Articles for January, 2010
Pricey Rentals For All-Star Partiers
Look for a lot of cash to change hands–and a whole lot of “non-family-style” hard partying to happen–when DFW hosts the NBA All-Star Game Feb. 14. Last night on WFAA-TV, Dale Hansen predicted lines around the block at local strip clubs next month, for example. We’ve heard that Realtors are scrambling to locate super-luxe party houses in non-residential areas–quick freeway access preferred–for short-term rental to celebs and fans that weekend. Dallas Craigslist is going wild listing special All-Star game rentals ($3,500 a night for a two-bedroom condo in Oak Lawn, $2,250 for a four-bedroom “contemporary,” $2,000 for a one-bedroom downtown, etc.). And the owner of one local town-car outfit says to expect a going rate of $1,500/day for “small” limos during the festivities.
Local BBQ-Eating Male Model Who Had Face Obscured by Magazine Logo Now Gets His Due
The February issue of the “print product” hit newsstands over the weekend. But you probably subscribe, so you got your copy in the mail sometime in the middle of last week. Good for you. The cover image was shot by the greatness that is Randal Ford. The guy holding the flatware, you’ll notice, wound up having a red square for a head. This was by design. I had a long discussion with our creative director, Todd Johnson, about how much of his chin to show. This is how magazines are made. Anyway, I thought the guy deserved to have his face shown so that he could prove to the guys in the gym that it was indeed him on our cover. So here’s what the image of Trey Singleton (from the Campbell Agency) looked like before we put our logo and the type on it. Bear in mind, since we knew we were going to cover up his face, he has not had makeup or hair done. Handsome bastard.
Nasher Revives Lost Art of Pole Sitting
Walking into work this morning, I thought I saw David Blaine sitting atop a pole outside the Nasher, on Flora Street. Long a fan of the lost art of pole sitting, I was prepared to bring a chair and a couple beers back from the office so I could set up shop and watch the spectacle. Upon closer inspection, though, I saw that the figure atop the pole (there are actually two, one at either end of the Nasher’s facade) is part of Jaume Plensa’s “Genus and Species” show. No rush, then. The show opens January 30.
Fort Worth Opera To Add “Soap-” Prefix
Yesterday Jerome Weeks brought news over on Art and Seek that the group making a reality TV show about the Fort Worth Opera Festival has won a chance at a distribution deal. Dallas-based Abernethy Media Professionals won a pitch competition at a Las Vegas television programming conference with their idea for a backstage “docu-soap” about the young divas and devos (wait, that’s not a word) who make the five week summer opera fest happen. The prize? The services of the distribution agency Cable Ready, who will now look for an interested broadcaster. In the meantime, you can preview the show by visiting the website.
Food Bank Says 18% of Dallas Families Are Hungry
The North Texas Food Bank has shared some sad statistics this morning. Their numbers, obtained from a Gallup poll for the DC-based Food Research and Action Center, show that 21 percent of Texas households couldn’t afford enough food in 2009. The Dallas metropolitan area, was only a little better off, with 18.6 % of households lacking money to buy necessities.
The data is also broken down by congressional districts. Jeb Hensarling’s largely rural East Texas district, which includes a chunk of eastern Dallas County, had a “food hardship” above the state average, at 25.8%. Eddie Bernice Johnson’s 30th District (From Oak Lawn and downtown to the cities south of Dallas) had 25.6% experiencing ”food hardship.” Only 37 (of 436) of the nation’s congressional districts had percentages that topped 25%.
Sam Johnson’s 3rd District (largely wealthy Collin County) is low at 10.1%. Pete Sessions’ tailor-made 32nd District (including the Park Cities, Irving, and North Oak Cliff) polled at 18.5%. You can view the whole report to see how your own congressional district fared.
How Harold Simmons Got a Nuclear Waste Dump
Leading Off (1/26/10)
1. Bald-Face Lie, a 7-month-old filly from a line of champion cutting horses, was found dead over the weekend, shot in the head at her owner’s ranch in Parker County. I … never mind.
2. Torian Pittman, a member of the SMU football team, was arrested yesterday. He and a friend are accused of a September rape in Hunstville. June Jones said … ugh. Forget it.
