THE LAST GUNFIGHT by Jeff Guinn

This book is about the real story of the Shootout at the OK Corral in Tombsone, Arizona.

Doc Holiday, Wyat Earp, Vergil Earp, Morgan Earp....

After several movies surrounding these characters and the shootout they had with the cowboys, this book brings light to the real events that lead up the gunfight. It reveals the true characters of those that have been glorified over time.

Basically this book puts a dent in the popular belief cast by the movies and brings forth very strong and bold conclusions about the characters.

Very good book.

Restart

It has been a while since my last post but i hope i can stay current.
Hopefully i can add more things about family and the books i read...

JO.

Book: Ford County by John Grisham

I really liked this book of short stories by my favorite author John Grisham.

All the stories were very captivating, humerous and compelling. All the stories take place in Cloanton, Miss, which is the setting for his first book "A Time to Kill".

THE ASSOCIATE by John Grisham

The ending sucked because i wanted to see the bad guy, Bennie Wright, get caught. He didn't.

Kyle is being used by Bennie, his handler, to steal documents from the law firm where he works. Bennie has a compomising video of Kyle at a frat. party and uses it as a tool to get what he wants.

Kyle cunningly works his way out of the mess but will always contiue to be a target because Bennie was not apprehended.

UH FOOTBALL GAME

Nestor, James and me at the game. Gudelia took the pictures.

KRYSTAL OLIVAS

My girl doing her homework.

My girl at the Astros game.

My girl with Adrian

My girl with Adrian again.

Marker by Robbin Cook

This is the first Robin Cook book i read in years.

The insurance company identifies the new subscribers that will cost them a lot of money in the future and has them "eliminated". By identifying if a person is postive for certain "markers" with the use of Genomic research, the insurance company sets out to cut its future losses by placing hit-men/women to work in hospitals and carry out a very amoral thing.

Medical examiners Dr. Laurie Montgomery and Dr. Jack Stapleton confront a series of puzzling hospital deaths of young, healthy people after successful routine surgery. Despite resistance from her superiors, as well as from those at Manhattan General, Laurie pursues the investigation. Though it seems impossible to determine why and how the patients are dying, she comes to suspect that not only are the deaths related-they're intentional, suggesting the work of a remarkably clever serial killer with a very unusual motive, involving frightening ties to both developing genomic medicine and the economics of modern-day health care.

The novel has a well developed plot with a remarkable and truly well written ending! The author shares his thoughts about the medical system in the States, the nursing shortage and faults about the health care through this novel. The novel is written with intermingling of suspense and science, and the author delivers a stimulating page-turner.

A chain of deaths at Manhattan General Hospital keeps Laurie indulged in her work even more than before while she tackles her troubling relationship with Dr. Jack Stapelton. She then finds the case of a twenty-eight year old boy who only had a minor foot injury but died due to no particular reason. Next in line was a woman who also died with a naive knee surgery giving no apparent evidence of her death. Laurie finds these cases very puzzling and thinks that they are related. Suddenly she discovers the bizarre truth…..There is a serial killer operating in Manhattan General!

As more cases keep arriving, Laurie detects that there are only three things common between all the deceased. They are young, healthy and new subscribers of the AmriCare. Laurie toils day and night to find the reason and the person behind these cold blooded murders. As the mystery keeps unraveling, Laurie tangles between her personal life and the strange job at hand.

Very good book.

Heed his example

The sudden death of Michael Jackson has brought much sadness to many of his fans, but on thing that we can all learn is the importance of learning fiscal responsability.

Michael died deep in debt as a result of bad advise and a financial fantasy land that he created. He was a man who lived beyond his means. Excess. He surrounded himself with people who urged his expensive inmpulses and declined to help him set limits.

His tragedy should serve as a reminded that we should all keep our financial house in order. We do not want to live our final days worried sick about money. We do not want to die owing so much money that our loved ones inherit nothing.

Thanks for the lesson MJ.

