Articles for April, 2010
What To Do in Dallas Tonight: April 27, 2010
Have you been to 48 Nights yet? I haven’t either. (What’s wrong with us?) We got word that this week’s chef is Kent Rathbun of Abacus, Jasper’s, and Blue Plate. Want to go? Check here for reservations.
In nightlife news, the W Hotel has revamped their Living Room Bar and the unveiling is tonight. I’ve always preferred this bar to the Ghostbar upstairs, and they are having events all week long to promote the new look. They tell me the bar looks totally different now, with an oversized black plush sofa as the focal point and a wall made of cowhide hats. I’m more interested in the food (as usual) and really like the sound of the new bar menu (think polenta fritters and short rib paninis).
Tony Bennett was amazing last night. Jason Heid tells us all about it on FrontRow, but if you were there, I’d love to hear your thoughts. A reader emailed me late last night to tell me about seeing David Sedaris. He describes it this way: “Alternately profane, disgusting and hilariously cold-hearted, the guy puts on a good show.” Wish I could have been two places at once.
As always, find more of today’s events here.
Leading Off (4/27/10)
SUBHEAD: Late Because I Lost My Neighbor’s Extremely Weak WiFi Signal So I Came In Early For Work But Late For Posting Leading Off Edition.
1. An immigration protest march is planned for Saturday at 1 p.m. The march, under the heading “We Are All Arizona,” starts at the usual spot — Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe on Ross Avenue — and 100,000 are expected to participate. As always, I hope that you choose to come downtown on the weekends, but you should probably stay at home this weekend. Or go to Lower Greenville. I don’t think they care about anything over there.
2. Terri Hodge will find out if she gets prison or probation today. I’m interested to see if a third option emerges. Like, she has to sign up for one dangerous mission in service of the U.S. government in exchange for her freedom. Or maybe there is a nuclear threat somewhere in the city, and she has to be freed because the terrorist is her former partner and she is the only one who can bring him down. I don’t know. Just throwing that out there.
3. Shawn Marion believes the Dallas Mavericks can escape their 3-1 series deficit, starting tonight against the hated San Antonio Spurs. I do, too. And if not, I’ll see you guys in a week or so. Maybe longer.
Neiman Marcus Inc. Names Katz CEO, Replacing Tansky
Neiman Marcus Stores chief Karen Katz (pictured in photo by Jeanne Prejean) is replacing Burton Tansky as CEO at Dallas-based Neiman Marcus Inc. Tansky, who’s retiring as CEO, was said to be “walking a tightrope” since the recession slammed luxury purveyors like Neiman’s. Revenue at Neiman Marcus Inc. plunged from $4.6 billion in fiscal 2008 to $3.6 billion in ‘09. The changing of the guard at the upscale retailer is scheduled to happen in October. Tansky, who’d been CEO of the Neiman’s parent company since 2001, signed a new contract in 2007 extending his tenure through October. He’ll stay on as non-executive chairman.
Q&A With National Magazine Award Winner Skip Hollandsworth
Last week I did a Q&A with Texas Monthly’s Skip Hollandsworth right before he went up to NYC for the National Magazine Awards. Turns out, the guy actually won. So let’s do it again. Jump to find out how hard Skip partied after he won magazine writing’s biggest award:
How To Improve East Dallas Overnight
Tear down I30 and put it below grade as we did with Central.
Warrior Dash on Hold?
As a commenter so kindly pointed out, there is a notice on the Warrior Dash website saying the obstacle run may not happen. (For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about: the Warrior Dash is a 3.5-mile long obstacle course. You get a medal, a Viking helmet, and beer at the end—you just have to jump over fire and climb a cargo net first. It’s so popular that an extra day has been added to the Dallas event. There will be 500 people every half hour from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.) The website says this, “Kaufman County in Texas has enjoined and prohibited Warrior Dash Texas from being held as advertised. It was advertised as taking place mostly in Dallas County with only a small portion in Kaufman County, but now we know that even that small portion of the event can not be held in Kaufman County. We didn’t know it, but a court order was obtained without any notice to us to prevent the event from happening there.”
I called the people at Warrior Dash and asked when they’d know something. I was told Wednesday. Then I asked if they’d e-mail out whether or not the event was happening. I was told to check the website on Wednesday. I asked about being reimbursed if the event doesn’t happen. “Check back on Wednesday.” I forgot to ask if I get the helmet even if it’s canceled.
I’ve called the people at Kaufman County to get some more details. Developing.
UPDATE: We’re shipping here at D, so I haven’t had the time to commit to tracking down answers to this. However, Wilonsky did have the time. We’ll know what’s going on by the end of today (I hope).
Floyd Dakil Died Saturday Night
We regret to report that Floyd Dakil has died. Back in the 60’s, he was the hot local musician who rose to fame with Dance Franny Dance. It was a time when 45 RPM’s ruled and Ron Chapman was Irving Harrigan.
What To Do in Dallas Tonight: April 26, 2010
Those of you with tickets to see David Sedaris at McFarlin Auditorium are lucky. Our source at SMU said these tickets were so highly prized they sold out within minutes. They also say he’s going to read some of his unpublished material, so a full report tomorrow will be appreciated. Or you could just “accidentally” call me so I could listen in. Just an idea.
