Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Well, that Cowboy game was a dud. No offensive line. No defensive line. No receivers. They just got plain beat.
• Hey, Keith Brooking, if you don't like the Vikings scoring in the final two minutes, do something to stop them. (Brooking called the score "classless and disrespectful" and then confronted Minnesota's bench.)
• Conan might get $30 million severance because of the Jay Leno/Tonight show issue? What's to complain about?
• Christina Hendricks (from Mad Men -- which I still haven't seen) qualifies as a "Hey, Now" at the Golden Globes last night. As did a rare Christina Aguilera sighting (who presented with Cher.)
• But overall the Golden Globes was fairly boring despite the very funny Ricky Gervais hosting.
• I may be the only person who doesn't appreciate, "Pants On The Ground."
• And when Brett Favre is singing it in the locker room, I'm totally confused.
• Brendan Higgins is out as co-anchor of the Channel 5 local morning news. Brutal business.
• And the Star-Telegram announced on Friday that it would layoff 28 people and not fill 17 open positions. This is a slow death which is hard to watch.
• After almost screwing it up, I doubt if the Democrats will lose Ted Kennedy's long time Senate seat. I think.
• Incredible story: The Fort Worth man who needs a face transplant after his was literally destroyed because of an electrical accident while working on a church window. You think you have hardship? Sheesh.
• I got to play with a Kindle over the Christmas holidays. Very, very cool device. (I didn't know it ran over it's own wireless connection -- you don't need Wifi, you don't need a cell phone plan: You just turn it on and it works.)
• I like jogging in the mornings and then walking around my neighborhood on weekends. Something oddly peaceful about it.
• It's about at this point in time when Americans will get bored with the suffering in Haiti.

Livin' Large

It's the weekly crime report.

What the .......?

From Runaway Bay.

Quickie Movie Reviews

Showed up at the new 7th Street Movie Tavern yesterday at 3:00 to see The Lovely Bones but, nope, sold out. Sheesh. A matinee sold out? My female companion was dead set on seeing it but the next showing was at 7:00. So what to do? I looked up and saw Up In The Air about to start so we decided to do a rare double header. Yes, two movies back to back. (And I thought half marathons were hard.) My abbreviated movie reviews: Up In The Air: A confirmed bachelor (read: George Clooney being cool) spends 300 days a year traveling for a company with his sole job being firing people. Dream job, right? Throw in a fling with another travel-all-the-time girl combined with a cute little new female employee that he is to mentor, and what do you have? I'm not sure. Funny. Smartly written. Mildly thought provoking. But, at the risk of being a spoiler, no sappy sweet ending. That, I liked. (I had a recently divorced friend tell me he hated the movie. That, I understand.) Verdict: Strong B- The Lovely Bones: I have no idea. It was trying to tell me something, but I'm just not sure what. Cherish life? Move on after tragedy? The dead can provide you guidance? Heaven has lots of CGI effects? Still not sure. I was told "the book is much better" but I think she just liked the power of saying, "the book is much better." (I also enjoyed watching the two high tone gals that decided to bring their 10 year old daughters to a movie about a 14 year old getting murdered and communicating from the afterlife. Rethinking that ladies?) Warning: Kip Dynamite plays the villain in this movie. That's a little hard to overcome. Verdict: C+ 7th Street Movie Tavern: Absolutely the greatest place to see a movie. Ever.

Got Any Friends At Padre Island?

Link. And I'd love to know the back story. You just know some boys in a big ol' boat coming up from Mexico or Central America got spooked by the cops and just dumped the load overboard. (And I've been reading In Search of Captain Zero which involves similar, crazy stories --- I briefly met Captain Zero in Costa Rica who "retired" to a secluded village down there 20 years ago. Here's his story that appeared in High Times magazine. Fascinating stuff.)

