Monday, May 30, 2011
At least we came home with something
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
On the way to a great week, Tim & I saw this.
Don Matthews, 55, was headed north on Interstate 294 this morning when he saw something black falling -- as if in slow motion, he said -- from the overpass ahead.
As he got closer, he saw that the dark shapes, five or six that ended up on either side of the center lane of traffic, were cattle. As he drove by, one animal to the left of the car raised its head.
On the overpass, he could see that a semitrailer had partially tipped over, and “it looked like the top of the trailer had kind of peeled open.”
“It was quite a sight,” Matthews said. “It was kind of a surreal thing.”
But it was very real. A truck carrying 36 head of cattle tipped over on Interstate 80 near Hazel Crest, sending some of the animals tumbling off an overpass.
The accident happened at 11:15 a.m. near the I-294 interchange, resulting in 16 head of cattle being killed while others roamed near the scene, Illinois State Police ChicagoDistrict Sgt. Anthony Ostrowski.
Cook County animal control officials were called to pick up the remaining cattle, and officials were called to pick up the carcasses of several of the cattle, police said.
The ramp was reopened at 7:15 p.m., Ostrowski said.
Several of the animals fell 20 to 25 feet from the I-80 eastbound ramp and landed on the southbound portion of I-294, police said. Several vehicles struck the carcasses, leaving one motorist with minor injuries, police said.
The surviving 22 cows were taken to a farm in Peotone, Ostrowski said.
The truck driver lost control of the rig and it struck a wall before flipping on its side, the sargeant said.
The driver, who was not injured, was cited with driving too fast for conditions, Ostrowski said.
The driver's name was unavailable.
RIP, Owen Hart 12 years ago
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Happy 59th Birthday, Mr. T
Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud May 21, 1952) is an American actor known for his roles asB. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry, and his tough-guy image. In 2006 he starred in the reality show I Pity the Fool, shown on TV Land, the title of which comes from his catchphrase from the film Rocky III.
1924- Leopold and Loeb Murder
Nathan Freudenthal Leopold, Jr. (November 19, 1904 – August 29, 1971) and Richard Albert Loeb (June 11, 1905 – January 28, 1936), more commonly known as "Leopold and Loeb", were two wealthy University of Michigan alumni and University of Chicagostudents who murdered 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks in 1924 and were sentenced to life imprisonment.[1]
The duo were motivated to murder Franks by their desire to commit a perfect crime. Once apprehended, Leopold and Loeb retained Clarence Darrow as counsel for the defense. Darrow’s summation in their trial is noted for its influential criticism of capital punishmentand retributive, as opposed to rehabilitative, penal systems.
Leopold and Loeb have been the inspiration for several works in film, theater and fiction, such as the 1929 play Rope by Patrick Hamilton and Alfred Hitchcock's 1948 film of the same name
Leopold and Loeb spent seven months planning the murder, disposing of the body and working out a way to get ransom money with little or no risk of being caught.[8] They put their plot into motion on Wednesday, May 21, 1924. After a search, the pair finally decided upon Robert "Bobby" Franks, the son of Chicago millionaire Jacob Franks, who was walking home from Harvard High School (closed 1962) in Hyde Park, Chicago. The 14-year-old boy, who was both the neighbor and second cousin of Richard Loeb, was lured into the passenger seat of their rented car.
Future Hollywood producer Armand Deutsch later claimed he might have been the intended victim of Loeb or Leopold. But on the day of the murder, as the 11-year-old grandson of Julius Rosenwald, he was picked up by his family's chauffeur after school because he had a prior dental appointment. Deutsch died aged 92 on August 13, 2005.[9][10]
With Franks in the vehicle, one of them drove and the other one sat in the back armed with achisel. It's not known who struck the first blow with the murder weapon.[11] But a sock was stuffed into the schoolboy's mouth and he died soon after. Contrary to rumors that Franks had been sexually assaulted, the trial judge would later state that conclusive evidence convinced him that no abuse had been committed.[12]
The killers covered the body and drove to a remote area near Wolf Lake in Hammond, Indiana. They removed Franks's clothes and left them at the side of the road. Leopold and Loeb pouredhydrochloric acid[13] on the body to make identification more difficult. They then had dinner at a hot dog stand. After finishing their meal, they concealed the body in a culvert at the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks near 118th street, north of Wolf Lake.
After returning to Chicago, they called Franks's mother and said her son had been kidnapped. They mailed the ransom note to the Franks. The killers burned items of their own clothing that had been spotted with blood. They also attempted to clean bloodstains from the upholstery of their rented automobile. The two then spent the rest of the evening playing cards.
Before the Franks could pay the ransom, Tony Minke, a Polish immigrant, discovered the body.[8][11] When Leopold and Loeb learned that the body had been found, they destroyed the typewriter used to write the ransom note and burned the robe used to move the body.[8][11]
However, Detective Hugh Patrick Byrne, while searching for evidence, discovered a pair of eyeglasses near the body, unremarkable except for an unusual hinge mechanism. In Chicago, only three people had purchased glasses with such a mechanism, one of whom was Nathan Leopold.[14]
Upon being questioned, Leopold told police he had lost the glasses while birdwatching.[15] Loeb told the police that Leopold was with him the night of the murder. Leopold and Loeb claimed they had picked up two women in Leopold's car and had dropped them off near a golf course, never learning their last names. Unfortunately for Leopold and Loeb, Leopold's car was being repaired by his chauffeur that night. The chauffeur's wife also said the car was in the Leopold garage that night.
