The Cards We've Been Dealt

The old Richardson Square Mall property is getting a Chipotle and a Jason's Deli. I like these chains. I drive to west Richardson frequently to eat at the restaurants there. So why am I not thrilled with the news for east Richardson? I am not thrilled because the approval process shows how Richardson is reactive, not proactive. Tactical, not strategic. Dealing with matters as they arise, not anticipating future needs, leaving us with suboptimal solutions. There are better developments for Richardson Square that could still include a Chipotle and Jason's Deli, but we aren't even considering them. Instead, we're jumping on this because the brands are popular.

Ma (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Ma (2019): Psychological thriller with Octavia Spencer as the psychopath. Builds slowly to a climax that borders on torture porn. Spencer's performance should make a big impression on a younger generation of movie-goers, who might learn to be nicer to their classmates. C+

Rocketman (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rocketman (2019): Less a concert movie than a study in the personal demons that drove Elton John to rehab. A couple of big Broadway song and dance numbers add to the patchwork quality. Would have preferred more concert footage. A good behind-the-scenes look at a genius. B+

POTD: School in Kirillov

From 2018 08 17 Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery

Today's photo-of-the-day is from a school in Kirillov, Russia, a small town on the Baltic-Volga waterway and home to the medieval Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. First the school. The schoolgirl in the photo did a local cultural dance for visitors, then answered questions. Her English was excellent.

In a display on the side of the room was a patriotic flag and army helmet with holes in it, a constant reminder of the huge sacrifices the Russian people made to defeat Nazism in WWII.

After the jump, the helmet.

An Assignment for Steve Brown

Steve Brown is the real estate editor for The Dallas Morning News. I use the term editor instead of reporter because (1) that's what the newspaper uses in his byline and (2) his work often reads more like he edited a developer's press release than he did any original reporting. But once in a while, he breaks some news, even if you have to read carefully to find it. Such was the case with his recent article on the redevelopment of old downtown Richardson.

Retweets ≠ Endorsements

Retweets ≠ Endorsements. Unless they do. Sometimes a person retweets a message that he or she finds absurd/outrageous/despicable (pick any that apply) without intending to imply agreement. But sometimes, they do intend agreement. It depends. It sounds complicated, but it's usually easy to tell them apart in practice.

Idle Thoughts: Early Voting

Tweets from May, 2019:

• 2019-05-01: Early voting at Richardson Civic Center:
  2015: 1,338 people voted early in person.
  2017: 2,476.
  2019: 3,999.
  That includes all Dallas County voters who voted at the Civic Center, not just City of Richardson voters. Draw your own implications.
• 2019-05-02: Avengers: Endgame (2019): It was a satisfying finale to the sage. Tons of characters, tons of action, a simple quest movie but with many complex interleaved timelines. Best parts were when it didn't take its absurdities seriously. Next best were the few scenes without CGI. B-
• 2019-05-02: RT Nancy Pelosi: "Barr is lying to the American people. #FreeMueller."
  Think how unprecedented this is. She's the Speaker of the House. He's the Attorney General of the United States. He works at the pleasure of the President of the United States. (Link)

After the jump, more idle thoughts.

POTD: Church of the Nativity in Krokhino

From 2018 08 17 Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the former village of Krokhino, Russia, along the Baltic-Volga waterway. When the canals were built connecting the Baltic Sea to the Volga River and on to the Caspian Sea, Krokhino was flooded. The ghostly Church of the Nativity still stands in shallow water along the waterway.

After the jump, a photo of the photographer.

POTD: Kizhi Island

From 2018 08 16 Kizhi

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Kizhi Island, in Lake Onega in northern Russia, the second largest lake in Europe, after Lake Ladoga, also in northern Russia. Churches on the island date back at least to the 15th Century. Today the entire island forms a national open-air museum and UNESCO world heritage site.

The 22-dome Church of the Transfiguration has two legends. One is that it was built on the site chosen by none other than Peter the Great, on a visit in the early 1700s (although modern historians agree that any visit by Peter at all is unlikely, to say nothing about him locating the site of the church). The other legend is that it is built entirely of wood (although we distinctly witnessed carpenters hammering away as part of restoration work).

Bonus photos after the jump.

POTD: Windows of Mandrogy

From 2018 08 15 Mandrogy

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Mandrogy, Russia. The photos are of various windows in the village.

Verkhnie Mandrogi, or "Upper Falls," was once a small village on the banks of the Svir between Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega. The town was ruined during World War II and disappeared from maps for many years. But in 1996 an enterprising Russian, Sergei Gutzeit, got the idea of reconstructing it as a sort of open air museum about traditional Russian villages for the benefit of travelers taking river cruises between St. Petersburg and Kizhi. It has a small hotel and several houses built of brightly painted pine logs, windmills, vodka and bread museums, craftspeople (potters, weavers, jewelers, etc.), a moose farm, a stable, an archery range, trout and carp fishing, and a small zoo featuring bears, raccoon dogs and other animals.

Source: Viking River Cruises.

Bonus photos after the jump.