Uber Is Upside Down When You Look at It Through the Eyes of John Barr

Everything looks different if you’re John Barr. The mayor has released his investigation of city officials who worked to help Yellow Cab of Dallas combat an incursion into the Dallas marketplace of Uber, an app-based car-ride system that operates outside taxicab laws. Brantley has reported all of that for you…

What’s the Right Way to Translate Day of the Dead?

Dear Mexican: I was surprised, on a trip to Mexico earlier this month, that I only ever found the holiday referred to as “Día de Muertos,” whereas in the States, I’ve only ever heard it referred to as “Día de los Muertos.” I’m really curious as to WHY there’s a…

Still JFK Crazy After All These Years

Apparently I have written more about the upcoming 50th anniversary observation of the Kennedy assassination than anybody else in town, or else I have written crazier stuff. One way or another I have become a top phone call for out-of-town journalists, filmmakers and other seekers of something to say about…

CrazySexyCool: The TLC Movie Is Pretty Silly, But I Loved it Anyway

Editor’s Note: Shea Serrano is an award-winning music writer and goofball who recent exploits include Bun B’s Rapper Coloring and Activity Book. In his new column, he writes about his life and times. On Monday night I watched the movie about TLC, the most important all-girl rap group of all-time…

For Photojournalist Andrew Youssef, Life Was Music. Then Came Cancer

[Editor’s note: This article was orginally printed by our sister paper, OC Weekly, where Andrew Youssef is based. Youssef is the author of the Last Shot column that we have been running, which chronicles his struggle against cancer in his own words.] Sneakers squeaking on white tiles, Andrew Youssef roams…

How To Get People to Care About Your Band (Halloween Edition)

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to…

In the Matter of Uber as a Racist Plot, Maybe We Need a Bit of Context

Eric tells us this morning we have two southern Dallas clergymen, Stephen C. Nash, pastor of Mount Tabor Baptist Church, and Jerry C. Christian of Kirkwood CME Church, stepping from the pulpit to the street to denounce as racist plotters the company called Uber, which provides an app-based car-ride service…

The Best Day at the State Fair of Texas is Grambling vs. Prairie View

Editor’s Note: Our nightlife columnist, Deb Doing Dallas, wrote about this year’s State Fair Classic, a longstanding Fair tradition at least as much about the pageantry and the marching bands in particular as it is about the actual football game played between Louisana’s Grambling State University and Texas’ Prairie View…

There Goes the Neighborhood

Dear Mexican: My wife and I are looking to buy our first house. Being young(ish) and hip(ish), we’re looking into buying in Santa Ana. It’s amazing how much house and land you can get for $350K compared with the two-bedroom stacked cracker boxes in South O.C. My question is two-fold:…

In the New School Reform Debate, Old Words Fail Us

The school reform debate has a way of flipping the words liberal and conservative around like pinballs, but somewhere running deep beneath the surface is a new orientation that needs new words. North of the line are people united in the belief that children from the most brutal circumstances are…

When Will My Band Make It?

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to…

A Short Guide to Self-Awareness in Gig Photography

Kid Congo Powers was fantastic last night. He truly was. A full-blooded romp through a set that drew from his past as an ’80s pioneer of post-punk, as well as just some straight up punk, his was a stage presence far from the snarling beast you might have expected. Instead,…