Charles Whitman’s killing spree, 40 years later

Posted on August 1, 2006 by Steve

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the tragic shooting spree of Charles Whitman. I remember someone saying that one of the legacies of this horrible event was the creation of SWAT teams. Most of the research I did about SWAT teams gives the credit to the LAPD. Maybe what happened in Austin was given as an example to strengthen the argument for their creation.  
 
When I moved to Austin in 1994, there was some mention of it and it was usually the explanation given for why there were no tours to the top of UT’s landmark tower. The event received a plug in Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers as the motivation for the policeman pursuing the movie’s protagonists. Not to be too morbid, before the 30th anniversary, I found a map showing Whitman’s range and accuracy. He was definitely pretty skilled unfortunately. If the map were correct, he could’ve hit someone from balconies, grounds or rooftop of the private dorm I worked for. On the upside, University Towers wasn’t built until the late 1960s or early 1970s. 
 
The link/story above from History.com is being pretty generous to the APD. Since Whitman was operating from what was one of the tallest buildings in Austin, it was pretty difficult to get in through stealth and I don’t think they wanted to wait until dark. From other accounts I read, the APD had no other choice but to charge up the tower and bum rush Whitman. 
 
So if you ever go to a concert at Emo’s in Austin, there’s a mural in the big stage with the heads of six infamous killers tacked on to the body of Lee Harvey Oswald. Charles Whitman is one of heads alongside Lt. Calley (My Lai massacre) and Richard Ramirez (the Nightstalker). Just a demonstration of some Austinites’ dark sense of humor. 
 
On the upside, UT opened the tower to visitors in 1999 and it’s more often remembered when Texas wins a championship, then the staff turns on the lights in specific rooms to form a number; usually “1,” but they did make “34” when Ricky Williams won the Heisman Trophy (couldn’t fit a pot leaf).

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Year of the Homer Incident One

Posted on July 31, 2006 by Steve

Year of the Homer started in earnest yesterday. I was too tired [and sore, read on] to get it all written up. Good thing I waited since someone else who shares my birthday (Jeanne “Marcotte”) inherited the exact same crisis. With it being my birthday over the weekend, Kenny and Scott were generous enough to cover my Sunday opening shift at the shop. After sleeping in, we headed out for breakfast with my regulars. Then Somara pointed out the latest front the ants have opened up in our ongoing war with them [a futile conflict in Texas]. I stupidly assumed she had her keys in her purse as I closed the locked door. Why did I assume? Because she exited the house already and as I shut it, I realized that I lacked my keys. I had experienced the first major “D’oh!” of the Year of the Homer. Oddly, we remembered to take our cell phones. Turns out Jeanne did the exact same thing yesterday too at her house in Potomac. Helen has concluded that there was something in the DNA of people born on July 29 happening. 
 
Several phone calls later and the assistance of our sister-in-law in Georgetown, a local locksmith tech arrived for $70. What followed was horrifying. The tech didn’t even use the good tools, he popped the doorknob’s lock in less than 30 seconds with a pick [I confirmed what he used]. I told him what he did wasn’t very encouraging. His response was “That’s a Quikset lock. I wouldn’t put one of those on my bathroom doors!” I did get a recommendation of a brand he said would give burglars a harder time. With breakfast concluded, we just invested $150 at Lowe’s on three Schlaegel-branded sets and figured out a better emergency plan. 
 
The Homer stuff didn’t end at the lockout but it did go in a positive direction, until painkillers were needed later in the day. My wife, Somara, has only been bowling (one of Homer’s favorite activities) once and had been asking me to take her. We went to Main Event since it’s the only place I could think of that doesn’t have leagues to take up all the lanes. Seems I still have Milwaukee in my DNA despite moving away 15 years ago. I had a 451 (152-166-133) series. Not too shabby since I bowl once every other year these days. As for the wife? Don’t be expecting to see her on ESPN. I’m no pro but I know the essentials: don’t imitate the pros on TV with the powerful hook shoots and use the heaviest ball you can because keeping your arm straight is the best thing you can do. 
 
Only 362 days of the Year of the Homer remain, may yesterday be the only one that yields a “D’oh!” Then again, there is a Las Vegas trip planned in the near future.

