Articles for March 22nd, 2011
The Texas Rangers’ C.J. Wilson Proves Further That His Life is Better Than Yours
Remember last week, when I speculated that pitcher C.J. Wilson of the Texas Rangers might just be the Most Interesting Man in the World? Yeah, well. Now he’s been in a FunnyorDie video. With the producer of Lost. I give up.
Win Free Tickets to Dividing the Estate
FrontRow is giving away a pair of tickets to tomorrow night’s performance of Horton Foote’s Dividing the Estate at the Wyly Theater. M. Lance Lusk raved about it, and I liked it too.
Click here to enter until 3pm.
A Message to the FrontBurnervian “Gotcha” Gang
The inimitable Stephen Fry takes on language pedants, and thereby provides a lesson for everyone. (Copy editors, please do not view):
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: March 22
I woke up this morning to find that a platoon of obnoxious little ants had invaded my shower. With not-inconsiderable glee, I massacred the entire army with a few strategic blasts of hot water. Nothing like a little violence to start the day off right.
Speaking of violence, plenty of playwrights and screenwriters rely on a good old-fashioned fist fight to amp up (or break) the tension. Not so with Horton Foote. Throughout Dividing the Estate, the family dramedy playing this evening at the Wyly Theatre, Foote is much too deft and gentle a writer (call it his Southern sensibilities, if you will) to resort to any kind of physical displays. But don’t get me wrong — the play doesn’t lack for stakes or hostility, however sublimated by humor. FrontRow’s M. Lance Lusk sums it up much more eloquently than I could here, so read his review before you go.
Also of interest: the Foote Festival has not only inspired a union of sorts between the local theaters, but reunions of another kind. This production calls up former DTC company members Kurt Rhoads (who gives my favorite performance as the erstwhile Lewis, though my companion noticed that his modern-looking watch looked out of place) and Nance Williamson, who first acted opposite each other in the 1980s. The cast is rounded out by another former company member, Akin Babatunde, who recently directed and performed in an evening of one-acts celebrating Black History Month at South Side on Lamar.
D Magazine Bracket Standings
If your case of March Madness is making it difficult to wait for the next round, on Thursday, here’s a little bump to take the edge off. In the D Magazine bracket challenge for the $150 gift certificate to Ozona, heads and tails sits alone atop the leader board. Zac (And Pitt Makes Me Sad) is tied for 13th, Krista (Fighting Mennonites) is tied for 153rd, and I’m (The Rogers Situation) holding steady at a tie for 23rd. Every year I pick my favorite my bracket names. This year’s cleverest:
Chalking to the Sky (9)
Awaiting Moderation (13)
Tim Duncan Loves Waffles (23)
Ebby’s 5 Mins or Less Bracket (62)
‘Stache of Rawlings (83)
Archie and Arthur Debate Team (83)
Hansen’s Hollow Leg (192)
That’s the way basketball go (208)
Quite a few Charlie Sheen references that I didn’t include because I thought they were pretty obvious. I’m disappointed not to see a single John Wiley Price bracket. You’re All White didn’t occur to anyone? You should be ashamed of yourselves.
The Odd Recruiting Strategy of the George W. Bush Presidential Center
Through his eight years in the White House, President Bush led with courage and compassion — and that leadership continues today as President and Mrs. Bush create the George W. Bush Presidential Center thanks to the support of proud Americans like you.
Today it is a great honor to present to you a 2011 Membership Card from the Bush Center. I am sending this to you on behalf of President and Mrs. Bush, because I believe you appreciate the extraordinary service they gave our Nation and our world during their years in the White House, and that you embrace the values and ideals that President and Mrs. Bush continue to advance through the Bush Center.
Since I’ve had this Membership Card commissioned especially for you, I want to make sure that it arrived promptly, and that you will support the action-oriented programs President and Mrs. Bush are creating at the Bush Center.
So please take a moment to complete the Receipt Confirmation and Membership RSVP I’ve enclosed for you, and send it back to me today along with a tax-deductible gift of at least $25, and help President and Mrs. Bush continue their public service through the George W. Bush Presidential Center.
Sure enough, the letter came with an Official Membership Card — only it had my 12-year-old son’s name on it. In fact, The Honorable Mark Langdale sent the letter to my son. There is no doubt that the lad is a proud American. But I’d be very surprised if he pays the $25 to belong to the Bush Center.
The Other Big Story About AT&T
AT&T, $39 billion, T-Mobile, blah, blah, and so on. I’d like to remind you about President George W. Bush’s warrantless surveillance program that in 2008 became the FISA Amendments Act. What that means is the NSA is still monitoring Americans’ phone and internet use with the help of AT&T. Yesterday, though, a federal appeals court reinstated an important legal challenge to that surveillance. Wired has the details — and a pic of a secret room at AT&T where that surveillance happens.
Leading Off (3/22/11)
Cops to Drop Docs on Bryan McCann. The Cowboys cornerback says he wasn’t drunk when he was arrested at the downtown club Plush. Cops say otherwise, and they’ll release documents today to prove it.
Man With Fresh Face Strikes World’s Fancy. Dallas Wiens is the Fort Worth guy who got the country’s first full face transplant in Boston. He’s international news now. They’re talking about him in China. But everyone is going to be very surprised when, at his first press conference, Wiens pulls off that face and reveals himself to be — John Travolta!
Counselor Clashes With Court Over Caraway Tapes. Mayor Dwaine Caraway’s lawyer is doing his best (sub req) to keep the “Arthur and Archie” tapes away from public ears, but I still have hope that we’ll get to hear them. Please, Santa, bring me the WAV file. Or MPEG. Whatever format is convenient.
Irving Coach Tries To Tamp Down Tempest Over Tattoo. Irving MacArthur coach Suzie Oelschlegel promised her girls basketball team that she would get a tattoo of the team’s motto if they won the state title. They won. The motto: “We n dat thang.” The internet tells me that the motto comes from the title of song by a young man who goes by the handle Crunk Joo$e (who is entranced by his own bowel movements, apparently). Anyway, so a faux controversy has arisen over this tattoo. The DMN writes about it today (no link because that’s the way I sometimes roll with the paywall). But the hubbub got started with this Yahoo Rivals post. Oelschlegel hasn’t gotten the tat yet and just wants to focus on her girls’ big victory. Man, now I can’t get that song out of my head.
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