POTD: Médailles Souvenirs

From 2022 10 25 Monte Carlo and Nice

This photo-of-the-day is from Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Monte Carlo. It's best known as the final resting place of Princess Grace of Monaco. But I found it amusing that inside this holy church, a few steps from Princess Grace's grave, tourists can buy souvenir medals from a vending machine. Unlike Monte Carlo's slot machines, here every coin returns a winner. Since 1996, collectors in France have been able to purchase such souvenirs at over 300 tourist locations, including churches.

POTD: I Love Nice

From 2022 10 25 Monte Carlo and Nice

This photo-of-the-day is from Nice, France. Obviously.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

Book Review: The Book of Goose

From The Book of Goose, by Yiyun Li:

Amazon

  The questions that did not occur to me to ask at thirteen feel important now. I wonder if Fabienne knew the answers. I wish I could ask her. This is the inconvenience of her being dead. Half of this story is hers, but she is not here to tell me what I have missed."

Book Review: The Book of Goose. Memoir of Agnès, a girl author whose brief fame is not entirely earned. A coming-of-age tale of a girl and her best friend Fabienne, the one who seemingly has all the answers for Agnès, the one with only questions. But Agnès has heart. A-

After the jump, my full review.

Our New City Council Discusses Water, City Hall, and Texas Leg

Source: City of Richardson.

The City of Richardson's new City Council held their first substantive meeting June 5, 2023. We've already covered what the Council had to say about Richardson's long-range water supply situation. That only got us to the 90 minute mark of the three-and-a-half hour meeting. The agenda was packed with so much more — the city's water infrastructure, new city hall, and Texas legislature. I'll try to be briefer covering what our new Council had to say on those topics, but I make no promises.

Our New City Council Discusses Water

NTMWD

The City of Richardson's new City Council held their first substantive meeting June 5, 2024. The agenda was packed with meaty subjects (water, wastewater, new city hall, Texas legislature). It was a refreshing change from the usual diet of considering whether to approve a new drive-through chicken restaurant (spoiler: it's always yes). All that and a new City Council still finding their place on the dais. Let's focus on that new City Council and how they reacted to the topic of long-range water supply planning.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023): Ant-Man and the Wasp (or is it two Wasps, Hope and Janet?) fight Kang the Conqueror in the Quantum Realm. Too many characters. No dramatic arc, just constant fighting. A pointless mess. Ants can't act, neither can Michael Douglas. D+

Mapping the Making of a Mayor

On May 6, 2023, the City of Richardson elected Bob Dubey as Mayor. Dubey received 4,910 votes (51.6%) to Janet DePuy's 4,610 votes (48.4%).

That's what happened. But how and why are different questions. There's an old political saying, which John F. Kennedy put this way: "Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan." Almost any tale we tell about how this close race was won could have some truth to it. So I'm going to tell you a tale. Mine is based on a single map. Numbers don't lie, amirite?

POTD: Mona Lisa Can Dab

From 2022 10 26 Pisa

This photo-of-the-day is from Pisa, Italy. It was taken at a souvenir stand in the Square of Miracles, where tourists flock to see the Leaning Tower, the Duomo, and the Baptistry. The Mona Lisa isn't here. She isn't even in Italy. She's in Paris at the Louvre, but the T-shirt in the lower right of this photo shows that the iconic lady can dab.

POTD: Amazing Acoustics of Pisa Baptistery

From 2022 10 26 Pisa

This photo-of-the-day is from Pisa, Italy. It was taken in the Baptistry, one of the three magnificent buildings in the Square of Miracles. Everyone is instantly familiar with one: The Leaning Tower of Pisa. But if you're lucky enough to visit Pisa, be sure to go into a different architectural gem — the Baptistry — and do it at one of the times a volunteer gives a demonstration of the building's acoustics. With the echos, one voice can sound like a choir.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Mrs. Davis (TV 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Mrs. Davis (TV 2023): Sci-fi action mystery parody. Godlike AI brings happiness to all; sends Sister Simone, wife of restaurant-owning Jesus, on quest for the Holy Grail (winkingly called “the most overused MacGuffin ever”). Bonkers, but it all makes sense by the end. B+