100 Dallas Creatives: No. 96 Funny Man Paul Varghese

Mixmaster presents “100 Creatives,” in which we feature cultural entrepreneurs of Dallas in random order. Know an artistic mind who deserves a little bit of blog love? Email lauren.smart@dallasobserver.com with the whos and whys. Calling Paul Varghese Dallas’ first breakout comedy star really isn’t giving him enough credit. Dallas wouldn’t…

100 Dallas Creatives: No. 97 Humanitarian Artist Willie Baronet

Willie Baronet is an artist who wears his intentions on his sleeve. His primary interest is interventionist art and he spends much of his time creating projects that force people to pay attention to someone or something. Currently, Baronet is preparing for a coast-to-coast homeless sign buying trip that will…

100 Dallas Creatives: No. 98 Deep Ellum’s Enterpriser Brandon Castillo

Mixmaster presents “100 Creatives,” in which we feature cultural entrepreneurs of Dallas in random order. Know an artistic mind who deserves a little bit of blog love? Email lauren.smart@dallasobserver.com with the whos and whys. “You can’t have too many businesses,” says Brandon Castillo. Dallas is certainly lucky he thinks so…

100 Dallas Creatives: No. 99 Comedy Queen Amanda Austin

Mixmaster presents “100 Creatives,” in which we feature cultural entrepreneurs of Dallas in random order. Know an artistic mind who deserves a little bit of blog love? Email lauren.smart@dallasobserver.com with the whos and whys. Amanda Austin had the crazy idea to bring long-form improv comedy to Dallas at a time…

100 Dallas Creatives: No. 100 Theater Mastermind Matt Posey

Can you imagine Dallas without creativity? What would this city be like without its artists, thinkers, poets, dreamers, creators? Let’s hope we never find out. These cultural entrepreneurs are making life in this city worth living, vivifying the scene with art, dance, music, events, and so much more. We thought…

Five Events to Celebrate National Poetry Month in Dallas

“April is the cruelest month,” TS Eliot penned to open his poetic triumph, The Wasteland. Poets have written at length about this month filled with spring showers and a sense of renewal. Odgen Nash exhorted readers to marry an April girl; Robert Frost described the days of April as blue…

Texas Pinball Festival Organizers Go for the Guinness Record Book

It was just before the start of the Texas Pinball Festival, the annual gathering of pinball enthusiasts and collectors who brought their prized machines to Dallas/Fort Worth over the weekend for three days of quarter-less play, and an odd quiet filled the 30,000-square-foot play area. Machines from pinball’s heyday filled…

Flappy Bird: In Memoriam

We hardly knew you, Flappy Bird. It’s been just over a week since you first began to pump your little wings on my iPhone, and just like that your creator has returned you to a cage, calling you “addictive” and “a problem.” I know why the caged bird sings, Maya…

Our Five Favorite Rangers Superfans from Rangers Fan Fest

Rangers fans piled into the ballpark Saturday to get a little facetime with their favorite players. Autograph sessions, Q&As, tours of the dugout and a chance to run the bases rounded out the afternoon’s events. We sent photographer Rachel Parker to weave through the masses and find our favorites. While…

At The DIME Store in Denton, Home Is Where the Art Is

On South Locust Street in Denton, between the Davis Purity Bakery and El Guapo’s, sits a small brick building. Inside, children’s stuffed animals, kitchen tea towels, handbags and a menagerie of other items are lined along the walls and arranged on tabletops, in baskets and even on an old stove…

The Tacky Box Helps Kids Stop Saying “Boob”

Your toddler just dropped a Cheerio on the floor and said, “Aww, motherfucking dickjob!” We’ve all been there. But what do you do about it? (After you take a video of it happening one more time, because these days your happiness is based on Facebook “likes” and this moment will…