Incoming Arctic Blast To Cool 250,179,444 People In 41 States With Dallas Possibly Covered In Ice

Yesterday was the first I heard that an Arctic Blast is bearing down on America from an icy storm generated in the far north zone of the Bering Sea.

The Dallas Observer screencap on the left was captured on Facebook this morning.

The Dallas Observer blog article about this incoming weather event is titled Arctic Blast Threatens Dallas, Weather Forecasters Rejoice.

One of the rejoicing weather forecasters referred to is Pete Delkus, an entity thought by many to be the reigning Weather Drama King  of North Texas.

The Pete Delkus Drama King thing sort of comes through in the Pete Delkus Twitter Tweet which the Dallas Observer included in its Facebook post....

It's on the way!! RT @RyanMaue: Next week's Arctic blast will threaten 41 States and 250,179,444 people---Pete Delkus.

How did Mr. Delkus get such precision for the number of people threatened by this incoming Arctic Blast?

Looking at the AccuWeather 15-day forecast AccuWeather has the Arctic Blast lowering the temperature in the North Texas zone to a couple degrees above freezing, starting next Tuesday.

The Dallas Observer interpretation of the weather forecast has it being an incoming Apocalypse, covering Dallas in a sheet of thick ice, wreaking havoc on the power grid, causing Krogers to run out of bread and other essential vittles, along with traffic frozen to a standstill.

I think the Dallas Observer was having itself a mighty fine time doing its version of being a Weather Drama Queen....

The Dallas Observer Suggests You Get Drunk & Roll Down The Grassy Knoll Yelling Al Qaeda Did It

In a mysterious coincidence, during the final week of September, both Fort Worth Weekly and the Dallas Observer issue their highly anticipated Best of the Year issues.

Best of the Year, as in this that or the other thing is the Best of 2014.

I'd not seen a Dallas Observer Best of the Year edition til this year's version.

I've long thought the Fort Worth Weekly Best of the Year version has some goofy elements, but then figure it's a big issue which takes a lot of effort to produce, hence some goofy elements are to be expected.

The most goofy element I have found in the Dallas Observer Best of 2014 edition is in the section the online version calls Arts & Entertainment, which the print version calls Nightlife & Music.

Just having different names for this section is a bit goofy, but the goofy element to which I refer I screencapped above and copy for your reading pleasure below...

Best Spot to Be Drunk and Yell at Tourists Dallas 2014 - Grassy Knoll

Now that Dallas has marked the 50th anniversary of JFK's murder, the city is moving on from the tragedy. It's time to acknowledge that the Grassy Knoll is a great spot to hide in and yell at people. The most elevated point at Dallas' knoll has an excellent view of tourists below, all of whom appear very interested to hear any Dallas factoids, personal revelations or conspiracy theories shouted at them from above. For people intent on yelling at tourists all night, showing up drunk tends to yield more creative results, such as the ever popular "Al Qaeda did it!" Other fun knoll-related activities include just silently sitting and not yelling at people and rolling down the hill.

I am sure whoever decides such things at the Dallas Observer thought the above was the height of hilarity. I don't know what people in parts of America, other than Dallas and Texas, might think about the idea that the Dallas Observer thinks getting drunk and hollering at tourists from the Grassy Knoll is a fun activity, and perfectly appropriate, what with it being over a half century since JFK was murdered at this location.

For some reason yelling "Al Qaeda did it" seems a bit juvenile to me. And would anyone actually laugh at that?

As for rolling down the hill known as the Grassy Knoll. I  recollect way back late in the last century seeing Dealey Plaza for the first time. When I figured out where the Grassy Knoll was at Dealey Plaza I recollect being surprised because it really is not much of a geographic feature. Labeling it as a Grassy Knoll seemed like an exaggeration, as does referring to this little knob as a hill.

Go to my Dealey Plaza webpage and you will see a photo of the little knob known as the Grassy Knoll, which the Dallas Observer thinks is a fun hill to roll down, drunkenly, whilst yelling that Al Qaeda did it....

The Prophet J.D. Granger Failed To Predict An Extremely Low Turnout For PIP's Clearfork Music Festival

Last Thursday I blogged a blogging titled Today I Learned JD Granger Is A Panther Island Prophet With A Shack Fort Worth's Latest Music Venue after being appalled at a piece of propaganda puffery in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram publication called DFW.com which touted J.D. Granger as a prophet foreseeing turning the banks of the Trinity River into an extremely successful site for music festivals.

A couple hubris laden J.D. Granger quotes from that DFW.com article...

“When looking at the demographics we were excited to see that people from all over North Texas are coming to events held at Panther Island Pavilion,” Granger says. “Week in and week out, our summer series had the highest attendance we’ve seen in the history of the venue. It’s a great feeling to know this record-breaking summer was a result of people traveling from all over the Metroplex.”

“The success of Panther Island Pavilion has exceeded our expectatins,” Granger says. “We have a packed schedule, including seven events over the next month, but most importantly, it’s bringing a new and diverse audience to Panther Island.”

