Roundup: Money Changes Everything

Artist/designer Brad Oldham and that juggernaut known as Reel FX Entertainment/Creative Studios have landed the $1.4 million contract to create sculptures for the DART rail station in Deep Ellum, set to open in September 2009.

And speaking of big money, how’s $50 mil sound? That’s what the kids of H. Ross and Margot Perot plunked down today as a gift for the new Museum of Nature & Science in Victory Park. Guess what it’ll be called?

In less lucrative news, musician Frankie Campagna, son of Deep Ellum artistic fixture Frank Campagna, is celebrating the fifth anniversary of his band Spector 45 at Club Dada Saturday night; Pegasus News profiles Kitchen Dog Theater co-artistic director Chris Carlos, who’s at the helm of the company’s latest production, Sick; and this weekend’s CADD art fair is underway in Exposition Park.

Finally, be sure to check out Chris Vognar and Mike Merschel’s ongoing blow-by-blow coverage of the enormous book expo in L.A. on the DMN books blog, including Merschel’s encounter with Half Price Books chief Sharon Anderson Wright and possible near-miss of Jessica Simpson.

Tom Hendricks

DMN’s book coverage is poor and disappointing. What you won’t see is any mention of the thousands and thousands of zines, a new type of literature.
It’s publishing made possible by the desktop publishing explosion of the last two decades. And it is the bulk of publishing in the US. DMN never mentions it! It is like it was 1970 and a daily newspaper never talked about rock and roll! Dallas is even the home of the worldwide Zine Hall of Fame. Yes there’s a hall of fame and we have yet to have any real coverage of zines at all.
There is also little to no coverage of local writers. And of course no coverage of anything new.
We’re left with novel reviews – the cutting edge of 1851 – and political tomes – padded essays at ridiculous prices, and a few university press titles.
We never have any tough coverage of the publishing industry, nothing about it’s waste, excess cost to the consumer, or how bad mainstream literature is now.
I cannot trust DMN on any aspect of publishing coverage.
Chris Culak

Manny,

Sitting in a Irish Pub on Printer’s Row in Chicago having a beer, “waiting for the rain to stop….” I would love to see in Dallas what I partcipated in Chicago yesterday, an outside street book fair. Can you picture Deep Ellum having a book fair of local, regional and national book chains, publishers, and universities etc, on a nice spring or fall weekend?

As a pro writter and critic, this is right up your alley. Sorry I have to go, just got another beer, and it is hard to type, read and drink at the same time.
Chris Culak

Sorry, forgot, way to go Perot Family!!!!!