Articles for May, 2009
Welcome To The Bandwagon: A Primer For Rangers Fans Returning To The Flock
If you are thinking, “Hey, the Rangers are in first place and that’s cool and all, but I haven’t followed them for years and I don’t want to dive back in the middle of a season without knowing what’s going on and I don’t want to have my heart broken again,” don’t worry. FrontBurner and InsideCorner are here for you. Well, we can’t do anything about the potential broken heart, but we can catch you up to date. All day long, we hope to be passing along little snippets on why the Rangers are worth watching this summer. And our loyal commenters (yes, they can comment over on IC), will hopefully help advance the conversation. The first installment is up and waiting for your perusal.
Leading Off (5/19/09)
1. As Angela Hunt warned us last week, the proposed cuts in the city budget are severe, hitting everything from the zoo to the libraries to about 350 city employees. My solution: charge Dallas women to watch The Bachelorette. Trust me, they’ll pay.
2. Dallas twins had two dads? I smell a new reality show! The, ahem, money quote:
Washington later admitted she had had an affair and got pregnant by two different men at the same time.
3. A “team of Egyptians from the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Cairo” flew into town to disassemble the King Tut exhibit at the DMA and transport it to its next stop in San Francisco. It will take 10 days to two weeks to do so. It requires “very educated hands” and is done in absolute secrecy. Why? Because I would imagine it looks something like this.
Rowboat Needed for Heist
Not really. I will be photographing our theater column for the next issue of our print product. Tim won’t let me use explosives, so Plan B involves a rowboat. If anyone out there can help me locate something that looks like this please email me, elizabethl@dmagazine.com. I plan on shooting Tuesday, May 26 at the Bath House.
DonorBridge Launches, Doubles Your Contribution to Charity
What is DonorBridge, you ask? According to the site, which officially fires up tomorrow:
DonorBridge is a dynamic new online resource that will make mutual connections between nonprofit organizations, donors and supporters. It will feature hundreds of straightforward profiles of Dallas-area nonprofit organizations. As a result, gathering reliable information, making charitable gifts and addressing community needs will become simpler.
Here’s what you need to know: on Tuesday and Wednesday, DonorBridge is looking to give $300,000 to Dallas charities in matching funds. On Tuesday, $100,000 in matching funds will be made available to the Communities Foundation of Texas and The Dallas Foundation — but the donations have to be made on that day. The following day, $200,000 in matching funds will be up for grabs, available to other local charities, with the limit set at $25,000 in matching funds for any one particular charity. Oh, and there will be a 5 percent charge tacked on to online donations made via credit, with the 5 percent going to the Communities Foundation of Texas.
Confused yet? Sort it all out at the DonorBridge site. Oh, and keep the Katy Trail in mind when you donate, as they’re the folks who alerted me to this two-day matching extravaganza.
Rick Perry Entry Found On Dickipedia
Noted blogger, commenter (sigh), and wordsmith Bethany alerts us to the genius of Dickipedia, and the entry on our illustrious governor. Sample quote from the bio:
Leathery and blow-dried, Perry easily lays claim to the title of “Most Bouffant U.S. Governor,” especially now that Rod Blagojevich has officially been barred from holding the office ever again.
American Airlines’ Website Gets a Hostile Makeover
Not an official one. Dustin Curtis redesigned AA.com on his own after, he says, having “the horrific displeasure of booking a flight” on the site.
If I was running a company with the distinction and history of American Airlines, I would be embarrassed — no ashamed — to have a website with a customer experience as terrible as the one you have now. How does your CEO, Gerard J. Arpey, justify treating customers this way? Why does your board of directors approve of this? Your website is abusive to your customers, it is limiting your revenue possibilities, and it is permanently destroying the brand and image of your company in the mind of every visitor.
Here’s his updated take on AA.com. (Thanks to the sassy FBvian for the heads-up.)
