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

I am fairly surprised by this. Timbaland is kind of a big deal and I had no idea he was going to be up in our hood at Ghostbar tonight with DJ Skeet Skeet. Yeah, I don’t know who that is either. If Timba is DJing it up then I’ll can pretty much tell you what he’ll play.

If it’s anything like his egoistic “concert” at the Palladium last year, it will be every single song he has ever produced way back to Alliyah’s “Are You That Somebody?” to his latest work on Madonna’s new album. And EVERYTHING in between.

So, the good thing is, lots of good dance music ala SexyBack, Stronger, Promiscuous, etc. On the other hand, take an umbrella cuz no doubt he will surely blow his own wad over and over.

Enjoy!

After work last night at the bookstore, some peeps were heading over to a place up the street for some ping-pong and drinks. Now, you have me at either air hockey or ping-pong and drinks are always a nice cherry on top so I opted to join. I was forewarned that this was no Ghostbar or UltraLounge but I’ve seen worse. Besides, there are still nooks and crannies of this town I’ve yet to venture into, so I just figured why not.

No amount of warning could have prepared me for Sharky’s or its more formal name, Sharky’s Dart Pub & Juggling Emporium. I’d like to see Lesley Tellez up in this place. If you head up north on Greenville Avenue to Pineland where Al-Amir and Roma’s are, you’ll find quite possibly the most depressing shopping strip in Dallas. Turning into a steep entrance to a gritty graveled parking lot, Sharky’s is next to Ace in the Hole tattoos and is about as nondescript as manila paper.

Walking in, the bar was immediately to my left with several dart boards looking pretty lonely on the right wall. Beyond the bar were several pool tables, a jukebox and Lord knows what else. The bar itself is small and was somewhat crowded with Sharky regulars. They were way too comfortable to not be daily visitors. No music was playing and that depressing sound of glasses clanking in a quiet bar with a hint of conversation was way too loud in this place. This isn’t one of those so bad so skeezy so hole in the wall that it’s cool, this is a place where barflies go to die. And I was right there with them. Thankfully with my more enthusiastic coworkers. I was still feeling the place out.

My brave coworkers opened tabs but my rule is to never open a tab in a place that fills me with identity theft paranoia. For once, I paid cash for my Blue Moons and suffice it to say, they were the best BM’s I’ve ever had. Cold with an ample squeeze of lemon gave my Stella a good run for her money.

The ping-pong table was upstairs. I followed the gang only to be appalled and practically vomited in my mouth. If you think the strip was depressing, try tobacco tinted patchworked white walls, flourescent lighting and the only carpet in the world where you wouldn’t even want your dog walking on all surrounding the blessed ping-pong table. If the UltraLounge had an official arch enemy, it would be this.

Now, having said all that, I had a surprisingly good time. Clearly, it was the company I was with and the action of pinging and ponging that made it bearable. Plus, a snazzy Internet jukebox helped liven up the place with some much needed tunes. And lest we forget that oh-so delicious Blue Moons with lemon twist. Delicious! Additionally, the bartender was one of the nicest in town. But I guess I wasn’t competing with a lot of people needing his attention so he had time to be good at his customer service. Creepy Miriam who seemed to have a permanent seat at the bar introduced herself to coworker Kissryn and me with a bony hand to shake that I thought was going to fall apart when I took it. Cringe. The ping pong lounge if you will was well air-conditioned as well which I needed after actually working up a sweat with some major paddle action. However, coming off some major allergies, the vents weren’t there to clear the secondhand smoke emanating from all my coworkers and the hacking was starting.

I can’t recommend the place because it is pretty gross but in its favor, it is a genuine drinking hole. Or perhaps, drinking black hole. I had a good time and I wasn’t balking at my $3.75 beers but I’m only going back when the gang is going and I’m up for some pong. Otherwise, I’m staying away but giving Sharky’s today’s Random Award of

Ooops, almost forgot the lone mylar birthday balloon that Kissryn pointed out. Note to friends - if you even THINK of having my or any other birthday celebration of which I am in proximity of, you will see a most perturbed version of myself.

And I was starting to come around to ya.

Sloppyworld Closes

Chelsea Clinton was making the rounds around town last night with a meet and greet at Scene followed by a speaking appearance at JR’s Bar and Grill on Cedar Springs. The crowd turned out big time showing that a big chunk of the gay community is behind Hillary for president. Or at least the maximum capacity that JR’s allows.

Richard Curtin, better known as Edna Jean Robinson in some circles, introduced the evening in quick comedic fashion, “We are making political history right now. For the first time, the presidential candidates are coming to us. And they are coming inside.” Now I see Barack Clinton Huckabee in a whole new fashion…and I wish I didn’t.

 

We had to endure a pep rally led by Clinton’s Texas Field Director, Mike Trujillo where everyone gave him an “H” and then an “I” and then so on. The door that would reveal the celebrities to come opened and out came last year’s mayoral candidate Ed Oakley and council member Pauline Medrano. A stalling frustrating speech followed as we waited for the celebrities. Finally, Oakley introduces the “Mother of the Feminist Movement” Gloria Steinem. She conceded to merely being a sister in the movement and then made the mention of how affirmative action works because of the leading Democratic candidates. Steinem cited quotable blunders by Reagan and Bush. Whoots and hollers promptly ensued. She went on a tangent about women’s sexuality ending with, “Sexuality is a right of free expression.” She then shares that Hillary is with the gay community hand and heart and she hopes the community is reciprocal. It was fairly stunning to see an iconic figure in such proximity but her delivery was surprisingly weird and all over the place. Perhaps she was caught up in the moment with all the adoration being thrown her way.

