Mare of Easttown (TV 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

Mare of Easttown (TV 2021): Outstanding whodunit. Plenty of suspects, all kept in the game until the last episode. But more, it's a story of unresolved grief that comes between Mare (Kate Winslet) and her ex-husband, her daughter, her daughter-in-law and her job. Emmy worthy. A-

Random Thoughts: Look Beyond Dallas County to Know Who Won

Tweets from May, 2021:

• 2021-05-02: Look beyond the Dallas County vote to know who won the election (or made the run-off anyway). Daniel Burdette beat Marilyn Frederick in Dallas County, but it was the reverse in Collin County, so Frederick will face Arefin Shamsul in a run-off for Richardson City Council.
• 2021-05-03: There's something deeply wrong with an American political party that tolerates collusion with Russian interference in US elections, but wants nothing to do with vaccination against a pandemic disease.
• 2021-05-04: Trying to shoehorn English into the rules of Latin makes no more sense than the Star Wars nerds who try to speak English with the speech patterns of Yoda of Dagobah: "Backward run sentences 'til reels the mind."

After the jump, more random thoughts.

POTD: A Perfect Fit

From 2019 11 21 Kom Ombo and Edfu

If the shoe fits, wear it. For two thousand years. Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Temple of Kom Ombo on the Nile River in Egypt.

The Nevers (TV 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Nevers (TV 2021): In Victorian London, Amalia runs a home for women, each "touched" with unique powers. Who or what is behind it all is the mystery. While Joss Whedon takes his time telling us, he pads with a large cast of villains, violence, sci-fi, and special effects. C-

POTD: Ancient Egypt in Color

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. It shows what's left of a ceiling. What makes it striking to me are the colors. Although paintings in the ancient tombs often still show their original colors, it's rare to see colors this vivid on outdoor parts of temples. This ceiling was probably originally indoors, and I have no idea how many centuries ago the walls came down, but still, I find the 2,000 year-old colors stunning.

POTD: Literacy Lost and Found

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. It shows a panel of hieroglyphs. It's unsettling to me to think that a great civilization once lost its ability to read and write. Its records were indecipherable for over a thousand years until modern linguists figured out the system. If a global calamity wiped out today's civilizations, what would archaeologists of the future (of whatever species or planetary origin) have to go on to decipher our written wisdom?

POTD: A Standard Place in Richardson

Somewhere in Richardson. You tell me where.

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+