Friday, November 5, 2021

The French Dispatch (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes
The French Dispatch (2021): Stories from a mid-20th century American journal in Ennui-sur-Blase, France. Quirky look, quirky stories, quirky acting. Packed full of top-tier actors. If you love Wes Anderson, you'll understand. Others will leave theatre scratching their heads. B-

Thursday, November 4, 2021

RISD School Board Goes To School

The trustees of the Richardson ISD school board held a three hour training session Tuesday night on team-building. You might think this was well-timed, given recent events, but it's been on the board calendar all year. Texas State law requires team-building training every year. This week was RISD's turn. The trainer was Kay Douglas from the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). She was excellent. She is knowledgeable, experienced, and generous with sharing her learned wisdom.

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Only Murders in the Building (TV 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes
Only Murders in the Building (TV 2021): Three true crime aficionados living in the same building make a podcast to investigate a murder. More silly comedy than serious mystery. Best work by Steve Martin and Martin Short since Three Amigos. Selena Gomez balances the silly. B+

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Reservation Dogs (TV 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes
Reservation Dogs (TV 2021): Comedy set in a small town in Oklahoma where four indigenous teens with no prospects dream of escaping to California. At times funny, poignant, irreverent, despairing, and quirky, it always feels authentic. Paradoxically, it made me like Oklahoma. B+

Monday, November 1, 2021

Random Thoughts: A Look at Redistricting

Tweets from October, 2021:
  • 2021-10-01: A look at redistricting...102 Ana Marie Ramos is safely D. (Richardson south of Belt Line). 112 Angie Chen Button leans R. (Richardson Dallas Co. north of Belt Line). 33 Justin Holland is safely R. (east Richardson Collin Co).
  • 2021-10-02: An overtime thriller, Berkner over Pearce 34-32. Three, four, five overtimes, any way you count it, a thriller.
  • 2021-10-02: Technically, I guess it was five overtimes. Whew! Tell the kids that's what all the August conditioning is for.
  • 2021-10-02: Headline: "An American tragedy: US COVID death toll tops 700,000." I can't work up any sympathy for anti-vaxers and anti-maskers. I'm all out.
  • 2021-10-02: Recent Covid-19 deaths. There's a vaccine that saves lives. Get it.

After the jump, more random thoughts.