Articles for August, 2010
Leading Off (8/5/10)
1. And it’s finished. Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg won with their final bid of $385 million cash around 1 a.m.
2. And there’s another legal battle going on. It’s almost like the Ryan/Cuban thing and the Rangers, except it’s between Gloria’s owners Gloria and Jose Fuentes, former Gloria’s manager Mario Alfaro, and a recipe for bean dip. And, yes, there will be live blogging of these court proceedings as well.
3. Don’t you just hate when you go to a store and products just “roll underneath your purse” without your knowledge and then you try to walk out with those items and then get caught? Yep. I hate that, too. And so does former Miss USA winner, Shannon Marketic. Although, would we care if she weren’t the former USA winner? Probably not. Does it make it more interesting that one of the items that “rolled under her purse” was a beauty product? Yes. Yes it does.
UT Southwestern’s Simmons Cancer Center Gets More Prestigious
In February, we ran a story about Harold Simmons in which we detailed the questionable methods by which he gained licenses to bury nuclear waste on a questionable site in West Texas. The story was not flattering. We called him an evil genius.
We fielded more than one complaint about our story that went like this: “How could you do that to Harold Simmons? He has given millions to charity! Dallas is a better place for his generous giving.” I agree with that latter statement. As evidence, comes news today that the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center is now a National Cancer Institute (NCI), an elite designation (according to the release). It’s the only medical center in North Texas so designated.
That’s wonderful. His giving has certainly made a huge positive difference in Dallas. But it doesn’t mean the man is a saint. It just means he’s not pure evil.
Anyway, it’s in poor form for me to bring this up now. Today’s about celebrating. Congrats to the folks at UT Southwestern. Full release after the jump.
Perry-White Donation Map
Matt Stiles at the Texas Tribune has created this cool-looking map, which shows donations to each candidate in proportion to the size of population of the town from which it was made. Its an interesting idea, if not particularly useful. The red blobs around Dallas, for example, are large because the donations come from suburbs like Westlake and Argyle. The largest blue blob in East Texas comes from one wealthy trial lawyer. Also, there isn’t any real relationship between size of donations and size of communities. So why create one? Wouldn’t it be more interesting — and more telling — to see the number of donations of, say, over $500 to each camp? Or a graph of which industries and special interest groups are supporting which candidate? C’mon, Matt. We love maps and graphs here (and we’re too busy/lazy to do them ourselves). Give us some that mean something.
A Short Transcript of a Moment from the Rangers’ Court Proceedings
From the traitorous Evan Grant, blogging about what’s shaking at the bankruptcy auction: “3:33: Tim Cowlishaw and Daniel Kaplan report lawyers are dropping f-bombs on each other in the hallway. Now, this I’m sorry I missed.”
I made a few calls to find out what happened. Here is what I was able to gather:
CUBAN/CRANE LAWYER: Hey, guys, go friend yourself.
GREENBERG/RYAN LAYWER: Friend yourself first, friend stick.
CUBAN/CRANE LAWYER: I want you friends to go friend yourself with a gigantic friending jackhammer.
GREENBERG/RYAN LAYWER: You know what, friend-o. Give it a shot. I would pay all this friending money to see that. Seriously.
So…I guess they were having a discussion about Facebook? Seems odd timing, but I guess that’s why this is taking so long.
It’s an F-Bomb Bonanza at Rangers Auction
The Dallas Morning News has gotten all kinds of considerate and given us an easy way to watch their reporters tweet their way through the auction.
Highlights so far?
Greenberg’s lawyer told CRO lawyer that he was told they’d get a reasonable amount of time to review the Cuban/Crane bid, adding, “eff you.” Then someone else replied in kind. Apparently there’s more cursing going on in the hallway.
Zac, you better bring your A game.
Newtoy Bigwig Responds to Bitchy Words With Friends Players
An alert FrontBurnervian pointed me to the current comments that folks are making about Words With Friends. Sample: “This app totally blows chunks!!! It’s worse that Obama!!” Folks are getting interminably long spinny wheels, along with the frustrating “rebuilding” message. Please know that I feel for everyone who has experienced these hiccups. Me, personally, since I became good, close, tight, almost brother-like friends with the Newtoy guys after we put them on the cover in June, I get my games routed through a special VIP-only server reserved for special VIPs such as Rhett Miller, Justin Bieber, and all of Chelsea Clinton’s bridesmaids. We never experience delays when we play Words With Friends. We also get non-random tile draws. Those all-vowel racks became a thing of the past the day I was promoted to the special VIP status. Thanks, Newtoy!
Anyway, I asked my best friend David Bettner, co-founder of Newtoy, what is going on with the servers for the hoi polloi. Here’s what he had to say:
We’re working as fast as we can to increase server performance to help alleviate these issues. We’ve had some bugs cause decreased server performance which is why people are experiencing long ‘updating…’ times during peak hours. Version 3.10 should help resolve these issues over the next few days as more people update.
The reality is that we’re constantly trying to stay ahead of the growth curve and this is one of those points where we’ve fallen behind a bit. We’re releasing another update (3.11) to Apple in the next few days which should help more with performance and give us a little more breathing room.
