Crowd Pleasing T-Shirt From Last Week

Can't tell ya the number of times this girl was stopped so that someone could say, "I love that shirt!"

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• There was a truck that had jack-knifed onto a train track about five miles north of Decatur on 287. Every rescue vehicle in the Southwest proper was headed that way, but it looks like all trains had been stopped.
• I'm no so sure about that "feeling refreshed" after a vacation. "Feeling like I want to do it again" is more like it.
• I think I experienced "vacation guilt" as I looked around at the poverty in Mexico as I traveled to my resort from the airport.
• The Cancun airport is really nice.
• Turning off the cell phone for a week is weird.
• I visited the Xcaret Eco Park. Probably overrated based upon it's price -- with the exception of "Spider Monkey Island".
• I woke up one day a little after 6:00, stumbled to the beach, and saw the sun rise over the horizon.
• I'm now in my office wearing a suit.
• I always want to eat at some off the beaten path authentic Mexican restaurant not visited by tourists but I never do.
• OK, yell at me for this: I took a quick diving course and then scuba dove for about 45 minutes in 20 to 25 feet of water. I figured it was shallow enough to be safe. It's not as easy as it looks.
• I kept thinking about "Open Water."
• I watched very little TV over the week, but did manage to catch the release of the video of Michael Jackson's hair catching fire during the filming of the Pepsi commercial. That was crazy.
• And a quick Internet check in showed me it was crazy hot back in Texas last week.
• I'm still trying to get my Random Thought groove back.

I'm Back

But why do I feel like I need a vacation after my vacation? Note to self: Never, ever schedule a return flight for 7:30 a.m. And part of my entourage got sick which required a visit to the doctor as soon as we hit DFW. Anyway, here's exclusive video of me at my hotel's health spa/computer room. I hit my stride at about the 35 second mark.

Random Best Of Posts: Day #6

• One of my all time favorites: The N Word
• This wreck in 2007 deserves a "where are they now" segment.
• Still shocking to me: The number of straight ticket voters in Wise County.
• I posted far more shocking pics when I didn't think anyone was reading.
• How quickly we forget. Newt Gingrich, who is making a bit of a Republican comeback, was having an affair while he was dogging Clinton for having an affair.
• A shocking google search about our Sheriff.
• Still one crazy site: Drag and drop the falling bikini girl.
• An Iraqi casualty from Boyd that I hope has not been forgotten.
• I used to be so much bolder with my pics.
• I still think the hanging of Saddam Hussein after a trial without a jury that did not allow him to even know the identity of his accusers, was barbaric.
• I hope all the people listed in this story still visit that young man's grave.
• This was pretty interesting: The Dallas Morning News got a hold of the "talking points" given out by the Dallas County Democratic party after the parties surprising landslide win in 2006.
• This won't interest many of you, but I went nuts watching the "where should Anna Nicole's body be buried" proceeding.

Random Best Of Posts: Day #5

• The incident that made Lari Barager my nemesis.
• My ex secretary used to drive me insane.
• I regret this post.
• My best prediction ever was the worst moment for the Mavs ever.
• I ended up representing this guy and having the case dismissed once evidence (finally) came forth that he wasn't the driver.
• Jane McGarry gold.
• Hottest OU girl ever.
• I had forgotten that Fox tried to do it's own comedy show in 2007. (I researched it and found out it was cancelled after 13 episodes.)
• There's a Promiseland show that is the new Robert Tilton. They made me made about a week ago, and I remembered they made me mad in 2007.
• "White Chicks And Gang Signs"
• "Barron Green" explained.
• When I reprinted this Christmas flyer from Grace Baptist Church in 2006, which included the regretable phrase "invest in eternity", the comments exploded. (Back then they were unmoderated and I can't even bring myself to link back to them now.)

Random Best Of Posts: Day #4

• Probably doesn't deserve to be here, but I was mad at Baylor after a
• Flashback to the Wise County road side stop scandal.
• loss to TCU.
• I once rated Wise County's all time greatest athletes.
• I took a picture of a local church's billboard and it became national news.
• I can't believe the video is still up of Tony Romo (before he went big time) making an appearance in a shocking youtube for a Denton bar.
• I still laugh at the Chris Hansen soundboard (direct link). I once had a girlfriend call me and when I answered, she just started firing off those audio clips. Very, very funny.
• 2007 "Hey, Now."
• Not that shocking, but when Todd Dodge was named the head football coach of UNT, I questioned whether that was really a better gig than the coach of Southlake Carroll.
• Wise County church billboard grammatical error.
• Me in high school.

