When you hear about someone who is called “the poet of the violin”, you automatically peg them as someone who spent their childhood tethered to a string instrument. Joshua Bell did have a knack for the violin as a child, there’s no doubt, but he didn’t lose his younger years…
There are different levels of artistry: one on, there is art made for the sake of aesthetics; on another, there is art that goes beyond the purpose of appealing to people visually or aurally and seeks to effect social change or provide social documentation. There’s nothing wrong with art that’s…
Everyone’s got a story to tell, even if they don’t think their life is all that exciting. The story of the Thanksgiving where you left dinner early to bail your boyfriend out of jail is actually a potential legend in the making—something your kids will confide to their kids on…
The restorative power of making art is well documented; just think back to the good old days when a pair of blunt scissors and construction paper were all it took to center you. The little strokes of watercolors and the smell of Elmer’s glue are their own special kind of…
If you took a pinch of Gallagher, mixed it with a cup of Ira Glass, and then added a dash or so of Paula Deen’s more polite southern sensibilities (while making sure there is absolutely no Guy Fieri cross-contamination, thank you very much), you’d whip up a pretty decent version…
There’s got to be something so sweet about coming home after you hit the big time—and not in a “nyah nyah”, rub-it-in-their-face kinda way. Rather, there’s probably some special feels a person gets after seeing the places where they built themselves up and put in so much of the hard…
There was a time when it wasn’t good to be a nerd. Those were dark days, back when your obsession with Dungeons and Dragons basically meant you were a Satanist and the comic books in your backpack regularly earned you an ass-kicking. Now, nerds are catered to at every level:…
Music and comedy go together like peas and carrots, but merrier. And with less fiber. Catch this combo for the ages at Alternative Comedy Theater’s “Laughter is Music to Our Ears” program at 11:15 p.m. this Friday and Saturday in the Pocket Sandwich Theater, 5400 East Mockingbird Lane. Newly-formed (but…
Spoiler alert, y’all: Bonnie and Clyde do not ride off into the sunset, despite the fact that this is a musical. Nothing changes in the general plot: the outlaws still get gunned down in the end after they do a number of really bad things. The difference here is that…
Ever get something stuck in your head—something you want to create or write or build? And while you know you have the basic idea there, it just takes forever to come together? It happens to all of us at some time or another, causing us writer’s block or gumming up…
This weekend is practically a harvest of the arts—a virtual cornucopia of performing and visual arts awaits, freshly reaped and ready to go in all corners of North Texas. One such event, the Cottonwood Art Festival–held in Richardson’s Cottonwood Park, 1321 West Beltline–is a serious bounty of seriously fine art,…
Spring is a time of rebirth, according to conventional wisdom, religion and even science to a certain extent. But in North Texas, autumn is the more appropriate season for revival—after the beat-down that is summer, everything emerges all shiny and new. Hoodies are donned, pumpkin spice pervades our beverages, and…
I’m a fan of just about anything in a bar. Want me to humiliate myself by singing off-key in someone’s living room? Noooo. In a bar? Sign me up. Trivia night at the museum? Nope. In the forgiving atmosphere of a bar? Yessir. And putting The Bard in a bar?…
The loss of Robin Williams last month was a shocking one, mostly because it’s hard to imagine someone so electric and effervescent being in so much pain. And never was Williams more…well, Williams than in the 1987 Barry Levinson comedy Good Morning Vietnam. The film remains a powerful testament to…
Get your head in the clouds, y’all—summer is finally over, the temps outside are once again mostly bearable, and outdoor recreation is once again a thing we can do without considerable discomfort. And the sky’s the limit this particular weekend, kind of literally, as the Plano Balloon Festival lifts off…
Has there ever been a better time to just go ahead and treat yourself? I mean, first of all, getting a manicure in a bar is a thing now. Whoever thought of that should be crowned beauty queen for all time because the manicure/libation combo is some next level efficiency…
Maybe Great Britain doesn’t strike you as a bastion of modern design—after all, it’s a nation associated with a certain primness, plus super stodgy dinnerware and post-apocalyptic public housing. But really, since the 1960s, jolly old England has churned out some of the most exuberant and fun pieces of design—like…
It’s been a while since you’ve done the time warp, hasn’t it? Somewhere between the step to the right and bringing your knees in tight, Saturday nights spent watching outgoing goth kids dressed as Magenta and Riff Raff went by the wayside. But everyone needs a bit of a mind…
What do you get for the Symphony Center that has everything? It’s tough—not like a gift card will suffice for such a cultured and sophisticated old friend, especially one designed by badass architect I.M. Pei and who has been deemed one of the best orchestra venues in the world. The…
Having a personal insight into American history is something so few people can really boast. You may have been a part of a historic gathering in your time, but it’s likely nobody will ever ask you about that time you drank your way through the crowds at Cowboy’s Stadium record-breaking…
In 1994, a flamboyant little film out of Australia made serious waves in world cinema with a heartfelt and fabulous story of two drag queens and a trans woman driving a bus through the Outback. Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and a brilliant Terrance Stamp take on the roles of our…
In 1929, rumors began to swirl that the first talking picture in Great Britain was being made, though it’s not clear anyone actually informed the director of that film, at least at the start of filming. The director, A1 creepy creep and master voyeur Alfred Hitchcock, was filming drop-dead gorgeous…
