Articles for March, 2011
Plano-based Gearbox’s Duke Nukem Forever Rewards Violence Toward Women
Plano-based Gearbox Software may need to make some changes to its highly anticipated Duke Nukem Forever game, set to be released this spring. In development since 1997 (seriously!) the third offering in the iconic Duke Nukem series apparently gives players an opportunity to rack up points by slapping women in an element called “Capture the Babe.”
A report by former Dallasite Stephen C. Webster says anticipation over Duke’s return has reached a fever pitch among longtime gamers. “But how will those same gamers feel about glorifying domestic violence?” Webster wonders.
Gearbox Software acquired intellectual property rights to Duke Nukem last fall in a deal with Garland-based 3D Realms. Randy Pitchford, president of Gearbox Software, helped launch the Duke Nukem brand at 3D, before forming his own company.
Of course violence in video games is nothing new. But how much is too much? Webster quotes an interview with Pitchford in The Official XBox Magazine: “Our goal isn’t to shock people, but I think there’s some stuff that’s a bit uncomfortable. I mean, the alien’s plan is to capture our women and impregnate them to breed an alien army, so you can imagine some horrible [stuff] happens.”
Custom Clothier J. Hilburn Discovers the Internet
A St. Paul Place-based Frontburnervian passes along news from TechCrunch that Dallas-based J. Hilburn, which was called one of the best custom clothiers in the city by D CEO, has today added an e-commerce operation (and an iPhone app).
Who Wants to See House of Pain?
One of my oldest friends is a cat named Darius Holbert. We met on the bus to DISD’s Alex W. Spence Talented and Gifted Academy — a school that also produced Tim Rogers and Robert Wilonsky — and then went on to graduate from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.
Darius is doing far more with his gifts and talents these days than me, Tim, or Robert. The dude’s making a living as a musician in Los Angeles. His current gig is playing with the reunited House of Pain of “Jump Around” fame. Go to the 4:20 mark — heh heh — of this video to see him absolutely abuse his keyboard.
If you’d like to see more of this, House of Pain is playing the South Side Music Hall tonight. The first 10 people to e-mail me at editor@peoplenewspapers.com get a free pair of tickets.
Dwaine Caraway’s Cop Car Confessional Released
At long last, below you will find the Dwaine Caraway audio (courtesy of our friends at the Observer). It’s interesting — but not in the way many of us expected it would be. Though he is foul-mouthed, Caraway is calm and collected as he explains to cops what went down in his house that night between him and wife. It really is easy to see where the guy is coming from. He’s trapped in his game room. His wife, state Rep. Barbara Mallory Caraway, has a knife. How long can he remain trapped? He has to come out eventually. And when he does, he’ll have to protect himself. Someone will get hurt. The only course of action? Call the police to help diffuse the situation. Sure, I’m with him.
Except. But.
Are we really to believe that this whole thing started, as Caraway says, because his wife was throwing out some of his aprons and he asked her not to? Why did Barbara freak out so violently? Because, as Caraway says on the tape, she might have a chemical imbalance? Or because, as he says later, she can’t handle power?
Then there are the clothes strewn about the living room floor. Caraway mentions these to cops several times. He wants them to know that his house doesn’t normally look like that. He’s been organizing his closets, he says, and that’s why the suits and so forth are all over the place. Riiight. That’s usually what I do, too, when I have people over to watch football games. I take out all my clothes and spread them around the living room so my buddies can help me tidy up my closets during commercial breaks.
Dwaine Caraway is a liar. He’s been lying throughout this whole process. I feel for him on the marital discord stuff. He’s clearly got problems on the homefront. But he wasn’t telling the cops the truth about what, exactly, went down that night.
The question remains: what is Caraway trying to cover up?
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: March 23
The other day, my mom asked me if I had ever watched the Fox television show Glee. I said yes, but that I thought it was an unmitigated train wreck of poor writing and lazy storytelling. The concept had a lot of potential, but the execution is lacking — mostly in something that feels like actual heart. Other shows, like my beloved Veronica Mars and Buffy, did high school much better.
However, I will say this. Glee has managed to make Broadway musicals cool in a way that producers of big-budget Hollywood adaptations only dreamed of. And if that wretched TV show inspires one kid to join choir in a time when arts education is so consistently shortchanged, then I’m okay with it.
