bless tucker...

today i came home from my nephew's baseball game and found our sweet tucker in the backyard, resting peacefully. he was 11, almost 12 years old. tucker was a wonderful dog that lived a happy, full life and will be deeply missed...

it's a great time to be a dallasite!!!

last night was so much stinkin' fun...it's a great time to be in dallas, and a great time to show your mavs pride. that was an incredible game that i believe sparked a long history of me really not liking the spurs. they are a very whiney team. but those mavericks just can't miss...what a remarkable team and an unbelievable coaching job!!!

go mavs!!!!!

how to rob a bank

i watched a special on cnn called "how to rob a bank" this weekend. seeing as i work for a bank and deal a lot with personal credit for customers, i feel like i have some insight on this...and the only thing i would like to say is: BE INFORMED. identity theft is out there and it is very real...don't give out personal information to just anyone, don't respond to the phony "bank" emails asking for your information (a bank will never send an email asking for your info) and pull your full credit report (experian, equifax and transunion) at least once a year to check for any discrepancies or unusual activity...after all, it's free to do and could save you a lot of pain in the longrun.

i just had to put it out there in case someone didn't know...sorry for the boring post...

the big buy

i saw an incredibly informative movie last night at angelika..."the big buy: tom delay's stolen congress." this is an amazing insight into the investigation and indictment of this former politician...just ANOTHER black sheep in the scandals surrounding this administration.

greatness...

PLEASE...CLICK HERE to see an incredible news story .

go mavs

i am pumped about the mavs and their success this season...looking forward to some good upcoming games...that said, gordon keith is my american idol and i enjoyed his commentary on his recent trip to san antonio for the game.

ok go

so i had an invite to go see ok go last night at gypsy tea room, and i happily accepted. i must have been living in a cave or something because i was unaware of the hysterical "dance" (for you baylor fans, it's sing-style, baby) they do with their song "a million ways."

please humor yourself, go to their site, www.okgo.net, and watch the hilarious video of their dance in whichever style media player you prefer (scroll a bit down the page and it's on the left). it's definitely the funniest thing i've seen in a while. they put on a great show...highly recommend it.

words cannot express...

"karl, do you really think wearing black leather
panties will up my approval ratings???"

i went for a spin...

so with the arrival of mollie and kevin to dallas, it was bound to happen...

tonight i took my virgin voyage to spin class, and let me tell you, it is every bit as difficult as it looks. but, every bit as fun and definitely a great workout. that will not be my last class. i am very thankful to have gone with two seasoned pros, because i would have been totally lost otherwise. oh, and thanks for the tip on the padded shorts, mols!!!

6 days...

we are creeping closer and closer to may 5th...when i will have the opportunity to hear one of my favorite people on earth, bono, speak here in dallas. i am thrilled with the opportunity to be a part of this special event!!!

see details below, courtesy of world affairs council website...

"Bono
Lead Singer of U2
Activist
Co-founder of DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa)

The World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth will present Bono, lead singer of Irish Rock Band U2, activist and co-founder of DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), on Friday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Music Hall at Fair Park. This TIME Magazine Person of the Year in 2005 has used his celebrity worldwide to influence the powerful to the benefit of the poor. Bono will speak on his work to bring attention and resources to the fight against global AIDS and poverty in Africa."

the greatness of the pool party

so yesterday i attended my first pool party of the year, and came back to the knowledge of yet ANOTHER reason i love the spring in texas. there really is nothing better than a group of friends, a beautiful pool/lake/beach, a warm spring day, and a nice, icy cold beverage. what fun...i look forward to many more...

post secret

most of you have probably heard about "post secret" by now...the guy that came up with the idea of having folks write their deepest, darkest secrets on postcards and send them to him. his idea has taken off, and he has posted some of them to his blog.

i posted a few i found moving or interesting below...

fear

dallas

i got a serious lump in my throat on this one...