Problem Solved

I never thought I'd wake up today an google "geodes", but I'm glad I did. You see, I just had what smart people call "an epiphany." In case you didn't know, a geode is a rock that, best I can tell, is hollow but has a pretty crystal inner crust. (Think Tootsie Pop without the chocolate center.) Now I'm sure those boys in the Wise County Fossil, Rock and Mineral Society can always accept a couple of new members, right? And I'm sure the boys and girls in the North Texas Singles Club wouldn't mind checking out those in the Mineral Society (especially since the members of the latter have to be in shape from walking all over the Southwest Proper looking for sedimentary and metamorphic rocks), right? Well, problem solved: Take a couple of big geodes. Bust 'em in half. And, voila, we got us a fancy punch bowl and dip bowl! Throw in some Maddog 20/20 and some bean dip, get those two societies together, and we've got us a full blown Wise County mixer the likes of which hasn't been seen since the joint Baptist/Methodist revival in the 1970s. E-harmony couldn't have done a better job.

Pick Me Up (I've Fallen Behind)

That's Carrie Prejean (Miss California/No Gay Marriage/Implants/Sex Tape) and spare NFL quarterback Kyle Boller.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The Wise County lawsuit over the hurt finger at Sid Richardson is over: Girl didn't get any money. Sounds like the girl didn't deserve any money.
• Personal injury cases never go to trial any more. I bet Wise County, once the hot bed of Plaintiff's litigation, hasn't had more than two of those type of cases go to trial in the last six years.
• Odds are 18 to 1 that TCU wins the football National Championship next year. All odds here.
• I listened to only a few minutes of the governor debate last night. Man, Rick Perry stumbled over his words and sounded very inarticulate. That isn't like him at all.
• Libertarian Debra Medina is probably the best choice between the three.
• The NFL Network replayed the 1975 Dallas/Minnesota "Hail Mary" game yesterday. Three plays before the famous Staubach to Pearson bomb, Dallas completed a 4 and 17. I'm old enough to remember that, but I didn't.
• And after the Hail Mary, a referee was hit in the head with a thrown liquor bottle from the stands. The NFL replay yesterday conveniently cut that part out.
• Re: Dallas cop who sent nude photos of himself to a 17 year old girl (among other infractions). Uh, the defense of, "I don't deny all of the allegations but I question the integrity of the investigation" is not a good defense.
• Watched a little of Reno 911 last night. It sure is pushing the envelope these days (but still very funny.)
• Interesting quote from the owner of the closing J&J Blues Bar in Fort Worth: "J&J fell victim to an aging fan base and an increasingly sober society, said Schusler, 72. He noted that average liquor sales per guest over the past five years dropped to $9 from $19.47."
• Having monitored the situation for years, I think people are more responsible drinkers these days.
• I'm coming around on Forgetting Sarah Marshal. Funny but not Real Funny. (But it's definitely a movie that gets funnier with age.)
• More crazy cops: An off duty cop in Plano smashed into an on duty Plano cop this morning. There are so many government employees that they are smashing into each other these days.

Thursday Afternoon Pick Me Up

From The Agency That Monitored The Swine Flu

The Center for Disease Control thinks you might want to cancel your vacation to Haiti. Official Statement.

