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Chris Elliott

Scanning Variety this a.m., I stumbled across this note from the Film Production Chart: Come Monday, writer-director David Jackson Willis is set to start shooting Renaissance Girl in and around Dallas. Which is interesting for several reasons, chief among 'em the plot more or less suggests at least one location: "In the summer before college, an uptight intellectual 18-year-old girl is forced by her aunt to work at a Renaissance Faire. The chaotic and playful nature of the Faire challenges the girl's rigid ideas about life and love." Same thing happened to me first time I went to Scarborough Renaissance Festival, come to think of it.

Nice cast too: Danielle Panabaker, recently seen swimming with Shark; the poker-playing Jennifer Tilly, so very Oscar-nominated for Bullets Over Broadway in 1994; and Chris Elliott, who, to me, will always be The Guy Under the Seats. Or Cabin Boy. --Robert Wilonsky

State Sen. Rodney Ellis of Houston, who called for yesterday's meeting to discuss Texas' wrongful convictions

At some point, the Texas State Senate's Web site should contain the audio from yesterday's "Roundtable on the Prevention of Wrongful Convictions," held down in Austin. Till then, here's the Houston Chronicle's account of the get-together, during which nine wrongfully convicted men freed by DNA evidence -- among them Dallas County's James Curtis Giles andBilly Smith and former prisoners from El Paso and Travis Counties -- asked law enforcement officials, attorneys and judges from across Texas to form a so-called "innocence commission," as State Sen. Rodney Ellis has called it.

Among those in Austin, of course, was Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins, who said, according to the Chronicle, that "efforts by his office to review innocence claims have restored confidence in the criminal justice system locally." Said Watkins, in the Associated Press' account: "It can be argued that Texas ... may have one of the worst criminal justice systems in this country. We have to start where we have the most problems." Scott Henson of Grits for Breakfast, who also attended, was encouraged by what he saw: "There is room for consensus on some of these questions, if participants coming at the topic from different angles can each set aside their parochialism and actually look for solutions instead of ways to block them." --Robert Wilonsky

Farmers Branch touts itself as a homey community of parkland and wide, landscaped medians -- you know, a "charming" paradise. Only, as you no doubt well know, the suburb has seen some pretty charmless chapters over the past year or so. And as this Saturday's municipal election approaches -- including the caged death match between anti-illegal immigrant Tim O'Hare versus the kinder, gentler, balder Gene Bledsoe! -- the atmosphere is becoming downright nasty.

Today, there was this story about the mayoral candidates' mudslinging over campaign contributions. And, earlier this week, KERA-FM (90.1) ran this piece in which FB resident Maria Reyes says she's "afraid of the climate in her town." Notes the story: "A long-time American citizen born in Mexico, she says O'Hare supporters have called her illegal because of her skin color and insisted she be deported." Charming. --Megan Feldman

Hal Samples is on the list of people to whom TVT Records owes quite a bit of money.

If I may direct your attention to our other blogs ...

Over on The Sportatorium, Richie brings news that Your Texas Rangers have indeed begun talking to other folks who might be interested in managing the team if and when Ron Washington's given his adios papers. Sure, the team's winning a few -- against the Mariners, at the moment, the only team worse than Hicks' sticks -- which may be the only reason you haven't seen, oh, Don Baylor, Mike Hargrove, Jim Tracy or Jackie Moore warming Wash's spot on the dugout bench. (Also, on a sportsy note: Eric Green, bravo.)

And over on DC9, Pete has combed through the list of folks to whom the bankrupt TVT Records owes major dough and discovered several locals among them, including the Polyphonic Spree and our good Friend, photographer Hal Samples. Hal's owed his scratch for the Spree video "Running Away," which, as we noted a year ago, was assembled from more than 70,000 photos Hal took of the band. He's owed a few thou, which he could surely use as he gets his new gallery off the ground. As he tells Pete, "I'm still recovering from not having been compensated." Also, notes Pete, the Toadies got a new gig: playing intermissions at Dallas Stars playoff games. --Robert Wilonsky

DallasCowboys.com

Tony Romo, missing out on the U.S. Open cut last year at Hackberry Creek Country Club in Irving

Tony Romo can't seem to make the cut for the U.S. Open; he's tried for years, and just yesterday shot a 75 at a local qualifier to miss out making the sectionals. Which doesn't bother cancer survivor John Atkinson one danged bit.

