Articles for January, 2009

Tony Romo Cheats on Jess?

This report on I Don’t Like You In That Way is just ugly rumormongering. You shouldn’t read it. You’re better than that.

Rage and Even Anger Over Plano ISD Layoffs

I’m so angry I could spit. Plano ISD is a total disaster. I mean, a $14 million budget deficit? This thing is so mismanaged that every member of the school board ought to quit. I don’t know who the superintendent is, but he is clearly incompetent. Okay, I just looked it up. Dr. Doug Otto is the superintendent. Unbelievable. And he’s white! Where’s the outrage from the black community?!

Okay, okay. But you get my point, right? It ain’t just Dallas ISD.

On a more serious note, the wife of one of my co-working FrontBurnervians is a librarian with the Plano ISD — the very group of workers who will take the brunt of the “reduction in force.” This is going to be tough on them and on everyone involved, both the people losing their jobs and those who have to make the determination about who goes and who stays. May everyone handle their roles as gracefully as possible. Good luck.

Icy Morning Time-Waster

I know it’s not Friday, but a FrontBurnervian just sent me The Bailout Game. I figure it’s too timely – and too fun – to wait for Adam to post on Friday. Plus, if you’re iced in at home (or the office), what else are you going to do?

Cold Front Brings Red-Winged Blackbirds

I picked the wrong day to leave my camera at the office–there are 350 Red-Winged Blackbirds in my backyard at this very moment. I have a drip running in my bird bath so it isn’t frozen. Remember to break the ice in your bath and feed your birds.

Ice, Ice Baby. Share Your Harrowing Tales.

My children are restless. The immense pressure of the ice — sheets of it, far as the eye can see — is bearing down upon our well-made ship, determined to bring her under. In the forecastle, I can hear the ice tearing at the ship’s hull. All that remains is to give the order to let down our fires and abandon ship.

Sorry. Channeling Shackleton again.

But here’s the thing: it doesn’t really matter much what condition the roads are in. Fact is, DISD (rightly, it seems) shut ‘er down today. So those of us with publicly educated ankle biters are stuck home, too. My kids have augmented their jammies with hats and gloves. They’re in the driveway eating ice. What’s your scene?

Leading Off (01/28/09): Sheet of Ice Edition

1. Ice on the roads, everything’s closed, DART is delayed, the Storm Troopers say stay home until 10,  … and we’re on deadline. Awesome.

2. Mayor Leppert’s aggressive deadline for completing the Trinity tollway by 2014 will probably be busted because, well, a lot of stuff can happen in the next five years, you know? Which is why you never give in to the tyranny of the deadline. You say, “We’ll finish the magazine by Friday-ish,” or, “Be home by 9-ish,” or, “We’ll have that road done by next decade-ish.”

3. In sportsy news: The News reports that the Cowboys are talking to Dan Reeves about being a team consultant, which confirms ESPN’s report of two days ago, and Mark Cuban says the Mavs would consider adding Stephon Marbury if the Knicks released him, which confirms what my sources have been telling me about how Zac Crain is about to put his head through a wall.

Work Begins On Woodall Rodgers Park

So says a highly placed source, who told me yesterday, and I’ve been too busy to post it. Also, was hoping for a picture of the utility construction workers doing, you know, utility construction work. But, ice storm. And day job. These things make blogging tough.

As you may recall, Woodall Rodgers Park is a 5.2-acre, $80 million deck park that will create an urban green space over the existing Woodall Rodgers Freeway between Pearl and St. Paul streets. It will provide connectivity to the city’s flourishing Arts District. That may or may not be straight from the press release. Also, if this appeared somewhere already, forget I wrote it.

Jenny the Elephant, Part 3,047

(Alt. Head: Lily Tomlin to Tom Leppert: “I Think You and I Are Destined to Do This Forever“)

If you were wondering, yes, Lily Tomlin is still fired up over Jenny the elephant.

(HT: FoF)

Laura Kostelny’s Weekly Bachelor Update

Here. Bach fans, don’t miss it.

Chef John Tesar Speaks

It’s really not all that interesting.

James Chippendale Is Everywhere

NBC5 recently profiled insurance CEO James Chippendale and included a teaser for future segments wherein Chippendale interviews athletes and celebrities. Chippendale is more than just a successful businessman, as close readers of D products know. The cancer survivor co-founded the Love Hope Strength Foundation, dedicated to building cancer-treatment centers all over the world. D CEO profiled him in July, and our site covered Chippendale’s Everest Rocks premiere. But another news item I missed: Chippendale’s insurance company was responsible for the three-day spectacle that was President Obama’s inauguration.

Pastor Ed Young Was On Stephen Colbert Last Night

The show. He was on Stephen Colbert’s show. Fellowship Church Pastor Ed Young, aka the pastor who challenged members of his church to have sex with their spouse every day for a whole week, was the guest on last night’s Colbert Report. Highly entertaining. If you missed it, you can watch the whole episode here. (Skip to the final third of the show for the interview.)

DMN Folds Looks

Had to happen — and it will, effective May 1. The freebie beauty magazine never really hit its stride. An internal memo yesterday announced that it will “combine” into F!D Luxe, the newspaper’s very successful fashion insert. The same memo said F!D Luxe will be reconfigured into an oversized magazine. (Why they are tampering with a proven formula on that one I don’t know. But we don’t make the news, we just report rumors of it.)

My, And Now Your, Weekend Bar Report

Hit some new places (new for me, anyway) this weekend. (I talk about the food in a little more detail on SideDish, where I also ask for comments on your favorite bar food.) The rundown:

  • Blue Collar Bar — The Location: catty-corner to Louie’s, so it has stiff competition. The Vibe: upscale dive. The Folks: bikers, East Dallas hipsters, hot girls with dark nails. The Good: Hawaiian chicken sandwich. The Better: $2 cans of PBR, Miller High Life, and Pearl Light. The One Gripe: wish it had news or sports on the TVs.
  • NSL (National Sports Lounge) — The Location: Former Red Jacket Spot, next to Snuffer’s. The Vibe: Fox Sports Grill + Hooters. The Folks: dudes. The Good: tasty chicken salad, $3 domestic draft, free wifi, four million flat-screen TVs. The Better: the skimpy referee/stripper waitress unis. The One Gripe: A skosh too loud.
  • Central 214 — The Location: in the Hotel Palomar, next to Exhale. The Vibe: low-key sophisticated. The Folks: middle-age couples, middle-aged singles, and biz travelers. The Good: the “Central Manhattan” cocktail, made with Woodford Reserve, and the mac and cheese, made with rigatoni. The Better: the bartender (forgot name; spikey hair guy) was fantastic: attentive but not overbearing, great suggestions, funny, and fast. The One Gripe: realizing I’m middle-aged.
  • PM Lounge — The Location: at (really next to) the Joule Hotel. The Vibe: [insert thumping dance beat here]. The Folks: rhymes with cartouches. The Good: that red couch was kind of fun to look at. The Better: leaving. The One Gripe: arriving.

Jess and Tony Join the Four Seasons

Mike Fisher has the scoop, along with the Four Seasons’ internal memo instructing employees how to conduct themselves when Jessica Simpson is in their presence.