White Birds At Night

Reader submitted pic. I think these are the birds that have been occupying that set of trees all summer.

Edit: Kate Mara volunteers to blast those pesky and protected birds.

Californication

I've barely kept up with the trial of record producer Phil Spector in California, but I did see this today in the news:

The nine-man, three-woman jury is expected to hear two days of closing arguments by both sides. Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler said he expects the case to be submitted to them on Friday.

Two days? Two days of closing arguments? California is insane. In Texas, you would be lucky to get 30 minutes. Maybe an hour if you had an a very unusual judge.

And even with those restrictions, I can't recall a single time a judge has told me during closing argument that I was "out of time." I think the attention span of jurors is much like mine: very, very short. Say it - with passion - and then shut up. Quickly.

What? A Republican Actor For President? Oh ....Wait

Well, Fred Thompson finally announced today (while taping The Tonight Show) that he's running for President. Finally, the Republicans have their man. Barring some colossal screwup, I think he's a cinch for the nomination. And I'm not at all comfortable that Hillary or Obama can beat him either.

We'll know in 14 . . . sheesh . . . 14 months.

I'm Taking A Stand For Women's Rights

This poor woman, who just happens to be a Hooter's waitress, was about to take off on a Southwest airline's flight wearing that outfit. Then a male (!!!) flight attendant had her exit the plane because of her outfit. Yep, too "lewd, obscene or patently offensive." She eventually was allowed to reboard but only after a bit of a fight.

First of all, that ain't provocative. Heck, my ex-wife #6 used to wear less than that to the early morning services on Sunday.

And I've always cocked an eyebrow, so to speak, whenever I see a male flight attendant. But this guy deserves to be banned from all future flights. It's hard enough to end up sitting next to a hot girl when you fly, and it's a miracle if that happens and she is scantily clad. Some guy hit the motherlode when this babe plopped down beside him, and then the flight attendant tried to ruin what was probably the greatest moment of his life.

Finally, I love her mom's remark: "“My daughter is young, tall, blond and beautiful and she is both envied and complimented on her appearance. She dresses provocatively, as do 99 percent of 23-year-old girls who can. But they were out of line.” Hey, now.

Edit: Her alleged myspace profile pic . . .

Edit: And another

Wednesday Afternoon Pick Me Up

Very Random Thought

How much is Rodeo Ford paying this guy? He's on TV constantly screaming, "I don't care how you get here, folks. Just get here!"

Which almost ruins his heretofore most famous movie line: "We're the Flying Elvises! Utah chapter!"

Not Much News Today

There was the band member in Dallas that was shot in the head (but I really don't think Wise County would care about that much.) Although the new twist is that his girlfriend may be trying to blame the whole event on Chantix - a stop smoking drug. I know a girl that took that stuff recently and she didn't act any crazier than she normally does. The "I'm Not Gay" Senator is thinking about retracting his promise to resign and try to save his job. But that's an old story. Too many sports posting lately. And I know my faithful audience hates sports. Uh, it rained. Britney Spears hasn't done anything nutty in the last 48 hours. I officially lost 10 pounds on Nutrisystem.

The Mysterious Tommy Blake

Blake is a defensive player for TCU - check that, he's TCU's best player who has been named to at least four pre-season All America teams. But he has had the oddest month. He mysteriously left the team three weeks ago and went back to his home in South Texas. Coach Patterson flew down there to try and talk him into returning to the team - which Blake did.

Last week, Blake was hospitilized in Fort Worth for three days. Again, no one will say why. He didn't play against Baylor even though he practiced with the team the day before the game.

I was hanging around some TCU alums at a house in Fort Worth before the game on Saturday. I brought Blake's name up hoping to get some answers. It got quiet. Then one guy, who I don't know from Adam, said, "Let's just say it has something to do with a 22 year old girl. And that's all I'm saying." No one dared ask a follow-up question. It was weird.

I

I Refuse . . .

. . . to post this picture of 41 year old Pamela Anderson taken this weekend.

