Robert Brooks
Joined Dec. 11, 2006
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3 days, 15 hours agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Kinky Friedman / Gary P. Nunn / Ray Wylie Hubbard (CANCELED)
According to local musician and sometime KHYI DJ Dallas Wayne, the show "has been canceled and will be scheduled for a later date." He posted the note on the KHYI-Fans email group (on Yahoo Groups - disclaimer, I'm the list owner). Like they say, "Call before ya haul".
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5 days, 14 hours agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
U.S. 175 westbound in Kaufman closed until further notice
Argh! Kaufman residents just got over the construction just east of King's Creek. That project fixed a bridge and straightened out the sharp turn -- but only by a tiny bit. Further construction was foreshadowed, though, by a "Load Zoned Bridge" sign directing heavy trucks to detour via the frontage road -- an indication that the King's Creek bridge wasn't entirely up to snuff.
The biggest frustration for locals will be that TxDOT keeps poking around on these little projects instead of doing what they should have done years ago -- rip out the whole US 175/SH 243 left-exit, deadman's-curve interchange and replace it with a modern, sensible intersection. And I won't even start on the endless dawdling on the new route for SH 34 to Terrell!
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1 week, 6 days agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Redesign preview: What we're trying to do
I can't complain about change... my personal websites look like they're ready to party like it's 1999. I'm still adjusting to the "img" tag.
My only request is for a non-iPhone mobile version. I guess iPhone users have already demonstrated a tendency to spend money on things they don't need, so they're an attractive demographic for sure. But misers like me have Internet-enabled phones, too. Cheap ones. :)
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3 weeks, 3 days agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
BODIES…The Exhibition to open in West End in Dallas on November 21
It's not a "repackaged" BodyWorlds. It's a shameless knockoff of the original. The real BodyWorlds is by Gunther Von Hagens , the inventor of the "plastination" process used to preserve the bodies. He has a unique artistic vision -- the difference between the original and the various copycats is like the difference between Michelangelo's "David" and something from the bargain bin at New Fine Arts.
You can tell by the billboards that this isn't going to be nearly as awe-inspiring as the real thing. I just hope that the arrival of the wannabe plastinators doesn't keep his original exhibition from returning to Dallas. I'm hopeful, though, because Von Hagens himself has argued for the "democratization" of anatomy. He doesn't get upset with the would-be competitors except when they copy his poses (again, like Larry Flint posing as Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man).
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3 weeks, 5 days agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Blockbuster to fight $1 Redbox DVD rentals with $4 SD Card downloads. Is that "New Math"?
D'oh, please update to say $2 downloads, see footnote at the end of the Observer's story. Still, last time I looked, 2 is MORE than 1.
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1 month agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Former #Rangers pitcher Vicente Padilla, back in Nicaragua, accidentally shot in the leg by his bodyguard. Injury not severe.
Padilla, as you may recall, was dumped after throwing at opposing hitters when he was upset with them for daring to hit his over-the-plate fastball out of the park. I figure the bodyguard has invested in a bullet-proof vest, and may be considering finding a new employer.
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1 month agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
RT @NewbergReport: 105.3 The Fan: Clint Hurdle is (NOT YET) the Rangers' new hitting coach(See comments)Well, the Morning News is now saying it's being said by "sources": http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedconte...
Perhaps the headline should read "Is/Is Not/Is Maybe". But that wouldn't fit in a Tweet...
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1 month agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
RT @NewbergReport: 105.3 The Fan: Clint Hurdle is (NOT YET) the Rangers' new hitting coach(See comments)Oops - Newberg sent an email immediately thereafter saying "No offer has been made to anyone, and none is expected today. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused by relying on The Fan." The drawbacks of the Twitter-based instant news cycle!
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2 months, 1 week agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Williams Chicken in far east Dallas is only Williams Chicken to offer pizza
This is the best chicken joint news since I found out that the new Chicken Express in Carrollton (near work) serves Dublin Dr Pepper, just like the one by Town East Mall in Mesquite (near home).
Although pizza is rapidly becoming the Least Common Denominator, with the new high-tech ovens. Even the 7-11 pizza (yes, order a fresh-baked pizza at 7-11) is pretty good.
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2 months, 1 week agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Man arrested in alleged bombing attempt at Fountain Place in downtown Dallas
Two conclusions I draw, based on very few facts available at the moment:
This stupid kid did something that he thought would kill a lot of people. Jail is a good place for him to be for the next good long while.
The only people recruiting for Al Qaida in this country work for the FBI. Eventually, I'm afraid they'll recruit someone who isn't dumb as a post, and then we're screwed.
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2 months, 2 weeks agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
New KERA station puts focus on North Texas music scene
Wow, I thought this was a story about a radio station, not about the role of government in a democratic republic?
Well, if I may be so bold as to go off-topic... I'm looking forward to the impact that the station will have on the local music scene. I've been in DFW for 25 years, and it seemed like creativity in local music kind of died away when KERA stopped devoting time to the hometown artists. Sara Hickman's "Radiation Man" says for us to send our clothes to a Dallas address, but she lives in Austin now. Sadly, I don't think we can get her back... but the next Sara is out there somewhere.
Kelly Clarkson is nice enough, but we need to grow and nurture our own artists, not have them plucked out by American Idol starmakers. Supporting KXT will support the next generation of artists -- some of whom will be heard once and never again, and some of whom will become household names. Like the Dixie Chicks -- who all moved to the Hill Country.
And with that, we can return to our regularly scheduled political fight.
