Maria (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Maria (2024): Biopic of last 7 days of opera star Maria Callas's life. Oscar bid by Angelina Jolie. Callas comes across not as bigger than life, but as a sad, faded star, looking for something, needing something, but what? She doesn't know and neither does the director. C+

Netflix

Anora (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Anora (2024): Worker in a strip club gets involved with the immature son of a Russian oligarch. The relationship goes too far, the parents find out and send some heavies to put a stop to it, who get more than they expected subduing Ani. Mikey Madison deserves the Oscar buzz. Movie deserves its R rating. B+

In theaters

City Charter: Transparent Appointment of Boards and Commissions

Source: Arefin Shamsul Facebook.

On December 2, 2024, the Richardson City Council appointed eleven members to a Charter Review Commission, as required by law every ten years to review and suggest changes to Richardson's City Charter. Here, in a series of posts, I am presenting my own suggestions.

POTD: Old Men Dancing on the Bar

"Where marble tomb stood,
Pride of an ancient empire,
Now old men play games."

— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 05 16 Bodrum

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the port town of Bodrum, Turkey. "Known in ancient times as Halicarnassus, the town was once home to the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, also known as the tomb of Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World." Nothing from the tomb remains.

Today, restaurants line the waterfront where tourists dine and old men gather to play backgammon. Playing board games dates back to before the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. I like to think old men like those in this photo have been gathering here ever since.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

POTD: Mighty Aphrodite

"Under Augustus,
Prosperity built temples.
Aphrodite reigned."
— h/t ChatGPT

From 2024 05 15 Hierapolis

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the ruins of Aphrodisias, an ancient Roman city in southwestern Turkey. "Aphrodisias, named after its patron goddess Aphrodite, was founded in the 2nd century B.C. on the site of a rural sanctuary of Aphrodite. In the 1st century B.C., Aphrodisias came under the protection of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus, and this initiated a period of prosperity and growth. A nearby marble quarry supplied the ancient city and sites around the empire such as Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, with a supply of high-quality white and blue marble."

"The monumental gateway to the city's main sanctuary, the Tetrapylon at Aphrodisias is one of the city's most impressive monuments. The remarkable preservation of the structure—about 85% of its physical fabric survives—allowed for a complete scientific reconstruction, which was completed in 1991."