With supporting roles in Evan Almighty, My Super Ex-Girlfriend and The New Adventures of Old Christine, comedienne Wanda Sykes has carved out a niche as the no-nonsense token black friend. She’s not quite such a stock character as a stand-up comic; one of her oldest bits illustrates a primal difference…
You know why I love The Temptations? (Hint: The answer has nothing to do with their phenomenal harmonies or music. OK, maybe it does a little bit–but not as much as it should.) I love The Temptations because I love The Temptations, NBC’s 1998 made-for-the-small-screen flick about the Motown hit-makers…
Former MAD TV cast member Pablo Francisco’s knack for vocal impersonations and sound effects rival those of fellow voicestrumentalist Michael Winslow (from the Police Academy films). Francisco’s routines combine his vocal talents with observational humor, which result in hilarious bits like movie-preview-man and jokes about how all the DJs on…
If you’ve seen the movie Top Gun you’re no doubt familiar with the Kenny Loggins song “Playing With The Boys,” which perfectly scores that film’s classic beach volleyball scene. It also happened to be the first thing I thought of when confronted with the title of the Latino Cultural Center’s…
I enjoy a good play on words even more when it’s paired with a great cause. Thus, it pleases me that the Furniture Marketing Group and Haworth are hosting the “Everyone Deserves a Place at the Table” fundraiser for the North Texas Food Bank…since, well, both organizations deal with those…
What is it about animal show hosts that make them so interesting to watch? It’s their passion for animals. Not the sort that gets one arrested but the sort that drives little boys to catch fireflies in old mayonnaise jars. Jack Hannah is one of those people who never lost…
You know how movies about cold places always leave you feeling a bit of a chill? Werner Herzog’s Encounters at the End of the World takes you one step further. This is not just a documentary about the landscape of Antarctica or the scientific research that goes on there. It…
In our world cartoons are just drawings. They don’t make contract negotiations, murder people or turn us on. No fun. So if you’re into that sort of thing but have yet to find the magical entrance to Toontown, I guess Hollywood is the next best place to turn for your…
Merely by chance, Defiance, a snappy 2006 drama by Moonstruck writer John Patrick Shanley, and A Soldier’s Play, the 1982 Pulitzer winner by Charles Fuller, are running at the same time at two Dallas theaters, Theatre Three and the new African American Repertory Theater, respectively. The serendipitous scheduling allows playgoers…
Earlier this year, when I found myself assigned to jury duty on a drug-related trial at the Los Angeles Superior Court, our jury foreman turned out to be a blond, blue-eyed reality-TV producer from the bedroom community of Altadena. During the jury-selection process, when the judge asked if we had…
It takes a good while for Ricky Gervais to warm up in Ghost Town; it takes even longer for the audience to warm to Ricky Gervais. During the opening minutes of Ghost Town—an occasionally effective mash-up of Ghost, The Sixth Sense and The Frighteners—Gervais, as Bertram Pincus, D.D.S., is nearly…
Despite the general preconception, quilting isn’t just for little old ladies. It’s a labor of love for anyone who attempts the craft–after two years, thousands of little squares, a countless number of spools of thread, and probably a pint of my own blood, sweat and tears, I made a quilt…
Pity poor zucchini. Like its squash cousin, the pumpkin, it’s a fairly useless fruit that grows large and abundantly. They’re watery and bland, and the gardeners who grow them always wind up with more than they can eat–just like the pumpkin. But Charles Schulz didn’t create The Great Zucchini, did…
You don’t have to understand art to dig it, especially with a venue as cool and hip as the Nasher Sculpture Center. This month, the Nasher turns 5 years old, and to mark the occasion, the curators are throwing a celebratory exhibition called The Story of the Nasher Collection: A…
Oh, how we Dallasites love our transportation. We traipse around in giant trucks and SUVs guzzling gas as though we actually have hauling to do. Back in the days of the carriage–which really connotes hauling of the simplest and toughest kind–there was no pay-at-the-pump and no individual seat warming. Beasts…
Balloons can be fun or scary, depending on how close they are to someone with a pin. But rarely have balloons been labeled “macabre.” Apparently, it takes a BB gun to make that happen–that’s art for you. William Lamson incorporates the set-up and destruction of balloons into his short videos,…
I’m a little confused. Take 12 photographers, have them submit “13 identical, archival, photographic prints from one single image,” share the first dozen with the other photographers, hang up the final one and that’s the Dallas Portfolio Exchange? I think with a little more tweaking and drama, this could be…
If you find yourself running low on incense and craving a drum circle, head for the Moonlady Festival at the Bath House Cultural Center. There will be henna tattoos, jewelry, a yoga theater and a vegetarian café. There will also be a Songwriters Peace Picnic, a Peace Zone, a Peace…
When I was in the second grade, I narced on a girl I caught stealing candy from the teacher’s desk. But lo and behold, she had a pretty good thing going, so I started taking those yummy, sugary snacks from the teacher too! I was teacher’s pet, and Mrs. Frost…
Dallas is experiencing something of a renaissance in the arts, partially due to an upswing in the local gallery scene. The influx of galleries into the Dragon Street and Design District area has given the city thousands of square feet of new space to appreciate up-and-coming work in a variety…
You think it’s gross to let a dog get into a swimming pool, right? You cringe at the thought of all the loose hair, the muddy paws, the slobber. Well, imagine how I feel when I see your baby in the pool with me, in a loose diaper, probably leaking…
This just in: Victoria Jackson is still alive. Remember her? The squeaky-voiced airhead who did handstands on Dennis Miller’s “Weekend Update’ desk? Yep, she’s back. To say she fell into obscurity after her six-season run on Saturday Night Live would be an understatement. Her celebrity status and acting career might…
