10.02.2015

Random Band Member Fall From Last Night




That's a heck of skid once he hits the ground and a pretty funny "get up and run" recovery.
at 9:03 AM

This Week In Journalism


at 9:00 AM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts



  • Dallas DA Susan Hawk walked right out and faced the press head on yesterday. She spoke for 37 seconds, took no questions, and then turned and walked away. This will not turn out well. 
  • Note to people who drive like a bat of hell and swerve in and out of traffic on their way to work: Every thought about getting out of bed 10 minutes earlier?
  • Unemployment rate just announced: It has fallen to 5.1%.
  • I posted a photo of Clark Griswold at Wally World two days ago and yesterday BagOfNothing flies his family out to Disney World. I could only think of, "Sorry, folks. Park's closed. The moose outside should have told you." 
  • Is it just me, or do I smell BBQ around the Decatur courthouse square this week? 
  • "As of Friday, the Rangers had the worst attendance of the six division leaders. So far, the team has averaged about 30,000 fans per game, their worst since 2009 and in the bottom half of all teams in Major League Baseball."
  • The Fort Worth Court of Appeals affirmed a dope conviction out of Wise County yesterday.  Legally, it was correct and the guy had been in lots of trouble before. However, it's amazing that a Rhome officer used an "old fashioned VHS" tape to record the traffic stop in 2012, that it got "tangled" when he tried to remove it, that he couldn't repair it, that he placed it in "his sergeant's box", and he didn't know what happened to it after that. (The opinion refers to him as a "Boyd officer" at the time of trial but the book-in records have it as a Rhome PD arrest.) 
  • Anyone else have a problem with the story that the Oregon gunman asked the victims "one by one" if they were Christian and if they said yes they were shot in the head, but if they said no or didn't answer they were shot in the leg? None of those reports have come from someone who was in the room. The closest we have is one eyewitness, Kortney Moore, who said that the shooter asked people their religion and "then started firing away" which is consistent with a witness next door who heard a "percussion of gun shots." I'm not buying this "one by one" report where everyone just calmly stays there and takes it. 
  • President Obama on the NRA: “And I would particularly ask America’s gun owners who are using those guns properly, safely, to hunt for sport, for protecting their families, to think about whether your views are being properly represented by the organization that suggests it is speaking for you . . . . Right now, I can imagine the press releases being cranked out. ‘We need more guns,’ they’ll argue. ‘Fewer gun-safety laws.’ Does anybody really believe that?” 
  • And, with that, I just heard an ad for handgun silencers/suppressors on The Ticket. I guess the problem isn't gun violence, it's gun noise. 




at 8:47 AM

10.01.2015

Funny Video. Funnier Audio.



And that, America, is your future.

Shut it down. Let's go home.

Edit: Should be able to see it here.
at 5:51 PM

Donald Trump Touched By Hands Of The Holy At Trump Tower



Yep, to Trump's left is the holiest man in Dallas. And Wise County's border friend Kenneth Copeland was there.

Let's stop the fight. Trump is obviously going to win.


Credit: Robert Wilonsky via Dallas Observer.
at 1:31 PM

Whoa!


at 1:23 PM

Cumulus Radio Is In Big, Big Trouble



It owns The Ticket, WBAP, and more.  If you want to buy a radio station, here's your chance. And if you work for one of its radio stations and have a big salary, get ready to accept a pay cut or leave.

Look at the following shocking facts:

  • Cumulus replaced its CEO yesterday after almost two decades.
  • "On Sept. 15, Moody’s cut the ratings of Cumulus’ $2.4 billion of debt to B3 — which is junk status."
  • Profits are down 18% in the second quarter of this year
  • Cumulus shares are down 84 percent this year, closing at 68 cents Tuesday. They fell to 65 cents in after-hours trade.
List of stations in DFW the company owns:

at 1:01 PM

New Texas Law Requiring Online Posting Of Officer Involved Shootings Is Now Live


Just four so far.

The site.

(Credit.)
at 12:08 PM

Dear Katy Perry:




You are out of your mind to let a fan on stage like that.

