I'm Off

(Picture taken last year. I like that.)

During this quiet week for The Blog, please waste time visiting those fine blogs listed to the right.

• Anobiter's Blog - A smart little ditty with a tad bit of High Toneness
• Jarhead's Blog - Well, you know. Careful, he'll bust out an AR-15 on you.
• Lovelit's Blog - Almost too sweet to be on here. A 20 Something literature teacher.
• Silicone Alley's Blog - Man, that thing is R rated sometimes. Visit with caution.
• R and R's Blog - She'll throw down a shocking post as well.
• Bag Of Nothing - Some pretty good stuff from a former country boy.

And anyone else I don't have time to mention (yep, go give WordKyle some love).

I may post a pic or two during the week but no promises. My therapist suggests I step away from the laptop.

Drove past new Cowboy Stadium

Joys Of The Wise County Jail

Look, I'm A Traffic Reporter

If you are headed to Fort Worth: Fatal accident involving tanker, cement truck and car has closed all westbound lanes at Northeast Loop 820, Traffic Pulse says. One eastbound lane getting by near Blue Mound Road in Saginaw. Expect major delays.

Jack County: Law and Order

Getting reports that Jack County law enforcement arrested almost 20 people yesterday. That would be a one day record.

Let the question go forth: What is up?

Edit: Getting unofficial word that it was a round up for new drug related warrants (surprise.) Fifteen arrests. Four to go.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The kid who didn't lace the cookies with marijuana and LSD is now free. But all the reports are that he was delivering the cookies as part of his community service as a part of a probation. That's community service? I've heard of Toys for Tots but Cookies for Cops?
• WBAP interviewed a kid from Decatur yesterday who was camping outside the Apple Store in Southlake to get a new iPhone. But I didn't catch his name.
• Edit: A reader sends along this KXAS video of five teens from Decatur trying to snag the iPhone. (Thanks Joe.)
  
• John McCain campaigned in the town of South Park yesterday. Really.
• I don't trust kids on skateboards
• Terry Everett, branch manager of DATCU in Decatur, and her family were once on the Family Feud when it was hosted by Richard Dawson.
• I was once a "a man on the street" interview when the old 4 Country Reporter came to Bridgeport in the 1970s. I was a kid. The question was something about speeding rock trucks. Not much changes, does it?
  
• I used to have a boss in a bank that would say, "No, make it good day" whenever anyone wished him a good day. Beating.
• I remember when highway 380 ran right past the courthouse in Decatur (there was no bypass so if you drove from Denton to Bridgeport you'd be funneled to downtown Decatur.)
• For the life of me, I don't understand why Chesapeake Energy Corporation is spending krillions of dollars on a PR campaign about the Barnett Shale. First Tommy Lee Jones, and now they are starting something called www.shale.tv and have hired longtime DFW anchor Tracy Rowlett to run it.
• And does anything sound more exciting than an Internet TV station run by an energy company promoting the Barnett Shale? Can I reserve season one on Netflix?
• Horrific stop down title of a news story: "Parents Plan Funerals for Twins after Pharmacy Mistake"
• That kind of brought down the room, didn't it?
• I liked my briefly running Friday Dance Off feature but it was almost impossible to find two good dance videos on youtube. You'd think it would be easy, but it wasn't.
• I just did a search for my past Friday Dance Off and I think all of them can be found here. That was good stuff.
• Prepare for withdrawal symptoms. I won't be here next week.
• I've downloaded a few songs by N.E.R.D. and really like them. (First heard of the group when their song "Lapdance" was played as exist music on Entourage.) And their new album was reviewed in People magazine last week.
• I get irritated when I hear that an album "drops" on a certain date.
  
• The Bridgeport City park had this rocket in it when I was a kid. Well, maybe not that rocket but a rocket that looked like it.
  
• The hotel out by the Gaylord Texan that has a waterpark inside of it looks cool. And they are already adding on a new wing after being open for less than a year.
• That Genghis Grill that opened up off Western Center Boulevard is really good. But you'll get Confused Head trying to order.
• And I think the Bridgeport City Council naming buildings after residents is probably a road they don't want to go down. I'd at least like a dumpster named after me.
• WBAP just reported that they were watching a police chase in South Dallas right now. I loves me some police chases.
  

