Obit watch and other random notes: November 11, 2015.

November 11th, 2015

Helmut Schmidt, former chancellor of West Germany.

Allen Toussaint, noted New Orleans musician.

In 1964, trumpet maestro Al Hirt covered Toussaint’s jaunty instrumental “Java,” which became a No. 1 hit. In 1965, Mr. Toussaint’s “Whipped Cream” not only became the title track on a Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass album, it later became the bachelorettes theme of the television game show “The Dating Game.”

Vito J. Lopez, former New York assemblyman who resigned due to a sexual harassment scandal.

Non-obit, but interesting:

The police in Northern Ireland arrested a 66-year-old man on Tuesday in connection with Bloody Sunday, the infamous massacre of unarmed civilian marchers by British soldiers in Londonderry on Jan. 30, 1972. It was the first time anyone has been arrested in the massacre, for which the British government formally apologized in 2010.

The individual is not named, but is described as a “former lance corporal”.

“Former fugitive fish smuggler pleads guilty, prosecutors say”. Somebody at the LAT was having a bit of fun…

Second day coverage of the Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow trial. Doesn’t seem like much here: one of “Shrimp Boy”‘s confederates claims he ordered a hit, but he never explicitly said anything beyond “take care of this”.

The patrol reached a small bridge over a canal and was approached by men on motorcycles coming from the opposite direction — possibly members of the Taliban. They began crossing the bridge but stopped partway and retreated in the opposite direction. The suicide bomber appeared on foot to the left of the patrol after coming out of a building. Groberg ran at him and threw him to the ground with the help of another soldier, Sgt. Andrew Mahoney, who would later receive the Silver Star for his valor.

Where do we get such men?

Posted in Clippings, Heroism, Law, Music, Obits | Comments Closed

Well. Well well well. Well.

November 10th, 2015

More from the HouChron on the “person of interest” in the Judge Kocurek case.

Highlights:

  • He was scheduled to go before the judge in December: prosecutors were looking to revoke his probation from a previous fraud case.
  • He’s been charged with a murder from May of this year.
  • He “has a long arrest record in Harris County but few convictions, court records show.”

Posted in Austin, Clippings, Law, Travis County | 1 Comment »

Quick random notes: November 10, 2015.

November 10th, 2015

Mike Thomas out as athletic director at Illinois.

The Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow trial stated yesterday.

On one occasion, Hasib said, Chow told an agent, who clandestinely tape-recorded his comments, “I don’t commit crimes myself, but I know a lot of people who do.”

More from the LAT.

My mother was complaining last night that the authorities were being awfully close-mouthed about the shooting of Judge Kocurek. I figured they were playing things close to the vest because the investigation was ongoing.

Well. Well well well. Well.

Austin police said Monday night that it is aware of the arrest in Houston of a person of interest in Kocurek’s shooting and that the person is being detained on unrelated charges, but declined to comment any further citing the ongoing investigation.

Posted in Austin, California Über Alles, Clippings, Firings, Law, Leland "Uncle" Yee, Sports, Travis County | 1 Comment »

Historical note, suitable for use in schools.

November 10th, 2015

40 years ago today, 29 sailors died when their freighter sank during a storm on Lake Superior.

By late in the afternoon of November 10, sustained winds of over 50 knots (93 km/h; 58 mph) were recorded by ships and observation points across eastern Lake Superior. [Arthur M.] Anderson logged sustained winds as high as 58 knots (107 km/h; 67 mph) at 4:52 p.m., while waves increased to as high as 25 feet (7.6 m) by 6:00 p.m. Anderson was also struck by 70-to-75-knot (130 to 139 km/h; 81 to 86 mph) gusts and rogue waves as high as 35 feet (11 m).

I refer, of course, to the wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.

S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online.

Coverage from MLive.

Mariners’ Church of Detroit.

Posted in Boats, Clippings, History | Comments Closed

Note from the police blotter…

November 8th, 2015

I’m sorry I didn’t make note of this yesterday, but I was running from sunrise to midnight: first, hanging out with family at WurstFest, then diiner with friends and hanging out watching creepy stuff.

(Seriouly. I like to think I have a high tolerance for creepy, but Island of Lost Souls got under my skin. I may have more to say about this later, but I do commend the Criterion blu-ray to your attention.)

Anyway, this is kind of a local story, but it may have broader implications: somebody tried to kill a local judge late Friday night.

The judge in question, Julie Kocurek, is a district judge and is heavily involved with criminal prosecutions:

… it was Kocurek who, in July, unsealed the 75-page search warrant affidavit that for the first time linked former Austin police officer VonTrey Clark to the conspiracy to kill Samantha Dean, an Austin-area crime victims counselor shot to death in February.

I’m not saying it was Clark or his buddies that were behind this, but the speculation is that this was some form of retaliation, and not just a robbery gone bad. She was with other people, and:

When she returned home, a bag of trash or a garbage can had been placed in front of the security gate into her driveway, requiring the driver of her car to stop the vehicle to remove it.

Judge Kocurek is currently in stable condition, according to reports. We hope she makes a full recovery, and we’ll be watching this story with great interest.

