The BrainSUITE at Presby looks like something from Dr. McCoy’s sick bay on the U.S.S. Enterprise. Not that we’ve ever seen Star Trek. Get our your datebooks: Says here that on November 30 at 3 p.m., neurosurgeons at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas will perform–during a live webcast, no less–a brain…
Had to go to China–well, the China Daily, anyway–to find out about University of Texas at Dallas professor Mihai Nadin, who is developing video games for the elderly. Makes sense: Just before he died, my grandfather lamented that one of his biggest regrets in life was not learning how to…
In the new issue of Time there’s a bonus section called “Inside Business,” and inside that is a story called “Is Coal Golden?” If you ask Mike McCall, head of wholesale operations at TXU, and Governor Rick Perry, the answer, of course, is absolutely. If you ask Mayor Laura Miller…
Some of the guitars in this pic of the Riverboat Gamblers probably aren’t around anymore. At least, they aren’t in the band’s possession at this point. Happens all the time: Band goes on the road, band plays small club, band parks van in front of small club, band goes to…
It’s late. Damned near 6, when the front desk shuts down. But if you can make it here by then, and yer the first to e-mail me, then you’ve got a decision to make: two tix to Al Gore doing his gloom-and-doom seminar at the Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie…
Tired of hearing about the same old great local bands from your writers here at the Observer? Wish we’d tell you to do something other than splooge over The Theater Fire for once? Well, here’s your chance. Go see some comedy, jerk. Tomorrow night at the Comedy Sportz Arena (603…
The Hotel Palomar and its residences are much prettier without the smoke. Just got a call from a Friend of Unfair Park’s who offices near Mockingbird Lane and North Central Expressway. He sends word of what we can see from over here at Maple and Oak Lawn: Something’s burning at…
Helen Hall, one of the great gals of the Big “D” Jamboree, died this week. She was 78. Five years ago I wrote a story about a country singer who was this close to becoming famous but instead became only a legend. In March 2001, Helen Hall, who was born…
Josh Alan Friedman spent several months imagining he was this guy, pornographer Al Goldstein, in order to write his life story. Try to think of something worse. You can’t. A little more than a year ago, singer-songwriter, author and occasional Dallas Observer contributor Josh Alan Friedman was asked to do…
Once, the mayor told us we had broad shoulders, beautiful eyes, a strong handshake and soft skin. We thought nothing of it. If you’ve read this or this, you’re well aware that local TV reporters claim KTVT-Channel 11’s Sarah Dodd’s too chummy with Mayor Laura Miller. It’s a charge that…
Well, for one thing, they contain tiny gifts. Or dynamite. Or the new, sleeker model of Dallas’ Only Daily. With Byron Nelson’s death and Terrell Owens’ accidental non-suicide attempt, this week provided an immediate Litmus test for the post-buyout Dallas Morning News’ SportsDay section. And, like we feared, bigger was…
This is what it might have looked like when Sabrina Balentine was fired from Razzoo’s. Might. Dunno for sure. Hard to say. Yesterday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, on behalf of Sabrina Balentine, who was fired from a…
One of our colleagues here just received an e-mail from the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association that contains the sad news that Dennis Vercher, the longtime editor of the Dallas Voice, died yesterday from an HIV/AIDS-related illness. Vercher had been editor of the Voice, the self-described “community newspaper for…
Levi is a young preacher in the “army of God” depicted in the film Jesus Camp. Oh, I was ready for a fierce reaction to Jesus Camp. Something really extreme–like wanting to cast a demon out of my 27-inch TV. Or declaring that Oprah is the Antichrist. I’d seen the…
We now know why The Ticket pulled the confrontation between Norm Hitzges, pictured here, and Gordon Keith. Apparently, it wasn’t funny. Yeah? Who says. Apologize for the seven-second delay in getting back to this. But last week I was invaded by e-mail aliens, and then yesterday Terrell Owens almost up…
This week, the paper version of Unfair Park has a detailed story on the fledgling romance between Dallas police chief David Kunkle and television reporter Sarah Dodd. Turns out the chief cares enough about Dodd to call us and defend her journalistic integrity. Other reporters, however, including some of Dodd’s…
Guess whose fault yesterday’s T.O. extravaganza was. Wait for it, wait for it… No fair. You peeked. Yup, it was all because of the media. Says who? The media, duh. Or at least Jay Hart in The Morning Call, a Pennsylvania paper. He writes about “the suicide attempt that wasn’t”…
What with all the Bible Girl hooplah as of late, I think it’s only timely to break this piece of good news: Sue Ellen’s on Cedar Springs Road has been named the second best gay bar in all of the United States, according to GayBar.com. I’m pleased as punch. I…
This is the Byron Nelson most of us never knew–the young, strapping champ on his way to becoming the legend with whom we were all familiar. There’s plenty of other news in the sports world than what Terrell Owens was or wasn’t trying to do 36 hours ago, though you…
Yesterday, we reported that Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services, Inc.–ya know, the embattled company with the red-light camera contract with the city and the duel federal investigations into its issuing of stock options–was suing its bank in federal court here. ACS isn’t really angry with The Bank of New York Trust…
Coldwell Banker has issued a sorta study that proves what most of us have known for a long time: Dallas is just affordable enough to be attractive to the average homeowner, but also just expensive enough to drive you broke before you know it. Yesterday, the realtor released its Home…
This much we know after yet another disappointing baseball season: Saturday Night Live reruns are way funnier than Texas Rangers reruns. Wanna see shortstop and All-Star Game MVP Michael Young giggle? Turn on SNL’s “more cowbell” skit before last Sunday’s home finale against the Cleveland Indians and watch him double…
