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A Red Balloon Over the Nasher

In the current episode of the “print product,” there appear two stories about an experiment we ran to determine whether the forthcoming Museum Tower might possibly interfere with the Nasher Sculpture Center’s wonderful installation Tending, (Blue). You can read Willard Spiegelman’s sober, insightful account of our caper here. Me, I just write jokes. Anyway, I’d forgotten till now that I’d taken this picture. In the final scene of my story, when the DSO’s PR director, Stacie Adams, catches me standing in their backyard, here’s what I was doing:

Leading Off (8/21/09)

1. I thought this headline said the Dallas Convention Center hotel operator outlined its “flood” options, which I thought sounded like a very important story. But then I figured, hey, it’s Friday. You don’t want depressing news. You want to know it’s going to house a Bob’s, a Morsel’s, and other casual dining options. Groundbreaking is scheduled for next month. Unless it floods, of course.

2. Another miscalculation: leaving my computer in the car on the morning we get hours of thunderstorms, complete with continuing flood warnings. Um … duck?

3. And the Dallas Cowboys play their first game in the new stadium tonight, albeit of the preseason variety. Yours truly will be doing my poor imitation of the great Bob Sturm, offering a game recap tomorrow on Inside Corner. Unless it’s raining and my computer is in the car again. That wasn’t fun.

Dallas Dogged in Wall Street Journal by “Water Hog” Label

I’m reading this story about how North Texas needs more water. About how we’ve got about 6 million residents right now, but come 2060, we’ll have more than 13 million. About how we’re looking around to dam up some rivers to accommodate all those new residents (and their lawns). About how the people on those rivers don’t particularly cotton to our scheming. And I’m thinking: gee, this sounds familiar.

Here’s looking at you, Rod Davis.

If You Think It’s Hot In North Texas, You Clearly Haven’t Been South

Yes, it’s hot today, but all told, the summer has been fairly mild in North Texas. Consider:

A “once-in-a-century” drought is baking a big swath of Texas, says John Nielsen-Gammon, state climatologist and a professor at Texas A&M University.

The drought is “zeroing out” crops and forcing ranchers to liquidate their herds. It’s also crimping summer recreation.

If that’s too much jargon you may prefer the take of vegetable grower and former Travis County district judge Harley Clark:

“It’s just damn unpleasant.”

The Story of How Spider Monkey Saved Me From Drowning in the Trinity

I have just returned to my desk after piloting the Spider Monkey around town to take photos of the soggy destruction. After the jump, I bring you her work — plus the story of how she saved my life.

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Pete Delkus Will Have None of Jerry Jones’ Weather Smack

When Jerry Jones was discussing the roof-collapse with Bob Costas at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, he said the team “did not get good warning” about the storm danger. In his Tweets over the weekend, Channel 8’s weather czar Pete Delkus (@wfaaweather) took issue:

I heard Jerry Jones say that they didn’t get any warning. NOT TRUE. The warning was out — they choose not to take action. That is a shame.

Pete Delkus v. Dale Hansen

The sportscaster and the weathercaster will be doing something called “The Rumble in the Plaza,” a series of contests to determine quien es mas macho. This is so NOT what television news should be about. Marty Haag is rolling in his grave right now.

But I’ll watch it.

(What? Marty Haag is still alive?)

Ice, Ice Baby. Share Your Harrowing Tales.

My children are restless. The immense pressure of the ice — sheets of it, far as the eye can see — is bearing down upon our well-made ship, determined to bring her under. In the forecastle, I can hear the ice tearing at the ship’s hull. All that remains is to give the order to let down our fires and abandon ship.

Sorry. Channeling Shackleton again.

But here’s the thing: it doesn’t really matter much what condition the roads are in. Fact is, DISD (rightly, it seems) shut ‘er down today. So those of us with publicly educated ankle biters are stuck home, too. My kids have augmented their jammies with hats and gloves. They’re in the driveway eating ice. What’s your scene?