Ignore your skepticism about Texan actors doing Irish accents, as the Undermain Theater begins its 24th season with the acclaimed Shining City by young playwright Conor McPherson. I’m guessing dialect failures are unlikely, considering the excellence of past Undermain performances. Besides, are you so sure you know the difference between…

On the flip side of “Never Again,” the vow to prevent another Holocaust, is “again and again.” Over and over, survivors tell their stories, lest they be reduced to mere statistics. For me, the Holocaust was a junior high history assignment, numbers and camp names to memorize, concluded with a…

The city of West has the most confusing name ever. Tell someone you’re going to West, Texas, and they’ll assume you mean West Texas. Tell them you’re going to West, and they’ll think you’re going westward. Actually, those situations are pretty unlikely, because when does anyone travel to West? Gorging…

For years after my mom shared her late mother’s so-called “Caesar” salad dressing recipe, I didn’t even let my wife read it. According to family legend, my grandmother sweet-talked the chef at a St. Louis restaurant out of the secret recipe. The restaurant was subsequently destroyed by fire, a fate…

You may try to control every aspect of your life, but often chance encounters prove more significant than the meetings you’ve inked in your day-planner. In Blind Date, by Argentinean writer Mario Diament, a man (Kevin Grammer) alters his usual routine one day and sits on a park bench for…

One great thing about the digital age is that even the most obscure failed TV shows are now available on DVD. You can’t call it “obscure,” but one of my favorite cancelled TV shows is now out on DVD. Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist was one of the funniest cartoons on…

In elementary school, my teachers would run out the clock on the school year by watching movies in class every day for the last week or two. Back to the Future was always one of them. The teacher never bothered with the pretense that it was part of some science…

The word “freedom” has been hijacked by jingoistic fascists, but something good comes from its misuse. Ever since “freedom fries” and operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, you can substitute the word “bullshit” when you hear “freedom.” The Sean Hannity Freedom Concert, consisting of overpriced cornball country and conservative talk-show…

Imagine going through life shunned by society, enduring drug addiction, homelessness or prostitution, just hoping the afterlife turns out better than this one. Jesus kicked it with hookers and tax collectors, and even told a crucified thief he’d go to Heaven, so surely he’ll accept you, right? Then you croak…

Surely whoever named “Hippiefest” intended some winking self-deprecation with such a dated and square-sounding moniker. It’s like a panic-inducing word that law-and-order types would pin on any gathering of nonconformists. Better yet, it’s what cooler-than-thou hipsters would condescendingly call a concert of half-dead relics from a less jaded era, an…

Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell is an appropriate, Bush-approved Afghanistan war hero. In his new book, Lone Survivor, the Texan lashes out at the media and questions engagement rules against killing unarmed civilians. Luttrell regrets his June 2005 decision to spare unarmed Afghani goatherds who stumbled upon his four-man SEAL team,…

Tim McGraw and his CMA-sore-loser wife bring their bullshit mainstream country treacle back to Dallas for the second installment of their Soul2Soul tour. Faith Hill’s music is so unremarkable that I can’t remember what any of her songs sound like. I recall that her desperation for success led her to…

Out of courtesy or cowardice, we all tell white lies. Any of these sound familiar? “Dinner was delicious.” “No, officer, I haven’t been drinking this morning.” “Your new hairdo looks beautiful.” That last one is especially common, because no good comes from telling someone they’ll look awful for the next…

A baby waves his hands giddily, impossibly balanced on telephone lines next to an enormous black bird. Girls standing on a branch call out their show-off friend walking upside-down below. Dallas artist Jayme Nourallah’s paintings and collages set children or childlike figures in surreal, often precarious settings. Her artwork—put on…