D

HOT PICTURE OF RENE SYLER

A PR-producing FBvian passes along this story about Syler in the Philly paper and asks whether she might wind up back in Dallas. We were told by her people a few weeks back when we asked that question: no, she won’t. Alas. (Imagine a newscast with Syler and Ashleigh Banfield anchoring and Mattie Roberts doing weather. I do. Often.)

OUR DWIGHT BOBBLEHEAD MAKES THE BIG TIME

Our brothers and sisters down in Patience Publishing (aka The Land Report) are big fans of The Office. So they got involved with the Dwight bobblehead foolishness, wherein you create your own diorama and send in a pic. Theirs made the cut. Nice.

RE: A NOTE ABOUT LINKS ON FRONTBURNER

Timmy, I think you just became D Magazine’s official Apologizer. (FB Nation, run for your lives.)

DALLAS CHEF NEEDS YOUR HELP

Dotty Griffith, former DMN dining critic, just called with some sad news. Chef François Fotre was involved in a motorcycle accident and is in Parkland Hospital. François and his wife Catherine are both classically trained chefs and known for their cooking and teaching skills. They founded La Mirabelle in 1997. At the time of the accident, François was consulting with the Catalina Room. I have no further details other than he has to remain in the hospital for a month and he has no health insurance. Dotty said that the Texas Chefs Association is planning a fundraiser. Developing.

A NOTE ABOUT LINKS ON FRONTBURNER

It took us awhile to figure this one out. Since we launched the new version of FrontBurner, we’ve been having trouble with links to the D Magazine archive. They apparently go stale after about 10 minutes. I won’t bore you with an explanation of why (mainly because I don’t understand it myself). Just know that we’ll have the problem fixed soon. Thanks for your patience.

RE: THE APOLOGIZER

A Fred-knowing FrontBurnervian pokes holes in my Taylor the Tank imagining:

As one of those middle-age airline veterans who exhibit a studied boredom that suggests the end of the world would not faze them, I have to tell you, honesty, that Fred is a truly a nice guy, and not the rampant party animal that you imply.

What looked like a “bar” were probably just conventional beverages, ice bucket, etc.  Given all the peanuts (AKA “Pilot Pellets”) that are available for nibbling, we all tend to get thirsty.  You should see the size of the soda vending machines in the various break rooms….

Still, it’s not like no one at Southwest Airlines has ever endorsed an adult beverage every now and then.

ONE OF MANY POSTS ABOUT AFI DALLAS

D is a sponsor of the upcoming film festival AFI Dallas, which starts this Thursday. But even if it weren’t, you could surely expect plenty of postings about it on the FB (and elsewhere). For instance, even if the D were nowhere near the AFI Dallas, I’d tell you about the way-cool event at the Meyerson on Sunday, where a live organ will accompany the silent films of my fave silent film star Harold Lloyd. I’m a nerd like that. How much of a nerd? So much, that I really, really want to see Helvetica, a documentary about the typography. (It should be noted that I’m more of a Geneva kind of guy while editing. Times New Roman is for squares. But I do love Futura on a larger scale.)

YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AT WORK

This report on Trinity River zoning by Sam Merton over on Dallasblog.com contains this memorable observation:

After arriving late, Dr. Maxine Thornton-Reese took a nap for most of the presentation.

UPDATE ON THE JULIE ROEHM/WAL-MART SITUATION

A legal-minded FrontBurnervian checked out WSJ’s legal blog before I got a chance to today and passed along this item. Wal-Mart claims to have emails from former marketing exec Julie Roehm and her subordinate Sean Womack whom she allegedly had an affair with. Those emails include this one from her to him:

“I hate not being able to call you or write you. I think about us together all the time. Little moments like watching your face when you kiss me.”

She kisses with her eyes open? That’s weird.

