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On this Memorial Day weekend, let’s check in with two former D Mag staffers who are quoted in the press today. First up is Eric Celeste in the Dallas Morning News:

Watkins spokesman Eric Celeste scoffed at the GOP criticism. “If they want to use an issue Craig has already addressed, that’s fine,” Celeste said. “It’s clear they don’t want to talk about what matters to voters: Craig Watkins’ record of making Dallas safer as district attorney — 99.4 percent conviction rate, crime in Dallas down, and freeing innocent people.”

Next up, Adam McGill in Bloomberg:

The filings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Fort Worth, Texas, “are intended to ensure that the bankruptcy proceedings meet the objective of maximizing value for all creditors,” Adam McGill, a spokesman for the lender group, said in an e-mailed statement.

Eric gets big points for scoffing, no doubt. But Adam’s quote is in Bloomberg, and he’s addressing a national matter that involves hundreds of millions of dollars. Eric’s quote is just about local politics. Advantage McGill.

On this Memorial Day weekend, let us pause, for a moment, and remember the CueCat.  For, you see, Time magazine has, nestling it next to Agent Orange and New Coke as one of the 50 worst inventions. No time period listed in the feature, so I’m going to say ever. It’s one of the 50 worst inventions ever.

So pour a 40 of your favorite adult beverage on the curb for CueCat. Long may he live in lists of really bad ideas.

The irrepressible Terry Bradshaw agrees with Roger Staubach that the Cowboys have a legitimate shot at playing in next year’s Super Bowl in Arlington. “Absolutely” they do, the former Steelers QB-turned-Fox NFL Sunday broadcaster said in Dallas the other day. “Tony Romo will be better. Dez Bryant is gonna help. … Absolutely! Which will be nice, because we’re [Fox] gonna be here doing the game.” Bradshaw (photo here by Jeanne Prejean) was in town for a JCPenney fundraiser for after-school programs at the Dallas Sheraton.

Hooray for a three-day weekend. Not flying first class with your three best friends to Abu Dhabi to find your sparkle? I’m not, either. Thankfully there is plenty to do right here in town (and you can even ride a camel to boot).

Listen: Elvis Costello is playing with the DSO tonight and tomorrow night at the Meyerson. Just down the road at the House of Blues, The Indigo Girls are performing (sing it with me: the hardest to learn was the least complicated).

See: On Saturday, the Dallas Zoo is rolling out their new exhibition, Giants of the Savanna. They tell us it’s their biggest one in 20 years. If you like elephants, lions, cheetahs, and wart hogs, you will want to head that direction. They are having a party to celebrate, and in addition to the new 11 acre exhibit, they will have African drummers, stilt walkers, and performances by the Dallas Black Dance Theatre. Oh–here’s where the camel riding comes in. The Zoo has just started offering camel rides for $5, with a souvenir photo for $5. Eat your heart out Carrie.

Run: On Monday, you can run a 5K or 20K (yipes) during the Memorial Day Run at White Rock Lake.

Drink: Central 214 is hosting a Memorial Day party on their patio, there’s a BBQ at the Grapevine, and live music from RTB2 at the Monk. I’ll be at home ironing my seersucker, but you guys go have fun and let me know all about it.

More here.

1. Craig Watkins said, “No,” first, but now he’s saying, “Yes.”  The last time I did that, I ended up in a field in McKinney in the middle of the night, being chased by a donkey. So you know, fair warning, Mr. Watkins. These No/Yes things don’t always work out.

2. Nobody knows how the alligators have gotten into Lake Worth, but I have my theories. If you plan on heading there for Memorial Day, I recommend spending today on YouTube watching old Steve Irwin videos.

3. This just in: Some parents with sports-playing children are not always well-behaved.

4. Former Dallas County constable Jaime Cortes was cleared of charges he violated the Hatch Act – that’s the good news. The bad news? It was on a technicality.

