This Is The Last Day Of Winter

This Billboard . . .

. . . showing up in Los Angeles for the new movie Captivity has been causing lots of controversy. Which, I suppose, was exactly the plan.

The girl depicted in the ad is the smokin' hot Elisha Cuthbert.

Northwest ISD News

The Messenger always prints Northwest ISD news that I refuse to read because I don't consider the school to be part of the "old Wise County." But, alas, times change.

Northwest ISD announced today the creation of a new high school that will be located in the very high tone town of Trophy Club. (I must admit that my very first home I ever owned was in Trophy Club, but it was in "the poor section" to the west so I'm not sure it counted.)

Back to the high school. It will cost $96 million and will include, get this, an indoor football practice facility. Which, I guess, means that Trophy Club High School will have its own football team. And, I guess, it will need its own mascot. It will certainly have to have some type of Republican flavor considering the demographics. The Trophy Club Desert Storm? The Trophy Club Trickle Downs? The Trophy Club Shock and Awes? The Trophy Club Capital Gains?

I would say that a bunch of white boys will get killed in football but Highland Park and Southlake have proven that ain't necessarily so.

Random Thought

I just had a flashback because of a scene from Law and Order that just appeared on TV.

It was many, many years ago but once I attended an Episcopal church in Fort Worth with a new girlfriend. Hey, she was hot so I figured my Baptist God would cut me some slack.

Anyway, without any prep whatsoever (who knew you needed "prep"?), I walked in with her and had a seat. About 15 minutes into it, everyone turned to each other to exchange greetings (or so I thought.) To me, it seemed like the ol' Baptist "turn and say hi to your neighbor and greet them in Christian love" routine. So I turned to the lady to my right who said to me in the sweetest voice, "Peace be with you." A bit confused, but trying my best to fit right in, I replied, "Thanks! How are you?"

If you're laughing, you get it. If you've spent your whole life in a Baptist church, you won't.

Part Of An Anti-War Rally Last Weekend

Anti-War Rally 17 March 2007
Originally uploaded by smata2.

Awwwwww

Dad plays with the remote control for the Wii, and the baby laughs. Good times.

A Little Help Here

As I was in line at McDonald's to get the very low fat Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken Wrap, I was behind a vehicle with "Manufacturer" plates. What does that mean? I know what a "Dealer" plate means, but a "Manufacturer?"

And, man, they are tearing up that parking lot.

Spring Break Is Very Offensive.

I refuse to post this.

Kids Today

From Wikipedia

"On March 17th, 2007, [the most highly recruited basketball player in the Nation, O.J.] Mayo led Huntington High School to its 3rd straight Class AAA basketball championship in the state of West Virginia with 103-61 rout of South Charleston. Mayo finished with a triple-double: 41 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. In his final moments with a minute left in the game, Mayo threw the ball off the backboard from the free-throw line, caught it in midair and dunked. He then threw the ball deep into the stands and held up three fingers and was promptly ejected."

The youtube.com clip of it is here (the first 40 seconds are all that matters). Look at that kid strut around the court after being T'd up. Stay classy, West Virginia.

Gap Ad

Check out the gal's teeth. (Click to enlarge or the ad is here.)

It Could Be A Crackhead That Got Holt Of The Wrong Stuff

. . . or, actually, it is the mascot of Stanford University. Off.

One Of These Days, Before I Die . . .

. . . I want to show up in court in some crazy outfit with some crazy legal assistant. This, for example, would be a good look.

Throw Out Justice Nathan Hecht

Hecht is the Supreme Court judge who was sanctioned for his vocal support of failed Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers (uh, bad judgment for a judge). He fought the sanction and won but somehow ran up a legal bill of $340,000 (which is simply mind-boggling). So, as I wrote earlier, he gets some Texas stooge/representative to introduce a bill that would require the taxpayers to reimburse him for his legal fees.

Get this: Today we learn that the $340,000 bill had already been paid by contributions from outside sources (read: it was paid by other lawyers who will practice before him at the Supreme Court. Also read: Corrupt system.)

So today the representative withdraws the bill after noting he wasn't given all the necessary "information."

But you should throw up because of this quote from Justice Hecht: “Here is the problem: If judges are sanctioned like this and it’s unjust and it’s wrong and they want to prove it, they can represent themselves or hire a lawyer that you can’t pay for on a judge’s salary.” He is paid $150,000 a year of your taxpayer money.

Hey, hoss, you should see the number of poor people who sit across my desk who have been wrongfully accused of something that could send them to jail or the pen. You want to help them out? I won't shed a tear for you - as you become another fine example of how the Republican Party (yep, he's one) possesses the incredible skill of imploding.

This drives me insane.

I Can't Stop Watching

A guy is about to get life in prison (he's been to the pen twice before) in Waco for breaking a huge bottle of alcohol over a clerk's head and then stealing money. The story (with a very quick loading video link at the bottom) is here.

SMU War Protest . . .

was today as featured on Fox 4 News. And the awards go to . . .

For worst produced anti-protest signs:
For the anti-protest-frat-boy who listens to too much Rush Limbaugh: ("It's terrible! It's unpatriotic! Support your troops! Support your troops, regardless of whether you have problems with the president, support your troops!")

And for the worst war protester - a cute little gal that couldn't help but constantly smile during her anti-war chant:

Legal Technology

I saw that the "Bong Hits For Jesus" case was argued today before the Supreme Court. (I blogged about it here in the past.) But I'm amazed at how much legal research has changed. In law school, there were two computer terminals at Baylor Law School that could access Westlaw (my a phone modem) - Westlaw was (an is) an expensive computer research system that wasn't particularly easy to understand. Other than that, you had to go find a book. But now, it's all changed. For example, at the click of a mouse from my comfy chair in front of a TV, I can read the lower court's opinion in the Bong Hits case, see the brief for both the Petitioner and Respondent (something that used to be impossible), and, more amazingly, read the official transcript of the oral argument that occurred today before the Supreme Court. And when the opinion is released on a Wednesday (probably in early June), a copy of it will be delivered to my Inbox within two hours of its release.

That's Weird

It's no longer Ameriquest Field. Now it's "The Rangers Ballpark In Arlington". For some reason the Rangers and Ameriquest have agreed to rescind the naming rights contract that obligated Ameriquest to pay $75 million over 30 years.

Troopapalooza

Just watched a bit of a DWI trial going on in the county court. One trooper testifying. Three troopers watching in the audience. And another trooper in the County Attorney's office (maybe waiting to testify - not sure.) I've never felt so safe and so nervous at the same time.

And the six person jury hearing the case?: All female.