Without a doubt, “vulnerable” is my nemesis. I feel very vulnerable when I try to say “vulnerable.” For my wife, it’s “horror,” which always comes out sounding like the world’s oldest occupation title and not a movie genre. I am convinced everyone has words that give them fits. What are some of yours?

Over the next few months, as I became more acclimated with the urban lifestyle, I found the behavior of my neighbors to be amusing, but still didn’t understand it. On the one hand, they tried so hard to fit in the ultra-materialistic Dallas social scene, while on the other they tried to fake a level of cultural maturity. In one of my first blog posts ever, I observed the following:

The typical Uptown resident is somewhere between the age of 25-35 and unlike any other major city in the US, these “kids” are still attached to their parents’ umbilical chord. I love standing in my parking garage and playing “Count the Audi’s” and determining how many were bought with mommy and daddy’s money and how many were actually earned through hard work (I estimate that only 10% of Uptown residents have earned what they own.) This lack of independence is sure to affect one’s emotional maturity and their attitude towards life. Uptown residents desire to make money, present an image of success, and in engage in drunken acts of debauchery Thursday thru Saturday, but these kids lack culture. Try and stop an Uptown resident and question them about Sartre, Moliere, Botticelli, Gentileschi, or even Whitman or Ginsberg and you are bound to be faced with silence.

Looking back, I realize I was a little harsh, but I was just recently out of college and armed with hubris of a liberal arts degree. I completely misjudged residents of Uptown. While they definitely favored an opulent lifestyle, it certainly wasn’t that of J.R. Ewing, or even Jerry Jones. They also seemed to be a little more well-rounded than the cocaine and boob-job crowd of North Dallas. Yes, this group shopped at Whole Foods, listened to NPR and the read the the New Yorker, as well the Wall Street Journal.

I love Whole Foods and listen to NPR, but I still do not completely understand the mind of the young, urban professional; however after reading David Brooks’, Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There, I have a better understanding of who they are trying to be.  In the Introduction, Brooks describes a group of “…highly educated folk who have one foot in the bohemian world of creativity and another foot in the bourgeois realm of ambition and worldly success.  The members of the new information age elite are bourgeois bohemians. Or, to take the first two letters of each word, they are Bobos” and he spends the next 260 pages exploring this meritocracy in-depth.

The first chapter deals with the “the rise of the educated class,” which in Brooks’ opinion opened the doors, so to speak, for a new segment of society to enter into the upper class, beginning in the 1950′s. Brooks raises some valid points in this section, but at times, it feels like reading the genealogy in the Bible–you know it’s going to help you understand the book the further you proceed, but at times it’s extremely dry.

Brooks next dives into “Consumption,” which is considerably more entertaining than the previous chapter. Here he tries to explain to his audience why certain Bobos are willing to spend $5 on a cup of coffee or why they tend to shop at places like Restoration Hardware or Whole Foods, which ties in nicely with the next chapter on business. In short, Bobo’s seek to meld elements of the counterculture of the 60′s and the business acumen of the yuppies of the 80′s. In addition to my Uptown neighbors, I immediately began to think of the founders of the technology companies in the Silicon Valley and Obama voters.

Not that all Bobo’s are Obama supporters. However, in the chapter on “Politics and Beyond,” Brooks writing about politicians that appeal to Bobo’s (in 2000, mind you) writes the following:

These politicians do not engage in the old culture war rhetoric.  They are not podium-pounding “conviction politicians” of the sort tha tthrived during the age of confrontation.  Instead, they weave together different approaches. They traingulate. They know they have to appeal to diverse groups. They seek a Third Way beyond the old categories of left and right.

This is the exact message President Obama has been preaching since his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

Brooks does an excellent job of breaking down sociological studies and keeping a subject that could become boring–very easily–fresh. Even though it is a bit dated, there are many insights in the book that are extremely relevant today–like the piece on politics I just shared. Looking back on another book I recently reviewed, the character Jonathan Franzen creates in “Walter Berglund” in Freedom embodies many of the elements of the Bobo’s Mr. Brooks describes. Indeed, after reading Bobos in Paradise, I have a better understanding of Franzen’s characters. Perhaps, I should have read Bobos first.

Let me be the first to assure you, downtown Dallas is not as desolate as it first may seem. However, even if you’re staying at the Sheraton, Westin or Fairmont, you will want to venture out of downtown. If you did not arrange for a rental, the first thing you will want to do is invest in a Super Bowl transit pass. The transportation agencies in the Metroplex have come together to offer a four-day pass for the low price of $30, which will allow you unlimited access to DART trains and buses, as well as the TRE. Even if you have a rental car, I recommend picking up this pass.

