August: Osage County, an award-winning play produced by the classic rock band Steppenwolf (Born to Be Wild), performed its opening show last night at the new Winspear Dallas Opera House to an audience of over 600.

The new play  tells the story of the Westons, a large extended clan that comes together at their rural Oklahoma homestead when the alcoholic patriarch disappears. Forced to confront unspoken truths and astonishing secrets, the family must also contend with Violet (played by Academy Award-winner Estelle Parsons).

A friend from CoHabit provided us with tickets through a personal connection. Jennifer Conley of ILiveinDallas.com, Bev Garvin of Dallas Interactive firm, and myself attended.  Being a thespian of many years in one-act plays in high school and having seen 100s of award-winning plays at UIL competitions, I would have to say this was one of the best plays I’ve ever seen. The acting was superb leveling Hollywood’s greats. I can see why many actors decide he/she would rather be on Broadway and work in traveling shows verses the lime light and fluffiness of TV and movies. For more information on the play and to get tickets go to DallasPerformingArts.org.

About August: Osage County
Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY is written by Tracy Letts and directed by Anna D. Shapiro. The New York Times cheers, “AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY is flat-out, without qualification, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years,” and Time Magazine named AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY the “#1 Show of the Year!”

Last night, 40 business start-ups, angel investors, technology evangelists, and web development an marketing careerists met at the Technology Bar in the Dallas Infomart for the opportunity to match those seeking funding with those who have funding. This fully sponsored happy hour is open to the public and has been an integral part in many of VC [venture capital] projects over the past year in Dallas. Beginning last year this happy hour has received local coverage several times and is the brain child of serial entrepreneur Alexander Muse. Check out their calendar of events for the next happy hour.

About Alex Muse
Alexander Muse is a serial entrepreneur with more than a decade of startup experience. Alexander’s day job is with Big in Japan, where his team builds cool applications for mobile devices, including ShopSavvy built for Google’s open source Android platform. In 2007 he sold Fancast to Comcast Interactive and is an active investor and contributor in several companies including SpringStage, Architel, ServiceGuy and WhiteBox. Previously, he was founder and CEO of LayerOne, a venture capital-backed telecommunications infrastructure company he started in the late 1990’s. Alexander has been involved in several organizations including the Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas (EFNT), the Young Entrepreneurs Organization (YEO), the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), IEEE, The Open Management Consortium, DFW Entrepreneur Network, OnStartups, Start-Up Phase Forum and Startup Ventures Links.

Dallas developers, designers, webprenuers & bloggers meet for Who’s Who holiday party in Uptown. Get the story on which Dallas online elite made the event and the games they played.

The founders of CoHabitat, a shared working space environment for start-ups, individuals and small companies, threw a holiday party with appetizers, games, drinks, dancing, and several of the Who’s Who of Dallas online media in attendance.

The location of the party was a historical house, located off of Thomas Street in Uptown, Dallas. During the workweek this house facilitates creative ideas and a social working atmosphere by bringing together businesses and freelancers who would normally be working from home alone. For a ridiculously low monthly rental fee, you can have your own office. After the workday ends this house becomes the perfect location for get-togethers, parties, and a relaxed less formal meeting-of-the-minds.  Pictures from the party inside. Read the rest of this entry

What an amazing city Dallas is!  Compared to other parts of the country, we still have a fairly good economy, a competitive business climate with plenty of local Fortune 500 headquarters, professional teams for every major sport, the booming arts district, we are centrally located with two major airports, enjoy no state income tax, and Dallas is one of the few places left in the US where you don’t have to be a multimillionaire to afford a comfortable lifestyle and own a decent place to live.

For more than 30 years now, there has been much talk about the revitalization of Downtown Dallas, but that dream is JUST NOW becoming a reality.   A lot of commercial development has happened recently, Victory Park, The West Village, improvements to Katy Trail, dozens of high-rise residential buildings as well as renovations to empty buildings converted to residential housing, new parks are sprouting up left and right, the Winspear Opera House and expansion of the arts district, The Joule and ALoft Hotels from abandoned buildings, the Convention Center Hotel is underway, the Trinity River projects, as well as new shops, restaurants & bars opening each month.  As the area continues to grow and evolve into what is yet to come, and with the economy still not as strong as it once was, there have been many ups and downs recently in our local market. This site was created to help people who live in this area as well as others who want to come here to discover all the great things that our neighborhood and local community have to offer.

Now you may ask, do we really need another website about Dallas? Sure, you may know the area pretty well. As a native Dallasite, I know this city very well too. But I became frustrated when I moved Downtown because I didn’t know where many of the basic necessities were – like the closest hardware store, or a dry cleaners I could walk to, and three years later, I still have no clue what’s down in the tunnels.  I’ve been living Downtown for a couple of years now and still find myself hopping in the car to drive to places (outside my immediate neighborhood) because I really don’t know what is (literally) within walking distance of my home. I’ve also heard to city leaders talk about how difficult it has been for them to attract retail business (other than nightclubs) for commercial development Downtown because the people who are living and working here aren’t buying here. Well, I can see why!

This website will help acclimate newbies and seasoned city veterans alike with what’s here, where are the best places to go, things to do and see, play and dine (not just because it is advertised heavily), so more people can discover the hidden gems that are right here in our own neighborhood where we live, work and play.   Yes, it is possible to live Downtown and walk to work. You can live greener and be a better neighbor by getting to know your community, supporting local businesses and taking full advantage of urban city life. After all, when our local market is stronger, we ALL benefit.  The revitalization of Downtown Dallas is happening right now, but if we really want it to succeed, everyone must do more than just talk about it.  Its up to all of us to step up and take an active role.  Carpe Diem – Support Big-D!