This Is Still Texas, Right?

KELLER - Keller school district officials say they regret that hundreds of people were upset by a decision to omit the words “In God We Trust” from a nickel on the front of the Liberty Elementary School yearbook. On Monday, district officials said they have received hundreds of complaints and calls from national media. The phrase wasn’t included on the nickel depicted on the 2005-06 yearbook cover because it “might create an issue with people of several religious faiths,” Superintendent James Veitenheimer wrote Sunday in a mass e-mail to parents. Instead, a sticker was included for families who wanted to add the phrase. (Source: Star Telegram)

Flag Shrinkage

There has been a great deal of buzz about the huge flag that has been flying off of 287 just south of Decatur. I had heard rumors that the wind was playing havoc on Old Glory causing it to be replaced every few weeks - at an uncomfirmed cost of over $2,000 per flag. (Like I said, the flags are huge). Well on the way home this evening I noticed that the usual flag had been replaced with a tiny one. What gives? (I took this pic on the way home. Trust me, there's a flag up there)

Funeral Talk

I went to Durant Clement's funeral this afternoon. He was considered part of the "old guard" of the Wise County legal community. The service was different than most I've been to in that 50% or more of it was dedicated to friends and family members simply standing up and talking about Durant. It was personal and touching. All funerals should be that way.

Church Killing

This guy is accused of killing five people yesterday in Louisiana. After all the appropriate thoughts, the word "mansear" comes to mind.

postsecret.com

Madonna Opens Up Her Tour In Los Angeles - Uh Oh

A Big Question Mark Formed Over My Head

Jodie Foster was a guest speaker at Penn's 250th Commencement and quoted Eminem's "Lose Yourself". Youtube video here.

Giggle

Avril Lavigne A Horns Fan?

X-Ray Of Kentucky Derby Champion Barbaro

Post-surgery. Edit: This side view is far more shocking.

Random Thought

As I watch 60 Minutes tonight - which is great because it has a ton of clips from past interviews by the retiring Mike Wallace - I wonder why the show can easily get away with dropping the "GD Bomb" without ever catching any flak?

Huh?

Someone want to explain this quote from Channel 11 reporter Raquel Eatmon as she was doing a boating safety story (which we've heard a million times)?: "We are also told that the water level right now [at lake Lewisville] is about seven feet below its normal level, and officials are hoping that is a good sign for them - that swimmers will avoid those deep, dangerous areas." (Channel 11 at 5:35 p.m.)

Movie Review

Name: Bubble Why Did I Watch It: It got a lot of buzz earlier this year when it was released simultaneously in theaters and on DVD (Mark Cuban is one of the executive directors). Oddity: The actors were plucked from the local community and given the title roles with no acting experience. (One was a KFC manager and the other a hairdresser.) Oddity #2: It lasts 71 minutes. What Is It About? A murder, kinda. But the "actors" weren't given scripts just a general outline as to where a scene should go. The conversations are EXACTLY what you would [Edit] here hear in Wise County during a lunch break. Police School: The local detective was played by, well, the local detective. Without the glamor of CSI, he is the epitome of how an investigator should go about his business.

Wow

Buried in the sports page yesterday (17C), there was a story of Highland Park pitcher Clayton Kershaw who faced Justin Northwest in a playoff game on Friday. Kershaw is suppossed to be a stud. He is ranked the top recruit by Baseball America. And at the playoff game, "more than a dozen pro scouts" showed up to watch him. But it was his first pitching performance in three weeks after a "strained right oblique." So how did he do? He faced 15 batters. He struck out 15 of them. (And he would have done more but Highland Park won on the 10 run rule.)

Ouch

I jog [edited] four times a week. Never feel any pain. I played 18 holes of gold (actually 23), and I am as sore as can be. And we used a cart. And the Runaway Bay Golf Course looked good.

World Wise Leader In Sports

ESPN's famed SportsCenter went nine minutes on Sunday morning without turning up the announcers' microphones. The insane background music was there during highlights and we heard plenty of "swish" and "swoosh" when a graphic would fall into place on the screen - just no voices. Then a test screen pattern with the words "NHRA COLUMUS" popped on the screen, and the voices were on. They never acknowledged this very odd emergency break.

Word Spreads

The video of Jason Terry punching Finley has been viewed over 33,000 times on youtube. Most of the hits came when www.deadspin.com linked to it.

Barbaro

A horse pulling up because of a broken ankle is a horrible sight to watch. But a horse ambulance is an odd thing. Why don't hey just call it a horse trailer?