RE: MOLLY

Here’s more information from and about Molly from The Texas Observer, where we both spent some time. Molly’s farewell column is included. It’s very hard to know what else to say right now.

GOODBYE, MOLLY

Sad news from Austin.

DSO NAMES NEW CONDUCTOR

Or it will tomorrow morning at a 10 a.m. press conference. The maestro will be in attendance. So will Tall Paul.

RIP, MOLLY IVINS

News just coming down the pike. Very sad.

RE: ATM THIEVES

A TV-watching FrontBurnervian weighs in on the GPS ATM anti-thievery possibilities. For those interested in reading more and watching a documentary, check out after the jump.
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CRAIG CIVALE HAS SEEN THE LIGHT–AND IT HURT HIS EYES

Craig Civale is new enough to Channel 8 that a bio of the square-jawed David Hasselhoff look-alike doesn’t appear on their site. He came to us from WVEC, the Belo station in Norfolk, VA. Well, comes word from an informed FBvian that last night Civale got his eyes burned by the HMI camera lights while he was doing a live shot. I’m told Civale woke up in the middle of the night with his face red and his eyes swollen shut. He had to go to the hospital. He’s now wearing patches on both eyes, which, I assume, means he won’t be on camera anytime soon. (Bonus trivia: what’s an HMI light? Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide, of course.)

COACH MIKE?

Some people in Waco have 10 reasons why Jerry Jones should hire Mike Singletary as the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. If he does, I know of at least one friend of mine who’ll have a heaping dose of “I Told You So” piping-hot and ready to dish out.

RE: JUNIUS HEIGHTS CRIME ALERT

Hey, that’s about two hundred feet from my new place. Go funky neighborhood! Does that mean I can sell to Jim for more than I paid at closing? Sub-question: Can I still be a flaming liberal and go gun-shopping this weekend?

RE: PEPPERMINT POWER

Mr. P is 80, but what’s the mileage on this guy?:

By the way, today is Ed Bark’s b’day, too. I would know. He’s my bro-in-law.

Jeanette Prasifka

We’ll be toasting both of them very shortly. You hear that, Mr. Managing Editor? VERY shortly.

RE: ATM THIEVES

A realistic FrontBurnervian pokes a hole in our anti-ATM-thievery plan:

The ATM is usually left behind or ditched nearby, after they bust it open and steal the cash. So a ‘LoJack’ device would be of little use.

What would be real cool is a system that if the machine is ‘tussled’ real hard, that the cash inside self-immolates and burns up, or that acid is poured onto the cash destroying it!

As I told him, a GPS device, even if it leads police to a then-abandoned warehouse, might lead to more clues. But then, I’ve been trying to catch up on The Wire, so my perception of crime-solving is admittedly distorted.

YOU WILL NOT QUESTION AMERICAN IDOL’S POLICIES

Strange story here. Akron Watson tried out for Idol in San Antonio and made it to the next round of auditions in Hollywood. But now the show is reneging on the deal. The producers say he can’t go to L.A. And no one at Fox has given Akron a reason why. The dude has a pot conviction, but, c’mon, he’s a wanna-be rock star. Pot is hardly grounds for expulsion.

And as Pegasus News tells us, other Idol finalists have certainly done worse.

PEPPERMINT POWER

There are times when we are glad Fingers of Fury is keeping his day job. This, on a Dallas TV icon, is one of them. Favorite quote from 80-year-old Mr. Peppermint, on recently moonlighting in a film shot in Austin:

“…The description of the character says, ‘Skinny old man.’ It worked out OK. I had a good time. I was down there two days—got there the day before to learn how to string a raquet, so I could look legit. So I always have that to fall back on now.”

IT’S OFFICIAL

The Gypsy Tea Room will close soon. The question is when. Fingers of Fury reports TV on the Radio is booked for April 4. But probably no later than May, expect to get your live music fix at–sigh–the House of Blues in Victory Park, which is scheduled to open around then.

ATM THIEVES BEWARE

A humble FrontBurnervian notes the spate of ATM smash and grabs and wonders aloud:

If they can put GPS locators on cell phones or have systems like “Low Jack” on cars, why can’t they put them in ATM’s?

That idea makes far too much sense. It’d never work.

CHEAP CHOCOLATE AND BIG SNOW

Great Scott! Take a look at this snowflake that fell in my backyard this morning.

