andrea grimes dot com

An Introduction

2011-03-03T09:00:00.007-06:00

Okay, here's the short version: I'm an award-winning freelance journalist--words and photos--living in Austin, Texas, covering women's issues, food, crime and local politics. By night, I'm a stand-up comedian, cocktail enthusiast and crazy young cat lady.

Here's the long version: I've been writing non-stop since well before I graduated from New York University, class of '05, with an individualized B.A. in new media. At NYU, I interned for SPIN and Seventeen before beginning my professional career at the Dallas Observer as a New Times editorial fellow. Before my New Times fellowship was over, I took a full-time staff position and later wrote a biweekly, ostensibly humorous participatory journalism column for the Observer called Girl On Top. As a staff writer, I covered true crime, religion and outsider communities, but most Dallasites know me best for being the woman who wrote that article about douchebags.

In 2007, I started performing stand-up comedy and became fascinated both by its practice and its gender politics. With an eye toward writing a book about female comics, I enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin's graduate cultural anthropology program, conducted fieldwork in Dallas, Austin and New York City and wrote my thesis on gender issues in stand-up. If you like wanky extrapolations about narrative discourse and gender performance in the small world of a niche hobby, I'd be happy to send you a copy. I've begun work on my book and hope to find a publisher this year.

Throughout graduate school and after, I continued to do journalism, predominantly as the editor of Village Voice Media's women's issues and pop culture blog, Heartless Doll, and later as a staffer back at the Dallas Observer, where I wrote about the search for a missing woman on Facebook, the boondoggle that is the federal government's Operation Streamline immigration policy, and cruelty, cronyism and mismanagement at the Dallas city animal shelter. I've also been published in D Magazine, the Austin Chronicle, Salon, One+ and TRIBEZA.

Most recently, I'm freelancing and focusing on covering women's issues and gender justice when I'm not working as the editor of Eater Austin. You can also find me at Ms. Magazine, Jezebel, RH Reality Check and Hay Ladies! E-mail me at andrea dot grimes at gmail.

Investigative Features And Long-Form Journalism

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Pissed: Dallas Taxpayers Are Funding Cruelty, Cronyism and Incompetence at Dallas Animal Services. (Dallas Observer) January 20, 2011 - How could a shelter manager have allowed a cat to die inside shelter walls?

Missing: Lisa Stone Turned To Facebook To Reunite With Her High School Friends, Then Suddenly Disappeared. (Dallas Observer) November 4, 2010 - Can Facebook help a group of amateur sleuths find out what happened to their best friend?

When Operation Streamline Deters: One Immigrant's Story (Dallas Observer) October 21, 2010 - Border crackdown policy "Operation Streamline" devastates one man and his American family.

Oak Cliff Activists Seek To Redefine Their Community Without Destroying It (Dallas Observer) August 19, 2010 - Goats, bikes and gentrification come together in one of Dallas' struggling neighborhoods.

$30,000 Millionaires: Douchebags In The Mist (Dallas Observer) November 29, 2007 - Venturing into the Dallas jungle in search of the elusive $30,000 millionaire: Is he myth or fact?

Funny Girl (Dallas Observer) May 31, 2007 - Laughter's the best medicine? For aspiring stand-up comedians, it's more like heroin.

Onward, Christian Soldiers (Dallas Observer) December 7, 2006 - Ron Luce's Christian youth movement, "Battle Cry," is a well-oiled Jesus machine.

The Reverend Freak (Dallas Observer) September 21, 2006 - Charismatic pastor Terry Hornbuckle is convicted and sentenced for raping three women in his congregation, though he was accused of raping many, many more. "The Reverend Freak" goes deep into the story to find out why and how the "Bishop" fell from grace.

Family Plot (Dallas Observer) July 15, 2004 - Rick and Suzanna Wamsley were strict with their son. Police say their son paid them back with murder.

News Articles

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Bad Blood At The Dallas County Crime Lab (D Magazine) - September 2011 - Attention, all convicted rapists and murderers, start filing your appeals now.

