House Fire This Afternoon South Of Newark

Heck of a picture.

Edit: Anyone else see a face?

Chuck E. Cheese Brawl. You know. A brawl. At Chuck E. Cheese.

COMMACK, NEW YORK - Police were called to Chuck E. Cheese’s in Commack Saturday night to break up a bizarre brawl that was captured on cellphone video.

Cellphone video of the scene shows a woman throwing punches while holding a small child.
Authorities say that someone in the melee ended up stealing another woman's purse, which was later found with cash and a cellphone missing.

No arrests have been made. The cause of the fight is still unclear.

But we're making progress. At least no one got shot.

Home Run Derby Animated GIFs Of The Day

Kind Of Clever

First photo of Zimmerman's jury finally released. pic.twitter.com/OFppYN6ZJI
— Travon Free (@Travon) July 14, 2013

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• The "Denton Patrol Officer of the Year in 2008" was arrested for DWI.
• We watched a documentary last weekend called The Woman Who Wasn't There about a lady who ended up leading a 9/11 support group in New York claiming she was in one of the buildings when the plane hit. She wasn't. It was so odd because she didn't profit from her lie and was supportive to all those she came in contact with.
• Anderson Cooper had one of the Zimmerman jurors on last night and, although at times she seemed to be a bit wheels off, she accurately articulated the legal standard the jury was obligated to follow.
• And Piers Morgan interviewed the first witness in the trial (the much berated girl Trayvon was on the phone with when everything went down.) I'm not sure she improved her status with the public.  "The jury, they old. That's old school people. We in a new school, our generation"
• Wendy Davis is on the cover of Texas Monthly with the title "Game On?"
• I don't think I mentioned this yesterday: Crazy Texas Mommy seems to be having trouble with her teenager. She is brutally honest.
• How did the public go from laughing at Randy Travis' drunken exploits to now holding him up as a national treasure?
• I say this every year: There is nothing more boring than the Home Run Derby. And there is no one more annoying than Chris Berman.
• While Berman was interviewing former Mets catcher Mike Piazza last night, he told him "no American will ever forget the Piazza HR from 9/22/01."  Does anyone remember that? 
• That was fast: News comes out that MTV is doing a reality show about Redneck Heaven restaurant, reporters figure out that there are some days that the waitresses at the restaurant wear nothing but body paint up top, and a city council has already changed an ordinance defining "nudity" in response to the reports.
• Mrs. LL and I had a discussion on the pronunciation of "asterisk" last night. I think I've been saying it wrong for a long time. 
• So anyone know the name of the guy that walked out in front of an 18 wheeler in Rhome over the weekend and committed suicide? 
• In 2009, I learned of Erich Spangenberg after he came in at #53 of the "Most Expensive Homes in Dallas." What got my attention was that he was a "patent troll" - a guy who just buys patents and then sues for alleged infringement. Sheesh. He's becoming somewhat famous as the New York Times did a long expose on him this weekend. 
• It's a two newspaper worthy day . . .

I Don't Know Much About Immigration Reform . . .

 . . . but the current system seems to be a bit flawed.

You see videos like this from time to time, but this is a new one.

Remember That Her Late Dad Represented O.J.?

My heart goes out to Trayvon Martin's family & loved ones. Thought & prayers being sent their way #NoJustice
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) July 14, 2013

Fuzzy Math

Baylor officially beat UCLA in the Holiday Bowl last year 49-26.

But Baylor thinks they got ripped off when UCLA "scored" on the game's final play although the receiver never made it to the end zone.

 So Baylor engaged in revisionist's history on their official Holiday Bowl rings.

Source.

Doctor In Hot Water For Diagnosis

"I looked up the term. It doesn't exist in Merriam-Webster dictionary." - That's some hard hitting reporting right there.

"Call Me Maybe" Chick Throws Out First Pitch

Yep, that is crazy.

Animated GIF Of The Day: Tour de France

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I was completely off the grid when the Zimmerman verdict came down which is frustrating because I would have loved to have watched it live. 
• I read an old Rolling Stones article about the 1979 concert of The Who which left eleven people dead from a stampede/crushing crowd.  A similar tragedy got so close to happening in 1989 when the Rolling Stones came to the Cotton Bowl. Everyone was forced through one gate and the concourse turned into a sea of people packed like sardines. It was scary. I was there. (But the only press I saw about it was one Letter to the the Editor.) 
• In those situations, it normally is not people being trampled to death but instead bodies are forced so tightly together that people force air in and out of their lungs. (I did a quick Google search and was shocked to see this list of deaths from "stampedes" in the 21st Century.)
• Jordan Spieth, 19, became the youngest player to win a PGA event in over 80 years. And I didn't see a second of it. (Now he's qualified for this week's British Open as he scrambles to get over there.)
• I can't imagine the Feds going after Zimmerman. 
• From Random Thoughts in April of last year: "There are still more facts to learn, but I'm thinking the prosecutor in the George Zimmerman case has bitten off more than she can chew."
• Johnny Football may have had a hangover and got kicked out of a football camp. It will be fascinating to see whether or not he implodes this Fall. 
• Official Liberally Lean MLB player Chris Davis is now at 37 home runs after hitting four consecutive home runs in his last four games. 
• We had a record "low high" yesterday of 81 degrees and that occurred at 12:01 a.m. 
• I watched, again, most of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind this weekend with a twist -- This time I had Mrs. LL explain to me what the heck was going on.
• Very shocking motorcycle death: A guy in Maine was trying to break the speed record when he lost control at 285 miles per hour. 
• I watched the pilot of The Bridge on FX over the weekend. Verdict: This has huge potential. (It's a crime drama about Juarez and El Paso.)  And the chief cop in it is none other that Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs.

Justice and Peace

Criminal law defense is what I do for living. It's all I do. That fact has made me emotionally invested in that trial.  Would I have literally thrown up if this man had been convicted? Probably. As I've said before, we don't know exactly what happened during the one minute that preceded Trayvon Martin's death. And if we don't know, that means we have a doubt. And that doubt, being a reasonable one, means that he should not be convicted. It really is that simple.

For the moment, a six woman jury in Florida has restored my faith in The System.

Above The Fold

Any Chance The Troopers Are A Little Beaten Down By Now?

Troopers use bolt cutters to unchain a protester from Senate gallery railing. (Photo by Rodolfo Gonzalez) #txlege pic.twitter.com/TbABjGvRGt
— Austin Statesman (@statesman) July 13, 2013

Oh, My. It's A Real Life Ron Burgundy Moment.

Bay Area news station KTVU just reported that the pilots of Asiana's disastrous flight 214 were the crack team of "Sum Ting Wong," "Wi Tu Lo," "Ho Lee Fuk," and "Bang Ding Ow."

Despite the names obviously being just a bunch of racist jokes, KTVU, which has since apologized for the report . . . . more (with video)

Michelle Keegan Taking You Into The Weekend

At The Texas Legislature Senate Vote Today, Protesters Will Be Kept In Check

Yes, DPS is chucking any potential projectiles into the trash, including tampons. CHL holders can still bring guns in. #txlege #HB2
— Forrest Wilder (@Forrest4Trees) July 12, 2013

But then this observation is made:

In the #TXLege, @Forrest4Trees notes that CHL holders can bring guns into the gallery today but tampons are confiscated. cc: @iamJohnOliver
— Bud Kennedy (@BudKennedy) July 12, 2013