Archive for October, 2015

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Admin note.

Monday, 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…

Friday, October 23rd, 2015

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

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

Wager update.

Thursday, 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.

Wednesday, 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…

(more…)

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

Obit watch: October 20, 2015.

Tuesday, October 20th, 2015

Irwin Schiff, noted tax protester.

In essence, Mr. Schiff argued that the Constitution had established that the value of the dollar was based on a certain amount of gold or silver, and that after the so-called gold standard was phased out, starting during the Depression, citizens no longer earned dollars, or income.

His second basic argument was that since all information in a tax return can be used against the taxpayer in a criminal proceeding, filling out a return — he called it a “tax confession” — violated the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

Mr. Schiff was serving a 14-year prison sentence when he died.

Pat Woodell, aka “Bobbie Jo Bradley” of “Petticoat Junction”.

Posted in 1970s, Clippings, Law, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

Your NFL loser update: week 6, 2015.

Monday, October 19th, 2015

Another busy weekend. I was running around helping people celebrate their birthdays, driving between Austin and Lakeway, and generally doing stuff that distracted me from the NFL games.

Which is a good thing. I’m not sure if I should be happy that Chicago lost to Detroit, or sad that my dream of another 0-16 season has to be deferred until next year.

At least San Diego and Buffalo both lost. Would that the Browns could have won, but it sounds like that was an exciting game in any case.

NFL teams that still have a chance to go 0-16:

None.

We’ll be back with the loser update next year (perhaps sooner, if anything interesting goes on in the world of basketball) and TMQ Watch tomorrow, maybe, we hope.

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

Obit watch: October 16, 2015.

Friday, October 16th, 2015

There’s a really nice obituary in today’s NYT (written by Bruce Weber, one of the paper’s best obit writers) for Sybil Stockdale.

Mrs. Stockdale was the wife of James B. Stockdale. You may remember him as Ross Perot’s vice presidential candidate in 1992. But before that:

A captain when he was shot down over North Vietnam on Sept. 9, 1965, Admiral Stockdale was listed for several months as missing in action before the Pentagon learned he was being held in Hanoi at Hoa Lo prison (the so-called Hanoi Hilton). He survived seven and a half years there, subject to torture and held in leg irons and solitary confinement for long periods, before he was released, returning home in February 1973.

During his captivity, Mrs. Stockdale became a leading advocate for the POW/MIA cause. She also worked with the CIA to gather information. This story brings a smile to my face:

In one [letter -DB], she sent a cheery note about his mother along with a picture of a woman bathing in the Pacific Ocean. Admiral Stockdale’s mother loathed swimming, however, and the picture was not of her; the note said she had come to visit because she wanted to have a good “soak,” a code word that instructed him to soak the photograph in urine. When he did so, he discovered, hidden behind the backing of the photograph, a small swath of special carbon paper that could be used to press messages in invisible ink into his own letters home.

Speaking of the CIA and other bits of history, Ken Taylor has also passed away. Mr. Taylor was the Canadian ambassador to Iran during the hostage crisis:

When the U.S. embassy in Tehran was stormed by Islamist students and militants, six American diplomats escaped and found sanctuary in the homes of Taylor and his first secretary John Sheardown. In addition to shielding the Americans from Iranian capture, Taylor also played a crucial role in plotting their escape.
Working with CIA officials and Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark, Taylor obtained for the Americans six Canadian passports containing forged Iranian visas that ultimately allowed them to board a flight to Switzerland. He undertook all these covert actions at a high personal risk, as he and his team would have been taken hostage themselves in the case of discovery by the Islamist militants.

Last, but by no means least: “fresh-faced ingénue” of the 1940s, Joan Leslie.

At 9, touring with her sisters, she played Toronto. Their act included her impression of Durante.
One night after the show, her dressing room door opened to reveal a man armed with nothing but criticism. Her Durante was all wrong, he told her. Unbidden, he showed her the right way to do it.

Read the obit for the punchline, if you haven’t already guessed it.

Posted in 1970s, Clippings, Heroism, History, Movies, Obits, TV | 1 Comment »

TMQ Watch: October 13, 2015.

Wednesday, October 14th, 2015

Late again, we know. Things happen. We were needed.

In this week’s TMQ…

(more…)

Posted in NFL, Sports, TMQ watch | Comments Closed

Obit watch: October 14, 2015.

Wednesday, October 14th, 2015

Robert Leuci.

I don’t think he ever reached the level of fame Frank Serpico did, but he was part of the same NYPD anti-corruption movement.

Of the 70 men assigned to the Special Investigating Unit of the Narcotics Division from 1968 to 1971, 52 were indicted as a result of evidence gathered by Mr. Leuci. Two committed suicide with their service revolvers. Two others, both 42, died of heart attacks after they were indicted. One went insane.

Posted in Books, Clippings, Cops, Law, NYPD, Obits | Comments Closed

Ripped from the headlines!

Tuesday, October 13th, 2015

Police affidavit: Shia LaBeouf ‘was a danger to himself and others’

I have no joke here, I just wanted to say this:

Posted in Austin, Clippings, Law | Comments Closed

Firings watch: October 13, 2015.

Tuesday, October 13th, 2015

Steve Spurrier is “retiring” “immediately” as head coach of South Carolina. This may not technically be a “firing”, but his team was 2-4 so far this year, 0-4 in the SEC, and “have lost eight of their past nine SEC games dating to the past season.”

Steve Sarkisian’s indefinite suspension has turned into a firing. Again, this is one of those I’m not getting a lot of pleasure out of: I hope he gets the help he needs.

(Hattip on both of these to Lawrence.)

Posted in Clippings, Firings, Sports | Comments Closed

Your NFL loser update: week 5, 2015.

Monday, October 12th, 2015

Another jam-packed weekend. A wake, a blogshoot, a gun show, shopping…

Didn’t watch a single minute of a single game (well, I did catch a few seconds of one out of the corner of one eye while we were eating at Denny’s, of all places). But it wasn’t a bad weekend for the loser update.

NFL teams that have a chance of going 0-16:

Detroit

In other news, Randy Edsall was fired on Sunday while I was running around. He was 22-34 at the University of Maryland, and they were 2-4 so far this season.

(Speaking of 2-4 teams, did Charlie Strong save his job this weekend? Discuss.)

This doesn’t exactly count as a firing, and I take no joy in it, but: Steve Sarkisian is on an “indifinite leave of absence” from USC. It sounds like he has a serious problem: I hope he manages to pull himself out of it.

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

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