If You’re Going To Insult a Judge, Do It Right

OK, so I was in a courthouse today (not facing charges) when I happened upon the 2008 Dallas County Bench Book, a judge-authored directory of how-to-stay-out-of hot-water in courtrooms across the region. In it, I found North Texas U.S. District Judge Jerry Buchmeyer’s admonishment:

Judge Buchmeyer feels strongly that criticism of judges need not be trite and/or hackneyed (such as “the judge is stupid,” or “that ruling was asnine”). He expects criticisms that are creative and imaginative, like these:

… If a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, then Judge is living life on the edge.

… I don’t think they could really put Judge in a mental institution. But if he were already in, I don’t think they’d let him out.

… During trial, Judge did the work of three men: Moe … Larry … and Curly.

 Just the same, I’d leave federal judges alone. But that’s just me.

Carol Kent Accuses D Mag of Being Allyn & Co. Stooge

A few days ago, I put up a post about possible push polling in District 102, where Democrat Carol Kent is challenging Republican Tony Goolsby. (And I thought I put up a follow-up post, after I talked to Will Stovall in Kent’s office, but that post appears to have gotten lost in the ether.) Comes now a new release that says we’ve been used by Goolsby’s consultant, Allyn & Company, in the perpetration of “dirty tricks.” See for yourself:

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“That Guy” Stephen Tobolowsky Killed Off on Heroes; Doing Only Slightly Better in Real Life

Should I have left out the fate of Tobolowsky’s bad-guy Bob Bishop from the headline above? Maybe. But Heroes had its season premiere on MondayWednesday, and if you’re a fan, you’ve already seen it. Anyway, the SMU alum and Adam McGill’s potential BFF showed the kind of true grit you’d expect from a hard-working character actor with an IMDb page a mile long just by showing up to film his two short scenes. From Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello:

The reason Kristen Bell’s TV papa spent the entire episode (okay, two scenes) sitting in a chair was that his portrayer, Stephen Tobolowsky, broke his neck horse riding in Iceland. “He had to shoot all his scenes in the chair looking face forward,” whispers my Heroes tipster. “He took his neck brace off only when the cameras were rolling.”

Vote in the 2008 We Shot JR Awards

Probably should have mentioned this earlier — and seeing as how voting ends around 1 a.m. tomorrow morning, I should replace “probably” with “definitely” — but We Shot JR is once again taking the temperature of its corner of the local music scene. Vote your conscience after clicking on that link. And no, I’m not posting this because one of the categories is “How Old Were You When You Realized that D Magazine Actually Covers Local Music Better than the Dallas Observer.” (I realize that is likely more a dig at the DO rather than a big-up to us.) We’ve already told you why we love WSJR.

Free Wilco Song, Featuring a Band Coming to the Area on Friday, Ready for Your Years

The fact that Fleet Foxes are performing on Friday at Lola’s Saloon in Fort Worth is enough of a reason for me to mention that a Wilco cover of Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released,” featuring the aforementioned Fleet Foxes, has been made available for free download here. The only catch? You have to pledge to vote in the 2008 election. Not pledge to vote for McCain or Obama or Barr or Jeff Tweedy. Just pledge to vote. So it’s not completely free, I guess, but close enough.

Wick’s Obama Endorsement Finds Its Way Onto Yet Another Internet Outlet

Ever think you’d see Wick Allison and Woody Harrelson mentioned in the same sentence? Watch: Wick Allison’s Obama endorsement has been reprinted in full on Voice Yourself, a site founded by Woody Harrelson. Nice.

Pam From The Office Dates Dallas Writer (Not Me)

Jenna Fischer has revealed the name of her new beau. He is Lee Kirk, a writer who is originially from Dallas. Or so says People. Fanboys collectively sigh. As the article also points out, co-star Angela Kinsey is from Texas — went to Baylor with a friend of mine. And as I think I’ve pointed out before (namedrop alert) co-star Brian Baumgartner went to SMU and lived in Letterman Hall his first year there, as did a certain Dallas writer (that one is me).

Mike Herrera, R.I.P.

Mike Herrera, of the family behind the Herrera’s restaurants, died on Saturday at the age of 58. The final 19 hours of his life were spent in the waiting room of Parkland Memorial Hospital, and yet his family holds no grudge against the hospital. From Joe Simnacher’s well-written obituary:

Of the long wait, [brother] Jimmy Herrera also said: “In a sense, it’s the price you pay for not having private insurance.”

Autopsy results should be available in a month to six weeks.

Kathy Herrera said she hopes her brother-in-law’s death underscores the need for change at Parkland.

“They need to do something, they need to change their system,” she said. “If they had seen him sooner, this wouldn’t have happened to him. At least he would have had a chance.

“I’d like it to come out so that it doesn’t happen to someone else,” Ms. Herrera said.

Ask the FB Nation: What To Do About A Neighbor’s Noisy Dog

An exasperated FrontBurnervian wonders what to do about her noisy downstairs canine neighbor. She seeks the advice of the FB Nation. I imagine the FB Nation will give it.

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Re: Leading Off (The Quick Item)

I get the format switch from every weekday to weekly. And I get the concentrated distribution at apartments. But what I don’t get about the announcement is the two incidences of quotation marks: Briefing is described as a “‘quick-read’ newspaper,” and Quick will continue to have “expansive coverage.” Is it just me? Isn’t that a little weird? No one’s being quoted; no official statement is referenced. In fact, the announcement by staff reports (which is a whole ‘nother question mark that had Tim scratching his head just now) is the official statement. So why not get an official quote from Alison Draper or Jim Moroney? Heck, use one from the press release (which I’ve included after the jump). Is it just because “quick-read” and “expansive” are subjective terms that no one who contributed to the “staff report” felt comfortable with including without attribution?

It just struck me as “odd.”

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Mayor Leppert Tries to Block Convention Center Hotel Construction

At least that’s what the DMN headline said for a while. (And, yes, Trey Garrison has launched his own blog. Be very afraid.)

Jeff Pearlman, Author of Cowboys Bio Boys Will Be Boys, in Dallas Today

Specifically, Pearlman will be discussing and signing his great new biography of the early ’90s Dallas Cowboys dynasty at the SMU Barnes & Noble at 4 p.m. Caught two of Pearlman’s media stops this morning, on Fox’s Good Day and just a few minutes ago on the Dunham and Miller Show on The Ticket. During the latter, he introduced a radio-acceptable term for former defensive end Charles Haley’s favorite off-field activity: he liked to “manually manipulate a sack dance on himself.”

Leading Off (9/24/08)

1. The headline says it all: “Lewisville School Drops Charges Against Banana, Gorilla Prankster.” In all seriousness, there’s a lesson to be learned here for all future would-be banana and gorilla pranksters (such a great name for a band): don’t hop the fence. If you pay to get into the game, they can’t hit you with the more serious criminal trespass charges.

2. The Morning News has released its plans for Quick, which, in its new weekly frequency, will focus on entertainment and nightlife. My question: which columnist(s) will keep their gigs? If only one remains, it’s hard to imagine it being anyone other than Gordon Keith.

3. Here’s the flip side to all that preserved DNA evidence that has exonerated 19 men in Dallas County. Cops can also find guys guilty of rape who’ve never been charged. They’re looking at hundreds of old cases. Right now, they’ve found six guys they believe are guilty. Problem is, the statute of limitations has run out, so they can’t be charged.