The Arkansas Project

Talkin’ Turkey

By Cory Allen Cox - September 29, 2009 4:32 pm

Hunters in Arkansas love two things:

1) Hunting, and

2) Complaining about the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC).

Hunters always think they have better solution to improving the game populations in the state than the people the governor appoints to the commission. After all, for all its egalitarian past, hunting is now a rather blue collar activity. Most of the bona fides of the game and fish commissioners boil down to the financial support provided to the governor in the last election.

That’s not to say the commissioners are not sportsmen or don’t know what they are talking about. However, most hunters know that the commission positions are given out as favors to political supporters. The commissioners got their position because they know Ray Thornton, not because they can call like Ray Eye. In a populist sport like hunting, that instantly puts the commissioners in an awkward position vis a vis the hunter.

Which brings us to the commission’s 4-to-3 vote last week to cancel this year’s fall turkey season. According to the AGFC biologist, only 522 turkey were taken during last fall’s turkey season. The commission said the cause of this low harvest was poor hatch numbers. So they shut down the season. No doubt some turkey hunters are complaining, but not many. Most turkey hunters don’t hunt the fall season. It just isn’t as popular as the spring season.

(more…)

Big Break In Hotel Prankster Case?

By David Kinkade - August 4, 2009 3:00 pm

You may recall the story from a earlier in the summer about the Holiday Inn Express in Conway, in which a prankster contacted the desk, posing as a representative of the company that installed the hotel’s sprinkler system, and goaded the clerk into doing $50,000 damage to the property.

There’s big breaking news on that case today as The Smoking Gun unveils the results of their own investigation into the perpetrators of that and similar pranks, revealing them to be the work of a bunch of maladjusted and underemployed computer nerds in Canada, Texas and elsewhere.

Oh, I know, I’m just as shocked as you are. I would have sworn they would trace this scheme back to a suave and sophisticated “Oceans 11″-style team of international criminals.

New Development in Tina Sherman Nude Photos Case!

By David Kinkade - June 30, 2009 7:57 am

On the other hand, it gives us a chance to use this shot again.

Thanks to an Arkansas Project reader for sending along the link to the latest turn in the long-running tale of Tina Sherman of Bella Vista, Ark., whose nude photos found their way onto the Web, supposedly, when her husband left his cell phone at a McDonalds. The Shermans claim that McDonalds is liable and sued for $3 million.

Now McDonalds says “Not it!” and is suing some other character, because he’s the one behind this devilish scheme, the Morning News of NWA’s Ron Wood reports.

Whatever, who cares. I did another quick search on the Tina Sherman nude photos this morning and just got a bunch of static, so this story gets unsexier with every iteration.

Do Not Miss Out On This Great Free Offer!

By David Kinkade - June 10, 2009 11:43 am

Are your teeth as white as they should be? I think you and I both know that the answer to that question is almost certainly “No.”

So good news: Here’s a guy on the “free” listings of the Little Rock Craigslist who didn’t use all the whitener in his tooth whitening package, and he wants to give the remainder to you at no charge. Keep in mind you’ll probably have to arrange for transportation and everything to go pick it up, so it’s not completely free, but other than that it sounds like a great deal. It’s first come, first serve, so you better jump on this today.

At Last….Arkansas Gets Its Swine Flu? (Update: Yes!)

By David Kinkade - May 8, 2009 11:47 am

AP is reporting that state health officials have a news conference planned this afternoon to “talk about swine flu,” and word is getting around that a case of the dreaded swine plague has been diagnosed in a school, maybe in northeast Arkansas.

Look, I know that I totally sensationalized this last week and oversold it when cases were suspected in Benton County, so we don’t want to over-react and go through that again, but I think it’s safe to say that now is the time to just go completely batshit crazy and run up and down the streets hysterically screaming and flailing your arms in the air like it’s the end times.

Oh, and wear one of those face masks while you’re at it. It just seems like the only rational response to this unconfirmed rumor.

