Articles for August 20th, 2009
Local Journalists to Drink Drinks at Bryan Street Tavern, Ctd.
Having just returned from the Press Club confab at Bryan Street Tavern, I have information that you may or may not find useful. First, there seems to be some question as to whether the Press Club will continue its monthly happy hours, as I stated earlier. One PC official told me that the board hadn’t yet met and that no decision has been made. Another PC official said, “We couldn’t exist without happy hours.” So we shall see.
Second, the Bryan Street Tavern is worth a visit. That’s a solid bar. Capacious without feeling cavernous. Pool tables, a comfy couch area, board games aplenty. (I played backgammon and won $1 from my son, whose “workday tag-along with Dad” ended poorly for him.) Also, fans of former Old Monk waitress Hillary, she of the curly locks (and I count myself among that group), will be happy to learn that she is plying her trade at Bryan Street. Next time you’re looking to explore a new watering hole, check it out.
Southwest Passenger Gets Naked; Flight Turns Back
Southwest Airlines has had its share of “challenges” lately, but this one takes the prize: a naked guy assaulting his fellow passengers.
Local Journalists to Drink Drinks at Bryan Street Tavern
The monthly Dallas Press Club happy hour goes down at 5 this evening at Bryan Street Tavern. Not sure why, but from what I’m given to understand, this will be the last of such happy hours. Another reason why I refuse to join the Press Club. If I decide to bring my son with me, I’ll see you there.
Update: A bit more on whether that was indeed the last Press Club happy hour. Plus: what you need to know about BST.
Is Exxon Mobil Really a Green Company?
Forbes lays out an interesting line of argument in declaring Irving-based Exxon Mobil “Green Company of the Year.” It’s not because they’ve found a new deity to worship, nor do they put much emphasis on its plans to turn algae into power. No, Forbes grants the honor mostly because of the company’s increased move towards natural gas.
As you can imagine, there are plenty in the blogosphere, like this one, who question Forbes‘ granting of this particularly distinction. And it’s true that Exxon Mobil has given plenty of reasons in the past for it to be thought of as an anti-green company. But we shouldn’t be surprised about this selection. For one, Forbes is a financial magazine, and Exxon Mobil sits atop the highest altar of American business.
Secondly, this was (presumably) a call made by magazine editors. (more…)
Norah Jones Has a New Album Coming Out in November
It apparently doesn’t have a title yet, or at least they haven’t announced it. But here are a few details: the Booker T. Washington alumna wrote songs with Ryan Adams, Will Sheff from Okkervil River, and longtime collaborator Jesse Harris, and she recorded with a new band that includes Joey Waronker, Smokey Hormel, James Poyser, Marc Ribot, and James Gadson, names that have appeared on more than their fair share of liner notes. Not really my bag, but I’m sure plenty of you will be excited.
Release after the jump.
John Gonzalez On Dallas Fans: “Squirrelly”
Our old pal John Gonzalez — former sports columnist for the Dallas Observer, now doing the same at the Philadelphia Inquirer — was interviewed by sports blog The Big Lead. You can read it here. Here’s a relevant-to-Dallas-readers passage:
Q: Having criss-crossed the country covering sports, we’ll ask the impossible: Compare and contrast sports fans in the following cities: Philly, New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas.
You can toss out LA. The weather is too good on the Left Coast for anyone to care about anything out there. Dallas is a better city than people give it credit for, and the women are gorgeous, but the fans down there are a little squirrelly. Chicago has great fans, but they’ll never get their due because they aren’t on the East Coast. In terms of passion and intensity, I’ll put Philly, NY and Boston fans up against anyone. Quick story: I was in Holland a few years ago during the NCAA tournament. Nova was playing Boston College. My buddies and I go into this bar and the game is on and the whole place is going nuts. There were about 20 guys from Philly screaming at approximately 20 guys from Boston — in Holland. I didn’t see anyone from Dallas.
If you don’t know Gonz and need a little theater of the mind, imagine that answer in this voice.
