Thursday, February 17 Make a reference to the coast in Texas and it’s assumed said coast is lapped by “waves” from the Gulf of Mexico. Texans can be slightly too “We have everything you’d wanna see here in the Lone Star State!” But Barry Whistler and his gallery are reminding…

Could William Shakespeare have had any idea that the suicides of two teens would take over as the standard for romantic sacrifice? Perhaps not, but Franco Zeffirelli certainly did. Especially when he saw the magic that would come from casting two “show business nobodies” in his 1968 version of Romeo…

Thursday, February 3 Dearest one, How I miss you! I am so excited about your upcoming visit. I bought two tickets for us to see Dear Liar at Theatre Three, 2800 Routh St. on Thursday evening at 7:30. Don’t worry, love, they were only $25 to $30, so I didn’t…

Sure, black-and-white photos are classic, but artworks in color aren’t anything to sneeze at. Think of the allure of a newspaper when, instead of just black-and-white print staring out, there’s an eye-catching color photo or illustration drawing a reader in. Fashion magazines would be far less influential. Atlases would be…

Thursday, January 20 After watching a particularly suspenseful film (or simply a really good one), we sometimes wish we’d never seen it so we could naívely watch it all over again. Abbreviated Enlightenment offers that fresh and new opportunity with its play /ochen chotto schpiel/: ¨very little play.¨ The troupe…

I’m approaching a sobering event that most people make every effort to forget: the high school reunion. It’s the pivotal point for just how unsuccessful you can be before someone calls you on it. You know, “Wow! You were voted Most Likely to Succeed, Andy. Are you really enjoying your…

We were already blown away that a Manchester native would make his living doing impressions of an American playing a zany Englishman. Then we did some reading up on comedian/Austin Powers impersonator Steve Hirst and found that he is often an opening performer for Kid Reid…that’s right, Kid Reid. As…

Thursday, January 6 If ever you’ve found beef stew or cream of potato soup so soothing that you wanted to curl up in it and nap, welcome to our world. It was winter for all of like 15 minutes, and during those minutes we hunkered down and got cozy with…

Thursday 30 How thoughtful. You’ve decided to have your mates ’round your place for a little New Year’s Eve shindig. Be honest: It’s so you don’t have to drive anywhere, right? Whatever the motive, you gotta have some grub on hand to soak up the liters of libations that will…

Take a moment, cop a squat on a shag rug, pop a Sunkist open and remember that awesomely on-the-edge Canadian teen drama series Degrassi Junior High (aka Degrassi High). Remember feeling completely lucky that you caught that episode when Spike got pregnant while your parents weren’t home. Maybe it’s those…

Thursday 16 Maybe this is just another of our obsessive-compulsive thoughts, but we hope not too many hands have touched our sushi. Is that wrong? We don’t think so. In whichever sushi establishment we happen into, we like to think that we have an assigned professional that is the only…

As icons go, surrealist painter Frida Kahlo has become as recognizable as the Virgin Mother or Ché. Her face peers out from jewelry, bags, clothing and décor of various kinds–and not just in Mexico or the Southern states. Her uni-brow is beloved and universal; her gaze is all-knowing and piercing…

Thursday, December 2 We know how to dismember a jaw to get a good dental imprint, retain DNA evidence, look for prints and check a wound for gunfire residue. Thank you, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. We have come to appreciate William Petersen’s entomological trivia and the dramatic pronouncement of any…

Thursday, November 18 The first time we saw the work of Jennifer Morgan, we immediately wanted to commission her to create some grand mural in our home. Her paintings are bright, whimsical (but not beyond taking on the heavy subject here and there) and totally infectious. We want her energetic…

In all his approachable Everyman glory, Davy Rothbart won over the likes of David Letterman and the entire Late Show with this message displayed and read aloud during his early-October appearance on the show: “Took some hos to get some burritos.” Rothbart is the creator of FOUND Magazine, a collection…

Thursday, November 4 When we think “British music,” we generally think of Sex Pistols, the Clash, Joy Division, David Bowie, Radiohead and even Coldplay. It’s never an instantaneous connection to Andrew Lloyd Webber or Gilbert and Sullivan, but that doesn’t negate their influence or importance. The Symphonic Pops Consortium, composed…

Thursday, October 21 Single people with dogs, wouldn’t it be good to know that someone you meet approves of your schnauzer from the beginning? And doesn’t it feel good to support homeless pets? And wouldn’t it be even better to meet a caring, animal-loving friend while sipping wine, spending quality…

Sure, Lord of the Rings is phenomenal, but don’t ever try to tell us that Peter Jackson proved his genius for the first time in 2001’s Fellowship of the Ring. The scruffy New Zealand native has had us in his grasp since the deliciously gory Dead Alive (aka Braindead). Jackson…