Mark Graham Attorney Fred Baron, Dallas Dems’ fave bread-maker The Houston Chronicle this morning tallies up the state’s biggest political donors in 2007 — “a year in which there were no high-profile races and only a few constitutional amendments on the ballot” — and second only to Houston home builder…
Director Courtney Hunt, accepting the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition from Quentin Tarantino for her film Frozen River PARK CITY, Utah — As the 2008 Sundance Film Festival drew to a close with a bizarrely country-and-western-themed awards ceremony hosted by William H. Macy, a jury headed by…
Two weeks ago I linked to the heartbreaking Clayton Holmes profile, penned for ESPN.com’s Page 2 by Jeff Pearlman, who’s the author of two sports books (about the ’86 New York Mets and Barry Bonds). As Pearlman noted in the article, he uncovered Holmes’ story while working on a book…
Chuck Norris’ KICKSTART has two offices, one in Houston and another on Forest Lane here; its goal, says the KICKSTART Web site, is to “change and save children’s lives.” Apparently, no one told that to KICKSTART’s former Chief Executive Officer James Brasher, who yesterday pleaded guilty to stealing $130,000 from…
Gary Fitzsimmons looks like somebody famous, we just can’t figure who. Vince McMahon? Gary Cole? Dang it. Lil’ help? Every reporter knows you never know when you’re going to know something. I was perusing the new newsletter from Dallas County District Clerk Gary Fitzsimmons. Why? Well, I don’t know, except…
Last week, someone posted to the YouTubes the entirety of Elliott Smith’s May 5, 2000, show at Trees; it’s broken up into individual songs, so you can enjoy in small doses. A complete set list’s available here, and seems like most of the show survived the transfer (don’t see “Son…
Two cures for the frigid Friday blahs: the fantasy of next month’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, and the reality of this week’s — wouldja believe? — Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Winter 2008 issue. Yes, already. We’ve just begun dipping our toe into Super Bowl XLII, and already we’re supposed to…
You know who else wishes the Dallas Cowboys’ season had last a little longer? The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, most likely. Because here’s some video of the women in a bathroom, and it’s not as awesome as you’d expect — it’s actually part of some Roto-Rooter promotion for a “Pimped Out…
Big or small, whatever show she’s in, M. Denise Lee manages to make it feel like an event. The Dallas theater and cabaret star is known as one of the area’s top “divas,” but only because she can belt a song like nobody’s business. There’s nothing diva-esque about Lee’s personality…
More or less, Paul Burka of Texas Monthly anoints State Rep. Rafael Anchía as governor of Texas … in 2018. But only after he’s served as Dallas mayor. As in, “With the triumph of Dallas mayor Rafael Anchía as the first Hispanic governor, another watershed election has occurred, this one…
Is it me, or does HKS’ new Liverpool stadium look like a flattened Texas Stadium? Now that Tom Hicks and his Canadian partner in Liverpool FC have secured the dough with which to refinance their investment in the storied franchise, it’s on to building that long-promised £300 million Stanley Park…
Confessions of a Superhero (Arts Alliance) As one of those quoted on the package (“A more beautiful documentary you’re unlikely to find”), I can only reiterate my earlier praise: Matt Ogens’ doc, about mortals dressed as superheroes trolling Hollywood Boulevard for tourists’ loose change, is stunning to look at —…
Pour some Sugar on me: The Half Nelson follow-up is all great. PARK CITY, Utah — Three-quarters of the way through Sundance 2008, the good news is that the festival lineup has turned out to be one of the strongest in the eight years I’ve been coming to Park City…
Our pal Scott Henson, who serves a mean Grits for Breakfast, sends word of this story from today’s Austin American-Statesman, concerning Austin police chief Art Acevedo’s desire to install security cameras “in pedestrian-heavy and crime-ridden areas.” Cited in the story is Dallas deputy police chief Vincent Golbeck, who insists that…
From a Friend of Unfair Park at Hilton’s Ghostbar get-down Tuesday night, suitable for framing. Or boosting Unfair Park’s page views. –Robert Wilonsky…
If the rest of Erykah Badu’s forthcoming 18-track two-fer Nu AmErykah sounds like this track — “The Healer,” produced by Madlib — it will be a masterpiece. Which is overselling it, sure. But, damn. –Robert Wilonsky…
Yaser Abdel Said, still on the run three weeks after the murders of his two daughters Megan Feldman’s tied up on a cover story at the moment, but she sends some notes concerning the hunt for Yaser Abdel Said, the 50-year-old Egyptian-born cab driver suspected in the New Year’s Day…
Toothpaste for Dinner As I wrote in this week’s paper version of Unfair Park, something’s going on here. And it ain’t good. Just like that, “Happy New Year” has dissolved into “Same Old Shit.” Our sports rut is deeper and dryer than ever. South Oak Cliff High School has forfeited…
Pins and needles this morning about Dallas Area Rapid Transit board chairperson Lynn Flint Shaw and the grand jury. Very strong rumors for the last few days were that Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins would offer Shaw a Class A misdemeanor plea on the accusation that she forged his…
Hunter S. Thompon’s doc makes its Dallas debut at AFI in the spring. The Sundance Film Festival’s not quite wrapped in Park City, Utah; the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin is still some six weeks from opening with the real-life blackjack thriller 21. But this morning we bring…
Nobel Prize-winner Robert Curl, who’s opposed to allowing degrees in creationism. Because he’s a scientist. A couple weeks before Christmas, we noted that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Committee on Academic Excellence and Research in Austin was seriously considering a request from the Dallas-based Institute for Creation Research for…
So, maybe we’re done here; maybe this is the last we’ll ever write about Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson. Because, maybe, they’re finished. As in: “Tony is now starting to blame her himself,” says an alleged buddy of the Cowboys QB. “Before dating Jessica, he was Texas’ golden boy. Now…
