Bag of Randomness for Monday, September 18, 2017

  • The Emmys were fun. The Sean Spicer surprise was pretty funny. Alec Baldwin’s first line about how the president finally won an Emmy gave me a good laugh.
  • The school our kids attend has a six-man football team. Being new to the school, we thought we’d take in a game on Friday night. It was the first six-man game I ever attended and it was a bit interesting.
    • The experience brought back an overwhelming amount of memories of growing up in a small town and how big a high school football game was on Friday night.
      • One odd memory I had was the unique smell of the atmosphere of our very old stadium, which I think was built by FDR’s public works program. It was the combination of trees, fresh cut grass, cigars, hot dogs, pickles, popcorn, cheap nachos, frito pies, trash, and who knows what else. It was great.
      • I saw a bunch of kids playing two-below football in an open field next to the stadium. I remember doing that and how hard it was trying to catch a football in the dark, hoping it wouldn’t hit my face.
      • A lot of the fun as a kid was not paying attention to the game but just roaming around. Playing under the bleachers were always fun, especially climbing on them.
      • I was also reminded of long Friday night road trips to watch my brother play. Gosh, I couldn’t stand those trips back then, in particular, riding in the car and having to spend time with my parents. But now, man do I cherish those memories and those conversations. There was something great about knowing my dad was driving and I was as safe as safe could be traveling down long country roads barely making out anything out the back window because it was so dark since those streets aren’t lit. And then there was walking into the house late at night and Skippy barking happily as we finally made it back.
    • Sitting in those bleachers were not good for my back
    • The band was really small, just drums and no horns. They seemed to play constantly. When it came time for the national anthem, it was played by a recording, not from the band. However, the audio for the anthem wasn’t ready when it came time and for about a good two minutes everyone just stood silently with their hands over their heart.
    • The coolest moment had nothing to do with the game but out of nowhere a flock of ducks flew across the field in the v-formation only about 15 to 20 from the ground.
    • I did a lot of observing and thought a lot about what I thought about all of this when I was a teen. When looking at the players, I wondered why I wasn’t more aggressive and wondered why I thought so many eyes were on me when I was mainly on the sidelines. I looked at the student section and saw insecurities, many desperate for attention, overconfidence, and a wealth of potential. I laughed at what I was so scared about. While a lot of what was going on mattered, it didn’t. Maybe being limited physically from what I see others can do and I can’t because of my back pain had me reminiscing too much. I think I threw my youth away. I miss my youth. But now, I try not to take the present for granted and realize how many things I thought mattered simply don’t.
  • I don’t mind how the NFL or the networks will show two screens with one running a commercial and the other with love coverage.
  • Until Saturday, I’ve taken given anyone a six-pack of beer because I don’t drink beer and most of my friends don’t either. However, my neighbor loves his Miller Light and when he sent me a text informing me he just put his dog down, I thought it was warranted. He stresses a lot but internalizes it, but told me when his wife was fighting breast cancer, that dog comforted him more than anyone could imagine.
  • I knew he did a great Mark Twain but had no idea he was still doing it at age 92, and I thought he and Dixie Carter made a great couple. – Hal Holbrook ending 63-year run as Mark Twain
  • But many boys aren’t good projectionists – Boys are better at physics because they learn about ‘projection’ while going to the toilet, researchers say
  • The projector at out church is broken, which isn’t really that big of a thing and made me somewhat long for the days in which we didn’t lean so much on visuals and technology. The biggest “inconvenience” it caused was for the music minister to print out lyrics of songs and lay them on seats. Personally, I would have rather him have us kick it old school and dust off the hymnals still located under each seat.
    • When I was a youth at my church in Mineral Wells, we used to quiz each other what hymn appeared on what page. I’m pretty sure “Love Lifted Me” was on page 454, but I can’t recall any of the others.
  • Bono is coming to Dallas – Bush Center Announces Bono as Inaugural Recipient of Medal for Distinguished Leadership
    • You have no idea how grateful I’d be if someone got me some of the invitation-only tickets.
    • I’m really impressed with the kind of relationship the pair have. Bono was extremely critical of Bush’s father when he was president, but to Bush’s credit, he’s never held a grudge and saw past that.
  • ‘I was just doing my job’: Soviet officer who averted nuclear war dies at age 77
  • I haven’t heard anything about Ted Turner in a while.
  • It was our week at church to help with the offering and pass out the programs or whatever you want to call them. On those days, BoyGeeding wears a bowtie.
  • Hurricane Irma “set the record” for Waffle House closings – The diner is known for being an indicator of how bad a storm can get. The recent hurricane shut down 157 locations.
  • In case you missed it – Texas Lutheran’s Tyler Hopkins has FG blocked only to kick again off bounce for 18-yard FG
  • CBS has a new stat graphic I like.
  • Gillian Anderson looks like she lost a lot of weight
  • High school football trolling

