Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• There was a wrong way driver on Central Expressway last night, but I'm not sure the car hit anything.  
• Even boxers are no match for an angry ex of a girlfriend swinging a (probable) golf club. (Graphic pics.)
• When I saw the picture (below) of the Trinity River alligator, I thought of those concerts last summer where folks would float in the Trinity on inner tubes as the band played.
• I don't know if the story has legs, but there's the possibility that an innocent man was executed in Texas. 
• Yesterday, GM pulled its $10 million a year ad campaign off of Facebook claiming those ads don't work. House of cards?
• I kept seeing reports yesterday that the Boyd ISD Superintendent "cleaned out his desk" but I have no idea if that is true. 
• I had to look up the status of that silly Roger Clemens perjury trial only to find out that there have been two jurors dismissed by the judge because of sleeping during the proceedings. The federal government must be putting on a heck of a case. 
• That Big Tex discussion yesterday was pretty thought provoking.
• Ted Cruz is the highest profile candidate who is a golden boy of the Tea Party, but it looks like he doesn't stand a chance. Is the Tea Part relevant anymore?
• Senior Prom is still overrated, isn't it? 
• Someone explain to me why the Bridgeport City Council voided almost a quarter of a million dollars of "underbilled" debt to Bridgeport Tank Trucks, Bridgeport Independent School District and LaQuinta Inn?
• When will the under 30 crowd give up that goofy "sideways peace sign" when they are photographed?
• There is more student debt in this country than credit card debt or auto loan debt. But here's the kicker: You can't get rid of that debt by bankruptcy, collection fees are astronomical, and the government can garnish a portion of your income and all of your IRS refund. That sounds like the Next Big Financial Crisis.

Look What They Just Pulled Out Of The Trinity River In Fort Worth

Source.

Coincidence?

More.

Yesterday I mentioned in Random Thoughts that I had watched a documentary over the weekend called Into The Abyss - a documentary that focused on two young guys accused of capital murder in Texas. One received the death penalty and the other received a life sentence. The guy who received life? He was named "Jason Burkett". (Obviously a different Jason Burkett, but still weird.)

Opening It Up To The Masses: Should "Big Tex" Be Banned?

So what do you think? I've never banned anyone, but this guy is just completely over the top. I normally let about half of the average "n" word comments in from Liberally Lean Nation because of my "reveal that racism is still alive" policy, but I he's proven his point.

Heck, if I'm beaten down by him, I suspect you guys are, too.

Edit:

Should "Big Tex" Be Banned?
Yes No
	Results

1%-er Driving His Car Like Danica Patrick

You know what makes a good video? Putting words like "crash" in the title and then waiting and waiting for it to happen.  As I heard on "The Simpsons" once, "Better than the deed, better than the memory: The moment of . . . anticipation."

Random Monday Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Forgot to mention that I saw a Bentley Continental in the Rangers parking lot on Sunday with personalized license plates that read, "MEH".  Sheesh. 
• Every candidate for state office tries to "out conservative" his opponent.
• One of the Katy Trail robberies over the weekend was a jogger at 6:30 in the morning. I've feared the jogging attack at night but never in the morning. (Note to dumb kids robbing people: Joggers ain't carrying a lot of cash.)
• Would anyone vote for Tom Leppert for U.S. Senate just because Troy Aikman does a commercial for him?
• The brain trust on WBAP today discussed whether the Byron Nelson Golf Classic is referred to as "The Nelson" or "The Byron."  Really. 
• Rumors are swirling that Florida State could join the Big 12. Although probably not true, that would be awesome.
• Springtown always has some wheels off story in the news. And we should be reminded that there are people with a Springtown address that technically live in Wise County. 
• Mrs. LL's team beat the Fake Kim Mulkey's team last night. It was high entertainment and kind of tense -- especially tense for me when the umpire asked me (I was running the scoreboard) to verify the count.
• I had no idea American Airlines used to sell a "all you can fly" lifetime pass. The last time it was offered was in 2004 for $3 million with a companion pass for $2 million.  But you have to love a guy who, in 1984, bought a pass for $250,000 and a companion pass for $150,000 and then just used AA as his own private jet.
• Discussed at Mother's Day brunch: Is an orphan who has reached adulthood still called an orphan or is he a "former orphan." 
• I saw a picture Bono's restaurant posted of some of its waitresses and now I can't find it. Dang it.
• Restaurant clarification: Fuzzy Taco's will go in the old "Floors and More" space. The new Asian food place will take the old spot of South Beach Taco Factory.
• President Obama appears on "The View" today. That ought to fire ya up.
• Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is known to have a huge belly. At least his brother, head coach of the NY Jets, has lost some weight. 
• A 34 year old man died in a wreck in Fort Worth last night although he was walking around when police first arrived. Here's his Facebook page where his mother has made a post.

