Hello Big D

I love books. Any kind of book. Fiction, non-fiction, history, art, children’s books and especially cookbooks. I once told a doctor when he asked me if I had any vices that I thought I was addicted to books and magazines–no lie. The local library was one of my favorite places when I was little, but I until last week I hadn’t stepped foot in a public library in 18 years.

I first went to the new library that just opened up on the other side of Love Field, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed. Regardless, I signed up for a library card and decided to try a few other branches before giving up. The next library I checked out was the Preston Royal branch. This definitely felt a little more familiar and they had a bigger selection, but I still wasn’t satisfied. So I headed to the central library downtown last Saturday. It was all I had imagined and more.

It has seven stories of seemingly endless shelves of books to look through. The first floor houses a decent selection of dvds, books on tape, and a general collection of recently published books. The entire second floor is dedicated to kids. The Fine Arts section on the fourth floor has a large, but random selection of cds, and the rows and rows of cookbooks on the fifth floor left me breathless. If you haven’t visited the public library in a while, stop what your doing and head downtown immediately.

The best things about the Dallas Public Library.

1. You can check out up to 250 books at a time. Seriously.
2. You may return checked out items to any Dallas library branch.
3. You can renew your checked out items on-line or over the phone.
4. You can request items from any Dallas library to be sent to the branch closest to you.
5. If you are looking for something specific, you can look it up on the library’s website and see if they have it before you go.
6. It’s free.

Here’s the thing about the Dallas libraries, each branch has something different to offer so you may want to check several out in your area before you find the one that’s right for you. Also, the libraries are not perfect, but if you love books as much as I do you won’t be disappointed.

Get a map of all the Dallas Public library locations here.

Authors, Books, Children, Family, Free, Little Miss Dictator, Movies, Music, Public | 2 Comments

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Honestly, what is more local than a local band? My guess–a local band at a great local bar with local celebrities.

Saturday night I went to see Dallas’ own Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band, Pepper Theft at the Stoneleigh P. With Brad Smith on lead vocals it is about as close to Anthony Kiedis as you can get unless you play a mean bass in your whitey tighties. Pirating John Frusciante, Michael Gruber plays lead guitar by night, but you might know him better as Grubes on the Ticket 1310 A.M. Tying everything together is Russ Aaron on bass and Jack Beesley on drums. It was a blast hearing some of my all time fave Pepper songs  like Under The Bridge and Give It Away.

I have always loved the Stoneleigh P. They have some great food. My favorite is the Rancho Deluxe Burger. They also have an awesome brunch on the weekends. Probably the best thing about the Stoneleigh P is on most nights you can go there and just have a drink on their great outdoor porch. I would say that live music is really the exception instead of the norm, but it is nice change of pace. Also on any given night you might see Luke or Owen Wilson who are also fans of this local gem. If you do see them, though, don’t be a jerk and let them enjoy their drink. Just revel in the fact you both know about the Stoneleigh P.

Seeing friends, dinking cold Red Stripe, and listening to local music is one of my favorite things to do and it helps block out the governments ELF mind control.

Authors, Bars, Live Events, The Conspiracy Theorist | No Comments

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So, you probably won’t really appreciate this place very much if you’re already on the Netflix train, but if you like to go to the movie store and maybe talk to a human being every once-in-a-while, then Premier Video is going to blow your mind. It’s perfect to go without any idea of what you’re looking and then just browse around and find something that looks cool, or ask the staff, they’re really happy to suggest something.

Like Blockbuster, Premier Video has all the latest hit films (they usually only have a few copies, though), but they also have everything (and more) that Blockbuster would never carry. Foreign films are categorized by country and also by filmaker, which makes it easy to find new films by a good director. I usually check out the documentary section, but they also have an icredible TV dvd collection, and usually get the new ones in right after they are released. And if you really want to dork out, like I have been known to do a lot, they have tons of PBS stuff. Plus, if you can’t find what you are looking for, they’ll send off for it and then call you when it gets in. I haven’t done the whole internet movie renting thing yet, so I’m sure this sounds super archaic to you to waste your time driving to an actual store, but this place is a true mom & pop shop that I don’t want to see die. Plus, I need a reason to get out of the house every once in while.

Junior, Movies | 8 Comments

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If you haven’t been reading about the Trinity River Project scandal over that last year, you absolutely need to get up to speed. Basically, in 1998, Dallas voters approved the funding to transform the Trinity River bottom just west of downtown into an urban park. The project was beautifully rendered with picturesque images of sailboats, fountains, parks, and trails.

Unfortunately, it seems that all that was just used to entice the public to fund the building of a six-lane toll road hidden within the fine print of the original Proposition No. 11. Here’s what it said.

Proposition No. 11:

“The issuance of $246,000,000 general obligation Trinity River Corridor Project bonds, the project to include floodways, levees, waterways, open space, recreational facilities, the Trinity Parkway and related street improvements, and other related, necessary, and incidental improvements to the Trinity River Corridor.”

And now, after 10 years, nothing has been done at all to make the Trinity makeover a reality. Instead, all the effort has been allocated to this giant highway right through the park. Even if a park does eventually get built there, who wants to go on a run underneath a giant slab of concrete while breathing smog. Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, along with other city officials and they’re supporters, claimed that we could not have the park without the road, which has turned out to be a complete lie. They’ve used scare tactics to deter people from fighting against the developers and politicians, telling them that we could lose all of our funding to another city if we don’t shut up and just go along with something we didn’t vote for, or even want.

But until June 28, Dallas citizens who are REGISTERED VOTERS, have the opportunity to sign a petition to relcaim the Trinity River Project. Get more information from the TrinityVote site, and download the petition for yourself and friends.

Here are some other links for some more info:

Dallas Progress
KERA From May 21st, 2007
Dallas Observer
The Trinity River Corridor Project

Junior, Parks, Politics | 9 Comments

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If you don’t think entertaining a 2 year old is a full time job, then you probably think we landed on the moon. Well, no matter what you believe, the truth of the matter is during those long spring and summer breaks you might need some help. Here in the great Big D there are a lot of things to keep your little ones busy, but what if you only need to kill an hour or two? Or maybe you don’t feel like spending your life savings? One word, the Park.

Nestled right in between Midway Road and Marsh Lane on Northaven Road is Northaven Park, and while maybe not the most creative name, it does make remembering how to find it easy. The first thing you will notice after you unpack the kids is the shade. It covers the entire play area, which is great because you don’t have to sit in the sun and your kids won’t get 3rd degree burns from the merry-go-round. Northaven Park has pretty much every amenity your kid could ever want:

• A big swing set with 4 swings (2 toddler sized and 2 regular)
• “Tea Cups” that will spin you out of control (seriously, I had to rescue my wife)
• Several Slides
• Monkey bars
• Giant Turtle and a Play Car to ride on
• 2 big playground sets with all kinds of accessories
• A baseball diamond
• And if you time it right, a friendly “Fun Time Ice Cream Van”

There are also plenty of benches, in the all too important shade, to take a load off or eat some Goldfish. All in all, this is a great little park/play area for kids. It sits pretty far back from the street, so you don’t really have to worry about your kids wandering off to play Frogger. Also, every time I have been there it has been impeccably clean. So, the next time you feel like pulling your hair out or think your child has a better relationship with Spongebob and Patrick than with you, try taking your kids to a great little neighborhood park.

Authors, Children, Family, Parks, The Conspiracy Theorist | 1 Comment

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