BagOfNothing.com

• A friendly neighbor called me close to 10:00 PM to tell me a stranger has been pacing in front of GeedingManor for more than two hours. But more important to me, he told he his wife’s cancer returned and I could tell he needed to talk. She’s out of state on business and called him with the news.
• I wonder what kind of security measures or screening goes on across the pond, at least compared to what we do in the U.S.
• The morning show on The TICKET had former President George W. Bush as a guest yesterday. I know the man is laid back and many have commented about how down to Earth he is, but I was surprised at how loquacious he was in the sense the hosts didn’t really need to ask any questions, he just went from one story and one thought to another without really being prompted. It was funny hearing him mention Bono and the Dalai Lama in the same sentence, hearing him playfully goof up Bono’s name, and referring to the other simply as “Dalai”. Bush stated he wouldn’t be at the concert and one of the hosts playfully invited him stating he had an extra ticket, and he replied he’d just call up Bono if he wanted to go.
• Bush also eloquently stated (seriously) how presidential candidates, including himself, will state positions during a campaign and then due to current events will have to change course. As an armchair political pundit, things would have gone a lot more smoothly if his administration communicated the same thing. But hey, hindsight is 20/20. And one more thing, he said that presidential candidates don’t get the gravity or understand the perspective of things until they actually become president and will often find themselves going back on campaign rhetoric. That’s a pretty common assertion, but as the son of a president, I would have thought he’d have a better expectation than others. But then again, most folks, no matter how well coached or counseled, don’t “get it” until they actually experience things themselves. It’s like the great philosopher Michael Gerard Tyson once said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
• Final thought on the Notre Dame graduates walking out on Vice President Pence – I liken it to people who get bad restaurant waitstaff service and leaving a penny as a tip. They want to show they aren’t too cheap to tip but also want to send a message they were upset. I’m not defending or justifying either action, I just think they are related or similar.
• Per Peter King’s MMQB, it sounds like the NFL is going to lighten up on touchdown celebrations. The league should have never penalized any celebrating to begin with.
• The first step in getting a customized football helmet, which will set you back $1,750.
• Texas Monthly ranks Cattleack as Dallas’ best barbecue joint; Pecan Lodge slips
  • I like that I was able to “discover” Cattleack before “everyone else”. The owner is a real salt of the earth kind of guy and it’s neat following them on Twitter since he posts about this cooking experiments. His wife, who runs the register, is as tenderhearted as they come, and she’ll give you a free beer as you wait in line. But I’d like to know their backstory. The location is horrible and they used to only be open on Thursdays, so I’m curious to know what they do for income being open for only two days a week. Now they will sometimes open on Saturdays and thankfully expanded their space.
• The first photo has me totally stoked for the season – ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 7: Exclusive New Photos
• A history of the Old Spice bottle

• I introduced BoyGeeding to the classic 1984 version of Voltron on Saturday and he was hooked.  He got a real kick that the leader of the group shared the same name as his father. For the heck of it, we gave the new current day Netflix series a try but he kept voicing his displeasure and wanted to watch “the old Voltron”, which made his father proud.
• The only reason I’m posting this story is because I thought it was interesting the reporter wanted to cite how to properly pronounce Brazos, I’m not sure I’ve seen that done before.
  • Texas pair accused of stealing hearse with body inside
    • Officers on the lookout for the hearse saw it in Brazos (BRAZ’-uhs) County and stopped it.
• Hunter dies after elephant falls on him
• While watching ’60 Minutes’ I saw a commercial for the upcoming Netflix film War Machine starring Brad Pitt as Stanley McChrystal. It intrigued me enough to read this article, but the most interesting part to me was finding out Joe Pesci is going to be in an upcoming film by Martin Scorsese The Irishman three films since 2006with Roberta Deniro and Al Pacino. The 74-year-old Pesci hasn’t been active, he’s only done, and one of them was just a voice role.
• ’60 Minutes’ first story was the number of churches offering sanctuary for illegal immigrants. I’m curious to know the breakdown of those churches from Catholic, Evangelical, and Mainline perspectives. My hunch, the Catholic church has the most participating churches.
• In related local news from Buzzfeed – The Hearts of Texas – How Dallas Became One Of America’s Most Refugee-Friendly Cities
  • Samira Page has made it her life’s work to help other Christians — and all Americans — love and welcome foreign refugees. In Dallas, that work is paying off.
• Hollywood is ‘out of touch:’ Three southerners discuss media and politicsLos Angeles Times – 
• How two Disney Imagineers built a better escape room with The Nest
• My Fitbit shows nothing but a frozen screen and I contacted their customer support since I’ve only had it seven months. They stated there’s nothing they could do about my device since I bought it from Woot.com, which is not an authorized reseller. I told them that Woot is owned by Amazon and they are an authorized reseller. But they didn’t see it that way, which from a business perspective I could understand. At least hey were nice enough to give me a 25% discount off a new device.
• I thought it was interesting he attended a Tony Robbins event and he and Trump never spoke since the release – Billy Bush Breaks His Silence on Trump, the ‘Access Hollywood’ Tape, NBC and a Comeback Plan 
  • You have three daughters. How did you explain all of this to them? My [then] 15-year-old, Mary, called me from boarding school, and she was in tears: “Dad, Dad, Dad,” and I said, “Everything is going to be fine, Mary. Everything’s going to be OK.” It’s just instinctively what you say to your daughter. And she said, “No, why were you laughing at the things that he was saying on that bus, Dad? They weren’t funny.
  • Trump chalked it up to “locker-room banter.” Is that a fair characterization? No. I’m in a lot of locker rooms, I am an athlete, and no, that is not the type of conversation that goes on or that I’ve participated in.
  • So is that seriously how Trump approaches women? I felt that, in that moment, he was being typically Donald, which is performing and shocking. Almost like Andrew Dice Clay, the stand-up comedian: Does he really do the things that he’s saying or is that his act? And in Donald’s case, I equated it that way. When he said what he said, I’d like to think if I had thought for a minute that there was a grown man detailing his sexual assault strategy to me, I’d have called the FBI.
• This is a real tweet from ICE, but it looks like a legal drama on ABC.
  
• Robert Mueller resigned as a partner from the private law firm WilmerHale to take the special counsel role. I wonder how much money he’s giving up to serve as special counsel. As for what he will be making now, my guess is that he’s considered Executive Level I and is set to receive an annual salary of $207,800.  Some sources make it hard to take a guess with redacted information, but then again, he may be closer to the $170,000 range. But I really don’t know how any of this works out, so like I said, it’s a guess.
• Protesting Notre Dame students walk out of Pence’s commencement speech
  • School officials knew of the student walkout plans and did not try to stop them. The students — more than 100 — walked quietly out, and there were some cheers and boos sounded, though only briefly. Paul Browne, vice president for public affairs and communications, said Notre Dame has been the site of protests of presidents and vice presidents in the past, and as long as the students did not disrupt the ceremony, it would be allowed to take place.
    • From the video, it looks like the graduates who left already received their diplomas.
    • My two cents which don’t mean anything – It’s a graduation ceremony and with the acting Vice President speaking there should be some decorum, so I’m not a fan of the booing or audible interruptions. However, the students who left didn’t really do anything to disrupt the event and silently walked out, so I didn’t have an issue. It’s like a polite way to be disrespectful and send a message.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Srse0rYj__U