Salon Owner Recovering From Great Flood

Good thing owner Jean-Philippe of the Jean-Philippe Salon is so good-humored and patient. Otherwise he might be ready to kill something today, 10 days after a third-floor toilet at The Pavilion shopping center on Lovers Lane overflowed and flooded his first-floor salon there. After closing for a day a week ago Monday, the Belgian-born haircutter is back in business–sort of. Much of his ceiling’s ripped out, rendering a third of the shop unusable, and gargantuan fans continue to roar all night, trying to dry the place out. Meantime the Pavilion management is promising all will be fixed soon, and Jean-Philippe hasn’t lost his humor. “I was baptized–and flushed,” he says with a grin. “But luckily they didn’t s*** on us.”

Dallas Observer Bigwig Apologizes For His Streetness

I’ve known Mike Lacey for a while. (He co-owns Village Voice Media, which owns the DO.) I always loved working for him, even when he was furious at me. (He once called me up, screaming about a story I wrote, since I quoted someone whom Lacey had once bought ought. “He never made a dime I didn’t put in his pocket!” Lacey screamed. I pointed out that, who better to comment on Mike Lacey’s business dealings, then, than said person? He was still ticked, but he let the story run, as he always did.) I guess, though, I’m glad I never became REALLY close personal friends with him. Otherwise I might find my name in this story, the one where Lacey apologizes for calling one of his buddies “My n-[rest of word redacted]” at a press awards banquet. Um, murmur?

Bruce Bartlett On Taxes

He’s an intellectual hero of the conservative movement, a stalwart of the Reagan White House, coiner of the word “Reagonomics,” and author of Imposter: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy. He emails:

I’m glad to see that a few conservatives other than myself are admitting that Bush’s policies are eventually going to necessitate a major tax increase. As you probably know, I have been saying this for five years and all it did was get me fired from my job and treated like a pariah by most conservative institutions in this country.

Such is the price of truth-telling when an idea fixe becomes the only standard of a political party, facts and history be damned. It’s sort of like being an anti-abortion Democrat. Bruce, I’m going to buy a copy of your book and send it to Kay Bailey Hutchison. I may even buy a copy for Trey.

Happy Opening Day: A Really Live Blog

OK, I just got back to my seat after standing down on the field as the players were announced. Michael Young totally winked at me. I have tons of video which we will edit later. For now, I am going to hang around and make some observations on today’s game. Of course, they’ll all be after the jump.

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Cheap And Not-So-Cheap Homes For Sale

If you’re interested in a bargain, here’s Countrywide’s listing of real estate it’s foreclosed on nationwide. Alas, the pickings in Dallas are small, which is reflective of the strength of our real estate market. There’s one good one, though: 6326 Lakehurst in North Dallas, listed at $2,637,900. Although DCAD appraises it only at $2405,970, it does come with a lovely $51,579.53 in estimated annual taxes. Go ahead and make ‘em an offer. They may take it.

Re: FrontBurner Madness

Leigh Covert (aka Whoopi Goldberg) sends word to the FB Nation:

What can I say? I’m honored to receive this prestigious award, and I’m pretty excited to see what $200 worth of meat looks like. A throat yogurt joke would probably fit in nicely here — but I’m going to pretend to be too mature for that.

Rangers Home Opener: The Live Blog!

Wherein I get paid to watch a game on the Internet. Go New Economy! Jump for it, hat-holders:

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Happy Opening Day

Ahoy, FrontBurnervian Baseball Fans! I am sitting front row in the press box at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington with all my baseball-writing friends at the DMN. Columnist Kevin Sherrington was nice enough to give me his seat. Then I discovered why. The sun is shining directly into my face and I can’t see my computer screen. I’m here to video broadcaster Eric Nadel (pictured) when he throws out the first pitch to open the season. Gotta go. Back later. Go Rangers.

Oak Cliff Is Doing Just Fine, Thank You

This week’s editorial in Oak Cliff People begins with an acknowledgement of the outside world’s perception:

On some days, when you wake up and check the Morning News, Oak Cliff seems to match its dubious reputation. For example, we’re happy if we find our cars unburned in the driveway. It’s a good spring night in the OC when you can leave the windows open for the cool air and not be awakened by gunshots.

It then goes on to describe what life in Oak Cliff is really like. Nice read.

Re: Last Word on Tax Cuts

Wick, I agree with your strategery in theory — raise personal income tax rates to 70 percent, pay off the $3 trillion war debt, and then watch the country rise up in a fiscally conservative revolution in four years, wherein tax rates and spending will be cut by 80 or 90 percent and tax collectors get tarred and feathered. But the reality is the two parties will spend it on socializing medicine, another pointless war, or maybe both. I just don’t think you can help Lindsay Lohan by giving her even more cash for bar tabs.

