Email Author John Freeman

2008 Stories by John Freeman

• Whodunnit?

  published December 25, 2008

  Most of us have played the game Clue, or at least have seen the movie. You know, "Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the lead pipe." It can... More >>

• Power Up

  published December 18, 2008

  The Webb Gallery in Waxahachie has been a haven for outsider, folk and just plain strange art for more than two decades. If you make the 30-mile... More >>

• Jimmy The Giggler

  published December 11, 2008

  Many talented people have passed through the television meat-grinding juggernaut that is Saturday Night Live. Some have gone on to bigger,... More >>

• Cut Loose

  published December 4, 2008

  The classic 1984 movie Footloose means lots of things to lots of people. It's an inspiring tale of what one teenager with a dream can... More >>

• Awwwwoooooo

  published November 27, 2008

  There are as many versions of the story of Little Red Riding Hood as there are matador pants in Prince's closet. There have been... More >>

• Kind of a Big Deal

  published November 20, 2008

  Howie Mandel has had several careers in the entertainment biz. After a few years as a stand-up comic, he became world famous with his role as Dr.... More >>

• Sounds Funny

  published November 6, 2008

  When I was 13 years old, I used to sneak into the dollar movie theater near our apartment in north Dallas. This was a common occurrence for me... More >>

• Constant Langing

  published October 30, 2008

  If I were a billionaire, I would use my first billion to arrange a boxing match between K.D. Lang and Sarah Palin. This may seem like a... More >>

• Football Flasher

  published October 16, 2008

  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... More >>

• Jacksonian

  published October 16, 2008

  Jackson Browne has been through many phases in his long and illustrious career. He started off as a songwriter for, among others, the... More >>

• Country Boy

  published October 9, 2008

  What is up with Billy Bob's? For years it was world-famous for showcasing country and Western acts exclusively. But things have changed. A while... More >>

• Poison From the Past

  published September 25, 2008

  When archeologists first discovered artifacts from Greek and Roman civilizations, they must have been struck by their beauty and majesty. When... More >>

• Cook or Kook?

  published September 18, 2008

  Long before The Food Network hocked up loogies like Paula Dean and Rachel Ray, TV cooking shows had some integrity. They aired on Sundays on PBS,... More >>

• Adam And Squeeze

  published September 4, 2008

  I know what you hear in your head when someone mentions the band Squeeze. You probably picture that awkward and embarrassing scene in... More >>

• Going Gustav

  published August 21, 2008

  The title "The Mahler Cycle" sounds like some low-budget 1970s science-fiction flick where a computer learns to program itself and creates a... More >>

• Head East

  published August 14, 2008

  Dallas is lucky to have the Asian Film Festival. Your average moviegoer still thinks of Asian films exclusively in terms of kung-fu and... More >>

• Say It!

  published August 7, 2008

  When I first heard the name of the play, Say You Love Satan, it conjured up a memory. I once read a true crime book about a Long... More >>

• Spiked Up

  published July 31, 2008

  When people think about volleyball, some may reminisce about that awesome game in junior high where they spiked the hell out of that ball. Others... More >>

• He Is The Warrior

  published July 24, 2008

  Long before he was famous for being a freaky, drunk-driving filmmaker obsessed with dead languages and gore, Mel Gibson was just another... More >>

• Creative Assassination

  published July 17, 2008

  Dallas will always be saddled with the reputation of being the city where John F. Kennedy was assassinated. By the same token, director Oliver... More >>

• Greed Machine

  published July 3, 2008

  To quote the late Rick James, "Cocaine is a hell of a drug." At one point, Oliver Stone was as famous for his cocaine use as for his films. 1987's... More >>

• Let's Dance!

  published June 26, 2008

  Once again, the '80s are spewing forth into our modern age like a Rubik's Cube being shot out of a wormhole. Footloose—The... More >>

• End Of Line

  published June 12, 2008

  In 1982, several major events occurred. The first artificial heart was implanted. The Weather Channel debuted on cable. But looking back, the most... More >>

• 'Spray Onstage

  published June 12, 2008

  If someone had told me when I was a teenager that in the future John Waters would be producing family entertainment, I would have laughed in their... More >>

• Live Isle

  published June 5, 2008

  It's nice when you can take what some would consider a silly and substandard television show and elevate its artistic value by taking it into the... More >>