If last year was any indication, we should probably get the outdoor fun out of the way early, lest we melt into a puddle of barbecue-scented Texan goo. After all, come June, outdoor events may no longer be classified as “fun,” but as “sweatsperiments.” Fortunately, Uptown Ciclovía is all about…
Last year’s Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival was a historic tour for comedy fans and not just because comedy hermit Dave Chappelle returned to the stage and almost suffered a total implosion at some of his stops. It was a primer of modern comedy that could help even the most…
Did you cry during March of the Penguins? Of course you did. Nothing brings mist to the eye like the story of an animal’s miraculous journey through harsh natural elements against all odds. Plus, there’s almost nothing cuter than a baby penguin, except maybe a baby panda. As the beloved…
Do you want to build a snowman? Have you heard that question about an hundred zillion more times than you ever thought you would in your whole lifetime? Well, you wouldn’t be the only one. But maybe it’s time to change the narrative a little bit: from the frozen icescapes…
There is so much art and literature about Abraham Lincoln and his assassination, one could fill several museums and libraries with it all, but not much is known about his killer, John Wilkes Booth, even though his personal history, and the story of his plans leading up to the attack,…
It is impossible to imagine what it would have been like to live in the 19th century, when abstract art began. In that time, few knew what to make of the direction that art was heading, but now many of us who consider ourselves artists or art-lovers find more value…
If you cough near a hypochondriac, they will ask for a doctor. I believe that’s the title of the adult sequel to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Everybody knows someone who’s perpetually sick. A telltale sign is their need to one-up stories of sickness. You had pneumonia? They’ve…
In Texan suburbs, relationships between neighbors are like Tim Allen and Wilson on Home Improvement. We build fences so that no one can just “pop in,” making backyard barbecues overblown, usually awkward affairs. And when the newlywed couple from down the block begins to discuss their cat’s bowel movements, you…
If your stomach growls when you read Hamburger Kunsthalle, I’m right there with you. But we’re not talking about a Dutchman’s beef sandwich. In fact, the Hamburger Kunsthalle is one of the Germany’s most important art museums. And it’s sending paintings our way. The Spanish Gesture: Drawings from Murillo to…
In our film section this week, we take a look at some of the coming summer movies that will offer us a chance to cool off in the dark for a bit. Here on Mixmaster, asked a few local luminaries in the film scene to share some of their favorite…
In our film section this week, we take a look at some of the coming summer movies that will offer us a chance to cool off in the dark for a bit. In that vein, Mixmaster asked Alice to offer a mom’s take on the joy of summer family films…
Long before Adult Swim, MTV’s Liquid Television and even most of the cartoons that penetrated your sugar riddled brain on Saturday mornings, Spike & Mike were traveling the globe introducing audiences to the joy and magic of animation. “We were with Pixar before Steve Jobs was with Pixar,” Spike said…
Summer has officially arrived, bringing along with it a drove of blockbuster films that are usually less than memorable. If you’re looking to while away the hours in a dark, chilly theater without watching a mind-numbing movie, look no further than the Oak Cliff Film Festival. In its third year,…
On this week’s Voice Film Club podcast, the Village Voice’s Alan Schestuhl and L.A. Weekly’s Amy Nicholson are joined by special guest Chris Klimek to discuss the strange career of Tom Cruise, the new X-Men movie, and why Han Solo should die…
Doomsday forecasters have offered plenty of scenarios in recent years, but Kitchen Dog Theater’s upcoming production of Barbecue Apocalypse promises to be a funnier account of the end of times than any you’ve likely heard. The play opens Friday and serves as the centerpiece of the theater’s New Works Festival…
A romance ripped from the pages of Deuteronomy, Frank Coraci’s Blended posits that the best reason for a woman with sons and a man with daughters to get married is that they can take care of each other’s kids. Quel pragmatisme! In the world of this sitcom love story, men…
Why do people buy concert tickets? Maybe they are motivated by the social element. Maybe it’s intellectual or artistic curiosity. Sometimes good old-fashioned boredom is motivation enough. Or maybe — and I’d imagine this is the most common reason – maybe they just really love the music being performed and…
When the season premiere of I Wanna Marry Harry airs tonight, America will watch 12 women compete for the love and affection of Prince Harry. OK, not really. That’s just what the show leads the contestants, including three women from the Dallas area, to believe…
Fandom is an interesting driver. It drives some people to permanently paint their bodies with portraits of their favorite characters or spend scads of money and effort on elaborate costumes and disguises to express their love for their favorite TV shows, movies and comic books. Seeing someone in a full…
In the current issue of the Observer, I take a long look at the creation of AMC’s new drama, Halt and Catch Fire, which was inspired by a local software salesman and co-created by that salesman’s son, Plano-born screenwriter Chris Cantwell. You should totally read it. Really. But you could…
I used to think that I was a nerd, especially in high school. I spent a lot of time watching C-SPAN, reading The New York Times and generally being awkward and ignoring the interests of my peers. I wasn’t into sci-fi or Star Wars or Magic The Gathering, but I…
“School’s out!” may be the collective cry of America’s youth this week, but not us. Not you and me, the paper pushing mid-20’s citizens, who are past the point of the overwhelming freedom that only arrives at the end of a semester, or perhaps the end of an entire college…
