A media-savvy FrontBurnervian alerts us to this profile of Rob Allyn in yesterday’s New York Times. The article zeroes in on why some Hispanic groups are angry over Allyn’s hiring: the man is a gringo.
While you were running holiday errands, Dallas PR honcho Rob Allyn (yep, that’s his ad over there on the right side of this page) was getting the Christmas present of a lifetime. His newest client? Mexico, as in the country. The one year contract pays Allyn’s firm $720,000 (that’s 7,718,040 pesos), but as this story in DMN points out, Allyn is already earning his money dealing with prickly immigration issues.
I love my family. Especially my 2-month-old daughter. And the boy. He’s older, but he’s still cute. The wife is wonderful. Spending an extended period of time with them, uninterrupted by work, has been a real treat. They complete me, make me a better person, fill my heart with warmth.
But, sweet Christ in heaven, when can we come back to the office? Do we really have to wait till January 2?
Santa is safely back home, probably chillin’ in a Sharper Image massage chair, recouperating from another great Christmas. All the little elves from D and People Newspapers are also home, taking a well-deserved week off. Meanwhile, notes from the dark office:
— It is 4:25 p.m. on Christmas Eve. I am standing near the exit door of Best Buy on Central Expressway while my wife buys a last-minute Christmas present for me. The absurdity of this situation is delicious, and it puts me in a very happy/silly holiday mood. Thinking that things can’t get much better, I turn to see a giant man in chinos and D-logo baseball cap loping toward me, his giggling daughter in tow. It is the Emperor himself, Sir Lodowick of Allison, racing down the DVD aisle. Yes, the man who is always in control is very much out of control, trying to buy presents for the five very sophisticated women in his household in one afternoon. “Uh, hi, got what we need…been to Neiman’s…two more stops…where’s the…” His voice trails off as he marches out the door. Allisonette #4 gives a wink of her impossibly big brown eyes.
— Against all odds, our Cowboys pull out a miracle win in Carolina, restoring hopes for a playoff berth. Even the most wizened sports hacks scratch their heads over the multiple personalities exhibited by their beloved ‘Boys. We never know who will show up, but they are at 9-6 (a reversal of last year’s 6-9 at this point).
— Christmas morning in Dallas: 68 degrees, bright sunshine. Paradise!
— Dallas ends the year dry as a bone, more than 15 inches less than our average annual rainfall, the fifth driest year on record.
— The Mavs and Stars are ON FIRE, both leading their divisions
— D’s “Best & Worst” issue is out on newsstands. A real snarkfest you are sure to enjoy.
We are out of here for the holidays. I’m sure some of us won’t be able to stay away from FrontBurner but technically we’re closed until the 2nd. Happy Holidays to all and to all a good night.
The Dallas interlocutor is unidentified, but he or she is a tough interviewer. Here’s the transcript of an on-line session this morning held by WP White House reporter Michael Fletcher:
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Holy Cow! Who’d a thunk that the mere mention of Lawry’s Prime Rib would cause a flood in my inbox. Two of the best:
I can’t speak for the rest of the carolers, but my sister is the soprano at Lawry’s and is 9 months pregnant waiting for her baby to come any day now. You’d have to coax me over with a chair and a foot massage to get ME to stand up for 3 hours whilst so pregnant just to sing Jingle Bells. My sister loves it and her doctor made last night her last singing night when he discovered her blood pressure was at the danger point for pregnant women from standing up so much. (Oh, and Chuck Norris doesn’t tip when he requests songs.)
Comes news today that the Gov has pardoned two Dallas County men who were wrongly convicted of crimes (one serving 20 years on rape, the other serving life for murder). The full release is below. A certain New York transplant suggests that if we want to read more on suchlike innocents behind bars, we might want to turn here.
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Don’t ask questions. Just watch the video. One of the most brilliant, funny things I’ve seen in six months. (Special thanks to Gordon Keith, whose site brought this to my attention.)
Great Steve Nash” href=”http://www.nba.com/features/gq_nash_051202.html”>story in GQ. Seriously. Name a cooler pro athlete.
A foxy traffic-lovin’ FrontBurnervian Foodie reports:
I had dinner last night at Lawry’s as well. Was your service as bad as ours? Reservations at 7pm and the prime rib didn’t make an appearance on my plate until 8:42pm? I know the precise minute because I kept checking my watch. Carolers sang maybe 5 songs in a 3-hour period and had to be coaxed to our table by a begging 9 year old. Creamed spinach tasted flat and my California cut had more fat than Kirstie Alley of 2004.
FYI, my California cut was as wimpy as Barney Fife and Gomer Pyle.
Jim Johnson, a Dallas developer, is very grateful for the men and women in the armed forces. So grateful that he spent three hours outside a Wal-Mart in Killeen handing out $20 bills to active servicemen, women, and their families. In all, he gave $5,000. The AP wire picked up the story, but the original Killeen Daily Herald article can be found here (Choose headline: “Texan displays giving spirit to troops”). It’s a touching story, especially the part about Johnson’s son.
A Hard Rock Casino-lovin’ FrontBurnervian fires this:
After the feel-good warmth of Ladies Day, Vegas oddsmakers set the over/under for when various “serious” topics would return to throngs of FrontBurner readers who were left high and dry by yesterday’s discussion.
Those over/unders:
–First gratuituous rip of DMN: By 9:30 am (Shockingly, we were way off. It happened at 8:59 a.m.)
–First reference to Jessica Simpson: 11 am
–First reference to Owen Wilson: 10:02 am
–Second, unconnected rip of DMN: 11:15 am
–First use of a personal pronoun in Tim Rogers post: OFF THE BOARD
–First reference to where boys are going to lunch (like we care): 9:45 am
(guess we blew this one, too)
PARLAY TICKET
First off color remark (pundit and time): Tim and 10:45 am.
Can’t touch this.
Dateline NBC ran a story about two murders in Fort Worth. A producer of that story wrote letters to Gov. Perry and Florida Gov. Bush recommending leniency on the suspected killer. The producer’s involvement has rubbed some the wrong way. More journalism ethics discussion can be found in this Star-Telegram article.
You may remember a recent shout-out to NYT reporter Kurt Eichenwald for his piece on webcam child pornography. His story has sparked an interesting back-and-forth over on Slate. Not so much the story, but the story around the story–the part where Eichenwald and the NYT secured a lawyer for the kid/source. Eichenwald and Slate editor at large Jack Shafer have an interesting–albeit lengthy–discussion about journalism and ethics and journalism ethics. Check it out.