In 1977, it was hot in Dallas. Really hot. So hot, that we couldn’t believe how hot. So we decided to see how hot it was in cities situated like ours around the world. Dallas sits at a latitude of 32 47N, and the cities closest to us on the parallel are Charleston, Tijuana, Casablanca, and Nanking. Since there’s been some talk about how hot Dallas is again this summer, I thought you might like a little report.
Charleston will hit around 90 with high humidity (of course). Tijuana is in the 80s for the rest of the week, perhaps to be heated up by occasional gunfire. Casablanca is 84 right now, and the forecast looks to be about perfect. Nanking will wander up into the high 90s early next week. So, to sum up, everywhere else is great, and Dallas is not. So at around 4 pm today, when it hits 99 degrees, you can officially start complaining.
This information, of course, took only seconds to gather. In 1977, it was a little more difficult. That year’s recap after the jump: (more…)
1. Exxon Mobil’s second quarter earnings rose 14 percent to $11.68 billion, setting a record for biggest quarterly profit by a U.S. company. In a related story, I just applied for a job at Exxon Mobil.
2. Imagination Station, the daycare center in Denton that allowed a 5-year-old boy to wander off to Hooters, was officially shut down by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. They kind of had to see that coming. Though I guess they don’t have a good track record of seeing things coming and going.
3. I’m pretty sure, if I were forced to resign while facing disciplinary action, I wouldn’t be leaving with half a year’s salary. So well played, Ann Lott.
From the Carrollton Leader Star :
“The Dallas area is the epicenter of rock climbing in the United States…”
The U.S. Gubmint filed suit today, claiming Eleanor Mowery Sheets and her husband Nicky Sheets together owe about $1.6 million in unpaid taxes. Read the filing, if you’re interested. Can’t imagine why you’d be, though. Unless you’re a low-life voyeur. Shame on you.
Update: Combing through the document, I’m now realizing that a D Magazine article plays a role in the suit. And the government accuses the couple of establishing a sham trust to protect their assets. (You’re a low-life voyeur. I’m a journalist.)
In a Newsweek article about where the Bushes will live in Dallas, the magazine points to DallasDirt and a post from our very own Candy. Nice.
American just can’t catch a break. An alert FBvian points us to news about a soldier flying out of El Paso. He was headed for training, then deployment to Iraq. American charged him $100 for his extra bag. AA has a policy that allows military to fly with more bags than civilians (to accommodate all their fighting gear), but still. If you’re AA brass, you don’t want to see this quote from Staff Sgt. Ashley Serrano:
“I have flown Southwest, Continental, and when they saw me in uniform, they didn’t even ask. I flew American a couple of times before, but I never had this problem.”
A science-promoting FrontBurnervian who read my item this morning passes along the following tip: clowns and jugglers from Ringling Bros. will be at the Museum of Nature & Science at 1:30 p.m. on August 7 to present a show free and open to the public so children can explore the Science of the Circus. No word whether nudity will be involved.
I couldn’t care less what kind of venues my beloved congressman chooses for his fund-raising parties. After all, he’s a grown man. The question that popped into my head was, why is a Dallas congressman hosting major fund-raising events in Las Vegas? So I called his Washington office and asked for a list of those who attended. After much hemming and hawing, this is what I got in response:
“PETE PAC follows the letter and spirit of the law by filing expenses, contributors, and contributions to candidates each month with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Congressman Sessions is proud to have one of the most efficient Leadership PACs in Congress, giving out more than $1.6 million to Republican candidates since 2001.”
So I went here to try to get the attendees. No such luck, but suddenly the Las Vegas connnection started getting more interesting. For example, there’s self-described “professional poker player” Howard Lederer and his wife Susan with a combined donation of $10,000. Andrew Bloch, another “professional poker player,” gave $4,000. Doyle Brunson tossed some more chips on the table with another $4,000. Barry Shulman was in for $2,000, and Linda Johnson matched up to $500.
Now I’m sure all these Las Vegas residents are perfectly respectable citizens, and I for one am glad to see them engaged in the political process. But why did they choose a Dallas congressman as the vessel of their civic participation? Simple. Go to the the congressman’s statement on proposed UIGEA regulations issued on April 2, 2008. Then note that this year’s Vegas cash started flowing on April 7, 2008. Seems like Nevada has bought itself an extra congressman.
First, there was FrontBurner. Then, D Home got in on it. Not long ago, we cooked up SideDish (which was actually the original FrontBurner, but that’s a different story), and we gave rise to DallasDirt. But where oh where would an online D-reading fan go for inside scoop on style, fashion, beauty tips, and more? If you like reading such things with your eyes, you’ll want to bookmark ShopTalk, the newest sibling in the D Blog family.
That brings our total to six, when you count People Newspapers’ Overheard. Watch out, NYTimes, with your 61 blogs. DMN, your 32 is within reach.
In the just-out August issue of the “print product,” we spilled some gossip about Channel 5 anchor Mike Snyder and took at stab at handicapping his replacement. Comes news this morning that the station has a new honcho by the name of Thomas Ehlmann. Uncle Barky suggests how Ehlmann might reinvigorate his newsroom. Conspicuously absent from Barky’s recommendations is the obvious one we made: Jessica Simpson behind the anchor desk.
If you’re a teenager or a nerd (and especially if you’re both) you are familiar with G4’s Attack of the Show. (If you aren’t either, you should still check it out just for the wondrousness that is co-host Olivia Munn.) Tonight, AOTS welcomes Mark Cuban to talk about HDNet and his blog. Expect a fair amount of geekery, zero sports talk, and the occasional instance of Cuban doing that thing where he doesn’t turn his head to look at the interviewer but instead just sorta tilts it and looks out of the corners of his eyes.
Seems to be the topic of the day. Oh, and Sushi on McKinney closed.