RE: QUESTIONS ABOUT RAY NASHER

Alan Peppard tells us:

The two stories are so different because they are two different stories. What is posted on the web is a brief item I filed exclusively to the web at about 2 p.m. Monday. It was meant to address the many questions about where Mr. Nasher was when he became ill and what the timeline of events were leading up to his death. The column in Tuesday’s paper is a much more complete piece taking in the timeline and Monday’s memorial events. The website is a little slow today posting the current column, but it should be up soon.

The conspiracy theorist would say: of course it’ll be up soon — now that attention has been drawn to it. I’ll just say: mea culpa.

BITING THE HAND THAT FED US

For all you small business people out there, I present a cautionary tale about our recent dealings with a small business subsidiary of Wells Fargo. To put it in capsule form, even though we got the loan, we are not happy customers, and this editorial in the April issue of DallasCEO (on newsstands soon) explains why.

PROPS TO TROY OXFORD

The Ray Nasher coverage isn’t the only thing that differs from today’s DMN print and online editions. The main story in today’s business section about La Quinta’s efforts to rebrand itself with a makeover is accompanied by an excellent photo illustration. “Excellent” because it conveys the story in a literal but still lively way. It blends the company’s old logo with its new one. The illustration is so good, I don’t even have to read the story (but I did). But the online version doesn’t have it, which is a bummer for staff artist Troy Oxford. He deserves props, so I’m giving them to him, along with the crude, picture-phone pic at left.

BIG CHEESES

Last night I attended “an historic event in Texas cheesemaking.” A Slow Food Dallas production brought 15 local farmstead cheesemakers together for the first time. Some, like Dallas’ Paula Lambert, have been dealing with curds and whey for a long time, while others, like Chrissy Omo of CKC Farms in Blanco, a darling 18-year old college freshman, are just getting started. (Attention Dallas steak houses: Omo’s feta soaked in olive oil and studded with red and black pepper would be fantastic melted on the top of a luscious porterhouse.) The cheesemakers presented the first Texas Cheese Plate to a sold-out crowd of foodies. We tasted 13 cheeses that ranged from traditional (Lambert’s Blanca Bianca) to more innovative varieties (Chateau de Fromage’s European style goat cheese with truffles). I never thought I’d refer to Paula Lambert as traditional, but that just shows you how much innovation is taking place in the industry. (Note: I purposefully avoided all cheese jokes.) If you love food, and don’t know about Slow Food, go here. Fast.

RE: QUESTIONS ABOUT RAY NASHER

A PR-working FBvian takes it further:

Since Nasher was a public figure (if he wasn’t, who is?), wasn’t it the duty of the media to cover the memorial service and reception, which were both open to the public? Did the family have the right to make such demands of the media? Did anyone from your shop go?

Ray’s death was a loss. There is no doubt about that fact. But an upsetting issue has arisen. By the media’s complying with the family’s wishes, did they jeopardize their integrity? If the family wanted to keep “things off the record,” shouldn’t they have held a private service and reception? When other funerals of prominent persons have occurred, the prohibition of cameras at the service or a pool photog is understandable, but to prohibit the reporting of what was said is not the norm.

To my mind, I can’t find fault with the family. They’re grieving. They want privacy. And yet they want to respect the wishes of hundreds of people who want to attend the services. So they make the services public and ask the media not to report it.

As a member of the media, you have to ask yourself how the public is served if you go against the family’s request. I didn’t go to the service (nor, as far as I know, did anyone from our shop). I’m glad I didn’t have to ask myself that question. But Alan Peppard did. And we know how he answered the question; he reported, with good taste and decorum, what he saw.

The problem I have is with whoever made the call to expurgate his report for the web. I’m only guessing that’s what happened. But I think it’s a good guess. And it was the wrong move. It sends the message to the entire city that one well-placed phone call from a prominent person can change how the news is reported.

QUESTIONS ABOUT RAY NASHER

I am told that the Nasher staff worked hard to prevent any coverage of yesterday’s memorial service and reception, per the family’s request. All media complied — except Alan Peppard. If you’ve got a hard copy of the paper, compare his front-page GuideLive report with the version that wound up online. Notice anything? Like that nearly all the details from the service and reception were cut out of the online version? Hmmm.