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Bag of Randomness for Friday, September 15, 2017

  • At the young age of 25, Selena Gomez had a kidney transplant due to lupus. Long time readers know MomGeeding suffered from lupus and it destroyed her kidneys. I had to take her to dialysis twice a week and the doctors even used chemotherapy to fight it. It weakened her body severely, but never her sense of determination, especially when it came to doing things without any help or assistance. Sadly, and I should use a better word, but that determination led to her downfall. She tried to make it down the stairs by herself and died from head trauma. All that to say, Selena Gomez made me think of my mom today.
  • I think some of you didn’t understand my Lesley Stahl comment from yesterday’s post. I’m not saying she’s the most attractive older woman, she’s the most attractive 75-year-old woman. I did a quick search for other 75-year-old women and here’s a sampling: Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Anne Rice, Carole King
  • The local news had a story on how new schools are built with certain safety standards not thought of before, like an active shooter. I guess this is the new normal, here are some highlights:
    • The touch of a button can seal off all exterior doors
    • The front doors of the school open into an enclosed glass room, where visitors confront a second set of locked doors. The only way to proceed is through a side door that leads directly into the main office.
    • “We like to provide clear sight lines – straight halls, long halls – not a lot of twisting and turning, where you can’t see. People can’t hide,” explained Todd Spore, PBK’s safety and security expert.
    • Surveillance cameras are also strategically placed. You’ll find more cameras overall and better quality ones, too, capable of capturing a clear picture of everyone entering and exiting. The Wylie ISD also collaborates with local first responders, who can access images from the camera right from patrol vehicles.
  • Speaking of the local news, CBS11 annoyed me with their live coverage of the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue. For some reason, they spent at least 20 minutes covering it live as if it was some sort of car chase. Other news stations streamed it live on their website. Personally, I felt they were enticing violence by trying to stir things up with all the live coverage and encourage people to show up. There simply wasn’t any need for it and could have done a three-minute live spot and moved on.
  • I’ve held my thoughts regarding the removal of statues of Confederate leaders, but now I’m going to slightly dip my toe into it and try not to stir the bee hive too much. I view Robert E. Lee as a traitor, but I give him a bit of a pass because of how instrumental he was when it came to Reconstruction. With that in mind, I can see why a statue of him can be justified. However, all the statues of him I’ve seen have him represented as a Confederate soldier, not in civilian clothes as a peacemaker or unifier. If a statue of him represents his time as a traitor and not a healer, there’s an underlying negative message someone is trying to send.
  • One more gripe about CBS11. When they reported the launch of a North Korean missile over Japan they used a graphic. It was a simple map of the region with a red arrow showing the path of the missile from Pyongyang going over Tokyo. But here’s the thing, the missile was nowhere near Tokyo, which is located in the middle region of Japan. The missile traveled over the far north of Japan. Sure, flying a missile over Japan is a big deal, but it’s a much bigger deal of the missile flew over of the largest populated cities in the world.
  • Not that I want him to do anything drastic, but Trump is being softer on North Korea than I expected, especially when he said that they were “starting to respect us” and then go off firing all these missiles over a foreign ally and threatening Guam.
  • Even though the University of Texas fired Charlie Strong, he’ll still do the hook ’em sign with Mack Brown.
  • Every former president is invited to the White House by the former president when his official portrait is dedicated. A lot of times these things appear to be awkward but end up being just fine, but I expect weirdness when Obama’s portrait is dedicated and Trump welcomes him.
  • Game Of Thrones shooting multiple endings to prevent spoilers
    • This is how I want the series to end no matter the outcome. The camera is focused on an old man’s hand writing in a book. The camera pans away and we discover it’s an old Grand Maester Samwell Tarley who’s been writing the story we’ve been watching, but the person playing the aged Samwell would be creator and author George R.R. Martin.
  • A great incense burner for ‘Breaking Bad’ fans.
  • Waco police arrest 17 in weekend prostitution sting (Note: One of the women busted is more attractive than I expected.)
  • I stubbed my big toe badly yesterday and it’s the most I’ve bled in a very long time. Because I could see blood or a dark spot under the toe nail and it started to swell, I was reminded of when I was a kid and how many of my friends’ fathers treated it. They would take a metal coat hanger and bend the hook to make it straight, use their cigarette lighter to heat the point until it was piping hot, and then burn a hole through the black spot of the nail. It was explained to me it was done to relieve pressure and save the nail.
  • Stephen Colbert was on Jimmy Kimmel’s show last night. Their shows compete in the same time slot. It felt weird watching the interview. I did get a kick when Kimmel introduced him and stated Colbert’s show airs only at noon on Wednesdays. In case you are wondering, Colbert was there to promote the Emmys which he’ll be hosting. He also made a surprise appearance on James Corden’s show.
  • Yeah, yeah, I need a hug.
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