Art In Bloom

This morning I attended the Dallas Museum of Art’s annual Art In Bloom fundraiser and luncheon where renowned interior designer Bunny Williams gave a thorough and informative lecture and fashion designer, Peter Som (one of my favorites at the moment) was in town to present his Fall 2008 collection (which you can find at Forty Five Ten during the trunk show today until 6 PM).  (more…)

FrontBurner Technical Difficulties

Hello, patient FrontBurnervians. If posting seems particularly sparse this afternoon, that’s because it is. And while we bloggers have a bucketful of the usual excuses (print versions shipping, laziness, etc.), today’s slowdown can be blamed on technical difficulties and porn. Seriously. Our internal routers or ISP or DNS or Internetty-Internets are bouncing from one server to another to another, except one stop on that bandwidth tour is apparently notorious for hosting scads of porn. The other servers no likey, so we bloggers are firewalled away from our own site. Sad. Tragic, even. And, let’s hope, temporary. (How, then, am I able to post this post explaining the unpostableness of FB? Thank you, iPhone.)

AFI Review: Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson

On Friday, People Newspaper Staff Writer Cassie Clark went to see the Hunter S. Thompson documentary. Her well-organized review of it and the film is after the jump.

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There Ain’t No Party Like an AFI Party, Because an AFI Party Don’t Stop

Yrs trly girded his loins Saturday night and ventured out to the W Hotel for some AFI action. I brought back two really bad photos.

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Immigration Got My Head A-Spinnin’

Follow if you can. A Dallas conservative think-tank backs cutting sentences for illegal immigrants in jail for non-violent crimes as much as half. The idea is it saves money on incarceration and speeds deportation. Think hard on that one. Plenty of conservative factions aren’t nativist; they see the economic boon open immigration brings and they don’t see immigrants as a threat to American culture like the Pat Buchanans and Tom Tancredos on the right. Fine and good. That’s not what’s confusing.

The bottom line of the NCPA approach, as Scott Henson points out, is that illegal immigrants get more leniency than red-blooded American convicted criminals. Which hardly seems right. But then, the primary worry about early release of non-violent offenders (which include burglars and thieves) is they go back to their old ways in their communities as soon as they’re released. Even in Dallas, where it’s “safe.” But since any illegal immigrants who might get their sentences cut would be deported, it’s not like they’re going to be going back to their old ways here in los Estados Unidos de América. Because crossing the border without authorization is nigh impossible.

Meanwhile, the feds and Dallas authorities are spending time and money arresting 49 illegal immigrants working hard at jobs where they try to prevent crime on private property.

Fire on Forest Lane

A curious FrontBurnervian says he sees smoke around the vicinity of Forest Lane and Greenville Avenue. Dallas Fire-Rescue says there’s a structure fire and sent three trucks. Also, there’s report of at least one injured person. From what I can gather (thanks, Google), 9170 Forest is an apartment building. Developing.

AFI Review: Before the Rains

Doug Mankoff — a St. Mark’s graduate — is in town for the screening tonight at the Magnolia (7:30 p.m.) for Before the Rains, for which he’s one of the producers. Sorry about Tracing Cowboys, alter-Glenn. It might be one of those cases when sentiment overwhelmed judgment. But this one won’t be a disappointment. Linus Roache plays an Englishman in 1930s India, when opposition to the Raj was growing. He has big plans to build a road over the mountain using hordes of native labor before monsoon season, but his affair with his housekeeper — casual to him but not to her — leads to tragedy when he rejects her after his wife and son arrive.

This one sticks with you for its fine performances and moral complexities. It’s definitely one to see — if you can get in.

Go, Barnett Shale!

A new study shows that money is shooting up out of the ground like crazy. Last year $8.2 billion spilled into the local economy. I’m feeling better already.

TSA’s New Nipple Ring Policy

In light of the Dallas woman whose nipple rings were removed with pliers prior to boarding a Lubbock-Dallas flight, the TSA has changed their policy. Here’s an excerpt of the agency’s statement on “the alleged improper screening”:

TSA has reviewed the procedures themselves and agrees that they need to be changed. In the future TSA will inform passengers that they have the option to resolve the alarm through a visual inspection of the article in lieu of removing the item in question.

A “visual inspection”? Something tells me job applications at TSA just went up about 250 percent.

A Tenderfoot Cowboys At The Angelika

Everywhere you turn they’re saying how bad the economy is. But you couldn’t tell it by the crowds this weekend at Mockingbird Station, where the shops were jammed and, in the DART lot across from the Angelika theater complex, there wasn’t a single parking space. Give at least some credit to the 2008 AFI Dallas International Film Festival, which screened the much-touted Tracing Cowboys there Saturday afternoon. Jump to find out why, unfortunately, it’s got to be one of the most overrated flicks in the festival.

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FrontBurner Madness Update

Your leaders in the contest for a $200 gift certificate to Texas de Brazil:

1. Old East Dallas
1. heelSpurs
3. Whoopi Goldberg
4. John Galt
5. Throat Yogurt [ed: murmur]
5. Where’s Greggo?
7. IDGAF
7. Liberally Lean
9. Steve Holt!
9. Spitzer?! I hardly knew her!

Leading Off

1. Amid ethical questions, Alphonso Jackson will step down as HUD boss, a move that feels like it’s been coming for two years.