Random Best Of Posts: Day #3

• The worst Headline/Photo combo ever in the Messenger.
• Worst Frilly's error ever?
• "I'm a man! I'm 40! My favorite coach rant ever. (With bonus videos)
• A random post about a girl named Latoisha.
• Three teenagers die in Wise County wreck.
• Bad Messenger mistake.
• Why I needed a zoom lense on vacation
• Bridgeport Spillway opened in 2007 due to heavy rains.
• I searched "Bridgeport" and "Texas" on Flickr and this came up.
• Back in 2007, I ran a poll asking readers how old they were and their marital status.
• In 2007, I pointed out this 33 year old Texan who was #317 on Forbes list of richest Americans. I tried to find out what happened to him and could only determine that in 2008 he was now the #168th richest American due to his wealth increasing by another $1 billion. Where is he now?

Random Best Of Posts: Day #2

• Still one of my favorite gals (above).
• Timely: Two years ago I posted a video of the OU Marching Band doing the "Thriller" dance.
• Art that I have hanging in my office.
• When I saved a Wise County turtle.
• When a Chico family was killed by a drunk driver who eventually was determined not to be drunk at all by the Tarrant County DA's office.
• I wonder what ever happened to the former Boyd football star who was in trouble.
• In 2007, when the DOW was a little above 12,500, I asked if anyone was nervous after it dropped 250 points in one day. If we weren't, we should have been.
• Still laugh about the pot bellied pig being put on my desk.
• Hottest girl ever from Decatur?
• I still shake my head at this crime in my neighborhood.
• A little long, but I reflected on how I almost single handedly cost Bridgeport a win over Decatur in high school football back in the day.
• My stadium fetish.

Random Best Of Posts: Day #1

• I posted a pic of this piece of art once but didn't disclose that I own it.
• One of my favorite moments when I saw Santa walking down my street five years ago.
• When I got 51 comments on this post in 2005, I thought I had hit the big time. (And the subject matter still works to this day.)
• The famous Wise County Courthouse crab incident.
• When I found a video of a guy angry about his experience with the Walmart McDonalds.
• Craziest question I was ever asked in the Wise County Courthouse.
• My first pics of the "Nazi Van" which was always near the now illegal camera in Rhome that took pics of speeders.
• The sappiest movie quote that I love.
• Hey, now. (Circa 2007)
• I questioned the Drudge Report on a story and I turned out to be wrong.
• Wow, I got a little sappy
• Two guys doing the Charlie Brown Christmas Special dance that I thought was funny but no one else did.
• A Bridgeport tragedy
• Funny video of Bridgeport mom being run over by Pee Wee football team.
• When the City of Decatur moved around Christmas decorations after a blog post.

We Interrupt This Broadcast

I'll be out of pocket all this week, but there's no need to get out your dress blues. If everything works correctly, each morning around 8:15 a.m. you'll automatically receive a "Best Of" post from random entries from 2006 and 2007. Will they be that good? Naaaaa. But they got my attention as I cruised down memory lane as I put it together. (Which was an extreme beating.) I rarely say thanks for reading but, hey, thanks for reading. But while you guys work all week, rest assured I'm relaxing on a beach (or in a Mexican prison because of a little problem getting through customs.) Either way, it'll be an all-inclusive stay.

Keep Away From 820 at Mark IV Parkway

Which is in north Fort Worth. It was a three vehicle wreck, one death, and a freeway shut down.

Wedding Follow Up

It's being touted as the "Greatest Marriage Proposal In The World" on the Internet. Hmmm. Maybe "Greatest Marriage Proposal By Flamboyant Broadway Wannabe".

Wise County Wedding In The Courtroom This Morning

No comments (I like this girl, and I don't trust you people.) But I posted this on Facebook where someone commented, "Was there a jury?"