Posted in Austin, Clippings, Law, Movies | Comments Closed

Almost missed it…

November 5th, 2015

…I suppose technically I did, since it is past midnight in England.

But I hope all of my loyal readers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland had a happy Guy Fawkes Day, that all your body parts remained attached, and that you don’t have any more holes in your body than you started the day with.

Posted in History | Comments Closed

In the village, the quiet village…

November 5th, 2015

…the Lions fired everyone.

Okay, technically, they just fired Tom Lewand (team president) and Martin Mayhew (general manager).

Ford said she informed Lions coach Jim Caldwell there would be no changes to the coaching staff.

But:

These moves come a little more than a week after the Lions fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and offensive line coaches Jeremiah Washburn and Terry Heffernan.

Posted in Clippings, Firings, NFL, Sports | Comments Closed

TMQ Watch: November 3, 2015.

November 4th, 2015

Yes, we’re back, but we’re still gimped up. Let’s just jump into this week’s TMQ…

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Clippings, NFL, Sports, TMQ watch | Comments Closed

Rearrange the deck chairs.

November 4th, 2015

Ken Whisenhunt out as head coach of the Tennessee Titans.

The team was 3-20 during his tenure, 2-14 last season, and 1-6 (with six losses in a row) so far this season. They also lost to the Texans on Sunday, which may have been the proverbial straw…

Posted in Clippings, NFL, Sports | 1 Comment »

Obit watch: November 2, 2015.

November 2nd, 2015

My two favorite Fred Thompson moments:

Posted in Clippings, Movies, Nixon, TV | Comments Closed

Random notes: November 1, 2015.

November 1st, 2015

In case anyone was wondering, the hand surgery went about as well as I expected: in that, I lived through it and didn’t die on the table from a bad reaction to the anesthesia or something else. My left hand is still wrapped tightly, but I’m approaching maybe 1 1/3 hand functionality. At this point, I’m off painkillers and it really doesn’t bother me: the itching is more disturbing than anything else.

===

I’d managed to avoid breaking any bones or surgery requiring more than a local anesthetic for over 50 years. So much for that record.

I think what bothers me the most was the loss of continuity of consciousness, if that makes any sense. What I mean: one moment, they’re telling me that they’re going to put a sedative in my IV line. Next thing I know, they’re telling me the surgery is over and I’m okay. It just feels…weird, for reasons I can’t articulate. It’s not like going to sleep: it feels more like a gap during which I stopped processing memories. I need to think through this some more.

===

I haven’t seen this covered elsewhere yet, and I’d really like to see coverage in someplace I trust more than the WP, but: the FBI is switching back to the 9mm, and away from the .40.

The new 9mm round — known to gun aficionados as the 147 grain Speer Gold Dot G2 — is significantly more effective than what FBI agents carried into the field in 1986. According to Cook, the bullet has been rigorously tested and has received high marks in the FBI’s most important category for bullet selection: penetration.

This also means new pistols for the FBI, and that’s going to be a windfall for somebody. It also won’t shock me to see the current administration attempting to use the procurement process to advance their political goals…

“We are on a completely different program,” one senior HRT operator said, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the team’s arsenal.

Heh.

Posted in Admin, Clippings, Cops, Geek, Guns, Law | 2 Comments »

Admin note.

October 26th, 2015

Blogging may be a little slow for a bit. In particular, TMQ Watch may not go up tomorrow again.

The backstory here is that I managed to hurt myself Saturday afternoon somewhat seriously. There is a backstory to that which I may go into later. Anyway, one ER visit and two doctor visits later, I’m resting more or less comfortably, but typing one-handed. I go in tomorrow for surgery on my left hand; it will be outpatient surgery, but with general anesthesia and a nerve block, so I expect this to be a most-of-the-day affair, and to be pretty messed up for some hours afterwards.

So things will be catch as catch can for a bit. Wish me luck if you feel so inclined.

Posted in Admin | 1 Comment »

Well, it’s official now…

October 23rd, 2015

…VonTrey Clark has officially been indicted on capital murder charges.

Posted in Austin, Clippings, Cops, Law | Comments Closed

Wager update.

October 22nd, 2015

On the one hand, I am disappointed that I won’t be collecting my $5 from Lawrence.

On the other hand, if the Cubs had won the World Series, we’d be looking at the opening of the seventh seal and global Apocalypse.

So perhaps it is better, after all, that they did lose.

On the third hand, they went a lot further than I honestly thought they would go. Seriously, this was an impressive run.

On the fourth hand, I’ve gotten more than $5 worth of entertainment this year out of the Cubs.

And on the gripping hand, it seems like this is actually a good team. I’ve got high hopes for next year. (And I don’t think I’m the only one: I’ve seen other people projecting that 2016 might just be the Cubs’ year.)

Posted in Sports, Wagers | Comments Closed

TMQ Watch: October 20, 2015.

October 21st, 2015

We give up. As a matter of fact, we surrender.

Okay. That was a cheap trick. Sorry. This week’s TMQ after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Firings, NFL, Sports, TMQ watch | Comments Closed

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