The Marvels (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Marvels (2023): Don't think about wormholes and "jump points" and the Supreme Intelligence and you'll enjoy this silly romp. Reminded me of "Everything Everywhere All at Once", Bollywood, Cats, and even Star Trek ("The Trouble with Tribbles"), all while three female superheros save the universe. B-

Disney+

POTD: Bananas for Sale in Lombok

"Five million souls live
with Ranjani's constant threat.
Lombok's restless heart."
—h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 04 05 Lombok

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken on the island of Lombok, Indonesia, about the same size as Bali, which is just to its west. Lombok is home to over 5 million Indonesians, one of whom is shown here. If Lombok makes the news in America, it's most likely because of a volcanic eruption. The island's geography is dominated by the 12,224 ft stratovolcano Mount Ranjani, an active volcano that had a large eruption as recently as 2010. One of the largest volcanic eruptions in world history occurred on Lombok in 1257.

POTD: Dragons are Real

"Volcanic islands,
Dragons roam in wild splendor.
Evolution's gift."
—h/t ChatGPT

From 2023 04 04 Rinca

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken on Rinca Island, home of Indonesia's Komodo National Park, populated by an estimated 5,700 giant lizards, or Komodo Dragons. We saw a dozen or so, from a safe distance. At least they told us we were safe.

Magnet Schools and RISD's Budget Hole

The Richardson ISD Board of Trustees has a regular meeting Thursday, February 22, 2024. One of the (many) items on the agenda is this:

TOPIC Recommended Budget Reductions: Project Rightsize

In December, the Community Budget Steering Committee presented a series of recommendations to effectively “right-size” the budget...

The Administration Team will provide an update on the budget planning and recommendations for the Board’s consideration and feedback.

Source: Richardson ISD.

TIL: US is Choosing to be Poorer

Donald Trump might be the Xenophobe-in-Chief, but both political parties are moving to the right on immigration. This will have a negative impact on GDP, posing threats to everything from Social Security to housing.