He Hates Us For Our Freedom - Blog Under Attack!

From the email bag (and I am not making this up):

Barry, Your blog has come to our attention, and we have concerns about your use of our trademarks in your heading. American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ) is the owner of the federally registered marks Dairy Queen and the ellipse shaped logo. These trademarks are very important and valuable assets within the Dairy Queen system. You are using our marks in a way that may lead some to believe there is an association or endorsement or similar arrangement with our company. We are flattered that you had Dairy Queen in mind when creating your site, but we do have a responsibility to limit and control the use of these trademarks. As an author, we hope you will understand our situation and respect the intellectual property owned by another. We request that you remove these two marks from your blog. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Thank you.

Sincerely,

AMERICAN DAIRY QUEEN CORPORATION 
 O. Michael Rinke President and Assistant General Counsel
952/***-**** 
952/***-**** (Fax)

I'm probably responsible for more free advertising and the sale of more Hungr' Busters (which is probably a registered trademark) than any guy in the history of Dairy Queen. And this is the thanks I get? Would O. Michael Rinke rather me go on an anti-Dairy Queen rant every single day (which, the last time I checked, would be protected speech under one of those amendment thingies to the U.S. Constitution?) It's a dark day in the America, folks. I've called an emergency meeting with myself at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning to discuss this matter with myself. But I can see a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case coming: American Dairy Queen Corporation v. Liberally Lean From The Land Of Dairy Queen. I'm even working on my oral argument: "Over? Did you say 'over'? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! But I'm not gonna stand here and let O. Michael Rinke bad mouth the United States of America!" (But that may be the nicest "lawyer letter" I've ever received.)

I Can't Tell You How Good This Is

HBO premiered its series tonight which follows the Cowboys in training camp in Oxnard, CA. If you even have a passing interest in the team, you have to see this show. I pretty much put the NFL on the back burner about 10 years ago, but this thing even excited me. Good. Stuff. (Extreme sidenote: That tight end from Texas A&M might be a bust.)

Now This Is News

We've got a confirmed sighting of the Google Street View Van going up and down the streets of Decatur taking pictures. (If anybody grabs a pic of the van taking pics then send me that pic.)

Rumor and Speculation

This is the hotel under construction behind the Decatur McDonald's which I think is going to be a Four Seasons or Anatole or Motel 6. Not sure. But someone made a comment the other day asking whether anyone had noticed that "construction had suddenly stopped." I really hadn't noticed it, but when I drove by it a second ago there sure wasn't any activity. Any validity to this? What a mess it would be if it became an eyesore or all eyesores.

And Another

It's been a while since I've gone back to the well of the "And Another" teacher scandal bit, but this one gets me back on track. It actually involved only text messaging but, trust me, it has a couple of "oh, my" factors that make it worthy of its own post. Once again, its just a situation of a hot teacher temporarily having her moral compass malfunction. So what if she taught in a Christian school, tried to seduce a female, and had her husband involved. [Insert sound effect of needle scraping across a playing record.] Wait. Let me reassess this.

Can You Say "Oscar"?

My day just got a little bit better. Story

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• For those that enjoyed the book Into Thin Air, there could now be a Part 2 based upon what just took place on the second highest mountain in the world, K2. Of all the ways I've contemplated my death, freezing is not at the top of the list.
  
• When did all businesses start using the phrase, "we'll do our due diligence"? It's a legal term which has been thrown around left and right over the last five years. But it's being used as a replacement for, "we'll check out all the facts and see if it's a good deal."
  
• The Ticket had "towel talk" this morning. Question on the table: Do you reuse your shower towel and, if so, how often? Most of the boys said they use only one or two different towels per week.
• Speaking of talk radio, I hate the phrase, "well let's agree to disagree."
• Paris Hilton spoof commercial in response to the silly John McCain ad. Not that funny.
  
• With yet another exoneration out of Dallas County yesterday, former DA Henry Wade's legacy continues to take a hit. My footnote: My dad actually pointed him out in downtown Dallas when we ate at the Holiday Inn restaurant (about 25 years ago.)
• D. R. Horton, which continues to bleed money, had to be reckless with its expansion during the "good times." Did they do their due diligence?
  
• Hot baseball opinion: I wouldn't let C.J. Wilson come in as a closer for the Alvord Bulldogs.
• I bought some Coke Zero yesterday in those squatty little cans.
• I always have to drive into the heart of Fort Worth for driver's license hearings and have done so for years. But I've noticed something: There's less traffic lately (which my team of scientists attribute to higher gas prices.)
• It was about two months ago when I finally figured out what the acronym "DIY" meant
• I've almost gone debit card exclusive. I went for two weeks with not a single dollar in my wallet and got along just fine.
  