News

Getting reports that a small plane had to land on 287 or on a frontage
road.

Developing ...

Barry (from mobile)

Waffle House Wedding

You can see all the pictures here or you can see a montage set to music here (I'm still crying over the video. It may be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.)

Background story here with this money quote:

"I think it's pretty redneck myself," dad said, laughing. "But I'm a redneck anyway, so."

The couple plans to honeymoon Monday and Tuesday, but then it's back to work.

The destination?

"I don't know yet," the groom said.

I Didn't Even Have It On As Background Noise

Last night. Bottom of the ninth. Two outs. Rangers behind. On the mound was some guy who can throw a baseball over a mountain because he has 36th saves this year. No pitcher in the history of Baseball Ever has had more before the All Star Break. And then it happen. Reformed drug user Josh Hamilton tells the reliever to "say 'ello to my leetle frin." Enjoy it while you can. Major League Baseball is aware of copyright laws. And uses them.

Almost Forgot

It's The Blog's birthday today.

Three years of posts concerning race, religion, sexual orientation, hot girls and, oh yeah, Wise County.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• I get Tired Head when I hear the radio announce it's 80 degrees at 7:00 a.m.
  
• Someone sent me a link to a pole dance instructional video on youtube. That lady is a better athlete than I ever was.
• Former local district judge John Lindsay used to refer to exotic dancers as "go go girls."
  
• Former weather gal Rebecca Miller has been filling in for Hal Jay on WBAP this week. That lady is more of a beating than he is.
  
• There was a guy in Garland who was having copper stolen off of his air conditioner units on the roof of his business. So he had his son camp out on the roof last night and, guess what, he kills a guy who allegedly came to steal more copper. Seems a little extreme.
• The Dallas Observer article on The Ticket's Hardline breakup may be one of the most fascinating things I've ever read.
• "Lost Dog" flyers stabled stapled to telephone polls poles depress me. (Edit: Yep, that was bad.)
  
• It seems that if a guard rail gets damaged on a highway that TxDOT immediately puts out cones and signs that say "Guardrail Damage Ahead." Like we would plan on hitting the guardrail if we weren't warned of the damage?
  
• Biggest complaint of the police from my clients: "They didn't read me my rights." Response: "They don't have to unless they are taking a statement from you."
• I bought a college football magazine at the self check out line in Walmart last night. (Me loves me some self check out lines.) The purchase was flagged because it needed "store approval." I have no idea why. Not a single girly picture in it.
  
• Incredible: Some 18 year old kid gets locked up and had his picture plastered all over the local news yesterday when the Lake Worth police claim he delivered cookies to them laced with marijuana and LSD. Then yesterday the Medical Examiner's office said, "Uh, nope. Nothing wrong with the cookies." But they still haven't let the kid go. (Sheesh.) And I wonder if WBAP's Mark Davis will apologize for calling the kid a "punk" yesterday.
• Every now and then you'll see a flatbed trailer go down the road with a totally wrecked vehicle being hauled on it. I always want to know what happened to the wrecked vehicle and if the driver was seriously hurt.
• Dark prediction: I bet we will hear of Paul Harvey's death sometime in the next six months. (He hasn't been on his little radio show in months.)
  
• In crimes that are real, a high ranking Wise County law enforcement official sent me this link this morning. It doesn't have anything to do with Wise County, but it is pretty shocking. Baby launching is bad.
  
• I was an emergency fill in speaker at the Decatur Lion's Club yesterday. Topic: The Blog. Number of people in audience that knew what I was talking about: Probably four. Awkwardness level: High.
• The headline on the Drudge Report yesterday afternoon concerned comments that Jesse Jackson made about Obama. The headline read: "Cut His N**s Out". I that were a Wheel Of Fortune puzzle, I would have failed. I had no idea what the offending word was. I finally figured it out this morning.

Edit: Copper thief referenced above was not carrying a weapon. Nice.

DVD Vending Machines

I see these things all over the metroplex, and there is always a line in front of them.

That's all I got.

Downtown Bridgeport

OK, I might be wrong about that. But Day #3 of the Running of the Bulls is complete with no deaths to report. But the bulls promise to rally tomorrow. I kind of hope this guy gets it.

