Fiesta de Homie!
There's no better treat at the grocery store than the 25 cent Mexican gangsta toys you can buy at those toy dispenser things. I love Homies! I was going on and on with a photog about how awesome the little gangsta guys and chula girls are. Then, one day I get back to my desk at the main newsroom, and lo and behold, I find HUNDREDS OF HOMIES ON DISPLAY!!!



They were placed into two homie possies, one on each side of my computer. (My favorites are the break-dancing homies and the wheelchair homie). When Ed the IT guy sat at my desk to work on my computer, he was really nervous about being caught between the crossfire.

Stiles and I want the bride and groom homie on our wedding cake someday. That's high class.

Men of the Week: Scofflaws
Tommy Boy Ravenel
R. Kelly
Isiah "Wanna tussle?" Washington

Snippet from Stiles: Researching Ravenel
"I hate the [US] District Court of South Carolina. Their web page is baby blue, it's annoying me."

How the T-Rav Rolls
This morning, Stiles and I took a break from our daily "chicken-or-the-egg" discussion about whether to blame our problems on Al Gonzales, or to blame Bush for Al Gonzales, to ponder the indictment of SC Treasurer Thomas "That's just how I roll" Ravenel.*

The feds are staying quiet, of course, but the charge is for some 2005 incident, begging the question: What evidence did they present to the grand jury?

Did T-Rav still have the coke on him? Doubtful. Good blow doesn't usually just sit around in a cabinet for two years. Was there a wiretap involved? Possibly. But we're thinking this Michael Miller dude, the drug dealer who's named in the indictment, probably gave him up as part of a deal with the feds.

*Yes, he really did say that one time.

The Good Stuff Happens When You're Gone
Um, a grand jury just indicted the South Carolina State Treasurer, Thomas Ravenel, on drug charges. DISTRIBUTION OF COCAINE, biatch! I don't really have much to say on this, except that the man always seemed very enthusiastic when I talked to him.

Wild About Harry
Remember Harry Whittington? He's the guy famously shot in the face by our Vice President.

I've been trying to figure out how to get a picture with him. People see him walking up and down Congress Ave, the main street of Austin, all the damn time. His building is one block south of my Capitol office, but I have yet to run into him. For months, Craven and I have considered various ways to trick him into a photo:

1.) Pretending I am an Asian tourist who gets a picture with everyone walking up and down Congress and ambushing him into a photo
2.) Stalling him by asking for directions for a long time, texting Craven, and having him run down to the street and snap a picture of us
3.) Do a story where I can interview him, then have the photog surreptitiously take a picture

I went with choice number three for my first "get-a-picture-with-Harry" attempt. I failed. I called his office , saying I wanted to do this story about an eminent domain suit he just won. His assistant said no. Then I called one of his GOP buddies and had him make a call of my behalf.

He said he didn't want to do the interview, because he's sick of reporters asking him about getting shot in the face. Good thing I have some backup plans!

Men of the Week: Don't forget Dad
Dad
Bob Barker
Our Executive Producer, Scott (COME BACK!)
Barack Obama - up in front in SC
Journey

Snippet from Stiles: Beware
"We slept with the door unlocked! The railway killer could have gotten in."

Big Men on Campus

All anyone needs to enjoy the state legislature is a strong stomach, and a complete insensitivity to the needs of the people. -Texas Observer, 1971

Texas Monthly released its best and worst legislators of 2007. On the worst list, the Lt. Gov, the House Speaker, and the Governor, even though he's not technically a legislator.

I wouldn't dare make a best/worst ranking myself. Instead, some of the men I consider most memorable:

Scott H0chberg, D- Houston
His moppy white hair and glasses look may be a little out of style, but his lack of fashion sense belies his political sense. The guy's some sort of super genius, you know, those ones who are so super genius that it's hard to relate to people? That's him.

Jerry M@dden, R-Richards0n
Jerry (seen in the gray suit) reminds me of everyone's Uncle that we only see at Thanksgiving. In fact, I took to calling him "Uncle Jerry" behind his back. One day, when I approached him on the floor, I accidentally slipped and called him that to his face. After that, he started referring to himself in third person as Uncle Jerry. (photo credit AP)

T0mmy Merritt, R-L0ngview
If the lege is high school, Tommy (w/the pom poms) is the guy who always has the beer hookups. He walked around the floor handing out hot green wristbands to the ladies he liked, so they could get in free to the clubs where he would throw late night parties.
He's always kinda drunk, and always kinda sweaty, but always a riot. (photo credit Pink Dome)


Speaker Tom Cr@ddick, R-M!dland
Imaginary conversation, but I think it says it all
Member: Parliamentary inquiry
Craddick: State your inquiry
Member: Could I go to the bathroom
Craddick: I will not recognize you for that motion
Member: I really need to go, I move to overrule your ruling
Craddick: I didn't make a ruling, I simply didn't recognize you
Member: Parliamentary inquiry
Craddick: State your inquiry
Member: Puedo ir el bano?
Craddick: That is not a proper parliamentary inquiry.

Yeah, watching these guys run state government is my job. I have a pretty sweet job.

Sunday Randomness
1. My neighbors next door are moving out. But, they still get their Sunday newspaper, so this morning, thinking they were already gone, I swiped it.

Just as I was saying, "Hey, sweet, free paper," my neighbor walked out of his apartment to ask me if I was moving my car.

I stood there talking to him with the newspaper in hand, but couldn't just throw it back in front of his door (too obvious), so I rushed to move my car. Awkward.

2.) The fourth season of Rescue Me starts this week. It's the most dysfunctional group of firefighters I've ever seen on TV, but one damn good show. Stiles and I bought the complete third season on DVD and spent the weekend running a Rescue Me marathon. Ironically, the marathon involved no actual running whatsoever.

3.) Eating a lot of traditional Chinese ramen noodles lately. Tastes much better, and might actually be cheaper than ripoff American ramen.

Quintam Leap
So, I'm sitting on my couch, surfing the internets and only peripherally paying attention to the light and sound coming from the TV screen in front of me. Then I hear a familiar voice.

I look up, and see a familiar face. Is it a figment of my imagination? Have I momentarily wandered into into a time warp?

Nope. It actually WAS Quin Snyder! (He's the former Mizzou basketball coach who rode into Columbia aglow with rookie stardust, only to leave in a cloud of scandal, a few losing seasons later. Full disclosure: I had a brief crush on Quin, which abruptly ended when I met my History of the 1960s professor, Bob Collins.)

Anyway. Quin's followed me to Austin. The coach of our NBA developmental league recently died of a heart attack after practice. Opening up an opportunity for Quin Snyder to step in. Let's go Toros, clap-clap, clap-clap-clap.

Sicko
I've been sidelined. It's a "viral respiratory infection", says the doctor. Spending the day at home watching bad movies (Music and Lyrics, Catch and Release).

Nefarious Men of the Week
Lindsay Lohan's dad, whatever his name is
T0m Cr@ddick
Whoever vandalized my apartment's pool

Snippet from Stiles: Fashion Police
"The cellphone in your back pocket is not a good look. You look like you have cancer of the butt."

P.S.
A belated HOLLA to J-Wo for making the trip to ATX for a visit to the Pink Dome, aka Texas Capitol. Many apologies for being swept into a large, swirling political tornado at the time and unable to spend more time with you!