G.R.i.D. (Get Rich in Dallas)

Sorry I ain't been around too much lately. GRiD's still here but I'm giving a lot of attention right now to this. And I'm really hoping you will too!

But don't you fret. Just be patient.

R

I saw Sonic's latest offering while partaking in their (best idea ever) Happy Hour for half-off drinks. Now, fried ice cream has never impressed me. The idea, the sound, the look - just something I never place high on the list but for some reason the convenience of it in a cup sounded slightly enticing and by the following description, seemed like something I might want to sink my teeth into:

Fried Ice Cream Blast™
Summer fever has kicked into full force, and you may need something to cool you down. SONIC® has just the remedy. A creamy, crunchy blend of vanilla soft serve, cinnamon crisps, caramel and whipped topping. It's a fun twist on an authentic favorite, and it's so good you'll want to share this sweet dose of deliciousness with all your friends. So grab one tonight because SONIC® is open 'til midnight or later and is Even Sweeter After DarkSM.

Now, I don't consider Sonic a primo dessert stop but they can do in a slight pinch if I have a sweet tooth and added laziness that prevents me from getting out of my car. So after today's lunch, I decided dessert sounded like a nice idea in the hot day and lo and behold there was a Sonic.

The picture of crumbly cinnamon crisps on top of whipped "cream" seemed like a good introduction to the sweet that would be soon blasting my mouth. However, it was the only bit of flavor in a dull dessert. I forget to expect anything from soft serve ice cream or whatever it's called. Definitely not Blue Bell. More than likely a concoction in which one just adds water. I began to swirl the topping of cream and cinnamon into the rest but no satisfaction could be attained by the now muted cinnamon flavor. And where was this caramel I kept searching for? If anything might have saved this icy confection, a ribbon of caramel could have done the trick but alas, I tasted none. Nor found any so maybe it was just a mistake made by the crew. No worries, by this point, I've made up my mind.


So I won't plan to "share this sweet dose of deliciousness with all my friends." It might be the only friend I have left! In fact, I'll discourage anyone to not partake in this missed-the-mark dessert. Forgo the dessert craving and the calories for a drink instead which can be just as fattening and desserty enough. Might I recommend the fresh fruit strawberry slush? I wish I had recommended that to myself.

Since his last few runs at an NBA championship have gone less than stellar, Dirk is determined to get the gold at the Olympics. And by the looks of this haircut, might be going a little crazy about it. But Brad reveals that Nowitzki will be the flag bearer for Germany which makes me kind of proud...in a weird unpatriotic way. The haircut...not so much.

That thought occurred to me after hearing about Morgan Freeman's car accident Sunday. It sounded pretty serious but by the sounds of it, he'll be hurting for a bit but perhaps ultimately OK. I hope. He plays Lucius Fox in The Dark Knight.


But when the movie came out, Batman/Bruce Wayne actor Christian Bale was arrested for allegedly assaulting his sister and mother. Now, sure, whatever happened was probably a result of bad decisions but still. Could something have been looming over to push him to the brink if that was the case?

And of course, the tragedy of Heath Ledger's death which everyone knows about by now.


Worse yet, with all the hype and great reviews, I ended up not liking the movie. Which was as much a tragedy on my wallet. Movies are expensive!

So, if anything happens to Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine or Maggie Gyllenhaal or any other cast and crew members of The Dark Knight in the next few weeks, I'm going to expect some credence to my hypothesis.

Ya know, it's bad enough I have to wake up at 3:30 am on Fridays. But to wake up to the news that one of my favorite local bands is no more, now that's just too much for the waking soul.

The Hourly Radio has decided to disperse as noted in a MySpace bulletin posted last night which said the following:

As some of you may have heard, we have officially decided to stop making music together as The Hourly Radio. We can't express how much the experience has meant to us or how difficult the decision has been to move on, but we want to thank all of you for supporting the band and the music. We're going to take some time to compile our favorite pictures and memories to post here and on our website and hope to make our entire catalogue available for free download soon. If you have any images or stories you'd like to share, please post them. You never know, they might make it into The Hourly Radio coffee table book.


