The Beekeeper (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Beekeeper (2024): A "beekeeper" is a special forces operative charged with protecting US interests (the hive). Oh, the title character is also a literal keeper of bee hives. Silly. He becomes a one-man wrecking ball meting out extra-judicial vengeance against some bad guys. All who try to follow the law (police, FBI, CIA) become his victims, too. C+

Prime

Robert's Rules of Disorder

Richardson City Council meetings have never been a shining example of parliamentary procedure. Under Mayor Bob Dubey, things have only gotten worse. I've long thought that someone well-versed in Robert's Rules of Order would be able to bend the Council to his will through skillful use of these arcane rules of parliamentary procedure. The July 15, 2024, meeting was a case in point. But was it happening by cunning or more likely, merely by accident? Let's go to the transcript.

Bob Marley: One Love (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Bob Marley: One Love (2024): Biopic of the Jamaican reggae star. The intersection of religion and politics is skimped on. So, too, is Marley's complex personal life, except for one explosive scene with his wife about infidelity. But see it for the music. B+

Prime

Council Recap: "Heads in Beds" Prevails

"City council overrode a decision by plan commission in vote to supersize residential portion of massive mixed-use development." That's how TheRealDeal summarized the Richardson City Council's unanimous vote to allow a boost of 1,175 apartments at CityLine, for a total of 5,100. The City Plan Commission had previously denied the request 5-2, with one commissioner citing the desire to see "more creative retail or entertainment uses." City Manager Don Magner put his finger on the scale by saying the proposal "creates a path forward that's based in market reality," with the market reality being that right now, money is available for wood-frame apartments, so that's what we ought to build, tying up that land for the next fifty years. That's how developers think. That's not how City Councils should think.

POTD: Majorelle Blue

"Majorelle's retreat,
Colors bloom in desert's heat,
Art and nature blend."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 09 20 Marrakesh

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Marrakesh, Morocco, specifically the Majorelle Garden. It was designed by the French artist Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s and was restored in the 1980s by Yves Saint-Laurent. Majorelle trademarked the name Majorelle Blue for this intense shade of blue.

Click for a bonus photo.

POTD: Palm raising in Marrakesh

"In Marrakesh streets,
Inspired by a distant scene,
Palm recalls a flag."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 09 20 Marrakesh

According to the Pulitzer Prizes, "Perhaps no Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph is better known than Joe Rosenthal’s picture of six U.S. Marines raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. It was taken on Friday, Feb. 23, 1945, five days after the Marines landed on the island."

Famous enough that I wasn't surprised to see this homage on a wall in faraway Marrakesh, Morocco, of all places.

The Sympathizer (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Sympathizer (TV 2024): Black comedy about the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Everyone comes out looking bad: South Vietnamese army, Communists, CIA, Hollywood, and Robert Downey, Jr, playing four roles in the same over-the-top way. B-

Max

Dark Matter (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Dark Matter (TV 2024): Bad Jason steals good Jason's identity and family. Good Jason has to find him in an infinity of universes and defeat him. Good presentation of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, but with an infinity of worlds, why care about any one in particular? B+

AppleTV+

Student Housing is At Risk Again

Rendering of ATRE Waterview Mixed-Use Development

In December, 2022, when we last checked in on the long-running saga of one Richardson man's quest to build student-purposed housing just north of UT-Dallas, things were looking up, but with a big catch ("Breakthrough in Student Housing").

The catch was that City Council insisted on starting construction on a hotel and traditional apartment along with some retail before agreeing to issue a certificate of occupancy for the first phase, student-purposed housing.

POTD: Hey, Hay

"Bales stacked skyward high,
Overloaded truck sways slow,
Endless road ahead."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 09 20 Marrakesh

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Moroccan highway somewhere between Fez and Marrakesh. That is all.