Okay. I know that The Nasher Sculpture Center does its free Thursday night thing and has been for a while now, but I’m pretty out of the loop as to what goes on downtown, so I hadn’t made it over there until last night.

Anyone who says that Dallas is lacking in culture doesn’t know Dallas. I got a lot of that when I first moved here…and while it’s true that we’re not as qwerky as cities like Austin or even Ft. Worth, Dallas suprises me every now and then with just how cool it can be.

The crowd in the Arts District was HUGE, but most of them were on blankets on the lawn of the DMA. The John Adams Band was playing, which would have been really exciting if I had any idea who they are. But the whole atmosphere was really cool and communal despite $4 domestics ($4.50 shiners?!) at the drink tent.

Nasher was amazing. My friend Marcie and I were feeling all artsy and inspired by the time we left. Where else in Dallas can you see Pablo Picasso and Roy Lichtenstein in one place?

Isaac Hayes on the DMA lawn tonight. Maybe I’ll bring $4 for a beer.

I just read in the new catalog for Penzeys Spices that they will be opening a new store in the Preston Valley Shopping Center before Labor Day. I’ve purchased their spices for myself and as gifts for years now and have visited their store in Houston (Heights), so we’ll be in for a real treat when they move here. There’s at least one more reason for me to go north of LBJ once in a while.

UPDATE: Maybe not even that - I’ve been told the shopping center is at the southwest corner of Preston and LBJ - even better!

According to Verizon, the Dallas area is the number one place for finding fun things to do - in the country. You might need a big grain of salt to believe that if the number of postings on this website is any indication!

Ingrid Newkirk will be doing a book signing today at 7pm. Here’s the 411:

Border’s Books
10720 Preston Road, Suite 1018 (Preston and Royal)
Dallas
(214) 363-1977

This isn’t big news, or recent news, but based upon how long this movie has been playing here in Dallas, it’s probably due to exit theaters soon. Don’t let it leave without seeing it.

“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” is playing at the Magnolia in the West Village, and at the Angelika in Plano.

Great movie, well done, interestingly told, and doesn’t really go out of its way to bury Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling and Andy Fastow. But then again, it doesn’t have to.

It’s a well made documentary that also doesn’t harp on the widespread destruction this company wreaked on thousands of peoples’ lives. Once again, it doesn’t have to. We all watched the news in 2002.

I’ve never really understood the rivalry between Dallas and Houston. Yes the traffic is bad in Houston and it’s hot, but I don’t see many Dallasites wearing sweaters in July.

Regardless, go see the movie.

I think we all miss the Coffee Haus in Fort Worth. Remember back when there was that cool coffee joint on Sundance Square where they had all the puzzles and Scrabble games? Oh, and the good coffee. The really, really good coffee. Then they opened a Coffee Haus in the DFW terminal for American Airlines and my life was complete. Coffee was rich and life was good.

First the airport Coffee Haus location closed. Then that Sundance location was swiped by a Starbucks - complete with the burnt tasting coffee that Starbucks serves. Oh, the sadness. Oh, the humanity. These were dark days.

No one will confirm it, but I think the Coffee Haus folks have opened a new location in Fort Worth - about a block off Sundance Square at 9th and Houston. It’s called the Human Bean. The coffee is good and it’s a free wireless hotspot.

Coffee, sweet caffeinated nectar.

Wow. SBC says it will start offering DSL broadband for $14.95 per month to ward off any future threat from cable companies. That sounds cheaper than some dial-up plans! Good news for everybody, I guess. Everybody who can get SBC, that is. Go get you some, if you don’t already have, mi amigos. Full disclosure: I’m not affiliated in any way with SBC, but I do have them for local phone and DSL.