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Apathy
The primary election on Tuesday brought out 9% of the registered voters - the lowest turnout in 35 years. According to the Morning News, "It could be the worst turnout ever, but the statistics on voter registration only go back so far."
The high mark was 1988 with 37%.
The Confederate States of America
That's the name of a high brow movie showing at the Magnolia in Dallas. It's premise: What if the South had won the Civil War?
It surmises:
- The USA would have remained neutral regarding Hitler
- Kennedy was assassinated due to threatening to emancipate
- The Watts Riots were "slave rebellions"
- And a presidential candidate has his "racial identity" questioned and is forced to publicly insist that his great grandfather "did not have sexual relations with that woman" (the woman being, of course, a slave).
Good Stuff.
(Reviewed in the Morning News today).
Ka-Ching
Forbes list of the world's richest people is out.
In Texas, Michael Dell comes in first at $17.1 billion.
Mark Cuban is 14th in Texas with $1.8 billion.
Bill Gates tops the world's richest list with $50 billion.
Interesting: The U.S. has the most billionaires, 371, followed by Germany at 55. New York is home to the most billionaires, with 40, followed by Moscow, at 25, and London, with 23.
Of the 793 billionaires on the list, 452 are described as self-made, meaning they didn't inherit their money. Seventy-eight are women, up from 68 in 2005, Forbes reported.
Golly, Gee
Roger Clemens visited the Texas Rangers training camp yesterday. That's the Ranger's GM in the picture with him. (Seriously, it's not just some high school kid).
Anybody Else Understand This?
"BIG NEWS FOR SLIDELL – The Star-Telegram reports today that a Southlake couple has purchased 441 acres near the intersection of FM 51 and FM 455 near Slidell for a major new Formula One-style auto road course. The project is expected to cost $3.5 million."
(From The Update)
3.09.2006
Random Music Chart Notes
- On the National Pop Singles list, "So Sick (Of Love Songs) is #1 - not a bad tune - and "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper)" is #6. (That's the way it is spelled).
- On the Country Chart, my head hurts because I see Bon Jovi is in at #8 with "Who Says You Can't Go Home." Also, Toby (I Got Rich Off Acting Like A Patriot) Keith is at #10 with "Get Drunk and Be Somebody."
- And on the Rap Chart, you have #5 "Ms. New Booty" by the very confusing combo of Bubba Sparxxx, the Ying Yang Twins and Mr Collipark.
Random Prayer Thought
You often hear of (or may even become part of) a prayer group for an individual who is having health or other serious issues. That group will even encourage others to pray for that person.
Which gives rise to the question: Is God influenced by the number of people that pray for the same thing?
Puuullleeeeezzzzzzeee
This lady claims she was bitten by bed bugs at a hotel in the Catskills (I'm not real sure where the Catskills are).
She was on the Today show this morning with, ugh, her lawyer, since she is suing the resort.
When confronted with the fact that she stayed at the hotel two weeks after the alleged incident, she said that "it was the only hotel in the county". Riiiiiiiigghhhhtt.
Uh, by the way, she wants $20,000,000 for her trouble.
Heck, I'll walk around in underwear made of bed bugs for $20 million.
3.08.2006
Kill Me Now
Those Tim Allen commercials about his new movie "The Shaggy Dog" makes me realize that having a job that beats you down isn't quite as bad as being a spare actor.
Beating Me Down
The heir apparent to Channel 8s (very spare) weatherman Troy Dungan is Pete Delkus.
The guy just wears me out with his over emphatic weather reporting.
And You Want To Be My Latex Salesman?
Ok, if you like maps, have been to Manhattan, and are a Seinfeld fanatic, you'll think this website is cool.
Random Cowboy Note
As the NFL Owners and Players Union reach an agreement tonight, I noted this in the paper:
The Dallas Cowboys signed wide receiver Terrance Copper to a one year contract for $385,000. What did he do last season you ask? He caught one pass for five yards.
And if you click on the picture, it gets waaaay too large. (Do it. Do it.)
Legal Stuff
This headline caught my attention today in the Star Telegram: "Jury suggests 3 life terms for ex-pastor". This was followed by this sentence in the story: "The nine-man, three-woman jury deliberated more than three hours Tuesday before recommending that [the defendant] serve three life sentences."
Not to nit-pik, but that wasn't a "suggestion" or "recommendation". When a jury hands down a sentence in Texas, their decision is binding.
Zillow.Com
This doesn't work for Wise County (yet) but it's pretty cool.
Type in the address of a home and a satellite view will appear with the home's value appearing over the property. (As well as the value of other homes on the neighborhood). You can learn more about the property by clicking on the little blue dots above the price.
If you want to play with it, type in 1504 Shady Oaks with a zip code of 76107. You'll get a bird's eye view of the exclusive Westover Hills area in Fort Worth.
Link.
War. What Is It Good For? Huh!
"VIENNA, Austria - Iran threatened the United States with 'harm and pain' Wednesday for its role in hauling Tehran before the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program."
Maybe we should stick to picking on just the weaker countries.
