Articles for August 31st, 2009

Jody Dean’s Suggestion For Cowboys Management

img_1589Dallas radio vet Jody Dean has a suggestion for management about the giant video board at Cowboys Stadium: Hang a sign on it saying, “Hit sign, win suit.” Dean, the new announcer at the Dallas Cowboys stadium, is only partly joking about the screen, which was hit by an opposing punter a couple of weeks ago, touching off an NFL controversy. Dean is breathing easier in general this week after drawing some rough reviews for his opening-game performance in the announcer role. Saturday night, he contends, he was much better: “This time, I didn’t wet my pants.” But the stadium’s acoustics still need work, he says: “They have a lot of ’slapback,’ because of all the hard corners. They need to get that mix right.” Meantime, Dean predicts the juice and the buzz surrounding the new stadium–including the controversial video board, pictured here–might be worth an extra couple of touchdowns for the ‘Boys each home game this season. Says Dean: “At a Thursday night client party, Jerry Jones told people, ‘I paid that punter to hit that board!’ ” The Cowboys owner was only kidding–Dean thinks, anyway.

Things To Know Before Visiting Cowboys Stadium

img_15951.) Forget about buying popcorn there. It’s only sold at selected venues and, like me, you might be directed to three of them–on three different levels–and still never find one. 2.) No videocams allowed. 3.) The video board is so amazing, it may cause conflicted feelings. Watch the action on the field–or on the giant Mitsubishi screen? But if you’re doing the latter, why not just stay home and watch the game on TV? 4.) If you’re 6-feet or better, leave your knees in the car. The seats–at least in the Lower Hall of Fame level–are amazingly comfortable, but there ain’t much legroom. 5.) You gotta visit the Hall of Fame-level restroom if you get a chance, if only to use the paper hand towels. They’re as thick as terrycloth, embellished with a blue-and-silver Cowboys star. 6.) Don’t toss your ticket in the trash, or you could wind up sleeping in the stadium. For some reason the attendants insist on scanning your ticket before you’re permitted to exit. 7.) Mark well where you park. They need more signs flagging the different areas in the lots. Until they get ‘em, one wag advises, you might consider leaving bread crumbs.

Dallas Tourists Come to Visit Parker, Arlington

This travel piece has been making its way around the wires, and many of our country’s finest daily newspapers, for the last few weeks. It’s confirmation that Dallas has yet to expand its image nationally much beyond J.R., the Cowboys, and the JFK assassination.

And one Deseret News reader had a couple more attractions to add to the list:

Just left that area 2 years ago for Denver. What a delightful move it has been for us. Not even any fire ants here. If you want “snooty” then you will love Dallas.

When will those new bridges turn us into a tourism magnet?

Dallas Stylist’s Publicity Stunt Ends Today

Valerie Elizabeth has been wearing the same little black dress every day this month. It’s gotten her lots of attention because the Associated Press picked up the story. She’s inviting people to vote on her best look. Me? I’d rather just re-watch this tangentially-related episode of Seinfeld.

UPDATE: Silly me. I neglected to mention that it was D Magazine that launched her summer media blitz, when she was named the Max Factor Face of Dallas in June.

Local Lawyer Stars on Weeds

Okay, “stars” may be too strong a word. But I think you’ll find Ray Balestri’s performance — miming a conversation over dinner in the background of this season 5, episode 5 scene from Weeds (a walk-on part purchased at a raffle at a Dallas charity event) — riveting. That’s him in the background during the first half of this clip, at least during one of the camera angles.

Charity Beaver Still in the Hunt

Lest you forget, the “10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas” contest — or, as we affectionately refer to it, the “10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas” contest — is chugging along. Three more women were eliminated. But Charity Beaver wasn’t one of them. I know I speak for semi-aquatic rodents everywhere when I say, “You go, Ms. Beaver!”

D Magazine Moves Downtown: The Update

No one is more interested in our impending move downtown than you are. We know this. Which is why we’ve consolidated our scrapbook of moving pics on this page. Check out the new time-lapse video by Gustav Schmiege, and pay special attention to the :50 mark, at which point they saw a hole in the floor. Also of note is the 1:40 mark. Not sure what happened there. I guess that construction worker decided it was time for his closeup.

And don’t worry. We’ll keep you abreast of future developments. I’m particularly looking forward to the hanging of the outdoor signage.

Leading Off (08/31/09)

1. The good folks at SMU have abandoned plans for a pedestrian bridge leading from DART to the Bush presidential library. You know who wouldn’t have given up? The good people at Baylor. They would have built a bridge–over a moat with magic fish–that rivaled the Golden Gate. Of course, Waco lacks anything remotely similar to DART. And yet the city gets mentioned in every single news report about the library. Go Bears!

2. In incredibly sad news, a pregnant woman who was struck by lightning on Thursday not only lost her baby–she, too, died yesterday at Parkland.

3. Does your letter from an outfit called Property Tax Assessor–with promises of hundreds of dollars they can save you on propery taxes for a mere $55 fee–sound too good to be true? It is. The form they offer to work this miracle? You can get it for free on the Tarrant County Appraisal District website. Oh. And they overstate how much you can actually save. Obviously.