Still Waiting On George Rodrigue’s Response

The M.E. of the Dallas Morning News set the standard when he responded twice to what he thought were unfair attacks on his paper by Jim Schutze of the Dallas Observer. Now Schutze has, as I pointed out last week, accused the DMN of holding an important story until the political damage done by it could be minimized. Rodrigue couldn’t get to it in this week’s mailbag. I’m sure his reponse will be in next week’s.

And someone bring me some popcorn. I’m all out.

Jackie Mason on Arabs, Jews, Picasso and Dallas

Jackie Mason, the comedian who bills himself “The Ultimate Jew,” was an equal-opportunity offender when he performed in Richardson Sunday for Congregation Nishmat Am. Jump for the great man’s jokes. (more…)

The Fire Pits are Back at Lee Harvey’s

Remember this? (And this? And this, and this, and this? Oh, and this and this?) Well, it seems that Lee Harvey’s beloved fire pits aren’t dead after all. So says a same-office-working FBvian, in this good news/bad news missive:

Btw, Lee Harvey’s got their fire pits back. Just in time, too. Looks like they just built metal enclosures around what was already there. I’m guessing that gets them in “code.” Even so, a cop spent most of the night talking to (who appeared to be) the proprietors.

Where Tim, Eric, and I Were on Friday

We did what we always do when we have a spare moment or two: We donated our time to charity. Specifically, we spent mid-day Friday at The Women’s Museum as “Sole Men” for Wine, Women, & Shoes. Our job was to mingle with the ladies as they sampled wine and catered goods (we may have sampled same), encouraging them to check out the selection of shoes made by noted Italian shoemaker Angelo Anastasio. As you can see in the video, we did an excellent job — even if we weren’t chosen as stage-worthy Sole Men, like the rump-shaking Chris Heinbaugh. After the mingling, there was an auction and a fashion show, which included Dr. Elba Garcia. A good time was had by all, and Kyle Kearbey captured it on the vid-e-o. Check it out.

Chuck Norris Hearts Huckabee

Chuck Norris has endorsed Governor Mike Huckabee, wringing out whatever can be gained politically from the jumped-the-shark Chuck Norris Facts. You can watch the odd, off-putting, “Wait, are they being serious? I mean, I know they’re being serious, but are they serious?” celebrity endorsement for yourself here at Reason for here for Salon’s take.

DMN Misses the Mark on County Jail

That’s what my friend Scott Henson opines. He’s got some points, too. He wonders if the editorialistas at the paper bother reading their own newspaper when they ask rhetorically why wouldn’t someone want to do their time in Dallas County, given the generous 3-for-1 time credit inmates get.

Maybe because for every month you spend in jail there you’re more likely to acquire a staph infection than you would be to roll “snake eyes” shooting dice? After a scathing report last year, the feds finally sued Dallas County over poor healtchare for inmates last month.

Or perhaps because, once you go in, they might just lose your ass for a year or so?

Possibly because many jailers are young and untrained, making it among the more dangerous and overcrowded urban jails?

Searching For “Redacted”

It opened on Friday. For some reason, it’s not showing up in the box office results. Wonder why? Let’s ask Mark Cuban. This post will show up on his RSS feed. Mark? The floor is yours.

Best House Party Ever

I can’t say I’ve been to many East Dallas house parties that offer valet parking. But that’s what you get when said house party features the Old 97’s playing in the backyard. Well, the backyard studio, actually. Salim Nourallah celebrated the near completion of the latest 97’s record, and the fancy new remodel of his Pleasantry Lane studio, with a shindig featuring four intimate (but completely amplified) sets by the 97’s, 100 or so of his closest friends, and, as I can attest, a very well stocked bar. The whole thing–which, as Rhett Miller told me, came together in just a few days–was filmed for a bonus disc that will be appended to the forthcoming 97’s release on New West Records. Good thing, since my memory is a tiny bit sketchy.

