Spotted in Dallas

Maggie spies:

Me, with an engagement ring on.

It's true, folks!

I blame Anodyne. And our pain-in-the-ass personalities that had us debating from drink one. And those kids driving by on Central who yelled at us to get a room.

You know us, your typical fairy tale... :-)

But sarcasm aside: We're thrilled, and I'm even happier than usual, if you (read: Marjorie and Mikaela) can believe it.

They have no idea how cheesy I'm about to get.

Spotted in Dallas

Maggie spies:
The best-ever t-shirt, worn by a guy shopping yesterday.









Keep Dallas Pretentious.









PS for Non-Dallasites: If you follow the link you'll see references to the Dallas "$30,000 Millionaire," a lifestyle that plagues this city of appearances at all costs. (The best - and funniest - analysis of the condition is here.) The selling line for this t-shirt, btw?

"Max out your credit on this!"

Spotted in Dallas (proof!)

Maggie asks:
Remember my report of the Protruding Chestbone from a recent Dallas gala? In case non-locals weren't sufficiently impressed turned off by my description of the boy chest (except for when implanted) sweeping Dallas, I offer proof:

Over on FrontBurner, the "Lft at Victory Park" ad makes my eyes pop every time it flashes by:

Spotted in Dallas

Maggie spies: The Protruding Chestbone!

At a fancy-pants event this weekend, where fun food and drinks were spiked with spectacular people-watching, I spotted a look that was new to me. But given its noticeable sprinkling amongt the 250 attendees, I'm apparently the last to know. Here's a gal's guide to recreating it at home for your next black tie event:

• Begin your workout addiction as soon as possible. A drunkorexia mindset is recommended.
• Tanning. Lots of it.
• Breast implants. Everyone's doing it!
• A low-cut gown to set off the look.
  
• The result? Kind of like a skinny 14-year-old boy chest... caved-in and bony, but then bronzed and emblazoned with unnatural D-cups. Hot, right?
  

And yes, I'm being pretty snarky, but really... who knew that look is desirable? And the vast majority of the women and their gowns were so lovely that it made the awful "I'm so ready for my reality show" chestbone look all the worse.

On a positive note: To the 8-months-pregnant brunette in the short flowy dress and four-inch heels... you are my hero.

MSM reports on TX voting chaos... and Crenshaw!

Maggie says:
Lots of media goodies this a.m. about the local voting controversy:

• CNN: Caucus Confusion in Texas. Ed Lavandera examines claims of wrongdoing and confusion in the Texas caucuses... and the photos of Crenshaw!

• DMN: Police get involved in dispute at Dallas precinct caucus. (with quotes from Mario!) "Election volunteers trailed former Dallas City Council member Sandra Crenshaw, who was serving as a precinct chairwoman, through Oak Cliff late Tuesday. They allege that she sent away hundreds of angry convention-goers and told them she was taking sign-in documents favoring Barack Obama home to 'correct them.' Ms. Crenshaw, who supports Hillary Rodham Clinton, paints a different picture – of a mob of Obama supporters from other states who were so unruly that she had to seek refuge at a police substation." But read on for drama like this: "Chairwoman Darlene Ewing said she rolled into the station just before 1 a.m. and found Ms. Crenshaw and a dozen Obama supporters in a standoff."
  

In other news, I would kill for a Bloody Mary right about now.

Renegade Precinct Chair Sandra Crenshaw

As photographed by Laura E. Sanchez. Here we see Sandra Crenshaw leaving the Singing Hills Rec Center with the entire voter packet - including all the delegate sheets - and taking them home with her to "correct" them. No word yet on what that precinct ended up reporting. The actual vote was 100% Obama, remember?

[Photos removed.]

Fraud in Precint 3549

Maggie says:
Last night's news that a precinct captain where Mario was stationed absconded with all the delegate sheets is spreading... FrontBurner, D Magazine's blog, reports the following:

With help from FBvian Maggie, we told you last night about the disaster at 3549, which is Singing Hills Rec Center. Now we have confirmation that it went down just as described. The precinct chair is Sandra Crenshaw, the former City Council member. The videotape does exist, and I expect we’ll soon enough be seeing it in one medium or another.

Laura has pictures of Crenshaw waving the voter packet around, too. Outrageous. Being new here, I have no idea about Crenshaw's backstory, but some googling shows me that this isn't exactly surprising behavior on her part.

Mario and Laura are at Love Field right now; when they land and Laura e-mails me her photos, I'll post them.

Update: Unfair Park talking about Crenshaw and 3549, too.

