POTD: Shakespeare and Company, Paris

From 2022 12 25 Paris

"Words and worlds inside,
Whitman's legacy lives on.
Old bookshelves hold tales."
—h/t ChatGPT

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Shakespeare and Company, a bookstore on the Left Bank in Paris, opened in 1951 and renamed to "Shakespeare and Company" in 1964 "in tribute to Sylvia Beach's bookstore of the same name founded in 1919." The founder, George Whitman, called his venture "a socialist utopia masquerading as a bookstore." Today, tourists stand in line for as long as 30 minutes just to get a chance to enter.

POTD: The Eiffel Tower from Montmartre

From 2022 12 25 Paris

"Parisian skyline,
Eiffel Tower claims its space,
Montmartre's distant gaze."
—h/t ChatGPT

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Montmartre in Paris. It shows the Eiffel Tower, two miles away. No matter where you go in Paris, your eye looks up to try to find the Eiffel Tower. For orientation. For beauty. It's like pinching yourself to be reminded, "I'm in Paris."

Flora and Son (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Flora and Son (2023): Ireland. Divorced woman with a rebellious son decides to learn guitar online from a failing LA musician. Romcom premise but it's more. Music ends up saving everyone's lives. The best musical dramedy since 2007's "Once" by the same director. Eve Hewson is terrific. B+

Reptile (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Reptile (2023): Benicio del Toro plays the Robert Mitchum part as a hardbitten detective solving a murder that gets closer to home the deeper he goes. He is excellent in this derivative murder mystery. The puzzling title simply means people shed their skins, revealing who they really are. C+

Why School Vouchers are Bad for Texas

The school voucher bill being deliberated by the Texas House of Representatives has been argued over elsewhere, everywhere. The bottom line for me is that it takes tax dollars currently being spent on public schools and diverts them to private schools. That hurts public education.