Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 346

High School girls basketball: Lowhorn named Notre Dame basketball coach

Former University of San Francisco basketball standout Dior Lowhorn has been named the new girls basketball coach at Notre Dame High in Salinas.

A physical education teacher and athletic director at Sacred Heart School in Salinas, Lowhorn played professionally overseas for 13 years.

A three-time all-West Coast Conference selection at USF, Lowhorn led the conference in scoring twice, setting a handful of school records. He has spent time in broadcasting and teaching since his professional career ended.

Lowhorn will take over a program with a rich history in basketball, having won three section titles and 15 league crowns, finishing 15-11 last year.

However, it will be a rebuild for the Spirits, whose enrollment has been cut in half since the pandemic, as well as the loss of half the roster to graduation.

Republican-led group sues to block Georgia rule requiring hand count of ballots

By JEFF AMY and KATE BRUMBACK

ATLANTA (AP) — A Republican-led group is challenging Georgia’s new requirement that poll workers count the total number of ballots by hand, saying it’s another example of the State Election Board overstepping its legal authority.

Eternal Vigilance Action amended its existing lawsuit on Wednesday to also challenge that rule adopted Friday by the board.

The group, founded and led by former state Rep. Scot Turner, a Republican, was already suing the board over rules that it earlier adopted on certifying votes, a step that finalizes results. One of those rules provides for an undefined “reasonable inquiry” before county election officials certify while another allows county election officials “to examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections.”

Turner’s lawsuit is scheduled for an Oct. 4 hearing before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox. Eternal Vigilance Action is asking Cox to overturn the rules, or at least put them on hold until after November’s presidential election.

The new ballot counting rule and two others having to do with county certification of vote totals were passed by a majority on the board made up of three Republican partisans who have been praised by former President Donald Trump. The rules have raised alarms among Democrats, voting rights groups and others who fear they could be used to cause chaos and undermine confidence in the election results in this crucial swing state if Trump loses to Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in November.

Turner, however, said in a telephone interview that his lawsuit is motivated by his view of constitutional principles, saying the board is part of the executive branch that is intruding on powers reserved for legislators.

“They are not an elected body,” Turner said the State Election Board. “They are not accountable to voters, therefore they should not have lawmaking authority.”

The new ballot counting rule requires that the number of ballots — not the number of votes — be counted at each polling place by three separate poll workers until all three counts are the same. If a scanner has more than 750 ballots inside at the end of voting, the poll manager can decide to begin the count the following day.

Georgia voters make selections on a touchscreen voting machine that prints out a paper ballot that includes a human-readable list of the voter’s choices as well as a QR code that is read by a scanner to tally the votes.

Proponents say the rule is needed to ensure the number of paper ballots matches the totals recorded on scanners, check-in computers and voting machines. The three workers will have to count the ballots in piles of 50, and the poll manager needs to explain and fix, if possible, any discrepancies, as well as document them.

In a memo sent the day before the election board voted on the ballot counting rule, Attorney General Chris Carr’s office said the rule is “not tethered to any statute” and is “likely the precise kind of impermissible legislation that agencies cannot do.” The memo from the Republican Carr’s office warned that any rule that goes beyond the board’s authority is unlikely to survive a legal challenge.

Turner said he viewed his lawsuit as putting Carr’s arguments before a judge. His amended lawsuit also adds challenges to rules that the board adopted to require daily public updates of the number of votes cast during early voting, to potentially allow more partisan poll watchers to observe the tabulation of votes.

Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and an association of county election officials had also cautioned the board against passing the rule. They said it could delay election night reporting of vote totals and could weaken protections on the chain of custody of ballots.

Results wouldn’t be delayed if poll workers send the memory cards that record the votes in machines to the central tabulation location before finishing the hand tally.

Another lawsuit from state and national Democratic groups is also challenging the two certification rules. A judge has set a Tuesday bench trial in the Democrats’ lawsuit.

The State Election Board has been besieged by critics in recent months as it considers new rules, many of them proposed by Trump allies that opponents say could erode public confidence in the election results.

“They are providing bonfire material for conspiracy theorists to attack the legitimacy of elections based on the complaints of a very noisy minority of Republican voters,” Turner said.

Bypass road built as regional trail project continues

DEL REY OAKS – A temporary bypass roadway has been built for the public to use during construction of the first phase of the Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway project on  Highway 218 adjacent to the Frog Pond Wetland Preserve in Del Rey Oaks.