As a parting gift, we have one last song to offer up. Sons and Daughters is the last song we recorded together and is included in a multimedia release entitled Two Blue Wolves. The song is our contribution to the soundtrack and features members of Stellastarr*, Elefant and a bunch of other great artists.
For more info on this project: SparrowHall. com

We'll also be sure to post any news on future projects featuring members of The Hourly Radio.

Thats all for now.
Thanks again and leave us your comments!

Ryan, Aaron, Tim and Adam.

I was in love with this band to no end. They and Black Tie Dynasty always went hand in hand and their sounds took me back to my favorite 80s new wave while still sounding modern enough to be cool. And when the two shared a bill, it was always the highlight of my week to check 'em out. Funny thing was, I could never catch THR live. I was always too late when they would just be stepping off the stage. It pissed me off. It happened at the Wreck Room in Fort Worth and then at the Deep Ellum Arts Festival. I did see 'em at the Granada before but I walked in on their last two songs. I finally caught them when they opened for IAMX at Club Dada and while I can't say I was blown away, I could finally have a sense of peace that I got to see these guys live. I know, dumb, but they ended up being like the holy grail of live sets for me.

What sucks even more is they were always on the brink of bigtime stardom. Spin talked about 'em. American Eagle used them in ads. Blah blah and blah. I am never sure what happened or why they didn't get that one crossover they needed but c'est la vie.

So, adios, THe Hourly Radio. You done good.

Man, with all this heat lately, I was entertaining the idea of finding a pool to take a dip in. After seeing this on Good Morning America today about pool parasites hanging out in public swimming pools, I've officially changed my mind. Besides, since pools are closing down around town anyway, I guess it's a moot point.

Still. Yuk.

Annnd, did you know that Cheesecake Factory is the place to go to partake in the national holiday. Yep, for cheap, they are offering slices of cake for a buck fifty. But only one per slice as it says on their site. I'm stil debating going being fat and lactose intolerant and all but damn, cheesecake is good. Here's the word from the Cheesecake Factory:

The Cheesecake Factory Serves Up a Delicious 30th Anniversary Celebration!

Celebrating “30 Delicious Years,” The Cheesecake Factory is serving up several sweet initiatives throughout 2008.

To kick-off the anniversary celebration and in commemoration of National Cheesecake Day on July 30th, 2008, The Cheesecake Factory restaurants will offer every delicious slice of its more than 30 varieties of cheesecake with a dollop of nostalgia by featuring all cheesecakes at $1.50 per slice, limit one per guest, dine in only, on that day—as they were when the restaurant first opened in 1978.

In addition, a special, limited edition cheesecake, the 30th Anniversary Chocolate Cake Cheesecake, will be introduced on July 30th with $0.25 from the sale of each slice sold this year benefiting the national hunger-relief organization, America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network. Additional activities will be announced throughout the year.

Instead of Date Night it's going to be Art Night at Kettle. And tell Frank to grow back his goatee...cuz it's totally hot.

Deep Ellum Good Buy is going on and for some decent scratch you too can have a piece of Deep Ellum History. But it's better said here by Kettle Art:

Deep Ellum Good Buy is an exhibit of Deep Ellum memorabilia from the mid 1980's through the early 2000's. Items from venues past such as Gypsy Tea Room, Club Clearview, Trees, Club Dada and the Green Room are all part of this major collection. Framed and autographed photos, posters and artwork by luminaries such as The Old 97's, Jack Ingram, Course of Empire, Doosu, Buck Jones, Patti Griffin, Son Volt, Sarah Hickman, Ben Folds Five, Junior Brown, The Grande Street Cryers, Guster, Galatic, El Vez, Little Sister, Mojo Nixon, Mathew Sweet, Tripping Daisy, The Derailers and many more are all part of this show.

