Dual Kim Is Not At All Related To Houston Thanksgiving 2009
Who's Dual Kim? File this under "Weird Things I Know Now," I suppose.
Dual Kim is a South Korean model who possibly committed suicide. I know this because this morning I found no less than three emails from readers in my inbox asking how I felt about the situation.
Now, I'm aware that my fashion sense is the source of a lot of envy (a hearty collection of sweat pants will usually do that), but that's about where my association with this story ends. I'm much more concerned with the list that our excellent food critic, Fred Lutz, put together of restaurants serving Thanksgiving dinner in Houston.
If you're not planning on cooking (perhaps you want to spend your extra time purchasing sweat pants), you should check it out. And if you know of another restaurant around town that will be open for Thanksgiving, leave it in the comments.
Black Friday Sales 2009 - Where To Find Black Friday Sales in Houston
Thanksgiving is but seven days away, which means that Black Friday, the day when ordinary townsfolk transform into Herculean shopping beasts, is eight days away.
Naturally, after that Wal-Mart Black Friday information leak hit the internet, people have been getting ramped up for the Black Friday sales. Houstonians are no different. If you've never participated in Black Friday shopping before, it's pretty much like the first nine minutes of Saving Private Ryan, only more gruesome. It really is a spectacle and you owe it to yourselves to check it out.
Lucky for you, here's a listing of big name stores in Houston that have some noteworthy deals going on that day. If you know of another, add it in the comments section below.
So That's How You Smuggle a Gun Into a Police Station
Okay, so I caught a climpse of this earlier and wanted to put it up. Apparently, a youth was arrested for marijuana possession, right. They took him down to the juvenile detention center and, per standard, had him walk through a metal detector.
Only thing is, the metal detector wasn't plugged in. The youth smuggled in a gun. And if that weren't perfect enough, Harvey Hetzel, the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department Executive Director, let it be known that the metal detector "may well have been off for weeks."
Can you beat the inanity of this story?
Twilf? Really? We're Just Going To Make Up Words Like Twilf Now?
So twilf has been the annoying phrase of choice these past few hours thanks to some cartoon that I've never heard of or something. Really, I understand the need to be clever, but I've just never been a fan of portmanteaus. They seem so contrived (which might actually be the point, I suspect).
At any rate, you're undoubtedly going to be seeing/hearing "twilf" regularly for a bit, so here's a proper definition.
If you'd rather not click that link (I don't blame you), perhaps you'll be more interested in reading about the Glowarama event that's taking place this coming Thanksgiving weekend. Glowarama is basically an evening of festivities wrapped around a night parade. The stars of the parade will be Houston's famed Art Cars, only since it's at night they'll all be decked out in razzmatazz lights and whatnot. Looks like fun. You can read more about it, as well as pick up some tickets to it, here.
See more Thanksgiving festivities
Follow Me on Twitter | Find Me on Facebook
It's Veterans Day, Folks. Pass Along Your Praise
My father served in the military. Two very close uncles of mine (and one not very close uncle) served in the military. My cousin is currently overseas. I played Brothers In Arms a few times on the XBox 360.
Especially in light of the recent national tragedy at Fort Hood, it's time to give praise for all of those who were/are bold enough to do what most of us aren't: protect the sovereignty of the US.
Leave your stories in the comments section below. Feel free to be as short or as long winded as necessary. And if you ever were, or currently are, a member of the military, don't forget to stop by Applebees today; they're giving you all free food. That's an even trade, right? Risk your life, get a bacon cheeseburger.
Maclaren Stroller Recall - There Will Be A Maclaren Stroller Recall Issued Tuesday
I don't know, call me crazy, but whenever I fork over a nice little bit of money for a stroller, I'd just as soon as not have one of my kids get their fingers amputated by some faulty non-covered hinge. That's just me being overprotective, I suppose.
But apparently, that's exactly what's going on with a whole heap of Maclaren strollers (12 reported cases, actually). There will be an official Maclaren stroller recall notice released tomorrow informing folks who bought one between 1999 and 2009 of the finger-chop-off-iness. The models currently named include "Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, Techno XLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller."
There will be an installable hinge cover made available free of charge for those with the aforementioned models. In the meantime, just lug those heavy babies around in your arms, because that's why you buy a stroller, right? To have to carry babies anyway.
More Uncovered in Malik Nadal Hasan, Fort Hood Shooting
More has been uncovered regarding Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan's murder spree in Fort Hood.
As you no doubt know, Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, opened fire at the Solider Readiness Center (where soldiers go before deployment and after they return from action), killing at least twelve and injuring 31 more.
Initial reports were that Hasan was killed, however it is now being reported that he is still alive and in the care of a hospital under military guard.
When I was a child, my father served proudly in the U.S. Army. There was even a brief time when my uncle, also in the Army, was stationed with his family in Fort Hood. Even still, I can't begin to imagine what the town and its community members are going through right now.
I'm really not even sure what to say about this other than my condolences go to everyone involved. It is a sad day.
Celebrate Big Bird's Birthday at the Spa
Were you aware that it is Big Bird's birthday? I certainly didn't. Really, I didn't even realize that puppets celebrated that type of thing. I mean, I know they get down for the major holidays, but celebrating Big Bird's birthday seems, I don't know, kind of weird. What do you even buy a giant fake bird? Giant fake sunflower seeds?
Sorry. I digress. I mention it only because it somewhat coincides with this nice little promotion that Yelp.com is hosting in Houston. It's called "Hawt on Yelp" and it's primary purpose appears to be to get you familiar with some fine local spas. They're offering up to 50 percent off many services. Here's a bit from the press release:
"These special offers are open to the public. Appointments must be made in advance by calling the business and mentioning Hawt on Yelp. No walk-ins."
After the jump, see which nine are spas are participating.
Stop Searching For Free Thanksgiving Wallpaper For Your Desktop, Go Vote For Mayor
Hi. In case you hadn't heard, there's this wee little election going on right now in Houston. Something about the Mayor of Houston or whatever; I'm not sure, I was busy searching out free Thanksgiving wallpapers for my desktop and Brandon Spikes eye gouging videos on Youtube from this Saturday's Georgia game.
But should you feel the need to participate in this pretty innocuous and inconsequential event, you can locate an official polling booth near you right here. However, I feel like I should let you know ahead of time that you do not receive any type of award for doing your civic duty.
Not even one single polling official will refer to you as The Greatest, Most Attractive Person in the History of the World after you've voted, no matter how long you stand around and wait for it (or even if you actively petition for it).
Houston Mayoral Race Nears End, Gets Insulty
For the better part of its duration, the Houston mayoral race has been fairly cordial and pretty much free of mudslinging. (I really wish there were more occasions on which it was appropriate to use the term "mudslinging." It just seems so regal.)
But as the race nears the money stretch, candidates have taken to berating each other and their subsequent policies and views pretty good. So much so, in fact, that Bill White, who has elected to not openly back any one candidate, has intervened.
I don't know. It's kind of immature, but I kind of like when political candidates get to slandering one another. I always imagine these late night meetings where party underlings are sitting around drafting outlandish ideas that they want to attach to the competing candidates so as to destroy their credibility. "I heard [name] used to date a Nazi back in college," they probably say.
But in the end, the race has played out about as well as anyone can hope. Now it's just a matter of seeing who wins. (I would like to point out that I called Peter Brown being elected way back in February, which pretty much proves my ability to see into the future.) So, who ya got?