stay a while
daily dos
mon 8/18/2008
(image via peta.org)
Teachers working in Texas' Harrold school district will be allowed to carry concealed guns once they take part in crisis management training. Superintendent David Thweatt: "When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that's when all of these shootings started."
Big Geminii
as seen on myspace
tue 7/29/2008
Three albums deep, Texas rapper Big Geminii is showing off his softer side.
On his latest, History in the Making, the Texas native drops streetwise raps about grindin' like Time to Stack a Million and Hate or Love Me but he easily slips into ballads like My Shawty and Amazing. With a raspy, juicy voice and a flow that oozes Dallas, Big Geminii is finally fessing up to being a ladies man: "I used to sing on some of the background tracks for my songs but I would tell people it was my partner from Austin, Texas."
It's working. His saucy slow jam, Hypnotize, featuring a sticky-icky chorus by MC Magic, cracked the Billboard Pop 100 earlier this year and is slowly taking over urban radio.
the middle
daily dos
sun 7/20/2008
A spokesperson for Texas Governor Rick Perry announced that five Mexican inmates will be be executed as scheduled, despite requests from White House and the International Court of Justice to delay the executions while the cases are reviewed.
keep it like a secret
daily dos
tue 7/15/2008
(image by sictransitgloria via flickr)
Texas leads the nation in abstinence education funding. It also leads the nation in teen pregnancy.
The Lopez Family
whodat
tue 7/1/2008
Four Americans are representing the United States in tae kwon do at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. Three of them share the same last name. And the same home. And the same parents.
Meet Steven, Mark and Diana Lopez of Sugar Land, Texas. The three twentysomethings will make history this summer by becoming the first trio of American siblings in over 100 years to compete in the same Olympics. Their coach? Another Lopez: Jean, their big brother and a two-time Pan-American tae kwon do champ.
Steven, 29, Mark, 26, and Diana, 24, were trained by Jean in their garage. The family of Nicaraguan-American athletes even has a signature style: a reversed stance designed to throw off opponents and an emphasis on defense, which allows the wiry siblings to take advantage of their long limbs. "Tae kwon do is a chess game; it's almost like a dance. What we do is dispute the dance so it isn't a game of chance," explains Jean.
It works. Steven, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time World Champion, is already considered one of the greatest tae kwon do fighters in U.S. history. Mark and Diana, who qualified for their first Olympic games this year (Diana failed to qualify in 2004), are both world champions.
Despite their dominance, the Lopez family has some detractors. Some claim Diana's Olympic trial match was judged in her favor – tae kwon do scoring is subjective, like amateur boxing – to ensure the Lopezes could make Olympic history in August. Especially if all three earn a medal – a once-in-a-lifetime possibility many are counting on. Their parents, included.
meds and feds
daily dos
thu 5/15/2008
(image by swanksalot via flickr)
In anticipation of hurricane season in Texas, Border Patrol officials from the Rio Grande Valley have stated that residents will be screened for citizenship before being allowed to evacuate. (via Latina Lista)
it's a celebration
daily dos
tue 4/1/2008
(image by jem via flickr)
Federal agents arrested 49 people in raids of Dallas night clubs this past weekend. (via Latina Lista)
bro-mantic
daily dos
thu 3/27/2008
Health officials in Dallas, Texas are battling a "mini-epidemic" among the children of recent Latino immigrants who are snorting "cheese" heroin – black tar heroin diluted with crushed tablets of over-the-counter sleeping medications. Dr. Carlos Tirado of UT Southwestern Medical Center: "Kids as young as nine or 10 years of age are coming to the hospital emergency rooms or detox facilities in acute heroin withdrawal."
see, blocked
daily dos
thu 3/20/2008
(image by elleinad. via flickr)
Officials in El Paso, Texas voted to block the federal government from using a city road to replace a section of the U.S.-México border wall.
change of heart
daily dos
mon 3/3/2008
(image by Daniel Morris via flickr)
The state of Texas is the largest polluter in the U.S. and would be the eighth largest polluter in the world if it were a country. It's also rapidly becoming the capital of wind power.
la princesa Says:
