Movie Talk

Went and saw The Simpsons last night. Very funny. I've been a fan of the show for years but I rarely watch it. Odd. I know. Shows like that and well, Arrested Development come to mind, require undivided attention. Perhaps that's why the cartoon works so well on the big screen. And I still laughed at the "Spider Pig! Spider Pig" segment even though I had seen it on the promos about 10 times.

On the DVD landscape, I watched Alpha Dog last week and really, really liked it. Heck, I didn't know it was based on a true story until the end. But if you are offended by F Bomb, look out. It is dropped a whopping 369 times. And Sharon Stone's rant at the end of the movie is worth the cost of the rental alone. And a little extra trivia: the lead actor, Emile Hirsh, will play Speed in the upcoming film, Speed Racer.

Spider. Big Spider.

Yeah, I've been a little slow in posting over the last couple of days. The heat is getting to me. But a faithful reader sent me this link which was enough to wake me up.

Oh, My

Messenger story here.

Creeps Me Out

Saw this over at bagof nothing.com. (Move the cursor.) Almost made me want to go all Michael Vick on him.

Karaoke Night at Frilly's

I Think . . .

. . . I'll cancel my date with this woman.

Jerry's Crazy New Commercial

Bruce Willis' New Girlfriend

Standing. Slowly beginning to clap.

Cowboys Preseason Game

We'll all gather around the TV at 7:00 to watch Tony Romo and company play the first game of the season. And then within 15 minutes we'll be beaten down beyond recognition. Then comes the 4th quarter when time will simply stop. We can at least hope for a career ending injury to Rowdy.

I went to a Houston Oilers / Dallas Cowboys preseason game one year, and I still haven't recovered. But I still remember being able to sneak to a 50 yard line seat late in the 4th. I also recall having a radio with me and hearing play by play man Dale Hansen say, as the clock slowly, slowly moved: "When I am on my death bed and I have just minutes to live, please replay the last 15 minutes of this game because it will seem like I will be living forever."

Stolen phrase: "Games that don't count where the players don't try which we watch for reasons we don't quite understand."

23 Days And Counting

College football is around the corner and the first point spreads are out for opening weekend:

TCU over Baylor by 21 (The suffering continues)
The Evil Empire over Arkansas State by 37 (Southlake would be a better opponent.)
Oklahoma over North Texas by 38 (Todd Dodge an underdog?)
Texas Tech over SMU by 11 (only 11?)
Texas A&M over Montana State by ??? (I didn't see it.)

Edit: Some people pick on the Evil Empire too much. Maybe.

Edit: Aggie War Hymn on Guitar Hero?

Edit: The greatest Big 12 preview in the history of ever.

Most Confusing Movie Role Ever

This pic is from some new movie starring Rumer Willis, Bruce's daughter. I give it a Thumbs Down and I know nothing about it.

Crime Blotter

It might be odd that the Messenger found out about this. They certainly should be able to find out if someone is arrested or indicted. And if an obvious crime is committed (like a murder by firearm), it stands to reason that a story like this would be printed. I guess if the cops had gone to this house and summoned medical help for the child, it would be public knowledge. But if the parents took the kid to the hospital and the medical staff called law enforcement, that's something the paper normally wouldn't be aware of. And Jana wouldn't leak the story - that's not her style. So I'll just speculate.

Edit: I apologize for the number of "rejected" posts on this one. And although most seem to have a lot of inside information, I try not to repeat "assertions of fact" against a person unless it can be verified. But I admit that the freakin' county new about this incident before I did.

Edit #2: The Morning News has a blurb about the death, but not much information.

And note to Messenger photographer Joe Duty: Rebecca Simpson will be up at the courthouse at 1:00 to take a plea deal on an old misdemeanor case. Edit: Make that 11:00 a.m. (Sorry, Joe.)

How's That Wall Coming Along?

New figures reveal that in Harris County (Houston) only 37% of its residents are white.

Richard "Racehorse" Haynes

I was surprised to learn that this famous criminal defense lawyer from Texas is back in action at age 80. For you youngsters, he represented Fort Worth millionaire Cullen Davis in a murder case and a murder for hire case. He won both.

He is defending a 40 something year old woman named Phill Rian (hey, that name sounds phonetically familiar!!) for having sex with a teenage boy. The bad news for him is that the case is being tried in Williamson County (Georgetown) - the easiest place to prosecute in the State of Texas. (They have the most arrogant DA ever - John Bradley.)