sunday bloody sunday

my sunday evening, part one:

i was so excited last week when jay called me to announce that he had purchased us tickets to see ira glass, who is a radio (and now t.v.) producer that i had come to know in college (thank you mollie and kera radio). so last night we rolled on down to the majestic theater and had a wonderful evening laughing and learning from ira. i highly recommend checking him out...he is now on (if you are in dallas) on saturdays at noon on 90.1 kera.

my sunday evening, part two:

so we wrapped it up with ira about 9:30pm and we were both starving. our friend joel is in town from austin and was heading to the loon, so once again, we found ourselves there on a sunday evening. AND, once again, dirk and owen were there, along with about 150 other people. the place was totally slammed, and i am starting to realize the reason. it looks as if this is such a regular occurrence people are starting to just hang out there on sunday nights assuming these two entourages will be in attendance. and the funny thing is, in the two sundays i have been there recently, they HAVE been there. it's a funny thing, the power that comes with having a celebrity "regular" at your bar/restaurant. i can only imagine how much the silver fox (the loon owner) loves those guys. i saw, with my own two little eyes (and was about the only one that did not join in) dirk buy 30 shots at the same time and distribute them to the entire bar. so i think it's safe to say, the people of uptown love having the a-listers there, too.

my monday morning, part three:

i'm tired.

dang it

why didn't i think of this. dang.

my fave san antonio toddler has an announcement

congrats, jill, gardner, and kyle!!!

speakers

about three months ago, my personal laptop's power cord said goodbye. when the powercord is gone, so is the laptop.

yesterday, a replacement cord came into my life unexpectedly.

a little background, my work laptop has no sound card, therefore, no sound. in the last three months pretty much all of you have changed your songs on myspace and i didn't even know it. itunes: home laptop. i haven't added a song on my ipod (until last night) since christmas.

all this to say, work laptop sucks, and i'm back in business, people. it's like losing your hearing temporarily and then, one day, like a flash...there it is again. ahhhh. bliss. i'm happy.

giggle

jim wallis

just read an interesting article by jim wallis, from sojourner magazine. an exerpt below...

"In places such as the U.K., Christians are rallying around the call to "Make Poverty History." Many are comparing that call to the cry of British Parliamentarian William Wilberforce and an earlier generation of evangelical revivalists in the 18th and 19th centuries who changed history in England and America by their steadfast commitment to end slavery. For many, poverty is the new slavery. Again, this is especially true for a new generation of Christians. The connection between poverty and all the other key issues - the environment, HIV/AIDS, and violent conflicts around the world are increasingly clear for many people of faith.

The sacredness of life and family values are deeply important to these Christians as well - yet too important to be used as partisan wedge issues that call for single issue voting patterns that ignore other critical biblical matters. The Religious Right has been able to win when they have been able to maintain and control a monologue on the relationship between faith and politics. But when a dialogue begins about the extent of moral values issues and what biblically-faithful Christians should care about, the Religious Right begins to lose. The best news of all for the American church and society is this: The monologue of the Religious Right is over, and a new dialogue has just begun."

MFFL

i walked into the loon last night only to find the future NBA MVP, dirk nowitzki, sitting at the table next to me and owen wilson at the jukebox.

GO MAVS!!!

the blue knight

so i was extremely excited about the prospect of putting pictures up from my wild night on the town last night until i woke up this morning to the realization that the world's best camera had been lost. i hate losing things, it totally urks me. oh well. moving on...

so i was at jay's new campaign office yesterday afternoon when a few of his d.c. co-workers came by and announced that we were all going to medieval times. if you have ever seen "the cable guy" you will understand the sheer excitement that surged through my body. yes, i realize the random-ness and dorky-ness of that place, but, well no but, i just had to state that before i went on.

it was fun. very fun. i laughed aloud when the lady came by asking me if i'd like pepsi or tea (waitress: "there were no utensils in medieval times therefore there are no utensils at medieval times. would you like a refill on that pepsi?" matthew b.: "there were no utensils but there was pepsi?"). the guys that work there as "knights" all have very long, curly hair and are WAY into their roles as a knight. it was just pure comedy. i highly recommend it for a good laugh, but only if it is paid for by your company.