VENTURE CAPITAL WAS DOWN, NOW UP

Texas venture capital firms have taken it on the chin of late, according to this wire story. Dallas firm Sevin Rosen Funds decision to stop fundraising for their 10th fund was seen as a bad, bad indicator. But, the article points out, V.C. money is on the upswing again:

Texas was doing better in 2006 for the first time in years, with VC firms pouring $1.2 billion into the state, up from $1 billion in 2005, according to VentureOne. With IT starting to climb out of the hole it fell into after the bubble burst, Texas may also see its fortunes revive.

Here’s hoping.

JUNIUS HEIGHTS CRIME ALERT

An East Dallas-residing FrontBurnervian reassures Jim Schutze that the neighborhood isn’t too nice just yet and passes along the following email she received:

This is a very difficult way to begin a crime alert but a body was discovered today (Jan. 30) in the port-a-potty located in the lot where the new house is being built in the 5700 block of Tremont. There are no further details available. The police were on location from about 1:00-3:00 this afternoon doing an investigation. If you saw anything suspicious please call the police immediately.

LIKE TIM DUNCAN, STATE FARM USES THE GLASS

Because of people like you, people who read FB and spend more time online than before a television or newspaper, advertisers have become increasingly desperate to get their message across. Advertisers like State Farm. It has plugged a billboard onto the backboards of 40-odd college arenas. Greg Brown is the president of Learfield Communications in Plano, which represents 32 schools in their dealings with marketers. He says:

State Farm was very sensitive about the schools [that did this]. The college landscape is a much more reserved landscape than NASCAR.

Right. Because if it weren’t, the next UCLA-USC tilt would be sponsored by SpongeBob SquarePants.

MORE ON THE SMU LIBRARY

Not much new in Slate Magazine’s take on the proposed Bush Library at SMU. But read it anyway, if you’re so inclined.

PIGEON PARTY

A FrontBurner in the field reports:

Also, for anyone else who wants to see nightly flashing lights, honking horns and cheapo fireworks (read: flare guns) going off, head to the AT+T square at Akard and Jackson / Commerce at about 6:50 every night. That’s when a cadre of South and / or Central Americans piles out of their white van blasting air horns, spinning flashlights and shooting off flare guns. Unfortunately it’s not a revolt against AT+T’s pathetic DSL service nor an aweome fiesta. They told me it’s pigeon control. Personally, I would think there is some kind of problem with shooting off those flare guns in the middle of downtown. However, since we now have those cameras, some of which are actually monitored by retired DPD officers, I guess we should feel safe that even if we’re getting shot or burned that it is all on film. Too bad there aren’t any cops to come and help!

Sounds like some good bird-watching opportunities, Nancy.

RE: ZAC CRAIN

Tim, I suspicioned the Zac arm-wrestling squib *WA (*Wasn’t Actually) a Gromer Jeffers item because it didn’t have a quote from SMU’s Cal Jillson explaining the *DS (*Deeper Significance) of *WIAM (*What It All Means).

And sure enough, the reporter-source was city hall ace Dave Levinthal, *NTIM (*Not That It Matters).

BTW (no translation needed), this is an original contribution to text message-speak, *AIDI (*Although I Doubt It).

And to political analysis of *MSC (*MySpace Candidates). *BPN (*But Probably Not).

*YGTP (*You Get The Picture).

RE: CHUCK NORRIS GETS ALL UP IN IRAQI RAPPER’S GRILL

Adam, that is one scary clip. Really. Scary. Like horrifying.

CHUCK NORRIS GETS ALL UP IN IRAQI RAPPER’S GRILL

Much like Wonkette, the blog that alerted me to this clip, I had no idea Chuck Norris was subbing for Sean Hannity on Fox News. In the aforelinkedto clip, he raps with Iraqi rapper Timz about what’s going on in that part of the world.

I mean … CHUCK NORRIS.

ZAC CRAIN IS A STRONG CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR

Rod, this is going to drive you crazy. Zac Crain gets a mention from Gromer Jeffers this morning in the paper for an Important Campaign Development. What was it, you ask? Zac arm-wrestled a guy at Club Dada for a $10 campaign contribution (and won).

You gotta give Zac this, though: the man knows how to use the Interweb. I mean compare his site to Tom Leppert’s site, which doesn’t even offer content yet.

Update: Fingers of Fury and I were plowing the same ground this morning. (Er, um.) He takes a look at some of the other candidates’ sites.