When the days grow shorter and the leaves rattle on the trees, while pumpkins begin to appear beside front doors to await their violent, eviscerated ends, lots of people put on spooky seasonal shows calculated to appeal to those who love this macabre time of the year (anyone who has…
If only Alice had been more patient with the Mad Hatter, she may have found the key to making sense of Wonderland. This was certainly the case for artist James Gasowski. A colorful life shared between California, New York and Europe taught him that the world is a mixed-up place,…
Though I shudder at the thought of clowns, I love the circus. Tigers, elephants, high-wire acts, cotton candy, pony rides…and it all goes to a good cause. Well, normally it all goes into the owner’s pocket, but the Moslah Shriners’ 66th Annual Shrine Circus–put on by the guys that wear…
Question: What entertaining event offers a hodgepodge of twirling, toe pointing and feet shuffling? I’ll give you a hint: It’s not So You Think You Can Dance With the Stars of America’s Best Dance Crew. Answer: Festa Danza–An Addison Dance Festival, a combination of African, ballroom, modern and Mexican dance–sorry,…
The Dallas Producers Association is celebrating the “weird and wild” with a toast to and roast of Dallas- and North Texas-produced flicks for the fourth annual It Came From Dallas! fund-raiser. Case in point: Gator Bait, the 1974 movie promoting Desiree Thibodeau (Claudia Jennings) as “Half Animal…All Woman.” How about…
The Nasher Sculpture Center may only be 5-years-old, but it totally knows how to celebrate. The museum is kicking out the jams family-style with sculpture scavenger hunts, live dance (courtesy the Dallas Black Dance Theatre), choral (Arts District Chorale) and opera highlights (Dallas Opera), museum tours, artist demos and so…
I know, I know. It’s called Tuna Does Vegas. But part of me really wishes it was Vegas Does Tuna so I could observe not only how many wardrobe changes it would take to make a really, really awesome tuna sandwich onstage, but also so I could see a long…
New cookbooks are OK, but there’s no beating a vintage recipe collection. The best thing I inherited from my step-grandpa was an Italian cookbook that dated to before I was born, before Weight Watchers and PETA ruined everthing. There is–no shit–a recipe for whale steak, and a “Light Meals” section…
It was only a matter of time before Philip Roth’s intensely explicit short novel, The Dying Animal, was brought to the big screen. Elegy, the film adaptation directed by Isabel Coixet, brings out the big guns with Academy Award nominees and winners filling the complicated shoes of its four main…
Playing the title character in What About Bob?, Bill Murray explains to his psychiatrist, “There are two types of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don’t…My ex-wife loves him.” Though blaming his ex-wife’s love of Mr. Diamond for the failure of their marriage sounds…
Ever since her performance on Good Times back in the ’70s, it was obvious that Janet was going to be much more that just another Jackson. Tito could never elicit the pathos and empathy that Janet did as Penny, the abused neighbor girl looking for a way out. She breathed…
Oh, that Kevin Moriarty. The new director of the Dallas Theater Center kicks off his inaugural season with the rock opera Tommy, gets rave reviews and then decides he wants to spark meaningful dialogue with plays that speak directly to us through compelling stories. With DTC’s latest offering, The Good…
Let’s play that word association game, ready? Pamela Anderson. Boobs. Jessica Simpson. Boobs. I wish I (my wife/girlfriend) had bigger…you get the picture. OK, so maybe this isn’t true of everyone, but there’s no denying that the fascination with big ta-tas has spawned a ridiculously lucrative industry intent on perfecting…
Christian Wiman, nationally renowned poet, editor of Poetry magazine and author of The Long Home and Ambition and Survival: Becoming a Poet, is known for employing tightly controlled traditional techniques to explore spirituality rather than the chaotic broken-prose confessions favored by other contemporary poets. However, his insistence on starting every…
Brian Gibb is a dangerous man. He can make you want things. He can make you buy things. And he doesn’t even have to be in the room. His eye for talent brings some seriously amazing shows to his gallery, The Public Trust. But more important, his own art is…well…addictive…
Did you know it was Texas Wine Month? We sure didn’t. If we had known, we might have taken a break from our own private 18-pack-a-day celebration. Oh well. If you’re actually cultured enough to know about Texas Wine Month you’d probably like to know that The Grape Restaurant is…
Obviously, DART is not the best public transportation system in the world. Or the United States for that matter. Probably not even the best in Texas. So when the people of Saturday’s Urban Challenge event say you can only use public transportation to find the checkpoints in their charity scavenger…
Call us crazy, but despite gluttony being one of the seven deadly sins, we really have no problem with shoveling some seriously delicious food into our cakeholes. Especially, when the price to do so is but $20 and the samplings (offered fair-style for purchased tickets) come from more than 10…
If there were ever a movie that should be adapted into a Broadway play, it’s Thelma and Louise. Think about it: The Dixie Chicks could provide a rollicking soundtrack by writing songs in the vein of their hit, “Goodbye Earl”; Daniel Radcliffe could take a break from getting naked with…
Fahamu Pecou gained attention with his self-marketing “Fahamu Pecou is the Shit” campaign, depicting his likeness on magazines like Artforum, Flash Art and Interview. His current exhibit, Stunt’d Like My Daddy, is presumably named for the similarly titled Birdman and Lil’ Wayne song “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy,” which celebrates the…
The soundtrack of my girl’s nights circa 2002 involves a lot of Britney Spears, Prince’s “Pussy Control” and a little JT. Britney knew how to make a girl feel hot while ‘getting ready.’ Once at the club our damn near choreographed “Pussy Control” dance was…well you can imagine. Timberlake was…
I have a big problem with “regular” circuses that beat elephants, starve lions and drug dogs, but the Jim Rose Circus is one I can get behind. Consenting adult humans doing crazy shit to and with their bodies for my entertainment? Bring it on! For almost 20 years, Rose and…
