Sleepless in Midland

George Will's Debate Advice

George Will was on ABC's "This Week" Sunday. And he had some advice for George Bush about the upcoming presidential debates:

In the protracted negotiations that produced these debates the one thing the Bush people wanted was for this to be on foreign policy. The reason they did was they believe every time Mr. Kerry talks about Iraq he gets into trouble.

Therefore, a suggestion. The President should go out and say "Take my time. Take all of my time! Everyone in the solar system knows where I stand on Iraq. No one knows where you stand. Talk!"

The Debate Agreement

This morning John Edwards was on the Imus show complaining about the concessions he and John Kerry had to make in order to reach an agreement to debate George Bush and Dick Cheney. But, I'm sure that both sides had to give in somewhat to reach a meeting of minds just like everyone else who has ever entered into a contract.

But, when thinking about the negotiations that had to have happened, it brings to mind the one thing that Senator Kerry promised to bring to the table if elected. And, that is his skills at diplomacy, his ability to connect with our allies, i.e., France and Germany, his ability to get them to do what they don't want to do. Most Americans believe that any cooperation from France and Germany is going to come at an unreasonable cost us. But, maybe Senators Kerry and Edwards think that no cost is too high, after all, they'll want to keep their campaign promises.

But, instead of complaining about the agreement they made with the Republicans, perhaps they should demonstrate some of those famous diplomacy skills they keep bragging about.

"Friday Night Lights" - Texas Premiere ticket sales

The ECISD Education Foundation still has a few tickets available for the "Friday Night Lights" Texas premiere on October 7 in Odessa. They plan to mail out tickets and instructions Monday, September 27, to those who have paid the $100 ticket price. Actually, they won't be issuing tickets to the movie - Century Theater will do that.

The Education Foundation ticket will enable the holder to go into the theater on the night of the show to retrieve a movie ticket. There may be as many as four screenings of the "Friday Night Lights" that night to accommodate all of the ticket holders. But, Century Theater will be going about it's normal movie business that night as well, so there is a potential for congestion. I'm sure the ECISD Education Foundation will get it all done in an orderly fashion.

I know, I know. The prospect of school administrators selling movie tickets is generating snarky thoughts in some of you. You're thinking about the likelihood it will turn into something similar to college registration in the pre-computer days. Or, you might be working up some lame joke, like this one, for example:

How many school administrators does it take to sell a movie ticket?

Four.

One to hand out the ticket, take the money, and retrieve the ticket.

A teacher to teach the other one how to do it.

An evaluator to evaluate the teacher.

And a union representative to criticize the evaluator.

But no. We don't do that sort of thing around here.

[To see all of the items at this weblog about the movie, including photos, click "Friday Night Lights".]

Which Movie Hero Are You?

Ellen Ripley

But, would the real Ripley think I'm a girlie man? Here's a quiz from Liquid Generation which will tell you which movie hero you are.

While you are there you could test your patriotism by taking the "How F***ing American Are You?" quiz.

The Making of "Friday Night Lights" on CMT

Country Music Television (Cox local channel 38) is scheduled to show a program about the making of "Friday Night Lights" on October 2, 2004, at 8:30 P.M. CDT. Link to CMT:

Tim McGraw hosts this look at the making of his new feature film Friday Night Lights. The film opens Friday, Oct. 8, and chronicles the story of the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas...

Set your VCR. [Updated: If you have a TIVO, set your TIVO.]

In the meantime, MTV describes the movie this way:

A town for sale, Odessa, Texas has seen better days — the financial bust is evident in its boarded-up shops and broken lives. Just one hope sustains the community. Once a week during the fall, the town and its dreams come alive beneath the dazzling and disorienting Friday night lights, when the Permian High Panthers take to the field. In a city where economic uncertainty has eroded the spirit of its inhabitants, nearly everyone — players and pastors, coaches and boosters, family and fans — seeks comfort in the religion of the Friday night ritual, where the unfulfilled dreams of an entire community are shifted onto the shoulder pads of a team of high-school athletes.

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Tim McGraw, Derek Luke, Jay Hernandez, Lucas Black, Lee Thompson Young, Garrett Hedlund, Connie Britton, Lee Jackson

Directed by: Peter Berg

Release Date: October 4, 2004

To see all of the items at this web log about the movie, including photos, click "Friday Night Lights"

Can't get enough of Senator Kerry's Swift Boat heroics?

Kuma/War expects to release a game titled "JOHN KERRY and the men of SWIFT BOAT PCF-94" on September 30, 2004, which will allow players to reenact events occurring in 1969 which resulted in Sen. Kerry's being awarded one of his medals.

No word of whether you'll get to take Benji Willard up to Cambodia to terminate the command of Col. Kurtz.

Via FreeRepublic.com.

Be on the lookout

Composite drawing of suspect

This happened yesterday. Here's the police press release:

At approximately 11:44 a.m. this morning, September 16, 2004, Midland Police received a call in reference to a possible Sexual Assault.

