Arts & Culture

Some folks are all about the rare find that can elevate status and, well, just make them seem awesome to others. So Jacqueline Cambata’s latest line of porcelain–exclusive to The Crow Collection of Asian Art’s Lotus Shop–should be right up their collective alleys. Except that Cambata’s porcelain is actually a…

Let’s start out by acknowledging that ParaNormalRomance.org (the official homepage for the ParaNormalRomance Groups–for real), called Mary Janice Davidson’s first effort in the Vampire Queen Betsy Taylor series, Undead and Unwed, “a hilarious book,” while author Christine Feehan dubbed it “erotically passionate.” Hoo wee! Move over, Stephenie Meyer, because it…

If it’s been awhile since you’ve trekked it over to Fort Worth, now’s the time to do it. Recently Lancaster Avenue’s been taken over by a series of six stainless steel 30-foot tall sculptures dubbed the Avenue of Light. If the sculptures, by artist Cliff Garten, impress you (which they…

Anyone can take a trip to France and get a nice, artsy shot of the Eiffel Tower, but it often takes a keener eye to find the beauty in your own backyard. An eye like that of photographer Jenny Ellerbe, who finds her inspiration in the small towns, bayous and…

Working in a gallery, you’re surrounded by products of other people’s inspiration, but it’s rare you get to make a truly inspired choice yourself. So the current pairing of exhibits at the Irving Arts Center–Looking In: Earth From Space together with Looking Out: Space From Earth–is especially impressive. This is…

We’ve been trained to answer our cell phones when they ring, or die trying (ignoring them is rude). It’s not much of a leap to imagine yourself sitting in a cafe, listening to someone else’s ringing leash before you get up and answer it. That’s just what Jean, the main…

When you have a job as a receptionist, there are certain things you have to learn to live with. You get used to phones ringing off the hook, fax machines malfunctioning and angry clients yelling. But no matter how good you become at your job, something always comes along to…

Say what you will about the quality of public education, but my friends and I never had to deal with militant nuns and their abusive rulers. Sure, I couldn’t tell you which saint I should pray to if I should get lost in a forest, but then again I’ve read…

There are people who follow trails, and people who always get lost trying to follow the trails made by others. For those falling into the latter category, National Trails Day is just the thing for you. Instead of following other people’s trails, you can be a regular trailblazer by helping…

Do you want to learn to rope a calf cowgirl-style? Cowgirls and ranch women from the Dallas-Fort Worth area will be on hand to tell you how and much more at the Women’s Museum Hold Your Horses free outdoor festival from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday. There will also be…

Joan Crawford gives adoption a bad, bad name. When Christina Crawford was taken in by the movie star in 1940, it appeared that the little girl was destined for a life of glamour and privilege. Little did anyone know that her adoptive mother ruled over the household with intense fury…

When Mystery Science Theater 3000 was originally on the air, a group of friends and I used to begrudgingly view it and say, “Man, I could have come up with that, we do that anyway!” In case you missed it, MST3K would scour the dregs of the B-Movie vaults for…

Ladies, unless you have a microphone hidden in the locker of your man’s clubhouse, then there’s no way you can truly know him. At least that’s the idea behind Ron Stout’s Secrets From Inside the Clubhouse: What Men REALLY Think About Women. Never mind the fact that most guys I…

Fudge-covered, peanut butter-filled pretzels in vanilla malt ice cream rippled with fudge and peanut butter: This is the description of Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream. As much as I like frozen confections, I think sometimes Ben and Jerry are just trying too hard. Give me the simple richness…

With some comics, it takes several minutes of their acts to get where their humor is coming from. With others, all you have to do is read their self-penned bios. Case in point, an excerpt from Christian Finnegan’s self-description: “He also travels this great nation, bringing his own special brand…

Theme parks are supposed to be filled with children eating cotton candy while standing in line to ride the coolest new attraction, and teenagers trying to guess our weight as part of their summer job. It’s not to supposed to include you running for your life from a seven-ton, vicious…

Harmon and Harriet Kelley began collecting African-American art in 1987 and have amassed a collection that represents a broad range of genres and artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. The Kelley collection is one of the most esteemed private collections of African-American art. From Saturday through August 23, the…

Back in 1998, I pulled on my tight jeans and skimpiest halter top and headed out to Texas Stadium to indulge my alter ego as one of a posse of screaming high-school girls at the George Strait concert. We spent the evening shouting the words to “Blue Clear Sky” and…

It’s that time of year again when the rich and famous flock to the south of France to take part in lavish yacht parties and view fantastic pieces of cinema months before the rest of us will even have a shot at them. In fact, some 2008 Festival de Cannes…

“The best comedy comes from the truth,” X-rated comic Robert Schimmel has said–and proven, with hilarious observations mixed with compassion and insight when documenting his bout with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in his 2008 book, Cancer on $5 a Day* *(chemo not included): How Humor Got Me Through the Toughest Journey of…