Very rare collectible posters for Victor Dada (Club Dada founders) or a 1970 Janis Joplin original poster will also be for sale as well as one of a kind artworks by artists Greg Metz, Dwayne Carter and Frank Campagna.

We are located at
2714 Elm, Deep Ellum

Open Friday & Saturday
7:00-10:00 pm

for more info call 214 573-7622
and leave a message...
or visit
www.kettleart.com

Oh like, can you believe? Like, if I lived in Westlake the Jonas Brothers would SO be my new neighbors! Isnt' that hawwwt?

And isn't it so cute that it says here that their mom needs to buy for them?? OH MY GAWWWWWD!!!!

This past week's issue of the Dallas Voice was journalistic gold for me. And mostly because of this article where Crews Inn owner, David Moore has banned drag queens from his club on Trashy Tuesdays. Now, David Moore is clearly an idiot. As owner, he may have the right to discriminate against people that don't satisfy his standards. It's all so White Drinking Fountain Colored Drinking Fountain. But if people are stirring up trouble in his club, then kick them out. Don't ban people. If I was in a drunken stupor at Crews Inn then I'd totally be ruining it for all future Hispanics wanting to hit the club. He argues that if people don't match their ID, then he has a right to refuse service, however, they do seem to turn a blind eye to fake IDs and all the young chicken that makes it in. Heck, way back when, CI was one of the places I could waltz in without being carded.

Anyways, read the piece. Briscoe did a great job and has given me one of my favorite quotes of all time. Not by what it said but more by seeing it in print:

“It’s kind of like I’m a positive role model in the community,” (Ivana) Tramp said.

Oh gosh, that still makes me laugh. Sweetie, I'm sure you are but you might want to rethink quoting your righteousness outside of your drag persona.


It seems like the Query of the Week is getting funnier each time. Lately at least one person's answer is basically "huh??" And I don't know what makes me chuckle more, their ignorance (which happens, I get that) or the fact that it's being printed in lieu of maybe someone else giving a viable answer. If I see Ben Briscoe heading my way with a notepad, I'm jumping on my laptop with Google Search handy for whatever he's going to ask about. My fave responses to this week query of How important is it for out-of-state couples may be able to marry in Massachusetts were:

I didn’t know anything about that. So not important.”

Matt Fieldsman
Banker

“You mean we couldn't get married there before? I always thought we could. Big, I guess.”

Gary Martin
Bartender

Interestingly enough, the site doesn't print the question, just the answers. But if it ever gets as funny as these, then I'll actually buy a subscription to the paper.

Moving on. So, I'm fairly impressed with the Voice's music coverage. It's not as extensive as I think it could be but the fact that they go beyond the Oak Lawn scene (ahem, is there one?) and even the obvious (Yaz, George Michael) is a nice comfort. I mean, honestly, a few years ago I'd have been stunned to see the Moaners being mentioned in the Voice. Their show at Lola's was blurbed this week.

However, I was a little surprised to see George Michael's review in the print edition a week after the show. I mean, isnt' that what blogs are for? It just seemed a little pandering as if the gays needed that story and big pic in print. Sure, it was the biggest gay concert of the year next to True Colors but a review a week later just seemed, well, weak. But maybe I'm being a bit biased because my review came out the next day. Yay, me!

Oh and despite it being after the fact, I had to chuckle at the headline - Yaz Tues at Granada and mentioned the venue again in the blurb only to have the actual info under reveal its true show last night was at the Lakewood. However, I was at the Granada last night for this kick-ass event. Mistakes happen but and when you're in the biz and get to see them, they always cause a smirk.

OK, so I'm done picking on the Voice this week. It was a good issue but it gave me some uninentional smirks. And I can't wait to read about the Crews Inn fallout. Oh and by the way, I plan never to go there again. I can't support someone with attitudes like that. I hope you'll consider the same.