Statues

We lost a great American yesterday. NBA great Bill Russell was one of our country’s best. He had to put up with racist BS in his career. He rose above it and persevered.

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BREAKING NEWS! Deshaun Watson got a 6-game suspension. He got off light.

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If we have learned anything about COVID-19 and the pandemic is that we still have a lot to learn.  It is probably not a good idea for President Joe Biden to have another triumphant return ceremony in the Rose Garden when he tests negative. Last week, the networks all covered live his return to work.  A couple of days later he tested positive for COVID.

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We have all heard it before. A 4-year-old kid discovers a loaded handgun that isn’t properly secured at his home. He shows it to his 8-year-old brother. The gun accidentally discharges, and tragedy ensues.

They asked some of the “What’s Your Point” panelists yesterday about Saturday’s hugely successful gun buyback program in H-Town’s Third Ward and the panelists couldn’t muster up the decency to congratulate city and county officials for buying back 845 guns.  Oh, well.

According to the Chron, one person dropped off a box with 62 handguns.  How do you accumulate 62 handguns? Wow!

Congrats to the city and county.

This is on the City of H-Town webpage on the buyback program:

Will I be able to participate by turning in my ammunition?

Yes, you will be able to participate in turning in your ammunition, however no monetary value will be given as the gift cards only apply to firearms.

I think ammo is worthy of a gift card, just saying.

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This is interesting. Harris County Commissioners Court is contemplating putting before the voters this November a billion dollar or so bond measure. The two GOP County Commissioners are not on board. Here is from the Chron:

The vote to issue bonds will hinge, in part, on how the money would be allocated among the county’s four precincts.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle questioned whether the funding, if approved by voters, would be allocated equally.

“Will it all be going to Precinct 1 because it all needs to be done through the equitable view of the commissioner of Precinct 1?” Cagle asked. “And that prioritization framework, are we going to let the public know in advance what we’re going to do, or are we going to change what the prioritization is after they vote on it?”

Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia suggested that if Republican commissioners do not vote for the bond measure then the bond money may not be divided evenly among the precincts.

“If there is a 3-2 vote in two weeks, it’s not going to be a 25 percent split,” Garcia said.

County Judge Lina Hidalgo quickly poured water on that idea.

“I for one am not voting for anything other than a 25 percent split,” Hidalgo said. “I’m not. That’s always been my point.”

Garcia walked the suggestion back Friday, saying he will support an even distribution.

“I represent all of Harris County as much as I represent my precinct,” he said. “But I wonder who is going to try to put themselves first in line after this thing passes, and I think it will be embarrassing if two people who vote against it are also the first ones to stick their hands out.”

Here is the entire Chron read: Harris County may put $1B bond for public safety, roads on ballot (houstonchronicle.com).

That is what you call reelection politics. Judge Hidalgo can’t be shortchanging two county commissioner precincts while running for reelection. Nice move on her part.

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This is an AP story that came out over the weekend:

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Bronze statues of mythical methamphetamine cookers Walter White and Jesse Pinkman were installed at a convention center in Albuquerque on Friday to celebrate the “Breaking Bad” TV series and its entertainment legacy, winning applause in a city that played its own gritty supporting role.

Local politicians including Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller mixed with “Breaking Bad” stars Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and director Vince Gilligan to help unveil the artwork, donated by Gilligan and Sony Pictures.

The 2008-2013 show and its ongoing prequel “Better Call Saul” helped fuel a renaissance in filmmaking across New Mexico, while also cutting close to Albuquerque’s real-life struggles with drug addiction and crime.

Gilligan said he recognized that the statues of “two fictional, infamous meth dealers” won’t be universally cherished in New Mexico.

“In all seriousness, no doubt some folks are going to say, ‘Wow, just what our city needed.’ And I get that,” Gillian said. “I see two of the finest actors America has ever produced. I see them, in character, as two larger-than-life tragic figures, cautionary tales.”

I give credit to the mayor for being honest. 

There are a number of statues around the globe to commemorate movie and TV characters.

Rocky Balboa in Philadelphia.

Superman in Metropolis, Illinois.

Cary Grant in Bristol, England. (I don’t know what Grant movie character, but aside from Father Goose, he looked and dressed the same in just about every one of his movies.)

Yoda in San Francisco.

Mary Richards in Minneapolis.

Popeye in Crystal City, Texas, the Spinach Capital of the World.

Bruce Lee in Hong Kong.

Robocop in Detroit.

Napoleon Dynamite in Los Angeles.

The Quiet Man, err John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in County Mayo, Ireland.

Godzilla in Tokyo.

Andy and Opie Taylor in Mount Airy, North Carolina.

Samantha Stevens in where else, Salem, Mass.

Here are suggestions for where to put new statues.

J.R. for Dallas.

Dorothy Gale and Toto for Kansas.

Marge Gunderson for Fargo.

Atticus Finch for Monroeville, Alabama.

Gordon Gekko for Wall Street.

Freddy Krueger for every Elm Street in America.

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Yep, it is August. My Beatles wall calendars for the month of August has a color picture of the four in black suits, black ties, and white shirts from 1964. The other calendar has them going in an opposite wardrobe direction. They are in their colorful Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band gear from 1967.

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Aledmys Díaz is 32 today. Aledmys had a pretty good week offensively for us. Happy Birthday, Aledmys!

The consummate utility fielder, since he has been an Astro, Aledmys has played first base, second base, shortstop, third base, left field, and right field.

We took three of four from the Mariners. We hold a 12-game lead in the AL West. We have the third best record in MLB, 2 games behind the Dodgers and Yankees.

The Red Sox are in for three.