Arts & Culture

The notion that women have a thing for firefighters is debatable, and opinions tend to range from the stereotypical “They’re all good-looking,” to “Nah, forest rangers are more attractive.” I personally find their appearance less attractive than their actual duty–that’s hot. If you’d like to research the subject in person,…

The Manhattan Transfer hasn’t released an album since 2006’s An Acapella Christmas and The Symphony Sessions, but who are we kidding? That doesn’t matter one jazzily delivered lick. The Transfer is known for their four-part, middle-aged, co-ed harmonies and popped-up vocal “stylings” of jazz standards…and for a few songs that,…

Michael Martin Murphey might be fond of wearing buckskin jackets and singing “Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” but make no mistake, he was raised just the other side o’ the river in Oak Cliff and “discovered” by A&M Records’ Bob Johnston playing in the long-gone Rubaiyat. He’s best known to the world as…

I don’t know what twinkling, multi-colored bulbs have to do with the holiday season, except that our culture has strung them together from, say, oh…the dawn of time. None-the-less, I am appreciative. Because, when standing in the midst of thousands of glimmeries, clad head to toe in fleece and with…

According to the legend, after Pheidippides ran approximately 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to announce the defeat of the Persians, he collapsed and died. If the first guy that did something dies as a direct result, you wouldn’t think that activity would become a universally prized ambition. You would…

Waiter: “And what would you like to eat, little girl?” Girl [occasionally at a non-indoor speaking volume]: “I’ll have French toast with syrup! And strawberries! And bacon! And juice! No, wait! Eggs! This looks yummy, I’m hungry!” Waiter: “And for you?” Ballerina: “I’ll have three egg whites and black coffee.”…

Tracy Morgan is a complex character, a comedian who seems to exist somewhat seamlessly with his alter ego, 30 Rock’s Tracy Jordan. Morgan’s portrayal of Tracy Jordan on the critically acclaimed sitcom is a performance so natural that it hardly receives any notice at all. While Tina Fey and Alec…

When I think of Latin Holiday music, I, like many boring WASPs the world over, can only muster a list of one: Jose Feliciano’s classic “Feliz Navidad.”” Granted, it’s a good one, but half of it’s in English, so it’s pretty much a cop-out. Thankfully, DFW International has the holiday…

And now for a bonus question: what do Lisa Leslie, arguably one of the greatest female basketball players ever, and Michael Lockwood, a controversial first-time author, have in common? Answer: Both of their last names start with the letter L. Also, as a side note, they’ll both be at Barnes…

Parenting question No. 56: How do I get my kids interested in the books I loved when I was a kid? Answer: Make them into movies! Parenting question No. 57: What if said movie involves Tom Hanks doing five different voices and my kids still don’t bite? Answer: Put it…

Year in, year out, Christmas traditions have a way of blurring together into one long series of tiresome light tours and forced viewings of The Nutcracker. Puppetry, on the other hand, is just corny enough to be cool. A colleague of ours here at the DO has a son who…

Madeline has a special place in my heart. For the longest time I wasn’t a fan of that little French girl with the cute blue coat and signature yellow hat—precocious children tend to get on my last nerve. But here’s the thing: I have a niece, Madeline. She’s a rough-and-tumble…

Even with its floods, fires and earthquakes, the world is beautiful. As are artist David Kirkland’s drawings, interpreted as natural disasters on landscapes. Kirkland’s photograms (art made with photo-sensitive material) are drawn with flashlights, fiber-optic lamps and even a cell phone’s glow to create “little voyages”, a series of drawings…

Michael Lavigne’s debut novel Not Me tells the story of a son searching for his own identity while learning the truth about his father’s past—a past that is riddled with 60 years of uncertain memories, distorted history and assumed identities. Tonight at 7 p.m., Lavigne will be discussing Not Me…

The first time I read “Boxing Day” on a calendar, I couldn’t wait to box the SHIT out of my asshole brother. Of course, when I asked Mom where we kept the gloves I was rather disappointed. But apparently it’s a real holiday in England, as characters have a Boxing…

The opening credits flash across a shabby trailer where two plastic pink flamingos gracefully adorn a scorched, dirty lawn. And that’s where this frame-for-frame description of John Waters’ 1972 cult classic Pink Flamingos has to end. The NC-17 midnight favorite is one of those things you just have to see…

If Guillermo del Toro, the writer and director of Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy, calls a movie “thrilling, disturbing and haunting,” odds are that you’re in for a frighteningly good film. For Fear(s) of the Dark, six world-renowned comic and graphic artists and illustrators have teamed up to breathe life into…

The death of Richard Wright, founding member of Pink Floyd, in September reminded us that while classic rock is timeless, the actual rock bands are full of old, fragile humans. Good thing that the music lives on in tribute bands such as Bricks in the Wall, which is full of…

Many talented people have passed through the television meat-grinding juggernaut that is Saturday Night Live. Some have gone on to bigger, if not always better, things (I’m looking at you, Chevy Chase), while some leave and are never heard from again (I’m looking at you, Brad Hall). When Jimmy Fallon…