4.19.2014

Above The Fold

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4.18.2014

Houston Texan Cheerleader Tryouts Taking You Into The Weekend

More.
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Sean Hannity Was Doing a Disney World Promotion




Look at that shirt.

Look at that hat/shirt combo.
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How Much Do You Think These People Were Paid To Hawk A Bad Movie?


And this reminded me of a thought I had about the kid-who-thinks-he-went to heaven who was on Hannity the other day. That segment was so bizarre that it had to be nothing other than a commercial for the movie Heaven Is For Real.  Just a paid promotion disguised as "news".
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35 Years Later . . .




From The Star-Telegram in 1996:

Search continues in case of Hood County woman missing since '79
Author: BILL HANNA; Star-Telegram Writer
Article Text:
Nearly 17 years ago, Helen Holladay disappeared from her weekend home along the shores of Lake Granbury after neighbors reported seeing her in a bloody struggle with her husband, Herman Holladay.

 Since she was last seen Sept. 29, 1979, Hood County residents have speculated that she could have been killed and that her remains could be at the bottom of Lake Granbury in the family's missing 1973 pickup. She was declared dead in 1986. Her husband died a year later. Now, with the help of a Department of Public Safety helicopter and a new tip, investigators hope to find the pickup that may 
be resting at the bottom of the lake. 

 "We have some information about where to look on the lake," said Hood County Sheriff Rodney Jeanis. "It's just a situation we want to take a look at and hope it leads us somewhere."That information, combined with the lake's unusually low level, gives investigators optimism that they may find the truck, Jeanis said. But the first helicopter search Wednesday was unsuccessful.

 "Wouldn't you know it, that's the one day it was too windy to see anything," Jeanis said. "With the lake being down, you can find all kinds of things down there, but you must know where to look. We'll be trying again in the next few days to see what we can see."

 Authorities said Holladay had a fight with her husband before  she vanished. Neighbors told deputies that the attack was so violent that Holladay forced her bleeding hand through a glass window on the door of the family's recreational vehicle and called for help.

 "There have been reports that the lady had fisticuffs back and forth with her husband," Jeanis said. "That could have played a part in all of this and that's something we would like to know."

 Holladay, who was 45 when she disappeared, never used her credit cards or cashed a paycheck in her purse after her disappearance, authorities said. Investigators also checked her social security number and determined that it had not been used since she was reported missing.

 The search is being focused on Whippoorwill Bay, where Holladay's weekend residence was located, Jeanis said. "We have a pretty specific area to search," he said. "Of course, currents can shift things and it could have moved over time. But that's the nature of these types of cases, you hit a lot snags and dead-ends but you keep trying."
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Easter Bunny Friday



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Random Friday Morning Thoughs


  • There was an avalanche of news yesterday that "Jews were required to register in the Ukraine." I'd tap the brakes on that. There is the possibility it was just one guy with a printer handing out leaflets. (At least that's what my international sources tell me.)
  • DPS released a "Gang Assessment Threat" yesterday and named Tango Blast the #1 gang in Texas. Sound familiar? This is the exact same news I wrote about last year at this time. 
  • The TV ratings came in and the Mavs beat the Rangers two nights ago, barely, 3.6 to 2.9. Wheel of Fortune, by the way, came in at 7.2.
  • Mrs. LL bought a huge Buddha art piece for the breakfast nook but the thing's head is a cat head. Yep, a cat head. I don't know if the creator was an artist or a guy doing a bit. 
  • Chelsea Clinton is pregnant. You know, for an ugly teenager, she's pretty good looking now. (She is now 34 -- wow -- and she and her husband live in a "$10.5 million condominium on Madison Square Park in the Flatiron District of Manhattan." And now you know.)
  • I heard a Zumba class meets a couple of times a month in the courtroom in the Wise County Sheriff's Office. I'm fine with that. It's just kind of funny. 
  • Sports: (1) Hey Baseball Nemesis, how'd Scheppers work out for you yesterday? (2) The TCU QB position just got crowded again with the transfer in of an Aggie. (3) Dirk is great enough to make the Mavs mediocre yet not a lottery team -- the last thing you want to be. Cuban is such a genius. (4) UT has a huge quarterback problem. If David Ash gets a concussion this fall (assuming his broken foot is healed), they'll have to bench him for the year. And Tyrone Swoops is not the answer.  (5) Ticket fans: Here's Corby's mohawk.
  • Breaking: Avalanche on Mount Everest kills 13. (Side note: If you ever get a chance to read John Krakauer's Into Thin Air, do it.)
  • "One Hundred Years of Solitude -- My favorite novel of all time"  - Junior Miller on The Ticket this morning. I feel dumb.
  • Whatever happened to Scotchgard?
  • When I was a kid, my parents took the family to some all night outdoor play in Oklahoma on Easter weekend. It was about the life of Jesus with the resurrection scene timed to occur at sunrise. I just remember thinking, "Adults stay up all night?" (I think I slept through most of it.)
  • Inappropriate school assignment in El Paso. Heck, I just want to find out what happens when Mike gets home!
  • "An Arlington Kroger Manager Was Fired For Body-Slamming a Shoplifter [Video]"




