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Left Hand, meet Right Hand.
WFAA's MoJo posted this fun video story about a Dallas karaoke cab on Jan. 18. A week and a half later, a karaoke cab story shows up in the DMN's video offerings. I click, expecting it to be MoJo's video. Instead, it's an entirely different story about the same cab. Um, aren't both companies still owned by Belo?
To book the karaoke cab, call Francisco at 214.893.0613.
Ideas, not dramatic chipmunks, are the stars at new video community site BigThink.com.
In order to get the conversation started, the site currently has several hundred short video interviews with well-known thinkers -- professors, CEOs, diplomats, politicians and writers, such as former Dallas resident Virginia Postrel. Topics range from the meta (identity, death, justice, etc...) to the physical (culture, economics, technology). The interviews are there to start the debate. You can comment, respond, or post your own topic/question via video, slideshow, audio or text.
I found one question in particular, "Can newspapers survive the digital revolution?" to be particularly relevant.
Ready, set, think.
Former rodeo clown/unbelievably gifted animal trainer Tommy Lucia is responsible for one of the best parts of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo: Whiplash.
The seven-pound Capuchin monkey (the same kind of monkey Ross had on Friends, if Wikipedia is to be believed) is back at the FWSS&R after about a four-year hiatus. Whiplash rides a sheep-herding Border Collie (two dogs alternate between performances) near the end of each rodeo.
As you'll see in the video, Whiplash has a habit of leaning far to the side when he rides, which made us wonder if the monkey likes to imbibe. He is almost old enough to drink afterall: Whiplash will turn 21 on April 2. But alas, no whiskey for Whippy. Tommy assures us that the pint-sized performer does not and will not be swigging anything but water and the occasional Gatorade.
Watch Whiplash perform and compare movie preferences with a monkey in this here KC video blog, y'all. Or read David Cassteven's story about Whiplash.
You can see Whippy at each rodeo through Sunday, Feb. 3. Click here for more stock show coverage.
Catchphrase of the week: "Thanks, little monkey dude!"
No need to watch TV news coverage of the many UFO sightings in Stephenville, Texas (approximately 70 miles southwest of Fort Worth); just tune into YouTube and Jim Bo will tell y'all 'bout it.
As of Thursday, Jan. 17, "jimbonumber9" had posted 450 videos. And it looks like he reads directly from the newspaper or the Bible in each one. For the real?
Pre-UFO craze, Stephenville was in the limelight thanks to Jewel:
No matter what kind of ride you're looking for, you can find it in North Texas, as well as on YouTube.
Bernie Scheffler's Fort Worth City Council campaign may have run out of, er, gas, but you won't need any fuel other than muscle fiber to power the wheels he sells at Panther City Bicycles.
If pedaling isn't your speed, take a Spider out for a spin. The perks at DFW Elite Car Club look pretty fabulous, but do they have free Rahr beer on tap? Doubtful. And on second thought, they better not.
It may not be nearly as charming as the one in Meet Me in St. Louis, but Southlake's new bus trolley will save you from having to drive and re-park to get from Southlake Town Square to the Shops of Southlake. Take a virtual ride in the "trolley" in this sneak peak video by Star-T reporter Adrienne Nettles.
Starting Friday, Jan. 18, the FREE trolley will run from noon to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and from noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. Read about how the service is being funded.
Is the trolley yet another reason to hate Southlake?
There's no sign of a free trolley in Fort Worth's future, but that's okay. I'd take a streetcar over a bus any day.
Like the Dallas Cowboys, Star-T editor Liz Zavala and I suffered an embarrassing loss this weekend. We failed to claim victory Saturday at the Celebrity Goat Milking Contest at the Fort Worth Stock Show. The "celebs" were local media personalities like CBS11's J.D. Miles and way-cuter-in-person-than-in-his-bio-photo Garry Seith, KSCS morning DJ "Hawkeye," and Telemundo anchor Nancy Leal.
Unlike the 'Boys, our defeat wasn't broadcast on national TV, but you can watch it here.
Note to fellow allergy sufferers: take your preferred antihistamine before going to the Stock Show. The combo of animals, hay and freakishly green wood chips will have you sneezing for days.
After explaining the origins of "boom goes the dynamite" last night to a friend who was not familiar with Brian Collins, I decided we could all use a reminder. It's not local and it's not new, but it is the most spectacular college sportscast of all time. If the "boom" phrase means nothing to you, click here. Some TV sportscasters, as well as writers of all kinds, are still using Collins' line.
It's official. Aaron Chimbel, a.k.a. WFAA's MoJo (Mobile Journalist), is the master of shooting video of inanimate objects. His subjects are often static since his mission is to "explain the previously unexplained things" we see in North Texas and wonder about. For example, recent stories include a feature about why a Fort Worth tree is loaded with bicycles and an explanation of why there are two spellings for the same Dallas street. Should you want to know why there's a six-foot tall pencil in your neighbor's yard, MoJo will find out.
This story about a toilet sitting on a Carrollton sidewalk is an especially good example of his inventive shooting. He's got a lens flair over the commode!
No wonder the man has an Emmy.
When I first heard that Star-T reporter Bill Miller would be producing a video story about blind hunting, I was nearly overcome with homicidal jealousy. What video blog brilliance! Why didn't I think of that?! My story envy vanished almost immediately though thanks to the reminder of David Sedaris' hilarious mention of blind hunting in Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. Read the second and last paragraphs of this chapter (originally published in Esquire) and you'll see what I mean.
After you've finished reading Sedaris, read Miller's story about Dr. Stanley McGowen, a blind hunter. Now watch the video of McGowen hunting.
He's a clever man, that McGowen:
"I'm losing my patience with sighted people who have no vision," McGowen said recently. "We've already been hunting for years."
Think it's safe to say he won't be shooting any companions in the stomach. I feel kinda bad now for having laughed so hard.
David Sedaris, this post is for you.
RELATED UPDATE: A dog fatally shot his owner Saturday on a hunting lease east of Houston. Seriously, why so many freak shootings near Houston?
