Hey, Now

Jessica Biel turned 25 yesterday.

Text Heavy Blogging

Saw this in Dallas Morning News regarding a provision in the 1836 Constitution of the Republic of Texas (stay with me here):

No free person of African descent ... shall be permitted to reside permanently in the republic, without the consent of congress."

Now that is holding the black man down.

And if you were black and wanted to voluntarily become the slave of a particular master, just get the district clerk, district judge, and the district attorney involved:

"Whenever any free person of African descent ... desires to choose a master, such person may file a petition in the district court of the county in which he or she resides ..." The article explained: "After posting a notice on the courthouse door for four weeks, the district clerk would summon both parties to court, where the district attorney (for $10) would examine the would-be slave and the chosen master. The judge could then approve the transaction if he detected no fraud."

A $10 fee to the D.A. in 1836? Now that's shocking. Oh, yeah....and that slavery stuff is shocking, too.

Edit: I found an Inflation Calculator that said $10 would be worth $196 today.

Kinda Interesting Sports Note

There was an article today in the DMN on name partner Henry Gilchrist of the soon to be defunct firm of Jenkins & Gilchrist. He was the lawyer for Clint Murchinson, the owner of the Cowboys, when Texas Stadium was built. The stadium was financed with the help of folks who bought bonds who, according to a contract the law firm wrote, would be given "seat options." Basically, you buy a bond and you have the right to buy primo season tickets. Thousands were sold.

One problem: The bond contract gave the buyer the right to purchase tickets to their seat in Texas Stadium for every game the Cowboys played in. So what if the Super Bowl granted Texas Stadium a Super Bowl and the Cowboys ended up in it? The bondholders would have the right to buy tickets for the game.

The NFL considered that unacceptable since it wants to control the tickets for the Super Bowl. In response, the Cowboys, who wanted a Super Bowl for their new stadium, sent waivers to every bondholder agreeing to waive their right to tickets in such a scenario. The vast majority of the bondholders said, "no way."

So that, Mr. Gilchrist believes, is why a Super Bowl never came to Texas Stadium in a day and time when a southern outdoor stadium was a possible site.

Bless This Kid

Chris Gavora, the Grapevine high school baseball player who died last weekend from a freak accident, was buried yesterday. He was also an organ donor. The DMN had this today in the sports section regarding the recipients:

-A 54 year old business owner and father of four received his pancreas
-A 27 year old software engineer received his liver
-A 14 year old boy received a kidney
-A 29 year old single mom received his other kidney
-A 10 year old Arkansas boy received his heart.

(Star Telegram photo)

Last Week . . .

. . . the media was all over the story about two teenagers that had robbed a bank in Acworth, Georgia. The were nicknamed the "Barbi Bandits" due to their good looks, and the cops were looking for them. Well, they finally got caught (allegedly). And Barbi-like? Uh, not so much.

Found This On The Home Page . . .

. . . of Fox 4 News. My brain has exploded.

Other Basketball News

Wise County's Poolville lost on Friday night to Eula, 52-48, to end its playoff run. Trivia: Eula is coached by former Decatur resident Josh Fostel (who is the son of Wise County District Judge John Fostel).

And don't accuse me of sucking up to the judge - which I might be doing.

Edit: I noticed that Eula won again on Saturday to advance to the State Finals.

Bet That Was Good

I've never been to the State Basketball Tourney in Austin but I bet this game for the 2A Championship today was outstanding. (Click to enlarge.)

Could anybody score during the first OT? And I had to look up where Poth was located - looks to be about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio.

From This Weekend's Messenger

I don't know you Cheryl, but I love you. Do you like Chinese food?

Elizabeth Hurley Got Married Today

And I nominate her for the Hottest 41 Year Old Who Jazzes Me. (I kept being drawn back to this picture. Kinda like the Siren on the island that caused ships to sail towards her and crash - at least that story is in the back of my mind somewhere. )

Barbarians

In this undated image made from video, released by the Islamic State of Iraq's (ISI) al-Furqan Media and distributed Saturday, March 3, 2007 by IntelCenter, 18 blindfolded members of the Iraqi Security Forces are shot from behind by an unidentified gunman at an undisclosed location. In a statement posted on an Islamic militant Web site on Saturday, the al-Qaida-affilated Islamic State of Iraq claimed it abducted and killed two groups of Iraqi government forces in retaliation for the alleged rape of a Sunni woman by members of the Shiite-dominated police. This image was provided via the IntelCenter, which is a private contractor working for intelligence agencies. (AP Photo/Intel Center, HO) Man, normally horrific images like what is described above don't appear on Yahoo, but they do today. Heck, I don't feel comfortable reposting them here. But, for those so inclined, they generally appear in Yahoo's Most Emailed Photos and as a sidebar to Yahoo's Most Popular Stories.

Queen Of The Conservatives

A little more compassionate conservatism.

This Is March, Right?

Saw these two in the Cheers and Jeers section of the Star-Telegram today. What do they have, uh, one guy working in that section? And has he been off for two months?

Trying Something New

In Colleyville. Pretty cool. Pretty hi-tone. Edit: That place is great. Has a nice restaurant on one side and a very fancy bar area on the other which has a menu that is outstanding. And it's one of those movie/restaurant concepts where you can have your meal while you eat. Comfy seats. And there's an IMAX in there. (Website)

Mailbox Carnage

As I was getting home from work last night, I saw that we had some mailbox carnage in the neighborhood. They even had to call a tow truck for the vehicle that had a tad bit of trouble staying on the roadway. Yep, through the two mailboxes, across the driveway, and into the front yard. Good times.

Random Newspaper Thought

As I kid, I can remember the newspaper guy coming by the house and throwing out a paper in the morning and then come by again around six o'clock and throwing out an evening edition of the paper. How crazy is that. I'm pretty sure it was the Star Telegram.

I've Been Looking . . .

. . . for an authentic 1996 jock strap worn by a Nebraska player in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. Well, I'll be.

Cops Keeping Little People Down

But, man, there's something extremely odd about the way the little guy can climb a pole and do a back flip. (From an episode of Cops)