Articles for February, 2011
Rangers’ Young: Too Sensitive–or Just Fed Up?
Over at the DMN (subscription required), the traitor Evan Grant argues that while there’s fault on both sides, the Texas Rangers’ Michael Young is guilty of being “over-sensitive” about his treatment by the team’s management. Give me a break.
Let’s review: First, the brains in the front office asked this All-Star/team leader to switch positions from shortstop to third base. Young did so, and the Rangers wound up winning a pennant. Then, for the upcoming season, the bosses asked Young to move again: give up third base this time and become a “DH/super utility player.” Young may not have liked it, but he was willing to go along with the scheme. Next “trust” broke down somehow, and now Young’s asking to be traded and being called just too darn sensitive.
Think about it: If you’d been jacked around by your overlords for several years in a similar manner, wouldn’t you give a thought to walking too?
Food Nerd News: Ancient Beer Found in Shipwreck! Let’s Name It!
Five bottles of dark, foamy beer were found by divers searching a 19th century shipwreck near Finland’s Aland Islands. Scientists are breaking it down to determine the recipe so they can brew it again. We want YOU to name it.
Angela Hunt: I Will Not Run for Mayor
Sam “Scoop” Merten has it over on Unfair Park: City Council person Angela Hunt will not be running for Dallas mayor.
Gormley: Winter Storms “Rare” in DFW? Not Really
Under fire from critics, everybody from DART and the NFL to the Super Bowl XLV host committee has been stressing the “rare,” record-breaking nature of last week’s storm. But according to this opinion piece from CBS11’s Jay Gormley, harsh snow and ice storms have become almost routine in North Texas in the 2000s. So maybe it’s time for the spinmeisters to quit relying on that particular excuse, and come up with something else that has more credibility.
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: Feb. 9
Fear not, Dallas. The snow monster has paid us another visit, but we shall overcome.
The DMA, the Crow, the Fort Worth Modern, and the Kimbell are all closed, yada yada yada. Let’s talk about what’s open. As of right now, the Southern rockers of Ingram Hill are still set to perform tonight at the House of Blues. But I’ll be honest. I wasn’t that excited about this show until I heard that Austin-based band Dexter Freebish is playing, too. Who else remembers these guys? I spent the better part of eighth grade with the song “Leaving Town” on infinite repeat. This could just be nostalgia talking, but I still think it’s pretty freaking great.
You know Feb. 14 is approaching when Ye Olde Romantic Movies start getting the big screen treatment. When Harry Met Sally, my second favorite pre-surgery Meg Ryan vehicle, is showing tonight at the Plano Angelika. Sure, notoriously cranky author and pop culture fanatic Chuck Klosterman thinks the film is singlehandedly responsible for ruining a lot of people’s lives, but Valentine’s Day is upon us much like the plague. I think we just have to ride it out.
For those who prefer their cinema with a tad less schmaltz, the recently remastered Amarcord is on at the Texas Theatre as part of their evening celebrating filmmaker Frederico Fellini. Fellini fanatic and Fort Worth resident Don Young will be on hand to show off some pieces from his massive memorabilia collection — the largest of its kind in the United States.
If none of these ideas grabbed you, you can always find more things to do tonight here.
Why Tim Rogers and Jim Schutze Can’t Stop Fighting
Because they are BEST FRIENDS.
Sigh …
I know there are places that have this thing called winter all the time. But this is Dallas. If I wanted to spend this much time at home, being contemplative and making chili, I’d move to Alaska – even Sarah Palin’s Alaska.
But today, I’m just wondering if it’s really that bad out there. And if I have to stay in all day, what do I do, FrontBurnervians? Play with the contents of my wet bar? Sit in the hallway and watch the contractor work on my decimated bathroom? Re-read my Laura Ingalls Wilder books? Play TV channel roulette? Knit? Sleep?
Help. Me.
Dear Mark Cuban, It is Time for the “Homer Broadcast”
In defending Bob Ortegal in the comments of this morning’s Leading Off, I brought up this idea:
I still think Cuban would be the ideal team owner to try my version of “freshening things up”: Have a regular broadcast, with Mark, Skin, and whomever — I don’t think [Brad] Davis or [Derek Harper] bring much, but they’d do, I guess. THEN, on HDNet or wherever, the Homer Broadcast. Completely biased coverage: calling out the refs, indulging long-held grudges and minor gripes, occasionally questioning shot selection, cursing, going wildly off-topic if the situation calls for it.
I’m not doing anything else, so let’s explore this a little more.
Leading Off (2/9/11)
Some city council members are iffy on the idea of “Mayor Dwaine Caraway.” But not Caraway. “I think, with the exception of a few last-minute blow-ups and mishaps, and maybe we should call them hiccups, I’ve displayed good leadership,” he says. And he’s right: aside from some blow-ups and mishaps or, as Caraway would have it, hiccups, or maybe gaffes or blunders, or we could call them letdowns or setbacks, or — hey — what about bad breaks? Yeah? No? Anyway. Aside from those things, totally smooth sailing.
