Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (2017): Oscar winning documentary short depicts a female artist fighting mental illness, depression, anxiety. But what an artist! Narrated almost all by herself. What grit and determination. Inspiring. Watch on YouTube. A-

POTD: Exercise Increased Caution

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Plaza de la Paz in the old city of Cartagena, Columbia. Some areas of Columbia have a probably well-deserved reputation of being unsafe. The US State Department advises "Exercise increased caution in Colombia due to crime and terrorism." But, so far, knock-on-wood, cross-your-fingers, Cartagena itself is safe and friendly and welcoming and a pleasure to visit. Go and enjoy yourself. We did.

RISD's Legal Response

Former Richardson ISD school board trustee David Tyson, Jr., has sued the RISD, alleging its at-large election system is a violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He wants RISD to change to single-member-districts, in an effort to elect more minorities to the school board. As they say, the longer you are personally following a story, the less respect you have for media coverage. It's not always their fault — there are so many stories and so few good reporters. Gone are the days when The Dallas Morning News assigned Jeffrey Weiss to regularly cover RISD. And so instead we get drive-by reporting like The Dallas Morning News's James Ragland's recent coverage of the lawsuit.

POTD: Noli Me Tangere

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a statue of a woman raising her arm to face the sea. It stands in the square fronting the old port of Cartagena, Columbia. The inscription reads Noli Me Tangere (Don't Touch Me), which is from the New Testament. It's what Jesus says to Mary Magdalene when they meet after the resurrection. It's a popular theme in Christian art.

Here in Cartagena it's used to "warn off would-be invaders. Because Cartagena was the storehouse of the Spanish Empire's gold, a slew of 16th century pirates — Englishman Francis Drake included — had attacked and pillaged the city several times." (LA Times).

Ironically, the statue has a message for Spain itself. The statue was erected in 1911, on the 100th anniversary of Cartagena being the first Columbian city to declare independence from Spain. (OfficeHolidays.com).

Black Panther (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Black Panther (2018): James Bond meets Tarzan in a galaxy far, far away. With a touch of Jumanji and Iron Man tossed in. Jokes? Yes. Acting? Minimal. Special effects? All sorts. Plot? As needed. Commentary on global racial divide? Potentially powerful, but easy to miss. C-