Articles about Gripes
Leading Off (5/20/13)
“We Could Hear it Coming. It Was Like Thunder That Wouldn’t Stop:” The stories out of Granbury are horrifying and heartbreaking, awful reminders that we live in a strange, unforgiving world in which, on rare occasion, the sky can just come down and rip you right out of your closet:
The closet door flew open, and the tornado yanked her oldest son, Brandon, into the air.
Green’s body twisted and bent, and she began to pray.
“Please let this be over. I can’t take this anymore,” she remembers thinking. “I asked God, ‘Is this really the way I’m going to die?’”
The Legacy of Mary Suhm vs. the Legacy of Dallas’ Super Donors: Two features in the local daily frame two perspective on the shaping of the city. Sure, as Mayor Ron Kirk puts it in this profile of outgoing City Manager Mary Suhm, “Her fingerprints are all over the city.” But what is the legacy of any powerful member of city government versus the “thousand families,” the philanthropists whose Texas-sized generosity (sorry) make Dallas one of the nation’s most charitable cities:
The city’s wealthiest philanthropists are also sometimes called the new Medicis, and there’s something to the comparison: Not a single major cultural institution in Dallas would exist in its current form — or exist at all, in many cases — without their help. . . . The philanthropists’ generosity extends beyond cultural organizations.
Fort Worth Figures Out Trinity Project: And speaking of big ticket city items, while Suhm’s legacy contains the unrealized Trinity River Project, Fort Worth seems to have figured out how to have simple fun down on the river with a much more modest, accessible investment. This, ahem. Not this.
What’s Going on With the Alamo Plaza Sign?
Photo: Alison Slomowitz
From our friends at Oak Cliff People:
Michael Amonnet, past president of the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League, is none too pleased about Sylvan Thirty developers’ new call for public input on the historic Alamo Plaza Hotel Courts sign. He was under the impression it would stay put, Amonnet tells me, adding that such signage “reflects a certain part of our history — the motor-court era.” Preservation Dallas director David Preziosi echoed his words.
Sylvan Thirty spokesman Cooper Smith Koch has a different take. The sign was never guaranteed to stay in its present location, he said, and some well-known locals (who he didn’t name) have already had some creative suggestions for its use. “Our intention was do to a very good thing — to give our neighbors and friends a role in what happens to that sign,” Koch said, “and to give it a new life.”
I drive by the sign — at the corner of Fort Worth and Sylvan avenues, in West Dallas — every day. It’s beautiful. It would be a shame to see it go, even if it’s preserved elsewhere. Why not keep it there and use it as a message board for Sylvan Thirty?
There’s a new clarification on Sylvan Thirty’s site — “To be clear, we have plans in development for using the sign on our site, which was our original intention. However, community members have come forward suggesting that we allow it to be used as public art to represent West Dallas and the Fort Worth Avenue corridor. As we’ve said before, we’re open to all ideas.” — so we’ll see where this all goes. Developers are accepting suggestions until Monday.
Pick up this week’s Oak Cliff People for more details.
Twenty Years Ago Today, the Dallas Cowboys Destroyed the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII
If the pains of the past three seasons are still too much, don’t continue reading. Just skip ahead to watching Michael Jackson’s Halftime Spectacuganza. I’m watching it with fresh eyes – I was eight when it first aired – and it’s glorious. Multiple Michaels, a lightshow during daylight, James Earl Jones, everything.
As for the game, a few reminders:
-Â 52-17
- Troy Aikman was 22 of 30, for 273 yards and four touchdowns
- Emmitt Smith ran for 108 yards and a touchdown
- Michael Irvin caught six passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns
Dry your eyes, mates.
Woman Sues Plano LA Fitness For ‘Sexually Suggestive’ Exercises
I’m not going to address the lawsuit, because, even though I have a very, very specific opinion regarding it, that may not be prudent. I am going to ask Jamie Johnson one question, though: your gym costs $200 a month? Does it have personal trainers who move your arms and legs for you?
