Articles for September, 2011
Trevor Rees-Jones and “Heather Be Thy Name”
A lot of guys including Garth and Wayne have had crushes on Heather Locklear. Trevor Rees-Jones of Dallas’s’ Chief Oil & Gas is one of them. But few are energy billionaires with enough, well, pull, to summon the blonde actress to party with them on their birthday. That’s just what happened recently, when Rees-Jones celebrated his 60th with a big bash at his ranch out in Eastland County. It was actually his wife, Jan, who arranged for Locklear to fly in for the party (talk about a good spouse), where the entertainment was provided by the Blues Brothers and the Eagles.
Rees-Jones, who’s on the cover of the current D CEO, is sort of used to heady company, though. The other night there was a “sponsor party” at the home of Lisa and Kenny Troutt for the upcoming Robert S. Folsom Leadership Award Dinner honoring Rees-Jones. Among the guests was former President George W. Bush; W and his wife Laura are serving as honorary chairs of the dinner. The uber-connected Jim Francis, who’s chairing the Oct. 5 event, warned the Troutts’ guests to expect a “few surprises” on Wednesday. They probably shouldn’t look for Richie Sambora to be one of them.
Dallas DA Craig Watkins’ Rare Luxury Car Stolen
So before everyone heads out for their favorite patio and frosty libation, a friendly FrontBurner PSA: Even if you have a gated fence around your house, you should probably go ahead and close that garage door, and take your keys out of the vehicle and bring them inside.
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins learned that the hard way.
Pole Dancing For The Children
A wishes-to-be-anonymous FrontBurnervian wonders if anyone else finds this deal-o-the-day’s beneficiary a little um, curious, given the deal?
Former Columnist Maryln Schwartz, R.I.P.
Maryln Schwartz, whose column was a must-read for years in Dallas Morning News, died Thursday at the age of 69 after many years of ill health.
Things To Do In Dallas This Weekend: Sep. 30-Oct. 2
October is by far the most magical month of the year. I’ve already bought my first pumpkin, so let’s hurry up and get September over with, shall we?
Friday
I only have a couple vivid memories of the State Fair of Texas, and they’re both from when I was pretty little. The first is a truly hideous, soft-bodied troll doll that I wanted so badly that I’m pretty sure I forced my parents to squander half my college fund on Midway game tickets to get it. It now resides in a closet.
The second memory is leaving the fair with a zillion plastic bags filled with what I considered loot and what my parents considered recycling: shiny booklets detailing the specs on the latest and greatest vehicles from Ford, Jeep, and Chevrolet. The countless plastic bags are a pain to carry around, and they’re not very eco-friendly. This afternoon at Oil and Cotton, kids can decorate a “fair day” tote bag to fill with all the free promotional stuff they can get. The affordable craft session is part of the center’s ongoing Friday happy hour series that allows parents of kids ages six and over to steal a hour for themselves (younger kids are invited, but parental units have to stick around.)
Meanwhile, I’ve knitted a nice, cozy day-by-day guide to the first week’s entertainment and events for fairgoers looking to jump right in. And if you live/work downtown, you’ll notice blocked-off streets and general revelry when the opening day parade passes by around noon or so today.
Also, go Rangers! I’m still on post-Moneyball baseball kick. It’s game 1 of the Division series tonight, and apparently, our guys are going to win the World Series this year. So, you know. Go eat hot dogs and cheer them on.
Texas Rangers Starter C.J. Wilson Models the Brilliant Mike Napoli T-Shirt While Talking Twitter
So @str8edgeracer himself (Texas Rangers’ pitcher C.J. Wilson, who’s starting Game 1 of the American League Division Series this afternoon) was talking about why he likes Twitter yesterday. It’s his news source. Now that Lost is over, the only things he watches on television are Formula One Racing and Shark Week.
But I care less about that then about the T-shirt he was sporting during the press conference (see the video). It features Rangers’ catcher Mike Napoli dressed as a chef and says “On the Menu.” Apparently it says “Turkey Sandwich” on the back. Here’s an explanation of the shirt.
I humbly request that the Rangers’ mass-produce these, in honor of Napoli’s awesome season. If they comply, I further humbly request that anyone who currently owns one of those awful antler and claw T-shirts from last year burn that and replace it with one of these.
Let’s make this happen.
Why the Texas Rangers Will Win the 2011 World Series
Jayson Stark over at ESPN says it’s because they aren’t as good a team, and don’t have as good a starting rotation, as the Phillies, their most likely opponent out of the National League. That is some sound baseball logic. (Seriously, the playoffs are a crapshoot.)
How great would it be to see the Rangers beat pitcher Cliff Lee, who chose Philadelphia over them when he was weighing where to sign as a free agent last winter, to hoist the championship trophy in Arlington?
Game 1 of the Division Series is at 4 p.m. today. Plenty of affordable tickets to be had.
Great Photo of Last Night’s Lightning
Take two seconds and click here to see Justin Terveen’s work from last night. Very cool. (h/t Unfair Park)
What Drives Rick Perry?
He comes across as an ideologue dedicated to Tea Party ideals. But his career has been about money and power, as Alec MacGillis reports in this week’s New Republic and as most people in Texas who have dealt with their governor know.
