Articles for January 18th, 2013

SMU Professor’s Study Criticizes Teaching of the Bible in Texas Public Schools, Including Duncanville and Prosper ISDs

The video above is a sample of what it’s like to learn about the Bible in Duncanville public schools. It’s from a Hanna-Barbera cartoon series,”The Greatest Adventure: Stories From the Bible,” that’s reportedly used by the ISD.

Texas allows electives on the “Bible’s Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament” in public schools. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that such courses are constitutional, so long as they are taught in a purely academic manner without bias towards a particular sectarian presentation of the material.

But SMU religious studies professor Mark Chancey released a study on Wednesday, in conjunction with the education watchdog Texas Freedom Network, that points to troubling ways in which these courses are being taught. In general, there is a tendency in many of the courses towards a conservative, Protestant interpretation of the material and a literal reading of the scriptures. He is especially critical of 21 of the 57 districts in which Biblical courses are taught, including Duncanville and Prosper ISDs in North Texas.

In Duncanville, Chancey’s study states, the course is taught by a retired minister with a doctorate in theology from Orthodox Baptist Institute. (more…)

posted by Jason Heid | January 18th, 2013 3:08pm | filed under Education, Local News, Religion | 14 Comments »

Brek Shea Heading to Stoke, Pending Physical

I’d like to thank our surrogate D Magazine employee, Taylor Twellman, for his help today.

posted by Bradford Pearson | January 18th, 2013 2:51pm | filed under Sports | 5 Comments »

Former NFL Star (?) and Austin Demigod Vince Young Heads Back to the Classroom

He looks…tired? Disinterested? Just way too big for his desk? Anyway, Young is back at the University of Texas, wrapping up his degree. Also: pretty great that whatever class he’s taking has a slide that includes the word “sport” twice.

(h/t Busted Coverage)

posted by Bradford Pearson | January 18th, 2013 2:02pm | filed under Education, Highly Focused Pranks | 6 Comments »

Friday Fun: The Warming Edition

It hasn’t snowed in what, like three days? And it’s supposed to be in the sixties this weekend? Let’s all be thankful we live in a city where we can run in shorts for the entire year. Today’s game is Sun Stories, which requires both dexterity and keyboard skills.

Today’s soundtrack: Miguel “Candles in the Sun;” Empire of the Sun, “Walking on a Dream;” Best Coast, “When the Sun Don’t Shine;” Fungi Girls, “Sun Blues;” or Tommy Keene’s “Driving Into the Sun.”

posted by Bradford Pearson | January 18th, 2013 1:15pm | filed under Friday Fun | 1 Comment »

D Magazine Online Seeks Web Designer

We’ve got a job opening. Here’s what you need to know:

Interactive Designer
We’re looking for an experienced web designer to help build D’s online properties by designing microsites, various online graphics, and the presentation of our magazine content online. This position will also play an integral role in the redesign of dmagazine.com. The online designer will work closely with the online art director, the web development team, and the online editors to continually advance the online experience of our users through design thinking.

Requisite skills:

  •  2+ years design experience, including interactive work.
  • Must have a diverse online portfolio that showcases innovative concepts and creative design solutions.
  • Must be a strong conceptual thinker – visual and interactive. Creative enough to push boundaries within the current brand standards.
  • Must have superb communication and presentation skills. Works well with team members and is easily able to interface with sales team.
  • Must have an understanding of HTML, the process and expectations of web development, and the capabilities of web/mobile browsers.
  • Must have expert knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver.



Please send resume and portfolio (either as an online link or PDF) to ricky.ferrer@dmagazine.com.

posted by Jason Heid | January 18th, 2013 12:50pm | filed under Local News, Media, www. | (0) Comments »

The Morning News Promises More Local Coverage


If this poorly shot photograph of yesterday’s Metro section is any indication, the Morning News is doubling down on coverage of Dallas, Collin, Rockwall, and Denton counties, promising two more pages of news in each edition. Oh, and that’s two more pages total, not each. That would be nuts.

At a time when the Star-Telegram continues to lay off workers, hope springs.

posted by Bradford Pearson | January 18th, 2013 11:55am | filed under Appreciation, Media | 1 Comment »

Things To Do In Dallas This Weekend: Jan. 18-20

Fun with the Joffrey Ballet.

Lance Armstrong. Definitely still a jerk. Subway’s footlong sub? Still maybe not precisely 12 feet, but guys, we’ve never needed that much of a Subway sandwich anyway. Regardless of all this breaking news, it’s still the weekend.

