Barbie (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Barbie (2023): From great opening scene to brilliant closing joke, Greta Gerwig deftly balances the childhood joy of owning a doll (I presume) with the problematic associations that attached to that doll. An adult movie that raises themes worth exploring long after the credits roll. A-

Council Recap: Proposed Budget

At a work session August 14, 2023, the Richardson City Council reviewed the 2023-2024 budget proposed by City Manager Don Magner. With property appraisals up, the City is awash in additional tax revenue. With the economy booming (historically low unemployment and solid consumer spending), public complaints about the cost of local government are unusually muted. There were no public speakers at this week's Council meeting. Drawing up this year's budget must have been as easy as falling off a log. The bottom line: the City has $15.4 million more in revenues and is having no trouble finding ways to spend it.

Missing (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Missing (2023): Teen's mom takes vacation in Columbia and goes missing. Teen turns online detective to find her. The action in this low-budget thriller is watching her skills at hacking phones, email, and social media. Enough plot twists (and holes) to keep it interesting to the end. B+

An Underfunded Mandate for Texas Schools

Texans who follow the history of public schools in Texas are familiar with the story. The legislature passes mandates theoretically to improve schools but fail to provide sufficient money to pay the costs of implementing the new requirements. The latest example is Texas House Bill 3 (HB3). Except this time, it doesn't even pretend to improve education. It requires Texas school districts to have an armed officer on every campus, as if the secret to better reading scores is more guns. No, that's too absurd for even the Texas legislature. For them, it's the secret to ending gun violence in schools that is more guns. More guns seems to be their answer to every problem. In any case, for Richardson ISD, it's an underfunded mandate requiring the hiring of an additional 34 security personnel (plus two supervisors) and equipping them with handgun, duty belt, ballistic vest, and RISD Logo shirt.

POTD: Chromesthesia

From 2022 11 03 Athens

"Chromatic music,
Athens sings in bright colors.
Melody of paint."
—h/t ChatGPT

This photo-of-the-day was taken in the Stavros Niarchos Park in Athens, Greece. It's just an open piano where park visitors can sit for a minute and pluck out a tune. Or an hour and play a concerto. If you are lucky enough to experience chromesthesia, so much the better for you.

POTD: The Eleventy-Seventh Portrait of Jesus

From 2022 11 03 Athens

"In oils and water,
The most painted soul endures,
Art's eternal muse."
—h/t ChatGPT

This photo-of-the-day was taken in Athens, Greece. Who is the most painted person in history? It's got to be Jesus, right? By a long shot. Wikipedia has a page devoted to a partial list. Wikipedia even has a page devoted to paintings of Jesus just in the Louvre, and even that is long. Anyway, no matter what the answer is, this artist at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, is adding to history's collection of Jesus art. And doing a pretty good job of it, too, in my untrained opinion.

The Secret Invasion (TV 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Secret Invasion (TV 2023): Dark and foreboding, the fate of humanity is on the line. Many Marvel shows feature superheroes and humor. This is not one of them. Not for the uninitiated. It was only in the last couple of episodes that I felt I knew what was happening. Great cast. C+

The Beanie Bubble (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Beanie Bubble (2023): Story behind Beanie Baby boom and bust. Ty Warner caught lightning in a bottle but never understood why. Women around him did but were exploited. They aren't victims, though, exactly. It's hard to say what the moral of this one dimensional story is. C+

Council Recap: Atmos and Oncor

Clocking just 75 minutes, the Richardson City Council held a relatively short work session August 07, 2023. Agenda items were a review of the upcoming Corporate Challenge, reviews of utility rate requests by Atmos and Oncor, and action items setting dates for public hearings on the proposed tax rate and municipal budget, and naming a temporary location as the official City Hall.

By my count, although all of the Councilmembers said something, none offered any suggestions for change on any matter. The three matters put to a vote all passed unanimously.

River Wild (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

River Wild (2023): Five young people go on a white-water rafting expedition. The rapids turn out to be the least of the dangers they face. Standard action thriller. No character development. The only question is how many will die and how. There was a maybe better 1994 version. B-