Articles about Celebrity
Let’s Play “Name That Propeller”!
Hint #1: The thing weighs 20 tons.
Hint #2: It once belonged to the Cunard Line.
Hint #3: Of a set of four, one is at the bottom of the ocean, one was salvaged for scrap, one is part of a memorial in Ireland, and the one pictured now rests behind the main building at Old Parkland on Maple Avenue.
Okay, Dallas history buffs, show your stuff.
(Contest rules: Employees of Harlan Crow, friends of Harlan Crow, partners of Harlan Crow, relatives of Harlan Crow, anyone who has ever been to Harlan Crow’s house, and anyone who has ever asked Harlan Crow for money are not eligible to enter.)
A Review of Hilary Swank’s Brinker International Forum Performance
One of our haiku contest winners was kind enough to write the following funny review of Hilary Swank’s gig Monday night. I’m a bit late getting it online, but it’s worth a read:
Win Free Hilary Swank Tickets
I have three pairs of tickets for Monday night’s Brinker International Forum, featuring Hilary Swank. It’s haiku time. The three best haikus extolling Swank’s beauty and greatness will win tickets. Contest ends at 2pm on Monday, and tickets will be at will call. Comments are open. Go!
Demi Lovato Buys a Car at Park Place
Zac tells me Demi Lovato is a big deal. So when the folks at Park Place sent along the below photo and the release that follows after the jump, I decided to post them. That’s how it happened.
Jaap van Zweden Saves the Lives of Two Men Having Lunch
Today, I was fortunate enough to have lunch with the good professor Willard Spiegelman and maestro Jaap van Zweden at Dali, in One Arts. About that I will say this: Jaap is probably my coolest new friend. All my other friends will surely understand that I won’t have much time for them in the coming months, as Jaap and I grow even closer. He told me he’s been going to Cowboys and Mavericks games. I will, no doubt, soon be invited to join him courtside. My family will dine with his at the Ritz, where he keeps a condo. We might going skiiing together this winter.
The highlight of the lunch, though, was when a brisk breeze swirled through the courtyard at One Arts, toppling two large shade umbrellas. One fell on empty tables. The other, which was shading our table, fell onto a two-top across the aisle from us, smashing a glass full of red wine, and threatening the lives of the two gentlemen there seated. They surely would have been decapitated if not for the quick thinking of my good friend Jaap, who lunged backward in his chair and, with his baton hand, managed to steady the sickle-like umbrella before it could do further damage. Bravo!
(Did I mention that I was over-served?)
Laura Miller to Not Visit New D Magazine Offices
A co-working FBvian just mentioned to me that she rode the elevator up with none other than Laura Miller, former Dallas mayor, former D Magazine contributor. Laura got off on 18. We are on 21. One presumes she will never make it up those last three floors. Alas.
George W Makes Debut as a Motivational Speaker
Mary Jordan of the Washington Post was in Fort Worth yesterday for the ex-president’s newest gig. His rhetorical skills may not have risen to the level of the other speakers, but apparently it didn’t matter. Best line of her review:
He could have said a thesaurus was a big scaly creature that roamed the planet millions of years ago and they would have applauded.
What You Missed Last Night: Two by Two First Look
If you didn’t go to last night’s Two by Two First Look Party, benefiting amfAR and the Dallas Museum of Art, here’s what you missed. Hint: Gavin Rossdale sang (meow), Christian Siriano showed off his Spring 2010 collection (fierce), and lots of people partied (natch). If you’d like to go to the Two by Two gala on Saturday night, good for you. Get more info here.
Leading Off (10/23/09)
1. I’ve never heard him conduct a concert. I have heard many people sing his praises. So I can imagine that there’s general excitement among the city’s classical music lovers now that the Dallas Symphony Orchestra music director has committed to staying until 2016. Me? I don’t want to be a phony — like someone who calls himself a jazz aficionado just because he owns Kind of Blue – by claiming that I join them in their excitement. But I am glad he’ll be sticking around awhile. Because “Jaap van Zweden” is just plain fun to say.
2. I’m under age 55, so I was not watching the Jay Leno Show last night. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was on via satellite from inside the belly of his giant robot space turtle. Judging from this clip of the appearance, the segment featured Leno’s standard brand of excruciating comedy. Jay asked about Cowboys players dating celebrities, like Tony Romo’s relationship with Jessica Simpson. “Spice is nice,” Jerry said. Other gustatory terms come to mind, but I’ve never particularly thought of Jessica Simpson as spicy.
