Last Night: Electric Six at the Boiler Room

Electric SixThe Boiler Room, DentonApril 16, 2009Better than: the lame-ass excuses given by my friends found not to join me. You know who you are. Download: Check out our slideshow from last night’s show.Six years and a couple hilarious music videos later, Electric Six still rides on the head of…

Chewing the Fat: The Dirty Secret Behind Food Porn

Why come Whataburgers never look as good as on the billboard? ThisPiggy.com addresses this common lament with a photo gallery comparing fast-food marketing photos and the often pitiful reality.It begs the question, though, how do they get the food to look so good for the ad? Not squishing the bun…

Swallowing a Cup of Tea

In front of Dallas City Hall, radio host and Dallas Tea Party co-planner Mark Davis poured the first cup of tea with a joke: “Those who oppose big government actually have jobs.” To which the crowd of guestimated thousands responded with chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A.” The scene at the…

Warm Wizards

Ten thousand years (6,000 in the South) of human development have finally brought us to the precipice. Not the Internet and its bounty of free porn. Not even the first black president. I’m talking about–wait for it–sleeves in a blanket! Sure, we may be in a recession, but Snuggies prove…

The GPS Is Hard To Read

Based on his writings, it’s tough to pin down Fareed Zakaria’s point of view. At times he sounds like an apologetic voice for U.S. imperialism–he initially supported the invasion of Iraq–but lately he’s focused on the rise of Asia as the beginning of a multi-polar, “post-American” economic order. As a…

Chewing The Fat: Wednesday Ground ‘Round

It’s hump day again, and that means random links from the world of food news. Who keeps funding these studies? In the latest academic issuance of common sense, a joint effort of researchers from National Taiwan University and the University of Arkansas, says junk food makes kids happy. One might…

Chewing the Fat: CDC Says Shake the Salt

Those fun-loving sorts over at the CDC have one more thing you need to stop eating. A report released last month advises Americans to–surprise!–consume less salt. Americans eat 3,436mg of salt daily, compared to the CDC’s recommendation of 2300mg. In response, Divine Caroline brings some timely information to the table…

Chewing the Fat: Brown-Baggin’ It in Big D

The AP reports a recent trend among restaurants to offer free or reduced corkage fees, meaning there’s never been a better time to BYOB.The report admits the evidence is mostly anecdotal and the initial searches weren’t too favorable. But in Dallas, a few newly opened restaurants have refused (thus far)…

Sake To Me

Whatever happened to the good ol’ days of tossing back booze indiscriminately? Now we have to learn how to taste and savor everything we drink, as though the alcohol content wasn’t already enough. Maybe becoming an aficionado of liquors makes a nice excuse for binge drinking—six shots of sake can’t…

Birdbrained

Lately, when I’m at art galleries, I find myself thinking, “This piece would be so much better if it had skulls. Or birds. Or birds perched on skulls.” I must not be the only one. Through Saturday, the visionaries at Kettle Art are hosting Birds vs. Skulls, a 58-piece showcase…

Chewing The Fat: Wednesday Ground ‘Round

It’s Wednesday again–and that means it is time for leftovers from the world of food news. Because nothing says “public safety” like drunks with hidden guns, the Tennessee State House just passed a bill allowing concealed weapons in establishments serving alcohol. The bill still needs to clear the Senate before…

World Championship of Quail Egg Eating

Last Saturday’s Prairie Dog Chili Cookoff had a little something for everyone: Tons to sample, huge flea market and, best of all, the world championship of quail-egg eating. Now, if you dismiss competitive eating as a disgusting sideshow, you’re be denying the true greatness of Lester Tucker. The undisputed king…

Chewing the Fat: Measuring Every Chug

Gotta wonder if the folks at the Centers for Disease Control will come out with a list of top party schools now. A new study released by the organization says the typical American binge drinker is a white male, aged 18-34. No kidding. The news comes courtesy of Drugs.com. They…

Chewing the Fat: Carbonated Beverage Sales Going Flat

Carbonated beverages sales are fizzing out, with reports showing 2008 as the fourth consecutive year of decline. Amidst a recession, fears of childhood obesity and the recent findings of BPA in soda cans, a 2009 comeback doesn’t look like a very safe bet, either. With sodas long thought to be…

Ca-Caw, Ca-Caw

You’ve seen this story before: 1) Private detectives take on gorgeous, seductive female client. 2) Client gives them a dummy assignment. 3) Detectives figure out they’ve been had, but only after learning too much information and putting their lives at risk. While it sounds stereotypical and formulaic in 2009, The…

Rex and Effect

Patricide. Incest. Suicide. Self-inflicted blindness. This isn’t the content of an underground snuff film but a night of classic Greek theater (rated PG-13). For those who haven’t read it since high school, the namesake for everyone’s favorite psychological complex, Oedipus Rex, explores the theme of fate versus free will. One…

Chewing The Fat: Wednesday Ground ‘Round

Just in time for April Fool’s Day: Ponzi gardens, Beano for cows and breast enhancement in a bottle. But it may be all very real… Looking for a good excuse to jump head-first into gardening? Sarah Gilbert at Wallet Pop challenged herself and readers to start a garden for $25…

Chewing the Fat: Servers Split $270k Tip Pool

Think your server deserved a good tip? How ’bout the manager back there chatting up that cute trainee all night? Or the chef who overcooked your burger? The question of who gets a hand on your tip dollars just cost Dallas-based Brinker International a good $270,000. The company behind Chili’s…

Torn Between Two…

The Joaquin Phoenix “Farewell to Acting” tour comes through Magnolia at the Modern this week with the screening of his “last” film, Two Lovers. After an awkward appearance on Letterman, Phoenix will now embark on his even more awkward rap career. If you haven’t seen his live rapping on YouTube…