Articles for July 30th, 2012
Local Man Wears Arlington T-Shirt to Local Area
Have you bought your shirt yet to show everyone how proud you are of downtown Arlington? Sometime D Magazine contributor David Hopkins got his. And then he went to downtown Arlington and showed off his goodies. His shirt is the version that reads “Downtown Arlington: The Paris of I-30.” “The t-shirt is fairly comfortable,” David reports. “It needs a good wash in warm water to remove the Cafe Press smell. The logo could probably go up an inch or two. Otherwise, I approve. I will try to wear it to as many Arlington events as possible.”
T Minus 2 Days Till Commencement of The Great Tuxedo Challenge of 2012, Brought to You by Patron XO Cafe
The Great Tuxedo Challenge starts Wednesday. For the entire month of August, with help from Al’s Formal Wear, I’ll don a tux. Wednesday’s high should be about 107. This gives me great concern, and it gives Zac a giddy grin. Before we begin, I’d like to thank Dawn Brown at Al’s on Oak Lawn (pictured). She has given the challenge no small amount of consideration and picked out for me the most suitable tux for the occasion (microfiber shirt, a lightweight super 110 coat and pants). I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t a little worried about how this gag is going to go. I hope Zac and the rest of you sadists enjoy yourselves.
Klyde Warren Park Announces Programming, Ctd.
At 10:30 this morning it was maybe 93 degrees in Dallas, location of the soon-to-open Klyde Warren Park. So luckily an event staged by the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation to tout the park’s “programming partners” was held indoors, in air conditioning, at the Dallas Museum of Art.
With city council members and arts and business luminaries in attendance, it was announced (as Tim noted) how the park will keep up a “constant stream” of free daily activities once it opens 12 weeks from today. Among them: yoga classes, shown in this photo by Jeanne Prejean.
Dan Biederman, a consultant who’s been working with the park, said that when it comes to such programming, Klyde Warren is “three to six years ahead” of where New York’s Bryant Park was when it was redesigned and reopened, back in the early ’90s. By the time this morning’s event was finished, the temperature outside had climbed to around 96.
Klyde Warren Park Announces Programming
Comes news that Klyde Warren Park has announced the programming partners who will help keep the park fun and full of people. As Mark Banta, president of the park, says, “Our robust programming schedule will create an energetic place where people can enjoy a wide selection of free activities provided by our extraordinary programming partners.”
Which of the following will not be something you’ll find in the park?
Tai chi
Pétanque
Ping-pong
Jousting
Putting
Mah Jongg
Knitting circles
Jai-alai
Caber tossing
Cockfighting
Chess
Arm wrestling
Answer after the jump:
Schnurman: AA’s CEO Slinging Mud, Looking Small
Over on the Star-Telegram website, business columnist (and D CEO contributing editor) Mitchell Schnurman takes American Airlines CEO Tom Horton to the woodshed, saying Horton’s been muddying AA’s message and making himself “look small” in the process. Don’t hold back, Mitch; tell us what you really think:
“Horton’s initial strategy was to stay focused on a stand-alone business, get through a long Chapter 11 to-do list and stay above the fray. He started out rock solid, unflappable and disciplined. But that’s over.
“Horton is now slinging mud and revising history, and it must feel like panic city on Amon Carter Boulevard. Horton has been mocking Parker for campaigning by press conferences. Guess who’s going to be mocked now?”
A Brit Defends the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics
Over the weekend, I got into a Twitter discussion with Ed Bark about the merits of the opening ceremonies spectacle. He didn’t much care for the spectacle. A couple of his tweets:
Sorry, but this is pretty embarrassing. Fabled Paul coming off like Vegas lounge act. Is this all there is?
OK, so it was a group-lighting of the torch by young prospective Olympians? You need one person. Period. Underwhelming.
Mark Davis was similarly unimpressed. After railing on the gig the night NBC broadcast, the next morning, he wrote:
Slept on it, still stunned by hideous Olympic opening ceremony. Sacrificed substance and eloquence for trendiness, and it Did. Not, Work.
Man, I just don’t get where those cats are coming from. I really enjoyed the opening ceremonies. I thought Paul McCartney had some good stuff. So I was heartened when Richard Patterson sent me a 2,000-word email saying how much he liked the show. Patterson, if you’re not familiar with him, is a painter of some note. He’s also British. Now, he admits that he didn’t watch the show on TV; he watched it in chunks on YouTube. He also wanted me to point out that Marina Hyde, in the Guardian, arrived at some of these same thoughts. But Hyde doesn’t live in Dallas, and she doesn’t send me email.
