The throng of teens mills around “the loft,” a youth-group meeting area sparsely furnished with plastic chairs. They’re preparing for an icebreaker game, a prelude to their Wednesday-night Bible class. Some kids watch dismissively from the sidelines as their classmates grip lollipop sticks between their teeth and race to pass…
It was the first wintry evening of the holiday season, and early Christmas shoppers had gathered in Fort Worth’s Botanical Gardens for a TCU Press-sponsored affair called Autograph Extravaganza, one of those events where dozens of writers stand around, generally faking nonchalant good will while hoping against hope someone, anyone,…
Full Frontals Guide to Gift Giving 1. This will sound odd coming from me, but I am just being honest. Do not buy me expensive things, as I am, by nature, ungrateful and will likely return what you’ve purchased in exchange for cash, which I will then lose gambling and/or…
PHILADELPHIA–The week leading up to the Cowboys-Eagles clash told the story before a down had been played. It was quiet in Dallas, almost eerily so. That’s never good before a big game; it usually portends disaster. I couldn’t figure out why so few people in Big D were talking about…
During the Mavericks’ December 4 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash became the latest victim to be taken down by one of Karl Malone’s infamous “inadvertent” elbows. Here’s the play: Early in the third quarter, Nash takes it to the hole, misses. Malone rebounds, and Nash swats at…
Leaning PiazzaMost balanced article: Thank you for a well-written, relatively “low-drama” article regarding the problems at Cathedral of Hope (“Fallen Angel,” by J.D. Sparks, December 4). I, too, am a former member who stopped attending when it became clear to me that Michael’s goal was to separate from Metropolitan Community…
It was one of those cool-breeze, sunny mornings in Thousand Oaks, California, and before the Dallas Cowboys were to begin another preseason practice, a tennis match was under way on the Cal Lutheran campus. On one side of the net was coach Tom Landry and his assistant Dan Reeves. Opposing…
Preparation for Sunday-morning services at the Cathedral of Hope resembles backstage on opening night of a Broadway production. The halls bustle with activity as volunteer coordinators and staff tick off their to-do lists. Everything must be perfect, from preparing urns of coffee to ushering in latecomers to ordering multimedia presentations…
If Jurassic Park had a fishing hole, it probably would have been stocked with peacock bass. Native to the Amazon River and its tributaries, the greenish-yellow, large-lipped freshwater fish has a reputation of hitting a fishing lure like a raptor and then fighting like hell. As one fishing guide puts…
The Turd Twister (turdtwister.com): As featured on So Graham Norton, this cheap ($9.95) starter kit helps you pass the time by shaping your poo like Christmas cookies. North Texas Exotic Car Rental (exoticcarrentaloftexas.com): Daily prices start at $299 for a Porsche Boxster and go up to $1,495 for a Ferrari…
Is a shop that sells condoms, lubricants, risqué novelties, lingerie and, um, “massagers” a sexually oriented business? Sara Lee Goff, owner of Condoms to Go, doesn’t think so. The city of DeSoto begs to differ. Goff opened her seventh Dallas-area shop in DeSoto in September, though this time she called…
Monica’s JourneyFlavorful: Bravo! I commend the Dallas Observer’s coverage on the personal and professional odyssey of Monica Greene, a truly exceptional human being (“Monica at 10,” by Mark Stuertz, November 20). Her example of quite sincere service and flavorful contributions to the Dallas culinary scene places her fondly in the…
This is a story without beginning or end, only a middle where there is horror and confusion, tragedy and a haunting evil that cries out for understanding. Stephen King, not I, should be telling it. It takes place in the shadows of rural church spires, in an isolated part of…
It was a bright and crisp Durant, Oklahoma, morning and she was sitting at her kitchen table when a dozen red roses arrived for novelist Billie Letts–a gift from her editor in celebration of her arrival at the No. 1 spot on The New York Times best-seller list. Yet the…
At some point, my attitude about Thanksgiving shifted from acceptance–even, on occasion, anticipation–to discontent. That probably had a lot to do with my cousin Dave, who, sometime in the early ’90s, began telling the same dreadful stories at Thanksgiving dinner every year–stories that we’d heard hundreds of times. No one…
Jive Turkey This wasn’t an easy decision, deciding who should serve as Full Frontal’s inaugural Jive Turkey. Honest. There were plenty of heated debates (OK, one half-assed discussion interspersed with a much livelier dispute on where to go for lunch) and about a dozen or so candidates nominated. But while…
After having spent the better part of the past six years voicing opinions on politics, culture, the law and other things we know little about, Buzz feels it’s time to expand our horizons and venture into new, fancier territory. So this week, Buzz tries our hand as opera critic. That’s…
That WordBrilliance: I’m writing you from the News Edit lab at the UNT journalism department. I read your “Curse of Youth” article (by Eric Celeste, November 20) in News Edit class today instead of listening to the lecture. Brilliance. This is something I think about fairly often, and you hammered…
Listen up, people: If you want to continue to get a weekly dose of quality vicious Buzz product, you’re all going to have to stop being so damn reasonable. We’re talking to you, Mr. Jim Hirsch, associate superintendent for technology at Plano Independent School District. Buzz received a press release…
After retiring from pro football in 1992, former Dallas Cowboy Eugene Lockhart has tried his hand at running a swimming pool installation business and a one-hour photo shop. A more recent foray into home mortgages and real estate–in which Lockhart partnered with former Cowboy Kevin Smith and a man named…
Dallas Observer staff writer Thomas Korosec took home two Katie Awards in the recent five-state journalism contest. Korosec won first place in the Specialty Reporting category for a portfolio of stories concerning the Dallas Police Department and crime. Those stories included the January 16, 2003, cover story, “Dallas’ Chief Problem,”…
I’ve waited long enough. For years, I’ve sat by the phone patiently, expecting to get the call. The conversation would be brief: “Mr. Celeste, this is a Big Media Company. We’d like to pay you a huge consulting fee to tell us how to reach young readers.” I would chuckle,…
