Articles for January 5th, 2012
John McKeon Out as President at the Dallas Morning News
He’ll be out of the building sometime before June 30. (My guess is he won’t be doing much in the building during the interim.) Publisher Jim Moroney takes over McKeon’s general manager duties and passes his own direct reports from Providence and Riverside up the ladder to CEO Robert Decherd.
The press release is here. Decherd reports that revenues were down 4 or 5 percent again in the 4th quarter but EBITDA looks good. It calls McKeon’s departure “streamlining”, which seems about right. There’s no need for so much executive firepower in a business that is steadily contracting.
Are We Dallasites or Dallasonians? Fort Worthers or Fort Worthians? Etymology Tells Us Who We Are
Barry Popik, a lawyer in Austin, likes words. He spends a lot of time researching the history of familiar phrases. He once went to great lengths to convince Nancy that hamburgers weren’t invented in Texas. He has a website on which he discusses the etymology of a host of terms, posts photos of himself with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and otherwise makes it clear that his intellect is superior to yours.
Part of his site is devoted to assembling a “Lone Star Dictionary,” and lately he’s been adding to it with a series of posts about the history of terms for referring to the inhabitants of specific geographic locations. I’m sorry to say that “Dallasite” appears to be the only legitimate option for those of here in the region’s biggest city. Residents of Fort Worth have two options: “Fort Worthian” or “Fort Worther.”
My favorite discovery on the site is that “Cedar Hillbillies” is apparently a real thing. But I was bowled over when I read the entry about my own hometown and its “Dentonites.” While the citations on most of his posts are fairly dull and taken from Wikipedia and its sources, the entry for Denton sees fit to cite the Urban Dictionary:
Things That Make Me Ridiculously Happy, the Dirk Nowitzki Edition
There are many, many reasons to love Dirk Nowitzki. But this latest one? Quite possibly the best ever.
Is Miles Austin Gay?
No, he isn’t. But that headline got you to read this post, right? I bet you feel cheated now. And I don’t blame you. Because that’s exactly how I felt when I read this Philadelphia magazine story — because it’s not a story. At all. The cover tagline got me. “Which Eagles and Phillies Are Gay?” And I thought the opening spread (pictured) with Miles Austin cringing at the bottom of the pile (and giving me an excuse to post this item) was great. Like I say, though, the story was nothing. It’s about 2,500 words long. I can sum it up for you thusly: there are 100 athletes playing for Philly’s four major pro teams. Statistics suggest that about 10 of them are gay. That’s it. The rest of the piece is stuff like this:
[A] recent Phillies player, a renowned womanizer, has been rumored to be quite interested in men. There are whispers in gay circles about him picking up men at Knock, a bar on Washington Square West, and taking them back to his condo. Phillies insiders still murmur about his bisexuality.
Imagine, then, that you find out who that player is. Imagine he is, in fact, one of your favorites, that his name is … Cliff Lee.
OHHHHH! NOOOOO! Not Cliff. It couldn’t be Cliff.
Well, you’re right. It isn’t Cliff. Cliff Lee is married, and there’s not a shred of evidence I’m aware of that he’s gay or bisexual.
Great cover line. Great opening art. Really bad story idea.
Deported Runaway Jakadrien Turner Never Told Authorities She Is a U.S. Citizen
So says the Houston Police Department and ICE in this (paywalled) article from Selwyn Crawford at the DMN. Both agencies, it seems, had a hand in deporting the 15-year-old Oak Cliff girl to Colombia. And it kind of sounds a little like the authorities are blaming her. Also, it appears she’s pregnant. This has been a strange story from the start, and there are still so many questions. This story says she didn’t speak Spanish at all when she ran away in late 2010, but she had a conversation with officials in Colombia? If it wasn’t in Spanish, did she give a reason? Why wouldn’t she tell anyone she wasn’t Colombian? Can you really become a citizen of Colombia just by showing up there?
Ashley Mattingly Up for Playmate of the Year
You know her as Miss March 2011. Ashley Mattingly is from Dallas, and she needs your vote (safe for work, sadly).
Why You Should Visit the Nasher Before Sunday
I am reminded that the Tony Cragg exhibit at the Nasher ends this Sunday. Here’s a great interview our own Peter Simek did with with the British artist. Here’s what some other smart people have said about the show. Here’s what I’ll say about the exhibit: I took my 6-year-old daughter to see it. She really dug it. And, because she is 6, she wanted to touch everything. So did I. I had to consciously keep myself from reaching out to explore Cragg’s work. The sculptures beg to be touched. Really, it’s a wonderful show, and you should see it.