The Canyon Del Rey Segment is part of the overall FORTAG alignment. This segment runs from the intersection of North Fremont and Canyon Del Rey boulevards through Work Memorial Park and Del Rey Park, under Highway 218 into the corner of the Frog Pond, back up to Highway 218 at Carlton Drive, then to Plumas Avenue where it will end at Del Rey Woods Elementary School.

The FORTAG path will go under Canyon Del Rey Boulevard – Highway 218 – with a new roadway bridge constructed to carry vehicles using the highway. Hikers, pedestrians and bicycles will travel under the bridge through a 10.5-foot-high passageway.

 

 

The 1.5-mile Canyon Del Rey segment runs from the intersection of North Fremont and Canyon Del Rey boulevards through Work Memorial and Del Rey parks, under Highway 218 – via a new roadway bridge constructed to carry vehicles using the highway – and into the corner of Frog Pond Wetland Preserve, back up to Highway 218 at Carlton Drive, and on to Plumas Avenue where it ends at Del Rey Woods Elementary School. (TAMC)

The Transportation Agency for Monterey County, the lead agency on the project, is working with Caltrans District 5, the cities of Del Rey Oaks and Seaside and the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District, to complete the project.

Construction of the Canyon Del Rey Segment of the FORTAG project is being done in phases and different areas of the project will be affected at different times, according to TAMC. As the project moves forward, residents and businesses will be provided additional notifications in advance of bridge foundation work – pile driving – and work that restricts driveway access. Construction is expected to last through August 2026.

The Canyon Del Rey segment of the Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway project is part of the larger 28-mile effort to connect communities in and around the former Fort Ord to each other and to educational institutions, employment, community and open space.

This week the scheduled work included excavating for retaining walls in Work Memorial Park, roadway stripe removals and re-striping to match the new temporary roadway, placement of temporary barriers and crash cushions, and the removal of existing pavement.

Drivers are reminded to be prepared for a realigned roadway which will include barriers on both sides of the road, with a reduced shoulder and lane widths, along with a speed limit of 20 mph.

In the next two weeks, work will include the installation of temporary shoring for the bridge construction with structure excavation for the bridge which may begin once shoring is completed.

Access to Work Memorial Park, the Butterfly Garden and tennis courts is restricted during construction. Parking adjacent to the Frog Pond Wetland Preserve may be restricted but other access restrictions are not foreseen in the next three weeks, according to the Transportation Agency.

Work hours are from 7 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. When called for, night hours are from 9 p.m. – 6 a.m., Sunday through Thursday unless otherwise authorized for specific operations with advance notice. Night work will occur along Highway 218 – Canyon Del Rey Boulevard.

For information about the FORTAG project or to sign up for project updates, go to www.tamcmonterey.org/fort-ord-regional-trail-greenway-canyon-del-rey.

Two 49ers defenders carted off from practice; Deebo Samuel makes surprise return

SANTA CLARA – Not even the sight of Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Trent Williams back at practice could keep the 49ers’ positive vibes going long Thursday.

Backup linebacker Curtis Robinson was carted off barely 15 minutes into practice with a non-contact knee injury, and that cart later took potential starting defensive tackle Jordan Elliott to the locker room because of a foot injury.

So goes the 49ers’ injury luck in a season they’ve started 1-2 without Christian McCaffrey, last season’s AP Offensive Player of the Year. Samuel and Kittle both missed Sunday’s 27-24 loss at the Los Angeles Rams, where defensive tackle Javon Hargrave sustained a season-ending triceps tear.

Symbolizing the team’s status, that cart was parked in front of the 49ers’ locker room after practice.

“It sucks anytime you see a teammate go down,” quarterback Brock Purdy said. “I’m just trying to practice, get ready for this game and you look over and see a cart on the field. It’s, ‘Alright, who is that?’ We have to keep going and finish practice.”

The 49ers host the New England Patriots (1-2) on Sunday, and Samuel’s surprising appearance Thursday could signal his availability after what was suspected to be a two-game absence due to a calf strain. Samuel did not appear to be favoring a leg in Thursday’s action, and it’s unknown if he’d promptly reclaim his starting slot ahead of Jauan Jennings, who had three touchdown catches among 11 receptions for 175 yards Sunday.