UPDATE: GAAAA! It’s HERE! And it’s even FIVE TIMES WORSE than we imagined, with FIVE CASES CONFIRMED in CENTRAL and NORTHEAST Arkansas. Symptoms include A FATIGUED feeling and the RANDOM capitalization of WORDS when TYPING. Uh…wait a second…what was that LAST part?

Your Swine Flu Has Arrived, Arkansas! (Updated!)

By David Kinkade - April 30, 2009 12:51 pm

Oh, heavens, Arkansas may have lost its coveted status as a “safe haven” from the dreaded swine plague, according to this 40/29 report from Benton County claiming a dozen “probable” cases of the much-hyped flu in our beloved northwest corner. Our day of reckoning has arrived….

…or has it? State health officials say no swine flu (or, as I like to call it, “H1N1″) in Arkansas yet in this AP report, but they would say that, the filthy liars.

Anyway, if you live in northwest Arkansas, take heart and try to be more like those sturdy University of Arkansas students, who, as seen in the above photo taken today on the UA campus, are laughing in the face of doom by puckishly affixing face masks to local razorback statues. Ah, the drollery of these young people! And then they all died.

UPDATE: Well, at least seven of those “probable” cases have tested negative for swine flu, say state officials, and results on the other five are expected Friday, according to the Morning News of NWA. So maybe there’s no need to panic and you can just revert to your customary state of “tensed readiness.”

(Thanks for today’s photo submission to Arkansas Project reader GFR, who is exactly correct that this beats all hell out of whatever weirdo snapshot Blake’s Think Tank is featuring at this moment.)

Arkansas Native Scores Grammy

By David Kinkade - February 9, 2009 8:47 am

Laura Inman: Grammy winner

A usually reliable and trustworthy Arkansas Project source sends a note that the Grammy Awards were last night (who knew?), and that an Arkansas native was numbered among the big winners: Laura Inman, a 1995 graduate of Cabot High School, is part of the Phoenix Chorale group that won the Best Small Ensemble award for their album “Spotless Rose: Hymn to the Virgin Mary.” I have no idea what any of those things are, but on the other hand, she won a Grammy yesterday; what did you do, besides watch terrible movies on cable and eat cookie dough right out of the tube?

I’m going to take my source’s word for it, because I started to do a a little research on this thing but then realized I didn’t care, because I think all awards shows are the stupidest thing in the world and I could feel my IQ dropping as soon as I typed “Grammy” into the Google box. So you’re on your own on this one.

Who’s Up for Some Coon?

By David Kinkade - January 9, 2009 9:36 am

Don’t forget that the 66th Annual Coon Supper is tonight (Friday) in Gillett, as Steve Harrelson’s Under the Dome blog reminds us.

If you’re new here, you should know that the Coon Supper is an annual political hazing ritual community gathering in which a bunch of Arkansas Democrats get together to eat greasy rodent meat while bowing down before their Sun God, Gov. Mike Beebe. You can read more on the history of this iconic event here.

I’ve never eaten coon, but frequent Arkansas Project commenter Br549 has, and he tells me that it has a distinctly rich and savory flavor. “You just can’t beat that Arkansas County coon tang,” he’s always saying.

We Did It!: Arkansas in Top Five for Teen Pregnancy

By David Kinkade - January 7, 2009 1:37 pm

A report from the Centers for Disease Control shows that Arkansas is #4 in the nation when it comes to teen pregnancies. Great work, team!

When asked to comment on the findings, former Democratic state representative Dwayne Dobbins tugged nervously at his collar and excused himself from the room.

What? You thought I was done with Dwayne Dobbins gags after his failed campaign to return to the House last fall? Not by a long shot, my friend. Not by a long shot.

Tina Sherman Watch: Still No Nude Photos

By David Kinkade - December 27, 2008 7:40 am

Still not Tina Sherman

Hey, look who’s back. I’m talking about me. Christmas with the family was great, thanks—hope you can say the same. Thanks for caring.