Because next month, just a few days before the Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego, Atkinson will still get to play with Romo during a celeb event on the very same course. Atkinson won a Golf Digest essay-writing contest, beating out some 56,374 other entries for the chance to walk the course with Romo, Today's Matt Lauer and Justin Timberlake. Among the 100 words in his essay: "Nothing's better than taking your buddies while on chemotherapy!" --Robert Wilonsky

From the looks of her credits, Dallas author Jenny Block has written for danged near every publication in town -- though, surely, nothing she's done thus far will attract the attention sure to accompany the June publication of her book Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage. It began as this 2006 piece, subtitled "It began with a threesome. And became her key to happily ever after." And from there, well, came the book, which thus far has gotten decent advance notice with a few caveats; notes Publishers Weekly, "Readers are likely to be challenged and provoked by this book's insights into the surprising fluidities in fidelity and sexuality, but might find its repetitive, slightly glib delivery better suited for a magazine article than a book-length manifesto." And, look, it's not every day we get to use the word "polyamorous." --Robert Wilonsky

Yes, that is indeed Josh Brolin as the former co-owner of the Texas Rangers. And, yes, that is indeed Elizabeth Banks as a former Longfellow Elementary School teacher. Entertainment Weekly is graciously providing a sneak peek at this week's cover story, concerning Oliver Stone's W, about a certain former and future Dallas resident, which is currently in production in Louisiana. Best part from my quick scan of the piece: "There's a scene of 26-year-old Bush peeling his car to a stop on his parents' front lawn and drunkenly hurling insults at his father ('Thank you, Mr. Perfect. Mr. War Hero. Mr. F---ing-God-Almighty!'), while another scene set a few years later finds Bush nearly crashing a small plane while flying under the influence." To which Stone later replies, "I'm tired of defending the accuracy of my movies." Can. Not. Wait. --Robert Wilonsky

Peter Calvin

Did you ever hear about the night Bobby Patterson played with Golden Smog at South by Southwest? Goes a little like this.

Ladies and gents, Mr. Bobby Patterson as performed by Golden Smog on April 18, 1996, at a place called Cat's Cradle in Idunnowhere, Someplace. It's courtesy Captain's Dead, which, far as I'm concerned for the next four minutes and 34 seconds, is the greatest MP3 blog in the history of compressed music. And the rest of the show, with its Neil Young and David Bowie and Charlie Rich and Blondie and Rolling Stone and Nick Lowe covers mixed amongst essential originals, ain't bad neither. --Robert Wilonsky

Now, see, I would pay $35,000 to have dinner with Steve Martin dressed as King Tut.

A mention only because, really, this is so Dallas. In the morning mail, we discovered the invitation to experience "a once-in-a-lifetime entertainment and dining experience fit for a king and queen," courtesy the Dallas Museum of Art. Seems the DMA's offering folks the chance to privately meet and greet King Tutankhamum when he arrives in Dallas come October; you can even dine with the boy king in the museum's "secure art storage vault," which sounds a little dusty though nothing Stephan Pyles' cooking can't overcome. Also included: a private reception with up to 20 of your closest pals, a Tut lecture over dessert and coffee and a private tour of Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. And valet parking, d'uh.

And what'll this experience run ya? Only $35,000. Though, notes the invite, "THE EXPERIENCE IS PRICELESS!" If I'd known they'd line up just to see him, I'd've taken all my money and bought me a museum. --Robert Wilonsky

Addison-based Razzoo's, which is kind of a Cajun-food theme park, is on the hook for $1 million to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission -- because the chain's got a thing against the mens. The EEOC filed a lawsuit against the eatery claiming it discriminated against male applicants and employees, because Razzoo's wouldn't hire or promote men to tend bar. The EEOC, which is splitting about $750,000 of the settlement with gents who cried foul, was not amused: "Some may think that sex sells drinks," says the lead EEOC attorney working the case, "but gender ratios are illegal." So too is Razzoo's Seafood Combo Platter, which is guilty of being too fried. --Robert Wilonsky