“You have to have a perspective of being grateful when you’re healthy and take advantage of your opportunity,” Purdy added. “More than anything, the culture we have here, whoever goes down, we’ve always got their back, we’ll be there for them, and will try to get them back as fast as possible.”

Purdy, by the way, said his back has responded well this week after requiring an MRI on Monday to rule out anything serious from Sunday, when he endured “cumulative” effects from a physical game that pained him afterward.

Elliott figured to enter the starting lineup in place of Hargrave. Kevin Givens also has rotated into that spot alongside Maliek Collins, with T.Y. McGill a potential practice-squad callup Sunday.

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Robinson has played 59 special-teams snaps, and while he’d yet to debut on defense this season, that possibility was floated in light of De’Vondre Campbell’s brief benching Sunday. Dee Winters played six snaps in place of Campbell before aggravating an ankle injury that forced him out of the game; Winters resumed practicing Thursday in limited fashion.

Kittle said he is “very excited to play football” after a one-game hiatus. He was limited for a second straight day because of what he described as a Grade I hamstring strain, the effects of which impacted him last week from the Week 2 loss at Minnesota, where he was treated in the locker room for cramps.

Rookie wide receiver Jacob Cowing did not practice because of an illness. If he is unable to play Sunday, his role as the 49ers’ primary return specialist could go to practice-squad veteran Trent Taylor, if not Ronnie Bell. Williams was kept out of Wednesday’s practice with an illness.

 

Study finds travel can reduce impacts of premature aging

Mia Taylor | (TNS) TravelPulse

While travel junkies probably don’t need another reason to justify their wanderlust, it seems there’s new research out showing that being a globetrotter can be a great way to prevent premature aging.

A study published by Science Daily shows that leisurely travel activities can help alleviate chronic stress, reduce overactivation of the immune system and even promote the healthy functioning of the body’s self-defense system.

“Forget about retinol night creams, researchers from Edith Cowan University believe travel could be the best way to defy premature aging,” says the publication.

Science Daily goes on to point out that for the first time “an interdisciplinary study has applied the theory of entropy to tourism, finding that travel could have positive health benefits, including slowing down the signs of aging.”

What took them so long to confirm what we all know?

For those not familiar with the term entropy, it is classified as the general trend of the universe towards death and disorder, says Science Daily.

And it seems that the entropy research suggests tourism could trigger entropy changes, including positive travel experiences mitigating entropy and enhancing health.

Conversely, negative experiences may contribute to entropy increase and compromise health, per the study.

“Aging, as a process, is irreversible. While it can’t be stopped, it can be slowed down,” says Edith Cowan University PhD candidate and study leader Fangli Hu.

Hu also pointed out that positive travel experiences can potentially enhance one’s physical and mental wellness through exposure to novel environments, engagement in physical activities and social interaction. And as an added bonus, travel can foster positive emotions.

“Tourism isn’t just about leisure and recreation. It could also contribute to people’s physical and mental health,” Hu added.

Travel as anti-aging therapy

Let’s take a deeper dive into the good news from the study.

It seems travel therapy can actually serve as a “groundbreaking health intervention when viewed through an entropy lens” says Hu.

“As an important aspect of the environment, positive travel experiences may help the body sustain a low-entropy state by modulating its four major systems,” she says.

That’s because tourism typically exposes globetrotters to new surroundings and if all goes well, also to relaxing activities.

These settings, it seems, can stimulate stress responses and elevate metabolic rates, positively influencing metabolic activities and the body’s self-organizing capabilities. These things may also trigger an adaptive immune system response.

All of this “improves the body’s ability to perceive and defend itself against external threats,” explained Hu.

“Put simply, the self-defense system becomes more resilient. Hormones conducive to tissue repair and regeneration may be released and promote the self-healing system’s functioning” says Hu.

Some of the healthiest forms of travel include physical activities such as hiking, climbing, walking and cycling.

This physical exertion can boost metabolism, energy expenditure, and material transformation — and all of this is good for you.

“Participating in these activities could enhance the body’s immune function and self-defense capabilities, bolstering its hardiness to external risks,” Hu continued. “Physical exercise may also improve blood circulation, expedite nutrient transport, and aid waste elimination to collectively maintain an active self-healing system. “

Moderate exercise is also beneficial to the bones, muscles, and joints, in addition to supporting the body’s anti-wear-and-tear system.

