Well, it is that season, or will be soon:
It just gets stranger from there. I am amused by the detail that he was also carrying a Mexican flag.
Archive for January, 2011
“Rodeo clown transvestite”?
Sunday, January 16th, 2011Told you so.
Friday, January 14th, 2011We previously blogged about the local store clerk who was charged with murder after shooting at a fleeing thief who’d stolen a 12-pack. The thief was found dead in an abandoned car a few hours later, and the clerk apparently tried to cover his tracks after the shooting.
The clerk was just convicted of murder and evidence tampering.
We repeat what we said at the time, “If you had a good reason for shooting, the evidence is only going to help you. Altering or destroying evidence only makes you look bad.” And it will probably get you convicted.
Edited to add: The jury that was deadlocked for several days does not appear to have had much trouble returning a sentence; eight years probation.
I’m on a horse.
Thursday, January 13th, 2011Following up on yesterday’s story, the Statesman has an interview with the (allegedly) drunk horse rider on 6th Street.
The guy on the mule was apparently not available for comment. And for the record, the Statesman is reporting that the DWI charges against both men have been dropped, but the police are planning to charge them with public intoxication.
Baby, if you ever wondered…
Thursday, January 13th, 2011…what Robert “Ratso” Rizzo, former city administrator for the city of Bell, now under indictment, was doing, the answer is:
He’s working as a parking lot attendant at the “International Surfing Museum” in Huntington Beach.
I think I speak for many of my readers when I say: there’s an “International Surfing Museum”?
Edited to add 1/14: Well, that was quick. Rizzo is no longer working at the International Surfing Museum.
Book geekery.
Wednesday, January 12th, 2011By way of TJIC, I found this nifty little query page that lists the NYT bestsellers for your birth week (both fiction and non-fiction).
I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that I’ve only read one book on the list for my birth week. On the one hand, NYT bestseller lists seem to be dominated by a fair amount of transient crud; on the other hand, I’ve actually read more of the books on TJIC’s list (three total) than my own. (Believe it or not, I’ve read Boss
I am halfway tempted to start a project of blogging my way through the books for my birth week, just for grins.
From the APD blotter.
Wednesday, January 12th, 2011This happened Friday night, but we’re only just now hearing about it:
(Statesman link includes dashcam video.)
It appears that the DWI charge against the horse rider have been dropped, but police are going forward with the DWI charge against the guy on the mule. In addition,
(The horse and mule are apparently being held at an animal hospital in Elgin; ownership of the two animals has not been established.)
Nihilists!
Wednesday, January 12th, 2011And while I’m on the legal beat…
Tuesday, January 11th, 2011Alex Tabarrok, one of the Marginal Revolution bloggers, has an interesting article in the latest Wilson Quarterly about the economics of bounty hunting.
Edited to add: Just for grins, I thought I’d throw in a couple of links to Paladin Press books on bounty hunting, such as “Rex Venator”‘s Modern Bounty Hunting: A Real-Life Guide for the Bail Fugitive Recovery Agent
Poor Laura Hall…
Tuesday, January 11th, 2011TMQ watch: January 11, 2011.
Tuesday, January 11th, 2011Nudity! Gambling! This week’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback! Now!
Obit watch: January 11, 2011.
Tuesday, January 11th, 2011Both of these broke yesterday, but I was waiting until I found some better sources before posting:
Peter Yates, director. Lawrence and I were discussing his rather interesting career yesterday. Yates directed such films as Bullit, The Dresser, Breaking Away, and The Friends of Eddie Coyle. He also directed The Deep, Mother, Jugs & Speed, and Krull. (And let’s not forget The Hot Rock, one of the better adaptations of a Donald Westlake Dortmunder novel.) (LAT obit.)
Richard Winters, of Band of Brothers fame. (WP obit.)
I haven’t had much to say about events in Arizona, and probably won’t. Other people are covering this much better than I am; you can pretty much click on any blog in my blogroll for commentary. If you have to pick one, Battleswarm seems to be doing good roundups.
Talkin’ GPS Blues (part 1).
