Trench Coat Mafia? Naaaaa

Read more. Denny Crane was on this story yesterday, but I'm not sure it is much of a story. I can't tell if the "threats" were made last February or if they were referring to potential actions for February, 2010. Somebody read that story and figure it out. There's a huge difference between an "I'll kill you" said in anger (my third ex-wife used to say that whenever I would get handsy) and a Columbine Looney Toons Crazy Kid. But schools and cops freak out whenever they hear about stuff like this.

Ring Of Fire

Just finished an article in this month's Texas Monthly about the Aggie bonfire tragedy which, amazingly, is coming up on its 10 year anniversary. The entire piece is composed of quotes from those that were there or from those who could place some historical context to it. That sounded stuffy. There's some moving, moving stuff in that article. ("I was assigned to a kid who was trapped inside the stack. I remember I was pretty freaked out because the only thing that was keeping this kid from being crushed by a log was the body of the kid next to him.") God bless the Aggies. I remember two days after the accident that the Dallas Morning News had a horrific photo of the collapse. I'll try and find it.

Thursday Afternoon Pick Me Up

This girl might be to classy for Liberally Lean.

Costume Fail Thursday

Let's see. Spandex Man? Overweight Spiderman? Insane Clown Posse guy? Decisions. Decisions.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• It's been a crazy baby week for the blogroll over to the right. Silicone Alley had her first baby, and yesterday BagOfNothing announced that Mrs. BagOfNothing was pregnant for the first time. The only way this gets better is if Crazy Texas Mommy surprises us with an announcement.
• Dick Cheney endorses Kay Bailey Hutchison and she's happy about it?
• Edit: WBAP's Mark Davis called Dick Cheney "a modern day Winston Churchill" this morning at 8:40 a.m. Really? Davis on crack?
• Crazy picture of a criminal defendant in a Fort Worth trial. He's either worried about the swine flu or everyone else is worried about him spitting on them so they put a "spit mask" on him. It happens.
• Ugh. I lost my DWI case yesterday. I tell you when I win so I might as well tell you when I lose. But driving two miles on a closed lane on 380 wasn't a good factual start to the case. But I really liked my client.
• But I was in the courthouse bathroom early that morning and looked in the mirror and instantly thought about Keanu Reeves in the Devil's Advocate.
• I swear I heard a young girl talking on a cell phone (loudly) on the square in Decatur yesterday afternoon say the following in a gleeful manner: "I feel so sorry for your mom. You're sixteen and you drink, smoke, and have sex. I mean even if your parents let you, they shouldn't know that you do that."
• The president of DART said that next year's UT/OU game would be a night game, and the Dallas Morning News just reported it without a second thought. Then all hades broke loose in the college football world as both schools denied it. I bet the DART president (1) isn't a bright man and (2) was thinking about the Cotton Bowl Classic that will be played in 2011 for the first time at night in Arlington.
• Cold front coming through today? Yay. But the three feet of snow in Colorado makes me want to go skiing for the first time in years.
• President Obama went to Dover Air Force Base at midnight last night to watch the caskets of our dead soldiers from Afghanistan be removed from a transport plane. I hope that influences his decision making.
• If there is bacon on your burger, you probably shouldn't be eating it.

Oops. Comments were turned off by accident. Fixed.

Double Fake Dead Harold Taft Predict Rain

Another Reason I Didn't Have Kids

Just my luck little Barry Jr. would get laid out and then start crying like a baby.

Men WIth Chainsaws And Attitudes

For the last few weeks, whatever company owns the powerlines in Decatur has sent crews around to cut back any trees that might interfere with the sweet flow of electricity. But those boys cutting down the branches do not know the words "subtle" or "restraint". They whack those trees like the foliage had just offended their manhood. The above picture represents what can be seen everywhere around Decatur.

Temporary Graveyard In Decatur Median

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• My DWI trial (the one I'm defending - not accused of) will wrap up this morning. Those things are exhausting, and it's almost impossible to explain why.
• And we had a very funny moment in trial when a trooper referred to traffic control devices embedded into a highway as a slang term that should never be said in mixed company. When I heard it I turned to the County Attorney who was sitting beside me, suppressing laughter, who whispered, "Don't look at me. Don't look at me."
• Going to the mailbox really isn't any fun anymore.
• I absolutely hate watching news footage of kids getting a vaccine.
• Sheesh. The FAA revoked the license/certificate of the two pilots who overshot their airport last week. I understand a suspension, but destroying their livelihood?
• Browsed the City of Denton book-in photos. This one got my attention (and the commenters are pretty funny.)
• Lake Bridgeport is always hard to fill, but even I'm surprised it is still eight feet low after all the rain this year.
• Heard a rumor from a triple un-fake reliable source that the Messenger's Update is close to a redesign that might possibly allow comments.
• Did you know in 1998, before the Messenger had a web site, I got permission to scan the Update and upload it every day? Sure, I only got it uploaded in the evening, but that was pretty cool back then.
• Bridgeport's Kyle Clifton memorabilia on E-bay. (Thanks, Mike.)
• Anybody else uncomfortable with the DirecTV ad showing the very dead Chris Farley singing "Fat Boy in a Little Coat"?
• Texas has only executed 19 people this year. We getting soft on crime?
• A computer application I've always hated: Microsoft Outlook.
• Afghanistan is about to turn into a cluster. And the top general wants us to send in 40,000 more troops? Man, this is really beginning to sound like Vietnam.
• And all the while, Pakistan turns into a triple cluster. As you slept, a car bomb killed 80 in the most violent country in the world.
• Which reminds me of one of the dumbest things W ever said, "If we withdraw, they will follow us home."
• The Messenger did something genius this weekend: They began printing summaries of random calls for service that the Sheriff's office received. Completely wheels off and I plan to steal that idea.
• Halloween on a Saturday night seems like a dangerous combo. Or a fun one.
• For some crazy reason, the Ticket was debating how you "do meth" this morning. Host Craig Miller, at around 7:20 a.m., said, "Go to Wise County and ask somebody."

