Articles for June, 2009
American Airlines Center Trying to Keep Up With the Joneses
Courtesy of Mark Cuban’s Twitter feed comes news of the American Airlines Center getting an A/V makeover this summer, resulting in the first and only HD video scoreboards in the NBA or NHL. Rather than clumsily reword it, here are the relevant deets:
During the Summer months of 2009, American Airlines Center is tripling the size of its scoreboards with new video boards capable of showing the live action in stunning high-definition. A total of six video scoreboards will be installed offering a mammoth 5,616 square feet of digital HD 1080 sights. Four 18’ X 30’ video scoreboards will be installed in the arena’s center display and two 24’ X 72’ video walls will be located in the North and South ends of the arena.
The AAC is also getting a fancy new speaker system. And contrary to what the headline says, this upgrade is happening because of the 2010 All-Star Weekend festivities. As far as you know.
We’re Now Accepting Nominations for the 10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas
Yes, beautiful means many things to many people. It could be hot chicks in bikinis, freshly spray tanned and hanging out at NYLO. Or it could be your charitable neighbor who single-handedly raised $100,000 for charity and takes in foster children. We’d like to think the 10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas are somewhere in the middle. Call it cliched, but we believe beauty is more than skin deep. So if you know someone who deserves this title, nominate her today. Here are the rules:
Contestants must be 21 years of age or older and must be residents of the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area. We are looking for candidates who exemplify values and integrity in line with the D Magazine reader. What does that mean? It means that special consideration will be given to candidates who give back to the community through regular charitable donations or community activism. This contest is not based solely on physical appearance. Let’s be honest: if you’ve got shark teeth and scars where they removed your vestigial gills, you probably won’t win our contest even if you’ve selflessly dedicated your entire life to working with wayward puppy dogs. All finalists must have compassion, charisma, intelligence, and respect for fellow man—in other words, inner beauty. And, of course, smoking-hot looks. That, too. The editors reserve the right to disqualify any candidates for unsavory behavior (vapid, vain, immoral, loose, unethical, etc.). Finalists will be chosen and contacted by the D editors. Online voting begins on August 3, 2009 at 9 am CST.
P.F. Chang’s Secret To Holding Margins
(During the next couple of days I’ll be posting items that caught my attention on the few days I had internet access. ) P.F. Chang’s has five locations in the Dallas area. Other chain restaurants have watched their business nosedive during the recession, but not Chang’s. The difference lies not in some grand strategy shift but in small, incremental improvements in efficiency, a process it learned by studying Japanese car manufacturers. Key paragraph:
…by focusing on process improvement rather than helter-skelter growth, it seems to be doing so again. Continuous improvement, the philosophy pioneered by Japanese companies such as Toyota in which managers and workers relentlessly seek out small modifications that add up to big profits, seems to be the recipe for success in 2009.
Welcome Back, Wick Allison
Let me be the first to extend a warm welcome to you, Wick. I’m so pleased that you’ve returned from your fishing trip Back East. Some things have changed here during your long absence. To get you back up to speed:
We no longer allow comments on FrontBurner. Mostly. The website was redesigned. Again. Paul Kix no longer works here. Nor does Brian Sweany. Adam McGill, Rod Davis, Jim Atkinson — they all left for one reason or the other while you were gone. The new Cowboys Stadium opened. The sound system is horrible. Jerry Jones now owns the team. He fired Tom Landry as the head coach. He’s dead. Crazy Ray also died. We voted to build the convention center hotel. The High Five was completed. Central Expressway was widened. Laura Miller is now a lobbyist for the coal industry. Al Lipscomb was convicted. We no longer elect city council members at large. Kennedy was assassinated. Also, a giant meteor crashed into the earth, causing a chain of events that eventually wiped out the dinosaurs. Finally, while you were away, Al Biernat launched a new light fare summer menu.
Again, welcome. We’re glad you’re back.
DISD Tops Newsweek’s 100 Best Public Schools
The TAG and Science/Engineering Magnets did it again, coming in #1 and #2, respectively, in the newsmagazine’s annual rankings, repeating their performance from 2007. But the real news in the ranking is Irving charter school North Hills Prep coming in at #9, which, considering its student body demographic, is an astonishing performance. (By comparison, Highland Park ranks at #23.)
Leading Off (6/9/09)
1. Norman Brinker died this morning while on vacation in Colorado Springs. He turned $10,000 and a small bank loan into a casual dining behemoth (Chili’s, On the Border, Maggiano’s), which is more than most people ever accomplish in their lives.
2. Cristal Taylor’s trial has been delayed, apparently. I think I speak for everyone when I say, thank God this is dragging out.
3. If you missed the Cindy Sheehan-led protest near the Bushes’ home yesterday, here’s a recap. And I’m sure there will be another one. Sorry, Feherty.
Cowboys New Stadium, Ctd.
Guess who was the only suspected drunk driver arrested leaving Saturday’s big deal at Cowboys Stadium? The guy who oversaw the stadium’s construction.
Cowboys New Stadium: Monday Morning Quarterback
I didn’t make it out to the stadium’s opening, but I’ve been fascinated by all the reviews. I particularly like the video reports at the Star-Telegram’s site (what up, BK?), and the chat going on now at the DMN’s site, where commenters can chime in on what was good and bad about the experience. My takeaways:
- Parking and traffic was bad, but better than the apocalypse we feared.
