Articles for October, 2010
Eric Celeste Quits Watkins Campaign
Well, we won’t have Eric Celeste to kick around anymore. Gromer Jeffers tells us that Eric has added another to his long string of quittings. The funny thing is, I’m having lunch with Eric right now. I asked him for a quote.
“If there’s one thing I know how to do,” Eric said, “it’s quit something. The only thing I love more than quitting is force-quitting.”
I’m working hard right now to get a quote from Clancy’s camp, but I can guess what they’ll say. Now that their “insurance policy,” as they call Eric, is out of the equation, they’ll need to raise $200,000 more.
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: Oct. 6
Before we get into what to do after you’ve stopped typing for the day, I want to give you a heads-up about next Friday morning’s bike ride to City Hall. All riders are welcome—even those of us with big-ass Pee-wee Herman-style cruisers—and several meet-up groups have formed for cyclists who want to ride in a pack to the starting point (Union Station).
Moving on. Vampire Weekend is in town tonight. If you want my opinion—and if you’re still reading at this point it’s possible you do—these kids produce some seriously fun, feel-good music that should help get you through the rest of the week. Witness “Oxford Comma” and “A Punk.”
However, let’s just say you’re feeling blue. You’ve accepted it, and you don’t expect anything—not even puppies or a free bag of Skittles—to pull you up from the pit of despair. Then you, friend, should check out two Edward Albee plays, The American Dream and The Sandbox, which open tonight at Bath House Cultural Center. Albee also brought us the incredible but soul-crushing Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? so be prepared for lingering melancholy. That said, I think it will be worth it to see these short works brought to life.
Check out these other things to do in Dallas, and have a great night.
Robbers Abandon Car and ATM on I-30
Some guys stole an ATM, and then loaded it into a car. A sedan. I’m sitting here, thinking of the average size of a sedan’s back seat and/or trunk and the average size of an ATM, and I have to say – I am impressed with Chevrolet.
Buy American, y’all.
Woot Rick Rolls Amazon
An alert FBvian points us to the Amazon homepage. Scroll down all the way to the bottom. Glad to see those guys haven’t lost their sense of humor.
Liverpool Fans Beg Tom Hicks to Get Out
Watch this video. The sincerity with which these Liverpool fans ask Tom Hicks to get out of their club almost — almost — makes me think the video might actually get Hicks to respect their wishes.
Hang on.
Never mind. That feeling just passed. This video is wasted breathe.
Update: Yeah, I guess the video isn’t working. Two groups have offered to buy the team. The board has agreed to sell to one. Hicks is trying to block the sale.
ACE Fees Stir Up Highland Park Residents
Our sister blog, parkcitiespeople.com, is on fire with this thread about ACE (Athletic Commitment to Excellence) fees. Merritt Patterson started doing some searching after she couldn’t find a line-by-line description of what the fees are used for. She finally found this. She also discovered that neither Southlake nor Plano have ACE fees. A FrontBurnervian just e-mailed me asking the following question.
I wonder what non-Parkies think of the $250 ACE fee for public schools. Plano and Southlake don’t have them. HPISD says we must charge the fee to make up for budget deficits caused by Robin Hood. Anyone ever heard of cutting the budget?
So what do those outside of the bubble think?
UPDATE: Helen Williams, director of communications at HPISD, called to offer some clarification. She wanted to reiterate that there is a 348-page ledger that breaks out all the costs for the athletic department. This ledger shows that the ACE fee covers 21-22 percent of that budget. Anyone is welcome to come look at the ledger to see where the fees go. Also, Williams wanted to ensure people understood where the audited financial figures for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 athletic budgets (found in this post and in the comments here) came from. You’ll find those documents here, here, and here.
Leading Off (10/6/10)
1. Today is the day that we bandwaggoners have been waiting for all our lives. The Rangers begin postseason play against the Rays at 12:30, with Cliff Lee taking the mound for the good guys. A certain managing editor of a certain group of community newspapers has asked that we not turn the office TVs to the game or even discuss the game, because he’s on deadline and is DVRing the game so he can watch it fresh when he gets home. Good luck with that, Dan.
2. Downtown’s First Baptist has announced that it will implode four buildings on October 30. One presumes they’ll be able to save money on explosives by having the Almighty destroy the buildings with his energy beam eyesight.
3. Tip for would-be burglars: if you’re going to break into the home of an off-duty police officer, make sure the off-duty officer isn’t home at the time. Know why? Cops carry guns, even when they’re not on duty.
Collin Co. DA John Roach: I’ll Ignore Grand Jury
As part of our continuinig series of Collin County Gone Mad, here’s today’s question for the legal scholars out there in FrontBurner Land: if a grand jury indicts a district attorney, can the district attorney impanel a new grand jury and resubmit the case to it?
Carville, Matalin Predict a ‘Hurricane’ on Nov. 2
Political strategists James Carville and Mary Matalin, the left/right Odd Couple of D.C. punditry who now reside in New Orleans, agree on one thing: the Democrats are headed for a political “hurricane” on Nov. 2. The only question now, they concur, is whether the storm will be a Category 5, a Category 4 or a Category 3.