• President Bush holds the record for presidential vacation days: 506 and counting. I'm all for it - preferably without any type of communication devices.
• Some of you guys dogged Bill Clinton yesterday. Time will tell: One of the best Presidents ever. (Those without sin think otherwise - and, man, there's a bunch of them.)
• I like the way these girls look.
  
• I love The Ticket's fake Nolan Ryan.
• I downloaded 4,213 KB of data to view the Internet over my iPhone at the Cancun airport ( that would be the equivalent of one song) and it cost me $83.16 due to international charges.
  
• I've downloaded, but haven't listed to, The Shack.
  
• The guy who will threaten to jump off of an overpass in front of a bunch of cops never does
• Terrell Owens is selling T-shirts which seem to infringe on Apple's "i" thingy.
• Cowboys coach Wade Phillips' cap is about three sizes too small.
• The Brett Favre saga is a beating. He and his coach yesterday had a closed door meeting yesterday that lasted over five hours. I couldn't talk to anyone for five hours.
• I above picture, if the Flickr description was correct, was taken on Lake Lewisville.
• Edit: An emailer points out that there are no deaths or funerals reported in today's Update which is probably a record.
  

Oh, My

A couple of weeks ago there was a news story of a very expensive boat burning on Lake Lewisville. So, as I tend to do, I was browsing around Flickr (which is a great site) and looked for pics from that lake taken in the last two weeks. That search led me to the above pics found here. (And if you've never looked at Flickr, when you click on a photo it will give the option to view "all sizes" of that photo.)

For No Reason Other . . .

. . . than the kid made me laugh.

Link.

Thanks emailer.

Art?

Not quite.

I was walkimg to the courthouse this morning and came across this on a fine Decatur street. So odd. It was a ton of broken glass shattered into the smallest of pieces - - with wrapped and unwrapped cheese slices scattered amongst it.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Some DFW girl won the "Nashville Star" competition. I've never heard of it. But WBAP's Hal Jay (who drives me nuts) asked in all sincerity this morning whether "Nashville Star" was as big as "American Idol."
• Man, we get excited over any storm that forms in the gulf. And I'm still laughing about the video below.
  
• I like George Will on "This Week" but he drives me nuts with his column. Last week he threw in the word "tautological" after casually mentioning the "Franco-Prussian War ". George, you don't have to try to impress us anymore.
• I had another person tell me yesterday I was crazy for not liking the Batman movie.
• You can't drive down 287 without seeing three or four tires that have blown apart.
  
• Since I screwed up my netflix mailings (somehow I've got four in transit right now), I had to watch Memento (which I own) last night while I jogged. Man, I forgot how much I liked that.
• I wonder if anyone is at Walmart right now with a "#1 Dad" t-shirt on?
  
• I had to eat at Sweetie Pie Ribeyes yesterday. Two notes: (1) could we please have something on the menu that is remotely healthy and (2) what's up with the waitresses that line up at the back and stare at you until the lunchtime crowd arrives?
• When I lived on the lake, I was bitten on the chest by a scorpion in the middle of the night. I don't think I've slept well since then.
• I saw Bill Clinton, sans make-up, interviewed on "World News Tonight" yesterday. He looked really old and tired. And, man, he won't say it but he can't stand Obama.
  
• I didn't know there was a "web site that connects would-be cheaters with potential mates" nor did I know it ran advertisements on ESPN radio (before it pulled the ads.)
  
• I never watch the Rangers but I had the game on last night when they won with a bottom of the ninth, two out grand slam. When you see something like that live, you feel like you've seen something special that no one else witnessed. (Unlike with the Cowboys where you feel like you've seen it along with a krillion other people.)
• My neighbor left his sprinkler on all night long. Made me giggle.
• He waved at me last evening while I was outside listening to my iPod. I'm always afraid he tries to start a conversation with me but I don't know about it due to my earphones.
  
• Grandstander AG Greg Abbott is fighting for the "moment of silence" at the 5th Circuit in New Orleans. In other news, he's fighting for the state's ban on sex toys.
• As of today, Marilyn Monroe has been dead for 46 years. She never really jazzed me.
  
• I use fat free butter - the liquefied version.
  
• You think I post pics of scantily clad women? Hey, yell at NBC.
• Edit: Watch the aforementioned Ranger walk-off home run here.
  