Here’s an option that’s pretty much the opposite of Sedaris: Tony Bennett is in town, and a few tickets to see this legendary singer are still available for tonight and tomorrow night. Last time he was here, Bennett treated the audience to an a cappella rendition of “Fly Me to the Moon” (without even using a microphone) because he loves the acoustics at the Meyerson so much. Organizers say they haven’t seen the set list, but here’s hoping for a repeat.
Why Someone Would Hike 2,650 Miles
A few years ago, Paul Kix introduced you loyal readers to Zac Castillo, the guy who hiked the 2,175 miles of the Appalachian Trail. Apparently, that wasn’t far enough because today, Castillo is hiking once again. This time, he’s going to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada, 425 miles longer than his former quest.
I’m all about doing semi-crazy things (anyone else doing the Warrior Dash this weekend?), but I make sure my adventures have no more than a six-hour time limit. So I asked Castillo a few questions about his sanity after the jump.
Leading Off (4/26/10)
1. “Denver’s Revitalized Downtown Gets More Hip By the Minute,” reads this travel piece in the DMN. You see, remaking a downtown isn’t rocket science – Denver pulled it off. Now let’s see, what makes a downtown hip: bike trails, bike rentals, a theme park, kayaking in downtown, and a stadium for a major sports franchise. Hmmm, now let’s look at Dallas. No bike trails, no bike rentals. Kayaking does happen sometimes a mile or so from downtown in the Trinity River. And Dallas has a theme park and stadium. Oh wait, no. Those are in Arlington. (And for those wondering about American Airlines arena, Victory doesn’t count as downtown. If you’ve ever noticed, there’s a highway in between downtown and Victory. Didn’t Ross Perot Jr. see that?)
2. Farmers Branch officials will fight the court ruling that the law the city passed banning the rental of houses or apartments to illegal immigrants is unconstitutional, because Farmers Branch is a town of ”law and order,” says Mayor Tim O’Hare.
3. Don Hill doesn’t have much to say headed into his 18 year sentence for leading a corruption scheme at Dallas City Hall. How about “sorry I made a mockery of your government, taxpayers.”
Richard Fisher Wants Big Banks Broken Up
Gretchen Morgenson in Sunday’s NYTimes bemoans the financial reform package that seems ready to go to a vote this week. She gets strong backing from Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. His money quotes:
The misuse of leverage is always the root cause of every financial crisis.
Why should you have a small group of institutions get an advantage simply because they have grown too large? It’s un-American; it’s not what makes this country great.
After the White Rock Lake Home Tour: Ten Haute Young Authors Honored at SMU
Tim, I fully expect you to be serving Christine extra-duty mojitos in that Ju-Nel spa after tomorrow’s White Rock Lake Home Tour. I would volunteer, but cannot because I’ll be an author Table Host at SMU’s Tables of Content, an event that will honor ten budding young Dallas authors. Our Willard Spiegelman is hosting one, too. And we will have a distinguished screenwriter in our midst. James V. Hart (SMU ‘69) will be receiving SMU Friends of the SMU Libraries/Colophon Literati Award, honoring him for using the written word to advance the ideals of creativity, conviction, innovation and scholarship. The award honors the 40th anniversary of the organization’s founding and celebrates the power of the written word.
Which is kind of ironic because the topic at my table will be:
House Lust: why is real estate the biggest story of the decade and why has it turned me into a blogging addict?
We’re going to talk about how the written word has gone electronic, Web 2.0, moving from desk-top to mobile, and how real estate and writing is all a part of it… all for the sake of the library!
Save My Marriage, Go to the White Rock Home Tour
You know all about the White Rock Home Tour. You know about it because it’s awesome. You know about it because it’s the only all-modern home tour in Dallas, going on its fifth year. You know about it because it goes down this weekend and because I’m telling you about it. And because my wife, who invented the thing, is making me tell you about it. This year, there’s also a cool tie-in with a Ju-Nel exhibit over at the Dallas Center for Architecture.
Look, here’s all I ask: go to the DCA. See the exhibit. Then go take the tour this weekend. Buy 10 tickets. Take nine friends. The money goes to a good cause (Hexter Elementary, in the sunny DISD). I’ll be a docent at one of the houses. Come by and see me. Bring a flask of Knob Creek. Sneak me a drink. I’ll need it.
Skip Hollandsworth Wins National Magazine Award
Yes, yes. It’s true. Skip Hollandsworth won a National Magazine Award last night for his Texas Monthly story Still Life. I just hung up with him. He’s walking around NYC with his family, signing autographs right now. But he’ll get to a computer later this evening, and I’ll have another Q&A with him by Monday. Till then, congrats to Skip and to Sachse-based Brian Sweany, the TexMo editor who, we all know, really deserves the National Mag Award.
Update: PS, with the DMN Pulitzer, this means Dallas folk, in a little over a week, have won two of writing’s most prestigious awards. I hear Black Tooth Grin is up for a Nobel and a Booker.
Two Observations About Dallas Chop House
You’ve been to the new(ish) joint across from Main Street Garden? If not, you need to. For two reasons: 1) The bar-patio area is gorgeous on a day like this. And 2) Mayor Tom Leppert eats here. Or at least he is today, right now.
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