2. A Southwest plane returns to Love Field with engine trouble. Someone’s gonna need a few stiff drinks at The Cockpit.

3. Obama came out ahead in the weekend caucuses. Probably. Is there any question the real loser in all of this is Texas?

The Nanny State Called Dallas

Dave Levinthal has a piece in today’s DMN I wish I had done magazine style. The kicker is he basically gets people like Mayor Leppert to admit they’re passing empty, symbolic nanny state laws. Kudos, Dave.

Chaos At The 23rd Senatorial District Convention

Reports are that the Clintonites have been challenging delegates since 8 a.m. this morning, so the convention hasn’t even started yet. Delegates with children are starting to leave, which could seriously erode Obama voting strength. Meanwhile, reports from the 26th 16th indicate all is going (sorta) smoothly.

Josh Brolin And A Beautiful Heroine At The Magnolia

The West Village parking garage was so jammed, the only place left to park at 9 was a spot on the very top floor. Actor Josh Brolin titillated folks as he bustled into one of the screenings at the Village’s Magnolia theater complex. Meantime, a line or two away, a subtitled German movie called Silent Resident lured a group of about 50 arty types with its U.S. premiere. It was all part of the action Friday surrounding the AFI Dallas International Film Festival, which truly was international with several “world cinema” screenings at the Magnolia. Resident proved to be a vintage-style European art flick, complete with a beautiful, often-nude heroine living in a futuristic, super-secure residential compound whose residents may or may not be plotting against her. After the screening the film’s director Christian Frosch, a film-noir fan who’s been compared to David Lynch, turned up for a brief Q&A. His Silent Resident will be shown again on Monday at NorthPark 2 at 10 p.m., and it’s well worth seeing if you’re into paranoia, sociopolitical commentary of the European sort or beautiful often-nude heroines.

Layoffs at Channel 11

Wow. This is huge. Uncle Barky reports that Channel 11 has laid off reporter Robert Riggs and producer John Sparks. Reporter Kaushal Patel is gone, too, but with all due respect, the Riggs and Sparks sackings are the big news. This does not bode well for 11.

Update: I got Tracy Rowlett on the phone as he was preparing for his 5 o’clock newscast — meaning he didn’t have much time to talk. In short: “It’s a sad day,” he says. “It’s a station-wide deal. Every time a door closes, you wonder who is next. I’ve watched this happen so many times in this business. But it’s the economy. It’s going to hell in a hand basket.”

Re: Noted Sexologist Ken Starr

See, this is one of the reasons I dig the Star-Telegram. The brass gave FrontBurner permission to put up the entire article I wrote for them back in 1998. Thanks, guys:

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Fashion At The Park Update

Fashion and fun at the tents continues. Go here for some pics from all the happenings. CH Carolina Herrera (which we hear is going to be quite a show) shows tonight at 7, followed by Intermix at 9, and Miss Sixty at 11. We’ll be attending a private dinner with Carolina Herrera Jr. this evening. More details to come.

Judge Strikes Stupid Strip Club Fee

A Texas district judge in Austin ruled that (and I may be paraphrasing here) State Sen. Royce West’s $5 fee for strip club patrons is a bunch of hooey. Patrons of the ecdysiastic arts, rejoice!

Noted Sexologist Ken Starr in Town Tonight

The author of the Starr Report will speak at the inaugural reception of the Dallas chapter of the Pepperdine Alumni Association. Makes me wistful for my brief run through the Star-Telegram and the greatness of Julie Heaberlin, who let an idiot on her staff write this story about footnotes. (If only someone at the Star-T would let me post the full text. Hint, hint.)

RE: AFI Dallas

It’s not nice of AFI to schedule gala events on nights when I’m teaching Moby-Dick — “‘The whale! The ship!’ cried the cringing oarsmen” — but what do you do?

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Glenn Hunter-Era DBJ Wins SABEW Award for Online Excellence

Remember the Dallas Press Club scandal? The Dallas Business Journal, then headed by Glenn Hunter (now editor of D CEO) were the diggers who uncovered the Elizabeth Albanese scandal. For their work they’ve been honored with the Society of American Business Editors and Writers award for online excellence for a breaking news story.

The story behind the story: Glenn was a member of the board of the Dallas Press Club and learned about the whole mess. He recused himself from the board and got to work with staff writers Dave Moore and Chad Eric Watt on busting the whole thing out. They had their story ready to go for the April 16 issue, but owning to internal conflicts it was to be held until the following week. The Press Club, doing its level best to cover the whole thing up, issued a brief statement on that Saturday morning, April 17, vaguely alluding to the problems that had come to light. But it was a half-hearted, fact-free admission. Glenn marshaled his writers who came in that same Saturday morning and, fighting both lawyers from the corporate headquarters and a ticking clock, they put together an outstanding story for online publication that unveiled the whole scandal.

So, kudos to the Dallas Business Journal’s Dave Moore and Eric Watt. To read their award-winning story click here.

Tony Romo Ain’t Hitched to Jessica Simpson

Several FrontBurnervians have asked me about this story, wherein Jessica Simpson’s mom apparently tells a reporter that her daughter is married to Romo. A friend of Romo’s tells FrontBurner that is definitely not the truth. So there you have it.

Philippe Starck Calls The House “Unnecessary”

Have you bought your place yet at The House? You know, the place designed by Philippe Starck? Well then: ha! Because Starck says he’s “ashamed” of the place. Ashamed of everything he’s done. It was all unnecessary. Design is dead. Thanks to the FBvian who points us to the story.

Re: Did Jim Bowles “Split His Britches” Or Not?

As I was typing that, an FBvian was sending me a link to this story in the DMN about the runoff. The dust-up at the meeting is covered. Kinda buried the lead, though, guys.