Selling Richardson a Biergarten

Richardson is getting two more drive-through restaurants, this time not on the east side, where a Salad And Go was recently approved, but on the west side. If the City Council approves, they'll go in Richardson Restaurant Park, the catalyst project for the redevelopment of the West Spring Valley Corridor, a planned development sold to the residents with slides of fancy mixed-use buildings and sidewalk cafes. But the developer says that restaurants with drive throughs saw increased business during the COVID-19 pandemic and he predicts that isn't ever going away. I guess cities built in walkable form are now just going to shrivel and die. At least the City Plan Commission bought the sales pitch. We'll see what the City Council says when the project goes there.

2nd Dispatch from the Chamber of Secrets

The Richardson City Council has been meeting in secret to set the council's vision, mission, goals, strategies, and tactics for its two-year term. There's no video. There are no minutes. There were three members of the public at the second meeting. As far as I can tell, my dispatches are all that's available about what went on in the second secret meeting.

Dispatch from the Chamber of Secrets

On August 30, the Richardson City Council met in secret session to begin setting the council's vision, mission, goals, strategies, and tactics for its two-year term. I say secret because the announcement of the meeting, the site of the meeting, and the recording of the meeting (namely, none) all left something to be desired in the way of transparency. I reported all that in "Secret Richardson City Council Meeting". Since then, I have another complaint about the process to add. Here are the minutes of that meeting, in their entirety:

B. REVIEW AND DISCUSS COUNCIL GOALS FOR THE 2021-2023 COUNCIL TERM
Council discussed the goals process and goals for the 2021-2023 Council term

On September 20, the council did it again. They continued their secret meeting in the same manner as before. Lucky for you, this time, I was there.

News of the World (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

News of the World (2020): Tom Hanks as ex-Civil War soldier in Texas tasked with returning a kidnapped orphan to her family. This is not a John Wayne Western. The "Injuns" aren't the bad guys. That's reserved for white characters. Texans are mostly unappealing, except Hanks. B-

P.S. The movie was filmed around Santa Fe, New Mexico, with its stereotypical movie Western scenery. It obviously wasn't filmed around Dallas, where it's supposedly set. And Erath County comes across as bigoted and dangerous. Whether the movie got that one right, I can't say. I avoid Erath County.

Cry Macho (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

Cry Macho (2021): 91-yr-old Clint Eastwood casts himself as romantic lead against an actress half his age. He's a cowboy who breaks wild horses and is on the run from bad guys and the law in Mexico. There's a boy he's rescuing. And there's a rooster. For Eastwood fans only. C+

The New Pope (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

The New Pope (TV 2020): Sequel to The Young Pope. New pope is elected while old pope still lives. Political intrigues ensue. Even more surreal and provocative, even obscene and blasphemous at times. More arty than straight story-telling. Unique television. Not for everyone. B-

Yet Another Drive-Thru in East Richardson

For those who want more eating options on the corner of Belt Line and Plano Rd, good news. The Richardson City Council approved the construction of a "Salad And Go." For those who don't care about sit-down dining, even greater news. The Council approved a form for the restaurant that allows for only drive-through service, with *two* menu boards and no parking. On the other hand...there's always another hand, isn't there?

POTD: Red Rover, Red Rover, Send Horus Over

From 2019 11 21 Kom Ombo and Edfu

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Temple of Horus in Edfu, Egypt. It illustrates a popular game among ancient Egyptians. Or something. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Modern Love - S02 (TV 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

Modern Love - S02 (TV 2021): Anthology series. Dramatizations of personal essays from NY Times about love stories. How people fall in and out of love. Story arcs are sometimes flat. Stories are watchable, even if afterwards, they are quickly forgotten. C+

POTD: History is Unwritten by the Victors

From 2019 11 21 Kom Ombo and Edfu

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Temple of Horus in Edfu, Egypt. It shows a detail of one of the countless carvings on the walls of the temple. Tourists usually take photos of the best preserved (or restored) artifacts, giving people who have never been to Egypt a false idea of the reality of ancient ruins. Besides the natural erosion of time, there's also much evidence of deliberate vandalism. A new dynasty wants to eliminate monuments to the old dynasty. A new religion wants to eliminate icons representing the old religion. And Egypt has seen many dynasties and many religions over the millennia. There's been plenty of time for people to deface the treasures bequeathed to them by those who came before. When this particular wall carving was defaced is lost to history, but it is not rare.