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April 12, 2003 SOUTHWEST ON A HIRING SPREEAmerican's loss with recent layoffs may be Southwest's gain. A source inside Southwest Airlines tells me the airline is hiring managers. "They seem to be staffing more for a fleet of 700 planes than for the 400 we have." I don't know if that constitutes a stock tip because if it means Southwest is planning an acquisition, considering today's airline market, I don't know if that's good news or bad news. MARY POSS BOMBS BIG TIME Until now, I've regarded Mary is a responsible public servant. However, her gall at Laura Miller seems to have overtaken her good sense. I have on my desk the campaign mailing she (and campaign strategist Lisa LeMaster) just sent out to 100,000 voters that has thrown the Dallas business and arts communities into a tizzy--and rightly so. While making comparisons about Laura Miller's promises and performance (something we do in the next issue), Mary states: "Supports $550 million bond package that raises taxes 20%." Continue reading "MARY POSS BOMBS BIG TIME" YA GOTTA LOVE THIS TOWN, II In Colleyville this morning, mother-daughter teams in bright orange vests were picking up trash from the roadside. (Always wondered why Colleyville is so clean.) A mile or so away, cars had pulled over so that parents could shoot photos of their kids posed amid a sea of bluebonnets. YA GOTTA LOVE THIS TOWN Going east on Bruton past Buckner on the south side of the street are, in order: a Baptist church, an auto repair shop, a Methodist church, another Baptist church, another Baptist church, and a Bible church.
April 11, 2003 GETTING INTO THE SWING OF THINGSHere's a communique from a friend who just moved to Dallas and up to now has been well-known, even famous, for his disdain toward conspicuous consumption: We have just reached a moment of maximum Dallas-osity: my wife just phoned to tell me she is about to drive her Lexus SUV to the Northpark Mall to buy me white shirts at Brooks. Next moment of maximum Dallas-osity: me at the bankruptcy court. BERNIE KRAFT, R.I.P. Bernie Kraft, who over the last 28 years has served as advertising director, publisher, president, and custom publishing director (in our latest iteration) of D Magazine, died this afternoon after a year-long bout with cancer. He was full of good humor and encouragement to the end, and he will be greatly missed. Our condolences to Pat and to his beloved daughters, Kimberly and Kelly. PIGGIE PERFECTION During lunch today I made a quick jaunt (okay, I was gone for an hour and a half) to the Seventeen Spa in Plano for a pedicure. It was the best hour and a half my piggies have ever seen. Traci, their nail artist, gave my toes a personal touch by putting my initial on my big toe in swarvorski crystals. It's the latest craze and Seventeen is the absolute best place to have it done. I personally think Adam's toes could use a little pick me up. MASTERFUL, NOT For those of you away from a TV, Dallas golfer Justin Leonard is having a tough time at the Masters. He's 10-over through 17, and probably won't make the cut. CRUISIN' FOR A BRUISIN' Tim, you are so hard on our embedded D Magazine Celebrity Chef Cruise reporters. They are doing tough duty under stressful conditions. I mean, if you were in the Caribbean would you want to report in to work twice a day? Be gentle. AUTHORESS UPDATE Turns out the Victoria Alexander, author of Naked Singularity and native of Carrollton, is not just another pretty face. She's also a nutcase. Anyone who would use naked as an adjective for singularity should have been suspect. FOOTBALLS That reminds me: how is attendance at Dallas Desperados games so far? MADNESS Apparently lobsters and periods are both in short supply at sea, forcing our Caribbean bloggers to use a lot of exclamation points. Ladies, here are a few extra we had lying around the office. Help yourselves: ................................................... LOBSTER MADNESS II Ahoy from the msZuiderdam docked off Half Moon Cay somewhere in the Caribbean. Thank Neptune we don't have another "Formal Night"-last night's sequin-fest was too much for this girl. Not to mention the fact that by the time the waitstaff reached our tables we learned that the kitchen was OUT of lobster. They learned in short order that they picked the wrong group for this kitchen faux paux. I won't name names, but there were words with ship officials. We regrouped and retreated to the Piano Lounge where Gilbert's wife Lisa grabbed the mic and belted out a few of her original blues tunes. That chick can rock! Today is all play--we're heading ashore to bask on a private beach where we will host a BBQ for our group. With lobster! WAL-MART YES! I MEAN, NO! I MEAN... Okay, fine. Politicians lie. I get it. But what makes this story about Mary Poss' phantom support of a proposed Wal-Mart at