5.03.2014

I'm Stealing An Ad Placed In This Weekend's Messenger


Hate the thought of missing puppy dogs.

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Wake Up To Two Incredible Sportsy Plays


NBA: With .09 seconds left, Portland manages to get a shot off to send Houston packing in Game Seven. Video.

College Baseball: In the bottom of the 9th with the score tied and runners at first and second, an Aggie hits a game winner to left to beat LSU. Well, that's what everyone thought was going to happen. Video.


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Above The Fold

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5.02.2014

Oregon State Cheer & Dance Tryouts Taking You Into The Weekend




More.
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Dead Whale News





Everyone is upset because a whale washed ashore in Atlantic City and some frat kid painted his Greek letters on it.  I'm not sure there's a law outlawing the abusing of a whale corpse.

That reminded my that I saw a story earlier this week of a whale which had washed ashore in Canada and the town was afraid it would explode. Explode? Yep, here's a video to prove it can happen (with a great screen shot at the beginning of it):


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Random Sports Confusion


This deals with math, so I'm in a dangerous area. But can both these statements be true?

And Dallas did in fact force a game seven in 1988:

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Random Friday Morning Thoughts


  • Police in Washington state are going to set up a prostitution sting operation and then live tweet the photos of the poor saps that thought they were going to visit a hooker. Such sorriness on the part of the cops. 
  • Every politician in Texas is jumping on the real (or imagined) proposed land grab by the BLM of some Texas property near the Red River. My favorite is carpetbagger George P. Bush who wants you to sign his "petition" to tell the BLM to stop its plan to seize the land. Take a look at that thing. That has one purpose: To create a database of potential voters. Not only does he want your phone number, he wants to know which carrier you use. 
  • The Sophomore in the House thinks Jim Carrey is funny. That disturbs me. (We watched part of The Truman Show last night.)
  • Strictly legal: I may be the only guy in the world yesterday who jogged and listened to the Supreme Court oral arguments in that can-cops-stop-a-guy-based-upon-an-anonymous-tip case.  I'm probably speaking to less than five people, but if you know this area of criminal law, listen to it because it is fantastic. "Counselor, if someone reported that someone was not wearing a seatbelt, can the police make a traffic stop?" "Counselor, if there was an anonymous caller who reported someone working for al qaeda had a nuclear bomb in their trunk and was heading into downtown Los Angeles, can a stop be made?" "If there is a report of someone throwing bombs out of car do the police have to wait to actually see another bomb be thrown before a stop can be made?" One judge told a lawyer that his argument "exhibited consistency but not a lot of common sense."
  • I don't listen to music (as I've said) but I really like John Legend's hits.
  • BagOfNothing.com guy said today that he used to think about suicide daily until he had kids. I'm not sure he realizes how shocking that it is. Or maybe I took it the wrong way. 
  • Which reminded me of a book I read recently about suppressed anger which, shockingly, I probably suffer from. It began with a paragraph of "You may wake up and think" and then described perceptions of life and daily feelings in general. It matched me to a tee. The book then slapped me in the face with the sentence, "It might surprise you to learn that most people don't think and feel that way."
  • Sports: (1) The Cowboys picked up the fifth year option on left tackle Tyron Smith which will cost them over $10 million. That will make him one of the top paid tackles. (2) In the Dirk area, the Mavs have never forced a Game Seven. They are either 0-6 ir 0-5 -- I can't find the exact number. (3) Best picture of Baylor's new stadium. (4) Argyle beat Bridgeport 3-0 last night in the regional baseball playoffs after which Argyle's head coach called it the  "worst game we've played all year."
  • I was reading a USA Today story and it used the term "indefatigable". I had to make sure it was the USA Today. (It means "persisting tirelessly" by the way. I looked it up.)
  • David Dewhurst has another attack ad on Dan Patrick. It isn't bad, but in the runoff, which will certainly have a low turnout, I think the ad will hack off the Tea Party so much that they'll turn out in droves to support Patrick. (The ad shows Patrick with his shirt unbuttoned which makes him look like he was at a drunken party. It was actually at a charity event for children where he was auctioning "the shirt off his back".) 
  • I received a comment overnight taking me to task about not mentioning Benghazi. In case you can't find it, he wanted me to know that the "head negro in charge has been lying to us." Uh, thank you for reading Mr. Sterling. 
  • The Dallas Morning News looks like a tabloid today. The guy didn't die, but was pardoned by the victim's mom at the last second. I skimmed the story -- the fact that she probably received $35,000 for her mercy makes this less than touching. 
  • Edit for late news: Wordkyle, U.S. unemployment rate plummeted to 6.3%.

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5.01.2014

A Little Florida Police Brutality For Your Thursday Afternoon


Story and video. The reporter mentions that it "hurts to watch" the incident. This guy agrees . . .


