Articles for July, 2010
How Old Do You Have to Be to Be Elderly?
WFAA-Channel 8 reporter Monika Diaz tonight reported a story about a man who had fallen and laid along the Trinity River since Thursday. In discussing today’s rescue of the man, Chief Joel Ducklworth said,
“An elderly male had fallen down the riverbank, possibly about 25 to 30 feet.”
The victim was 55 years old.
Whoa! That means Wick is way past due for a walker.
Crazy Right-Wingers Are Sane on Charter Schools
The ”conservative” majority on the State Board of Education, that justifiably often-excoriated gang of gung-ho history-revisionists, has done something good that the Legislature has failed to do, and they deserve credit for doing it. On Friday, they dedicated $100 million from the Permanent Fund to help build more charter schools.
Charter schools are public schools. They just operate outside the school districts. (To understand more about how public they are, read “Competing for Minds” from our education Special Edition in 2008.) Some of the most practical innovations in education — and certainly the best results — are coming from charter schools in Dallas like North Hills (ranked as the #14 public high school in America, way ahead of Highland Park) and Peak and Kipp.
But the Legislature — the Republican Legislature, mind you — has seen fit to pay charter schools a fee per student less than what the traditional public school districts are paid. And it will not grant charter schools the right to issue bonds so it can build and furnish new schools. So the best thing happening in our woefully under-educated state is not only not supported, it is hampered from growing to serve more students.
That $100 million is but a drop in the bucket. But it will do a lot of good if it goes to the properly managed charter schools that have a proven track record of success in helping the worst-served part of the student population — and not to ideological playthings of the State Board. The Attorney General is perfectly capable of setting guidelines to make sure that happens.
Once Again, Tear Down Interstate 30
In May, I wrote about I-30 and its destructive effect in splitting East Dallas and consigning Fair Park to South Dallas. A number of commenters here and in other places said I should add U.S. 175 to the list for how it split and destroyed South Dallas. (Once again, TxDot is our city’s worst enemy, proposing a solution to its earlier disaster that, in keeping with its usual thinking, is no solution at all.)
We’re not the only city that suffered from the crazy highway-building frenzy of the 1960s that turned neighborhoods into slums. Here’s a blog post from Timothy Lee on “Freeways and the Decline of St. Louis.”
Jessica Simpson Makes a Cameo on Entourage
And you can watch a clip of the show here. I also advise reading the accompanying UsMagazine.com article, in which a “witness” claims that Jeremy Piven was mesmerized by Ms. Simpson’s bottom. “He flirts with ugly girls, so you can imagine how crazy for Jessica Simpson he was,” the source explains. The episode airs August 1 on HBO.
Reader Mail of the Day
Today’s letter comes with a picture, because we so rarely get actual snail mail (that isn’t from inmates). In our July issue, Wick wrote his column about Charles Grahmann, the former bishop of Dallas, and why the Church ought to elect bishops locally. In response, we got the letter below. Here’s the text:
Dear Wick,
Your Grahmann article was truly helpful, but there is more to the Grahmann-Ratzinger story.
So, keep exploring and ask people in the know.
In the journalism business, that right there is what you call a tip.
Lost and Found: You Forgot Your Shoes
Most Fridays, a few of us have lunch at Press Box Grill. Today was no exception. On the walk back, we found these abandoned platform shoes at Thanksgiving Square. I checked the fountain for a shoeless person, but no luck. Before leaving the scene, Zac told me to take a picture so I could blog about it. Nice, right? Wrong. A true friend would have taken the picture for me because I’m obviously incapable of taking a decent photo. He should also have advised me to take them so that I had something suitable to wear to Lady Gaga tonight. As it is, I’m worried I will be the only woman sporting clothes rather than underwear.
Greenspun to Buy Modern Luxury?
Says here that the Modern Luxury empire is set to be sold for 20something million, most likely to an outfit called Greenspun, which is headquarted in a suburb of Las Vegas. This would make corporate meetings for Modern Luxury Dallas a thing to look forward to. Good luck, guys.
Let’s Watch a Video: “Dallas Has Many Diverse Neighborhoods”
Came across this video on HGTV.com, touting the diverse neighborhoods in Dallas. The four they highlighted? Preston Hollow, Munger Place, Highland Park and University Park.
Um, did they miss any?
What to Do in Dallas This Weekend: July 23-25
Quick note: If you’re seeing Lady Gaga tonight, click here for important fun-maximizing pointers.
Let us turn our attention westward to Fort Worth for opening night of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Bass Performance Hall. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s not for everyone, but this show should be fun. Plus, it gives you an excuse to dine at Nonna Tata–if you can get a table. If you can’t, grab some grub at Tillman’s Roadhouse.