Sitting On An Awning -- This Will Turn Out Well

Defying all physics, it was as if the transferring of liquid from the bottle to her mouth was just enough to cause her perch to collapse.  And if you listen carefully, there's basically a one second warning of the awning creaking  before she drops like Wylie E. Coyote off a cliff.

(I have no idea what that guy is saying in the beginning.)

Stylin' Black Man Throws Hot Coffee On Cambodian

No one stopped this man? I know why.  He's Stringer Bell from The Wire.  You cross him and your body is going to be at the bottom of the harbor in Baltimore before sundown.  

P.S. But how do you like ol' Sok Caea showing up for work the next day? Yep, doing jobs that Americans won't do. Like serving coffee with your arm almost melted off.

Random Softball Observations

I've watched more girl's softball in the last year than I have in all my life. Overall, pretty entertaining.

But I do feel sorry for the real young girls who strike out with a dramatic call from the umpire. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does they drag their bat back to the dugout with a look of, "He didn't have to rub it in!"

On a different point, there was a funny observation Mrs. LL and I had on Saturday. In the 10 and Under league, they'll let the opposing pitcher face a batter until there is a hit, an out or until there are four balls. But in the case of four balls, they don't get a walk but instead the batter's own coach will come in to pitch to her. Here it gets stranger: The batter will get a maximum number of pitches from the coach equal to the number of strikes she has remaining. And it doesn't matter if those pitches from the coach are balls or strikes. That's all she gets so she better swing and make contact or she is out.

But here was the odd part. This was a playoff game so the parents were a little more into it. When one of the girls got to receive pitches from a coach and struck out, the opposing team's crowd would, out of habit, do a little cheer. Why not? That's an out! But how weird is that? The opposing coach inadvertently struck out his own player when the cheering crowd's team had absolutely nothing to do with it. So what exactly were they applauding?

Editor's note: The entertainment to word ratio of this post is completely out of whack, but there's no way I'm junking it now.

I've Got Two Questions

(1) Why were you in the tree? (2) Even though this guy died, can a person be "electrocuted" without dying?

Now It's Gettin' All Asiany Up On The Square

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I moved my pitchback backstop further away to make it a little tougher. I've lost three balls over the neighbor's fence already.
• I went to the Ranger's game last night. That new video board has changed the feel of the place -- it is much more alive. But much more Idiocracy.
• And all the road construction because of Cowboys Stadium has made getting in and out of there a lot easier.
• That being said, I remain stunned by the number of people who put up with the hassle and high prices of going to a game when watching the game at home on today's TVs is a better experience. Maybe once or twice a year I can understand, but more than that makes no sense. 
• The stadium has, thankfully, taken affirmative actions to kill "the wave." The video board even had a "no wave" message when the crowd made a half hearted effort to start it.
• They played a clip from The Blues Brothers on the board and, I swear, I noticed Donald "Duck" Dunn in the background. Little did I know he had died earlier that day.
• Some of the Texas Rangers had their mothers introduced at the game. Dereck Holland's mom is smokin'.  (1:50 mark if interested.)
• Mother's Day brunch followed by a late Ranger game on a school night makes for a long day.
• "I was up here at 8:00 a.m. dragging fields, so don't tell me that I don't care." - Softball commissioner's retort to an angry parent who didn't like the rules that allowed his daughter not to play at all during a playoff game.
• Newsweek cover today: "The First Gay President"
• Mitt Romney speaking at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University over the weekend is a weird mix.
• A convenience store off of Western Center Boulevard has sold a $28 million lottery ticket. 
• There was a remote place in my guest bathroom that needed some cosmetic repair that I didn't know if I could fix. After 30 minutes, I fixed an eight year old issue. 
• I know of a Decatur lady who got a ticket for an expired inspection sticker from a trooper after she was leaving the cemetery on Mother's Day.
• If you were an incumbent with an opponent in one of the Wise County races on Saturday, you stood a good chance of being beaten. That's unusual.
• I watched a documentary this weekend about a kid on death row in Texas. Into The Abyss is directed by the guy who made Grizzly Man. Verdict: It's worth it just for the interviews of Texas country folks by a high tone director. 
• After this weekend, The Avenger's is up to $373 million in box office receipts. 

