Archive for April, 2012

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Who would have thunk…

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

…that giving a young woman a ride on your hog would get you fired?

Seriously, I don’t have a problem with Arkansas firing Bobby Petrino. It just comes as a surprise. I read FARK’s thread yesterday and the consensus was that he might get a short suspension, perhaps a fine, but the university wasn’t going to fire him.

Yeah, I know, FARK, hardly experts. But the consensus was that Petrino was rebuilding the program, and that was too important to the university. Thinking about it some more, I’m glad to see FARK was wrong, and the weasel is gone.

Edited to add: In all the discussion of this, I haven’t seen any coverage of the most important point: how bad was the damage to Petrino’s Harley Davidson Road King?

Posted in Clippings, Firings, Sports | 1 Comment »

Mad? Of course I’m mad!

Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

But! I have tenure!

Okay, I don’t really have tenure. But don’t you think I could pass as a distinguished professor of something like apocryphal chemistry or eschaton immanentization at Hogwarts?

Posted in Geek, School | 5 Comments »

Can I have a side of awesome sauce, please?

Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

Yes, yes you can.

The TM Daily Post has a nice profile of Joe Lansdale.

…Lansdale is often compared to a number of authors who specialize in bloody, neo-Gothic thrillers, loosely termed “country noir,” among them Woodrell, Donald Ray Pollock (The Devil All the Time), Tom Franklin (Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter) and the late William Gay (Twilight). After being ignored by critics and readers alike, these writers have found a measure of mainstream embrace over the past decade.

I’m not going to claim to be a close personal friend of Mr. Lansdale’s – Lawrence knows him better than I do – but in my limited interaction with him, he’s always been nothing but nice. He’s a swell guy, as far as I’m concerned, and I’m delighted that he’s “finally having a moment, after three-plus-decades toiling in semi-obscurity”.

Posted in Books, Clippings, Endorsements | Comments Closed

Notes from the crime beat.

Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

I have previously written about the strange case of Maurice McKnight, the dancer at a male strip club who allegedly punched struck a patron, causing the patron to fall, hit his head, and die.

Yesterday, Mr. McKnight pled guilty to manslaughter. He will serve 5 years in prison.

Back on the “if you go clubbing downtown, you’re clubbing with Hezbollah” beat, the Statesman has a long article about Yassine Enterprises, the people behind it, and their legal problems. Interesting:

  • “Despite persistent surveillance, the Yassines and their associates are not accused of any wrongdoing after 2009…”
  • “Investigators testified that Steve Yassine has not paid his taxes in years. Hadi Yassine did not file tax returns in 2009 and 2010, and ones he did file did not match his income, IRS agent Neff said. Neff also said Yassine Enterprises was underreporting its income. “

Also noteworthy: the state wants to take away their liquor licenses. I don’t think it is so much because of the criminal charges, as it is because…

  • “…the clubs owe a local liquor distributor more than $210,000.”
  • “… businesses linked to Mike Yassine, the company’s president and owner, were almost $600,000 behind in sales and mixed-beverage taxes as of late March.”

The State of Texas really does not like it when you get behind in your sales and beverage taxes. They tend to get cranky and start seizing things, like bottles and money in the cash register. Of course, the latter might not be a problem for Yassine Enterprises, since eight of their nine businesses are closed.

And what does this mean for Sixth Street?

Owners of other downtown bars said they initially feared the closures would deter people from heading downtown but, so far, that hasn’t been the case.

…

If they remain dark long-term, landlords shouldn’t have a hard time finding new tenants, said Michele Gary, a vice president in the commercial retail division at the Weitzman Group.

My first thought is that Ms. Gary is a lot more optimistic than I am. Would you want to open a club downtown in this economy? Then again, people are going to drink no matter what…maybe she’s on to something.

Posted in Clippings, Law | Comments Closed

Not since “Carrie”.

Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

The off-Broadway revival of “Carrie” closed Sunday night…

…two weeks earlier than scheduled, as a result of poor ticket sales after the show opened to mixed to negative reviews. The production by MCC Theater did not earn all its money back. A cast album recording — a theatrical measure of success — has not been announced, though one is said to be in the works

The NYT asks: is this just a fundamentally unworkable idea?