Thanks again for sending this over. Have you personally been experiencing any issues?
That last question from him was rich. It made me laugh. David! You slay me!
Ex Libris: Legacy Books in Plano to Close
The Dallas Morning News has more details, but what is probably one of Frontburner’s favorite book stores, Legacy Books in Plano, will close Saturday, Aug. 14.
Silverish lining? Store manager and operator Teri Tanner has formed Double T Consulting, a company “dedicated to pursuing independent bookselling and other retail opportunities.”
(Editor’s Note: Bethany is correct. We named Legacy the Best Bookstore in Dallas in our current issue. You will now have to depend on the Readers’ Choice: Half Price Books.)
Okay, Fine: I, Zac Crain, Will Purchase the Texas Rangers, Ctd.
I have been told by a highly placed confidential source that if I sweeten my deal to include a high-five, one 20-pack of Capri Sun (fruit punch flavor only — definitely a deal breaker), one Big Ass Fans baseball cap (green preferred), five minutes of uninterrupted eye contact, a digital recording of me singing the chorus to “Dream Police,” and two tickets to paradise, the team is as good as mine.
Gregory’s Shoes Enthrall Jaded D Magazine Intern
Brave D Magazine intern Hannah Boen was curious to see for herself just what makes Gregory’s the Best Shoe Store in Dallas, as we have declared in our August issue.
So she visited the Galleria and forced her foot into that contraption you see at left. She also filed a report about her discoveries, which you can read after the jump.
BONUS: Take the ShopTalk Celebrity Shoe Quiz. A fantastic prize awaits the winner.
Here’s Hannah:
What to Do in Dallas Tonight: Aug. 4
Before we go any further, I’m going to need you to suspend any weight-loss goals you may have for the night. Either that, or you’ll need to go for a very, very long run.
If you haven’t reserved a spot at the Wine vs. Beer Smackdown at Scardello, you must do so now. Come with an empty stomach and an open mind. You may think you’re firmly in the beer or wine camp, but owner Rich Rogers tells me the last course—a chocolaty blue cheese paired with a chocolate stout and a dessert wine—may challenge your allegiances.
Tonight is your last chance to catch Sally Glass’ Incidental Insider exhibit at Magnolia Theatre. Poke around for a bit, and stay for a movie. Given all that delicious cheese you’ve ingested, I recommend something on the lighter side. The Kids Are All Right fits the bill, and it also has a later showing (10:30 p.m.).
If these suggestions don’t suit your fancy, check out other things to do in Dallas.
Dude, Sweet Chocolate Teaches How to Make the Best Chocolate in Dallas
Two members of the D Magazine intern army recently visited the Best Chocolatier in Dallas (Dude, Sweet Chocolate) to learn all of the Oak Cliff shop’s most important chocolate-making secrets. They were also expressly asked to obtain prototypes of the Everlasting Gobstopper, but they returned empty-handed and strangely silent, as if they’d been taught simple life lessons by a race of musically-inclined orange-skinned dwarves. They were caught destroying all evidence of their journey, and it was only by mere chance that we were able to recover the following footage (which reveals the terrifying truth behind “Hill Country chocolate.”) Caution: It may blow your mind.
Okay, Fine: I, Zac Crain, Will Purchase the Texas Rangers
Apparently, there has been some sort of hold-up with this morning’s auction of the Texas Rangers in bankruptcy court. Which has given me just enough time to finalize my bid for the team. Below you’ll find what I believe to be an extremely generous offer.
• My services as a fake name generator, now and in perpetuity. Ask around. I’m awesome.
• All future royalties to my book, Black Tooth Grin. It hasn’t made money yet. In fact, I still owe the publisher like nine grand. But that doesn’t mean it won’t!
• one (1) firm, All-American handshake
• one (1) combination handshake/half-hug
• a single copy of every issue of D Magazine from the past three years
• one (1) copy of the Zac Crain for Mayor double-disc benefit compilation. It has an unreleased Pleasant Grove song!
• My services, now and in perpetuity, as a beard coach
• $9 USD (UPDATE: $9.02 — thanks, Amy)
• one (1) round of the drink of your choice, as long as it is bourbon and water, or similar
• permanent shotgun in my car
Just send me over the paperwork and I’ll have my lawyer take a glance at it. Thanks. Your 2010-11 Texas Rangers: The Time is WOW!
Rangers Auction Postponed Until 11
The Rangers auction was postponed until 11 after the Cuban/Crane bid was challenged by the MLB and the Greenberg/Ryan group.
And something tells me today will not be the day we get this whole thing settled, either. Someone’s gonna be unhappy with the outcome, regardless, and someone’s gonna go to court about it. Again.
That being said, would you like a chance to catch up on what the heck is going on? Here’s a rundown.
Unscientific FrontRow Poll: Do We Care About the SEC’s Wyly Charges?
Do allegations of fraud and insider trading taint the Wylys’ contributions to the local arts scene? That’s the question we’re discussing this morning on FrontRow. Weigh in here.
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