Mockingbird and Lemmon so distasteful is that she--or, more accurately, her campaign advisor Lisa LeMaster--is running on it. You expect politicians to hide lies. If not, spin them. You certainly don't expect them to be used as campaign fodder. GRAMMAR POLICE From a front-page News story about American asking its unions to make concessions so the airline can stay out of bankruptcy: "If any of 10 groups reject their tentative deals, the Fort Worth-based carrier could file for bankruptcy protection as soon as Monday." Sorry, the anal-retentive copy editor in me couldn't resist. (Wow. That's the second reference today to an orifice. And it's not even 11 a.m. yet.) WAR TALK A reminder that tomorrow at 9 a.m. the Dallas Institute is hosting a conference on "The Language of War," with among others: Louise Cowan, Glen Arbery, Robert Trammell, and (via video) James Hillman. I've got an all-day 5th-grade bb tournament, so somebody please report in on the highlights. COVERGIRL
THAT'S WHAT WE WERE AFRAID OF Quote of the week from today's Texas Weekly: Mike Toomey, a former House member and former lobbyist who is now chief of staff to Gov. Rick Perry, hopping on an elevator and ducking questions from a reporter for the San Antonio Express-News: "I'm just a lobbyist." VAGINA IDEOLOGUES Nancy Pelosi, whom the Dallas Chamber has signed up as its featured speaker for its Distinguished Women Leaders lecture series, makes another inane statement about the war in Iraq ("We could have brought down that statue for a lot less"), completely in keeping with her reputation as the most closed-minded liberal ever to walk the hallowed halls of Congress. And this is the Dallas Chamber of Commerce? BEAUTIFUL MEN Virginia Postrel raises a fun point (5th item down) about the male side of our Ten Most Beautiful list. (She then goes on to refer to it offhandedly as "fluff." Of course, she's right, but I prefer to think of these things as Graham Greene thought of his novels, as "entertainments.") 'THE GREAT BOIL, LANCED' Frederick Turner, the remarkable poet in residence at UT Dallas, has written a poem on the Second Iraq War. Please ignore the clutter of the web site (oddly, someplace called Tech Central Station; how appropriate for UTD people). The setting aside, the poem is well worth reading and contemplating.
April 10, 2003 SHOES OFFEND GODI mused earlier today about the special relationship Iraqis have with their shoes. Our good friend Dan Michalski explains: It's not just an Iraqi thing; it's a Middle East thing. Showing your shoe to someone is a huge insult. It has something to do with walking in s--- and then showing that s--- to God (as in woe is me). My girlfriend in college was Iraqi, and though she was an otherwise sane and pretty girl, she would FREAK if I kicked my shoes off and one of them landed upside down. Apparently God was very upset about looking at the bottom of shoes, and when they are turned upside down, that's what you are doing--showing the bottom of your shoe to God. I think the American equivalent would be showing your butt to God. DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS *"I believe in critics, but I think they should be certified."--Sevy * I don't read them and I think some of them just write for themselves"--Kent * "We know things from the food perspective and critics don't."-Gilbert * "Any restaurant should be ready for reviewers the first day they open their doors."-Chris All agreed that the star rating system is $%^&**((--up. Or just plain bogus. No one should read a critic that smokes or drinks too much wine. But here's the kicker: These chefs want to come up with a survey and send it to all the top chefs in town and have them rate the dining critics. There's a two-page spread waiting to happen. And D gets the exclusive. Yeah, Baby. STRANGERS PULL ONE OUT Inside sources who are just now returning to the office red-faced and smelling of beer report that the Rangers pulled one out this afternoon at the Ballpark. These same sources also report that the best play of the day will not be recounted in the Paper of Record. It was made by some guy in the upper deck who one-handed a foul ball, leaning over the rail, while not spilling a drop of the beer that he was holding in his other hand. He got a standing O. DINING CRITIC SURVIVES ENEMY FIRE Barely. I wore my orange life vest this afternoon when I faced off against Sevy, Chris, Gilbert, and Kent in a point/counterpoint discussion on dining critics. I thought I had opinions. You won't be surprised to learn that they have no use for those of us who bust our waistlines for a living. But I must say that I came out better than my colleagues. Especially John (Don't Charge Me) Mariani. Perhaps they let up because I was looking them in the eye. Love to be a staw in a glass at their cocktail hour tonight and get the real scoop. WHAT KIND OF SINGULARITY?