Don’t be fooled by your hotel concierge, the West End is not where Dallas goes to have fun, but there is one place in the West End you must visit before you leave.

Dallas World Aquarium – 1801 N. Griffin St.  Dallas, TX 75202

Whether you’re 1 or 101, everyone loves penguins, sharks and sloths. Oh, it’s not all aquatic animals, they have big cats too. The Aquarium is easy to get around and provides hours of entertainment, regardless of the weather conditions.

Outside of the Aquarium, you will want to head North.

Uptown

View of downton from Uptown.

As soon as you cross over Woodall Rodgers leaving downtown Dallas, you are officially in Uptown, a trendy neighborhood featuring upscale shops, bars, restaurants and residences. Uptown is accessible by foot from downtown, but it’s recommended you use DART, your car or the McKinney Avenue Trolley.

To pick up the McKinney Avenue Trolley, go to St. Paul Street, directly behind the Dallas Museum of Art. This is the end (or beginning) of the trolley route. Riding is free and easy, simply hop on and the trolley will take you across Woodall Rodgers and through the heart of Uptown.  Once you’re in Uptown, you can hop off at any stop to explore Uptown on foot. The gem of Uptown has to be the West Village, located at Lemmon and McKinney Avenues. Here you can catch a movie at the Magnolia–one of the top art house theatres in the city–take in some great shopping or fine dining.

If you buy the transit pass, you can take DART to Uptown. Simply hop on any northbound train and get off at the Cityplace stop. Once you come off the platform, take the large escalator to your right up to the surface and you will come out on the back side of the West Village.

Mockingbird Station

The next stop north on the DART line is Mockingbird Station, another mixed use venue, featuring another great art-house cinema–the Angelika. There are also several different upscale shops, bars and restaurants at the Mockingbird Station stop.

If you’re a Packers fan, or simply want to watch the Pack practice, you may want to consider taking the DART rail to Mockingbird Station and walking across Central Expressway to SMU, where the NFC Champions will be holding their practices.

Knox-Henderson

In between Uptown and Mockingbird Station lies the Knox-Henderson area. Here you will find an Apple Store, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and a slew of local boutiques that will sure be hit among the glitterati descending upon Dallas. If you want a good “people watching” location, this is it. Unfortunately, neither the McKinney Avenue Trolley nor DART rail runs to Knox-Henderson, and it’s a bit too far to travel on foot from Uptown. You will definitely need a car or a cab to get here, but can navigate the neighborhood on foot once you arrive.

Highland Park Village

Directly West of Knox-Henderson you will find Highland Park Village. Established in 1931, Highland Park Village is considered to be America’s first shopping center, but this is not your grandparents shopping center. With boutiques like Chanel, Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, Hermes and Tory Burch, it’s more like Rodeo Drive. While the upscale shopping may not appeal to a lot sports fans, it is a great place for men to drop their wives off while they go explore another part of the city, just don’t let them have your credit card. Mi Cocina serves up some of the best Mexican food in town and Cafe Pacific is known to be one of the favorite restaurants of former President George W. Bush.

Katy Trail

If you get tired of using your hotel’s fitness center, allow me to suggest taking a jog, walk, ride, or skate along the Katy Trail. This 3.5 mile jogging/biking trail runs from the American Airlines Center through Uptown, Knox-Henderson and through the Park Cities. It’s the closest thing to jogging in Central Park Dallas has to offer and it’s well worth the sweat.

You came to Dallas for the “big game,” but also want to take in some local culture? Never fear, next up we’ll look at the Arts District, which will show you a completely different side of Dallas.

Mia’s Tex-Mex – 4322 Lemmon Ave., Dallas, TX 75219

A perfect place to taste some of Dallas’ best Tex-Mex and take in a little local football history. Rumor has it, this was Tom Landry’s favorite restaurant in town and, ironically, it’s the same restaurant where Jerry Jones had a “secret” meeting with Jimmy Johnson before firing Landry and hiring Johnson. On the outside, the little yellow building doesn’t look like much, but once inside, the walls are covered with signed photos of Dallas sports legends. Be sure and try the brisket tacos, you will not be disappointed. Mia’s also gave rise to the next two establishments on my list.

Taco Diner – 4011 Villanova St., Dallas, TX 75225 and 3699 McKinney Ave. Dallas, TX 75204

Mi Cocina – 77 Highland Park Village Dallas, TX 75205 and 3699 McKinney Ave. Dallas, TX 75204

Taco Diner and Mi Cocina are both offsprings of Mia’s. Both have several locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, but for the purpose of this piece we will focus on the two nearest to downtown Dallas. Taco Diner focuses mainly on traditional Mexican tacos (don’t expect ground beef and crispy taco shells here), but they feature some traditional favorites as well, including fajitas. Mi Cocina has a little bit broader menu, but the recipes are almost identical to Taco Diner.

If the weather is nice, you have to go to the West Village (McKinney Ave.) location and dine on the patio. Here, Taco Diner and Mi Cocina are positioned directly across from one another and you can watch people dinning at both spots and watch the “beautiful people” of Dallas take in some shopping.

If you’re looking for a more family-friendly atmosphere,  the Mi Cocina in Highland Park Village and the Taco Diner in Preston Center (Villanova St.) are where you will want to go.You’ll still probably be able to spot a few local or national celebrities.

Chuy’s - 4544 McKinney Ave. Dallas, TX 75205

What makes Chuy’s unique is their strong reliance on green chilies, including their amazing green chilie salsa. Almost every dish features some unique sauce or item prepared with green chilies, and as such, you can expect a little bit extra flavor. As with all of the Tex-Mex restaurants covered, margaritas are the drink of choice, but they also feature a wide selection of Mexican and Texas beers that will surely bring out the flavor. Bring some extra money and take home a souvenir t-shirt with you.

Dallas offers a lot more than merely Tex-Mex food, we also offer some fine Italian restaurants as well.

Gordo’s - 8220 Westchester Dallas, TX 75225

If you’re an out-of-towner, Gordo’s might be hard for you to find, as it nestled in what appears to be a back alley of a local shopping center, but don’t let that keep you from sampling the food. Gordo’s features the best traditional Italian plates in town, at a very reasonable price. I personally recommend the shrimp scampi sauteed in lemon butter Chardonnay sauce, served over capilini. In the mood for something lighter? Try their Greek or Mediterranean Salads. Be sure and ask for a wine list, as they offer several well-priced wines to compliment every meal on the menu.

Campisi’s Egyptian Lounge – 5610 E. Mockingbird Ln. Dallas, TX 75206

There are several Campisi’s locations sprinkled throughout the Metroplex, but there is only one Campisi’s Egyptian Lounge and it’s the one you will want to sample. Don’t let the name fool you, Campisi’s is all about Italian cuisine. The Mockingbird location features a Tuesday night spaghetti special that is extremely popular, especially among the college kids from nearby SMU. The spaghetti is good, but my personal choice at Campisi’s is their pizza.

Snuffers – 8411 Preston Rd.  Dallas, TX 75225

What’s that you say? You’re in town for a football game and want some football food?

If hamburgers and hot dogs are what you want, check out Snuffer’s, which offers traditional American favorites served in a sports bar atmosphere. Snuffers is known for their cheedar fries. In order to get the full Snuffers experience, be sure to get them fully loaded with bacon, chives and jalapenos.

Good Eats – 3888 Oak Lawn Ave. #101  Dallas, TX 75219

If you want to taste some authentic Texas food, stroll into Good Eats. Many critics, including myself, consider their Chicken Fried Steak to be the best in town, but not everything on the menu is deep fried. In fact, I prefer many of their grilled items, including their grilled catfish, mesquite grilled  chicken and Cajun grilled chicken. As with most restaurants in town, you’ll want to begin with some chips & salsa.

You might be thinking to yourself, since this is Texas, shouldn’t their be some BBQ joints profiled? Dallas has some good BBQ restaurants, like Dickey’s and Sonny Bryan’s, but I would stop short of calling them great. If you really want some great BBQ, you will need to venture way outside the city limits into more rural areas. If that’s your thing, allow yourself about an hour and half travel time and go East on I-20. Once you enter the Piney Woods, you will discover some of the best BBQ in the world, including my personal favorite, Bodacious.

Next up, let’s take a look at the downtown and Uptown areas of Dallas, including where to go and how to get around.

As we inch towards Super Bowl XLV, I felt it would be nice to start a series aimed at those who may coming to the Metroplex for the “big game.” A lot of the articles I have read about Dallas have focused on the usual tourist hot spots–the Sixth Floor Museum, Southfork Ranch, the West End, etc. If those areas interest you, by all means go and enjoy, but I want to give you a guide that will provide you with a little deeper look and allow you to experience Dallas as a native.

