Sometimes all of life seems like a circus. One minute, you’re taming proverbial lions; the next, you’re playing the role of World’s Strongest Man. Seems there’s never enough time for clowning around, though, which is why it never hurts to let a little spectacle take a load off. The Circus…

Conservative talk show hosts like to pretend that “true” Americans just magically appeared on these great lands one day, inhabiting the 50 states via divine providence and transporter technology. It’s a fun little hallucination, but there’s no escaping the fact that we all came here from somewhere else in some…

In the coming weeks, there’ll be JFK media rehashes out the yin-yang, conspiracy theories resurfacing like rubber ducks in a tub. But El Centro College takes a different approach with the fashion exhibition Jackie and Main Street, focusing not on the darkness of that November in 1963, but instead on…

Every time the lease runs out, you dream of finding a real community to call home, rather than just a roof overhead. You know, like Melrose Place, but minus the catfights and STD scares. It’d be awesome to walk out your front door and feel the love from your neighbors,…

Don’t know an armature from an architrave? Does a balustrade sound like a piece of maddening Scandinavian furniture? It’s OK. Despite all the fancy words, architecture is way open-source these days, drawing from and contributing to popular art and communication in a way that’s never happened before. In other words,…

Got a special place in your heart for a pit bull? You’re not alone. Those square-headed beasts have a bad rap, to be sure, but plenty of pitty lovers are putty in the paws of the misunderstood pets. At the third annual Rock-A-Bully, you’ll get a chance to meet up…

In the annals of horror films, so much of it targets multiple levels. In all the blood and gore and one-dimensional sexuality and gotcha moments, there lies a social commentary that tears the movies away from the stunts, making it truly scary. And then there are the ones that don’t…

Seven out of 10 girlfriends can thank George Romero for Sunday nights spent hiding their eyes from zombie slaughters. Romero didn’t actually invent the now-ubiquitous undead flesh eaters — they’ve been lurching through films since the 1920s — but he did revolutionize the horror genre with his 1968 classic Night…

Gen X peeps know that back in the day, when you got called to a conference in middle school, it meant sitting through an hour of videos about the evils of drug use and how best to narc on your partying parents. Plus, there was that one video with projectile…

There’s a vampire for everyone. Sulky teens, poor decision-makers, fashionable dames … there’s a fictional vamp to suck it up for you. And if you’re a citizen of Louisiana, then you got the neck biters in spades. Legend (and premium cable) would have us believe that in all that swampy,…

As the spookiest of seasons creeps up on us, it’s time for entertainment that warms the black heart of your inner goth. But this year, don’t stop at just dragging out your copy of The Shining — try something with a little more bite. LakeCities Ballet Theater’s production of La…

The things that make a house a home include love, warmth and surroundings that give you comfort. You don’t technically need anything more than a roof over your head — but small touches that make your space cozy and calm can be the difference between a place that’s merely an…

The benefits of immersing yourself in the arts are clear: It stimulates the imagination, bolsters critical thinking skills and has positive effects on mood and behavior. But how do you reap the advantages of art if you have a disability that affects the way you see or perceive it? That…

Oh, Greece. As the birthplace of Western culture, you have a lot to answer for: Reality television is on you. So is Miley Cyrus, TMZ and every other scourge that has been born of your loins. Your parenting skills are questionable, but we can’t stay mad at you too long…

The single biggest predictor of a child’s academic success is their exposure to reading at an early age. The single biggest predictor of a parent’s ability to make it through the 1,000th reading of Madeline is their access to the occasional alcoholic beverage. And so, by our math, Booktoberfest increases…

The story of Peter Pan is the literary gift that keeps giving. Over 100 years after J.M. Barrie’s masterpiece was first published, the story of the boy who wouldn’t, couldn’t grow up continues to spawn a legacy of stories and sequels, appropriate for a tale of imagination without bounds. We’ve…

The job of a comedian is to take an event, a philosophy, an everyday experience, and explain it in a way that underscores both the hilarity and the universality of it. We slap our knees, we look at everyone else in the audience to ensure they’re laughing, too, and we…

It’s not often you get the feeling of being lighter than air, particularly when your feet are planted firmly on the ground. Often, we’re so weighted down that the gift of flight requires an expensive round-trip ticket and a struggle with an overhead compartment. But sometimes on the happiest of…

You bought one of those home kits a couple months ago thinking maybe your special brew would be your ticket to total beer-industry domination. The reality was an epic grain-steeping, yeast-activating disaster that resulted in a concoction that’s a non-potable hops of wrath. Maybe it’s time for a little inspiration…

There’s an infamous tale in the world of modern art about “The Jungle,” a spectacular modernist piece by Cuban artist Wifredo Lam. Though now considered a masterpiece, the 1943 stunner hung outside the coatroom at New York’s MoMA for years, eventually prompting a critical outcry and a front-and-center conversation about…

There’s an old saying about how a day without wine could have been better. It’s true — there isn’t much that a glass of nicely fermented grapes can’t brighten up, unless you count your teeth. So get that call in to the dentist now to postpone your whitening session: The…

When Ben Affleck was outed as the new Batman, people banded together to pollute newsfeeds with Important Fury. And wow — poor Ben. He can’t have anything nice without someone giving him shit about it. Take for instance that Oscar for Good Will Hunting. Mindy Kaling and her best friend…