Man in Black Lasting gift: Those of us who have been in and around Nashville the last decade saw recently departed country music legend Johnny Cash (Scene, Heard, by Zac Crain, September 18) deteriorate physically. It was the same kind of deterioration on display at the ’96 BMI awards, where…
He stood on lush grass that was soft as fleece and storybook green. The sun shone a brilliant white, sending waves of gentle warmth through his body, penetrating all the way to his bones. Someone was talking to him, reciting the names of his brothers and sisters and little niece:…
On a recent Saturday, a group of wide-eyed wannabe mystery writers, aware of the forensic fascination that is sweeping the country and anxious to lend authenticity to their novels-in-progress, followed Dr. Carol Wise as she led them on a tour of her laboratory. Her guests dutifully made notes as she…
My childhood can only be described as traumatic. When my mother wasn’t finding excuses to hand down a beating with her big wooden spoon (You tracked dirt in the house! Where’s the big wooden spoon?), there were other people eager to scar me. In eighth grade, I wanted nothing more…
Mo Funny Among Simpsons scholars, it’s known that America’s first family is quite versatile–from meeting the first President Bush to doing a rendition of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.” Rick Miller has taken the family’s artistic achievements one step further. About 10 years ago, Miller, a Toronto-based actor, wrote MacHomer,…
Well, shoot, that was disappointing. We’re talking about fired police Chief Terrell Bolton’s appearance this week before a city council hearing. (Jim Schutze writes at length about the event in this week’s issue, so yes, Buzz is just piling on. What’s your point?) Anyhow, the day before the hearing, Bolton…
Mad About You Sad about Bolton: From a white journalist’s perspective, the Dallas Observer tried in vain to understand why blacks felt that the handling of Terrell Bolton’s firing was racist. Whites need not look beyond your article (“Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” by Jim Schutze, September 4) for the reasons. The…
Real Whirled If you’re among the 13 people left in the United States who haven’t appeared on a reality TV show, now’s your chance: From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. September 13, casting directors for MTV’s The Real World and Road Rules will be in town, ahem, auditioning would-be roommates…
Fatima Leiva and Edwin Mancia had forded the Rio Grande into Texas only hours earlier–so recently, Mancia’s wallet was still wet. The two young Salvadorans had paid a coyote $200 for the crossing and a truck ride up state Highway 16, a main artery for undocumented immigrants heading out of…
When Jay Winborn lived in Miami, no nightclub closed before 5 a.m. Most places, the night was just getting started around then. Some clubs didn’t shut down until noon the next day. This is just how things were. Not only in Miami, where he lived for five years, but pretty…
This won’t do. This won’t do at all. Tony Romo is absorbed in the book he’s reading, which would otherwise be fine, except this is football, not nerd camp. The newly named third-string quarterback of your Dallas Cowboys sits on a cushy blue couch in the Valley Ranch locker room…
Now, listen carefully here: Buzz is not saying that work is for chumps. Although when Bart Simpson made that statement, Homer did have the perfect comeback: “Son, I’m proud of you. I was twice your age before I figured that out.” Buzz is just saying that it would pay a…
Never Dine Alone Shut up or pay up: I recently sat down to dine alone and against my better judgment picked up a Dallas Observer. I was going straight for Jim Schutze, but I found myself first reading the letters section. I was quite surprised by the diversity of opinion…
CRAWFORD–The lone traffic light that slows passing motorists in the heart of this tiny Central Texas community blinks in silence as another 100-degree day gives way to welcomed, cooling twilight. The 705 residents of this McLennan County dot-on-the-map have made their way home or out to the high school to…
The wine is flowing, the chips are dipping and the conversation is turning brazenly partisan. And why shouldn’t it? This is not some effete soiree that hopes to nudge funds out of its guests for an inoffensive but deserving charity. It’s not some wild frat party meant to raise blood-alcohol…
Former police Chief Terrell Bolton doesn’t have many people in the media who consider him a friend, but the person on the phone uses that word when describing him. The source, a longtime hard-news reporter, agrees that Bolton is his own worst enemy but follows that by saying he is…
How You Doin’? At 5-foot-8 and 115 pounds, actor Joey Steakley, 23, probably won’t be playing growling hulks like Stanley Kowalski anytime soon. But having a delicate build hasn’t kept Steakley, a Snyder, Texas, native and ’02 SMU theater grad, from landing some heavyweight stage roles. He drew rave notices…
You know you’re thinking it. You may have even said something to your spouse or your drinking buddies. But it takes a particularly insensitive jerk to say out loud what many insensitive jerks were thinking privately after fired police Chief Terrell Bolton broke down blubbering at his news conference last…
Desi-land For the sake of humanity: I was impressed by your incisive, observant and factual reporting (“Across the Great Divide,” by Mark Donald, August 28). I regret to say that talent such as yours is desperately in short supply. Considering the world’s torture and torment today, you and disappointingly few…
The whistle blows loudly. Again and again, the same shrill noise. Bill Parcells doesn’t care. It’s a few days after the first preseason game, and the football-oriented part of practice ended some time ago. Since then, the Boys have been running wind sprints–a new one starts each time the whistle…
Outside, the broiling summer sun had vanished and an afternoon downpour was beating against the office window of Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District teacher/administrator Acela Hernandez Paliotta. With little prompting she began a quiet reflection on the journey that led her into the field of education: She was 13 when her…
Brite Idea Smokers really do have it rough. They’ve been banned from restaurants and kicked out of most other buildings; plus there’s always the chance of lung cancer looming up ahead. But maybe the worst, most irritating time for the tobacco-addicted is when they’ve got a full pack of smokes,…
