Most people know Diego Rivera for his calming depictions of earthy, wide-bodied women selling bundles of lilies, or possibly for his intricate, Hieronymus Bosch-like murals of Mexican history. (You most certainly do not know him by his full name, which is astounding: Diego Maria de la Concepcion Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao…
Dallas food lovers love to gripe that there’s no good (fill in the blank) here. Praise Sonny Bryan’s and they’ll scoff that you have to go to Lockhart to get true ‘cue. Say something nice about Keller’s and they’ll call you an idiot for suggesting anyone in the Big D…
The 15th Annual Don’t Believe the Hype Celebrity Bowl-a-thon continues the event’s long tradition of raising money for black charities and organizations like the Africa Care Academy, the Emmett Till Foundation, the Texas Black Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Journalists scholarship fund. Past…
Greg Rucka is incredibly busy, people. Now, normally, writers will claim they are busy–all the research, the drafts, the edits–when it’s really a case of perfected procrastination–daytime TV, coffee runs, walk the dog, laundry (lots of small loads), a repair project that will end in calling someone, and then when…
Greg Rucka is incredibly busy, people. Now, normally, writers will claim they are busy–all the research, the drafts, the edits–when it’s really a case of perfected procrastination–daytime TV, coffee runs, walking the dog, laundry (lots of small loads), a repair project that will end in calling someone, and then when…
It’s a tough world out there for singles today. Partly because axe murderers are running rampant these days, but also because there are only like three or four places where you can meet a potential partner: at a bar, at McDonald’s or on the Internet. And while those first two…
The World War II veteran is a storied and legendary figure in our history: a maverick, tough-talking soldier who battled through all manner of hardships to keep his country safe from a multitude of threats between 1941 and 1945. And although every Memorial Day sees all-day marathons of war flicks…
Sure, most of my exposure to motocross consists of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circuses I attended as a kid. At least, I’m pretty sure the guys in the Globe of Death were riding dirt bikes–if they were riding Harleys, then they truly are the biggest badasses in…
Hoodwinking the government–or attempting to–is a common fantasy. But in reality, it’s not so great. The government always wins. Trust us. But you can experience that fantasy vicariously and consequence-free through Cash on Delivery, a theatrical British farce that centers on a con artist whose jig is finally up after…
Less than two years after Trey Parker and Matt Stone introduced us to the foul-mouthed Eric Cartman, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski and Kenny McCormick on Comedy Central, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut debuted on the big screen. The boys’ crude vocabulary reaches new levels after they see Asses of…
We first met her as the rebellious, basketball-playing teenager on the show we all loved to hate (or maybe that was just me), 7th Heaven. Flash forward a few years and we got to watch her running for her life away from the disfigured, chainsaw-wielding mass murderer in the remake…
Man, I sure did love NewsRadio. It was a smart sitcom in which great characters and performances ran rampant. But it would never have been the same without its resident fix-it man and conspiracy theorist Joe Garelli, played perfectly by the stone-faced Joe Rogan. Since the demise of NewsRadio, Rogan…
A lone, naked figure swims in the deserted ocean. The ominous, two-note score stalks the ears. The camera floats at the sea level. Then, sudden as a lightning bolt, the swimmer is jerked violently down. A shriek of terror fills the screen as she is mercilessly attacked by a…shark. With…
Morgan Taylor, creator of the children’s music character Gustafer Yellowgold, is an inspiring example of the good things that can happen when you stop worrying about marketability and just create things that you love. I had the chance to interview him for the Observer’s music section last year, and I…
As a native New Mexican, the first questions I’m normally asked are, “So you can speak Spanish, right?” and “Were there really aliens in Roswell?” Get past the stereotypes and you’ll find that New Mexico has a lot more to offer than alien paraphernalia and a name that resembles the…
Morgan Taylor, creator of the children’s music character Gustafer Yellowgold, is an inspiring example of the good things that can happen when you stop worrying about marketability and just create things that you love. I had the chance to interview him for the Observer’s music section last year, and I…
Things you don’t want to hear at a picnic: “Does this egg salad smell off to you?” “I thought you packed the forks!” “Watch out for the…dog poo.” Things you do want to hear at a picnic: “Would you like another serving of lobster remoulade salad?” “I adore this plum-barbecued…
Think of artist Sevan Melikyan as the visual equivalent of Danger Mouse if you want, taking source material from other artists and reshaping it into something equally compelling. By running classic paintings by Van Gogh, Degas and Cezanne through photo software and breaking down their composition, Melikyan exposes the basic…
I think it’s funny to think of a time when white Americans were, across the board, afraid of Asians (of the Chinese and Japanese variety in particular)–I know I can be a bit intimidating, but seriously? What is now seen as the model minority, with our stereotypically superior math skills…
Over the past couple of years, Amy Winehouse and a whole slew of up-and-coming artists have made it their (show) business to capitalize on a nouveau soul revival. ‘Course, Winehouse has made a decided effort lately to work harder on her soulless lifestyle than a soulful sound, but we’re sure…
Aside from a few unimpressive attempts at surfing as a sixth-grader–I retired after I managed to stay on my feet for a few seconds–my exposure to surf culture was mostly limited to the Beach Boys and the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. But even my one moment of triumph on the board…
Nic Nicosia left Dallas for Santa Fe, but that doesn’t mean that he’s churning out photos of pueblos and ambiguous desert flowers. His work still speaks to his reputation as one who captures and chronicles American life in all of its seediness, urbanity and multifaceted beauty. See for yourself with…