John Eckerd’s Amazing Saga of Scandal

Last week, I gave props to DMN reporters Michael Grabell and Brendan Case for their story on MN1.com founder, Joshua Lankford. Turns out, the duo was just warming up. I admit I found it curious how a throwaway line in the piece could pass without comment. That line:

Addison-based Consolidated Sports Media Group Inc., which made a Girls Gone Wild-style video shot at NASCAR races, filed suit against Mr. Lankford, accusing him of helping to prepare a junk fax in 2004 designed to pump up the company’s stock price.

Grabell and Case explore Consolidated Sports Media Group in much more detail in a riveting two-part story on its founder John Eckerd. There’s the failed project Track Girls Gone Nutz, unpaid-for helicopter rides, a never-completed documentary about racetrack racism that may have been staged, and that’s all just in Part One. But don’t label Eckerd the Bad Guy just yet. Part Two suggests he was a victim. Read the whole thing.

Proconsuls of the D Empire Claim New Provinces

The fabulous Chris Phelps, who made our D Home such a success, is taking over our business magazine. The equally fabulous Susan Hicks, who made Southwest Spirit the fastest growing magazine in America, is taking over D Home. It’s war out there, people, and we’re ready for it.

Fort Worth Is Gay Friendly

That’s what an analysis of the latest census data by the Williams Institute shows (I don’t have the study; you can get it here). The absolute numbers are small, of course, but it’s the trend that’s telling. Here are the key points, provided by a nice FrontBurnervian:

The number of same-sex unmarried partner couples there increased by more than ten times from 1990 to 2006, from 196 couples in 1990 to 2254 couples in 2006. Fort Worth now has the 22nd highest concentration of same-sex unmarried partner couples of all cities nationally, at 8.51 couples per 1000 households. In 1990, Fort Worth’s concentration of same-sex couples was only 1.17 couples per 100 households; the Williams study found that this rise from 45th to 22nd highest concentration is one of the 3 largest changes during this time period.

Bark, Keith In Live Pairing

TV critic Ed “Uncle Barky” Bark will kick off a new monthly series of live events at Stratos Greek Taverna on Dec. 1. Bark’s first guest: “Crazed” Gordon Keith, the triple-threat local media personality.

Attention, Observer Ad Reps

The next ad you sell may involve an unexpected occupational hazard.

Winter Still Chasing His Starbucks Dream

If you scrape your memory banks, you may recall the story of Winter, the software developer whose goal is to visit every standalone Starbucks in North America. His project is called Starbucks Everywhere. I wrote about Winter more than five years ago — even won a Katie for it, thankyouverymuch. I’m a little late in reporting the latest development, but I recently found out there’s a documentary about Winter called Stabucking. Check it out.

Watch Out For Countrywide Bank

Yesterday Countrywide Bank, the subsidiary of the troubled mortgage lender, ran an ad in the News offering 5.4% on $10,000 certificates. Sounds good, right? Maybe too good. On November 9, my mother had a Countrywide CD come due. She went in to the Preston Branch to collect it. The Preston Branch has no cash on hand, nor can it issue a check. So they told her “Fort Worth” would put a check in the mail. As of today, no check. Developing…

If You’re An AA Observer, Getcha Popcorn Ready

In March, American Airlines will, for the first time in its 80-year history, be holding three simultaneous labor negotiations: with pilots, flight attendants, and ground workers. According to this Q&A in the Star-Telegram, they will probably all be contentious. And all three have one big issue sticking in their collective craw:

Q: All three unions have repeatedly listed executive bonuses as a major point of contention for employees. Does that issue cast a big shadow at the negotiating table?

A: Brundage:Look, it all goes back to being competitive. We need to be competitive for every employee, executive and manager in the company. What the facts show is that as long as you look over any reasonable period in time, you’ll find we’ve compensated executives and managers at or below the midpoint of the industry. I don’t know what else to say other than we need to be competitive in every respect.

Leading Off

1. Tom Leppert has some ideas about how he can help DISD, but he doesn’t want to overload us or anything. He’s gonna roll out one a month or so, and the first one will most likely involve “reading.” So there.

2. Communication issues at DFW Airport have caused delays and, according to some reports, a shutdown. Most travelers won’t notice the difference.

3. Richardson officials, who apparently like to read Paul Kix stories, are considering restrictions on payday lenders.