 

Oakley then introduces director Rob Reiner who bolsters up onstage and takes over. He’s loud, he’s funny and according to one person in the audience, he’s hot. Well, he is a bear. He immediately had the audience in his hand and proceeded with leading “Hillary” shout-alongs. He calls this election the last fight in the civil rights movement and made compelling analogies to now and then. “We can’t think of a time when blacks couldn’t vote…when women couldn’t vote,” saying that in the future, people will be curious by the fact that there were issues with both demographics now vying for president as well as the crowd pleasing announcement that in the same future, people won’t think of a time when people were denied the right to marry. A small break follows before Reiner gets back onstage asking “Am I still hot?” and then he brings out Miss Chelsea Clinton. Whoots and hollers tenfold.

 

Clinton is poised beyond belief and handles the screams and chants with grace and a smile. She never comes off artificial but she is overly coached with an interactive speech that is pretty much based on my mom this, my mom that. She asked the audience about concerns and topics and every generic issue was yelled out from education, healthcare, the economy, HIV funding, housing and Iraq. When she wasn’t saying how proud she was of her mom, she did hit on a couple of compelling points albeit with minor details.. When asked about ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, she said “She’ll (Hillary) will get rid of it.” Whoots. Gay marriage comes up and she skirts around the issue again with a roundabout answer that started with ‘Don’t Ask’ to extended benefits for 9/11 victims to issues “she’ll work on that take a longer term” such as advocating civil unions. The hollers weren’t so loud.

She won them back saying her mom is going to “end the war on science” and how she believes that “we need to go back to being a nation that believes in science and innovation.” The hollers were back. And then she was done. More rally continued down the street at Sue Ellen’s but I had a feeling I already heard the same speech.

 

In other celebrity news, Dallas Stars Marty Turco was a class act at Half-Price Books earlier that afternoon. He read Dr. Seuss aloud to a packed community room and patiently signed autographs and took pictures with fans. The event encouraged donations of new and gently-used books to be donated to Our Children’s House. Although schedule till 3 p.m., he stayed an extra hour making sure everyone had their turn.

Then I might be heading here tomorrow. Man I just wish I had the fro to go with it.

I must admit, this weather is the kind to keep me in but an exception could be Kettle Art’s new opening, Formal featuring the art of Sergio Garcia. You’re wondering who he is? Thanks to Frank Campagna’s video work, we can get some insight to the guy here:

So then what to do after a cold rainy night of art? You walk next door to Club Dada where the official after party is. Dada goes DJ-like with The Party, Cool-Out and Hot Flash spinning the tunes. Almost like a two-fer one night tonight. So do it.

I’ll be on the judges table tonight and tomorrow night determining who is America’s Next Top DJ.

but I asked the Sankofa folks the deal about yesterday’s post and this was their response:

The workers, patrons & promoters were treated with disrespect. Women were being degraded. Promoters & staff weren’t being compensated for hard work.

And, um, so, well, there you have it. Meh. Watching TV now.

Kinda lazy tonight so I’m just reposting Sankofa’s message about the venue. Not sure what happened but I’ll find out later. Otherwise, pardon my cut and paste and have a good night.

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Silk Entertainment & Dallas Unplugged want to thank you all for your support over the last few months at Addison City Limits Bar & Grill. Due to an unsavory atmosphere Silk Entertainment & Dallas Unplugged will no longer be promoting any events at Addison City Limits. We feel that racism and sexism are unacceptable conditions for us as promoters and you as patrons to be subjected to. We do not support establishments that take our hard earned dollars and treat us like second class citizens!! Our suggesstions & request to make the establishment a safer environment for the patrons were dismissed. We promote parties, but we also promote safety.

Please let your voice be heard. Let the owners and management of Addison City Limits know that we will not accept being mistreated!

Don’t party at Addison City Limits!!!

The party is not over!!!
We will be relocating very soon!!
We’ll keep you informed so, check the myspace page.

Please help us spread the word!
THEY DON’T WANT YOU THERE!!!!!

Please repost this bulletin!!!!

Silk Entertainment & Dallas Unplugged

Bar of Soap owner Charlie Gilder wants to reassure everybody of one thing.

“We are not closing down.”

With buzz going about the bar not filing for an SUP and simply needing scratch, rumors, according to Gilder, began to stir that the 21 year-old Expo Park staple was shutting its doors. Not the case despite a slump of business in the past few months. The Fair didn’t bring in as much money as usual and business stayed slow after the Fair’s run. “People aren’t just coming down,” he said but assures that after Thanksgiving, business seems to be picking up gradually.

But they are short in the wallet hence last weekend’s fundraiser show and art auction. It wasn’t that Gilder didn’t file for an SUP, he just didn’t have the money to do it and according to him, he needs $1175 to do so. “The problem is money,” he said after explaining some of his goals for the bar itself with some remodeling and touch-ups desperately needed. But ultimately, he says, “We’re gonna be OK.”

Despite his feelings about the whole SUP business.

While he’s confident he’ll pass and willing to go through the steps, he calls the whole situation unfair. “I fail to see how it’s even legal. Looks to me like the legal precedent, is once your there and operational that they can’t come and kick you out arbitrarily. I’m confused about this. It’s completely unjust. It’s tyranny,” he vents, “I didn’t think this is the way the United States works. However, I’m not disappointed in the direction the area is going.” He figures with new condos going up that it’s just going to help the business.

So if you missed all the action last weekend, Gilder probably wouldn’t mind you stopping by this weekend to see Darlington tomorrow and The Deadites on Saturday. At they very least, Bar of Soap has their groove on.