Wiggin’ Out

For those who don’t know their Flying Dutchman from their fat lady singing, the Dallas Opera has paired with the Angelika Film Center for a series of films that they hope will bring their music to the masses. From Moulin Rouge! to Raging Bull, the series’ films each illustrate opera’s…

Building Dallas

Driving the High Five every day, it’s hard to imagine the awesomeness that is modern architecture in your rearview mirror. For such an established metropolis, we haven’t been proud of a feat of architecture since Reunion Tower or the Meyerson. Tadao Ando made his mark in Fort Worth a few…

Strings Attached

“Tied to apron strings” is thrown as an insult to exploited, homebound females only able to cook, sew and clean…whoa! ‘Scuse me, but I pay dearly for people to do that for me! Our great-grandmothers could make their own soap in a backyard kettle that got the skidmarks out of…

Strings Attached

“Tied to apron strings” is thrown as an insult to exploited, homebound females only able to cook, sew and clean…whoa! ‘Scuse me, but I pay dearly for people to do that for me! Our great-grandmothers could make their own soap in a backyard kettle that got the skidmarks out of…

Goin’ for the Prize

Sometimes I feel that the modern artists are in league against me. Against all of us, really. In a very Emperor’s New Clothes-like conspiracy, they stupefy us with incomprehensible, weird “artworks” that we ignorantly marvel over while they titter behind our backs. We have no idea what we’re looking at;…

Enchilada Heaven

I can still remember the way the cheese enchiladas at Fonda San Miguel felt on my tongue. Covered in a sweaty salsa verde, the delectable queso torpedos sunk my palate into a state of culinary ecstasy. It was my first visit to the Austin institution, which opened in 1975, and…

Waiting to Exhale

Many times we hear about bizarre feats of nature—snakes with two heads, green kittens and the like. These are random anomalies that deviate from the norm; they elicit smiles, shrieks or thoughtful “Hmms.” Who knew that here in North Texas we are, and have been, harboring a relatively large population…

So Cheesy

Sorry, Dallasites, but my blood is all Wisconsin. Sure, I was born in Irving, but half of my family is from a little town north of Madison, and that means I am genetically predisposed to loving two treats: beer and cheese. Those are actually the only two food groups in…

So Cheesy

Sorry, Dallasites, but my blood is all Wisconsin. Sure, I was born in Irving, but half of my family is from a little town north of Madison, and that means I am genetically predisposed to loving two treats: beer and cheese. Those are actually the only two food groups in…

I Scream, You Scream

Recently, a friend stated that he flat-out didn’t like horror movies. It wasn’t the gore, it wasn’t the creepy “ch-ch-ha-ha” soundtracks or even the idea of monsters coming to get relatively innocent people that made him go ix-nay on the genre. The doozy for him was the build-up and anxiety…

Screen Steelers

It’s tough to get pumped about a Super Bowl that we actually had a shot at attending. Honestly, the NFC was an utter crapshoot this year, and if Par-sell-out hadn’t blown a few early games this season with “let’s, uh, wait and hold out” coaching “strategies,” the perfectly capable Dallas…

DeFrantzanator

When one thinks of MIT, I think it’s safe to say that the terms “theatre and dance” do not immediately spring to mind. In fact, I would think they rank in the low thousands on the list of MIT word associations, somewhere far behind robots, the CIA, artificial intelligence, mathematics,…

Six-Pack

I admit men can look better in dresses than women, but what chaps me is seeing them run around onstage wearing three-inch heels without falling. I can’t do that. That makes cross-dressing performances an exciting draw for girls’ night out—getting style tips from pros like Eddie Izzard, Cillian Murphy and…

Show Off

Comedian Rob Little must love television. Before he became a regular on The Best Damn Sports Show Period and Fire Me…Please, he apparently sat in the live studio audience of as many shows as possible. On his Web site’s video page, alongside the expected stand-up routines and comedy skits, Little…

Tinseltown Treasures

Well, whaddya know? Tyler, Texas, named after 10th U.S. President John Tyler, is more than just the home of the world’s largest rose garden. Actress Sandy Duncan and football great Earl Campbell were both born in the East Texas town. With all that luster, it’s not surprising that the town…

Saves the Day

James Frey used to be such a badass, the kind who rolls with mobsters and crack addicts and celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio. Then everyone found out he made up key elements of his best-selling “memoir” A Million Little Pieces, and people started wondering how much of a badass Mr. Frey…

Cowbell Blues

If you’re planning on catching the sold-out Blue Oyster Cult show at the Granada, here’s some advice. Don’t ask the band to explore the studio space. Don’t ask about Gene Frenkle. And please, absolutely, positively do not ask for more cowbell. It’s not that the band hates the eternally funny…

This Is Your Density

We’re iffy about midnight movies. Sure, some classics are best experienced on a big screen, but as the cost of building your own home theater goes down, so does the desire to stay up late and drive out to see Some Like It Hot one more time. Must be why…

Circus, Circus

The idea of leotard-clad Francophones forming a mystical circus troupe is so good it bears repeating. At least, that’s what the Cirque Éloize folks thought when they styled their show after the venerable Cirque du Soleil 12 years ago. In fact, they don’t even mind copying themselves on their press…

Icon Go On

Never mind our beliefs, sometimes an icon simply inspires us. This paper’s own Jesse Hyde researched such an example when countless believers flocked to see the Virgen de Guadalupe in an Oak Cliff tree (“Do You See What I See?,” December 29, 2005). Chicana artist Santa Barraza presents mythic figures…

Globiephobia

I want to tell you how exciting it is that the Harlem Globetrotters are coming to Dallas. They’re legends. They do amazing charity work. They play more games than any NBA team ever will and have won more than 21,000 of them. As a kid, I thought the Globetrotters were…

Spidey Sense

With all that’s going on in the world today, it’s hard to think of Africa as a peaceful, non-civil-war-and-AIDS-and-famine-ridden continent. Every time you turn on the news, something else is happening to further send man’s evolutionary homeland into a state of disarray. Maybe it’s because the situation is so disheartening…