I remember reading the two above blurbs and thinking, right, people are coming from all over North Texas to record-breaking events on the Trinity River.

The DFW.com puff piece mentioned this past weekend's Clearfork Music Festival at Panther Island Pavilion as being one of the upcoming events which would draw in the throngs from all over the Dallas Metroplex and the rest of North Texas.

Well, an observer from Dallas observed Saturday's Clearfork Music Festival and then wrote an article in the online Dallas Observer titled Clearfork Music Festival was Plagued By Poor Attendance Saturday in Fort Worth.

The first and last two paragraphs from the Dallas Observer article...

Inside of the half-empty Clearfork Music Festival in Fort Worth this past Saturday, it was impossible to not wonder what exactly constitutes a true festival. Any view of the festival grounds at Panther Island Pavilion from one of the slightly elevated spots of the land provided a view of a vibrant festival skeleton complete with tents for local artisans and activists, food trucks, beer trailers and three performance stages. Indeed, Saturday at Clearfork looked very much like a proper festival, even if it failed to feel like one for the most part.

In what should've been the crowning hour for the Clearfork Music Festival was rather underwhelming. Taking only a few steps backwards to break free of the loosely gathered crowd to walk up the incline of a small hill for an overall view of the setting, it was clear that a true crowd hadn't formed even for the headlining set.

So, sure, Clearfork was a festival -- and a well-run, fan-friendly one at that. But regardless of the high quality of performances that saved the day and a staff that was eager to please, there's nothing fun in feeling sorry for the artist beginning a set that few attendees seem to care enough about to arrive before the first two songs are complete. When it comes to music festivals here in North Texas, just because one is built, doesn't mean anyone will come.

Now, the above is what a fair and balanced bit of reporting reads like.

I wonder what the propaganda spin on the Clearfork Music Festival might be in the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's propaganda mouthpiece?

I suspect something like "The Clearfork crowds broke all previous records, proving once again what a successful music venue the Panther Island Pavilion has become, attracting music lovers from all over the world, while making other music festivals in other towns, far and wide, green with envy....."

It Appears The Dallas Observer Observes More Than Fort Worth Weekly Observes About Greg Abbott Being One Of The Worst People

Last week I ventured into the store which is next to the newly opened ALDI on Eastchase Parkway in East Fort Worth.

At the entry to the next to ALDI store I found that a stack of Dallas Observers had made their way into the Fort Worth part of Tarrant County. I have found the Dallas Observer in the Arlington part of Tarrant County, previously, but never in Fort Worth.

I have read Dallas Observer a time or two or three over the years, but this recent exposure had me noticing something I'd not noticed before. As in the Dallas Observer has way more content to read than does Fort Worth Weekly.

Eventually I figured out why it is the Dallas Observer has way more content than FW Weekly.

The cover article of this week's Dallas Observer is titled "The 20 Worst People of 2013".

I thought this to be an amusing article, but was a  bit surprised at the national scope of where the worst people came from, rather than being Texas-centric. Only one or two of the worst people were Texan. With one of those worst ones being Greg Abbott, he being the embarrassing Texan currently employed, via election, as the Texas Attorney General.

Ted Abbott is running for governor of Texas. I suspect Fort Worth's Wendy Davis will soundly beat Ted Abbott to become the new Texas governor and in the process create a national sensation with tons of verbiage devoted to the return of Texas to being a blue state.

Yes, I am an optimistic dreamer with serious delusional bouts.

So, what is the reason the Dallas Observer has so much more content than FW Weekly?

I realized the reason why, via the online version of the Dallas Observer, when I saw that the cover article of this week's Dallas Observer was not a Dallas Observer production about the worst people of 2013.  It was an article written by Pete Kotz of the Riverfront Times, that being the St. Louis version of a Dallas Observer/FW Weekly type publication.

I suspect the Riverfront Times and many other publications across the country are owned by the same entity which owns the Dallas Observer, hence the content sharing, with more content in the publication than that which appears in FW Weekly.

Don't get me wrong. I really like FW Weekly and I think that publication does a real good job of being Fort Worth's only real newspaper, filling in for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram journalistic vacuum.

And now what is it that the Riverfront Times had to say about Greg Abbott, who came in at #11 on the list of worst people? I will copy and paste...

11. Greg Abbott
Dallas couple Jeffrey and Henry Buck were married in Massachusetts, only to see their love wither two years later. A Dallas family court granted their divorce.

This caused Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to blow a gasket. He's a strident opponent of gay marriage, fearing it will spur an outbreak of elegant kitchen remodeling that makes no allowances for gun racks. And because he's also running for governor, he wanted to appease the state's many followers of Mean Jesus, the pissed-off version of the leading brand.

So Abbott appealed the decision. Since Texas law banned gay marriage, he argued, the Bucks couldn't legally divorce either. A state appellate court agreed, reportedly signing its decision in drool.

Abbott got his wish: The Bucks were forced to stay gay married.

Wait? What?

The case is now before the Texas Supreme Court justices, who are expected to hire someone who can read it to them.