Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• What's up with these monster billboards in Wise County with lawyers' faces plastered on them? Looks like I'm going to have to raise the bar: Get ready for the Speedo Barry Billboard.
• Lingering motorcycle death in Haltom City (as well as a summary of the two deaths from yesterday.)
• Motorcycle death in Keller last night.
• Nolan Ryan was hospitalized for chest pains, is said to be fine, but will be released later in the week. A few days in the hospital when you're fine?
• The (a?) Decatur livestock auction house has been on the news the last couple of days as ranchers unload their cattle due to the drought.
• Three obituaries for forty-something year olds in the Update today. Creeps me out. 
• The Wichita County DA's office is weird: It had a grand jury "no bill" (decline to indict) 34 cases in a single day and then releases the names of those not charged to the media. Why not just kill the cases up front, don't waste the grand jury's time on the crappy cases, and not embarrass those who don't deserve to be charged? 
• The Space Shuttle will make its final landing in two days. Certainly NASA wants to make this a media event so how about a prime time landing? Nope. It'll be 4:57 a.m. Texas time. Nice planning. 
• There's a guy in town who will speak to me for an incredibly short period of time but he always leaves me confused by the conversation. I think I figured it out yesterday as he walked away: He thinks I'm my law partner. 
• Sounds like the NFL Lockout is coming to an end. I'm really, really surprised about that. Fantasy Football Players are more happy than the generic NFL fan. 
• "Don't spend your money on possessions. Spend it on experiences." - The boys on The Ticket after getting back from their vacations. I've thought about that. A lot. And I don't know if I agree with that. Random justification: I'd rather have a nice wireless printer/scanner than a meal at Del Frisco's.
• Mrs. LL started yelling at a lady on TV last night who was complaining about having to spend a couple of hundred bucks for her kid to ride the bus in Keller ISD. (I think something about not being able to afford it while at the same time seeing her son who look liked he was playing $elect Ba$eball.) I finally had to say, "Hey, babe. I'm not on her side."
• CNN broadcast a video of 16 people being executed by the Taliban yesterday, and I can't believe they showed it. Yeah, it's news. Yeah, it shows how "evil" the Taliban is. But, man, TV is turning into the Internet.
• Kate Upton slow motion catwalk video. 
• Any of you ever driven down Padre Island from Corpus Christi. It's some sixty miles or so. Safe? Edit: I mean drive along the beach.
• Superstar pitcher Roy Halladay had to be taken out of the game last night after four innings once the heat got to him. It was 91 degrees (!!!) when the game began.
• Yeah, this heat wave doesn't "prove" global warming but it sure does shut up the Al Gore haters. If you're goofy enough to make fun of him after a single cold day in May, that same astute scientific analysis will shut you up after a string of sixteen or so 100 degree temperature days.

President Obama Joke Falls Flat

I thought it was kind of funny.

I'm Impressed

Normally I don't post videos of kids-doing-wacky-things-that-turn-out-badly but this was pretty impressive.

(And for you Tosh.0 fans, this clip is just begging for a Web Redemption.)

Wise County Reunion

Saw this video which looks to be about a year old but only with 67 hits. Figured some of the locals might like it.

I remember as a kid I was confused by the (look the other way) gambling that was going on.  There was a huge three-sided dart throwing booth that was the equivalent of playing roulette using darts instead of a marble. You could place your bets in cash on the black or red square in front of you and then one of the bettors would throw a dart onto a massive checkerboard.  Red or black paid 2 to 1. However, all the squares were separated by about a 1/4" to 1/2" border in white. If the dart hit there, the house won.

Those days are gone.

Edit: Someone questioned the color scheme, and I'll concede I may be wrong about that. They all said that the border didn't go to house but paid 3 to 1. Hmmm. I guess that's possible. I just remember everyone losing their money when a border was hit and it's possible there weren't many 3 to 1 bettors.

(Someone posted a comment earlier complaining about a Latino band that is scheduled to play on one of the nights this year --- that got me thinking about Reunion.)

When Pulling Into Dos Chiles

I saw this bumper sticker. At that moment, I knew I had returned to my homeland.