But, sheesh, 41? That's what clean living will get ya.

Wise County Fantasy Football League

Uh, I had a post earlier today about a dead snake and a Fantasy Football league I joined. We had some dead snake issues (and, no, I'm not allowing any posts on it - let's just say the serpent had some alleged civil rights I was not aware of) but here is a list of the fantasy teams. You'll see a couple of "300" references, an offensive name which is both shocking and funny, a Talladega Nights reference, and some that will strike no fear in the hearts of their opponents.

Meaningless Star Telegram Local Poll

Decatur falls four. Bridgeport moves up four.

"The Bridge"

I just finished the documentary called "The Bridge."

I think I'm kind of disturbed by it - but for reasons different than I expected. Basically, the director rolls tape on the Golden Gate bridge for a year and catches footage of several people leaping off. (90% of the film consists of interviews with friends and family members of the dead.) It was so disturbingly riveting to see people (up close - thanks to a high zoom lens) pace up and down the bridge before going over the rail onto another platform and then leaping over the edge.

But after a while I was kind of caught up with the ethics of the whole movie. Cops and emergency personnel are always nearby because it is apparently the suicide capital of the country. (We see the cops talk at least two people off the ledge.) So the camera man watches a guy climb over the rail and sit there for 15 minutes and they don't call anyone to help the despondent guy before he jumps? Time and time again? They're more interested in getting the footage?

Dark.

Hey, Now

Every Year We See This

LAS VEGAS - Showman Jerry Lewis raised nearly $64 million on Monday during his annual Labor Day Telethon to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association, topping last year's event by $3 million.

And, not to sound harsh, but are we even close to a cure?

Edit: And the man is going crazy.

My Head Is Spinning

A faithful reader saw this sign in Sunset outside of a "statue business", snapped a pic, and emailed it to me this weekend.

Random SMU/Tech Thoughts

- I really like that stadium. It's small, but that sure makes every seat in the house a good seat. Thumbs up. But the skyboxes-to-seat ratio is out of whack.
- There were probably more Tech fans than SMU fans, but it was difficult to tell since both wore red.
- Amazingly, this wasn't even close to a sell out. Both SMU and Tech should be ashamed.
- SMU has a great pre-game scene going. Over the last 15 years, "tailgating" has gone from a 2 hour affair to an all day affair. SMU lets everyone set up tents along the "Boulevard" that run right through campus. It's a great scene. (Couple of pics above.)
- The SMU bands first song was Gwen Stefani's "Rich Girl." SMU is uppity.
- Uh, I forgot to mention parking is a mess. I did what the SMU web site told me to do: Park across Central near Mockingbird Station. There was a shuttle, but I'm a walking guy. That was quite the walk.
- Tech fans had an entire parking lot near Mockingbird Station reserved for their own tailgate party. It was full of happy Tech fans.
- End zone seats were priced oddly at $47.
- SMU has a tight end named "Vincent Chase." That's funny if you are an Entourage fan.
- I didn't notice, but there may have been a lot of hot women at the stadium.
- If you'll look closely at one of the pics above, you'll see SMU players taunting Tech players as they enter the stadium. Not-a-good idea.
- A very disturbing fashion trend: I bet over half of the SMU girls wore a white dress that is hard to describe. It's stretchy around the buxom and then is straight and "full" to about three inches above the knee. I'll swear, every girl could be eight months pregnant and you'd never know it in these dresses. This trend must be stopped.
- Tech coach Mike Leach (above) has some crazy hair. And is he drinking coffee before the game?
- I saw The Ticket broadcasting with Bob Sturm at the helm. (The original source of the phrase, "Hey, now!")
- That's smiling Tech quarterback Graham Harrell above. And that's before the game.
- The line was 7. Tech won by almost 40. Either Tech is really good or SMU is really bad. Or both may be true.

Not a bad place to watch a game

Watching People Get Their Guns Up

Sheesh. It's a holiday. Tech is playing SMU in Dallas. I never been since they built the new stadium. I think I'll go.