Saturday Insanity

Above The Fold

Cats Taking You Into The Weekend

9,000 Fallen Soldiers Etched into the Sand on Normandy Beach to Commemorate Peace Day

It's from last year, but pretty amazing.

Deer vs. Dog

Face it, those two just had more fun in two minutes than the rest of us have had all week.

(P.S. I could have done without the music.)

Random Smoothness

New Cover Of Dave Campbell's Texas Football

The magazine that sells a million copies by printing a million high school kids' names. As proof, here's a flashback to a post I did a few years back of the 1978 edition with excerpts about the Decatur and Bridgeport teams.

(For Baylor fans, here's a link to the background behind the cover shoot.)

And Another - North Carolina

Story. The book-in photo does her no justice.

And although not a teacher, this next one (link fixed) just got disqualified from the Mother Of The Year competition:

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I watched part of The Sixties series currently running on CNN. Not bad. One interesting advertising bit was that Allstate ran a commercial from the 60s in a commercial break completely unedited. 
• There was a scene of JFK giving a commencement speech at American University after the Cuban Missile Crisis which made me wonder why I never hear about American University. 
• One of the little considered aspect of this Bergdahl story is that the Taliban kept their word to release him. 
• The author of the big Fox News report about Bergdahl was on the crazy Mark Levin radio show yesterday and was incredibly reasonable. He said there were still a lot of questions as to why Bergdahl left the base and pointed out that it cannot be ruled out the that the soldier fell victim to the Stockholm Syndrome while in captivity.
• The Feds went after the Gas Pipe for selling their own home brewed K2, but it comes across of more of a money grab with all the property and bank account seizures.
• How does the a/c go out in San Antonio during the NBA finals last night? They just have one unit in that place? (Before the Speaks Volumes guy jumps me, that's a joke.)
• And in the first weekend of football season, high school and college teams will be playing and practicing in 100+ temps.
• In case you missed it, LeBron had to be carried to the bench because of cramps. That gave rise to the running joke of people "LeBroning" last night. 
• "For not being a people person, I deal with a lot of people." - Me to Mrs. LL last night.
• I left early yesterday morning and kissed Mrs. LL goodbye as she was still sleeping. She then said, "I don't want to go to school." I thought she was doing a bit. I later learned she was dreaming.
• The DirecTV "puppet wife" ad is bizarre.
• When President Obama took office, the stock market was at 7,949. Yesterday it closed at 16,870. That is simply phenomenal.  Oh, and the unemployment number was just released and it remains at a healthy 6.3%.
• I don't think all drugs should have been legalized, but pot and ecstasy need to be. Meth does not. Cocaine probably. Heroin probably not. (Ticket Fans: Gordon Keith said this week that X at least needs to be medically available for cancer patients, and, not jokingly, couples therapy. Which gave rise to the funny George Dunham line of: "What are they going to do then? Dance together?")
• You know it was a slow news day yesterday when the Update leads with a weather forecast for Sunday when there is just a 60% chance for rain.
•  "A North Texas husband and wife have died when their vehicles collided head-on near where both work." (Via BagOfNothing) That was just totally accidental?
• It's not a significant opinion, but the Fort Worth Court of Appeals examined yesterday whether a Wise County deputy adequately informed a defendant of his Miranda rights. 
• The Now-Ex-5th-Grader-In-The-House asked me yesterday what D-Day was. I think I did a pretty good job of explaining it. Then she asked me what "D-Day stood for." I've got to admit, that through threw me for a loop.

Someone Threatened Fossil Ridge High School In Keller This Morning On Twitter

And cc'd the cops.

There Was A Huge Crisis At UT (For A Day)

HuffPo - A sign was placed in the hallways at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Nursing stating that short skirts, low-rise pants and low-cut shirts revealing cleavage were all prohibited.

The sign made it’s way up on bulletin boards at the UT Austin campus Tuesday evening, but were taken down by mid-to-late morning Wednesday, University Communications Director J.B. Bird told The Huffington Post.

The sign read “Revealing clothing MUST NOT be worn while in the School of Nursing Building. It distracts from the learning environment.”

