Articles for May 29th, 2007
BUYOUTS IN SOUTH TEXAS
Hearst’s buyouts hadn’t hit the San Antonio Express-News — until now. Word is that at least three have been offered to well-known, veteran reporters in features and sports, although the names can’t yet be confirmed. More offers in news and sports are expected. Cutbacks previously have been announced at the privately held chain’s Houston Chronicle and San Francisco Chronicle.
RE: WOMEN CONFUSE ME
I’d love to have been a fly on the wall when the photographer said, “Gil, you know what’s really going to sell this shoot for Buck Rogers? Lose the gold lame Members Only jacket. Yeah, baby!” That was a moment of Hollywood magic.
RE: WOMEN CONFUSE ME
“Dammit, Sarah. Now you’ve almost guaranteed that Eric is going to show up at work tomorrow in a blazer with no shirt.”
RE: WOMEN CONFUSE ME
Dammit, Sarah. Now you’ve almost guaranteed that Eric is going to show up at work tomorrow in a blazer with no shirt.
WOMEN CONFUSE ME
So, we’re on deadline, but the ladies here are all atwitter because they just found out that this guy will be in Dallas on June 22 for Dancing With The Stars: The Tour. Sarah, in particular, can barely breathe. I mean, Joey McIntyre? Good grief, he was in NKOTB! WTF, mate?
SECRET MACHINES LOSE 1/3 OF THEIR MACHINERY
The New Yorker had a tiny listing in a recent issue about The Secret Machines. (But then, is any listing in The New Yorker “tiny”?) Said there that guitarist Ben Curtis was leaving the band to pursue other endeavors. Seems like bad timing, as the band was just tapped by no less than David Bowie to cap off his High Line Festival. The Secret Machines will go on to rock without Ben, but one wonders and worries if they’ll rock as hard as they used to. Recent reports, after all, aren’t so enthusiastic.
RE: TONY, TONY, TONY
Speaking of ToRo, I was shocked to hear his name called when the panel of judges was introduced at last night’s Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City. (I don’t have cable, okay.) I got embarrassed watching the Q&A portion, when ToRo and his fellow judges got to ask the contestants questions, and that feeling was exacerbated with the misstep of Miss USA (23,588 viewings on YouTube, and counting). While anecdotal evidence would support that Tony favors blonds, he and the panel crowned raven-haired Miss Japan the winner.
SAMIR PATEL, I HOPE YOU BROUGHT YOUR SPELLING PANTS
Tomorrow is the first day of the two-day Scripps National Spelling Bee. Anyone who knows me even a little knows which speller I think is the bee’s knees: no. 247 representing the Star-Telegram Samir Patel. I have long used this space to celebrate Patel (sorry the 2005 archives aren’t still with us), and I hope he gives me even more reasons to do so tomorrow. Chances are he will: Patel has competed in five straight bees, tying for third and second. By the way, Samir, I’m not the only one expecting big things outta you.
SPEAKING OF SOCCER
Gabriel Cabarrouy in the DMN (or was it Al Dia?) had a good little story about Dominic Oduro. The 21-year-old bench player for FC Dallas has been a promising striker for the team, and he makes a whopping $17,700 a year. As the article points out, Oduro and other “developmental players” like him are reluctant to spend per diem and pick up spare jobs when and where they can. Says Oduro,
“A couple of times, I kind of wonder what if I was working at McDonalds, probably I would be making the same. At the end of the day, you want to do what your heart tells you.”
TOM HICKS CALLS OUT FANS
After last week’s UEFA finals, Tom Hicks made the mistake of talking to a reporter. Here’s what he said:
“There’s no way either of my two teams’ fans have the level of intense passion that Liverpool has. I want them to. Hopefully, someday they will.”
Not surprisingly, some Stars and Rangers fans were a tad peeved. They still are, if Bob and Dan’s listeners are any indication. But here’s the thing: Hicks is right. But that’s because no sports fan this side of the Atlantic can compare to a soccer fan. Sure, Eagles fans throw batteries, but they don’t urinate on corpses of rivals’ supporters that they just beat to death with pick axe handles. You can be a Cowboy/Rangers/Stars fan–a season-ticket-havin’, stat-memorizin’, face-paintin’ fan–but, I’m sorry, the sport will never be as much a part of your personality and sense of history as it is for a football club. That’s a good thing.
FREE DSO CONCERT IN OAK CLIFF
I doubt that Tony Romo will be there, but the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is giving one of its free community concerts tonight at Kiest Park (Kiest at S. Hampton) in Oak Cliff. As a major OC player puts it, “The Kiest Park concert is the perfect way to show off the restorations of historic landscaping by the volunteers of Friends of Oak Cliff Parks.” Check it out.
