In the pages that follow, our corporate overlords provide an alternative to gratuitous music writer geekdom and end-of-year lists, but being who we are, we threatened to burn down the building if we didn’t get to make some kind of contribution to the list-making canon. Apparently, they like this building…
Doesn’t matter if it’s a few degrees hotter than we’d like or if it’s sleeting and bitterly cold, it’s still the holiday season, and the Dallas Arboretum is not about to stop celebrating. Neither should you, no matter how many family members are invading your house and how many gifts…
If there’s one thing the holidays should promote, it’s unity. Drop it all, forget the differences and celebrate the ties to each other. The first day of Kwanzaa (an African-American and Pan-African holiday founded by Dr. Maulana Karenga), is referred to as Umoja, and is meant to be a pointed…
At first we were cynics. We assumed Miracle Dallas in Victory Park was all about the “miracle” of credit cards and consumerism. Then we looked closer and were pleasantly surprised. Not only will the Park in the ol’ VP have an outdoor ice rink, live entertainment and Santa (of course),…
I remember one of the coolest parts of the school year was learning about the holidays as they were celebrated in other cultures. From the German “O Tannenbaum” and “Stile Nacht” to Le Réveillon, a celebratory feast following midnight mass in France, the customs and songs had me enthralled. DFW…
It’s the same for music as it is for love: The new ones, with oh-so-much potential in the beginning, are too often short-lived. Bad runs in dating I accept, but I want my music to be there for me. I find myself torn when I like a new band—they’re so…
Some proprietors are meant to be bar owners and some are meant to run restaurants. I’d venture that Rudy Delgado and Alex Vest should open up a sports bar and leave the French Quarter-themed eatery to someone else. As it is now, the two concepts collide inside a loud, dark,…
That old song claims that Santa Claus, in his omniscience, knows if everyone has been naughty or nice throughout the year. Upon his findings, he bases the quality of gifts he gives…or if he gives them at all. So what of the Lollie Bombs? The burlesque troupe of vivacious and…
Variety. We crave it, we love it, we eat it. It makes us, as people, comforted, unnerved, inspired, frightened and motivated. It’s a pretty powerful thing, that variety. That’s why we totally love it when And/Or Gallery presents a new group show. Rather than exhibiting a bunch of artists all…
Three times this year it has happened to me. I have thoughtfully picked out the perfect gift for someone. It matches their character, their interests and, on occasion, what they’ve actually listed as something they want. Then, before I ever had a chance to gift these ideal items, the recipients…
It takes my brave and handsome 18-pound tabby less than two miles before he pisses himself in a moving vehicle. The other cat isn’t too interested in leaving a crate once he’s in it, so using my skills in logic, I have determined that it’s the pug who will have…
Oh, the college gallery with the semester’s obligatory student group show. There are usually a few gems, but mostly there’s work by artists just starting to get a clear vision…oh, and there will be turds. Hell, I’ve been a part of those shows and know full well that depending on…
When I was 21, I had an apartment a half-block and one possible mugging away from Greenville Avenue. Social calendars wrapped around live music and, on shitty show nights like Mondays, drink specials. There was maybe—and I stress maybe—one night a week our social activities team, Quick Like Bunny (I’m…
That’s the Christmas spirit! No, no, silly, I don’t mean the desire to give to those less fortunate and spend quality time with friends and family, I was actually referring to vodka. But whatever. You go on with the giving and the relatives. I’ll be slurping up a Bloody Mary…
I once heard a saying that thanks to hair color, there’s a woman for every taste. But that’s rude, misogynistic and stereotypical of assholes that wouldn’t appreciate art. Don’t be that asshole. No, we should appreciate women for creative and intellectual differences and for the variety of their beings, not…
Jay Johnson’s Tony Award-winning show Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! is entertaining for sure, but there’s a risk involved in being an audience member at any of his Tuesday through December 2 shows at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. Let’s just say you dabbled a bit in recreational…
I didn’t take to Robert Hawkins the first time I saw his stand-up on Premium Blend. Sure, there were a few funny bits: “If you just act natural, you can swim in any hotel pool for half an hour.” “You know who I hate the most? Others.” But for the…
It’s Thanksgiving, folks, and during the tryptophan hangover, there’s something we all need to do. No, we don’t need to reflect again on the Pilgrims gettin’ their maize on or how to enslave an otherwise free-spirited and lesser-clothed people. Instead, we need to give proper thanks for some musical releases…
There’s an old adage that gets thrown around at business dinners and happy hours and parental lectures: Do one thing and do it well. Or, as someone who helped pay my college tuition once said with frustration, “Focus. Remember, it’s better to be great at one thing than to do…
It’s almost Thanksgiving and that means a little preemptive pound prevention might not be such a bad idea. After all, you can’t eat turkey sandwiches and left-over casserole for a week and not gain any weight. Likewise, you can’t suck down an entire can of cranberry sauce and not have…
Ask any non-techy person to complete a circuit and they’d probably either stare at you or give it a shot just to get their hands on a sweet-ass soldering iron. Circuitry is for the trained electronics professionals, Cirkitry, however, is something for the artists, the collaborators, and it’s a way…
I realize that the amount of time I devote to Cold Case Files, Forensic Files and other Court TV shows detailing gruesome investigations of murder and heinous crimes might be shocking to the average person. But to someone like Dallas native and author John Leake—who celebrates the release of his…
