Marijuana is a bigger moneymaker than cocaine for the dope smugglers

That's one of the tidbits of info in this New York Times video report called "War Without Borders" (9 minutes, 20 seconds long, ie., you've probably got the time to watch.)

One of Houston's favorite gun stores, Carter's Country, makes a cameo appearance in the viddy when they report that most (90% I think they said) of the weapons used in Mexico's drug wars come from licensed weapons dealers in the USA.

Most everybody in America has a hand it, one way or another, however obliquely.

There's the consumer demand for dope (pot, meth, heroin, cocaine), which most of you rednecks already know about.

Then there's the whole American gun rights thing, which the NYT viddy doesn't get into, but which also is obvious. The gun rights lobby wants the right to buy automatic assault weapons (since we might have to take over our government cause of earmarks? creeping socialism? invasion of Mujahadeen? not sure), many of which wind up south o' the border, blah-blah-blah.

So, whether you're a doper or a 2nd Amendment fighter or, say, a virulent anti-drug crusader who can't abide legalization, this Bud's For You!

Ah well, whattyagonnado?

Southern Newspapers still believes in newspapers (of the small variety)

It's almost impossible to sell a newspaper these days.

They're money-losers, for the most part.

Still, Southern Newspapers, a Houston-based company that owns my hometown paper, The Baytown Sun, and The Facts, which is published in Clute and covers southern Brazoria County, along with some other "community newspapers," the biggest of which is The Galveston County Daily News, has purchased two small dailies owned by Cox Newspapers, which is trying to desperately to get out of the news business (except for the Atlanta Constitution, even though bleeds barrels of red ink every week.)

We don't know what Southern paid for the Lufkin Daily News and the The Daily Sentinel in Nacogdoches.

But it's becoming clear that Cox can't sell the Austin American-Statesman for what it thinks it's worth.

Quote/Unquote: ManU, The Recession, hari-kari and Sam Johnson on lit. criticism

(Editor's note: Another in a continuing series of quotes about Our Times, from today and yesteryear, compiled by Wilson of St. Louis.)

"A lot of English journalists left looking very stupid tonight. And for once, I'm not one of them. Yahoo. I honestly couldn't believe how many tabloid johnnies and broadsheet behemoths were breezily predicting a win for Manchester United this morning. On what grounds were they basing this nonsense?"
-- Barry Glendenning, Manchester Guardian, after Barcelona's 2-0 win over Manchester United in the champions league final

"I look at the intersection every day, forlornly. Stalled. Everything is stalled."
--- Richmond Heights city council member Tim Gallagher, talking about the intersection of Brentwood Blvd. and Clayton Road, where the bankrupt stores of Linen n' Things and Mark Shale are, and an abandoned project for a Westin Hotel

"Don't be sorry. Don't resent anyone. It's destiny. Don't be too sad."
-- suicide note left by former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, after he jumped off a 100-foot cliff to his death as he was being investigated for corruption, two days before the North Koreans exploded nuclear weapons underground

"You may scold a carpenter who has made you a bad table, though you cannot make a table. It is not your trade to make tables."
-- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) talking about literary criticism

Dow fined $202,325 but it coulda been a whole lots worse cause of its crummy pollution history

In the criminal justice system, if you get busted and you have a whole lot of prior offenses like the one for which you are currently in handcuffs, well, you're up shit creek.

It's not like that in the pollution game in Texas.

In Texas, you can have all sorts of prior offenses for polluting the air and the authorities don't care.

The latest example is Dow Chemical, which we explained in Hairballs, the official blog of the Houston Press.

Finger painting on the iPhone

This week's cover of The New Yorker was created on a iPhone with the Brushes application. The artist explains --

“I got a phone in the beginning of February, and I immediately got the program so I could entertain myself,” says Colombo, who first published his drawings in The New Yorker in 1994. Colombo has been drawing since he was seven, but he discovered an advantage of digital drawing on a nighttime drive to Vermont. “Before, unless I had a flashlight or a miner’s hat, I could not draw in the dark.” (When the sun is up, it’s a bit harder, “because of the glare on the phone,” he says.) It also allows him to draw without being noticed; most pedestrians assume he’s checking his e-mail.

Facts discovers new trend called "texting"

The local daily paper that covers Brazosport has a Page One feature in Monday's editions about a new technologically based trend known as "texting."