DMN Writers Terry Box, Bob Miller Put Deadlines Aside And Celebrate
Two big questions swirling around the business section at The Dallas Morning News have been cleared up now. The first–Is automotive writer Terry Box ever going to get married?–was answered with Terry’s marriage Saturday to longtime gal pal Janet Stallings. The second–When is columnist Bob Miller going to retire?–was also answered that day, when octogenerian Miller and his wife Shirley turned up at a reception for the Boxes (pictured here) at Bent Tree Country Club. Said Shirley: “My niece asked me, ‘When is Uncle Bob going to retire?’ And I told her, When they call me from The News and say, ‘Shirley, Bob can’t think anymore.’ And I say, ‘Bob who?’ “
Check Out BridalBuzz, Daily Advice for the Dallas Bride
Pardon the shameless plug, but I’m just pleased to announce that we’ve added a sixth blog to our lineup: BridalBuzz, the daily destination for Dallas wedding advice. Perhaps you’ve visited ShopTalk, where we used to post an item or two about the Dallas wedding scene. But now we’ve got a proper place to house our great advice for Dallas brides. Should you stop by, you’ll notice–as I’m sure you have today on FrontBurner–the new-and-improved top nav and snazzy blog logos. Hats off to Stephen Edmonson for that.
Dallas Firm Launches iPhone Reverse-Lookup App
If you’re a snooper — and who doesn’t like to snoop? — reverse-lookup technology is a handy tool to have. A Dallas firm called Accudata Technologies has just launched an iPhone app that makes reverse lookup simple. Just enter a mobile and land-based phone number, and it’ll tell you to whom it belongs (full release after the jump). Only downside is the cost: the iPrivus app costs $45.
Who Will Replace Mike Snyder?
Remember when we wondered who would replace Mike Snyder on Channel 5’s 10 p.m. newscast? Turns out we jumped the gun a little bit, as we tend to do. But now it really does look like Channel 5 is about to adios Snyder. I think our original speculation is still relevant — except of course for Megan Henderson, who did, indeed, go on to bigger and better.
The Only Time A Sex Ed Story Has Depressed Me
Enjoyed this well-written story about how the Richardson school district has updated its sex education film. (Must … resist … linking … to NSFW … videos.) That is, until I noted that its author is Jeffrey Weiss, the excellent former religion reporter at the DMN. You’ll recall that the paper has all but done away with its local religion reporting. Now, I love that a smart writer can give me an interesting story about a local school system, and I think local education reporting is important. But I also think I would much rather read JW’s thoughts on “Why Gay Is Ok.” (Must … resist … )
New Look to FrontBurner (And All D Magazine Sites)
As you can see, the great Stephen Edmondson has overhauled the look of our little corner of the web. Love to hear what you think of the change in comments.
Leading Off (5/18/09)
1. Were city officials being completely truthful when they said they did not have updated information on the convention center hotel’s financial viability? A letter sent to the attorney general suggests maybe not. The authors of the letter blame the whole mess on word choice. That’s usually my defense as well. I’m forever saying things like “done” when I mean “getting started,” or “great to see you again” when I mean “guuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”
2. Just want to put this out there for the record: starting a baseball-heavy sports blog the season the Texas Rangers might not break our hearts by June? Yeah, totally my idea. And it’s on the internet now, so it’s obviously 100-percent true. Also: I love Dr Pepper.
3. And finally, ladies and gentlemen, meet “Cheesus,” a Cheeto that kind of looks like Jesus. Maybe. At any rate, that’s enough of an opening to also introduce you to Pizzus — the Mozzarella Messiah, the Pepperoni Pontiff, etc. — a comedy pyramid that Don Cento and I scaled one night at the Double Wide. I may have had a few at that point.
John Tesar Leaves Fishtail by David Burke; Will Open New Restaurant in the Woodlands
Tesar is in Dallas today for Share Our Strength Taste of the Nation. In August he will be cooking at his own restaurant in the Woodlands, Texas.
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