And thanks also to those Arkansas Project readers who sent along the link to the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas story updating on the the case of the Tina Sherman nude photos.

In case you’ve forgotten, Phillip and Tina Sherman of Bella Vista sued McDonald’s after Phillip left his cell phone in one of the restaurants and employees allegedly published nude photos of Tina, lifted off said phone, on the Internet.

The couple claimed to have endured some harassment and embarrasment, and all traces of the photos have mysteriously been scrubbed from the web, ALMOST AS IF THEY NEVER EXISTED. Hmmm. In this latest development, the McDonald’s folks filed a motion to dismiss the case, saying it’s not their problem.

I do appreciate you guys sending me this story, but I don’t really understand your rather panicky concern for why I hadn’t blogged about it yet. This is a trashy and clownish political and media gossip blog, not the Yale Law Review. We’ve never been interested in the LEGAL issues at stake; our interest has been solely in the NAKED LADY issues at stake. I can’t believe I have to explain that to you, but then again, you’ve been a little obtuse lately, to tell the truth.

Also, here’s a friendly consumer tip from The Arkansas Project: If you should go searching online for the Tina Sherman nude photos, thinking that maybe you’ll uncover them at long last through a Google search, as if no one has thought to try that yet and you’re going to be the one to crack the case, do be careful. I’ve heard that some nefarious types have set up sites and blogs purporting to have the elusive photos, but they’re really just vehicles for viruses and malware that will completely screw up your computer beyond repair.

In a totally unrelated story, I recently had to purchase a very nice new computer.

DuggarMania: Video of New Duggar Baby!

By David Kinkade - December 22, 2008 9:33 am

Since Arkansas Project readers are loco for all things Duggar, and since I’m anticipating a slow news week due to the Christmas holiday, how about some video of the 20-strong Northwest Arkansas Duggar family and their latest arrival? Thanks, MSNBC!:

Meanwhile, the Arkansas Times blog goes all Chairman Mao on us, pointing to an idea for higher taxes for people with more than two kids.

‘20 and Counting’: Duggar Book Drops Tuesday

By David Kinkade - December 1, 2008 5:55 pm

Did you know that the Duggar family has a book, “20 and Counting,” hitting stores tomorrow? I didn’t. How come you never tell me these things?

MSNBC has excerpts.

Huntsville: Anti-Obama Rebel Flag Display Stirs Debate

By David Kinkade - November 28, 2008 8:25 am

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s John Krupa offers up some fine reporting from the Faubus Motel in scenic Huntsville, Ark., where owners James and Linda Vandiver hoisted the Confederate flag on electon night as a protest against big government:

The Vandivers said they didn’t raise the Rebel flag to protest a black man moving into the White House, as many of their neighbors assume. Instead, they did it because they believe the country has abandoned the principles of its founders by electing Obama.

Linda Vandiver said the Democrat is a Marxist who wants to turn America into a socialist country.

Obama wants to redistribute wealth by raising taxes on the rich, create a universal healthcare system and institute a global tax aimed at eliminating worldwide poverty, she said.

“We think socialism is deeply rooted in him, and we’ll see it manifest in all areas,” Linda Vandiver said. “This doesn’t have anything to do with despising Mr. Obama’s color. We’d like to celebrate the fact that for the first time we have a black president. But we can’t.”

Rebel Rebel

The Vandivers’ protest has sparked sharp debate in tiny Huntsville (pop. 2,000ish), with the editor of the local paper, Kyle Mooty of the Madison County Record, saying he’s received some 20 letters to the editor on the issue in the last three weeks. (And whaddya know, Mooty has a little blog of his own over at the newspaper’s website, where he weighs in on this very issue.)

Meanwhile, Krupa’s story notes that local Methodist minister Heath Bradley has urged his congregation to write in asking that the flag be taken down. Bradley makes the case as to why he thinks the flag should come down on his blog.