Here’s something else I’ll share with you: I’ve recently learned that the best time to visit the Nasher’s garden is before, oh, 3:30 p.m., because something frightening happens every day at that time. Anyone who has driven Central Expressway during certain hours of the day knows how the gold Pegasus building (which will always be the Fina building to me) can focus the sun’s rays directly into your eyes. On Central, the danger is that you will drive off the road and die in a fiery crash. The same phenomenon now occurs at the Nasher — except the sun’s rays bounce off the new Museum Tower (pictured), and the danger is that you will mistake Magdalena Abakanowicz’s Bronze Crowd for an approaching zombie mob and embarrass yourself when you turn to flee and run headlong into the trunk of an oak (or a better joke).
Anyway, you’ve been warned and notified.
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: January 5, 2012
Let’s talk about sex. Would you believe that not every world religious tradition carries around the sort of puritanical baggage we’re often stuck with here in the God-fearing United States? According to the Dallas Museum of Art, “sexual pleasure and religious ecstasy were often united in ancient India.” Yes, we’re talking about the Kama Sutra, that Hindu pleasure manual you quickly sneak peeks at whenever you happen across it while browsing at Barnes and Noble.
Tonight offers the chance to shine a harsh academic light upon this object of your titillated curiosity, by attending a DMA lecture discussing works in the museum collection that depict the intersection of sex and the Hindu religion. “The Hindu Art of Love: Illustrating the Kama Sutra” will be presented by Dr. Anne Bromberg, the DMA’s curator of ancient and Asian art.
There are other happenings at the museum as well, so you’ll have excuses to give your prudish, judgmental friends for where you’re going tonight. There’s jazz in the DMA atrium starting at 6 p.m., and an “artistic encounter” about creativity (where you’ll get the chance to learn about how to put creative thinking tools into practice) that starts at 6:30 p.m. Â The sex talk doesn’t get going until 7:30 p.m.
Too racy for you? Find other things to do in Dallas tonight right here.
SEAL’s “Deadliest Sniper,” Chris Kyle, Punched Out Jesse Ventura
Perhaps you’ve heard of Chris Kyle. The former Navy SEAL and Dallas resident has a book out called American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History. The guy has more than 160 confirmed kills, two Silver Stars, and five Bronze Stars With Valor. Texas Monthly did a Q&A with him in its January issue. The Morning News has a Q&A with him in today’s paper. But both articles overlooked one very awesome anecdote. In doing his rounds to drum up sales of the book, Kyle made an appearance on Opie and Anthony yesterday. Opie asked Kyle to tell the story about the time in 2006 that Kyle punched out former SEAL and Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura. Pretty good story, if true.
Leading Off (1/5/12)
Lauren Scruggs Goes to Whole Foods. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, no, but it was Scruggs’ first venture out in public since she lost an eye and hand and suffered various other injuries when she was hit by a plane propeller, so don’t be a jerk.
Dirk Nowitzki Plays 1,000th Game. And it was a 98-89 win over the Phoenix Suns. Last night also marked the 30,000th time I’ve said “I SEE YOU BIG GERMAN,” but no one made a big deal about that. I watched it at El Ranchito, thanks for asking.
Former Cowboys Wide Receiver Sam Hurd Indicted For Cocaine Distribution. If convicted, Hurd is looking at up to life in prison, a $15 million fine, and a cursory mention in the updated paperback edition of Jeff Pearlman’s Boys Will Be Boys. I don’t know if you’re reading this, Sam, but DO NOT show up in court in a mink coat and bowler hat, no matter what Michael Irvin tries to tell you. I learned that the hard way.
British Scientists Find “New Species of Anemones, Predatory Sea Stars, and Piles of Hairy-Chested Yeti Crab” in Antarctica. No, it has absolutely nothing to do with Dallas, but dang.
Belle Nora Given to Girl as a Sweet 16 Present. The White Rock Lake mansion has been on the market seemingly forever and now, apparently, it is a plot point in the screenplay Tim and I are going to bang out this afternoon. I could have linked to former D real estate blogger Candy Evans’ blog, which got there first (UPDATE: with a post by Karen Eubank), but the story I linked to already did, and Candy once asked me if a story I wrote was “an advertorial” so, you know, double guns.
Zac Crain Holds a Grudge Like No One Else. Honestly, it’s the only reason I work out my shoulders anymore.
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