People spend a lot of time trying to be the best at things. People also spend a lot of time failing at that and end up making mediocre drivel. Take Freebirds vs. Chipotle burritos. Freebirds is awesome, and Chipotle a distant runner-up. Or The Baby-sitter’s Club vs. Sweet Valley High…
A world-traveled photographer of street scenes and people, Paul Greenberg has prints in the collections of the Dallas Museum of Art, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth and other institutions. Greenberg shoots black and white pictures with a Widelux panoramic, a camera used on NASA…
The moral of the Daedalus and Icarus myth seems uninspiring at best: “Aim too high, you’ll get burned. Too low, you’ll get dragged down. Shoot for that nice, middle-of-the-road averageness.” Then again, maybe it’s supposed to be something about hubris or disobedience; who knows, it’s all Greek to us. Icarus,…
I’m always jealous of people with alliterated names: Tina Turner, Katie Couric, Lindsey Lohan. With a name like that you’re destined for either an anchor chair or stardom. And Highland Park mystery writer Harry Hunsicker is no exception. His debut novel, Still River, tells the story of a Dallas private…
With the Internet came the online review, and with Amazon.com came the revenge of unsatisfied readers everywhere. Authors beware. In researching Linda Berdoll’s Darcy & Elizabeth (a self-published fan-fiction sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice), I discovered that “the book would have benefited from a good proof reading or…
With the Internet came the online review, and with Amazon.com came the revenge of unsatisfied readers everywhere. Authors beware. In researching Linda Berdoll’s Darcy & Elizabeth (a self-published fan-fiction sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice) I discovered that “the book would have benefited from a good proof reading or…
As little girls, we loved our toy ponies. We loved to make them gallop across the carpet and leap impossible hurdles, like Matchbox cars. Old habits are hard to break, so we’re stoked to hear about some upcoming equine antics. If “horsing around” was that fun in miniature, we can’t…
Rottweilers have a nasty reputation. When the most famous dog in the breed is Snot from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, there is probably a publicity problem, but they aren’t as bad as their stereotype may lead you to believe. The dogs were originally bred as faithful World War I police…
Inspirational art doesn’t get a lot of rave reviews these days. Somehow, cool points go to artists that use dark, creepy and lurid topics, not the hope-filled ones. But that’s so not fair. Take into consideration Snapshots of Survival. This is an art exhibition presented by Gilda’s Club Worldwide and…
Like many children who spend time with grandma, I spent my formative years watching hours upon hours of soaps, Nana’s favorites being the CBS roster of The Young and the Restless, As the World Turns, Guiding Light and The Bold and the Beautiful. I seriously doubt Bad and Beautiful, now…
Living in Texas, it’s hard not to be amused by Southern-slanted comedies such as Steel Magnolias and Daddy’s Dyin’…Who’s Got the Will?, both of which got their start on the stage before making the leap to the big screen. (In related news, we eagerly await the George Lucas/Peter Jackson rehash…
Oh cruel joke of irony, how you have cut me to the quick. In some odd fashion, I find myself at a loss for words about a literary festival. Literary! Festival! Do you see the twist of fate in all of this? But I must trudge on for the sake…
Conjuring up new adventures for fictional characters and literary figures through fan fiction and cosplay (dressing as anime, movie or videogame characters) is a popular leisure pursuit for many different breeds of social misanthrope, from spazmotrons to dweebazoids. In this vein, Shakespearean Death Match is kinda like fantasy football for…
Curry is just a term for a blend of spices, rather than any one ingredient or flavor. My cat is 2 feet long and weighs 18.7 pounds. Six Flags Over Texas is 21 miles from Dallas. The average life expectancy of a spider monkey is 20 to 27 years. Dig…
When I used to live in New York I never went to plays, except the one time my brother came into town with free tickets to something called Tony and Tina’s Wedding, which everyone in the world had heard of except for us. Apparently, it’s one of the longest running…
As little girls, we loved our toy ponies. We loved to make them gallop across the carpet and leap impossible hurdles, like Matchbox cars. Old habits are hard to break, so we’re stoked to hear about some upcoming equine antics. If “horsing around” was that fun in miniature, we can’t…
If food was a drug, you know you’d be a junkie fighting your way out of rehab. Even if it wasn’t necessary for daily survival, you’d eat all of the time because you love food in all of its wonderful incarnations. To you, fast food is for those kids on…
I’m a big Paul Newman fan, but strangely I have never tried any product from his purportedly excellent line of salad dressings. Conversely, I have never heard the gospel singer known as Djore, though I have faithfully used his line of pore-clearing facial strips for years. This Wednesday I might…
In fifth grade, the guy next to us showed off what he called his “pink alien” and got two weeks detention and what I’m sure was a rather traumatic sit-down at home. I was sufficiently horrified. Odd then, that Katherine Baronet’s series of paintings, Pink Alien, doesn’t frighten us one…
Taking the place (literally) of Art Prostitute in Denton is Secret Headquarters, an art/music/hangout space perfect for making art, making noise and, um, hanging out. In addition to showcasing some of the area’s best musicians each Saturday, SHQ has added Movie Night to its calendar. Every other Tuesday SHQ will…
Hawaii has its merits, but the place is thousands of miles away in an isolated zone for a reason. Hawaiian shirts and tribal tattoos are meant for a world of island heritage and ocean coasts, not prep schoolers and Greenville bars. Seriously, Chet, put on a real shirt and quit…
Some people may think it’s a little too soon for a Terri Schiavo musical, but not the fine folks at the Richardson Theatre Centre. Never content to work within the stifling confines of “safe” theater, these brave thespians are bringing the legend of Ol’ Black Brains out of the headlines…
