Maybe this is just another of our obsessive-compulsive thoughts, but we hope not too many hands have touched our sushi. Is that wrong? We don't think so. In whichever sushi establishment we happen into, we like to think that we have an assigned professional that is the only one coming into contact with the raw fish we are about to consume. Being sushi junkies, another dream come true would be having fresh sushi whenever we wanted it and in the comfort of our own home. During Central Market's Hands-On Sushi class, Hui Chuan (chef and owner of Hui Chuan's Sushi, Sake, Tapas) will enlighten students with rolling techniques for spicy salmon, rainbow roll, California roll and tempura roll, plus a recipe for soba noodle soup. The class is $60 and is Thursday from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Greenville Avenue and Lovers Lane location. The upside: We know where our hands have been. To register, call 214-361-5754.
Friday 17
There is nothing quite like laughing until your face and stomach hurt and your throat is sore. Even with tears streaming, the rush from laughing is incomparable and cures the ails of five days in a cube. West End Comedy Theatre prescribes a full dose of the proverbial best medicine as it presents Freezer Burn: The Winter Comedy Cabaret. For one weekend only, WECT puts six of its comedy troupes on one stage for a variety of punch lines and improv from Pavlov's Dogs, Middle Management, the STDs, Dallas ComedySportz, Voodoo Mechanic and Kidney Punch (as well as MAC and Meatball on the musical front). Doors open at 8:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday with the show beginning at 9 p.m. Tickets are a mere $15, which is a bargain for a show that just might make one forget the latest in shitty workweeks. The theater is located on the first floor of the West End MarketPlace, 603 Munger Ave. For reservations and tickets, call 214-880-9990.
Saturday 18
For years we had heard just how amazing Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange was supposed to be. Finally we saw it, fearing that we'd fallen victim to too much hype and the cult fascination with Alex and his Droogs. (Really, could more people dress up like them for Halloween, please?) We were disappointed. The characters were tiny, the dialogue hollow and the action hard to digest. OK, yeah, we admit we saw it on a 13-inch RCA, so don't get into a Kubrick-defending tizzy just yet. This weekend, the Magnolia Theatre in West Village hosts Malcolm McDowell's "ultra-violence" with a splash of milk for Midnight Madness on both Friday and Saturday. Something tells us we should give Clockwork another try. Tickets are $8. Call 214-764-9106.
Sunday 19
Some people love robots, television, electrical gadgets. But according to Alan Ayckbourn's Comic Potential, as presented by Stage West, some folks really love said robots. When Adam Trainsmith stumbles onto the set of a plummeting daytime drama acted entirely by humanoid robots, he finds a glitch here and a dream girl there. Stage West calls the production a "combination of Pygmalion, Pinocchio and Buster Keaton." Maybe love really is electric. Plug in to a Sunday matinee at 3 p.m. or Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. through January 9 (there are no performances December 23, December 24 or December 25) at the Sanders Theatre in the Community Arts Center, 1300 Gendy St., Fort Worth. Tickets are $28. Call 817-STG-WEST.
Monday 20
The 1983 movie A Christmas Story taught everyone some very important lessons. When changing a tire, place lug nuts in the hubcap so as not to lose them...until a small boy cusses and they fly everywhere. Icicles are the perfect alibi for shooting yourself in the eye...except this is Texas, so it's probably not going to be believable. Fishnetted leg lamps never go over well with the wife...but they go over just fine with the husband. The Ennis Public Theatre presents its own onstage adaptation of the tale of Ralphie's infamous Christmas in A Christmas Story by Philip Grecian. And yes, they even have the leg lamp. Monday marks the closing performance at 8 p.m. The theater is located at 2705-C N. Kaufman St. in Ennis. Tickets are $12 to $14. Call 972-878-7529.
Tuesday 21
Imagine if parents never had to hear, "Where do babies come from?" but only, "Where do toys come from?" Then Mom and Dad could send the curious little ones to The Science Place for one of its Winter Science Workshops called Toy Technology. Actually, they can do that anyway, but there are no promises as far as avoiding "the talk." From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, children from 4 to 11 can learn about popular toys and their history, the physics that go into constructing a toy and even make toys to take home. The class is part of eight days of science workshops in fun areas such as robots, space and senses from December 20 to December 23 and December 27 to December 30. The cost is $35 to $45 per day (plus an additional $15 for materials on certain days), and children should bring a lunch and a drink. Some activities are messy (and therefore awesome), so kids should dress accordingly. Download a workshop form from www.scienceplace.org or call 214-428-5555, ext. 226 to register.
Wednesday 22
Ballers ain't just about the free throw and the bitches, yo. Actually, some NBA athletes are indeed quite cultured and are connoisseurs of the fine arts. Case in point: Grant Hill. The NBA player and son of Dallas Cowboy Calvin Hill has spent eight years collecting pieces of art by major African-American artists of the 20th century. His collection includes a variety of media (collages, paintings, sculptures and works on paper) by artists including Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, John Biggers, Hughie Lee-Smith, Phoebe Beasley and others. Forty-six works from his collection make up the Dallas Museum of Art's latest exhibit Something All Our Own: The Grant Hill Collection of African American Art. The exhibit runs through April 17. The Dallas Museum of Art is located at 1717 N. Harwood St. Admission to the exhibit is free with regular museum admission. Call 214-922-1200.