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4.17.2014

And Another - Maryland


Story.

This probably wouldn't even be worthy of  a post but it involved (1) an All Boys Catholic School and (2) a very questionable ad placement by the Baltimore Sun:


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Dog Video. Yep, A Dog Video.



Dog, the U.S. Postal System has a poster for you . . .


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Random Photo For Sale On eBay


Link.

Press photo of the wreckage of an airplane crash near Bridgeport in 1958.

The AP story about the crash, which quoted several Bridgeport residents, is here.
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Random Images Of The Day: "Fan" At Ranger Game Last Night

 He's got it turnt up
Forcible face plant forthcoming

Haven't seen a video yet.
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Random Thursday Morning Thoughts



  • A Graham High School Senior girl, who sounds like a heck of an athlete, was killed in a head on crash. 
  • The President and Vice President took a "selfie" yesterday. 
  • Where's Bacon been?
  • I was talking to someone about the Mayfest hail storm the other day. Stunner: That was nineteen years ago. 
  • Another shocking thing I heard on WBAP this morning. Brian Estridge was doing a segment on the number of people working full time in the private sector vs. those who receive some type of government benefits. (Probably based on this article which needs some serious dissecting). Host Hal Jay then said, "You have to blame the government. That's what happens when you feed the monkeys. Or feed the Gorillas -- whatever you want to call it."  No doubt seeing the wide eyes of his co-hosts who were seeing Jay's career flash before their eyes, he stammered, "I mean, we're the monkeys."  
  • The Model In Paradise is surprised to learn that one of her photos is being used to promote a Fort Worth strip club. 
  • Sports: (1) TCU had a quarterback quit the team yesterday which trims the position for incoming Decatur recruit Grayson Muehlstein, (2) Hot sports opinion: I think Gary Patterson is in the middle of the beginning of the end, (3) I'm liking my duel with my baseball nemesis. So far, he has the edge. But I don't think Perez and Ross will keep it up, I don't think Lewis remains healthy, and Harrison and Holland won't contribute much, (4) For Ticket fans, it is amazing that Corby's "the Mavs will win at least 50 games" mohawk bet came down to the last game, in overtime, and to a final shot in the final second, (5) Last night, at the exact same moment, the Mavs were in overtime and the Rangers were in the bottom of the ninth. I'm dying to know the TV ratings. If the Rangers have greater ratings, I'll be very happy. (6) The Mavs are a 120 to 1 odds to win the NBA Championship. This is as good as it will be for the next decade. Maybe longer. 
  • From the Update: "Movement Church in Rhome will hold Operation Easter Egg Drop 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Chisholm Trail Middle School on FM 3433. A helicopter will drop 9,000 eggs in three rounds of age groups." If the kids aren't standing directly under the helicopter which is occupied by a guy yelling "Get some!", they are doing it wrong. 
  • A family member has jury duty in Wise County on Monday and is worried about being picked. I told her, "Just tell them you are related to me and that you pretty much agree with everything I say." She replied, "But then I would be struck by lightning."  (Which is even funnier when you realize that being removed from a jury means you have either been "struck for cause" by the judge  or simply "struck" by one of the lawyers.)
  • Random Wichita Falls article behind a paywall that I wish I could read: "Officer Charlie Eipper killed a man in the line of duty, he was confident that Jesus Christ condoned his use of deadly force." (I then Googled the guy and found out he just wrote a book called "Jesus Christ on Killing". The publisher describes it this way: "Charlie has combined his skills in instruction with his personal experience in killing as a Christian warrior providing him the ability to connect with the reader." Huh?)
  • A Texas Republican political consultant quickly discovered that it was a bad idea to register a PAC named "Boats 'N Hoes."
  • The Dallas Morning News sure is dogging a judge who got beat in the primary. (And it's ironic that all the new dirt was revealed in the discovery process of a defamation lawsuit that he filed. That's why you need to think things through.)