It's a little hard to read, but it says "For The Truth About Islam" with a reference to  thestraightway.org.  I didn't look at all the site, but I was quickly hit with the "Obama is a Muslin" page. Who would have thought?

And I never did reference the poll I posted on vacation.  I guess we're not big fans of the Muslim tourist trade.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• WFAA was all over "breaking news" yesterday morning about a former Dallas Cowboy who was arrested in downtown Dallas on minor intoxication charges. It turned out to be Stephen Hodge. Who? Hodge was on the team from 2009 to 2010 but was never on the active roster and never played a down. Doesn't take much to make news these days.
• Strange sight: The DART bus that crashed into a building over the weekend. I mean the whole bus was in the building.
• I'm a Ron Paul fan.
• I went to the Water Gardens in Fort Worth on Friday night (an often forgotten gem) and Mrs. LL just had to get in. But the humidity caused by all of that water was off the charts.
• Ate at Dos Chiles in Bridgeport on Sunday. You know, that's a pretty impressive building, and the food was really good. The service, however, was lacking which might of had something to do with the party of 30 sitting nearby (including eight kids who kept banging into our chairs like it was McDonald's Playland.)
• For the Liberally Lean female fans who have been ignored too long: Up and coming NBA star Blake Griffin at the beach.
• JLo is getting divorced after eight years. It lasted longer than I thought it would. Remember when she was engaged to Ben Affleck? The man dodged a bullet. 
• Did you see that Rick Perry said he felt "called" to run for President.. He teases us more than Donald Trump, but this guy is actually going to run. And he'll get crushed.
• Visited the Bible Baptist Church in Bridgeport on Sunday to see a baptism. Afterwards a man came up to me and introduced himself. "I thought that was you! I don't know you but I read that blog."  I told him he might want to keep it down. 
• No hurricanes this year?
• Motorcycle death in Arlington last night.
• Edit: Another motorcycle death near Springtown after running from trooper. (No link yet.)
• I wouldn't surprise me if all of those small earthquakes around Texas (there was another one on Sunday) are due to fracking.
• Yesterday was thirty year anniversary of an event I hardly remember: The collapse of a skywalk at a Kansas City Hilton which killed 114 people.
• I've to to give Breaking Bad a chance. People were buzzing about last night's premiere. 

Casey Anthony Freed

Video.

Edit: On Monday morning, KLIF had on "former federal prosecutor" Fred Teece who said "the defense didn't do a damn thing in the case" and, in fact, only made if more likely that she would have got convicted. Moreover, any competent defense lawyer could have obtained an acquittal "in six minutes."  When he was asked by the host why the prosecutor would try the case in the first place, he said. "You've got to because you've got a dead three year old girl. You take a shot of sake, scream 'Bonzi", and do your best."

That is the greatest threat to our system: Reckless prosecutors who pursue baseless cases because they are scared of the political fallout from doing the right thing.

Most Entertaining Moment From Today's Women's World Cup Final

Kid Likes Soccer. And Cake.

Random Flashback

The Destruction of the Decatur K-Bob's

A Nice Friday Evening In Paradise, Texas And . . .

It's a 106 at 7:30 after a comfortable afternoon high of 108.

We're ......not .......gonna.......make.........it.

I May Have To Move Liberally Lean To Cleburne -- It's Got A Lot Of Material

Marriage Proposal

I saw this a couple of days ago, and I really didn't think much of it. Kind of staged? Maybe.

But if it's real, I don't think it's that funny of a bit -- And I've got a heck of a sense of humor. Is there ever a situation where, as a joke, you want your loved one to earnestly believe you are dead? Noooooooooo. And did anyone in that group ever think to say, "Hey, hoss. It's a marriage proposal, not America's Funniest Home Videos"?

P.S. Check out her "no way" at around the :35 second mark. Sheesh. Now that would make me want to jump off the building.

OK, Boys: Give Me News

- Another wreck on 380 near the Sheriff's Office?

- Cops chasing down a guy on foot in Alvord?

