It's The Anniversary of the Battle Of San Jacinto

Isn't this painting hanging in the state capitol?

And, do I dare question, is it any good?

And Another - Florida

Story. (Edit: Fixed.)

(Thanks emailer Mark.)

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• The picture of the vet examining a 14-year-old male orangutan has been everywhere, but it still makes me laugh. 
• I did some touch up painting this weekend and dang near destroyed everything I came in contact with. (Just picture Mrs. LL walking in and staring in stunned silence.)
• I wonder what Willie Nelson fans think about him endorsing Wendy Davis. 
• My Sports Nemesis battle: On Friday, Perez pitched a complete game and gave up no runs. Advantage (extremely to) my nemesis.  On Saturday, Lewis went six innings and gave up one run. Advantage nemesis. On Sunday, Ross went 5.1 innings and gave up seven runs. Advantage me. Don't get too cocky, buddy.
• The fact that Shin-Soo Choo's walk up music is Turned Down For What makes me giggle. 
• The Mavs lost? Does anyone care?
• There's a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, Don Willett, who is active on twitter and basically just whips you with "dad jokes". I'm trying to find out if he tweets while on the clock on while using a government issued phone or computer. 
• I went through Grapevine yesterday. There's a toll road now?
• A Dallas lawyer who had knee surgery wore a pair of shorts to court and got kicked out. Here's a tip: Find a better pair of shorts. 
• Resume (for a job) and Resume (to continue) are spelled the same way. (Just noticed that while looking at the Update.)
• Neil Young was at the Meyerson Symphony Center this weekend. If you offered me $100 to go see him, I'd turn you down. (I'd rather listen to my cat scream --- which,  basically, is the same thing.)
• News this morning: "A 16-year-old apparently hitched a ride from San Jose, California, to Maui, Hawaii, in the landing-gear wheel well of a Boeing 767, Hawaiian Airlines said Sunday."  Tap the brakes on this story. I'm not sure that's humanly possible. 
• My parents gave me a Makita drill for Christmas twenty years ago and it was one of the few times my dad actually mentioned the price. The batteries (finally) wore out this year, and I  replaced it this weekend. I now know why he complained about the price. But that thing is fantastic.  
• Mrs. LL went to see Beauty and the Beast last night with her mom, and I was put in charge of the Girls in the House. It went pretty smoothly. In fact, there were some pretty insightful discussions. 
• It makes sense, but sports talk radio is mainly concerned with the demographic of "men 25-54." (Local results here.)
• The Bag of Nothing guy is back! (Man, he had a lot of pent up thoughts based upon his "I'm Back" post.)

Get Low

Views of Lake Bridgeport which is 21.67 feet low as of this morning:

 North of the 380 bridge looking east.

 Same area - little further north

 Twin Hills

 Just north of the dam looking north

 Further north looking east. (We got a beach!)

 Wise County Park. Oh, my!

El Lago (I used to live there).

Above The Fold

Houston Texan Cheerleader Tryouts Taking You Into The Weekend

More.

Sean Hannity Was Doing a Disney World Promotion

Alice did not like me pic.twitter.com/iQpTBWZm6t
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) April 17, 2014

Look at that shirt.

Look at that hat/shirt combo.

How Much Do You Think These People Were Paid To Hawk A Bad Movie?

And this reminded me of a thought I had about the kid-who-thinks-he-went to heaven who was on Hannity the other day. That segment was so bizarre that it had to be nothing other than a commercial for the movie Heaven Is For Real.  Just a paid promotion disguised as "news".

35 Years Later . . .

In Granbury, the body of a woman missing since 1979 is found in a truck pulled from the lake. http://t.co/oneoeEQSqQ /via @HoodCountyNews
— Bud Kennedy (@BudKennedy) April 18, 2014

From The Star-Telegram in 1996:

Search continues in case of Hood County woman missing since '79
Author: BILL HANNA; Star-Telegram Writer
Article Text:
Nearly 17 years ago, Helen Holladay disappeared from her weekend home along the shores of Lake Granbury after neighbors reported seeing her in a bloody struggle with her husband, Herman Holladay.

Since she was last seen Sept. 29, 1979, Hood County residents have speculated that she could have been killed and that her remains could be at the bottom of Lake Granbury in the family's missing 1973 pickup. She was declared dead in 1986. Her husband died a year later. Now, with the help of a Department of Public Safety helicopter and a new tip, investigators hope to find the pickup that may 
be resting at the bottom of the lake. 

