This week’s NFL Prediction Six-Pack

“When Brian told me he grew up in New Mexico, I told him I thought it is cool that people from other countries play football. He corrected me on my geography and agreed to sit down with me anyway.” Terry Bradshaw

Terry was right; he may be dumb but he sure ain’t stupid.

Last week 3-3. For the season 6-6.  Solidly mediocre.

Your Just North of New Mexico Pick of the Week

Broncos over Jets.  I know you’re thinking brilliant choice.  Well it is a brilliant choice.  Where is it written that I only get to pick the hard ones.  Jets put up the first bagel of the season last week. Actually, this is the kind of game that happens once or twice every season where a team that has no business winning pulls off an upset of a team that can only be humiliated by the loss.  Except that ain’t happening this week.  The only questions are will the Jets score and exactly who is their third string quarterback?   Denver 42 New Jersey 6.

Your A Ways to the East of New Mexico Pick of the Week.

Seahawks over Cowboys.  Okay the Cowboys have officially pissed me off now.  And hold off on the hoopla for a moment.  Yes, they are 4-1 and have an excellent offensive line, but they got handled by a not very good 49ers team, beat the pathetic Titans, narrowly escaped a loss at the Rams, beat a Saints team that I think sucks right now, and beat the hapless Texans (like they almost always do).  They finally face a real team in the Seahawks on Sunday afternoon. I am expecting a serious beatdown and the beginning of the end for the Pokes’ playoff hopes.  Note that after November 2, they play exactly 2 games in the friendly confines of the Pissdome. Seattle 20 Arlington 13.

Your Even Further East of New Mexico Pick of the Week.

Colts over Texans. As much as it pains me, I have to face reality in the Texans coming off the short week after a tough loss and up against a brutally effective offense that has some serious momentum working.  I just don’t see how the Texans keep up with injuries in the secondary that keep occurring on weekly basis (Ed Reed – anyone, anyone?). Missing their top two backup corners probably sealed their fate last week against the Cowboys. Okay, they usually play the Colts pretty close at home and have actually won 3 of the last 4 match-ups at home (even barely losing in the midst of the 14 game losing streak last year), but while I believe in miracles, the omens are foreboding here. Indianapolis 29 Houston 21.

Your Moving a Bit to the West of New Mexico Pick of the Week.

Cardinals over OTNAs (try to figure it out). Cardinals were one of my bold picks to win their division and so far so good.  But it will be dicey from here out.  Palmer shows no signs of returning.  Drew Stanton was bounced from the game on Sunday and losing rising star Calais Campbell for several weeks to a knee injury on a play that Arians called the “dirtiest play he had seen in 37 years in the NFL” sure doesn’t help.  But the cure for all that ails you is playing the OTNAs – who are living up to their mascot’s reputation for getting massacred. Arizona 17 Landover, Md. 9.

Your Lovely Desert Brown Pick of the Week.

Jaguars over Titans.  This could be the Shit Bowl of the year, except for the fact that they play again in December.  Resist the temptation to swear off football and start watching reruns of Lifetime movies when viewing this Awful Anal Assault. Jacksonville 3 Tennessee 2.

Your Cities of Gold Casino is Just a Few Miles up the Road from Santa Fe Pick of the Week.

Chargers over Raiders. Chargers are -7 on the road against Raiders.  Sadly, Paul Revere (nee Paul Revere Dick) passed away this week.  And while I was a dedicated follower of “Where the Action Is” (see below) when a youth and cherished my Midnight Ride LP, I somehow don’t think the Raiders will be adequately inspired by the loss of their leader this week to knock off Red-Hot Rivers and the Chargers.  And if you aren’t yet listening to my betting picks, well you should know better by now. San Diego 45 Oakland 14.

In 1759, Spanish commander Diego Ortiz Parilla led his troop on an expedition to punish the Comanches for raiding and destroying the mission at Santa Cruz de San Saba  earlier that year.  The Spaniards met a force of Comanches, Yaceales and Tawakonis near a heavily defended Taovaya village on the Red River (near the present day town of Spanish Fort).  Things did not go as planned and Ortiz was forced to withdraw from his poorly chosen position on a sandbar and abandon his cannon.  The magnitude of the defeat was exaggerated by Ortiz’s detractors and he was replaced.

According to the Houston Chronicle,  Hot Spring gun store owner Jan Morgan – a Texas A&M former student has banned Muslims from her gun store and shooting range.  Morgan is uncertain which Muslims want to kill you and which do not.  The ploy has led to numerous speaking engagements for the former TV reporter turned right-wing commentator.

http://www.chron.com/news/local/article/Arkansas-gun-range-owner-Jan-Morgan-bans-Muslims-5793905.php

The only major battle of the Civil War was over control of Galveston.  That didn’t exactly happen on this day.  However, in 1862, Union Commander William B. Renshaw led a squadron of eight ships into Galveston harbor and demanded surrender of the only important Texas. Brig. Gen Paul O. Hebert had already removed most of the heavy artillery from Galveston Island wisely believing it to be indefensible.  In return, the garrison at Fort Point fired on the Union ships, which responded with volleys that dismounted the Confederate guns. The Confederate commander Col. Joseph J. Cook arranged a four-day truce and used it to evacuate his men to the mainland.

The latest 2014 read was Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.  I estimate that this was about the tenth time I have read this classic.  I discover something new each time I read it.  For those who have not read it (Really?), here is a brief synopsis (no real spoiler alert needed).

