Not that I’d complain about an excuse to booze it before noon–I usually find there aren’t enough–but St. Patrick’s Day does have its shortcomings if we want to fully understand the sacrifices and celebrate the contributions made by the Irish to U.S. culture and society. Mixed in among the upbeat…
Every year all different kinds of charities and organizations put on 5Ks, fun runs and marathons to raise money for those in need. This year The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has decided to mix it up a little and make things a bit interesting with its 1st Annual Big D…
Goodbye, winter blues. Hello Human Female, springing from the wildly funny imagination of Texas playwright Matt Lyle, arrives as a late Valentine to the willy-nilly silliness of love among lovable misfits. In its world premiere by Audacity Theatre Lab at the tiny Ochre House Theatre next to Fair Park, Lyle’s…
Haven’t we been here before? The inbred mutant offspring of Crash and Babel, writer-director Wayne Kramer’s Crossing Over treats the subject of illegal immigrants coming to (and from) Los Angeles with the same vulgarity that Kramer brought to his 2006 children-in-peril thriller Running Scared, this time (barely) concealed under a…
If Joaquin Phoenix, who plays a lovelorn bachelor in James Gray’s Two Lovers, were 12 years old, the movie might make a touching, if not noticeably fresh, romantic drama for tweens. Not that adults don’t nurse unhealthy crushes and regress madly under the pressure of hopeless infatuation, which may be…
“Punk’s not dead!” the Exploited shouted at the world back in ’81. But that was then. Punk just turned 30. For sure, being a punk has never been easier. Suppose your mom throws your fave Bad Religion T-shirt out with the garbage or you simply need a new spiked wrist…
If you ever watched Captain Planet and the Planeteers as a kid, then you probably remember the kid who had the lamest power: “Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! And…heart?” If only Planeteer Ma-Ti had spoken in Spanish, his power would have sounded more imposing (“Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! And…Corazon!). After all,…
It must be rough being an artist with a name like Ron Pokrasso, but he’s been at it for more than 25 years now, making a name for himself in a world where a name quite similar to his has already been made. (Not to worry, though;I’m sure he’s formed…
Western swing is forever the music associated with dark dives and greasy diners on the outposts of dusty Texas towns from Pasadena to Archer City to Dallas. It’s what makes you feel at home underneath the neon lights at Sons of Hermann Hall or amongst all the graffiti at Adair’s…
There’s a sure-fire way to check if someone’s worth their salt—check out their Wikipedia page. Take, for instance, Neil Sperry. With the upcoming All Texas Garden Show With Neil Sperry happening this weekend, you have to wonder just what kind of horticulture god gets to be included in the official…
Always insane and eccentric, he wears a long white lab coat, black gloves and a permanent grin. Beakers in hand and hair on end, he is overly obsessed with his work. From Victor Frankenstein, creator of Frankenstein’s monster, to Dexter, the compact and lovable main character of Cartoon Network’s Dexter’s…
I like how kids always name their toys based on what they are. They call their dolls Dolly, a stuffed horse becomes Horsey and plastic dump trucks are lovingly known as Dumpy. That’s why kids will feel right at home in the audience at Sesame Street Live: Elmo’s Green Thumb,…
Observing Black History Month is great and all, but what about really celebrating it? The Dallas Black Dance Theatre has done just that for the past month through its Cultural Awareness Series, culminating this weekend with two strong, energetic shows that span the contemporary and the classic. Soloist John Archie…
The prevalence of life-sized bunnies in our culture is a disturbing trend. On my long list of phobias, giant rabbits rank high…among dancing clowns and comb-over hairstyles. Yet they’ve been hopping in and out of my life since one appeared at an Easter celebration during early childhood. I was as…
A body is frozen mid-flight in the foreground of a building and stark white sky. The eerie image is initially startling, but a sense of familiarity beckons a closer look. The figure’s hands are turned up, his arms are relaxed and a profile of his chin shows him looking upward…
Pablo Francisco is best known for his television work, which includes a stint as a featured player on MADtv, work on the terminally unfunny Mind of Mencia and his take on the late movie-trailer voiceover guy on the impression-fueled Frank TV. But his brand of comedy is probably best experienced…
Have you been putting off that dinner party because you have nothing exciting to serve? Probably not. We realize it’s more likely that you’ve been low on funds. But perhaps it’s because you have no friends. Nonsense! We are your friends! However, if the party has been delayed because indeed…
From Fashion at the Park to the Fashion Industry Gallery, Dallas keeps making strides down the runway of the apparel design biz, and its next stop is the Pin Show. Now in its second year, the show features 25 emerging designers showing 125 looks for men, women and children, as…
Ladies night usually conjures thoughts of free admission before 10 p.m., $1.50 you-call-its before 9 p.m., and a small group of five to 10 girls surrounded by five to 10 hundred dudes wearing too much cologne. Well, here is a ladies night no guy will go near, so the ladies…
The “Rat Pack”—a name that Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin and the rest of the gang never actually called themselves—were an enormous influence on a generation of young men whose sense of cool was shaped by the liquor-swilling, poker-playing, broad-banging entertainers. My Papa Salfi, a Caddy-driving New York-born…
Television shows and movies about friendships between ladies seem to be the new trend lately. You have the film adaptation of the Sex and the City series (and possibly a sequel in the works), The Women, Lipstick Jungle and the dead-as-a-doornail Cashmere Mafia (come on, we knew that one never…
Picture a secret place full of mythical creatures, dancing fairies and a king who all believe you might be their long-lost princess of the underworld. Now it is up to you to prove yourself to be this person of royalty, even though you aren’t sure you believe it, by doing…
