Cotton Bowl moving to bowl that is not cotton

I could make the case for having confused feelings about this (economic realities vs. tradition, etc.), but I don't: The people who run Dallas are a bunch of freaking morons.

To shrug off one of the great traditions your city has because you don't want to pony up anything more than a financial band-aid every five years is classic stupid.

People wanted to play at the Cotton Bowl. At Fair Park. It was that simple. A lot of people blow off Dallas as a part of Texas, but the Fair Park buildings and the Cotton Bowl are a huge part of how the state defines itself. You could have at least put up a serious fight to make sure the games played there will be above the high school level.

Now, we have another game at Jerry's House. It's a nice place, to be sure, but it's at Jerry's House. Yeech.

Geek confusion

I don't know what to make of this:

//Next `Star Trek' Heads to Theaters// (Hollywood)
HOLLYWOOD -- The long-rumored new “Star Trek” movie will begin filming this fall, Paramount confirmed Tuesday, under the direction of J.J. Abrams (“Mission: Impossible III,” “Lost,” “Alias”).
The script, which the Hollywood Reporter said over the weekend was about Capt. Kirk and Mr. Spock's meeting at Starfleet Academy and their first mission together, was written by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci, who also did the “Mission” screenplay.

My first thought is that the "Batman Begins" movie easily bested the Batman movies, which started out lamely indulgent and went downscale to lame and stupid. Batman Begins though, was a pretty good show.

But it's also a comparison that doesn't work too well, because I can't think of a Star Trek movie that I really hated. Eh, Five wasn't that good, and you could tell Picard and the crew were getting bored in the last one, but it was still decent fun -- probably because you had the same people playing the same characters.

They've all built up good will. I could deal with an overweight O'Hura. Everyone in the cast hates Shatner, but he's built up enough good will with the public to pretty much do whatever the hell he wants to with his life.

So, we now have a movie that won't star Shatner and Nimoy. It's hard to imagine anyone playing Kirk without it being a parody.

Meanwhile, I also thought all the "Mission: Impossible" movies sucked.

But, what the hell, if it shoots this fall it'll probably come out next summer, so by then I'll be needing some Trek goodness.

Sick at home

I have a strange job. I never went into sports journalism. Being the son of a coach, I have too much sympathy for athletes and I could never sum up the interest to care too much about the numbers and people and inside gossip that journalists have thrive on.

So, now I'm an asst. sports editor. The section is almost completely local, so not knowing too much about the national sports scene isn't that big of deal.

Still, because the conversation around the office revolves around people proving they know more than those dillholes on "Sports Center", I find myself going through the Star-Telegram's sports section much more carefully then when all I wanted to do was find info on Texas Tech.

Not much else to say here, it's just annoying. It's also a pretty major shift in brain resources, which is why I haven't been posting much lately.

Notes:

• Couldn't make it to work today, and I'll leave the sick details as to why undescribed.
• Spent the day re-acquainting myself with the way that the vast majority of daytime television has become primarily a kind of daycare for all the white trash jackals out there. The people who patrol our land much like the mob in ancient Rome. God forbid we lose Jerry Springer.
• Wrapped up the TV watching with an episode of frontline that examined the state of newspapers in the country. Basic diagnosis: Bad. But everyone out there knows that.
• I work at a newspaper that doesn't have a press in its building, just a couple of very large, empty rooms. That always freaks me out. It's like I'm in a car and can't hear the engine. The rest of the building is maybe 50 percent full. And we're considered to be in good shape.
• "300." This is perhaps the next movie I'm willing to lay down money and leave the house to go see. Hope it doesn't lead to a massive disappointment.

Thanks to the Academy

Just wanted to say that the last movie I remember seeing was "Deck the Halls," a stinking pile of excrement festooned with holly and ivy.

And I'd still rather watch that five times in a row than five minutes of the Oscars.

I realize that Oscar hatred is nothing new, but, it being that time of year and all ...

Welcome back to journalism

Scene: A smallish newspaper office, populated with a variety of newspaper types. The phone rings at an empty sports editor’s desk.

Me: Sports, can I help you?

Fan: Is this the sports editor?

Me: He’s not at his desk. I’m [redacted, redacted]. I can try to help you.

Fan: OK. Well, I’m a local high school baseball fan, giggle, and I have a question. I don’t really want to come off here as being too aggressive.