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Yeah, it's cute, but the Evian "skating babies" commercial doesn't jazz me like it does everyone else. I'm just not a fan of the overly tricked up computer generated video.
• Twice this week, I've driven by down a street in the morning only to see a guy walk out of his house, shirtless, and fire up a cigarette.
• I wonder if other cultures get as freaked out as the U.S. does over "sex crimes."
• I don't think I've ever seen a "victim impact statement" delivered to a defendant after a trial but while the jury was still in the jury box. At least not in Wise County.
• And that legal right of the victim is simply odd: It can only occur after a sentence has been handed down.
• But the defendant yesterday will certainly remember it. Heck, I will.
• The photo of Obama checking out the girl yesterday was pretty funny. Headline winner may go here but our local Fox 4 gave it a good effort.
• College football fans only: ESPN's Big 12 Blog has been counting down to the 25 biggest moments in the conference's history. Good stuff. The only one left to be disclosed is #1, but it has to be UT's Vince Young's scramble on 4th down to win the National Championship.
• The capital murder indictment of Steven York by a Wise County Grand Jury this week kind of flew under the radar. The next big announcement is whether the DA's office will seek the death penalty -- something that hasn't occurred in almost 30 years.
• I think a new Harry Potter movie is coming out. I've never seen any of them nor do I have any desire to.
• Running of the Bulls update: Bulls 1, Humans 0
• Our Congress woman, Kay Granger, visited a Wise County ranch a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday she was hospitalized due to dehydration. Coincidence?
• Movie critic Gary Gogill called the new Bruno movie the most shocking R rated movie he's ever seen. That's saying something.
• 14 of 17 dogs at the Jacksboro animal shelter were euthanized. It's like a puppy holocaust.
• [Post about Steve McNair's killer failing field sobriety tests deleted because even I was bored by it.]
• What temperature do you keep your home thermostat at? Me: 77 in the evening. 74 at night.

Verdict: 15 years

Barry (from iPhone) Edit: But we did have a little bit of drama when the victim was allowed (by law) to address the defendant in open court after the verdict. She stood about 15 feet from him and spoke loudly and angrily. Her opening sentence was something about "throwing a shoe" which I didn't quite pick up. But after telling him that she did not fear him although he "destroyed my family," she ended with: "I hate you and hope you burn in hell." That was pretty shocking.

Defendant and family wait for verdict

Live from courthouse in ongoing sexual assault case

Closing arguments (as seen from gallery and with a very rough
transcribed summary):

Prosecutor:
- we are judged how we protect our children
- punishment for punishment's sake is sometimes appropriate

Defense
- you promised me you would consider the full range of punishment
including probation
- probation is not a slap on the hand
- you heard what's involved including GPS ankle bracelet
- it can go on up to 10 years
- if he violates his probation he goes to prison. No jury. Just the
judge
- he will have to register as sex offender and he has a felony
conviction
- he had no criminal history whatsoever
- no evidence that there are any other victims
- he will live 2,500 miles from victim
- has a child in college andnow divorced and two others. As sex
offender he will not be able to go to their activities
- he would be able to pay child support
- many witnesses said he was a good man
- he made a serious mistake
- this act was one of sickness. Probation will require counseling to
overcome this sickness
- have we come to the point of throwing sick people in jail
- you heard how many people he has helped in his life
- we ask you for probation and this the verdict form you would use
- we thank you

Prosecutor rebuttal:
- you are the ones to tell us what we are to do with these people
- nice guy? He was a nice guy to victim before abuse
- this is a 51 year old man and preyed on young girl
- he stole her innocence
- if it is not about the child then it's about nothing
- I wlll not ask for life in prison but Wise County demands at least
50 years
- make her misery and pain mean something

Barry (from iPhone)

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• More news yesterday on how former NFL player Steve McNair died: His 20 year old girlfriend shot him twice in the head and twice in the chest while he was sleeping.
• Note to self: Get rid of 20 year old girlfriend.
• I don't know why I haven't mentioned the 500 dogs seized in Montague County due to neglect. Maybe it's because they don't look near as bad as some other cases we've seen.
• I can't imagine being a defendant in a felony case waiting for the verdict. I've experienced sitting right beside them, but that's not the same thing as being in their shoes.
• Man, colleges do some long term planning. Baylor and Duke just worked out an agreement to meet in football on 2017 and 2018. Obama will have finished his second term by then.
• Something I learned from my new book Assassination Vacation: Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, was wearing a T-shirt at that time with a picture of Abraham Lincoln and the motto: Sic semper tyrannis, the state motto of Virginia, and also the words shouted by John Wilkes Booth after he shot Lincoln. (The translation: Thus, always, to tyrants.)
• I really don't know what "Thus, always, to tyrants" means.
• Our County Attorney spent most of the weekend in an RV at the Sheriff's Office in connection with "Nor Refusal Weekend." I told him he was crazy.
• Mena Suvari has a tattoo on her back, too.
• Megan Henderson, formerly of Fox 4, has been gone for months and hasn't been replaced.
• There's a web site that almost always steal a pic from for the Random Girl. Now it's started to put a watermark on them which greatly distracts from the hotness. Ugh.
• If you saw Alpha Dog you'll be very interested in this.
• I'm amazed at how many cops don't understand they are an agent of government.
• 41 dead in Iraq in the last two days. Anybody truly believe it's only going to get better?