Bag of Randomness for Monday, May 22, 2017

  • 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.
  • 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

Posted in Personal | 3 Comments

Bag of Randomness for Friday, May 19, 2017

  • James Comey decided to wrote a memo after meeting with President Trump so he would have something on record. LiberallyLean.com states he often crafts memos because he doesn’t trust his memory. Both of them are in legal professions, but it seems like a nice practice to introduce in everyday life, everything from meeting with a teacher about your child or a church meeting. Knowing nothing of memos, I thought they were just short letters or emails sent to people, but now I’m guessing it’s more of a note taking system. I’d like to research if there’s a tool, template, a protocol, or other things that go into writing, keeping, and managing memos. The first thing that comes to my mind is a spreadsheet which would allow me to sort and manage data.
  • From the sound of things, both LiberallyLean.com and I currently have one-eyed wives.
  • Yesterday DaughterGeeding’s school went on a field trip and WifeGeeding served as a chaperone. During a lull in conversation, DaughterGeeding revealed to all her friends that WifeGeeding has a glass eye. It’s obvious to y’all that she has no insecurities about it, but it’s not the sort of thing we want our daughter blurting out.
  • Vox – We tracked the Trump scandals on right-wing news sites. Here’s how they covered it. – We’re experiencing these historical events very differently.
  • If the term “treason” is going to be thrown around, it’s a good idea to know what it actually is – Treason: An Explainer:
  • I wonder what it was like to live through Watergate and experience what’s going on now, if there’s a certain vibe in the air or if the mood of the country is the same. I was born in 75 so I can’t claim to know what was going on at the time.
  • Not saying it’s going to lead to this, but wouldn’t it be interesting that Pence is somehow found guilty along with Trump and the country ended up with President Paul Ryan?
  • Golden Girls Edition Of Clue Coming Soon
  • Five Guys named favorite burger chain, taking spot from In-N-Out
    • Shake Shack, Wendy’s and Culver’s rounded out the top five.
    • The Cheesecake Factory was named best casual dining restaurant, Ben & Jerry’s was ranked the best ice cream and frozen yogurt shop and Papa John’s was named the best pizza chain. Starbucks also debuted as the Coffee and Quick Service Restaurant Brand of the Year.
    • I had no idea Chick-fil-A had something called “Mom Valet”, but I’m not sure if it’s available everywhere –
      • Mom’s Valet works like this: When parents come through the drive-thru and order, they can request Mom’s Valet. The staff then jumps into action, preparing the order, finding a table, setting it, putting the needed number of highchairs out, filling drinks, doling out the right condiments and putting the food on the table. When the parent arrives in the store with kids in tow, the hostess directs them to their seats.
  • Bellmead and Humble – 2 Texas cities named among ‘most dangerous’ in United States based on FBI data
  • Take the RoboCop Tour of Dallas – Walk around the movie’s downtown filming locations in honor of its 30th anniversary.
  • A Creationist Sues the Grand Canyon for Religious Discrimination – The national park wouldn’t let him collect rocks for research.
  • This 6’9″, 395-Pound Beast Has 23 D-1 Offers but Has Never Played in a Game
  • Harvard Student Submits Rap Album as His Senior Thesis – Obasi Shaw, an English major, is the university’s first student to submit his final thesis in the form of a rap album.
  • More nuggets from the book I’m reading about the relationships amongst presidents.
    • It’s really interesting reading how much Johnson sought the counsel of Ike, bringing him into meetings and calling him on the phone. He leaned on him heavily going into Vietnam. Even though LBJ could be intimidating to many, he didn’t feel comfortable talking to generals and admirals and knew the weight Ike carried not only being a former president but carrying that extra star. LBJ was really an insecure man.
    • Something Ike once said to North Korea
      • “We make a hell of a lot of weapons. We spent a lot of money on them. What the hell do we make them for if we don’t ever use them.” Ike explained that he never intended to do anything except let that view get back to the North Koreans. But it ensured that the North Koreans would want to negotiate with him.
    • The book states LBJ and Billy Graham were friends, and  Operation Rolling Thunder was named from a verse of Graham’s signature revival anthem, “How Great Thou Art”.
    • I sadly and humbly admit I don’t know much about the history of Vietnam or even what escalated the war. However, this book is giving me a lot of insight of the history of my mother’s homeland, helping me understanding how North Vietnam and South Vietnam came to be, who the Viet Cong were, and how unstable the South Vietnamese government was. It’s neat going into this book looking for more knowledge about past presidents and then discovering something personal.
Posted in Political | 5 Comments