Maxine Lives!

Shortly after the Dallas Observer launched in 1980, Marian Henley’s comic strip Maxine became a weekly feature, almost as popular as the personals. The Dallas native’s strip, featuring her alternately giddy and neurotic alter-ego, wound up becoming a national hit: In time it would spread to the LA Weekly and…

From St. Paul, Bob Schieffer Sings the Praises of His Hometown

Missed this Sunday morning — really need to remember to turn around and Face the Nation more often. Anyway, from the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Fort Worth native Bob Schieffer had plenty to say — and sing — about being from “the Fort Worth-Dallas area.” And for those…

NFL Preview: The Quarterbacks

No. 1 in Jessica’s heart. No. 3 on my list. Not playing fantasy football for the first time in 20 years this fall has its consequences: More free time. More disposable income. Less contact with the geekdom subculture. But it also has me woefully unprepared for the NFL season, which…

In the Absence of a Trinity River Project, Fun and Fascinating Meetings

As mentioned earlier, I spent this afternoon at City Hall digesting PowerPoint presentations during the council’s Trinity River Corridor Project Committee meeting in hopes of getting to the bottom of some possible delays in the Dallas Floodway Extension outlined here. But having been to enough of these get-togethers, I should’ve…

Actual Cubbies Love Cubes

Over the weekend, Jan Hubbard found plenty of Chicago Cubs praying Mark Cuban will become the team’s next owner — unless I misunderstood first baseman Derrek Lee’s pronouncement, “I hope he gets the team.” John Cusack was a little more skeptical: “I think what he has to do is convince…

Star-Studded Tuesday

The DASA awards make for the most, um, interesting pairings. Right, Scott? If you have $200 – or perhaps $5,000 – burning a hole in your jorts, make plans to be at the Fairmont Hotel tonight for the 43rd annual Dallas All-Sports Association Awards Banquet. It’s the one chance a…

Craig Watkins, TV Star

For those so interested, the agenda for today’s Dallas County Commissioners Court meeting includes the county’s contract with Touch Productions, which will produce a documentary series for the Discovery Channel about Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins and efforts to exonerate innocent prisoners using DNA evidence. The county’s all for…

At Least the Ross Ave. Renaming Thing Gives Folks Something To Do

Merritt Martin Pete Freedman spotted the freshly painted sign this a.m., and Merritt Martin photographed it — that’s teamwork. Only, there is no such Web site, only SaveRoss.com; whatever. After the jump another photo — and, turns out, there was already a blank spot on the wall at Ross Avenue…

That ’70s Show

Squint real hard and see the similarities. At long last, the ’70s are back. Women are again wearing Halston. Television viewers are glued to CBS’ hit Swingtown. Two movies founded on the old decade’s staples of Star Wars and ABBA – The Clone Wars and Mamma Mia – were among…

Defecting from the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office

Just a few months after we launched Unfair Park, we profiled Dallas public defender Mike Howard, then running the tell-all site Wretched of the Earth, on which he’d write about counseling the indigent on the county’s dime. But Howard yesterday sent out a virtual change-of-address notice: He has left the…

The Sidney Lumet of Lower Greenville

Sure, it’s a day-off Monday, but that doesn’t mean we can’t kick off the week with an Avi Adelman Production. Because, sure enough, the Antoine Fuqua of Lower Greenville was yet again stalking the mean streets with his trusty video camera to prove that nothing good ever happens after 2…

Gustav Isn’t Screwing Around, and Neither is the City of Dallas

National Weather Service About an hour ago, city officials gave local media members a tour of the Dallas Convention Center, in which Dallas expects to hold folks fleeing Hurricane Gustav, which is close to reaching Category 5 status as it approaches the Louisiana coastline. Only, the city keeps insisting in…

Not Officially Part of the DISD Uniform

I’m wearing mine right now — a little uncomfortable but otherwise manageable. For those desiring other, safer options — a hat, say, or a saddle bag or just a plain old white tee — they’re available here at The Nice Price. Note to Superintendent Michael Hinojosa: Fund-raiser? Better than a…