WWLJD?

Larry James is a good guy trying to do good things for the city. Which is why he will never, ever be mayor. This week on his blog, Central Dallas Ministries’ president and CEO Larry James ponders what he would do were he Dallas’ mayor. The Willie Nelson fan who…

Give Peace a Dishtowel

Three weeks ago, this plot of land in Crawford was covered in trees and brush. Today, it looks like the circus grounds. A giant white tent draped with colorful banners has been erected. Four people in elaborate costumes parade in circles outside to a cheering crowd. They are dressed as…

Fight Club

They kicked his ass out of New York, muttering about “deteriorated skills.” So we red-carpeted his assets to Dallas, longing for a good fight. Evander Holyfield’s second-round technical knockout of Jeremy Bates last Friday at American Airlines Center will someday lead to his unprecedented fifth heavyweight boxing championship. More important,…

High on the Hog

Pickup trucks haul yapping mutts in crowded trailers through the woods in a long, tedious procession, taking an hour to travel seven miles of cratered red-dirt road. Homemade signs posted on trees point the way to a large grassy field where a woman wearing high-waisted Wranglers, scuffed cowboy boots and…

Play Dead

Queso the cat, known to lap up cheese outside a Taco Cabana in Waco, was well known to students at Baylor University. The scrawny stray later went on to gain national attention when two students brutally killed it, then got off scot-free. Texas has some of the weakest animal protection…

Going Deep

Inside the gymnasium, a handful of kids play basketball–try to, anyway, their short arms tossing up bricks that carom like pinballs all over the hardwood. It is, as it always is these days, unrelentingly hot outside, and these boys, none older than 10, have taken shelter in the Juanita J…

Hell to the Chief

At first glance, it would seem as though Dallas County Judge Margaret Keliher was vindicated. After she questioned why the county was funneling millions of Homeland Security dollars into a flawed computer database, the state said the same exact thing last month in an audit of the county’s emergency preparedness…

Copper coppers

Indulge Buzz in a childhood flashback: We were around 10 when a buddy got his hands on some discarded window counterweights–about a dozen bars of iron, weighing roughly a ton. (Maybe it only seemed that much.) A local junkyard paid money for scrap, so we dragged the bars about two…

At The DMN, A Last Supper (Brown Bag Lunch, Actually)

Today, Dallas Morning News employees received this missive from Jim Moroney, their publisher and CEO. Word is, staffers at Dallas’ Only Daily–who, beginning at 8:30 this morning, could begin letting their bosses know whether they’re accepting the paper’s buyout offer–choked on it. “I am sorry to have to reschedule this…

Clairvoyant Cowboy?

The way it’s set up now, Brad Sham’s radio calls of Cowboys game are way ahead of the TV broadcast–which, ya know, kind of takes the surprise out of things for those playing along at home. As good–no, as great–as he is, Dallas Cowboys’ legendary play-by-play voice Brad Sham can’t…

Steeeerike Three!

Drew Henson was gonna be the quarterback of the Cowboys’ future. As of today, he’s a thing of the past. Not that you should be surprised–some of us proclaimed him a bust a year ago–but Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells just announced that quarterback Drew Henson is on the trading…

Bridge to Be Abridged

For the record, we wrote about this dangerous bridge in June. We’re just sayin’. DART has finally made a decision: After taking out another 18-wheeler on Tuesday, the killer bridge at Garland Road near the White Rock Lake spillway has got to go. Morgan Lyons, DART spokesman, tells Dallas’ Only…

Ducats in the Cradle

Because Unfair Park likes to be helpful, especially toward our fellow indie-rock dorks and alternanerds, we’d like to inform you that today is a very special day: Tickets for both Sufjan Stevens’ September 13 show at the Lakewood Theater and Wilco’s October 12 concert at the Will Rogers Auditorium in…

Robert Hoffman’s Legacy

Yesterday, we posted the story about how Robert Hoffman–local philanthropist, art collector and the civic leader behind The Dallas Plan–helped start National Lampoon when he was in his early 20s. Hoffman, as you know doubt know by now, died Sunday at the age 59 from acute myelogenous leukemia, with which…

The Waiting Game

Who do you think the jury’s long deliberations bothered more: Bishop Terry Hornbuckle or Andrea Grimes? Choose one. Maybe I jinxed it last Wednesday morning when I told my mom, “I think we’ll have a verdict before noon.” If that really was my fault, I’m sorry. I caused a lot…

Rental Property

On April 4, 2006, Netflix Inc. was granted U.S. Patent No. 7,024,381 B1 three years after “inventors” W. Reed Hastings, Marc B. Randolph and Neil Duncan Hunt filed their application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent, titled “Approach for Renting Item to Customers,” is an elaborate and…

When Evacuees Become Residents, Part 3

The state’s Health and Human Services Commission report, titled Hurricane Katrina Evacuees in Texas, is available online now; go here to see what we’ve been referring to this afternoon. There’s also a story in today’s Christian Science Monitor about the strain the 251,000 Katrina evacuees are beginning to put on…

When Evacuees Become Residents, Part 2

Most of the folks who wound up at Reunion Arena almost one year ago remain in Dallas: There are 66,000 Katrina evacuees still in North Texas, says the state. Before I get to the specifics of the Health and Human Services Commission’s report Hurricane Katrina Evacuees in Texas, let me…

Over the Top or Six Feet Under?

Used to be, The Dallas Morning News’ “Over the Top” arts blog was a happening scene full of contributions from the entire GuideLive staff. Today, eh, not so much. A sign of things to come, or has everyone just found another place where they can go to kill time? (Thanks…

Millions for Thousands

Before we get back to the state’s report on Hurricane Katrina evacuees still living in Texas, this just came across from Texas Insider: Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced today that Texas will received $428.6…