That said, the listing of “stable and prosperous” nations as ranked by Jane’s is fatally flawed. According to this report (see last paragraph), the United States ranks 22nd 24th because of “the ‘porosity’ of American borders and the prevalence of guns.” I’m sorry, but I tend to think the porosity of the borders is a plus, and that there’s a name for the kind of stability that comes from disarming free people.

Smarter folks than me make an argument on this in today’s WSJ.

Last Word On Tax Cuts, I Promise

To say that ”we’re taxed plenty enough, good and hard” (per Trey) is an assertion, not an argument. Let’s try to see if the assertion proves out. A comparison of personal tax rates by country is notoriously difficult because of all the different tiers. Therefore I go to this comparison of personal taxes as a percentage of GNP, which is measurable.  Then I go to this recent listing of the world’s most stable and prosperous countries. If the objective is to have a stable and prosperous country, and not a bankrupt one, then the assertion falls flat. (Senator Hutchison, take note.)

Ritz-Carlton Hampers V-Ball Watching

Years ago, when the AVP tour came to town, truckloads of sand would turn the vacant lot just south of The Crescent into an oceanless beach. How cool it was to watch some 2-on-2 volleyball action with downtown Dallas in the distance. But, like I said, that was years ago. Where does the AVP make their Dallas stop these days? Where else: Arlington.

TXU Hasn’t Quite Gotten The Hang Of E-Commerce

I pay most of my bills online. I receive many of my monthly bills online. One of those comes from TXU. But every month I still receive a paper invoice from TXU, which, paradoxically, reads “E-Bill Statement.” But it’s not an e-bill, it’s on paper. It’s as if TXU can’t quite believe that those digitally bits it sends over the Internets actually reaches real people with real bank accounts. So it wastes a lot of money sending out paper statements just to make sure. Cute. Except that I wonder just how much that adds to my electric bill.

Rangers Home Opener … Yum

Oh, would that I were headed to the Ballpark in Arlington for this afternoon’s game. Makes me hungry just thinking about it. My top three concession-stand finds (excluding beer, natch): jalapeno bagel dog (though every year I wonder if it’ll be available), onion garlic fries with Old Bay seasoning (dunno why I said “onion.” Hunger pangs, I guess), then the catfish basket.

Commenters, your turn.

Update: Glad to see the commenters have carried on the discussion. A coupla points: 1. I can’t say with certainty that there will be bagel dogs. I wasn’t able to find ‘em last season. 2. The garlic fries are at the concession stand nearest the right foul pole. At least, that’s where they were last time I checked. Go, Rangers.

FrontBurner Madness: Final Results

Thanks to all who participated in our little pool. But this isn’t third grade. You don’t get anything for participating. Congratulations to Whoopi Goldberg, who wins the $200 gift certificate to Texas de Brazil. Whoopi, please send me an e-mail, and we’ll make arrangements to get the certificate to you. (Side note: congratulations also go out to Sarah Eveans, who won the D Magazine office pool. It probably won’t come as a huge surprise when I tell you she hails from Kansas.)

Local Company Provides Excuse To Link To Sweet Trailer

It is my understanding that 7-Eleven customers and fans can get their hands around Iron Man this month in advance of Paramount Pictures’ new movie release in theaters May 2. In addition, I have been told that, to support this motion picture promotion, 7-Eleven® stores in the U.S. are offering cool, 3-D 22-oz collectible Slurpee® cups and special straws with detachable miniature figures of Iron Man and his nemesis Iron Monger. You may be interested to know that The Iron Monger cup includes 24 actual frames from the Iron Man movie to create action-packed graphics—something never done before. As well, Amp Energy Freeze is the new Slurpee flavor highlighting the much anticipated film, courtesy Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment. Participating 7-Eleven stores also feature this month a life-size, 6-foot-4 standee of Iron Man. And, I may have taken all that from a press e-mail just so I could link to this new Iron Man trailer, because, let’s face it, if you aren’t pumped to see this movie, you don’t have a set.

This Bud’s For You, Officer

You decide which is worst: Passed out in a squad car. In an intersection. In Burleson.

Leading Off

1. The Republican and Democratic primary runoffs are today, which has Wick’s political pants in a slight bunch. (For my frame of reference, I like to think of it as a supplemental draft–no Troy Aikman’s, but you can grab a Steve Walsh here and there.) The race for Crazy Sheriff is the highlight.

2. A Plano tax preparer who is currently under arrest on charges of a 2005 rape may be linked to nearly 20 sexual assaults throughout the area. DNA has linked him to at least seven cases, which seems like conclusive scientific evidence, but there’s always a chance the jury could be full of proponents of Intelligent Design.

3. It’s the home opener for YOUR Texas Rangers, and, thankfully, there’s construction on I-30! To celebrate this event, it appears the Morning News asked the team’s All-Star shortstop to pen this story about, uh, the home opener.