Articles for August 24th, 2012
Strange Bedfellows Agree “Fracking” Can Be Good
You wouldn’t think Michael “No Big Gulps in My Town” Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, and energy billionaire George P. Mitchell would agree on much of anything. But when it comes to “fracking” for natural gas, they do agree. Bloomberg and Mitchell, the Texan who pioneered the horizontal-drilling techniques that have made exploiting the Barnett Shale possible, agreed today in a Washington Post opinion piece that fracking can be a good thing. If, they stress, “reasoned decisions” can be made to do it responsibly.
Tux Challenge Day 24: Don’t Shine a Black Light on It
Wednesday night, I went to Oak for the first time. Can’t recommend the place highly enough. What a pleasant experience. For my main course, I had the roasted duck breast with sunchoke, baby leeks, and foie gras flan. Simply amazing. But I think some of it got away from me. Well, I mean, I know some of it got away from me, because the next morning I had a crusty stain on my trousers. And here I should point out that I’ve already gone through all the Monica Lewinsky’s dress jokes in my head. You don’t need to put them in the comments. Anyway, this morning, Zac pointed out a couple more stains that I hadn’t noticed. Pretty sure that’s foie gras flan.
Having never before, to my knowledge, eaten foie gras flan, much less spilled it on myself, I don’t know what sort of dry cleaning challenge it presents. I’ve done my best with wet towels to tidy up, but clearly this tuxedo could benefit from the work of a professional. Thing is, I’m almost there. Seven days. That is all that remains of the Great Tuxedo Challenge of 2012, brought to you by Patron XO Cafe, with special help from Al’s Formal Wear. I am not inclined to clean the tux. The shirts are another matter. I’ve got four of them in rotation. Actually, five, if you count the space-age dry-fit dress shirt. Three of them are freshly laundered. I’m set in that department. But I’m afraid that this foie gras flan schmutz is with me till the bitter end.
Zombies Invade Dallas Arts District
Pulling into the Dallas Arts District garage this morning, I noticed a large vehicle with a picture of a zombie and the words “A. Zombie For President” painted on the side.
Turns out it was part of a publicity stunt for AMC, trying to pressure the Dish Network to pay increased fees to carry the network. Its most popular program, you see, is The Walking Dead, and they’re trying to raise awareness of the fact that Dish subscribers can’t see the show’s upcoming new season.
Just now the Dallas Arts District account tweeted out the related video that I’ve embedded above. Â Note to the videographer, and to all makers of cell-phone videos for that matter: Â Please, please turn your phone sideways when you’re shooting video. Have you ever seen a TV screen or computer monitor with a portrait orientation?
Dallas Pro Sports Teams Need Better Uniforms
I’ve thought as much for awhile, and I’m glad to have my suspicions confirmed by ESPN’s just-completed uniform power rankings, on which most of our local professional sports clubs did not fare well.
The Cowboys are the exception. Their classic, iconic home uniforms are clearly the best-looking kit around these parts, and it earns them 30th among all the teams in the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB. (And they’re sixth-best considering just the NFL.) ESPN does think there’s room for improvement:
The Cowboys also lose points for having too many inconsistent shades of blue and silver scattered throughout their uni package.
But aside from when they’re rooting for America’s team, Dallas-Fort Worth sports fans are having to wear some dull jerseys to show their support.
My main problem with the Rangers is their insistence on switching between red and blue as the primary color instead of just committing to one. Â They’re best in their primary home unis with the blue hat. Forget the red. Other than that, their look is just fine. Not great, but not bad. Â (And at least they’re not dealing with this kind of silliness anymore.) Â ESPN sees a lot of room for improvement, ranking them 20th of the 30 MLB teams, and 66th out of all pro franchises:
The Rangers need a new typeface, or at least a new type treatment. There are too many layers (blue outlined in white, outlined in red, with a black shadow), and the letters and numbers have too many spikes and bumps.
The Ticket’s Craig Miller on Lance Armstrong
The only reason I know (or care) anything about cycling is because I listen to The Ticket, and specifically Craig Miller. So I was obviously interested in his take on Lance Armstrong’s decision to decline to fight the USADA’s charges against him. Here it is.
Ritz Carlton Penthouse for Sale: $14 million, Ctd.
I met Gabe Kaplan once. Dude has some janky facial hair.
I was doing a little poking around in public records to find out who might be selling that penthouse. Here is a list of owners of the top floors of the Ritz: Randall Van Wolfswinkel, Trevor Rees-Jones, and a trust for Gabriel Kaplan. The first two are known quantities. RVW is a home-building magnate. TRJ is a oil and gas guy. But that third fellow? Does Mr. Kotter really own one of the top-floor condos at the Ritz? He just might. The guy does spend some time in Dallas. Given his TV residuals and his poker skills, I’m guessing he could afford it.
Things To Do In Dallas This Weekend: Aug. 24-26
Yeeouch.
