How Not to Be a Jerk at Dallas Concerts

Class. We don’t get enough of it. We’ve gone to enough shows to accumulate a raging case of tinnitus and enough T-shirts to clothe a small village, and when it comes to concert going in Dallas we’ve noticed our fair share of bad behavior. It happens to the best of…

You Say You’re Not Racist? Guess What.

Take a good long look at that guy in Charleston with the apartheid patches on his jacket and the Lee Harvey Oswald stare. Now try to think. Is there any imaginable circumstance, any remotely possible scenario in which you could be in that picture with Dylann Roof, the man suspected…

Why the Jurassic Park Score Will Live Forever

When it comes to reviewing Hollywood, these are the days of orderly miracles and pragmatic wonder. A gritty, fastidious realism often takes over Hollywood’s biggest marvels, and we analyze it as such. Why would Superman leave vapor trails in the sky? Would Sandra Bullock really be able to use a…

“Satisfaction” at 50: Revisiting the Riff That Rocked the World

On June 6, 1965, London Records released the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction in the United States. Keith Richards’ devastating fuzz distortion riff launched a salvo on the Beatles-dominated pop music scene every bit as powerful as the Allies landing on Normandy Beach, 21 years earlier to the…

Another Critic Says Dallas’ Dining Scene Is In a Rut

The other day Nancy Nichols wrote a post on Side Dish complaining about too many burger restaurant in Dallas (just after a list celebrating 20 local burgers was published on the same blog). “Do we need more mac and cheese, burgers and braised short ribs?” she asks, prompted by an announcement…

Flood Insurance Is Socialism, and Not in a Good Way

Andrew Revkin of The New York Times, on PBS the other day talking about floods in Texas, spoke of our propensity for building stuff in areas at high risk for flooding, which he attributed in part to an emphasis on property rights in Texas culture. I’m not going to say…

Giving Dallas Police Body Cameras Is the Easy Part

We already told you that Dallas Police Chief David Brown has issued new police body cam rules. A cop can’t make static-noises in his mouth and then switch the camera off just before whacking somebody in the head with his flashlight. Things like that. But don’t think that’s the end of…

Dallas Cops Need Guardians, Not Warriors

Last week President Obama banned certain types of equipment from federal grants to local police agencies, ruling that the federal government would no longer provide cops with tanks, bayonets, grenade launchers, ammunition of .50 caliber or higher and some types of camouflage uniforms. The president said: “We’ve seen how militarized…

The Hell of Chili’s Is Sepia-Toned Now

I have seen the future of marketing, and it is terrifying. Not long ago I paid Chili’s a visit, after hearing about their new campaign to make their food more shareable on social media. The company is hoping more customers will take selfies with burgers in hand, so they spent…