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Gayle Timmerman issued a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying “The wording of the signs made it sound as though we were worried about women’s clothing as a distraction in the learning environment. This is not the case.”

“We’re not in the business of measuring skirt lengths,” Timmerman said. “We are in the business of educating a new generation of nurses.”

Bird said the associate deans at the school were surprised to see them, and that it is by no means a representation of the school’s policy. It was something put up by a part-time employee who, Bird theorized, had good intentions but ultimately struck a nerve.

Great Moments In Islamophobia

“[I]t is Robert Bergdahl, the father, who is also engendering some controversy. He has learned to speak Pashto, the language of the Taliban, and looks like a Muslim. He is also somewhat sympathetic to Islam, actually thanking Allah right in front of the president.” - Fox News' Bill O'Reilly on Monday.

"When the story first broke it's like, 'Yeah, but we've got to support his family's desire to have their son back'. The hell I do. His dad is an Islamic sympathizer. And I'm sorry, I have no more use for him than I do for his son." - Mark Davis on 660AM The Answer on Wednesday.

Oh, This Will Certainly Work Out

At Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, where Iraq is about to take delivery of first F-16 fighter jet. Enemy now customer pic.twitter.com/I8G8shXrVz
— Steve Kaskovich (@stevekasko) June 5, 2014

And it's the first of thirty-six they have bought -- probably with money we gave them.

Thousands of dead American soldiers. Countless more injured and suffering from PTSD. And Lockheed Martin gets rich.

We'll end up shooting them all down in another war before it is all said and done.

The "Give It All You Got" Baby Goat

Kind of cheered up my morning.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• It's so weird that the Right Wing absolutely refuses to give  Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl the benefit of the doubt. He was a twenty year old who left the base and, even though we don't know why, he is automatically a "deserter" and/or guilty of treason? Anyone want to wait for the facts to come out?
• And wasn't it just a couple of years ago when they were jumping all over the President for "leaving Bergdahl behind" and not doing anything?
• And even if he ultimately is found to be a deserter, you still just want to leave him in the hands of the Taliban? Man, this story is definitely Right Wing crack. 
• That was a crazy Senate race in Mississippi. In a three man race, one obscure guy got 1.6% of the vote. Amazingly, neither of the other two Republican candidates cracked 50% (one got 49.5% and the other 48.9%) so they go into a runoff. 
• "George Jung, whose life as a cocaine dealer was brought to the big screen when Johnny Depp portrayed him in Blow, has been released from prison."
• The guy in the Wise County Injury to A Child case received two years in prison yesterday. I watched the victim's testimony and I have two thoughts: (1) If that guy got two years in prison, the pharmacist who slapped George Bailey around in It's A Wonderful Life deserves twenty, and (2) If that's the standard, over half of the parents in Wise County over sixty years old should be in prison. But maybe there's something about the case I don't know yet. 
• Random education fact: Harvard and Columbia have twice as many graduate students as undergraduate students.
• Don Zimmer died yesterday. I'll always remember him for being justifiably thrown to the ground by Pedro Martinez.
• This is the ten year anniversary of Ronald Reagan's death. 
• Donald Sterling will agree to the $2 billion sale of the Clippers without a fight. That's disappointing. 
• Johnny Football was supposed to throw at the first pitch at the Cleveland Indian's game last night but it got rained out. He was there, though, and threw up the "money sign".  He's slowly crawling up my list of People I Love To Hate. 
• Did you see the video of the biker with a GoPro camera on his helmet which captures the moment he gets robbed at gunpoint?

 

And Another - DeSoto

Story.

Internet Star Of The Day Who Is Grossly Underestimating The Internet At This Moment

WARNING: There's a copious amount of racially-charged foul language in this video. Fair warning for those who may be triggered by that.

This is the video of startlingly casual racism that's been making the rounds on the internet in the past 24 hours. According to the uploader (a man going by the handle OYAB), this incident occurred the previous Friday, May 30th. By his account, he started up his car, prompting his stereo to play automatically. That's when this mother decided to go off in front of her children and throw out the hate speech.

