The Ozzie Rabbit Lodge

I am never a good judge of what is in good taste or tacky or not. For the most part. In my neighborhood there is this bar, well, they call it a lodge. The Ozzie Rabbit Lodge. The East Side's (of Fort Worth) hippest new watering hole.

I saw an ad for The Ozzie Rabbit Lodge this morning in our local alternative news source called FW Weekly, a much more reliable source of information than the local propaganda rag that calls itself the Star-Telegram. In the Ozzie Rabbit ad, at the top, it says "CLASSIC COUNTRY WITHOUT ALL THAT PESKY INCEST!" What does that mean? There is classic country music that does have a lot of pesky incest?

And then another part of the ad says "Don't blame us for the Whiskey Dick!". Again, what does that mean? Whiskey Dick?

Now, maybe I should tell you what the theme of The Ozzie Rabbit Lodge is and why it is named The Ozzie Rabbit Lodge. Ozzie Rabbit was the nickname of Lee Harvey Oswald when he was in the army. Inside The Ozzie Rabbit Lodge there are a lot of iconic images, some huge giant poster size, of well known images from the JFK Assassination and aftermath, including the famous photo of Jack Ruby shooting Oswald.

Why, you might ask, would someone decide on this theme for their hip watering hole? Well, The Ozzie Rabbit Lodge is located in the urban village known as Handley. In the urban village of Handley there is a cemetery named Rose Hill Memorial Burial Park. Located in Rose Hill Memorial Burial park is the Gravesite of Lee Harvey Oswald. Yes, I live in the neighborhood where one of the world's most notorious criminals is buried.

And so you can have a few drinks at The Ozzie Rabbit Lodge ($1.50 Domestic Can Beer, $2.00 Lone Star, The Wagon Wheel spins all night with $2.50 shots) and then after you are suitably fortified you can walk out of Ozzie Rabbit's and head east on Lancaster in search of Lee Harvey Oswald's Gravesite. You can't really have a more hip nightlife experience than that!

The Eye of God & The Super Bowl

It is Super Bowl Sunday. So I won't be going to church today.

Speaking of the Buckle of the Bible Belt, there is an ongoing debate here, played out in letters to the editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and other places, regarding the relative validity of the concept of evolution and creationism, or as I prefer to call it, cretinism. Now, despite the fact that I think it is ridiculous to believe that the earth and all that lives here magically appeared about 6000 years ago, it seems almost equally ridiculously to believe that all life, in all its various forms, somehow magically evolved from the primordial ooze into all its amazing current day wonders, like humans and lobsters and elephants.

What I do know for a fact is I have no real clue to what the truth is, well, except for being fairly certain that the cretinism belief system is pretty much an ignorance based faith, like being a Conservative Republican.

So, this Sunday morning among the several letters to the editor regarding the cretinism/evolution debate was the most amusing one yet. I'll copy it below and then continue with my personal spewing.

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As proponents of intelligent design go on and on about the “logic” of their belief, I thought I’d use their line of reasoning to put forth my own proposal.

Like the intelligent design people, I’ll ignore the mountains of evidence and proof put forth by the various sciences, except where it suits my needs, while fixating on minor, unresolved details, (such as how the Neanderthals died off), as flaws in the theory of evolution and science in general.

Then I’ll fall back on their favorite: “You can’t prove me wrong, so I have to be right,” which is an attempt to ignore the requirement of testable evidence that is the basis of science.

Using the creationists’ line of reasoning, I now conclude that humans, and everything else, are too complex to be explained, especially if we avoid empirical evidence and proof.

Therefore, I conclude that we are in truth and fact blueberry muffins dreaming that we’re humans, and everything else is part of that dream.

Now that I’ve shown the world the truth and demonstrated that I’m using the same line of reasoning as the creationists, the Blueberry Muffin Truth must go into those science textbooks if intelligent design is allowed.

It should also be understood that, in accordance with the intelligent design system of reasoning, you’re not allowed to ask who baked us, or who made the maker.

It’s also clear that, as with the creationists, my wondrous knowledge is in no way responsible for the deterioration of education or knowledge, or America’s losing its edge in science, technology, etc.

Now I wonder how long it will be before I’m awarded a Nobel Prize.

