In a culture where it’s hardly worth the effort to bleep out profanity on ABC Family, the only time you hear “taboo” anymore may be in reference to the Black Eyed Peas. But upon mention of “depression,” conversations can go awkwardly silent. In a memoir that Publisher’s Weekly calls “inspiring”…
When we first spotted the movie poster for Tim Burton’s remake of the classic 1951 film Alice in Wonderland, a gravitational pull drew us to Johnny Depp’s orange Mad Hatter hair like a fly to the blue glow of a bug zapper. And after months of anticipation, we sat back…
If most movies are true depictions of the world, as we’ve always believed, then knocks on the head should be accompanied by amnesia, the acquiring of magical powers and elaborate dream sequences a la The Big Lebowski. Unfortunately, when it happened to us, we just got a little sleepy and…
The Great Recession has spurred a spike in the popularity of do-it-yourself projects. Learn to maximize your home’s potential at the Fort Worth Home and Garden Market. From indoors to outdoors, gardens to pools, the show promises a smorgasbord of decorating and remodeling ideas. Sit in on how-to workshops for…
Summertime is the perfect time for family reunions. Standing around sweating with some uncles who are the type of men you generally avoid in public; enduring conversations with friends-of-the-family who make it clear by lunch they’re just here for the free booze; you get the idea. But then there’s Rachel…
Previously, our fair Frisco RoughRiders have maintained a fairly even win-loss record with the Midland RockHounds this season. The Riders were the first half division winners, but recently their Ls seem to be creeping up in number. This is concerning as I see it, because there are just way more…
The two-part tale of French gangster-showman Jacques Mesrine is as densely packed and serially rambling as a well-trafficked Wikipedia entry. Director Jean-François Richet, who whipped up not-bad mayhem in his Assault on Precinct 13 remake, devotes so much time to tallying his subject’s career milestones and highlights that any insight…
When they’re up and dancing, A Bollywood Lysistrata, a new piece by Level Ground Arts in their new home at KD Studio Theatre, feels as fresh and salty-sweet as the cool Indian yogurt drink known as lassi. If only they could have danced all night. It’s the standing-around-talking parts that…
The Switch is a loose adaptation of a Jeffrey Eugenides story called “Baster,” published in The New Yorker in 1996 and deemed fit for inclusion in the 2001 best-of anthology Wonderful Town. Last week, when asked by the New Yorker’s book blog about the film—which stars Jennifer Aniston and Jason…
Midway through Lottery Ticket, a teen-comedy-cum-wish-fulfillment fantasy, the movie’s hero, Kevin Carson, goes on a spending spree. The holder of a $370 million lottery ticket that he can’t cash in until after the July 4 holiday, Kevin accepts a $100,000 loan from a local gangster and proceeds to spend it…
With their wrinkly faces, curlicue tails, labored breathing and underbite, pugs are hilarious little dogs. As for Pugs the comedian, he’s at least got a good start with a funny name–as do “Big” Dick Hunter and someone who simply goes by Ammos. The three have more in common than goofy…
There is a big problem with words like “biennial.” How can a word mean both “every two years” and “lasting for two years?” This sort of lazy word defining is what really gets my goat. Come on, English, you’re better than that! If, for example, you attend the biennial exhibition…
Every year The Dallas Opera puts together a summer-long shindig to prep everyone for its upcoming season. This year’s Baritones & Beachballs will get local opera fans on course for the 2010-2011 season, Dangerous Desires, which will include a production of Gaetano Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, the tale of everyone’s favorite…
To the average person who passed algebra and geometry, understanding the mathematical concept and various formulas behind modular art probably seems like a headache. Feel like wrapping your brain around why 9 + 4 = 1? Instead of cracking open a textbook, drop by the Brazos Gallery at Richland College…
Seeing as how vodka has come to be synonymous with Russian culture, it’s only appropriate that the Dallas Opera would salute the company’s first-ever performance of Boris Gudunov with the breakfast of Russkie champions via a vodka tasting. Though the press release for the Baritones & Beachballs series event doesn’t…
There have been some pretty famous men in the past who have been lucky enough to get some pretty epic nicknames. “The Duke” (John Wayne), “Ol’ Blue Eyes” (Frank Sinatra), “The Boss” (Bruce Springsteen), and of course the most infamous of them all, “Tater Salad.” And to whom does the…
The comedian/actor David Alan Grier is best known for his work on the series In Living Color alongside Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans and Tommy Davidson, but according to Wikipedia, he’s known more for his dramatic acting. Hmm…Nope, I’ll always remember him as Antoine Merriweather in the “Men on Film” sketches…
Even if your idea of hula-hooping gets stuck somewhere between the wrist and shoulder, consider giving the Full Circle Hoop Experience a whirl. Spin Cycle Hoop School calls this childhood flashback a “fitness revolution.” Rightly so. It’s about time someone took note of the physical, mental and social benefits of…
Before there was Hot Shots, before there was the Naked Gun, there was Airplane! Yes, the film that wrested the spoof-movie monopoly from Mel Brooks is playing at the Inwood Theatre. What’s that? Surely I’m joking? I never joke, and don’t call me Shirley. So bring your inflatable co-pilot, your…
What happens when the daughter of a crazy, lovable clan of eccentrics gets engaged to a very nice young man? When Alice Sycamore gets engaged to Tony Kirby, of course there’s a dinner at the Sycamore house. It comes complete with a ballet dancing sister, a mother who paints and…
From his early post-disco dancefloor smash hits to the “Thriller” video’s zombie dance to the moonwalk, Michael Jackson’s music has always been defined by dance. But other than some of the ladies in his music videos, I can’t say I’ve ever associated the King of Pop with anything erotic–or at…
A cupcake is the little black dress of desserts. Both can be dressed up for a wedding or toned down for a birthday party. Wannabe bakers can learn how to do the former–whip up fancy pants cupcakes–at the Central Market Cooking School. The instructor will teach how to make rhubarb…