Cockiest Two Point Conversion Ever

While I'm away all day defending what's left of the good ol' Constitution of the U S of A, we have coaches who trick up typical two point conversions. Is there a correlation? Naaaaa. And I'm too tired to make up one.

Forestburg Wreck

Someone mentioned to me about a fatality accident involving a teenage in Forestburg last night. If you've ever been to Forestburg, you know there's not much in Forestburg. A death of a teenage resident would rock any community but especially that one. Edit: Link

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Man, I took a beating for that Random Girl(s) pic yesterday. But I'm a man who appreciates inner beauty.
• I knew newspapers are dying, but the most recent info is shocking. For example, from a year ago the Dallas Morning News' circulation is down 22%.
• I had never seen this: Dallas TE Martellus Bennett dunks over his coach while at Texas A&M. But I still think he might be a spare.
• The pilots that overshot the airport and were out of contact for over an hour now say they were just working on their laptops. They might want to come up with something better than that.
• I dreamed all night I was moving a bedroom suite. How odd.
• Oprah at the State Fair was broadcast yesterday. Did I watch it? Not a chance.
• For those that hate Jerry Jones, his signing of Marcus Ware yesterday is another reason that you're crazy. Tom Hicks of the Rangers would never pay that kind of money.
• I'm still not sure why we send up the Space Shuttle.
• Did I see promos for a George Lopez talk show? Power. Down.
• There's going to be free Swine Flu vaccines given away in Fort Worth on Friday? Isn't there a shortage? Doesn't that have a potential for a riot?
• I've got a DWI trial today. This one is unusual --- more later.
• I think Breast Cancer Awareness week would be more effective than a whole month. Lots of pink everywhere.

"Fat Little Girlfriends"

Two Texas Tech Girls and A Longhorn Gal in Burnt Orange (Unconfirmed)

Texas Tech coach Mike Leach unloaded on people who might have distracted his players focus after their 52-30 loss Saturday to Texas A&M.

Among those prominently cited were what Leach called the "fat little girlfriends" of the players. Given the opportunity Monday to apologize or revise his comments, Leach instead grabbed a shovel and started digging.

He said his staff had failed to make "our points more compelling than their fat little girlfriends. Now their fat little girlfriends have some obvious advantages. For one thing, their fat little girlfriends are telling them what they want to hear, which is 'how great you are' and 'how easy its going to be' and we had a bunch of people who wanted to win the football game but nobody wanted to play the football game.

Source.

Monday Afternoon Pick Me Up

To make up for the thrashing I took for this morning's pic.

Ain't That America, For You And Me

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid just announced that he plans to push ahead with a public option vote (although it allows States to opt out.) And A football player with Dallas gets $40 million guaranteed. And Girls Gone Wild should stay away from parts of Florida based upon these mugshots.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Watched Slumdog Millionaire again over the weekend. Still love it.
• Ran outside on Saturday morning and was smart enough to appreciate it. Cool Fall morning, trees turning, realizing I've lived a pretty lucky life.
• That wasn't my MLK "I've seen the mountain top" speech by they way.
• Halloween is becoming a decorate-your-lawn kind of holiday. I like that.
• Observation I stole from writer Richie Whitt: Cowboys' Miles Austin looks like A-Rod.
• And even though he's had two good games, I'd tap the brakes on Austin's Hall of Fame induction.
• Miley Cyrus' little sister dressed up for Halloween. Oh, my.
• There's really a George Clooney moving coming out called "The Men Who Stare At Goats"?
• There's some huge "get motivated" convention in Fort Worth today. Ugh. I would be very unmotivated this morning if I had to attend that.
• You've got to be kidding: Over the weekend three helicopters went down in Afghanistan killing 14 U.S. soldiers. And all of them appear to be accidental crashes.
• And in other war news: Car bombs kill 150 in Iraq. Whose idea was it to start a war there?
• The woman ticketed in Dallas for "not speaking English" has been in the U.S. for 30 years. And she wants the City of Dallas to pay her $7,000 medical bill for going to the emergency room because she was "stressed" over the situation. Puhleeze.
• I don't understand the "Halloween Party" at the Decatur Convention Center at a price of $80 a couple.

Sneaky Snake

Stolen from Mark Peterson's Facebook page. That thing slithered up on his back porch in Decatur today.