Tag Archives: Cowboys

Is your kid playing video games OR being trained to do Drone strikes?

I have to tell you that this week’s comments are going to be somewhat vague, secretive. This week I am talking about drones. See, it looks like because we have increased drone strikes so much that the need for drone pilots has tripled. Oh I know what you’re thinking; they call them drones because no one flies them. So what’s the deal? Ok, here’s the top secret part. It’s really just a video game and maybe, just maybe our government is already in the process of training … Kids, Game Cube, Playstation. When I was younger I was really good at the space games, and if we would have had an alien invasion, I would have made Luke Skywalker look silly. I was also good at Street Fighter and the combat games… Maybe Wii and the Cube, or whatever’s out there is really just setting the youth of tomorrow on a flight plan of weapon system video games, at least until they figure out how to use all robots. We can blame people if they strike the wrong target, with robots…

My plan: put world leaders behind the controls of the game Street Fighter.., USA against Iran, or China. We’d whoop their butts …Only thing is we may have to barrow a quarter from China to play the game …I’m

Will Roberts

PoliticalComedians.com

On the Horizon: Circle the Wagons

It has been said that food cooked over an open fire is the best tasting. Growing up with a grandfather who loved camping for weeks at a time, I can say that the saying is true. I do not know why but there is something about camp-cooked potatoes and fire-grilled steak that makes my mouth water. So when found out I was headed to a Dutch oven cookout I couldn’t have been more excited.

In this week’s video blog, we take a look at cooking in olden days. From large vats of Mexican stew to small Dutch ovens of cinnamon rolls, this cookout has all sorts of good recipes and cowboy heritage.

~ Andy Barth
 

Lessons Learned from Tragedy

A crying cowboy is surrounded by the faces of the ten men who died in a plane crash on January 27th, 2001 (courtesy tulsaworld.com)

Editor’s Note, 11/18/11: After the devastatingly sad plane crash last night that took the lives of Oklahoma State women’s basketball coach and assistant coach, we began to receive a great many reviews of this post (pub. 1/28/11) once again.  Our thoughts and prayers are most certainly extended to the families, team members, and Oklahoma State community for this most recent plane-related tragedy, and to those connected to the two others who died in the crash as well.  Kelly Ogle at News9 just posted a Twitter photo of the girls’ team gathered around the kneeling Cowboy memorial, circling in prayer. You can view the photo HERE. ~ RDK

***

by Rob Loeber

It is impossible to walk past the memorial and not feel…something.  Front and center inside the doors of Gallagher-Iba arena is the tribute to ten men who had their lives cut short.  A single Cowboy kneels and cries, representing the tears of a team, a university, and a state.  Looking out at that Cowboy are the smiling faces of those ten men.  It’s as if one look is at once a reminder of our grief and a lasting image of just how joyful life can be.

Thursday marked the tenth anniversary of the plane crash that claimed the lives of those ten men.  Ten years later, an unspeakable tragedy in a field in Colorado, still echoes in the hearts and minds of everyone who lives in this state.  Those associated with OSU have taken every step to ensure that no one will ever forget what happened on the night of January 27th, 2001.

Time may indeed heal all wounds, but some wounds need to be recognized and embraced for the benefit of those left behind.  This is one of those wounds, and a celebration of those men is exactly what OSU continues to bring forth a decade after their lives were ended.  The University honored those men beautifully on Wednesday night before, during, and after a game against Texas.

Continue reading Lessons Learned from Tragedy

Get Over Yourself Tulsa

A few weeks ago, the Tulsa World published this article about how more Tulsans are embracing the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Overall, the tone of the article is positive.  It cites increasing ticket sales and rising TV ratings from the East side of the state.  However, if you read the article and read some of the comments, you’ll quickly realize just how ignorant, jealous and petty so many folks are about the Thunder bearing the name “Oklahoma City.”

