Bobservations

As I’ve said before, Carlos and I love Jeopardy and watch it most nights, playing along. But the other night we got stumped by the final Jeopardy question:

“Missionary William Ellis  reported in 1825 that ‘his bones were preserved and considered sacred’ by the people of Hawaii.”

I said:

“Father Damian”

“Who?”

“Father Damien, Part of Hawaii was a leper colony back in the day so they’re probably honoring him.”

“Oh—”

“Or it’s King Kamehameha.”

And both were wrong; it was Captain Cook, leading Carlos to say:

“Who?”

“Captain Cook. He was an explorer in the Pacific.”

“Captain  Kirk? From Star Trek?”

“What!??!! Captain Kirk? From a TV show? They saved his bones from when he died in 1825 even though he was in a TV show in the 1960s? Oh my god, do you think Star Trek was real and Kirk and the Enterprise traveled back in time to 1825 to explore the Hawaiian Islands?”

“I’m not talking to you for the rest of the night.”

I thought that was best.

This Tuxedo Says is from May 2021 …

"Tuxedo doesn’t wanna tell y’all how to vote, but he does think you’ve been getting it wrong for years."

And while he’d never tell you how to vote, he would demand that you, ahem, CAST A GODDAMNED VOTE!!

Texas Governor Hot Wheels followed Florida Governor Gogo Boots' lead by demanding that all rainbow Pride crosswalks be painted over because he Hates The Gays.

So, in a statement of support for the LGBTQ community, Oak Lawn United Methodist Church in Dallas decided to paint their front steps leading to the church in rainbow colors. Senior Pastor Reverend Rachel Griffin-Allison called it a demonstration of faith and inclusivity, conveying that every person is created in God’s image and deserves dignity and belonging. The church sees this not as a political stance, but as a commitment to love and support marginalized communities.

It's a sign of Resistance, too.

Many in The Cult have begun ranting that Obama built a basketball for anywhere between $200M and $376M court while president and that’s no different than Cankles erecting The Jeffrey E[stein Ballroom.

But here’s the deal, you neanderthals … no offense to actual neanderthals … Obama converted an existing outdoor tennis court into a basketball court by painting new lines and installing a couple of hoops and it cost nowhere near the hundreds of millions y’all claim.

He didn’t fucking bulldoze a house.

We had a small glitch with the kitchen this week. A cabinet felt off-center and there were some panels that weren’t the right ones, so I called the company and their contractor and designer came out to talk it over. Luckily, our contractor was here—he’s doing tiles work and installing new lighting—so we all were able to talk it out and get the problems solved … but not the problem of my mouth … so when their contractor asked if  one line on the wall was straight and Craig, our contractor, said there were no straight walls in any house he’s ever worked in, and I said:

“There’s nothing straight at all about this house.”

The designer, Carlos and I chuckled; the contractors didn’t get the joke. But as they were leaving the designer joked about not having a negative review on Facebook from me, and I said:

“I would never leave a bad review on Facebook. I’d just firebomb the office and torch the business to the ground.”

She laughed; I didn’t … for a couple of moments!

Gabriel Burger is a Brazilian model based in São Paulo—which we know makes him one of Maddie’s favorites—but Would You Hit It?

Architecture Wednesday: Glass House

Yes, I know, it’s Texas, but it’s modern and fabulous and glass and has gardens for days so, maybe I can make an exception,

This home, designed by by architect Joshua Nimmo was heavily inspired by the Mies van der Rohe's iconic Farnsworth house, this modern Dallas masterpiece was constructed with 60 tons of steel, over 40 slabs of Calacatta marble and cantilevers over a 5 ft-deep basement with 10,000 square feet.  Encased by 9 ft floor to ceiling glass windows, the home ‘floats' over the natural, minimalistic landscape intended to feel like art in park. Custom acoustic ceilings keep sound from bouncing off the glass and concrete while outside there is a pool crafted of absolute black granite in concentric rings that also features a waterfall edge, creating the aesthetic of a floating square water-feature in the middle of the backyard oasis.

It’s hyper-modern, and uber large, but I love the house and, especially, the setting. And it can be mine for a hair under 8 million.

As always, click to emBIGGERate ...

Dwell

Botham Jean's Murder, Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz

Down in Texas, Congressman Beto O’Rourke is running for Senate against Ted Cruz.

O’Rourke has said he supports firing Dallas police officer Amber Guyger after she entered the wrong apartment and killed Botham Jean, an innocent man. He agrees with calls by Jean’s family, and many others in Dallas, that should be fired:

“There has to be a full accounting for how young black men continue to be killed in this country without accountability, without justice, without these full investigations, without respecting their civil rights. This cannot continue.”

Ted Cruz had a different response; he says people are rushing to judgment on the case and that O’Rourke and Democrats were “quick to always blame the police officer”:

“It may well be that two lives were destroyed that night. That obviously the individual that was at home in his apartment and found himself murdered — that is horrific and a nightmare.”

Yes, he said that Botham Jean—and he cannot even say the man’s name—“found himself murdered.” And then he claims that Amber Guyger’s life was also destroyed that night except that Guyger is still alive; the only thing she ruined is her career, except Cruz doesn’t think she should be fired for entering an apartment she thought was hers and then murdering the occupant of that apartment and then taking three days to get her story straight.

Let’s make this perfectly queer for Ted … according to Guyger’s own account, she came home on September 6 after a long shift and didn’t know that she’s gotten off on the wrong floor of her building and that the apartment she entered was in was not hers and instantly began shooting at the “large silhouette” in the darkened room. When she turned on the lights in the apartment, she realized her mistake.

Mistake?

Botham Jean’s family disputes that account, saying Guyger should have noticed obvious signs that she was in the wrong apartment on the wrong floor; in addition, witnesses say they heard her knocking on Jean’s door and yelling.

But still, in America in 2018, Amber Guyger, after shooting an innocent man in his own home, is the victim in all of this for people like Ted Cruz, and Botham jean is simply the man who “found himself murdered.”

That’s it in a nutshell Texas; do you want a senator who sees this shooing as disturbing, as something that needs to stop, or do you want a senator who blames the real victim for being gunned down in his own home, and then calls the shooter a victim. Do you want another police officer going unpunished for a fatal shooting?

Vox

Architecture Wednesday: Casa Linder

Casa Linder is a 3,700 square foot single-family residence, and a standout home located in a well-established, but transitional East Dallas neighborhood.

Since the owner was inspired by recycled materials, reclaimed materials, and by the historic architecture of the Texas Blackland Prairie homestead, Casa Linder embraces the architectural heritage of the earliest Dallas settlers by blending the simple forms and materials of the original prairie dwellings with contemporary planning and crisp detailing.

The roof and exterior walls are clad in recycled, corrugated steel panels intended to patina to a rusty, weathered finish. At each of the south and north elevations, the walls are clad in reclaimed snow fencing planks.

A gabion wall—a cage, cylinder, or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil—provides privacy to the pool area and gives texture to the composition of the front elevation.

Inside the home is clean, simple, elegant, and reused, reclaimed, recycled, wood, concrete and glass; a mash-up of what came before, and made of what came before.

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