War, death and pestilence are the noteworthy headlines, yet we grasp on to our tangible items, such as the newest Lexus, the widest flat screen, this year's most sought-after name-brand fashions. Some people thrive on bringing false judgments upon others every day for what they do not have. These types need "things" to make themselves feel fulfilled and worthy, thus proving themselves to their peers and idols. They need "things" to forget a common truth in our existence: Everything is transient. This veil of materialism not only controls our lives, actions and desires, it also manipulates us into a feeling of permanency. Please learn to let go. How, you ask? Take a lesson from the Tibetan Buddhist monks from Loseling Monastery. From November 15 to November 22 at the Crow Collection of Asian Art, they're bringing the inspirational Tantric expression: constructing a meticulous mandala sand painting, dismantling it and dispersing the sand to disperse the energy. This artful expression of impermanence begins with millions of colored sand granules attentively laid into age-old designs in order to purify and regenerate the environment. The monks will chant and call for the forces of goodness in the beginning ceremony, only to dismantle the painting a week later during the closing ceremony by sweeping up the sand and releasing it into White Rock Lake. These multiphonic monks, who simultaneously intone three notes of a chord, will also perform a Sacred Music, Sacred Dance for the World Healing concert November 20 at the Dallas Museum of Art's Horchow Auditorium, 1717 N. Harwood St. Call 214-979-6438 or visit www.crowcollection.org. --Desirée Henry
Cowgirl Up
11/13
Curious about your mom and dad's movie-screen heroes? Want to know what the world of Saturday-afternoon matinees, featuring B-westerns, was all about? Then stop in at Barnes & Noble (7700 W. Northwest Highway) on November 13 at 7:30 p.m. and say howdy to Cheryl Rogers-Barnett, the eldest daughter of famous Hollywood couple Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, King of the Cowboys and Queen of the West. In her new book, Cowboy Princess: Life With My Parents Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Rogers-Barnett tells the heartwarming story of two of America's entertainment-world icons, even better than Yours Truly did back in 1979 when he helped her parents write their autobiography, Happy Trails. Call 214-739-1124. --Carlton Stowers
The Big Chill
11/15
We are so ill-prepared for winter weather in South Texas that when we saw our first snowfall in 1985 we had no mittens; Mom wrapped our hands with plastic baggies secured with a rubber band. And we built our first snowman--6 inches high--of icy Texas snow intermingled with dead grass and gravel. After a lifetime of "green" winters, we moved north, looking for white ones; though, Dallas wasn't really far enough. Unless you count Dallas Snowfest--a carnival of manufactured flakes featuring a tubing hill, ice-skating, skiing and snowboarding lessons and a "play center." Snowfest drifts into Dallas Market Hall, 2200 Stemmons Freeway, November 15 through November 16. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for children 6 to 12 and free for children 5 and under. Visit www.texassnowfest.com. --Michelle Martinez
Hot to Trot
Pepperheads have their day
11/16
If you're a lover of the hot and hotter, you've gotta be at the Old Town Shopping Center on November 16 for the annual Chile Pepperama Festival. Beginning at 11 a.m. and running until 5 p.m., it's gonna be warm as the festival salutes the spicy impact of chile peppers and other hot and tangy ingredients on Texas cuisine. In addition to hotter 'n hell food, there will be live entertainment ranging from salsa (which is appropriate) to rock, arts-and-crafts vendors and lots of fun for the kiddies. And if it's high drama competition you're looking for, watch how members of the Texas Chefs Association go at it in the Chili Confrontation Cook-Off and the Pumpkin Ice Cream Crank Off. Get there early since organizers and event sponsors, including the Dallas Observer, Budweiser and the Greenville Avenue Area Business Association, are expecting thousands. Call 972-943-4624. --Carlton Stowers
Fest Wishes
Another weekend, another film-a-thon
11/13
The second Dallas South Asian Film Festival, which unspools at the Angelika, Dallas Museum of Art and FunAsia through November 19, doesn't consist of standard fare frayed from too many screenings on the festival circuit. One of its offerings, 1964's Charulata, is among the finest (and hardest to find) films by legendary Indian director Satyajit Ray; its story about a husband in the 1870s pawning off his bored wife on his brother, a writer who falls for the missus, is heartbreaking. Also screening are worthwhile films that missed this market, among them writer-director Nisha Ganatra's Chutney Popcorn, in which the filmmaker stars as Reena, a body-painting artist who has a baby for her infertile sister--which throws into chaos Reena's relationship with her lesbian lover, played by former Law & Order star Jill Hennessy. Also screening are other features and shorts and documentaries, all little-seen outside FunAsia, which deserves your visit as soon as possible. Go to www.dsaff.org. --Robert Wilonsky