But back to Racehorse. He was once asked by a reporter if he was the best criminal defense lawyer in Texas. He barely paused before replying, “I believe I am.” Then, he immodestly added, “I wonder why you restrict it to Texas.”

Extremists?

This isn't the best picture, but the guy on the left was jumping off a bridge near downtown Fort Worth into the Trinity River. That's not his buddy. His buddy is dead. Jumping into the Trinity River is never a good idea.

But the aforementioned "guy on the left" told Fox 4's Lari Barager that he and his buddy were "extremists" as in "sports extremists." The Star Telegram refers to the deceased as "homeless." I'm going with the Star Telegram

Crazy Wednesday

All morning in Jacksboro and now I have three pleas to take care of this afternoon. Makes a man want to be on the beach.

(And this is Jennifer Ellison who appeared in the screen version of Phantom of the Opera. `I appreciate her acting skills. Honest.)

Huge Credit To Yahoo! Sports . . .

. . . (from whom I stole this graphic) for the "*". Perfect.

Edit: As a commenter pointed out, it's fascinating that in less than 20 minutes the Yahoo! graphic had been changed to delete the asterisk.

Oh, My

I watched a replay of White Light / Black Rain tonight on HBO. It's a documentary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima to bring World War II to a close. I asked my dad once if President Truman caught any flak for the bombing that killed so many innocent people. "Not at all," he told me. And it is probably true that, in the long run, it saved many, many lives. Still, what a horrific four days.

Good grief, it's almost too hard to watch. (But it starts out incredibly slow before it becomes riveting.)

Speaking Of Fights

First, this fight doesn't even compare to the Charlize Theron throw down below. There's more blood and more style when the girls go at it.

Secondly, I'm proud to announce this fight occurred at Qualcomm (or something like that) - home of the San Diego Chargers. I'm "proud" because it is one of the many stadiums I've visited across the country. (Actually, I was there at the Holiday Bowl a couple of years ago when Texas Tech played California. That's where the following pic comes from at the end of the game. I'm kinda "proud" of that one.)

OK, It's Time To Get The Blog Back On Track

It's Charlize Theron's birthday today and what better way to celebrate it than to post the greatest cat fight in the history of ever from 2 Days In The Valley. Good Times (Language warning.)

Enough Of This Poll

The women have a majority, but not a mandate.

A Taser Endorsement

Man, if one of those Taser companies (is there more than one?) doesn't sign this guy up as its spokesperson, they should be ashamed. The last couple of sentences are gold. (Credit: MzChief)

Illegal Pledging

Just to let you know, since June 15th you should have been saying the Pledge to the Texas Flag with the new italicized wording:

"Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible."

Now prior to June 15th we apparently weren't one state under God. But we are now. The pledge says so. Get it right or The Man might come after you.

Name That New Business

Yeah, it's a crappy photo because I take crappy photos at 70 mph when I didn't plan on taking the photo in the first place.

This thing is about three miles south of Decatur along 287 (on the west side of the highway). The building looks small but it has about six to eight huge concrete pillars around it (can't really see them in the pic) that makes me thing there might be something bigger coming.

MTV Award Nominations Announced

Video of the Year Nominees:

» Amy Winehouse: "Rehab" - I like the song, but this girl looks like she could turn on you in a New York minute.
» Beyoncé: "Irreplaceable" - That "To The Left, To The Left" thing is kinda catchy.
» Justice: "D.A.N.C.E." - Doesn't ring a bell.
» Justin Timberlake: "What Goes Around ... " - How has this guy gone from a boy band to a pretty big star? And I would say I liked that "Sexyback" song, but I'm tired of having my Barry Feelings picked on.
» Kanye West: "Stronger" - Do the lyrics include "George Bush doesn't like black people?"
» Rihanna (featuring Jay-Z): "Umbrella" - I think this song is good the first two times you hear it. After that, it should be destroyed.

This Is What I Was Talking About

I "twittered" this morning that I had James Cramer of "Mad Money" yelling at me. This is the full clip, a portion of which was played on The Today Show this morning. And on a related matter, can someone tell me what he is talking about? The best I can tell is that he wants the Federal Reserve to cut the discount rate today but, other than that, I'm completely lost. And tell me what that "Bear Sterns" graph has to do with it. (And if you can explain it without using the word "idiot", it would make my day go better.) Indictments I understand. This stuff I don't.

What The . . .?

This blurb from the Update today (although somehow it is the second story behind a bridge inspection.)