SMU Coach Larry Brown: ‘The Games Are Tough’
ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning had SMU head basketball coach Larry Brown on this morning to talk Lakers basketball (what else?). Before they got to what they actually wanted to talk about, they asked Brown about his day job. It took up about 30 seconds of the eight-minute segment:
I enjoy practice, I enjoy being around the students and the school. Games are tough…We inherited a team that didn’t have many players, and we lost one of our top recruits to a shoulder injury. We’re kind of having trouble closing out games, but, uh, it’s a great experience and I’m pretty confident we’re gonna get pretty good real quickly.
Tell me. If you were a prospective SMU recruit or, heck, a current player, would that inspire any confidence in you whatsoever?
American Unveils Its New Logo, ‘A-meh-rican’ Jokes Expected
Here’s a clear picture of the new logo of American Airlines as the plane rolled into DFW just a few mintues ago. twitter.com/wfaachannel8/s…
— WFAA TV (@wfaachannel8) January 17, 2013
A new font, and a tail that looks like a crosswalk. Way to invigorate a dying brand, folks. Video of the unveiling here.
Arizona Man Launches ‘Take Alex Jones’ Guns Away’ Petition
The full text, from the White House’s “We The People” petition site:
Alex Jones’ gun obsessed tirades on national TV and the internet have drawn grave concerns about his mental wellbeing. It’s apparent from his conspiracy driven rants that he may be mentally unstable and potentially poses a risk to himself or others. In short, Mr. Jones appears to be a ticking time bomb and he may literally “blow” at any moment. At the same time, however, Mr. Jones has unwittingly made himself the poster child of what effective gun safety reform should look like. The common denominator to these massacres is mental illness. Regulating the type of gun or capacity of the magazine won’t change or do anything to prevent mentally ill people from harming themselves or others. If someone wants to own a gun, then they, like Mr. Jones, should have to pass a mental health exam.
This petition thing has got to stop. I just wish there was a way to end it all.
College Station State Rep: ‘Ping-Pongs Are More Dangerous Than Guns’
In a fairly obvious-yet-necessary story, the Bryan-College Station Eagle caught up with all of the state representatives fr
om the area, asking them about gun control. In a word: hate. They hate it. District 12 Rep. Kyle Kacal hates it so much, because guns, like, aren’t even dangerous really:
Kacal echoed a common nationwide argument that guns don’t kill people, people kill people.
“I’ve heard of people being killed playing ping-pong — ping-pongs are more dangerous than guns,” he said. “Flat-screen TVs are injuring more kids today than anything.”
A.) I’d like to see those numbers. I’d think “falling down and going boom” would still rank higher than flatscreen injuries.
B.) Does he play ping-pongs with hand grenades? Throwing stars?
Someone Is Trying to Rename Klyde Warren Park ‘Barack Obama Park’
ds/2012/12/large.jpeg” alt=”" width=”600″ height=”338″ /> Photoshop, at its finest. Source: Barack Obama Park’s Facebook page
Carol just directed my attention to possibly the loneliest Facebook page in the history of Facebook pages, the one dedicated to renaming Klyde Warren Park ‘Barack Obama Park.” As of this morning, it had one “like.”
The main thrust behind the page: “Who @KlydeWarrenPark was responsible for the decision to name ‘a central gathering space for Dallas and its visitors’ after a 10-yr-old boy?” Answer: the dude who donated more money than all of us, combined. A series of tweets – from an account with 11 followers – continues to tell the story.
And, was/were that/those person/people intoxicated? Pressured by unpleasant forces? Confused? Unaware of effects? Or just simply unaware?
— Barack Obama Park (@BarackObamaPark) November 29, 2012
Dallas is going to have to grow up if it even wants to become a 2nd-class City. Fixing this mistake before it is too late is a good start.
— Barack Obama Park (@BarackObamaPark) November 29, 2012
So where are we now, third-class? Gasp, fourth-class?
Dallas Kids Still Abnormally Poor, Census Shows
Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau this week show that Dallas County children, on whole, are poorer than not only most other Texas children, but most other children in America’s largest cities.
Close to 30 percent of children in Dallas County between the ages of five and 17 live in poverty, the numbers show, nearly a five percent increase since 2007. The below chart shows the poverty rates for those aged children, in Dallas-area counties:
Source: U.S. Census data
Jump for even more disturbing news, and a few bright spots.
Dallas City Council Approves Golf Course Go-Ahead
The Dallas City Council green-lighted continued negotiations with AT&T and SMU for the proposed Trinity Forest Golf Course today, so city manager Mary Suhm will now take the baton and run, presumably, to the corner of Loop 12 and Pemberton Hill Road and start shoveling.
