Author: jbenton

Let’s say you’re organizing a Martin Luther King Day celebration. What kind of Freudian slip would it take to accidentally make a plaque that says, “Thank you James Earl Ray for keeping the dream alive“?

Dallasites, it’s survey time. A couple of us here at my employer were talking yesterday about how few young people actually read the newspaper. It’s a longstanding demographic trend — actually, it’s less of a problem at the DMN than at most other papers across the country, but it’s still a concern to those of us in the business. I also have to give a little talk to a bunch of reporters and editors here next month on appealing to younger readers (say, adults under 35).
So here’s my question: If you read the paper regularly, what do you like about it? If you don’t, why not? And what could be changed to make you want to read it?
(I know many people have traded in subscriptions for regular trips to the paper’s web site, which is understandable. But I’m primarily looking for things that would make you want to actually plop down your 50 cents or pay for a subscription.)

Dave Barry takes North Dakota (and the local press eagerly awaits).
Best thing about the visit: a city-wide potluck dinner. “People living north of DeMers Avenue should bring jello salad; those living south of DeMers should bring hotdish. Those living east of the Red River should bring bars.”

Keep an eye on this story. I have a feeling it’s going to blow up big in the next few weeks.
Today’s poll: Which Dairy Queen dish most reminds you of Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban? (An explanation.)

The revenge of Pete Maravich: it looks like my home state may be getting an NBA team again. Louisiana’s had a bit of a self-esteem problem since 1979, when the New Orleans Jazz up and moved to…Utah? The Utah Jazz, the most ludicrous moniker in all of sports?
Unfortunately, if the Hornets do move to Nawlins, we’d get stuck with George Shinn, who shows up in anybody’s top five of worst team owners (worst both in sports terms and as a human being). But at least we’d also get my favorite basketball player of all time, (the currently injured) George Lynch.

An engaging story in Sunday’s Washington Post about 12-year-old prodigy-turned-peace-activist Greg Smith. (He’s about to start work on a PhD.) A much more nuanced look at the trials and tumult of young genius than you often see, with Q&As with the writer and the kid himself.
The author remarks, with a bit of shame, that whenever she talked with Greg, she found herself searching for some flaw in his intellect, “for reasons I can only assume to be some primal survival instinct.” I know what she means; when I read his Q&A, I felt a shameful little burst of glee when I saw he misspelled “oppurtunity.”

Saw The Royal Tenenbaums last night with my friend Juliet — better than I’d expected. I only say better than expected because the reviews had been fairly lukewarm (as opposed to lukewilson). Wes Anderson is quite a stylist, although I can see why critics dinged him for keeping too much emotional distance between the characters and the audience. (That said, that was somewhat the point.) And, alas, the talents (and facial hair) of Bill Murray were essentially wasted, and Gene Hackman’s emotional turnaround stretched the film’s credibility. But still very fun. And the movie may have singlehandedly saved Futura from the ashbin of typographic history.
A question for female movie fans (or gay male movie fans, for that matter): who’s more crushworthy, Luke Wilson or his brother/co-star Owen Wilson? Luke’s certainly better looking objectively, but Owen’s got that sneaky smart thing going on. Plus, he co-writes all of Wes Anderson’s movies (Rushmore, Bottle Rocket), and we all know how sexy writers are. (I ask because Juliet expressed her pro-Owen feelings last night. Repeatedly.)
Put the finishing touches on the new CD Mix of the Month last night. It’s a good one, I think — a little more eclectic than the last one. Get in touch with me ASAP if you want in; the first trades will take place at tomorrow night’s DFWblogs happy hour.
Dallasites: today’s the last day for early voting in Saturday’s mayor’s race. The buzz I hear is that the race is going to be a lot closer than what some people think. (Of course, you’ll have to read the DMN for all the details. But you already knew that.)

Pitchfork has a great, literate tour diary from Travis Morrison of the Dismemberment Plan. Phrases to watch for: “looked like Biggie Smalls in drag,” “the pilot wore rainbow suspenders,” “women with sleep apnea.” Plus look for a major shout-out to Rubber Gloves in Denton.

Site news: There’s a brief Mazie Project update today. (She’s up to 13 cards received.) And I had another (vaguely crappy) story in today’s paper. A reminder to Dallasites: don’t forget to vote this Saturday. Two pretty big items on the ballot: the $1.37 billion bond issue for Dallas schools I’ve been writing about ad infinitum lately and the mayor’s race, which has been entertaining so far. Early voting continues through tomorrow.

Hey, Austin readers: anybody feel like letting a fellow blogger sleep on your floor during SXSW? (I figured I might as well ask.) I’d be happy to, um, buy you dinner several times.
Hey, Utah readers (and/or Mormon readers, and/or Olympic junkies): As I’ve mentioned before, I’ll be in Salt Lake City for most of next month to write about the Winter Olympics for my employer. My job description is roughly to be the Olympics writer who doesn’t write about sports. I’ll mostly be doing features about SLC and Utah and scene stories from the events. I’ve got to come up with 20-25 stories, so consider this an open call for ideas: anything unusual or interesting about the state, the city, or the church that won’t otherwise be reported 36,312 times by the descending media horde? Muchos gracias.