Edit: Here's some older pics where the bulls win.

Wednesday Morning Pick Me Up

From An Email

Someone emailed pointing out a softball team for girls 12 and under being named "Texas Hold'em." Yeah, I know it's a poker reference, but still, kinda funny.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

- I always look in rear view mirror when I'm coming to a stop. I just expect the guy behind me not to be paying attention - although there is probably little I could do about an impending collision.
- I hate small talk with the hair cutter. She started asking about my life yesterday and, for some crazy reason, I just started making stuff up.
- From a news video yesterday, I noticed that Obama wears a tank top like undershirt (which also means that his the fabric of his white dress shirt is too thin). I always wear a regular T-shirt and really don't see the point of the tank top type.
- And who is this "Barnett" of the Barnett Shale?
- There will be, certainly, a bust to this natural gas boom. It has to happen. So when will the crash occur? I'll bet on 2012. Maybe March 12th. At 10:33. That's A.M.
- Fox 4 News has it in for Dallas DA Craig Watkins. And that guy is due for a fall.
- The judge throwing out the blood test results in Dalworthington Gardens doesn't have any impact locally (nurses, not cops, withdraw the blood around here.) But I feel sorry for the defendant in that case. Up until yesterday she was just one of a thousand DWI cases in Tarrant County. But last night she had her her mugshot plastered all over the news.
- If I had a parrot, I wonder if I'd be tempted to put it on my shoulder and pretend to be a pirate?
- I once busted my head wide open as a kid after falling off a diving board at a hotel in Miami and then hitting the concrete side. My mom tells me she looked up and said, "Look at all that blood. It looks like a shark attack. Uh, where's Barry?" True story. I've still got a scar on the back of my head.
- I was also knocked unconsciousness about two years later when I ran into a brick wall at my next door neighbor's house while going for a basketball rebound. My brother, he says, picked me up and stood me on my feet - only to have me fall over backwards hitting my head on the pavement again. I woke up four hours later on my couch after the doctor had made a house call. (Which tells you how long ago it was.) We didn't do an MRI or CAT scan because no one had ever heard of them back then in little Bridgeport, Texas.
- I had two other head injuries that required medical attention but I won't bore you with the details.
- I wonder if all those head injuries explain anything? I'm pretty sure I said something about a pirate a second ago.
- If I were young inner city black man who happened to be in a gang, I think I'd want to be in charge of the logistics of the drug selling in the projects. Wouldn't want to be involved in it, be the enforcer, or the money guy. I just want to design how it all went down. (Yep, I'm still watching The Wire.)
- Everyone asks me why I don't sell advertising space. Answer: I don't know. But I should set up a pay plan where you guys could see all the wild arse comments I receive that I don't allow to go through. It's like Taxi Cab Confessions. Only different.
- When I was a kid (man, lots of flashbacks today), my dad would occasionally proclaim, "The king is dead! Long live the king!" For years, I was ashamed to admit to him that I had no idea what he was talking about. But as I was mowing the lawn last weekend and listening to Coldplay's new "hit single", I heard these lyrics: "Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!" I smiled to myself at that moment on my lawn.
- Ranger Ian Kinsler has a 20 game hitting streak. To be in your early 20s and a major league success would be sweet.
- My favorite moment of the day is crawling into bed. That seems wrong.
- The Cowboys are offering, through Oct. 1, a chance for fans to buy an inscribed paver brick that will be installed on the Legacy Walk surrounding the stadium's exterior. The paver bricks come in three different options, costing $150, $300 or $375. I'm thinking "Ralph Hardy. Newark, Texas".
- I saw that story on the DMN's Cowboys blog. I loved this first comment: "$150, $300 or $375 for a brick? Of what, hash?"

Determining Number and Sex Of Children

During a lull at the courthouse today, someone proclaimed that a pregnancy test (described above) has been 100% accurate. It's the craziest thing I've ever heard, but he/she/it said it had been foolproof every time it had been used.

I then asked the person if a pentagram was involved.

Look out if you go up to the courthouse, I think we've got some Deviltry going on.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• It's been over a decade since the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that game wardens can stop a boat for no reason so long as they are doing a "safety check." Dumb decision.
  
