Argylle (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Argylle (2023): Spy novelist gets caught up in a real life spy operation. Why do her plots mimic real life so closely? Part mystery. Part action movie. Part silly. None done well enough to hold up the movie. The ending, instead of wrapping things up, just creates more confusion. C-

Apple TV+

The Road to Zero Degradation

Martin Luther King Blvd, Dallas. Source: Google.

The City of Dallas has bond proposals on its ballot in the May 4, 2024, election. Proposition A will ask voters to approve "$521 million in bond money to repair streets, alleys, sidewalks, bridges and other transportation-related infrastructure over five years." That sounds like a lot. It isn't. It's not even enough to keep up. The Dallas Morning News has the details.

POTD: A Well-Read Man

"In Málaga's heart,
stop for coffee and the news,
Spanish elegance."

—h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 09 12 Costa del Sol

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Calle Marqués de Larios in Málaga, Spain. Wikipedia describes it as "the most expensive street to live on in Málaga, and the eleventh most expensive to live on in all of Spain." To sit and read the paper, however, costs only a small tip.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

POTD: A Picasso Museum in the City of his Birth

"In Málaga, Spain,
Picasso's legacy lives
in tapestry's weaves."
—h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 09 12 Costa del Sol

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Picasso Museum in Málaga, Spain, the city of Picasso's birth. The museum is only 200 meters from where Picasso was born. It now houses 285 works donated by members of Picasso's family.

In a surprise to me, the work photographed here is not a Picasso painting, but a wool tapestry by Jacqueline Dürrbach made in 1958 after an original Picasso painting, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, from 1907. That painting is housed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Picasso has been reported to have described the tapestry as better than his original painting.

3 Body Problem (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

3 Body Problem (TV 2024): Astrophysics, quantum physics, nanotechnology, SETI, along with a novel twist on the classic threat to humanity that sci-fi stories usually pose. Science is front and center, but character development isn't neglected. The whole overcomes a lot of plot flaws. It all leaves me impatient for season 2. A-

Netflix

Density versus Sprawl

Jim Schutze, Dallas Observer.

If the population of north Texas continues to grow, where we will house all the new people? There are only two options: either greater density or more sprawl. Lately, Jim Schutze has been writing on Facebook against so-called "gentle densification" efforts in Dallas. His arguments seem, to me, to lack logical rigor. It's not that he's not smart. He is. It might just be the nature of social media. Anyway, let's examine one of his responses to my own comment in which I suggested that sprawl is worse than density from a cost viewpoint. I said, "Sprawl creates the need for additional future maintenance. Density uses existing infrastructure."

The Wheel's Voters Guide (May, 2024)

Early voting for the 2024 local elections in Texas is underway. Election Day is May 4, 2024. On the ballot for Richardson voters (at least on my ballot) will be two races. Use Vote411.org to see your personalized ballot. Read on to learn how to vote.

Dune: Part Two (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Dune Part Two (2024): Epic. Outstanding world-building. Spellbinding cinematography. The stakes grow. The allegories get biblical. Paul is a prophesied messiah who drinks from a chalice, falls into a deathlike state, and is revived. Some plot points are still silly (e.g, with "atomics" in use, why is most fighting with swords?). A-

In theaters

POTD: Olive Oil Extra Virgin

"From Seville's palaces
To Ronda's forbidding cliffs,
Extra virgin bliss."
—h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 09 11 Ronda

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the countryside between Seville and Ronda, Spain. It shows some of Spain's countless olive groves. Spain is the world's largest exporter of olive oil. In 2022, 43% of the world's exports came from Spain.

POTD: Ronda's Plaza de Toros

"Plaza de Toros,
Bullfighting's historic ring,
Hemingway's retreat."

—h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 09 11 Ronda

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Ronda, Spain.

"The city of Ronda is home to the Real Maestranza de Caballería, the oldest and most noble order of horsemanship in Spain since 1485."

The Plaza de toros de Ronda is claimed to be the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain.

"American artists Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles spent many summers in Ronda as part-time residents of Ronda's old-town quarter called La Ciudad. Both wrote about Ronda's beauty and famous bullfighting traditions."

A bonus photo is after the jump.