"I got a stage-five clinger"

I finally saw Wedding Crashers.....verdict: pretty funny but not a classic. (Although some quotable lines will definitely come out of it). Probably the most surprising thing was how hot Jane Seymour looked (yep, that's 54 year old Jane Seymour). We should all age so well. And if your a Vince Vaughn fan (and I am), you have to see him in one of his first movies, Clay Pigeons. He's great in it.

I Know I'm In The Minority Here . . .

There is an intoxication manslaughter case going on in Tarrant County that is incredibly sad. Roy Alvin Adams Jr. (in photo) is on trial for causing the death of Grapevine officer Darren Medlin about a year ago. Adams seems genuinely remorseful, and the whole thing is a tragedy. DWI cases are odd in that the defendant's "intent" is irrelevant. As I often say, some DWI defendants hit a curb while others strike a person. The first is a misdemeanor while the latter is a second degree felony. Adams (who will probably be convicted) faces a range of punishment from probation to 20 years in prison. After seeing him in court for a week, a probated sentence wouldn't bother me at all. But, I'm not sure most people don't feel that way. It's all so sad.

I Bet He Could Throw A Baseball Over Them There Mountians

I'm not much of a baseball fan, but I appreciate greatness when I see it. Roger Clemens, now pitching for Houston (and never a pitcher for the Rangers despite going to UT), has a current ERA of 1.46. (For the uninitiated, that means over 9 innings, he averages giving up 1.46 runs). No other MLB pitcher has an ERA under 2.00. That is incredible for a man in his prime, but Clemens turns 43 in August. But, then again, for a salary of $18,000,022 in 2005, you better be good. (I don't know where the extra $22 came from).

That is No. 10

We have a new planet. Astronomers have found a planet that is larger than Pluto, and it is currently about 97 times further from the sun than the Earth. This picture is an artist conception of how the sun looks in the sky from that planet. I bet its mighty cold there.

Doesn't This Happen Waaaaaay Too Often?

In yet another crazy story involving old guys trying to hook up with (very) young girls via the Internet: "CANON CITY, Colo. — A Texas law enforcement officer was jailed on $100,000 bond after allegedly trying to solicit sex with a child. Police arrested Larry Dale Floyd, 62, the elected constable in Denton County's Precinct 2, near a restaurant Thursday. Police say Floyd had made arrangements via e-mail last month to meet a child, but he had unknowingly contacted an undercover officer." His government web site is still up where he proclaims, "As your elected Constable, I would like to thank you for the interest, support and trust that has been shown for this office by the citizens."

That's One Way To Prevent Jail Over Crowding

Most folks are familiar with the slaughter in the 1990s in Rwanda especially after the movie "Hotel Rwanda" was released late last year. Well today comes the news that "Thousands of Rwandan prisoners began streaming out of jail on Friday, following a government decision to free 36,000 inmates, the majority of whom have confessed to taking part in the country's 1994 genocide. "

Ok, You Other Countries, This Is How It Will Be

Did you know that long time W friend and advisor Karen Hughes now has a real job (at taxpayer expense)? She was approved by some Senate committee on Tuesday to serve as, get this, Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. The position is part of the State Department. I never thought her personality was one synonomous with "diplomacy" or the "public".

My Head Hurts, Now

George Will wrote the following recently in Newsweek: "The sun around which Earth orbits is one of perhaps 400 billion stars in the Milky Way . . . There are perhaps 140 billion galaxies in the still-unfolding universe. If all the stars in the universe were only the size of the head of a pin, they still would fill Miami's Orange Bowl to overflowing more than 3 billion times." It kind of makes the Space Shuttle's voyage a little insignificant.

Maybe He's Saying He's #1

There's a video floating around the Internet which appears to show the President, er, making a, er, gesture towards the press. The clip can be found here (just click on the face of the video). Warning: It's an anti-Bush blog which is not exactly kid friendly.

Survivor In Suits

I normally distance myself from "reality TV" but I recorded and quickly watched "The Law Firm" on NBC last night. It's premise: Get a bunch of young lawyers together, give them little time to prepare a small civil case, and then have them present it to either a judge or an arbitrator. It was OK. One thing rang very true, however: The cross section of the lawyers on the show was very realistic. Some lawyers suck. Some lawyers have egos larger than their abilities. Some are pretty good and pretty smart. The most impressive contestant to me was Chris, the black guy. But I'll probably not watch the show again.

Two Drink Minimum

Although he stands No Chance of winning, former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell announced his Democratic candidacy for Texas Governor via email yesterday. (Two very bad signs there: Democrat and Email announcement). He did, however, come up with a very funny line. He said that Republican Gov. Rick Perry was so inept that he "couldn't lead a silent prayer."

Somebody Get This Man A Plasma TV

The White House released this photo the other day of the President watching the launch of the Space Shuttle. A thought occurred to me: Is this the best TV that the Leader of the Free World has available to him?

Lacy Peterson?

Ok, we've got a young, pregnant, twenty-something year old missing in Philadelphia. We all went crazy when Lacy Peterson went missing but there is one thing different: This girl is African-American. Will we care? So far there is enough publicity that I was able to stumble across it. But Lacy was a national obsession. Stay tuned to see if the press becomes infatuated with someone name "LaToyia".

Dope Nomenclature

Ok, a slight pet peeve of mine. The term is "methamphetamine" not "methamphetamines". There is no plural to the word. (I.e. "The cops busted in my front door, slammed me to the ground, told my woman I was no good, and took my stash of methamphetamine.")

Hey, It's Important Because It Impacted Me

You'll see on the news tonight that there was a chemical explosion near I-35 in north Fort Worth. You will also hear how it tied up traffic. You are hearing from me that it kept me waiting in traffic for hours. (This shot, taken with my cheap camera phone, is from I-30 and I-35 near downtown looking northward).

All Cruise Ships Be On The Lookout

The photos being released by NASA in connection with the Shuttle's current mission are amazing. This one is picture of the external fuel tank as it is jettisoned to the nether regions. Pretty cool.

They Dropped a Bomb On Me, Baby

From the looks of it, all of James Wood's Motors was shut down early this morning due to emergency personnel. Some reports (and this is all hearsay and unsubstantiated) is that someone of questionable mental stability had told officers that a bomb had been planted in one of the cars. Cops are checking it out as of 8:00 a.m.

Random Constitutional Thought

With all this talk of Supreme Court justices who should be "strict constructionist", I always scratch my head at the "literal text" of the free speech portion of the First Amendment. It reads "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech." If we read the text literally, it should be unconstitutional for Congress to enact any law regarding libel or slander, threats, pornography, or the overthrow of the government. That is, no law should be enacted which in any way abridges speech. That's what the constitution says, doesn't it? I suppose "liberal, activist" judges have somehow placed limits on that clause.