• Saw a bunch of high school aged girls jogging through the streets of Decatur at 6:45 a.m. this morning. Maybe a cross country summer training program?
• KLIF had a guest host in the 6:00 o'clock hour and he was trying to force Texas political talk down the throats of his listeners. After a discussion of the Cornyn/Noriega race, some guy called up and said, "I ain't voting for no Mexican."
  
• The Dallas Morning News sports page this morning has "Early Big 12 Football Predictions." Good times.
• I don't think I appreciated the greatness of the Tracy Chapman song "Fast Car" when I was younger. (I stumbled upon it on Pop Up Videos last night - which I love.) Then they followed it up with "Blinded Me With Science" which I overrated when I was younger.
• Two points from this story about a bar being sued: (1) How's this for lawyer talk: “They allowed her to leave drunker than Cooter Brown, and she collided with other vehicles and T-boned my client’s vehicle" and (2) This sentence is a little unfair: "Paul Bezney, the Dallas attorney representing the [bar], said his clients generally deny the lawsuit’s allegation but otherwise declined to talk about specifics of the case." (Emphasis added.) A pleading filed in response to a lawsuit is called a General Denial. To say his clients "generally deny the lawsuit's allegation" isn't really the best way to phrase it.
• And before I use The Google, who exactly is this Cooter Brown that we have always heard of? Uh . . . answer.
• I've learned a new courtroom technique.
• The War on Drugs apparently doesn't even need drugs any more in Williamson County. Absolutely amazing.
  
• Do you ever wonder if there is a good picture of you to use in your obituary if you had an untimely death?
• I posted a clip of the Running of the Bulls yesterday. I think they do it for six or seven days in a row.
  
• And I promise on WBAP at 7:27 a.m. the local host (but not Hal Jay) was interviewing an ABC Correspondent from Spain about the Running of The Bulls. They asked her why people participated in the event and she gave the stock answers: excitement, challenge, tradition, etc. And then she said (and I am not making this up), "And, if you'll admit it, there is a sexual element to it." Followed by a long pause. Followed by local host saying, "Well I guess there's a romantic element to it."
  
• I don't know who Natalia Bush is but The Internets are going crazy because she went to the beach. And I understand why.
• I guess almost all Nazi war criminals, many who fled to Latin America, are dead now.
  
• Noticed that the Star Telegram combined its "Life" section and "Travel" section beginning last weekend. Not a good sign.
  
• Speaking of the Star Telegram, "The Watchdog" Dave Lieber emailed me yesterday about my "Watchdog Nation" comment. He was nice.
• Lots of news about the A-Rod divorce yesterday, but very few reported that they had a nuptial agreement. Here's the confusing part, it was executed prior to the marriage (which would normally make it a prenuptial agreement), but it bore a title of Antenuptial Agreement. The wife says its invalid. She would, wouldn't she.
  
• The Decatur Walmart as the Nacho Flavored Baked Doritos again.
  
• Watched a little of the Ranger game last night against the division leading Angels. Man, there are a ton of empty seats at the Ballpark.
• At this very moment there is a lady vacuuming my office two feet away from me.
  

Now That's A Great Idea

So they'll just move the Democratic National Convention outdoors for one night into a packed stadium of people going nuts. That will be a scene.

McCain may very well win the presidency, but events like this scare the heck out of the Republicans.

Worst Spam Title Ever?

Got this one a couple of minutes ago (and it did go to the Spam folder of Gmail - but a different email program i was looking at let it through).

Our First Running Of The Bulls Video Is In

Good times. Edit: After watching all of that, I kind of was pulling for the bulls to wipe all those guys out in the coliseum.

This, I'm Intertested In

The behind the scenes story of Boyd's own The Hammer and his demise at The Ticket will be the cover story in the next Dallas Observer by the great Richie Witt. It hits news stands in 48 hours.

For those that are interested, I know you are very interested. The others could care less. But for the former, here's a sneak preview.

(The new Hardline pictured above.)

Edit: A quick responding reader pointed out that Greg Williams' father has passed away per the Update. (That's the aforementioned Hammer). Tough times for him.

