Buzz

D and Bartlett to make match?
Hot publishing buzz has unprofitable D magazine, just out with its (yawn) "How to marry a millionaire" issue, about to hook up with a new set of monied mates.

The word is that owner Glen Solomon, who restarted the moribund monthly, will step down to the role of minority partner, making room for a new hierarchy led by publisher-editor Wick Allison and his longtime buddy, former Dallas Mayor Steve Bartlett.

Neither Allison nor Bartlett could be reached to chat about this scary prospect. But because Allison and Bartlett have more connections than money, any new D lineup will have to have some deep-pocketed, low-profile partners. (With Bartlett and Allison out front, there isn't room for any other egos in the spotlight.)

As Buzz has previously reported, Allison has been trolling for new investors for months to prop up his slick Park Cities-focused magazine. It remains to be seen whether he's hooked big fish--or just a few minnows.

Super Bowl madness
The California Avocado Commission contacted Buzz (and everybody else on the planet) to point out, among other things, that Nate Newton weighs the equivalent of 1,000 avocados.

We say: Stop these kinds of comparisons, right now! Where it could lead is terrifyingly obvious: The American Bar Association will be figuring out how tall in legal briefs is one-time-and-later-cleared rape suspect Erik Williams. Or the Industrial Gas Council will reveal how much compressed air would fit into Barry Switzer's cranium. Or, worse, the National Organic Gardening Society will estimate Deion Sanders' weight in all-natural fertilizer.

Out and loving it in Big Q
A crew from the national gay and lesbian television show "NetworkQ: Out Across America" will be visiting Dallas late this spring to tape stories on individuals in Big D "who are working to make a difference in the gay and lesbian community."

Executive producer David Surber says "NetworkQ," which is aired on many PBS affiliates (local KERA-FM isn't one of them), will emphasize the meaningful gay lives that are being lived in places like Dallas-Fort Worth--"not just in the gay meccas."

What makes him think D-FW isn't a gay mecca? Sure, the zany right-wing American Family Association has the Fort Worth Star-Telegram rumba-ing to its homophobic tune [see "News"]. But one of Dallas' gay councilmembers is officially out. Doesn't that count for something?

Black out
Buzz watched in fascination as Neiman Marcus' oh-so-fashionable work force streamed into the downtown store one recent morning. Operating on the folklore that you can tell the quality of a restaurant's food by the trucks parked in front of it, we figured we could get fashion sense from observing NM's living mannequins.

Take this down, fashion mavens: black, black, and black.