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2 months, 4 weeks agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Some drivers calling for North Texas Tollway boycott
I wouldn't be as irritated about the tolls going up, if it weren't for the millions of dollars NTTA wasted on the message boards above every single toll plaza on the Daddy Bush Turnpike. I never could figure out why they felt the need to replace a $20 piece of plywood with a mini-Jumbotron, just to show a big orange "T". It was a head-scratcher even before they decided they didn't need the toll booths at all!
I think one of those babies would look pretty schweet on the wall of my garage. Wonder when they'll scrap 'em out? Or will they wait for the copper thieves to "take care" of them?
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3 months, 2 weeks agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Street entertainment needed in Downtown Dallas
Don't forget Cityplace. Without performers, it feels more like a tomb than a public space. Has nobody in DART ever been to Chicago?
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3 months, 3 weeks agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
UPDATED: NTTA board to consider speed limit adjustments for various Dallas-area tollways on August 19
I hope they don't forget to find a way to enforce the minimum speed limit of zero.
(For the non-mathgeeks: I mean they still need to find a way to prevent wrong-way drunks from killing late-night drivers. Going opposite direction = negative speed. Get it? Aw, never mind.)
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3 months, 4 weeks agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Sunnyvale has new high school, its first
And all those kids were previously attending North Mesquite High School. My daughter just graduated this year, part of the last-ever combined Mesquite-Sunnyvale class. My son will follow in another six years. Will Mesquite ISD be able to maintain the arts and other electives at NMHS, now that the high-income Sunnyvale kids (and their highly-involved parents) have their own school?
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4 months, 4 weeks agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Mesquite opossum killing leads to firing of teen camp counselors
Chalk it up to ignorance and poor judgement, more than to cruelty. If it had been a snake, nobody would be complaining -- even though most snakes are non-poisonous and extremely beneficial to your garden.
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5 months agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
UFO spotted near Lake Arlington on the Fourth of July
Did anyone at Channel 5 bother to check heavens-above.com? 9pm in the summer is prime satellite-spotting time.
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7 months, 2 weeks agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Fort Worth ISD unveils student-run radio station
Is it really a "radio station", if there's no "radio" involved? Of course, I'm spoiled, since I can stand in my front yard and see the tower of KEOM 88.5, Mesquite Schools Radio (http://www.keom.fm/ even though it's nowhere near the Federated States of Micronesia).
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11 months, 3 weeks agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Grand Prairie police seek assistance in EZ mart robberies
So we're looking for a single suspect that is 30-37 and 40-50 years old? :)
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1 year, 1 month agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Pegasus News election survey: Carl Nulsen, candidate for Texas State Senate - District 9
"*Convention center hotel
Nulsen: do not have enough info to have an opinion"
I would think that anyone who seriously hopes to be elected to the Texas State Senate would be willing to do a little Googling before saying "I dunno!" Sure, the Convention Center Hotel project is a Dallas project, not a Grand Prairie - Irving - Coppell - Lewisville project, but anything that Dallas does will directly affect its neighbors.
And in any case, the answer should have been obvious to a Libertarian: Government subsidy of a private project = bad. (Oddly enough, that's how I feel as a Green, too.)
He either didn't take the survey seriously, or seriously doesn't know what's going on in his district's backyard... in which case, he's seriously not going to get many votes.
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1 year, 2 months agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Election analysis: Texas House District 101
"A good ground game by Miklos will be key. Voter contact and followup will be key for Miklos to make sure he turns out his voters and connects with independent voters and disaffected Republican voters."
Miklos is way ahead of you. He's been blockwalking like crazy -- him personally, not a bunch of out of towners looking for a paycheck. He hit 6,000 doors by October 1, and plans to meet 10,000 voters by Election Day. I don't think he's going to forget those 10,000 families when he goes to Austin.
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1 year, 3 months agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Texas ZestFest 2008 in Fort Worth Sept. 5-7 promises to be spicy
The article notes:
>On Saturday, the festival runs from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. > >On Saturday, it starts at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. > >Saturday, it begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m.
You might want to make a slight correction...
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1 year, 4 months agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Thursday's minimum wage increase directly affects more than 860,000 Texans
Tip your waitress extra this weekend, since they didn't get invited to the party. That includes your carhop at Sonic -- she's getting that sub-minimum wage, too.
To Living Wage opponents: In this country, we have decided that people won't starve to death. Either they can work, or they can live off the government -- and you can hardly blame someone for choosing whichever option gets them the most money. But there's a big difference -- if you have to work for the money, you spend it more carefully than if it's a gift. Don't whine that "those people" should have more character; we're talking about human nature in the real world. So your choice is pretty simple: teach people to work with a Living Wage, or teach them to sit in front of the TV on welfare.
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1 year, 5 months agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Free bus rides on tap for Fort Worth, Richland Hills residents
Why isn't DART offering a free fare day? Probably because the last time DART did that was during the ill-fated Dallas Cowboys Superbowl parade, several years ago. Rightly or wrongly, many blamed the free transportation for the violent fiasco that followed. If I recall correctly, DART said they'd never do that again.
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1 year, 9 months agoRobert Brooks's comment on:
Sunnyvale to get new hospital
The highway from Dallas to Terrell, while built to Interstate standards, is NOT Interstate 80.
Interstate 80 extends from San Francisco to New Jersey.It's US 80.
In other news, Interstate 75 goes from Florida to Michigan, not from Dallas to Sherman. That would be US 75.
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