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Can We Trust Pete On This?


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The Guy Is Smooth



Evacuating a wildfire, shirtless, and carrying a dog. Perfect time to ask a reporter out. The guy is 100% Los Angeles swag.

And, he's right. She is "really pretty." (But she used to be a fill in host for Fox and Friends so I'm conflicted.)


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Momma Giving It The What For. Ends Up Giving The What For To The Kid.



Maybe the kid thought momma was going to hurt herself.
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Random Thursday Morning Thoughts


  • I always mention motorcycle deaths and DPS had a press release yesterday which had some stats: "In 2013, 494 people died on Texas roadways while riding motorcycles and scooters, representing a five percent increase from the previous year. However, those deaths accounted for approximately 15 percent of all traffic deaths in the state last year."
  • The family members of those killed in the other car in the Terri Johnson wreck were on Fox 4 last night.  And after a local public outcry, a fund has finally been set up for the surviving four year old at North Texas Bank in Decatur.
  • Sports talk radio finally came to the realization yesterday that the NBA might have moved too quickly in crucifying Donald Sterling. 
  • And the Sterling case gets juicy if the NBA owners (or three-fourths of them to be precise) vote to force him to sell the team as the NBA Commissioner has urged. The only possible NBA Constitutional provision allowing for a forced sale they can rely upon reads that another owner has failed or refused "to fulfill its contractual obligations to the Association, its Members, Players, or any other third party in such a way as to affect the Association or its Members adversely." Sterling hasn't done that so they best tread lightly. (And what if the owners realize this, get scared off from holding a vote, and we have a player/public revolt against the NBA for not forcing Sterling to sell?)
  • Mrs. LL did a fantastic job on the painting project. I told her that she worked harder in those four days than at any point in the last four years. (I didn't get the happy reaction I was expecting. I probably need to learn to communicate with her better.)
  • I'm always on the lookout for news stories that are actually paid ads, and I spotted one yesterday. The AP had a long release yesterday about Walmart now offering auto insurance. If you read it, it doesn't have one negative or objectively critical comment about Walmart and the story even prints the website and phone number where you can sign up.  That's a paid ad, right?
  • The whole state is under construction: Today the massive expansion of I-35 from downtown Fort Worth north to 820 begins. 
  • A guy showed up last night at the Rangers game with a Johnny Manziel Cowboy's jersey. 
  • Speaking of, my Ranger nemesis has to be getting nervous about, as I predicted, a pitching staff meltdown. Last night Robbie Ross lasted  3 1/3 innings and gave up 6 earned runs. (Fellow baseball expert Gerry Fraley referred to the rotation this morning as being in "tatters.")
  • There's an interesting murder trial going on in Fort Worth where a "good Samaritan" was shot in Arlington. During opening statements yesterday, the defense lawyer, some guy named Zeke Tyson, told the jury that the victim had drugs in his system. That shut things down. First, even if true, that's probably not admissible. And prosecutor Jack Strickland told the court that the statement isn't true. Tyson either has a plan I don't understand or doesn't have a clue about certain rules of evidence.
  • I learned you can't store paint in a hot attic. (And how come water based paint will wash right off your hands or floor, but it'll stain your clothes forever?)
  • I completely missed Sarah Palin at the NRA Convention. Speaking of our "enemies", she said "If I were in charge, they would know that waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists.” Good lord. 
  • While the Republicans feud like the Hatfield and McCoys, the Senate Democrats baited the Republicans into being forced to kill a minimum wage hike yesterday thus creating a campaign talking point for the mid-terms . . . 



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4.30.2014

Viral Video Of The Day





This would be a lot cuter if it hadn't been a pit bull. Despite being playful, I was still worried he was going to rip one of the girls arms off and run around with it.
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Gauntlet. Thrown. Down.




We've got a Messenger reporter who just called out every TV news station in the metroplex.

Hey, and we all know what's coming next. We've got to have news vans rolling to Decatur as we speak . . .


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Heisman Trophy Winner Just Entered Crabgate!


Link.

This news broke thirty minutes ago and the comedy has already started:


Edit: Another funny one.


