November 5th was a Huge Disappointment

November 5 was disappointing, but not a surprise. It's certainly not like 2016, where the result did catch me by surprise. This time, I took a wait-and-see attitude. Two weeks before the election, I told someone struggling to be optimistic that "the most I can offer is what keeps me from despair. The odds are pretty much 50/50. That's not a reason to be optimistic, but it's equally not a reason to be pessimistic."

Now that the results are in, and Donald Trump's win over Kamala Harris is certain, it's time for despair. Hear me out.

Book Review: The Lincoln Highway

From The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles:

Amazon

"Billy went back to the front pocket of his backpack and took out something that looked like a pamphlet. When he unfolded it on the table, Emmett could see it was a road map of the United States from a Phillips 66. Cutting all the way across the middle of the map was a roadway that had been scored by Billy in black ink. In the western half of the country, the names of nine towns along the route had been circled.
—This is the Lincoln Highway, explained Billy, pointing to the long black line. It was invented in 1912 and was named for Abraham Lincoln and was the very first road to stretch from one end of America to the other."

The Fall Guy (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Fall Guy (2024): Love story. Crime story. Mostly a star vehicle for Ryan Gosling with a plot full of stunts and blowing things up. It's not very good at any of these things. Emily Blunt gets short-changed. C+

Prime

The Worst Places to Eat In RIchardson Last Month

The City of Richardson is rightly regarded as having some of the best, most diverse, dining options in north Texas ("Eat & Drink"). Feeling a bit like "Opposite Man," I thought I'd offer a list of the ten worst places to eat in Richardson last month. It's based on the City of Richardson's Health Department Restaurant Scores for last month. That is, each month features a different list.

POTD: Iceberg from Upsala Glacier

"Floating ice so vast,
A shard of Upsala's might,
Drifting blue and white."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 03 14 Argentina Patagonia

Today's photo-of-the-day is of an iceberg from Upsala Glacier in Argentine Patagonia. Another tourist vessel is present for scale. Imagine the size of the glacier that the iceberg broke off from further up the fjord.

POTD: Perito Moreno Glacier

"Wide wall of blue ice,
Holding tourists' awed gaze.
Waiting for loud cracks."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 03 14 Argentina Patagonia

Today's photo-of-the-day is of Perito Moreno Glacier in the Patagonia region of Argentina. It's also my favorite glacier. It's a particularly stable glacier, at least along its leading edge, thanks to the geography of the fjord which forms a bottleneck that the glacier catches on as it advances. At that point is a boardwalk for tourists, making this one of world's most accessible glaciers for viewing. Stand and watch for a while and you'll be treated to occasional calving of large chunks of ice.

Random Thoughts: A Smidgen of Hope for the Planet

2024-10-01: "The UK Has No Coal-Fired Power Plants for the First Time in 142 Years" | WIRED.
Most of the time, I think our efforts to address climate change amount to too-little, too-late. But every once in a while there's a headline like this that gives me a smidgen of hope.
wired.com/story/uk-no-coal-fir...

2024-10-03: "11 damning details in Jack Smith’s new brief in the Trump election case" | POLITICO.
Damning? These Trump scandals have reached the point of having no effect on public opinion. Maybe they are even counter-productive. With every story, more voters might be moved to support Trump just to get these cases settled than moved to want him to lose to see the cases pursued for another four years. Depressing, but I think that's where we are.
politico.com/news/2024/10/02/j...

2024-10-04: "US economy added a whopping 254,000 jobs last month" | CNN Business.
Those are new jobs, in addition to all the jobs Americans had last month. Even if immigrants are taking some Americans' jobs, there are a "whopping" number of new ones to pick from.
cnn.com/business/live-news/us-...

Nobody Wants This (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Nobody Wants This (TV 2024): Sitcom about a sex podcaster and a rabbi...and their families who meddle in their unlikely relationship. Stereotypes abound. The chemistry is winning. The dialog is witty. And it has something serious to say about mixed-religion relationships. B+

Netflix

The Pale Blue Eye (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Pale Blue Eye (2022): Macabre murder mystery set in the cold, gray winter at West Point in 1830. A cadet is found dead, with his heart removed. Christian Bale is the detective who recruits a cadet named Edgar Allan Poe (yes, that one) to assist him. Everyone is quirky, creepy, and suspicious. B-

Netflix

#VeryTardyReview

Conclave (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Conclave (2024): The cardinal running the conclave picking the next pope uncovers one deep secret after another. An intelligent plot that sheds light on the ancient practice of Vatican politics. Informative if maybe implausible at times. It keeps you guessing who it's going to be. A-

In theaters