Bag of Randomness
Monday, March 9, 2026

Summer Williams of my hometown of Mineral Wells, TX, set the fastest breakaway roping time at the 2026 Houston Rodeo. I like how the announcer said, “There really is something in the water in Mineral Wells.”

Hat Tip: Richard S. (Thanks!)

 

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Sidenote: The Houston Rodeo’s entertainment lineup is a bit more diverse than I expected, with Lizzo and Creed. Granted, Lizzo is from Houston.

Authorities expect water to run out by November

Congress needs to get a better hold of what constitutes a war. Technically, only Congress can declare war. Currently, the president and other representatives refer to the ongoing conflict with Iran as a war. And when the Commander in Chief states the only end to this is with Iran’s unconditional surrender, it sure seems like a war. I’m not saying I’m opposed to military intervention, but some things need ironing out.

I’ve been following this story about a secret weapon that causes severe vertigo and lasting brain injury since it was first reported nine years ago, with Cuba using it on the US Embassy. 60 Minutes had a major update on the story. It appears our government now has obtained a copy of the weapon.  It is small, designed to be concealed, silent, doesn’t emit heat, can be operated by remote control (with a beam range of several hundred feet), and can penetrate windows and drywall.

It’s one thing for members of the military to wear a hat as it’s part of their uniform, but can you take off the very informal ball cap?

This comeback and performance last week by this one young lady was amazing. Too bad they lost their next game, which was for the championship.

To appreciate how hard a feat that is, these guys tried to recreate it.

Those six seconds reminded me of these two iconic NBA moments.

I’m not a big fan of the virtual keyboard; it seems like it would make typing harder, but I like the expandable screen.

United Airlines can now boot passengers who refuse to use headphones with their devices

This reminds me of the time I was flying back from Las Vegas and randomly got upgraded to first class. I decided to open my laptop and listen to a concert DVD. My headphones were plugged in, but for some reason, I could barely hear the music, so I kept turning it up. Perplexed, I tried to troubleshoot it, unaware that the audio was coming from the speakers rather than the headphones. A woman sitting at the front of the economy section tapped my shoulder and loudly yelled, “Use your headphones!” Realizing what was going on, I tried to immediately apologize and state I wasn’t aware my headphones weren’t working, and I didn’t mean to be a nuisance, but before I could get four words out of my mouth, her retort was “First class passengers are elite f–cks! They think the world revolves around them, I ain’t having it!”

 

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Monday, March 9, 2026

Bag of Randomness
Thursday, March 5, 2026

That is one happy-looking dog – A 10-year-old dog named Rocky was reunited with his owner after surviving 43 days alone in Colorado.

  • Rocky lost more than 20 pounds while he was missing before finally returning home.

I saw this last night and thought it was fake, until I triple-checked it by going to the source. It’s strange, sloppy, undignified, and unprofessional.

Elvis Presley Charts A New No. 1 Nearly 50 Years After His Death

Sometimes when I count, I do it to the tune of this song.

Think you’re having a bad day?

A minor league hockey team had a wiener dog race. Zero thoughts, just vibes and absolute chaos. A thing of beauty

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— Razzball (@razzball.bsky.social) March 3, 2026 at 12:38 PM

I mentioned a Barbara Jordon documentary recently. On election day, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett wore a Barbara Jordan-themed jacket in tribute to her.

“Campaigning in Waco, Texas, on the day of the primary election, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett was asked by KWTX about her colorful red jacket. “I’m taking the color red back,” Crockett joked before explaining her jacket is paying tribute to dearly departed Congressman Barbara Jordan.”

 

Coaching legend Lou Holtz died yesterday.

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Thursday, March 5, 2026

Bag of Randomness
Monday, March 2, 2026

This son of mine took home first place in today’s regional chess tournament and has the option to compete in this week’s state tournament in Austin. I really appreciated that his teammates jumped in to make this moment special for him.

Meanwhile, DaughterGeeding attended the Sadie Hawkins dance.

How the heck did I miss the news of a new Elvis concert film in IMAX with never-before-seen footage put together by Baz Luhrmann? I’m so ticked it’s no longer showing at any IMAX theaters, and caught the news too late.

It wouldn’t be right to call it a documentary, or even a concert film; it’s a dreamscape experience of Elvis telling you his story in his own voice because of a recently found audio-tape with concert footage filmed in Vegas. Luhrmann first learned of it while making his Elvis movie and sent someone to check the literal salt mine that studios store their films in near Kansas City. He thought maybe fifteen minutes would have been found, but luckily, it was over 60 boxes of reels. And if you think a lot of AI was used, you’d be wrong. Not a bit of AI was used in creating this; most of the technical work came from Peter Jackson’s team that put together the Beatles special.

Is it any good?

  • On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 98 critics’ reviews are positive. The website’s consensus reads: “Resurrecting Elvis Presley at the peak of his showmanship, Baz Luhrmann’s truly epic concert documentary restores some joy into The King’s legacy, thank you very much.”
  • Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare average grade of “A+” on an A+ to F scale

And as a bonus for me, Bono makes a contribution to it at the end, and it’s included in the soundtrack.

This ‘EPiC’ rock star gets the final word in the Elvis concert movie

Baz Luhrmann’s new documentary ‘EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert’ wraps up with an unexpected spoken-word tribute by Bono. Here’s how it happened.

So how did Luhrmann get Bono involved?

