Last weekend, former Mötley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil made a completely unscheduled pit stop at the Rattlesnake Bar in the Ritz-Carlton when he was supposed to be in nearby Ennis.
The rocker was to perform at a free concert during the American Drag Racing League's World Finals at the Texas Motorplex, but the scary storms nearly blew the whole venue all the way to Munchkinland.
Vince's show had to be canceled, and he and event promoter Gabe Reed ended up back in Dallas in the bar at Fearing's.
It's not the end for Vince and drag racing. The word is that next year, he will be performing at all 10 of the American Drag Racing League's national events.
About-towners
Homegrown movie star Owen Wilson was in Dallas and watching the Texas Rangers play on back-to-back nights at Sfuzzi on McKinney Avenue. Michael Raymond-James from HBO's True Blood and former Ranger, now Dodger, pitcher Vicente Padilla were also at Sfuzzi to watch baseball.
Let the chips fall
Last spring at his celebrity invitational golf tournament, Emmitt Smith auctioned off an ultimate night of Texas hold 'em poker with some of his celebrity pals for $30,000.
That poker game went off as planned last week with the help of restaurateurs Dee Lincoln and Richard Chamberlain, who hosted the Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities (PESC) Full Tilt Poker Night with Emmitt, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Daryl Johnston.
The location was Chamberlain's Steak and Chop House, where the game was played amid a sea of great Renteria wine, Herradura tequila and some nice cigars.
Pre-Super Bowl grilling
Abacus chef Kent Rathbun fired up his super-duper outdoor smoker last weekend under the statue of Byron Nelson at the Four Seasons Resort. He and Four Seasons chef Christof Syre grilled beef and pork, and made eggs for the ultimate breakfast tacos.
The occasion was a pre-Super Bowl tailgate party for folks to mingle with ESPN's Monday Night Football talent: Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden. Former Dallas Cowboy Chad Hennings was also on hand.
Park Cities Ford provided the tailgates for the occasion: two giant Super Duty Ford trucks that flanked Lord Byron.
Alan's Last Word
"An actor's popularity is fleeting. His success has the life expectancy of a small boy who is about to look into a gas tank with a lighted match." Fred Allen
Last weekend, former Mötley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil made a completely unscheduled pit stop at the Rattlesnake Bar in the Ritz-Carlton when he was supposed to be in nearby Ennis.
The rocker was to perform at a free concert during the American Drag Racing League's World Finals at the Texas Motorplex, but the scary storms nearly blew the whole venue all the way to Munchkinland.
Vince's show had to be canceled, and he and event promoter Gabe Reed ended up back in Dallas in the bar at Fearing's.
It's not the end for Vince and drag racing. The word is that next year, he will be performing at all 10 of the American Drag Racing League's national events.
About-towners
Homegrown movie star Owen Wilson was in Dallas and watching the Texas Rangers play on back-to-back nights at Sfuzzi on McKinney Avenue. Michael Raymond-James from HBO's True Blood and former Ranger, now Dodger, pitcher Vicente Padilla were also at Sfuzzi to watch baseball.
Let the chips fall
Last spring at his celebrity invitational golf tournament, Emmitt Smith auctioned off an ultimate night of Texas hold 'em poker with some of his celebrity pals for $30,000.
That poker game went off as planned last week with the help of restaurateurs Dee Lincoln and Richard Chamberlain, who hosted the Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities (PESC) Full Tilt Poker Night with Emmitt, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Daryl Johnston.
The location was Chamberlain's Steak and Chop House, where the game was played amid a sea of great Renteria wine, Herradura tequila and some nice cigars.
Pre-Super Bowl grilling
Abacus chef Kent Rathbun fired up his super-duper outdoor smoker last weekend under the statue of Byron Nelson at the Four Seasons Resort. He and Four Seasons chef Christof Syre grilled beef and pork, and made eggs for the ultimate breakfast tacos.
The occasion was a pre-Super Bowl tailgate party for folks to mingle with ESPN's Monday Night Football talent: Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden. Former Dallas Cowboy Chad Hennings was also on hand.