MESSAGE TO ROGER STAUBACH
Your blog has a great name: Monday Morning CEO. Now it’s time to update it. January 4 was a long time ago. Are you saying nothing interesting happened in Nashville, during the Super Bowl vote? You didn’t hit any bars you want to tell us about? C’mon, throw us a frickin’ bone here.
TONY, TONY, TONY
With Jessica Simpson and John Mayer’s relationship on the rocks, Ashlee’s sis may be back on the market. But guess who’s not? The guy she’s rumored to be spending time with, none other than Tony Romo. Who’s been publicly spending time with Carrie Underwood. Who sings a song about trashing the car of her cheating boyfriend. Which may not be a problem, if Tony and Carrie really are “just friends,” as they’ve been saying.
So is it true? I’m not so sure. The same JSimp-ToRo rumors swirled last year, with no payoff. Methinks this is just another sad attempt by Papa Joe to get Jess’ name in the news.
RE: SPACE PLACE
A PR-working FrontBurnervian notes that KERA’s Think (the TV version) is all over the space conference. She passes along the program notes for the 6/1 episode:
We’ll talk about shielding the Earth from space with Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, who now serves as Chairman of the Board of the B612 Foundation. The foundation champions the protection of Earth from future asteroid impacts.
That episode will also feature an interview with my friend Nicole Small to talk about the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science. I doubt Krys Boyd asked Small how to protect the planet from asteroids, but I bet she could come up with an answer. (She = smart.)
BANCROFTS GIVE MURDOCH THE HEISMAN
In case you hadn’t heard, Rupert Murdoch wants to buy the WSJ. But (most of) the Bancroft family doesn’t want to sell it to him. The presumed swing vote, Dallas’ Christopher Bancroft, recently voiced his opinion:
“I’m open to any situation that benefits The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones and its shareholders. At the moment, I don’t see anything that would do that.”
NO BRIDE AT THE BELMONT
As you may have read in the print edition of FB this month or seen here, the fine folks at the Belmont Hotel were scheduled to play The Princess Bride—also known as yours truly’s favorite flick growing up—in this evening’s edition of B Reel at the Belmont. But a quick call to the hotel revealed some very bad news: legal issues have kept them from showing Westley and Princess Buttercup tonight. Instead, margarita-drinking (hopefully not rain-soaked) movie lovers will be, um, treated(?) to this. To which we can only say: Inconceivable!
RE: LEADING OFF (LEGE ITEM)
Mike Orren points out that one law voted on does affect us at FB central:
The Lege actually got one thing done that nominally affects D Magazine. According to the new anti-sunshine bill, you’re no more media than we are and we’re no more than a kid with a MySpace blog.
Huh. Whadya know?
Notice to our lawyers: Giddyup.
SPACE PLACE
I was out of town over the weekend and missed many things. I missed each and every one of you, for instance. And I also missed the International Space Development Conference that just took place in Dallas. As one might imagine, people who attended were people who blog, so I can catch up on the goings-on online. For instance, thanks to Alan Boyle, I know that John Carmack at Armadillo Aerospace is going gangbusters. (If you read the July 2006 issue of DallasCEO, you’d probably guess that about him.) Also, thanks to Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit, I know that the space conference is getting more respect/interest from the money types as evidenced by the increased number of attractive women in attendance. Also, I learned the space bubble is expected to hit about two years from now. Good to know.
BUSINESS IS GOOD
Dallas led Texas in job creation for the month of April, according to the latest stats from the Dallas Fed, with employers adding 6,500 new jobs, very few of them involving selling oranges at intersections or signing up three people under you to sell mangosteen juice. Especially good news for both the commercial real estate industry and striped shirt retailers — the bulk of the jobs were in the professional/business services and financial sectors.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: 24-HOUR VIDEO RACE
The finals of the 24-Hour Video Race are tonight at the Angelika. For $3, you get to see 27 five-minute videos (each created in 24 hours). The first of five categories begins screening at 6:10, and it’s scheduled to conclude at 10. Come and go as you please. Among your “celebrity” judges for the evening will be yrs trly and none other than the future Mrs. Kix, Sonya Castex. Should be a good time.
Update: Except I just received an e-mail from Paul saying that Sonya is sick. Perhaps bronchitis. He’s taking her to see a doc. So unless she rallies, no Sonya tonight.
LEADING OFF
1. Not good news nationally if you’ve got a home for sale.
2. While we were gone, the Legislature didn’t get much accomplished except a fussin’ and a feudin’.
3. The Texas Rangers now have the worst record in baseball.
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