Archive for August, 2007

Darren McGrady was the royal chef to Princess Diana.

After Diana’s death, he turned down an offer from Prince Charles and moved to the U.S. He is currently employed as a private chef here in Dallas.

WFAA had a great interview with him today about his memories and times with the Princess. Click here to watch.

Dallas chef Brian Luscher is throwing in the towel at Tournament Players Club in Craig Ranch and buying the popular lower Greenville restaurant, The Grape.

The Grape has been open since 1972 and many personalities that are prevelant on today’s Dallas restaurant scene worked the kitchen or front of the house there.

The new ownership takes effect in October and Brian and his wife fully intend to keep the whimsical chalkboard menu and the rotate the dishes every couple weeks.

This is a commentary:

It’s always interesting to watch a new site evolve and what most intrigues me will be the site stats. I like to see who is visiting and by what search criteria they are using.

I think the guys over at IsMyHome are watching the various city sites grow and evolve and making necessary changes as needed.

A guy named Jacob asked me to take on the Dallas site with the objective of keeping it updated with items of interest going on in Dallas. Fair enough. Jacob took on more tasks and now David is doing his damndest to wrangle the insane personalities that keep these city sites updated.

Managing people you’ve never met in person - or even talked on the phone for that matter - has special challenges. I don’t envy David’s position but it’ll be a nice blurb to start adding to his resume!

I manage people and projects all day long. Personally, I like to spend at least a few minutes getting to know someone, even if it’s just a contractor for the day, to get a glimpse at what makes them tick. I also focus heavily on “pre-production” so that when it’s time for the cameras to start rolling, we have a nice smooth shoot and have to spend less time “fixing it in post”.

It’s very much a media driven world and it’s interesting to see the worlds of internet and broadcast moving closer together. The beautiful thing about the web is that it is constantly evolving and ideally sites adapt to stay current. On a blog like this, it’s mission is to keep the posts relevant to the activities and personalities of Dallas.

So to the several hundred people per day that are checking out this Dallas blog, a sincere thank you. I do know you are here and I do know what you are wanting to see based upon your search criteria….you do love the entertainment/gossip news (though today, the Hawaiian Tropic event at Ghostbar seems to be the most popular item!).

If at any time you want to get in touch to have a worthwhile event mentioned, just reply to one of the posts and I’ll receive your comment - hopefully we’ll have our email addresses set up soon so you can contact me directly.

Have a lovely Labor Day weekend, please stay safe and watch out for motorcycles!

This is a personal commentary:

Yesterday, 26-year-old Nicholas Cleborne was riding his motorcycle on Central Expressway.

An idiot by the name of Chet Wallace (33), clipped Nicholas on his bike and proceeded to drag him approximately 600 feet before running over him.

Nicholas is currently in Baylor’s ICU with several broken ribs, a collapsed lung and other injuries.

Wallace exited on Mockingbird and at a high rate of speed started making his way towards Stonewall Jackson Elementary (Matilda @ Mockingbird). He finally crashed into a tree and then took off running on foot.

And a big THANK YOU to the Good Samaritans that chased down the suspect themselves. Richard Fenn heard the commotion as he saw Wallace run by. Fenn then began pursuing him as well and wrangled him to the ground. A garden hose was found and Wallace was promptly hog-tied until police arrived.

Wallace admitted at the scene that he was trashed and has already bonded out of jail. He has been charged with intoxication assault with a vehicle.

I sincerely hope that all of us in the Dallas biking community keep up with this case and keep it in front of the media. The reason it is vital that we do this is because Texas is the 2nd largest motorcycle owner’s market and DFW is the 6th largest metropolitan market.

Far too often those of us on the bikes are having to dodge drivers that are in their cars with their windows up, AC and radio’s on and usually yapping on a cell phone. They are so busy multi-tasking that they are oblivious to those around them. Car drivers have got to become more aware of bikers and give us respect on the road as well.

I wish Nicholas a speedy recovery and to Wallace I wish a very expensive fine and a decent amount of jail time.

Do you have the poise, confidence, presence – and a balanced tan and fabulous bikini body – to be a Hawaiian Tropic Model?

ghostbar is hosting the North Texas Hawaiian Tropic Model Search Preliminary on Friday, August 31.

The winner will receive a $500 cash prize and advance to the Texas State Finals September 7 – 9 in Houston.

Some of the celebrity judges include Amy Vanderoef of WFAA Good Morning Texas, Cruz of KHKS 106.1 FM, Annie Potasznik of Envy Magazine, Jean-Philippe Morrow of his Jean-Philippe Salon, and JD Hearn known as the Dallas BlissGuy, among others.

Miss Hawaiian Tropic has given many aspiring models the opportunity to expand their modeling and acting careers through appearances in numerous movies, E! Network, ESPN, Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals, Playboy’s annual “Girls of Hawaiian Tropic” issue, and the Presidential Inaugural Ball.

The activities begin tomorrow night, Friday, August 31; starting at 10:30pm and the Door is complimentary for the ladies. Cover for men is $20. Arrival time is 10:30 pm and judging begins at 11pm.

Ladies are requested to wear their best in nightlife attire and bring a bikini and clear pageant heels. Contestants must be 21+. There is no cost to enter. For more information, visit www.goelite.com.

Minc Lounge is hosting a casting call for a Jennifer Lopez music video today and tomorrow (August 30 and 31).

Secret deodorant is sponsoring and you need to register for the event on their official site. You must be a female age 18 or above who can dance.

Minc is located at 813 Exposition Avenue in Dallas near Fair Park. Call (214)370-4077 for more information.

The amazing, legendary, blues guitar wonder Stevie Ray Vaughan died 17 years ago today.

Dallas lost one of her favorite sons and has yet to find anyone that comes close to comparing with him.

The hometown boy that learned to play slide with a Cheez Whiz bottle went on to greatness as a solo artist after delivering amazing guitar work on such legendary albums as David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”.

You are always in our hearts Stevie…