Teeth Are Important

The very busy Messenger Update reported that this guy went back into a trailer fire in Crafton this morning to retrieve his teeth. About three weeks ago, Channel 8 had a video of a victim of the Runaway Bay condo fire who lamented that he wasn't able to retrieve his teeth.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• I have no idea what happened to www.wisecounty.com yesterday. It came back up around 6:00 p.m. (It's been hosted by the same company for 13 years.)
• Teddy Pendergrass has died. I can't think of a single song of his.
• What a mess in Haiti. What a horrible, horrible mess.
• It's weird to have a Cowboy game of this magnitude on the horizon. I'm not giddy like I was in the 1990s, but I'm interested.
• Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck on the same show last night? I now know what water boarding is like.
• It may be gone by now, but at the top of the Drudge Report yesterday there was a link to "Video: Dog bolts from office before quake" buried amongst links for Haiti information. But the story found by following the link says the video is from North Carolina, not Haiti. (And that may not even be true since it the video references a town in California.)
• The motorcycle cop in Arlington died while trying to stop a speeder? And didn't a metroplex agency abandon motorcycles altogether because of the inherent danger?
• I don't care anything about American Idol but I stopped by it last night for a few seconds to see a very country girl from Tennessee try out. I'll admit, that was touching.
• AnObiter's mother said she felt uncomfortably "privileged" in going to see a movie on a weekday morning. AnObiter didn't understand. I sure do.
• I saw yesterday in the Update there was to be a benefit for a lady who needs a liver replacement. It's an odd phenomenon that tens of thousands will be given to local churches this weekend, but very few will donate to help out a particular individual in need.
• The Sid Richardson Boy Scout ranch trial is still going on in Decatur. (I've found out it involves a finger injury during a canoe trip onto Lake Bridgeport.) I'll say this: That trial has had the hottest witnesses in the history of ever.
• I like the photos of the Messenger's Joe Duty except when he has student athletes pose like they are some type of conquerors.
• If Kay Bailey Hutchison would say at tonight's governor's race debate: "The job really has no power and looks like a a pretty cushy gig", I'd vote for her.
• I'm not a basketball fan so maybe that explains why a "monster dunk" in the NBA over a player standing flat footed trying to draw a charge makes it into ESPN's Top 10 Plays Of The Day. That really doesn't seem impressive to me.
• Holy, cow: Did you see the story/video of the store owner in Frisco who said, “In the name of Jesus, I command you to get out of my store right now" when confronted with a robber sticking a gun in her face? I appreciate her faith, but I wonder what her customer was thinking when the gunman turned and pointed the gun at her.

Somebody Sent This To Me, So Let's Make It Catfish Night

Me and Tech Support For the Malfunctioning www.wisecounty.com

Confusing KRLD Tweet

They just want to contact anyone? For interviews? For assistance? For documentation? And those people are supposed to have phone service?

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• WiseCounty.com is down. I'm working on it. (Translated: I've sent an email to tech support asking "What's the deal?")
• I didn't jog at all last week, but my legs feel so much better this week when I've gone back to my routine.
• This Conan O'Brien vs. Jay Leno controversy doesn't really get my attention because I've never watched the late night talk shows. And I never was a fan of Johnny Carson, either. (You know, put an animal on your head, make a concerned face, listen to audience laugh.)
• Most beaten down experience last week: Being on a 16 passenger tour bus for two hours when the guide decides to put in a CD of a live performance of a Spanish speaking comedian. You haven't lived until you've gone through that.
• College Sports: Lane Kiffin, who is leaving Tennessee after one year to take the USC job, better get out of town in a hurry. Those crazy Vols will burn his house down. Really.
• Southlake Carroll is considering an $800,000 video board for its stadium.
• Heard this yesterday: There are two or three pivotal decisions in your life that change everything for you forever.
• At the Wise County Republican Love Fest two days ago, there was a guy present who was handing out a pamphlet which included a warning about the "recent" illegal immigration of people from Ireland.
• Developing: Just heard that an Arlington motorcycle cop was killed this morning when he collided with a school bus.
• The aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti looks like it is going to be bad. I'll admit, I'm not sure I could have found it on a map until last night.
• I won't get much work done today because I'll be looking at hot chicks who have stubbed their toes.
• Very random legal thought: The U.S. Constitution does not mandate a jury trial for civil suits filed in a state court. Plaintiff's lawyers always say that, but they're wrong.
• After years of in my job, I find it almost impossible to say "statue" instead of "statute."
• Obama took heat from The Right for taking three days to address the attempted bombing of a plane on Christmas Day. But Bush took six days before he said anything about the Richard Reid "Shoe Bomber" incident.
• When I go through a school zone, I'm overcome with the sensation that cops are everywhere.
• A former editor and publisher of a Wise County newspaper suggested I watch "Morning Joe" on MSNBC. I have. Not bad.
• I saw one small First Baptist Church in Costa Rica. I bet it was built during a mission trip by a U.S. church. (I think I remember First Baptist of Bridgeport doing something like that in the 1980s.)
• I'm insane now.
• For some reason, I watched a little bit of the OU/Texas game from 1969 on ESPN Classic last night. Of the 22 total offensive starters, only one was black.

Haiti Earthquake

Twitpics are coming in here.

Colt McCoy Now Engaged To An Afternoon Pick Me Up

She's the gal on the left. (And she's a Baylor track star.) Hey, now. Story.