The full agenda item and packet are Addendum #21 right here. With regard for your time, brainpower, and willingness to keep reading about this damn thing, I’ll stop (but you should read Tim’s latest missive, first).
Texas’ State Fruit — the Grapefruit — Is Under Fire
Photo: Rachelle King
When I first moved to Texas two years ago, I ate so much grapefruit that my now-wife had to force me to stop. I was getting sick, but I couldn’t get over how cheap the fruits were (four for $1 last week at Sprouts). Even the grapefruit juice was cheap, defying all of Ocean Spray’s supply-chain economics. I would eat a grapefruit for breakfast, and wash it down with a glass of grapefruit juice. Scurvy didn’t stand a chance in that apartment.
I’d send photos of grapefruit prices to my dad with pithy comments like, “Bet you wish it was this cheap in New York!” and he’d text back something like “You really need to get a life.” I defended grapefruit to everyone, and loaded my cart with them every week.
Now Slate seems to think they’re the worst fruits ever harvested, a scourge on our stomachs and stockings. From their completely off-base piece this morning:
This killjoy has already invaded our breakfast routines. Its baleful pink, white, or red flesh shines from thousands of tables. Its pulp gets stuck in our teeth. Its juice stains our clothes. And now, we are asked to inflict the scourge on our relatives, shipping it off in packages of 12 or more in order to demonstrate our love?
No. Grapefruit is unwieldy, disgusting, and in some cases dangerous to eat. It is indisputably the worst fruit anyone has ever put on a plate.
No, you’re unwieldy, disgusting, and in some cases dangerous to eat, Katy Waldman. (I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. Truly. You’re probably lovely. I’ve resorted to playground tactics.) She goes on to explain that the compounds in grapefruit inhibit the proper processing of some medications, meaning grapefruit is literally killing you. This, no. The same warning is on the side of every bottle of pills I’ve ever seen, and it’s never stopped me from washing down an antibiotic with a beer.
She also mentions grapefruit tastes disgusting and is impossible to eat. Erroneous! Erroneous on both counts! The truth is, when properly ripened, grapefruit is delicious, and, with two minutes of time, easy to eat. Get it together, Waldman!
Want to Be in the Tom Hanks-Produced Parkland? Better Get to Austin.
Do you have an “authentic Texan face”? If so, you might want to mosey that face over to an open casting call for Parkland, which will dramatize the day of JFK’s assassination. (Parkland refers to the Dallas hospital where President Kennedy died.) The film is set to shoot in and around Austin in January and February of 2013.
Casting call is Sunday, Dec. 16, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., at the Clarion Inn & Suites at 2200 South I-35, Austin. They are looking for “real people” for both speaking and nonspeaking roles, so no actors with agents, or aliens probably. They’re also looking for an LBJ look-alike, if that’s something you break out at parties after a few. Speaking roles pay  $872 a day, and shooting will take place in Austin in January and February.
Which brings up my last point: Austin, really? Dallas is only three hours away, Tom.
Exxon Mobil CEO Awarded $4.6 Million Bonus
Geez, gas prices amirite? $3.29 by my house. Seems there’s gotta be a way to drive those prices down, help the consumer:
The chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, will take home a higher salary next year and his bonus increases 5 percent.
The Irving, Texas, company’s board of directors awarded Rex Tillerson, the company’s chairman and CEO, a bonus of $4.59 million, up from $4.37 million last year, a filing Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed.
A $4.59 million bonus? Like, that’s not his salary? Or the salary of an entire company? Wait, maybe it will get better:
Tillerson’s salary will rise 5 percent to $2.71 million effective January 1.
The CEO will receive about half the bonus in cash by the end of this year, while the payout of the balance is linked to the company’s earnings, the filing said.
Tillerson was also granted 225,000 shares of restricted stock, the same amount as last year.
Get out. Kindly leave.
Heart’s Ann Wilson Will Sing the National Anthem During the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day Game
Heart’s Ann Wilson handling the national anthem duties for the @dallascowboys T’giving Day game.
— Preston Jones (@prestonjones) November 13, 2012
Jump for a list of other options the Cowboys could’ve picked: