A couple of hearty (and ridiculously fit) souls will be participating in this year’s MS150 ride to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. This is the largest event of its type in the country, and 2009 is its 25th year.

Last year they held a major fundraiser at the Rahr Brewery, and they’re doing it again this year, from 7-10 PM this Saturday, April 11th.

Tickets are $10 pre-sale and $15 at the door. Don’t be a jerk, buy your ticket at the door and give a little more. The Rahr brews will flow freely, there’ll be grub available for purchase, and soft drinks for teetotalers and young’ns.

More details, like who are these brave bicyclists, and why are they doing this? are available on their website: http://www.mseventtx.org/

Random thoughts for Tuesday, with a little video above from Black Tie Dynasty’s final show at the Grenada in Dallas on Saturday (EDITORS’ NOTE: Dallas? Really?!) Happy Tuesday, everyone.

Spring forward is my least favorite holiday, so I’m a little tired. As a result, I’ll be brief.

Our man James M. Johnston has been a little off the radar for a while producing the feature film, Carried Away, that is being written and directed by Tom Huckabee. However, somewhere along the way, he found time to shoot the Bosque Brown video above with Curtis Heath from the Theater Fire. It’s understated and sublime, and, if you take time to watch it, it will be the best few minutes of your Monday.

But wait, there’s more. James just found out that Receive Bacon, the short film he shot at the Chat Room on Magnolia last year, will screen at the SXSW Film Festival later this month. Good on you, JMJ. Now, how do I get in to see the Friday night screening?

Today is Texas Independence Day, which commemorates the establishment of the free and independent Republic of Texas on March 2, 1836, when the 54 delegates — each representing one of the settlements in Texas — approved the Texas Declaration of Independence. And you may say, “So what?” Is this just a day for margaritas and Tex-Mex on the patio? With all due respect to that suggestion, I would like to submit to you that it is something more.

The following words are from Steven Hardin, Professor of History at Victoria College and author of The Texian Iliad. Although I would quibble with a few points, I think they pretty well sum up what is means to be a Texan today. “March 2 is a day to celebrate Texas distinctiveness. Now I’m not saying that Texans are better that other folks, but I am saying that we’re different. And if a people consider themselves different, they are.”

I’m proud to be a Texan and happen to think that the best slice of it is right here where the West and Clear forks of the Trinity come together. Hoist a glass for the old Republic today.
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How do you spend $787 billion dollars? Of course, some — including our own Gov. Rick Perry — might say not at all. However, if you want to peek at local projects that might receive federal funds and weigh in on which are deserving (or not), visit the Stimulus Watch website. There’s about $1.7 billion in shovel-ready projects there to consider. Tip of the hat to Recyclican for this link.
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Sometimes, things just don’t come together. Too much cold medicine and bad software update have me a little behind schedule. Cool stuff to come. Please stay tuned.

I hate Valentine’s Day. I hate it so much that I’m like the Scrooge of Valentine’s Day. Bah. If it wasn’t bad enough that Hallmark wants to put their hands in your pocket and florists want to mark everything up 200 percent, the ultimate indignity comes down to this — because my least favorite holiday falls on Saturday this year, try getting into a restaurant tomorrow night. Forget it. If you want to avoid the canoodling crowds, better make dinner plans for Friday.

With that in mind, what should you do on Friday? Allow me to suggest the grand opening of the Royal Falcon Pub. First, falcons kick ass and royal falcons are just that much better. Second, any business that decides to launch on a Friday the 13th is alright in my book. Go ahead and give Mr. Mojo the middle finger. Third, opening an English pub right next to a German restaurant at least has a sense of humor — gas masks and trench mortars strictly optional. But Boddington’s on tap seals the deal for me. Somebody drop in and report back immediately.
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I’ve been suffering from a case of the crud this week — flu, cold, whatever. To get caught up on things, here’s a highly unprecedented midweek roundup:

• Does the Cultural District a la Fort Worth South? Kevin asks the question, and I say yes. Along those lines, one thing I’ve wondered is whether the entire Arlington Heights area need some sort of preservation initiative to prevent the character of the neighborhood from being lost to the flurry of McMansion building. Honestly, I think the neighborhood is past the tipping point, and I’m not sure that anyone in those neighborhoods wants those kind of protections.
• Sherwood Anderson Primer: Who is Sherwood Anderson and why should you care? Cynthia tells us.
• Theater Reviews: Check out what Mark Lowry at Theater Jones has to say about Eye of the Beholder at Jubilee Theatre and The Seafarer at Stage West.
• Saying Grace: Francis at Food and Fort Worth posts about a friend who dined at Grace recently and came away underwhelmed.
• You Slay Me: Durango has the goods on Fort Worth’s connection to America’s first serial killer.
• The Tim Cole Case: Allison V. Smith photographed the family of Tim Cole, the Fort Worth man who died in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, for USA Today.

Our friends over at the Amon Carter Museum reminded us recently that Robert Frank’s epochal book of photography, The Americans celebrates its 50th Birthday this year, and, the mark this achievement, the Carter has 25 of Frank’s photographs on display until June.

What was so groundbreaking about Frank’s work? As Liz Jobey in The Guardian succinctly put it:

Was The Americans really so important? The answer has to be: yes. Frank’s book was condemned almost unanimously when it was first published, but for decades now it has been recognised as a work that identified a cultural shift in America; that showed the country back to itself, and more clearly than most of its inhabitants cared to acknowledge. Frank was Swiss, an outsider, who had spent less than a decade in America by 1955 (and most of that in New York). His pictures showed America not as a confident, post-war, united nation, but an atomised, unequal, prejudiced country, where bigotry and violence existed casually and often together; where many people felt fearful and poor and alone.
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Denton band Oso Closo has gotten a lot good buzz following their appearance in Tommy at the Dallas Theater Center, and you can judge for yourself their merits if you check out their gig with Telegraph Canyon at McDavid Studio. I like these Oso Closo because I’ve known vocalist and keyboard player Adrian Hulet (pictured above on the left) for a couple of years and I think he’s a pretty neat guy.

I met him when he was working as a barrista at a Starbucks and just thought he was a guy who knew a lot about music who was interesting to talk to. He’s since given up slingin’ lattes and now I mostly run into him when I’m walking down Magnolia. He’s been doing some construction work on Brad Hensarling’s new bar The Usual, which is a work in progress that is beginning to rival a medieval cathedral in duration. Sure, Adrian’s band is doing well, but hanging drywall helps pay the bills.

I’ve heard Adrian’s singing style compared to everyone from John Mayer to Bob Seger to Van Morrison, but I’ve always thought he just sounded like Adrian — crazy talented and unfailingly upbeat and polite. I’m happy to see him and his band doing so well. Invest $12 in a ticket tonight and see what you think.
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