“Bokeh” is a photographic technique derived from the Japanese term for “blur” or “haze,” specifically referring to when the background and edges of a photo are blurred to make the subject stand out. A new exhibit at Kettle Art, Bokeh: The Edge Is Completely Undefined, showcases this technique and several…

Do you have a collection of knickknacks, art or priceless antiquities you’d like to put on public display? How about a few million dollars to spare? If so, it sounds like you’ve got a museum to build. But you might want to bring in some professional consultants, such as Aaron…

If there’s one term in music that doesn’t always live up to the hype it’s “rock opera.” Sure, The Who and Bowie pulled off their versions pretty well, but for every Tommy there’s a “rock opera” that’s really more of an “adult contemporary musical”. Case in point: Rent, the 1996…

You might have seen modern blues icon Robert Cray open for Eric Clapton once or twice. You might even own a copy of his 1986 hit record, Strong Persuader. Perhaps you even play one of his signature-model Fender Stratocasters. But did you know he started out in a band called…

Personally, the idea of watching some metal bands is about as scary as it gets for me. Not the good ones–AC/DC, Sabbath, Motorhead, Metallica, etc.–but the really dumb ones, like Gwar or Slipknot. Honestly, I’d much rather sit at home and watch a marathon of Two and a Half Men…

Arkansas is one of 25 U.S. states–others include Virginia, Alabama, South Carolina, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska–without a major sports franchise, but it does support the only minor-league baseball team that represents an entire state, the Arkansas Travelers (though one could certainly argue that certain Texas Rangers rosters probably deserved the…

I’ve never understood why guitar festivals insist on booking the same tired blues and hard rock guitarists year after year. Really, when was the last time you heard anyone say–“Hey, Rick Derringer’s in town, guys! We should totally go check that out.” Not to knock “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo”…

The movie 12 is a Russian adaptation of the classic 12 Angry Men, with 12 jurors deciding the fate of a Chechen boy accused of murdering his Russian stepfather. Directed by Nikita Mikhalkov, the film received a Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival and was subsequently nominated for the…

Everywhere we look these days, we’re constantly bombarded with mixed messages, whether they’re about alcohol, body image, economic bailouts or clean coal. Appallingly, artist Frances Bagley only wants to add to this maelstrom of confusion by creating the three-dimensional mixed-media installations compiled in the appropriately named exhibit Mixed Messages, on…

Fort Worth artist John Holt Smith’s paintings start with him taking cross-sections of a photograph and manipulating them into colorful striated patterns, which he then copies with his paintbrush onto shiny aluminum panels. The resulting paintings look somewhat like stills from the colorful video sequences the late Jeremy Blake designed…

If there’s anything thing in this world that’s a sure beating, it’s a comedian with a guitar. Sure, there are exceptions (like the wildly inventive Demetri Martin, for example) but usually, you know you’re in for either barely funny novelty songs or horribly concocted impersonation scenarios like the one David…

I spent many an hour combing through rock shops as a kid, fascinated with fossils and minerals of all shapes and sizes. If only I’d spent a few of those hours combing through the dirt of Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park, perhaps I’d be a richer man today. Beginning…

Texas country singer-songwriter Max Stalling’s been at it for years now, playing damn near every honky-tonk in Texas and releasing four studio albums over the past decade and change, all the while cultivating a smooth vocal style that separates him from many of his Texas peers while still writing the…

Comedian April Macie is what you might call a looker. A former contestant on Last Comic Standing, the spunky redhead refers to her routine as “a behind-the-scenes look at women’s views on sex,” so naturally she has bits about penis size–“This is how you know it’s small…when you’re headed downtown…

Fellas–if you see a Barbie doll-lookin’ lady making a bee line for you at the bar, I know it is your instinct to investigate. But listen to me, guys. If you see blond author Cyndi Targosz coming for you, make a lot of noise, raise your arms to make yourself…