I don't know much about this gal other than she better be careful. She took to Twitter this morning and isn't backing down one iota. She thinks it is funny that reporters are calling her for "speaking the truth." I promise you the KKK twitter account (if there is one), doesn't throw out the shocking things she does. And she's been threatened, violently, and she still doesn't care. (She did throw out one apology and then weirdly asked for her critics' "mixed tapes" so she could "promote" them." But that was after she had gone on a rant about all the n-bombs in rap songs so "if they can do it so can I". I think she's baiting them.)

Edit: Late in the day she claimed it was a parody account and the real person in the video. I'm still not so sure. But if it is a parody account, it was a dangerous prank: She caused so much angst that people were posting the real address of the lady in the video -- or worse -- a mistaken address.

Secret Photos Of The President Crushing Weights In Hotel In Poland

More.

Edit: I this doesn't inspire you as much as Rocky Balboa running through the streets of Philadelphia, you ain't 'Merican.

Not Much Info, But That's One Jacked Up Car

@DFWscanner @PHIAirMed My prayers go to Harrison County DPS Trooper involved in the accident this morning #getwell pic.twitter.com/jNpJZS7c1o
— John Neal (@trooperneal) June 4, 2014

Crazy Video With No Context

At first I just thought it was attack dog training with a guy who wasn't paying attention, but the guy who was on the receiving end of Rocket Dog's surprise attack wasn't wearing safety gear. Not sure what is going on here.

(But the other guy's expression at :06 was pretty funny.)

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• We had a wrong way driver on Loop 12 in Irving yesterday and a wrong way driver on 820 and Marine Creek in Fort Worth early this morning.
• I have no idea if the guy is credible, but Fox 4 had a story of an off duty Dallas policeman trying to assist two people trapped in a burning car but, when asking for help from bystanders, many were just recording the event with cellphones. Based upon the photo and video of the aftermath, that guy saw a horrific scene. 
• The Messenger printed four Letters to the Editor today criticizing them for their positive coverage of J.D. Clark. (Ironically, his name is also mentioned in a front page story.)
• I also saw an ad for a gun raffle in Decatur at the Wise County Fairgrounds where 25 guns will be awarded after you spend $50 for a chance to win one.  People in the northeast would freak out about that. 
• The Aggies dismissed two defensive football starters yesterday after marijuana/robbery arrests. And that defense was suspect even before that.
• I heard on the radio that the character of Hector (the old man with the bell) on Breaking Bad was also in Scarface, so I checked him out. I found out that guy has been in everything. (Ticket fans: I actually heard that while listening to an old podcast of Corby talking about how he attended a wedding in Albuquerque at the actual house where the poisoning of the cartel took place at the pool. That would have been cool.)
• I've noticed that over the last two months when I jog or walk around the neighborhood complete strangers now make eye contact and say hi.  I feel like I'm in The Truman Show.
• "Taliban Video Shows the Moment Bowe Bergdahl Was Released". That whole exchange is weird and doesn't make a lot of sense. And the good news for Republicans is that it's easy to understand. I saw someone brilliantly describe the story as Republican crack "and they are going to hit the pipe hard." 
• I always thought Qatar was pronounced "KAY-tar" but I keep hearing "cutter". 
• The Texas GOP Convention in Fort Worth isn't allowing those Open Carry guys inside.
• I watched some of the "child abuse trial" going on in Decatur. It'll be over today and then I'll tell you why I think it was just a little odd. 
• There's a complicated story of an Arlington woman claiming she was cheated out of her share of the royalties for the publication of Fifty Shades of Grey. I was just stunned to see the sentence where Random House has paid out over $95 million in royalties for that silly book. (I've put more effort in writing Random Thoughts and finding Random Thought girls.)
• They've just announced an arrest in the "three women slain" case . . . 

Above The Fold

Fall Of The Day

I'm not sure there has ever been a more laid back moment in the history of video.  The big ol' guy lumbering down the street toppled over like a red wood tree slowly falling in the forest. (Uh, drunk?)  And then we've got the guy who just casually watches the carnage like he sees that a dozen times a day.

Swedish Bachelor Party

Look, I have no idea what I'm seeing here, but there's nothing like a live chicken making an appearance to make this thing a real crowd pleaser.

