Rep. Dan Branch Needs to Have His Keys Taken Away

The photo you see below of Rep. Dan Branch’s car was taken by an alert, iPhone-wielding FrontBurnervian at Love Field. The Mercedes is clearly parked on Level 3, Row E — but it is also clearly NOT parked in a parking spot. The photo raises two questions: 1) Seriously, dude? 2) Why hasn’t it been towed yet?

Spa Week Starts Today

Kick-start your summer skin care with a luxe facial for half the price. More than a dozen Dallas Spas (including Aqua Medical Spa, The Cooper Spa, Elizabeth Arden Red Door and The Spa at The Hotel Crescent Court) are taking part in Spa Week. Body scrubs, facials, massages, and more - normally priced at $100 and up - are just $50 today through Sunday. Go here for a complete list of participating spa’s. 

Re: Cougar Hunting

I’d like to add if you are a woman of a certain age (18-21) who likes to date men (17 to 20 years older) and you’d like to discuss this over email, the phone, cocktails, or breakfast, email your response and your pictures to treyg@dmagazine.com. (Re: the pictures — keep it classy, ladies.)

Cougar Hunting in Dallas: Talk to Me, Ladies

Going to see how well the Innerspace works in terms of finding sources. Okay, if you are a woman of a certain age (that means whatever you want it to mean) who likes to date younger men (seven to 15 years younger, or so), and you’d like to talk about this over e-mail, the phone, cocktails, or all of the above, please contact me at ericc@dmagazine.com. And let me know if I saw you Friday night at Martini Park. Cuz there were a lot of you out there. Meow.

Filmmakers: Moroney Wanted To See A ‘Treatment’

It’s no secret that the new documentary called Stop The Presses: The American Newspaper in Peril pretty well skewers Belo’s Dallas Morning News. Filmmakers Mark Birnbaum and Manny Mendoza (from left, with Ed Bark, at Saturday’s Uncle Barky Show at Stratos Greek Taverna) set out originally to examine the DMN buyouts, after all, before casting their nets much wider. But it was still interesting to hear the filmmakers describe this weekend how DMN bigwigs Robert Decherd and Jim Moroney III conducted themselves during the documentary’s making. Jump to find out.

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From ‘It Sucks’ To Worse: Experts Describe The Economy

Anybody who attended Saturday’s Dallas Business Hall of Fame gala hoping to hear some encouraging words about the economy pretty much had their world crushed. Jump to find out why. (more…)

Henry Stuart, R.I.P.

Henry Stuart, the man who founded Addison Airport in 1954 and served as a founding member of DFW, died Friday. He was 87. As a member of the DFW International Airport Board—a post he held for eight years, four as president—his tireless Texas-style sales and promotion talents brought in big business. In the early ’70s, the airport had only two international destinations: Montreal and Mexico City. Under Stuart’s tutelage, the board and staff got American Airlines to move its headquarters to DFW and increased international travel followed. He was also in love with all things French and was the president of the French-American Chamber of Commerce. He received from French President François Mitterrand the Cheviller, Ordre de Merite Nationale for his work promoting business trade between France and Dallas. He was an enthusiastic foodie and oenophile. In 1985, he and his wife, “Miss Marcia,” bought a 400-year-old chateau with a leaking roof near the small village of Razac de Saussignac on the edge of the Dordogne Valley and began producing wine. Chateau Fongrenier-Stuart is still going strong. On a personal note, I grew up just doors away from the Stuarts. Their children, Mickey, Sam, and Annie, were, and still are, great friends of mine. Our families spent many weekends at the Stuart’s cabin at Lake Tawakoni and it was there that I began my education in the finer things in life—Henry used to make baguettes and teach us about wine. We were 13. Last summer, I went to France with Paula Lambert to chronicle the cooking classes she teaches at La Combe in Perigord, which is only about 45-minutes from the Stuart’s estate. They drove over to La Combe and we cooked dinner for them. We served all of Henry’s favorites– foie gras, soufflés, and lemon tart. Monsieur Henri, natch, brought the wine. I sat between Marcia and Henry and we talked about old times. We all had tears in our eyes as they drove off. He was a one-of-a-kind human and he is already missed. Raise a glass of Bergerac in his honor. The funeral is Thursday at 2:00PM. Details to follow.

Update: Services for Henry Stuart will be held at the University Park United Methodist Church (Preston and Caruth) at 2:00 on Thursday.

Bruce Springsteen Rocks Dallas

He had me, once again, at “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.” It was the opening song played last night by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the AAC. Sad to say that the show was not a sell-out, but the geezers like us who showed up to rock, did so. Despite the kick-sass opening number, the Boss had to kick-start the geriatric crowd. It took him about 45 minutes to get people to loosen up. Hell, the once raucous sax man, Clarence Clemons, was a dreadlocked shadow of his former self. He stayed put in his front stage-right position all night. It was like somebody tied him to a post to hold him up. Mrs. Boss, singer Patti Scialfa, was a no-show. She had to fly back to New Jersey to take care of “a situation” with the couple’s teenage kids. Bruce said something about the neighbors reporting that the Springsteen kids were rolling kegs of beer down the driveway of their mansion. He shook his head and said that when you have teenage kids “it gives a whole new meaning to homeland security.”

Guess who showed up to sing “Glory Days”? One overly coiffed Jon Bon Jovi, who looked extremely nervous as he shared the microphone with his idol. As usual, the band shuffled the set list and played a mix of old (”American Land”) and new (”Radio Nowhere”). (Here is a copy of the handwritten set list.) He also brought “Dancing in the Dark” out of retirement when he spied a group of teenage girls from Fort Worth jumping around in the general admission area on the floor. I think some dancing teacher was pushing to get them onstage before the show (speculation here, it was loud) and it obviously worked. He pulled the whole group up for the dance number made famous by Courtney Cox back in the ’80s. It was cute — a fact that left Bruce shaking his head like “WTF am I turning into here? I have teenagers, not hot chicks, dancing in my show. Maybe I should just go home and count my money.” But I doubt he is capable of that. He will rock — and politicize — until he falls over.

Oh, today I feel so old. Yet so young and restless. And tired.

Blockbuster’s New Signs of Life

The movie rental dinosaur just might pull off that whole “reinvention/rebirth” thing after all. Blockbuster made an unsolicited bid for Circuit City. This, on top of the recent news of set-top boxes for direct movie downloads. Nice.

Leading Off

1. Prediction: I don’t think Devon Smith and his mom will be living where a tree fell on top of Devon for long. And I think their soon-to-be-former landlord will be paying for their new place.

2. Police find a body in a cab in Grand Prairie, the victim of a gunshot wound. And that’s where these two stories diverge.

3. Fort Worth is actually installing more red-light cameras, even though violations are down.