— Allan Vrasich, Watauga

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Now, even though I must say the above writer's Blueberry Muffin Truth seems more believeable than the Intelligent Design Theory, I will admit that at times I think maybe the Cretinists have it right. Like how do you explain the fascination the masses have with football and today's absolute religious holiday level of celebrating of the Super Bowl?

Yesterday I went to get supplies for my annual Super Bowl Party. Yes, I admit I am a fellow Cretinist when it comes to the Super Bowl, but I don't actually watch the game, I watch the commercials and the half time show, not wanting to miss a potential civilization destroying moment of extreme tackiness.

So, I went to 3 stores to get my supplies, Market Street, Sprouts and Super Wal-Mart. Each was throbbing with a Christmas Eve level of madness with people in a frenzy buying their Super Bowl Party supplies. Sprouts had run out of cilantro. Which is what forced the stop at Wal-Mart. A stop I'd hoped not to have to make because I was up in the nice part of the D/FW Metroplex where there are good grocery stores. But, because I was up in the nice part of the D/FW Metroplex and not in the, well, ghetto, where I live, the Super Wal-Mart was quite nice with polished floors and plasma tvs overhead and price check devices that actually worked and no cops guarding the entrance or working girls walking the aisles.

Before I hit the publish button I must go back to religion and mention the Eye of God. That is the image you see above. It was taken by the Hubble Telescope. It is being thrown around the Internet with some believing it depicts God's Eye and thus proves He is watching us and you better be good or you won't get any Christmas presents and your special team won't win the Super Bowl.

But, what it actually depicts is the so-called Helix Nebula, which astronomers claim is "a trillion-mile-long tunnel of glowing gases." At its center is a dying star which has ejected masses of dust and gas to form tentacle-like filaments stretching toward an outer rim composed of the same material. Our own sun may look like this in a few billion years.

While I wait for that to happen it is time to start my Super Bowl Party preparations.

Dallas Cowboy Stadium Scandal

I got my best feedback email yet this morning, regarding the Dallas Cowboys Stadium Scandal. This person seemed to go right to the heart of why what was done to so many victims is so very very wrong. And that justice has yet to be served. Unless one counts as partial poetic justice the early booting of the Dallas Cowboys from what the locals thought was to be their certain win in tomorrow's Super Bowl. Go to my Eyes on Texas website for a look at more Feedback on this ongoing scandal and read the full text of some of the victim's injuries in stories in the local news media.

Below is the Feedback Email I got this morning about the Dallas Cowboys Stadium Scandal.

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Is anything being done to right this bizarrely shocking wrong? What if an individual forced hundreds of people out of their homes, paying them what he arbitrarily thought was fair market value, with the victims having no say in the matter, as if being robbed at gunpoint, then destroying their homes. Would this not be considered an outrageous crime of the most despicable sort? To do this to build a football stadium? Where is the conscience of these people? I'm not much of a Christian, but I do believe in a lot of what is attributed to Jesus---"what you do to the weakest of my brethren, you do to me." In the Buckle of the Bible Belt was there not a Christian anywhere who acted on the behalf of Jesus to protect those who could not protect themselves from this predatory outrage? Is it too late for a clever lawyer somewhere in the nation, a lawyer with a conscience and with a clear feeling of what is right and wrong, to bring some sort of civil, if not criminal charges, against the perpetrators of this crime? Including the mayor of Arlington and the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones. Seems for certain if an individual committed this crime, that person would be looking at life in prison. And a huge fine. That this crime was committed while hiding behind the cover of a likely corrupt local government does not make it any less a crime. This stadium needs to be razed to the ground and the land returned to its owners.

Alan S.
Tempe, Arizona

Columbia Anniversary

It was 5 years ago yesterday that north Texas was awakened by an explosion high overhead with debris falling from the sky. I did not hear the explosion or see the debris falling. But many did. I was laying on the floor reading my morning paper when the disaster struck. I didn't know it had happened until I checked my email and saw a news update from MSNBC.com.

When I realized what had happened I performed my post 9/11 duty of calling those I know on the west coast, who were still asleep, to let them know something awful has happened and that it was time to get up and turn on the TV.

The morning of 9/11 calls were very strange to make. I didn't want to tell people outright what had happened. I just told them they needed to turn on their TV and probably not go to work today. I particularly thought my little sister should stay home since she worked high up in a Seattle skyscraper and at that point in time who knew how many more airliners had been hijacked.