Of course, it’s not all rainbows, butterflies and anti-aging when one travels. We’ve all had a travel setback or two. And in those cases, your body may not be getting the full anti-aging benefits revealed by Hu’s study.

The research has pointed out that tourists could face challenges such as infectious diseases, accidents, injuries, violence, water and food safety issues and concerns related to inappropriate tourism engagement.

“Conversely, tourism can involve negative experiences that potentially lead to health problems, paralleling the process of promoting entropy increase,” said Hu. “A prominent example is the public health crisis of COVID-19.”

But on balance it seems, there’s even more reasons to travel the world when you can.

_________

©2024 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The trans ‘Will & Grace’ is here, and it’s a Netflix road movie starring Will Ferrell

Matt Brennan | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

TORONTO — Will Ferrell is building up a head of steam.

Seated in the nondescript hotel conference room that’s been seized for our interview — a setting that lends our conversation the air of “Between Two Ferns” — the actor has taken up the subject of transphobia in Hollywood films like “Ace Ventura” and is running with it.

“The entertainment culture has taught us to have a flippant attitude that trans people aren’t real people,” Ferrell says. “It’s silly. It’s make-believe. Obviously, we’re getting closer to educating everyone—”

“Are we?” his friend, former “Saturday Night Live” colleague and now road-movie co-star Harper Steele interrupts, stopping him hilariously short. Her deadpan is laced with the ring of truth.

This is the animating question of their new documentary, “Will & Harper,” which follows the pair on a cross-country road trip as they unpack Steele’s 2022 coming out as a trans woman. Along the way, Ferrell and Steele meet Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, a supporter of anti-trans legislation; connect with the trans community in Peoria, Illinois; suffer hateful trolling in Texas; and experience the unexpectedly warm embrace of dive bar patrons in Oklahoma. Within the structure of an absurdist buddy comedy from the goofballs who brought you “SNL” sketches like “Oops! I Crapped My Pants” and “More Cowbell,” the film, launching Friday on Netflix, offers one of American pop culture’s most successful portraits to date of the contemporary trans experience — unafraid to answer “all the questions you’re not supposed to ask trans people.”

You might even call “Will & Harper” the trans “Will & Grace.”

“The impact that a sitcom like ‘Will & Grace’ had for the queer community, gay community, is massive,” says the film’s director, Josh Greenbaum. “It’s certainly not what we would call high art, but it speaks a little bit to something we were striving for with our film. I love the expression that laughter is the shortest distance between two people. I’m a big believer in it. We talked about making sure that our film was funny and accessible and an easy on-ramp.”

As with NBC’s landmark sitcom, though — praised by then-Vice President Joe Biden for doing “more to educate the American public than almost anything anybody’s ever done,” but panned by some LGBTQ+ observers for oversimplifying queer identity for straight viewers — this spoonful-of-sugar approach cuts both ways. For Steele, who admits that she loves an “aggressive approach” when it comes to discussing trans rights, “ ‘normalizing’ is a reductive word that puts queer people in a place. It makes me feel like the goal is gay marriage, not generalized liberation.”

“Will & Harper’s” ability to walk a fine line between being edifying and didactic, entertaining and superficial, is woven into its very structure, with its stars’ connection deepening by degrees until they reach the Mojave Desert town of Trona, where Steele, in a shattering moment, reveals the depths of her past self-hatred. At every juncture, it threatens to leave important stones unturned, vital context unaddressed — and at every juncture, instead, it confronts the viewer’s skepticism head-on.

Not that they planned it that way. Jettisoning an early idea to build the film around comedy bits, Ferrell, Steele and Greenbaum found themselves subject to the vagaries of nonfiction storytelling, and thereby stumbled into the journey’s most bracing scenes. They did not expect, for instance, that a gag involving Ferrell trying to eat a 72-ounce steak in under an hour at a Texas steakhouse would expose him and Steele to uncomfortable leering from the other patrons and a subsequent flurry of social media abuse. Nor did they know that Holcomb would be at a Pacers game they attended in Indianapolis, where the governor and Ferrell were introduced courtside — leading to an on-camera reckoning for the actor about the rudiments of effective allyship.

“If we were in a moment like that again, I wouldn’t hesitate to (ask), ‘By the way, what are your views?’ ” says Ferrell. “Just because I’m OK with poking the bear a little bit more. Especially if I had some knowledge going in. Literally last night at dinner, the waiter misgendered (Steele). He said, ‘Hello, gentlemen.’ And I said, ‘Nope.’ … That’s now how I react because it feels natural.”

