It is the privilege of all dreamers to see hope and promise where others see gloom and rot, so Edward Harris will understand if you scoff at his plans for growing an urban paradise in this field of weeds and trash. The 56-year-old grew up in this very neighborhood; his…
There’s a reason Buzz slaves away every week in the journalism mines, sweating to produce the fine product you hold in your hands. The reason is that we are dumb. We know this because A) friends and family routinely tell us so, and B) as a media-type person we often…
Mind Your Manners Educating jackasses: I loved this article (“Hey, You. Yeah, YOU!” by Sarah Hepola, January 8). Thank you so much for making me smile. I’ve stopped going to shows in Dallas unless it’s someone I really love and would cry if I didn’t see them–all because of the…
1. I will stop referring to my porn addiction as “work-related.” 2. I will stop smoking (fine, I will stop smoking in restaurants). 3. I will stop trying to shut down topless bars. 4. I will get rid of these cornrows. 5. I will stop referring to my The Simple…
The people who live here call it their “pier-and-beam house.” They’ve lost a lot–all of their security, most of their sobriety, some of their sanity–but they still have a sense of humor. Or irony, at least. The “house” is the underbelly of a bridge on Northwest Highway, a slab of…
Even a 14-year-old can appreciate a swank dressing room: fruit basket, vase of flowers, even his own shower. Not to mention the sumptuous buffet in the “green room,” where guests cool their heels. Corbin Corona and his parents, Gary and Detta Corona, attacked it with gusto. “They treated us like…
Houston author Kathryn Casey thought there had to be a mistake when the Texas Department of Criminal Justice refused her request to interview inmate Celeste Johnson. Johnson and her lesbian lover, Tracey Tarlton, entered prison this year for the Austin murder of Johnson’s wealthy husband. Casey has a contract with…
Perhaps when you perused your Dallas Morning News last Sunday, you read the hagiography on Dave Smith, the (soon-retiring) sports editor of the paper for more than two decades. And, if you’re like Buzz, you are one of the 117 people in the Dallas area who cared that he was…
The voice on the other end of the phone was probably kidding, but who the hell could tell? Not me. The holidays are generally brutal on my end–far from anything remotely resembling vacation. I’m not a big drinker, but there’s something about Christmas and New Year’s parties that turns me…
Rude Awakening Alternative theory: Having just finished reading the third of your three articles concerning the bathtub shooting in South Dallas during the height of the Jamaican cocaine period in Dallas (“Rude Boy,” by Julie Lyons, December 25), I want to compliment you on your skillful reporting and excellent descriptive…
It’s January again, time for us to take one last gratuitous unkind swipe at the various adults who spent the past 12 months doing the grown-up stuff that keeps Dallas a functioning city, such as it is. Maybe it’s because we’re getting older, but Buzz is feeling kind of bad…
Another year has passed, leaving me older but certainly not smarter. Which is why I acquiesced in our staff meeting when told we were once again putting out a blanket year-end issue, adored by lazy, slow-witted journos everywhere. I figured I fit pretty safely into that category, and besides that,…
The Virgin Diaries Say a little prayer: Great article on True Love Waits (“No Trespassing,” by Michelle Martinez and Leah Gerchario, December 18). It shows the kids and the struggles that they deal with and how it affects them. I wish someone had been around to encourage me in that…
This was a crazy place, the wild frontier of the gangsta life. You’d never know it now, staring at this empty slab of weathered concrete, overgrown with grass and barely visible from the street. A few people can still tell you what happened here; the rest would probably just as…
Hassles at the doctor’s office and threats to the household budget have made heroism a dicey proposition for Dallas police lately. Sergeant Michael Flusche, a 20-year veteran assigned to patrol in the southwest division, was shot last month as he and other officers charged into an Oak Cliff apartment in…
This is the time of year when Buzz spends countless hours at Dallas’ central library, doing research for our upcoming annual year-end story. (By “research” we mean “cadging from The Dallas Morning News microfilms.” Please don’t tell them.) It has become something of a holiday tradition for us, hanging out…
Years ago, before the world beat me down and left me a cynical shell of a man, I had dreams. I wanted to go places and do things. (What, you think I always wanted to become an alternative-weekly zombie?) But then I hit middle school, and I pretty much resigned…
Distracted Bait and switch: Jim Schutze’s article (“Spanish Fly, December 18) overlooked the fact that building a suspension bridge across a storm sewer will greatly facilitate access to Ray’s Hardware and Sporting Goods on Singleton Boulevard–the best little gun store in town–plus make Dallas the laughingstock of the American Society…
Every weekday morning beginning at 7 o’clock, the gate of Huntsville’s Walls Unit opens, just slightly. Returned to society are a dozen or so prisoners who have completely discharged their sentences. As a parting gift, the state provides them with $50, the clothes on their backs and bus tickets. Those…
It was just a coincidence, but Ellen Cotter, the Manhattan-based chief operating officer of the Angelika chain of art-house theaters, happened to be in Dallas the very day Landmark Theatres was sending in its troops to assume control of the Magnolia Theatre in the West Village. Cotter, spotted at lunch…
In sports, particularly among the media, rumors are like venereal diseases: There are a lot of them out there, and they’re quickly and easily passed around. Who’s a nice guy, who’s a dick, who’s not talking to his coach, who slept with this actress or that celebrity–there’s never a shortage…
Good WorksDiffering visions: Normally I wouldn’t read an article as lengthy as “Fallen Angel” (December 4), but your story was filled with enough distortions that I couldn’t wait to finish it. Great fiction! Besides, you were kind enough to mention my name several times, even though you didn’t contact me…
