Many people mistakenly think of Alice Cooper as a one-trick-pony. Far from it. He is not without tricks, of course, but he has plenty of them. And a lot of them were mistakes. Like the undying rumor that he bit the head off of a live chicken onstage and drank…

I have a great mom, but I was always jealous of J.J. Evans, the character played by Jimmie Walker on Good Times. He had Florida Evans, and there was no finer mom. If you were bad, Florida would tell you exactly what you did wrong and how you were going…

I’m not sure which came first–reading Charlotte’s Web or my overwhelming empathy for animals. Regardless, I am pretty sure that one begat the other, and they are both an integral part of who I am. E.B. White’s classic and beloved 1952 novel tells the story of piglet Wilbur, who starts…

Hal Ashby’s 1971 masterpiece Harold and Maude is one of those things that needs to be experienced to be explained. To say, “Oh, yeah, it’s a great movie about this rich kid with a disapproving, controlling mother who is obsessed with death and he drives a hearse and he meets…

There Was a Forest: Jews in Eastern Europe Today, an exhibition of photographs taken by Loli Kantor in Poland and Ukraine, documents the few Holocaust survivors left in the area and their lives within the shtetls of Eastern Europe. The pieces also offer a peek into the reemergence of Jewish…

I have mixed feelings about Junie B. Jones, of the hugely successful series of books by the same name written by Barbara Park. On the one hand, the books are written in a way that really appeals to kids. On the other hand, part of me is really put off…

The Moody Blues formed in mid-’60s Britain and, like many of their contemporaries, played around with sounds–from American blues-influenced tunes to brightly-tinged pop to rougher-edged rock–before finally settling on a remarkably unique psychedelic sound, using symphonic instrumentation in their recordings. Over the years, they have mostly played their songs in…

Guitar-Fest McKinney is a three-day event that gives guitar players a chance to bone up on their technique and learn new tricks. Offering private lessons and group workshops with Grammy-winning guitar professionals for three days and a concert on Saturday night, this event is for the real guitar enthusiast, eager…

I was 8 years old in 1977, when Star Wars came out, and it was everything. Who could have foreseen that, at least for the girl half of us, the next year would hold such incredible treasures as Saturday Night Fever and Grease? Fever’s soundtrack, mostly songs by The Bee…

One of the things about karaoke that is so cheesy is that you are not only drunkenly singing some old song, but you are doing it with a recorded back-up band. Even with my limited experience of being in a band, I can say that there is nothing like it…

Noted photographer Diane Arbus once said, “A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know.” Chew on that for a while, and while you are chewing, head to Garland to test out the theory. Through August 30, the Granville Arts Center Gallery,…

Philippines-born Ryan Ong Palao, also known as Ongina, is her own kind of drag queen. Best known for her stint on RuPaul’s Drag Race, a reality drag competition that aired on the Logo network earlier this year, Ongina is unique in that she doesn’t stuff, tuck or wear wigs, yet…

Summertime is when community theater really shines, and the Greater Lewisville Community Theatre brings the shimmer by putting on the ever-sparkly Chicago. Murder and betrayal make for a great show, and this one is absolutely peppered with vaudevillian song and dance, with added pizazz steeped in the style of legendary…

For some unknown reason, I have had the song “I’m a Lumberjack” from Monty Python’s Flying Circus going through my head for the last several days. I don’t mind it, especially, although even the best of songs can become grating and fill me with dread after more than a couple…

The whole burlesque revival thing leaves me conflicted. On the one hand, it is yet another format for showcasing women as men’s playthings. On the other, the women performing said burlesque exude a power, finesse and humor that I can respect and–even more important–it is exceedingly more aesthetically pleasing than…

“In the fairy tale criminal justice system, the characters from fairy tales and nursery rhymes are represented by two separate yet equally ridiculous groups: the fairy tale police who investigate the fairy tale crime, and the fairy tale district attorneys who prosecute the fairy tale offenders. These are their stories.”…

Man, I sure did love NewsRadio. It was a smart sitcom in which great characters and performances ran rampant. But it would never have been the same without its resident fix-it man and conspiracy theorist Joe Garelli, played perfectly by the stone-faced Joe Rogan. Since the demise of NewsRadio, Rogan…

Harmon and Harriet Kelley began collecting African-American art in 1987 and have amassed a collection that represents a broad range of genres and artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. The Kelley collection is one of the most esteemed private collections of African-American art. From Saturday through August 23, the…

I admit it–clowns freak me out, and I know I’m not alone. I wouldn’t say what I have is a full-on phobia, and yes, it is almost definitely related to that scene in Poltergeist, but it still makes me jump a bit when a clown is in the same room…

For those of us who don’t flee town for Memorial weekend, a good fest or fair is just the right thing. Dallas doesn’t disappoint with the 40th annual ARTFEST, Friday through Sunday at Fair Park. Enjoy the works of more than 200 artists, the music of several bands and the…

Americans became more familiar with Eastern-European Jewish life than many would have thought possible with the success of the Tony Award winning musical Fiddler on the Roof, which hit Broadway in 1964. An instant hit, it filled theaters again and again and held the title for longest running Broadway musical…

I grew up right outside of Washington, D.C., and was exposed at an early age to a lot of different cultures…and their cuisines. The district is home to a plethora of Ethiopian restaurants, for instance, so I know my Ethiopian food, and I sure do love it. (Very vegetarian-friendly, and…