Das Boot: Never one to miss a chance to copy a great idea, a la the U.S. Marines inviting celebs to their annual balls, Mr. B invited baller Dirk to Del's for dinner to discuss dunking and punking. Del Frisco's top chef, Anthony Felli, feted us with bratwurst and a side dish of Swedish meatballs, schnitzel, potato salad (the German kind) and plenty of Beck's beer. Proprietor Greg Kalina topped it off with an after-dinner drink, Dirk's Delight, which came in a LeBron James cup. You may not get that kind of special treatment, but you can invite your favorite celeb with this dinner for two. Platoon: You are going to want to grab your entire brigade to attend the Government Procurement Conference at the University of Texas at Arlington Aug. 10. It is the largest North Texas opportunity to meet and pitch your business to local, state and federal buyers and their contractors. You sell, they buy. Maybe. Last year, Mr. B found no takers for daughter MisBehavin' or son NoBGood. The only thing that could be better than unloading the kids would be to have a booth and UTA's Jennifer Wilson found us one with two admissions, too.

Picture of the Week     Did you know that 75% of the  Botanical Research Institute of Texas building is made from recycled materials? The West Area Council's luncheon last week was quite the learning experience as you can see in the photos here. Representing Platinum sponsor Charter Business was Kevin Allen (left) with Kayla Kelly, Tarleton State University and Chair of the WAC Board (center), and Sy Sohmer, President and Director of BRIT.   Sponsored by

A Night at the Museum: Carol (not married to Scott) Murray, director of marketing for the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, described herself as a “slug” for taking so long to get these four free exhibit passes to a Newz-E-Letter reader. We'd call her “The Bambino” because these passes are a home run. They could be used until Sept. 5 to see the Ascent (aviation) and Fort Worth Champions (athletics) exhibits, or you could hold onto them until October to see the new, super-cool biographical George Washington exhibit, guarded by Ben Stiller.

The Secret Garden: Casa Manana has this apprentice program for students 14-to-20 gifted in theater. The students do all the work in this weekend's production and presentation of The Secret Garden, an acclaimed book and movie about an orphaned girl sent to live with her uncle. Don't want to give away the entire plot of a decades-old story, but there is a garden and there are some secrets. It's no secret that Darcy Koch loves Newz-E-Letter, so she secretly secured a family four-pack of tickets for Friday's opening night performance.

Did you notice? The movie theme titles in the giveaway items? That left Mr. B thinking ... Horrible Bosses.

High 5: Today, Am-Bass-Adorables are at Low T Center, 7217 Hawkins View Drive, and Mr. B had to check to see what Low T is. Rumor has it former Dallas Cowboy Jay Novacek will be making a celeb appearance and if he is, find him in the Chamber event and ribbon-cutting photos here.

Whole lot of shakin' going on: State Farm agent Sloan Clark has a four-piece band -- Sloan Automatic -- that sings about life in D/FW with a sound he (jokingly?) describes as a cross between James Brown, Willie Nelson and The Cars. Sloan Automatic was a finalist in the local entertainment weekly newspaper's annual awards for Top Pop Band. We recommend you listen to Sloan's cover of Kelly Clarkson's “Since U Been Gone” or “Jumbotron Blues.” Sloan says: “Our goal is not fame or fortune, but simply to blow away the medium-sized rooms. We didn't win, but we got the most free beer out of the kegs and ate the most quesadillas.”

Who had the beef? The new Country Music Television show Texas Women is scheduled to run during August a segment shot at Texas de Brazil in Fort Worth. Jessica Garcia says two production trucks, the stars, the director and more had a private upstairs room. She reports no glass throwing and no fighting, but some tears. Oh, and they paid their way.

Artful poses: Last weekend, one of Chris Galvan's caricatures was at the forefront of a marriage proposal. “People say, ‘I could draw that. My dog could do that,'” the owner of Blue Line Caricatures says. But there are only about 10 full-time caricature artists in the FW/D area. Galvan's dad was an architect and part-time cartoonist, which fueled the son's interest.

Donate with a difference: Studies show the iPad to be extremely helpful for children with autism. A grant has enabled the Child Study Center to purchase iPads for educational programming. You can donate an app. Inexpensive and cool.

A Star could be born: Though he does everything from A-to-Z's Cafe, Carlo Capua found time - on a whim - to try out for the new TNT series DALLAS. He did make it into the preview trailer. “I was an extra in the pilot, too” Capua says. “I got to do a few scenes with Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray, Jordana Brewster and Jesse Metcalfe...and got paid! ... I ad-libbed a few lines, but the director told me I couldn't talk. (I later realized that they would have had to pay me more.) We spent two full days shooting a wedding scene that will probably last four minutes during the pilot.”

Airing it out: Walking Guy, the Facebook icon for Sundance Square, mentioned the other day that Stuart Cramer invented the air conditioner 109 years ago. Here's the rest of the story: It was invented for use with Cramer's textile mill machines, adding more humidity into the air and enabling yarn to spin more efficiently.

Roll with her: Some political trivia for you -- Mayor Betsy Price's grandmother's nickname is “Tootsie.” BP says she has two more initiatives for her term -- A Young Leaders Committee and resurrecting Breakfast with the Mayor (from the Mayor Kay Granger days).

Silver lining: Ros Sullivan - her parents weren't sure if they wanted a Rose or a Ross - coordinates accounts receivables for the Chamber. Yes, your dues and such. She also is the staff liaison to the Farm and Ranch Club, an affiliate of the Chamber. And because of her 25 years of accountable receiving, she has been inducted into the 25-year Club of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE).

In Linda we trust: Linda Metcalf only thought she was retiring two years ago from Bank of America, where she helped launch and promote many nonprofit events through the Helen Irwin Littauer Educational Trust. The very next day, Metcalf was in the trust department at PlainsCapital Bank. She says she never, ever, has worked any job but within a trust department.

In Valerie we trust: After 10 years with Professional Caretakers, a private duty, non-Medicare personal assistance agency, Valerie W. Kaye, is the new director for the adult daycare center affectionately called "The Rose Cottage of Texas.”