Poke in the Eye Arlington general tosses CBS News in the brig Major General Bobby Hodges places a neat stack of newspaper clippings next to two decks of playing cards, the gear of a bridge aficionado. The clips are heavily highlighted. There are photos in the stack, too. One hazy…
It’s a harsh job, this news business, exposing the shameful secrets of officeholders. We sometimes shudder at the truths we reveal, like this one: Congressman Martin Frost is–brace yourselves–a Democrat! OK, so maybe that’s not a big secret, but judging by the forest of campaign yard signs that have sprouted…
Our team leader just informed us that we’re one minute from zero gravity, so get ready. That means we’re one minute from complete weightlessness–from floating freely like an astronaut. We’ll be able to do flips and twists, climb the walls like Spider-Man or drift aimlessly. We’re one minute from total…
Weirdness All Around The biggest bigot: Wednesday, September 22, 2004, was a day of weird circumstances: In the morning, I was in the Dallas City Hall council chambers, with other members of the Senior Affairs Commission, hoping that the final vote on the 2004-’05 budget would keep ours intact. I…
Olivia Bennett’s angled brush slides effortlessly across the textured paper, trailing hot pink paint. A sliver of long blond hair falls in front of her eyes, and she pushes it behind her ear, keeping the brushstroke steady all the while. The 14-year-old sits back on her stool, eyeing the watercolor…
On the day his name first appeared in the news, Father Justin Lucio had no reason to believe that it would be there at all. He was sitting at his desk, completing paperwork that would help an undocumented immigrant become legal. This was in 1984, when one afternoon a 30-year-old…
Paper Trail Plano woman gets drawn into the Bush memo flap Linda James complains her house is completely overtaken by her business. “I’ve had to knock out walls to make room,” she says. James has been a forensic document examiner for the past 13 years. Her house bulges with stacks…
For the second time this month, the Texas Supreme Court, that oh-so-wise crew of legal geniuses, has handed the Dallas Observer a victory in a libel case. Hey, it’s good to know that some government agencies work, and we mean that sincerely, without bias. On September 10, the Supreme Court…
The panic set in sometime last week and descended on Dallas. Nearly everyone, fans and players both, looked as though they’d given up. Which made most of us wonder if a recovery was even possible or if, after only one game, the Cowboys were done. That first game against the…
Fish Story You know T.O.: I am a die-hard angler who fishes many of our North Texas lakes for money and for fun. I watched the Bassmaster Classic live on the Internet and have seen most of the coverage afforded this huge tournament. The article by Paul Kix on Takahiro…
He comes to America with no money and fewer friends, knowing the English language only as it relates to bass fishing. Takahiro Omori loves bass fishing. But not the Japanese kind: The bass over there are too small, the competition in the professional tournaments too easy. He tells his parents…
Crash of Symbols A grieving family gets pulled into an anti-war demonstration In a clash that illustrates the power of symbols over good intentions, a candlelight vigil last week honoring 1,000 troops killed in Iraq triggered a screaming confrontation between the family of a fallen soldier and members of the…
Buzz knows all about one kind of belt-tightening. As our gut continually tries to put more distance between itself and our spine, the belt gets snug. Nothing you can do about it. The other kind–when people start pinching pennies–Buzz knows nothing about. Of all the clichés in these two paragraphs,…
Table Dance Are you sick of poker yet? Of course you’re not. And neither is Jim McManus, author of Positively Fifth Street. The book was a best seller shortly after its release last year, came out in paperback this year and is now being made into a movie. It’s the…
It was grim in Arlington last week. On one front, the can-do city continued talking about bringing the Cowboys to town for a few hundred million. That sounded like a terrible idea for all the obvious reasons (publicly financing a stadium for a franchise that’s among the richest in sports,…
The Wrong Stuff Final verdict: When I read Robert Wilonsky’s article “The Right’s Stuff” (September 9), I came to one conclusion about both liberal and conservative extremists: They’re all fucking morons. Pablo Ampuero Dallas Sins of the lefties: You wrote a fantastic article on the Protest Warriors. It’s obvious that…
On a Friday afternoon in late August they’ve come to this street corner to raise their signs and voices to protest the venal forces that would bring down the United States. They brandish placards and peace signs, and passing motorists wave back in agreement, offer their own gestures consisting of…
Basic Instinct Texas primitive archers do it Indian-style Bill Decker eyed the fencepost carefully, sizing up its potential. Gray and decayed on the outside, it wouldn’t have looked like much to an outsider, but Decker knew it was destined for greatness. Made of Osage orange wood, or bois d’arc, it…
It’ll Put a Hurt on You No place like Deep Ellum: I moved to Dallas six years ago. After taking a year to get my bearings, I moved down to Deep Ellum. No other place in Dallas had the combination of character, community, entertainment and dining. I have lived in…
On Friday, a unanimous Texas Supreme Court, with one justice abstaining, sided with the Dallas Observer and ruled 8-0 that Denton County District Attorney Bruce Isaacks and County Court at Law Judge Darlene Whitten are “big doodyheads who need to grow up, get a sense of humor and act like…
David Kunkle is choosing his words carefully. Not surprising. He’s meticulous and thoughtful in everything he does, from the way he gently folds his hands in his lap to the way he stares intently from across his desk, eyes unwavering for nearly half an hour. His quiet intensity is unsettling…
Jokes for Jesus Get this: Sometimes Christian comedians can be funny IT’S NOT EASY to keep reading, is it? You see a headline about some Christian comedy night and you’re thinking, “There’s no way that’s funnier than Senate testimony on C-SPAN.” Maybe you’re right. But try to keep reading. You’re…
