Articles for March, 2011
Perry No Fan of Anonymous Commenting
The DMN’s Tom Benning links to a fascinating encounter a former Star-Telegram reporter had recently with Gov. Rick Perry—on an Austin physical therapy table. Among other revelations the guv made to Kevin Lyons: Perry wishes “anonymous comments” weren’t allowed at the end of online newspaper stories. Anonymous commenters, start your engines …
Tommy Lee Jones for U.S. Senate: The Map
Being a big fan of both movies and maps, I enjoyed taking a gander at this. It’s a map devised by Mother Jones staff reporter (and former St. Mark’s School of Texas student) Josh Harkinson.
It attempts to show how the films of Tommy Lee Jones could lead to support for the taciturn actor if he decides to heed the call of the push to draft him into the race for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison. I took issue with two of the picks: Men in Black and Coal Miners’ Daughter.
Over in the Twitterverse, Harkinson stood firm on MIB, but he all-but-admitted he’d blown the assignment by giving Fort Worth CMD. I suggested he move Lonesome Dove over to Fort Worth, since they like to play at cattle-driving, and West Texas remains well-served by No Country For Old Men.
And, yes, Dallas gets JFK. Which would be irritating to some, I suppose, if it didn’t remain a remarkable piece of filmmaking. Yes, it’s loony. But what magnificent lunacy.
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: March 15
You like music, you say? Oh, you like beer, too? You’ll like at least two of tonight’s suggestions.
Fans of the 2006 sleeper hit Little Miss Sunshine will recognize these guys immediately. Indie rock group Devotchka, featured heavily on the film’s soundtrack, is playing alongside local band Telegraph Canyon tonight at the Granada. Telegraph Canyon, of course, has the FrontBurner stamp of approval for rocking so hard at our live event in January. Devotchka may make you want to hop in an old Volkswagon and drive yourself cross-country.
I don’t think I’ve ever met a real tequila connoisseur. Usually, I just meet people with a weakness for the stuff, which leads to hangovers and little knowledge of how it tasted going down. But the folks over at Sevy’s Grill teamed up with Patron to present a unique twist on all the wine and beer dinners I’ve been seeing lately. Chef Buzzy has matched a fairly affordable four-course menu to the different varieties of tequila so you can drink and still remember everything in the morning.
And just in case your Tuesday is already shaping up to be even more brutal than your Monday (and you’re not feeling tequila), may I suggest a post-work pint at the Common Table? Every Tuesday evening the restaurant will tap a special beer and knock a few bucks off the price of drinks.
As always, find more things to do tonight right here.
Shon Gables is in High Demand in Detroit
Uncle Barky is reporting that a Detroit judge has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of WFAA-ABC reporter/anchor Shon Gables. She evidently was scheduled to “testify under oath regarding her assets” in connection with a successful $35,000 slander judgment against her. But something must have come up a couple of times because Shon failed to appear in court twice.
Mark Your Calendars: Run for Human Rights 5K
We don’t do this for just anyone or anything, but Bill Holston has been a friend of the show for a long time, plus he’s just generally a great guy, plus what he (and everyone else at the Human Rights Initiative) is doing is amazing. So. Go to this link and sign up for the Run for Human Rights 5K. It’s at Bachman Lake Park on April 16.
Leading Off (3/15/11)
Kids Are Annoying. What with their laughing, breathing, talking, and playing, kids can really be quite obnoxious. And if you’re planning on having a kid, such as Abbey and Peter Ure did, then you really shouldn’t buy a condo on the second floor because that annoying kid may just cause noise that your downstairs neighbor doesn’t like. I mean, really. (Please realize I’m being facetious. Mostly. Sometimes kids really can be annoying.)
Businesses in Tunnels May Be Asked To Move Up. A proposed plan asks that businesses currently located in the downtown tunnel system move up to street level in three to five years. I’m not a fan of the tunnel system. In the six months we’ve lived downtown, my husband has only been in the tunnels once. He doesn’t work downtown, and the system shuts down by the time downtown residents get home. They hide people away, and some say they’ve contributed to downtown’s lack of street-level retail. So I’m for this plan. And, if you don’t agree, watch this video.
Kanakuk Kamp Lawsuit Filed. As Merritt Patterson over on our sister blog, Park Cities People, mentioned on Friday, a lawsuit has been filed by the victims of former Kanakuk Kamp staffer Pete Newman. Newman is currently serving two consecutive life sentence plus 30 years. The suit says camp officials should have “had every reason” to known that Newman was a sexual predator.