Rethinking
There has been a lot of coverage this morning on the death of Dana Reeve two days ago. I was stunned to learn she died from lung cancer even though she didn't smoke. And I was amazed to see the video footage of her two months ago singing at a benefit - she looked absolutely fine.
3.07.2006
Sheesh
It's 10:48 p.m. and the most interesting political race in Wise County is between two very good guys for County Judge.
The count at this moment:
Dick Chase: 846
Bill McElhaney: 901
Of course, the big question is: Are these the final results? If not, how many precincts are we waiting on? The answer: Who in the hell knows.
The Messenger's web site amazingly fails to tell us this information. Channel 5, about 30 minutes ago, reported these results and said 95% of the precincts were in. Sadly, I'm relying on the metroplex to give me information that is within 100 yards of the Messenger's offices.
Election Results
If you care about local elections in area counties, this Star Telegram page is great. [Edit: After checking all evening long, I noted that non-Tarrant county races have not been updated since the early voting.]
Of course, the Messenger carries Democrat results here and Republican results here.
Wise County on the Web stayed out of election coverage (although I normally do a great job) because of lack of interest.
Denton County DA
There is an upset in the making.
With only early voting counted (but almost always a predictor of the ultimate results), long time Denton DA (and the very arrogant incumbent) Bruce Isaaks is in trouble. The current results:
Issacks: 2,625
Johnson: 3,879
This is despite that as of Feb. 6, Isaaks had more than $134,000 to spend on his campaign. Mr. Johnson had a little more than $13,000.
Delicious.
Edit: With 64% of the precincts reporting, Isaaks is done with a 43% to 57% deficit.
The Simpsons
Fans of the show have seen the same introduction to the show for over 10 years.
Well, some company in the UK has recreated it with real people. It's cool.
Link.
Death. Death. Death.
Baseball Hall of Famer Kirby Pucket has died. He was 45.
Dana Reeve, the wife of the late Christopher Reeve, has died. She was 44.
I hope I make it through the day.
Boy, We Hate Different Points of View
The Colorado high school teacher, Jay Bennish, who tried to get his students to think about whether Bush and Hitler were "similiar", was on the Today show this morning. Seemed like a smart and reasonable guy to me. (And he was smart enough to cut his hair off before going on national TV).
He was suspended by the school and has been beaten up senselessly by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity - two guys that aren't qualified to be high school teachers.
Let's teach our kids not to think critically. Let's not challenge them. That will make us all safe.
3.06.2006
Hmmm
My favorite radio station, The Ticket, has now become the flagship station of the Dallas Cowboys. (Meaning the station is paying a trainload of cash to broadcast Cowboy games).
I'm concerned. I love the station because it is honest, brutal, and funny. (And the "Fake Jerry.) One of its radio promos is famous for saying, "And we are not in the back pocket of any team."
Please, please, don't change. You are one of the few remaining joys in my life.
Political Commercial #1
Ok, I'm watching Fox 4 News and I'm being bombarded with commercials.
I'm in intensive care because of this one from Elizabeth Ames Jones who is running for the very sexy position of Railroad Commissioner:
"I'm committed to sound stewardship of our state's land and energy resources because Americans depend on Texas to insure our national security is not defined by those who refuse to embrace freedom and democracy."
Good Lord, vote for her and defeat the insurgency.
Political Commercial #2
Ok, I'm watching Fox 4 News and I'm being bombarded with commercials.
Here is the first one that made me throw up.
"Van Taylor. Family man. Business man. United States Marine. In Iraq, he led a recon platoon behind enemy lines prior to the main invasion . . . . In Congress, Van will strengthen our borders [Meaning: we'll keep out those Mexicans.] Win the War on Terror [Dear lord, did he actually say that?] to make America more safe and our families more secure."
As A Kid . . .
. . . I remember sitting in front of the television all the time (which mirrors my life today). Anyway, I remember a diet pill commercial that would ultimately have a very unfortunate name.
But you can see it now. (It's kinda funny - not that a disease is funny).
I Can't Get This Out Of My Mind
Pat Tillman, the NFL player who went off to Afghanistan, only to be shot dead by friendly fire, is having his death investigated again by the federal government.
Few people are aware of his very classy brother's remarks at his funeral:
Thanks Pat. [toasting him with a glass of Guiness beer] I didn't write [S Bomb deleted] because I'm not a writer. I'm not just going to sit here and break down on you. But thanks for coming. Pat's a [F Bomb deleted] champion and always will be. Just make no mistake, he'd want me to say this: He's not with God. He's [F Bomb deleted] dead. He's not religious. So, thanks for your thoughts, but he's [F Bomb deleted] dead.
Very touching.
Oscar Opening
If you want to see the opening bit of the Academy Awards, it is available here. (The funny stuff is halfway through).
Say What?
One thing I left out of my very boring Oscar review (below) was Crash producer Cathy Schulman, at the very end of the show, thanking "my husband, my wife, and the rest of my family."
I'm trying to figure that one out.
Get Those Bad Tumblers Away From My Daughter!
I love this controversy in Southlake:
The varsity [cheerleading] squad has 32 members, up from 25 last year. Varsity cheerleaders are expected to be proficient in tumbling, gymnastics and synchronized cheers.
