Tuesday, June 16, 2015

POTD: Stanley Cup Champions

From 2010 06 Northwestern
Today's photo-of-the-day is from Chicago, home of the 2015 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks also won the Cup in 2013 and 2010. Dynasty!

The photo is from the 2010 Cup year and shows the Blackhawks banner flying from the Michigan Avenue Bridge over the Chicago River. In the background is the Wrigley Building.

Good times.

A bonus photo after the jump.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Filling a Vacancy on City Council by Appointment

At Monday night's meeting, the Richardson City Council is scheduled to appoint a person to fill a vacancy in the Place 5 position on the council.

Some people just can't let go of the false idea that filling a vacancy by appointment instead of special election is a violation of the Texas State Constitution. And that the city charter itself gives the city council the option of calling a special election. By some people, I mean specifically local gadfly Cheri Duncan-Hubert. She's been corrected before, including here, but in a (long) Facebook thread she demonstrates a remarkable persistence of willful ignorance. So here we go again.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

POTD: Water Taxi

From 2015 03 16 Bangkok

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Bangkok, Thailand. Specifically, the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok's main thoroughfare. After a while, there's only so many temples you can stand to tour. You have to get away from the crowds, out on the river and breathe in some fresh, clean... diesel fumes from the river buses, cross-river ferries and water taxis. Good times.

Friday, June 12, 2015

Review: Salvage the Bones

Salvage the Bones
Amazon
From Salvage the Bones, by Jesmyn Ward:
Open quote 

It's summer, and when it's summer, there's always a hurricane coming or leaving here. Each pushes its way through the flat Gulf to the twenty-six-mile manmade Mississippi beach, where they knock against the old summer mansions with their slave galleys turned guesthouses before running over the bayou, through the pines, to lose wind, drip rain, and die in the north. Most don't even hit us head-on anymore; most turn right to Florida or take a left for Texas, brush past and glance off us like a shirtsleeve. We ain't had one come straight for us in years, time enough to forget how many jugs of water we need to fill, how many cans of sardines and potted meat we should stock, how many tubs of water we need."

It's a Hurricane Katrina story, but so much more. After the jump, my review.