If the SMU campus and Hillcrest Avenue seem a little crowded Wednesday and Thursday, it’s because McFarlin Auditorium is hosting auditions for the Fox TV show So You Think You Can Dance. Things should get hopping pretty early tomorrow. Producers invited the media to show up at 6:30. If you’re interested in trying out, click here.

When I was leaving our downtown offices, people were being blown sideways, umbrellas were inverted, and gutters grew like tsunamis.

Despite that, I made it to the UP Council meeting with seconds to spare.

After some last-minute feedback was received from Dyer Street residents represented by Gigi Welch, the council decided to push back the zoning ordinance discussion to the next council meeting, which was rescheduled to March 23.

By the time we left the council chambers, the sun was peeking out behind the clouds. Mayor Blackie Holmes suggested that it was because council business was finished. Maybe he’s right…

Last summer, I wrote about the debut of Bad Kids Go to Hell, a comic book written by St. Mark’s graduate Barry “Bazz” Wernick and Highland Park High School graduate Matthew Spradlin. Their series has been collected as a graphic novel, and they’ll be signing copies from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the SMU Bookstore.

The University Park City Council approved the George W. Bush Presidential Center’s rezoning request at tonight’s meeting after hearing from residents, community supporters, and library officials. The decision came a week after the last hearing, during which the council asked the Bush Foundation to consider an alternative site for the center’s parking lots.

The proposed site for the center, which will front SMU Boulevard and form a triangle bounded by North Central Expressway on the east, Dublin Street on the west, and abut the backyards of residences on Dyer Street, is currently zoned for single family residences and for university development. ...read more

Your intrepid reporter is camped out at the Cafe Brazil at North Central and Fondren. Besides being crowded with SMU students clad in sweatpants and bedhead, this place is full of Parkies looking for some hot coffee, good food, free Internet, and a spare table to set their Louis Vuitton purse.

I just spoke to a couple from Lakewood who said that this was their third try for a place to charge their phones and check e-mail. Coffee shops and restaurants with power outlets and free Internet are all packed. Another nearby gal asked if we knew how many people were ...read more

This just freaks me out on so many levels.

Former SMU punter Thomas Morstead was a part of one of the biggest moments of Super Bowl XLIV last night in Miami. Morstead, who is the punter and kickoff specialist for the New Orleans Saints, executed a spotless onside kick to open the second half.

The kick was recovered by the Saints, who went on to a stunning 31-17 victory over the favored Indianapolis Colts and star quarterback Peyton Manning.

Morstead, who is from Pearland, was a fifth-round draft choice by the Saints last year.