CELL

"CELL" by Stephen King

Seems to me SK is upset that so many people today use cell phones. As a result he writes a book in which all the people that have a cell phone become crazy and zombie-like when they receive a signal on their cell phone ("a Pulse") at exactly the same time.

Sure the book does have a hero, Clay, who interestingly enough does not own a cell phone and goes on to destroy all the "phone crazies".

The book was kind of slow in the uptake and flattened out in a couple of parts. I do not believe this was one of his best books.

Intellegence Failure

US President George W. Bush said in an interview that he came to office "unprepared for war" and that his "biggest regret" was the US intelligence failure on Iraq.

But Bush refused to say whether he would have ordered the March 2003 invasion if he had known that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction.

"That's an interesting question. That is a do-over that I can't do. It's hard for me to speculate," said the US president, who took office in January 2001 and hands the keys to the White House to Barack Obama on January 20.

"The biggest regret of all the presidency has to have been the intelligence failure in Iraq," Bush said. "I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess."

Bush launched the war in Iraq after a months-long public campaign centered on the charge that Saddam possessed vast stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, but no such arsenal was ever found.

"A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein. It wasn't just people in my administration; a lot of members in Congress, prior to my arrival in Washington DC, during the debate on Iraq, a lot of leaders of nations around the world were all looking at the same intelligence," Bush told ABC.

Asked what his greatest accomplishment was, the US president replied: "I keep recognizing we're in a war against ideological thugs and keeping America safe."

Asked what he was most unprepared for when he took office in January 2001, Bush replied: "I think I was unprepared for war. In other words, I didn't campaign and say, 'Please vote for me, I'll be able to handle an attack.'"

"In other words, I didn't anticipate war. Presidents -- one of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen," he said.

Bush, whose administration recently accepted a formal timeline for withdrawing from Iraq, also stood fast behind his refusal for years to set a pull-out timetable.

"It would have compromised the principle that when you put kids into harm's way, you go in to win," he said.

"It was a tough call," he said, because "a lot of people" were advising him to bring US forces home. "But ultimately, I listened to this voice: I'm not going to let your son die in vain; I believe we can win; I'm going to do what it takes to win in Iraq."

Illigal immigrants - Heroes

Some very important people in Texas history were once Illigal Immigrants: David Crockett, William B. Travis, and Sam Houston. In 1830 while Texas was still part of Mexico, the Mexican government passed a law barring anymore American immigrants from entering Texas. The previously mentioned men were among the illegals violating this particular law.

As history shows, immigrants - even illigal ones - often help make things better. For example, i'm sure there are plenty of illigals who have worked hard to help clean up the Galveston area after Hurricane Ike. They have done their job without complaining and just look forward to providing for their families. Maybe their Thanksgiving and Christmas will be a pleasant one this year as they will have money to put food on the table and buy gifts for their children.

There were a lot of American "bad apples" that also immigrated to Texas in those times. Some illigals came to escape debts, some were adventures and some were fugitives from justice. Some of these fugitives continued their criminal careers in Texas and lived in active defiance of the law. However, if we choose to focuse on the bad apples we will ignore some of the good people that immigrated to Texas from America. As the case today, there are bad apples immigrating to the US from different countries, but i'm sure the good ones far outnumber the bad ones.

America has always welcomed immigrants with open arms, why stop now..... I believe there is a culture of hatred towards immigrants by many Americans that don't know their family were immigrants at one point themselves. Lack of education and lack of caring.

This is a photograph of a passenger ship carrying hundreds of immigrants across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States. The Journey to America was a terrible and frightening experience. Immigrants had to deal with cramped living space, sickness from diseases, hardly any food, drastic temperature changes, and death. Death took many of the passengers and a lot of survivors wrote to their families telling them of their harrowing journey to America. There were many reasons why people chose to leave their homes to live in America. Everyone has opportunities and choices. People wanted to make better lives for themselves and they made a choice that America could fulfill that wish and they took the opportunity to make the voyage. So many people immigrated to America.

New Family Member

Congratulations to Nestor and Karina. They added a new member to their family: Adrian Olivas. He was born November 3, 2008. Good looking boy....

