Articles for December 6th, 2010
Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck Does Not Renege on Bets
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and his staff enjoy the barbecue Mayor Cluck sent them after the Rangers lost the World Series.
Chuck Norris’ Pastor Went to Look at the Liberty Bell, and Chuck Got Very Offended
Texas Ranger for real Chuck Norris has the Internets at home, apparently, and writes for something called WorldNetDaily. Today, he talks about how Obama keeps leaving out Jesus, and then how his pastor got all offended because when he went to Philadelphia to look at the Liberty Bell the tour guide told him George Washington didn’t go to church.
He said a lot of other stuff, too, but I think he’d have a better presentation if he included a video of himself giving the National Parks Service guide a roundhouse kick to the head. After all, that’s what Chuck Norris should do when offended, yes? In fact, that’s all I was imagining, and forgot to read the rest. So you do it, and summarize in the comments.
Join Us For the Final Installment of FrontRow’s Film Series, Cinema Paradiso
Have you ever seen Cinema Paradiso, Giuseppe Tornatore’s elegiac love song to the joy of watching movies? Ever see it in an old movie house reminiscent of the theater that is the movie’s heart? Here’s your chance.
Tim O’Hare Wants Farmers Branch to Break Up with Carrollton
Farmers Branch Mayor Tim O’Hare is no stranger to making waves – after all, he headed up an effort to pass an immigration ordinance that has had the city in court defending it since it was passed in 2008.
Now, he wants the city to examine whether it’s time for Farmers Branch to separate from the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD and form its own district. Part of his beef seems to stem from the local chapter of LULAC and its mentoring program designed to reduce the drop out rate. He says having a high school within city limits – one with the all-important Traditional American Values – will raise property values in the city, too. He says real estate agents find it difficult to sell a house in Farmers Branch because of the way the current district is run. Maybe all of that is true, but if I were mayor, and I wanted to make my case, I’d have some hard numbers to back up those statements.
And what’s more interesting is that C-FB ISD board president Lynn Chaffin disagrees with O’Hare, saying the creation of two smaller districts would not be in the best interest of the students, and could actually make Farmers Branch schools more Hispanic. Plus, it costs lots of money to create a new school district and build a new high school.
News Solves Problem by Charging for TV Weekly
Here’s the problem. Not many people actually rely on printed TV guides anymore. (TV Guide itself once was the best-selling magazine in America.) But those that do rely on them are devoted. So if you’re a newspaper publisher, you’ve been printing a gadzillion guides that cost a bundle but that only a few of your subscribers want. But those subscribers are adamant about their beloved guides. If you eliminate the guides, you’ll lose those readers. So what do you do? Simple. You start charging for them. You make the few people who want them to pay out the nose to get them. That slices the print order expense and produces new income. Brilliant!
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: Dec. 6
I was prepared to cry “for shame” at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra when I learned that their performance of Handel’s Messiah isn’t scheduled to take place until next April. Is it or is it not a Christmas tradition? Why is the DSO requiring me to send all of you over to Fort Worth this evening, to see Cowtown’s finest fiddlers tackle this choral masterpiece?
But then my thorough research determined that, actually, Handel’s work was first performed during Lent, not Advent. So now I’m not sure what to believe. (Discussion Topic: Which is the greater holiday, Christmas or Easter?)
Until I sort out just how to feel about this shocking revelation, I’m going to stand by my endorsement of the Forth Worth Symphony Orchestra concert featuring the Southwestern Seminary Master Chorale. It should be a hoot.
Meanwhile, if you’re constitutionally incapable of trekking down Interstate 30, here are other things to do in Dallas.
Barbecue-Gate: The Case of DMN’s Leslie Brenner v Full Custom Gospel BBQ Blogger Daniel Vaughn
An interesting controversy erupted late last week after DMN restaurant critic, Leslie Brenner, released her Best in DFW: Barbecue list. Some folks think she ripped the list off from a local food blog. In case you have been leading a normal life and missed the brouhaha, you can catch up on SideDish.
Don Meredith, R.I.P.
The legendary Cowboys quarterback died last night of a brain hemorrhage at his Santa Fe home. Curt Sampson was able to visit Don there for a tribute to the “First Cowboy” in our October issue. Give it a read this morning.
Leading Off (12/6/10)
1. With today’s opening of the new DART Green Line, Dallas now offers the largest light-rail system in the United States, but ridership levels are still below places like Atlanta and Houston. There are a myriad of explanations for why Dallas-area residents don’t take public transit, but one of them wasn’t mentioned in the DMN article, only implied. In the piece, Mockingbird Station is cited as the “only station where significant mixed-use development has taken place.” My question: what about the Cityplace Station, which sits mere steps from the continually expanding West Village development? Or the Park Lane development which sits across the street from Park Lane Station? The omission, I believe, is indicative of a transit culture that doesn’t know how to see pedestrian connections between stations and services, and therefore considers public transit not useful (this is not aided, it must be said, by the fact that connections are often not architecturally obvious).
2. When discussing education, students often don’t have the chance to the take the floor in the public debate, which is why I found this forum on improving African-American students’ performance interesting. Some of the student feedback:
“Unfortunately, our kids feel that it’s wrong to be smart in class and do their work,” said Monterrio Jones, a Samuell High School senior. “Let go of the act of racism or saying, ‘She’s not teaching me because I’m black.’ No, we need to stand on our own two feet like our ancestors who did it with all odds against them.”
[Devaughdric] Ross said he’s a straight-A student, despite being raised by a single mother who died last year.
“Will I stop here? Will I let these battles, these heartaches, these struggles keep me down? Which I refuse to,” Ross said.
3. The Cowboys won again, finishing off the Colts in an exciting overtime victory that meant nothing.
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