“I see no reason to remount ‘Carrie’ at all,” [theater writer and critic Peter] Filichia said. “I have no advice on how to make it better. I can’t think of a thing. Mind you, I don’t hate it. I just don’t think it’s worth the effort.”

Posted in Clippings, Theatre | Comments Closed

Obit watch: special kik kool rad C-64 warezzzzzzzzzz edition.

Monday, April 9th, 2012

Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore, has passed away at the age of 83.

I was never part of the 6502 based crowd, either as an Apple, Atari, or Commodore owner. (My processor was the 6809.)

But I’m certainly willing to concede that the C-64 was a hugely influential machine, and that Mr. Tramiel is owed a debt of gratitude.

Posted in Clippings, Geek | 1 Comment »

Annals of law (part 3 of a series)

Monday, April 9th, 2012

Can a legally dead man be tried, convicted, and sentenced to the death penalty?

If this was a movie with Ashley Judd (perhaps as a sexy public defender), it would probably gross $200 million at least.

Unfortunately, it isn’t.

Thomas Steven Sanders was declared “legally dead” in 1994. His family brought the action, claiming Sanders had abandoned them in 1987.

The thing is, he wasn’t actually dead dead:

Sanders was unquestionably alive, living and working at odd jobs across four southeastern states and Nevada, and reportedly racking up a number of traffic tickets and a sentencing in Georgia for simple battery.

Now he’s suspected of killing a 12-year-old girl and her mother. He’s apparently confessed, but his lawyers are trying to get the confession thrown out because Sanders asked for a lawyer first.

One thing is certain: somebody’s going to get a book deal out of this case.

Posted in Clippings, Law | Comments Closed

Obit watch: April 8, 2012.

Sunday, April 8th, 2012

These have been well covered elsewhere, but for the record and since people have emailed me about them:

Mike Wallace.

Thomas Kinkade.

Posted in Art, Clippings, TV | Comments Closed

Hookers, no blow, watch.

Friday, April 6th, 2012

Mike Luis Rios was arrested on Wednesday and charged with

raping two women, pimping and using his position…to recruit would-be, and sometimes underage, prostitutes.

Mr. Rios was arrested back in February on attempted murder charges. Apparently, there was a fight at a night club, and…

He was charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of dissuading a witness, according to Riverside County Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Brusselback, who is prosecuting both cases.

Here’s the punchline: Mr. Rios is a member of the Moreno Valley Board of Education.

The board can’t remove Rios from his seat unless he is convicted.
They can, however, invoke a state law that allows an elected official to be removed from office if he effectively abandons his seat by not attending meetings or performing duties for three months.

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Law | Comments Closed

Random notes: April 5, 2012.

Friday, April 6th, 2012

Remember Greg Mortenson and the whole “Three Cups of Tea”/”Three Cups of Deceit” controversy? If you don’t, here’s some background.

Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute agreed to a settlement yesterday with the Montana Attorney General. Here’s the entire NYT story.

And here’s the entire LAT story. One paragraph in the NYT, two pages in the LAT. (To be fair, the LAT does bring in some non-CAI related issues, like Kony 2012.)

Summarizing: Mortenson will reimburse $1 million to CAI, CAI’s two remaining board members will leave and a new seven-member board will take over, and Mortenson will no longer be on that board.

The article states that the settlement will “toss Mortenson out of his own charity’, but quotes the “interim executive director” saying:

…that Mortenson would remain a paid employee of the charity but would not serve on the new board.

“He’s the heart and soul of the organization,” Beyersdorfer said. “He’s the co-founder, and I think we all think of him as our chief inspiration officer.”

More parking problems at the Long Center over the weekend.

Although a study conducted by the city during planning for the Long Center recommended 2,400 parking spaces, neighborhood groups objected and urged a three-story garage with half the spaces.

The notoriously corrupt California city of Vernon is holding city council elections next Tuesday. Hilarity has ensued.