In interviews with a county commissioner, a teacher, a prison administrator, a systems administrator and a couple of homemakers, reporter John Lowman writes that the new texting trend is catching on in southern Brazoria County -- apparently because of its amazing convenience to aid in the exchange of information.

"Texting, or sending short, typed messages via cellular telephone, allows someone to respond to brief requests, set meeting times or know what time to be home for dinner," Lowman's informative story reported, citing County Commissioner Matt Sebesta as its source.

Others around Brazosport backed up the commish's assertion that "texting" is real handy, either in their business life or their personal family life.

While cellpones and texting aren’t allowed in class, Brazosport ISD teacher Jan Sills uses tiny typing to connect with family.

“I love texting,” she said. “I let my sister know that I’m leaving to go to her house for a family event or when I get home.”

"Texting" apparently is useful to citizens who do not work outside the home, the newspaper reported.

Debbie Erskine of Lake Jackson said texting is a convenient way to communicate with family during the day. She and her husband, Steve, and two children trade notes. Text messages often are more reliable than phone calls, which can drop or not connect, she said.

Jennifer Medina doesn’t text for business, but does communicate with her husband, Ricardo, at work. The stay-at-home mother of four children ranging in age from 3 months to 7 years often needs items from the store and can’t just leave her children.

“And my husband can’t have phone calls during the day,” Medina said. “If I need him to buy something before he comes home, I can send him a simple text. This way he doesn’t have to call me back and possibly interrupt something I might be doing, like putting the boys down for a nap.”

As avid consumers of news, we'd like to see more local news coverage of trends such as texting, and we commend the local newspaper for keeping Brazosport abreast of such developments.

Along those lines, we've heard a a lot of talk lately about "blogs" and "Twittering," in which ordinary citizens communicate electronically via computers. It sounds like something that very well may be going on in Brazosport and could merit attention in the newspaper.

alt. in memoriam (for the innocents)

In Memoriam

Empty nest, baby birds dead

The other night I went outside to find the above pictured bird nest on the driveway.

One of the neighborhood cats managed to leap from a planter that stood below the nest (a distance of around 5-feet in my estimation) that was wedged between the rain gutter and outdoor light, and then bat the nest down. At least that's what I figured.

It was dark and I thought, well, maybe the birds managed to escape during the attack. They were gettin' ready to leave pretty soon anyway.

I went back in the house, then went out again and startled the local black & white cat, which jumped outta the bushes in the flower bed and skedaddled. I looked around the flower bed with a flashlight for evidence and didn't find any, but the next day, with the sun out, I saw some feathers, so it looks like the birds didn't make it (unlike last year, when the neighborhood cats left the very same nest alone.)

The mom & dad bird hung for a day but after that they moved on.

I'm kinda bummed out about it all, so don't give me the business. And happy memorial day.

quote/unquote: happiness, Mike Nichols, jingles, indoor pollution that could kill ya

(Editor's Note: This is a continuing series that is compiled by Wilson in St. Louis, who once remarked, in one of his more memorable quotes, "The world is a fucked-up place.")

"A bit of insanity worthy of a better cause? A primitive and vulgar business? A bag of tricks manipulated by the owners? I'm one of those who believes that football (i.e. soccer) might be all that, but it is also much more: a feast for the eyes that watch and a joy for the body that plays it. A reporter once asked the German theologian Dorothee Solee, 'How would you explain to a child what happiness is? 'I wouldn't explain it,' she answered. 'I'd toss him a ball and let him play.' "
-------- by Edward Galeano of Uruguay, from "Football in Sun and Shadow" (1998)

“The greatest thrill is that moment when a thousand people are sitting in the dark, looking at the same scene, and they are all apprehending something that has not been spoken. That’s the thrill of it, the miracle — that’s what holds us to movies forever. It’s what we wish we could do in real life. We all see something and understand it together, and nobody has to say a word. There’s a good reason that the very best sound an audience can make — in both the theater and the movies — is no sound at all, just absolute silence.”
--Director Mike Nichols, NY Times, april 12, '09
"'Five Dollar Foot-long' is one of the best songs. That's a hot song. You've got the FreeCreditReport.com, and then 'Five Dollar Foot-long' comes on. When 'Five Dollar Foot-long' comes on, they should play that in the club. They should play all those in the club."
-- The Rockets' Ron Artest, after game six of the play-offs, talking about ad jingles

