A Sushi Roll Goes to Space (Video)

A Washington, DC-based sushi chain recently released a promotional video about shooting a sushi roll into space. Getting sushi into the stratosphere should be easy enough. A weather balloon was used to take a chair into space for a very similar commercial. Still, the video seemed a little fishy. I…

Valet Parking is for Pussies

Dear Dallas, I’ve had enough of your authoritarian valet system. I think the hatred began this summer at Wild Salsa. It was a slow weekday night, and we pulled up, handed over $7 and watched the valet back the car up three spots and throw the transmission in park. I…

Blood in the Trinity, Crow on My Plate and Respect for the Caraways

Two years ago I toured the area around Columbia Packing Company on East 11th Street in Oak Cliff with city council member Dwaine Caraway and his wife, state Representative Barbara Mallory Caraway. The Caraways told me shocking stories of guts from nearby meat-packing operations piled in steaming heaps in the…

Governor Gaffe Comes Back to Texas, Wounded But No Wiser

Wait a minute. Forgive me, but I must misuse and abuse a bit of Dylan Thomas here to suggest we should not let Rick Perry go quite so gentle into that good night. I’m reading a lot of crap about how he bombed in his presidential campaign because he was…

Shut Up And Make My Drink Already

If you’ve consumed drinks at Marquee Grill, Black Swan, the Chesterfield, or any of the other high-end cocktail den around Dallas, you’re going to get a kick out of this video. The short depicts a mustachioed bartender-douchebag pontificating on the finer elements of mixology, through short, punchy snippets. It’s pretty…

Who’ll Stop the Rain? Rick Perry’s Pals, That’s Who.

Rick Perry wasn’t able to seize private property and build a Spanish toll road four football fields wide from Mexico to Oklahoma. He’s probably not going to get away with making academic research illegal. But his legacy may be even bigger. By the time he’s done being our governor, Perry…

Mexicans, Mormons and Mitt: More Alike Than You Think

Dear Readers: I usually save reruns of my columna for when I have to smuggle in the latest cousin from the rancho, but the ascendancy of Republic presidential candidate Mitt Romney must be addressed — namely, that he’s half-Mexican. The lamestream media is treating this as a revelation — never…

Zebra Mussel Threat to Texas Lakes is Misunderestimated

Three weeks ago I wrote a column for the paper about a plan to pump drinking water from Lake Texoma even though the lake is contaminated by zebra mussels, an invasive species that can annihilate other animal life in a lake and promote blooms of toxic algae. We here in…

The Queen of Excess: Kim Finch Rocks the Double and Single Wide

Welcome to Local Music ‘Mericans, where we get to know the people behind the scenes in Dallas/Fort Worth music. Who is Kim Finch? Hell if she knows. She’d pour you a nice shot if you could help her figure that out. Finch was once “Puncho Villa” in the Assassination City…

Why Smashburger Sucks More Than It Has To

Late last year, Forbes named Smashburger America’s most promising company. The article describes an American population as burger-obsessed and compares the Denver-based smashers to other chains, including Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Jack in the Box and Hardees. (Shake Shack, the undisputed fast food burger champion of the world, was…

Is Bankrupt AMR About To Throw its Employees Under the Plane?

Stories in today’s Dallas Morning News and New York Times report that American Airlines could try to ditch some or all of its pension plans during its trip through bankruptcy court. We should all hate that. Every time we allow another business to slash the throats of its own retirees,…

Why Mexico Stinks at the Olympics

Dear Mexican: How come Mexicans don’t perform in the Winter Olympics? No talent? Or are Mexicans afraid of snow? I’m thinking both. Also, Mexicans don’t do too well in the Summer Olympics, either. They even suck in soccer. There is plenty of snow in Mexico, so don’t use that excuse…

Price Corruption Probe: You’re All Black. Go to Jail?

Everybody I talk to thinks the FBI Dallas County corruption investigation will produce indictments soon. The rumor is that the targeted alleged co-conspirators are tattling on each other so fast they’re giving new meaning to the phrase “rat race.” The investigation centers on Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, the…

But I Don’t Want to Go the Fuck There for Drinks

A new website has been making the rounds for the past few weeks. Created by Coolagraphy, a creative consultancy dedicated to cool, wherethefuckshouldIgofordrinks uses your zip code or internet geolocation to offer up random watering holes with a side of salty banter. It’s fun for about seven seconds. Using Dallas…