A 44-year-old woman reports that she left her house, in north central Midland, this morning and returned home. She was gathering laundry in the bedroom when an unknown male confronted her. He tied her up and sexually assaulted her before putting her in a bathroom. The suspect fled the house and the victim left the house through the bathroom window. She called for help from a neighbor's house.

Police are canvassing the area, searching for clues, and interviewing neighbors.

The suspect is described as a white male, around 30 years old, 5'7", 150-160 pounds. He has a medium muscular build, dark eyes, short brown buzz cut hair, and no facial hair. The suspect was wearing a white tank top, dark shorts, and tennis shoes. He has multiple tattoos on his biceps and one above his knee, about 6" in length, of the devil with horns in blue and green ink.

It is believed the suspect took the victim's purse from the residence.

Keep a sharp eye out.

Update 9/18/04: The sketch of the knee tatoo was removed - he's not likely to be wearing shorts in public anytime soon.

Updated 9/20/04: Police arrested James Richard Cunningham III for this crime on Sunday. Source: Midland Reporter-Telegram.

Mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us a convoy!

In what is likely to be the World's Largest Truck Convoy, this Saturday, September 18, 2004, thousands of big rigs will be lining up for convoys at various spots around the country to benefit the Special Olympics. In Texas there will be groups forming in Midland-Odessa, Houston, Dallas, and Bowie.

There's supposed to be a Guinness record for the longest truck convoy, so perhaps one of these groups may set a new one. There's a $100 entry fee, but it looks like a pick-up truck or SUV won't be quite large enough:

All trucks entering the World's Largest Truck Convoy — semi-trucks, truck/trailer combinations, large trucks, low-boys, dump trucks, flat beds, buses, large tow trucks, large box trucks, etc.— must be of 10-GVW or larger. (Note that hazardous materials are not permitted.)

Locally, Permian Basin truck drivers will meet at UTPB in Odessa and hit the asphalt at 10:00 AM traveling East on Highway 191 to finish at the Scharbauer Sports Complex in Midland.

Keep an eye out for them Saturday. And keep the bugs off yer glass an' the bears off yer tail.

Updated 9/18/04: It was a tag-team-truck convoy. There were 25 big rigs in the Odessa-Midland convoy, and the objective is to add up all of the trucks in all of the convoys occurring around the country today to get a total for a world record. But, it was first of all a fund raiser, and a lot of money was raised for the Special Olympics.

Dan Rather - Big wheel just keeps on spinning

Practically the entire blogosphere is abuzz about Dan Rather's recent foray into forgery regarding George W. Bush's Texas Air National Guard record. There has been so much written about it that I'm sure you don't need a link for background.

I stopped watching Rather's show when it was the Rather and Chung Show. Connie Chung had a segment featuring a bereaved mom who had lost her child in a hospital emergency waiting room. It seemed that the ER just wouldn't treat the child. It was a heart wrenching story, but I had to wonder why this was national news. Then came the part that broke the code for me. The hospital spokesperson declined to comment because of the lawsuit that the parents had filed.

Wait just a minute. It's all about money. Chung was giving us the plaintiff's side of the issue in a local story and tainting the jury pool all for the benefit of the plaintiffs and their attorney.

Anyway, it was just one more example of lousy CBS news reporting. And, as for Mr. Rather, he just can't seem to admit that he made a mistake. He reminds me of one of those hubcaps that just keeps on spinning long after the car has stopped.

Hurricane Ivan from Space Station

Incredible photo of Hurricane Ivan from the International Space Station found at today's Astronomy Picture of the Day.

Assault Weapons Ban Expires. Buh bye!

Beretta 92 FS with 15 round (left) and 10 round (right) magazines

Hello large capacity magazines.

The infamous "Assault Weapons Ban" expired yesterday with very little fuss. All but the most stalwart proponents of the ban must surely have recognized by now the futility of that law which banned certain rifles largely because of the way they looked.

As a recreational handgun shooter I welcome the expiration of the law because it relaxes the rule against magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds. I prefer the large capacity magazines because it is easier on my carpal ridden thumbs to load 10 rounds into a 15 round magazine than it is to load 10 rounds into a 10 round magazine. You see, the spring in the 10 round magazine is compressed to a greater degree which makes it very hard to press in those last few rounds.

There's an interesting little online quiz that will test your ability to distinguish banned versus legal assault style rifle under the expired law. Here's the basic rule. A semi-automatic firearm that had a detachable magazine and at least two of the following characteristics was banned by the AWB:

"conspicuous" grip

bayonet mount

flash suppressor

folding or telescoping stock

grenade launcher. (Source.)

Go there and take the quiz to see how good you are at separating the legals from the banned under the old law.

Area residents will have the opportunity to attend the gunshow in Midland this weekend. And, I for one, will be looking for some lower prices on 15 round magazines. Sigh, a painless reload!

We can thank "Momma T" for this

"Sir, we're from the John Kerry Department of Wellness. We spotted you at Albertson's, and we have eye witnesses who saw you purchase three pounds of hamburger meat, two frozen pizzas and a Hostess Twinkie. Do you have a permit for those items?"

