Along with guidelines on where to park, what to pack and how to dispose of "personal toilet" output, the Burning Man Festival Web site offers this wisdom: "Trying to explain what Burning Man is to someone who has never been to the event is a bit like trying to explain what a particular color looks like to someone who is blind." Playing Annie Sullivan to our Helen Keller is Burning Man: Beyond Black Rock, the only authorized documentary about this weeklong festival that takes place in late August/early September in Nevada, attracting 30,000 people and making the camp site--temporarily--one of the state's largest towns. A test screening of the film by Gone Off Deep Productions and Smitty INK happens at Minc Lounge, 813 Exposition Ave., with doors opening at 7 p.m. and the film from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. both inside and under the stars on three projectors. A $5 donation is requested to benefit Erykah Badu's nonprofit foundation B.L.I.N.D., and the event also includes DJ Cottonmouth TX and drink specials. Only 21 and up will be admitted. Call 214-370-4077.
Friday, August 6
Seibei Iguchi is an average Joe. He's a single dad raising two young daughters, a son devoted to a sick mother and a dedicated employee trying to work his way up. Only this Joe is no schmo. A normal day at the office might include wielding a sword and killing people. But his home life--which includes the womanly work of building insect cages at night to make ends meet--is what makes Twilight Samurai different from other slice-and-dice samurai films when Seibei must decide between what his heart thinks is right and what protocol says. This 2004 Academy Award nominee for best foreign language film will be presented in Japanese with English subtitles as this weekend's Magnolia at the Modern film. Screenings are at 5:45 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday and 1:45 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St. Admission is $5.50 to $7.50. Call 817-738-9215.
Saturday, August 7
"If you build it, he will come home," the voices said to Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams. But Dodge hopes that if they sponsor it, people will come and maybe fall in love with the Dodge Caravan and buy one later. So, yeah, Family Movies Under the Stars seems altruistic, but it's really just a big marketing scheme. But that shouldn't stop you from taking advantage of the goodies. Dodge and Ladies Home Journal present this free family event beginning at 7 p.m. at Flag Pole Hill at White Rock Lake. There will be treasure hunts in a Dodge Caravan, free popcorn, trivia games and giveaways of DVDs, T-shirts and candy bars. At 9 p.m., the 15th anniversary edition of Field of Dreams will be shown. Dodge owners get VIP seating with proof of ownership. The event is at 8300 E. Lawther Drive. Visit www.lhjmovienight.com.
Sunday, August 8
Even if you, frankly, don't give a damn about Gone With the Wind and Scarlett O'Hara, there's still plenty to love and learn about the story of Mary Chestnut, the wife of a South Carolina senator and Confederate army brigadier general. She kept a detailed diary during the Civil War, showing how her extravagant, social occasion-based lifestyle changed to living in poverty and knitting socks with other proper ladies. She also crossed paths with Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, giving insight into the daily life of a losing cause. Local actress Gloria Hocking will perform her one-woman show An Afternoon With Mary Chestnut at 2 p.m. in the Lillian Bradshaw Gallery on the fourth floor of J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young St. Admission is free. Call the host, Fine Arts Division of Dallas Public Library, at 214-670-1643.
Monday, August 9
The 14th-century European Renaissance was the daintiest revolution ever. With brushstrokes and chisels, it changed art from religious and unrealistic to secular and humanistic, affecting, like, everything else ever since. But just how the Renaissance made European art pretty and lifelike, Mexico's Renaissance, which followed the revolution of 1910, inspired a combination of modern art such as Cubism with the rediscovered art of the Olmec and Aztec civilizations. This art of the people was rich and vibrant but a little dank and dirty--its own kind of realism. Fondo Econmico Mexicano Sociedad Annima (FEMSA) began collecting these works, and some of the finest paintings are included in Titans of Modern Mexico: Rivera to Tamayo--The FEMSA Collection, Monterrey, which runs through October 24 at the Meadows Museum, 5900 Bishop Blvd., at Southern Methodist University. The exhibit opens Sunday with gallery hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $8 for 12 and up, $5 after 4 p.m. and free for those under 12 and SMU affiliates. Call 214-768-2516.
Tuesday, August 10
Sex and the City, vintage Chanel and playfully mismatched Manolo Blahniks. Sex and the suburbs, lived-in Laura Ashley and Ross clearance-racked Nine West. City, a late dinner at the über-trendy cafe followed by $20 cocktails at an even trendier lounge. Suburbs, dinner from Jack in the Box in the SUV on the way to a peewee soccer game followed by microwave popcorn during Entertainment Tonight. We foresee lots of lifestyle parody in comedy troupe 4 Out of 5 Doctors' new show Sex and the Suburbs, but maybe the comedians will also expose the sordid underbelly of suburban life. The carnal cravings of Carrolltonians. The fetishist flirtations of Friscoans. See how close the satire hits to home when 4 Out of 5 Doctors perform their show 8 p.m. every other Tuesday through August 24 at Improvisation, 4980 Belt Line Road, Addison. Admission is $5. Call 972-404-8501.
Wednesday, August 11
This summer, in a neighborhood near you, teenage boys put down their Xbox controllers, "borrowed" a digital camera and made a movie to show their friends. We know because, 10 years ago, we were part of such a film crew, which produced the debut feature Danny the Dinosaur, a sci-fi film so realistic and adept you could barely see the hand holding the news helicopter or the wind-up key on Danny's side. If today's kids save their allowance, next summer they could be learning filmmaking at Dallas Community Television's Summer Film and Video Institute. The annual series of workshops covers everything from casting and copyright law to DVD authoring and knowing what makes a bad film. The series continues through August 20 at the DCTV Studios, the Magnolia Lounge and University of Texas at Dallas. Workshops are $10 to $275 for members and $15 to $300 for non-members. For a complete schedule, see www.dctvdallas.org or call 214-631-5571.
