Mrs. Claus Taking You Into The Weekend

Peace On Earth and Good Will Towards Men

From this morning.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The Polyphonic Spree shows up on local television every now and then. They are a huge "meh" to me. 
• This Fiscal Cliff is pure silliness and politics. And John Boehner is no match for the President in this deal. (For you actually following the situation, Boehner couldn't even get "Plan B" passed in the House last night). 
• Watch Ocean's 11 last night. I've seen it a couple of times, and I still think I need someone to explain it to me.
• When I tried to bring the family up to date that Carl Reiner's character was playing an American who was acting as a German the Freshman-In-The-House said, "Does he get found out when he holds up three fingers the wrong way?" My mouth dropped. If you get the reference, your's might too. (She claims she hadn't seen the Tarantino movie but that only "a friend told me about it.")
• Lake Worth ISD has cancelled classes today because students needed time to "cope" with the events at Newtown. Is that the biggest give up ever?
• Christmas falling on a Tuesday may be the perfect day for the longest of long weekends.
• Whenever I walk out of the office on long weekends I always stop and think, "Remember this feeling." 
• I think "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" is my favorite holiday song. And the James Taylor version may be at the top of the list (although I learned a second ago it was originally recorded by Judy Garland.) 
• A Judy Garland concert was the first ever event at the Astrodome. (A little random trivia for you.)
• Mrs. LL and I woke up at 4:00 in the morning with a bizarre and rare case of duel insomnia. We watched the last half of an obscure movie  from 2003 called The Shape of Things with Paul Rudd. I never went back to sleep.
• Mrs. LL also walked around the house all evening singing R.E.M.'s "It's The End Of the World As We Know It."
• I flipped over last night to Fox Sports Southwest to see the last minute victory of Stamford over Mart in a Class A Texas high school championship game at Jerry World. I'll take that over the NFL any day.
• I came home yesterday to watch all the Females-In-The-House watching a Glee concert on cable. The main theme of the show was acceptance and love. Kind of hard to argue with that. 
• If you are a fan of Talladega Nights and heard any of the Josh Hamilton and Wife press conference last weekend, you'll giggle at this. Very funny.

Anybody There?

Well, I've got this one configured to go up at one minute after midnight on 12/21/12. (Because we all know the Mayan's were referring to Central Standard Time.)

Either we just met the business end of a doomsday proclamation, or I've got to wake up in a few hours and start thinking about Christmas shopping.

I haven't been this nervous since the early 1980s!

I Think We've Got A Bus Accident Near Decatur

Facebook description is: School bus accident on 2264 several people being taken away by ambulance...bad scene!

FM 2264 is the road that connects to 287 south of Decatur near Landmark Industries. That looks like Landmark in the background. Maybe.

Edit: Update from photographer - "About two miles from 287 by the plastic pipe manufacturer. Took a few kids off the bus on stretchers, awaiting another ambulance . . . . Another ambulance just arrived, putting two children on it, still have two more to transport. Can't tell how severe the injuries but think they may be minor...hoping!"

Question From Last Night's Mrs. Universe Contest

I fell in love with her when she started off with (paraphrasing) "every law has already been made." From there she engaged in crazy talk which made her even hotter.

She Dropped The "G"?

First, I'm not sure she did. Secondly, even is she did, that's the way we good 'mericans talk!

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Now that was some serious wind last night. But I'm surprised I haven't seen more damage than I have (which is basically none.)
• It's the day before the Apocalpyse.  Longtime readers will remember the commenter 12/21/12 guy from way back. Three years when he first appeared? Four years? The first few times he showed up we had no idea what he was talking about.
• I was looking at Time's Top Ten fiction books and I'm not sure I had heard of any of them. But one that jumped out at me was Billy Lynn's Long  Halftime Walk.
• Miss USA was crowned Miss Universe last night. But when the pageant is held in America (last night it was in Las Vegas) and Miss USA wins, it seems so rigged. 
• The Fourth Grader In The House while watching the swimsuit competition: "This seems weird." 
• I got slammed in the comments yesterday for my "thought" that it was always boys who commit school shootings and not boys. Some guy said I was attacking men who raise their sons to be responsible hunters. Buddy, you think way more about my thoughts than I do.
• Our Elf On The Shelf was in our decorative bowl on the formal dining room table this morning. The contents of that bowl had been strewn around the floor. Creepy. 
• I like Bud Kennedy but I think he was partially wrong yesterday in his column (asserting Texas teachers can already carry guns in schools).   In his defense, Texas guns laws are far more complicated than one would think. (A teacher without a CHL could not carry a handgun into a school even if the school authorized it. But that authorization allowing her to carry a firearm would allow her to carry a rifle or shotgun.) 
• Seventy-four new troopers graduated in Austin yesterday. One was a former Bridgeport Police Officer.
• Fox and Friends brought in Santa Claus this morning to discuss the "war on Christmas." With his concept of the free distribution of wealth, I wouldn't have thought he was a Republican. 

