Your First Bag of Nothing of 2025

  • I’ve known one of my closest friends since he moved here in the eight grade and we attended college together. Like his father, he went into the ministry. I had concerns over that because I thought he lack compassion. It was definitely lacking in our relationship. I happy to report the man has grown by leaps and bounds, and I’m so proud of him. He was part of the group of friends going to Cosm to watch the Fiesta Bowl to honor another friend’s accomplishment of earning his MBA from LSU last month. This friend who I thought lacked any compassion has certainly been there for me for the roughest three or four year patch of my life. But this time he surprised me with a Christmas present. I don’t he he’s ever given me a present before. I was pleasantly surprised at how thoughtful of a gift it was. It was this U2 coffee mug with all their albums on a shelf. I think he said it popped up in an advertisement and he thought I’d like it. I used think he was disappointed in me for loving the band because they were faux-Christians, for lack of a better word. I felt a sense of judgement anytime I spoke of them or Bono. All that to say, I was impressed with this thoughtful gift and feel there’s some significance behind it.
  • We are now a quarter of a way into this millennium. That’s a lot of progress from my birth year of 1975. Just reaching the year 2000 felt like a significant milestone. In some ways, the year 2000, a major non-event, by the way, feels like it was just yesterday, but in a weird sort of way, it feels like eons ago as well.
  • It sure has been fun following the Texas Longhorn football team this season. I thought they were going to blow it yesterday, but they won in overtime against Arizona State at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Their next game will be a good one against The Ohio State University at the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas. These are my two favorite football teams, so it will feel a bit weird. But I’m a Longhorn at heart. Depending on how you look at things, I might even be a Longhorn. But I tread lightly because I don’t want to be a poser or steal any valor. I earned a business certificate from the university, taking several classes on the Austin campus. The only reason I think that may qualify me is that during my JFK deep-dive, I ran across this article on the University of Michigan’s website about Marina Oswald, Lee Harvey Oswald’s widow, earning a certificate from the university. They literally call her an “alumna of Michigan.”

  • This major incident seems under-reported – US Treasury says it was hacked by China in ‘major incident’
    • Chinese state-sponsored hackers broke into the US Treasury Department’s systems earlier this month and were able to access employee workstations and some unclassified documents, American officials have said.
  • I thought I’d write about my Cosm experience in case you are interested in checking it out for yourself. They really don’t sell individual tickets; you buy them in pairs or up to eight for a booth and table. Depending on the game, the price will vary. For instance, as of last night, they still haven’t priced their tickets for the College Football Semi-Finals or for the NFL playoffs. They’ll base their price on the popularity of the teams and matchups. I thought the $ 50-a-piece tickets we bought were the best bang for the buck. Here’s a diagram of the venue, and I circled our seats. We knew going into it that our view was going to be slightly obstructed at the top. The table in front of us sat eight and I think it cost $550. Premium seating was right above us on the front row.

    This is what the domed screen looked like from my seat. You’ll notice the view is slightly cut off at the top. The sound was fantastic, maybe a little too loud.

    This is what I saw directly in front of me. I don’t know why I didn’t realize going into it that they intended for it to be an immersive experience as if you are either standing on the sidelines or in the crowd. They will switch from about five different views, and I think I captured all of them in the collage below.

    Every now and then, they would show a reply like this.

    However, looking all the way to the right or left while on the floor level, you’ll see the traditional telecast.

    Again, you can see how our view was slightly obstructed, but it wasn’t bad. But, if you are looking for an immersive experience, it may take away from that. It would have felt more immersive if we were about 10-15 feet closer. If you are curious about what the very top of the dome looks like, here you go. These photos might make it appear that there is a screen and the industrial roof at the top is part of Cosm, but what you are seeing is the bottom of the actual roof of the stadium in Arizona. I don’t think any of my photos show it, but there were empty seats at the corners of the stadium, which surprised me; I thought a big bowl game would sell out of every seat in the venue.

    Directly behind us were some white cushioned seats. Here’s the view from when I sat in them. You miss out on all the action.

    Behind those chairs (visible below) were several large couch sectionals, and this is the view when seated in them. At least there’s a television with the traditional telecast, but you still get a good audio experience with the sounds of the crowd.