Random Golf Post

And I post it for only one reason: Isn't there some crazy rule about this? I could have sworn I watched some PGA event a few years back where the same thing happened, but the golfer was charged a stroke for not timely putting the ball (or something). Sounds crazy, but I swear it happened. Unless I'm crazy.

Edit: Nope. Not crazy. Here's the rule and the discussion of how it may/may not have applied here.

What The Heck Is Going On In Fort Worth In The Last 24 Hours?

 And this next headline is a different incident . . .

 And even the family pet died in this . . .

Kids' Guide To The Internet

They referenced this on The Ticket this morning. This thing was made in 1997, contains the worst acting and worst dialogue in the history of ever,  and it's full of gold. (Although I only made it for about four minutes.)

If you do anything, wait for mom's joke which comes after the 3:00 minute mark.

And if you want a flashback, look at the opening screen shot that reads: "Adjust the VCR tracking for the best picture."

Is This Real Life?

A Florida TV station has posted a bizarre and disturbing video that appears to show a county judge berating a public defender in an unbelievably unprofessional manner.

Judge John Murphy apparently grew agitated after public defender Andrew Weinstock refused to waive his client's right to a speedy trial, Florida Today reported. 

"You know, if I had a rock I would throw it at you right now," a voice that WTV.com identifies as Murphy says. "Stop pissing me off. Just sit down."

Then Murphy reportedly said to veteran public defender Andrew Weinstock, "If you want to fight, let's go out back and I'll just beat your ass."

The two men then left the courtroom, but their scuffle can be heard on the video. Source.

I don't know. Something is just weird about this. Then again, if I were a public defender it would be like having your emotions rigged to a hair trigger every day.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• The Dallas Morning News is now $1.50 for weekday editions. I used to buy it every day. I haven't bought one in the last eight years. 
• The median age for viewers of Fox's Bill O'Reilly is now just over 72 years old. Even I find that amazing. 
• I'm really torn over this one soldier for five Taliban members trade. I can't determine if we overpaid (then again, how you can you ever put a price on that?) And It seems odd to negotiate with terrorists which is exactly what happened. But the idiotic and anti-American concept of having prisoners in Guantanamo Bay for over a decade with no trial needs to end. In any event, this will dominate Fox News for the next six months.
• Dennis Prager pronounces Taliban as Talleyban. Figures. 
• It sounded like a mini-explosion in downtown Decatur at 8:12 a.m. this morning. I looked out the window after it happened and saw people walking out of their shops to see what it was. I have no idea.
• Mrs. LL pulled out her middle school yearbook last night and it was bizarre. Back in the day she had outlined some of the pictures in colors to denote who her enemies were. Some of the pictures were completely obliterated with a marker.  Now I'm sleeping with one eye open.
• One of the great horrors on the War on Drugs occurred over the weekend: "Toddler In Coma After Georgia Police Toss Stun Grenade Into His Crib During Drug Raid"
• Picture of a wreck in DFW yesterday -- and U-haul won't be happy. 
• I watched a little bit of Judge Judy for the first time yesterday. I'm not sure she's ever heard of "burden of proof." (Did you know she tapes that show only 52 days a year and CBS pays her $47 million.)
• And during it I saw a commercial for some PI lawyer out of Denton who wants to be the next Texas Hammer. So embarrassing. And what's up with this dramatic picture?
• That tax screwup in the Update is pretty bizarre. What actually happened was that some "large" local business (I'm guessing an oil and gas company) was improperly assessed sales tax on a ton of transactions and appealed to the State for a refund. It was granted. But a portion of that sales tax had already been rebated back to Wise County. Now the State will recoup that money by withholding a portion of future sales tax rebates. 
• Pete Delkus sent out a tweet last night informing us that June through September are the hottest months in Texas. 
• Decatur Police Chief Rex Hoskins referred to the US 287/380 intersection as "Dead Man's Curve" yesterday. I'm not sure I've ever heard of that. 
• The superintendent of Fort Worth ISD resigned last night which means he walks away from "$338,817.60, excluding fringe and health benefits." (It sounds like there was a lot going on behind the scenes.)
• An actual Grammar Nazi exists.
• That strip club south of Fort Worth which posted the "Now Hiring The Class of 2014" sign isn't the same one I proclaimed the Official Strip Club of Liberally Lean, is it? (At the time, there were shootings in and around the club on a monthly basis.)
• Today is the 25th anniversary of Tiananmen Square. I've got the iconic picture of the event hanging in my office. 

