UPDATE: HPISD sent a letter in response to this post, and because it’s too long to publish in our comments, we’ve added to the end. I have a column coming out in next week’s paper about the bomb and gun threats at Highland Park High School. It was inspired by…
While we might have done some wonderful things for y’all with Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and Radiohead, we have also sent you some terrible crimes against music. And while none of this really compares to Canada foisting Avril Lavigne and Nickleback on you, it’s still not great. I’m…
Welcome to Alice Column, in which Alice Laussade writes stories about things on (roughly) the same day of (roughly) every week, making it (roughly) a column. Got an idea for a column? Start your own blog and write it up, you lazy shit. As you walk up to the magic…
tumblr.com/user coolbeans11Michael Angelo Batio Hey, we can all appreciate a quality guitar god. Anyone who considers themselves a fan of music knows the joy of watching their favorite axeman/woman go on a tear and destroy the crowd with their fast-fingered prowess, signature style and lush mane of flowing hair. It’s…
I feel really bad for the guy who just got fired from his job as the voice of Big Tex. Bill Bragg, the actor who supplied the voice of the giant talking cowboy mannequin at the State Fair of Texas, says in The Dallas Morning News this morning, “I thought…
Dear Mexican: About six years ago, my wife and I adopted a little baby boy. He is “pure” mestizo and we are complete wabs. I’m a little dark because of my mixed Arab heritage, but my wife is a major league blanca. He is a sweet little gabacho growing up…
You get a lot of sad news here, I know. I might have some good news for a change. Say, might. We must cross our fingers first. We’ve been talking a lot in this space over the last few months about the staggering number of people in the city who…
Um, Mr. Grant? Moment of your time? I ask only one thing. If at all possible, can you get the kid out of this? You are the justifiably proud leader of the effort that brought us our wonderful new deck park over Woodall Rodgers Freeway at the north end of…
The amount of new band names they can spin at you is dizzying…and endearing. And most of all, uplifting. They’re possibly the biggest fans of modern, often-as-yet-uncategorizable new music this side of the Rio Grande. It’s fun to watch to Dallas Distortion Music, aka Matt Vickers and Evan Henry, grow…
So in the end will all of the public school principals and teachers with the worst test scores for minority and poor kids wind up in a big political wet kiss with the Tea Party? Wait, am I naive? Have they always been smoochers? While we spend our time worrying…
Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to…
This isn’t good. A post on the Whiskey Advocate Blog marks the release of Dewar’s Highlander Honey, a Dewar’s scotch whisky infused with honey and filtered through oak cask wood. See also: – What The Fuck Happened To Vodka? According to the blog, this is the first time scotch has…
The response to my article here last week about school reform proves one thing. I’m doing a poor job presenting school reform. The entire issue, in fact, is being framed in the responses to the article as a kind of combination civil rights question and job security dilemma for teachers…
Everybody in school politics always says it’s all about the children. That’s almost never true. If you don’t believe me, you should have been there last night. At a spirited, sometimes cantankerous meeting in the auditorium of James Madison High School in South Dallas, prominent black elected officials, former officials…
Remember back when BuzzFeed was cool? Right before they published their article about the 16 Cereals That Should Be Obliterated at 11:22 a.m. on March 21? Right before that very minute, they were pretty funny on most days. But, a dark scornful cloud has enveloped the space over BuzzFeed Central…
The op-ed page of our only local daily newspaper is full of talk today about the national Republican Party’s big overnight discovery and wake-up call: in a document called the “Growth and Opportunity Report” published by the Republican National Committee, Republicans are being informed that they are reviled, feared and…
Every year something happens that nearly prevents me from going to South by Southwest. This year was no different. A professional obligation on Thursday was threatening my travel plans, and I was considering giving it all up, joining in the chorus, of “It’s too crowded,” or whatever and staying in…
Welcome to Alice Column, in which Alice Laussade writes stories about things on (roughly) the same day of (roughly) every week, making it (roughly) a column. Got an idea for a column? Start your own blog and write it up, you lazy shit. Lots of people have lots of questions…
Dear Mexican: I’m living in Mexico part of the year. I’m learning Spanish but can’t say I understand or speak it well. I’m curious about a phrase on a T-shirt in an expensive shop in Puerto Vallarta. It had interesting artwork on it and the phrase “Soy Como la Chingada…
Sure, historic preservation is a great idea, if people could just decide what history to preserve. In a recent decision to make East Dallas homeowners rip out native plants and replace them with sod, the Dallas Landmark Commission has come down solidly on the side of stupid history. The commission…
Photo by Allan Hayslip Known for his sophistication as a DJ, Reid Robinson (a.k.a. Woodtronic) gets groovy, laid back gigs spinning at spots like the Perot Museum and outdoor shows in Dallas Arts District. Not to say he can’t pump (and punk) it up if needed…you can also see him…
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings has scored points in disparate places with his man’s man campaign against woman-beating, from New York Magazine to the metro page of today’s Dallas Morning News — all of it much deserved, if you ask me. A guy like Rawlings, Class of ’76 at Boston College…
