Articles for August, 2011
Things To Do In Dallas Tonight: Aug. 10
Happy national s’mores day to you and yours. S’mores always remind me of two things: the fact that I was not a very good Girl Scout, and the time my college roommate, Pam, and I really wanted toasted marshmallows and all we had were Hanukkah candles and a menorah.
Anyway, I’m okay with all these ridiculous fake holidays since they always seem to offer something tasty for cheap. There’s a rather good chance that I’ll be heading to Cavalli Pizza for their insanely delicious-looking s’mores pie. Sarah Reiss over on SideDish has details and photos, but the upshot is you can snag a large for just $5.
Elsewhere, Juan Williams, the journalist fired from NPR and subsequently hired by Fox News to the tune of two million dollars, is speaking and signing books at the Fairmont Hotel. I present it to you as an option, and as one of the more interesting things happening around town regardless of your politics. If you go, this On The Media transcript is worth a read. Personally, though, I’d rather head to Jimmy’s for the Italian Club’s wine tasting with Guy Stout, one of just 180 master sommeliers in the world. There are six spots left for those of you with an extra hundred dollars to spare. Nancy has details. Apparently, they’re pulling out the really good stuff.
If you haven’t made a trip to FrontRow Giveawayland recently, you absolutely should. We’ve got a guitar. A brand new, awesome on all accounts, guitar. And it could be yours. Scuttle on over.
And then go here, for more to do this evening.
Brett Shipp Assaulted by John Wiley Price
Channel 8’s Brett Shipp says on his Twitter stream: “I was just assaulted by John Wiley Price. Details to follow.” Then: “Jwp goes on to threaten to ’split my throat.’” I’ve got a message in to Shipp asking for details.
Update (12:56): Shipp told me he was too busy to talk. Understandable. He was writing. Here’s the story on Channel 8’s site. Two things about the story: 1) I love that the byline is Shipp’s and that he writes in the third person. E.g.: “According to Shipp, Price used his arm and the heel of his hand to physically remove Shipp from his office.” 2) The story says: “Brett Shipp was not seriously harmed.” It sounds to me like that should read, “Shipp was not harmed at all.” That said, I look forward to seeing the video at 5.
Leading Off (8/10/11)
Rangers Notch Another Comeback Win. Josh Hamilton sawed down a redwood tree with a butter knife, whittled it into a regulation bat, then hit a walkoff single. The key to the game is that someone gave me a ticket at the last-minute. You’re welcome.
U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess Wants to Impeach Obama. The Lewisville Republican told a Tarrant County Tea Party group that would “tie things up.”
The Water is Back on in Kemp. The small town in Kaufman County has water again after three days without. Now they are praying for rain. Good luck, I guess, but I think the rain dance Tim and I have been doing may prove more effective.
8-Year-Old Saves Toddler From Drowning. His name is Jesus Lara, and he’s already better than I’ll ever be. Which isn’t tough, but still.
The World’s Last Gay Holocaust Survivor Found by Dallas Museum
Just in time for the Dallas Holocaust Museum’s exhibit on Nazi treatment of homosexuals, word comes via the Dallas Voice (and here) that its director, Alice Murray got word that, contrary to first reports, the last gay holocaust survivor is alive and well — and is completely different from who everyone thought was the last survivor.
Apparently, last week the person everyone thought was the last survivor of Nazi brutality, Rudolf Brazda, died at age 98. But then Murray was told that there was another survivor — Gad Beck — alive in Berlin.
Side note: For a while, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to link to the Dallas Voice site. There was this weird dialogue box that popped up and said, “Thanks!” The only way to get it to go away was to click OK, which then took you to some gossip site. I was having “hello world” flashbacks.
Things To Do In Dallas Tonight: Aug. 9
The first thing I ever saw at the Pocket Sandwich Theatre was a surprisingly great musical revue called Shades of Gray. It was written by an old friend’s brother when he was just 21, and I’ve spent the past six years coveting this guy’s writing skills. There’s an amazing song about Grand Theft Auto III and another about a bad acid trip and will someone please, please revive this? Now I have to go dig up the soundtrack.
