We can probably effectively rule out any appearances by Cindy Sheehan at this conference, but nonetheless, there are not many opportunities to rub elbows with three Nobel Peace laureates, and dozens of internationally known peacemakers. Oh, and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is billed as a member of the host…

Something happened at a Texas Rangers game a few weeks ago that was really heartwarming. No, they didn’t win–that would actually go in the miracle file. A group of soldiers, freshly returned from Iraq, managed to get a full 10-minute standing ovation. The Rangers could have beaten the Red Sox…

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a movie that should never be remade, retouched or jacked with in any way. It’s not only one of the most charming films ever made, it’s a genre-bending, anachronistic film that eschewed typical Western violence for slapstick and humorous banter. And it also…

Film critics say that you can learn a lot about a society by watching their horror films. Invasion of the Body Snatchers was a clear reflection of Cold War era paranoia presented as a campy blend of sci-fi and horror. George A. Romero’s revered Night of the Living Dead has…

Sometimes, I think the vast majority of us forget about culture. In between Heroes episodes and multiple readings of Perez Hilton, it’s easy to forget that pop culture and culture culture are really two separate things. I’m just as concerned about the fate of Peter Petrelli as anyone else, but…

There’s no better way to get the family together on a summer night than bringing a picnic basket to the park, spreading out and watching some carefully choreographed gang warfare—gang warfare set to rousing music, no less. No, the Crips and the Bloods aren’t throwing down over that Lil Jon…

I know that in 1989, your favorite album was the Cure’s Disintegration. You’ve liked them since sixth grade, right? You were the only person in your high school cool enough to eschew hair metal. You never owned a “Don;’t Have a Cow, Man” T-shirt. And that Mötley Crüe album? That…

Sometimes, I think the vast majority of us forget about culture. In between Heroes episodes and multiple readings of Perez Hilton, it’s easy to forget that pop culture and culture culture are really two separate things. I’m just as concerned about the fate of Peter Petrelli as anyone else, but…

Ever feel like you just can’t seem to get it together? That everyone around you knows what they’re doing with their lives and you don’t? That someone your age should have a career, a family and a plan? Yeah, I wouldn’t know about that either. But playwright Jonathan Larson does,…

Dallas has certainly seen its share of film festivals this year. The AFI was amazing (though I still want my two hours back from that Hal Hartley movie), the USA Film Festival showed some real gems, and the Asian Film Festival is yet to come. And yet, despite all of…

Sure, the Irish can throw a mean parade, but can they throw a telephone pole? While wearing a skirt? Probably not, I say. We Scots have to make do year-round with the concessions our Irish friends are willing to make to the shared elements of our culture—sure, they’ll put on…

For the life of me, I will never understand how a person can spend a day in 90-degree heat and then declare that they need a cup of tea. I took my very British mother to the Arboretum last week, and I guarantee that if she’d known they were having…

Vincent Bugliosi’s name suggests some type of horror movie aesthetic, but that may be because his name already sits atop one of the scariest stories ever: Helter Skelter. He’s the author of this masterpiece and was also the prosecutor of Charles Manson. Bugliosi has recently lent his eye for detail,…

Vincent Bugliosi’s name suggests some type of horror movie aesthetic, but that may be because his name already sits atop one of the scariest stories ever: Helter Skelter. He’s the author of this masterpiece and was also the prosecutor of Charles Manson. Bugliosi has recently lent his eye for detail,…

Arrested Development is the sitcom most people point to when trying to name the one outstanding live-action comedy that Fox has aired, but you have to also give props to Christopher Titus’ self-titled show, which ran from 2000 until 2002. You wouldn’t think that a show about a man wrestling…

The best parts of James Bond movies don’t include the blatant misogyny, the cheesy acting or the over-the-top phallic symbolism. In fact, there’s not much point in watching the films unless you’re into checking out the cars that Bond, James Bond and his various nemeses motor about in. There are…

Among the various and sundry monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C., there are a few subtle works that may be off the beaten path, but are no less impressive. One of these is the Albert Einstein Memorial, situated in a grove on the grounds of the National Academy of Sciences…

One of the first times I ventured onto Swiss Avenue, I had just moved to Dallas and thought I had stumbled into a time warp. Everything was serene and quiet, there wasn’t a nasty McMansion in sight, and the architecture was breathtaking. I still take the dog on a daily…

I would pay a pretty fair amount of money to see Mayor Laura Miller deliver the proclamation establishing Saturday as “Free Comic Book Day” in Dallas while wearing a Wonder Woman costume. Sadly, I don’t think that will happen, but regardless, Zeus Toys and Comics’ CAPE 3: Bride of CAPE…

I figured out midway through a screening of The DaVinci Code last year that the plot essentially hinged on an elaborate scavenger hunt. Tom Hanks and his hair flew through the streets hunting clues to solve a screwy puzzle with the help of Audrey Tautou and her significant pout. If…

Lots of people enjoy Antiques Roadshow, but it’s just too nerve-racking for me. An episode may have 10 heartwarming, diamond-in-the-rough stories, but it takes just one earnest senior citizen finding out that their precious Ming vase is actually an $18 Sears Roebuck reproduction to ruin my night. Luckily, there will…

I sometimes look at the kindergartners that I teach once a week—crayons shoved up their nose, dirt all over their pants, Kool-Aid lining their lips—and I think that they are lucky to be so innocent and carefree. But, as the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth points out with their…