That day 5 years ago yesterday brought about the most unusual freeway warning signs I've seen. Sort of surreal. The one above was taken looking west past the Fort Worth UFO towards downtown Fort Worth.

And The Oscar Goes To...

Last night's Super Tuesday Debate on CNN was pretty much the most, well, theatrical debate I've yet seen. First off there was the setting. In Los Angeles' Kodak Theater, where the Academy Awards take place. There seemed to be almost an Academy Awards number of celebs in the audience, from Pierce Brosnan to Quentin Tarantino to Leonardo DiCaprio to Christina Applegate.

Up on the stage Hillary and Barack didn't look quite like they were ready to accept an Oscar but both did seem to put in a real good performance.

At the start CNN's Wolf Blitzer told the audience that this would be a no-holds, anything goes debate, just like the previous Democrat debate that he hosted. So there was a lot of cheering and clapping and laughing.

I'd say Hillary got the biggest candidate laugh and applause of the night, even if overall her acting was not quite up to Barack's polished delivery. Hillary's big reaction of the night came in response to a question posted to co-sponsor Politico.com from a 38 year old woman who said it bothered her that at 38 years old she's only had the chance to vote for either a Bush or a Clinton since casting her first presidential ballot at age 18. The questioner wondered how a Clinton could promote change after decades of a Clinton or Bush in power.

Hillary responded that she understood the questioner's concern, "However, it did take a Clinton to clean up after the first Bush, and I think it might take another one to clean up after the second Bush".

It sounded funnier when she delivered the line and I likely didn't get the quote 100% accurate due to my memory having serious lapses at times. But she made the line work with her Academy Award level performance of the night.

The biggest eruption of applause of the debate came when Wolf Blitzer asked, "Are we looking at the dream Democrat ticket on the stage right now?"

When the debate ended Hillary and Barack engaged in a rather warm embrace and lengthy whispering in each other's ear. Their mics did not pick up what was being said. My limited lip reading seemed to indicate Barack was asking Hillary out for coffee, with Hillary replying she'd prefer to go to McDonald's because she was starving. I think they'd agreed to meet at the McDonald's at Hollywood and Vine in an hour.

And then the pair worked the stage signing autographs for their fans, just like one would expect from major stars after a big night in the Academy Awards building where almost a year ago Hillary's first husband's Vice President, Al Gore, actually did win an Oscar. Not for acting though. He'd make a really bad actor. Too stiff.

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I forgot to mention, regarding last night's debate. I did find a couple Hillary things a tad jarring. One is she over and over uses verbiage regarding her plans that sounds odd to me, as in she'll say "I'm offering", or "my plan offers", or "I'd like to offer". It makes her sound like Santa Claus giving out gifts. It'd be much better if she'd say "My plan provides" type verbiage. I don't believe I remember hearing a candidate making offers like this before. It sounds very used car salesmanish.

And then there was this quote from last night regarding giving illegal immigrants driver's licenses in which Hillary said, "I do not think that it is either appropriate to give a driver's license to someone who is here undocumented, putting them, frankly, at risk, because that is clear evidence that they are not here legally."

Huh? I thought as I heard that last night and again when I read the quote in the morning paper. She used the word "either" but there is no "or" in the sentence. It's either appropriate or what? And how does giving them a license put them at risk? At risk for being caught here illegally?

Another Hillary "offer" that perplexes me is she offers over and over again her plan for a 90 moratorium on home foreclosures. Followed by a 5 year interest rate freeze. First off, if she does become president it won't be for another year. If the foreclosure problem is still bad by then I don't know how much good her 90 day offer is going to do. And, while I'm not an economist, though I did take an economics class or two in college. Hated it. But regarding freezing interest rates. Is that something the government can mandate lenders to do? Isn't the government only able to control the Federal Reserve rate?

Texas is Still Burning

More wind and more wildfires in the forecast for today. So far, unlike last year's wildfires, I've only faintly smelled the smoke. The closest wildfire to me has been about 3 miles away, this time,

and it was not a big one and was quickly extinguished.