Our conversation, ahead of the film’s Toronto International Film Festival screening, takes place the morning after the presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, in which Trump raised the specter of “transgender operations on illegal aliens in prison.” (“That feels like a line written in an ‘SNL’ sketch,” Ferrell quips.) But politicians’ and pundits’ use of transgender people as a scapegoat would not be possible without their historical mistreatment, or outright erasure, in popular culture. As for the roughly 60% of Americans who do not know a trans person, according to Pew, “Will & Harper” hopes to be an introduction: “Now you know Harper,” Greenbaum says.

Such positive messages will compete for attention against transphobic rhetoric from high-profile figures such as Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais, even on the same platform. (Netflix, which is releasing “Will & Harper,” is also home to numerous projects by the firebrand comedians in which trans people are treated as the butt of the joke.) But Steele refuses to take their comments seriously — or bend her own creative process simply to combat them.

“When egos get hurt, people troll,” she says. “And I’m looking at a lot of these people and they’re enjoying the trolling.” She hopes Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, Olympic gold medalist in women’s welterweight, “sues the s— out of J.K. Rowling” over tweets in which the “Harry Potter” author falsely described Khelif as a man. “These people, they need help.”

“I want our voice and my example to be louder, in the end,” Steele adds. “I just hope it drowns out the voice that is weaker, and that’s my method. I don’t like confronting. For one, you confront someone fast like Dave Chappelle and you’re going to get eviscerated. It’s like going on Fox News with (former host) Tucker Carlson. Why would I subject myself to that when I’m just going to get eaten up in ways I won’t enjoy?”

“Will & Harper” actively seeks to neutralize the cries of “cancel culture” from cable news anchors and stand-up comics by taking no topic of conversation off the table. With Ferrell as her curious everyman interlocutor, Steele explains her choice of a new name, discusses her physical appearance and sexuality, acknowledges her bouts of suicidal ideation; she introduces her children, visits her sister, shares her letters, diaries and most painful memories. As a result of this vulnerability, she offers a remarkable invitation to viewers who might otherwise pass judgment, or avoid the conversation entirely, out of fear that they will say the wrong thing, or cause offense, or discover that their experience is not in fact universal.

“One of the many things that I loved about her transition is her constant wanting to talk about it,” says Steele’s friend and former “SNL” collaborator Kristen Wiig, who co-wrote and performed an original song for the film. “[It fostered] this open dialogue to keep those connections, make them stronger and to really explain what she had been going through for years that a lot of us weren’t privy to.”

The film has already succeeded in sparking that dialogue among viewers, according to Greenbaum. At one screening at the Sundance Film Festival, where the film had its world premiere earlier this year, he recalls meeting a woman and her son, a trans man, who had been estranged since his transition but reconnected when she bought them tickets to “Will & Harper” as a sort of cinematic olive branch. Steele, for her part, admits to having more nerves over “Will & Harper” resonating with trans audiences than persuading cis ones — perhaps because she understands firsthand the harm produced by Hollywood’s powerful mirror.

“Klinger probably destroyed my life,” she says of the cross-dressing “M.A.S.H.” character played for laughs by Jamie Farr. “He was literally looking to be discharged for being crazy for that. That was his whole character.” By contrast, the 1974 James Caan/Alan Arkin buddy cop movie “Freebie and the Bean” became one of her favorite movies, thanks to its thieving female impersonator. “To see a man look that beautiful was confusing,” she says.

In such confusion lay the other animating question of “Will & Harper,” and indeed of LGBTQ+ popular culture more broadly: What story would we, should we, tell about ourselves if we could tell any story we wanted? Some will argue that self-expression is the goal, others moral suasion; some will prefer soft power to storming the barricades and some the reverse. Advocates for populism will confront those for high art while the diplomats among us try to squeeze them together into our society’s narrowing middle ground. And anyone who tells you that theirs is the one true path is either uninformed or lying.

“I guess shame on me, but that was just a funny show with talented actors,” Ferrell says, of “Will & Grace,” gently pushing back on Greenbaum’s earlier assessment. “Big, landmark, statement show, in a way — yes, of course, I recognize that at the same time. But also, that’s just great ensemble comedy. Fun writing. Great premises.”