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iBook repair, third time’s a charm?

Posted on July 31, 2006 by Steve

Once again, e-Mail contact with me will become sporadic due to my iBook’s video going on the fritz for the third time. What a great birthday present it was too (Saturday afternoon when I woke it up). Now I still endorse Apple’s portables because they’re pretty decent. Even I weren’t an Apple employee, I’d still own one over a Dell (clunky), Sony (neat but still Windows-driven) or Leveno (IBM’s failed business in Red Chinese hands). From 1997 to 2000, I owned a used 5300c [the Edsel of Apple portable computers] that needed fewer repairs (one) than this iBook sadly. The PowerBook G3 (FireWire) I sold to get this iBook was invincible (no repairs ever) too. I can only hope my new MacBook will resemble the PB G3 more. I’m not buying a MacBook though because there are more urgent financial matters to take care of at home, namely refinancing Somara’s big loan, paying off an unexpected IRS bill [got to remember, with them, you’re automatically guilty] and I my car’s airbags need to be fixed for inspection later this year. I read the public FAQ about the iBook on Apple’s site. There was a comment about repairs still being covered on a case-by-case basis; fortunately, my iBook was manufactured in a certain range taken into consideration, I guess there was a bad stretch. I called support because I decided the worst that could happen is a “no” answer. The agent gave me the repair exception so my iBook has a date with a shipping box when I return to work Tuesday. 
 
Until then, it’ll remain in target mode as a drive. If this is a bust, at least I can make over $100 selling off its AirPort card on eBay.

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Happy Birthday Kate, who isn’t Kate Bush

Posted on July 30, 2006 by Steve

Another Leo! Kate (Ludlow) has the great luck to share a birthday with a more famous Kate, Kate Bush. How old is she? You’ll have to ask her too. Once again, it’s not polite to reveal the ages of ladies. Besides singer/composer Kate Bush, she shares her birthday with Ah-nold the Governator or as he’s called inDoonesbury, Herr Gropenfurher. Thankfully the most she has in common with the B-movie actor is meeting Willie Nelson in person. 
 
We used to work together at Kenny’s. I always enjoyed my time with her, especially on our discussions over music. Must be something with bossy zodiac signs. When I left to get married in Las Vegas, she wanted to bet five bucks on 13 red. After much searching…okay, some searching because the getting married part had priority for the first three days there. Anyway, turns out 13 is always black. I had no luck contacting Kate to see if she wanted the bet placed. I don’t think she gave me the money in advance so I went ahead with her numerical choice on my birthday while there was a vacant table in the Aladdin. Somara was there to witness the result when I would have to tell Kate how she lost and which number came up. Heck, I was planning on telling her my usual joke I like to play on everyone upon my return. Thankfully, I didn’t have to, she won! The victor was immediately followed up with the purchase of a calling card to relay the great news via Kenny’s in Round Rock. 
 
I know I am only now getting this story posted with the day having only mere minutes left. Doesn’t matter. It was the weekend and I think you can still wish a person birthday wishes for a couple more days. Kate’s great, let her know if you run into her. And ask her about her recent trip to Japan for a month.

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Happy 48th Birthday Kate Bush

Posted on July 30, 2006 by Steve

A favorite singer of mine when I finished high school. When she releasedHounds of Love in 1985, I was really impressed and found myself scratching my head, wondering how did I miss out on her past work. [I had the same dilemma with XTC the following year in college.] Oddly, my wife has a great dislike for the chanteuse. 
 
The term “genius” is well overused when it comes to songwriters, especially by boring, self-important music rags *cough!*Rolling Stone Spin, that use the word with mediocre talents: Sheryl Crow, Eric Clapton and Kurt Cobain. However, Kate is very brilliant and does deserve the title since even her B-sides are stronger than many people’s “best” stuff (also see Andy Partridge, Neil Finn and David Bowie who are in the true musical genius camp). 
 
Last year, she released her first album in 12 years. Admittedly, I found Aerialto be rather disappointing since I probably didn’t expect so much navel gazing from her anymore. But as I said before, something that’s mediocre from Kate Bush is still much better than Madonna’s or U2’s best any day.