Me: I’ll try to answer or find someone who can.

Fan: You ran a person’s picture two days in a row, and ... there’s 12 other people on the team and I was wondering how that happened. I don’t want to be aggressive. Giggle.

Later check, pictures in question include a mug shot that is about 1 ½ square inches in space, followed by a game shot of a tag out at base, otherwise known by photographers as the "quick and easy, I got three other games to shoot."

Me: Really? Well, our photographers usually shoot what’s available, they might have someone they’re trying to get, they might shoot something else, there’s not a whole lot ...

Fan: How does someone have their kid photographed? Is their some kind of agreement here?

Me: If you’ll let me answer the question ...

Fan: Giggle.

Me: Our photographers work with us but generally come up with their own shots.

Fan: I just want to know how this works. Do agents provide some kind of incentive for you to promote certain players?

Me: (Blink).

Me: Giggle. Uhm. It’s kind of aggressive of you to be asking if we take bribes.

Fan: I’m not being aggressive. I’m asking you professionally.

Me: You’re asking me professionally if we take bribes?

Fan: You’re the one who’s being aggressive! I just want to know how this works. You know how radio stations pick the music they play? Record company agents pay them to promote their works.

Me: But we don’t play Britney Spears. (No, didn’t actually say that, just wish I did.)

Fan: So I was wondering if parents of certain players had hired agents.

Me: Why would they come to us?

Fan: To get their kids all the attention of colleges and pro scouts.

Me: Sir, I don’t think that a kid getting his picture in the paper has any bearing ...

Fan: I’m just wanting to know how this works. You’re being very aggres ...

Me: Scouts have a lot of ways of ...

Fan: Because these coaches can be ...

Me (louder): OK. The question you’re asking here is "Do we take money to put certain players in the paper?"

Fan: Yes.

Me: The answer is no.

Fan: (Pause.)

Fan: OK. Now what is your name?

Name is spelled out. Bold, all-caps, underlined and italicized.

Fan: OK, thanks, I justwantedtoknowhowthisworks (click).

I'm not one to welcome warmer weather

As winter in Texas is my favorite season of the year. Still, I pulled out the sandals today, and they felt good. They don't even have that leather and foot-odor stench. Yet.

Beautiful

Take a cannon that shoots beer cans, add a slow motion camera, and you have a couple of the most beautiful videos ever seen, even if it is a beer commercial. I'm shaking, I'm so touched.
http://michaelscomments.wordpress.com/2007/02/16/the-male-psyche-at-its-best/

Heretical viewing

I noticed a while back that blogger Rex recently was recognized on another, more well-known blog, as pointing out a "heresy" episode in the original "Star Trek" series. Sort, of. I get lost in this stuff.

Anyway, the post made me think about some of the episodes from some of my favorite series that would be rated as heresies. Here's what I could remember:

• Deadwood: Season 1, Episode 8: "Al is plum wore out." Swearingen dreams himself onto the cast of "Gilligan's Island."
• Battlestar Gallactica: Season 2, Episode 5: "Difference." Otherwise known by fans as the "Freakin' Light Sabres!" episode.
• Star Trek -- Enterprise: Season 3, Episode 7: "Future stuff." Enterprise moves forward in time, beams aboard the "Voyager" and beats the living crap out of the crew for making everyone sick of the franchise. Capt. Janeway's stern invitation to "talk things out" over tea is rejected via photon torpedo. Not launched, just thrown really hard by Bakula.
• Friday Night Lights: Season 1, Episode 6: "Don't we have a taco stand?" The West Texas town of Dillon grows huge trees on one block, then switches to desert about two neighborhoods over. Parts of the Austin skyline occasionally appear and then leave. And for some reason never explained, all Latinos have moved away.
• The Simpsons: Season 10-Present: "No longer funny." Or relevant. Bad idea to make Lisa the main character. Bad idea.

Hmmm ... And that's really all that I can think of. I need to start watching Lost.

The cold road

So this is parked in front of my house this morning:

The City of Fort Worth has this unusual notion of repaving streets:

1. Grind ashphalt surface.
2. Cover with fine dirt that will stick to cars like moon dust on the lunar rover.
3. Wait two days.
4. Pack dirt with big roller.
5. Wait one week. Tell people asking about the process that you have no intention of working if anyone spots a cloud anywhere closer than Marfa.
6. Repeat steps 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Voila, you eventually have a resurfaced road. I think. I really can't be sure what they're doing out there. Hell, they could be building a block-long swimming pool for all I know. Which would be sweet.

