The Barkley Marathons (2014)

IMDB

Barkley Marathons (2014): 100 mi footrace in Tenn mtns. A cult race runners love. Quirky founder has kept it noncommercial for 40 yrs. B-

POTD: Walk Like a Cow

From 2016 02 07 Ranthambore

Today's photo-of-the-day is a typical street scene in Rajasthan, India, and probably almost anywhere else in India except for the largest cities. Tourists are taught that to cross the streets on foot, one should "walk like a cow." That is, walk in a slow, deliberate fashion, never showing hesitation or fear. Don't stop and never ever back up. Drivers really don't want to hit cows. Despite appearances, they don't want to hit pedestrians, either. If you walk like a cow, you can usually cross busy streets without incident.

Early Voting on RISD Bond 2016

Early voting in the Richardson ISD election begins today.

Back in February, when the RISD board of trustees voted to place the bond before the voters, I recommended a vote YES. Since then, I've attended four community meetings (one in each high school attendance zone), listened to numerous questions asked at those meetings (and answers), heard more than a few passionate speeches by citizens urging a no vote (and some urging yes votes), and read more Facebook posts than I can recommend to anyone (mostly negative).

The objections to the bond haven't changed. Well, one is new (see below). They didn't persuade me to oppose this bond then. They still don't persuade me now.

POTD: The Eyes Have It

From 2016 02 05 Agra

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Agra Fort in India. There's an art lesson here, which I could explain if I knew something about art. Consider the two people in this photo. The man has much to notice — hair, ear, beard, nose. The woman has, what? Her eyes. So, which person did you focus on? How long did it take for your own eyes to be drawn to her eyes? How long did they linger there? It's said the eyes are the most important part of any portrait. They are the hardest thing for an artist to draw. The art lesson is somewhere in those eyes.

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P.S. The most famous cover in the long history of "National Geographic" achieved its fame because of its subject's eyes.

Review: Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights

Amazon

From Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights, by Salman Rushdie

This is the story of a jinnia, a great princess of the jinn, known as the Lightning Princess on account of her mastery over the thunderbolt, who loved a mortal man long ago, in the twelfth century, as we would say, and of her many descendants, and of her return to the world, after a long absence, to fall in love again, at least for a moment, and then to go to war."

Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights. Count 'em up. That's 1001 nights. Consider this Salman Rushdie's attempt at fan fiction for "1001 Arabian Nights." How does it hold up?

After the jump, my review.