Sunday, January 9th, 2011A long time ago, my great and good friend Glen pointed me in the direction of a Steven Jay Gould essay about his encounter with Richard Feynman. Gould’s point in that essay was that he thought Feynman wasted a lot of time trying to understand evolution from the ground up, time that Feynman could have spent making valuable contributions to the theory instead. My response is that I think I understand where Feynman was coming from; the only way he felt like he could contribute something was to start from first principles and work his way forward until he understood each step. I’m not anywhere near as smart as Feynman or Gould, but I feel much the same way as Feynman did. Hence, the long and rambling nature of this entry.
I have six GPS systems. That’s probably more than any one sane person needs, but we can leave that discussion for another time.
Godspeed, soldier.
Friday, January 7th, 2011General Vang Pao, leader of the Hmong, has passed away. (Edited to add: AP obit, by way of the NYT.)
There’s more that I’d like to write about this, but I don’t have my references in front of me right now. In the meantime, for a good take on the general’s legal troubles, here’s a link to a good Popehat essay by the inimitable Patrick.
Edited to add 1/11/2011: Peter over at Bayou Renaissance Man says pretty much everything I would have said.
Dear New York Times…
Thursday, January 6th, 2011
This is Idris Elba. He’s an actor.
This is O.J. Simpson. He’s a convicted felon and accused murderer.
Please be so kind as to note that these two men look nothing alike. Thank you. (Hattip: Lawrence.)
Noted for the record.
Thursday, January 6th, 2011Lawrence has bet me $20 at 5-1 odds that the Texans will make the playoffs in 2011, provided that the NFL plays a complete season in 2011.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSMOKIN’!
Thursday, January 6th, 2011It’s been a week for fires.
First, the condo fire.
Next, Katz’s closes a day early. Then they catch fire as well. At this point, I half expect the building to fall over and sink into the swamp.
Then, someplace called the Green Muse Cafe (which I’ve never heard of) caught fire as well.
What next? A raging fire in the cedars off of Loop 360? (Come to think of it, that might make spring a bit more pleasant.)
What is this I don’t even
Thursday, January 6th, 2011“Phawker knocks down Philebrity report about Philly.com paywall“.
Actual headline on Jimbo’s site.
The Happening.
Thursday, January 6th, 2011The train wreck is now official. I expect this to be about as successful as M. Night Shamalamadingdong’s latest movies.
And Vince Young won’t be a Titan in 2011. However, it is not clear that the Titans are going to keep Jeff Fisher on as coach, either; that decision is yet to come.
Edited to add: And tying it all together, Richard Justice in the HouChron: “Should the Texans sign Vince Young? Are you kidding? Of course! Today!“
A handful of randomness.
Wednesday, January 5th, 2011I intended to post this yesterday, but got sidetracked: the SF Weekly and the Bay Guardian have reached a settlement in their legal dispute. I’ve previously blogged about the dispute here, here, and here. (Hattip: Jimbo.)
I’m posting this only because it amuses me: the Statesman has posted the APD’s annual list of “local bars where drunken driving suspects reported having their last drink before hitting the road”. Particularly chuckleworthy to me is the large cluster of places in one block of 6th Street…
Speaking of the Statesman, there’s also a kind of neat profile of Austin writer, former Dell employee, and MonkeyBrain Books publisher Chris Roberson, who is taking over the current “Superman” story line with issue 707.
And speaking of things that amuse me, “Never Said About Restaurant Websites” pretty much hits all of my peeves (and Lawrence’s) save one. And we’ve both submitted that one. (Hattip: Daring Fireball.)
Edited to add: Here’s something else I wanted to blog but forgot: “The Now-You-See-It Restaurant“.
…
…
The Al Davis reign of terror continues…
Wednesday, January 5th, 2011Tom Cable out in Oakland, even though he finished this season 8-8.
He posted a 17-27 record during his two-plus seasons as the Raiders coach.
And apparently, calling one of your fellow employees “sweet baby” and “a–hole” is a firing offense. At least at ESPN. If your fellow employee is a woman. And you have a record of pulling this kind of crap.