Live Cockroaches Star in Billboard. I hate cockroaches. And I’m pretty sure Texas has some of the biggest cockroaches around. (I don’t know that for certain. I’m just guessing.) But when I heard about the cockroaches who were going to be in a billboard at Mockingbird Station, I was almost tempted to go check it out. Then I realized that would be an awful idea because I can barely stand the sight of one, let alone 5,000. If you did go see the billboard, good for you. And if you’re concerned about the safety of the cockroaches, don’t be. They got shade breaks.
If You Missed ESPN’s The Fab Five Documentary, I Suggest You Rectify That
It was on last night, and it was really well done. (Here is an interview on the film with three of the five.) Why do I mention it here? Michigan’s fabled Fab Five featured, of course, former Plano East star Jimmy King, whose only other basketball-related claim to fame is the rumor (untrue) that he was the original Mavs Man. Anyway, if you haven’t seen it, it’s on the ESPN family of channels a few more times this week. And it’s on YouTube somewhere. Just keep looking.
Paper: Pickens Would Create New Dust Bowl
Depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer threatens to create a new Dust Bowl, thanks especially to free marketeers like T. Boone Pickens, the water-rights-owning Dallas billionaire. That, at least, is the disastrous scenario sketched today by The Telegraph, a UK newspaper.
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: March 14
Show of hands — who had one too many green beers on Saturday and ended up projectile vomiting out the side of a cab? Nobody? No embarrassing displays of public drunkenness? Good. We like to keep it classy around here.
Former NYU student Stephani Germanotta appears as Lady Gaga tonight at the American Airlines Center. Shockingly, the concert-to-end-all-concerts is not entirely sold out, but if you want to go, be prepared to pay nearly $200 for a seat that faces the back of the stage. Yikes.
If you’ve been following this season of “The Bachelor,” you’re obviously not going to skip the finale. But as we all know, television train wrecks are more fun when you’re a) drinking and b) watching with friends and like-minded fans. You can do both at the Bailey’s Prime watch party. Bonus: blogger Reality Steve will play host, and former “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” contestants will be in attendance.
For most lucky schoolchildren (and teachers), today is the first day of a week-long respite. However, should you worry that your kid is apt to fall prey to the dreaded video game coma, there’s Discovery Camp at the Museum of Nature and Science in Fair Park. The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History used to do something similar during the summer, and I loved spending my breaks there. I actually learned quite a bit, including how to amass a gigantic collection of “fossils” that to this day still lives in my parents’ garage. Anyway, expect a whirlwind of educational-yet-fun activities for kids preschool age and up.
For more things to do tonight, including a delicious-sounding beer dinner, go here.
Construction Update: Perot Museum of Nature and Science
This special edition (bonus, if you will) construction update comes to you from Lisa Collins. She stopped by last Thursday’s “topping out” of the Museum of Nature and Science expansion project. And yes, she will explain what that means.
The Perot Museum of Nature and Science got its final beam in place on Thursday.
Ross and Margot Perot, their five children, and their grandchildren were present at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science topping out celebration in Victory Park on Thursday, March 10. For those unfamiliar with the term “topping out,” it means that the last beam was placed at the top of the building.
But before the beam could go up, the three generations of Perots, along with Pritzker-Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne, had to sign it, marking a milestone in a project that the family says has been a labor of love for everyone involved.
Spectators looked on from the 17th floor of Park Seventeen while Ross and Margot Perot made the official call to the crane operator to “move that beam!” to the top of the structure.
Play D Magazine’s NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge Contest Thing, Win $150 to Ozona, My Grudging Admiration
Join us here. Our group is called Best Waffles.
I’m sure I have somehow botched this, so let me know in the comments, with as little cheer as possible. Or a ton of it. Just use exclamation points and I won’t know the difference.
UPDATE: Forgot to mention, if you need some help with your brackets, by all means check out the great Luke Winn over at SI, who has the best rundown around AND a playlist by Dallas’ own Gorilla Vs. Bear.
Law Man Walking: Nature Treks With Bill Holston
Here’s another in the series from our friend Bill Holston. On this adventure, he hikes the Post Oak Savannah.
New York Stole 58 People From Dallas in 2008
But we more than made up for it by stealing 1,180 people (net) from LA. Unfortunately, the people moving to Dallas from LA were poorer ($25,300) than the Dallas people moving to NYC ($86,200). Fort Worth netted 23 people from Manhattan at $93,800. The 260 New Yorkers who moved to Dallas made an average of $100,000. (I think I may envy those 20 Dallas people who moved to Missoula County, Montana.)
All this and more is detailed on a splenderferous interactive map at Forbes. Thanks to a good, solid, ever-watchful FrontBurnervian for the tip.
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