Arts & Culture

You can probably think of at least 99 reasons why “99 Red Balloons” is not the greatest song ever written, but that might be precisely the point of the new show opening Saturday at the artist-run 500X Gallery. “99 Red Balloons” Was the Greatest Song Ever Written showcases the art…

When you’re at the Command Performance of International Ballet try to behave yourself and refrain from using your newfound mind powers to telekinetically inflate a male dancer’s nut bunch in a hilarious balloon-like fashion. What mind powers? The mind powers you got after being doused with errant radioactive sludge from…

I love festivals, and the Deep Ellum Arts Festival is one of the good ones. I know because I’ve been somewhat of a connoisseur since the time many years ago when I randomly ran into a beautiful Texas girl whose mother was displaying pottery at a festival in Park City,…

Master hypnotist Gary Conrad is the best master hypnotist of all master hypnotists, alive, dead or living dead. Master hypnotist Gary Conrad performs flawless, life-altering feats of suggestion that are unmatched in this or any other known galaxy, universe or alternate dimension. Master hypnotist Gary Conrad was a guest on…

The late actor Jeremy Brett inhabits the character of Sherlock Holmes in my imagination now, thanks to the PBS series in which he portrayed the brilliant but tormented detective created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Dozens of actors before and since have tackled the role, including Peter O’Toole, Michael Caine, Christopher…

The history of jazz in North Texas is long and deep—there’s Scott Joplin, Hot Lips Schutze, Jack Teagarden, T Bone Walker, Harry James and Charlie Christian, just to name a few, all of which you can see on display in a collection of photographs at the J. Erik Jonsson Central…

My mom didn’t approve of Barbies. She thought they were too sexual for grade-schoolers. (I do admit that when I played with the forbidden toys at a friend’s house, we sometimes made Barbie and Ken do naughty, naughty things. But honestly, what are you supposed to do with nubile, poseable…

Unless you’ve lived in the same abode your entire life, one can’t help but sympathize with Alexander, protagonist of Alexander Who’s Not, Not, Not, Not, Not Going to Move. After all, moving is a giant pain in the ass. First you have to pack (“When did we get so much…

I was really worried that Peter O’Toole might sneak in and win the Academy Award this year over Forest Whitaker. I wasn’t sure if Hollywood was going to get sentimental and give it to the legendary actor or actually award the best nominated performance of the year (which they did)…

Before becoming a comedy legend by playing against type in classic cinematic masterpieces such as Airplane and The Naked Gun, Leslie Nielsen was a “serious actor.” In fact, Nielsen has appeared in more than 200 movies and TV shows, playing everything from doctors to soldiers to the ship’s captain in…

Most people are aware that the U.S. government did not approve of the peace movement during the Vietnam War. Actually, strike that—the U.S. government has never approved of any peace movement ever. Arguably, the most public and well-known figure of the peace movement during the Vietnam era was John Lennon…

Sky and shade is an apt description of recent works by Chicago-based collage artist Andrew Young. With meticulously executed images of science and nature constructed with supplies like hand-stained rice papers and mineral pigments, he captures the ideas of both shelter and warmth in the essence of the world around…

At first sight, there’s nothing artistic about Flubber, the wobbly star of comedies since the ’60s. But Flubber is also considered a source of energy and is referred to as the stuff dreams are made of. We think the same can be said about art. Skidmore College professor Victoria Palermo’s…

In classrooms across the country, little girls with acerbic wits are told every day, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” After all, we’re composed of sugar and spice. Boys get a little leeway—a tough exterior and a “You want summa this?” attitude are…

Easter’s here, and kids everywhere are peeing their pants thinking about all the Peeps they’re gonna eat. But in Dallas, Easter is about more than just candy—it means the arrival of the annual Easter in the Park event, where we get to enjoy a free Dallas Symphony Orchestra concert and…

It always makes me wonder when a band’s name incorporates the founder’s name. Do the members of Dave Matthews Band resent the fact that it’s all about Dave? Did Van Halen’s Michael Anthony ever bitch about not feeling like a real part of the band family? And don’t even get…

Bring on the rain. This ghastly musical by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown plods along like a tired circus beast as it tells the story of Leo Frank, a young Jewish factory manager in 1913 Atlanta who is railroaded to a guilty verdict in the rape and murder of…

It never occurred to me that chess was a contact sport. Recently I was shocked to find out my Catholic school nephew got in a fight with another boy—in his chess club. How could this happen? Was a threefold repetition not going to cut it? Did one call the other…

Get your chainmail chaps, your magic wand and your creepy leather out, folks. It’s time for the Scarborough Renaissance Festival. You want State Fair food served to you by toothless wenches? No need to go to Hooters (although I hear their wings are awesome). Scarborough has exactly what you need…