2009 July | FrontBurner

Articles for July, 2009

While We’re On the Subject of Preventable Deaths

A friend-of-a-friend FBvian checks in with this:

To go along with your story about kids drowning, stating the obvious, preventable deaths… it also really infuriates me when people leave their dogs in the car in the summer. Today I was having lunch at Eatzi’s and heard barking from a car on Lemmon in front of that strip of stores. I walked across the street, found a terrier in a car with the window cracked one inch, and proceeded to go into every store until I found the idiot who thought that was okay. Then I verbally b***h-slapped him, and made sure he got that dog out of the car.

If it’s 87 degrees outside, indoor car temp is 115. If it’s 104, indoor temp can reach up to 120, even with windows cracked (via www.mydogiscool.com).

I hope people are getting the message about not leaving babies in the car when it’s this hot, but let’s also not forget about our furry friends. They’re just as helpless.

There’s my rant.

Second that.

posted by Zac Crain | July 17th, 2009 3:36pm | filed under Animals |

Mark Cuban’s Insider Trading Case Dismissed, Ctd.

There is a better than good chance Mark Cuban has been doing something like this, all day:

Screen-cap from The Sports Hernia

posted by Zac Crain | July 17th, 2009 3:28pm | filed under Business, Celebrity, www. |

Texas Is On Pace For Terrible Record: Most Kids Drowned In One Summer

So far this summer, 72 kids have already drowned in the state, including 19 in North Texas.

I know this goes without saying, but then again, I guess it doesn’t: People! Watch your kids when they’re near water! Any kind. If you see a puddle, make everyone hold hands. If it’s sprinkling outside, get some floaties. Whatever it takes.

posted by Zac Crain | July 17th, 2009 2:45pm | filed under Parenting |

Evan Smith Steps Down From Texas Monthly, Ctd.

The New York Times goes into some more depth about this Texas Tribune, which it says might launch as early as November. One FBvian tells me he should know shortly some of the other names of the eight or so journalists who will be joining Smith. This endeavor will certainly be something to watch (understatement).

Let me say this. I believe every word that Evan Smith wrote about his departure — about how he always knew he didn’t want to stay too long, about how he’d already been planning his succession. But I also believe that Emmis‘ market cap stands at $9.66 million (hell, TxMo alone might be worth that), with its shares trading at about 26 cents. Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying he’s jumping from a sinking ship. But looking at the work ahead, knowing what might be required to keep that ship afloat, he surely must relish the opportunity to build something new — to actually hire people.

posted by Tim Rogers | July 17th, 2009 2:25pm | filed under Media |

What Is The Best Burger In Texas?

According to Texas Monthly, it is in Dallas.

posted by Nancy Nichols | July 17th, 2009 2:23pm | filed under Dining, Local News |

Eric, Here’s The Link To Best Jukeboxes In Dallas

The jukebox at the Elbow Room.

Do I have to do everything myself? I guess so. For future reference, here’s how you do it. Step one, go to www.dmagazine.com. Step two, type “best jukebox” into the search field. Step three, hit go. Step four, click on the first search result you see. As always, I’m happy to help.

posted by Jennifer Chininis | July 17th, 2009 12:16pm | filed under Entertainment, Nightlife |

Can Dave Eggers of McSweeney’s Save Newspapers?

You probably know Dave Eggers from his hyper-stylized, semi-fictional (and somewhat divisive within our office) autobiography, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Or from the various products of his indie-publishing mini-empire, McSweeney’s (books, magazines like The Believer, etc.). Or, locally, from the collaborative comic strip he contributed to The Met back in the day.

Eggers is, clearly, a man who loves and appreciates the written word, and encourages that love and appreciation through youth-literacy programs at his 826 Valencia center in San Francisco. His students publish a regular newspaper, and he’s currently working on prototypes for a McSweeney’s broadsheet. After the jump, his thoughts on the future of newspapers, via a recent interview in Salon. Read on, media nerds.

(more…)

posted by Zac Crain | July 17th, 2009 12:16pm | filed under Media |

Why FrontBurner Wasn’t Up This Morning

Naw, we didn’t stay out too late. The server crashed. And it is still running slow. Apparently, a lot of people get their hots from Israeli girls with M-16’s. (Here’s where all the traffic came from.)

posted by Wick Allison | July 17th, 2009 11:54am | filed under www. |

Ex-DMN Reporter Nikki Finke “Terrifies” Hollywood

Nikki Finke, the ace reporter who drove her Dallas Morning News editors crazy over missed deadlines in the 1980s, is still driving people crazy. Only now, the NYTimes says, the agitated ones are Hollywood executives who fear the power of her take-no-prisoners industry blog.

posted by Glenn Hunter | July 17th, 2009 11:27am | filed under Business, Local News, Media |

Evan Smith Steps Down from Texas Monthly

Here’s his letter announcing the move. Short version: he’s hooking up with a venture capitalist to launch a “a nonprofit, nonpartisan public media organization” called the Texas Tribune.

posted by Tim Rogers | July 17th, 2009 11:19am | filed under Media |

Mark Cuban’s Insider Trading Case is Dismissed

The upshot:

Chief Judge Sidney Fitzwater said in a 35-page ruling released Friday that the SEC had failed to prove that Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks, “undertook a duty of non-use of information required to establish liability under the misappropriation theory of insider trading.”

The SEC has 30 days to refile the complaint. But, at this point, it looks like Cuban has won. Good on ya, sir.

posted by Zac Crain | July 17th, 2009 11:03am | filed under Business, Crime |

Blockbuster, Where’s Your Digital Strategy? (And, While We’re At It, Where’s Your PR Person?)

Over at StreamingMedia.com, Dan Rayburn is not happy with Blockbuster’s failure to come to grips with the move to digital. That’s one issue, and people more digitally educated than I am can argue about when and how a market leader in one category (DVD rentals) times its move into a new.category (digital).

But if I were Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes, there is one point made by Dan that I would go flipping crazy over:

While this post may sound one sided, I called your corporate communications number three times over the span of a week, spoke to a live person, gave them all my details and was told someone would call me back. I also sent in a media request via your website. I never heard from anyone.

Tsk, tsk.

UPDATE 7/17: A Blockbuster-pr-working FrontBurnervian writes: ”…Just so you know, we followed up on Dan’s call to us Wednesday and the PR person let him know we’d be providing information and insight into Blockbuster’s digital strategy as a follow up to his post. (He acknowledged this in the “comments” following the article). We’re not sure why he’s had difficulty reaching us before the story ran, but we plan to offer some additional insight as a follow up.”

posted by Wick Allison | July 17th, 2009 8:45am | filed under Business |

Elbow Room Clearly The Best Place To Go For Docs

There is a press club event at the Elbow Room this eve. And we’d just like to point out that, if you’re young and you wear scrubs (or know someone who does) and you like great jukeboxes [note to web team: please insert link to our great jukebox story here], this is the bar for you. Side note: new name for the racehorse owned by Zac Crain and myself: Six Ponytailed Nurses.