You also need to know about the Mayborn writing conference, which runs tonight through Sunday. Keynote speakers include Black Hawk Down writer Mark Bowden and Sports Illustrated’s Gary Smith. You can view the whole roster of heavy hitters here, but if you were me, you wouldn’t miss Bloomberg’s Robert Blau or Slate’s Jack Shafer.
Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Gets New Name
The new name for Rangers Ballpark in Arlington isn’t very catchy.
Tim Rogers Is Cool Thanks to Willis
It was 108 years ago this month that Willis Haviland Carrier of Buffalo, N.Y., gave birth to a new invention — the air conditioner. If you wonder what the Dallas connection is, step outside. Just imagine life in Dallas without AC.
Leading Off (7/23/10)
1. Just in case you were all dying for more Jake Pavelka news, The Bachelor is not gay, former contestant and current Bachelorette Ali Fedowtowsky says. “Just because he wears really nice turtleneck sweaters doesn’t mean he’s gay,” she adds.
2. I have this rule: Never live with anything that can’t poop outside and/or flush a toilet. This means no cats, no guinea pigs, no hamsters, etc. But it still seems like these folks are doing a good thing. Also: How do you abandon a guinea pig? Aren’t they pretty portable?
3. You might be able to get a license plate that says, “GOHORNS,” but you won’t be able to get one that says, “12THMAN.” I will refrain from making an Aggie joke, mostly because I’ve not yet had caffeine, and don’t have the time to explain it.
4. I am going to post this Jim Schutze blog post just so I can say, “Tits Tuesday.” After that, I will leave it to you FrontBurnervians to come up with alliterative options for the rest of the week.
5. I like whiskey. It doesn’t like me so much, but I like it. I kind of laid off of it for a while after a ill-advised quaffing of one shot called “The Three Wise Men,” followed by “The Four Horsemen.” That being said, any band that includes the word whiskey in its title gets my vote. Tonight the Inwood Tavern hosts Whiskey Pants, comprised of folks from Deep Blue Something and the Grand Street Cryers. The latter’s CD is still in my car. But tonight, the Inwood Tavern? You should go to it.
Best of Big D Readers’ Choice 2010: The Results
Do you remember from March through June, when we asked you again and again and again and again to vote in our first Best of Big D: Readers’ Choice poll? We received nearly 900,000 votes for your picks of the best in the city’s food and drink, nightlife, services, and shopping.
The August issue of D Magazine has arrived, and you can read the winners here. Who knew that you think that Sonny Bryan’s has the best barbecue, that the Old Monk has the best bar patio, that Weir’s is the best furniture store, and that Bibbentuckers is the best dry cleaner. Check out the entire list, and then see what our editors have to say on these matters.
Stephanie March Gives Up Her Birthday for a Good Cause
Even though Law & Order: SVU is my least favorite of the franchise, I like Stephanie March a whole bunch. I like that she’s always been super nice when we’ve asked her to help with something magazine-related. I like that she had the drama bug way back in high school. I’ve heard rumors that she may have even dabbled in the dark art of mime. This seems far fetched—especially since she went to Highland Park High School. I also like that she is married to Bobby Flay. (I know. I know. I’m not happy about the Betty Draper January Jones business either.) So that’s a lot of things to like. But the best thing is, she’s kind. March has decided that she’s done having birthdays. (Me, too. But for different reasons.) In lieu of birthday gifts, she is asking friends and families to give donations to World of Children, which helps kids all over the world. She’d like you to do consider doing the same. And she even wrote a piece about it for the Huffington Post, which you can read here.
Reader Mail of the Day
Offered without comment or editing:
I have a college degree. In fact, I have a Masters degree. I wrote a thesis. And had I written it like you do your magazine I would never have received a Masters degree. It would have been considered a bunch of shit! On the front of your magazine you have all these topics that supposedly you have articles about in your magazine. I open the magazine to the first page and I don’t find an index. No, I find advertisements for various articles/supplies. The next page it is shit about you, your partners and other non headline crap and then another advertisement on the next page. Then another advertisement. Then some bullshit “contents” page.
Your contents page never mentions a word about tex-mex, burgers , etc you show on your magazine cover. How the hell do you expect people to find anything? I suggest you start hiring people that have at least have a high school diploma and have written at least one term paper so readers can find the articles you tout on your cover. Meanwhile I have instructed my wife to cancel our subscription. I am sick and tire of searching for highlighted articles. I just don’t have the time to waste trying to figure out where you have hidden your articles.
FYI, the contents page should be visible after you open the cover or at least on the following page. Not hidden somewhere within the magazine where people have to search for what they are looking for.
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