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Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts


  • That NBA reaction to Sterling came with lynch mob speed. We learned of his remarks on Saturday and the hammer is brought down on Tuesday. Have we ever seen a league reaction like that? 
  • And make no mistake, the NBA is not acting out of social justice. It's about the almighty dollar. They were on the verge of a player revolt and advertisers were backing out at a rapid speed. They saw their empire crumbling.
  • On Monday Mark Cuban says he wasn't sure about punishing Sterling for his private speech because it would be a "slippery slope." Less than 24 hours later he supported the decision to ban Sterling "100%".
  • Now a kid in North Fort Worth has been bitten by a rapid rabid skunk. {Edit: Although he probably was rapid as well.]
  • Hey, Nemesis: Matt Garza Martin Perez [Edit: Dogpile deserved.] gave up 8 hits and 8 earned runs in 4 2/3 innings last night. With Yu Darvish having his shortest start ever the night before, is the landslide finally about to happen?
  • The Sophomore In The House told me last night that I had to wear pink today. Why? She said it was the tenth anniversary of Mean Girls. (I'm afraid I let her down.)
  • I mentioned yesterday a Wise County JP who had been late to set bonds on inmates and within thirty minutes someone commented asking what my point was and that "Nancy Pelosi is a blithering idiot." I'm putting that guy in the Liberally Lean Hall Of Fame For Nonlinear Thinking. 
  • The Terri Johnson tribute video is touching but I'm not sure about the $25 price to buy it or download an HD version. Where does that money go?
  • And yesterday, the Messenger received some Facebook heat for mentioning in the Update that "Friends of the Johnson family have started a fund to hire domestic help to assist Johnson’s husband and sons with cleaning, laundry etc."  
  • Vaguely remember the Texas Tech chess team coach who left the school taking the whole team with her. We learned yesterday that she departed after her demand for $250,000 salary and $150,000 for her husband (also a coach) was rejected. She left and took the team to Webster University in St. Louis which has since won two straight national titles. Checkmate? 
  • Oklahoma screwed up an execution last night where (stay with me here) the inmate died. As crazy as this sounds, it's incompetence like this which will lead to the abolition of the death penalty.
  • Rick Perry was baptized in an "historic creek." I'm trying to confirm that afterwards a voice was heard saying, "This is my Governor; with him even I do not understand the Texas electorate."


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4.29.2014

Above The Fold

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911 Calls In The Terri Johnson Incident

Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com
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Is This Too Harsh?



You say something in private and in your home and that conversation gets illegally recorded and then leaked. You're then fined $2.5 million and "banned" from a team that you own?

Seems to be overkill.

"Boy, that escalated quickly."

But things aren't all bad:

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And The Award For Craziest Story Of The Day/Week/Year Goes To . . .


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Double Take


Mrs. LL pointed this guy out to me who was on the NBC Nightly News last night as a commentator. He's USC law* professor Jody Armour.

I just wanted to post the picture. Haven't seen anything quite like that since Phil Spector:



*Edit: After I wrote this, I became curious what the tuition was for USC Law School. Oh, my. $55,084 a year.  That's insane.
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Let's Do The White Guy Dance


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Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts




  • One story buried in the Fox 4 newscast last night was that a Farmer's Branch boy had been bitten by a rabid skunk. Not just potentially rapid. The thing has tested positive for rabies. Isn't that a big deal? 
  • Got word yesterday that a Justice of the Peace who didn't get to the jail until mid-afternoon to set bonds for inmates who had been arrested the night before. (And, no, it had nothing to do with the Terri Johnson tragedy.) Yeah, I know you don't care about inmates, but there are a bunch of family members who are inconvenienced when someone is six hours late. And Sheriff's Office personnel are inconvenienced as well. This is a continuing problem. 
  • A mass shooting at a Fed Ex building near Atlanta this morning but with a twist. Six were injured but the only one dead is the gunman. 
  • The Supreme Court will hear arguments today whether the cops can search your phone without a warrant. The standard has always been whether an individual has a "reasonable expectation of privacy" in the thing that was searched before the search can be declared illegal. Man, my "reasonable expectations" have dramatically changed over the years when it comes to electronic communications. 
  • Sports: (1) Former Longhorn great Earl Thomas just signed a $40 million extension with the Seahawks with a guaranteed $27.7 million. That's a ton of guaranteed money for the NFL. (2) I've heard "Cowboys expert" Bryan Broaddus a few times on The Fan and he always makes me want to scream because he won't say anything worthwhile. I finally figure out why: He works for DallasCowboys.com which means he works for a media company hired by the Cowboys which pretty much means he works for the Cowboys. (3) Tony Romo and Jason Witten were on the first row of the Mav's game last night catching lots of camera time. Romo has been acting like Johnny Football this off-season. (4) Speaking of, it would be fantastic if the Cowboys were able to land Manziel. I don't care what it costs or how it impacts the team. I'm talking about entertainment. (5) Man, I'm already tired of this Clippers-Owner-is-A-Racist story.
  • "Jury gives Fort Worth man 5 years probation in choking death." That case sounds like a mess, but I'm surprised that the story says the defendant had appealed the case. If he wants the case reversed and an acquittal entered, fine. If he wants a retrial, he's an idiot. 
  • Mrs. LL and I watched a little of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back last night. Man, that cast of characters was an A List then and even moreso now.  
  • HBO had an Ann Richards documentary on last night. I've got it recorded, and it sounds great. 
  • Toyota announced yesterday that it was moving 3,000 jobs to Plano and some are giving Gov. Rick Perry credit since he had gone to California last year to solicit business. Any chance he got word that the Toyota move was imminent so he made the trip to set up a credit grab?
  • Edie Brickell is looking both old and kind of hot . . . 