Where You Should Be Tonight If You Like Opera and Dating
The below event listing is submitted by Chris “Daddy-O” Shull, he of the once-perpetual rose-colored Raybans (don’t ask):
I hope you’ll join us at 6:30 this evening at the downtown Dallas library (fourth floor) for what promises to be a fabulous and lively discussion about opera and dating. In conjunction with the Dallas Opera’s upcoming season, we’ll be focusing on Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte and how those operas relate to contemporary dating trends. Panelists are Dr. Stephen Dubberly, head of opera at UNT, and Dr. James Houran, a psychologist and dating and compatibility expert; both are engaging and intelligent speakers, full of insights and good humor. I’ll be moderating.
The discussion will last only an hour or so and will include time of questions — and the Dallas Opera always has fun giveaways such as beer (or cola) koozies and info about its upcoming season in the Winspear Opera House. Please join us for what will be a fun and informative discussion.
The Dangers of Taking Your Child to Work, Ctd.
In my defense, the first time, Zac was screening your son from my view. The second time, I was quoting an e-mail from Wick, so that was work-related.
Update: His son is 10. By that age, I’d seen Animal House. IJS.
Update: I just walked into his office, and Tim, with his son three feet away, pointed to a story we’re working on and said, “Who’s designing this s%@#?”
Dallas Tea Partiers Report on…Dallas Tea Partiers
Nothing like good ol’ American competitiveness to get the juices flowing, as this report from Pete Sessions’s Town Hall posted yesterday shows. The crowd details are a little vauge after the first mention of 20-30 people — which beat the competition! — that somehow later elides into the 1,800-2,000 who showed up for the Town Hall. So the count is a little iffy. But the dedication is certainly there. The question is, dedication to what?
The Dangers of Taking Your Child to Work
DISD starts the school year Monday. Thank goodness. But my 10-year-old son’s day camp has been closed all week, forcing My Fair Lady and me to scramble to find accommodations for the boy. Today, I was left with no other option than to bring him to work with me. The first problem he encountered: Wick walked in and gave him an assignment. The boy is to make a list of five things about our website that he likes and five things he doesn’t. He’s currently taking a break from that task to watch Ghostbusters on my laptop. The other problem the boy found: Eric just walked into my office and dropped an F-bomb.
Update: Thirty minutes after I put up this post, Eric dropped another wayward F-bomb on my son.
Update: Ghostbusters is rated PG, and yet, given how many S-bombs it features, you’d guess that Eric wrote the script.
Update: At 2:22, Eric just declared in front of my son that Forgetting Sarah Marshall is “f#@$ing funny.”
Second Dumbest Email, This Time To Pegasus
Sarah Blaskovich wrote a story over on Pegasus News about how TxDot has set up a Twitter account to warn drivers of traffic and closures everywhere in Texas — except here. Seems they had a problem with technology.
So Pegasus founder Mike Orren did what he does. He set up Twitter accounts to connect to TxDot and provide what it couldn’t. And what happened? TxDot accuses him of forgery (for some reason in governmentese, that becomes Forgery: capitalized, the word seems more portentous, I guess) and impersonating a public servant. For doing what it couldn’t do!
Good luck with that one, TxDot. But the larger question is: what are they teaching at law schools? Did Associate General Counsel Juliet U. King also attend the University of Tulsa College of Law (hello there, C. Bruce Willis!). Does nobody go to class anymore? Are there any courses in constitutional law? Has somebody slipped stupidity into the water supply?
I’m looking at you, Deirdre Delisi.
Leading Off (8/20/09)
1. To describe what is at issue between Jose Escobedo and the Junius Heights Historic District — the artificial turf Escobedo had installed in favor of dead or dying grass — Rod Dreher has come up with this protologism: “Frankenlawn.” Maybe Dreher should give up the crunchy con thing and strictly focus on unsurping Rich Hall’s sniglet empire.
2. Mario Tarradell adroitly reviews last night’s Paul McCartney gig at Cowboys Stadium here. Maybe skip the first two grafs; it’s a bit early for a headache. (In related news, the predicted traffic catastrophe was averted — FOR NOW.)
3. Speaking of, one of the things keeping Arlington’s city budget within striking distance of respectability is Cowboys Stadium. Why isn’t it in Dallas again?
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