Afternoon Pick Me Up - Christmas Style

Ad In The Star Telegram This Morning

I said none of the school shooters were girls but there are pink guns.

America's Deadliest School Massacre

It was 80 years ago by the use of dynamite. I had no idea.

Today's article on Slate.

Wikipedia page.

Eagle Almost Swipes Kid

Wait for the slow motion at the end. (Brief profanity warning.)

Thanks, KH.

Edit: The eagle has a twitter account!

Edit: Man, if the following is true I'm going to be so bummed.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

Replacing repeat

• All the news organizations were all over the female trooper search story last night. I've seen crazier things happen during traffic stops over the last 25 years.
• I said I didn't think that lawsuit was going anywhere for this reason: Once the officer claims to smell the odor of marijuana he can search anywhere that the marijuana could reasonably be found. And it doesn't matter if he believes there is a misdemeanor or felony amount present. And, most importantly, it doesn't matter that he turns out to be wrong.
• You think the police don't have ridiculous power? Remember the Supreme Court case where they sanctioned the arrest of a Texas woman for the minor offense of not wearing a seatbelt?
• And remember the Supreme Court case which sanctions the strip searching of anyone arrested regardless of how minor the offense? Yep, he could have arrested both women for littering and they legally could have been striped strip searched at the jail.
• A lawyer on Fox 4 last night said it will be "up to the jury" to determine if the search was reasonable. I doubt a judge will ever let it get that far.
• How has police power come to this? Because you have elected "law and order" judges in Texas, and Presidents who haven't formed a Supreme Court that has valued civil rights since the 1960s. To use a quote that the Hard Right is familiar with: "America's chickens are coming home to roost." 
• Changing gears, I never dreamed that Cheaper Than Dirt would suspend online gun sales.
• None of these school shootings are committed by little girls. Always boys. 
• Our "elf on the shelf" was sitting on the kitchen counter this morning in front of what appeared to an elf made snow angle angel made in flower flour. [Edit: One of my greatest sentences apparently.]
• It's too long to post here, but I got an email from a lady yesterday who was upset with the law enforcement response she got in Wise County when she reported a dead and malnourished horse. 
• A Football Life on the NFL Channel is really good. Tonight they are doing an hour on The Immaculate Reception. 
• Few people remember that that playoff game occurred on a Saturday and was preceded by a famous Cowboys win over the 49ers where the Cowboys scored 17 points under Staubach in the fourth quarter to win 30-28. As a kid I remember my family picking my grandparents up for a Christmas dinner and my grandfather saying, "I think I just watched two of the most exciting games ever today."  I had no idea what he was talking about. 
• President Obama was named as Time's Man Of The Year this morning. Yeah, I know. That ol' liberal media.
• The Decatur home invasion guy will be charged with "burglary of a habitation with the intent to commit a sexual offense." Unless there is more to the story, that's a reach. 
• Mark Cuban passed a kidney stone last night and tweeted about it.  Good grief.
• Went to a high school band concert last night and noticed a uniformed officer standing by me in the back of the auditorium. I quickly learned he wasn't there for security but only to see his daughter perform. 
• Judge Robert Bork passed away this morning. (For those that don't remember, he was the first Supreme Court nominee to go through a confirmation process that looked like an MMA fight. He didn't get confirmed.)

Arrest Made

Arrest made in the "home invasion" case per the Messenger.

Hey, I said it was "fishy" not that it didn't happen.  A morning break-in in Decatur where there was no motive, no injury, and a girl was able to get him out of the apartment isn't something that happens everyday.

Sandy Hook In The Last Batman Movie?

I didn't see the last Batman movie (because I can never understand a word Batman is saying) , but apparently the plot involved some villain named Bane. Now someone has noticed that there was a scene in the movie where "Sandy Hook" (a fictional place within "Gotham City") was the first "Strike Zone" of Bane.

Add to it that the Aurora, Colorado mass shooting occurred during this Batman movie by a guy who had orange hair like The Joker and this becomes kind of weird.

Released Today: DPS Trooper Sued Over Search

It was released today. I don't think the lawsuit is going anywhere, though. It's a female trooper and the search of the girls begins at 3:15.

I think its more mind blowing that this was all over the alleged smell of marijuana.

Texas Man Finds Jesus' Face on Tortilla

Says he now wins the lotto every time he takes it to the store.

Uh, is it just me, or does anyone else see a puppy face?

Just A Reminder About 12/21/12

I'm not sure what location this is from, but they fear the Mayans.

(Side note: The Mayan city of Tikal discovered in a rain forest in Guatamala in 1848 looks really cool. And I've heard it is surrounded by a bunch of spider monkeys.)