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Your Bag of Nothing for Monday, December 30, 2024

  • I’m so thankful Jimmy Carter finally died. The man is no longer suffering and will definitely be remembered with the dignity and grace he deserves, as Biden is still our active commander-in-chief. It won’t happen, but I wish this would open up a civil discussion about end-of-life care—or, to be straightforward, euthanasia. I hated seeing my father suffer in hospice when all we were doing was waiting for him to die, basically by starvation. The last two times we saw Carter was about 13 months ago at his wife’s funeral and in early October to witness a flyby on his 100th birthday. He looked to be in terrible shape, and I fear he was suffering. He wouldn’t be the type to end his life early, but IMO, he and others should have had the opportunity once they reached the deteriorating end of hospice. There’s no reason for him to suffer for so long after his wife’s funeral, which he was barely able to attend. The stark reality of hospice is waiting for the patient to lose their appetite and starve to death. But I’d like to add something I recently learned from a hospice worker. Dying is a part of human nature, and as the end of life approaches, the body starts the dying process. Their energy needs decrease when they stop regular activities and start sleeping more. As the body slows down to prepare for death, the metabolism slows down and requires less food. The digestive tract is also less active, which means a dying person won’t feel hungry or thirsty.
  • I spent the last week doing a very deep dive into the JFK assassination. I really went down deep in the rabbit hole.
    • It started by binge-watching all eight one-hour episodes of Hulu’s 11.22.63 based on the 2011 Stephen King novel starring James Franco. I give it big thumbs up.
    • Then there was the hour and thirty-two minute special JFK: What The Doctors Saw.
      • This was pretty dang interesting and introduced me to the autopsy conspiracy. It reunited the seven doctors who treated JFK in the Parkland Hospital ER Trauma Room. Absolutely fascinating. It’s here I first learned that what the doctors saw does not match the X-rays or autopsy report. I was well aware of the second-shooter conspiracy theory but wasn’t aware of the one regarding his autopsy until this.
      • The nation witnessed the coffin being unloaded in Washington and into a light-colored ambulance that Jackie and RFK rode in.
      • The official version is that Kennedy’s body was carried into the Bethesda morgue by the Joint Casket Bearer Team at 8:00 p.m. in the heavy, ornamental, bronze casket into which it had been placed at Parkland Hospital. But check out this old Time article:As Technician Jerol F. Custer passed near Mrs. Kennedy in the lobby, he was carrying X-ray films of her husband’s body that had already been taken in the hospital’s morgue. Looking down the lobby from a second-floor balcony, Chief Hospital Corpsman Dennis DavidKnew the bronze casket was empty; about 15 minutes earlier, he had watched a black, unmarked hearse arrive through a gate at the back of the hospital and ordered some sailors to help men in civilian clothes carry a plain gray casket into the morgue.
      • On top of that, Navy corpsman Pat O’conner assisted in the autopsy and said this:

        “I knew he was dead by bullet wounds, but I did not know how massive and ghastly the wounds were,” O’Connor said in the 1981 interview. “The hole in his head was big enough for two hands. The right side of his head had been blown off, and there was no brain in the cranium. Nothing — just a big hole.”

        According to the article, what most disturbed O’Connor after seeing the former president’s body was an unanswered question.

        “If JFK’s remains were intact when they left Dallas’ Parkland Hospital and the brain was gone when the body was wheeled into Bethesda’s mortuary, what happened en route?” wrote Keen.

        Here’s a two-minute video interview.

      • As a matter of fact, JFK’s brain has been missing from the National Archives since 1966.
      • So, one report states Kennedy’s body was carried by a team of sailors into the Bethesda morgue at 6:35 p.m. in an aluminum shipping casket encased in a body bag after being delivered in a black hearse. However, another report states it was carried in by the Joint Casket Bearer Team at 6:55 p.m. in the heavy, ornamental, bronze casket from Dallas and wrapped in white sheets after being delivered in a gray Navy ambulance Jackie and RFK were riding in. So, which is it? This section of a Wiki article might explain it better.
    • Next on the list was another one hour and thirty-two minute special from the Smithsonian Channel: The Day Kennedy Died. Kevin Spacey narrated this one.
    • JFK Unsolved: The Real Conspiracies, which you can watch on YouTube.
    • Rob Reiner’s LBJ starring Woody Harrelson as the title character.
    • Nova’s Cold Case JFK
    • Parkland which had a star-studded cast: Zac Efron, Tom Welling, Colin Hanks, David Harbour, Marcia Gay Harden, Ron Livingston, Billy Bob Thornton, Paul Giamatti
    • Jackie starring Natalie Portman as the former first lady.
    • The three-part National Geographic docuseries JFK: One Day in America.
    • Oliver Stone’s JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass
    • ABC’s 20/20 Jacqueline Kennedy: In Her Own Words.
    • And I haven’t included the numerous articles and YouTube videos I’ve watched. But here’s something I thought might interest you. Parkland started to receive prank calls when JFK was admitted.
      “Most disquieting,” again per Manchester, “was a young boy who called three times, talking to a different operator each time. His approach never varied. ‘I want to talk to my Daddy,’ he would begin plaintively. Asked who his father was, he would say, ‘My Daddy—President Kennedy.’ Then he would giggle and ring off.”[5]
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Your Bag of Nothing for Monday December 23, 2024