First, let’s clear up some of the “geographic confusion.” Inevitably, you will hear people refer to the area as the Metroplex, North Texas or just Dallas. The Super Bowl will be played in Arlington; Fort Worth will host ESPN as well as other festivities and Dallas will feature the NFL Experience and tons of parties. If you want to experience the true Super Bowl experience, you will have to venture outside the Dallas city limits. Over the past few years, it’s become common to refer to the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area as “North Texas,” which is a bit inaccurate considering there are certainly areas much further north in the state. One local sports media personality  has gone so far as to label our land as the “Chicken Fried Nation,” but that too fails to adequately describe the D/FW area. Personally, I prefer the term “Metroplex”.

While we’re at it, let’s clear up some other common misconceptions. First, boots are optional, even though, in the Metroplex, they are permissible even in business formal environments.  Second, we have a lot more to offer in the way of nightlife than gentlemen clubs, as I will attempt to describe in more detail in another post in this series. Finally, you’re going to need something other than a horse to get around. The Metroplex encompasses over 9,000 square miles; D/FW airport alone is larger than the island of Manhattan. This is not a city where you can survive without a car.

With that out the way, let’s get down to business.  First, as you pack for your trip, remember to pack for changing weather conditions. It might be in the 70′s one day and the next you’ll wake up to a foot of snow, so you’ll want to prepare. If you haven’t already booked your trip, a few things to keep in mind. Consider flying into Love Field, as opposed to D/FW. More than likely this means flying with Southwest, but you avoid the hassles of heavily-congested D/FW and you’re just a few minutes from the heart of the city. Even though the Metroplex  is spread out and events will be taking place all over, Dallas is going to be your best bet for a home base. Indeed, the bulk of the posts in this series will begin with the assumption you will be lodging in Dallas during your stay.

So what makes Dallas such a great place for the Super Bowl when compared to more exotic locales like Miami and New Orleans? Everywhere else, it’s just football. Here it is a way of life. It’s not just the Cowboys we love. Yes, they have provided us with many great Super Bowl memories, but Texans, and Dallas-ites specifically, love football on all levels, whether it’s Pee Wee football, the Friday night lights of high school football, the great rivalries on the college level or, of course, the NFL.  You would be hard pressed to find another city in  America where football is ingrained more in the DNA of its citizens than Dallas.Combine that with the greatest stadium the world has ever seen and you’re in store for a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.

So, come on down. Order yourself up a skillet of sizzling fajitas, get a frozen margarita (invented here) or a cold Shiner Bock beer, and let’s start with a look at your dining options while in the Metroplex.  Just remember, when you “cross that ol’ Red River hoss, Bob Wills is still the king!”

Super Bowl XLV: A Vistor’s Handbook to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex

Part I:  Dining in Dallas

Part II:  Downtown and Beyond

Why are they calling on the Federal government to respond to the situation at all? Where do the government’s responsibility lie?

Obviously, since a Federal judge was killed and there was an attempt on a Congresswoman’s life, the Federal government has a responsibility to prosecute the alleged shooter to the fullest extent possible, but with a Justice Department led by Eric Holder, that does not seem very likely.

Outside of that, what exactly do we need the Federal government to do? To suggest, as Weigel does, that stricter gun laws may have prevented the massacre is anecdotal at best. Yes, it seems likely that the alleged shooter obtained his weapon legally, but Weigel’s argument assumes that the alleged shooter would not have obtained a weapon by some other means. Let’s assume for a moment he was not allowed to purchase his weapon legally and because of that gave up on his planned killing spree. It would represent one instance where a gun crime was prevented due to the lack of legal access to a gun, as opposed to the mass of gun violence committed with illegally obtained guns each year. It would be the exception to the rule. Are Arizona gun laws too lenient? I don’t know, that’s for the residents of Arizona to decide, not the Federal government.

How about mental health? Obviously, the alleged shooter had some mental issues. On a whole, the care for the mentally ill in this country could be a lot better. I think it’s great if we, as a nation, can use this tragedy as a chance to consider those who suffer from mental illness and explore ways to better treat them. But again, not a Federal issue. It’s a system best left to the states and the private sector.

In the end, it seems that the Generation Y progressives are just like their predecessors and never miss an opportunity to exploit a national tragedy to expand the size of the Federal government. Some things, it seems, will never change!

First up, I tackled Hamilton’s Beyond Belief, a light read that takes on a heavy subject–Hamilton’s well documented battle with addiction and his transformation into a sports superstar. The book was a Christmas present from my cousin. As huge Texas Rangers fans, we have both been fascinated with Hamilton’s story since he joined the Rangers. I have heard Hamilton recount his story on several occasions on local sports talk radio show, the evening news and read about it in the local paper, not too mention through the national media outlets who continue to harp on his tale of recovery. The book serves a mainly an expansion of these interviews. Indeed, nothing new is recounted in the book, but what the expanded version does provide is a glimpse at how far Hamilton had fallen, which makes his meteoric rise that much more amazing. To think that as recently as 2006, Hamilton was living with his grandmother in North Carolina, in the early stages of his fight against addiction, suspended from baseball, is unfathomable, considering that in 2008 he would be a MLB All-Star and put on a unforgettable show in the Home Run Derby and then in 2010 win the ALCS and regular season MVP trophies.