"So much for home sweet home. When it comes to air quality, you're better off wandering the fume-filled streets of any major city than sitting at home....most indoor air pollution comes from sources inside the building. Nearly everything we use sheds particles or gives off gases, particularly when it's new. The stuff and staples of daily life -- carpets, upholstery, manufactured wood products, electronic devices, cleaning supplies -- emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are liquid or solid substances that turn into or emit gases at room temperature (a process known as off-gassing). They are the most common type of gases found indoors. Adverse health effects can include eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, loss of coordination, nausea, and damage to the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. Some are known or suspected carcinogens. We spend 90 percent of our time indoors, according to the EPA."
---------"Breathing Queasy" by Laura Sevier, from the Ecologist, (Nov. 2008)

Baby birds on board

Last month we reported on the repopulation of the bird's nest above the garage, complete with four eggs.

As you can see in the above images, taken yesterday and today, the eggs have hatched and the baby sparrows are about ready to leave the nest, maybe within a week in our best estimation. You like baby birds don't you?

His name is Earle

Steve Earle played at Cactus Records in Houston today, with the cost of admission only entailing the ordering his new album "Townes," his newest recording of songs written by his mentor/tormentor Townes Van Zandt (who is dead, in case you didn't know.)

We say mentor/tormentor cause it appears Earle idolized Townes and Townes sorta treated him like a lil' brother (and if you're male and have a lil' brother you'll know that the relationship includes tormentin' and mentorin'.)

The relationship aspect of the two is all based on the New York Times story in tomorrow's editions, which you should read if you're at all interested in either of the musicians.

A friend of ours attended Steve's Cactus gig and reported this to us:

"...about an hour long, a couple of Townes songs including Pancho and Lefty, his own stuff like Christmas in Washington, Rich Man’s War and Copperhead Road. About 10 or 12 F-bombs and a pro-Obama screed. Very good show."

Our friend, an avid reader of The Brazosport News (allegedly) also took the above photo from today's event, for which we thank him.

100 best movie lines in 200 seconds

they're right HERE.

[via Tom Kirkendall's Twitter feed.]

The late Townes Van Zandt explains how he got out of a speeding ticket by virtue of writing "Pancho & Lefty"

Willie & Bob sing the song

Steve Earle ~ enjoy

The Houston Ship Channel as you probably mostly likely never have seen it

From Swamplot, Houston's most excellent real estate blog:

HOUSTON SHIP PILOT Louis Vest assembled this video from more than 2000 still photos he took on a 3 1/2-hour journey on a 600-ft.-long Panamax tanker navigating the Houston Ship Channel:
The ship was only moving at 5-6 knots for the first half of the trip and up to 10 knots in the open areas away from the docks. The journey begins just below the Port of Houston turning basin at the end of the channel and continues down to Morgan’s Point at the head of Galveston Bay. We still had 32 miles to go to get out to the pilot station in the Gulf of Mexico at that point.

Vest fastened his Nikon D700 to an outside rail and set it to take a photo every 6 seconds.
What does this trip look like in the daytime? Vest made a similar video last year (high-res version).

Cyberbullying -- What, me worry?

Pretty sure I can still pick on Dow Chemical even if the cyberbullying bill in Congress is passed, but I have stopped picking on State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, I guess you've noticed. I kinda miss picking on Bonnen but I'll get over it.

Local baseball legend facing 2 years in prison, $250K fine cause he didn't support kids but bought own private island

Troy Neel was a bigshot Brazoswood High School jock who went on to play football at Texas A&M and baseball in the major leagues, but he is about to take a mighty fall -- all because he was too greedy to support his two children.

So, Neel was a heel.

Back in the day, when he helped B'Wood win the state baseball championship, he brought glory to our humble, heavily-polluted area, but now that has been replaced by shame.

Why, Troy, why? You coulda had it all. Coulda been a local hero for life. Now you're just a convicted felon who couldn't hit the curveball at The Show*.

The Texas Attorney General sent word to us today that Neel the Heel pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal non-support charge in San Antonio.

Neel the Heel faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

“Troy Neel failed to make more than $750,000 in court-ordered child support payments,” said Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. “After retiring from professional sports, Neel had the financial resources to purchase an island resort in the South Pacific – but he failed to support his children. Today’s guilty plea marks an important chapter in the state’s lengthy effort to hold Troy Neel accountable for violating the law.”

Thank you, Gen. Abbott, for bringing this scoundrel to justice.