"We have some information about where to look on the lake," said Hood County Sheriff Rodney Jeanis. "It's just a situation we want to take a look at and hope it leads us somewhere."That information, combined with the lake's unusually low level, gives investigators optimism that they may find the truck, Jeanis said. But the first helicopter search Wednesday was unsuccessful.

"Wouldn't you know it, that's the one day it was too windy to see anything," Jeanis said. "With the lake being down, you can find all kinds of things down there, but you must know where to look. We'll be trying again in the next few days to see what we can see."

Authorities said Holladay had a fight with her husband before  she vanished. Neighbors told deputies that the attack was so violent that Holladay forced her bleeding hand through a glass window on the door of the family's recreational vehicle and called for help.

"There have been reports that the lady had fisticuffs back and forth with her husband," Jeanis said. "That could have played a part in all of this and that's something we would like to know."

Holladay, who was 45 when she disappeared, never used her credit cards or cashed a paycheck in her purse after her disappearance, authorities said. Investigators also checked her social security number and determined that it had not been used since she was reported missing.

The search is being focused on Whippoorwill Bay, where Holladay's weekend residence was located, Jeanis said. "We have a pretty specific area to search," he said. "Of course, currents can shift things and it could have moved over time. But that's the nature of these types of cases, you hit a lot snags and dead-ends but you keep trying."

Easter Bunny Friday

Random Friday Morning Thoughs

• There was an avalanche of news yesterday that "Jews were required to register in the Ukraine." I'd tap the brakes on that. There is the possibility it was just one guy with a printer handing out leaflets. (At least that's what my international sources tell me.)
• DPS released a "Gang Assessment Threat" yesterday and named Tango Blast the #1 gang in Texas. Sound familiar? This is the exact same news I wrote about last year at this time. 
• The TV ratings came in and the Mavs beat the Rangers two nights ago, barely, 3.6 to 2.9. Wheel of Fortune, by the way, came in at 7.2.
• Mrs. LL bought a huge Buddha art piece for the breakfast nook but the thing's head is a cat head. Yep, a cat head. I don't know if the creator was an artist or a guy doing a bit. 
• Chelsea Clinton is pregnant. You know, for an ugly teenager, she's pretty good looking now. (She is now 34 -- wow -- and she and her husband live in a "$10.5 million condominium on Madison Square Park in the Flatiron District of Manhattan." And now you know.)
• I heard a Zumba class meets a couple of times a month in the courtroom in the Wise County Sheriff's Office. I'm fine with that. It's just kind of funny. 
• Sports: (1) Hey Baseball Nemesis, how'd Scheppers work out for you yesterday? (2) The TCU QB position just got crowded again with the transfer in of an Aggie. (3) Dirk is great enough to make the Mavs mediocre yet not a lottery team -- the last thing you want to be. Cuban is such a genius. (4) UT has a huge quarterback problem. If David Ash gets a concussion this fall (assuming his broken foot is healed), they'll have to bench him for the year. And Tyrone Swoops is not the answer.  (5) Ticket fans: Here's Corby's mohawk.
• Breaking: Avalanche on Mount Everest kills 13. (Side note: If you ever get a chance to read John Krakauer's Into Thin Air, do it.)
• "One Hundred Years of Solitude -- My favorite novel of all time"  - Junior Miller on The Ticket this morning. I feel dumb.
• Whatever happened to Scotchgard?
• When I was a kid, my parents took the family to some all night outdoor play in Oklahoma on Easter weekend. It was about the life of Jesus with the resurrection scene timed to occur at sunrise. I just remember thinking, "Adults stay up all night?" (I think I slept through most of it.)
• Inappropriate school assignment in El Paso. Heck, I just want to find out what happens when Mike gets home!
• "An Arlington Kroger Manager Was Fired For Body-Slamming a Shoplifter [Video]"

Story

And Another - Maryland

Story.

This probably wouldn't even be worthy of  a post but it involved (1) an All Boys Catholic School and (2) a very questionable ad placement by the Baltimore Sun:

Dog Video. Yep, A Dog Video.

Dog, the U.S. Postal System has a poster for you . . .

Random Photo For Sale On eBay

Link.

Press photo of the wreckage of an airplane crash near Bridgeport in 1958.

The AP story about the crash, which quoted several Bridgeport residents, is here.