Euthanasia and familial relations are the subjects of Naked Singularity,Carrollton native Victoria N. Alexander's second novel which has just been published by the Permanent Press Publishing Company.The only reason I mentioned it is to run Victoria's picture. I haven't read the book. TRIO OF TRUFFLES Chef's hat off to Chris Ward for his fabulous performance with partner Gilbert Garza in this morning's "Now That's a Chef" cook-off. Chris was nice enough to stick around after the cook-off to host a private "truffle making" demonstration for a select group of fifteen of the guests. THE CASE FOR APPOINTED JUDGES The Dallas Business Journal reports a new study by the US Chamber places Texas 46th out of the 50 states in the quality of its judicial system. Here's a quote: Texas ranked fourth worst for treatment of class-action suits and punitive damages, and fifth worst for treatment of tort and contract litigation, judges' impartiality, judges' competence and judges' fairness. I'M DOWN WITH BEING BROWN Just one more reason to make your mami say "Ay Dios Mio!" Beginning tonight and ending Saturday evening "Mastering Sex & Tortillas" by Adelina Anthony is playing at the Undermain Theatre in Deep Ellum. Adelina is one of the co-founders of Dallas' Cara Mia Theatre but now lives in LA. CON JOBS I see the Observer has caught up with our old friend J. Jovan Philyaw. SPEAKING OF WINNERS The Top 10 Most Beautiful have been announced. You'll find them here. LINK ME, LINK ME, LINK ME Do you like blogs? Do you wish there was a way to tell which blog is best (besides FrontBurner, natch)? Check out BlogShares, a fantasy stock market for weblogs. Players get to invest a fictional $500, and blogs are valued by inbound links. It's like the stock market, only far more pointless. AND THE WINNER IS... Nothing like a good competition early in the morning to get your stock pot boiling. The "Now That's a Chef" competition was a blast. Kent Rathbun claimed, "This is the most fun I've ever had." Perhaps he should get out more, but he did have a good point. We all crowded around the two teams--The Eyeliners (Gilbert & Chris) and The Early Risers (Sevy & Kent)--to watch them struggle to come up with a winning dish from limited ingredients. After 45 minutes, The Eyeliners (don't ask) walked away with the Best of Show award while The Early Risers (that's another story) took the prestigious Top Taste Award. Hey Wick, everybody wants to know where to sign up for next year's cruise! WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING INVITATION Will they be taking questions from the audience at this mayoral debate? Let's go. POWERFUL CONTEXT Tim, it turns out there's a reason for your (and my) cynicism. TV critic Tom Shales points out that CBS was the only network to report fighting between U.S. forces and Saddam loyalists only a mile away from the celebrations. POWERFUL IMAGES Some great slide shows here. POWERFUL WORDS I’m a cynic. Watching Iraqis topple statues of Saddam and then beat those statues with their shoes is nice (what is it with Iraqis and their shoes?). But the cockles of my heart won’t warm because I suspect they are simply making a show for the cameras (the Iraqis, not my cockles). This NYT story, though, really touched me this morning. INVITATION YANKED I was supposed to moderate the debate tonight between Mary Poss and Laura Miller at 7 p.m. at Walnut Hill Elementary. This morning, though, I was uninvited. It seems one of the candidates objected to having me be the one to ask questions. Gee, I wonder which candidate it was? READY, SET, COOK The first D Magazine "Now THAT'S a Chef" contest is set to start in 20 minutes. Results to follow!!