“I don’t like answering the dang door when I come home from work, it gets irritating,” said resident Gabriel Early 35, who has lived in Vernon for three years. “I’ve got more knocks in the last two weeks than the last three years.”

Amen, brother. I don’t get people knocking on my door for elections, thank Ghu, but the phone calls really make me angry.

A few weeks ago, Vernon officials learned there were nine voters registered at one small home the city owns. The city launched an investigation and hired private investigators, who are interviewing voters to make sure they actually live in Vernon. The city is also looking into three people who suddenly registered to vote at an apartment above La Villa Basque, one of Vernon’s few restaurants.

Candidates have raised concerns about two people who are registered at addresses that do not exist. A “street index” published by the Los Angeles County Registrar this week shows about 30 occupied residences in the city.

Worth noting: recent reforms (adopted in an attempt to keep the state from disincorporating Vernon) cut council salaries from $70,000 a year to $25,000 a year, eliminated subsidized rent for council members, and imposed term limits.

Posted in Clippings, Schadenfreude | Comments Closed

Plug, plug, pluggity plug.

Friday, April 6th, 2012

My sister has a couple of new posts up at the Park City Snowmamas site:

Worship services at Park City.

And she stages her own version of “The Amazing Race”: snowborders vs. skiers.

Posted in Endorsements, Photography | Comments Closed

This is a Photoshop.

Friday, April 6th, 2012

I can tell from the pixels, and from having seen a few ‘shops in my time.

And they might have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling kids bloggers, and:

if it had not failed to also erase the watch’s reflection, which appeared in the photo on the highly glossed table where the patriarch was seated.

Edited to add: From the FARK thread, this Photoshop just about made me fall out of my chair laughing. But I’m a sucker for the tiny giraffe commercials.

Posted in Clippings | 1 Comment »

Obit watch: April 6, 2012.

Friday, April 6th, 2012

Enough said.

Nigel Tufnel’s amps were Marshalls.

In a tribute on Twitter, Mötley Crüe’s bassist, Nikki Sixx, said Mr. Marshall had been “responsible for some of the greatest audio moments in music’s history — and 50 percent responsible for all our hearing loss.”

Posted in Cars, Clippings, Music, Obits | Comments Closed

Rough night for the Austin PD.

Friday, April 6th, 2012

This is still a developing story, but a (currently unnamed) APD officer was shot and killed early this morning. I expect to have more to say about this as information comes in, but two immediate points:

  1. I drive past the location of this shooting (the Wal-Mart at I-35 and Parmer Lane) daily. This is not what we would call a “bad” part of town.
  2. This is the first APD death in the line of duty since 2004, according to the Statesman.

Edited to add: The deceased officer has been identified as Jaime Padron.

In other news, there was also a fatal officer involved shooting in East Austin last night.

…the officer attempted during the chase to use his Taser stun gun to subdue the man but that “it was not effective.”

Carter said that at one point, the officer and the man struggled for control of the officer’s gun and that the officer then fired what investigators say was one to three shots.

And:

Shortly after 8 p.m., a crowd of more than 100 people had gathered near the scene and rocks were thrown in the direction of at least one police car, which sustained a broken window. Some officers donned riot gear.

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Law | Comments Closed

Just a random thought…

Thursday, April 5th, 2012

I have a subscription to the digital version of the NYT: partially for blog purposes, partially because I needed access to the archives for my final project in last year’s 20th Century History class. (The NYT offers a reduced rate for educational subscribers.)

When the LAT erected their paywall, I signed up at the initial 99 cent rate. I got a bill from them today at the new $3.99 a week rate. Even for blog purposes, and with no educational discount, I’m not paying $4 a week for the LAT. So I called them to cancel.

After I got to a customer service rep (note that they make it relatively hard to do so) and told her I wanted to cancel, she wanted to know why. I explained that the digital LAT isn’t worth $4/week to me.

At that point, they started playing “Let’s Make A Deal”. The initial offer was $2.99 a week. I turned that down. Then they offered me $1.99/week as their “final offer”. I agreed to that, but now I’m wondering if I could have gotten them down to 99 cents a week.