Immigration - Being Branded

Immigrants here illegally suffer from the same sort of stereotypes that blacks long endured. They are branded as violent criminals while working hard in hopes of making a better life for their families. Yes, there are bad apples, but it in disingenuous to brand all illegal immigrants as violent criminals. It is irrational to assume that being a violent criminal is typical for all immigrants.

Wrong assumtion.

Why? Most research has found that recent immigrants are far less likely than their US-born counterparts to commit crimes and end up in prison. Also, research indicates that the vast majority of immigrants - legal or illegal - work hard, keep their heads down and are less likely to get into trouble than native-born Americans.

Please lets stop the hysterical stereotypes of illigal immigrants as violent criminals.

Some of us turn out pretty good.

OBAMA WINS

Tomorrow the sun is going to come up in this country and less than 40 years after an African American was not allowed to use the same bathroom as a white person, sleep in the same hotel, ride on the same bus, go to the same school, less than 40 years later our nation showed the entire world why it is the greatest nation on earth and selected an African American as it’s 44th President. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was elected the nation's 44th president yesterday, riding a message of change and an inspirational exhortation of hope to become the first African American to ascend to the White House. Obama, 47, the son of a Kenyan father and a white mother from Kansas, led a tide of Democratic victories across the nation in defeating Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a 26-year veteran of Washington who could not overcome his connections to President Bush's increasingly unpopular administration. Obama became the first Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976 to receive more than 50 percent of the popular vote, and he made good on his pledge to transform the electoral map. He overpowered McCain in Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania -- four states that the campaign had spent months courting as the keys to victory. He passed the needed 270 electoral votes just after 11 p.m., with victories in California and Washington state.

The general-election campaign began with simple themes: Obama said McCain's candidacy represented nothing more than a continuation of the Bush administration, while McCain portrayed Obama as too inexperienced to lead a country involved in two wars and under the threat of terrorism. McCain offered his years of experience and his maverick record of often bucking the leadership of his party as evidence of the kind of president he would be, and characterized Obama as a man of eloquent speeches but empty rhetoric.

Obama shored up his perceived weaknesses with Biden, a longtime senator fluent in foreign affairs and national policy but prone to gaffes. But the decision was well-received, and Obama enjoyed a harmonious Democratic National Convention, where he was praised by his former rival for the nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.). He ended the convention with an acceptance speech before 75,000 at a football stadium in Denver, something no nominee had attempted since Kennedy in 1960.

Just a day later, McCain stepped on the Democrats' celebration with his selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, whom he described as a fellow outsider who would "shake up Washington." From the moment she was introduced, Palin made an appeal to women, but her chief asset seemed to be reenergizing the conservative GOP base of the party that for years had been skeptical of McCain. The weeks after the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., were the only ones in the long history of the campaign in which the party had enjoyed an advantage. But that ended as the nation's economy worsened.

ELECTION DAY

Today is voting day in America. Today the new president of the United States will be elected. It will either be John McCain or Barack Obama. Both are very good candidates but the one i voted for was Barack Obama. Good luck today.



On the eve of one of the biggest days of his life, Senator Barack Obama received some very sad news. His grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, passed away in the early hours of yesterday morning after a long battle with cancer.

Senator Obama suspended his campaign last month to visit his grandmother in Hawaii after she took a turn for the worse. He often spoke about her on the campaign trail, how she challenged him to take risks and how she gave of herself to give him a better life. Mrs. Dunham helped raise Senator Obama and his sister.

At a rally yesterday, Senator Obama spoke of his grandmother, saying she was:

"one of those great quiet heros we have across America, who aren't famous ... but each and every day they work hard. They look after their families. They look after their children and grandchildren. And in this crowd, there are a lot of quiet heroes like that, people like that, mothers and fathers and grandparents who have worked hard and sacrificed all their lives and the satisfaction that they get is in seeing their children or maybe their grandchildren or their great-grandchildren live a better life than they did. That is what America is about. That is what we are fighting for." --B.O.