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4.28.2014

That Was Pretty Intense




Meterologist Matt Laubhan, of WTVA in Tupelo, Mississippi warning his viewers of today's tornado.

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And Another X 2

 Houston.

(Thanks emailer.)

Florida. Edit: Nevermind. I posted Ms. Florida last week. I'm an idiot. Double edit: Maybe not. Second student?
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Random Thing That Bugged Me


Everyone large group needs to have a spokesperson. I've got no problem with that. And this guy is called upon by the media all the time to give a statement on behalf of DPS.  His Saturday evening was spent making statements about the Terri Johnson accident.

What seemed odd to me was the production value that DPS put into his statements. There was a DPS vehicle in the background with it emergency lights providing background ambiance. This wasn't at the scene of the crash. I don't even think he was in Wise County.  The vehicle was intentionally placed there as a prop.

Just seemed a little tricked up for such a sad situation.
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Pete Delkus Is The TMZ Of Weather

Remember last week?:

Yep. He nailed it.

But I want to back track and apologize to TMZ. Even though they may be sensational and over the top, they are generally accurate. Delkus is all of those things without the accuracy.

I've dogged the guy for years because he's like the boy who cried wolf. And at  some point everyone will stop listening to him. The possibility exists that one day he'll scream "Tornado!!!", it will come, and people will die because no one took shelter. Why? Oh, you know, it was just Delkus saying the same old crap.
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Random Monday Morning Thoughts


  • I really didn't deal with Terri Johnson very often, but I did have an extended conversation with her once at a wedding at the old Ruben's Ball Room. I don't easily get drawn into a conversation but she had me rambling on and on in no time. Sweet lady.
  • I saw where JP Mandy Hays was called to pronounce her dead at the scene. If there hadn't been a reason to repeal that archaic Texas law, there is one now. 
  • The LA Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, is in the news for being a racist, but I was struck by what a horrible person the girlfriend was in baiting him into the comments while secretly recording it. 
  • I was surprised that President Obama commented on those remarks, but what he said was pretty good: "When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don’t have to do anything, you just let them talk.”
  • It took forever for the "mainstream media" to run with the story simply because it broke on TMZ.
  • Pope John Paul began a Saint this weekend. One the "miracles" used to grant him Sainthood was the alleged curing of a brain aneurysm of a Costa Rica woman. Uh, she saw him on TV and that's how she was cured. 
  • You want to see a crazy house explosion? This mansion in Illinois is gone. Photo. Story.
  • The Rains County deputy who shot the dog and got fired because of it hired the attorney who often appears on Fox 4 as a commentator. The lawyer decided to have a press conference on Friday afternoon which seems odd for a media savvy guy who should know that no one hears about any news which occurs on Friday afternoon. 
  • Both Girls In The House played in the same softball game on Saturday, but the more curious aspect of the game was the scorekeeper who brought his own PA system. In between innings he would play songs and that's where the comedy came in. As the game went by, they got crazier and crazier. By the third inning he had played The Wobble and Flo Rida's Low.
  • I told a joke in an Ali G voice over the weekend and I've never seen so many confused looks from the Family Unit. 
  • Attorney General Candidate Dan Patrick once called Connie Chung's Eye to Eye program "Slanted Eye to Eye."
  • Mrs. LL played in her own softball game this weekend that had to be cut short when the umpire had a heat stroke and an ambulance had to be called. 
  • We watched Gravity over the weekend. I can only guess that it needed to be seen in 3D on the big screen. I give it a meh.
  • Sports thoughts: (1) Vince Carter's last second game winner against the Spurs was fantastic (I saw it after that fact -- my Mavs ban is still in effect). The Star-Telegram had a great photo of it. It was ruined by Mark Cuban running onto the court immediately after it in another "look at me" moment.  (2) The NBA proves how ridiculous the game is by this travel by Jeremy Lin. (3) Nemesis update: I can't complain about the performance of Ross, Lewis, and Harrison over the weekend. 
  • I watched most of the Hillsborough 30 for 30 documentary over the weekend and had to hit pause at one time as I teared up while a lady explained how she never saw her son again after he walked out the door. I fired off a, "Oh, man. I'm sorry" as I looked at Mrs. LL. She said, "What?" as she looked up from her phone. (But she did finish the kitchen painting project and it looks fantastic.)


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4.27.2014

Wise County Woman Doing Some Snake Wrangling This Weekend

Facebook video. (Not sure if it will work.)
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