The Original Conan

"Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."-- Robert E. Howard, The Phoenix on the Sword, 1932.Illustration by Mark Schultz.

Robert Howard was a brilliant, yet tortured individual. He was born in 1906 in Parker County, Texas, in a little town called Peaster. He lived most of his child hood in Palo Pinto County. This is the guy who created Conan through the publication of pulpy short stories or novelettes serialized in the weekly publications of the time. The books published as "Conan, the Cimmerian" and "The Bloody Crown of Conan" are the original stories written between 1930 and 1934. Howard was famous for these as Conan captured a large following for the time.

Howard peppers the stories with derisive commentary on modern society. He appears to have admired the barbarian over the civilized man, at least, he found the ways of the barbarian more honest.

"The Cimmerian glared about, embarrassed at the roar of mocking laughter that greeted this remark. He saw no particular humor in it, and was too new to civilization to understand its discourtesies. Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing." Robert E. Howard, The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian: Conan of Cimmeria Volume 1, The Tower of the Elephant.

That was true then, and it is true now.

The stories are very entertaining. You will notice that they do not fall into a logical chronological order. The volume published by Ballantine Books put them in the order that Howard wrote them so long ago.

Robert E. Howard committed suicide in 1936. Some saw it coming. His father hid all of the guns in the house. Howard waited until after his father's death to go out to his car kill himself. It's too bad he couldn't have lived to contribute more. Can you imagine a 76 year old Robert Howard consulting on the set of "Conan, the Barbarian" in 1982? I think it would have been a better movie.

ZZ Top: The Best Music Video of Them All

ZZ Top released "Legs" off of the Eliminator Album. The entire video told a story in under four minutes. Of course, we were all in awe of the deuce coupe, too. I am a big ZZ Top fan.

Addicted to Love

Robert Palmer

The most attention-grabbing and innovative music video that I can recall from the time that MTV was actually entertaining with music videos. What happened to them? Do they really think that the garbage they show now can hold a candle to the music video format that made them famous?

I love this video even though it is painfully obvious that the "ladies" aren't actually playing the instruments (duh). That was a great song and a very cool video. He tried the same format with those girls on "Simply Irresistible", but it didn't work as well the second time.

Relax

Take a minute to relax and watch this.

Probably My Favorite Song of All Time

This is probably my favorite song of all time: "Twilight Zone" by Golden Earring. Here is the video of a live concert version.

Somewhere in a lonely hotel room
There's a guy starting to realize
That eternal fate has turned his back on him

It's 2 A.M. the fear has gone
I'm sitting here waiting the gun still warm
Maybe my connection is tired of taking chances
Yeah there's a storm on the loose
Sirens in my head
Wrapped up in silence all circuits are dead
Cannot decode my whole life spins into a frenzy

Help, I'm stepping into the twilight zone
Place is a madhouse feels like being cloned
My beacon's been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go now that I've gone too far?

Help, I'm stepping into the twilight zone
Place is a madhouse feels like being cloned
My beacon's been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go now that I've gone too far?

So you'll come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
So you'll come to know
When the bullet hits the bone

I'm falling down a spiral, destination unknown
Double crossed messenger, all alone
Can't get no connection, can't get through, where are you?
Well the night weighs heavy on his guilty mind
This far from the borderline
When the hitman comes he knows damn well he has been cheated
And he says

Help, I'm stepping into the twilight zone
Place is a madhouse feels like being cloned
My beacon's been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go now that I've gone too far?

Help, I'm stepping into the twilight zone
Place is a madhouse feels like being cloned
My beacon's been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go now that I've gone too far?

So you'll come to know
When the bullet hits the bone

So you'll come to know
When the bullet hits the bone

Help, I'm stepping into the twilight zone
Place is a madhouse feels like being cloned
My beacon's been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go now that I've gone too far?

Help, I'm stepping into the twilight zone
Place is a madhouse feels like being cloned
My beacon's been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go now that I've gone too far?

So you'll come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
So you'll come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
So you'll come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
So you'll come to know

When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone

Good Stuff!

One of my favorite commercials of all time

Do you remember the Old Spice commercial with Bruce Campbell playing the lounge style piano and singing Duran Duran's "Hungry Like a Wolf?" I have not figured out how to put video clips right in the blog page. For now, we will have to settle for this link that will take you to the clip of one of my favorite commercials of all time by one of my favorite actors. He takes a very popular song from the '80's and makes it his own. The entire time he is surrounded by babes who slowly close in on him. Watch the very end where he says, "Woof!" It's fun to play the commercial and then play the Duran Duran version.

Bruce Campbell is the self-proclaimed king of the B-movies. His biggest hits were Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and Army of Darkness. I have a copy of "Army of Darkness" on VHS. This guy has been around for quite awhile. He recently turned up in "Spiderman III" as the maitre'd in the restaurant. I am a fan.

Front Page of Wise County Messenger

2006 photo of District Attorney Jana Jones talking with National Republican Committeeman, Bill Crocker

Eight is Enough
District Attorney Jana Jones will not seek reelection in 2008

Published Thursday, December 6, 2007
By Brandon Evans

After serving as district attorney for Wise and Jack counties for the past eight years, Jana Jones announced on Monday that she would not run for a third term as district attorney for the 271st District." I'll miss working here terribly," Jones said, "but I want more time to spend with my family." Jones said the position is a 24-hour job and she is just ready to take a break. As of Monday, no one else has applied to run for the position, which will be up for election next year. However, it is rumored that county attorney Greg Lowery will seek the nomination. Jones said she will stay in Decatur and is considering several options in both the public and private sectors. She also said she might seek another elected office at some point in the future. One of the biggest cases Jones worked during her tenure was a cold case murder that occurred in Jack County. Gina Capps was murdered on Dec. 16, 1995, a few miles outside of Jacksboro. In 2005, with the help of then assistant district attorney Allen Williamson, Jones finally brought the killer, Hardy Don Capps of Spanish Fort, to justice when a jury convicted him of the murder.Jones ran unopposed as a Democrat in 2000. After switching parties prior to the 2004 election, Jones defeated Jim Matthews in the March 2004 primary before defeating Democratic candidate Michael Carrillo in the November general election.