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Year of the Homer, I’m 38 now

Posted on July 29, 2006 by Steve

On this day in 1968, I was born around 330 pm according to my parents. A rather tumultuous year for the US too [see pretty much every annoying TV special about the Sixties]. Now that I am the same age as Homer Simpson (38), I really, really need to avoid being so close to his average weight, 239 lbs if you’ve watched enough episodes. He is around my height (6’ 1”) but the only confirmed size I can get is six heads according to the animation guidelines. If each head is a foot, you could say the two hairs on top give him that extra inch. Let’s see if I can finally get back down to 200 by the time I’m 40. 
 
Speaking of 40, make your plans now because I will be celebrating the big four-o in Las Vegas to celebrate that I managed to live so long. 
 
What else? I share my birthday with two historical figures: Benito Mussolini [not good but probably concluded as an explanation from the kids I’ve supervised at my job with Gateway 16]; Alexis de Tocqueville [that boring French guy everyone has to read about in college if you take a class on US government]. Show business is a tad more generous: Wil Wheaton [has quite the writing career after Star Trek], David Warner [a favorite villain of mine], Jean-Hugues Anglade [French actor, he’s the boyfriend in Nikita and the weak-willed Valois king in Queen Margot], voice actor Richard Horvitz [currently doing Squirrel Boy and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy but will always be remembered for Invader Zim] and Rush singer/bassist/keyboardist Geddy Lee. Definitely balances out me having to share this day with Senator Elizabeth “Trophy Wife” Dole. 
 
Historical events are even better for my birthday: 
 
The Spanish Armada was defeated in 1588 which put England on track to becoming the world power it was until WWII. Spain has managed to have its revenge though. Not all the vessels were destroyed at Calais, France. Many fled north to Scotland and Ireland where some wrecked off the Irish coast. Those surviving Spaniards mingled with the Irish (known as the Black Irish) and these sailors were probably also flamenco dancers. Thus their descendents tortured the English-speaking world with the annoying Riverdance fad. America got caught in the backlash because we used to be England’s colony. 
 
Centuries later, President Ike “make the green in two” Eisenhower authorized the creation of NASA. That might explain my interest in space exploration. 
 
Lastly, here is the event which makes me laugh and maybe you will if you think about it. On this day 30 years ago, the first Son of Sam murder happened in NYC. Now murder isn’t funny, unless it’s in a Carl Hiaasen novel, but I recall what followed as a kid somewhat. For about a year, NYC was somewhat panicked because the killer (Stan Berkowitz) wrote letters to reporter Jimmy Breslin and the cops bragging about his handiwork. Now keep in mind, this was 1976-77. The Zodiac killer was pretty recent and never caught so most Americans weren’t too thrilled about a copycat. Also, the NYC of the last ten years, the Disneyfied version of Times Square created by Guiliani didn’t exist. The sleazy, dirty, scary NYC of Taxi Driver was a more accurate snapshot of the city. But here’s where I find the whole Son of Sam spree to be funny in an odd way. If the books and Spike Lee movie are to be believed, it seems silly that NYC would be terrified over one particular nutcase shooting people at random when it’s still an everyday occurrence. The other muggers just don’t receive their orders from dogs working as agents of the Devil.

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2000th CD Purchased

Posted on July 28, 2006 by Steve

Twenty years ago, I bought my first CD player and CDs and to celebrate my birthday, I managed to time the 2000th purchase to coincide. 
 
I wanted to make it significant like 1000 was; Earthling from David Bowie which was released around his 50th birthday. 
 
There was much agonizing over it at Waterloo Records because nothing really major got released this week. So then I decided to go with something from the past I didn’t have but it had to be from 1981, 1986 or 1991 which were all milestone years for my music collection; 1981 won out since that’s when I became interested in listening to entire albums. Sadly (or fortunately), everything I really like is already in my possession, especially from 1981; Duran Duran’s debut, Human League, Kate Bush, Adam & the Ants, Damned, Pretenders, Little River Band, Police and Genesis. 

Then I remembered my Mom’s friend Carolyn always had cooler tastes (in many things) than my parents, especially with music she would let my brother and me borrow. Thus, the winnner was a re-mastered copy of Tatoo You which was a memorable loan. Its singles “Start Me Up,” and “Waiting on a Friend” were played to death practically everywhere in my section of the Midwest but they were good songs. Personally, I think Tatoo You is the last album the Rolling Stones actually expended any effort to record. From then on, they’ve been phoning it in with rather dull, uninspiring productions. If it weren’t for the lucrative money they make from touring, the Stones would’ve retired—which they should. 
 
That aside, Somara and I will be picking up my second shelf from the Bookcase Store on Saturday. This place makes really solid, all-pine CD shelves. Not those lame, weak particle-board models you get from Target. How I hate them, especially with how easily they bow when you have a full row of discs. Now I will have two units capable of storing 1100 regular-sized CDs a piece. At the rate my collection grows, I should have enough space to expand for a year.

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Three Years and Counting

Posted on July 27, 2006 by Steve

On this day, Somara and I were married at the Mirage in Las Vegas. 
 
Nothing too special this year. She’s making a fancy dinner for us to save money since we’re hoping to swing a trip to Las Vegas in the Fall. It’s certainly better than last year with her in Phoenix and me in Austin. 
 
What’s year three anyway? The diet soda anniversary? Cubic zirconium? Engraved iPods?

Posted in Anniversary, News | 2 Comments

Happy 66th Birthday Bugs Bunny

Posted on July 27, 2006 by Steve

Today is considered his official birthday and here’s a link to back it. Most people give me a funny look when I tell them the date, as if a cartoon character can have a birthday like a person or a pet. Today is the normally accepted date for him with his appearance in the animated short “A Wild Hare.” He still looks pretty good after all these years but then again, like Steve Martin, he’s had gray hair for most of his career. 
 
I can only hope my personal totem [a story for another day] gets his likeness on licensed goodies again. All the t-shirts I had are gone and I need to send in my watch to repair the talking element.

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Happy Birthday Christina!

Posted on July 27, 2006 by Steve

My friend in Hawaii (living the dream!) is celebrating her birthday. It is never polite to ask [nor post] a lady’s age so you’ll have to ask her yourself if you want to know. Christina is a fellow Leo yet has the great luck of happenstance to have the same birthdate as Bugs Bunny. She is another friend I made and have stayed in touch with since the DG days [see Happy Birthday Rad]. At DG, Christina’s talents were not with computers but with languages, namely her fluency with Spanish and French. Someone being from our part of Illinois and becoming completely fluent in any language other than English is an incredible accomplishment. Central Illinois doesn’t have pockets of Latin Americans or Quebecois to practice with which means one has to have talent, persistence and most importantly, discipline. 
 
To bolster my French, we would go to lunch once a week at a place called the Penguin Cafe [in Peoria]. Always enjoyable, even if the bulk of the time it was in English. When I left for Austin, I stayed in touch and wrote as much as I could to Christina in improved French I had acquired at ACC. We also started a tradition we’ve always continued to this day, buying each other a birthday lunch; we send each other a check to cover it. I think I finally upped the amount of lunch money due to inflation and the cost of living rising in Hawaii. The other part of the tradition involves our mutual zodiac sign, Leo the Lion. I am constantly on the hunt for toys, cards, clothes or various trinkets with a lion on it. One year it was a Playmobil pride of lions for their zoo series. Another time it was a beanie baby. This year has definitely become my favorite thanks to some help from my in-laws and their Build-a-Bear habit. They found a lion with a grass-skirt/Hawaiian costume. Nothing could be more perfect in my opinion. I threw in some Madagascar masks of the lion character so no one would feel ignored. Christina loved it in a recent e-mail. The hula lion is there on her desk at work. Now to conjure up next year.

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The Back Room closing this weekend

Posted on July 27, 2006 by Steve

Caught the sad news first on KUT so I’ll go with their story since it’s easier to link than the Austin Chronicle’s blurb. 
 