Edit:

- Job related accident in the north part of the county where the JP has been called out (normally meaning a death)?

- There's a new beggar guy in Decatur by Jack In The Box?

Hey, Camera Guy, Get Ready To Pan Out So We Can See Him Take Off!

Okay, we're live! Go!

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I've never seen a Harry Potter movie or read a Harry Potter book. Absolutely no interest.
• The Update says a winery will sell "wine bottles and glasses" at the Alvord Watermelonfest even though the mayor objected. Is there wine in them there wine bottles?
• There's a new reality TV show called Texas Women on CMT that is filmed in and around Fort Worth. (They were at the Reata restaurant and at a place near Granbury last night.)  It's a knock off The Real World or Real Housewives. I saw five minutes of it and was interested simply because of the landmarks -- and chicks yelling at each other.
• Regarding the rent vouchers in Dallas, some guy on WBAP asked this morning if it were "American" to go running after free rent, and wondered whether the crowd would have ran after "those vouchers if they were job vouchers and not rent vouchers." Wow. Everyone sure is an expert on what it's like to grow up as a minority, poor, and in South Dallas.
• My back is still sore but I was able to jog --- which means it can't be that sore. 
• Fox 4 gals at a birthday party. (Facebook link).
• Speaking of Facebook, Google has launched a competitor called Google+ which is (1) going viral, and (2) is fantastic. They also have a pretty good marketing campaign because you have to be invited by email from a member. "They tell two friends and they tell two friends and so on and so on and so on."
• And a music service that everyone was talking about yesterday (but of which I have no understanding) is "Spotify".
• Nancy Pelosi compared President Obama to Job which got the conservatives all riled up.  But I got sidetracked thinking about how Job may be one of the most disturbing stories in the Bible. God gave Satan permission to test Job's righteousness which ultimately leads to Satan killing Job's 7 sons and 3 daughters. God ultimately rewards Job with a new 7 sons and 3 daughters.  A replacement family made him whole?
• I remember a 20 year old mother in Denton mysteriously disappearing in the middle of the day 14 years ago. The Star-Telegram has a follow-up story today. 
• For Tech fans who are stilled riled up over the firing of Mike Leach and the role that Craig James played, you will be extremely interested in this.
• The Family Puppy has had a cold for a few days. To the Vet today. We boarded her at Man's Best Friend on vacation which might have been the source of the problem. 
• A 26 year prosecutor in San Antonio gets a Boating While Intoxicated and resigns two days later. Seems harsh if he was forced to quit his job. (And he was approached by the cops on the lake when they had no probable cause or reasonable suspicion to do so. Amazingly, that's legal in Texas.)
• I think the Republicans are going to get out-politicked by Obama on this debt ceiling thing.

Thousands Turn Out For Government Assistance

Let the Christian love in the comments begin. (Story.)

Tattoo Thursday: Miley Cyrus and Her Momma

Breaking News and/or Prosecutor "Bashing"

Let me summarize with high tone legal analysis as to what just happened happened.

Judge: "Hey, prosecutor, do not make any reference to any statement of Mrs X where she says she believes her husband, Mr. X. I know that you are going to use the testimony of Mr. X who will say Clemens told him that he, Clemens, used performance enhancing drugs. I'm not going to have Mrs. X improperly bolster her husband's testimony by saying she believes Mr. X."

Prosecutor: "Gotcha judge!!! Sounds fair to me! I'm a federal prosecutor so I'm well prepared and will play by the rules! Promise!"

Judge: "Ok, then."

Prosecutor: "Judge, may I roll that beautiful bean footage of Clemens testifying before Congress? It's great stuff!!!"

Judge: "You, may"

[Tape showing Congressman questioning Clemens]: "Mr. Clemens, Mr. X testified that you admitted to him of using performance enhancing drugs, and I'm holding an affidavit of Mrs. X who says she believes her husband."

Judge (who palm slaps his forehead): "Stop the tape. Get the jury out of here. [Jury removed]. Mr. Prosecutor, you are so dumb. For sure."

Defense lawyer: "Can I have one of those mistrial thingies?"

Judge: "Boom! Granted!"