During police questioning, Leopold's and Loeb's alibis fell apart. Loeb confessed first, followed by Leopold.[16] Although their confessions corroborated most of the facts in the case, each blamed the other for the actual killing.[8][11] Most commentators believe that Loeb struck the blow that killed Franks.[7] However, which of the two actually wielded the weapon that killed Franks would never be known.Psychiatrists at the trial, impressed by Leopold's intelligence, agreed that Loeb had struck the fatal blow. However, the circumstantial evidence in the case, including eyewitness testimony by Carl Ulvigh (who saw Loeb driving with Leopold in the back seat minutes before the kidnapping), indicated that Leopold had been the killer.[17]
The ransom was not their primary motive; the young men's families provided them all the money that they needed. Both had admitted that they were driven by the thrill of the kill and the desire to commit the "perfect crime."[2] While in jail, they basked in the public attention they received and regaled newspaper reporters with the crime's lurid details again and again.[citation needed][dubious – discuss]
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Friday, May 20, 2011
RIP, Randy Poffo, 1971 DG North Grad AKA Macho Man Randy Savage
Batting Average .500 in 1970 and .525 in 1971 Team won Conference Championship in 1971 Most Valuable Player 1970-1971
Bats Switch, Throws Right (until 1973), Left (1974 and later)
Height 6' 2", Weight 175 lb.
High School Downers Grove North High School
Born November 15, 1952 in Columbus, OH USA
Died May 20, 2011 in Tampa, FL USA
Randy Poffo was a two-time All-State catcher at Downers Grove North High School near Chicago. He was the only player signed out of a 200-player open tryout by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1971. He batted .286/~.430/.492 in 35 games for the GCL Cardinals. In 16 games at catcher, he was error-free.
He returned to the GCL Cardinals for the 1972 season and hit .274/~.371/.393 in 52 games, mostly in the outfield. He made the Gulf Coast League All-Star team in the outfield, one of six outfielders chosen; teammate Jerry Mumphrey was also selected and would go on to a fine career. In 1973, Randy hit .344/~.459/.508 in 25 games as a DH for the GCL Red Birds. He also played that year for manager Jimmy Piersall with the Orangeburg Cardinals in the Class-A Western Carolinas League, hitting .250/~.374/.405 in 46 games, again mostly at DH. Poffo credits Piersall and his feisty personality for teaching him how to be aggressive and how to fight. He suffered a severe muscle tear and ligament separation in his throwing arm and was released by the Cardinals. Instead of retiring because of the injury, he taught himself to throw left-handed.
The now left-handed Poffo returned in 1974 with the Cincinnati Reds. He played for the Reds' Florida State League affiliate, the Tampa Tarpons and had a career year in power though his OBP and average fell significantly. He batted .232/~.309/.358 in 131 games, mostly at DH and occasionally in the outfield or first base. He finished third in the league in RBI (66) and tied for fifth in home runs (9), only three less than Eddie Murray hit as a full-time player in the FSL that year. Only Gary Roenicke and Billy Baldwin drove in more runners in the FSL; Murray trailed Poffo by 3. He was released by the Reds. (Note: Poffo is still listed as a right-handed throw by the TSN Guide that year).
Poffo signed with the Chicago White Sox for 1975, but was released at the end of spring training. He decided to call it quits for baseball.
Overall, Randy batted .254/~.351/.392 in 289 games. He stole 21 bases and drove in 130 runs in 869 AB.
WOW!!! RIP Downers Grove Native!!!!! Macho Man Randy Savage Dies In Car Accident
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Happy Birthday, André the Giant
In the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Roussimoff is a one-time WWF Champion and a one-time WWF World Tag Team Champion. In 1993, he was the first inductee into the WWF Hall of Fame.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Lillie's Q chef takes 12th at Memphis in May Barbeque Championship
By Phil Vettel Tribune restaurant critic
For most 'que specialists, finishing 12th out of 70 entrants (in McKenna's preferred Pork Shoulder category), at the most prestigious barbecue cook-off in the country, would be high-five time. McKenna and crew, however, are a bit bummed.
"The top 10 finishers get to walk up (at the awards ceremony) for their trophy." McKenna says. "We've never not walked."
Last year, McKenna finished fourth, as he did in 2006, and he has three other top-10 finishes, including his first-place title in 2007. The guy aims high.
"It was disappointing to our team," he says, "but it's a fun time. And this year's Grand Champion (Big Bob Gibson's in Decatur, AL) came out of the shoulder category. There was a lot of good meat out there."
This is just the beginning of the competitive-barbecue season, however. From March through November, McKenna estimates that between 30 and 40 barbecue contests take place across the country, and McKenna will compete in nearly 20 of them.
"I compete on the circuit year-round," he says. "I go out twice a month. I think the next trip is mid-June. It's a great thing, plus it helps get Lillie Q's name out."
RIP, 9 years ago today the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith Dies
Smith died on May 18, 2002, after suffering a heart attack while on vacation in Invermere, British Columbia with his girlfriend, Bruce Hart's estranged wife Andrea Redding. He was 39 years old. An autopsy revealed that past anabolic steroid use may have played a part in his death, however no certain reason was found. It is apparent that stress, serious injuries, and the use of drugs took its toll on the wrestler. Bruce Hart claimed "Davey paid the price with steroid cocktails and human-growth hormones."
America's Best Burger Cities
This month Travel + Leisure put up a list of America's 20 best major burger cities as picked by their readers. (Update: As David noted in the comments below, the 20 cities were picked from 35 choices, hence why more worthy cities may not appear on this list.)
2. Salt Lake City
3. Providence
4. Denver
5. Austin
6. Chicago
7. Nashville
8. Minneapolis/St. Paul
9. New York City
10. Savannah
11. Portland, OR
12. Los Angeles
13. Phoenix/Scottsdale
14. Dallas/Fort Worth
15. Kansas City
16. San Diego
17. San Antonio
18. Charleston
19. Atlanta
20. San Francisco