Arts & Culture

Brian Gibb has a dream. From cobbling together random blogs, interviews and press releases, it seems that Mr. Gibb really, really wants you to like art. Or maybe not even like it, but appreciate it. Or at least go see it. Gibb has a vested interest in your interest in…

Brace yourself—I have a shocking confession to make. You see, I’ve never read a single word written by David Sedaris—and I write for an alt-weekly. I’m sure he’s funny and all, but when everyone I knew was voraciously reading every one of his books a couple years back, I got…

Already imbibed enough candy canes and Starbucks eggnog latte to send you into a diabetic end-of-the-year coma? Need a Grinch-style punch in the Who-ville to bring you back to the parallel universe called reality? Whoa! I know, too much Scrooge dims the Yuletide rouge—how about just an eyeful of images…

At first we were cynics. We assumed Miracle Dallas in Victory Park was all about the “miracle” of credit cards and consumerism. Then we looked closer and were pleasantly surprised. Not only will the Park in the ol’ VP have an outdoor ice rink, live entertainment and Santa (of course),…

For a moment, let’s just forget that whole Ten Commandments thing about creating false idols and whatnot. Besides, it seems as long as said idols are actually Christian-based icons, then all is well. Hell, some of these icons are even considered to be sacred. Pawn Gallery’s Catholic Iconography will have…

If you’re reading this to find something to do on the one day when almost everything in North Texas is closed, it’s possible that you’re stranded here, with some misfortune keeping you from your family gathering. It’s happened to me too. Two days before Christmas 2003, the wife, kids and…

While “choo-choo” is super fun to say, it’s more of a blast to see toy trains chug along through teeny towns filled with wee trees and glittery fake snow. Toy trains are a childhood icon that makes you long for holidays past, when all you worried about was getting that…

Imagine if William Shakespeare was taking part in the current writers’ strike. If the studio honchos give in to their demands, Shakes could end up in the stratosphere with billions. Or at least he should. I don’t know why his descendants haven’t figured out some legal loophole to rake in…

If there’s one thing the holidays should promote, it’s unity. Drop it all, forget the differences and celebrate the ties to each other. The first day of Kwanzaa (an African-American and Pan-African holiday founded by Dr. Maulana Karenga), is referred to as Umoja, and is meant to be a pointed…

The Dallas area has several neighborhoods whose residents go over the top with Christmas displays. There’s the visible-from-space wattage draping the mansions of Highland Park, the eccentric displays in Little Forest Hills, the Twelve Days displays in Oak Highlands and the elaborate decorations in Plano’s Deerfield neighborhood. Participation is a…

Luna, formed in the early 1990s in part from the fallout of indie/college rock luminaries The Feelies and Galaxie 500, was perhaps one of the quietest acts of that decade’s alternative rock explosion. Sleepy reverb and melancholy melodies propelled the band through a heyday aligned with that of MTV’s 120…

While “choo-choo” is super fun to say, it’s more of a blast to see toy trains chug along through teeny towns filled with wee trees and glittery fake snow. Toy trains are a childhood icon that makes you long for holidays past, when all you worried about was getting that…

You could have a snooze fest with the same ol’ holiday entertainment (excluding the uncle’s nose-harmonica rendition of “Silent Night”…that NEVER gets old), or you could turn it up a notch with WaterTower Theater’s Rockin’ Christmas Party, a song-and-dance journey that showcases some of the musical highlights from the ’60s,…

Christmas is kind of a jerk. Sure, it’s the largest commercialized holiday in the history of gluttony and covetousness, but does it have to be so pushy? December has lots of other awesome days for us to celebrate…like Pearl Harbor Day and the anniversary of John Lennon’s death. Okay, nevermind…

At 8 p.m. Friday, see Oliver!, a musical based on Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist (In the book, an orphan boy teams up with a pick-pocketing orphan gang. Hilarity ensues when the bad guy clubs a lady to death. The musical is all of that stuff, plus music. It’s like Annie…

Doesn’t matter if it’s a few degrees hotter than we’d like or if it’s sleeting and bitterly cold, it’s still the holiday season, and the Dallas Arboretum is not about to stop celebrating. Neither should you, no matter how many family members are invading your house and how many gifts…

Everyone knows about the jolly fat man who can fly around the planet in one night, breaking into houses and leaving mysterious gifts for all of the little children of the world. Kids are pretty gullible, and they have no problems believing that a guy in a red suit, fueled…

Beverly Hills 90210: The Third Season (Paramount) Big Love: The Complete Second Season (HBO) Born Killers (Lionsgate) The Boston Red Sox 2007 World Series Collector’s Edition (A&E) The Conscientious Objector (Cinequest) Dave Attell: Captain Miserable (HBO) Dirt: The Complete First Season (Buena Vista) Flight 29 Down: Volume Three (Discovery Kids)…

At a Guitar Hero tournament a few months back, one kid complained to me that Expert Mode is “too easy.” Then he demonstrated the game’s secret Hyper Speed mode. My pupils nearly ruptured at the sight of him as he navigated the light-speed stream of colored notes; it looked like…