Articles for May, 2011
Signs of the Times at W’s Dallas Security Gate
Besides two cop cars, three TV trucks, four radio-station vehicles, and a couple of AP people, it was pretty quiet this rainy morning at the security gate leading to the Preston Hollow street where Laura and George W. Bush live. If the police were there to marshal the crowds gathered to celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden, they had an easy time of it, because, unlike last night, there were no crowds.
Just some little flags stuck into the ground nearby, a spray of red white and blue balloons, and a bunting-festooned sign on the gate that read, “President Obama Forgot To Say Thank You, President Bush!” Someone reported that the former president had left the neighborhood around 6:30 this morning and hadn’t been seen since. Oh yeah, there was one other item of note: a hand-scrawled sheet of paper lying on the ground, soaked from the rain and folded in half. When you opened it up it read, “Winning! Obama 1, Bush 0.
Los Angeles Lakers Beat Dallas Mavericks in 6 Games
The Los Angeles Times‘ Lakers blog has saved you all a lot of time and heartache by determining, via a NBA 2K11 video-game simulation, that the Mavs will fall to LA in six games.
But the Mavs will win tonight, 93-89.
The Mavericks shot 41 free throws, including 20 in the final quarter, while the Lakers got only 29 trips to the line. That sparked Jackson afterward to suggest Cuban bribed the NBA so that Dallas could secure the first game, since he was upset the Lakers secured home-court advantage over Dallas.
David Beckham Jets from Royal Wedding to Pizza Hut Park to Play FC Dallas
On Friday, famed English soccer ball-bender David Beckham was a guest at the Royal Wedding at Westminster Abbey in London. From there he spent his Sunday in our own beautiful Frisco, Texas, where his LA Galaxy lost to FC Dallas.
Those Who Care About American Soccer take Beckham to task for placing a higher priority on William and Kate than on his MLS teammates. Still, it appears that many fans showed up in a monsoon last night at Pizza Hut Park specifically to see Beckham:
The average crowd at FC Dallas games this year is just over 16,000. For this game featuring David Beckham, OBE, over 21,000 fans showed up. Oh yes, the guy can play like a drain, but the fans still want to see him. Then I probably need to pose as a financial expert to assess the marketing advantages that the mere mention of the guy’s name has brought MLS. And all the media attention.
So here’s my marketing contribution: Allow me to suggest that a unique opportunity has been missed. DB could have generated the greatest-ever publicity coup for MLS if he’d leapt to his feet in Westminster Abbey and pulled off his tux to reveal a Galaxy shirt. I can’t imagine that the Archbishop of Canterbury would have yellow-carded him, and, after all, royal weddings don’t come around too often, do they?
President George W. Bush Was Dining at Rise When he Heard About Bin Laden Death
I don’t know if I buy this story, told on a Star-Telegram blog, about how former President George W. Bush was at Rise restaurant in Inwood Village last night when he was informed of the death of Osama bin Laden. Something about the tale just doesn’t ring true:
Bush appeared relaxed at first. [Star-T reporter Chris] Vaughn’s 12-year-old son briefly spoke to the former president and recommended Bush try the lobster souffle.
About 8:20 p.m., however, “it got weird,” Vaughn said.
“We were leaving and noticed a couple of SUVs pulled up quickly in front of the restaurant, and the president came out,” Vaughn said. “He hurriedly jumped into one of the SUVS, and the caravan of vehicles took off.”
The anniversary couple thought it was unusual that the president left his wife behind.
I mean, a 12-year-old recommending the lobster souffle? Really?
Leading Off (5/2/11)
Osama Bin Laden Killed – The Local Angles: After news broke that Osama Bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces, about a dozen people gathered at the North Dallas house of former President George W. Bush (here’s some video of the revelers). Bush called the death “a momentous achievement.” Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson reminded us that despite taking out al Qaeda’s number one, “the fight is not over.” True that, echoes this Dallas Morning News editorial, “but it is a victory nonetheless.”
Southwest Grows By 25 Percent Today: The almost 40-year old Southwest Airlines will complete its $1.4 billion purchase of AirTran Airways today, which puts AirTran’s presence at Dallas-Fort Worth International Aport in limbo. Per the Wright Amendment, AirTran will have to vacate the airport if Southwest doesn’t want to lose gates at Love Field. But a spokesperson for Southwest says the changes won’t happen immediately.
Fires Worsened By Landscape Changes: It turns out humanity can take some of the blame for the Texas wildfire destruction. The fires, which have burned 2 million acres since December 2011 2010, were made worse by a combination of poor land management, urban sprawl, and the introduction of new plant growth that has changed the face of the Texas landscape.
Dear Dallas-Plano-Irving: You Will Die or Something
A friend who used to live here and was all over City Hall for the city’s paper of record but moved far away but can still be caught on TV giving commentary on politics (Hi Dave!) just pointed me to this map in The New York Times, which says, basically, if you live in the Dallas area, your chances of experiencing some sort of natural disaster are better than good. In fact, you have the highest risk in the whole freaking country.
So yay us?
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