I would like…to feed your fingertips…to the Wolverines.
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011Rich Rodriguez has apparently been fired as head coach at Michigan.
I say “apparently” because there hasn’t been an official announcement yet; Lawrence sent me a link earlier, but that link is no longer active, and appears to have been replaced by this link.
Edited to add 1/5/2011: Now it looks like the decision will come sometime today.
Edited to add 1/5/2011 2: Looks like “This time for sure!” Hey, Rocky, watch me pull a head coach out of my hat!
Edited to add 1/5/2011 3: Yep, he’s done.
Roundup of local and quasi-local news.
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011I’m running a bit behind today due to a personal matter this morning, so here’s a quick roundup of some things I felt were worth rounding up.
Day after coverage of the Kubiak situation from the HouChron. Kubby stays, four assistants get the axe. And it looks like the Wade Phillips thing is moving closer to happening.
Fire last night in one of our downtown condo complexes. A close friend of WCD and many of our readers (who shall remain nameless here to protect his privacy, but the people who know him know who I’m talking about) lives in that condo one floor above the fire. He’s fine, and his condo suffered what he describes as minor smoke and soot damage.
Local gun store (McBride’s) robbed. This is the second break-in at McBride’s that I can remember; I have it in my head that the perps were caught in the act the first time, but I can’t confirm that now. It struck me as odd that they only stole “several” handguns, but this KXAN article describes them as high-end .45 autos. I think I know which guns were taken, as I’ve seen them in the display case. My recollection is that they were Wilson Combat and Les Baeur 1911s. Nice to know that our local crooks have good taste, but I don’t think they’re going to be able to move those easily. Assuming that they want to move them, as opposed to using them personally…
The Macy’s store in Highland Mall is closing. I’m thinking this is probably the end of Highland Mall. I haven’t been there in…I can’t remember how long. And I haven’t been to that Macy’s since shortly after they dropped the Foley’s branding. (I miss Foley’s.) Highland Mall attempted to file for bankruptcy last year, but had the petition dismissed. The mall itself has been in decline for several years; there are a lot of allegations that it has become a hangout for gangs, and a hotbed of criminal activity. The more recent Statesman articles avoid discussing those issues, but you can pick up on them by reading the discussion and this older Statesman article.
Question: if you level the mall, what do you put there as part of the redevelopment process?
TMQ watch: January 4, 2011.
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011Happy new year, everyone. Now that we’re all over our hangovers, let’s see what Gregg Easterbrook has in store for us this week, shall we?
Today’s bulletin from the Department of WTF?
Monday, January 3rd, 2011The NYT has a regular feature, “Recipe Redux”, where Times writers revisit a classic recipe from the pages of the NYT, and attempt to update it for contemporary tastes/styles/availability of ingredients.
This week’s recipe was for Chocolate-Rum Mousse; the original actually sounds pretty good, at least to my unsophisticated palate.
So how did the NYT‘s chefs (Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa, who run the Ideas In Food website) update this recipe?
Should have gone with that idea; sounds good to me. But, no:
Talbot and Kamozawa substituted beets for chocolate in the original recipe
Beets? Beets?! Were these people not loved enough as children?
Okay, let’s be fair: how did it come out?
So…
To the cloud! Sorry. Here’s what I think they’re referring to when they talk about an ISI dispenser
Yeah. The original recipe sounds simple, straightforward, and relatively easy to prepare with nothing more than a blender and a stove. The new one requires relatively specialized kitchen equipment and sounds like crap.
I have to ask: if you did a side-to-side, A-B comparison, would Mr. Latte
Monday, bloody Monday…
Monday, January 3rd, 2011First Monday after the end of the NFL regular season, and the firings have begun.
Mangini out as head coach of the Browns.
More coverage from the Cleveland Pain Dealer.
Watch this space for updates. Thanks to Lawrence for the heads-up.
Edited to add: Looks like Kubiak is staying on as Texans head coach, but Frank Bush is out as defensive coordinator.