Jaap van Zweden has been tapped — for the second time this season — to guest-conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This shows how highly he’s thought of outside of our fair town (not to say he doesn’t enjoy the same deserved rep here, btw). And while I’m thinking of it, D Home shot the Van Zwedens’ pad at the Ritz for the current issue. Check it out.
Since everyone could probably use a little levity while holding onto their hats or, unfortunately, trying to find a new rack for said hat, here’s a classic:
Would you eat the moon if it were made of barbecued spare ribs?
It’s a simple question, doctor.
This happened more than a week ago, and I’ve just been too caught up in stuff going on here [insert sound of 40s being poured] to post it. So, a quick recap is necessary. A think tank, the Brookings Institute, produced a study of big-city school districts that showed DISD was 2nd overall nationally in terms of academic gains in the past seven years. First, read this Associated Press account, which lays it out in a straightforward fashion:
DALLAS — Achievement test scores at big-city school districts in Texas still lag far behind their suburban and rural counterparts but they’re making great strides and narrowing the gap, according to a report by an education think tank released Wednesday. A study of 37 of the nation’s largest urban school systems by The Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., found that city schools are improving more than other school districts in their respective states. … It was designed to determine how big-city school districts fared when compared to their suburban and rural peers. The study was able to standardize scores between states, even those using different tests. … Dallas showed the biggest improvement among the large Texas cities, and was 2nd overall nationally. … In 2000, Dallas was outscored by 100 percent of the state’s school districts. By 2007, just 90 percent of suburban and rural districts did better than Dallas — a significant improvement given its demographics, the study’s author said.
Now, this is good news, right? Not great, because the district, as noted, still has a long way to go. But it suggests things are getting better. Is that your takeaway? Well, I don’t think it would be if you just read how the DMN covered it.
More than one FrontBurnervian has asked about our policy on moderating comments. So here goes:
The venerable Austin City Limits has sprouted an online offshoot called ACL Stage Left. They describe the venture as follows “[Stage Left's] mission is to find the very best, most unique, undiscovered or ready to be re-discovered, passionate music artists and provide them with a strong platform with which to make great art, turning their listeners and our viewers into life-long fans.” What does that mean for you? Local gal Sarah Jaffe performing on a stripped-down version of KLRU-TV’s iconic skyline stage. Here you go.
ACL STAGE LEFT – beta 01 (Sarah Jaffe) from dutch rall on Vimeo.
While I’m here talking about music, Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) appears with The National on SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers. She performs Crooked Fingers’ “Sleep All Summer.” The disc is packed with indie-rock heavyweights, both performing the cover versions (Bill Callahan, Bright Eyes, the New Pornographers) and being covered (Superchunk, Neutral Milk Hotel, Robert Pollard). It comes out on April 7.
I looked around and couldn’t find a New Yorker-related game (or at least one I could understand). So if you have any suggestions, hit up the comments.
(So we’re clear: This is/was Adam’s baby, and I don’t plan to continue it. Doesn’t feel right. But I thought doing it today was the right move. If you don’t have any game suggestions, feel free to reminisce about the solid time-wasting Mr. McGill introduced to your Fridays.)
1. Senator KBH fought against earmarks in the current spending bill, all while sponsoring $150 million in earmarks for Texas. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. We like getting money.
2. More than 70 eight-liners were seized in a raid of a Fort Worth gaming room. No word on whether the mother of a certain D Magazine editor was present.
3. Something tells me that the passengers on the two Southwest flights that bumped into each other (wing to tail) would describe it as something more scary than “a clip.” I’m canceling a flight just reading about it.
Money problems. Mike Hindman has the scoop.