David Brooks as Rorschach Test

The New York Times's columnist David Brooks is like a Rorschach test for Americans' view of politics. He equally pisses off conservatives and liberals alike. Conservatives because he refuses to pay obeisance to Donald Trump. Liberals because he pines for a mythic past that never was. His latest column doesn't disappoint. It's a Rorschach test that both sides can criticize. Let's unpack.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018): Finally a Stars Wars movie I like. Minimum mumbo jumbo about the Force, Jedi and the Empire. Instead a popcorn-worthy heist movie about the Millennium Falcon's first Kessel Run. Look for winks at classic movies and genres. B-

School Sports

I didn't think this needed saying. I didn't think this was controversial. But apparently, I was wrong, so here goes...

Every student should have the opportunity to play sports. But not every student should make the varsity team. There needs to be varsity sports, junior varsity, intramural, physical education classes, etc. Every student should be given a chance to play in a setting appropriate for his or her age and ability.

Book Club (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Book Club (2018): Four mature women seek to refind romance by reading "Fifty Shades of F*%#ed Up." Four great actors with so-so material. Hope this movie leads to more opportunities. Some laughs, some sympathy. Some of it falls flat, but satisfying overall. C+

POTD: Puntarenas Sunset

From 2018 01 25 Costa Rica

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken just offshore of Puntarenas, a Pacific port town on Costa Rica's Gulf of Nicoya.

POTD: Hopped Up on Caffeine

From 2018 01 25 Costa Rica

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Doka Estate, a coffee plantation in Costa Rica. The photo is of the plantation tour guide, or as I like to think, an example of what happens to you if you work too long on a coffee plantation.

I think I may have had a similar look after writing this week's earlier blog posts. ;-)

Time to Review Richardson's Code of Ethics

Yesterday I called out the City of Richardson's Code of Ethics as being deficient and in need of review. So, color me surprised to find this section deep in the code itself:

Sec. 2-10. Review.
The City Council shall review this article once every two years following its adoption on September 27, 2010.

Source: City of Richardson.

Maybe those periodic reviews have been happening like clockwork and I just missed them. Can someone alert me when the next one happens so I can contribute?

The City Has Some Explaining To Do, Too

Yesterday, in response to the federal indictment for bribery of former Richardson mayor Laura (Maczka) Jordan, I explained and apologized for my endorsement of her for mayor in 2013. The City of Richardson itself (whoever the "City" might be) offered up its own response to the indictment. I'll let others judge my response. But in my opinion, the City's own response falls short of any hint that I might not be the only one with some explaining and apologizing to do.

Never Apologize, Never Explain

"Never Apologize, Never Explain." Purportedly, that was the guiding philosophy of the Victorian English in how they ran the British Empire. I don't believe I have any English ancestry, and I certainly don't rule an empire. I find a better personal guiding philosophy to be, "Always Apologize, Always Explain." That brings me to a rather awkward moment in my blogging archive: that time when I endorsed Laura Maczka for Richardson mayor.

Review: The Underground Railroad

Amazon

From The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead:

The music stopped. The circle broke. Sometimes a slave will be lost in a brief eddy of liberation. In the sway of a sudden reverie among the furrows or while untangling the mysteries of an early-morning dream. In the middle of a song on a warm Sunday night. Then it comes, always—the overseer’s cry, the call to work, the shadow of the master, the reminder that she is only a human being for a tiny moment across the eternity of her servitude."

"The Underground Railroad" had me by its awards: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. But then there was this: Winner of the Arthur C Clarke award for Science Fiction. Say what???