This Is Tough To Follow

It started this morning when I saw this tweet from a blog reader: "Decatur CoC preacher's daughter fighting 4 her life 2nite In ICU w/sepsis Lungs heart & kidneys shutting down." The tweet also had a link to this blog. (Seems to be her father.) And that blog led to this page (quick registration required) which had updates at a pretty regular interval regarding her condition. Some are good. Some are bad. The best I can tell is that her condition started as the flu and then turned into life-threatening pneumonia.

Snow This Morning In The Northeast

Kind of fun to see random twitter pics here.

We're Getting A New Mexican Restaurant

I Have No Idea What The Back Story Is

But someone was pranking a Wise County law firm today.

Wise County's Closest Connection To Sunday's Super Bowl

A faithful reader sends along this pick of Boyd's Robby Cartwright (#36) playing for Texas Tech and facing Peyton Manning when he was at Tennessee. (Thanks, Trey.)

Gay Mentally Challenged Biracial Male Cheerleader Says He Is Discriminated Against

Well, I'm not going to see a headline like that and just ignore it.

There's A Saying In . . .

. . . the world of criminal defense practice: You'll never find a deaf, dumb and blind man in prison.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Saw the footage of parking lot cam of an old white man walking by (before his beaten to death for $10) only to see two black guys walk in front of the camera shortly thereafter. The cops aren't saying they did it, they just want to talk to them. I cringe if they did it, and I cringe for the damage to race relations if they did not.
• This Toyota recall is just weird. They seem disorganized, not 100% sure of exactly if there is a problem or how to fix it, or what cars are impacted.
• Mike Leach and Tech are ordered to enter into mediation to try and resolve their spat. Chances of resolution: Zero.
• Bridgeport having budget issues? Saw some pretty big cost cuts mentioned in the paper.
• The Baptists trying to smuggle the Haitian kids out the country are in big trouble. Big trouble.
• The Tea Party folks are mad that Sarah Palin is endorsing Rick Perry.
• I think I'm getting to the point where I don't like looking at the local obituaries because there are too many names I recognize. Today was my favorite little league baseball coach.
• Speaking of Palin, her outrage over the use of the word "retarded" seems manufactured.
• Newspaper trouble: I went to a Dallas Morning News rack in Decatur before 8:00 a.m. this morning and found only two papers in it. And I bet that's not because the others had already been purchased. I bet it's because of expected demand.
• It's kind of hard to explain, but I've got a fake laughing monkey in my office this morning.
• Edit: Ugh. Forgot to mention the lady in the metroplex who is flying the U.S. Flag upside down because she thinks we got us an Obama emergency going on. Hey, Tommy Lee Jones already did that in the Valley Of Elah because of our screwed up war decisions.
• Edit #2: We've got 31 more dead in Iraq.

George, That Was Indeed Trouble

The BagOfNothing.com guy finds some good stuff. Including this. A newly surfaced 24 year old home video of the Challenger disaster. I was in law school at the time and was able to pick up KRLD -- which I normally had on in the background of my apartment. Back then, a space shuttle launch was a big deal but for some reason the station was about a minute late in cutting to the coverage. When they did, I'll never forget (the now deceased) correspondent Christopher Glenn saying, "There's something definitely wrong here." From there, I raced to the TV but there were no "all news stations" following the story. I simply turned the dial (yep, turned) to either ABC, CBS or NBC and waited for the network to break in and change the screen to read "Breaking News." Which it did in about three minutes. That, in itself, was a weird experience.

Tim Tebow's Pro Life Super Bowl Commercial

This guy has always driven me a little nuts but, as most people think, it's too hard not to like him. He's always been a leader, always been a winner, and he stays out of trouble. And although he might not make it in the NFL, he'll be seen on the big stage this Sunday when he'll appear in a 30 second commercial purchased by Focus on The Family. The ad will recount his mother's decision not to have an abortion after briefly considering it. (No one has seen it yet, although Focus on the Family has certainly gotten its money's worth since everyone is talking about it.) But as much as everyone goes nuts over the issue of abortion, the Mark Davis Show this morning had a pretty good point: No one should have an issue with the ad. Certainly the pro-life crowd will love it, but the pro-choice should equally embrace it as well. The ad won't say that abortion should be illegal or that Roe v. Wade needs to be overturned. Nope, it will simply be a "choose life" message. That's the pro-choice folks position as well: If after considering all your options you wish to have the baby, they support that decision as well. That shouldn't be offensive to the pro-choice crowd because that's their position as well That seems obvious but seems to get lost in the storm sometimes.

