Dallas Opera’s Very Hip, Very Happening New Man of Steel

Whitney Lawson George Steel Dallas Opera’s announcement yesterday that, after a yearlong search, it has decided to go with George Steel as its general director has them mighty disappointed in New York City, where, for the past 11 years, Steel has been executive director of the Miller Theater at Columbia…

If You Thought Things Were Bad at State Schools, It’s Probably Worse

Mark Graham Last week’s cover story on abuse at state-run institutions for the mentally retarded generated both positive and negative feedback. Cecilia Fedorov, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (the agency that oversees state schools) called me last week to tell me she was “disappointed”…

At SMU, Apparently, Sarah Shahi Was “Walking Blue Balls”

The September issue of Esquire — due on stands shortly with, I believe, that flashing “E Ink” cover — profiles a “Woman We Love” with distinctly local ties: Euless-born, SMU-educated Sarah Shahi. And from the sound of the piece, which isn’t yet online, Joel Stein’s very, very much smitten with…

Minding the House: Recollections from Stanley Marcus’ Family

From DeGolyer Library Collection, SMU Billie Marcus, left, and Stanley Marcus with Coco Chanel before the first Neiman Marcus Fortnight in 1957 Swear, I will not turn Unfair Park into a 24-7 Marcus House drive-thru; in fact, this will likely be our last posting on the subject as it moves…

The DPD Could Use Your Eyeballs

The Dallas Police Department, riding high off the arrests made from this YouTubed video, has posted two more — including this freshly baked footage of four men burglarizing a residence in broad daylight. (It appears to have been shot by a neighbor, who, one would hope, was dialing 911 with…

No, No, I Said, “Matzo Balls.”

View Larger Map Interesting note in my morning in-box, courtesy Avi Adelman’s Daily Crime Report service. Turns out, at around 11 p.m. Sunday night, cops arrested someone for masturbating in public in good ol’ Northwest Dallas. Weird. Only, weirder still, it occurred in the rather busy 3600 block of Forest…

Matthew and the Arrogant Sea: Both For and About Wizards, Apparently

“A loud, shambling cross between Pavement’s deconstructed indie-rock (without the cynicism) and The Grateful Dead’s communal jam (without the extended solos)” is how Dave Sims described Dallas Observer Music Award-nominated Matthew and the Arrogant Sea’s live show way, way back in June — man, how times flies. And while the…

Mark Stepnoski, Lou Grant Looking to Smoke Out 9/11 Conspiracy

Mark Stepnoski About six years back, Our Boss Man wrote about former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Mark Stepnoski’s efforts to play on grass as the then-newly installed president of Texas NORML — you know, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Which, turns out, was only the tip…

Hell, Yeah: Ozzfest in Pictures

Roger Caldwell Vincent Paul Abbott, who I believe you also know as Hellyeah drummer Vinnie Paul Jesse Hughey’s Ozzfest wrap-up appears in the paper version of Unfair Park on Wednesday, but for those who can’t wait to relive the magic moments, Roger Caldwell shot us dozens of photographs we’ve since…

In a 1994 Essay, Stanley Marcus Recalls His House and Its VIPs

Marcus House I finally spoke this afternoon with Debbi Head, spokesperson for the Texas Historical Commission, who says the state’s historic preservation agency was stunned to receive at the end of July Mark and Patty Lovvorn’s request to demolish the 70-year-old Marcus House. “This came as a real surprise to…

One More Reason Why Dallas Is Awesomer Than Houston

Because Dallas’s residential electric power prices are much, much cheaper than Houston’s. So chronicled the Houston Chronicle yesterday in a feel-good story that notes: Houston’s residential electric power prices are consistently higher than in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, ranging in recent years from about a half-cent per kilowatt-hour higher to…

Harris County GOP Boss Says Fred Baron’s Money is “Tainted”

Mark Graham Fred Baron Moments ago, the Houston Chronicle reported that John Edwards has decided to, like, pass on delivering his speech to the Harris County Democratic Party during its September 20 fund-raising gala. Cannot imagine why. Also noted in the story: Harris County Republican Chairman Jared Woodfill’s demand that…

The Marlin Perkins of Lower Greenville

Right about the time I was posting this, I got an e-mail from a good Friend of Unfair Park, who noted, simply, “I’m starting to love Mondays.” Why come? Because if it’s Monday, that means Avi Adelman spent the weekend trolling the mean streets of Lower Greenville with his Handycam…

Wither DFW International?

The latest issue of The New Republic wonders, quite simply, “What will happen when America can’t afford to fly?” And no, surprisingly, the answer isn’t, “Transporters.” It’s a little more doom-and-gloom-scented, as Bradford Plumer takes a look at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and portrays it as the center of an…

Fred Baron: I Gave John Edwards’ Mistress the Money, Sure Did

Dallas trial attorney Fred Baron, who’s a very, very good friend So, yes, Fred Baron, former finance chair for John Edwards presidential bids, is indeed the “super-rich pal” and “rich retiree in Dallas, Texas” who’s been giving money to Rielle Hunter, with whom John Edwards today admitted having an affair,…

Good Lord, If We Sued Every Time Someone Called Us That …

From the Courthouse News Service, this bit of legal ephemera out of Denton County, where Jeff Soele Real Estate alleges that Lake Lewisville’s Xtreme Marine and salesman Mike Flowers are just a little too extreme for his tastes: DENTON, Texas (CN) — The “new 2006 demo boat” a customer bought…