POTD: Cologne at Night from the River Rhine

From 2022 07 07 Cologne and Brühl

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Cologne, Germany. Merry Christmas.

A Christmas Story Christmas (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

A Christmas Story Christmas (2022): Grown-up Ralphie steps in to fill his old man's shoes at Christmas. A sequel to the 1983 classic that no one asked for. Lots of original cast members. It takes a long time for it to work its magic, but in the end, I was won over. C+

Ticket to Paradise (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Ticket to Paradise (2022): Divorced couple brought together and forced to play nice at daughter's wedding in Bali. Only the casting of Clooney and Roberts causes this movie to rise above a Hallmark channel movie. Tracy and Hepburn could pull this off in the 1940s. Not today. C+

WAIW: Life on the Road

Where Am I Wednesday!

Fifty points to the first person to identify where this photo was taken.

Answer is after the jump.

Black Adam (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Black Adam (2022): The plot is a mess. The list of characters endless. The acting non-existent. The casual violence shameful. The CGI action needs a gearbox. Honestly, I can't think of one positive thing to say about this movie. D-

Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio (2022): This is not Disney's 1940 wooden boy, nor the 1883 book's. Familiar plot points are there but with key differences. Fascists? WTH? Characters have darker motivations. The look is different, too. The stop-motion animation is beautiful. B-

POTD: Cologne Cathedral's Goat

From 2022 07 07 Cologne and Brühl

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Cologne, Germany. It shows two of the many gargoyles on Cologne Cathedral. The church dates back to the 1200s but it was heavily damaged in WWII (as, sadly, so much of Europe was). During restoration, one of the new gargoyles was made in the shape of a goat. The goat is the mascot of the Cologne football club "1. FC Köln". Maybe God really does take sides in sports.

Bonus photos after the jump.

POTD: Cologne's Flying Ford Fiesta

From 2022 07 07 Cologne and Brühl

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Cologne, Germany. It shows HA Shult's golden-winged car, an art installation on top of the staircase tower of a 16th century armory. Originally intended to remain only two weeks, after which the historic appearance of the building was to be restored, by popular demand the flying car is still there 30 years later.

Flee (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

Flee (2021): Denmark. Animated documentary of story of an Afghan boy whose family flees Afghanistan when Taliban takes over in 1996. They go to Moscow, the only country that would take them, only to face more horrors there. A powerful story, but animation is flat and lifeless. C+

Breakthrough in Student Housing!

Source: Chicago Fit Performance.

Recap: In the November 14th episode of this long-running drama, the City Council withdrew their opposition to an application for a planned development just north of UT-Dallas consisting of three components: A) a student-oriented apartment part, B) a mixed apartment/retail part, and C) a limited-service hotel part. But before voting on it, they directed staff to draw up an ordinance requiring part B construction to begin before a certificate of occupancy could be issued for part A. The landowner and developers reluctantly agreed to this condition. The alternative was clear: denial. The case was continued until December 12, when, if all went as expected, there would be a legal ordinance everyone could agree to and it would be voted into law. That was the plan anyway. What actually happened December 12?