The Kingpins of Cowtown

The long and short of it

It's not often you get a heist at a barber shop in the daily news mix. But when you do, if you're a headline writer, you must take full advantage.

The headline on the Star-Telegram Web site is: "Robber hits Arlington barber shop." But that's not what we wanted to write. Here are some suggestions that came up in our headline discussion before we published the above, and none of the following, out of respect for the barbers:

"Robber takes a little off the top"

"Arlington robber demands his cut"

"Clip joint clipped"

"Thief cuts into barber shop's daily take"

"'Gimme the money -- don't split hairs!'"

"Gumshoes comb over flattops"

"Money hair today, gone tomorrow" (ouch)

"It was a hair-raising ordeal" (double ouch)

"Barber in close shave" (...)

OK. Now that that's out of our system. Back to work ... and we're not even gonna talk about the lady on the toilet seat for two years.

-- T-Bone (transcribing with Lance Murray and Lefty Leferink)

Beach bum back in action

I came back from a wonderful week at the beach with the fam, and lo and behold, summer has finally arrived in North Texas. It's a balmy 101 outside right now, and ... The bowling pin cart is coming! The bowling pin cart is coming! Albino Bowler is a shade a pink he's so excited.

We'll report back after we've taken a ride.

2 views of Spring Break

Left: A Western Kentucky student goes body surfing in Fort Lauderdale. .... And, above, some University of Richmond students help Fats Domino rebuild homes in the Ninth Ward in New Orleans.

Spring Break fever

I got furloughed from behind the supply cabinet yesterday -- don't worry, I wore an ankle bracelet. And I came down with a serious case of Spring Break fever.

We ventured to the Stockyards, and dove headfirst into the melting pot of tourists and Spring Breakers.

First, we chatted with a trio of lovely ladies from Italy at the mechanical bull, then we cuchi-cooed a baby from Japan near the cattle maze, sang Mexican folk songs with Moises and his family, and I came within inches of getting a sloppy kiss from this amorous longhorn.

Don't tell my wife, but I think it could be serious.

What are you doing on Spring Break? Or, more importantly, where are you going? Albino Bowler and I will be stuck behind the supply cabinet, so send us your photos and postcards from exotic locales and we'll be able vacation vicariously. We'll also post your photos here in our Scenes from Spring Break.

Meanwhile, check out the video we shot yesterday at the Stockyards. I think we've found the next Three Tenors.

Kingpin kickin' back

Don't look for me behind the supply cabinet today. I'll be on the golf course in 30-degree temps. And maybe I'll catch that romantic comedy with Hugh and Drew. I'll report back on both of those later.

Maybe I'll even try out the new Fuzzy's, which June Naylor raved about in today's Star Time.

But my first attempt at relaxing this morning failed miserably. I cracked open the phone-book sized Sports Ilustrated Swimsuit Edition, but quickly got fed up with this forced intersection of sports and entertainment. Beyonce's on the cover and you've got all these gorgeous, barely dressed models draped over music stars like Gnarls Barkley and Aerosmith. Hey, we know you guys get all the beautiful women, don't remind us.

And on Sunday, the NBA All-Star game will be more of the same, with Jack Nicholson and Christina Aguilera and Adam Sandler sitting courtside in Vegas while Dirk and Kobe and King James run by and give a wink to the famous folks who were given courtside seats while regular shmoes paid hundreds for the nosebleed section.

Do I sound bitter?

I like my sports and entertainment separate. That's why I'll be playing golf and then watching a movie. Check back later.