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4.16.2014

Not A Pick Me Up: Remembering April American Tragedies


April 15, 1912 - Sinking of the Titanic which killed 1,514

April 16, 1947 - Explosions at Texas City killed at least 581

April 4, 1968 - Martin Luther King Jr assassinated/

April 19, 1993 - 76 people die in Waco at the Branch Davidian compound.

April 19, 1995 - Oklahoma City bombings killed 168 people.

April 20, 1999 - Two seniors at Columbine High School shot and killed 12 students and one teacher.

April 16, 2007 - A senior at Virginia Tech shot and killed 32 people and hurt 17 others.

April 15, 2013 - Boston Marathon bombing which killed three people and injured over 250 others.

Edit:

April 2, 2014 - Second Fort Hood shooting

April 17, 2014 2013 - West, Texas explosion killed 15.

April 10, 1979 - Wichita Falls tornadoes killed 54.
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Finally, David Dewhurst's First Attack Ad



It's not quite Ted-Cruz-Worked-For-The-Chinese nasty, but it's a good start. But I'm not sure why this lady looks like she's about to cry at the end.
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Very Random Journalism Thought: I Don't Understand This Gal




She's a Senior Editor for Texas Monthly. Senior Editor! The best I can tell, she's a token conservative on the staff, but she says some of the craziest stuff. For example, making divorce harder "makes a lot of sense"?  Really? And she had this gem back in August which didn't exactly require Nostradamus like skills:


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Johnny Football At Ranger Game Last Night




She's been identified: Kyndal Kyaire
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Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts



  • Almost 400 missing in a ferry accident in South Korea.  Picture as it was going down.
  • I want to watch Game of Thrones but I'd have to see 32 episodes to catch up. Worth it? 
  • Blake Beaven pitched against the Rangers last night. I can't find it for the life of me, but on the day he was originally drafted by the Rangers in 2007 he ridiculed Texas' pitching staff and said, and I'm paraphrasing, he could do a better job than any pitcher on the roster. He's pretty much been a bust ever since. 
  • As of this morning, American Eagle is known as Envoy Air. I've flown on American Eagle once and really didn't mind it.
  • Live shot of The Fellowship Country Club Church in Grapevine attempting to set a world record for the largest chalk drawing. After it's finished, I assume they'll return to saving souls. Or raising money. Or doing bits.
  • We probably need to seize on the Bundy Ranch publicity and immediately take over the LBJ Grasslands from the federal government. After all, how dare they take Texas land!!!!
  • The Mavs are in a critical game tonight and the Stars are in a playoff game. I have no interest in either one. And it's not out of the question, and quite probable, that the Rangers game will outdraw both of them in the TV ratings. 
  • We've got some fancy make-one-cup-at-a-time coffee maker in the office, and it looks intimidating. 
  • The direct link to the Update on the Messenger's home page is screwed up. Today's is here. 
  • "The Housing Authority of the City of Decatur will be closed Thursday for training." What's the Housing Authority?
  • "According to a statement from the Academy of Country Music [whoever runs the show], the 50th anniversary edition of the CMA awards show, which will be held at ATT [Cowboys] Stadium next April 19, sold out 70,000 tickets in 18 minutes this morning." Good grief. 
  • I'm hesitant to use the term "pedophile", but the guy sentenced yesterday in Fort Worth earned the title. (And there's a nugget in that link that he admitted yesterday to being the 1970s "Baseball Cap Bandit" in Houston.)
  • This is a first: An "And Another" has escaped from jail. Edit: Oops. Should have read the article. Make that "escapes jail time". 
  • Sports Illustrated put out a casting call to the people of Boston for last Saturday to take a photo for the anniversary of the bombing at the Boston Marathon.  The photo which made it to the cover was just released. 


