Articles for January 12th, 2010
Red Cross #1 In Dallas Juggling Haiti Recovery
American Red Cross CEO/President Gail McGovern is multi-tasking for the Haiti earthquake disaster during a Dallas visit with supporters.
TV with Laura: The Bachelor Recap Episode 2
Are you ready for some dinner theater? Will Chris treat what is likely a minor indiscretion like bloody murder? Can Jake get any worse? Are we going to be subjected to a double standard wherein people refer to a contestant as a “whore” even as she is vying for the attention of a man who is dating 15 women at once? For those unwilling to read more: yes. For those looking for a little more analysis, let’s jump.
Texas Football Legends Share Powerful Memories
That photo shows Mayor Tom getting this afternoon’s Century in the Making activities at Woodrow Wilson High School off to a start as the Observer’s Robert Wilonsky and his good pal Wick look on. (Wick bailed after about 20 minutes, and former D family member Evan Grant came over to keep “Fingers of Fury” company.)
In the hall right outside Woodrow’s nifty auditorium, the Heisman trophies won by Woodrow alumni Davey O’Brien and Tim Brown were on display, while at one end Michael Irvin was broadcasting his radio show on ESPN, 103.3. Outside the school, cheer squads from Woodrow, TCU, SMU, and UNT, greeted those who had gathered for the momentous unveiling.
As Brad Sham, who served as the master of ceremonies for the event put it, “There’s nothing that drives us [ in North Texas] like the success of our football teams.” And there was lots to enjoy for football fanatics, especially once Dallas Cowboys legends Tony Dorsett, Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Daryl Johnston, and Michael Irvin; University of Oklahoma standout Billy Sims; Craig James; “Mean” Joe Greene of the North Texas football program and the Steelers teams of the ’70s; Tim Brown; and the son of Davey O’Brien took the stage. But I have to say that the most unforgettable remarks of the program came from Abner Haynes of the AFL’s Dallas Texans and North Texas State (now UNT).
Top 250 Football Moments at Woodrow Wilson
In its customary heart-pounding fashion (thanks, Corporate Magic!), the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee presented its nominees for the top 250 moment in North Texas football history at Woodrow Wilson High School this afternoon.
They handed out the paper ballots that likely caused Friday’s snafu by the Star-T, which included the entire list of nominated moments. The “Century in the Making” website doesn’t seem to be quite up and running yet. (American Airlines is sponsoring it, and they said voting will begin there in March). So I’ll post the list after the jump. It’s all part of the efforts to create excitement in the year-long run up to the February 2011 game at Cowboys Stadium.
The Host Committee is turning it over to public voting (anyone in the 48 contiguous states is eligible) to determine the top 100 moments of the past century, which will be announced this fall. Voting will also be done in stages, starting with high school moments beginning Feb. 7 with a kick-off at the Fort Worth Stock Show, the college moments in April, some “unforgettable performances” in June, and August the greatest pro football memories.
Speaking of pro football memories, there was plenty of talk about them at Woodrow as well. But I’ll save that for another post. Here’s the list, minus the high school moments, which I seem not to have typed out at the moment:
Convention of Convention Planners Gets Ready to Party
From our perch high atop St. Paul Place, we could hear some thumping bass coming from down on Flora Street, where tonight the Professional Management Convention Association will get to rock out to Rick Springfield. So Zac and I wandered over to see what was what. We discovered a guitar tech doing the bass line to Kansas’ “Carry on My Wayward Son,” while saying into a mic: “One, two. One, two. One, two.” I wanted to dance, but Zac held me back. I bring you pictures. View images in a new window, if you care to see them full size. I dig the transparent tent. Providing views of the city, rather than confining the revelers to a white enclosure, was smart.