I had only seen the Aquabats there because in my 10+ years of living in Austin, the Back Room was usually a Heavy Metal place with the occasional Punk reunion tour (The Damned), Rap show or whatever (Fishbone I think was there years ago). Someone I know through a mutual friend told me that it wasn’t always a Metal joint. Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s she saw Jane’s Addiction, The Ramones and Soundgarden play the venue. 
 
Sadly, the Back Room’s closing is probably the real estate on Riverside becoming too valuable as Austin’s formerly undesirable neighborhoods experience gentrification. A rather ugly trend pushing the poor and residents of lesser means into other regions [not sure where though]. I do have a bone to pick with the KUT story, Liberty Lunch [another venue lost to corporate greed and the idiocy of local government] had a higher capacity. Anyway, this is also a loss for the so-called Austin music scene as there’s one less intimate, cheap place for local and national acts to book shows of under 500 people. 
 
Meanwhile, the march to turn Austin into every other boring city advances.

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Please don’t squeeze the iPod

Posted on July 26, 2006 by Steve

I thought it was a joke from the purveyor of continuous humor mails. When I clicked on the link, it turned out this was real. 
 
Makes you wonder who buys such a thing. Instinctively, most people think of aDumb and Dumber moment. 
 
Don’t be afraid of the current tensions with Israel and its neighbors. This is a true harbinger of the alleged Apocalypse.

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Happy 47th Birthday Kevin Spacey

Posted on July 26, 2006 by Steve

Only fitting to make a quick plug for him now that he’s starring in the new Superman movie as Lex Luthor. Even before the reviews started appearing, the phrase “chewing the scenery” easily came to mind since he is the only living big name in the movie. I haven’t seen the movie yet so I don’t have an opinion of it. No matter what, I’m sure Kevin Spacey will be enjoyable in it because he and Samuel L. Jackson made the rather rote action-drama movie The Negotiator a better film than it deserved to be. I also won’t spoil the outcome of LA Confidential if you’ve never seen it, yet I feel that was another one he was great in. Not only for his acting but his willingness to let the story (or novel it was based on) take its course without it being altered due to his star status. I only wish he did more comedy as this Star Wars gag demonstrates how he can do it well like Kevin Kline and Gary Cole.

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RIP Mako

Posted on July 24, 2006 by Steve

His real name was Makoto Iwamatsu, but I guess it was easier for Westerners to use the shortened one he was known by. Many Science Fiction and Fantasy fans will always remember him as the wizard Akiro and narrator of theConan movies. More recently he is known as the voice of Aku, the nemesis inSamurai Jack along with the closing credits to Dexter’s Laboratory. 
 
Much like Noriyuki “Pat” Morita (Mr. Miyagi), he was typecast into playing the “Asian” roles such as Chinese Kung Fu masters or Korean officers on M*A*S*H. Kind of a bummer that he didn’t have a role in Mulan since Disney was bragging on and on about all the Asian voice actors they cast. 
 
Anyway, Mako has a great legacy of roles since the early Sixties if you check out his bio. Despite the past trends and laziness of Hollywood, I think he will have a great spot in the annals of Science-Fiction/Fantasy movies with his memorable work.

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Happy 59th Birthday (Texan) Don Henley

Posted on July 22, 2006 by Steve

When I bought a CD player 20 years ago, Building the Perfect Beast was the second disc I ever got to replace the cassette I had. It’s still his best solo album in my opinion and it put me on a big Eagles kick during my senior year in high school. In college, many people in Alternative circles considered him to be part of the old guard so he wasn’t cool. He really lost me when he had Axl Rose on his third solo record (blech!). But it’s pretty easy to dislike his material when most radio stations only play “Dirty Laundry” or “Boys of Summer. Recently I had a reconciliation with the Eagles and Don’s material, mainly by avoiding the allegedly music-based radio stations in Austin. Last year I also bought one of the only 20,000 copies of a special boxed set containing all the Eagles’ remastered studio albums. This let me rediscover and enjoy the less-played tracks, namely “On the Border” and “Wasted Time.” He and Glenn Frey wrote some of the best Pop music of the Seventies that I personally feel has never been replicated. It’s not a wonder why their first greatest hits compilation is one of the ten best selling records of all times, somewhere around 20 million copies.

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