Articles for January 3rd, 2012
Mavericks Play-By-Play Guy Mark Followill Doesn’t Need Sebastian Pruiti’s Help
Deadspin put up an item this afternoon about a small Twitter spat between basketball writer Sebastian Pruiti and Mavericks play-by-play man Mark Followill. Deadspin calls Pruiti’s criticism “tame” and Followill’s response “childish and stupid.” I actually see it the other way: dismissively saying a guy is awful at his job seems precisely like the childish kind of banter that exemplifies the worst parts of sports talk. And I think, with the exception of his use or “u” and “ur,” Followill’s snap back was pretty good.
Walker Railey From the D Magazine Archives
Over the holiday break, the Dallas Morning News published a great piece on the death of Peggy Railey and where that leaves Walker Railey and the rest of the family members whose lives were forever changed when someone attacked Peggy nearly 25 years ago. In particular, I was struck by the sentiments of Gary Railey, Walker’s brother. Walker told police that he thought his brother might have committed the crime, which, of course, Gary denies vehemently. Walker himself did not talk to the paper.
But he talked to D Magazine in 1987. This was four months after Peggy had been strangled. The investigation was under way. Walker had tried to commit suicide. Writer Mike Shropshire met with Walker in his Lake Highlands home, the scene of the attack. Walker was no longer living there, the publicity over the crime having forced him out of First Methodist and into hiding. Some of the typography on our site is a little screwy, owing to the process by which we converted our hard-copy archive to digital a few years back, but the story is gripping. Especially given current events, I highly recommend it.
‘Handsome Guy’ Bandit’s Arrest Provides Occasion to Watch World’s Creepiest Video
All the local outlets are reporting that the man suspected of being the “Handsome Guy” Bandit who robbed banks around North Texas was arrested in Mississippi this morning after a police chase. His name is Steven Milam, and his day job is selling caskets in Tyler.
NBC5 reported that Milam “tried to consume a large amount of pills before he was taken into custody,” which might explain why the sheriff in Mississippi told Unfair Park that Milam puked in the back of the cop car shortly after being taken into custody.
Friends and neighbors of Milam seemed stunned by the news when they talked to KYTX. Jon-Paul Stanley owns a body shop in Tyler:
“It’s just nuts because I talk to this guy once a week!” Stanley says. “And we’ve done business together, I mean, we’ve tinted his cars.”
Yep. Ain’t it the truth. You talk to a guy once a week, and you tint his windows, you think you know him.
Personally I’m more stunned by the video (see it above) demonstrating the virtues of the “Handsome Guy” mask, which Milam allegedly used in the robberies, and which are sold by SPFX Masks in California. It’ll cost you $810.
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: January 3, 2012
Events editor Liz Johnstone – who usually advises you daily in this space – decided to extend her Christmas vacation for an extra week, so I’m going to take this opportunity to do something she rarely does: recommend you attend a sporting event.
You’re still angry about how the Cowboys season ended, and the Mavericks are off to a lousy start, so why not cheer on a pro sports team with a winning record? Yes, the Dallas Stars are still in business. Of course, their attendance has been so bad this season that they had to cut ticket prices. Which is great news if you had always balked at paying $40 to sit in the nosebleeds.
There aren’t any of the $9 tickets available for tonight’s contest against the Detroit Red Wings, but there are plenty of $25 seats to be had. That price seems just about right, even if you can’t wrap your head around what “icing” is.
D Magazine Beats the Observer At Something You Couldn’t Possibly Care About
Specifically, I, Zachary L. Crain, jack of all trades, master of most, beat the Observer‘s editor Joe Tone to take home our little media league fantasy football crown. I AM A CHAMPION.
1. This is pretty easy to do when your team has Drew Brees, Calvin Johnson, and Arian Foster. 2. I literally only watched one quarter of football this season. 3. FINGERGUNZ.
So, “Pedobear” Was at The TicketCity Bowl Yesterday
The TicketCity Bowl, if you don’t know (and I actually didn’t, because I don’t care about college football), is the new game at the Cotton Bowl. This year, it pitted Houston versus Penn State. “Pedobear,” if you didn’t know (and I did, because I live on the internet), is a meme that started on the 4chan board. He (well, a guy in a pretty well done costume) was there, obviously, because of the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky scandal, and even ended up making an appearance on the JumboTron. Deadspin has the report.
DART Train Gets Wrapped For Christmas
My 3-year-old son loves to ride DART trains. The destination is not important; he just enjoys the journey. Last Wednesday evening, I took him on a short trip to Downtown Plano Station. As we were waiting for our return ride, the train you see here pulled up to the platform. “Daddy, look!” my son said. “It’s a basketball train!” Once we boarded, he seemed genuinely disappointed that nobody was hooping inside the train.
I was as surprised as he was – by the train’s exterior, not by the lack of basketball inside it. I’ve been commuting on DART for years, and this was the first train I’d seen wrapped in an advertisement. (Such ads are common on DART buses.) When I looked for more information, I found out that DART had posted a press release about the Mavericks train just a day before my son and I spotted it.
Is Solar About to Become Practical?
According to John Farrell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, solar energy will become an affordable option in Dallas in 2019. He assumes that solar costs in 2011 are $4 per Watt installed, that solar costs decrease 7 percent a year, and that grid electricity costs increase 2 percent a year. To argue with him, go here.
(H/t Daily Dish)
Could Dallas Ban All Billboards?
Sao Paulo did it in 2006. And it has not only eliminated visual pollution, but made advertising more efficient:
Anna Freitag, the marketing manager for Hewlett-Packard Brazil, said her company had never considered how inefficient billboards and the like were until they were illegal. “A billboard is media on the road,” she told the FT. “In rational purchases it means less effectiveness… as people are involved in so many things that it makes it difficult to execute the call to action.”
“This Space Available“, a documentary about Sao Paulo and other movements to rid cities of billboards, will be shown at the Dallas Film Festival, which runs April 12-22.
Leading Off (1/3/12)
Gorilla at Dallas Zoo To Put Move on Some Out-of-Town Dames. Patrick the gorilla isn’t good with the ladies. Last time zookeepers tried to hook him up, he bit a female gorilla on the leg. Now they’re giving it another go (sub. req.). Two ladies from Cincinnati are in town, Madge, who is 30, and Shanta, who is 15. Only time will tell if Patrick can mind his manners and pull off the three-way.
Do Investigators Target Black Politicians in Dallas? Selwyn Crawford and Gromer Jeffers have a lengthy double-bylined story (sub. req.) in today’s paper that asks that question. Two things about that. Sarah Saldaña, the newly appointed U.S. attorney in Dallas, told the paper: “We base prosecutions on evidence and nothing else. … I can say unequivocally that we haven’t prosecuted people based on race or ethnicity, and it won’t happen on my watch as U.S. attorney.” Saldaña doesn’t lie. Second, though, if you think black politicians are under scrutiny, then if you’re a black politician, don’t, for example, steal cars.
Cowboys Win! Cowboys Win! The Cowboys won a thrilling game in overtime last night. Oh, right. Not those Cowboys.
Home |
Masthead |
News from D |
About Us |
Contact Us |
Subscribe |
Advertise |
Privacy Policy |
Customer Service |
Awards | Archives | Reprints | d custom | Jobs | Advertiser's Index
Awards | Archives | Reprints | d custom | Jobs | Advertiser's Index