Lonely Planet (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Lonely Planet (2024): Romance at a writers' retreat between an unlikely couple. The Morocco setting drew me to this movie, but the plot put me off. Laura Dern isn't given enough to work with. And if Liam Hemsworth was cast for anything other than his looks, he never shows it. A trifle. C+

Netflix

No Good Deed (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

No Good Deed (TV 2024): Couple wants to sell their house. Audience first wonders what's wrong with the house, then what's wrong with the couple? Show morphs into an absurd black comedy murder mystery that eventually finds its way to a more or less satisfactory ending. C+

Netflix

The Brutalist (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Brutalist (2024): Hungarian architect who is a traumatized Holocaust survivor rebuilds his life in America. He gets a major commission for a community center. Are we seeing an immigrant success story? Or a story of an arrogant, obsessed, artistic genius? Deeper study reveals it may really be a love story. A-

In theaters

City Charter: Ending Pretext Stops

On December 2, 2024, the Richardson City Council appointed eleven members to a Charter Review Commission, as required by law every ten years to review and suggest changes to Richardson's City Charter. Here, in a series of posts, I am presenting my own suggestions.

POTD: Lunch on the Turkish Riviera

"Sun and turquoise sea,
Relaxed lunch by quiet waves,
A perfect escape."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 05 16 Bodrum

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at the Flamm hotel on the beach in Bodrum, Turkey.

Bonus photos after the jump.

POTD: Doner Kebab and Pide

"Sizzling doner meat,
Lamb and herbs in harmony,
Bodrum's bustling streets."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 05 16 Bodrum

Today's photo-of-the-day is of doner kebab in Bodrum, Turkey. "Doner kebab is a dish of Turkish origin made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Seasoned meat stacked in the shape of an inverted cone is turned slowly on the rotisserie, next to a vertical cooking element. The operator uses a knife to slice thin shavings from the outer layer of the meat as it cooks."

After the jump, another Turkish savory treat.

TIL: The "Migrant Crisis" is Self-Inflicted

Source: Carlos Barria / Reuters.

I learned more about the so-called "migrant crisis" from an article in "The Atlantic" from almost a year ago than I've learned from anything else since.

A Gentleman in Moscow (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

A Gentleman in Moscow (TV 2024): The story of the Soviet Union from revolution to Stalin's death as seen through the life of one man and one hotel. A Russian count is sentenced by Bolshviks to a lifetime of house arrest in the elegant Metropol Hotel. Ewan McGregor is charming. B+

Paramount+

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Compare with the original novel: "A Gentleman in Moscow".

Drones are Ready. Red Tape Is Also

Source: City of Richardson.

On January 7, 2025, the Richardson City Plan Commission (CPC) approved, but only with a special permit, ZF 24-33, "a City-initiated PD Amendment to the Collins/Arapaho TOD and Innovation District Form Based Code Planned Development to allow a 'Drone Operations and Maintenance Center' as a permitted use in the Employment Sub-District."

Do you even know what a Drone Operations and Maintenance Center is? I didn't. And, judging by the discussion by the CPC members, neither did they. I have three comments.

Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Joker: Folie à Deux (2024): Joker on trial for murders committed in earlier movie. Is he criminally insane or just evil? Critics hated it. Audiences avoided it. But I liked it. It was a powerful depiction of how our criminal justice system fails the mentally ill. And...it's a musical! B+

Max