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4.15.2014

Above The Fold

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Random News Of The Day




Got curious and looked him up. Here's a video of the incident from 2000.  The most amazing thing is that a guy can shoot a trooper and then walk around holding a rifle in front of a bunch of cops and not get gunned down.
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Your Big Story Tonight




Highland Park chase a stolen minivan but then "back off".  Vehicle keeps going and smashes into another car killing a teenager and critically injuring his mom.  Two suspects in the minivan fled on foot and are still on the loose.

Edit:


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That Kid On Hannity



My beef with this segment in Random Thoughts is that no one challenges this cocky kid? Are we supposed to just believe what he says?
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Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • The guy who wanted to kill Jews but instead ended up shooting three non-Jews in Kansas last weekend once ran for the Senate and produced some wild White Power radio commercials. That prompted him to become a guest on the Howard Stern Show. 
  • Did I get up to watch the Blood Moon? Not a chance in the world. Any chance I see a thousand pictures of it today?
  • WFAA announced the "will host a live, on-line roundtable discussion w/ Texas GOP Lt. Gov. candidates @DavidHDewhurst and @DanPatrick on May 7 @ 10:30a.m." Online roundtable? On a Wednesday morning? Will this thing have video? Are we not going to have a live, prime time debate between these two knuckleheads which would be highly entertaining?
  • I learned a little bit about KISS over the last month since they were recently inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame (how ridiculous is that?) but what I've primarily learned is what a tool Gene Simmons is.
  • I'm not the only one "on" to Joel Osteen. The producer of the Mark Davis show researched every post he made on Facebook and Twitter and learned that the last time he mentioned "Jesus" was over one year ago.
  • A lawsuit has been filed by a former waitress against a strip club in north Fort Worth claiming the club should have known that a manager "had a propensity towards violent behavior".  Her lawyer, curiously, doesn't practice personal injury or civil litigation but represents himself to "exclusively" practice criminal defense law.
  • The more I read about this Bundy Ranch case, the more I'm stunned that the Right, who supports "The Rule Of Law", is on his side. The guy blatantly disregards court orders.
  • I couldn't believe what I was seeing last night when Sean Hannity interviewed the kid who is the basis of the book and film Heaven Is For Real. I had never heard the story, but the kid, age 15, described how he "died" when he was age four and then saw God and actually talked with Jesus. He was, however, a little sketchy on the details.  You know, Hannity has become a political Joel Osteen. (Side note: The movie amazingly stars Greg Kinnear and Thomas Haden Church.)
  • That shocking US Airways tweet yesterday (look it up but tread lightly) gave rise to some hilarious responses on Twitter. 
  • Hey, where's my nemesis who said the Rangers pitching staff would be fine once everyone gets healthy? Colby Lewis returned to the mound last night and the Rangers lost 7-1.
  • Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel had a show from DFW last night. That might have turned the Fifth Grader in the House into a vegetarian. (The part with the cow head probably did it.)
  • Big news over the weekend when geologists linked fracking to small earthquakes in Ohio.  However, I was all set to tap the brakes and give Dennis Prager credit yesterday when he said that one of the researching geologists was actually married to the founder of an anti-fracking group called Frackfree America. That would be newsworthy. But I looked it up and found that wasn't close to the truth. There was, in fact, a reference to that lady in the story but she's just married to some Youngstown State geologist who simply commented on Ohio's new regulations. There's nothing that said he was a geologist who took part in the study by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Prager. (Said in a Seinfeld "Newman" voice.)
  • Google has bought a drone company. Look out. 
  • Northwest High School has hired Marble Falls' offensive coordinator as its head football coach. The coach at Marble Falls is Todd Dodge. Did they consider him? 
  • You've got to read the first item in the Update as to what happened at the Alvord ISD school board meeting last night. Cue the Benny Hill music. 


