Elections in Richardson have long followed the pattern of most suburban cities: low interest, low turnout, and long tenure for incumbents.
...
This [year], however, the status quo in Richardson was radically reshuffled. After an unusually spirited campaign, voters dumped three incumbents.

Source: D Magazine.

Just kidding. That D Magazine story is not from this year. Or 2015. It's from 1987. But it's worth reading. It's like seeing Richardson in a funhouse mirror, an alternate universe where the Palisades scandal resulted in the defeat of Mayor Maczka and key council members in their re-election bids in 2015. But in our reality, in case you forgot, Mayor Maczka and four council members ran unopposed in 2015. The issue in 1987 was a familiar one. Only the electoral outcome was different.

Wine Country (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Wine Country (2019): Six women travel to Napa for a 50th birthday. What happens is less party than mid-life crisis and group therapy. Could have been better if they had picked a lane, either lol comedy or Albee's Virginia Woolf. Instead we get Thoreau's quiet desperation. C+