RE: GULF COAST RELIEF

A law-abiding FrontBurnervian offers this global perspective, noting that Americans sent more than $2 billion in aid to tsunami victims:

I have been encouraged by the outpouring of aid and support from other countries in this our time of need. Yeah, right! Thanks for nothing. (America is the white male of the world.)

IS IT HOT IN HERE?

Our fashion expert Stephanie Quadri gets all kind of beauty samples. She passes off all the lipsticks, perfumes, and lotions to the hip young chicks in the office. She saves all the “menopausal” and “wrinkle” creams for moi. Today she hands me a package of Celluceane, an anti-cellulite drink that promises “beautiful legs in 20 days.” Instead of being insulted, I decided to be a sport and try it. Adam and I went out in front of the office where he took my “before” picture. I’ll keep you updated on my progress.

RE: KATRINA

A couple of you have sent me this link with reference to this update:

2:19 P.M. - (AP) More than 100 Tulane University students displaced by Hurricane Katrina arrived at Southern Methodist University Wednesday, including the entire football team.

I was tempted to make jokes about the Mustangs finally able to field a decent football team, but I decided not to.

RE: KATRINA

As horrible as it appears to be going in New Orleans (and beyond), this sort of thing no longer seems off topic. We’ll try not to turn FB over entirely to Katrina coverage, but this is worth passing along. An e-mail is making the rounds. It was written by a student assistant in LSU’s sports information department. Chilling account of turning the university’s facilities into a help center (and morgue):
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WITHER FINLEY?

Michael Finley has landed in San Antonio. For those who care.

WHAT’S UP WITH NEW TIMES?

We all knew Dallas Observer parent company New Times was working on a merger with Village Voice Media. At least, we all knew the rumors. The San Francisco Bay Guardian has proof. Apparently, the merger is intended to make the new company attractive for buyers and easily sold. But, to quote the story that quotes another story, a merger of the country’s alternative news outlets “would be like sleeping with your cousin. It may seem OK, but it’s not supposed to happen.”

BADDY BABYSITTER

I caught up with chef Nick “Baddy” Vinus to see what was shaking out on Consilient’s new restaurant, The Porch, scheduled to open in late October. A few months ago the menu at the joint, which will open in the old Barley House on Henderson, was all about great “burgs.” (That’s “burger” in Consilient-speak.) However–and here’s a shocker–Baddy and owner Tristan Simon could not keep their “downscale” pants on. Hence, The Porch’s concept has morphed into “Sophisticated Down Home Comfort Food Featuring Uptown Hand-Crafted Cocktails.” I guess that would be like Highland Park home cooking.

RE: KATRINA

A traveling FBvian puts the Galveston comparison in sharper contrast:

Referencing the rebuilding of Galveston following the 1900 storm when talking about NOLA gives a little reason to be optimistic. However, bear in mind that Galveston was considered the New York of the South prior to that storm, and many people believe that it would have been one of the largest cities in the United States if not for the hurricane. My visit to Galveston last summer hardly conjured images of NYC. I think everyone needs to get used to the fact that NOLA as we know it may be gone.

RE: KATRINA, A LITTLE OFF TOPIC

Brian is a FrontBurner-helping FrontBurnervian. (He helps keep us up and running.) His hometown is underwater. He’s started the Slidell Hurricane Damage Blog for people to communicate with one another. Check it out for updates.

MORE TALES FROM THE NAKED CITY

The bad news is flowing.

I had to write and share something that happened at my office only a hour ago. I was originally going to walk with one of the girls to get sandwiches for everyone, but last minute decided to stay to work on an important document. She was mugged. We work downtown at the corner of Ross and St. Paul, which is not a bad part of downtown by any means. We’re right across from the Dallas Museum of Art. There are cops always around and security guards, but three men attacked her right in front of our building in broad daylight and in front of other witnesses. They hit her on the head from behind and ran off with her purse. I am still shaking knowing that I almost walked with her. So we in our office are making a pact to walk in groups!

JOE SIMPSON PRODUCES SOMETHING OTHER THAN TALENTLESS DAUGHTERS

To quote Joe Simpson from this video clip about his reality show Filthy Rich: Cattledrive, the Internet “has spurred on [my] instant, need to know, want to know more than just what television is portraying.” Namely, who does your hair?

RE: SPECIAL OFFER

Attention movie-want-to-watching FrontBurnervians: You have ONE. MORE. HOUR. to RSVP to tonight’s screening of Jeff Bowden’s Dirt at the Lakewood Theater. If you haven’t yet, do so here. At 6 o’clock, we’ll have free Campisi’s pizza and free Tito’s vodka. The movie starts at 7:30. The filmmaker will be in attendance. Tim and I will, too. Come and see us.

RE: MORE POLICE

Yet another horror story from the Naked City:

Speaking of lack of police presence, a few months ago a woman was kidnapped and taken down to the creek that runs along Empire Central between I-35 and Harry Hines where the kidnapper attempted to rape her. Our office is in a building that overlooks the creek, where my co-workers heard her scream 8 floors up. Two of our male co-workers rushed down there and rescued the woman (the kidnapper got away). They also called the police, who never showed. The police department’s excuse was that given the location of the call, they assumed it was a false alarm. Wrong thing to say to a bunch of attorneys.