The Arkansas Project first noted this story from a local TV station on November 6. I wasn’t able to find a photo of the offending flag online, so I put up that shot of a chick in a rebel flag bikini over there for your enjoyment. I figure if you’re reading this, it’s probably because your jackass of a boss is requiring you to be in the office on the day after Thanksgiving, so you could use some good news.

Arkansas Project Most Handsome Blogger

By David Kinkade - November 25, 2008 7:54 pm

Arkansas Project publisher "Dapper" Dave Kinkade in an undated file photo

It’s official: Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times has dubbed me more handsome than Think Tank blogger Blake Rutherford. The truth came out in a webcast interview with KATV reporter Kristin Fisher this evening, which you could watch here if there was a video archive, but there’s not, so you’ll just have to imagine it. (Rutherford pouts about it here. There’s no shame in coming in second to a face like this, Blake.)

I asked Arkansas Project Girlfriend (APG) how it felt to know that she’s with the most handsome political blogger in Arkansas, and she just snorted and said “that’s kind of like being voted most likely to succeed in a terminal cancer ward.” There are times when I really wish APG would just shut up and let me savor my victories.

Man Moves to Arkansas to Kick Porn Addiction

By David Kinkade - November 24, 2008 10:51 am

Author David Yale

I’m not sure when this blog turned into the Arkansas edition of Fleshbot, but it’s a holiday week so we’ll take whatever news we can get.

A dedicated Arkansas Project reader sends along a note about a new book, “Saying NO to Naked Women,” a loosely fictionalized chronicle of how author David Yale kicked his addiction to pornography and meaningless sex by moving to a humble shack in backwoods Arkansas, where he can confront his demons. Why Arkansas, you ask? Here’s why:

…we got to Arkansas, and I loved the mountains. A real estate agent said he had just the type of land I wanted: remote – about 30 miles from town, with water on it, wooded but also including a small flat field that would make an excellent vegetable garden – and it was cheap. If memory serves me, I paid $96 down and $48 a month for five years – and then I owned it, free and clear. My total tax bill was $1.80 a year, payable in three equal installments if need be! When I saw the rock-rimmed pool and waterfall, I fell in love with it and wrote a check on the spot.

I’m glad this guy found inner peace and all, but I’m going to be honest with you, looking at that picture, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that coming up with ways to say “no” to naked women is probably the least of his problems. I think a better place to start might be by kicking his addiction to wearing ties with short sleeve shirts.

Nude Photos on Cell Phone Lead to Lawsuit (UPDATED)

By David Kinkade - November 23, 2008 1:05 pm

You may have seen this story about Phillip and Tina Sherman, the couple in Bella Vista, Arkansas, who lost a cell phone that just happened to contain nude photos of the wife. They’re suing McDonald’s after a McDonald’s employee allegedly found the phone and uploaded the photos to the Internet, along with their personal information. They want $3 million for their trouble.

Since this is a high-quality professional blog that adheres to only the highest journalistic standards, I spent a good 2 hours running various image searches on Google, Yahoo, Flickr, Photobucket and assorted other photo sites to find said naked images to present to you, the Arkansas Project reader.

Then it occurred to me that that’s a pretty pathetic way to spend my time, and anyway, I don’t even know if this woman is hot enough to make it worth the effort. So I’m gonna give it another 2 or 3 hours, and if nothing shows up I’m hanging it up.

Update: OK, a reader sends this along, but I honestly don’t know if it’s reliable or not. A blog search turns up this Photoshop job of a sexy chick in lingerie layered onto an iPhone image with a McDonald’s logo superimposed. It’s being circulated as one of the “Tina Sherman” photos (the lingerie image, that is, not the iPhone image or McDonald’s logo, which would ostensibly be manipulations after the fact):

So is the woman in the lingerie Tina Sherman? What am I, Hugh Hefner? I don’t know. She’s not nude, but she is good looking, so unless and until verifiable photos of the real Tina Sherman emerge, let’s all just agree to pretend that this is what she looks like, because I have the feeling it’s much better than the reality.