The Latest Threat To Health Care (Ms. Magazine) - Summer 2011 - How conservative shadow group ALEC's Texas ties have influenced the state's health care (un)reform.

Inside Dallas' Incestuous Mayor's Race (D Magazine) - May 2011 - How two of Dallas' brightest PR stars manage a close friendship--and opposing political campaigns.

Dallas Court Declares Cornelius Dupree, Jr. Innocent After 30 Years In Prison (Unfair Park, Dallas Observer news blog) - January 4, 2011 - The Innocence Project and the Dallas County District Attorney's "conviction integrity" unit free another inmate.

Virgin Air--and the Inimitable Richard Branson--Land At D-FW International Airport (Unfair Park, Dallas Observer news blog) - December 1, 2010 - Will Virgin America knock American Airlines out of their BMOC role at D-FW?

Group Calls Group Calls for Museum Director's Ouster (Austin Chronicle) - April 25, 2008 - Schoolkids accuse an Austin museum director of destroying their hard work.

Growing Pains Hit West Campus (Austin Chronicle) - March 28, 2008 - Austin's West Campus neighborhood struggles to expand despite outdated infrastructure.

Arts and Music News and Reviews

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Why's DFW's Public Indie Station KXT Playing ... Matchbox Twenty? (Dc9 At Night, Dallas Observer music blog) - January 26, 2011 - The station manager says the adult contemporary spins are just "natural growth."

Review: Vanilla Ice at Trees - (DC9 At Night, Dallas Observer music blog) May 24, 2010 - the Dallas rapper comes home to Deep Ellum and wows a crowd that wasn't yet born when "Ice, Ice, Baby" was released.

SXSW Previews: Richard Henry and At Versaris - (Spinner) March 2010 - Bands come from across the street and across the ocean to play Austin's SXSW--here are two outstanding hopefuls.

Review: The Red Balloon and Review: My Alien Child- (Austinist) Summer 2008 - The French film "The Red Balloon" comes to life with live music and animation on stage at the Salvage Vanguard Theater, and "My Child, My Child, My Alien Child" is the best kind of tearjerker.

Review: Ryan Adams (DC9 At Night, Observer music blog) - October 20, 2007 - Adams, sober and on tour for the first time in a long time, still drops f-bombs and panties.

He's So Emo - (Dallas Observer) February 2, 2006 - Eric Grubbs chronicles two decades of DIY music the only way he knows how--doing it himself.

Dead Air (Dallas Observer) - January 5, 2006 - Rudy V's Quiet Storm goes really quiet after a programming dispute.

She's Got The Book - (Dallas Observer) August 10, 2006 - Dallas' music scene is showing life again, and women are manning the behind-the-scenes respirator.

Commentary, Humor and Opinion

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Hitched (The Frisky) - "Hitched" is a weekly column about wedding planning, the wedding industrial complex and related patriarchal bullshit.

With "Informed Consent" Bill, Texas Legislators Serve Needs Of ... Texas Legislators (Reproductive Health Reality Check) May 4, 2011 - Politics, not logic, explains why Texas legislators believe some abortion-seeking women need more "informed consent" than others.

Alternatives to Planned Parenthood? Not in Texas. (Reproductive Health Reality Check) April 6, 2011 - Before I met with Texas State Representative Dan Flynn, I truly believed that even the most passionate anti-choice conservative couldn’t look me in the face and tell me they didn’t really care whether I got the reproductive health care I needed.

Why There Aren't More Female Comics At SXSW (Jezebel) February 24, 2011 - How can one of the country's most progressive, independent festivals books just one woman out of thirty comics for its comedy showcase?

My Brush With Cervical Cancer (Jezebel) February 24, 2011 - Millions of women each year deal with the fallout of contracting HPV. I am one of them.

I Used To Be A Pro-Life Republican (Reproductive Health Reality Check) February 8, 2011 - Progressives argue the GOP has staged a "war on women." I used to be one of their most passionate soldiers.

In City Mayoral Race, Is CM Angela Hunt's The Only Personal Life That Matters? (Unfair Park, Dallas Observer news blog) - January 14, 2011 - A Dallas Morning News columnist wonders if being a mom means Hunt can't be mayor. What year is it, again?