Super Bowl Emblem Unveiled

Wise County's in "North Texas" so we're hosting a Super Bowl! And here's a quick and easy link to all past emblems.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• David Cassidy and Davey Jones are performing at the Nokia music place (official name) in Grand Prairie on Saturday. I wonder how many people they can draw? And I wonder how many people have no idea who they are?
• Facebook was launched six years ago today. Mafia Wars will whip us for the next six.
• It's funny when someone writes that "Today's Random Thoughts were boring." Hoss, they are always boring.
• Kay Bailey having Nolan Ryan in a commercial is probably the smartest thing she has done. And that's kind of odd since his claim to fame is that he can throw a baseball.
• The federal government will buy a 30 second Super Bowl ad to remind people about the Census. No wonder our deficit is a krillion dollars.
• Longtime Bridgeport residents couldn't help but notice the passing of Martha Selz this week. She was the longtime wife of Dr. Leo Selz who died just a few weeks ago. Good people. Married forever. Leaving this world at about the same time.
• I saw Larry the Cable Guy on Fox and Friends last week. Ultimate beating. (And is Steve Doocy gay?)
• Another high profile suicide: A 26 year old whose last name was synonymous with Dallas pizza. What in the heck is going on out there?
• I guess we'll start seeing plants bloom in about 30 to 40 days. That said, the next 30 to 40 days are the most depressing days of the year.
• Yeah, I didn't do The Spin this week, and I'm thinking about discontinuing it. Other than upsetting a grumpy "Cold War Veteran", it really serves no purpose.
• It was National Signing Day yesterday. It's also the day where the phrase, "We had one of our best classes ever" is uttered every five seconds across the nation.
• Has Wise County ever had a football player sign with a Big 12 school? I know we've had SMU and TCU signings, but what about one of the big ones? Edit: I always forget about Billy Joe Tolliver (Texas Tech.)
• I would have hated to have been offered a scholarship to some spare school like Southeastern Baptist Oklahoma (made up name.) Do you turn down a free ride to a place you don't want to go to?
• There was a news out of San Antonio yesterday of a mother stabbing to death her two very young children (1 and 3) and then calling the cops on herself. After the rash of mothers-gone-crazy stories over the years, does that story not even warrant headlines anymore?

Rainy Afternoon Pick Me Up

She's somebody famous, but I forgot her name.

"Stab Victim Didn't Feel Blade"

Ok, I normally stick to Wise County news with a reference to the metroplex if things around here get to be too boring (which is often.) And I never post stories from other countries because, being a good American, I don't recognize so-called "foreign nations." But I've got to make an exception, because this story is about to be seen everywhere. The story goes that that this gal from Moscow, who has potential for a "Hey, Now" if she didn't have a knife sticking out of her otherwise sultry back, was mugged but didn't realize the extent of her injury. I'm as skeptical as the next guy, but I'm not going to sit back and have everyone else post this story like they were the first one to find it. Nope. You read it here first. Unless you've seen it already.

Messenger Limiting Online Articles?

So I was reading some riveting story online at the Messenger's site about a bunch of Newark folks rioting or something about access to a boat ramp. Just when the story was getting good and I'm about to find out whether the boy really does get the girl, my eyes smash into that red banner that tells me I've got to subscribe to find out what happened. Is this a new policy? Or has it always been there.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Is the recession finally breaking?: Yesterday GM, Ford, and locally based D.R. Horton reported last quarter profits for the first time in a long time.
• On at least three occasions over the years I've heard radio talk show hosts refer to Jay Novacek as being less than pleasant off the field. But I've heard none of that over the last couple of days. Maybe he's a good guy after all.
• House fires are disturbing to watch. It makes you feel like you are at a funeral.
• Watched some of Lost last night. I've got friends that love it, but I think that show is downright silly.
• I've got an episode of Modern Family recorded. Gonna give it a try.
• Who would have thought Rick Perry would be trouncing Kay Bailey like he is doing?
• A group of musicians re-recorded We Are The World to benefit Haiti? Why make the rest of us suffer through that song again?
• 10 Sexiest Super Bowl Commercials of all time.
• While you were sleeping: 20 killed in Iraq. Let freedom reign. (I know I harp on this all the time, but I was in the minority in the very beginning thinking the Iraqi war was a huge mistake.)
• I've got a very close friend whose wife was diagnosed with breast cancer last month. And the initial diagnosis and treatment sounds excruciating -- mentally and physically. It's difficult to come up with the right words of comfort.

Decatur house fire in progress - South Lane Street

Edit: If I don't get an Emmy for this news footage, there is no justice in this world.

Hunger In America

For a reason bordering on insanity, I normally have Rush Limbaugh on in the background in my office. Did you know that he just said, "The Democrats are trying to destroy America!" Really. I was shock. Absolutely shocked. Anyway, that's not the point of this post. When the news came on at the top of the hour, I heard a story about a new study on Hunger in America where a lady, in a sound bite, said "One in 8 Americans now suffers from hunger." Whoa. I'm not sure I believe that. I can believe that 5 out of 8 Americans suffer from obesity, but I don't know about 1 out of 5 starving. That just sounds crazy. Even for a liberal weenie like me. (I tried to Google the source of the study and the best I can come up with is this story that says 37 million Americans needed emergency food last year. That would be about 1 in 10 Americans which still sounds high.)

