Comedian Jimmy Pardo is handsome and suave. He’s appeared on That ’70s Show and has a Comedy Central special. Sadly, Pardo has also been labeled a “comic’s comic,” which means he’s unlikely to open with lamers like “Who’s married to a bitch?” or “What’s up with black people?” So if…
The latest service to exploit singles’ fear that they’re incapable of finding love without some gimmicky introduction, HurryDate offers a series of four-minute “dates” packed into one desperate night. After each interaction–can you really call it a date?–you write down whether you want to see the other person again. HurryDate’s…
It seems like there’s nothing original anymore. Case in point: Nine, the Tony Award-winning musical closing Irving Community Theater’s 2008 season. It’s inspired by Federico Fellini’s classic film 8 1/2, which was about a director suffering from “director’s block” and was autobiographical in itself. Got it? Oh, and take note–to…
According to the December 2007 article that first accompanied photographer Robb Kendrick’s tintypes of modern cowboys, a typical horse-riding buckaroo can expect to earn around $750 a month. They work from before dawn till after sunset in temperatures that range from below zero to triple digits. Broken ribs and thumbs…
Big Daddy Kane is the headliner here, but make sure to show up on time for the local boys. “Soul Clap,” from Strange Fruit Project’s 2006 The Healing, is a perfect example of what the group does best. It marries funky brass (arranged by Denton funk-rockers Mingo Fishtrap) and jazz…
At my high school, the drama club snuck whiskey into shampoo bottles on UIL trips and drank until morning in Holiday Inns. They weren’t like the maligned theater kids you see in the movies; even the cheerleaders aspired to this drama team. They were infamous for honing their acting skills…
Remember the first time you heard the Pixies’ classic “Where Is My Mind?” It condensed the euphoria of cutting anchor and sailing into the abyss into a four-minute pop song. Now Jay Reatard (that Memphis garage punker from the Lost Sounds, the Retards, Angry Angles and probably a dozen other…
Outstanding performances in last year’s No Country for Old Men and American Gangster along with a role as President George W. Bush in Oliver Stone’s upcoming W. may have you wondering how Josh Brolin became a credible actor seemingly overnight at age 40. But those of us who grew up…
Will Rogers entertained audiences spanning several generations before his untimely and nation-shocking demise in a plane crash. He was endeared to America through his natural wit and accessible humor…not to mention his vaudeville, columns, radio shows, movies and stage work. Rogers was even an ace of the lariat—something some working…
I haven’t seen much at the movies in the past two years that has given me as much unbridled comic pleasure as the sight of Will Ferrell as the win-at-any-cost NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby, calling on Jesus, Tom Cruise and Oprah Winfrey to put out the psychosomatic flames engulfing his…
Making notes in 1949 for a review of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, George Orwell wrote that “Waugh is about as good a novelist as one can be…while holding untenable opinions.” Which is a nice way of saying that Waugh, a world-class satirist of everyone from the rich down, was also…
Two plays, one cast of characters. That’s the tricky problem of House and Garden, the simultaneous double bill of Alan Ayckbourn comedies currently running 14 actors gloriously ragged on the two stages at Theatre Three. Upstairs, the House residents, dashing around a rambling pile of bricks in the British countryside,…
So you say you like baseball, huh? Ever been to a “big game”? You know, the ones that make you forget the rivulets of sweat behind your knees and the jerk behind you that poured beer down your back (OK, fine. That actually felt sorta good.) Well, the Library Bar…
Is there anything greater than democracy? I’m not just talking about unalienable rights, freedom of religion, the right to bare arms, yadda yadda yadda. Whatever. No, the democracy I’m talking about is the freedom to choose the winner. While Bush steps on the throat of most civil liberties, the entertainment…
More often than not, engineers are not terribly artistic people. Of course, there are always exceptions to such blanket statements, but for the most part, engineers tend to use the parts of their brains associated with highly technical work. Even drawing for engineers is more about precision than artistry. That’s…
It’s not really necessary to visit a museum to see great artwork anymore. NorthPark Center has an extensive collection on display for you to enjoy between trips to Forever 21 and Chick-Fil-A. Many large corporations have their own impressive collections on display in lobbies and towers in downtown. And I…
This might be your last chance. Pay attention to what I’m telling you: This Sunday, you can get half-priced food at the Libertine. Yeah, that’s right. The Libertine, home of that succulent steak sandwich, that sinful mac and cheese, and a ton of other tasty bites, is offering one last…
When someone you work with is better than you at everything, it can be frustrating. Now, the best way to combat this without forsaking your soul is to make fun of them in a non-threatening manner. This is the tack the writers of The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) took:…
Growing up, when my folks took me to those “living museums” like Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, I was mesmerized by the glass blowers. I’d stand there for hours watching the guys haul those great piles of melted glass, amazed by the swirls of colors that cooled together. Then, when I was…
Comedian Ralphie May looks like an average white guy–or rather, a morbidly obese white guy–but claims to live in the ‘hood and have “a few drops” of black blood in him. Racial humor is his specialty, which would be fine if he didn’t depend on such tired, beaten-to-death topics, like…
When you think of the things produced by our fair city, several immediately spring to mind, and you can put most of them in your mouth–Mrs. Baird’s bread, frozen margaritas, Fletcher’s Corny Dogs, 7-Eleven, fried Coke, fried guacamole bites, etc., etc. (Can you tell we’re getting amped up for the…
Do you know Twyla? You may not think so, but you probably do. Even if you’ve only seen Robin Williams’ imitation of Twyla Tharp in The Birdcage, the 67-year-old dance legend continues to make an impact in the dance world via movie, musical and stage choreography. One of her main…