It's not like the blaggard was penniless and couldn't help support his kids. He bought a damn island in the South Pacific!

More background from the A.G.'s office:

Federal agents arrested Neel last December at the Los Angeles International Airport as he exited a flight from Sydney, Australia. The arrest reflected an eight year long joint state-federal effort to bring Neel into custody.

Neel played football at Texas A&M University from 1984 to 1985 and played professional baseball for the Oakland Athletics from 1992 to 1994. Later, Neel also played for professional baseball clubs in Japan and Korea. In 1998, Neel was ordered to pay $5,000 a month in child support for the care of his son and daughter. The court order was based upon Neel’s earnings as a professional athlete. After retiring from professional sports, Neel purchased a resort island in the Republic of Vanuatu, where he has resided since 2000.

All is shame. Just a damn shame.

---------------------------------

* The Show is baseball slang for big league baseball

Click & watch this

Right HERE

Remembering Miss Ely

Our old colleague Slampo has tapped out a eulogy for another former colleague, Jane Ely, who has passed on.

While we tend to idealize our fellows after they've left the building, we quite enjoyed Slampo's appreciation as it brought back some flashbacks of our own salad daze at 4747 Southwest Freeway, Houston, where sometimes we ventured outside the building to lunch with Jane.

quote/unquote: Ron Artest, Huston Smith, Tennessee Williams and a song snippet by Bernie Taupin & Elton John

"He was the best player I played against, outside of a guy from my hood, Queensbridge, Mike Chapworth (sp?), he went to jail for a couple of years, I played him when we were 15 or 16, he was the best player I played against, now it's Roy."
--- Ron Artest on TNT (and youtube) saying Portland's Brandon Roy is the best player he ever guarded, leaving Kobe Bryant and LeBron James off that list, both players he's guarded recently.

"I begin by asking myself, 'What is my mood? How are my feelings?' I try to understand myself because we have it on good authority from the Holy Qur'an that 'he who knoweth himself knoweth the Lord.' The answer I came up with was, 'I'm fine, I'm happy. I'm well. And I'm grateful."
--- Huston Smith, author of "The World's Religions", quoted in Newsweek as he turned 90

"So, finally we are left with the simple faiths of our childhoods, unacceptable to a mature person, or to -- what? What, indeed. The trivial distractions of daily and nightly existence with which we obscure the hushed but giant footsteps of our approaching end? The practice of meditation in solitude and, through it, the slow, the marvelously stoical transcendence of bodily self and its concerns? I am certainly aware of the attractions in this Far East way of reconciling one's self to the end of being one's self, but I am too Occidental a creature to follow it through without an opium pipe.....Not long ago we dined with a very talented young black who was writing a history of jazz and popular music in Harlem. During the course of the meal he made such a wise and amusingly 'black' remark, that I wrote it down on a paper napkin. 'God don't come when you want Him but He's right on time.'"
---- "Memoirs" by Tennessee Williams (1975)

"I'm a juvenile product of the working class
whose best friend floats in the bottom of a glass."
---- "Saturday Night's Allright for Fighting" by bernie taupin/elton john

Dylan gives props to Texas, hits #1 on Billboard chart

Still haven't gotten down to the record store to buy Bob's new LP, but came across a mention of his upcoming interview with Rolling Stone wherein Bob credits Texas for what's going on in his latest recording...

We quote in full from Austin360.com ...

Bob Dylan really isn’t kidding about the Texas thing that’s all over his new album.

In the May 14 issue of Rolling Stone, Dylan talks at length about the role Texas plays in the new album.

On border towns: “You feel things and you’re not quite sure what you feel. But it follows your every move.”

On the music: “Texas might have more independent thinking people than any other state in the country. And it shows in the music….Texas is so big; it’s a republic, it’s its own country.”

On Billy Joe Shaver, who comes up in a lyric: “Waylon and me played (Shaver’s) ‘Ain’t No God in Mexico’ and I don’t know, it was quite good….Shaver and David Allen Coe became my favorite guys in that [outlaw] genre.”

On Doug Sahm: “Doug was like me, maybe the only figure from that period of time that I connected with… Doug a heavy frequency…It’s like what Charley Patton says, ‘My God, what solid power.’ I miss Doug.”

It is not on-line, so, perhaps needless to say, Texas music fans really should pick the issue up. It’s a stellar interview.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
update:

Bob hits #1 on Billboard chart.

When Hitler can't Twitter ... I mean Tweet