2009 January | FrontBurner

Articles for January, 2009

Leading Off (1/14/09)

1. If things go as planned, Rick’s Cabaret International will open the largest topless-and-bottomless joint in the state, right here in our fair town. The 25,000-square-foot XTC Cabaret will open on Stemmons, in the old Penthouse Key Club spot. On the record, City Manager Mary Suhm said, “It is not a distinction we have been pursuing.” Off the record, she said, “If it would bring in tax revenue, hell, I’d welcome a 25,000-square-foot Ikea-style Ron Jeremy super center.”

2. Three things I find highly suspect about the Playmaker’s tale that someone drew down on him: 1) that when Michael Irvin sees another car pull up to his at a stoplight at 9:30 in the p.m., Irvin will roll down his window if he thinks the guy in the other car wants to talk to him; 2) that Irvin can tell the difference, on sight, between a fully automatic weapon and a semi-automatic one; and 3) that when the alleged gun-toter recognized Irvin, he actually said, “Oh, that’s Michael Irvin, with the Dallas Cowboys.” (Like, you know: “Oh, that’s Barack Obama, with the United States government.”)

3. Bushgate.

Re: Should the DMN Be Twittering?

Earlier today, I posed that question. Thanks for the comments. Good stuff. But one of the comments in particular caught my eye. It came from DISD spokesman Jon Dahlander. Turns out, the question isn’t whether the DMN ought to Twitter; it’s why can’t the DMN write accurate headlines? I’ll let Dahlander explain (from the comments):

In this case, the initial headline that accompanied the story was wrong. That apparently caused the tweet to be wrong. There was not a job fair yesterday held by Dallas ISD. There was an information session for individuals who are interested in learning about how to become a teacher through the alternative certification process. There will be two more in February. … The headline and, correspondingly, the tweet both implied (”Hot after laying off…”) that the district was holding a job fair to hire 200 teachers right now. Wrong.

The headline has already been changed online to address the point Dahlander made. The same thing happened last month. The DMN wrote a sloppy headline and was forced to change it after the matter was brought to their attention. Last time, in a story about Michael Hinojosa’s performance review, they wrote in a headline that his contract wasn’t renewed. In fact, his contract wasn’t up for renewel, and he hadn’t even requested an extension.

Eric and Spider Monkey Storm the Capitol, Part 3

Now the updates are coming a little more expeditiously. First, another scene-setter:

Tons of folks wearing yellow roses on their lapels. Looks like the world’s worst prom up in this piece.

And now, something a bit more substantive:

One more: Rick Perry made some awkward mention of the A&M chopper going down at the beginning of his speech. It brought the room way down and was forced and unnecessary. On the plus side, I stole a stuffed mushroom from the Welcome Joe Straus buffet. Tasty!

After the jump, a shot of who Eric and Lavin will be hitting Sixth Street with tonight.

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Eric and Spider Monkey Storm the Capitol, Part 2

A short, photo- and Lavin-less update from Eric at the Lege:

Random observation: lots of hot legislative wives.

Flying Tree in Preston Center

Spotted just now outside the Baskin Robbins:

Eric and Spider Monkey Storm the Capitol

Just got this update from Eric, reporting in from the Texas House of Representatives, where he is working on a story for a future issue. With him, of course, is staff photographer Elizabeth “Spider Monkey” Lavin, since Eric refuses to leave our city’s borders without her riding shotgun. Says Eric:

It took spider monkey exactly 45 seconds to break House rules: “All media must stay outside brass rails.”

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Getting Face Dome Lift

I missed the 11 a.m. press conference today, announcing the lift and placement of the Noble Planetarium dome at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, but it doesn’t matter. Thanks to the FWMSAH site, I can watch a live feed of the construction project. (It appeals to my inner Maynard G. Krebs.) The 50-foot-diameter dome is 25-tons, which might very well be average size and weight or domes. The full release is after the jump, but I especially liked this part:

“[The planetarium] will feature the first Zeiss-manufactured hybrid planetarium system – immersive all-dome video combined with fiber optic dual-hemisphere star balls to see more than 8,000 stars.