Edit: Oops. Fixed.
at 10:32 AM

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




  • "BOWIE, TEXAS (AP) - A Texas mother is accused of abandoning her five children after police found them starving, filthy and, in the case of a baby, near death while her 8-year-old son was left in charge of his siblings."  
  • Is Montague County the most wheels off Texas county? It has a history of crazy murder cases (from a famous "cheerleader murder" case to a Nocona nurse convicted of intentionally killing 10 patients), a corrupt Sheriff's office  where the Sheriff escaped justice by fortunately dying in 2009 (that case was  insane giving rise to multiple indictments -- and they didn't get everyone), the recent case of a Nocona officer who shot and killed an off duty deputy during a domestic violence call, the county leading the "region" in Twitter rants that are racist and homophobic, and a current DA who won't release records of closed cases. 
  • Not to mention that they pronounce it Mahn-TAYG instead of the Shakespearean pronunciation of MAHN-tee-gyou. 
  • Wow: I never knew the the car of Sheriff Buford T. Justice in Smokey and the Bandit had "Montague County" on the side. 
  • I joked the other day about the potential high score of the Tech/Baylor game and now Vegas has made it the highest over/under line in history at 90.5.  
  • Someone brought up radio guy Dennis Prager yesterday. Nope, I haven't changed my mind. He is a simpleton who doesn't realize his is a simpleton. And I'm not going to listen to a "Relationship Hour" hosted by a guy who is on his third marriage and is worse in relationships than I am. 
  • I woke in the middle of the night to A Scene Of The Family Pup Throwing Up that would have made Linda Blair in the Exorcist proud.
  • Someone document this for me: The Rhome Police Department is having a National Night Out. Per the Update, "There will be free hot dogs, chips and drinks, as well as literature that helps with issues plaguing youth and society today." Get me that literature! Also, "Demonstrations of a felony traffic stop and tazing will be conducted." I think I've seen one (misdemeanor) DWI stop in my career where a cop pulled a weapon on the driver from the get go, and it happened in the last two years in Rhome. It was referred to in the police report as a "felony stop". 
  • "I don't want Middle Eastern refugees living next to me either." - WBAP's Hal Jay this morning in defense of emails opposing a bond issue in Highland Park which suggest its passage might give rise to apartments which will house the poor. The next five minutes were spent with the crew around him distancing from him and Hal Jay trying to figure out if he had said anything that might be considered racist. 






at 8:45 AM

9.30.2015

Oh, My

That is insane. From Vacation:


Back story from the Wise County Messenger's Update* from earlier this week.



And I know I shouldn't post the following:


Lasky (to Clark's son, Rusty): Has your father ever killed anyone?
Rusty: Just a dog. Oh and my Aunt Edna
Clark: Hey, you can't prove that Russ.
________________
*Side note to the Editor and the Publisher of the Messenger: Don't sue me. I'm giving you free press and a link to the Update for the masses to follow. (Someone once called my readers a "band of monkeys", but don't worry about that.) Then again, in this day and age, if you sued me we could both promote it as a "news story".


at 8:39 PM

Indiana Republican Resigns -- Says To Disregard That Sex Tape That Was Sent Out From His Phone



Story.

McMillin, whose Facebook page says he is married, did not respond to messages from The Star seeking comment. He said in an emailed statement only that he has "decided the time is right for me to pass the torch and spend more time with my family."

 "Now I want to focus all of my attention on making my family's world a better place," he said.
at 1:37 PM

Note To Dallas Police Chief: That's A Literal Bad Sign For You


at 1:18 PM

Kid Doesn't Want To Go To Arkansas Games Because "They Always Lose"



Buddy, let an ol' timer set you straight. I may not have walked five miles to school in the snow, I may not have suffered through the Great Depression, and I may not have had to fear being drafted into Vietnam, but when it comes to college football, I know suffering.

Baylor Won/Loss Record

And you, kid, don't know suffering. Now get back to to Angry Birds or whatever if is you kids do.

