The Daily Sabbatical
Music, Books, and Assorted Maunderings

Apparently, the Ft. Worth Ballet theatre has decided to cut expenses by cutting out their orchestra and playing pre-recorded music for the upcoming performance of Cleopatra.  Perhaps worse, they're not letting the public know there will be a recording in the pit.  Pretty disappointing stuff. Info here. Read More

In what has got to be a very complicated metaphor, Rep. Sid Miller is proposing a bill to allow people to go up in a helicopter and gun down wild hogs.  There is some concern that something might go wrong if this plan were implemented, but I just don't see how that could be.  The report at the Huffington Post is really quite funny. Read More

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I normally don't put a bunch of private lifey posts up here, but I thought it needed to be said: being an uncle is underrated.  I just spent a weekend with my brother's family in Bend, Oregon and the time I enjoyed with my niece Marly and my nephew Finnegan was, well, rejuvinating.  One day I might very well have critters of my own, but the affection/responsibility ratio of the avuncular life is pretty damned good. Read More

Well, little G is coming to the big D, and he'll be spitting distance from SMU. He and his lady are moving into 10141 DARIA PL in Preston Hollow. The property goes for a little over two million, making it a veritable shack for the neighborhood. The rumour is that they are having a tire swing installed in the front yard, something dubya has wanted since he was a boy. Read More

New Texas Legislation Would Require

Whiskey Bottles To Be Shot Out Of Air

Immediately After Being Emptied

AUSTIN, TX—A new piece of legislation proposed yesterday on the floor of the Texas Legislature would require that all whiskey bottles be tossed overhead and shot clean out of the air the moment they are emptied. "Every Texan is responsible for disposing of his or her whiskey bottles in the proper fashion," Plano lawmaker Mitch Travelstead said. "By law, this means no longer stopping to wipe your lips with your shirt sleeve, or howling like some rabid dog at… Read More

I voted yesterday, and despite the long line, I was in and out in half an hour.  FYI, it seems you can vote at any early voting location within your county, just bring your driver's license or a government issued ID.  You can even, it seems, bring a utility bill to verify your id.  The machines are computerized, but easy to understand and not obviously messed up.
GO VOTE!
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You heard it here first: More Than It Hurts You will be nominated for the National Book Award this year.  It reminds me of no book more than The Corrections, which despite the Franzen backlash is a masterpiece.   Strauss might not have attained the perfect touch Franzen achieved in that novel, but More Than It Hurts You shares its general profile and spirit, while also being an unpredictable page turner. The story centers around a possible case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.  If you… Read More

The New York Times reported on Thursday that in Harrold, Texas the schoolboard has approved a motion to allow teachers to carry concealed handguns at school. The idea, apparently, is that this will help prevent a massacre by discontented students.

This is a really dumb idea, for several reasons.

1. This makes teachers an easy source for a weapon. These people are not trained to fend off attackers. If someone wants to shoot students and teachers in the school, now they don't have to prepare by planning and purchasing a gun--they can, in the heat of the moment,… Read More

If you were in a traffic jam on Saturday morning, it was because an 18-wheeler full of MARBLES jacknifed, spilling its load.

The 18-wheeler full of banana peels, on the other hand, made it safely to the home of one Wile E. Coyote.

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