One More Thing: I’m So Embarrassed for All of Us in Dallas
Below is a video produced by the city of Dallas for the Professional Convention Management Association folks, who are in town (h/t Unfair Park). I don’t know where to begin. The song makes me cringe. Getting Vanilla Ice (who no longer lives here) to act as spokesman seems desperate. If your city official can’t pronounce the word “museum,” you probably shouldn’t have her tout same. I could go on. But in short: the thing makes Dallas look JV. We have some of the finest video production folks in the country working here. We’ve got talented musicians. Is this really the best the city could do? No, it’s not. [hanging head in shame]
Flora Street Taken Over by Professional Convention Management Association
As you’ve no doubt heard, we’ve got about 3,000 visitors in town, folks with the Professional Convention Management Association kicking the tires of our fair city. Walking to work this morning, I was impressed with the large tents erected on Flora Street, between the Nasher and Trammell Crow Center. According to the PCMA’s site, here’s what’s going down at ART-RAGEOUS, the convention’s closing event:
All the world’s a stage in the Dallas Arts District. Come alive with a spectacular showcasing of Dallas’ cultural, performing, visual and culinary arts centered on three world-renowned museums: the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Crow Collection of Asian Art. Hear the sounds of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Brass Quintet, try Mendhi Art/ Henna Tattoo, see local artisans, and close the evening by rocking with Rick Springfield. This party is like no other so we invite you to Live Large. Think Big… Dallas style. Shuttles will run between all hotels and the Bishop Arts District from 6:00 p.m. — 9:00 p.m.
Holy crap. Rick Springfield?! Eric Celeste, are you reading this? Man, I want to get my “Jesse’s Girl” on. Crash the party with me?
Tom’s Teasing–Again–About Corporate Relo’s
More than four months ago, Mayor Tom Terrific talked about how a big New Jersey company, another East Coast firm, and a California outfit with 400 employees were poised to relocate to Dallas. Today he basically said it again–minus the Joisey angle and any mention of that other company from the East Coast. Did we lose the latter? Leppert’s teasing makes for great copy, but also makes you wonder exactly when the mystery CEOs are going to pull the trigger.
Help Us Decide the Best DJs in Dallas
Voting opened yesterday right here. Some will be eliminated each week, so make sure to vote once a day if you have a favorite. (Totals reset each week.)
As per usual, some have taken issue with the Top 10 — complaining about who got left out, who was left on, how the list was generated, etc. All I can say is, everything was on the up and up. We solicited nominations from our Nightlife followers, winnowed it down, and brought in everyone that was left over for interviews and listening sessions. No bias was at play, no money changed hands. Just good, old fashioned, American hard work. Did someone get left out who deserved to be on there? Probably. That’s the contest business for you.
Channel your frustrations into clicking that link upstairs as hard as possible. It’s therapeutic.
Need a CEO for Your Shell Company?
Last week U.S. prosecutors indicted 19 people, most of them in North Texas, for cybercrimes in which they allegedly defrauded Dallas-based AT&T and other telecommunication companies. Among the defendants is Matthew Simpson of Red Oak. This article shares more details of the scheme, including one e-mail from the indictment that’s said to have been sent by Michael Faulkner, of Southlake.
Another 2008 e-mail tells Simpson he can obtain CEOs for his shell corporations, apparently by using the identities of the homeless, paid off with cash and an inexpensive fortified wine drink known as “Mad Dog,” or MD 20/20. “They each get $100 cash money and a bottle of MD 20/20,” the e-mail stated.
Mesquite Father Plays the Nazi Card
Taylor Pugh, 4, likes his hair long. It hurts if he has to have it braided. So his parents are taking a principled stand against the Mesquite school board. But must we drag Hitler into any debate these days?
Delton Pugh again said he thought the district as was being unreasonable. “This isn’t Nazi Germany,” he said.
Leading Off (1/12/10)
1. The North Texas Tollway Authority continues its long-running and generally successful campaign to convince me not to use the tollway. But hats off for spending money on a highway project when no one is spending money on highway projects.
2. Someone on a Dallas-bound plane accidentally smuggled shotgun shells onto said Dallas-bound plane. In a related story, I was actually worried about having a cigarette lighter in my carry-on bag yesterday and now totally feel like a chump for thinking more than four seconds about it.
3. And finally, this actually happened.
Home |
Masthead |
News from D |
About Us |
Contact Us |
Subscribe |
Advertise |
Privacy Policy |
Customer Service |
Awards | Archives | Reprints | d custom | Jobs | Advertiser's Index
Awards | Archives | Reprints | d custom | Jobs | Advertiser's Index