I’ve got Shades of Gray on the brain because tonight, Pocket Sandwich plays host to comedy troupe 4 out of 5 Doctors’ all improv show, “Some Assembly Required.” The theater is such a hole in the wall that it’s kind of great, but I’m biased because I find small places comforting. I’m into this because I had a pretty humorous evening yesterday, which made me realize that I hadn’t done a lot of serious laughing lately. I’d like to remedy that. I can’t speak from personal experience to how funny this particular troupe is, but they’ve been around for 25 years and I like any kind of improv far better than stand up. I really hate stand up, so that’s not exactly difficult.
Timewarp to Oak Cliff. You might think “Fade To Black” is a Metallica song. You’re right. But Fade to Black is also a terrible, terrible ’80s slasher flick starring no one special except, briefly, Mickey Rourke. Anyway, the Texas Theatre is showing it as part of their aptly named Tuesday Night Trash series, which will run through the end of the month. The basic plot: a classic film buff goes off the deep end after he’s inadvertently stood up by the Marilyn lookalike of his dreams. Sounds like a cautionary tale if there ever was one. The theater’s bar will have pizza and drink specials.
For more to do this evening, I kindly request that you go here.
The Big Rich Texas Off-Camera Feud
Plano residents and Big Rich Texas cast members, Pamela Martin Duarte and her daughter Hannah
If you watched the 2009 series Dallas Divas and Daughters you’re probably wondering how Style Network execs ever reached this point, “Hey, let’s take a couple of these same women, amp it up a bit and call it Big Rich Texas.” However they got there, I’m not sure they anticipated the behind- the-scenes drama taking center stage.
After Sunday’s episode, cast member Pamela Martin Duarte (@bigrichtexaspam) got in a nasty Tweeting war with some fans of the show. And earlier the same day, another cast member, Dr. Bonnie Blossman (@bonblossman) created a webpage in an effort to prove she’s being cyber-bullied by Duarte posing as someone named JS Rothschild. Duarte promised to fight back with her own blog, an announcement she made via Twitter yesterday.
If you need to catch up on episodes, we’ve got you covered.
Mark Cuban Battles the Patent Trolls
An alert FBvian points us to a guest column by Mark Cuban on the HuffPo Business site. He argues that we should end all software patents. Sound insane? Listen to a recent episode of This American Life called “When Patents Attack!” It will change your mind. (We’re looking at you, Audrey and Erich Spangenberg (scroll down).)
Leading Off (8/9/11)
Dirk Nowitzki Offered Big Bucks To Go Chinese. The Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association have offered the Big German $1.5 million per month to play for them during the NBA lockout. Reached at his home in Germany, Dirk said, “The offer sounds satisfying. But I know that 30 minutes after I took it, I’d just be hungry again.”
Belo Gets Cozy With Yahoo. The two companies have entered an agreement that will allow Belo to bundle Yahoo ad inventory with its own. Can’t say those guys aren’t trying.
Hawaiian Man Leads Scrabble Tournament. The National Scrabble Championship is underway in our fair burg. After 20 rounds and three days of play, a 26-year-old from Hawaii is in the lead. I’m assuming he’s already played “qi.”
Worst Mother in the World Arrested. A 24-year-old woman who lives in Northwest Dallas was arrested for repeatedly forcing her 6-year-old daughter to record her as she had group sex. Just when you think humans can’t be any worse, they prove you wrong.
Big Rich Texas, Episode 4 Recap
Only Style Network can make murder look fun and Texans look ridiculous, all in a single episode.
And, it’s true, a few cast members are growing on us including this week’s guest, the strip club lovin’ Tony Dorsett Jr.
The episode 4 recap is here.
Where To Buy a Dishdasha in Dallas?
It’s hot. I’m sick of wearing pants to work. My solution: a dishdasha (aka, I believe, a thobe). I’ve been talking to the internet but can’t find a place in town where I can walk in and try one on. Any advice from our Arabic FrontBurnervians?
Jobs Tom Leppert Can Do When He Fails to Win a Senate Seat
If you have fewer followers on Twitter than, say, Tim Rogers, who only ever tweets about Cane Rosso pizza and his reaction to week-old New York Times stories, you’re probably not exactly getting your message out. So, even though he’ll probably let this thing play out, it’s best to come up with some jobs he can do when it all falls apart.
