Is Deep Ellum dead this week? I can never keep up. I blame some of that on Kettle Art. Yeah, you, Frank, Kirk and company. You go and have all these phenomenal art shows, getting everyone excited about the local scene. You have affordable art that doesn’t shun the mediocre…
If you were one of the unlucky ones who missed awesome early ’80s events like the Us Festival or the Texas Jam back in ’78 then this is the week to redeem yourself. The Texas Metal Jam is swooping down upon Dallas like a spandex-clad bald eagle of pure rock!…
Francis Bacon, the artist—not to be confused with his relative, Sir Francis Bacon, the Elizabethan philosopher—was known for his figurative, often macabre works. Macabre isn’t the most desirable way to be portrayed for posterity, so why was he in such high demand to paint portraits? Find out when Dr. Hugh…
You may not be familiar with designer-to-the-stars Manuel, but you’ve certainly seen some of his work. Got a copy of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band laying around? Manuel designed those suits. Love the Man in Black? Johnny Cash would have been the Man in Store-bought Levi’s were it not…
Few activities satisfy the soul like imitating an old-school film noir private detective: “Hey, see! Get Carmilla on the line, see? We’ve gotta get to the station, see?” Ah, those were the good old days, when men ran around in trench coats and women wore nothing but red lipstick and…
Taxi Driver: Collector’s Edition (Sony) “Listen, you fuckers, you screwheads: Here is a man who would not take it anymore.” Martin Scorsese’s 1976 vision of hell as city-of-night New York rips through the reverential treatment on this special edition like a hunter’s blade through deerskin. A second disc of eight…
The latest comic meteorite to hurtle forth from the galaxy of producer Judd Apatow, Superbad is about a couple of chronically unpopular best friends who, after four years stuck on the lowest rung of the high-school social ladder, find themselves invited to a legitimately cool party. Goodbye, Friday nights chugging…
It seems fitting that a movie about debate competition should produce ambivalent feelings. As a master debater says early on in Jeffrey Blitz’s Rocket Science, a strong opinion is a luxury the great ones don’t allow themselves—it only gets in the way. What matters is being able to argue either…
As likable as it is, Social Security suffers from a serious case of the coots. The two-act comedy by Andrew Bergman, now onstage at Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, wants to be a smart and witty farce about three generations of mother-daughter power struggles. What it is, however, is Golden Girls…
Ask a random person five years ago what Sudoku was, and you’d be lucky if they mumbled something about Japanese ritual suicide. But go down any supermarket’s magazine aisle today, and you’ll find whole racks stuffed with cheapie newsprint books full of the addictive puzzles. People can’t get enough. They…
All Creatures Great & Small: The Complete Collection (BBC Warner)Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters for DVD (Turner)Back to School: Extra-Curricular Edition (MGM)The Black Widow (First Look)Charlie Chan Collection: Volume 3 (Fox)DangerMouse: The Complete Series (A&E)The Dark Crystal: 25th Anniversary Edition (Sony)Dynasty: The Second Season (Paramount)Essential Directors:…
Been experiencing a stifling sensation lately? Maybe you’ve got too much soul. Best to chop some up, Lord Voldemort-style, and dump soul slices somewhere else. But if you’re a good-hearted weirdo who wants to hang on to your soul, it might be better to get rid of some different sole—not…
We bestow many great honors upon prominent deceased members of our human race. Some are immortalized with statues, others are featured in portraits painted or photographed by the world’s most talented artists. Big, shiny buildings borrow a deceased’s surname, and scholarships and foundations do the same. Bo-ring. Who wants a…
Did anyone know that there was a National Button Society Convention? Yeah, buttons. And it’s a big deal that celebrates the fancy miniature works of art that Jackie Onassis collected and Charles de Gaulle preferred. Who knew? The Texas State Button Society hosts the national convention show and sale here…
One of the first videos I saw at the tender age of 12—back when MTV still showed music videos—was the amazing minimalist masterpiece “Goodbye to You” by Scandal. Patty Smyth, the pouty-lipped lead singer, did the “Molly Ringwald Dance” clad in her mini-dress and white belt. Her band looked like…
Sommore will have you know that she is more than just a comedienne. She’s also a patron of Glamour Shots and a lover of smooooth jams, and this I learned just from visiting her Web site’s home page. Further investigation into this diva o’ comedy revealed that she was featured…
You could wile away the hours conversing with the flowers but if you only had a brain you’d oil your rusty tin can, slip on your ruby red slippers and follow the yellow brick road to the Bass Performance Hall, Fourth and Calhoun streets in Fort Worth, where Casa Mañana’s…
My overriding memories from Giza’s pyramids are of sweating profusely under an enormous, life-sucking sun, attempting to keep my eyes clear of vast quantities of dust, and fending off swarms of relentless vendors hawking tours and mementos. Sure, it was cool to see the towering wonders of the world and…
Look! Up on the stage! Is it a Russ Meyer film? The life story of Kitten Natividad? No, it’s the Valley of the Dolls regional premiere as a stage adaptation. It’s easy to be confused but this presentation by the Uptown Players is based on the 1960s Jacqueline Susann novel…
I had a boyfriend once that was obsessed with dinosaurs. One commercial for a Discovery Channel special about the T-Rex, and he’d drop all his bad-ass rock and roll pretensions and whimper “dinosaws”. Years later, I still find myself knowing a lot about the brontosaurus (and not enough about why…
UTD will honor the art grad as it presents concurrent solo exhibitions by graduate students Eric Baze, Christi Nielsen and Diane McGurren. The works are varied, but all rely on photography and digital technology. Baze uses digital photography to emphasize the human form in his digital print series, Idle Worship…
Chicks, man, how they go gaga for that Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice. They’re all, like, “Oooh Mr. Darcy this and oooh Elizabeth Bennett that.” Not this all-hetero dude. Sure, I’ve read the book twice annually for the past 30 years, but not because of the romance. I’m a…