"No? Please step out of the vehicle."

Jimmy Carter: homebuilder, peace advocate, nutcase

Nobel prize winner and peace advocate Jimmy Carter had a public tirade recently. With the unheard screams of those children massacred in Russia still rattling around in our heads he must be condemning the terrorists. Right?

Nope. He's having a fit because Zell Miller said some mean things about John Kerry at the Republican National Convention. There have been some very good Democratic office holders in the past. But, in recent times it seems as if the only time prominent Democrats show any real gumption is when they are attacking their domestic political enemies.

If Mr. Carter really wants to do some good then he should go rebuild some of the houses damaged by the recent hurricane and just stay out of the serious matters.

"Friday Night Lights" to premiere in Odessa

This is good news in more ways than one.

Representatives of the ECISD Education Foundation had the opportunity to screen the movie "Friday Night Lights" recently, and they liked it well enough to seek the right to have a premiere in Odessa.

The revised nation wide opening date for the movie is October 8. But, the Odessa premiere will be on October 7 at the Century Theater. The ticket price for that event is a bit severe at $100, but ECISD Education Foundation gets the money, so hopefully the teachers will ultimately benefit from it. Here's a link to an article in the OA Online News which describes the event in more detail.

Also in FNL news, Pegjovi has emailed to say that AOL users can use FNL icons for their buddy lists.

[To see all of the items at this weblog about the movie click Friday Night Lights.]

Speaking of Vietnam

This is a photo of the Permian Basin Vietnam Memorial located near the Commemorative Air Force and Midland International Airport.

The plaques between the flame and the state of Texas stone list the Vietnam casualties from the area by county. What is striking about this is that two of the counties, Midland and Ector, were and still are roughly the same size in terms of population. Yet, there were 62 Ector County and 26 Midland County casualties listed. I don't have an explanation for this disparity, but it's an interesting statistic.

Update: Wallace in a comment, below, has a logical answer - there were more guys from Midland than Odessa who got college deferments.

Armed with what? Spitballs?

Here's a transcript of Zell Miller's Republican National Convention speech last week. What a stem winder that was!

You tell 'em, Zell.

Blog Turns One Year Old Today!

Today marks the one year birthday of Sleepless in Midland. And, it's been a fantastic blogging year.

This blog had been a mere idea for years, hampered by some technical issues, but when Typepad came along there was no excuse for delay. Sleepless in Midland began on September 1, 2003, and it initially dealt with some issues involving a local recreational club. But those issues soon resolved themselves.

And, in the early days the hits to the website were so few that I didn't want to pull up the page myself because my own hits would skew the totals. But, eventually that period passed.

The first entry that got some major attention from search engine searches was one titled Bear killed with .40 caliber handgun - Alaska. There had been an AP article in the local newspaper about an incident in which two people had been killed in Alaska by bears, and upon arriving at the scene park rangers were attacked by the same bears. One of the rangers drew his service pistol and dispatched one of the bears. Well, the article lacked some very crucial information, i.e., the caliber and make of the handgun. So, I phoned the ranger station in Alaska and found out that it was a Glock .40 caliber handgun.

That post accomplished two things. It dispelled the notion that bloggers don't do any original reporting. And it confirmed that blogs can fill in the blanks left by main stream media quite nicely.

Former Midlander, David Smith, was Joe Millionaire 2, and I wrote a few items about that excellent tv show. Unfortunately, David Smith is still riding the rodeo circuit and has not yet made it into big time entertainment. But, "The Next Joe Millionaire, an International Affair," was shown on British tv in August, and it was a huge hit there. Don't believe me? Just take a glance at the comments left at David Smith, Joe Millionaire 2 - Post Show Update. I was preoccupied during the month of August and didn't have an opportunity to do much blogging. But, it seemed that the site was getting a steadily increasing flow of hits due to our British friends checking in to see how the series ended. Lesson learned: stop writing, get more hits.

Then there was filming of "Friday Night Lights" last Spring in Odessa. Hot dang! What a blast! Once again, this blog was doing what no one else was doing at the time and that was to provide first hand reports, with photographs, of the making of the movie. And, what fun it was! In case you missed it, click the "Friday Night Lights" hyperlink. Thanks to Teressa McMahan for a lot of hard work on that.

Don't forget the water wars. Folks in far west Texas were in an uproar over a proposal to lease the water rights under Texas state land. But, there was no news of that locally - odd given that many of the partners of Rio Nuevo, Ltd., were residents of Midland. And, my entry of November 17, 2003, titled Selling West Texas' Water (1) helped to remedy that lack of information.

Well, it's back to the grindstone here at the Sleepless in Midland sweat shop. There's no money in it for me, but that's all right. It might be cute to say "all work and no pay makes for a dull blog," but it sure is nice not to be beholden to anyone but the voices in my head. So, thanks for visiting. And I hope you come back soon.

Oh yeah, one more thing. For you score keepers out there, the Typepad stats for this blog say that as of 2:29 PM CDT today it has received 73,226 total page views since its inception.