Articles for August, 2011
Jim Schutze Makes Friends With Brian Sweany
In the September issue of Texas Monthly, Brian Sweany writes about the FBI’s efforts to understand John Wiley Price. Jim Schutze doesn’t think Sweany should be writing about Dallas because he (Sweany) doesn’t understand how the city works. Schutze puts it this way:
Sweany grew up in Plano and worked for D Magazine, so it’s probably unfair to expect him to understand Dallas. (He lives in Sachse.) He doesn’t much.
Schutze is from Detroit, and he worked quite a bit for D Magazine. Just wanted to point that out. Carry on.
Celebration of Life & Memorial of Love at Sons of Hermann Hall On Sunday Night
Not long ago, I was at AllGood Cafe watching a band play, and owner Mike Snider motioned for me to come to his office. He had an idea. I got it pretty quick, and it’s a good one: too many times over the last decade or so, the music community has rallied around tragic events, but rarely does so just to see each other, to celebrate the fact that everyone is still here. That everything, more or less, is pretty great. So, with that in mind, Snider set up something on Sunday at Sons of Hermann Hall that will do just that.
All the info is after the jump. Apologies to Liz Johnstone and FrontRow. This seems more of their turf.
Things To Do In Dallas This Weekend: Aug. 19-21
Between yesterday’s H&M opening at NorthPark and Tax-Free Weekend, going to a mall is going to be like taking an elevator straight into a volcano. However, since there’s a pretty good possibility I’ll wind up in one anyway, I have a couple last requests. My two most prized possessions—my signed Party Down poster and my somewhat bent MetroCard with maybe $7.15 cents left on it—go to my friend Pam. And…okay, that’s actually it. That’s all I want. Wish me luck.
Friday
I like shows that don’t choke on, force, or otherwise drown in their own gravitas. Don’t get me wrong, meaning is nice, and comedy is often better when it can say something, too. However. Sometimes a fun thing is just a fun thing, which, if you follow that, is exactly what I’m after with The Final Adventures of Hercules at the Pocket Sandwich Theatre. Surprisingly,, the plot riffs the story of Hercules, the muscle-bound Greek demigod, and his sojourns. Lance Lusk reviews this live version of a popcorn flick over on FrontRow. The actual throwing of popcorn, of course, is allowed and encouraged. The show ends its run on Sunday, so this is a narrow window of opportunity here.
Kwame Kilpatrick Is Out of Jail and in New York Times Magazine
Disgraced former Detroit mayor and current Southlake resident Kwame Kilpatrick just got out of the clink. Sometime D Magazine contributor Misty Keasler snapped his pic for this NYT Magazine Q&A. Sample:
Q: You ended up in jail for lying on the stand when you denied an affair with Beatty. You went to law school. You watched Bill Clinton face impeachment for lying about sex under oath. Didn’t you know that it was going to come back to you?
A: I wish sometimes the ability to be smart and to be righteous overwhelmed our ability to hide and be in fear and be stupid. In that particular moment, it didn’t. It was one of the most revolutionary dumb, stupid and the only illegal thing that I’ve ever done in my life.
Turtle Creek Drain Gets Pub in The Atlantic
In this month’s Atlantic, there appears a picture of one of the best holes in Dallas. I prefer it with laundry detergent bubbles.
10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas: Three More Days to Vote in Round 1
We know you couldn’t possibly forget to log on over the weekend and give your favorite Week 1 ladies from 10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas your vote, but just in case, here’s your reminder:
Vote for your favorite Week 1 10 Most Beautiful women this weekend.
It’s your last chance to get the pageant queen, the attorney, and the model into the final 12. Or maybe the jazz singer, attorney, and operations specialist…. or the operations specialist, singer, and pageant queen… or attorney, singer, and model…
Leading Off (8/19/11)
We’re 99! The Dallas area is ranked 99th out of 100 top metro areas when it comes to providing access to public transit when households don’t have a vehicle, despite the existence of DART and the T. Apparently it has more to do with how spread out the area is, and not so much how either agency is run.
Dallas Farmer’s Market Still Not Popular Enough. Developers are building all around, so the area has the potential to be a really cool neighborhood. But the city doesn’t know how to promote it, and attempts to find a private manager have gone nowhere so far. Which is a shame – the farmer’s market is one of my favorite places to go.
If You Have To Give Birth in a Car … Do it in Rockwall, in front of Angela Ezell’s house.
NBC 5 Anchor Gives Mom a Kidney. NBC 5 anchor Kristi Nelson not only gave her mom a kidney Thursday morning, but let co-worker Deborah Ferguson live tweet the event. Nelson became Baylor’s 798th living kidney donor.
I’ve Been Everywhere, Man … Johnny Cash’s “Bootleg 3″ live album, due in October, will feature sets from 10 shows, including Cash’s Big D Jamboree show in Dallas in 1956.
Happy Friday. So hey, how’s it going? Any weekend plans?
My Former Boss Has Things to Say About Perry
A long time ago, I worked for a guy named Will Cain, who owned three newspapers – The Anna-Melissa Tribune, The Prosper Press, and The Van Alstyne Leader – and a seasonal magazine. I worked there for a few months before getting a job offer at The Dallas Morning News.