at 12:22 PM

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts





  • One thing I regret while in El Paso was that I didn't have time to see the Bridge of the Americas. I wanted to do it because I could automatically trump anyone in an immigration debate by simply saying, "Let me tell you something. I've personally taken my own human body to the border. I've looked with my own human eyes across the the Rio Grande at Juarez. I may have even seen El Chapo in the distance."  That's all it takes to win, right? 
  • I actually wanted to see it because I thought it was the bridge the Josh Brolin used to cross into Mexico in No Country For Old Men -- but I was wrong. But it was the filming location for the short lived FX series named, obviously, The Bridge.
  • Does the first item in The Update have viral potential?
  • Sports: (1) I finally got to watch the Texas/OSU game including the crazy defensive holding penalty on UT and the subsequent flag on Charlie Strong. The Evil Empire was wronged. But if the Evil Empire was wronged 20 more times over the next few years, they still will be ahead in the Official Wrong/Not Wronged Ledger. (2) As crazy as that TCU play was to win the game, the Tech Crazy Train Play that actually ended the game was 10 yards away from infamy. It started with a throw from the 32 yard line of Tech and ended at TCU's 10 after multiple laterals. That was 10 yards away from replacing California/Stanford's last play as the most insane play in college football history. And it could have happened. Don't get tackled! Launch the ball! You may lose on a fumble recovery but don't get tackled! Watch it here from a fan's video in the stands -- love these things.
  • I got duped, right?: The people "camping out" to buy a home in a new development in McKinney have to be doing a bit and a publicity stunt. 
  • DMN story from it's "Biz Beat Blog": "Forbes has just announced its annual roll call of the 400 richest Americans — and there are 36 Texans on this year’s list, with Walmart heiress Alice Walton yet again topping all of them with $36 billion. (And that’s before she sells her ranch outside of Fort Worth.)" Hey, I'm an idiot when it comes to business, accounting, and math, but the fact that the ranch hasn't sold yet has nothing to do with her net worth and being "rich".  I love to simplify things: If all a person has is a $150,000 house and is debt free, that person has a net worth $150,000. If he sells that home for the fair market value of $150,000, he now has a net worth of $150,000. 
  • Also from the story: Mark Cuban's new worth remains at $3 billion. Exactly how much did he personally get when Yahoo.com ridiculously paid $5.7 billion in 1999 for his company, Broadcast.com, which had never turned a profit?
  • I'll never hear the word "SMU" and "Death Penalty" without remembering me and four of my buddies as high-schoolers on the campus of TCU in the summer of 1979 checking out a cheer-leading camp. Out of the blue, we saw 18 year old Eric Dickerson walking around because, we discovered, he was there for a high school THSCA All-Star game. (Box score, anyone?) He was just walking around by himself but had a jersey on that had "Dickerson" across the back. Sport's Illustrated had just written that his college jersey would have "National Championship" on the front and "Heisman Winner" on the back when all was said and done. We had him sign his autograph five times on the back of an envelope and he used my back to do it on. We then carefully tore the envelope up and all took one autograph. I've still got mine. (My buddies, if my memory hasn't failed yet again, have the familiar Wise County names of Bilby, Clifton, McQuiston, and I think Ralls or Lawson. And I promise we listened to a new 8-track tape on the way there by a new group who had just released "My Sharona". We talked about whether The Knack was the second coming of The Beatles.) 
  • And I just looked up that "Ralls" and noted that his mother died less than two months ago. 
  • Dallas DA Susan Hawk has left treatment and plans to return to work on Thursday. My first reaction was that she needed to come into work at 5:00 a.m. to avoid all cameras. But upon further review, I think I'd tell the media I'm walking in the front doors at 8:00 a.m.  It's time for her to be on the offensive to save her job. 
  • I'm often reminded of the line from Harrison Ford, as Jack Ryan, to the president in Clear and Present Danger when the President's long time friend had been found murdered on his yacht by the cartel after he had stolen some laundered drug money: The President was wondering how to respond if the press asks him if they were good friends: Ryan told him to say, "'No, not good friends. We were lifelong friends.' There's no sense defusing a bomb after it's already gone off."


at 8:41 AM

9.29.2015

I'm Issuing An Oklahoma Bee Alert


And I just had the craziest flashback:


Edit: We have a news update. A monkey in Florida for the win!


at 1:28 PM

College Football: Official Stock Market Like Gambling?


I'm stunned by this, but I'm not sure why.

On the official* College Football Playoff site, there is a link to "pick your team" and  "reserve" your tickets.  This is a little insane: You pay for the "right" to purchase a ticket at face value if the team you pick makes the National Championship game. But the price is market based. For Baylor, it's $20 right now. For TCU, it's $10. For Ohio State, it's $72.  And once you pay, it is not refundable. If your team doesn't make the championship game, you're done.

But, wait, there's more.  As the season goes along, you have the right to sell your right to buy the ticket based upon the current market. Make sense? Say TCU goes undefeated into the final game and the market value for that "right" to buy the ticket goes to $150 or more. You can sell the right and pocket the cash. (At least that's what I'm seeing.)

All of this is fun and a great idea, but this is officially sanctioned by the entity that is the College Football Playoff?
___________
*That is the official site, right?


at 9:43 AM

Random Tweets From Texas Supreme Court Justices Over The Weekend


They occurred back to back on my timeline.  The humor gave me Slumped Shoulders. (And that's the fourth time Willett has posted the same thing over the last few months.)
at 9:17 AM
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