April 09, 2003 OVER-SERVED DISCO DIVAAimee is my hero. She is SO Julie McCoy. ONE MORE TIME I guess my last blog was a bit too insidery so let me explain: Eric Kimmel is the '80s-90s Dallas man-on-the-scene who was known for his use and distribution of "thought-enhancing" concoctions. He served a bit of jail time for sharing his product, but now owns a boutique in Addison called Rich Hippie. RH sells vintage, patchworked denim. FOOD NEWS The FrontBurner faithful might be confused to read food news from someone other than Nancy Nichols, but she's on a boat somewhere. So in the meantime, here's this: a new restaurant opens this weekend on Greenville (next to Nero's) called One-24 or One-2-4 or something. The logo on the fax looks like this: GRAVY TRAIN, III A reader is exercised over my misgivings about the Bush tax cut: If the government - ANY FREAKIN' GOVERNMENT - just once cut spending, I might have some sympathy for your fears about the Republican tax cut. But the fact is, that no documented OVERALL spending cut has EVER beenrecorded by ANY branch of government in these UNITED STATES. Dr. Friedman ALWAYS says that a 600B budget with a 200B deficit was better than a 1000B budget that was balanced. The Dr. Friedman referred to is the sainted Dr. Milton Friedman. NO NAILS No basement. Lots of green. Plenty of rum. NOT MY LEFT FOOT Tropical Tragedy #1--While Sevy has managed to keep the group in stitches, Miss Aimee was in the ship hospital getting three of her own. Seems the Disco Diva tripped on the lights and received a fantastic slash across her foot. Ouch--her ego hurts more than her foot. Oh, and the doctor is a "hottie". Over and out. PUSH PULL What do you want? First we are not enough and now we're too much. Who is seasick here? If you knew what it took to get to the Internet you would blog your brains out once you made it. Is that brief enough. GARDEN Again, though, Harlan's going to have to fight Harvey "You Want Fries With That" Gough for them Saddam statues. GARDEN OF EVIL I've just emailed Harlan Crow, who has the world's biggest collection of tyrant statuary (Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc.) in a specially designed garden, that he needs to move fast if he hopes to snatch a statue of Saddam before they are all broken into a thousand pieces. I'll bet he already has an agent in Iraq. Harlan thinks ahead. (For more about the collection, read the story dated 1/26/03 in Melbourne's Sunday Herald Sun -- subscription only.) OTTLEY'S PLANTATION I happen to be very interested, not only in when it was built, but with what, how much did it cost, what kind of labor, how they did it without nails (or did they have nails?), and how it has managed to escape hurricanes for all these years. By the way, does it have a basement? What color is it painted? There was a lot left out of that post. LENGTH DOES MATTER Attention all Caribbean bloggers: brevity is SWEET. Those of us sitting in gray cubicles back here in Dallas care not when Ottley's Plantation was built. THE SUGAR ISLAND Fun fact of the day: St. Kitts is fondly referred to as the Island of Sugar (thanks to the fields upon fields of sugar cane on this mountainous island.) Fitting, really, because it is (forgive me) SWEET! Twenty-seven members of our group piled into a half-dozen mini-cabs once we docked and headed for Ottley's Plantation. Built in 1645, the plantation is one of the oldest things on the island. Owners Ruth and Art Kirsch graciously hosted our thirsty group for lunch today at the famed Royal Palm restaurant. We dined on this fantastic open-air tone terrace with views of the ocean on one side and rain forest on the other. Monica Greene delighted the group with jokes (none that can be repeated here, that is for certain) while the bar staff churned out pitchers of Jumpin' Jambies...think vodka swirled with passion fruit nectar, coconut milk, and Gran Marnier. Rob and Becky Wands arrived late as they decided to travel by moped, honking as they blazed up the VERY steep drive to