The Barnett Shale Play: Praise God

I’m just catching up on some magazine reading and found this. Fast Company’s front-of-the-book includes a half dozen or so one-page profiles linked together called “Fast Talk.” The October issue features “Creative Energy,” including “six forward thinkers [who] explain their innovative efforts to derive energy from the United States’ untapped natural resources.” The local interest: Bishop Kenneth Spears at Fort Worth’s First Saint John Baptist Church, who thinks the Barnett Shale play is “manna from heaven.”

Sell Your Marlboro Stock: Zac Crain is Quitting Smoking

I haven’t quit just yet. In fact, I just had a cigarette, theoretically the penultimate smoke break of my long and distinguished career as a smoker. I say “theoretically” because I’m not so foolish as to say something I might have to take back as soon as a day or so from now. Tomorrow is the official start of Attempt No. 72 to banish cigarettes from my life. Kind of odd to start on a Tuesday, I know, but the last pack I bought lasted longer than I thought it would.

I realize this post errs pretty substantially on the side of navel-gazing, but I thought it necessary to preempt questions later this week. Such as: “Why is Zac typing in all caps?” And: “What did [fill in the blank] ever do to him?” And: “Huh. I thought they weren’t allowed to curse on FrontBurner?” You, sweet, sweet FBvians, might be safe tomorrow; I currently have enough nicotine in my system to coast for another 36 hours.

Where Will the Bushes Live in Dallas?

Mystery writer Harry Hunsicker rates their neighborhood choices in Park Cities People.

Go, Go, D Home

Congrats to D Home. D’s sister publication just won the Silver Award from Folio for Consumer: Shelter/Home (Single Article) — specifically for an article called “Dallas Style.” Folio says it ran in the May/June 2007 issue, but it was September 2006. You can read it here.

Romo Ascending

When I talked to Tony Romo for the September piece on him, he mentioned the difficulty of coming out of Eastern Illinois and trying to go into a NFL Combine against people like Rex Grossman, whose skills were far beyond his. No need to comment.

Re: “Professor” Paul Kix’s Master Lock® Lock of the Week

I don’t think a pit bull could tear Paul away from Todd Dodge. So I doubt this would do it.

Pony Arrow

A TCU-alum FrontBurnervian gives props to my alma mater and heaps praise on his own. As interested parties know by now, TCU beat SMU (but did not cover) on Saturday night 21-7.

Kudos to the students at your Alma Mater for another win in the prank game. Alas, my Frogs will enjoy the skillet again!

Some fans managed to etch the Pony That Way logo into the grass at Amon Carter. Nice prank, albeit in unoriginal (scroll down to find the story of the ryegrass “M”). The Star-T has more on it, including a pic.

FrontBurner Pwns TxDOT

A car-drivin’ FrontBurnervian gives us credit where credit is certainly due:

In July, you posted about TxDOT’s frustrating Central/Live Oak lane closure. You pointed out the closure was scheduled to last until June 2009. Your hard-hitting post shamed TxDOT into relenting and re-striping the highway Sunday night. (Sneaky highway guys. Cover of darkness and all that.) TxDOT’s big stand on “its the law and its for safety and we couldn’t fix it even if we wanted to” melted into “never mind” in the glare of FB’s spotlight. Well done!

Football Has Been Berry Berry Good To Me

The other day Timmy told me I needed to get into the Cowboys. He intimated that I was uncool because I didn’t know Terrell Owens from Terrell, Texas. (On that, he is wrong. I so know they named the town after him.) Anywhoo, last night I gathered with a couple of male buddies and watched the game on a ginormous HDTV. I could see TO’s nose hairs easier than a knee going down in a mass of humanity on top of that third quarter fumble. So Timmy, I’m back, but not as a Cowboy fan. I have hated the Cowboys since 1962 when I was a devoted Dallas Texans fan. Lenny Dawson, Abner Haynes, Hank Stram were my idols and they would have never committed a horse-collar penalty. The way I see it, the ‘Boys pushed my team to KC. Which brings me to the Texans Huddle Club, a pep club for kids who sat on the splintery benches of the Cotton Bowl while their parents sat on the 50-yard line sipping whiskey sours from silver flasks. And that brings me to Richard Pennington, a sports writer who contacted me Saturday. He is writing a history of the Kansas City Chiefs. He Googled “Dallas Texans + Huddle Club” and found me. I’m now contributing to his book and I promised I’d poll the FB Nation to see if there are any other Huddle Clubbers out there? Or Spur Club? Or people who can explain what pulling from the shoulder pads has to do with a horse collar. Thanks.

Sharia Law for Texas

Larry Kilgore is a candidate for U.S. Senate in the Republican primary. Kilgore’s platform is, um, unusual. He wants Texas to secede and become a Christian nation. A Christian nation, apparently, would be based on Old Testament laws. You’ve got a complaint about people driving without insurance? Kilgore finds the solution in the Bible:

Excepting those executed, judges will sentence those who cannot pay restitution, to indentured servitude for up to seven years with the victim receiving all service or earnings.

Kilgore received over 50,000 votes when he ran in 2006. I note, however, that his platform, while otherwise comprehensive, conspicuously omits the Biblical dietary laws. Backing off, Larry? Fraidy cat?

Flavors From Afar Goes Afar

Nancy and Gary Krabill, owners of the gourmet shop Flavors From Afar in Snider Plaza, have taken off for Italy. AGAIN. They are a darling couple and have a darling shop full of goodies they find as they scour the world for all-things-foodie. Word comes this morning that the twosome is touring Italy and you can follow them here as they eat their way across the country. I can’t help but wonder if their empty house in Dallas has AC. Mine doesn’t. [Note to TXU: Oh, I better not.]