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Richardson's Shirin Askari on last night's Project Runway​I'm putting it all out there: I had to eat some cobbler and listen to the two-disc The Greatest Hits 1966-1992 by Neil Diamond (excluding "Heartlight," and repeating "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," naturally) to get this last episode of Project Runway out of my system. I'm not even exaggerating. But whatever. Basically, this episode just irritated me. The challenge to make a surfer chic outfit? OK, yeah, you're in L.A. We get it. Woo! Hoo! And it looked like those producers caught on that since they'd kicked off Alien Chick and Egg Boy a tad prematurely, they needed to kick up the drama between the remaining milquetoast personalities. Partner challenge! One person gets to be captain! At which point Mitchell Hall of the Bottom Twos picks Ra'mon-Lawrence Coleman and said, "I wanted to work with someone that could carry me on this challenge." Foreshadowing much?And things were too easy, so ... only 15 minutes in Mood! Eek! Which, by the way, was but the second time we got to see the dreaded, mono-monikered Epperson talk to Qristyl Frazier like she was the least intelligent, least favorite in-law he'd ever had to be in the same room with. Meanwhile, Mitchell was acting like the prissy spoiled brat -- yelling at Ra'mon to quit talking to other designers, pouting, acting like an ass. Thankfully, all that was interrupted by Tim Gunn. Heidi Klum and the judges threw down the (not-at-all) shocking "second look that's an avant-garde relative of the first look" challenge. One person got to go to Mood again, while the other labored away in the workroom. I'm not clear why Dallasite Louise Black didn't make that trip, over her partner Althea Harper, since Louise can obviously avant-garde anyone under the table, but I'm thinking Althea pulled the "I worked for Vivienne Westwood and I'm the team leader" card.

Richardson's Shirin Askari and her model, who, for some reason, the designer is trying to cover up with newspaper.​I would like to state, for the record, that I called this week's Project Runway challenge last week based solely on the previews. Boo. Yah. They teased it with Heidi Klum saying that the challenge's answers would be in "black and white," and they showed a quick flash of something pleated, and I knew it was newsprint. Logan Neitzel thought it might be old Hollywood film, but he was so wrong. Hey, maybe it's just my line of work ...As usual, he or she with the most soundbites was a top or a bottom -- and, well, Johnny Sakalis showed up two minutes into the episode saying how he could never be in the bottom again and how just wanted to get to Fashion Week, waa waa. Nicolas Putvinski was ribbing him, as usual, but he also turned into behind-the-back smack-talker, so it was clear Nick likewise would wind up with one foot out the you're-out door. That's just how it works, people. Oh, also, the designer at whom other designers leer and jeer because they can't tell if the design is boring, drab, shoddy or WTF will somehow make it into the top.So Tim Gunn took the designers to the Los Angeles Times to meet fashion editor Booth Moore, and while they were all listening to her give the challenge, it occurred to me how much several of the designers resemble celebrities. Dallas's Louise Black totally looks like silent movie star Louise Brooks. Ra'Mon-Lawrence Coleman looks like Lance Crouther, minus Pootie Tang's magic belt. Logan is a dead ringer for Jesse Spencer of House. Epperson could be mistaken for Bobby McFerrin. I haven't yet placed Althea Harper or Carol Hannah Whitfield, but I'm working on them.But, anyway. Moore laid down that the designers had to design a garment out of newsprint. Shocker.

Patrick MichelsFormer Cowboys cheerleader Terra Watson has moved her booming business down to Expo Park​Former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Terra Watson spent the last 12 years designing and manufacturing pro-team dance and cheerleader uniforms -- including her former teammates' Christmas presents to Cowboys fans, which are still on Santa's to-do list. But business isn't boom-boom-booming the way it used to; one client, the Dallas Desperados, took a season-long time-out. Which is one of the reasons why Watson's moving from the sports arena to the ... breastaurant.After all, they're all the rage in this busted economy; back in March, Nightline came to Arlington and found it so hard to choose between Hooters, Bone Daddy's and Twin Peaks. Watson counts the latter among her clients; also on the list is Cadillac Ranch, which doesn't have a local outpost."Why wear a T-shirt when you can wear something that is actually flattering to a woman?" Watson says, citing but one reason why she's designing the eateries' unis. "That's my goal with the breastaurants: I want that niche." So far, so good: This week she moved to a bigger studio space in Exposition Park.

(Louise) Black and blue, perhaps not a great color combination after all​Merritt Martin, your usual recapper, has let her personal life interfere with her TV watching schedule, so I have been drafted to fill in for her this week. With 10 designers remaining, and Heidi's ominous warning in previews that "one OR MORE of you will be out," we were really hoping for a challenge that sparked the designers' creativity, drove them to ridiculous heights or barrel-scraping depths. But ... yawn. A color challenge, based on a department store brand. It may be difficult for this episode to be anything but lackluster.Over in the women's loft apartment, Gordana compares the task facing the remaining designers to the Olympic Games. Ya know: Everybody's a winner, but somebody's gotta go home. Very democratic of her, but I'm not sure I'd compare making dresses out of newspaper and hot glue to world-class athleticism. 

Patrick MichelsSanta and Berkeley-based cupcake car designers Lisa Pongrace and Greg Solberg​Unfair Park was among those at the Dallas Contemporary this morning getting an early look at this year's Neiman Marcus Christmas Book, and among the gems inside: this high-performance, Burning Man-tested cupcake car, yours for the low, low price of $25,000 (Santa not included).Other highlights on display this morning include this souped-up electric motorcycle (only $73,000), his-and-hers private planes ($250,000), a massive chandelier valued at a mere $12,000 and a $200,000 seat at the Algonquin Round Table next to the likes of Malcolm Gladwell, Christopher Buckley, Nora Ephron, Anna Deavere Smith and George Stephanopoulos. Check back later for more photos from the morning's sneak peek to inspire your holiday shopping list.