the terrace. Becky was more than happy to wrap her hands around two Jumpin' Jambies after that ride! The cocktails went down fine and we chased them with conch fritters and perfectly-dressed lobster salads (with so much lobster we could barely polish off our servings.) Art gave us a tour of the grounds- lush green carpets of grass dotted with mango trees, palm trees, and frosting-white oleanders in full bloom- then showed off the cottages. With private pools and hammocks (all just a stone's throw from the ocean,) I strongly encourage this be the site of your next island escape. Joanne Bondy napped in a hammock while Gilbert Garza snapped photos of his lovely wife Lisa wearing a crown of flowers made by one of the staff. The sun set over St. Kitts and the lights on the tiny homes lining the marina looked like little white sugar cubes twinkling along the shore. BROWN BOOBYS Polly and Don Waddington and I grabbed our binocs yesterday and boarded a catamaran headed to Nevis to tour the botanical gardens and bird watch. The rest of the group headed to other points in St. Kitts. On our outing we spotted bananaquits, frigates, and the rare brown booby. Most of the group headed for a sophisticated Island-style lunch at a plantation (see Aimee's posting above). Meanwhile, at an undisclosed beach on St. Kitts, Amy and Jim Severson, Chris Ward and Pamela Rodgers, and Donna and Michael Tanner (from Abacus), got friendly with the locals who gave them on-the-beach massages and brought them beers as they floated in the sea. The rowdy group was the last to board the ship. At dinner, Sevy claimed that he had spotted several pairs of brown boobys too. Polly asked him where he made the sighting. "Oh there were at least 6 pair in the bar just a few minutes ago." he depanned. This chef doesn't need a restaurant, he needs a Vegas show. ASHORE IN ST. THOMAS No we haven't run aground although there are a lot of folks gone ashore this am to St. Thomas. The Internet isn't as reliable at sea as it is in Big D. Sevy, Gilbert, and Chris Ward, and their respective foursomes, just hit the first tee box for the Celebrity Chefs Golf Tournament (brought to you by D Magazine). Everyone else has a deadly case of buyitis and are heading to the duty-free shops that line the shore in town. Aimee and I are setting things up for this afternoon's sessions. Somebody has got to teach this staff how to make a proper margarita--and Joanne and Monica will be demonstrating their award-winning techniques at 4pm today. Oh, that's in the Vista Lounge for those of you who need directions. See you there! I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM I was at Cafe Izmir last night for a friend's birthday dinner and guess who walks into the dark-as-night dining area with sunglasses on and being a loud talker? Eric Kimmel. Seems like the guy still thinks he's too cool for school as he hooted and hollered throughout the whole dinner and even shouted at our table when the guest of honor held up a dress she received as a gift. "Put it on, babeee," he screeched. "SHUT. UP." we screamed back. He didn't say a word the rest of the night. NEW ARGUMENT AGAINST THE SMOKING BAN Aren't we supposed to be sensitive to other cultures? FLY BOYS AND GIRLS The only thing surprising about this story is that the proposed pilot paycuts are described as "too onerous." As American Airlines tries to stave off bankruptcy, of course they're going to make sure everyone's happy. On a related note, an insider at AA told me that it's business as usual there, meaning there's a general sense of gallows humor about low morale and job security. HOW TO GET AN A If any students are thinking about a test prep course, it looks as if The Princeton Review delivers for the money. WHITE BREAD Careful where you throw stones, Mr. Wick. Not sure we'd fare well on any diversity index, either. SLEEPY IN DALLAS
CELEBRITY CHEFS Speaking of celebrities, has our Celebrity Chef Cruise run aground? Ahoy, girls, where's your report from the blue Caribbean?
