Book Review: The Cartographers

From The Cartographers, by Peng Shepherd:

Amazon

"It was an open-and-shut case, they’d determined. Dr. Young had been alone—the security cameras in the Map Division didn’t turn on until the last employee in the department had clocked out, but they had already been running in the lobby since closing time the night before. The only reported movement was from the security guard on patrol, who had been the one to find him when he’d peeked in on his last loop around the library, sometime in the early hours of dawn."

Emilia Pérez (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Emilia Pérez (2024): Spanish. Head of a Mexican drug cartel wants to transition into a woman. The existence of a wife and children pose a problem. If that premise isn't implausible enough, the movie is a musical. But somehow Jacques Audiard pulls it off. A-

Netflix

Family Pack (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Family Pack (2024): French. Family game night causes a whole family to be transported back to the Middle Ages where they have to slay four werewolves in order to return to the 21st century. A comedy/adventure/fantasy that is mediocre at all of them. Maybe for kids. C-

Netflix

It's What's Inside (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

It's What's Inside (2024): Group of friends play a game of mind/body swapping with a sci-fi device. It's all fun and games until it isn't. Too many characters to keep straight, and keeping them straight is critical to following the consequences of the body swaps. The directorial style is novel, but doesn't quite work. C+

Netflix

POTD: Estancia Santa Susana

"Hooves drum on the plains,
Gauchos race with steady grace,
Horse and man as one."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 03 14 Argentina Patagonia

No trip to Argentina is complete without seeing a gaucho show on a ranch. Horse riding, a folklore show, and of course a cookout. Today's photo-of-the-day is from Estancia Santa Susanna outside Buenos Aires.

And with that, we say adios to Argentina. Next trip: Turkey.

POTD: Tango's Fire

"Velvet curtains part.
Golden age of tango lives.
Dancing fire ignites."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 03 14 Argentina Patagonia

No trip to Argentina is complete without seeing a live tango performance in Buenos Aires, the birthplace of tango. Today's photo-of-the-day is from Cafe de los Angelitos. "This historic café and haunt of legendary tango singer Carlos Gardel opens its secret backroom drapes every night and transforms into a grand ballroom tanguería. 'Of the many tango shows in Buenos Aires, Cafe de los Angelitos rises above the rest,' TangoNightsBA, a travel agency that specializes in tango shows, explains. 'The refurbished cafe and theater managed to preserve the traditional feel of the tango golden age and their show reflects the same.' "

A bonus photo is after the jump.

Agatha All Along (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Agatha All Along (TV 2024): A spinoff to WandaVision. The Marvel Universe is now so cluttered that only dedicated enthusiasts can keep all the characters straight. This one is about a coven of witches who follow a road, where Agatha is seeking to regain all her lost powers. For a movie about witches, it lacks any suspense. C+

Disney+

Democrats Have an Image Problem

Democrats seem to have the advantage on the issues. But Republicans have the advantage on messaging. Let's consider Missouri. Voters there voted like Democrats on the issues. But they voted for Republicans for office. They passed some pretty liberal Constitutional amendments while voting by a 19% margin for Donald Trump for President, and by a 14% margin for Josh Hawley for Senate.

Lessons from November 5th

It's now one week since Election Day. Mark Leibovich in "The Atlantic" goes all the way back to Hillary Clinton's close loss to Donald Trump in 2016 to explain the source of the Democrats' defeats in 2024.

Leibovich: "Democrats engaged in no real reckoning after 2016. Essentially they became a party that defined itself in opposition to Trump, just as Republicans have been defined in submission to him."

Standing with Public Schools

On November 7, the Richardson ISD Board of Trustees adopted a set of legislative priorities for the upcoming 2025-2026 legislative term.