ERCOT puts the state on a “Power Watch.” It’s not as much fun as when Epcot does it. I hope you read that half-sensical stab at something before the rolling blackouts hit your house.
Long-time Dallas Mavericks broadcaster Bob Ortegal is out after 23 years. Weird that Ortegal would be sent packing mid-season, and weirder that Mark Cuban’s aim to “freshen things up” means replacing him with Brad Davis and Derek Harper.
Mary Thornberry, 76, former Fort Worth nurse, is back from Cairo. No word on whether she still has her arsenal — walking cane, rolling pin, kitchen knife — on her, but I like to think you can take the 76-year-old woman out of Tahrir Square but you can’t take the Tahrir Square out of the 76-year-old woman.
Oh, and it’s cold. But it probably won’t seem that bad without a few hundred sports media folks in town griping about it.
Richard Fisher Opposes More QE from the Fed
With a nod to John Stemmons (he was speaking at the Stemmons Corridor Business Assocation), the Dallas Fed president says more easing will lead to Carter-era inflation. He also produced this chart to show how various regions of the country are doing, which we showed our D CEO readers back in December.
Star-Telegram Sheds 22 Staffers
Here’s the memo to staff from the president and publisher of the paper:
To: All Employees
From: Gary Wortel
Date: February 8, 2011Over the past six months we have seen encouraging financial improvements in several areas, including retail, employment, local automotive, online and targeted publications. We continue to outperform local competitors in total audience and our broad range of advertising solutions is producing results for customers.
Jim Schutze Doesn’t Know Squat About DART
The Phoenix-based Dallas Observer continues to operate as a parody of itself. Yesterday its franchise columnist, Jim Schutze, put up a snotty post saying that DART is incompetent. When the outfit couldn’t keep its trains running in the foul weather last week, Schutze said, it demonstrated its incompetence. His words:
Check me on this. Dallas Area Rapid Transit, the outfit that runs the trains, didn’t know how to keep their trains running in an ice storm. The same kind of trains operate in winter weather cities all over the world. There’s a way to keep them running in an ice storm. But DART didn’t know how.
I did as Schutze requested and checked him on this. (more…)
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: Feb. 8
This morning I spent way too much time stuck behind a backhoe on the Woodall Rodgers access road, contemplating the radioactive yellow of the construction guy’s vest and the meaning of my existence. Kidding. But I actually was thinking about how I wasn’t nearly as irritated by this as I would have been a couple months ago (transportation delays make New Yorkers very, very angry). I can only conclude that Dallas is good for me.
However, a city is still a city. And if you’ve ever had the urge to throw your smartphone out the window and make for greener pastures, you’re not alone. Fragile Connection, a photography exhibit that opens today in UTD’s University Theatre Gallery, explores the love-hate relationship many of us have with our environment. There’s a reception this afternoon from 1:30-3:30 pm, and admission is free.
Speaking of free (and continuing what seems to be today’s urban theme), local architect Gary Cunningham hosts a panel discussion about sustainable design at the Dallas Center for Architecture. Apparently, buildings that look pretty do not necessarily have to destroy the planet. I’ll pass that along to my friend on the backhoe, if I ever see him again.
As always, you can find more things to do tonight right here.
Leather & Laces Super Bowl XLV Party Hosted by Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt
Holly Madison at Leather & Laces
America’s most famous girls next door hosted the Leather & Laces soiree Saturday night at Hotel ZaZa. Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt were all smiles at the swanky bash, saying hello and posing for pictures with a handful of adoring fans. Bridget arrived first, guarded by towering security guards. She didn’t stop smiling, and she is so much tinier than you’d expect. I’m pretty sure you could fit a bracelet around her thigh. She donned a Playboy-esque jumpsuit, low-cut enough to reveal a pink crystal-studded bra, paired with knee high socks and stilettos.
Holly channeled Marilyn Monroe in a classic black cocktail dress and blonde curls. I was about six inches away from her at one point, and it’s sickening how perfect she looked. (Sorry, girls. She’s definitely not one of those celebs who makes you feel better because she doesn’t look good in person.) You couldn’t convince me that her skin isn’t made of porcelain. (more…)
Super Bowl XLV Party Roundup: How the Celebrities, and “The Situation,” Do Dallas
John Paul DeJoria of Paul Mitchell took to the bumper cars at the Maxim party.
Super Bowl XLV wasn’t just about a football game. Hordes of celebrities made their way to Dallas to take part in the glitz and glamour of the parties leading up to the championship contest. In case you missed any of D Magazine’s coverage of these famous faces, here’s your recap.
Click through any of the links for a treasure trove of photos.
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