Random Images Of The Day: "Fan" At Ranger Game Last Night

 He's got it turnt up

Forcible face plant forthcoming

Haven't seen a video yet.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• A Graham High School Senior girl, who sounds like a heck of an athlete, was killed in a head on crash. 
• The President and Vice President took a "selfie" yesterday. 
• Where's Bacon been?
• I was talking to someone about the Mayfest hail storm the other day. Stunner: That was nineteen years ago. 
• Another shocking thing I heard on WBAP this morning. Brian Estridge was doing a segment on the number of people working full time in the private sector vs. those who receive some type of government benefits. (Probably based on this article which needs some serious dissecting). Host Hal Jay then said, "You have to blame the government. That's what happens when you feed the monkeys. Or feed the Gorillas -- whatever you want to call it."  No doubt seeing the wide eyes of his co-hosts who were seeing Jay's career flash before their eyes, he stammered, "I mean, we're the monkeys."  
• The Model In Paradise is surprised to learn that one of her photos is being used to promote a Fort Worth strip club. 
• Sports: (1) TCU had a quarterback quit the team yesterday which trims the position for incoming Decatur recruit Grayson Muehlstein, (2) Hot sports opinion: I think Gary Patterson is in the middle of the beginning of the end, (3) I'm liking my duel with my baseball nemesis. So far, he has the edge. But I don't think Perez and Ross will keep it up, I don't think Lewis remains healthy, and Harrison and Holland won't contribute much, (4) For Ticket fans, it is amazing that Corby's "the Mavs will win at least 50 games" mohawk bet came down to the last game, in overtime, and to a final shot in the final second, (5) Last night, at the exact same moment, the Mavs were in overtime and the Rangers were in the bottom of the ninth. I'm dying to know the TV ratings. If the Rangers have greater ratings, I'll be very happy. (6) The Mavs are a 120 to 1 odds to win the NBA Championship. This is as good as it will be for the next decade. Maybe longer. 
• From the Update: "Movement Church in Rhome will hold Operation Easter Egg Drop 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Chisholm Trail Middle School on FM 3433. A helicopter will drop 9,000 eggs in three rounds of age groups." If the kids aren't standing directly under the helicopter which is occupied by a guy yelling "Get some!", they are doing it wrong. 
• A family member has jury duty in Wise County on Monday and is worried about being picked. I told her, "Just tell them you are related to me and that you pretty much agree with everything I say." She replied, "But then I would be struck by lightning."  (Which is even funnier when you realize that being removed from a jury means you have either been "struck for cause" by the judge  or simply "struck" by one of the lawyers.)
• Random Wichita Falls article behind a paywall that I wish I could read: "Officer Charlie Eipper killed a man in the line of duty, he was confident that Jesus Christ condoned his use of deadly force." (I then Googled the guy and found out he just wrote a book called "Jesus Christ on Killing". The publisher describes it this way: "Charlie has combined his skills in instruction with his personal experience in killing as a Christian warrior providing him the ability to connect with the reader." Huh?)
• A Texas Republican political consultant quickly discovered that it was a bad idea to register a PAC named "Boats 'N Hoes."
• The Dallas Morning News sure is dogging a judge who got beat in the primary. (And it's ironic that all the new dirt was revealed in the discovery process of a defamation lawsuit that he filed. That's why you need to think things through.)

Not A Pick Me Up: Remembering April American Tragedies

April 15, 1912 - Sinking of the Titanic which killed 1,514

April 16, 1947 - Explosions at Texas City killed at least 581

April 4, 1968 - Martin Luther King Jr assassinated/

April 19, 1993 - 76 people die in Waco at the Branch Davidian compound.

April 19, 1995 - Oklahoma City bombings killed 168 people.

April 20, 1999 - Two seniors at Columbine High School shot and killed 12 students and one teacher.

April 16, 2007 - A senior at Virginia Tech shot and killed 32 people and hurt 17 others.

April 15, 2013 - Boston Marathon bombing which killed three people and injured over 250 others.

Edit:

April 2, 2014 - Second Fort Hood shooting

April 17, 2014 2013 - West, Texas explosion killed 15.

April 10, 1979 - Wichita Falls tornadoes killed 54.

Finally, David Dewhurst's First Attack Ad

It's not quite Ted-Cruz-Worked-For-The-Chinese nasty, but it's a good start. But I'm not sure why this lady looks like she's about to cry at the end.