Tulsans don't need to go to this extreme, but you get the idea. (courtesy bleacherreport.com)

I don’t want to admit this is true, but having lived in Tulsa for almost seven years now, there is an inferiority complex for too many people when it comes to competition with OKC.  These are the same imbeciles who need something to be offended by, something to rant about on sports radio, and who cling to the past like it’s keeping them alive.  The ridiculous sentiment of this pathetic crowd is, “They’re not the Oklahoma Thunder, so why should I care? They don’t market themselves to Tulsa or play games up here, so why I am going to support a team that doesn’t acknowledge me?”

Really?  Sometimes you people sound like too much like the kid who gets picked last for dodge ball.  Did you ever think it’s because maybe you’re not good enough?  Instead of whining and complaining just get better.

The BOK Center is a start, bust more downtown renewal must follow.

Let’s face facts here; Oklahoma City had a vision back in the mid-nineties.  The MAPS project was executed flawlessly and now OKC has transformed itself into a big league city that is deserving of a professional franchise.  Tulsa is a fantastic place to live, and offers plenty of things that OKC doesn’t, but it just isn’t on the same level when it comes to being ready for pro sports.  Sure, Tulsa has the BOK Center downtown.  It’s a beautiful facility and it’s a huge step in the right direction.  But Tulsa also has a city council that squabbles incessantly, excruciatingly slow development along the river, and surface streets that make this town the perfect place to open up your own alignment shop.  What takes Oklahoma City ten years seems to take Tulsa 25 years to accomplish.  Believe me, Tulsa is changing and improving, but it’s not there yet.

Continue reading Get Over Yourself Tulsa

Maturity? That’s Asking A Lot!

It’s depressing to write this, but I will turn 30 later this year.

You would think at this point in my life, I’d be past the all the irrational behavior associated with one of my sports teams losing.  You would think I’d leave behind the rage, the despondent face, and the shutdown of all normal neuron activity.  You would think I could count to ten, take a deep breath, or at the very least keep some perspective.  You’d be wrong.

Three full decades into life and I can’t keep myself from reverting back to child-like behavior when I’m met with massive sports disappointment.

It's like looking in the mirror. (courtesy cdn.bleacherreport.net)

The other night my hockey team, the Calgary Flames, was officially eliminated from playoff contention.  As I sat there watching the game online, I began muttering to myself incessantly.  Let’s just say it’s a good thing I was alone, because my soliloquies weren’t exactly meant for the ears of children.  I know that’s awful.  I know it is, but it was like a reflex.  As the night went on, and it became increasingly clear that my team would be making tee times, my anger turned to sadness.  I took off my t-shirt with the team insignia emblazoned across the chest and folded it neatly while whispering, “So close. I just want one more game.”  When times are desperate I’ve also been known to don a hard hat with my team’s logo and the inscription: Hardest Working Fan. (There’s nothing more mature than a grown man sitting alone, wearing a hard hat, wallowing in self-pity).  I slid the hard hat back onto a shelf, and then proceeded to check the standings over and over and over again.  I stared at the point totals like a mathematical equation I just couldn’t solve.  I let out a long sigh, and then said, “Thanks for a good run boys.”  I said that out loud as if I was in their locker room expecting one of the players to embrace me.  In the moment, none of this lunacy seemed odd or weird or the least bit desperate.  But it is!  I know it, and I still can’t stop it!

Of course I had my share of temper tantrums as a kid.  On Thanksgiving Day in 1993, Leon Lett decided to ruin my life by fumbling a ball in the snow to set up a Dolphin’s game winning field goal.  With my Cowboys defeated, I was inconsolable.  I ran to my room, sobbing, and refused to come out for hours.  I wasn’t just crying, I was wailing.  I remember shaking and seething in my bed just as vividly as I remember the look on my parents faces.  You know that, we’re-mortified-by-this-and-no-longer-proud-of-you look?  Yep, that’s the one.  Sure it was embarrassing, but in my defense I was just a kid.

Now fast forward to the present day.  Has my maturity level evolved?  Recent events point to no.

Continue reading Maturity? That’s Asking A Lot!