Notably, Steele doesn’t weigh in on this one. She doesn’t need to. “Will & Harper” — as “Will & Grace” was for gay men of a certain generation — is just one of countless possible varieties of trans representation. There’s no shortage of stories to tell, or unanswerable questions to ask.

_______

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

‘Megalopolis’ review: Hate it or love it, Francis Ford Coppola’s movie swings for the fences only he can see

Naive, decadent, sluggish, dazzling, touchingly sincere in its belief that “a vital conversation” about the state of our nation can save us, even with barbarians at the gates: There’s something to vex everyone in “Megalopolis.” Francis Ford Coppola’s new film is a philosophical argument for the artist’s place in society disguised as a movie that does not care for delivering what you want, or think you need.

It’s a grandiloquent $120 million fable of America’s imminent ruin, following the ancient Rome playbook, and a cinematic swing for the fences visible only to Coppola.

Should you go? I am not going to tell you to go, or not to. I will tell you that I’ve been shaking my head, and smiling, about my own frustrations and occasional astonishments at the messy whole of it, a day after watching it. It’s a last-call declaration of principles. It’s also not much like any previous Coppola film, either in the cultural touchstone realm (the first two “Godfather” epics) or the quiet, haunting masterwork category (“The Conversation”) or compared to his recent, self-described low-budget “student films” (“Tetro,” “Youth Without Youth”).

On the other hand, like most male film directors making lavish spectacles about decadent empires before him, Coppola seizes every available opportunity to throw in vestal virgins and the like. There’s a semi-embarrassing adolescent spirit alongside a wizened octogenarian’s self-reflection at work, and play, in this project. In risk and reward terms it’s closest, probably, to Coppola’s “One From the Heart” (1982), a hermetic, alluring blur of a movie about the difficulty of love.

“Megalopolis” is a movie about loving difficulty, and the challenge facing a filmmaker pouring his feelings and words and images of despair and hope into some workable shape for public consumption.

Roughly as stressed as Gary Cooper was grappling with Ayn Rand’s dialogue in the film version of “The Fountainhead,” Adam Driver plays visionary architect and physics-defying inventor Cesar Catilina. The genius’s discovery of the wonder metal megalon holds the key to an urban renewal project for the great, battered city of New Rome (Manhattan, with ancient Roman flourishes). Presumably for the health insurance, Catilina is on the city payroll as head of the Design Authority under the skeptical eye of Mayor Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), a pawn in the hands of the plutocrats who got him elected. Jon Voight, looking alternately lost and eagle-eyed, is the richest pluto in town. Shia LaBeouf slithers hither and yon as an incestuous schemer with take-back-our-country rabble-rousing skills and ambitions.

Parts of Coppola’s narrative are super-simple, or super-simplistic. Catilina’s sometime lover, the odious celebrity journalist Wow Platinum (Aubrey Plaza), represents media rot, while the mayor’s socialite daughter Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel) feels her heart grow three sizes once she enters Catilina’s orbit and bedroom. There are some questions for the audience’s string-along benefit: Did Catilina murder his wife years ago, though he was cleared of wrongdoing? Can New Rome become Catilina’s dream of a new New Rome, with liberty and justice for all?

Coppola is plainly disinterested in story momentum or conventions, and since the film itself periodically quotes whole chunks of Catullus and William Shakespeare (Driver knocks out a big piece of “To be or not to be” at one thinly motivated point), it’s fair to say “Megalopolis” is a spiritual cousin to Shakespeare’s nutty, half-mad, late-period romances. Sometimes he’s his own worst enemy, as in the early scene of Catilina demonstrating a model of his utopian wonderland. It’s staged and edited for a weird amount of confusion and muddle. Elsewhere, Coppola and his crack cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. find a lovely flow and glide for conversations in Catilina’s Chrysler Building design studio.

The movie’s like that — stilted one minute, a reminder of Coppola’s mastery the next.

He’s in love with split-screen triptych imagery in “Megalopolis,” an homage to Abel Gance’s silent epic “Napoléon.” I wish more of the script’s words expressed ideas, vividly, rather than Coppola’s attempts at high-flown rhetoric. By the end, with Coppola daring to rewrite the Pledge of Allegiance for a brave new world, this half-crocked dream leaves you in a fugue state, because it is one.