Friday

I can’t tell you how much I wish the Dallas Museum of Art were celebrating its 111th birthday tonight so I could tell you that I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like, and that I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve. But the DMA is 110 years old, and tonight’s a very special late night, so we’ll table the Bilbo Baggins joke for next year and just tell you that polka perpetrators Brave Combo will provide the live music and that you can entertain yourself with tours, a Fresh Ink event with author and Dallas native Michael Ennis, and a creativity challenge for all your competitive types.

There are still seats left for this evening’s performance of A Behanding in Spokane, a play with a title that, at first glance, may appear to be a typo. But no. It’s just Irish playwright Martin McDonagh trying his hand at a black comedy set in America rather than his native land. The show is Second Thought Theatre’s season opener, and revolves around a dsyfunctional young couple trying to sell a hand–yes–to a man named Carmichael, who’s been searching for his own missing appendage for years. Add a creepy hotel and a weirdo clerk to the mix, because nothing can go wrong there. I reviewed the show for FrontRow. Spoiler: I liked it, mostly. You can read that here. And since you’re headed to the Kalita Humphreys Theater (SST performs in the smaller theater space, detached from the main building), my favorite thing to do is catch the Oak Lawn La Duni’s happy hour for drinks and a snack before the show.

(more…)

posted by Liz Johnstone | January 18th, 2013 11:51am | filed under Things to Do in Dallas | 1 Comment »

Survival of the Cutest: First Round Voting Ends Today. Which Dogs Will Make the Sweet 16?

We’ve reached the final day of voting in the round of 32 of our Survival of the Cutest tournament. You can help us decide which adorable dogs advance to the Sweet 16, so long as you cast your ballot by midnight tonight. The next round starts Monday.

When we asked for nominations to take part in this contest, we allowed owners to submit videos. Above is one of the many that we received. It features Tommy the Italian greyhound, from Allen, trying to bury a bone in his couch.

For more videos from cute dogs who didn’t quite make our cut this year, take the jump.

(more…)

posted by Jason Heid | January 18th, 2013 11:10am | filed under Animals, Local News | (0) Comments »

Manti Te’o Gay Rumors Remind People of Troy Aikman Gay Rumors

Layered underneath all of the Catfish references, questions about his knowledge of Skype/FaceTime/basic photography, and loose ends, one topic keeps coming up with the Manti Te’o story: Is he actually just gay? I don’t know, you don’t know. And it doesn’t matter (other than the fact that if he is gay, and used this whole story to cover up the fact that he’s gay, and then used the publicity garnered from this story to drum up support for his Heisman campaign). Still, this story’s bringing to the surface another story. From OutSports.com:

We’ve seen rumors and heard stories about countless athletes in the past. But not since Troy Aikman have I been bombarded on email, text, Twitter and phone calls about the sexual orientation of any athlete the way I was today about Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o.

Most of the Aikman speculation – and that’s all it is – was due to one jackass’ book. Let’s not let ambiguity allow us to make unsubstantiated leaps again, especially when it’s a topic as personal as a man’s sexual orientation.

posted by Bradford Pearson | January 18th, 2013 9:56am | filed under Abnormal Psychology | 13 Comments »

Brek Shea May Be Headed to the Premiership

It’s not a done deal obviously, but after a disappointing 2012 season even a hint of the Premier League has to be a good sign for the mercurial winger.

posted by Bradford Pearson | January 18th, 2013 9:08am | filed under Sports | 4 Comments »

Leading Off (1/18/13)

Texas Motor Speedway Trying to Lure X Games: “The X Games are really young people’s Olympics,” said Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage, who apparently just had the X Games explained to him and was showing off his new knowledge. “This is Super Bowl like.” The Speedway is bidding for the 2014, 2015, and 2016 events, and is up against 17 other cities. The CBS article goes on to say that “200 athletes from across the world take part,” which isn’t really that impressive of a number when you think about it.

Rain May Have Caused The Lights to Go Out on Large Marge:  The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge hasn’t been as brightly illuminated the past few weeks, and Dallas officials have speculated the cause: rain. Weather. A basic, elementary force that bridges — usually set outdoors – should be able to withstand.

Dallas to Prioritize Warrants For Domestic Violence Offenders:  No joke here. Good call.

Okay One More Joke: The headline for this “Fundraiser, vigil in memory of Flower Mound teen who died of flu complications on Saturday at Buffalo Wild Wings” story really makes it sound like this poor kid died of the flu at a Buffalo Wild Wings, which makes a sad story much, much sadder.

posted by Bradford Pearson | January 18th, 2013 6:00am | filed under Leading Off | 2 Comments »