D-Day in Texas

Maggie shouts:
It's here! Primary day! No doubt I'll be nervously typing in comments as the day progesses. Pertinent links:

• The "Texas Two Step": Mass confusion tonight at the caucus?
• The official Texas results page
• Some Texas early voting data
  
• Other m-pyre Texas talk

I'll pipe in today with what I see here, and keep tabs on our poll-watchers in Oak Cliff, too. It's going to be a big one!

And Ohio? Gulp.

Dallas for Obama

Maggie says:
The Barack Obama rally in downtown Dallas yesterday was amazing. I'm not really talking about the candidate himself, though. Yes, he was phenomenal, actually much better than I expected, to be honest. Obama confirmed my decision to support him for the Democratic primary, where shockingly, my vote will actually mean something on March 4.

What really got me yesterday, though, was the people. I was floored by the crowd, by the diversity, by the high spirits, and by the sheer optimism of the nearly 20,000 people who came out to hear this man speak yesterday. We waited in line for hours - folks taking vacation days like I did, folks coming off their shift and still wearing hospital scrubs, folks wearing their uniforms to go straight to work after the event, school-kids playing hooky or there with an organized group, families towing kids and grandkids, retirees holding hands... The group had it all.

17,000 people made it into Reunion Arena to hear Obama yesterday. 2,000 more were stuck outside. Most of us waited in line for at least three hours prior to sitting down, but you didn't see a grimace anywhere. You saw grins, and heard chants, and took part in conversation, and felt good about the world.

When I think about who I'm supporting and why, to me it's all about the other people who believe in this candidate. I've attended my fair share of political events over the years, and I have never seen a crowd as diverse as yesterday's. I cannot overstate what that means to me personally and politically. If we believe - and I think we do - that resting all our hopes on one man is dangerously naive, and that we should instead rest our hopes on the millions of people maintaining hope within themselves that change is possible, well then... I saw it yesterday. There's no question about it. There is one candidate in my mind who can unite people beyond their entrenched positions and spark people out of their disengagement, and it's Barack Obama.

Here's a sampling of the text messages I sent out while in line yesterday, with a couple of photos. For more, go to my flickr page or shoot me an e-mail.

• "DART train on the way here full of Obama '08 gear!"
• "Doubt I'm going to get in with this crowd... but the energy is out of control here."
  
• "This crowd gives me huge hope for Texas!"
• "I'm seriously tearing up watching all the people go by, so many different types... A group of enormously jacked Af-Am guys just went by in shirts that all said HOPE."
• "Entire family in rodeo gear - rhinestone Obama's on everything! - just went by. 4-y.o. boy in Obama chaps!"
• "Prep schoolers in plaid!"
• "We haven't moved but the line has doubled behind us. Huge grins, amazing diversity. Decision to support Obama ringing true. Tens of 1,000s now waiting."
• "Line moving out here, but too slow to know for sure - energy is phenomenal, and the diversity is amazing! Happy to be out here even if I don't get in! What's the scene like inside?"
  
• "I think I just saw O's shadow waving from a police-escorted SUV. Crowd acted like it was Elvis. Line inching forward - we'll see!"
• "I'm so optimistic right now... even for me!"
• "I'm in!!! Far away, but direct view!"
• "Emmitt Smith rocks."
• "Hilarious - Obama was making fun of TX for having to deal with Bush being sent back here. Boos so dramatic he started cracking up laughing at the podium. He's great."
• "The DART train back is like a Cancun party bus!"

Spotted in Dallas

Maggie spies: The winning Obama-taking-Texas strategy!

Scene: Office building elevator in the underground parking garage. Me, using the remote car lock as I walk to the elevator, which makes my lights flash. Young guy approaching the elevators behind me.

Guy: Hey, can you tell me what your bumper sticker means? I can't figure it out.

Me: Oh, it's Inauguration Day.

Guy: Oh! 1.20.09... now I get it. So... you plan on getting someone out of the White House?

Me: Well I think that's inevitable, don't you?

Guy: Guess so. Man, it's looking like it's not going to be Ron Paul, huh?

Me (grinning): Um, no, not going to be Ron Paul.

Guy: I was counting on him! All my friends were Ron Paul supporters too. We love that guy. Who are you voting for?

Me: At this point I'm an Obama supporter.

Guy: Yeah, me too.

Me: Really?

Guy: Yep. We all figure, Ron Paul or Barack Obama.

