Remember the Bass-amo Two Texans work to regain the state’s fishy pre-eminence In a town not far from here, on acreage sponsored by Budweiser, there swims a 13-pound largemouth bass that may be The One–the one that reclaims glory for Texas, that smites those smug Californians, that proves there is…
The fun vote: To the people who care–chiefly Dallas officeholders and the people who own them–the vote on the city’s strong-mayor initiative is the Most Important Issue in democracy since 1776. To everyone else in the city? Eh, not so much. After the first four days of early voting, Dallas…
Bono Saves the World Jesus, the pope and Bono: Are you serious with this article? (“World Leader Pretend,” by Joe Watson, April 21.) This is the most out-of-line piece of crap point of view I have ever read in my entire life. You can make fun of Bono and the…
The kids who take music lessons from Marc Solomon don’t have recitals. They have concerts. Recitals require stiff suits and taffeta dresses, church manners and minor anxiety attacks. But these kids wear whatever they want–torn T-shirt, faded jeans, a tie if they’re feelin’ it. Backstage, in between their performances, the…
Sinner or Saint DISD’s Marcell Archer is either the best or worst school principal ever Where to start? With the teachers and parents who say the principal is a “megalomaniac,” a racist, “the anti-Christ”? Or with the teachers who went on the record–unlike many of those making disparaging remarks–who say…
Seems like you might expect Peter Lesser’s landlord to know who Lesser is–one of the pricklier in-your-face lawyers in the city. If a landlord knew that, maybe the landlord wouldn’t make the mistake of sending a security guard to his office to push him around. Apparently, the Gaedeke Group, managers…
Ask the Golf Bum Gullible, cynical and desperate: So now Jim Schutze is receiving his political wisdom on the “strong mayor” debate from a wealthy golf bum in a Park Cities watering hole (“Take It or Leave It,” April 14). And what did these hard-boiled news men come up with?…
We squeeze through a hole cut in the chain-link fence and crunch across a gravel yard, using the moonlight to avoid the crates and pipes scattered among the weeds. The factory complex is enormous, with cavernous white metal buildings two or three stories high in some places. On one roof…
Sold Out Mildred Avery thought she had a sweet deal to keep her house. Wrong. When Mildred Avery met Jimmy L. Johnson, the Mesquite financial advisor made her feel hopeful again, despite her cancer and foreclosure notices. Soothing and compassionate, Johnson promised to help Avery save her house. She could…
Buzz doesn’t envy vice cops.Imagine spending your workday viewing all sorts of the worst in human depravity and immorality and then having to go home at the end of the day. Yep, poor vice cops must hate having their shifts end after only eight hours. Bad jokes aside, one imagines…
Those Pesky Potholes The fight goes on: Jim Schutze’s sidebar to your April 7 “Mayorzilla” cover story, “And About Those Potholes…”, is simplistic, misleading and uses figures provided by city staff out of context. In truth, money devoted to Dallas street repairs has remained constant. And the money for street…
At least we have a choice: Is the mess at Dallas City Hall the fault of a stupid goofy do-nothing city council? Or does the blame belong to a power-mad political dominatrix mayor in Cole Haan heels? Ready to vote yet? On May 7 Dallas voters go to the polls…
My Home, the Hospice With three kids facing a life-threatening illness, the McNair family lives one memory at a time The day after Michael and Heather McNair’s wedding, they were in the hospital. Michael’s large intestine ruptured, a result of his battle with Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disorder. He…
One month ago, in the story “Tee’d Off,” graphic designer Patrick Reeves told the Dallas Observer he wasn’t “trying to make enemies” with his line of novelty T-shirts touting Dallas as “the can’t-do city” and thanking Mayor Laura Miller for losing the Dallas Cowboys to Arlington. “It’s not like we’re…
Sorry You Missed It The genius of Slobberbone: For Tommy (obviously not Stinson): I understand your complaints about the Slobberbone article (“Head Full of Beer,” by Michael Chamy, March 10). But exactly what you request in a band is there, just not written about. Other things about the band were…
For the moment, they’re all pals, comrades-in-arms who have each other’s backs–you know, the same ones in which they used to stick knives and other sharp things. Their pasts have not been forgotten, mind you; there’s always someone with a shovel ready to dig up ancient history and use it…
Let’s take it back. Back before scouts whispered her name as a top five pick in this year’s WNBA draft. Before she broke all those records at Texas Christian University. Before, even, that one game her junior year, where she considered giving it up, all of it, the basketball, the…
Know the Score Some people don’t want restaurant inspection scores posted. Here’s why. Sometime this spring, the city council may or may not adopt a new health inspection system for restaurants. It’s based on a program adopted by the state, which in turn is derived from federal standards. Under the…
After living in Texas for 21 years, Buzz has grown sort of fond of the place and is a little defensive when friends and family from out of state (damn Yankees) refer to Texans as a bunch of gun-totin’ truck-drivin’ ignorant goobers. That’s why, as we read a story in…
Generally, I’m a slow learner. I was about 10 before I figured out that the stove was hot and I shouldn’t put my hands on it (which is the main reason why this column is constantly twisted; it’s hard to type with Kentucky-fried fingers). Later, in high school and college,…
Wigged Out Mean sister: I don’t know why Erykah Badu receives all the positive publicity from the Dallas Observer (“Waiting for Erykah,” by Robert Wilonsky, March 24). Perhaps you missed the show at the Forest Theatre when Ms. Badu and her sister, Nayrok, sang anti-war songs, calling out President Bush…
“No one ever plans to sleep out in the gutter/Sometimes that’s just the most comfortable place.” –Bright Eyes, “Road to Joy” Sporty is a natural leader, the kind of person others follow instinctively. He’s a who-where-when-what-why-how guy, an answer man. A few twists and turns aside, he could be someone’s…
