Articles for April, 2009
Leading Off (4/15/09)
1. There ain’t no party like a Dallas Tax Day Tea Party, ’cause a Dallas Tax Day Tea Party don’t stop. Feh, doesn’t quite have the ring of the Coolio original, but if you’re looking to get your protest on, head to City Hall at 5 p.m. When you see the Wylys, say hi.
2. Many SMU students yesterday missed classes so they could catch a glimpse of George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and other Bush buddies who were having a meeting on the campus presumably to discuss plans for the presidential library. [insert joke about how he's already making a negative impact on the school's academic life]
3. You know what’s unfortunate? When you’re sitting in a coffee shop, doing actual job-related work, googling around to see if there’s a way you can freshen up yesterday’s news that Jessica Simpson’s label dropped her, and suddenly your computer screen is filled with very personal pictures of Simpson that were just posted on this Danish website. (Please be careful if you follow that link and you’re at work. In fact, you know what? Don’t even follow that link if you’re at your house. It’s gross. Also, if that site isn’t Danish, forgive me. I can’t look at it long enough to figure out exactly what strain of Nordic it really is.)
Whither the SEC’s Investigation Into Those Crafty Wyly Bros.?
Tax day is nigh upon us. The occasion got me thinking about that SEC investigation into the allegedly screwy tax havens used by Sam and Charles Wyly. Seems that story has gone quiet lately, no? Which is surprising, given that just about a month ago, when Sen. Carl Levin introduced the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, he spent a good bit of time going over the Wylys’ tricky financial maneuvers. And here is where I am duty-bound to say: IJS.
Dallas Theater Center Announces Lineup for Inaugural Season at Wyly
For the full release, jump. But I like the sound of these two:
It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman June 18 – July 25: “In this major “revisal,” the comic book-based musical has a hip new script by the ingenious young playwright and comic book writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. There will be nothing mild-mannered about this high-voltage revival, when Superman flies in to help Clark Kent and Lois Lane face off against a team of super villains. With singing, dancing, colorful sets and costumes, and a tuneful Broadway score, Superman will be an uplifting end to DTC’s 51st season.”
Give It Up! Jan. 15 – Feb. 14: “It’s Lysistrata meets High School Musical as Give it Up! gives Aristophanes’ 2,000-year-old groundbreaker a hilarious contemporary spin.”
Special Note to My Co-Workers
Dear Co-Workers:
It has come to my attention that the voice-over I do every month for our ads on NBC Channel 5 is not universally appreciated. Specifically, the tagline I’ve been using — “D Magazine: doing Dallas since 1974″ — has apparently offended the sensibilities of some in the office. I apologize for that.
I’ve written a new tagline that I’ll begin using in the spots that promote the June issue. Here it is: “D Magazine: read as a baboon’s bottom.” It’s a play on words, because our logo is red, which is also the past tense of the verb “to read.” I thought about going with “baboon’s ass,” but I think everyone will agree that “bottom” is funnier.
Cheers,
Tim
Hear the Obamas’ New Dog on the Ticket
The DMN has on its front page today a story about Bo the Portuguese water dog. Bo is from Boyd, Texas. You know who else hails from Boyd? If you miss Greggo …
Belo Struggles on the TV Side, Too
An alert FBvian points us to this Bloomberg story about Belo’s travails in the broadcasting business. Problem is, Belo’s creditors (to the tune of about $1.09 billion) require that the company maintains a certain leverage ratio. But as its cash flow declines, Belo finds itself in danger of violating covenants it has made with those creditors. Let’s just put it this way: if you’re a Dealey heir, both hands had best be holding your hat.
Man Loses Senses In Greenville Parking Lot
Superficiality Alert: OK, I know the outfit D Magazine has W in on its April cover is supposed to be a vaguely “Park Cities” look. But I didn’t know people really dressed like that until spotting this guy with his wife or girlfriend the other day in the Central Market parking lot off Greenville. He was wearing flip-flops, lime-green slacks, a pink long-sleeved button-down shirt and–the coup de grace–a pink sweater that was actually tied around his shoulders. I could have proved he was wearing this, but didn’t have a camera handy.