So, it's official: Your Dallas Cowboys will indeed be the stars of HBO's Hard Knocks this season, which debuts on August 6. Below, from the NFL Network, a lengthy interview with Jerry Jones and NFL Films president Steve Sabol, who says the Cowboys "are always on the red carpet." And Jerry compares the Cowboys "the big showroom" in Las Vegas. Which sounds about right. Also, plenty of Pacman talk. Jerry likes "men and women who've stumbled," turns out. --Robert Wilonsky

The big news of the a.m.: The city's $50-million budget shortfall, as noted yesterday at City Hall by Dallas Chief Financial Officer Dave Cook. This morning, newest KERA-FM (90.1) correspondent B.J. Austin lays out the deficiencies: everything from a precipitous drop in sales tax revenue and property tax growth to a decrease in expected red-light camera revenue.

And over on Back Talk Lake Highlands, Jeff Siegel takes it even further with a little number-crunching with city and state docs. Way he figures it, "Maybe there's a bump coming in the last seven months of the year that will make up the deficit. But if not, someone downtown needs to start worrying about this." One thought: We could always finance and run a convention center hotel. I hear from the mayor those things make lots of money, like an ATM with room service. --Robert Wilonsky

Nancy Brinker

Much big news in recent days for Dallas-based Susan G. Komen for the Cure: Founder Nancy Brinker last week found herself perched at No. 45 on Time's list of "The World's Most Influential People." ("What a difference she has made!" exclaims Cokie Roberts, who penned the appreciation.) And today, Komen CEO Hala Moddelmog will be in D.C., testifying before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions during a hearing titled "Cancer: Challenges and Opportunities in the 21st Century"; joining her are the likes of Elizabeth Edwards and Lance Armstrong.

And, just days after Cynthia Nixon was named a Komen Ambassador, she's engaged in a little fund-raising for the breast-cancer survivors and activists network: Nixon's auctioning off two tickets to the Sex and the City premiere in London, which takes place on Monday. And you get to meet Miranda, for those so inclined, among other perks -- including airfare and limos, so there ya go. And bidding's low, low, low at the moment: a mere $1,525 after a dozen bids. I know at least four women and one guy (not me, swear) who'd pay twice that. So hop to. --Robert Wilonsky

City of Carrollton

Carrollton Mayor Becky Miller

So, let's recap: This morning, Carrollton Mayor Becky Miller wakes up to find that on the front page of The Dallas Morning News, she's been outed as a liar -- as in, no, she did not sing backup for Linda Ronstadt or Jackson Brown; she was never engaged to Don Henley; and she never had a brother who served in Vietnam. Then, just a few hours later, she's national news courtesy an Associated Press follow-up. (Wonkette has already branded her "The New Lying Hillary Clinton!" And, a "saucy minx." And, notes one of the myriad hi-liarious comments, "Her poop is used as currency in Argentina.")

Apparently, her challenger in Saturday's election didn't stand much of a chance before today. But that was before today, when she had to issue a missive to the city council that included the phrase, "I will be consulting an attorney." --Robert Wilonsky

Look at it this way -- at least Flight 48 to Paris wasn't late. It's the little things that matter.

Editor's note: Edmund Newton, managing editor of our sister paper in Fort Lauderdale, sends along the following tale:

Here’s the question: Is it safe to fly during times when commercial airlines are under grinding economic stress?

American Airlines Flight 48 had just taken off from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, at the start of a nine-hour overnight flight to Paris on April 20, when flight attendants heard an alarming noise from the bottom of the plane. According to one source, the sound was of “vibrating, shaking, even some ripping.”

Alerted to the noise by flight attendants, the trio of pilots in the cockpit -- two of them Miami-based -- considered their options. One of the pilots got on a phone line to the dispatch center at American headquarters in Fort Worth and then to the maintenance center in Tulsa. According to an internal memo from an unidentified flight safety official, “the pilots and TUL Tech thought [the sounds] may have been [from] a cargo shift of some sort.”

The memo added that “there were no indications in the cockpit, no warning lights or airframe vibrations felt.”

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