FUNERAL for Robert (Junior) Williams, 78, of Boyd is at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Springtown Church of Christ with burial in Boyd Cemetery. Family visitation from 6-8 tonight at Christian-Hawkins Funeral Home in Boyd.

Edit #2: Then someone else writes in and says that's not Greg's father.

Edit #3: Yep, it's his dad after further confirmation.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Caught a bit of Live Free Or Die Hard on HBO over the weekend. It looked ridiculous. I'm pretty sure I saw a fighter jet shooting off rockets at Bruce Willis as he drove down a freeway.
• Joey Lauren Adams has a sexy voice
• That computer generated review at Wimbledon to see if a ball was in or out is very cool.
• I've dogged Williamson County DA John Bradley for years. I'll be dang if he didn't send me the nicest email this weekend.
• I made a note on Sunday to be sure to mention that an incredible number of three people had drowned at local lakes over the weekend. Then I was watching Fox 4 last night and learned there were SEVEN people had drowned - with four of them at Lake Lewisville. Lake Bridgeport was death free (and I can't remember the last drowning we had there.)
• Not to mention three metroplex teenagers shot to death over the weekend.
• I wonder if anyone reads that syndicated Dave McNeely column in the Messenger?
• Did you see that a 41 year old woman qualified this weekend for the U.S. swim team for the Olympics? And she's a serious "Hey, now."
• Star Telegram wedding announcement: "She currently works at the U.S. Department of Education, where she is Chief of Staff, Office of Communications and Outreach." Uh, do we as taxpayers really need to fund that position?
• I think I'm going to cut down on approving the comments that are nothing more than name calling.
• Only seven DWI arrests in Denton County over the July 4th weekend?
• The women's final at Wimbledon was Serena Williams vs Venus Williams. As someone pointed out, how would you like one of the greatest moments of your life coming at the expense of someone you love?
• In Star Telegram writer Dave Lieber's column ("The Watchdog") this weekend about tracking down rock haulers, he actually referred to his readers as "the Watchdog Nation." Really.
• I'm excited about football season on the horizon. But I wish Wade Phillips wasn't the coach of the Cowboys. And I'll be triple excited as Baylor opens at home on TV and on a Thursday night against Wake Forest (But I predict failure.)
• I remember where I was when I first decided that I looked old. (Sadly, about five years ago in the Decatur Burger King drive though line when I glanced up as I adjusted my rear view mirror.)
• That men's Wimbledon final was incredible (but I admit that I ran an errand that took an hour or two only to come back to realize how exciting it really was.) By the way, that was the longest Wimbledon Final in the history of ever.
• I can't remember the last time I drank a 32 ounce Miller High Life after finding two human hands in my freezer. Like this guy in Fort Worth.
• I once proclaimed that I had never seen a good movie that did not "depict electricity." (Maybe my greatest proclamation ever.) But I admit that I now have a Mel Gibson Exception to this rule (Braveheart, Apocalyptica Apocalypto Edit: I thought that looked wrong.). Wait . . . and a Gladiator exception.
• I've always thought a great documentary would be to follow a person(s) as they walk out of the Huntsville prison system - especially those that have been there over 10 years. Where do they first go? What do they think when they see new technology?
• And did you know that inmates released in Texas are given a $50 check? Apparently there is a bus stop and a liquor store two miles away. A 32 ounce Miller High Life perhaps?
• I saw a lady in the grocery store mixing and matching eggs from different cartons (just like in Clerks.)
• My left facial cheek twitched a lot yesterday.

Motorcycle Infestation In Decatur This Weekend. No Deaths Reported.

And I have no idea what that lady is doing in the last pic.

(Thanks Tony)

Guy Over Lake Bridgeport Before Fireworks Began

(Thanks Tony.)

While Randomly Searching For "Fort Worth" In Flickr

"Another lovely woman working the drink booths at the 1993 Chisholm Trail Roundup. The festival was an annual event at the Fort Worth Stockyards until high insurance costs in the wake of 9-11 killed it in 2002"

I remember Chisholm Trail Days. I got separated from a buddy once almost 20 years ago and had to spend the night with friends I ran into. (Thankfully. But he had to drive back from Decatur the next morning to come get me.) But I didn't know Chisholm Trail Days had been shut down after 9/11.