April 08, 2003 CELEBDAQChecking out the BBC's Celebrity Stock Exchange, I wondered how we'd do if we only bought shares in people featured in D Magazine's Celebrity Issue. Adam, I can see your name on this one (plus, there's a £100 prize). WHITE BREAD The DMN ranks 108 on a diversity index out of the top 200 newspapers in America, according to a report today by the Knight Foundation. For any minority job applicants out there, this might be a good week to give Belo a ring. For the rest of us, it will undoubtedly mean having to watch an anguished DMN try to make up for its failings with even more large and unwelcome doses of political correctness. GRAVY TRAIN, II Okay, let's get three things straight: a.) Never believe the moans about how children are going to starve if the government cuts one dime from some bureaucrat's budget. b.) Do, however, be concerned when a president wants to cut taxes--or increase spending--during a war. We did that once--the spending--when LBJ decided he wanted guns and butter (the war in Vietnam and the war on poverty), and the result was catastrophic inflation. c.) Never accept an economic analysis from the NYT (and who would?). Bottom line: yes, there are problems with the Republican tax cut mantra, which if the NYT happened to stumble upon, was only a lucky coincidence. Comprende? DESTINATION BRASIL
McDAVID'S STARS Careful. The Biz Journal isn't reporting that the deal is done. They're reporting what the News is reporting: a bunch of denials. GRAVY TRAIN Mmmm ... gravy. More to the point, though, Wick: the worrisome thing, if you believe the NYT piece--and because I'm your employee, I'm certainly not saying I do--the Republicans aren't just cutting off the money (to social service programs or what have you). That could be a political liability. No. What they're doing is cutting taxes, thereby intentionally bankrupting the country so that we can't afford social service programs. WIDETRACK BARKS McDavid did indeed buy the teams. But, more importantly, it looks like FrontBurner scooped the Dallas Business Journal by 45 minutes. NEVER RUN A GRAVY TRAIN AT FULL SPEED Tim, the Founders believed that Congress, being close to the people, would be parsimonious with their money. Ha! Congress, wanting to stay employed by the people, buys their votes with their money. The only way to impose restraint is to cut off the money. In normal times, a reduction in federal taxes would be a good idea to moderate Congress and return money to the people who earned it. So that makes me a good Republican. However, these are not normal times. That makes me a worried Republican. BIG PLAYA D readers will remember that David McDavid lost out on his chance to buy the Stars because he played his cards poorly. But it looks like he decided to show Tom Hicks a thing or two. Huh? LOLA GETS A LITTLE SISTER Volvo dealer turned restaurateur Van Roberts has added a new addition to Lola. Think Europe--an 8-table tasting room with a different chef (former Lola sous chef David Uygur will move up) and a different menu. Once you book a table--6:00 and 8:30pm seatings--it is yours for the night. (Mi Cocina are you listening?) Lola executive chef Chris Peters will continue his post. It's nice to see good things get better. BEVERLY HILLS 90210 Okay, Tim. Here's the deal: BLOGLESS IN THE CARIBBEAN Bet you thought we forgot about our D duties. Hah! We have a better excuse than the dolphins ate our computer. The Internet Cafe lost our satellite signal for 24 hours and we were forced to leave the keyboard and socialize. Yesterday was a full day at sea and a full day of classes and clinics. Chris Ward dazzled us with a delicious steak tartare and JoAnn Bondy and Monica Green made "to die for" tamales. Kent Rathbun held a sushi clinic only to be upstaged by Jim "Soft Spikes" Severson who showed up dressed as a sumo golfer (if there is such a thing) with a napkin wrapped around his head. Laughing has become our only excercise. That is unless you count pole dancing. Whoops, I wasn't supposed to let that one out. What goes on the road stays on the road. But suffice it to say that the folks from Abacus and our marketing department had a really good time last night (this morning). Oh look, there's St. Kitts. Gotta go. (Am I really getting paid for this?!) KRISTIE'S BACK! And she's got a great story from LA about Barbra Streisand that she's reluctant to tell. NO NEW TAXES Want to read a really uplifting take on how the Republicans' tax scheme (along with the war) will drive the economy into the ground? See this NYT Magazine story. Wick, you sure you still want to be a Republican? ECONO-ME Now that I'm on my latest kick of "everything has an effect on the economy," I can no longer hold my tongue about the Longhorns' choke last Saturday. Maybe if UT were in the finals, there would have been more than a dozen people watching the game at an otherwise popular bar. Alas. GOVERNOR HERBERT HOOVER Read Bill McKenzie's DMN column today on the box Rick Perry has put himself in. If this blind devotion to no new taxes continues to be the GOP mantra, I can foresee a rejection of the Republican Party as profound and lasting as 1932. SIGNS OF THE TIMES Regarding my previous post about the picketing of County Judge Margaret Kelleher's house, a reader reminds us that John Wiley Price also voted in favor of preserving the "whites only" sign at the water fountain. Good point. Even Lenin kept the Winter Palace, and only the Taliban in recent memory have tried to cleanse and scrub history. If I were black, I would want that sign to stand forever in testimony to my parents' humiliation, just as the Jews want the gas chambers to remain forever in testimony to the genocide of a generation. MISSING IN ACTION Where is poor Kristie? Did she spend the night at LAX? At least she wasn't stuck in New York, where the wind chill is 24 degrees (!).