I don’t think it’s overstepping to associate guitarist Lindsey Buckingham so completely with what we all know (and hopefully love) as Fleetwood Mac. I wrote 3,000 words listening to “Go Your Own Way” on repeat last night. So it’s with very a heavy heart that I must tell you that the man’s solo show in Fort Worth tonight finally sold out, at some point between yesterday late afternoon and this morning. No Lindsey Buckingham for you Last-Minute Minnies.
Friday
There’s still a really excellent reason to travel to Fort Worth this evening. The Modern Art Museum hosts an incredibly cool weekend of Russian films called the New Russian Cinema Festival, part of a cultural exchange that involves the Russian Ministry of Culture, the prestigious Anthology Film Archive in New York, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, the museum, and the Lone Star Film Society. It all starts this evening with a reception in the lobby with the Russian filmmakers who are there accompanying their films. There’s a cash bar, as well.
After that, there’s a screening of My Father is Baryshnikov, which is set in 1986 during the time of the perestroika, a reform movement credited with the eventual dissolution of the USSR and the ending of the Cold War. Ballet-obsessed Boris, who lives with his single mother, tells everyone his father is the legendary dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov (already persona non grata for his defection in 1974). As Boris’ dancing improves, people start to believe it. I couldn’t find a trailer with English subtitles, so I asked Carol Shih, who took Russian in college, to translate. Her takeaway: “It’s about a boy who wants to be a ballet dancer.” Thanks, Carol.
Regardless, this film looks great. Maybe like a Russian Billy Elliot with the parents switched. This is probably your only chance to catch any of these movies around town, so make sure you check out the entire schedule.
Ritz Carlton Penthouse for Sale: $14 million
That’s some serious stacking money, to be sure. But look at what you get.
Randy Travis, Drunk Again, Cited by Police Outside a Church Again
TMZ says so. This time in Plano, early this morning, got into a fight with a guy.
This is just getting sad. Actually, sadder.
UPDATE: Our more reserved local media outlets are stating that the police report doesn’t indicate that Travis was intoxicated. TMZ hasn’t changed its story, but they’ve probably done all the reporting they’re going to, having moved on (one assumes) to more of Prince Harry’s hijnks.
Wolf Group’s Vinny Minchillo Makes Ads for Mitt Romney
An alert FrontBurnervian points us to this Washington Post story about Mitt Romney’s “Mad Men.” One of them is a guy named Vinny Minchillo, who works at the Wolf Group here in town. I’ve had the pleasure of watching a Rangers game with Vinny, and his outfit produced the two FrontRow promotional videos you see in this post. They ran before the Dallas International Film Fest movies awhile back.
Don’t Forget to Vote for Your Favorite 10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas Candidate
There are two more days left to vote for your favorite 10 Most Beautiful Week 1 hopefuls: Maggie Parks, Courtney Kerr, Missy Boyle, Cinthia Mullenix, and Genevieve Genovese. You’ve got until midnight on Saturday to give these ladies your click of approval. The race is tight, and these last votes will determine which women move on to the final round. Vote here.
Best of Big D Giveaways: Olivia K Amethyst Necklace
Today’s prize in the Best of Big D Giveaway series is the last in the four-weeks of giveaways. Today’s prize is an amethyst drop pendant with a gold top on a gold chain by Olivia k, the editors’ pick for Best Jewelry Designer.
Leading Off (8/24/12)
You Can Die Of Mosquito, But Not Right Away. It seems that area officials have done a good job of raising awareness of West Nile virus, but it also seems that maybe more education is in order, since people are now worriedly dialing 911 the second they get a bite. For the record, it takes a couple of days at the earliest for symptoms to appear, most mosquitoes don’t carry West Nile, and most people who are exposed to it do not get sick.
Sam Hurd’s Big Bucket of Marijuana. OK, alleged big bucket of marijuana. Here is a bit of unsolicited advice based on knowledge garnered from several seasons of Weeds: Don’t open a maternity wear store so your silent partner can build a tunnel to Mexico. Don’t drop meat on your foot in front of a stray pit bull. And don’t buy ice chests full of weed when you’re already out on probation.
Your Texas Rangers Are “Lovely Jubblies.” Here’s the deal: I would gladly take back Talkin’ Type 2 Diabetes with Tom Grieve if I didn’t have to reach for the remote and turn down the volume on my TV every time Jim Knox interviews a fan in the stands. But it seems the Rangers have a British fan who waxed enthusiastic about the team and dubbing them “Lovely Jubblies.” Although, if you look in the comments in that link, Anglophiles insist there’s no such thing as a plural jubbly. And then there’s discussion on whether it means that something is great, Â or boobs.
Lance Armstrong Gives Up Fight Against Doping Charges. So does this mean he did it, or does it mean – as Armstrong said in a statement – that he’s just giving up something he’d never win because the outcome was predetermined? Either way, he’ll be stripped of his seven Tour de France wins.
Mexican Judge Reduces Charges for Dallas Trucker. Jabin Bogan, a Dallas trucker who took a wrong turn while carrying a trailer full of ammunition and ended up afoul of Mexican weapons laws, was facing a 30-year prison sentence. Yesterday an appellate judge reduced the charges against him, and now could get as little as community service andor a fine.
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