Tag: #Texas

  • ODDS and ENDS: Super Bowl, Minimalist Cities, and Gig Work

    Hey, the Super Bowl is here… whoopie… I really don’t care that much this year. I’ll watch, but it will be a “hate-watch” as I despise the Philadelphia Eagles. Besides being the Dallas Cowboys arch rival, their fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus. Yes, that’s real, and I can’t respect a fan base that hates on Santa. Which means, I guess I want to see Kansas City win. Either way, it’s just a “happening” kind of event for me. We’ll make queso and watch the commercials. The kid and the wife want to see Rihanna, so the marketing plan for that aspect was successful.

    Turns out the second worst city in America to be a minimalist in is my hometown of Arlington, TX. From what I read, air pollution, reliance on cars, and the lack of bike paths make it awful for minimalists, which sadly, I can attest to when it comes to Arlington. But in the City’s defense, it is still the largest city in America without a form of mass transit. Oh, and Salt Lake City is the best place for minimalists. Go figure…

    I started looking for a job this month. Not sure what to expect and there is no pressure, but I need to find something in the next couple of months. The wife suggested that I look into gig work. I’m open to this idea, but is there gig work that doesn’t involve delivering things; such as people, food or packages? Just wondering.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Doc McStuffins, Tottenham Again, and Ann Richards’ Texas

    “Odds and Ends” is my continuing series of random thoughts and follow ups…

    So, the kid loves watching Doc McStuffins. If you don’t know it, don’t worry about it. I will say this, every episode they sing a song called, “Time for Your Checkup.” I’m telling you that if that song was available to do at karaoke, dude, I would knock that song out of the park. I mean, just nail it.

    Tottenham is undefeated in the Premier League. They have nine points and are sitting on top of the table. Just saying…

    There is a reason why I left Texas, and there is a reason why I will not be raising my daughter in Texas either. And it’s pretty sad, because I do like the state, and some of the best people I know are from there. But the Texas I grew up in just doesn’t exist anymore. The super-Christians and the crazy conservatives took over, and it just got coo-coo there. In my memory, Texas used to be like Ann Richards; middle of the road Democrat, fiercely independent, but looking out for each other. I just don’t recognize that state.

  • If You Ban Books, Remember to Bring Props

    Today, I read an opinion essay in The New York Times by Carmen Maria Machado about books being banned, especially her memoir In The Dream House, in Leander, TX. (Go Texas!) To quote from Machado’s essay;

    “This year, a parent in Leander, Texas — livid that “In the Dream House” appeared on high school classes’ recommended reading lists— brought a pink strap-on dildo to a school board meeting. Voice trembling with disgust, she read excerpts from my book — including one where I referred to a dildo, inspiring the prop — before arguing that letting a student read my book could be considered child abuse.”

    Sadly, the parents in Leander are trying to ban books, which, and no one there seems to have learned this, never works. For one, you can’t kill an idea, and two, the parents are just making these books even more desirable to their kids, because the books have become clandestine.

    Please, read Machado’s essay, as she makes a very persuasive argument for the need of teenagers to have access to books that share a wide range of different viewpoints from a spectrum of authors. But, she also points out that education on healthy relationships is never taught in schools, and her book, and many others, can be a teaching tools for what a compassionate and caring partnership between adults can and should be. I found the essay well written, and made me think more about what my daughter should have access to.

    One last funny note…

    Please click the link, “brought a pink strap-on dildo ,” because I had a question. As the parents were offended by the book, “In the Dream House,” somehow they thought, especially Lori Hines as she is the woman in the picture, that bringing a dildo was a great “prop” idea for the meeting. You know, really ramming home their point, but it does raise questions for me like; Did Lori go out and buy a pink strap-on dildo, did she own one, or did she borrow it? Also, what is she planning on doing with it now that the meeting is over? Did she think about how in the high school, she will be known as the “pink strap-on dildo mom?” If you didn’t want kids exposed to pink strap-on dildos, you have, in fact, exposed your kids to a pink strap-on dildo? (Also, saying pink strap-on dildo over and over again is kind’a fun.) This might be a moment where the stunt upstaged the message.