So, Mark Davis and Ed Bark, take this:
The Night Blake Griffin Walked Into Strangeways
I was there because a good friend of mine received some bad news on Friday and a few of us were going to make her feel better with alcohol. Strangeways wasn’t too crowded, and I was standing at the bar, ordering some beverages. I was bumped from behind — a surprise because, as I said, it wasn’t packed. When I turned around to see who’d bumped me, I saw a giant man with a familiar face. It was Blake Griffin. He had a plastic red cup in his mouth.
Dirk Nowitzki Gets Married (Probably)
Here are some shots of Dirk and Jessica Olsson apparently taking part in a “traditional kikuyu wedding ceremony commonly referred to as Ngurario” in Kenya. I see you getting married, Big German!
My New Favorite Thing of All Time: Brent Smith and Jason Treu
Brent Smith and Jason Treu have written a book together called Jump Start Your Social Life: A Man’s Guide To Building an Amazing Social Life in 30 Days or Less. To launch this book, they had a party at Candle Room. That’s where this video was made. Watch it immediately. After you’ve had some time to digest this amazing anthropological artifact and wonder whether you are capable of acquiring “next-level social skills,” I will point you to some more Brent Smith videos.
I Refuse To Make Fun of Harper Gruzins
Someone told me that he’d “cancel his FrontBurner subscription” if I didn’t post video of 11-year-old Coppell resident Harper Gruzins singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at an FC Dallas game. So I’m posting it. But I’m doing so without comment.
Jerry Wants Him A … Super Bowl Season
Longing to turn the Cowboys around, Jerry Jones says he “wants me some glory hole!” (This is a family blog, so look it up.) Rich Dalrymple throws up some spin that doesn’t make sense. The DMN plays Jerr-uh’s clueless comment in deadpan style. The merriment continues.
Things To Do In Dallas Tonight: July 30
The Phantom of the Ballpark.
As Raya mentioned Friday, we’ll have some Best of Big D giveaways coming to a blog near you over the course of the next few weeks. Ttoday’s is a boot camp session with Camp Gladiator, so if you enjoy that near-death by way of heatstroke feeling (and okay, an actual work out), check out ShopTalk.
Tonight, our Texas Rangers play the first game of four against Albert Pujols and the Los Angeles Angels. I am almost positive that this is an important series, something to do with American League West standings and also maybe because just winning in general is good. I think I see sportswriting in my future.
Also this evening, the Studio Movie Grill celebrates the 25th anniversary of that musical about a masked mad genius who lives in an opera house. I’m not sure that The Phantom of the Opera inspires precisely the same sort of reflexive ire that Cats certainly does, but I actually sort of love Phantom. Maybe because it’s one of the first musicals I ever heard (my parents own the two-disc original cast recording from 1986), or maybe I just love the thrill of “Masquerade.” It’s definitely not because I’m a sucker for a melodramatic romance. The movie theater is broadcasting the performance from London’s Royal Albert Hall, and will feature many of the stars and musicians who’ve been part of the musical’s history.
For more to do tonight, go here.
Best of Big D Giveaways: Bootcamp Session From Camp Gladiator
The first prize in our Best of Big D Giveaway Series is brought to you by Camp Gladiator, the Best Fitness Program Readers’ Pick and Editors’ Choice winner.
Leading Off (7/30/12)
Orange Line Opens: While I know we’re all excited we can now take DART out to the beautiful canals at Las Colinas and take a tour of the city’s defunct monorail, WFAA asks the real question regarding the opening of the first leg of DART’s Orange Line: When will we be able to ride it to DFW Airport?
Burglars Steal Gear From Dino Dig: Yes, it is really terrible that some crooks nabbed about $1,000 worth of gear from the site of an Arlington fossil dig. But I can’t get over the fact that researchers may have found a new species of Protohdros and a new species of Theropod in north Arlington.
Sports Bits: Granbury Native Wins Gold, Sets World Record; Cowboys Start Training Camp: Eight years after medaling at the Olympics as a teenager and four years after almost quitting the sport, Granbury’s Dana Vollmer took home a gold medal in the 100 meter butterfly Sunday after setting a world record in the final and becoming the first woman to swim the race in under 56 seconds. Speaking of closing windows of opportunity, there’s a sense of urgency at Cowboys camp, which kicks off in Oxnard today.
Update: Last time I was out in Las Colinas there was no monorail service, so I thought it went the way of Springfield’s. Turns out you can still rock the monorail.
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