Articles for July 7th, 2008
Rangers All-Star Milton Bradley: “I Feel Like I’ve Finally Arrived.”
Nice post on NYTimes blog from Milt about how proud he was to be named to the AL team, and to be an American. Not kidding. But the ‘Gers lose. Bummer.
Rod Dreher Hearts “Wall-E”
Money quote from his post this weekend:
I expected a quality kid’s movie… What I didn’t expect, what I wouldn’t in a million years have expected, is a Pixar film that embodies a traditionalist conservative critique of modernity, one that advocates a more or less Aristotelian view of humanity and politics. Philosophically, this is one of the most subversive movies I’ve ever seen.
A Happy Hour for Entrepreneurs and the Investors Who Love Them
It goes down tonight at the High Tech Bar, at the Infomart. I’ve got an idea for a space-age material that would make it possible to build, among other things, wad-free panties. See you there, Mr. Moneybags.
Tom Jenkins, R.I.P
The Dallas photographer died Sunday night of a heart attack. He did beautiful work for D Magazine, Art & Antiques, the DMA, the Nasher, and many others. I got to know Tom a little because we both had kids at Hexter Elementary. He did the photography every year for the White Rock Home Tour, and he was one of those dads — in his customary black jeans — that you could expect to see at every school function, pitching in to help. He’ll be missed. His boy now goes to the TAG magnet at Travis. Our thoughts are with him and his mother, Lisa.
D Magazine Gets Sued, Gives Plaintiffs the Heisman
The four men you see here have filed a lawsuit against D Magazine. They are, from left, David Kattner, Timothy Stecker, Jeffrey Nelson, and Al Schoelen.
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They claim we libeled them in our June 2007 issue, with a story about a rookie cop named Shanna Lopez who stumbled into a phony ticket scheme and got fired when she started asking questions about it. You can read their filing here. You can read our motion for summary judgment here.
If you don’t have the time or inclination to wade through all the reasons why our lawyer (Hi, Don Templin!) believes we didn’t libel the men, here’s the only thing you (and the judge) need to know: plaintiffs’ lawyers — David Schiller and John Exline — filed the suit May 30, 2008. We published the story May 23, 2007. The statute of limitations on libel is one year.
This close, guys. This close.
The Next Food Network Star: Episode 6
Tune in for this exciting adventure where a Girl Scout collides with a plate of couscous and Lisa Garza cries. And I call a time out.
Mike Snyder Needs to Blast His Abs
I’m a little late in coming to this, but a FrontBurnervian pointed me to Mike Snyder’s blog, whereon he says he’s going to try to lose 66 pounds in 66 days. When he started, he weighed an impressive 256 pounds. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that’s not going to happen unless Snyder gets himself a giardia infection. Eric, since you just won a well-publicized weight-loss bet, maybe you can help out Snyder. You and Zac have been working out together for a few weeks. Room for a threesome?
Dallasite of the Week: Bill Johnson
Probably only to me, and maybe the folks who come to Mr. Johnson for “hair design,” as his business card says. Last week I lost my driver’s license thanks to a combination of bustling traffic on McKinney, my refusal to carry an actual wallet, and my lifelong ability to throw a jinx on any situation. Bill Johnson found the aforementioned ID and, instead of assuming my identity and kicking my already feeble credit rating in the gut, mailed it back to me. This post is firmly in the land of navel-gazing, but I thought Bill deserved a shout out. So there it is. Good on ya, sir.
Another Payday For Perots
Hillwood Energy is among the sellers in this $1.3 billion Barnett Shale buyout.
Book I’m Looking Forward to Reading: Jeff Pearlman’s Boys Will Be Boys
Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch has an item about Jeff Pearlman’s forthcoming Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty in his always great Media Power Rankings column for SI.com. The book “chronicles the drug, ego, and sex-fueled Cowboys dynasty of the 1990s. The writer interviewed 146 players for the book, unearthing details such as Charles Haley’s fondness for exposing his genitals to teammates. It’s a delicious read.” But what really grabbed Deitsch’s attention, and mine, is this:
“Skip Bayless could have been one of the really great columnists,” former Dallas Morning News sports editor Dave Smith told Pearlman. “But as a columnist, if you are going to beat up on someone, it better be from your heart. You better feel that way. Skip attacked people for the sake of doing it. His gay take on Aikman was the most unfair thing in my 44 years as a journalist.”
That, my friends, is a burn.
Dwaine Caraway’s Crusade Continues
First it was saggy pants, now it’s ugly storefronts. Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway is doing the little things that make a big difference. (That slogan seems like decades ago, doesn’t it?) I like Caraway’s style. Here, a partial list of suggestions for Caraway’s next cause:
–Drivers who don’t signal.
–Loud talkers.
–People who leave dirty dishes in the sink, when, come on, the dishwasher is right there.
–People who say they’re busy and have to call you right back, but then never do and you wonder if everything’s okay and maybe you should call them back, but then you remember that you don’t like talking on the phone.
As I said, the list is partial. I’m sure you commenters can help.
Monday Morning Bluebird Talk
Greetings from the unofficial D office in East Texas where the blueberries and bluebirds are at the peak of their season. Early this morning, I opened the nesting box of my four bluebird chicks and monitored their progress for the last time. Noting the clarity of their eyes and wing development, it looks like they are preparing to leave the nest in the next day or two. At this point it’s critical to avoid scaring them or causing them to fall from their nest before they’re ready–we don’t want any premature fledging. Enjoy.
Where Does Tony Romo Live?
I used to know all kinds of trivia like this but my brain doesn’t absorb much of it anymore. So, for all you bright-eyed bushy tailed FrontBurnervians, I ask this reader’s question:
I believe I have seen Tony Romo jogging in HP a couple of times over the last several weeks. Since you seem to know a lot about everything, including athletes, I am wondering if you know if Tony lives in the Park Cities. His address is listed at a house close to the Cowboys practice facility in Irving, but the house is owned by an older couple and I am guessing he isn’t renting.
Me? Clueless. I could speculate but I don’t want to swim into Timmy’s water. (Gross.)
Leading Off (07/07/08)
1. Lester Leroy Bower, Jr., on death row for more than 20 years, has had his scheduled July 22 execution postponed. A judge is considering whether or not to examine DNA evidence that may prove his innocence in the murders of four people in a hangar in Sherman. The original case against him, it seems, was largely, if not wholly, circumstantial. Bower is philosophical about his chances. “I told my wife I put in my time and my last words will be: ‘I’m out of here. Adios, people.’” (Mine, if you were wondering: “Avenge me.”)
2. The definition of a slow news day headline: “Mother Nature turns up the heat on North Texas.” Looks like Rudy Bush was the last one in the DMN newsroom to say, “Not it!” In related news, Dave Levinthal just gave a fist bump to a jovial Inuit fella on Baffin Island.
3. I wanna say something. I’m gonna put it out there; if you like it, you can take it, if you don’t, send it right back: I hope these kids get to stay in America, and I don’t really care that they came here illegally.
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