In late March, Chuck Cox reported that a local electric company was filming a commercial at Norma’s Cafe. I happened to be driving by Norma’s late last week and took this panoramic shot of another film crew wrapping up after a day on the set at Norma’s. The crew on scene told me it was a commercial for MasterCard — possibly another “priceless” spot?

Anyway, we’re waiting to hear back from our sources on why Norma’s is the new hot spot for local commercial filming.

Bonus points if you can find the cop taking a smoke break or the Oak Cliff People news rack.

Last weekend I was in Galveston, where I saw a two-part beachfront commercial suite shared by A.) a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream shop, and B.) a dentist’s office. Naturally, it made for a pretty cute marquee, but heavy traffic and some overly naked pedestrians blotted out any real photo opportunities.

What does this have to do with Oak Cliff? Well, nothing — save for the fact that photographer Christina Barany and I found something even better on West Illinois.

Believe it.

Click here to see our Ninjas VS. Pirates photo gallery.

Pirates and Ninjas were once thought to be mortal enemies — at least as far as Internet memes go — until they met up Sunday for a group ride through Oak Cliff hosted by Bike Friendly Oak Cliff. Instead of battling with cutlass and katana the two sides compared bikes and booze. The ride included stops at two OC watering holes: Tradewinds Social Club (Arrrrrrggggghh Matee!) and Zen Sushi (Cowabunga Dude!). In the end, both sides happily agreed to disagree and let the Internets decide.

__________ had the best outfit for the Pirates vs. Ninjas ride.

Decorazon Gallery will launch a show tomorrow evening featuring the work of owners MK Semos and Hugo Garcia Urrutia, including Zona Rosa (above). The exhibit, “Sin Limite — The Mexican Tsunami,” will share space with “Lego,” a collection of work by Ruben Nieto. The reception is scheduled from 6 to 9:30 p.m.

East Kessler resident Steve Kemble, aka “America’s Sassiest Lifestyles Guru,” paid tribute to America’s Team at the Dallas Arboretum’s Mad Hatters Tea Party yesterday. If you can’t tell, he’s wearing a Cowboys Stadium chapeau.

I celebrated Earth Day yesterday by __________.

Police are searching for a man who publicly exposed himself  twice on April 13 in the 2700 block of Colorado Boulevard, but the bigger story may be that nearby Stevens Park Elementary school was not notified of either incident.

A quick search of Texas DPS records found 30 registered sex offenders living within a mile of the school.

For the full story pick up a copy of this week’s Oak Cliff People.

On the heels of their trip to last weekend’s Destination Imagination affiliate tournament, a group of Rosemont Elementary School students met with Oak Cliff People’s Josh Hixson to discuss their love of the brainy competition. Pick up a copy of this week’s paper to read profiles of the imaginative participants.

TeCo Theatrical Productions will stage three performances of Hamlet this weekend with a cast and crew who primarily got involved to make up for truancy issues. Georgia Fisher attended two rehearsals last week. Pick up a copy of the new Oak Cliff People today for her look behind the scenes of this interesting production.