The drama began during tryouts in December when only 14 students earned scores high enough to be on the team, far fewer than in previous years. Parents of some of the students not chosen complained, saying that the scoring was flawed.
In response, district officials decided that anyone who tried out could be on the team. So some parents of the original 14 filed a grievance Jan. 27, arguing that only girls with passing scores should be on the squad.
Terri Keene, whose sophomore daughter was among the 14, said the district unfairly bowed to pressure.
3.05.2006
Random Oscar Thoughts . . .
. . . as I may be the only one that watches the show:
- The opening of former Oscar hosts explaining why they weren't available was funny (especially Billy Crystal and Chris Rock sticking their heads out of a Brokeback-Mountian-like tent exclaiming they were "busy".)
- Jon Stewart was funny, but seems uncomfortable. Then again, that is one tough audience.
- George Clooney's acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor made me laugh when he began "I guess this means I won't win Best Director" - a gig at the Academy for compensating an actor with a win when they overlook him in a different category.
- Clooney also was the first to become political - taking a shot at those that call Hollywood "out of touch", by pointing out that Hollywood also was the first to champion civil rights.
- The funny video clip of Tom Hanks explaining how the Academy limits the length of accepted speeches was not funny at all.
- Ben Stiller showed up in a "green suit" to demonstrate the marvel of technical effects. It was stooopid but made me giggle.
- Reese Witherspoon is hot, but she seems "fake".
- I just saw Jennifer Lopez in the audience. (If you get a chance, check her out in her first major film, Selena)
- Uh oh, Dolly Parton is performing a song for, uh, one of the nominees for "Best Song". I have never, ever understood the attraction of her voice. (And I think her lips have been injected with five pounds of collagen).
- Ok, I just suffered through 20 minutes of "Best Short Film", "Best Animated Film", and "Best Costume Design". Who says the Academy Awards isn't exciting?
- The Will Ferrell and Steve Carrell bit about "Best Make-Up" was mildly funny.
- Random thought: Cinderella Man was cheated by being left out of "Best Movie".
- Jon Stewart just had a funny line about the "Best Make-Up" award, Russell Crowe, and Cinderella Man : "I'm a surprised Cinderella Man didn't win that category. Imagine the difficulty in making Russell Crowe look like he'd gotten into a fight."
- Rachel Weisz just won Best Supporting Actress for "The Constant Gardner". No one in America knows who she is. No one in America has seen "The Constant Gardner." I'm getting sleepy.
- Lauren Bacall just came out to and talked about black and white movies followed by a five minute video clip of said old movies. She stumbled over her lines like she was lost. Anyway, I'm getting sleepier.
- I wonder if more people watch the Golden Globes than the Academy Awards?
- I think the black tux with a black tie (as opposed to the bow tie) is a good look.
- The funny bit of the fake political commercials for Best Actress was very funny. (This was right out of Comedy Central). I'm waking up.
- Ok, we've spent 10 minutes on "Best Documentary". I love documentaries but I'm getting sleepy again. But I did see "Walk Of The Penguins" and it was great.
- Ok, five minutes on "Best Art Direction". I may not make it through the night.
- In one of the many, many video montages tonight, I just heard a great line from Gregory Peck from "To Kill A Mockingbird": " You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Until you climb in his skin and walk around in it." Amen.
- I love Salma Hayek.
- This Academy Awards show could easily be reduced to 90 minutes.
- Good gawd. Now they are showing me another montage - this time about "epics". Kill me now.
- Funniest line of the night so far by Jon Stewart: "I can't wait until later tonight when we see the 'Oscars salute to Montages'". That guy has his thumb on the pulse of funny thinking America.
- Jessica Alba can't even keep me interested in the "Best Sound Mix" award. And that's saying something.
- I just lost 10 minutes of my life regarding an honorary award for Ronald Altman. [Edit: That's Robert Altman - told you I was getting sleepy}
- I regret starting this Oscar blogging project.
- Ok, now they have a musical performance of "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp." Boy, is it ever.
- That song just won the"Best Song" Oscar. Those boys seemed incredibly excited to win it. Kinda refreshing. Followed by Jon Stewart's line: "I think it just got a little easier out here for a pimp." And "Why are they the most excited people out here tonight?"
- A pregnant Jennifer Garner almost fell down walking up to the microphone. Eeeek! [Edit: As someone pointed out, she's not pregnant. Hmmm.....her bad.]
- George Clooney introduced the "who has died in the last year". I, oddly, like that segment.
- Now 10 minutes for "Best Foreign Film". Uggggggh.
- Now 10 minutes for "Best Film Editing". I wonder what's on ESPN?
- Finally, it's time for "Best Male Actor". And the winner is: Philip Seyour Hoffman. He's come a long way since "Boogie Nights".
- "Best Female Actor" goes to: Reese Witherspoon (the girl can sing).
- There has not been one "memorable" acceptance speech all night.
- OK, finally Best Motion Picture presented by Jack Nicholson (who's "cool" bit is getting old): "Crash"!!!! (Much to the shock of BrokeHeart Mountain). You know, I saw both of them and I'm not sure what I think. Both were good. Neither was great.