Pirates of the Council
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Is it safe?: "The Good Laura"—perfect title for Jim Schutze's article (May 31) exposing Bill Blaydes' ruthlessness and Ed Oakley's incredible disregard for individual property rights.
Folks, they can come after your property if they can do what Blaydes with Oakley's assistance tried to do to Jack Pierce at Hollywood Overhead Doors.
Makes you wonder if it's safe to invest in Dallas anymore. Well, at least Blaydes and Oakley will be private citizens in a few weeks.
Sharon Boyd
Via dallasobserver.com
Busted:Thanks for covering the story. Blaydes and Oakley (who should have known better) attempted to steal for someone else and got caught red-handed.
These are the kind of people running for mayor and sitting in council? I might not agree with Laura on a lot of things, but that was a standout gesture. I have no idea if she helped out of personal dislike of Blaydes, Oakley or their cronies, but the important part was that she helped.
Kevin F.
Via dallasobserver.com
Honorable among thieves: You put into words what I've been trying to describe to everyone I know. I've been with Hollywood Door for 22 years, and Jack Pierce, my ex-husband of nearly 20 years, my boss and still my best friend, is the most honorable, honest person you'll ever meet. We will forever be grateful to Mayor Miller for her insight and involvement, ensuring that our city government lives up to its obligations. Thank you for such a well-written piece. My hat's off to you, Jim.
Pat Pierce
Rockwall
Beg to differ:My property backs up to Hollywood Door, and I can attest that they are NOT quiet, nor are they "invisible from the road," and they are NOT good neighbors. The noise they generate is horrendous, and several neighbors have just recently filed complaints about the noise going past 6 p.m.—and the noise is not limited to weekdays—Saturdays are often very noisy over there.
They have trash trees growing on their fence line, and they refuse to keep the dead trees out. Every time we have a windstorm the dead trees/branches blow down into the alley, causing damage to cars, power lines, fences, etc. I have had a tire punctured with a branch that blew down from one of these dead trees, and I am sure my car has been scratched by the branches that hang over the alley. When Jack Pierce was asked by his neighbors to take care of the fence line, his response was to spray poison on the fence line, which resulted in more dead branches and also killed a tree that DART had planted in our alley.
Good neighbors? No! Obnoxious? Yes!
Mona E. Baker
Dallas
Hardee Har
Right on the mike:I really enjoyed reading Andrea Grimes' article "Funny Girl" (May 31). She wrote an excellent article about what it is like performing stand-up in Dallas. Though written from the female perspective, it is a very accurate portrayal of what it's like trying to be funny professionally. The cost to relationships, the embarrassment of bombing, the confidence-shaking silence and the struggle to find acceptance are all real.
I did stand-up for about a year a couple of years ago. In fact, I was in the same set of classes as Sherry Belle and was there for her first time on the Improv stage. It's good to hear that some of the same people I started with are still performing and some new ones like Andrea have joined the lunatic fringe. Here's to all the Dallas comics, male and FEMALE alike, who are grinding away and burning the candle at both ends trying to make people feel better about their lives by laughing at ours.
Jamey Finch
Plano
Past Tense
Think positive:Poor hipster doofus ("Back, Not Forth" by Jonanna Widner, May 31). Your generation doesn't know what great rock music is anymore. Hopefully your moping will kick-start your generation to create some half-decent music. I doubt it. Bands like the Police and the Pixies have reformed because no one else is out there. The kids are listening to the crap their grandparents would approve of and voting for their next American Idol. The time is ripe for the new shit. Instead of blaming the Pixies for finally returning, you should thank them because the oldsters and their brood are discovering this music that meant something to a whole lot of people. Stop trying to be cool and start looking at the positives that a Police and Pixies reunion can bring.
Jackle
Via dallasobserver.com
And Finally
Conjunction junction: I just read Lisa Brown's letter ("And the Horse You Rode In On," May 31) excoriating the Observer for the practice of beginning sentences with conjunctions. Unfortunately, Miss Brown needs to come up with a better example of a faux pas commonly committed by the Observer's writers.
The rule about beginning sentences with conjunctions is just that: a style RULE, not a grammatical IMPERATIVE. Like the oft-quoted "thou shalt not end a sentence with a preposition," it is considered bad form stylistically to begin a sentence with a conjunction, but it is NOT verboten by the rules of English grammar. In fact, it's fairly common in spoken English, and I imagine that the writers of the Observer employ its use precisely to impart to their articles a more folksy and less stultified tone than would typically be employed by a dry, factual news story that one might read in a more traditional newspaper.
So, Lisa, might I suggest that before you tell the journalists what they ought to do with the horse they rode in on, you might consider dismounting your own high horse?
Jim Burnell
Via dallasobserver.com