  • Texas! Please Put a Mask On!

    I grew up in Texas, and I really don’t understand that state anymore. I think about how it was a good place to grow up, and I would describe the Texas of those years as a place that was common sense Democrat. Now, I can’t recognize any of that in Texas anymore.

    For me, it all started with the election of Ann Richards in 1990, what the Republicans did, and who they ran against her. First of all, if you want to know what Texas was like, study Ann Richards. She could take care of herself, and wasn’t afraid of a fight.

    In 1990, Richards won the Democrat nomination for Governor, and was running on a Texas moderate platform. The Republicans ran a campaign against her, stating a Richards win would be “Death to Families.” But the worst was that the Republicans ran an almost stereotype of a Texan named Clayton Williams who was a millionaire oil businessman who inherited much of it from his father. His campaign was basically that a businessman with no political experience was better for Texas, a platform with nothing other than cut taxes, and he was winning with that schtick. He would have won if he hadn’t made several huge gaffs. The big two were that he refused to shake hands with Richards, because she was a former alcoholic, and the second was he made a rape joke. Well, those were still the days of decency, and Williams dropped in the polls and Richards won. She had a successful term, but ended up losing reelection to George W. Bush in 1994.

    When I look back on the 1990 Texas election, it was the precursor, the warning, of what platformless conservatism will do to the state and the nation. Clayton Williams was the Pre-Trump; rich with no ideas, shooting from the hip, and remorseless for being offensive. Policy was only important if it conformed to this toxic-masculine ideal; logic and science be damned!

    That is what happened in Texas yesterday, with Abbott’s order to get back to normal. There is no science out there that supports his decision, but he keeps saying that he is “following the science.” People will die from this decision, ad for what? To keep the market open? To stop people from asking for help from the government?

    To my friends and family in Texas, please get your vaccine. Ware a mask. Stay socially distant. Listen to science.

  • I’m More Excited About British Football Than American Football

    I’m More Excited About British Football Than American Football

    Yup, I can hear my friends and family back in Texas shitting a brick right now. Being that football in Texas is a well-documented religion and industry unto itself, they would be dumbfounded that someone who grew up under Friday Night Lights, would somehow become all hipster and start liking soccer. It’s true, and then I would correct them and say, “You know it’s called football all over the world.”

    Yes, it’s true. I found myself more excited about the Premier League starting up again in Britain than I have been for baseball coming back or the basketball bubble. I haven’t cared about hockey since the Dallas Stars won the cup, and I do respect MLS, but I haven’t been able to get behind the NY Red Bulls (Too Corporate) or NYCFC as they are partly owned by Manchester City, and more about that later. American Football feels like they well screw it up like baseball. My true feeling is that American sports team owners don’t care about their players, and are just trying to throw them out in the mix, to grab what money they can. Baseball clearly hasn’t thought it through, as the 12+ Marlin players contracting Covid in the last 48 hours proves.

    I do want sports back, if nothing more than to have something to nap through on a Sunday afternoon, and also to have something to talk to people about. Nothing gets settled in sports discussions, but they sure are fun and do help give you an insight on the person arguing that Charles Barkley was the most revolutionary player in the NBA, period. (Feel free to comment on that.)

    It was fun for the past few weeks following my team in the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, as they fought for a 6th place finish which qualified them for the Europa League. As I follow the Spurs, I have adopted a dislike for all teams from Manchester, and loath Arsenal. And there is something also about how the Premier League took the virus seriously, especially player health. On the week of July 13th, 2,208 players and staff were tested and zero were found positive. In fact, from May 7th to July 19th, only 20 positive test results came back. They all did what they had to do to have a safe end of the season.

    I don’t think America will be able to say the same.