- The food was tasty, especially the nachos and BBQ sandwich.
- The stadium was impressive. The big screen was awesomely impressive.
- The sound system absolutely sucked the fun out of the evening for many.
- These girls (who sent their photo to the DMN’s blog) know how to take a picture.
A Half-Off Sale At Champ d’Or
There’s been an, er, interesting development in connection with Champ d’Or, the over-the-top Hickory Creek manse that was the subject of D CEO mag’s May/June cover story. According to DallasDirt’s Candy Evans, the hardest-working reporter in local real estate, the owners have just slashed the $65 million asking price by more than half and switched Realtors … again. When it gets down into the $150,000 range, let’s talk.
Open Letter to the Driver of the Aquamarine Chevy Astro Van/Awful Human Being Who Snuck Into a Funeral Procession So He Could Skip a Few Red Lights
I hope, when karma sneaks up on you like a ninja and delivers the payback you absolutely have coming to you, that you still think getting to your destination maybe 10 minutes sooner was worth it.
That said, thank you for helping me teach my son the proper etiquette to observe when in the presence of a funeral procession as well as the dictionary definition of “jerk.”
Your pal,
Zac
It’s Share And Share Alike For DFW TV Stations
The DMN and the Star-Telegram started doing it earlier this year. Now, hard times have forced local TV stations to begin sharing resources, too.
Deadline Approaches for Writer’s Garret Program
Here’s what I do to help people write better: when someone like, say, Eric turns in his copy, I find the most overwrought passages, the really purple stuff, and I read them aloud to the office in an exaggerated gay British accent. So far, the technique hasn’t done much to improve his work, but it makes me happy.
The Writer’s Garret takes a different approach. They’ve got a class that’s about to start. The registration deadline is June 15. It’s called CAMP, and I’ll let Joe Milazzo, a WG writer-in-residence, explain how it works:
CAMP (Community and Mentorship Project) is an innovative program that provides college or MFA-level study and links writers to community service. In lieu of formal enrollment in a creative writing program at a college or university, writers participate in a flexible, self-directed program of study, creation, and service. This permits writer-students with jobs, small children, or limited income to still pursue their literary studies. Besides giving writers the resources they need to hone their craft, CAMP also offers ample opportunities for both students and teachers to give back to the community: professional writers donate their time to teach fledgling writers (many of whom have gone on to publish books and win prestigious awards such as Pushcart Prizes and Mayborn Conference prizes); these student-writers in turn teach others what they have learned to “pay” for their study.
If you’re interested, you’ll find more info here.
Leading Off (06/08/09)
1. DISD cop Jeremy Liebbe–a man noted for his dedication to fighting the “cheese” problem–is in hot water for using force to get a confession from a kid about a recent robbery. The 22-year-old suspect is mentally retarded–and his parents say he operates on a sixth-grade level. So what, you say? Well, Liebbe ignored the kid’s request for counsel. Oh, and one more thing: Liebbe is accused of threatening the kid with a semi-automatic handgun during the interrogation. Liebbe strongly denies that.
2. The City Council is having to make some tough choices to make up for a $190-million budget deficit. One item that’s on the chopping block–a juvenile first-offender’s program–is tough to swallow. Since it began in 1974, the program has served hundreds of thousands of kids age 10 through 16. During the six-week course, police officers teach troubled minors about everything from health issues to ways to avoid trouble. And get this: according to the DMN article, “Statistics show that about 71 percent of the offenders stay in and complete the program. Of those, less than 10 percent reoffend.”
3. The folks over at Cowboys Stadium are assessing what went both right and wrong on Saturday at the George Strait/Reba McEntire concert. The problems were mainly minor–long concession lines, lack of hamburger buns, Strait giving a shout-out to Dallas rather than Arlington–and should be easily addressed in the next two weeks. Officials are less concerned about running out of beer during the next gig–the mighty Jonas Brothers–the thinking being that many parents will drop off their underage kids. I think they overestimate how many parents will actually drop off their tweens. I also think they underestimate how many beers it will take those parents to get through a Jonas Brothers show. Better step up the cabs.
People Who Hate Dallas, First in a Series: David Yearsley
David Yearsley, a Cornell University professor, is the latest in a long line of people who hate our city without ever really coming here to see if they actually hate it (and, by extension, us) or if they just think they do. Fortunately, someone gave him a forum:
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to hear a performance of Così fan tutte next year in the Dallas Opera’s inaugural season in their new house. But I can think of few worse things than making my way through the encircling blight to this Jerusalem of the Arts shining on the benighted concrete prairie.
His entire argument is built on press releases, a few clicks of Google Street View, and plenty of tired old saws (i.e. “big-haired ladies and their Stetson-topped men snooze more easily through Lohengrin after having driven in for the evening in their patriotic gas hogs”). In other words, a giant, steaming pile of B.S. There are legitimate points to make and arguments to have, but he’s too stuck up to bother with any of that.
Please never visit, sir.
(H/T: Unfair Park)
Leading Off (Ticket Scofflaws Item), Ctd.
An alert FBvian has noticed that Mack Hicks, Tom Hicks’ son, apparently owes Dallas County some cheddar, too (must be the daiquiri talking). One of his citations in 1997 was for illegal tint on his car window. One wonders what sort of lowrider young Mack had back in the day.
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