Decades come to Dallas

Sarah and I will be heading to Forty Five Ten for the much anticipated December Decadence that benefits Family Place this evening. Willa Ford-Modano and Mike Modano are this year’s Honorary Chair. Cameron Silver, owner of famed LA-based vintage couture store, Decades will be making an appearance along with some of his finest selections (think Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Chanel, Pucci, Hermes, and more - a treasure trove for vintage vixens), as well as handbag designer Alexandra Knight, and jewelry designer Nancey Chapman. If you missed out on getting a ticket to tonight’s event, no need to fret, a trunk show of goodies from each will be at the store through tomorrow at 4 P.M.

Where Some People Watched Last Night’s Game

Funny you should mention Hef, Glenn. Some representatives of Playboy were in town and joined reps from Cuervo Black to throw a VIP watching party at Bolt Studios. A half dozen Playmates would be in attendance. Sadly, I was not. But our very own Nightlife Maven Kyle Kearbey and D photographer Elizabeth Lavin went. (That’s Elizabeth on the left, Kyle in the middle, and Kyle’s friend Sara at right.) I asked Kyle to write a recap of the evening. She did, and it — along with some photos taken by Matthew Shelley — is after the jump.

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Celebrities Spotted

A two-fer, as two eagle-eyed FrontBurnervian pass along word of celebrities in our midst:

Monk’s Tony Shaloub at Terminal C security line at DFW Airport.

Also, Julie Delpy at the Preston-Royal Border’s. How’d she look, I wondered:

Pretty fantastic and she was wandering around talking on her cell phone in French.

Not sure what she’s doing in town. It’s not like Ethan Hawke had a book signing or anything.

DMN Has Picture Problems

The intern staff at the Morning News may look like a Benetton ad compared to ours, but an informal survey by Dallas South Blog of the black-and-white and colored images the newspaper runs on a daily basis looks like a pictorial version of a John Rocker monologue. Snap.

Re: Really, NFL Network?

I know Gumball was pretty bad last night, Adam, but about 100 guys gathered at deBoulle didn’t seem to care much. They were chomping on Sabino Sotelo’s hand-rolled cigars, scarfing up snacks from George Restaurant and catching the ‘Boys-Packers on a wide-screen TV the size of an 18-wheeler. The occasion was the upscale retailer’s Guys Night Out bash, which happens annually. Last night’s also involved Ferraris, Ducatis, high-end bauble shopping, and gorgeous miniskirted women pouring 12-year-old Crown Royal. The only thing missing was Hugh Hefner and a couple of Bunnies.

Local High Schools in U.S. Rankings

Bah on U.S. News. Its just-released annual ranking lists DISD’s Talented and Talented Magnet as #14 and its Science/Engineering Magnet as #18 in the nation (and dear old Highland Park only comes in at #33–what’s that?). I’ll stick with Newsweek, where the TAG magnet ranked as #1 and the Science magnet ranked as #2 (with HP coming in at #16).

Woman Beaten, Robbed of Ring

The DMN has the basics about the man who seemingly followed a Preston Hollow woman home from Whole Foods, beat her up, and then made off with her $350,000 wedding ring. Over at Overheard, Merritt Patterson does the story one better with a supposed email from the victim, which looks legit to me. Check it out and be careful out there.

Update: MSNBC has a pic of the ring. Jeepers, is it big.

Hablas Ingles?

A new study by the Pew Center gives encouraging news for the English-only crowd (of which I am sometimes a member).

Mockingbird at Abrams, Yesterday, 5:38 P.M.

Nancy, what’s going on with the birds? Last night I was nearly killed by what looked like an angry murder of grackles. (Side note: do grackles come in murders, flocks, gaggles, what?) Have they come in from the countryside? Grackles don’t migrate, right? Help me.

Really, NFL Network? Really?

I had a mind to get all long-winded about the NFL Network’s broadcast last night — you know, about the hullabaloo over cable versus satellite and it being one of the biggest games of the season yet millions of non-sports-bar-going fans couldn’t see it, all as prelude to the stinker of a job turned in by Bryant Gumbel, Cris Collinsworth, and nearly the whole dang production crew. But I won’t go on and on, because those who care have no doubt had the same watercooler discussion already. Perhaps you, too, kept a list of the things that came out of the duo’s mouths that seemed nonsensical to the point of distraction. You know, things like Collinsworth calling Roy Williams “the best tackling safety in the league.” The plays that started immediately after a commercial break, and the extra point that cameras completely missed. And, at the end of the game, after mentioning the Cowboys quarterback in every sentence possible, Gumbel teasing a post-commercial interview with “Rick Romo.” Like I said, I could get long-winded, but I won’t.

Update: The kind commenters have reminded me of similar instances of broadcasting buffoonery. As just one for instance, Deion’s “sideline” reporting that was really from the corner of the endzone. Remember? Someone thought it’d be a good idea to have the cameraman circle Deion as he talked about … something or other. And then stop circling when he got behind Deion and the game was going on way in the distance. “Hello?” I wanted to tell Prime-Time. “Over here. Over here?” Argh.

Friday Fun

Happy Friday, which might feel like Monday — or even Tuesday — since the Cowboys played last night. Throws the whole week off, don’t it? Anyway. Yes. It’s Friday. And today’s Friday Fun is called Headcase. It’s a promotional game by Wrigley, but as promotional games go, it’s pretty good. You control the little guy who can walk on walls in the maze-type structure while watered-down techno music plays. Enjoy it.

Leading Off

1. The money quote from this article on the downtown club Purgatory works as both drama and comedy:

Since the club opened, police reports show, patrons have been knocked unconscious, hit in the head with beer bottles, punched, kicked, slapped, scratched, choked until passing out, bitten on the thigh, beaten with a Glock pistol, hit with a flashlight, hit with a crowbar, hit with a small weight attached to a heavy chain, thrown headfirst into a parking meter, threatened with a handgun for groping women after drinking eight Incredible Hulk shots, pushed, Maced, Tasered, pulled by the hair and hit in the face with a high-heeled shoe.

2. DART is considering moving its Lake Highlands station.

3. The Press Club of Dallas has dropped its lawsuit against Elizabeth Albanese, because she couldn’t pay the organization back even if it won.