You Might Want To Worry About All The DPS Troopers Around That Place

Open carry n Austin on the steps of the cap. #2A #OpenCarry #Guns #Austin #txlege #tcot #Liberty #Freedom #OCTC #Tlot pic.twitter.com/qJsZek4IyW
— Open Carry TC (@OpenCarryTC) June 2, 2014

Random Pic

This is what the #PBRDecatur looks like from the sky! Special thanks to Greatest Generation Aircraft! pic.twitter.com/dEaYUjm0sZ
— JW Hart Bull Riding (@wcchallenger) June 2, 2014

Hey, I heard there was an injury in the "celebrity" "bull" "riding" competition. Anyone?

Edit:

It's s Wise County thing: R county judge nominee @JDClarkTX dislocated shoulder in "celebrity steer riding" /via @BSG pic.twitter.com/BjmiGSoBta
— Bud Kennedy (@BudKennedy) June 2, 2014

Alert For Wise County Truckers!

More.

You're welcome. (Although I'm not sure why they announce it.)

Get Me This Disabled Baby Goat!

Johnny Football In The House

Hey, I really don't care. But when I hear a guy with a country accent outside a Hollywood club say, "Hey, Johnny Football, you got a hot tub in there?", it's worthy of a post.

I'll Always Be A Sucker For The Domino Video

Baby On Board

Story.

We Don't Need No Education

This was a quote from a new Keller ISD board member: "Do you realize because SO FEW voters took the time and responsibility to VOTE in the municipal elections - YOU NOW HAVE A 'MUSLIM' on the City Council!!! What A SHAME!!!!"

And seconds later I came across another nonsensical rant from Dennis Prager who cries wolf about the liberal evils of education from any source other than home schooled. 

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I watched some of Top Gun this weekend while channel surfing. How have I not realized that the dialogue in the movie is beyond awful?
• The Star-Telegram's Mac Engel was on Fox 4 last night, and I am now convinced Mrs. LL is going to run off with him. Gal wouldn't stop staring at the screen and saying, "Hey, now."
• We went to the batting cages on Friday, but I just went for the putting green that was right by it. I don't know why it was so funny to me, but Mrs. LL asked me "How was your putting?" as we were leaving.
• We then let the Sophomore in the House drive us home through probably one of the most dangerous traffic areas in the metroplex. I was wearing a seat belt. In the back seat. While having a panic attack.
• Sports oddities: On Saturday, TCU won a 22 inning game, and Baylor's softball team came back from 0-7 in the sixth inning for a win. 
• A really interesting chart on the moral differences between Republicans and Democrats.
• A faithful reader sent me a picture of this sign from a topless club in Burleson. Edit: Link fixed.
• Alice of The Brady Bunch has died. 
• So Donald Sterling's wife tries to sell the Clippers by claiming her husband is "mentally incapacitated" and, we now learn, agreed to "indemnify" the NBA from any lawsuits? Doesn't that pretty much prove the NBA is in cahoots with her in this scheme? The league is setting itself up to be sued into oblivion. 
• I watched part of the induction ceremony of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and my life force was sucked out of me when I saw Peter Gabriel doing choreographed dance moves to In Your Eyes (a song I mentioned a couple of weeks ago as being very spiritual and moving.)  I then saw a song performed by Bonnie Raitt, Emmy Lou Harris, Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow and Carrie Underwood. Carrie Underwood!!!???
• I couldn't tell you anything about NASCAR or hockey. 
• I never thought I'd see the day where J.D. Clark is mentioned more in the Messenger that Andrew Rottner. 
• I have a weird habit of saying "There's nothing wrong with [insert name]" instead of just saying someone is good.
• The first entry today in the Update almost made me insane with the references to, I presume, bull names. 
• We traded three Guantanamo Bay prisoners for a military hostage? Mark Davis said this morning the hostage didn't have "an ounce of honor" in him if he had a choice in that agreement.