The Wheel's 2021 Election Runoff Voters Guide

Early voting is open for both the City of Richardson and the Richardson ISD's runoff elections. Early voting runs from May 24 - June 1. Election Day is June 5.

CoR has one place on the ballot, Place 6. RISD has one place on the ballot, At Large Place 7. All registered voters in CoR and RISD can vote in these elections, whether or not you voted in the May 1 election. (But you do have to be registered already. You can't register at the polls. That would be too easy. And, in Texas, making it too easy to vote is verboten.)

Here is how I'm voting.

POTD: Vanishing Point in the Nile

From 2019 11 21 Kom Ombo and Edfu

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Temple of Kom Ombo on the Nile River in Egypt. The perspective is down a roofless hallway in the 2,100 year-old temple. In the distance, beyond the palm tree, is the Nile River.

WandaVision (TV 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

WandaVision (TV 2021): Mashup of Marvel comics, the Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, and more. At heart is a woman learning to deal with grief. A refreshingly novel superhero movie that takes a while just to figure out it's a superhero movie. Novel, clever and captivating. B+

It's All About Housing

Real Housing Prices: LA vs Dallas

Texans are always comparing the state to California. I know because I live in Texas. I don't know if Californians compare their state to anyone else. One claim Texans always make is about how many Californians are moving to Texas. There's no doubt that the two states are on different trend lines. Texas is set to gain three Congressional seats in the 2020 census. California, for the first time ever, is set to lose one. What's behind this? Texans usually credit the lack of a state income tax or the light regulation on business. Paul Krugman, in his latest newsletter, points to another cause.

POTD: Ancient Temple of Jenga?

From 2019 11 21 Kom Ombo and Edfu

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Temple of Kom Ombo on the Nile River in Egypt. Or maybe it's a giant's game of Jenga, just as it was left as it was being played 2,100 years ago.

Bonus photo after the jump.

This Is a Robbery (TV 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

This Is a Robbery (TV 2021): 4-part doc about $500 million art heist from Boston museum. Biggest problem is lack of resolution, even 30 years on. Lots of repetition. Should have focused less on one robbery and more on inadequacies of museum security and police detective work. C+

Marilyn Frederick Will "Fight Back Against the Radical Left's Agenda"

Marilyn Frederick will "fight back against the radical left's agenda." Those aren't my words. Those are the words from an endorsement that Marilyn Frederick herself posted to her campaign's Facebook page. The quote is from the Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, Allen West.

Hamilton (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Hamilton (2020): Original Broadway production, with a live theatre feel. The mostly black cast uses hip-hop music to teach history. Innovative storytelling that works brilliantly. Every high school American history class should see it. Do Lincoln next, Lin-Manuel Miranda. A+

Based on the Ron Chernow biography, previously reviewed in The Wheel.

POTD: Portrait of an Egyptian Man

From 2019 11 20 Abu Simbel

Today's photo-of-the-day is of an unidentified Egyptian, taken on the ferry from the Temple of Philae on Agilkia Island back to the marina at Aswan.

"Cruelty is the Greater Compassion"

Chico, California, is not Richardson, Texas. But recent events there have a lesson for us here. The story is in The Intercept. In 2018 the Camp Fire burned the neighboring town of Paradise to the ground. Residents of Chico welcomed thousands of evacuees, opening their homes and shelters and turning parks and even a Walmart parking lot into campgrounds, with the Chico residents donating tents and sleeping bags. But...there always has to be a but.