  • Denzelle Washington was baptized and presented with a certificate of baptism and a ministry training license in New York yesterday. As for his past religious experience:
    • Washington previously opened up about his faith in a November essay for Esquire, reflecting on how he grew up going to church but after witnessing altar calls and “people being saved,” he “didn’t really know” what was happening when he was young.
  • The whole Congresswoman Kay Granger story is bizarre and shady, and I don’t know where to start.
    • Where is U.S. Rep. Kay Granger? Not ‘missing’ and not ‘in Dementia care’
      • When the news about her first broke, the headlines stated she’s been “missing for six months.” That’s not accurate. She hasn’t cast a vote since July 24 and returned to Washington, D.C., in November for a celebration in her honor.
      • The Dallas Express broke the news. If you aren’t familiar with them, that’s okay; no one really has.“This is a political website, run by political activists, edited by political activists, written by political activists,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram political analyst Bud Kennedy said. “There are not really any journalists involved.” 

        However, it used to be a real weekly newspaper, and what we have here is Republicans attacking a Republican:

      • It brings back into the spotlight the question of how old a government/political leader can serve before stepping down or if there should be cognitive tests for people in these positions. But the thing is, we keep electing them and putting them there. Recent examples include Granger (81), the late Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Mitch McConnell (82), Speaker Pelosi (84), President Biden (82), and I’ll even go as far to say President-Elect Trump (78). You also have Senator Charles Grassley (90) and four other House Representatives over 80.
      • It’s time for Congress to start the conversation, debate, and make legislation on this matter. Granger’s son says she’s in assisted living but not in the dementia unit. But, if you have to live in such a facility and can’t even be on camera to make your own statement, you should have stepped down long ago.
  • I’m not sure if this is a step towards Idiocracy or not –
  • Barred owl takes the spotlight as unexpected Christmas tree topper – The Animal Welfare League of Arlington (VA) says this is a good reminder to keep chimneys capped during the winter 
  • I’m willing to bet that during the next four years, Rumble is going to grow and become as mainstream as YouTube.
  • I’m also willing to bet Walter Goggins’ name will be mainstream over the next four years.
  • At a father and son golf tournament, Tiger Wood’s quarter-Asian son hit his first-ever hole-in-one. Perhaps it’s time I take my quarter-Asian son golfing. You can watch Woods’ reaction here. Which Woods, you may ask? Both!
  • During the day, most healthy people pee about six to eight times – What your peeing frequency can say about your health
  • When Vanderbilt upset Alabama this season, one of the first things their starting quarterback said in an interview was being thankful for NIL for making something like that possible. That quarterback went to court this year in hopes to play another year in college, and won. The college game you once loved is no more. Soon, it will be a normal thing to see a 27 or 28 year-old college player unless they amend some rules.
    • Pavia initially filed a lawsuit in November against the NCAA, arguing that because the governing body counts junior college seasons towards NCAA eligibility and athletes cannot redshirt after they have played four years, NCAA rules violate antitrust law. The former New Mexico State transfer also argued that this forced athletes to miss out on NIL dollars.
  • I haven’t watched the show, but I have seen the viral clip, and Bill Bob Thorton’s character’s reaction annoys me greatly. Even if his teenage daughter’s description of birth control is crass and written for shock value, I don’t understand why the father doesn’t explain to his daughter that she can most definitely still get pregnant. A lot of impressionable teens and young adults will be watching this show, so shame on Taylor Sheridan. As talented a writer as Sheridan is, I predict increasing backlash over the next four years.
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