It’s something of an in-joke, albeit a sobering one, that the most startling moment in “Megalopolis” is a calmly framed act of violence that wouldn’t be out of place in the Corleone saga. Its impact stands out amid the film’s wanderings. I haven’t even mentioned that Catilina has the ability to stop time and restart it again. Why? How? Wrong questions, the movie says. “It is required that you do awake your faith,” as Shakespeare reminded us in “The Winter’s Tale.” Coppola’s right, even when his movie’s not quite right in the head: Catilina’s mantra — “When we leap into the unknown, we prove we are free” — speaks for obsessive individualists with T-square rulers as well as entire nations whose futures, if they can manage one, must be made from a troubled and troubling present.

“Megalopolis” — 2.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for sexual content, nudity, drug use, language and some violence)

Running time: 2:18

How to watch: Premieres in theaters Sept. 27

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

Horoscopes Sept. 26, 2024: Serena Williams, do things your way

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Christina Milian, 43; Serena Williams, 43; Jim Caviezel, 56; Jeanie Buss, 63.

Happy Birthday: Look at life with curiosity and discover unique alternatives and various lifestyles that offer comfort. Be open and receptive to suggestions, but don’t be a follower when your happiness depends on taking the initiative to live and do things your way. Put your energy into things that matter and take a pass instead of arguing or trying to change others; focus on personal growth and gain instead. Your numbers are 4, 12, 21, 27, 32, 41, 44.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Make plans; socializing will lead to exciting ideas that spark your imagination and introduce you to people, places and pastimes that encourage growth. Don’t let someone’s negativity or anger stand between you and doing what makes you happy. An opportunity to travel or learn something new will enlighten you. 5 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Keep busy and avoid emotional turmoil. Putting too much effort into trying to change someone will be futile. Look inward and concentrate on personal gains and providing for yourself. Protect your emotional and physical well-being and strive for independence and opportunities. Put yourself first. 2 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Sign up for something that interests you, and you’ll find an outlet that stimulates your mind and encourages you to engage in events and activities that promote learning new skills and developing unique friendships. Please don’t settle for less; making your dreams come true is up to you. 4 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Stick to the basics and take care of necessities. Refuse to let anyone push you into an argument or make decisions. Focus on what’s essential and prioritize your physical and mental well-being. Broaden your circle of friends by attending a social or networking event. 3 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Communication will lead to exciting options. Gravitate toward those who can offer information and guidance. Getting the lowdown on something you may want to invest time and money into will help you make a better decision. Express interest, but only donate or spend what you can afford. 3 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Conversations will likely only partially represent what’s possible. Immerse yourself in situations that allow you to see results firsthand. Knowing and seeing is believing, and it will give you the confidence to take the path most appropriate. Engineer and manifest what you want, and don’t look back. 4 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Put your energy into finishing what you start, doing a stellar job and walking away knowing that you did the best you could in any situation you face. Stretch your imagination and discover something you enjoy doing that will generate extra cash. Opportunity is within reach. 2 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Pay attention to what your body tells you. Listen to the signs and signals and approach your health and well-being holistically. Advocate on your behalf and you’ll find the path to personal and professional success. Leave nothing to chance or in someone else’s hands. Romance is favored. 5 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Embrace unfamiliar territory, offers or people instead of fearing or running away from change. Invest more time in learning and discovering what’s available. You don’t have to sign up for something, but you need to find your options and consider which prospects align with your goals. 3 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take a close look at your financial, medical or legal situation and dissect any joint or shared deals that come your way. Partnership problems require an ironclad agreement before you enter the ring. Invest more time and money in yourself. Romance is on the rise. 3 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Spend more time reviewing what you have and want in order to invest more time nurturing your goal. A medical and financial plan offering security and stabilization will ease your mind. Attend informative events; socialize and network with people who can provide sound advice. Protect against illness or injury. 3 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Step into the limelight and express your thoughts. The feedback you receive will be eye-opening and pave the path to promising alternatives. Focus on health, wealth and personal well-being. Set yourself up for success and quickly say no to anyone tempting you with indulgent behavior. 5 stars

Birthday Baby: You are curious, talkative and entertaining. You are creative and determined.

1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes. 2 stars: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others. 3 stars: Focus and you’ll reach your goals. 4 stars: Aim high; start new projects. 5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.

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SF Giants’ season-long winning streak comes to an end against Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks

The Giants’ run of strong starting pitching came to an end Wednesday night and so did their season-best winning streak.