Bill Turns 65
You know where I’d be this Friday afternoon if I were cool? I’d be at Bill’s birthday party. Zac, you’re a hipster. Can I just follow your Twitter feed on Friday?
Wall Street Journal Looks at Tom Hicks’ Finances
This isn’t really news. Tom Hicks first spoke to our own Evan Grant about why he was defaulting on some of his loans. But seeing it all laid out in the WSJ (sub only) just makes Hicks’ position look terribly uncomfortable. He missed a $10 million interest payment on March 31. Now he’s working with dozens of investors and financial institutions to change the terms of $525 million in debt. If he can’t work things out, it’s possible that he’ll lose control of the Rangers and Stars. But the sports business doesn’t have his undivided attention, as he’s still trying to close a $3.2 billion deal to acquire a majority stake in plastic-container company Graham Packaging Holdings from the Blackstone Group. Oh, and don’t forget the money he borrowed to buy Liverpool. Hicks has a $400 million loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland that’s due in July.
Certainly Hicks has made some sports decisions that haven’t worked out (I’m looking at you, A-Rod). But even Hicks’ biggest detractors must see that having a bunch of banks in control of the teams would not be a positive development.
Leading Off (4/14/09)
1. It’s not just Dallas trying to get the College Football Hall of Fame to relocate here from South Bend, Indiana. Arlington is offering its own pitch, which I imagine goes like this: “Hey, we’ve got Six Flags, the ballpark, the new Cowboys stadium — what’s one more huge parking lot off I-30?” (Bonus opinion: As Tim noted, the reason no one goes to the CFHoF is not because it’s in South Bend. It’s because even college football fans like me don’t care. What, I want to read about how a bunch of Heisman Trophy winners dominated their sport before failing in the NFL? Really?)
2. TCU has decided to put on hold its plans to offer housing to gay students and their supporters, quite probably because of the negative reaction the decision sparked, and possibly because fraternities worried they would no longer throw the best parties on campus.
3. Police think they may have apprehended the M Streets carjacker after another jacking at Mockingbird and Abrams on Monday. Now I can finally start going to Curves again.
The Von Erichs’ WWE Hall of Fame Induction
In case you missed it, and I did because I don’t watch much wrestling anymore, here you can find footage of the legendary (and legendarily tragic) Von Erich family being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during Wrestlemania 25. And here’s a taste before you hit that link:
Thanks to the kind FBvian for the linkage.
So, the DMN “Investigates,” But the Observer “Dredges Up”? Got It.
I don’t know what Tim is talking about regarding Twittering killing FrontBurner. Look at the substantive media criticism I’m about to drop on you.
Hey, DMN, re: “shakedown” story — why it diff when you look at past probs tween Allengrp guy&JWP, but it “dredging” when DO do it? WTF, mates?
Dallas to Steal College Football Hall of Fame?
You know what to me sounds desperate? When you say that we need a convention center hotel in order to lure the College Football Hall of Fame out of South Bend, Indiana (full release after the jump). Three things: 1) I spent four years in South Bend. It shouldn’t be hard to lure anything that doesn’t have an “ND” on it out of that city. 2) In my four years there, I didn’t once visit the CFHF. Nor did a single visitor of my acquaintance inquire about it. And 3) really? That’s why we need a convention center hotel?
Will Twitter Kill FrontBurner?
Careful, long-suffering readers of FrontBurner have probably noticed a subtle shift here in recent weeks. As Twitter has come into its own, we’ve all fired up our accounts and gotten to twittering. Because, you know, everyone else is doing it, so it must be cool. Some of the material we heretofore would have put on FrontBurner is now winding up on Twitter.
On opening day, for instance, I twittered like a madman from my seat at the ballpark. A year ago, I would have subjected FrontBurner to all my trenchant baseball analysis and artful iPhone photography. But Twitter just seems a medium better-suited to such “Hey, here’s something real quick” communication. Its iPhone interface (Tweetie) is certainly easier to navigate than the one we use to post on FrontBurner (WordPress).
FrontBurner has always been a mix of the high (arguments about the Trinity project) and low (shirtless pics of Eric). To my mind, that’s been part of its charm. If the latter largely migrates to our Twitter feeds, will FrontBurner suffer? Or will the change actually improve it? More important, how the heck are we gonna make money doing any of this?
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