April 07, 2003 THE PAST IS NO PROLOGUEThe article is a projection for next quarter; Decherd's statement was a report on last quarter. Things change (knock on wood). By the way, I was talking about their advertising, not our advertising. Our next few issues are cluttered to the point of incomprehensibility with ads. Might as well be stuffed with dollar bills. WAR ADS Something curious at work here. Though I can’t find it on the News’ site, there’s an article in today’s business section headlined “Outlook Upbeat on Ad Spending: In spite of Iraq war, media agency predicts 2 percent hike in 2003.” It’s an NYT story; can’t find it on that site either. Meanwhile, everyone else seems to be bringing bad news of the war’s affect advertising. Me, I’m preparing for the worst. WAR HURTS MORE THAN PEOPLE I think the DMN's new design is superb, but maybe that's because it is uncluttered by all that bothersome advertising. MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER Got an e-mail from a friend who moved from Dallas to D.C. a few years ago. You'll enjoy it. I was down on the Mall on Saturday checking out the cherry blossoms in full bloom. There was, of course, a protest going on. Actually several protests. One involved a bunch of guys in orange turbans. Another offered a lineup of bands. By my estimate, attendance at the protest with the bands was maybe 50 people. Between sets, there were speakers. The one young lady I heard the most from whilst walking by said—and I'm quoting as accurately as I can—“This war needs to be stopped because it is bad and, you know. And, we need money to stop it and all, but we're just students or whatever. So we don't have any. So please, please, please donate.” While this oration was ongoing, there was a dude on the opposite corner, facing the street, holding a sign that read: “Honk if you think hippies suck.” ARTFUL PERFORMANCE Worth magazine ranked the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation's board of directors as one of the top 100 most prestigious boards in the country. (The boards of the Dallas Museum of Art and the Dallas Symphony Association were also ranked in the top 100.) Seems to me that the board's prestige won't really be proven until May 3, if/when the relevant bond propositions (numbers 5 and 12) pass. With your help, they will. GOD SPARES THE RIGHTEOUS American Airlines had to ground about 100 of its planes out at DFW because they were damaged by the hailstorm over the weekend. I was out of town all weekend. My car was parked in the (uncovered) south remote lot. Nary a ding. (But a friend of mine, a real sinner, reports that all four of his cars, parked at various points around town, were hit—one nearly totaled.) NO JOY IN MUDVILLE I want to express my deep appreciation to my colleagues for not mentioning UT's twin losses in the Final Four games over the weekend. THE THREE WHISKATEERS Ahoy Landlubbers! I am reporting (relatively) live from somewhere in the Caribbean with our celebrity chefs who proved in this morning's cooking demonstration why they are celebrities. We had a full house for Gilbert Garza, Jim Severson, and Kent Rathbun's hilarious session. The technical difficulties (stoves blowing fuses) provided the perfect opportunity for the guys to take cheap shots at each other and I swear I've never laughed so hard. Sevy showed up in chef whites and golf shoes (soft spikes). He can NOT wait until our golf tournament in St. Thomas on Wednesday. Kent prepared a Cajun braised chicken breast with sausage and jambalaya that he cooked on Rosie while Gilbert and Sevy stood behind him and made Pac Man shadow figures on the big screen. Kent who couldn't figure out why everyone was laughing at him. Gotta go, our next session in 10 minutes! WHO RUNS TEXAS? The Republicans now run the Legislature but it looks like the lobby runs the Republicans. HAZARDOUS DUTY A theater manager was busted Saturday night for selling liquor without a license. AIR APPARENT Here's one of those stories that, two years ago, would have made my eyes roll with boredom. But now that I'm in my later, wonkish years, I recognize the inherent drama and significance. If we don't clean up our air, we get no federal funding for new roads. If we don't get new roads, congested highways become even more congested, and bad air gets much, much worse. WAR? WHAT WAR? Sunday motorists and joggers enjoying the beautiful spring weather yesterday were met with a novel sight for Highland Park: a protest group of about 20 African-Americans outside the Fairfax Ave. home of County Judge Margaret Kelleher. At first people wondered what Kelleher had to do with the war in Iraq. Turns out the protest was against Kelleher's vote to preserve the historically significant "whites only" sign at the County Courthouse. The demonstration lasted just long enough for NBC5 cameras to record it before the group was hustled off by HP police to a more suitable site, HP Village. There, the message got somewhat confused: passers-by thought they were protesting working conditions at Patrizio. So as soon as the cameras packed up, the sign-holders did too.