3. I don’t even want to imagine the horror that Raul Garza has had to live through since April, when his wife was murdered. The man who killed her was sentenced to 15 years in prison yesterday. What I can imagine, and what I hope brought him some small sense of satisfaction, was standing across from the killer in court and flinging these words at him: “You’re not a man, but a shell of human being not worthy of love because you are incapable of showing that to others. You let evil rip out your spine and your guts.”
Troy Aikman to Pimp for Katy Trail
Tomorrow from 6 to 7 p.m., Troy Aikman will be hanging out on the Katy Trail to kick off the Friends of the Katy Trail’s first-ever membership drive. Laura, that sounds like your beat, runner woman.
Ellen DeGeneres Is Pulling a Caper at Sewell GMC
Check out her Twitter feed. She’s at Sewell on Lemmon Ave., and it sounds like she’s about to give away a free car. Looks like you’ve got to be there by 5:30. Go! Report back!
Update: Upon further review, it does not appear that Ellen herself is there. One of her minions is.
Simmons Says U.S. “Full of Hate for Jews and Muslims”
Hip-hop pioneer Russell Simmons brought his unique spin on business, politics, race, religion and philanthropy to Texas this past weekend. Friday night he appeared at Matthew Trent Jewelry for his Diamond Empowerment Fund nonprofit; Saturday he was in Houston for a meeting of his Hip-Hop Summit Action Network. Before the Trent event (pictured: Simmons and an admirer there), we sat down with the controversial Def Jam Records/Phat Farm clothing founder for a provocative, wide-ranging–and lengthy–Q&A. Among the topics discussed: Simmons’ latest business ventures, the state of race relations in the U.S., why he’s a big fan of Minister Louis Farrakhan–and what Barack Obama could learn about being president from George W. Bush.
A Grainy Photo of Tiger Woods at the U2 Concert
A lot of chatter this morning about Tiger Woods being in town for the U2 concert. Apparently he ran some pass patterns for Tony Romo out at Valley Ranch, too. Well, one alert FBvian sat right above Tiger and Romo and Jason Witten at the concert. He snapped this photo. And now you’ve seen it.
Samar by Stephan Pyles Opens Tonight
“In the restaurant reviewing system, poor dining offenses are considered especially heinous. In Dallas, Texas, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad, known as the SideDish Victims Unit. These are their stories.”
Last night, Detective Andrew Chalk busted into a preview dinner at Samar by Stephan Pyles. He files this report.
Gwen Ifill on Queen Latifah’s Ifill Take: ‘Cool!’
Washington newswoman Gwen Ifill, delivering the Sammons Media Ethics Lecture last night for SMU’s Meadows School, said she isn’t crazy about the increasingly blurry lines between journalism and advocacy or entertainment. Rachel Maddow, Michael Moore and Glenn Beck don’t do journalism per se, she contended–though there’s plenty of room for their acts in the national conversation. At the same time, Ifill (pictured) said she welcomed her own 15 minutes of fame in the entertainment realm when Queen Latifah played her in a Saturday Night Live skit spoofing last year’s vice-presidential debate, which Ifill moderated. “I loved it,” the newswoman said. “A big movie star and singer and actress wants to play you. Cool!” Ifill said she’d met Latifah earlier and urged her to do the spoof, to which the entertainer replied, “Sure. Get me some material.” Added Ifill: “After McCain picked Sarah Palin, I knew I was in like Flynn!”
Celebrity Look-Alikes: Mayor’s Office Edition
Everyone in the media business knows Chris Heinbaugh: former Channel 8 reporter, current chief of staff for Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert. But did you know he has a celebrity twin? (more…)
Hewlett-Packard Completes Its Humiliation of EDS
After buying Plano-based Electronic Data Systems last year, Hewlett-Packard cut the EDS work force, slashed its employees’ salaries, and stuffed its top execs into tiny cubicles. Now the California company is delivering the coup de grace: getting rid of the EDS name. For sprout-eaters, those Golden Staters sure play rough.
Party Over the Trinity on Friday
This Friday evening, the Trinity Trust Foundation is throwing what it’s calling a “bridge fair” on the Continental Bridge to celebrate the progress being made on the Marget Hunt Hill Bridge (full release after the jump). Santiago Calatrava will be in attendance. The band Boys Named Sue will play, and the foundation promises other “delectable delights.” Tickets cost $150, a price point established, I believe, to keep Jim Schutze from attending. D Magazine is a media sponsor, so I’ll be there. Look for me wherever the delectable delights are located.