Behold my baking skills and tremble ...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=270440245

From now on, I'm making pie any time the Raiders of Red need a big win.

Call me Pie Maker

Today I made my first apple pie:

That's right, suckas. Homemade crust and filling from scratch. Don't bring that ready-made pie crust in here! This ain't the Baptist Ice Cream Social and I'm not your 13-year-old sweetheart. Bring your scratch skills or don't come at all.

Some pie-making tips:

• You don't have to mess with flour and cloth, just roll your crust between sheets of wax paper.


• Pie savers are great to stop excess browning.


• I'm disappointed with the luck of the Tech basketball team. They've had some honest chances in every game they've lost recently, but some bonehead disaster always comes up. I can't hope for a miracle run in the Big 12 tourney, but at least maybe we'll get a decent showing in the NIT. As far as next year, we got a far better football recruiting class than people are giving us credit for.

Ely turns 60

And since I’ve been thinking about music, there’s a story today in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal about Lubbock musician Joe Ely turning 60.

Written by Bill Kerns, who is good but wordy, and he’s in rare form. I take the note at the top that this is the first of two stories as a warning.

I’m pointing the article out just to say that Ely was the first non-mainstream musician I ever listened to. I have four of his CDs, starting with Letters to Laredo. I didn’t know that he went to my high school. I also never rode a motorcycle down the halls. (One of several nifty stories in the piece.)

Update: Here's the link. Sorry.

http://lubbockonline.com/stories/020907/ent_020907044.shtml

The fightin' young'uns of Nazareth

ESPN has a story on the town of Nazareth and its girls basketball team. (link at the bottom, it's not functioning right today, for some reason)

Nazareth is one of those tiny places out in the middle of nowhere West Texas. I point out the story for two reasons: 1) It's a damn fine story, and 2) It's a story that anyone who has ever worked at a West Texas newspaper has written or edited. Town living in tough times, people trying to hold on, facing slim odds. This piece at least has nice ray of hope with the focus on the team. I also think the writer overemphasizes the dire situation. But when someone out East comes to the panhandle, it's a little hard for them to not overemphasize the dire situation.

Hat tip, once again, to Jeremy.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=nazareth

Actually, a poster of Selena's backside would be fine ...

Jeremy sent out a list with this scenario:

If stuck on a desert island, what 10 songs would you take with you --
ignoring the fact the scenario is stupid. Just a friendly distraction. This is
in no order at all…Jeremy’s list and I know I'll be kicking myself for
forgetting so many...

“Loving County”/Charlie Robison
“You Shook Me All Night Long”/AC-DC
“In My Life”/The Beatles
“Amarillo By Morning”/George Strait
“Maggie May”/Rod Stewart
“Night Shift”/The Commodores
“Sexual Healing”/Marvin Gaye
“Wanted Dead Or Alive”/Bon Jovi
“Two Dozen Roses”/Shenandoah
“Your Love”/The Outfield

Bonus: "Won't Get Fooled Again"/The Who

I don't have the willpower to narrow things down to 10. Too hard. But I was happy to tell him what he was missing:

"Let's Stay Together"/Al Green -- I don't want to say it's sacrilege to not include this, but, dude, it's Al Green, singing, "Let's Stay Together." ... There, I had to take a two-minute dancing break after I typed that, and I hate dancing.

Something by Neil Diamond -- Yeah, snicker all you want. I'm not a fan, but it's hard to get past age 30 without being aware of the guy's talent. For a song, I'll go with the last one I heard: "Forever in Blue Jeans."

Otherwise, I know I'd go with:

Charlie Robison, but I'd pick "My Hometown."

I'd also take Robert Earl Keen's "Gringo Honeymoon" and Billy Joe Shaver's "Try, and try again."

These are mostly top-40 hits, but they're hits for a pretty damn good reason.

Here, with no explanation or order, are some pictures I took of junk around the farm. It's mostly to be thrown away, but I find some of it visually interesting. Also, of course, are the pictures of dogs. The light wasn't always the best and the camera isn't that sharp, so you have what you have.

No more text. Please allow the voices in your head to provide your own muzac. I'm going with "The Little Spanish Flea."