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4.14.2014

Southwest Flight Attendant Has A Comedy Routine



I'm not really sure I understand this. The youtube comments are absolutely positive about her, and her on-plane audience is something every comedian would die for.  Just slayin' them.

I, however, had an urge to strangle her.

As a sidenote, looking at all those passengers jammed in there is visual evidence of what a beating flying is these days.

(And I realize that the big Internet air industry news of the day involves USAirways, but I'm not touching that.)
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Homeless and Mentally Disturbed



A scorched door gets you seven years?  Let's keep locking up the poor and the mentally ill. That'll solve all of our problems!
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Greek Mythology Has Always Been His Achilles' Heel

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Better Picture Of The "Open Carry" Advocates At Main Street Arts Festival


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Random Monday Morning Thoughts



  • I've never understood why the Main Streets Art Festival decides to set up in what is a downtown Fort Worth wind tunnel during the windiest month of the year.
  • But, while the weather was still good, some "open carry" activists decided to walk through the crowd. 
  • I'm not sure how I feel about the federal government/rancher standoff in Neveda. It's been settled (for now, at least) because the feds have backed off. But it sure seems like the rancher is in the wrong on this thing. 
  • Sports and sportsy related things: (1) A great job is the "noncompeting marker" -- the member of Augusta Country Club who gets to play with the last place qualifying player when an odd number of players made the cut, (2)  The final round of The Masters went from riveting to boring in about 30 minutes, (2a) Jordan Spieth dates a Texas Tech sorority girl, (3) There's a 30 for 30 on Tuesday about the "Hillsborough disaster" --  a human crush in a soccer stadium in England that resulted in the deaths of 96 people and injuries to 766 others twenty-five years ago tomorrow. I'm in. (4) The Nebraska coach and his cat was a funny story on Saturday, (5) Official Liberally Lean player Chris Davis finally hit a home run this weekend. (6) Ticket Fans: Departed Rich Phillips' name truly was "Dick Hicks". 
  • I ended up getting caught in the rain while jogging yesterday morning. That's happened a couple of times to me, and I always hate it at first but then end up loving it. But I'd never begin a jog in the rain. 
  • I watched the season premier of Mike Judge's Silicon Valley on HBO. It wasn't as funny as I thought it would be, but it has promise. 
  • What's up with Best Buy? It used to be that you couldn't find a salesman in there to save your life. Now they are everywhere but are hell bent on trying to sell you something you don't want. I had one get visually put out with me when I didn't want to hear his pitch to upgrade a laptop purchase. But the craziest experience was being approached by some independant contractor Best Buy had allowed in the store who asked me if I was "happy with my cable service". Really? You'll let your customers be harassed by some Dish or DirecTV salesperson? 
  • "Despite their best intentions when they set out to conquer a seven-day, 150-plus-mile [foot] race through a North African desert, a Colleyville trio dropped out after the 21-mile first leg." Who would have thunk it? A family from Colleyville couldn't accomplish that? (And the story screams of "Rich People Problems.")
  • "Utah mother, 39, arrested after 7 dead babies found at former home."  The odds are great that we'll get a comment about abortion. 
  • There were about four big cardboard boxes stacked up in the garage so I decided to be productive and whipped out my man sized box cutter and reduced them to pieces small enough to go into the recycle bin.  Then Mrs. LL tells me she was saving them for a specific purpose. 
  • A teenage girl learned not to make Al Qaida jokes to American Airlines on Twitter.
  • That "I'm Not Impressed" Olympian looks like she could be the next Lindsay Lohan. 




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4.13.2014

Pete Delkus And Wise County: The Two Mixed Like Never Before


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