Articles for July 13th, 2009

Kay Bailey Hutchison Officially Running, Ctd.

Eric, that $6.7 million was money recently raised. She already had $6 million in her Senatorial campaign account. So the lady starts with over $12 million in the bank. I may be struggling with my political pants, but I can count.

There was another bit of key news, btw. If I understand correctly, she will officially announce next month. That means she will resign. And that means the governor will appoint a new United States Senator. So Hutchison’s opponent will appoint Hutchison’s (temporary) replacement. This is getting fun. To hell with my political pants. I’m ready for this thing in my political underwear.

What Wrecking-Ball Blond Will Tony Romo Date Next?, Ctd.

Hall-of-Fame commenter Wes Mantooth one-ups me with this:

Zac, if ever a post deserved comment-ability, it’s one with an issue as serious as this.

However, your list somehow avoids country-music singing blondes, a subset of the fairer sex to which both of his most recent exes belong (even if Jessica’s album was dreck — but to me, that describes her entire oeuvre). Your list should be more along these lines:

Taylor Swift (once she becomes legal)
Kellie Pickler (so much humor to be found in that last name)
Kate and Kacey (twins! Blondes! Huzzah!)
Holly Williams (granddaughter of Hank!)
Miranda Lambert (maybe he does better on Lambert Field. Doh!)
LeAnn Rimes! (Local angle! Questionable on the blonde part though.)

My favorite choice though is Lady Gaga. Totally out of left field.

Mantooth, out.

Miss you, pal.

What Wrecking-Ball Blond is Next For Tony Romo?

Now that the Tony Romo/Jessica Simpson split is semi-official, the question becomes: What wrecking-ball blond will the Dallas Cowboys QB date next? Because this is happening, people. It’s a pattern, and it is unstoppable. He can’t help himself. Even if the female in question seems rock-solid, their relationship will inevitably derail the upcoming Cowboys season, so let’s all just get comfortable with it and start coming up with a portmanteau to assign to it. A list, off the top of my ever-graying head:

• Hayden Panettierre
• Paris Hilton
• Kate Hudson
• Tila Tequila
• Lindsay Lohan
• AnnaLynne McCord

Kay Bailey Hutchison Officially Running For Texas Governor (Sorta)

Bud Kennedy blogs the announcement of $6.7 million raised by her camp. Then she says, “I’m running.” Then she says the formal announcement won’t be until next month. Um, okay.

And, yes, that sound you hear is Wick struggling to get his political pants on. (He’s put on a few lbs since November.)

Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson Split, Ctd.

An alert FBvian points us to People magazine’s site, which is also now running the story. Geeze, first Billy Mays died. Now this.

Bad News On The Dallas Retail Front, Ctd.

While Dallas is indeed down 21.5%, as the Comptroller reported last week, a large refund from an audit bumped last year’s receipts for Dallas.  Not including last year’s bump, Dallas is down 5.9% — which is still bad but not nearly as bad in comparison to the other major cities in Texas.

Hurry! We’ve Got Tickets For a Trio of Shows at the Palladium Ballroom and The Loft

Courtesy of our friends at The Loft and the Palladium Ballroom, we have five pairs of tickets to each of the following shows:

Broken Social Scene (8/7) (UPDATE: sorry — all BSS tix are now spoken for)
Dungen/Woods (8/22) (UPDATE: and these are gone now, too)
• Fruit Bats (9/1)

I’m not going to break down each show like a fraction, but I will say I would probably go to all three. Anyway, here is the deal: send me an e-mail (with the subject line “thanks, economy”) listing your favorite un-ironic dance move and which show you’d like to go see. First come, first served.

Keller, Mansfield Make CNNMoney.com’s Best Places to Live List

They both make the top 25 of 100 towns listed. I don’t know much about Keller (No. 7), other than I like their hamburgers. Apparently it has “which boasts immaculate parks and a spanking-new town center,” which sounds sweet. Mansfield (No. 24), I hear from friends, is quite the rock and roll town. And the web site agrees:

It [Mansfield] hosts an annual art fair, music festival, and holiday parade; it’s also the home of the Hawaiian Falls water park and Big League Dreams ballpark.

(H/T: @budkennedy)

Extreme Makeover Builds a House, Ctd.

A question-asking FrontBurnervian checks in to ask this question:

While the situation is quite sad, they are seriously asking for donations to pay off the mortgage? What’s next — asking for donations to pay the taxes on the new house (since those will be a lot higher than the taxes now)?

The latter question, to me, has always been the quandary with a show like Extreme Makeover.

Connor Cruse, R.I.P.

The eight-year-old, whose four-year battle with cancer was a source of inspiration to so many, died at Children’s Medical on Friday. His funeral is tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Prestonwood Baptist Church. From the teamconnor website:

Connor endured over 220 nights in the hospital, more than 40 blood transfusions, about 2-dozen platelet transfusions, 25 rounds of chemo, 14 surgeries, two bone marrow transplants and countless procedures with visits to specialists in Boston, New York, Houston, Dallas and Guatemala. Yet he didn’t complain. He was a fighter to the very end. When he checked into Children’s Medical Center about 10 p.m. July 9, doctors said he had about two hours to live. Connor took his last mortal breath at 4:47 p.m. July 10, 2009.

Our condolences to a very special family.

Perez Hilton on Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson, Ctd.

Here, then, is the Perez Hilton story about Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo breaking up. It says, in part:

Sources reveal exclusively to PerezHilton.com that the couple are on the verge of a break-up!

On the verge of a break-up? Doesn’t that basically describe every relationship?

Perez Hilton Says Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson Have Hit Skids

Three tweets just made by Perez Hilton about J-Simp and Tony Romo:

I’m hearing loud “rumblings” of a major celebrity couple breakup! Looking into it.

And I’m talking B or C list! “Rumblings” are about Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo, though nothing confirmed yet. May be just rumors.

Oh, shiz! Getting more deets on Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo! It’s looking like it’s def true! Juicy info…coming up on the site!

So that’s pretty rock solid, right?

Zeus Comics is Producing a Web Series

If you follow Zeus Comics owner Richard Neal on Twitter, this isn’t news to you. For everyone else, the Lemmon Avenue comics shop — a favorite of all the current and former comics nerds in the office; hey, Todd and Trey! — has been busy readying a web series called The Variants. Two episodes have been filmed so far, and from the sound of it, expect something along the lines of The Office in a comic book store, with Neal and his employees playing versions of themselves. Nothing online just yet, but at least a teaser should be up by the time of Comic-Con International in San Diego later this month.

(Random note, and full disclosure: one of the guys behind the series is Joe Cucinotti, a local actor and — formerly — a radio DJ. He is also the brother of an ex-girlfriend of mine. He’s good people.)

Extreme Makeover To Build Home For Injured Dallas Police Officer, Ctd.

Yes, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is building a new crib for injured Dallas police officer Carlton Marshall and his family. But if you want to help out as well, Cheldan Homes has set up a fund to pay off the Marshall family’s current mortgage. Details follow.

(more…)

Plano West Grad Gets New York Times Clip

Susannah Jacob graduated Plano West Senior High. This fall, she’ll head to Austin to start college. Right now, I’m not sure how she’s spending her time. But earlier this summer she tried her hand at waitressing. And then she wrote about it in the New York Times Magazine.