Who Will Rape Me? (Hay Ladies!) December 21, 2010 - At 27 years old, I have not yet been a victim of sexual assault. But let’s be real: that fact is likely to change.

Stars and Stripes Go On Forever For the Downtrodden Texas GOP - (Dallas Observer) - July 17, 2010 - It's hard to be white and affluent in Texas these days. Or so say state conventioneers.

Girl On Top columns for the Dallas Observer

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Goodbye Girl - January 3,2008 - Dallas, I love you, but I've found Austin.

At Screams, Zombies Need Brains - October 18, 2007 - Things go ooglie-booglie in the night at Screams haunted house.

Heartland - July 26, 2007 - It's a week of peace and love in Dallas as I attend the Women's Peace Conference and the Romance Writers of America annual convention.

What a VIP off - March 22, 2007 - If the posh new Ghostbar is so exclusive, how'd I get in?

Get Real - December 28, 2006 - When ABC's The Bachelor came through town looking for contestants, I joined the lovesick herd of aspiring bachelorettes.

Roll Out The Barrel - September 28, 2006 - Barrel racing can't be that hard. Can it?

Give Peace A Dishtowel - August 24, 2006 - A day trip with the peaceniks in Crawford, TX

Sis-Boom-Blah - July 13, 2006 - Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders try-outs try my patience.

Eye of the Beholder - June 29, 2006 - The tale of how I infiltrated Dallas' premiere social club centered around physical hotness, The Beautiful Room.

Blogs Written and Written For

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Eater Austin - It's like Eater Dallas, but in Austin. I'm the editor.

Eater Dallas - Part of the Curbed Networks family, Eater Dallas has all the latest, freshest, most late and fresh food news in Dallas. I was the launching editor.

Hay Ladies! - A blog about sex, gender and feminism in Texas.

Jezebel - Gawker media's women's issues and feminist blog both re-publishes my work on Hay Ladies! and gets fresh, original reporting.

RHRealityCheck - A blog about reproductive health funded by the United Nations Foundation, where I write personal essays and news items about state-level health legislation.

Unfair Park - The official news blog of the Dallas Observer. I liveblogged from City Hall, took passable photos, provided requisite youthful snark. Etc.

City of Ate - The official food blog of the Dallas Observer. I mainly ate brunch.

Heartless Doll - Chock full of pop culture snark and news for women, known for its prowess with top ten lists, Heartless Doll was Village Voice Media's foray into the blogosphere before it was shuttered in May, 2010.

Austinist - Part of the Gothamist family, Austinist is the Texas capital city's go-to website for arts and culture, written by and for passionate Austinites. I cover theater and comedy under the moniker "chicksarentfunny."

Broadsheet - Salon.com's womens' issues blog. Notable entry re: Reese Witherspoon, "the awareness depot."

Chronic - the official blog of the Austin Chronicle. Notable entries feature spandex, pancakes and brain tissue.

The 51st State - Launched October 2004. A reported blog assignment for Prof. Mark Dery's digital journalism class at New York University, The 51st State looks at the 2004 presidential election from a British perspective.

Food, Travel and Culture Writing

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Brunch Drunk Love Series (City Of Ate, Dallas Observer food blog) - A weekly review of the weekend's best meal, from Bloody Marys to Benedicts, wherever my hangover took me.

Pickin' For The Record (One+ magazine) January 2010 - In August, 1,868 guitarists gathered in Luckenbach, Texas to pick a couple of tunes together in the name of supporting the troops

Branding Destination (One+ magazine) November 2009 - Can visitor's bureaus sell cities the way Nike sells shoes?

Going Medieval (Dallas Observer) May 15, 2008 - Being Scarborough Renaissance Festival's newest monster hunter is a tough gig, but worth it

Checks and Balances (The Meeting Professional) April 2008 - Switzerland: sexy and loaded.

The Best Little Icehouse in Texas (Dallas Observer) August 30, 2007 - Tacos! Beer! Bikini babes! Life at Fuel City is a gas, gas, gas.