The book is unusual in that it has two narrators.  The first unnamed narrator is on a boat (likely a large yacht) on the lower reaches of the Thames.  He is gathered near dusk with the Director, Marlowe and some others. They are all of the sea, but Marlowe is the only one still making his living in that way.  Marlow remarks how this too was “once one of the dark places of the earth” imagining how a young Roman soldier must have felt going up against the native Britons.  Marlowe then begins to tell his tale.  Out of work, Marlowe travels to the Continent to the Sepulcher City to take a job as a riverboat captain for an ivory-trading company in the unnamed Congo.  In fact, no location but the Thames is ever named in this novel.  Marlowe tells of his travails in reaching his destination and finding his small paddle-wheeler sunk upstream from the main trading station.  It takes several months to fix during which time he learns more and more of Kurtz, manager of the Central Station.  Kurtz delivers more ivory than all of the other agents combined and there is a great mystery about his techniques.  With the steamer fixed, Kurtz begins a journey upriver with the manager and several “pilgrims.”  Just short of the Central Station, the boat is attacked by natives, but only the helmsman is killed by a spear.  When they finally arrive at the Central Station, Kurtz is ill and Marlowe encounters a Dutchman who has been living solitarily in the bush for several years and has befriended Kurtz in a manner of speaking.  The Dutchman tells Marlowe of Kurtz’ incredible strength, powers and resolve.  We are led to believe that Kurtz is a remarkable man.  Marlowe discover that Kurtz has written a monograph on his techniques that ends abruptly and has scrawled on the end “Exterminate all the brutes.”  Kurtz is taken on board the steamer, but escapes at night where Marlowe finds him crawling through the grass.  Kurtz dies, his last words having apparently been “The Horror, the Horror.”  Marlowe returns to the Sepulcher City in awe of Kurtz and with a bundle of letters and papers that he refuses to give to the Company.  The book ends with Marlowe visiting Kurtz’ “Intended”.  He gives her letters back to her and when she asks what Kurtz’ last words were – Marlowe lies telling her it was her name.

The plot is really incidental to the psychological drama in Marlowe’s mind as he struggles to make sense of the jungle, the preposterous characters around him and Kurtz who he ultimately concludes was a remarkable man.

Only three characters are ever named – Marlowe, Kurtz and Van Schuyten who is a trading post owner mentioned only once.  The book is clearly not PC by todays standards with frequent use of “nigger”, no thoughts about the  consequences of the ivory trade, and condescending descriptions of the Africans.  Still it is worth a read.

At eight o’clock in the evening on October 3, 1930, the Daisy Bradford No. 3 well struck oil. It was a gusher, and set of a spectacular oil rush in the East Texas field. It was the largest oilfield every discovered up to that time.  The well was brought in by Columbus Marion “Dad” Joiner.  Joiner had begun drilling in Rusk County in 1927 with rusted, third-hand equipment. According to legend, a geologist from Texaco told Joiner, “I’ll drink every barrel of oil you get out of that hole.”  In 1930 Joiner began to drill eight miles west of Henderson, Texas on Daisy Bradford’s farm with a wooden rig and used tools.  His first two wells were dry holes, but when the Daisy Bradford No. 3 came in, it changed Texas and the world.

A really big day in Texas history.  In 1835, the first “battle” of the Texas Revolution was fought at Gonzalez.

When Gen. Ugartechea, the Mexican military commander in Texas, learned that colonists in Gonzales had refused to surrender a small cannon that had been given to them to ward off attacks by Native Americans, he ordered Francisco de Castaneda and 100 dragoons under his command to seize it.  Hoping to avoid escalating the already tense relations between the Texas colonists and Santa Anna, Ugartechea ordered Castañeda to use force if necessary but to avoid conflict if possible.

When Castaneda reached the Guadalupe River opposite Gonzales, he found the ford impassable because of high water and was confronted by eighteen militiamen.  Unable to enter Gonzalez, Castañeda pitched camp near the ford. He later moved his camp 7 miles upriver when he received word that the Texan colonists were amassing a number of volunteers.

On October 1, the Texan colonists crossed the Guadalupe and marched upriver toward Castañeda’s new camp. On the morning of October 2 they attacked, Castaneda immediately ordered his men to fall back to a more defensible position behind the camp.

At one point, Castañeda arranged a parley with Texan commander  J. H. Moore.   Castañeda inquired why he had been attacked without provocation.  Moore answered that the Texans were fighting to keep the cannon and uphold the Constitution of 1824. Castaneda explained that he was a Federalist and personally opposed to the policies of Santa Anna.  He told Moore that he did not want to fight Moore’s men and only wanted to reclaim the Cannon.  Moore invited Castañeda to join them in fighting for the Constitution of 1824. Castaneda was unable to do so because as a soldier he was required to follow his orders and not engage in politics.  Unable to reach an agreement, the fighting resumed after the commanders returned to their positions.

Looking at the situation, Castaneda ordered a withdrawal to San Antonio.  In his later report, Castañeda stated that “since the orders from your Lordship were for me to withdraw without compromising the honor of Mexican arms, I did so.”  Despite Castañeda’s efforts to avoid war, the minor skirmish at Gonzales is now viewed as the breaking point that led to war between the American colonists and the Mexican government

I have to look at crap like this on the way to work.