April 06, 2003 THE LOVE BOATOur first session went swimmingly. And much to Aimee's chagrin, 45 minutes overboard, I mean overtime. Thanks to the brilliant and candid career comments from our panel--Gilbert Garza, Jim Severson, JoAnn Bondy, Chris Ward, Monica Green, and Kent Rathbun. From our roundtable Q&A we learned that Sevy was fired from his first three restaurant jobs--all at McDonald's. (No one asked why he never switched to a Burger King.) Gilbert let us know that he was on his way to becoming a dentist until his grandfather exposed him to the infectious bite of the restaurant bug. Bet none of you knew that Chris Ward called (and calls) his mentor Jean LaFont "My Big Daddy." I'm not touching that one. Or that JoAnne Bondy was The Popcorn Girl in a bank (didn't go there either) when she got the call to devote her life to working the front line. Monica enlightened us on her "convoluted story"--well the professional side anyway--and she made many of us feel like dinosaurs when she reminded us of her past jobs at Bagatelle ("At University and Jail," she slurred in her Dramomine and cough syrup laden Mexican accent.) Can anyone tell me where Don the Beachcomber was located? Not Kent Rathbun. When the swinging singles joint (on Park and Greenville) was rocking, Kent was working his first job as a dishwasher at Sambo's in Kansas City. With factoids like these, who needs Jeopardy! Off to our sunset cocktail reception. READY, SET, SAIL Greetings from the sunny Caribbean. The D Magazine Celebrity Chefs are finally cruising. A broken propeller caused a 5-hour delay in our departure from Ft. Lauderdale but no one in our band of fifty even noticed. Thanks to Jim "Sevy" Severson, the Bloody Marys started flowing at 7:30am at DFW only to be replaced by Coronas once we were all aboard. (And you thought this cruise was about food.) Our first evening ended with most of us watching the Texas "game" at the Sports Bar. Our first morning was spent dragging our butts around Nassau buying too many things we don't need--Bahama Mama salt and pepper shakers were a big hit--and looking for liquor stores.We shoved off at lunch and we retired poolside for pina coladas. But we get down to business at 3:00pm with our first panel discussion. GROUNDED IN LA I came out to LA for a relaxing birthday weekend for a relative and it's culminated into the most stressful Sunday of my life. I was scheduled to come back to Dallas on a 5:15 flight, but an American Airlines employee called to tell me that due to a crazy storm that occured last night in Dallas 98 of AA's planes have been damaged and all flights out of LA (and many other cities) have been cancelled. Ugh. PAPA'S GOT A BRAND NEW MAG According to industry expert Samir Husni something like 75 new magazines are launched each month. Startlingly few of those titles will be around a year from now. I'm guessing about 14 total. And I'm hoping The Believer magazine is one of them. It's a new literary magazine brought to you by the McSweeney's crew. I'm still of mixed minds about (cult?) leader Dave Eggers, but the new mag is a good read for the modern literature (and modern-literature) enthusiast. TIME TIME TIME If you're one of those people who disagrees with Daylight Savings Time, try easing into it. Instead of moving your clocks an entire hour ahead, why not take it ten minutes at a time to spread the adjustment out over the entire week? THOUGHTFUL? THAT'S SELF-PRESERVATION Hell and the Baath party have no fury like a woman without flowers on her wedding anniversary.
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Here's an item from the Carrollton Leader:
Damn West Coast games. Did anyone else stay up late to watch the Mavs get 