Mason Black was in and out of the strike zone and out of the game by the end of the third inning, while the Diamondbacks’ ace, Zac Gallen, deflated the Giants’ recently hot bats and handed them their first loss in six days, 8-2. Still, they’ll return home for the final season’s final weekend with a chance to finish at .500 or better, thanks to their 7-2 road trip, which went down as one of the four best nine-game road trips in the franchise’s history.

Here are three takeaways from the final road affair of the year:

A rare hole

The Giants had played so well on this trip that they entered the series finale having flipped their season run differential into the green for the first time since March 30. They had scored first in all but one of their previous six games and trailed at the end of only nine innings.

It had to feel a little bit foreign, then, when the Diamondbacks pounced on Black in the second inning and took a 2-1 lead on which they would only build.

Charged with four runs on five hits — and five walks — in 2⅔ innings, Black became the Giants’ first starting pitcher to surrender more than three runs in 17 games, dating back to his own start in San Diego on September 6. In between, he turned in his two best outings as a big leaguer, but instead of building on that success in his final start of the season, he reverted to old tendencies, struggling to find the strike zone with just about anything.

Black walked multiple batters in three of his five outings in his first stint in the majors, but hadn’t issued more than one free pass in any of his four games since returning from Triple-A Sacramento. Manager Bob Melvin determined he had seen enough when Black’s 70th pitch (31st ball) landed wide of the strike zone and forced in Arizona’s second run of the third inning, extending its lead to 4-1.

Dating back to last Sunday, the entire Giants rotation had only surrendered eight runs in 49⅓ innings entering the game, a 1.46 ERA.

Great Gallen

Blake Snell has showed a couple of the Giants’ recent opponents what it’s like to face an ace at the peak of his powers, but they got a taste of the same medicine against Gallen. The crafty right-hander mixed his five pitches to ring up 11 Giants hitters and keep them off the scoreboard after the second inning.

Tyler Fitzgerald made Gallen pay for walking the leadoff batter in the second, shooting a double that allowed Michael Conforto to score from first, opening a 1-0 lead, and it looked like they were off to the races after their 11-run outburst the previous night.

However, they went 1-for-their-next-15 before Gallen departed the game after six innings, holding a 5-1 lead. They struck out 17 times in total, matching their second-most of the season. It was only the third time on the nine-game trip that the Giants were held to three or fewer runs and only the second time they managed six or fewer hits.

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Despite dropping their final road game of the year, the Giants have to feel good about the way they finished the season away from Oracle Park.

When they set out on this trip, they hadn’t swept a series on the road all year but had a chance to do it for the fourth time when they took the field Wednesday. At the outset, they owned the National League’s fourth-worst road record, 10 games below .500, but will finish the year 39-42, currently tied for sixth-best in the NL.

Even if it’s bittersweet, the majority of it coming after being eliminated from playoff contention, the road trip will go down as the best any Giants team has put together in the past 50 years. Only three other teams in franchise history racked up as many wins on one nine-game road trip:

New York Giants 4/17/1923 4/24/1923 8-1 (.889)San Francisco Giants 4/23/1971 5/2/1971 7-2 (.778)New York Giants 6/9/1885 6/19/1885 7-2 (.778)

Warriors to sign former top-10 draft pick: reports

The Warriors are taking a flyer on a former high draft pick who played with them during the Las Vegas Summer League.

Golden State agreed to terms with forward Kevin Knox on a one-year deal, according to multiple media reports Wednesday. The Athletic’s Shams Charania first reported the agreement.

Knox, the No. 9 overall pick by the New York Knicks in the 2018 draft, joined the Warriors in the July desert showcase and averaged 17.5 points over four games against Summer League competition.

The 25-year-old forward played the first three seasons of his career in New York, then was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in 2022. He played the following year for the Detroit Pistons, then was sent to Portland in a February 2023 deal that included the Warriors re-acquiring Gary Payton II and sending James Wiseman to Detroit. Knox returned to Detroit last season as a free agent and started 11 games.

His career-high game averages in points (12.8), rebounds (4.5), assists (1.1) and minutes (28.8) per game all came in his rookie season with the Knicks.

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The Warriors already have Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Kyle Anderson and Payton at the two forward spots, with Moses Moody and Draymond Green able to fill minutes at small and power forward, respectively.

It appears Knox, who would become the 14th player on the Warriors’ 15-man roster, will be competing for an NBA roster spot when the Warriors open training camp in Hawaii next week.