Update to the Update: I see that the Drudge Report has now picked up on the story as well, which means that tens of thousands of perverts serious researchers the world over are, as we speak, putting their ninja web search skills to work digging up the (real) Tina Sherman photos.

Update to the Update to the Update: Here’s one guy who’s getting out there and saying that the photos are probably a hoax, a claim he makes based on the absence of evidence:

One problem, no photos and no alleged website where they reportedly taken down from.

Nobody seems to be able to locate any photo other than the tired cropped one below.

Some unscrupulous sites, in order to capture traffic, have resorted to “censoring” the image, or using ones like the shower image above. (which we found on google images) Some have even been making claims to posess video.

This of course only leads to malware and viruses. So stop searching.

We’ve searched high and low and have found no evidence of the validity of this story’s claim.

By the way, don’t you wish I covered Arkansas political developments with the same depth and dedication that I did this naked photos story?

Really? You do? Jesus, you are so lame.

Update X 4: That ain’t Tina Sherman in the Photoshop image above. It’s actress Chyler Leigh, who’s apparently on “Grey’s Anatomy.” I don’t watch that show, because I am a heterosexual male, but I’ll get Arkansas Project Girlfriend (APG) to confirm it for me, since she does. That is, if APG’s still talking to me after all the attention I’ve given this topic over the last two days. We might as well go ahead and put that question in the “Unconfirmed” folder as well.

Bridge Inspectors Over Troubled Waters

By David Kinkade - November 17, 2008 6:44 am

The Under the Dome blog reports that Arkansas is facing a shortage of bridge inspectors. I don’t know why that would be, because that doesn’t seem like a very hard job. I mean, what could it entail? You just check the bridge for cracks, maybe jump up and down on it a few times, look underneath to make sure there are no trolls living under there? Yeah, that sounds fine. Sign me up.

Craighead Co. Weighs Women’s Prison Needs

By David Kinkade - November 13, 2008 6:13 pm

Poking around some newspapers from the hinterlands, I came across a story from the Jonesboro Sun about female inmates in the Craighead County Detention Center, and I thought, Oh, this might be interesting for The Arkansas Project. But it turns out that it’s all about budget stuff and the need for more detention space, so never mind. It’s nothing at all like that DVD I watched the other night.

De Queen Bans Pit Bulls in City Limits

By David Kinkade - November 12, 2008 2:12 pm

Arkansas Project mascot Spartacus

Sorry, Sevier County dogfighting enthusiasts, but if you were looking at getting a pit bull, you’ll need to rethink your plan if you live inside De Queen city limits. The AP reports that De Queen officials approved an ordinance banning pit pulls:

De Queen Mayor Billy Ray Kelvy says no one’s been attacked, but that the city council has received complaints about the dogs. The city’s new ordinance, approved last week, bans four breeds of pit bull: American pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers and American bulldogs.

Dogs that are a mixture of any of the four breeds are also banned.

I’m glad that we don’t have an ordinance like that in Little Rock, because I’m pretty certain my beloved dog, Spartacus, has some pit bull in his lineage. He’s a fighter, that’s for sure.

Arkansas Baby Named for Obama

By David Kinkade - November 7, 2008 9:07 am

Si se puede!

Here’s an AP report on people naming their babies for President-elect Barack Obama. Among the early adopters: Walter and Adria Kimbrough of Little Rock (he’s president of Philander Smith College), whose son Benjamin Barack Kimbrough was born on Election Day.

I understand people are excited, but this is moving awfully fast. Let’s remember that Obama was only elected three days ago, and hasn’t been sworn in or, you know, done anything yet, so the flush to hero worship seems a little hasty. At this rate, I expect someone will be seeing his face in a tortilla by about this time next week.