Sounds cool.

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On D Other Blogs … (Jan. 13)

Haven’t had time to catch up on the D Empire’s blog offerings? Been waiting ever-so-patiently for me to do so? Okay. SideDish tells the tales of cheese tastings, broken hips (get well soon, Kent), and Chris Ward going sous vide. Candy at DallasDirt has been all over Bush Gate, as in, the gate the Bushes want on Daria Place, and (natch) some Eleanor Mowery Sheets news. ShopTalk is still abuzz about Golden Globes, the Octagon workout, and (sniffle) Tiecoon’s closing. D Home goes trend-hunting and comes up doily. And Overheard has word on a suspected group of juveniles using baseball bats without the expressed written consent of Major League Baseball on a bunch of parked cars in UP.

NPR To Grill Evans On Bush Scoop

Our own Candy Evans–aka Ms. DallasDirt–will be interviewed by national correspondent Wade Goodwyn on NPR’s “Morning Edition” show tomorrow morning sometime between 6 and 8. The topic of their exchange: how Candy broke the Bush house story. Goodwyn’s report in general will assess Texans’ feelings about the president as he prepares to return to Dallas.

Another Welcome Message for George W. Bush

Several news stories have mentioned the yard signs that have popped up in Preston Hollow welcoming George W. Bush back to Dallas. Here’s another such welcome message that I thought I’d pass along:

History Geek Alert: Who Is S.C. Dessaint And Who Took His House?

Every now and then, I like to visit archive.org, which is a sort of Internet time machine. It lets you look at previous versions of Web sites. And what’s even better, the site’s staff is making a concerted effort to post historical documents online. In this case, today I found this Souvenir of Dallas. It’s definitely worth a look, if you want to see Dallas pre-wrecking ball. I sure wouldn’t have wanted to be the one who demolished Dessaint’s spiky mansion (shown center) for fear of impalement at worst or tetanus at best. Still, it makes me sad to think that this city failed to preserve such amazing architecture (not that the new stuff isn’t all right). Meanwhile, the “Dallas News” building (on page 16) is nearly indistinguishable.

Should the DMN Be Twittering?

Or is the right word “tweeting”? In any case, here’s their Twitter feed. Yesterday came this ditty:

Hot after laying off 300 teacher DISD is … hosting a job fair looking for 200 teachers. http://tinyurl.com/9hdo9w Stay classy, DISD.

The URL points to the news story about the district’s job fair. In the story, the district’s spokesman, Jon Dahlander, explains what on the surface sounds like a situation that calls for a snarky comment like “Stay classy, DISD.” And, fine, maybe even after you’ve heard the explanation, you might still reach for your snark gun. But is this what the Dallas Morning News should be doing? The Twitter feed isn’t from an editorial columnist; it presumably speaks with the voice and authority of the entire paper.

We’re all trying to figure out how to use this zany internet. I’d argue the DMN isn’t doing itself any favors with this experiment.

Leading Off (01/13/09)

1. The 81st Legislature kicks off today with the vote of a new House speaker, $9.1 billion less to work with than it had in its budget two years ago, and me roaming its floors. It’s panic time, people.

2. The demand for some recycled goods is plummeting, and some cities are cutting back their recycling services as a result. Folks like Trey who hate the earth and have long ignored calls to protect our world are looking pretty darn smart about now.

3. County commissioners, taking a cue from John Wiley Price’s (correct) suggestion that abstinence programs don’t work, will vote today on whether county health workers should distribute free condoms in high-risk (for HIV) neighborhoods. Suggestion: make them part of a gift bag, with a nice bottle of petit syrah, a copy of Sinatra’s Songs for Young Lovers, and 4 ounces of Sex Panther.

A Tale Of Two W’s

In contrast to the near-hysterics of Jim Schutze in the current Observer, the Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes opines that Dallas’ newest resident got many things right during his eight years in the White House. Advantage: Barnes.

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