One Week to Deadline to File

With one week to the deadline to file for a place on the May ballot, here's the state of play for the elections for City of Richardson City Council and Richardson ISD Board of Trustees.

Fire of Love (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Fire of Love (2022): Oscar-nominated documentary about husband and wife volcanologists who died together in an eruption. Lots of pretty images of volcanoes, not much science. Not even much of a love story, unless the love is an obsession with the danger of getting too close to volcanoes. B-

Stay in Your Lanes, Candidates

It's campaign season. If you are a regular reader of The Wheel you know that I don't like political parties getting involved in nonpartisan local elections. I also don't like campaigns mixing up city politics with school politics. Stay in your lanes, candidates.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022): Mashup of old stories (Moby Dick, Poseidon Adventure, war movies from the Old West to Vietnam). Characters are stereotypes (Marines are bad guys, parents are dumb, kids are plucky). But give it the Oscar for special effects. C-

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022): On the plus side, women take over the franchise. In an existential war of world powers, Wakanda and an undersea kingdom, there's an awful lot of hand-to-hand combat and little of the world political intrigue that gave the previous installment some heft. C+

POTD: Karmann Ghia (Type 14)

From 2022 07 10 Rothenburg and Wurzburg

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the streets of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. Not only are the streets of this medieval town old and classic, the cars you might find parked there are, too. This is a Karmann Ghia. From the license plate, it looks to be a Type 14, produced in the 1950s and 1960s. If anyone can pin this one down more specifically than that, let me know. The city itself dates to 1170, but I seriously doubt the Karmann Ghia is anywhere near that old.

POTD: Cruising the Middle Rhine

From 2022 07 10 Rothenburg and Wurzburg

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the deck of the longship Gefjon (Norse Goddess of the Plow) from Viking River Cruises. The photo was taken on a cruise of the Middle Rhine in Germany. In forty miles, there are forty castles lining the shores. Karlstadt Castle can be seen in the background of this photo. Not a bad way to travel.

POTD: Ice Storm of 2023

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Richardson, Texas.

Bonus photos after the jump.

Gentleman Jack - S01 (TV 2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Gentleman Jack - S01 (TV 2019): Suranne Jones dominates the screen as the real-life Anne Lister, an early 19th-century forward-thinking woman. She browbeats men and seduces women. A period piece with a punch. B+

#VeryTardyReview

Random Thoughts: Teary Bolsonaro

2023-01-01: Headline: "Teary Bolsonaro calls loss unfair, condemns violence, flies to Florida."
Florida, the refuge of criminal ex-presidents everywhere.
Brazilian president mimics Trump in two out of three.

2023-01-01: The football gods meted out justice. Ohio State couldn't even win their own conference. They had no business playing for the national championship. Of course TCU lost its conference championship game, but they did have their conference's best overall record. Georgia is the only deserving champion, despite winning because of Ohio State's last-second, missed field goal. Football isn't fair.

2023-01-03: The closed meetings Republicans in Congress are having right now to decide whether to support Kevin McCarthy as Speaker could never happen if Congress had to follow rules like the Texas Open Meetings Act. Is that good or bad?

2023-01-04: The late great Arizona Rep. Mo Udall once said, "You know the difference between a cactus and a caucus? A cactus has the pricks on the outside."
-- Matthew Dowd