Joe Tone Is a Cotton-Headed Ninnymuggins
When Zac Crain wrote a story for our July issue about the new Observer editor, Joe Tone, I did something that I now regret. Zac’s first draft of the story pilloried the guy. The lead, running 500 words, did nothing but describe, in detail, the exact nature of Tone’s doughiness. Later in the story, Zac went on at length exploring possible reasons why Tone’s toenails were so unkempt (he wore sandals to the interview).
When I got that draft, I said, “No, Zac. I don’t think any of this personal stuff belongs in here. From what I’ve heard, Tone is an up-and-comer in the Village Voice Media chain. Let’s play this thing a little more straightforward and focus not on the man’s billy goat hooves but on the state of the Observer and how Tone’s appointment might affect the paper.” That’s the part I regret.
On Unfair Park today, Tone takes issue with some optimistic figures circulating about the economic impact of UNT’s new football stadium. Fair enough. These sorts of things are always up for debate. Tone makes some good points. But then he conflates the (to his mind) lazy reporting about the UNT football stadium with a one-page ditty we ran in our August issue about relocating Rangers Ballpark to downtown Dallas. One day we were sitting around the office, and someone said, “Wouldn’t it be nice if the Rangers played downtown? We could walk to the game.” And then someone else said, “Let’s do some math and see if we could make it work.” Read the thing for yourself. This wasn’t reporting. It was a guesstigation.
After the kind treatment we gave Tone in July, this is the thanks we get? Well, the gloves are off now. I’ve entered Tone in our upcoming “10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas” contest. Details coming soon.
Is Michelle Beadle “Dallas Enough” To Discuss Here?
I pose this question not just because I’d like to meet Michelle Beadle one day, but also because she seems interesting and entertaining and she’s often involved in interesting and entertaining stories — many of which originate on Deadspin. Like stories about her feud with fellow ESPN personality Erin Andrews, or her relationship with NHL analyst Matthew Barnaby, or this newest one, about what she did not say to Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers while drunk. She grew up at least partially in Roanoke, which she references every so often on the show she hosts with the unwatchable Colin Cowherd. She says her career started in a Dallas bus station. And she openly roots for the Rangers and Mavericks. That’s enough, right?
Spread Eagle Saloon To Open in Downtown
Proof that I'm not making up this name.
A lot of things have been opening up downtown lately. And I’m excited for each and every one of them. Yesterday, I discovered a new place that will open eventually. (I should have noticed it earlier, but I rarely walk along the backside of my building.) It’s a bar. And it’s called Spread Eagle Saloon.
Now, I’m not good at naming things. My childhood pet was a potbellied pig. I couldn’t think of a name. My mom asked what my favorite flower was, and I said roses. Thus, the pig’s name became Rosy. My first pet’s name was Flower (she was a rabbit). But as bad as I am at naming things, I think I could do better with my bar than Spread Eagle Saloon. But seeing the theme I apparently work with, it would have been Lily or something, so maybe not.
Things To Do In Dallas Tonight: Aug. 8
I spent a good portion of my weekend (fine, 15 minutes, at two separate intervals, so maybe 30 minutes of my weekend max) pitching our city to a nice young lawyer currently stationed in LA, his cute actress girlfriend, and the nice lawyer’s mom, currently living in San Antonio. Because that’s exactly what we need more of here. You can thank me later.
Tonight, tonight. That’s a reference to the music from West Side Story, not a current Top 40 radio “hit,” by the way. Tei-An is celebrating three years in One Arts Plaza, and it’s quite a good deal. For ten bucks, you’re in for a night of live jazz (Hunter Sullivan, of course), sake, wine, Japanese beers, and lots of tasty things to try. They’ll even let you up on their fancy-schmancy rooftop patio, where you can gaze across this barren wasteland of oppressive heat admire the beautiful lights of downtown. The best thing is that the restaurant is donating a portion of the proceeds to ongoing Red Cross relief efforts in Japan. Nancy has extra info on SideDish (and a cute picture of Teiichi “Teach” Sakurai, the soba master himself.)
Speaking of restaurants doing good, Canary by Gorji in Addison is hosting a series of events benefiting the Susan G. Komen Foundation that will last through early October. Chef Gorji is leading a grilling class this evening that ends with you eating a three course meal and drinking wine. Twenty percent of the cost will go to fund breast cancer research and awareness.
For more to do tonight, go here.
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