Bag of Randomness

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  • The first time I saw this picture I could see that not all the letters were lit, but didn’t notice the lit letters spelled “adios”.
  • While at Klyde Warren Park on Saturday I watched a small group of people use a selfie stick and they couldn’t be happier.
  • While at the Nasher I noticed a gray-haired mustached man walking around and talking to people as if he was in charge of something.  Why did he catch my eye?  It wasn’t that he was wearing a dress shirt with a tie and appropriate dress shoes, it was because his dress shirt was tucked into blue sweat pants.  It reminded me of this Ronald Reagan picture.  Heck, it was as if he was trying to recreate this look.
  • I wasn’t a big fan of Dean Smith, though I had high appreciation and respect for the man.  Out of all things written or said about him since his death, I enjoyed this piece about him from 2013 the most – Charles Scott, the first black scholarship athlete at UNC, in his own words 
  • Dean Smith’s recruiting letter to Michael Jordan – The part that stood out to me, “give me a collect call.”  I can’t recall the last time I heard “collect call” referenced.
  • I found a major weakness of WifeGeeding this weekend as we were listening to Uptown Funk.   She can’t say “funk” without really concentrating about it and sounding it out, otherwise she just cursing.
  • Regarding my book about cadavers, I just finished the section on how they are used in automobile crash simulations and body examinations after airplane crashes.  If inspectors are trying to figure out if a plane had an explosion, they want to see how much bodies are left intact.  A lot of smaller scattered body parts likely means an explosion of some sorts.  Also, the cause of death from falling from the sky onto a body of water is often attributed to the aorta rupturing.  When a body hits the surface of water at terminal velocity (120 mph) the organs keep traveling for a fraction of a second longer until they hit the wall of the body cavity, which by that moment has started to rebound and ruptures the aorta.  It’s recommended that if you can, try to hit the water feet first instead of on your back or chest.
  • On Friday, LiberallyLean.com stated he watched a reality show on Lifetime and I thought I’d leave an innocent comment playfully teasing him about watching a network geared towards women.  It’s what we do, we tease each other about silly stuff through our blogs and Twitter.  But I thought it was strange and sad for someone to reference my comment and state that me doing so was basically hypocritical and how thin-skinned I must be.  But then I got to remember some people just like to troll and are clueless they are the epitome of a bigot.  Like the modern day songstress Taylor says . . . And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.  That person use to troll me on this blog calling me thin skinned and stating I was going through life with blinders on.  When you grow up being made fun of for having an Asian background (with a country the U.S. most recently had an unpopular war with) in a small hick town and for having a father that was 24-years older than his wife, and then go to Baptist churches being the only liberal amongst them, your skin thickens pretty quickly.  But no matter how much my skin thickened, I made the effort not to grow callouses so that I can still be sensitive and appreciative of others and their background and points of view, as I wish others would have done for me.  I’m totally cool with other people voicing an opposing thought on this blog, it brings me perspective and helps me grow, but per my comment policy, just don’t be crude.  That’s one of the benefits of owning your own blog, you get to make up the rules and enforce them for the atmosphere and forum you want to establish.
  • American Sniper’ statue can’t find a home in Texas
  • I guess I won’t be teaching at Harvard anytime soon – Harvard tells professors: No more sex with undergrads
  • I don’t think Brian Williams will last the week, journalistic crosshairs are justly focused on him and he’s become such a meme there’s no way to win the respect back it takes to be the figurehead of a news division.  I stated that Matt Laurer would take his place, but there’s a chance NBC wants to make history with Lester Holt as the first permanent black anchor of the big three networks.  If I had a choice in the matter, I’d appoint Mike Snyder his successor (local joke).
  • I’ll sum up last night’s ‘Walking Dead’ with one word . . . trippy.
  • I’m not going to ruin anything for those that haven’t seen ‘Better Call Saul’ yet but I will say I like how it’s a bit dated by focusing about 14 years and that it’s different in its own special way from ‘Breaking Bad’, which is a good thing.  I also have the feeling there’s a ton of references and easter eggs that I missed.  It’s gonna be a fun ride.
  • DFW is #1, but not in a good way.  Actually, Texas dominates the list – Safest and Most at Risk Places from Natural Disasters
  • John Oliver was back on the air last night, and the guy just doesn’t hold back.
Posted in Personal | 10 Comments

Artsy Thought

The Nasher Sculpture Center has this cool thing called Target First Saturdays which involves free admission and stuff for the kids, and that’s where we spent our morning.  And when you consider that Klyde Warren Park is across the street, our Saturday morning and afternoon plans were set, and we didn’t have to spend a penny.

While at the Nasher I came across the Magdalena Abakanowicz piece “Bronze Crowd” and decided to take a somewhat goofy picture next to it.  Unoriginal idea, I know, and you’ll find a lot folks doing similar stuff online (cute kid pic).  I guess there’s just something funny about taking pictures next to headless statues.  But after looking at this pic a second time I’m reminded of my favorite poem, one in which my high school theater arts teacher made all her students memorize, and felt just a bit inspired.

“If—” by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son.

Posted in DFW, Personal | 1 Comment