The polls a month ago predicted a Category 5 for the Dems, the couple who’ve been married since 1993 believe, and today–about a month before the election–it’s probably a Category 4. “If it turns out to be a 5, that means you’re totally wiped out,” Carville explained at a luncheon in Dallas today. “If it’s a 3 it’s bad, but the structure will still be standing.”
So what, somebody asked Carville, would a 5 actually mean? “Hello, Sen. O’Donnell,” cracked the former adviser to Bill Clinton, referring to tea-party favorite Christine O’Donnell in Delaware. And a 3? Replied Carville: “Hi, Gov. White.” Carville and Matalin, a former adviser to George W. and Dick Cheney, were interviewed by John C. Goodman, president and CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis, at the Hilton Anatole.
Eric Nadel a Finalist for Baseball Hall of Fame Award
You can check out the full release after the jump, but our own Eric Nadel is one of 10 finalists named today for the 2011 Ford C. Frick Award, presented every year for excellence in baseball broadcasting. Nancy happens to be a bud of Nadel’s, so she made up this quote for him: “I’m absolutely stunned, totally honored and flattered. I have never thought of myself in the company of the people who have won this award. I’m extremely grateful to the committee for thinking of me in these terms.”
I’m kidding. He actually said that. Well, he didn’t say it. He typed it. But you get the point.
Seriously, congrats to Eric. We’ll find out during the winter meetings who gets the nod.
Office Tenants at the Ballpark Must Pay To Watch Playoffs
I saw this first on WFAA last night, and now the Dallas Morning News has a story about how leaseholders of office space at Rangers Ballpark are being told by the MLB that they must pony up some money if they want to watch the playoff games from their balconies. The businesses in question are irritated, because they’ve never been asked to do it before.
But here’s a question: Say the Rangers make it past the first round, and there’s a game played during the week, that happens to be during the business hours of these businesses. How is the MLB planning on collecting then?
Clear Your Schedules: Idea Week Begins October 11
On October 16, the second installment of the TEDxSMU conference happens at the Wyly. (For more on last year’s, go here.) It’s sold out and has been for a bit. But! You can still participate, because in addition to TEDXSMU this year, there is Idea Week, an entire week’s worth of events leading up to the conference — many free to the public, all worth attending. It’s a tangible sign that exciting conversations are happening in Dallas, which are leading to exciting ideas, which are leading to exciting real-life creations. Now’s a good and easy time to jump in.
Full schedule and more information — including our part in this, a huge outdoor screening of Casablanca — are after the jump. Which is after this sentence.
Neiman Marcus 2010 Christmas Book Unveiled
“This is when I miss my 30 percent discount,” says Casey Miller, former Neiman Marcus employee, as he watched me flip through the 2010 Christmas Book. As I did a quick calculation of what 30 percent off a $15,000 edible gingerbread house would be, I began reconsidering my career. But before I could get an app for Neiman Marcus, I was distracted by the beckoning of “Jingle Bells” from around the corner. As I stepped onto Ervay Street, I was suddenly hit with the nostalgic feeling of the holidays—Santa hats hung on parking meters, a red carpet led me down the street, and crushed red velvet curtains hung over the NM windows.
If you’re one of those traditionalists who believes stockings and Christmas trees shouldn’t be displayed until after the Thanksgiving turkey is devoured (looking at you, Tim), then you have not met my friends at Neiman Marcus. They believe the holidays begin with the launch of their Christmas book. I believe they’re right. So that means that today marks the beginning of the holidays.
Today, media types wandered around in the 67-degree October morning and anxiously awaited the reveal of the fantasy gifts, which were hidden behind the giant velvet curtains. We didn’t have to wait long as Gerald Barnes, president of Neiman Marcus Direct, counted down from five to reveal the fantasy gifts. As the mighty curtains (hung just two hours prior) dropped, we saw…
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: Oct. 5
I had your Tuesday all planned out: Check out the sale at Accents. Hang out with monks. Eat dinner at Oishii. Record tonight’s new episode of Billy the Exterminator.
But then a source deep within the D hive alerted me to something very cool: free tango lessons on the patio at The Wine Therapist in Lakewood. I hereby instruct you to find a babysitter, grab a partner (and a sweater), and prepare to dip or be dipped. If your mate isn’t keen on dancing in public, ply him or her with a glass or two of Argentine wine and ask again. And if he or she still won’t budge, lay claim to one of the bar’s comfy sofas and get cozy. The people-watching should be good regardless of how you occupy yourselves.
Dinner tonight is a no-brainer: walk over to York Street, where you’ll start with a bowl of soup. You’re on your own after that.
Browse these other things to do in Dallas, and have a great night.
Traffic Apocalypse Headed to Arlington?
Our own Nancy Nichols will be headed out to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington for Game 4 of the American League Division Series — if Game 4 is needed. Major League Baseball has yet to determine when that game will be played, but surely they would put some distance between it and the Cowboys game, which is at 3:15, right? Because otherwise Arlington is going to be a mess.
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