Whoa! I'm floored by the complete lack of logic in that shift of support, but still! So should I issue a priority memo to Obama's Texas campaign about how they can take Texas via Ron Paul?! I mean, the memo's already in the "outbox" along with Marjorie's Super Tuesday endorsement we never saw, but still... ;-)

Spotted in Dallas

Maggie spies:
Last night during The Bravery show at The Granada, we found ourselves in the midst of a concert that couldn't quite decide what it wanted to be.

Dazzled by the bouncing Ill-Fitting Corduroy Blazer Brigade in front of us, we were jarred back to the stage by this question from lead singer/Robert Smith impersonator Sam Endicott:

"So did anyone follow Super Tuesday yesterday?"

Ummm.... yes, we did in fact follow Super Tuesday.

"That shit is fucked up!

You guys should take it seriously... because our country's been really messed up."

Well okay! Wasn't expecting the Super Tuesday theme there. But with that, he dedicated "Every Word is a Knife in my Ear" to our esteemed prez.

The W dedication isn't what sold me, though. It was hearing "An Honest Mistake" live... a perfect performance of the best '80s anthem ever to be recorded in 2005. Love that song.

Spotted in Dallas

Maggie spies:


At last night's Stars game, with icy sleet pounding the streets outside, there were two guys passing out flyers inside, wearing:

• Cowboy boots
• Tight, flared jeans
• White cowboy hats
• EXTREMELY tight white t-shirts with "Dallas Cowboy Tan" printed across their chests in orange letters
  

And yet... they were very pale. Huh.

So in case you're dying to know, there is an organization responsible for All Things Tan in Dallas! It's Planet Tan, "the official Tanning Center for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and the Dallas Mavericks Dancers!" Whoop-ee!

So... why'd they send out these two jokers instead of cheerleader types? Especially to a sports venue?

Spotted in Dallas

Maggie spies:

It's Christmas in Dallas, which means big $ at the mall and big $ in your front yard, if you have one. So imagine, then:

• A rented luxury bus, where beer and wine flowed freely and pizza boxes were plentiful, touring Dallas' best real estate under the guise of checking out their Christmas lights. (Did I mention I was on this bus?)

• Neighborhoods packed with buses and limos doing the same thing. Is this a new trend everywhere, or just in Dallas?

• Folks spilling out of our bus, drinks in hand, to pose with a front yard's toy soldiers and life-size nativity characters. Irony noted. (Did I mention I was in that group photo?)

• In one of Dallas' toniest 'hoods, an American flag made solely from Christmas lights with a phrase underneath. I steeled myself for the worst "patriotic," pro-war expression possible, but when the bus pulled around, saw this instead: "One Nation, Many Faiths." Talk about a pleasant surprise.

And for the celeb-hungry among us:

• Angie Harmon, Christmas shopping at Highland Park Village in full-length fur, as spotted by my NC best friend, who was in town to make sure I'm surviving the Texas transition.

Spotted in Dallas

Maggie spies:


Us, unphotogenically captured at the Iron & Wine show at The Palladium last night.


ps: I told you so

Spotted in Dallas

Maggie spies:
At the Mavericks home-opener we were treated to fantastic center-court seats, four rows up from the floor - great stuff for this NBA first-timer. Directly across the court from us, right on the floor, were two couples:

• Jack Nicholson wannabe + Half-naked boot girl. Man was in his 60s, thinning hair that was died pitch-black, dark sunglasses on during the game, expensive-looking conservative clothes. His date was over 30 years his junior, long dark hair that was flipped around a lot, wearing the tiniest dress I ever imagined would appear at a basketball game, with tight leather boots that went above the knee. Legs crossed the entire game, showing inches of thigh visible even across the court, and a whole lot of boot.
  
• Wishing they were the first couple. This couple was sitting behind the first couple, but were with them, and were a bit younger. The man was taking trying to look younger to new heights with an inappropriately awful and youthful haircut and outfit. Weathered face topped by bleached-blond, spiked hair; tight, expensive jeans topped by an embroidered black velvet jacket that was apparently not intended to be ironic. His date was in her early 20s with an equally tiny dress, showing as much cleavage as her friend did leg.
• At half-time... the couples decided to leave. But rather than exit directly behind them, the men stood up and walked their dates, hand-in-hand, all the way around the court, exiting into the lobby behind us. Mouths agape from every seat, and the men loved it. Now that's a half-time show.
  

PS: I'm off to New York and Connecticut for a long weekend... pictures and anecdotes upon my return, if we're lucky.

Spotted in Dallas

Maggie spies:
Yesterday, on the Katy Trail, I passed a woman jogging with a stroller... which had a dog inside it!!!!!!