5. An Indiana prison is now hosting “Inmates Got Talent,” the brainchild of North Texas producer Johnny Collins. If I was an inmate, I would say my talent required a Hazmat suit, a rock hammer and a poster of Twilight. And then I’d pull an Andy Dufresne special, but better because I wouldn’t get poop on me.   Also? I’d listen to this. Because it’s a cool song from the 80s.

The results of the little poll we took the other day are clear-cut: FrontBurnervians agree with Wick by a 2-to-1 margin that local and state leaders should alter the tax system that allows Dallas Country Club and Brook Hollow Golf Club to receive an exemption even as they have no black members.

In the June 2010 issue of D Magazine, Wick argues that segregation in the city’s best neighborhoods will hurt Dallas’ future. We’ve gotten a number of letters and responses to this column. Our sister newspapers, Park Cities People and Preston Hollow People, which also ran the article last week, have had four readers cancel subscriptions because of it.

Here’s a sampling of some of the responses we’ve received.

This ain’t the first time Willie Nelson has lopped off his long locks, shocking his fans (one commenter calls it “the first sign of the Apocalypse”). Years ago, when I interviewed the Texas icon for Country Music magazine, he showed up for a concert braidless, with a new short ‘do, but promised it had zip to do with his attitude, his approach to music, or anything else. He originally grew his hair out and stuck an earring in his ear, he added, “only because I wanted to be on TV.”

So today avid Dwaine Caraway supporter and city plan commission member Michael Davis points us to a WFAA report about how the Dallas Police Department actually issued 45 tickets to people attending poker games at a house in south Dallas, and the tickets were eventually dismissed – all of them – by a judge.

At first, it appeared that Caraway interfered somewhat in a police investigation by attempting to intervene on behalf of the home’s owner. And he has admitted that perhaps he went about investigating the incidents in the wrong way.

So what’s the takeaway on this? That perhaps 45 tickets for the same thing in four nights is a smidge weird, but that there are right ways to go about talking about it – even if you’re a city council member.

It’s almost Memorial Day weekend. You should rest up. Or, you should head to Knox-Henderson. Tonight there are two fun things happening in the neighborhood: A 3-D Block Party in the parking lot behind Chili’s featuring the Mitsubishi Electric 3-D Home Theater TV truck. Inside, you can check out what it’s like to watch television in 3-D (hopefully they won’t be showing A Baby Story – click that link at your own peril). Wild About Harry’s will be there with hot dogs for $3 ($1 of which goes to Friends of the Katy Trail). Look for the D Magazine sign and the pretty girls in front of it (yes, we are sponsoring this event). They are raffling off a pair of Monster Beats headphones so you can look cool next time you’re on the plane.

After that, hop over to Travis Walk for the Summer Party at Bodega Bar. There’s no cover to get in, and there will be Flamenco music, bellinis, mimosas, wine, and artwork. Here’s a tip: park in the lot underneath Travis Walk. It says there’s a $2 “self park” charge, but if you’re going to Bodega Bar you don’t have to pay.

1. There are few things I hate more than snakes–UT football, olives, people who don’t know how to drive, intern applicants who put “internet” as a skill. But I really hate snakes. And apparently I should not go outside.

2. When asked why you didn’t disclose that there were traces of benzene in the air around Fort Worth, which could lead to cancer if the levels are sustained over several years, there are certain things you shouldn’t say. This, for example, is the wrong approach: “I don’t even know how to respond to that,” said John Sadlier, deputy director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. “I don’t think there’s any need to. These values are so small.” I’m sure those words won’t haunt him.

3. You know how I hate snakes? I just remembered something else I need to add to that hate list: roller coasters, especially homemade roller coasters. But two Frisco kids don’t seem to mind them. In fact, they built one in their backyard.

Short answer: no. Longer answer: depends on what you mean by “world-class.” Mercer just released its ranking of livable cities. Dallas, a new addition, came in at No. 61. Other U.S. cities on the list:

31. Honolulu is the city in the United States with the highest quality of living
32. San Francisco
37. Boston
45. Chicago and Washington (tie)
49. New York, the base city for the ranking
55. Philadelphia
61. Dallas