This son of mine took home first place in today’s regional chess tournament and has the option to compete in this week’s state tournament in Austin. I really appreciated that his teammates jumped in to make this moment special for him.
Meanwhile, DaughterGeeding attended the Sadie Hawkins dance.
How the heck did I miss the news of a new Elvis concert film in IMAX with never-before-seen footage put together by Baz Luhrmann? I’m so ticked it’s no longer showing at any IMAX theaters, and caught the news too late.
It wouldn’t be right to call it a documentary, or even a concert film; it’s a dreamscape experience of Elvis telling you his story in his own voice because of a recently found audio-tape with concert footage filmed in Vegas. Luhrmann first learned of it while making his Elvis movie and sent someone to check the literal salt mine that studios store their films in near Kansas City. He thought maybe fifteen minutes would have been found, but luckily, it was over 60 boxes of reels. And if you think a lot of AI was used, you’d be wrong. Not a bit of AI was used in creating this; most of the technical work came from Peter Jackson’s team that put together the Beatles special.
Is it any good?
- On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 98 critics’ reviews are positive. The website’s consensus reads: “Resurrecting Elvis Presley at the peak of his showmanship, Baz Luhrmann’s truly epic concert documentary restores some joy into The King’s legacy, thank you very much.”
- Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare average grade of “A+” on an A+ to F scale
And as a bonus for me, Bono makes a contribution to it at the end, and it’s included in the soundtrack.
This ‘EPiC’ rock star gets the final word in the Elvis concert movie
Baz Luhrmann’s new documentary ‘EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert’ wraps up with an unexpected spoken-word tribute by Bono. Here’s how it happened.
So how did Luhrmann get Bono involved?
“He’s a good friend of mine, and I was in the south of France, in Cap-Ferrat (near Bono’s home), so I texted him,” the director says. “I was telling him how I was about to start making this. And he was like ‘You know, I’ve written a poem about Elvis.’ So he went and got it and read it.”
As they finished the documentary, “we were like, well, how do we end it?” Luhrmann says. Film editor Jonathan Redmond, who had worked with U2 previously, “spontaneously put it in and we thought, yes, a poem.”
CBS Eyes Joe Rogan for ’60 Minutes’ Shake-Up After Anderson Cooper Exit
While CBS may have its eye on Rogan, he has frequently made it clear he is his own boss and will never be anyone’s paid employee again.
“He makes more from podcasting than CBS could realistically offer,” one insider pointed out. “This wouldn’t be about money. It would be about influence.”
How “Landman” has been a boon to TCU
- Taylor Sheridan’s “Landman” has given Texas Christian University free publicity by using the school as a backdrop for the chaos and conflict of its second season. Sheridan is a Fort Worth native.
- The Paramount show employed hundreds of TCU students, including football players and members of the spirit team, as extras for the show’s second season, per university officials.
- TCU returned the favor by giving Sheridan an honorary degree last year and establishing a new land management course inspired by his shows.
Texas Monthly – It Was Once a Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ Joint. Now the Owner Can’t Find Anyone to Buy It. – What determines the survival of some joints isn’t just the quality and cost of their barbecue, but also the next generation’s willingness to take over.
There was a short span in time that a lof of folks would immediately go to Twitter to get the latest news.
X Is Drowning in Disinformation Following US and Israeli Attack on Iran – WIRED has reviewed hundreds of posts on X that promote misleading claims about the locations and scale of the attack.
I was surprised to see that my favorite pastor (of a mega-church) is considering a U.S. Senate run as an Independent. For what it’s worth, he earned his Master of Divinity degree from the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University (SMU).
My local Walmart is either always out of Big Red chewing gum or doesn’t sell it. I can never find it when I’m in the store. When I shop online, it says it’s in stock, but when I add it to the cart, then it tells me it’s not.
In Sunday school yesterday, the topic of wills, trusts, and probate was brought up. One lawyer brought up “GTT,” which is often taught in Texas History classes. For those of you unfamiliar, it means Gone To Texas. His point was that back in the day, Texas was really friendly to debtors. That is, a lot of folks from out of state who were in a lot of debt would just leave and go to Texas, writing nothing but “GTT” on their door.
He also mentioned something that I was shocked I didn’t know about John Connally. You may remember him best as the Governor of Texas who was riding with President Kennedy in Dallas, both of whom were shot (possibly hit by the same bullet). Connally later switched parties and served as the Treasury Secretary under Nixon. So, what did I find surprising? He filed for bankruptcy. To me, it’s surprising that not only a former governor filed for bankruptcy, but someone who was the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department. For a person to declare bankruptcy after serving as the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States, and as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters pertaining to economic and fiscal policy is just bewildering. Sometimes, truth is indeed stranger than fiction.
Former Texas Governor and U.S. Treasury Secretary John Connally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 1987, citing over $\$170$ million in debts caused by a collapsed Texas real estate market and failed business ventures. The bankruptcy forced a major public auction of his personal belongings in early 1988. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Key details regarding John Connally’s bankruptcy:
- Cause: Connally and his partner, former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, invested heavily in Texas real estate, including projects in Austin, Houston, and South Padre Island, which plummeted in value during the mid-1980s oil bust.
- Filings: He filed for personal Chapter 11 bankruptcy (reorganization) and Chapter 7 liquidation for the Barnes-Connally partnership.
- The Auction: To help satisfy debts, Connally sold personal items in a 1988 auction, including his 200-acre Picosa Ranch, 126 prized horses, and other memorabilia.
- Outcome: Connally emerged from bankruptcy court protection in June 1988. While he was discharged from his debt, unsecured creditors were expected to be repaid only about 10 cents on the dollar.
- Quote: When asked where this event fit into his life story, Connally famously quipped”Probably Chapter 11″. [3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
AI responses may include mistakes.