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Want To Hear That Salvation Army Bell At Home? There's An App For That

Salvation Army
There's an app for the Salvation Army Bell.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: the sound of the season on your iPhone, a controversial sculpture is moving to Dallas, Garrison Keillor is in town, and more:

The Salvation Army's Red Kettle campaign is in full swing in North Texas -- and the group's bell is a familiar sound of the season. But did you know the bell has a high-tech twist? You can now get that sound on your phone. There’s an app for that, KERA's Courtney Collins reports. The app features an image of the bell -- and you can play bell music. Download the Salvation Army Bell Ringer and just "ring" the virtual bell by shaking your iPhone. It sounds just like the real thing. You can change your tone to any note on the scale -- C, E, G, you name it. The Salvation Army’s website says: “By downloading this simple Bellringer app, you, your friends, and your family can share in the tradition of being a Salvation Army Bellringer volunteer. With 12 musical notes to choose from, you and your friends can ring your bells together and create unique sounds, play your favorite holiday songs, or make up an on-the-spot jingle.” The Salvation Army has more details.

  • The controversial Playboy Marfa sculpture is headed to Dallas. Dallas Contemporary confirmed on its Facebook page that the West Texas piece will debut in April. Over the summer, Playboy installed a 40-foot sign with a neon-lit bunny on Highway 90. The state ordered Playboy to remove its sign. The Texas Department of Transportation said it’s considered an advertisement and can’t be placed by a U.S. highway. Artist Richard Phillips told CultureMap Dallas that he sees his Playboy Marfa as “a beacon, a touchstone where all these different aspects of our lives — art, politics, sex — come together without contradiction.” Read more from KERA.

  • After 50 years, Nancy Myers is back in the spotlight. In the 1960s, she was known as Tammi True, a prominent burlesque dancer at Jack Ruby’s Carousel Club. But then her boss shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald. And everything changed. For years, the stripper tried to avoid publicity. But on Nov. 29, Myers will join a local burlesque group onstage at the House of Blues. And now she’s the star of True Tales, a film that takes you into the Carousel Club of 1963 “to witness events that led to one of the most infamous crimes of the 20th century.” Myers was Ruby’s “No. 1 girl,” according to Dallas-based AMS Pictures, which produced the film. Read more about Tammi from KERA.

  • Motivational speaker criticized after school presentation: The Dallas Morning News reports: “Richardson ISD officials have apologized to students and parents offended by a motivational speaker whose self-empowerment message included gender-specific roles for girls and boys. Girls are nastier to each other than boys are, Justin Lookadoo told two packed auditoriums at Richardson High School. Being a man means protecting the weak — and women. High school boys and girls should be wary of putting too much into a romance that is almost certain to dissolve.” Some criticized him for making generalizations about teenagers. RISD said it approves of broad messages regarding self-empowerment and dating violence, but did not support “some of the terminology used by the speaker to generalize student behaviors.”
Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.