Pounding

I love Fox 4 News. Heck, I was married to Lari Barager until I had that "incident" with Megan Henderson at the Christmas party that caused a messy breakup. But that's old news that was well documented by People magazine. Anyway, I'm watching that fine news show tonight when Steve Eagar throws it to some guy named "Foti" (a sure sign that trouble was ahead) who is on the beach at Galveston. Why? Because it is certain to be completely destroyed by a thunderhead that's out there in the gulf right now. People, it's a pain to record these videos and upload them to youtube, so watch this. The key word is that the beach is getting "pounded" by the waves. That's all you need to know. Roll the tape.

Monday Afternoon PIck Me Up

The Evil Empire Must Be Shaking

Saw this pic from a slide show of Baylor's fall practice. For some reason, it does not instill confidence.

Monday Morning Random Thoughts

• I've said it before, NFL Films' America's Game is good stuff. And I think Hard Knocks with the Cowboys starts on HBO on Wednesday.
• I caught the last part of the Lifetime movie on Saturday which was based upon the McKinney cheerleader scandal from a couple of years ago. It was bad. Really bad. Sample dialogue: "You're completely out of line." Response:"This whole school is out of line!" (Al Pacino would have been proud.)
  
• Dale Hansen turned 60 over the weekend.
• I know its wrong to water the lawn in the middle of the day, but I briefly do it every now and then because it just looks so, well, hot.
• I haven't received an electric bill in about a month. Man, it'll be ugly.
• You don't hear much about priceline.com anymore. (Captain Kirk used to promote it every minute.)
• I hate unloading a dishwasher.
• I'm not sure I've heard much of former Bridgeport football great Colin Jones since he signed with TCU.
• One final sports thought: Former Cowboy Tony Dixon was on with Fox 4's Mike Doocey last night. I don't remember Tony Dixon. And one incredinbly random Cowboy thought: Anyone remember Chad Hutchinson?
• The Star Telegram today belatedly gets around to the Newark story of the proposed limit of five cats and five dogs per household. I wouldn't go near a house with 10 animals.
• I'm still mad at President Bush for his skit in 2004 at the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner when he showed photos of him "looking" for WMDs in the Oval Office. And for the life of me, I don't understand how his advisors didn't tell him not to do it.
• Edouard is a goofy name for a Tropical Storm/Hurricane
• I like sandwiches. I always forget that I like sandwiches.
  
• According to the Update of Friday, some kid made up the story about being robbed by two men in the southern part of the county when he actually just snuck out to hook up with his girlfriend. Whenever someone makes up a crime story, he is always assaulted by two, not one, men.
• I thought this would be bigger news: The convictions of two border patrol agents (who were the darlings of the The Right over the last couple of years) were upheld last week.
• WBAP's Mark Davis made the oddest statement last week. He said he would no long use the term "radical Muslims" because all Muslims, if they are followers of the religon, want to kill us. Really?
• I think I heard this issue of Texas Monthly has an article of the "25 Best Swimming Holes." I looked for it yesterday but its hard to find at the grocery store. Edit: Just found the story online.
• Gangs of New York was outstanding. And, honestly, I had never seen anything that Daniel Day-Lewis had starred in other than There Will Be Blood which I saw two months ago. Man, he's great.
  

I Bow In The Direction Of Jarhead

A few weeks ago, crazy ol' Jarhead pointed out that the above book was available for free as an audible book on iTunes. I'll be honest, I had never heard of it. But as much as I'll throw money at problems to make them go away, I also love free crap. So I clicked on the link.

I listened to it on Friday and Saturday. That's all it took to complete it.

I'm still thinking about it. I'm still bugged by it. I may be falling in love with it.

It's about a Spanish shepherd boy who basically throws everything away to follow his dreams to get the Egyptian pyramids - because his instincts have told him to go there. It has its flaws, but it has its gold. A lot of gold.

Some selected quotes:

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself," the alchemist replies. "And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."

"The world's greatest lie is that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate."

And the book's undying theme: "When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream."

I See This Guy On Infomercials All The Time

If you see him, run away. Quickly. He's a scam artist.

For years, he was a weight loss guru. But now I just saw him on television being a financial expert (with a former Playboy bunny on his five person panel.) He even said that his new information is so secret that he has received "death threats" from financial institutions.

Decatur Teacher Asked To Drop Out Of Race

Decatur teacher Jason Jordan is running for the Texas House. An emailer points out that that a former Texas representative has asked Jordan (and two other Libertarians) to drop out so as to not take away votes from the Republicans (which could possibly lead to a Democratic victory.)

Sidenote: I think this would be a bigger story if the head of the Texas Republicans had made the call.

Sidenote #2: I think there would be a lot more Libertarians out there if people simply knew what the party stood for.