Dear Readers: Wish I could say I was back on the rancho, but you know how that drug war of ours (both Mexican and American) is going, so the Mexican decided to stay home for the holidays for the first time in decades. Besides, there’s too much work at mano…
People all over the world are worried about whether Julian Assange of WikiLeaks is a legitimate journalist or the Information Unabomber. If they really want something to worry about, they should come to Dallas and talk to Russell Fish. Fish, an Information Age Attila of open records, would be the…
Welcome to Local Music ‘Mericans, where we’ll be meeting some people behind the local music scene who aren’t musicians, but more behind-the-scenes folk. She’s helped flood a bar. She’s seen fights between drag queens and other bar employees, and been exposed to (not without reciprocation) more private parts of her…
Dear Mexican: I live in a moderately fancy-ass suburb of Dallas, am super-white and make decent money. Naturally, I have a Mexican gardener/lawn dude who works his ass off, has 14 brothers and sisters in Guanajuato, employs all his relatives, etc. He also has a sweet wife and three little…
More illegals! More illegals over here, please! Ah, you’ll have to excuse me. I have been away from my column for weeks with my nose in numbers for an immigration story that appears in this week’s paper version of Unfair Park. I may be a little stat-blind. The Census released…
Welcome to Local Music ‘Mericans, where we’ll be meeting some people behind the local music scene who aren’t the musicians, but more behind-the-scenes folk. Right before Pantera’s major label debut, Cowboys from Hell, came out in 1990, John Graham went on the road with them and their opener, Skid Row,…
Whether you’re at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt’s End: *Tony Romo took girlfriend Candice Crawford to the top of Reunion Tower last night to celebrate her 24th birthday. And then, yep, he popped the question. Very cliched and Dallasy of…
My favorite part of the informative, entertaining “Pony Excess” ESPN documentary over the weekend was being reminded of the classic scene that unfolded at Texas A&M’s Kyle Field on October 31, 1981. Led by Eric Dickerson and Craig James, the 5th-ranked Mustangs trounced a mediocre Aggies team, 27-7. SMU finished the…
College football’s biggest division is popular, yet ultimately broken. The latest example – one that hits close to home – is TCU having a 12-0 record yet 0 chance of winning a national championship. Every year the BCS attempts to pair the two best teams against each other in the title…
Dear Mexican: Someone wrote you a while back wondering why Mexicans have made a mess of their beautiful country. You got all bent out of shape because he called Mexico a Third World country instead of a “bottom tier” First World country. I think you missed the point of the…
All I want for Christmas is to be Christmasy. You’ve already heard about Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas. He’s the preacher publishing an online shame-list of businesses and organizations that aren’t Christmasy enough for him. I’m scared I’ll wind up on it. I really don’t want…
The Texas Observer has published a story about the Railroad Commission of Texas that I want to call appalling, but I think the Railroad Commission has lost the ability to appall. The story exposes a pattern of dereliction and sleaze on the part of this obscure but powerful body, costing…
Welcome to Local Music’Mericans, where we’ll be meeting some people behind the local music scene who aren’t musicians, but more behind-the-scenes folk. Cat Hough was a high school kid in Fort Worth when she saw the Toadies perform one of their earliest shows at a place called Maggie’s Beat Farm…
Whether you’re at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt’s End: *In the ALCS, the Rangers beat the Yankees in six games. In the pursuit of Cliff Lee, looks like the Yankees will beat the Rangers in seven years. *I’ve been rough…
No one from the 1980s pay-for-play scandals remains at SMU, but the stigma – and the residue from the NCAA’s Death Penalty – remain on the Hilltop. Those wounds may not be re-opened, but they’ll certainly be re-visited Saturday night when ESPN presents its latest 30 for 30 documentary: “Pony…
Dear Mexican: Why can AeroMexico Airlines fly through any kind of weather conditions to get to and from the United States, but any kind of little ice sprinkle or heavy wind and domestic airlines in the United States cancel two days’ worth of flights? For two consecutive winters, I’ve had…
Seven council members have signed a memo to Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm telling her to figure out some way not to bar the public from parking in the garage underneath Dallas City Hall (well, the fountain, actually). Unfair Park was told that more members would have signed it, but…
Regarding the story Wilonsky broke here yesterday — about Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church, publishing a list of businesses or other entities that fail to celebrate Christmas in an acceptably enthusiastic way. I’m worried about old white people. Seriously. I’m one myself. I go fishing with old white…
At the end of last week Wilonsky posted a City Hall memo announcing that “the general public will no longer be allowed to park in the City Hall garage.” I thought about it a lot over the weekend. It’s just so incredibly and infuriatingly typical. The justification for barring the…
Welcome to Local Music’Mericans, where we’ll be meeting some people behind the local music scene who aren’t musicians, but more behind-the-scenes folk. Once upon a time, Cindy Chaffin was the mastermind behind Texas Gigs, a blog and database that was eventually acquired by Pegasus News. Later, she launched FineLineLive, a…
You may or may not be familiar with Allen Gwinn — the blogger-provocateur who keeps watch over the public school system and other matters. He has a new website going called taxrollback.org calling for a local version of the California legislation that has helped reduce that state to ruin –…
Whether you’re at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt’s End: *I’m going to be extremely disappointed gutted if the Rangers don’t sign Cliff Lee, hopefully during next week’s Winter Meetings in Florida. Sorry, but a consolation prize of Zack Greinke – or…