On a non-Texas wildfire related matter. You who ardently read every word of my Blog, yeah, both of you, may recall me mentioning that whenever I get gas I call my mom in Phoenix to tell her how much it cost. I got gas yesterday, $2.66 a gallon for unleaded at a QT up in Southlake. So, I called my mom with my gas report. That and to wish her happy birthday.

Texas Burning

Yesterday a low-pressure system bumped into a high-pressure system that then mixed in a cold front that combined to cause hour after hour of 40 - 60 mph winds. The wind knocked down power poles which caused sparks which caused wildfires. Two of the fires were blamed on smokers tossing their cigarettes to the ground. One of the smoker caused fires burned 15 houses, another grew to be over 2,000 acres.

How do they figure out that a fire was started with a cigarette, one can't help but wonder?

Today it is supposed to blow hard again, but not as hard as yesterday. Currently the sky is very blue, very clear, as you can see from the view from my back porch. And it is very cold.

Blow Hard

No, someone did not call me a Blow Hard. Not today anyway. Here in north Texas we are currently being blown by a hellacious windstorm. Most hellacious non-tornado windstorm I've been blown by since I've been in this windy state.

Today started off pleasant enough, reaching a high of about 68 around noon. And then the winds started up with the temperature dropping. I was out in this for a couple hours. I don't remember almost getting knocked over by wind before. But when I got out of my newly restored (from yesterday's near death experience) van, I had trouble walking and then the wind caught the post office's door and slammed it into me.

Power has been off and on. But the worst of it is there are dozens of out of control wildfires. You can smell the smoke and the air has taken on a pinkish hue.

One great benefit of a good Texas windstorm is it does what few else here do. The wind cleans up the litter. Well, more precisely it sweeps the littered areas clean and moves the litter to concentrated collection points, like lines of trees and fences. It is sort of fun to be out in it in a well-littered zone and play dodge litter as the pieces come flying at you.

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Just as I hit the PUBLISH POST button WeatherBug went off with a Warning. I'll copy and paste it below. It's one I'd not seen before. A "Red Flag Warning". Are we under eminent threat of a commie invasion?

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Red Flag Warning... Updated National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 1200 PM CST Tue Jan 29 2008 Montague-Cooke-Grayson-Fannin-Lamar-Young-Jack-Wise-Denton-Collin- Hunt-Delta-Hopkins-Stephens-Palo Pinto-Parker-Tarrant-Dallas- Rockwall-Kaufman-Van Zandt-Rains-Eastland-Erath-Hood-Somervell- Johnson-Ellis-Henderson-Comanche-Mills-Hamilton-Bosque-Hill- Navarro-Freestone-Anderson-Lampasas-Coryell-Bell-Mclennan-Falls- Limestone-Leon-Milam-Robertson- 1200 PM CST Tue Jan 29 2008 ... Red Flag Warning Remains In Effect Until 6 PM CST This Afternoon Across All Of North Texas For Very Strong Winds And Very Low Humidities... ... Fire Weather Watch Remains In Effect Wednesday Afternoon... Strong West And Northwest Winds And Very Low Humidities Will Continue Through The Afternoon Across All Of North Texas. Sustained Wind Speeds Of 30 To 40 Mph With Gusts In Excess Of 50 Mph And Relative Humidities Ranging From 10 To 15 Percent Will Lead To Extreme Fire Weather Conditions Through Early Evening. The Winds Are Expected To Diminish This Evening. Return Southerly Flow And Low Humidity Will Lead To Very High Fire Danger Conditions Across All Of North Texas Wednesday Afternoon. A Fire Weather Watch Is In Effect For All Of North Texas Wednesday Afternoon. A Red Flag Warning Means That Critical Fire Weather Conditions Are Either Occurring Now... Or Will Shortly. A Combination Of Strong Winds... Low Relative Humidity... And Dry Vegetation Will Create Explosive Fire Growth Potential. Avoid All Outside Burning And Welding Today. Do Not Toss Lit Cigarette Butts Outside. Report Wild Fires To The Nearest Fire Department Or Law Enforcement Office.

Near Death Experiences

There are bad days. And then there are even worse days. Today fell into the latter category. As in Near Death Trauma type bad day. Combined with having to go to the airport to get a militant Puerto Rican.

I don't know if I'm going to muster the energy to stay up til 8 to watch El Presidente give his last State of the Union speech. Last based on assuming, of course, that he does not stage a coup near the end of his term and declare himself President for Life.