Beyond Belief is a perfect example of a book, where prose doesn’t matter as much as the substance. After all, Hamilton is a baseball player, not a writer. He gets help from Tim Keown, a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine, which helps hold the book together. I read the 256 pages over two nights and it could definitely be devoured in one sitting. It would make for the ideal travel book, where you know you will be on a plane, in an airport or riding in a car, but it’s definitely worth a few hours of your time.

Published in 2008, the book basically ends with Hamilton’s exploits in the Home Run Derby, before he had his infamous relapse and before winning the MVP award, but the gist of the story is there–Hamilton is a man who has overcome a lot and serves as an example to millions of people caught in a struggle. I admit; I am a bit more intrigued with Hamilton because of his uniform. If he played for the Yankees, Red Sox, Brewers, or any other MLB team, I doubt I would find the book as interesting, even though only a brief portion is devoted to his time with the Rangers. The one theme that extends beyond team affiliation is his faith, and those stories alone beg to be told.

Tonight, another American President known for his speeches took to the podium, hoping to bring healing to a community and nation in need. Speaking at the Tuscon memorial service, President Barack Obama sought to echo the sentiments expressed by President Reagan some 37 years ago. Recognizing the caustic fallout from the weekend’s tragic shooting, Obama, in his own way, called for a renewed sense of civility in the political discourse ringing out across the land, a promising tone from a President who has remained virtually silent since the shootings as his supporters concocted hate-filled ad hominem attacks on conservative pundits.

If we are to live up to Reagan’s legacy, we need to begin by acknowledging Obama said the “right things,” time will tell if his followers heed his advice. We need not engage in verbal sparring with our political opponents; we must only hold firm to the principles and truths we know to be true.  If this unleashes an angry tidal wave of abuse from the Left, we must refuse to be drawn offsides by their hard count, and instead focus the attention back on the principles we believe make the United States THE exceptional nation.

Several writers from Slate, including Dave Weigel, New York Times contributor, Heidi Moore, and Wonkette’s Ana Marie Cox all used their Twitter stream to blithely point their fingers at the right for causing the day’s events. Even Pima County Sheriff, Clarence Dupnik, joined in the fray, decrying “rhetoric of hatred, mistrust of governmentt, paranoia about government that inflames public daily, especially unbalanced people.”  Sheriff Dupnik went on to lash out the Arizona state legislature for being too soft on gun control. Thankfully, Fox News’ Megyn Kelly displayed the intestinal fortitude to hold the Sheriff accountable when he appeared on her program.

I understand the human need to try and find some closure when something as horrific as the shooting of Rep. Gabby Gifford occurs. On 9/11, we all asked, “who could do this to us and why?” When you examine the history of the alleged shooter, Jared Loughner, you see a young man with a history of exhibiting signs of extreme mental unbalance. The sad fact is that it is a difficult proposition to understand what motivates mentally unbalanced or mentally unstable people and this is what causes so many people distress about this particular case. We may never be able to wrap this case up, place it a box of understanding and prevent a similar event from happening again. It does seem that were will remain some loose ends remaining, even if and when Mr. Loughner is prosecuted. This scares the hell out a lot of people.

For whatever reason, conservatives deal with uncertainty better than progressives. Even the most extreme right-wingers I follow on Twitter refrained from pointing fingers at the Left for this tragedy. In fact, almost all of the conservatives I followed offered their sincere condolences to all those effected and seemed shocked that progressives would attempt to politicize the situation.

While we may never be able to understand the motives behind Saturday’s shooting, or understand why bad things happen to good people, we can do our part to help the country move forward. First, we quit trying to point the finger of blame at political figures we disagree with for causing this tragedy. The only person responsible is the person who pulled the trigger. It’s now in the hands of the judicial system to handle the prosecution. Next, support your elected officials by showing up at their next public meeting in your community. Even if you disagree with their positions, show up, let them know how you about the issues that matter to you, but remember they “are human and need to be loved, just like everybody else”, so leave them with a handshake and a smile. Don’t let this shooting scare you away from being politically active and aware. Finally, find a way to engage in constructive dialogue with those you disagree with politically.