As long as Richardson's Shirin Askari is on the show, we'll watch. But if she's auffed, we're so off.​This week on Project Runway, which we're one local contestant auffing away from turning off forever, Heidi Klum flounced out on the runway and announced that the designers would have to pick new models. But not actual models. Instead she introduced some gay divorcées who wanted a redesign of their wedding gowns for their newly single lives. A slight revision of ye olde bridal challenge, but still too familiar.Irina seemed to think that she's awesome, and everyone is secretly hating her for that. And I think she has absolutely no problem with that. She got first pick and went with the biggest, laciest parade float of a dress. Logan made a good pick and got a long train of material to work with. As the choices decreased, so did the yardage on the dress. Local girl Shirin got last choice and -- this irritated me a bit -- made it clear she wasn't happy with what she got. If I were her model, it probably wouldn't make me feel so hot that she sighed and threw her head back when we were paired.Then her lady said she wanted something, you know, "Cher 'Half-Breed,'" and I changed my mind and decided Miss "Just Not Married" deserved every eye-roll and huff Shirin had in her. That being said, the girl is loud when it comes to bitching, so I wouldn't want to share a work table with her, either.But with only two yards of new material and whatever notions-accessories they could get for 15 buckaroos, the designers headed back to the workroom to work some swerve into all that unsuccessful satin and lace.

Emptying all barrels: Richardson's Shirin Askari with Tim Gunn​Bob Mackie -- or the "Sultan of Sequins," as Tim Gunn so flamboyantly introduced him -- was the designer judge and the inspiration for this week's challenge on Project Runway. Master of Madonna's sparkling bodice, Diana Ross's sequined head and hips and Cher's tinseled titties, Mackie is the go-to guy for stage-wear.So the designers had to design a stage costume -- not fashion, as Mackie stressed -- for none other than white-haired siren Christina Aguilera (also serving as the fourth judge this week). She's rocked the bedazzled hotpant and the plunging neckline. She's worked cornrows to corsets. This wasn't going to be an easy challenge for so many designers who have either understated style or fairly refined inspirations. But even with a hard challenge, combining Mackie and Aguilera meant Project Runway finally got back the flamboyant gay spirit that Lifetime seemed to have sucked out of it -- even if only for two-minute spurts here and there.It was obvious who had issues from the moment the crew returned from Mood with their glitzed out fabrics, and the incredibly confident -- and just as bitchy -- Irina said as much. But she was wrong in several cases.

Mila Hermanovski​Good Lord. Here we go again: Project Runway, which just ended its lifeless run on Lifetime, returns January 14 and brings with its two homegrowns. One's 40-year-old Mila Hermanovski, who boasts what's clearly become the favorite hairstyle among locally grown reality-TV show contestants (cf. Louise Black, Lisa Garza). She writes here that she was born and raised in Dallas (ah, a Greenhill School grad), but has since served as a costumer designer for the likes of Austin Powers in Goldmember, Alias and, cool, Tron Legacy. Also, from Plano, we get 29-year-old Amy Sarabi, who's a "permalancer at Men's Active Old Navy." Of course, neither now lives here: Hermanovski's in L.A.; Sarabi, Oakland. Merritt, this one's all yours.

Today's time kill: pages' worth of items being auctioned off by the sheriff's department, including this ancient pocket watch​My favorite auction site is at it again, this time disposing of watches, rings, necklaces and other assorted gold-plated goodies on behalf of the Dallas County Sheriff's Department.The county will use the proceeds to replenish its coffers, and there are bargains to be had amongst the seized loot. Like, for instance, this Lonville pocket watch (not "Sonville," as listed): Best I can tell, the company only made pocket watches from the early 1900s till around '40, and they trade amongst collectors for between $100 and $200; this here model's starting bid is $10.Me, I'm interested in this silver cigarette case, which would go nicely with this horseshoe-shaped 14K diamond ring ($175!), but maybe you'd like a fistful of class rings (including a Dallas Cowboys item) for $25 so far. Bidding closes January 28.

​Here's the most up-to-date list of NBA All-Star Weekend parties I've seen to date -- though there are some notable no-shows, among them John Singleton's "Black Hollywood Red Carpet" throwdown with Vivica A. Fox at the Fashion Industry Gallery on February 14. That's because that particular event isn't included on the itinerary for the Dallas All-Star Weekend Passport, a Ray Crockett-Vibe mag joint that's supposed to get you into everything from the Thursday-night Palladium kick-off featuring Ludacris and the same-night "All-Star Hollywood Celebrity Soiree" at Union Station (Biz Markie!) to the weekend's other parties being hosted by the likes of Duncanville High's Crockett, Michael Vick (!) and Sean Combs, who's taking his closing-night wingding to Northwest Dallas.A Friday-night party at F.I.G. is being advertised as a till-6 a.m. event, and ... hey, waitaminute. They're reopening the Starck Club that weekend? Anyway. The regular passport runs $499; the no-waiting-required VIP passport runs $999. Either way you get Biz Markie, and both passports include shuttle service to-and-fro.Incidentally, we just got the final roster for the All-Star Celebrity Game being played February 12 at the Dallas Convention Center. Jump for it. But a spoiler: No Chuck. Different NBC star.