So, I needed to be at the airport by 2 to get the aforementioned Puerto Rican. About 11am I decided to go back to Oakland Park. It's about 3 miles from here. I was driving, singing along with Pink about what I could do with my hand tonight, when suddenly my van started making a horrible noise. And shuddering. I quickly pulled off the road into a parking lot.

Flat tire.

No problem. I've had a flat tire before. In Death Valley, back in 1994. Same vehicle. I really hate to shop for cars. I recollect the same problem that time. As in we could not figure out how to get the spare tire loose from the thing that held it to the underside of the van. Luckily that time I was traveling with a group of 6, two of whom were in another van. Their spare fit mine. So, no problem, we drove the 5 miles to where we were staying that night, Stovepipe Wells, and then the next day got the tire fixed in Bishop, California, where Lulu found us a great place to have lunch. Yes. Lulu was along on this trip.

So, what to do. I'm stranded, I can't get my spare. But I did have my bike. So, I got the bike out and head back here where I could get another car. The only route back to here is through this zone called Boca Raton. Boca Raton being an extreme high crime area with gangs and random murders. The pedaling was being real difficult and then I realized my rear bike tire was low. I pedaled now in fear of an eminent bike tire flat. I make it back here to find the other car would not start. After fiddling with the ignition it finally ignited. Then I drove back to the van and took off the tire.

I was running out of time to get to the airport. I called one of the Puerto Rican's other friends to see if she could run to the airport. She couldn't.

So, I get to the tire store. Bought 2 new tires. The tire guy put the new tire on the rim. I headed back to the van, certain it would be stripped to total nakedness due to the bad area it was stranded in. But it wasn't.

I got the new tire back on the van. Now I had a new problem. I had 2 vehicles. I did not want to leave one behind. I called for help and got another driver. It was now coming up on 2pm. I'd not had lunch. I was dirty. I had grease on my hands. I should have been at the airport.

And then the phone rang. It was the Puerto Rican, already on the ground, waiting. I told her it would be a half hour. She didn't seem too annoyed. And she seemed relatively sober.

I was finally on my way to the airport, had dodged the possible much worse outcome of having a tire blow out at freeway speeds where I could easily have lost control and ended up toasted in a fiery multi-car accident. Little did I know, as I drove onto the airport property, that I was heading towards an even bigger, toasty, fiery, blowout.

I got to Terminal C, drove to Arrivals, easily parked and saw the Puerto Rican standing on the sidewalk waiting to be picked up, talking on her phone.

So, I'm thinking this has all worked out well. I walk across the street, certain she has seen me. I walk up to her. She pays no attention to me. Her luggage with wheels is sitting next to her. So, I wheel off with it and head to the van. Certain she'd see me. I look back after I cross the street and she is still just talking away.

I put her luggage in the van and as I slam the door shut I hear an eruption of screaming "help, police, I've been robbed". A couple of women next to her were laughing and pointing at me. And that's when the Puerto Rican got real loud. And it was all in Spanish.

She got mad at Arnold Swarzenegger once for saying that Puerto Rican's were angry people with bad tempers. I told her, uh, you are angry people with bad tempers. And she goes, well, that may be true but he shouldn't be saying it.

Anyway, those were the two explosive events in my day in Texas this fine January day, both violent, both life threatening and both likely preventable with better maintenance and attention to details.

Stephenville UFO Related Photo

Sunday, January 27, 2008, approximately noon, I was walking at Oakland Lake Park in Fort Worth when I saw what appeared to be an alien spacecraft. The Stephenville UFO in broad daylight I wondered? But there were no spinning lights, and it wasn't moving, just hovering above some houses. Alien abduction perhaps? The object was a very unearthly shade of blue that was quite displeasing to the eye.

Luckily I was at Oakland Lake Park to take photos for a webpage. And so I got a good pic or two of the Fort Worth UFO. Or what I thought was a UFO.

Locally, the powers-that-be seem to be attempting to cover up this possible UFO sighting by claiming the object is a water tower. I don't believe them.

Just like the UFO spotters in Stephenville, I saw jets in the sky when I spotted the Fort Worth UFO. But they appeared to be passenger jets heading to D/FW Airport. No jets appeared to be circling the supposed water tower.