Articles about GOOD IDEAS

Ross Avenue To Get a Makeover This Weekend

We had a discussion the other day about whether or not Jason Roberts ever sleeps. He’s in a band, he started Bike Friendly Oak Cliff, he is bringing the streetcar to Oak Cliff, he’s helped start a restaurant, he gives talks, he has kids and a wife, and until this year, he had a full-time job. One of his latest and greatest initiatives is the Better Block Project. Up until now, Roberts and his crew have been transforming a couple blocks. But this weekend, they’re doing something on a much grander scale. It’s called the 72 Hour Challenge. We’re a little more than 11 hours into those 72 hours.

The idea behind the challenge is to give Dallas a grand boulevard. The boulevard will stretch from Pavillion to North Hawkins along Ross. There will be food trucks, bands, bike lanes, a Las Ramblas market, bus stops, and pop-up retail. It’s from 11-4 this Sunday. And there are a lot of organizations pulling together to transform this street in just a few hours. We have been lucky enough to be paired with La Terra Studio, MasonBaronet, and Dallas Engaged Professionals. We’ll be at Routh and Ross. Come on Sunday to see what a better bus stop and pop-up retail area can look like. We have plans for shade and water guns to help keep you cool. For a sneak peek of what we’re working on, jump (and then click on the images to enlarge them). And if you happen to have an umbrella or plants we could maybe borrow for a few hours on Sunday, let me know.

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Can We Talk About Parades Now?

I am hearing now that parade details will be announced tomorrow, and the actual parade (which Mark Cuban said he’d spring for) will happen late this week. Can I put a vote in for Friday? Because really, does anybody do anything resembling work on Friday after 10 a.m.?

No. They do not. They begin planning which patio and which beer they will drink. So let’s just agree that Friday at 10 a.m. would be a great time to have a parade, and then go to that parade, and then just go have beers. For the rest of the day.

Sitting Will Kill You

Tim standing at his computer.

Tim standing at his computer.

We all know that sitting will kill you. Some of us took the news a little more to heart than others. Here’s Tim with his new super desk that raises and lowers as he stands and sits. He’s not going to start out standing all day. He’s done research. He has to ease into it. Though it makes me a little nervous to sit next to someone who’s standing all day, it’s way worse for Laura, who sits across from him. Her reaction to seeing this? “OH, NO!” And his response? “I look at you less.”

Where You Need To Go This Afternoon: Deep Ellum Arts Festival

2photoI know there’s a lot going on this weekend, but you owe it to yourself to head over to the Deep Ellum Arts Festival. I checked out the scene last night and loved it so much I may go back today (and take a real camera).

I didn’t move to Dallas until after Deep Ellum was past its prime. People keep telling me what Deep Ellum used to be like. How great it was. How much they loved hanging out there. I always believed them, but it wasn’t until last night that I saw how great Deep Ellum can be. People (and dogs) filled the streets, artists and food vendors lined either side, and although there was a lot of jostling, a lot of friendly exchanges were also had.

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Open Letter: Please, Dallas Morning News, Make Hunter Hauk Your Music Critic

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Dos and Don’ts of Skipping Work to Watch the NCAA Tournament

Today kicks off the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament, and it is — traditionally — a day when office workers take really, really long lunches so as to cram in as much men’s college basketball tournament fun as possible (read: drink). So, anyway. A list. Because people love two things: AMERICA. And lists.

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Still Time to Join the D Magazine NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge-a-Thon

Again, our group name is Best Waffles, and we’re right here. If you win, you get a $150 gift card to Ozona, AS WELL AS an almost imperceptible head nod from me, a steely eyed fist pump from the distant film/TV father of your choice, one of the pens off my desk, bragging rights for a year, and — just added! — a post on FrontBurner to say whatever you want, so long as you don’t curse and don’t mind me editing it to reflect my own personal views.

Anyway, get to it.

Play D Magazine’s NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge Contest Thing, Win $150 to Ozona, My Grudging Admiration

Join us here. Our group is called Best Waffles.

I’m sure I have somehow botched this, so let me know in the comments, with as little cheer as possible. Or a ton of it. Just use exclamation points and I won’t know the difference.

UPDATE: Forgot to mention, if you need some help with your brackets, by all means check out the great Luke Winn over at SI, who has the best rundown around AND a playlist by Dallas’ own Gorilla Vs. Bear.

Quick Clarification: Nick Van Exel is NOT Running for Senate

Yeah, yeah — I know. I know. But I have to point this out, because when I went on that rant yesterday about Tom Leppert, I mentioned (jokingly) the possibility of a Van Exel campaign and someone asked. If you want to know what Van Exel is actually up to, he’s an assistant with the Atlanta Hawks. Since I’m here, here is a short grainy clip of Van Exel in some random regular season game against the Knicks, with non-English commentary, because this is exactly what the internet is for.

In-N-Out Burgers Photographed Guerrilla-Style for D Magazine Cover Story

D Magazine food photographer Kevin Marple went to LA to shoot pictures of an In-N-Out burger. His life will never be the same.

Watch David Feherty Get Hit in the Twig and Berries

Seems I’ve been working pretty blue here lately. Oh, well. You’ll want to watch this video of sometime D Magazine contributor and CBS golf analyst David Feherty. I love his dramatic slo-mo collapse.

Dear Mark Cuban, It is Time for the “Homer Broadcast”

In defending Bob Ortegal in the comments of this morning’s Leading Off, I brought up this idea:

I still think Cuban would be the ideal team owner to try my version of “freshening things up”: Have a regular broadcast, with Mark, Skin, and whomever — I don’t think [Brad] Davis or [Derek Harper] bring much, but they’d do, I guess. THEN, on HDNet or wherever, the Homer Broadcast. Completely biased coverage: calling out the refs, indulging long-held grudges and minor gripes, occasionally questioning shot selection, cursing, going wildly off-topic if the situation calls for it.

I’m not doing anything else, so let’s explore this a little more.

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