3. And since the seriousness of the two previous stories has handcuffed my ability to be glib, I leave you on this lighter note: “I’m naming children’s advocate Eva Longoria Parker Governor of Texas FORTHWITH!!!”
Reading Room Party at Legacy Books on Wednesday
Have you ever been kicked out of a book club? I have. But I don’t even cry about it anymore because I am very busy and popular, and I belong to an even better book club now. If you like books, eating and drinking, and talking with smart people about smart stuff, I think you should join the Reading Room. (For those of you who prefer conversation on the more dumb and superficial end, don’t despair. There’s always a seat available next to me.) Sound good? Cancel any and all plans you have for Wednesday immediately. Arm yourself with hundreds of dollars in change (or a toll tag) for a trip to the very cool Legacy Books for our next meeting. What can you expect at this hip happening? Well, you get to eat food and drink alcoholic and/or non-alcoholic beverages with people like Christine Allison and me—for free! (Your eyes are not deceiving you. The food and drinks are free, as is the esteemed company.) As if that’s not enough, we will conduct some book business and announce our next selection. Reading Room members also get to buy things at a discount during the party. I really hope to see you this Wednesday at Legacy Books from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. We’ll talk Proust. And The Bachelor.
Frisco Bids For NCAA Div. 1 Football Championship
Pizza Hut Park, up in Frisco, is one of two finalists to host the NCAA Division 1 football championship games for the next three seasons. They’re competing against Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Frisco’s leaders have launched a “ticket pledge” campaign to help support their final presentation to the NCAA on Feb. 25. They want to demonstrate that they can fill the stadium for the contests.
Me, I thought the Bowl Championship Series national title game was the Division 1 championship. If that gives you any idea of my level of interest in college football (aside from the mighty Tigers of Trinity, of course), then you can guess just how many tickets I pledged to purchase.
Local Journalist Is Highly Controversial
The February issue of the “print product” hit newsstands this past weekend, and I’ve already heard from a few readers who didn’t appreciate the back page column I wrote about how proud I was of my son for punching another kid. I know you’ve already read it, but here’s a link to pass along to your friends. Anyway, here’s one letter:
Really??? Are you kidding??? Being a journalist it would appear that WORDS would be more important than fists. When is it ever alright for a 5th grader to punch a 1st grader? (A ten year old hitting a 6 year old???) If you are serious, this article is very upsetting.
Was I kidding? Maybe.
Las Colinas As Development Model
Speaking of cities of the future, Indianapolis is trying to get in on the game with their new airport development, which is being styled as an “aerotropolis.” One of their models: the “postmodern urban development” called Las Colinas.
Gears Wants Philly Over ‘Boys in 2011 Super Bowl
Herb Gears, the shoot-from-the-hip mayor of Irving, is probably not the only local official to think it. But he’s the first we’ve heard say publicly that it would be better business-wise if the Dallas Cowboys don’t make it into Super Bowl XLV, set to be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. “We don’t want the Dallas Cowboys in the [2011] Super Bowl,” Gears said during last week’s annual State of the City Address. “I need somebody from Philadelphia, or somewhere, who will stay in a hotel in Irving.” Dallas’ press contingent and fan base are already living here, sure–we get it, Mr. Mayor. But, did you have to say the Eagles?!
Best DJs in Dallas Enters Final Week; Last Chance to Vote, Complain
Two of the following five will be eliminated this week:
- DJ Avi
- DJ Krave
- Jennifer Miller
- DJ Red Eye
- Rob Vaughan
Is the Winspear a Good Venue for Plays?
The good professor Willard Spiegelman, whose prose graces the “print product” every month, went to the theater over the weekend and had a less than glowing impression of the Winspear when used for that purpose:
Does anyone else out there think that the superb Winspear Opera House is an absolutely terrible place for a play? I just got back from a performance of August: Osage County. I happen to have liked the play, the performance, the production, but the setting was horrible. I began by sitting in the Dress Circle. You can see nothing from there, even if you are sitting dead center on the first row. Because the house was no more than one-third filled, I moved down to the orchestra for the second and third acts. The viewing was marginally better, but there was no sense of intimacy. A concert hall with 2,400 seats should not be used for the staging of plays. Period. And the body miking — which should never be used in a place that is acoustically solid — amplified the players’ voices in entirely unnatural ways. Let’s go back to the Kalita Humphries Theater, please.
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