POTD: Sète, Venice of the Languedoc

From 2022 10 23 Sète

This photo-of-the-day is from Sète, France, known as the "Venice of the Languedoc" for its network of canals. "It is a port and a seaside resort on the Mediterranean with its own very strong cultural identity, traditions, cuisine and dialect." It's overshadowed by Marseilles, Saint Tropez, Cannes, Nice and Monte Carlo, but it's worth visiting anyway. We happened to be there because Viking cruises thought so, too (and it's a convenient stop for a cruise between Barcelona and Marseilles).

A bonus photo is after the jump.

Betting Line on Mayor Pro Tem

The 2023-2025 Richardson City Council was sworn in Monday, May 17, 2023. Other than canvassing the election results and swearing in the new Mayor and Council, no business was conducted. The first order of business next week at the May 24 meeting will be selecting a new Mayor Pro Tem from among their ranks. The following is The Wheel's highly unscientific, subjective-as-heck, just-mostly-guesswork betting line on who that will be.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023): Latest superhero movie has action, humor, and heart, but not much of a plot. What's the end goal here, to save the galaxy or save a raccoon? Lots of CGI fighting. I kept asking myself, is this character GGI? is anything real? C+

Beef (TV 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Beef (TV 2023): Two broken strangers have a road rage incident that spirals out of control in tit-for-tat revenge. Works when the two leads share the screen, but doesn't when the story enlarges to involve family and friends. Strong final episode doesn't quite save it. C+

Woke Bureaucrats Invade Kentucky Schools

The photo above shows "woke bureaucrats" parachuting into public schools in Kentucky to "hijack our children's future" and teach CRT. Or at least that's what one imaginative candidate for the GOP nomination for governor, Kelly Craft, Donald Trump's own former U.N. ambassador, claims is happening. Watch her television ad yourself. Then watch Tuesday's election results from Kentucky to see if voters are persuaded.

POTD: Street Scenes in Barcelona

From 2022 10 21 Barcelona

This photo-of-the-day is from Barcelona, Spain. It shows a selection of souvenirs at a shop on a city street. Is the chimp embarrassed?

After the jump, a bonus photo of my favorite street sign.

Correction: Party Politics in Richardson Elections

In relaying my thoughts on the 2023 Richardson City Council election, I said something that is both factually incorrect and personally embarrassing. I said:

Despite the backing of the Richardson Coalition PAC, [Stephen] Springs couldn't overcome [Dan] Barrios's support of his own from the Richardson Area Democrats PAC. Even though the RC spent money on a mailer endorsing Springs and the RAD only used its Facebook presence and word-of-mouth to promote Barrios, it wasn't enough to get Springs across the line.

Source: The Wheel.

I should have said, "the RAD also spent money on a mailer endorsing Barrios." Then I should have expressed my displeasure with their action.

I regret the error.

H/T to Andrew Laska for catching my mistake.

[Update: July 21, 2023: The Richardson Area Democrats PAC's semiannual report shows a $100 contribution to Dan Barrios's campaign.]

Dewey Defeats Truman, Richardson Edition

Source: DFW NBC5.

There are good reasons not to get your news from local television stations, not least of which is reporting this bad. It's not "Dewey Defeats Truman" bad, but it's still pretty bad. And here it is a week after the election and DFW's NBC5 television still has this up on its website of election news.

Looking at NBC5's vote totals, you can see where NBC5 went wrong. The votes are exactly the totals reported by Collin County. The problem for DFW NBC5 is that the City of Richardson is spread over two counties. Adding in the Dallas County votes, you'd get the true totals: Dubey 4,909; DePuy 4,609.

Remember, if you want the best in local news, news you can trust, look no farther than The Wheel.

POTD: Basilica de la Sagrada Familia

From 2022 10 21 Barcelona

This photo-of-the-day is from Barcelona, Spain. It shows the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. According to Wikipedia, "it is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. Designed by architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), his work on Sagrada Família is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On 7 November 2010, Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the church and proclaimed it a minor basilica." We exposed more film here than anywhere. Of course, we shoot digitally. We haven't shot film in two decades. But this basilica would have been worth the film if we had.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Loose Ends from City Council Election

The City Council election is over. Congratulations to all the elected council members. Congratulations to Bob Dubey, our new mayor. But before we close the books on the election, I need to mention some loose ends that really should be tied up, before we move on and they are lost to memory.