Barbaro . . .

. . . the would-be Triple Crown winner that broke his leg - but lived to tell about it - has a myspace.com page. Genius.

Not The Way I Want To Die

Uuggghhh

Ok, it happened again at lunch today. Dear Dallas Morning News Guy: You have tormented me all year. I don't ask much from you - just that a single copy of the Morning News be in either of the two news racks across from the Messenger office. Yeah, I know I could subscribe. Yeah, I know I could pick it up earlier. But I want my paper at noon. I'm a creature of habit that does the same thing every day. I want to read the paper at lunch, not at breakfast, not at dinner, not at the crack of dawn. At lunch. You offer it for 50 cents, and even though you demand exactly two quarters and not "any combination of coins", I am gladly willing to pay it. Heck, I consider it a bargain. Even the Messenger and the Bridgeport Index charge 75 cents. (The Index!!!!!) But you seem to get some sadistic joy in having me walk the two blocks down to the rack only to find it empty. And don't think I'm not aware that you haven't replaced the alternative rack outside of the old Mattie's restuaruant even though Sweetie Pie's, despite its goofy name, causes a ton of people to walk by it everyday. So let this serve as notice that I won't put up with it in 2007. No more Mr. Nice Guy. You hear me? I've been on the verge of losing it for several years and next year could be the year. So if you don't want me to wrap a chain around your news rack and drag it down FM 730 until its beaten to a pulp of twisted metal left for dead in downtown Boyd, then put enough freakin' papers in there to last all day. Or, at the very least, until noon. In Christian Love, BSG

Top Ten Clicked Stories On Dallas Morning News Web Site

1. Student alleges sex with Hebron HS teacher, 144,884 page views 2. Terrell Owens denies suicide attempt, 99,263 3. Austin art teacher defends nude photos, 65,532 4. Watermark Church, ex-member battle over discipline, 46,257 5. 4949 Swiss: Decline of a Diva and her Mansion (Day 2 of a four-day series) , 44,548 6. Gov. Perry believes non-Christians doomed, 40,179 7. The Battle for 4949 Swiss (Day 1 of a four-day series), 39,517 8. Daniels dealt as Mavs pick up a Pacer, 38,043 9. Snap decision can’t save Cowboys in 36-22 loss to Giants, 35,987 10. Scales of justice swing wildly, 35,675 Sports and Nudity are big players. Source (with links). And I hope everyone remembers the teacher from the #1 story was not indicted by a grand jury.

At Least He Knew He Would End Up In A Place Like This

MSNBC's Worst Songs Of The Year

Story here. You know, I like the vast majority of them.

Free Hugs

I saw this on the invention called the television over Christmas. Amazingly, as of this moment, it has been viewed 8,306,694 on YouTube.

Cool

Upload a photo. Edit it. Save it. All free. No software to download. Here.

Clerks 2

I finally watched this last night and it didn't disappoint - very funny and very shocking. But it certainly didn't have the same feel as the original black and white version of the original. Jay and Silent Bob make multiple appearances. Always gold.

Ann Curry Joy

My nemeses Ann Curry is filling in as co-host of the Today Show this week. This always makes me excited because I get to see her overact and then panic and say something confusing. There was a gem a second ago. Matt: "No one ever likes their driver's license photos. [Looking at Ann] How's yours?" Ann: [Overacting] Oh! Gosh! Ummmmm! [Puts hand up to confusingly block her face from Matt.] No. Haven't seen it for years." What?

Stuff I Didn't Know

Gerald Ford was a huge "War On Drugs" fan. But I'll let the man rest in peace this week.

Ralph Stebbins

Never heard of him? Me neither. But this Michigan man won a $208 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot with his wife in April of 2005. On Saturday, less than two years from striking gold, he died of a heart attack.

Hey, Now

Jessica Biel at Christmas on the beach. More pics. But I fear her bench pressing abilities.

Final Bows

I love "The Year In Review" stuff whether it be on TV or a magazine. I was looking through Newsweek a second ago and had forgotten that these people had died this year: Dana Reeve, 44 (wife of Christopher Reeve) Al Lewis , 82 (Grandpa Munster) Kenneth Lay, 64 (well, I hadn't forgot, but needed to be reminded) Corretta Scott King, 78 Ann Richards, 73 (Ok, I remembered this one) Lloyd Bentsen, 85

Two Great Inventions

TIVO and a wireless home network. Two of the greatest inventions in the history of . . . you know.

It Would Be Inappropriate . . .

. . . to link to this old SNL skit today. And here's an interesting fact about Ford: He was born with the name Leslie Lynch King on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska. When he was just two weeks old, his parents divorced, and his mother moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he grew up. His mother remarried, and he was adopted and renamed after his stepfather, Gerald Rudolph Ford.

I Thought It Was Funny

In case you missed it, the oddly named and sponsored Bell Helicopter Armed Services Bowl was played in Fort Worth last week. Funniest line I heard after the fact: "I think I've now been persuaded to buy a Bell helicopter."

Drive In Days

The Gemini outdoor theater used to be on 28 acres at the corner of Central Expressway and Forest Lane in Dallas. Although the theater had been closed for years, the vacant property sold over the last couple of days for over $20 million. The original newspaper ad for the grand opening of the theater is here. But despite never attending a movie at that theater, it still is the basis for one of my grandest memories. My family and our neighbors were all piled into one car one night as we went to Dallas to eat. I was just a kid so I'd guess it was in the early 1970s. There we were, rolling down the freeway, as we passed by the Gemini Theater. It was already dark so one of the movies was already rolling. And then, shockingly, there it was: A topless women on the big screen! And perfectly visible from the highway. Not just a glancing shot, mind you, but a full fledged scene with the camera remaining on her ample . . . well, you know. Chaos broke loose in the car as the kids (and some adults) scrambled for the best look at the screen while a couple of moms scrambled to protect the kids from this glorious wickedness. I was shocked. And overjoyed. But the funniest line came from someone in the car who screamed, "Look out! Someone on this freeway is gonna wreck because no one is watching the road!" It had to be the most dangerous stretch of roadway in the Southwest proper.