Articles for August 1st, 2011
Rick Perry Subject of Presidential Campaign Ad
Rick Perry isn’t even a candidate (yet), but there is this campaign ad out on YouTube right now (and Fox News, apparently)
Notice that the ad is produced by a group called Jobs for Iowa. The group spent about $40,000 to produce the ad, which is running in Iowa to tell people that Rick Perry is the best choice for president, based mostly on his jobs creation record here in Texas, which is either awesome or the beneficiary of some luck, depending on who you ask.
Hilltop Glossy is Now D StyleSheet, Our New Dallas Fashion Blog
Why am I the perfect person to tell you about the launch of our new fashion blog, D StyleSheet?
It’s not because I’m known around our office for my chic sartorial choices.
It’s not because couture is second only to “air” and “water” on my list of Things Which I Require to Remain Alive.
It’s because at 4:30 in the afternoon on a Monday, the editorial department is shockingly empty. I couldn’t pawn off the task on anyone else. And we’ve got to get it launched.
So. Long story short: We fell in love with this great little website called “Hilltop Glossy,” which focused on the fashions of SMU students, and was run by two SMU film graduates (who also work as church youth ministers) named Kristi and Scot Redman. Their love for their subject matter, and their love for life, came through loud and clear on their site. When we decided to launch our own fashion blog on DMagazine.com, we could think of no better partners for the enterprise.
Check in every day to see what the Redmans’ discerning eyes have found, and come to appreciate again what a truly beautiful place Dallas can be.
The Mansion Gets Ready for the Asians
The iconic Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, whose sale to the family of Hong Kong billionaire Cheng Yu-tung along with four other properties was confirmed today, is all ready for its new owners. In fact, the hotel founded by Dallas heiress Caroline Rose Hunt recently held some “cultural training” sessions to accommodate a growing number of guests from the Far East. Duncan Graham, the Mansion’s managing director, says the staff is learning about the needs and expectations of the various Asian cultures in order to be better hosts.
When, back in June, one of Cheng’s companies said it was snapping up Dallas’ Rosewood Hotels & Resorts–which manages 19 properties including The Mansion and was also founded by Hunt–Rosewood officials here stressed that the sale did not include the hotel properties themselves. What they didn’t say was that this transaction confirmed today must have been in the works as well, way under the radar. Interestingly, the two deals–the $229.5 million one for the management company, and the $570 million one for the five hotels–both closed on Friday, June 29. That’s the same day that Caroline Rose Hunt went to dinner with a friend at … El Fenix, on Northwest Highway. Now, that’s some rich-folks style.
Episode 3 Recap of Style Network’s Big Rich Texas
Last week on Big Rich Texas, beauty pageants were won and golf instructors were humiliated.
Where else can Style Network possibly go to give viewers the impression that ladies in Dallas drink the blood of poor people for breakfast? To a fashion show in Uptown and a Collin County backyard full of Greek statues, that’s where. The full Big Rich Texas episode 3Â recap is here.
Dirk Nowitzki Is Officially the NBA’s Most Marketable Player
Nielsen, of the ratings game, also calculates the marketability of professional athletes. In the latest algorithm, the Big German is atop the list of NBA players, and by a large margin. Dirk’s “N-Score” — the number that, according to the Nielsen website, “measures name and image awareness, appeal and personality attributes such as sincerity, approachability, experience and influence, both at the U.S. national and local levels” — is 132. At a distant second is Kobe Bryant with 83. On the same list, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade score 26 and 34, respectively, down from 131 and 117 a year ago. According to the calculation, Jason Kidd (N-Score: 47) is also more popular than LeBron. As are Vince Carter (38), Pau Gasol (40), and the tattoo of Dirk that a fan put on his butt.
Cameron Mitchell: No Glee For Me
Not many up-and-coming singers would walk away from a chance to star in Glee, one of the most popular television shows on the planet. But that’s what Colleyville musician Cameron Mitchell did in episode seven of The Glee Project, which aired last night on the Oxygen network.
Mitchell’s father is one of the pastors of the church I attend, so I’ve gotten sucked into the reality series, which follows 12 contestants vying for a seven-episode arc in season three of Glee.
Cameron seemed to be a favorite of show judges Robert Ulrich (Glee’s casting director), Zach Woodlee (choreographer), and show creator Ryan Murphy. But the self-confessed virgin who’s in a committed relationship had been struggling with scenes that required him to get up-close-and-personal with other contestants; the theme of last night’s episode–sexuality–sent him over the edge.
Former Terrible Maverick Samaki Walker Now Terrible at Eating Drugs
Walker, who still plays overseas for a team called Al-Jalaa Aleppo, which sounds fictional, was caught with eight grams of marijuana and steroids. He tried to eat the weed. Here is his mugshot.