MacGillis’s piece is worth the read. It’s based on solid, old-fashioned, foot-slogging reporting. One tidbit, about Perry’s biggest cash cow, the Texas Enterprise Fund:
Today, the Perry administration lists the Texas Energy Center as a going concern that has nearly reached its target of 1,500 jobs and resulted in $20 million in capital investment.
There’s just one problem: The Texas Energy Center no longer exists—at least not physically. The address listed on its tax forms is the address of the Fort Bend Economic Development Council, inside the Fluor tower. I arrived there late one Friday morning and asked for the Texas Energy Center. The secretary said: “Oh, it’s not here. It’s across the street. But there’s nothing there now. Jeff handles it here.” Jeff Wiley, the council’s president, would be out playing golf the rest of the day, she said. I went to the building across the street and asked for directions from an aide in the office of [former Congressman Tom] DeLay’s successor, which happened to be in the same building. She had not heard of the Texas Energy Center. But then I found its former haunt, a small vacant office space upstairs with a sign on an interior wall—the only mark of the center’s brief existence.
Yep, the very same industrial policy (handouts to favored donors) as Solyndra. That’s Perry, the Tea Party “conservative.”
Leading Off (9/30/11)
Bank You Very Much. So remember how you could put your money in a bank and then you could go back and and get it out whenever you wanted and it was still your money? And then remember how everyone got debit cards and you could use those in stores instead of writing a check or carrying around cash and it was free? Yeah. That free part is going away slowly but surely.
Former Dallas Reporter Deemed “Adorable.” Former KTVT reporter Christina McLarty is HSO (that’s like Facebook Official, but is instead Howard Stern Official) with David Arquette, who told the Muppet-topped radio host that he found his new girlfriend “adorable.”
Why I Order Clothes From the Internet. Right here. And if you decide to try on clothes at a store, you might want to make sure you’re wearing nice skivvies.
Friday Question for Thieves. How is this easier than an actual job?
Friday Music for Your Ears. First this. Then this palate cleanser.
Be Careful — Bureaucrats Are Afoot
This official-looking sign is posted inside a fourth-floor men’s room at Dallas City Hall.
State Fair of Texas Guide: Sep. 30-Oct. 7
Photo Credit: Matthew Visinsky (c) 2009
The State Fair of Texas is upon us. And while it is by far one of the best excuses to chuck a diet to the wind, there’s plenty of other stuff going on. Each week we’ll present all the noteworthy things to see and do that don’t involve puking up fried bubble gum on the Tilt-a-Hurl Whirl. Jump for your day-by-day plan, and find a listing of recurring events at the bottom.
Former Prison Cook Offers To Make Last Meals For Free
On the topic of last meals — or lack thereof — there’s this former prison cook, who has volunteered to make all the last meals for death row inmates for free. Brian Price apparently prepared 220 final meals while serving time in Texas. Now he owns a restaurant in Houston County Lake. He says he was struck by the “cold-hearted” decision to not allow condemned inmates their final meal of choice.
“I am offering to prepare, and/or pay for, all of the last-meal requests from this day forward,” he told the Associated Press. “Taxpayers will be out nothing.”
The state politely declined his offer.
Things To Do In Dallas Tonight: Sep. 29
Over the weekend, I drove to San Antonio at the behest of a Brooklyn-dwelling friend to buy a grand total of four bottles of beer— two of each special release from a pretty cool place called the Freetail Brewing Company. We’re cracking open one of these tonight just for fun. It’s not Open That Bottle Night; it’s actually National Coffee Day. But why not? Celebrate Thursday. Apparently last night was the greatest night in the history of baseball, maybe ever, so celebrate that, too.
But before we open the special beer, there’s a happy hour I’ll happily drop by (that was terrible, I know.) The folks of DiningDallas, a social networking organization dedicated to raising funds for the A.L.S. Association, are hosting their monthly event at Malai Kitchen. It’s a restaurant our office seems to enjoy quite a bit, since we’ve been there for business lunch as well as dinner. Personally, I’m a fan of their cocktails, so if you were planning on a drink after work anyway, this is a good place and a good cause. For a five dollar donation, you get drink specials and complimentary hors d’oeuvres from Malai’s menu.
A.L.S., of course, is better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a fatally degenerative disease that affects the neurons of the brain. If you take only one of my suggestions today, please read “The Good Short Life,” an excellent opinion piece that ran in The New York Times a few months ago. Dudley Clendinen has Lou Gehrig’s, but the sentiment will resonate with anyone affected by the myriad other diseases that force the mind to betray the self— Parkinsons, Lewy Body Dementia, Alzheimer’s. It’s an awful way to go and an awful thing to watch, and right now, there’s not much medicine can do except prolong a profoundly undignified end.
Anyway, if you’d prefer to celebrate the dawning of the weekend with something a bit more substantial (food and drink wise, anyway), you’ll want to head to the Flying Saucer’s lake location. They’re hosting a Brewery Ommegang dinner that’ll feature five courses and five of the brewery’s beers: Hennipen, Witte, BPA, Rare Vos, Abbey, and Three Philosophers. Prescott Carter, Ommegang’s USA market manager, will chat about what makes this stuff so good.
For more to do tonight, go here. And don’t forget to take a quick trip over to FrontRow Giveawayland and enter to win a pair tickets to the Blondie show at the Granada.
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