Point of this story, besides the LAT being willing to slash prices; I’d appreciate it if people would let me know if links to LAT stories don’t come up for you. The NYT, as I understand it, still has the hole in the wall that lets you read stories for free if they come from an external link, but I don’t believe the LAT offers that feature.

Also, talking about the LAT and bargain shopping gives me an excuse to use this picture, which tickles my funny bone:

Nobody beats the Los Angeles Times!

Posted in Admin, Media | 1 Comment »

Speaking of New Orleans…

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

…the headline on this story had me all excited:

A Shotgun Near You celebrates first year

Then I clicked through. Apparently they mean something different by a “shotgun”, something involving music and house parties.

Too bad, because I think a shotgun near you is a good idea.

Posted in Clippings, Guns, Music | 1 Comment »

Worthy of note.

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

Former New Orleans Police Department Officer Robert Faulcon Jr. was sentenced today to 65 years in prison for his role in the Danziger Bridge shootings. Officer Faulcon shot Ronald Madison, a mentally handicapped man who was 40 years old, in the back with a shotgun. Faulcon was convicted of six counts of depravation of rights under color of law, three counts of using a weapon during the commission of a crime of violence, one count of conspiracy, one count of obstruction of justice, and one count of civil rights conspiracy.

Former New Orleans Police Department Sergeant Kenneth Bowen was sentenced to 40 years in prison for his role in the Danziger Bridge shootings. Bowen jumped out of a rented truck loaded with police officers and fired an “AK-47” at a concrete barrier that people were hiding behind. Bowen was convicted of six counts of depravation of rights under color of law, two counts of using a weapon during the commission of a crime of violence, one count of conspiracy, two counts of obstruction of justice, and two counts of civil rights conspiracy.

Former New Orleans Police Department Sergeant Robert Gisevius Jr. was sentenced to 40 years in prison for his role in the Danziger Bridge shootings. Gisevius was in the same truck, and also jumped out of it and fired a “M-4 rifle”. He also helped cover up the events at the Danziger Bridge. Gisevius was convicted of five counts of depravation of rights under color of law, two counts of using a weapon during the commission of a crime of violence, one count of conspiracy, one counts of obstruction of justice, and two counts of civil rights conspiracy.

Former New Orleans Police Department officer Anthony Villavaso II was sentenced to 38 years in prison for his role in the Danziger Bridge shootings. Villavaso was also in the truck, and also jumped out and fired an “AK-47” at unarmed people on the bridge. Villavaso was convicted of five counts of depravation of rights under color of law, two counts of using a weapon during the commission of a crime of violence, one count of conspiracy, one count of obstruction of justice, and one count of civil rights conspiracy.

Former New Orleans Police Department Sergeant Arthur Kaufman was sentenced to 6 years in prison for his role in the Danziger Bridge shootings. Kaufman was not actually involved in the shootings, but was convicted of having “authored several reports and draft reports containing false or fabricated information”; in short, assisting in the cover-up. Kaufman was convicted of four counts of falsification of records in a federal investigation, three counts of giving false statements, two counts of “civil rights conspiracy for false prosecution” (translated into English, I believe that means he tried to have innocent people falsely prosecuted to cover up what really happened), and one count of conspiracy.

(For those who are unfamiliar with the Danziger Bridge incident, one of the sidebars to the linked article is a handy PDF explaining what really happened. The short version is that during Katrina a bunch of trigger-happy NOPD cops shot a bunch of folks on the bridge and then tried to cover it up.)

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Law | Comments Closed

Nits. Picked.

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

Democracy rules at the Ruby Ranch subdivision outside Buda. Homeowners have successfully petitioned for homeowner association covenant changes that will now prohibit the trapping of non-native 
exotic deer such as the spiral-horned blackbuck antelope.

Excuse me, but antelope are not deer, thank you very much. There’s a reason the lyric is “where the deer and the antelope play”, not “where the deer and the deer play”.

Posted in Clippings, Geek, Media | Comments Closed

Callooh! Callay!

