The Master Cleanser: Day 4

Status: Green Weight: 162.0 (-9.1) Mood: Edgy Enraged Ecstatic Not a big fan of singing. Truth be told, I’m not head-over-heels in love with showers, either. But I’ll be damned if I didn’t find myself singing in the shower this morning. Granted it was an apropos Nine Inch Nails diddy – don’t…

George W. Bush, Texas’ Prodigal Son, Returns

OK, just tell me this. How do we greet him? Say I’m in the plumbing aisle at Home Depot bent forward at the waist searching for a beeswax toilet seal. I look up sideways. Damn it! It’s George W. Bush. “Oh, Hi, Mr. Presi…uh…former Mr….the ex…you… you… can you just…

The Master Cleanser: Day 3

Status: Green Weight: 165.8 (-5.3) Mood: Sad Stagnant Skeptical Surprised It’s weird about cravings. I’m quickly learning on this diet that it’s not your body that craves food, it’s your mind. With the nutrients from the lemons and syrup, my body – somehow – is fine. Energetic even. I’m sleeping…

The Master Cleanser: Day 2

Status: Yellow Weight: 167.8 ( -3.3) Mood: Hungry Horny Horrified Few times in a man’s life he finds himself running around the house, repeatedly gagging and pleading to anyone on his block, “Forget it, I want a dirty colon! I want a dirty colon!!” Try drinking a quart of warm…

The Master Cleanser: Day 1

Status: Green Weight: 171.1 Mood: Optimistic Committed Apprehensive So, this is it? 2009 rings in and we’re left to deal with no Cowboys, medicore Mavericks and a hockey team void of Brenden Morrow, Sean Avery and post-season potential? Bor-ring. I know, let’s spice things up a bit. With a pinch…

Whitt’s End

*In 2009, I’m going to change. Totally change. I’m going to develop an appreciation for sour cream, reality shows and Brett Favre. I will start tipping 20% to every waitperson because, after all, that’s what I’m supposed to do. I will be understanding of white pickup trucks that tailgate me and…

Where Do Mexican Nicknames Come From?

Editor’s note: The Mexican is taking the holiday week off, so this week’s column is a rerun of one of his favorites from 2007. Dear Mexican: How do Mexicans get such ridiculous nicknames from seemingly normal names? For instance, José becomes Chepe, Eduardo is Lalo, Gabriel becomes Gabi, and Guillermo…

Whitt’s End

*I seem to be fresh out of cash, but I’ll betcha some leftover Christmas fruitcake that the Cowboys don’t win in Philly Sunday. A team that leads the league in penalties, can’t get in sync on something as simple as the center-quarterback snap, and allows the longest back-to-back running plays…

Port Whine: Delays on Inland Port Part of Familiar Pattern

Go for a helicopter ride with me, will you? Let’s look down on Dallas from some perspective. And, uh, sit a few inches farther away from me and keep that air sickness bag handy if you don’t mind. Last week I reported on a powerful senior member of Congress, Eddie…

Christmas Comes More Than Once a Year for Mexicans

Dear Mexican: I was driving home on old King Road in San Jose, California, where a bunch of Mexicans live, and I noticed that almost every house has their Christmas lights still hanging from the rafters and reindeer and Santa Claus decorations weathered by the hot sun on the roofs…

A Dash of SALT, or: Inside the Infamous Inland Port Proposal

Santa came to my desk a day early. I have been papering City Hall with public-records requests for several weeks, and today, just in time, I finally got the one document I was hoping for: the written proposal to developer Richard Allen from three businessmen who wanted to be his…

Why Mayor Tom Wouldn’t Admit to Running for Senate Even If He Were

Wick Allison committed an act of journalism today by calling Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and asking him if he’s going to run for Kay Bailey Hutchison’s seat. Leppert gave him an answer that was not “No,” which, in the language of politics, means “Yes.” Only, he didn’t say yes.The reason…

Fine. Be For the Hotel, Dallas News. Just Be Honest About Why.

The Dallas Morning News says in an editorial today that voters should support a half-billion-dollar taxpayer-owned hotel downtown near the convention center and reject a ballot proposal next May that would stop the city from building it. The News says people shouldn’t worry about whether we’re headed into a economic…

Whitt’s End

 Whether you’re at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week – even the end of the year –  welcome to Whitt’s End: *Hold your horses if you thought tonight’s concert by Russ Martin and his band at Joe Avezzano’s joint up in Frisco was going to A)…

You Betcha: Week 17

Back in August I started with a mythical bankroll of $10,000, courtesy of Bodog Online Gaming. First of all, because their site is easy to navigate. Second, because they’re based in Costa Rica and have had minimal success tracking me down in the past. I was to analyze games of local interest…

Required Reading to Ready Yourself for the Reconquista

Dear Readers: A couple of columnas ago, I published a short list of my favorite books regarding Mexicans and Mexican-Americans and urged ustedes to submit better choices so that gabachos can have a Christmas shopping list for their favorite Mexicans, or to understand nosotros better. Muchos responded, and below is…