Pink At The Grammy's

In case you missed it, she floated about the crowd in a body suit like they do in those fancy Cirque Du Soleil shows in Vegas. And that girl was up there.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• For some reason I dreamed/dreamt last night that I was running away from a date through a forest on a college campus. And I mean I was hauling arse like that guy in Apocalypto. And, in reality, I only went out with her once during my junior year in college.
• But I showed up for our date in a robe. Not a Hugh Hefner robe. Just an old bath robe. I have no idea.
• I blew through the TIVO'd Grammy's last night. Pink is hot in a trashy way (and has no fear), I don't know what I think about Lady Gaga, the Black Eyed Peas are freaks you can't take your eyes off of, Stevie Nicks still has it, and I'm embarrassingly unfamiliar with Zac Brown.
• The actual Ground Hog celebration beats me down. The Ground Hog movie does not.
• I should have mentioned that Baylor's men's basketball be the Empire on Saturday in overtime. I slept through it. Basketball just doesn't do it for me.
• I think it would be tough on a kid to raise a steer for the Stock Show only to know it's going to the slaughter house. That would have freaked me out. Heck, it would freak me out now.
• Somebody in Katy, TX won $144 million from the Texas lottery. I deserved that.
• Why in the world would you kill yourself in your mother's house? (Jay Novacek wife story)
• Had someone tell me yesterday that I'm old enough to go crazy now. "If you had done it in your thirties, everyone would think you were weird. Now you'd just be eccentric." Good point.
• If Liberally Lean readers invaded the old "People to People" swap-your-stuff local radio show it would be like this. (Language warning.)

Oscar Nominations Just Announced

White Woman Rescues Black Man Because He Can't Rescue Himself

Best Picture Nominations announced this morning. There are 10 of them this year.

• "Avatar" - Need to see it
• "The Hurt Locker" - Want to see it
• "Up in the Air" - Not sure what the big deal is
• "The Blind Side" - Have no desire to see it. A new Texas Monthly article, not online, explained why.
• "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" - Probably not bad
• "District 9" - No desire to see it but I've heard good things
• "Up" - I bet this is pretty good
• "A Serious Man" - I can't even remember hearing about this one
• "Inglourious Basterds" - Not bad. Not bad at all.
• "An Education" - What?

Wow

I always heard this guy was a jerk off the field, but no one deserves that. Link. (Although it has basically no information.) Edit @ 5:05 pm: Some reports are saying "suicide" by gun fire. Oh, my.

Monday Afternoon Pick Me Up

UIL Gerrymandering Time

Class 3A Football and Basketball District 7-3A Bridgeport Decatur Fort Worth Castleberry Lake Worth Mineral Wells

[Isn't that odd to have just five district teams? Or maybe that's always true.]

Class 2A Football Division I 2A District 5-2A Boyd Callisburg Howe Paradise Ponder Pottsboro

More.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• The killings in Juarez went to a shocking level over the weekend. And I do mean shocking.
• And in other uplifting news, 41 died in Iraq while you were sleeping. Sheesh. It wasn't this bad when Saddam was in power.
• I had a surprise not-really-your-birthday party this weekend. Good times. I don't spend enough time with friends. (But did we really debate the age of Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates?)
• Former football color commentator Pat Brookshier died over the weekend. Before John Madden, he was Pat Summerall's right hand man. And us old timers can remember both of them hosting the hour long program "This Week in the NFL" at a time when it was next to impossible to see NFL highlights.
• ESPN's Winter X-Games, which will probably be more popular than the Olympics in 50 years, can be mildly entertaining. At least the crashes can be. That snowboarder that looks like Carrot Top really smashed his face this weekend.
• I TIVO'd the Grammys but haven't watched them yet. But it sounds like I can look at a picture of Beyonce and Taylor Swift and pretty much get the idea.
• The governor debate on Friday evening was pretty entertaining. But it was tense when the panel began asking Jeopardy-like questions to the three candidates. (i.e. Who was the first governor of Texas? What is the average salary of a Texas teacher?)
• And Kay Bailey Hutchison pretending to be pro-life while supporting Roe v. Wade is just silly.
• As is Rick Perry pretending to be tough on border security but supporting same tuition rates for illegal immigrants to attend Texas colleges.
• Is there anything more confusing than waking up from a weekend nap and momentarily thinking you've overslept on Monday?
• Jarhead is going underground again. (Although we really haven't heard much from him lately.)
• Avatar won the box office again for the weekend. Sheesh. I'm going to have to see it.
• I've always considered Joe Montana the greatest quarterback ever, but I think Peyton Manning has overtaken him.
• For some reason, I don't consider the Lord of the Rings series or Harry Potter series to be "movies" at all. And I really don't have an explanation for that at all.
• Over the weekend Miss America was crowned. She wasn't from Texas. And she wasn't white.
• On ESPN last night, one of the hosts issued the line "Barney Rubble! What an actor!" I wonder how many people got the movie reference?