Cowboys Stadium World’s Greatest Erector Set
Two days after losing the first regular-season game at their new home, the Dallas Cowboys have dismantled the field. Jerry Jones, who skipped yesterday’s presentation with the Super Bowl XLV Host Committee, was the keynote speaker at today’s North Texas Commission membership luncheon at Cowboys Stadium.
As he got under way, he explained the presence of the big crane, as well as the welders who sent sparks flying from catwalks high above what is usually the field. He said there were about 300 workers in the building finishing up the 5% of construction that remains to be completed.
Obviously, Cowboys Stadium is a complicated project. He reminded us that the much-discussed digital screens above the field cost more to build than the entirety of Texas Stadium.
Cowboys, Fireworks, and W Tout Big Thought, Ctd.
I also was at Cowboys Stadium this morning. My favorite moment came unexpectedly, at the end of former Dallas Cowboys great Daryl Johnston’s speech that otherwise contained all the fun of a corporate mission statement.
Right at the end, he acknowledged the hundreds of elementary school students on hand, who sat Indian-style right in front of the stage. As he did that, the giant video screen above the field switched to a shot of the kids. As soon as they saw themselves, they began doing what any bunch of children would do — they waved their arms wildly in the air.
Without missing a beat, Johnston said to the crowd, “That’s the issue when you come to this amazing venue: Are you gonna watch the game or watch the screen?”
Right then, the tightly controlled choreography of the presentation was forgotten. We relaxed and shared a laugh. We felt human. And soon it was back to business again.
Cowboys, Fireworks and W Tout Big Thought Program
Big Thought honcho Gigi Antoni explained everything you wanted to know about SLANT 45, the nonprofit’s Super Bowl XLV “service learning initiative,” in this morning’s Dallas Morning News. But that didn’t stop her group and the Super Bowl host committee from staging a knockout “announcement ceremony” today at Cowboys Stadium. The extravaganza featured 600 local schoolkids; 2,000 business and civic leaders–including George W. and Laura Bush; a raft of former Dallas Cowboys greats; an orchestra; fireworks; and a performance by American Idol winner Jordin Sparks. Bankrolled by Bank of America and philanthropists Ted and Shannon Skokos, SLANT 45 will send more than 20,000 local students into the community to perform at least 45,000 hours worth of good works, starting early next year. Addressing the kids in attendance, former President Bush explained: “It’s an opportunity to learn and love a neighbor just like you love yourself.” One ironic note in today’s big bash came at the end, when Sparks (pictured) performed her new single Battlefield with W just behind her, bobbing his head to the beat. Sang Jordin: “I didn’t mean to start a war …”
Fred Baron Is Still Part of the John Edwards Story
An alert FBvian points us to a New York Times story that ran over the weekend about John Edwards and his love child. In it, Fred Baron’s role in the attempted cover-up becomes a little more clear. As in, apparently at one point, Edwards asked Baron if he knew a doctor who would falsify a DNA report. Before his death, Baron had said that he’d provided assistance to Edwards’ lover without Edwards’ knowledge. A federal grand jury is still investigating whether campaign laws were violated in an attempt to conceal the whole sordid business.
Diana Ross Headlines Cowboys Bash
Ross Perot Sr. attended, calling it “just incredible.” And the featured entertainer … sort of a letdown here … was Diana Ross. (Safe, unexciting, available.) The Star-Telegram’s got the scoop on Saturday night’s big grand-opening gala at Cowboys Stadium.
Guests Get Two Bushes for One
Laura Bush showed up with a surprise guest today at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center luncheon in Dallas: her husband George W. in tow. SweetCharity has the details.
A Close Encounter with Jaap van Zweden
Funny thing about preconceptions. Take mine, for instance, about Jaap van Zweden, the acclaimed music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and perhaps the most sought-after U.S. conductor these days. After reading about his larger-than-life prowess with a baton–and seeing all those banners emblazoned with his mug around town–I figured him for a hulking, towering presence, the biggest guy in the room. So what a surprise to see before last night’s concert at the Meyerson that Jaap (pronounced like yap) is diminutive in physical stature, maybe 5-feet-6 tops. But he’s a giant in charm and tact, especially dealing with a nosy reporter. Isn’t it a grind commuting between here and Europe, where he’s also chief conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmoic in Antwerp, Belgium? “Going back and forth is not so bad, but it’s the cities in between–like London–that can be tiring,” he answered. And, what’s it like being “the” musical conductor of the moment? “I’m flattered and honored,” Jaap replied. “And it inspires me to do better.” No surprise that the guy who makes beautiful music makes beautiful words, too.
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