If you stopped by this website during my sabbatical you would have noticed I took the entire thing down except for a simple page that said I “Gone Fishing’. One reason I took the whole thing down was the number of spam comments I was getting, and I thought if I took it down for over a month perhaps the spambots would go elsewhere. I’ve only been back one day, but there’s been a very significant difference.
During my spring cleaning days I decided to throw away some old newspapers I thought would increase in value. For instance, I had a Star-Telegram with the Magic Johnson story on the front page. If that paper was the LA Times, it might be worth keeping, but there’s no need to keep a Star-Telegram edition. I did keep the Dallas Morning News editions of all the Cowboys Super Bowl victories in the 90’s. Too bad I won’t live to see another one of those covers.
Tempting picture of the Day: The swollen face of a baseball player after being hit in the face with a 90 mph fastball.
I like the our Major League Baseball club name, the Texas Rangers, but I do admit I get annoyed when I see or hear “Rangers” and it’s the NHL franchise. I also learned that when it comes to local news stories, I sometime have to do a double take because when I thought the story was referring to the baseball club, it was the actual law enforcement agency. All that came to mind when I saw this CNN headline: Ex-Ranger: I may have killed Pat Tillman. My first thought was, I always knew there was something suspicious about that Geno Petralli, despite his good-guy image. Believe it or not, but there’s even a Fake Geno Petralli Twitter account which references his Dr. Pepper delivery man days.
The actor that plays the old man advertising executive that replaced Don Draper use to be a stand-up comedian. Here’s his first appearance on Letterman.
When the wife and the kids were visiting their grandparents last week I hung out with a friend who goes to trivia events held at local restaurants. Heck, he and his regular teammates actually compete in tournaments across the state. That night it was just us two and we were competing against eight or nine teams, most had more than just two members, some were as big as eight. We ended up getting second place and winning a $25 gift certificate (first place prize was $50) and I have to admit it was really fun. We probably would have won if we felt more confident in our answer for the final bonus question which was: From oldest to youngest, put the following drafts in order – MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL. I’ll leave it up to you to find the answer.
I’m spending this week contacting people who’ve meant a great deal to me but I simply haven’t kept touch. The first person I contacted was a neighbor in Mineral Wells who actually served with my father. If you looked up the biblical definition of ‘servant’ his picture would be next to it. When he was 49 he had a massive heart attack which resulted in quadrupedal bypass surgery. He was told that he could expect to live another eight to ten years, but today he is now 82-years old. I think of him every Halloween because instead of candy, he gave out dimes, and if you actually knew him, he’d also sneak you a dollar. When asked if he still carries on the tradition, he said “You’re darn tooting.” When DadGeeding died and I had to go back to college, and as tough as that was, it was comforting to know he was just a few houses down to watch over a newly widowed single parent with an 11-year-old girl. It was nice to hear that the neighborhood hasn’t changed all that much other than a three story apartment building was being put up near by, one that would block my view of the Baker Hotel from my street. He did say one neighbor broke a hip mowing her lawn, but after surgery and rehab she’s back to mowing again. Unfortunately he is also recovering from a broken hip, but his heart isn’t strong enough for surgery to be an option.
Speaking of dimes, and I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but DadGeeding grew up in the Depression and FDR was his favorite president. With FDR being on the dime, Dad never spent a single one, he instead saved them in a piggy bank which overflowed through the years. I’ve carried on the tradition.
The other day at church I heard a woman describe how Pharrell Williams song ‘Happy‘ is a very terrible song because when one looks at it from a Christian perspective it has nothing to do with happiness, and she went on to say how she and a companion were playfully trying to put Christian lyrics to the song. It just so happened the song came on the radio on my ride home and I listened intently to the lyrics, and I think one could reasonably argue the lyrics could be interpreted as very Christian. For instance, “Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth.” I’m not saying it is a Christian song, but I think some folks just need to tap the breaks a little bit.
When I first saw Lt Gov David Dewhurst’s commercial aimed at Dan Patrick changing his name to hide from bankruptcy, I thought it was pretty damning. PolitiFact rates it as “PANTS ON FIRE – The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim.”
A drone quadcopter flew into a fireworks show. The footage isn’t as good as I thought it would be.
When JFK made his speech about sending a man to the moon and returning him safely to Earth speech, an Englishman sought out a bookie and made a wager at 1,000-1 odds in favor of a successful mission.
I hereby surrender my crown as King of the Obscure Reference to your pastor. I haven't done bar trivia in nearly a decade because a) I rarely go to bars anymore and b) none of the bars around here have it. But I used to be smarter than the average bear at it.
I shall refrain from commenting on Patrick/Dewhurst. If I can't say anything positive, I'll say nothing at all and I can't say a danged thing positive about either of those two.
RE: Pharrell's song. There are PLENTY of truly terrible songs out there to focus on instead of this harmless, fun earworm of a tune. I am always astounded in fellow Christians who feel the need to co-opt and/or sanitize popular culture in music, movies, t-shirts, etc. The resultant attempts are always so forced and LAME.
I hereby surrender my crown as King of the Obscure Reference to your pastor. I haven't done bar trivia in nearly a decade because a) I rarely go to bars anymore and b) none of the bars around here have it. But I used to be smarter than the average bear at it.
I shall refrain from commenting on Patrick/Dewhurst. If I can't say anything positive, I'll say nothing at all and I can't say a danged thing positive about either of those two.
whew! I had hoped you were on sabbatical or gave up the blog for lent. Glad to see Bag Of Nothing lives on!
-Your longtime reader in ATL
Do you have any dimes from 64 and earlier? Those would be 90% silver.
Mr. Kotter!!!….Mr. Kotter!!! Pick me!!! Pick me!!! I know the draft order answer.
Double Fake Arnold Horshack
RE: Pharrell's song. There are PLENTY of truly terrible songs out there to focus on instead of this harmless, fun earworm of a tune. I am always astounded in fellow Christians who feel the need to co-opt and/or sanitize popular culture in music, movies, t-shirts, etc. The resultant attempts are always so forced and LAME.