And that brings me to tonight’s offering: Jennifer Holliday, who originated the role of Effie White in Dreamgirls on Broadway, performs tonight at the Meyerson with the Turtle Creek Chorale and the men’s gospel chorus of First Baptist Church of Hamilton Park. The chorale and men’s chorus, choirs from very different backgrounds, have been collaborating for about 17 years, but tonight marks their first concert together of this kind. Holliday will join the guys for contemporary pop selections, but a solo rendition of “And I Am Telling You, I’m Not Going” is a sure thing, along with other hits from Dreamgirls.
Unfortunately, lower levels are sold out, but grand tier seats are still available— which makes for an excellent and affordable concert experience. Plus, I’ve been assured that the 50-year-old Holliday has “pipes that could carry down the street.” I’m inclined to believe that. Take advantage of Screen Door’s happy hour before the performance, which offers a selection of drinks like spiked lemonade and sangria and tasty apps like BBQ pork nachos for five bucks a pop.
Not inspired? Find more things to do tonight right here.
The Tomato Pizza (Formerly of Denton’s Fry Street) to Reopen in Sanger
In the February issue of the “print product,” I wrote about the much-beloved Tomato pizza place in Denton, and attempts to bring it back to Fry Street, where it had stood as a pillar of the community for more than 20 years before developers came in and razed it and the surrounding buildings a few years ago.
Just heard that there are plans to bring the Tomato back to life in Sanger, a small town north of Denton where Tomato owners Becky and “Ski” Slusarski live. Here’s hoping it’s just the first step in a relaunch, that they’re wildly successful in Sanger, and that they’ll be able to open a second location back on Fry Street when that development finally stands.
John Antioco and Carl Icahn Duke It Out Over Failure of Blockbuster
A FrontBurnervian who doesn’t make good basketball bets points us to a back-and-forth on the Harvard Business Review’s site between John Antioco and Carl Icahn. Antioco, the CEO at the helm when the ship went down, and Icahn, the activist investor who bristled at Antioco’s enormous compensation, both wrote a story for the magazine about why Blockbuster sank. Then Antioco responded to Icahn in the comments online.
Antioco on his compensation:
It’s always struck me as strange that it’s okay for Carl and others to make billions on their version of truth and justice, but CEOs making a lot of money, usually on stock appreciation, is “egregious” (one of Carl’s favorite words).
And on his work ethic, which Icahn criticized:
I’m not sure what lead to his assessment, but of all the criticism I’ve received in my life (much of which was justified) I have never heard that one before. To use another one of Carl’s favorite expressions “I take umbrage at that remark”. Carl works hard (in his unique style and fashion) and so do I.
I’m sure all this witty repartee delights the hundreds of mid-level folks at Blockbuster who are now looking for work.
Leading Off (3/23/11)
Dez Bryant Receives Criminal Trespass Warning at NorthPark. This was after, allegedly, the Dallas Cowboys wide receiver em-effed off-duty police working security at the mall when they told him to pull his pants up. Under the warning, Bryant could be arrested if he returns to the mall in the next 90 days. He doesn’t sound worried: “Headed to North Park tomorrow to get these Lebrons….I am not banned from North park lol,” Bryant tweeted last night. SMH.
Mayor Caraway Loses Legal Battle, Tapes to be Released. What is on the recording the police made when they came to Caraway’s home looking into a domestic disturbance? We will know soon, it looks like. This, once again, proves that what gets you in trouble is never the crime but the cover-up. You would have thought good friends like Arthur and Archie would have told Caraway that. SMDH.
Bedford’s Daystar Television Network Downsizing After Sex Scandal. But the move by the Christian network (home to Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, and others) has nothing at all — nudge nudge – to do with the revelations of adultery by founder/televangelist Rev. Marcus Lamb and threats of extortion and the resulting lawsuits and countersuits and whatnot. LOL.
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.
Home |
Masthead |
News from D |
About Us |
Contact Us |
Subscribe |
Advertise |
Privacy Policy |
Customer Service |
Awards | Archives | Reprints | d custom | Jobs | Advertiser's Index
Awards | Archives | Reprints | d custom | Jobs | Advertiser's Index