Kate Upton Little Black Dress Taking You Into The Weekend

Lady Absolutely Kills This Anti-Gay Speech

And you've got to love the guy in the background. It' like watching a State of the Union speech without suppressed emotions from the Speaker of the House.

It's Gettin' All Mexicany Up On The Courthouse Square

Menu.

And Another - Oklahoma

Story. We've got a strong year going on.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Edit @ 9:05 a.m.: Nothing newsworthy going on at Carson Elementary. No fire. 
• There was a suicide by a Chico woman at Wise County Park on Wednesday. So even when it happens in a public park it is not supposed to be reported by the media?
• Motorcycle death in Dallas. 
• Watch the parade of people in this Ted Cruz commercial and wait for someone who isn't white to appear.
• Woke up to the weirdest sound in the back yard last night only to find it was water running off the house onto a plastic plant container. It sounded like a war drum. As I moved it, I looked up to see that the Family Cat had decided to sneak out behind me and wander around in the rain. Dumb cat. But I rounded her up and put her back inside.
• Bristol Palin taking a shot at President Obama's stance on gay marriage is bizarre. Perhaps she's just jealous that some kids will have two dads in their life while her's has none. (Ok, I stole that line and, yes, it's a little mean.)
• Mrs. LL's softball team won a playoff game last night to stay alive in the double elimination tournament. She was distraught later when she learned two players will miss the next game because they are going to a school dance instead. Meeting Boys greater than Softball.
• And she's playing her nemesis coach -- the gal I've referred to as the over-ranting Fake Kim Mulkey.
• Hey, I'm a dog lover and I was sickened over the little dog who died after being burned in Dallas. But for a bunch of people to show up in opposition to a potential bond reduction for the teenager accused of the crime is a little over the top. Dead people don't get that kind of support.
• One of the strangest arguments that the kid is guilty was heard on The Fan yesterday: If he isn't guilty then why did he turn himself in?  Uh, because there was a warrant. You can either turn yourself in on your terms or you can wait to be picked up.
• The blog at the Texas Monthly failed to realize that the Wise County Messenger's crime blotter has turned into a bit. 
• I thought Black Hawk Down was about one helicopter crash and the story of how a couple of guys were rescued. Good grief, I couldn't have been more wrong. I've gotten to the end of Day One and we've got a cluster going on!
• I think the best part of the shocking Time magazine cover is the kid's eyes. There's just something funny about him staring at the camera.
• The guy on trial in Wise County for a multitude of crimes chose the judge instead of a jury to assess punishment. He received the maximum. Whenever you have a crime where a jury would probably deliberate around the high end of the punishment range, you don't want to let the judge decide: He or she will always choose the higher number.
• But the defendant and the deputy who escorted him out of the courthouse look alike. 
• I saw a TV commercial for the Texas Railroad Commissioner who promises to "stand up against Obama."  I didn't know he was threatening her.
• I thought the days of "credit default swaps" (which I tried to explain here) were over but news broke last night that JPMorgan has been hit with a $2 billion loss because of them over the last two weeks.
• Hey, even I'll admit the media's reporting that Mitt Romney might have harassed a gay guy while in prep school was completely unfair. The guys is 65 years old. I don't care what he did in high school. 

Time Magazine Pushing The Envelope With New Cover

Heck, I don't even feel comfortable showing all of it.