Park Cities Ford provided the tailgates for the occasion: two giant Super Duty Ford trucks that flanked Lord Byron.
Alan's Last Word
"An actor's popularity is fleeting. His success has the life expectancy of a small boy who is about to look into a gas tank with a lighted match." Fred Allen
Whatever Happened to Neil Armstrong?
Astronaut's First Steps on the Moon Were Legendary, but the Man Remains Largely a Mystery
And yet the man who realized one of our greatest dreams has remained largely a mystery, reports CBS' "The Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith.
Uncomfortable in the spotlight, it took Armstrong, now 78, more than 30 years to grant his first television interview with CBS' Ed Bradley.
"I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks but for the ledger of our daily work," he said during a 2005 interview on "60 Minutes."
There were rumors Armstrong had converted to Islam; that he had gone into hiding - all false.
The truth is Armstrong considers himself more "engineer" than "risk-taker."
"Of all of the astronauts, Neil really is on the far end of the systematic thinking engineering type," said James R. Hansen, Armstrong's authorized biographer.
But from the beginning, Armstrong had the "right stuff." He earned his wings before getting a driver's license and flew 4,000-mph rocket planes.
His wife Janet said that while she had fears about the ambitious moon mission, she had no misgivings about her husband.
"This is what Neil wanted to do and I knew that when I married him," she said on "The Early Show" Monday.
His children also watched their father's mission with faith it would all work out.
"I knew it was going to work. I mean, I just didn't have any doubt that everything was going to go well," said Rick Armstrong, who was 12 years old at the time.
Mark Armstrong, then 6, said he was "blissfully unaware of the dangers involved."
But having conquered the risks of space flight, Armstrong returned to more earthly pursuits. A professor at the University of Cincinnati in the 1970s and a board member of various corporations, Armstrong's most public role after his legendary moon mission was on the commission investigating the Challenger disaster in 1986.
"I admire the character of integrity that he has lived his life with," said Hansen. "That is a legacy for the first man on the moon that we can all be very proud of."
Even though Armstrong flies with a glider now, the first man on the moon is still at home with his feet on the ground.
Whatever Happened to Neil Armstrong?
Astronaut's First Steps on the Moon Were Legendary, but the Man Remains Largely a Mystery
And yet the man who realized one of our greatest dreams has remained largely a mystery, reports CBS' "The Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith.
Uncomfortable in the spotlight, it took Armstrong, now 78, more than 30 years to grant his first television interview with CBS' Ed Bradley.
"I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks but for the ledger of our daily work," he said during a 2005 interview on "60 Minutes."
There were rumors Armstrong had converted to Islam; that he had gone into hiding - all false.
The truth is Armstrong considers himself more "engineer" than "risk-taker."
"Of all of the astronauts, Neil really is on the far end of the systematic thinking engineering type," said James R. Hansen, Armstrong's authorized biographer.
But from the beginning, Armstrong had the "right stuff." He earned his wings before getting a driver's license and flew 4,000-mph rocket planes.
His wife Janet said that while she had fears about the ambitious moon mission, she had no misgivings about her husband.
"This is what Neil wanted to do and I knew that when I married him," she said on "The Early Show" Monday.
His children also watched their father's mission with faith it would all work out.
"I knew it was going to work. I mean, I just didn't have any doubt that everything was going to go well," said Rick Armstrong, who was 12 years old at the time.
Mark Armstrong, then 6, said he was "blissfully unaware of the dangers involved."
But having conquered the risks of space flight, Armstrong returned to more earthly pursuits. A professor at the University of Cincinnati in the 1970s and a board member of various corporations, Armstrong's most public role after his legendary moon mission was on the commission investigating the Challenger disaster in 1986.
"I admire the character of integrity that he has lived his life with," said Hansen. "That is a legacy for the first man on the moon that we can all be very proud of."
Even though Armstrong flies with a glider now, the first man on the moon is still at home with his feet on the ground.