Family and Horses

Me and Krystal at the Rockets game. She had a blast...

My Grandpa Lole. RIP.

Cesar's horse. La Canela
My horse. La Princesa

PHILLIES WIN WORLD SERIES

The Phillies beat the Rays in five games in the 2008 World Series. Former Astros closer Brad Lidge was a major part of the Phillies run. He turned his career around from the adverse conditions he faced in Houston. Good for him. Congratulations Brad.
Brad Lidge is at the bottom of this stack.

This World Series will be remembered in a big way for the inclament wearther in which it was played. Lots and lots of rain....

RAYS DID IT!!!!!

THEY DID IT................
The Rays beat the Red Sox in seven games. The Rays completed a stunning run to their first pennant beating the defending champs 3-1 in game seven. After blowing a seven run lead in game five and loosing game six, they showed they still had gas in the tank to beat the Redsox.

Garza shut down the Boston Red Sox leading Tampa Bay to its first pennant and earning the MVP award. He allowed one run and two hits over seven-plus innings in Tampa Bay's 3-1 victory in the clinching game. He went 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two starts in the series.

Garza got off to an ominous start when Dustin Pedroia, the second batter of the game, homered into the left-field seats, but that was all the Red Sox got.

The 6-foot-4 right-hander was one of several Rays who could've walked away with the series MVP award. B.J. Upton hit four homers and drove in 11 runs, Evan Longoria set an ALCS record by homering in four straight games and Carlos Pena went deep three times. Garza wound up with the trophy. He will indeed get another start this year, against the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.

The Rays acquired Garza and slick-fielding shortstop Jason Bartlett last offseason in a six-player deal that sent Delmon Young to Minnesota. Both Rays played key roles in the run to the AL East title. Garza admitted Sunday that when the trade was made "I was disappointed for a while." Those feelings changed in spring training.

Garza was shaky in his first postseason start, allowing five runs and seven hits over six innings against the Chicago White Sox in the division series. He got the decision in Tampa Bay's only loss in the first round.

He bounced back against Boston, yielding just one run in six-plus innings in the Rays' 9-1 victory in Game 3 at Fenway Park. Garza, the Twins' first-round draft pick in 2005 out of Fresno State, went 11-9 with a 3.70 ERA this season for Tampa Bay. His 30 starts and 184 2-3 innings were more than he pitched in his first two years combined. He had enough left for 118 pitches Sunday night. He struck out nine and walked three.

"He was a stallion tonight," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He did everything he could, and I'm so proud of him and what he's done this year and how far he's come."

Now they move on to play the Phillies in the World Series. Who is my pick to win it all: TAMPA BAY.

Good luck.

REDSOX MAKE COMEBACK

The Redsox made the comback of the century in this baseball game. They were down 7-0 in the seventh inning and came back to win 8-7. Even though they are still behind 3 games to 2 games, the Redsox have a lot of momentum going into game 6 in Tampa. I think this loss will have a great psycological affect on the Rays. However, the Astros lost a heartbreaker to St. Loius behind Albert Pujols homerun off Brad Lidge and still cam back to win the next game and go to the world series. Maybe the Rays can do the same...

This is a piece on a newpaper article in Boston:

It was over. We were getting ready to lower the storm windows and put baseball to bed for the long New England winter.

And then the reeling Red Sox dug down and found the lost magic of recent Octobers. They recovered from a 7-0, seventh-inning deficit to stun the Tampa Bay Rays, 8-7, in the fifth game of the American League Championship Series. It was as wild, wacky, and wonderful as anything that's happened at Fenway Park in this century. Which is saying a lot.

Go Rays. You can do it.

Texans Loose Again

The Houston Texans found a way to loose a game they were about to win..
They have not found a way to win games...They are LOSERS.
Next week i'm going to a game with some friends and hopefully the Texans can win that game. They played a lot better but the last five minutes of the game were filled with bad luck. Hopefully next week they play all four quarters the way they played the first three quarters yesterday.

Good luck the rest of the season Texans and Texans fans...

JO.