They have ideas to better the world — seat-belt buckles designed for Texas heat, perhaps. On Thursday, we’ll hear exactly how life-changing those philosophical and researched approaches to life’s obstacles are as 11 speakers give short presentations at the Kessler Theater (1230 W. Davis St.). They’re auditioning for a spot…

In one quick email, WNYC just announced that its hit radio program focused on scientific wonder will embark on a 21-city tour, and ticket sales are activated. Dallas gets its dose at Grand Prairie’s Verizon Theatre on Monday, November 4 at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $37.50 to $47.50 and are…

Immersed in Ink Tattoo Convention returns to Dallas for a weekend-long celebration of needles, skin art and sideshow phenomena this Friday through Sunday. Happening at the Mesquite Convention Center, Ink’s website promises an assault on your tender bits — emotional and otherwise. Human suspensions will be performed onsite, testing the…

The Texas Theatre quantum leaped on Saturday night, landing in a time of feathered fans and come-hither dames. It was La Divina Burlesque’s annual Nouvelle Burlesque Revue, a showcase of emerging and established talent mostly culled from central and North Texas but reaching as far as Hot Springs Arkansas and…

Today the Nasher reveals the first of ten pieces of public art being commissioned for Nasher Xchange, the sculpture center’s city-wide arts initiative. The announcement celebration at the Trinity River Audubon Center (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) comes with some family-friendly perks like free admission, nature hikes, homing pigeons and…

Old East Dallas, Old Town, Smash and Grab Headquarters — whatever you want to call it, I live there and I love it. But last week the dose of visual insulin you see above was dismantled, replaced by a boring brown brick exterior. Then I started noticing the other improvements…

He always kept his promises and never followed through on his threats, and for that reason you’ll do something nice for dad on Sunday, right? A–a-a-a-nd it’s the weekend! If you dig boxing, burlesque, art, smarty pants lectures, theater, homing pigeons, juggling, throw-back cinema, naked ladies with literary passions, bucking…

Unjuried art shows are a bit like estate sales. Behind the mostly emptied cosmetics containers, and just to the left of the Lone Star bottle cap collection, you find it: that thing you didn’t know existed and completely gives purpose to your hunt. For the second year, local collective art…

He made a lot of empty threats during your childhood while keeping all of his promises, and for both of those reasons you’ll thank your dad today. In Dallas, you’ve got options for expressing your affection; the grandest of those is the transformative dining and rodeo experience of Medieval Times…

You know him. You love him. You wanna get stoned and eat popcorn with him. Comedian Doug Benson is on tour, and he’s recording an episode of his podcast Doug Loves Movies at Hyena’s Comedy Nightclub (5321 Mockingbird Lane) during a special 4:20 p.m. show on Saturday. Benson believes in…

“Things really took a turn after that rape” is something I said aloud on Friday while standing in the living room of a former crack house. We have to get there first, though. Siri reluctantly guides us to the ramshackle West Dallas residence, which sits on an overgrown plot behind…

I’m addicted to Oral Fixation, that clutch of storytellers who share their life confessions at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary. You must be too, since their shows sell out in advance — every, single, time. Tonight, we’ve whipped up a special evening with them and the Granada called “True Stories: Behind…

With as frequently as artists get approached for charitable donations, it’s interesting to watch the energy shift of an Art Conspiracy event. There, volunteering gets competitive. We saw this again on Saturday night at “Mounted,” where Dallas’ best talents stepped forward to give time, build sets or donate original works…

We wrote a while back about Nasher Xchange, the sculpture center’s public art initiative which brings 10 artists to Dallas neighborhoods for site-specific pieces. The unveiling happens on October 19 and we’ll soon know more specifics, like precise locations and design elements as news leaks during a ten-week series of…

On Tuesday, June 11, we’re having a night of storytelling on the Sundown at Granada’s gorgeous rooftop. We’ve partnered with them, Oral Fixation and some local musicians to make it happen, and we’ll be giving away prizes. All of the stories will be ripped from real life, so grab some…

When musician Twin Shadow announced that his upcoming tour, which includes a Dallas Granada stop, would be centered around storytelling, we got to thinking: “Hey, we like storytelling. And rooftop bars. So do our friends at the Granada and those yarn spinners over at Oral Fixation.” Which leads us to…

There’s an unrivaled decadence that accompanies film-festival immersion. Closed off from the world, cell phones shut down, we sit in meditative, dark calm for days at a time, allowed to exist in a tiny pocket of protected, curated experiences. For the next four days you’ll exchange your daily static for…

While last year Art Conspiracy doled out speakers for RZN8, this year’s seed event — which raises money and awareness for the annual party — gets more visually freaky. Saturday’s 2013 seed event, Mounted, will be all taxidermy themed. Participating artists were issued wall plaques for their “trophies,” which tribute…

The first time I visited Kettle Art, someone handed me a beer before I got inside. The party had flowed into the street. Musicians and a puppeteer were set up, busking for change. A keg was floated. Several artists boasted proudly, claiming the moment as their first time they’d publicly…