Now you can see Will’s writing on his blog – Cain and Table – and sometimes on TheBlaze.com and in the National Review. He also makes appearances on TV – often as of late on CNN, but also on Fox News. Today, he wrote about being a conservative, but not liking Rick Perry. He does a fairly good job of delineating what often-brought-up items concern him about Perry a lot, a little, and not at all.
For example, he explains this:
But you should know this: Rick Perry is more popular with conservatives from outside the State of Texas than he is with conservatives from Texas. I’m conservative. I’m from Texas. And I can tell you that I’m not alone with the reaction of: Really? Rick Perry?
I imagine this is what the Tennessee Titans felt like when Dan Snyder developed a man-crush on Albert Haynesworth over a week’s time and threw $100M at him to join the Redskins. Bud Adams and Jeff Fisher had to have sat there and said…”really?”
More Tickets To This Sunday’s Closing Celebration for Martin Creed at the Nasher
Yesterday’s we gave away a few passes to the Nasher Sculpture Center’s celebration for the closing of the Martin Creed exhibition, and they went fast. If you missed out, here’s a second chance: we have EIGHT pairs to giveaway over on FrontRow, so head over there an find out how to win.
And while you over on FrontRow, check out some of today’s highlights, which include an article on singer Johnny Mathis; five questions with charismatic heavy metal bass player/Boiler Room owner Stevie Benton of Drowning Pool; an interview with artist/filmmaker Miranda July, whose The Future opens tomorrow (check back tomorrow morning for reviews of all of this week’s movie releases); a recap of last night’s appearance by Ken Burns sponsored by the Dallas Bar Association, where the filmmaker talked about his new documentary on prohibition; and another giveaway, tickets for Johnny Mathis at the Meyerson.
Things To Do In Dallas Tonight: Aug. 18
Instead of rambling about something silly and potentially unrelated, I’ll direct you over to FrontRow, where all the activity is this morning. There’s a ticket giveaway, interviews with filmmaker Miranda July and singer Johnny Mathis, a Q&A with Drowning Pool bassist Stevie Benton, and a recap of Ken Burns’ appearance yesterday to preview his new documentary on prohibition. Wheeze, gasp.
As we all know, good things must come to an end. Such is life, and such is the Barefoot at the Belmont concert series. Unfortunately, it’s sold out, so you’re going to miss my amazingly accurate comparison of James McMurtry to various characters on TV. Oh all right, since you begged: on any given day, he reminds me of either a longer-haired Frohike on The X-Files or a less chubby, similarly frizzy Artie Nielsen from Warehouse 13. There. But you can still get tickets to the Big D Opry at the Palladium Ballroom, which will showcase country and local acts. The line up includes Grammy-nominated artist Ty Herndon and Dallas’ own Aubree-Anna, who’s in the running for our Ten Most Beautiful contest. Perfect chance to check her out in person.
In addition, the ’80s thriller Fright Night, about a guy who discovers his neighbor is a vampire, starts its weekend run at Texas Theatre. Number one, I’m already firmly excited about October. Halloween! Previews of Seminar! My birthday! I digress, but Fright Night will make for a great teaser of ghoulish things to come. Number two, I have had a truly horrendous nightmare of a roommate. The only upside to that whole experience was that she didn’t turn out to be an actual bloodsucking creature of the night. She just sort of resembled one.
For more to do this evening, head over this way.
Is Rick Perry Bad for Hispanics?
State Rep. Rafael Anchia says so in this interesting guest column for the Texas Tribune. His summation: “Now that Perry’s path to the presidency requires tough talk on immigration, he has demonstrated a willingness to scapegoat Latinos. We don’t find it funny. It’s just plain wrong.”
Leading Off (8/18/11)
H&M Opens Today. OMG. Everyone’s favorite Swedish store that isn’t Ikea opens wide its doors today at NorthPark. Analysts predict that shoppers will shop.
Fort Worth Woman Drowns in Trinity. A mother who did not know how to swim jumped into the river to save her 8-year-old son. The boy made it; the mother did not. Very sad story.
Man Robs Store With Underwear on His Head. Oh, and he was wearing a dress, too. Here’s the video. One can only hope that when the clerk saw this guy, he said, “Son, you got a panty on your head.” Precious few opportunities to use that great Raising Arizona quote.
Dallas Fed Chairman Explains Texas’ Job Creation
As Wick pointed out earlier, Paul Krugman’s piece on “The Texas Unmiracle,” has been debated as to whether or not the facts contained in the piece hold water. And Think Progress has Texas ranking dead last in job creation.
Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher explained that job creation has come mostly in three sectors, and while one (education and health services) has lagged behind in wages, the other two — professional and business services; and mining and logging — actually pay more than the state average.
So who is right? Well, Fisher announced Wednesday that the Dallas Fed would begin posting monthly updates on state employment figures through its website. “We hope it will be a useful tool for everyone ranging from columnists who write for The New York Times to the pundits who provide commentary for Fox News, as well as serious economists,” Fisher added.
Ouch.
The Facebook Ad Showing Underwater Tiger Fighting in Dallas
A hilarious friend captured this ad from Facebook this afternoon. Under the words “Fun in Dallas,” it appears to show a woman wrestling a tiger under water. (Note the goggles…because chlorine can be dangerous.) Now, can someone please point me in the direction of the Dallas underwater tiger fighting?
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