“He’s a good friend of mine, and I was in the south of France, in Cap-Ferrat (near Bono’s home), so I texted him,” the director says. “I was telling him how I was about to start making this. And he was like ‘You know, I’ve written a poem about Elvis.’ So he went and got it and read it.”

As they finished the documentary, “we were like, well, how do we end it?” Luhrmann says. Film editor Jonathan Redmond, who had worked with U2 previously, “spontaneously put it in and we thought, yes, a poem.”

CBS Eyes Joe Rogan for ’60 Minutes’ Shake-Up After Anderson Cooper Exit

While CBS may have its eye on Rogan, he has frequently made it clear he is his own boss and will never be anyone’s paid employee again.

“He makes more from podcasting than CBS could realistically offer,” one insider pointed out. “This wouldn’t be about money. It would be about influence.”

How “Landman” has been a boon to TCU

  • Taylor Sheridan’s “Landman” has given Texas Christian University free publicity by using the school as a backdrop for the chaos and conflict of its second season. Sheridan is a Fort Worth native.
  • The Paramount show employed hundreds of TCU students, including football players and members of the spirit team, as extras for the show’s second season, per university officials.
  • TCU returned the favor by giving Sheridan an honorary degree last year and establishing a new land management course inspired by his shows.

Texas Monthly – It Was Once a Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ Joint. Now the Owner Can’t Find Anyone to Buy It. – What determines the survival of some joints isn’t just the quality and cost of their barbecue, but also the next generation’s willingness to take over.

There was a short span in time that a lof of folks would immediately go to Twitter to get the latest news.

X Is Drowning in Disinformation Following US and Israeli Attack on Iran – WIRED has reviewed hundreds of posts on X that promote misleading claims about the locations and scale of the attack.

I was surprised to see that my favorite pastor (of a mega-church) is considering a U.S. Senate run as an Independent. For what it’s worth, he earned his Master of Divinity degree from the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University (SMU).

My local Walmart is either always out of Big Red chewing gum or doesn’t sell it. I can never find it when I’m in the store. When I shop online, it says it’s in stock, but when I add it to the cart, then it tells me it’s not.

In Sunday school yesterday, the topic of wills, trusts, and probate was brought up. One lawyer brought up “GTT,” which is often taught in Texas History classes. For those of you unfamiliar, it means Gone To Texas. His point was that back in the day, Texas was really friendly to debtors. That is, a lot of folks from out of state who were in a lot of debt would just leave and go to Texas, writing nothing but “GTT” on their door.

He also mentioned something that I was shocked I didn’t know about John Connally. You may remember him best as the Governor of Texas who was riding with President Kennedy in Dallas, both of whom were shot (possibly hit by the same bullet). Connally later switched parties and served as the Treasury Secretary under Nixon. So, what did I find surprising? He filed for bankruptcy. To me, it’s surprising that not only a former governor filed for bankruptcy, but someone who was the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department. For a person to declare bankruptcy after serving as the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States, and as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters pertaining to economic and fiscal policy is just bewildering. Sometimes, truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

Former Texas Governor and U.S. Treasury Secretary John Connally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 1987, citing over $\$170$ million in debts caused by a collapsed Texas real estate market and failed business ventures. The bankruptcy forced a major public auction of his personal belongings in early 1988. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Key details regarding John Connally’s bankruptcy:
  • Cause: Connally and his partner, former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, invested heavily in Texas real estate, including projects in Austin, Houston, and South Padre Island, which plummeted in value during the mid-1980s oil bust.
  • Filings: He filed for personal Chapter 11 bankruptcy (reorganization) and Chapter 7 liquidation for the Barnes-Connally partnership.
  • The Auction: To help satisfy debts, Connally sold personal items in a 1988 auction, including his 200-acre Picosa Ranch, 126 prized horses, and other memorabilia.
  • Outcome: Connally emerged from bankruptcy court protection in June 1988. While he was discharged from his debt, unsecured creditors were expected to be repaid only about 10 cents on the dollar.
  • Quote: When asked where this event fit into his life story, Connally famously quipped”Probably Chapter 11″. [3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

AI responses may include mistakes.

 

 

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Bag of Randomness
Friday, February 27, 2026

My favorite person at church died this week. She was 92 and was from England. She shared great stories of growing up in London during WWII, and it was always a delight to hear her speak in that wonderful accent.

I went to a playoff basketball game in Argyle and was blown away by how nice the gymnasium was, especially their sound system. High school gyms don’t echo like they used to.

For 2026, Dallas ranks 7th best for filmmakers to live and work in North America, and Fort Worth ranks 12th.

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin was named the No. 5 best place to live and work as a filmmaker in North America, Houston ranked 10th, San Antonio appeared as No. 14, and El Paso landed at No. 25 on the list.

Business Insider – 4Chan knew about Jeffrey Epstein’s death 38 minutes before the rest of the world. The FBI tried to figure out how.

One of my favorite political figures of all time is Barbara Jordan. I remember taking the kids to the Texas Capitol and pointing out her portrait that hangs in the Senate chamber. No other politician has ever sounded so articulate and intellectual. I mention her because I stumbled upon a new documentary about her that aired this week. You can watch it for free here.

I don’t think people realise how much damage they do when they say they care, but never show up in moments that actually require effort or emotional presence.

This is Wiley. He has never seen snow before and wants to make sure he gets a real good look at it. For science. 12/10 (IG: smileywileydog)

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— WeRateDogs (@weratedogs.com) February 23, 2026 at 5:55 PM

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Friday, February 27, 2026