Ok, who is she? How long had she been there? At what part of Business 287 was she found? Who found her? "Fallen or pushed"? Hmmmmm.

Edit: The link above has an update in the, uh, Update.

Two Things That Look Like An Absolute Beating

The forecast . . .
Standing in a crowd of sweaty people for American Idol . . .

Kittens vs. A Box

I might be losing my mind, but I was mildly entertained by this. Go get the kids, The Blog is family friendly at this moment.

Southlake Kids Have Bad Schtick

For those interested in North Texas football, Coach Todd Dodge, his son Riley, and . . . uh . . . vomiting, you might be interested in this. I, for one, am sorry I found it.

Your Supposed To Catch Her. I Think.

All right, I have two complaints. This is the worst effort I've ever seen in cheerleader catching. Maybe she had wronged the rest of the girls because they acted like they wanted her to die. (Maybe it's the Red Oak cheerleader discussed earlier.) Secondly, what is the cameraman thinking? When carnage breaks out, keep the tape rolling and stay focused. This clip would be much better if we could have had a close up of some reactions.

What About Clive Owen?

To quash the Female Rebellion of 2007 that broke out because of the shirtless man pic below, I now give you Clive Owen as a peace offering. Not that I would ever have a man crush on any guy, but if I did, he might qualify. He got to see Natalie Portman almost neekid in Closer, got to make out with Jennifer Aniston in Derailed, got to kill lots of people in Sin City, and ran all over England in Children of Men. All the while being cool and throwing down an accent. What's not to like?

Fair Fight?

I was rooting around in youtube.com and saw a clip of some TCU player taking a cheap shot at good and wholesome Baylor player last year. (And to think the school has "Christian" in its name. Puulleeeasseee.) Anyway, this suggested video popped up labeled "Cheap Shot." A better title would have been "Assault."

Bad Karma

This lady was arrested last week in Florida on the second DWI charge.

Bueller? Bueller?

Since the women are outnumbering the men on the poll, I bring you Matthew Broderick. Although I don't think this will meet their demands for an equal number of "Hey, Nows."

Baseball Players Should Fear ATVs

This occurred yesterday at the Seattle game. The quality is poor, but it's not everyday you get to see a mascot almost kill a man. Can you imagine if Rowdy did that to Romo or T.O.? Jerry would have personally executed Rowdy right on the spot.

I Think Fox 4 Might Be Screwing With Us

This guy stabbed a couple of people last night (oops, allegedly stabbed a couple of people) but Fox 4 News tracks down his ex-girlfriend from two years ago.

I can't take my eyes off of her. The eyebrows. The odd bump on her forehead. The last name. I love her.

Flashback

I was struggling while writing with The Spin tonight when I recalled the old Channel 8 public service announcement that used to run before the news. If I remember correctly, it said "It's 10:00 p.m., do you know where your children are?"

Gold.

C4U?

Many have remarked how they miss C4U's blog since it stunningly disappeared about three months ago. She was a frequent commenter as well. I don't know where she went, but this blog sure seems like her.

Classifieds

My secretary was supposed to jump out of an airplane yesterday as part of her birthday celebration.

I wonder if I'm interviewing next week?

Edit: She sent me an actual pic (above). Cancel the interviews.

Oddest Sports Moment

(Bonds rookie playing card.)

Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron's career home run record last night and the silence is deafening.

What a strange event. Most claim that the career home run mark is the "ultimate" sports record. They may be right. I remember as a kid sitting in front of the television set to watch Hank Aaron break Babe Ruth's record (in 1974). It was magical. I was fascinated by all the hype (and the two fans that ran out of the stands to slap Aaron on the back between second and third base.)

But no care about Bonds tying Aaron's record even though 33 years have passed since the home run record was tied. Why? Two reasons. Everyone believes Bonds has used steroids - the closest proof was leaked grand jury testimony that Bond believes he unknowingly used steroids. Secondly, the guy is a world class jerk. Several years back he made an appearance at the Ballpark in Arlington and The Ticket's Corby Davidson tried to interview him before the game. Bonds response was, "You must not be familiar with my policy." Davidson inquired "What policy." Bonds replied, "You must not be familiar with my policy." (The "policy" was that he wouldn't speak to the press before games.)

Most believe that Alex Rodriguez will be the next person to break Bonds records. I hope so.

Well This Is Depressing. Big Time.

Mena Suvari cut almost all of her hair off. That is not a good look. It is almost as awful as when Natalie Portman did the the same thing for V for Vendetta. This trend must be stopped.