SHROUD OF TURIN CONFERENCE COMING TO DALLAS

Okay, this is inside baseball for any of you who are history/religion buffs like me. I’m fired up. The Shroud of Turin is one of the world’s enduring historical mysteries–is it a first century artifact, possibly of the Resurrection, or is it medieval fraud? That question will be addressed–LIVE!– at the International Shroud Conference right here in Dallas on September 8-11 at the Adolphus Hotel. And even better news for history aficionados: This is the first Shroud conference that will be open to the public (it has previously been restricted to scholars and scientists). For more on the Shroud, you can go here or here or read this or this. For ticket information, call (972) 932-5141.

RE: KATRINA

A PR-producing FBvian offers some thoughts on my New Orleans post:

1) Galveston rebuilt after its hurricane. 2) The Dallas Tourism Bunch is probably scrambling to go after the convention business that had been slated for N.O. in coming months. Wouldn’t it be nice if we donated a percentage of the redirected business to help N.O.?

1) Yes, but Galveston wasn’t built below sea level. And, as another FBvian noted to me, they didn’t rebuild Pompeii. 2) Yes, it would.

SPEAKING OF PICTURES

A real estate-appraising (and novel-writing) FrontBurnervian alerts us to Amazon’s new yellow pages function. It offers street-level pictures of many of the businesses. So, for instance, if you check out, oh, say, The Lodge’s entry, you can read the license plates on the cars that are parked in front of the gentleman’s establishment. These pictures also mean that when you go to Alcoholics Anonymous, you’re no longer quite so anonymous.

WHY NOT MORE POLICE?

Theresa Comstock asked that question on the News op-ed page this morning. The city manager thinks she is doing everyone a big favor by budgeting for 55 new officers next year. Whoopee-doo. It’s a drop in the bucket. Dallas is off-target by 500 officers, and a FrontBurnervian parent reports on the result:

Last night at White Rock lake while the HP Crew team was at practice, one of the student’s cars was broken into and the back packs of 4 or 5 students stolen . They contained wallets, cell phones, books etc. The call to the police elicited this response: we’ll call you back in 2 hours for the report.

If the city manager and the City Council are too timorous to do the right thing–spend money–we should take the decision away from them. I’ve heard people talking about a city-wide referendum to get the police whatever they need. Half-measures and tiny little baby steps at City Hall are getting us nowhere.

RE: KATRINA, A LITTLE OFF TOPIC

You may not have to open up the Rogers’ household, Rogers. According to KRLD, Reunion Arena is being readied for refugees. More on that here.

RE: KATRINA

A natural-disaster-obsessed FrontBurnervian tells us the AP is reporting that the DISD says it will enroll the children of any Katrina refugees who ask for it. The same FBvian as us politely to refrain from making Wilmer-Hutchins comments.

TROLLEY, TROLLEY, INCOME-FREE

A charitable FrontBurnervian over at the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority is doing her part to help out the victims of Hurricane Katrina. One hundred percent of the proceeds from Monday’s fareboxes go to the American Red Cross. Full release after the jump.
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I AM NOT A HARASSER

So, when I got to the office this morning, I was sifting through my emails, drinking my coffee, minding my own business, and I got this unsettling email.

Good Morning,
I am Det. Todd Burnside of the Carrollton Police Department. I am investigating an internet harassment complaint and need to ask you a few questions.
Could you call me or respond to the e-mail.
Thank you for your time.
Det. Todd Burnside

So, of course I called Det. Burnside right away. He asked if I knew a certain guy who has been getting harassing emails from Ryan Mendenhall. The detective googled me (oh, the investigative methods these days), found my name listed on our website, and emailed me at work. I am sure he was looking for a dude because once I called him back, I could tell he dismissed me as a suspect right away. Once again, people, I AM A GIRL. You can also tell that to the chick at Premier Video. Last night I walked up to the counter to rent a movie and the woman informed me that I had some late fees. I paid the late fees with a smile on my face and after she glanced at my Premier card she replied, “You can thank Ryan for those fees, I am sure.”

KATRINA, A LITTLE OFF TOPIC

It is looking like the Rogers house might soon be filled with two more adults, two more children, and a dog, all New Orleans refugees. Another friend of mine has a brother in N.O. who is an anesthesiologist and who had to stay behind to work at his hospital. But now the hospital is being evacuated. He is stranded on the second floor of his brick apartment building in the middle of the city. He’s got food for a couple days but no power obviously. And now he needs to leave. But how? And my friend can no longer reach his brother.

Last night on Nightline, Ted Koppel asked each of his reporters in the field if they thought New Orleans would survive. None could say it would. You realize we may have actually lost the entire city?

AARRGGG! THE PICTURES ARE GONE!

News came to us earlier in the week that the Texas Lege, in all its wisdom, passed a law requiring the removal of all those delicious photos of our neighbors’ houses on the Dallas Central Appraisal District’s Web site. The photos were supposed to come down tomorrow. But, lo, what do we find today? No photos! An official at DCAD tells me that it was a huge undertaking, taking down more than 650,000 images. They weren’t sure how long it was going to take. And the law states they have to be down “on or before September 1.” DCAD, ever the efficient organization, got it done “before.”

RE: MTV’S VMA’S

Sorry, guys. Better late than never, right? I forgot to mention that Kelly Clarkson looked pretty good on Sunday night. IDontLikeYouInThatWay has a few more pics here. Jessica, you’re out. Kelly, you’re back in.

RE: D’ANGELO LEE

Um, Wick? I know you’ve been gone awhile, and you’re trying to get back into the swing of things here on FrontBurner. But nice work with that last post!