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

John Motlz, one of the small number of authentic geniuses the Internet has produced (right up there with Kibo, Roger David Carasso, and Jim Treacher), is back with a new website.

You may remember Mr. Moltz from such websites as Crazy Apple Rumors (and I swear some day I am going to visit Tacoma and stay at the Silver Cloud Inn), American Drink (which I don’t visit nearly as often as I should), and the occasional post at In The Line Of Duty.

But what of his new site, you ask? It’s very nice.

…money can only make you so happy. And writing, well, that can make you miserable forever.

Posted in Apple, Clippings | Comments Closed

I’d like to say something positive about the TSA for once.

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

Jars of mayonnaise are also banned from carry-on luggage in the U.S.

Thank God for the TSA, protecting us all from the threat of mayonnaise, the vile emulsion.

Posted in Clippings, Food | Comments Closed

Random notes: April 3, 2012.

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

Sunday’s Statesman ran a couple of articles on rabies in Texas. Briefly, there was a 30% increase in reported cases over 2010; the drought is being blamed for that. Here’s an interesting list of the most rabid counties in Texas by way of the TM Daily Post. (That links back to one of the Statesman articles.)

The aspect of the coverage that intrigued me, as an amateur neurologist, was Brenda Bell’s article about treating rabies. As I’m sure many of you know, once symptoms develop, rabies has been pretty much 100% fatal. I recall reading that there was one documented case of a 6 year old boy in Ohio surviving in the 1970s, but other than that nothing. (And I can’t find a reference now.) (Edited to add: This site claims that there were actually three documented cases in the 1970s, all involving patients who were given vaccine before symptoms presented.)

This was the case until a few years ago, when a 15-year-old girl survived after being given highly aggressive treatment (an induced coma, combined with antivirals). That course of treatment became known as the “Milwaukee protocol”. There are two problems:

  1. It doesn’t always work, and nobody knows why. Four other people have survived treatment with the Milwaukee protocol: 32 have died.
  2. It is expensive; way too expensive for treatment in poorer countries, where rabies is most common.

(Edited to add: If you want to get really technical, here’s an article from the CDC’s “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report” (aka the lazy journalist’s friend; at least every other week, I can find an article pulled straight out of MMWR) about the 17-year-old patient in Houston mentioned by the Statesman.)

In other news, the NYT is sad that the black golf caddie is disappearing. Gee, I wonder why that is? Oh, yeah:

…the job is not as attractive to blacks who have more career opportunities than previous generations.

Plus, golf carts, and fewer caddie training programs. Plus:

“A guy can make six figures a year on a decent bag now, but the players want to have family members, people that are close to them and who they can relate to on their bags,” said Carl Jackson, one of the few remaining black caddies who will work Augusta this week.

Posted in Clippings, Geek, Sports | Comments Closed

Art, damn it, art! watch. (#28 in a series)

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

Not really anything new, but by way of the Statesman, we learn that Damien Hirst is having a retrospective exhibition, opening on Wednesday at the Tate Modern.

You may remember Mr. Hirst as one of WCD’s favorite modern artists, responsible for such works as “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living”:

Yeah, that one. I believe last time we touched on Mr. Hirst’s work, he was making wheel covers for 4x4s.

According to the exhibition’s website, the shark will be there.  Which raises some questions: last we heard, the shark was not in the best of shape. (EtA: I forgot about the NYT article stating that they were replacing the shark.) And how do you move a tank full of formaldehyde with a shark suspended in it? (Answer: “Very carefully.” Thank you, I’ll be here all week.)

Art critic Julian Spalding recently called Hirst’s creations “worthless as works of art” and advised anyone who owns them to sell now, before the artificially inflated market collapses.

My other favorite quote:

“People don’t like contemporary art,” Hirst said Monday as reporters swarmed over the exhibition like — well, like flies over a cow’s head in a Damien Hirst installation.

“like flies over a cow’s head in a Damien Hirst installation” is my new favorite analogy, replacing “The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.” I encourage people to join me in making frequent use of this turn of phrase.

Posted in Art, Clippings | 1 Comment »

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