There’s a certain experience that you’re probably familiar with at this point in the pandemic: You log into a Zoom meeting and are greeted by your own horrendous face. You needed a haircut a month ago, and it shows. The cruel, uncontrollable lighting does you no favors. Beauty is lost…
Given the wide accessibility of Blu-Ray special features, YouTube behind-the-scenes videos and real-time social media updates, film fans have more knowledge than ever before about how movies are made. Sometimes, the story of a film’s creation is enough to justify a story of its own. Last year’s Mank is one…
Some people will show up to the opening of an envelope. Such is the case, it appears, with Mark Sahady and Brandon Navom from Massachusetts, who were recently called out on social media for answering President Donald Trump’s call to the Capitol on Jan. 6. Navom and Sahady have a…
Although they have never met, artists Kelsey Heimerman and Dudley Sanders have more in common than they know. At the same time, the two Dallas based painters could not have more contrasting lifestyles: Heimerman lives and paints in a beautiful loft in the hip part of Exposition Park, while Sanders…
It only takes 15 minutes for Kara Cannella to choreograph a dance seen by millions. Addison Rae Easterling and Charli D’Amelio, the two most-followed creators on TikTok, recently performed Cannella’s choreography to Megan Thee Stallion’s “Cry Baby,” granting Cannella a few thousand extra followers and bragging rights. “It was definitely crazy to…
The immigrant experience varies, but those who arrive in a new country are met with many of the same hurdles: trying to learn the lay of the land, in a new language no less, with little support. Local artist Natalia Padilla wanted to alleviate some of the burdens on immigrants…
A video has gone viral of a North Texas high schooler, who sports a mullet, shattering the backboard during a slam dunk.
Bree Clarke just wanted to support a local plant shop. Specifically, one owned by a person of color. What she found instead was that in the entire city of Dallas, she says, there were zero plant shops owned by Black women. For Clarke, that needed to change. Her new shop,…
In his over 35 year-career as every dad’s favorite actor, Tom Hanks has played historical figures — from Ben Bradlee to Walt Disney — wooed mermaids, saved Private Ryan, solved crimes with dogs and played “Chopsticks” on a larger-than-life piano. Yet, at the age of 64, Hanks has done a…
When Jessica Zeller went to a show at Pocket Sandwich Theatre for the first time three years ago, she thought she was settling in for a night of serious theater. Then the popcorn started flying. “The first show I saw was a melodramatic comedic reimagining of Jekyll and Hyde for Halloween,”…
A new case of cultural appropriation is making headlines, and for once it has nothing to do with the Kardashian/Jenners. A Dallas company called The Mahjong Line has recently come under fire for releasing a line of mahjong sets that critics say “whitewash” Chinese culture. Mahjong is a traditional Chinese…
Dallas-based Match is celebrating “Dating Sunday” on Jan. 3, an unofficial holiday that marks the busiest online dating day of the year.
During the premiere episode of season 5 of The Real Housewives of Dallas, which aired New Year’s Eve night, Stephanie Hollman greets Brandi Redmond at Redmond’s house with a big hug. “This is a corona-free zone,” Hollman says during a confessional. “We’re filming a TV show. We’ve been tested, like,…
Every list you’ve read this year likely reminded you just how bad 2020 was for all of us. According to several retrospective features from news outlets (including this one), 2020 was “volatile,” “disruptive,” “frustrating,” “disorienting,” “surreal,” “chaotic,” “the worst,” “a horror story,” “an American nightmare,” “a dumpster fire,” “a radioactive…
Just before midnight, fireworks cascaded from the top of Reunion Tower, celebrating the end of 2020 and the beginning of a new year. If ever a departing year deserved a “don’t let the screen door hit you on the way out,” this was it. With many of the normal New…
If you scrolled back to the beginning of the year and looked at any lists of “the most anticipated films of 2021,” you’d see titles such as Dune, Black Widow, Halloween Kills, Top Gun: Maverick, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Godzilla vs. Kong, Fast and Furious 9, A Quiet Place: Part II, Coming…
If you spent some time on social media looking for local businesses to support with your holiday shopping, you might have noticed more people selling nail polish strips, candles and skincare products from their homes. “Just in time for Christmas,” Deborah Ines wrote in a Dec. 9 Facebook post. “Scentsy…
The end of the year generally marks an exciting time for movie buffs, when fans can put together their yearly lists of favorite films, speculate on the offerings of the new year and dedicate some time to that stack of Blu-Rays gifted over the holidays. “New Year’s Movies” doesn’t have…
Hair can be a deeply personal topic. For Oak Cliff artist LaShonda Cooks, its cause for reflection — about artistry and politics, especially for Black women. Recently, Cooks has been on a quest to collect stories about hair, resulting in Hair Story, an exhibition by seven artists at the African American…
D’Andra Simmons, star of The Real Housewives of Dallas, is in the hospital with COVID-19, her rep confirms to the Observer. Simmons was admitted into UT Southwestern Medical Center. “Her oxygen levels were borderline, and she will start Remdesivir,” her rep wrote in an email. “At this time we ask…
If there’s one positive thing we can take away from this year, it’s that through the pain and hardship, new cheerful endeavors were born. Gossypion (Gossy) Investments, founded by Darryl Ratcliff and Maya Crawford, is an agency that aims to represent artists while helping communities and businesses thrive together —…
One of the perks of working for the Dallas Observer is getting to meet interesting people, and pretty much every encounter gives us a nugget of wisdom that has the potential to change the course of our beliefs. 2020 has been a dark year, and we’ve all been waiting for…