Remembering Jha’Kyric Nixon
Jha'Kyric Nixon
When my oldest son was a toddler, he suffered a severe fever seizure that caused him to stop breathing. Jordan is 17 now, but I still remember how terrified I felt as the paramedics worked to revive him. The thought of losing him was unbearable.
So I can only imagine the grief that Celestine Nixon must be feeling. Her 17-year-old son Jha’Kyric, a friend of Jordan’s, drowned Friday night in Lake Lewisville.
Things To Do In Dallas Tonight: Aug. 1
Time travel might not yet be possible, but it seems like time’s flying. It’s August. I’m mildly curious about how that happened. Honestly, though, I’m more curious about this guy and whether or not his blog is the most ridiculous thing I’ve read since “Scarlett: The Sequel to Margaret Mitchell’s ‘Gone With the Wind.‘”
I only have one good story that involves a real life monkey, and I’ve already told it. So without further ado, the Arctic Monkeys are playing tonight over at the Palladium Ballroom. Young Buffalo will open the British band’s first stop on their North American tour. There have been wacky goings-on at area concerts lately. I’m not promising anything, but maybe I’ll show up in a banana suit and pick fights with people just to keep things interesting.
I wish I could recommend nearby Cedars Social for food and drink, but after a total disaster last Friday, I probably won’t be going back anytime soon. I’d rather hit Screen Door in One Arts Plaza for their first Monday deal: two complimentary small plates. I haven’t been in a couple months, but August’s menu is enticing: chicken liver pâté, duck chorizo, and lamb sliders. Sorry, veggies. With the two tasting plates, my friends and I found that we didn’t really need or want big entrées. Something else small will do, plus drinks, of course. Call for reservations (there’s definitely a table for two available right now for 7:30).
For more things to do with your Monday evening, go here.
Law Man Walking: Nature Treks With Bill Holston
Normally our friend Bill Holston likes to hike in urban areas closer to home. This week, though, he hopped a plane to Sandhills State Park.
Politifact Says Leppert Telling Untruths
Remember Tom Leppert? He used to be the mayor of Dallas, but then he quit so he could become a senator maybe. And then Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst joined the race, too, and Leppert has been all, “DUDE, do you mind?”
Well, the Austin American-Statesman and PolitiFact sort of busted Leppert on calling Dewhurst a career politician, since Dewhurst was a businessman pulling in some serious cheddar before deciding to run for land commissioner back in 1998, and has only been in politics for 13 years. Only, Leppert’s people say, “Nuh-uh, we’re just using the same rules he did when he talked about this other guy.” Then a bunch of poli-sci professors said a fair determiner would be how long the individual had been in politics. They also said that we should quit using the term as a pejorative, because sometimes being good at your job and staying there for a long time is good.
Reports: Dallas’ Mansion, Crescent Hotels Are Sold
A Hong Kong company has snapped up Dallas’ iconic Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek and Rosewood Crescent hotels, reports say. In all, the $570 million acquisition by the family of Hong Kong billionaire Cheng Yu-tung includes five properties that had been owned by Maritz, Wolff & Co. and Rosewood Corp.
The other hotels in the reported deal are in Santa Fe, N.M., the British Virgin Islands and (the Carlyle) in Manhattan. In June, a unit of Cheng’s New World Development Co. agreed to pay Maritz Wolff and Rosewood Corp. $229.5 million for Dallas-based Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, which manages a portfolio of luxury properties. Rosewood’s been asked for comment, but so far nobody’s gotten back.
UPDATE: A spokesman for The Mansion has now confirmed the sale reported above, but without disclosing a purchase price. The sale closed Friday afternoon. According to a “fact sheet” released this morning by Maritz Wolff, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will continue to manage the five sold properties: the Crescent and Mansion here in Dallas, the Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe, The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel in New York and the Rosewood Little Dix Bay in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands.
Leading Off (8/1/11)
Hot Week Ahead. I’m not really sure what 110 degrees feels like. But I do know I’m not going to enjoy it. And I’ll be complaining. But we all need to be smart about this heat wave. Drink water. Don’t take your dog for a long walk on the hot concrete. And, please, do not leave your kids in the car.
A Push To Get Certain Drinks Out of Downtown Stores. After the whole Angela Hunt/bum situation, a petition circulated multiple apartment complexes downtown. The petition was for getting downtown convenience stores to stop selling high-alcohol content beverages (which just so happen to be rather cheap). Downtown Dallas Inc. is behind the push saying that when stores have agreed to stop selling the beverages, there has been a drop in crime.
Fort Worth Boy Talks About Shark Attack. Twelve-year-old Nicholas Vossler was attacked by a bull shark earlier this summer. He escaped, but not without injury. He spent about three weeks in the hospital, and he’s had at least a half dozen surgeries on his leg. He’ll have more. But his family is thankful he came out of the ordeal so well. Think about that while you’re watching Shark Week.
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