I’m a little confused as to why The Wildest Dream is receiving a wide release. The National Geographic-produced documentary no doubt tells a fascinating story — about George Mallory, the first man to attempt to climb Mount Everest — but it seems scantly different than any of the fascinating TV documentaries that air on the National Geographic channel regularly, save the A-class voice actors secured for the production (including Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and Natasha Richardson). The movie even climaxes ..read more

The realization halfway through Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, the new documentary about the former New York governor, is that it all just doesn’t add up. Why would the FBI spend so much time and so many resources on investigating a single john of a high-class prostitution service? Why would they release extensive and vivid details on this one client and not the others? Were they feeding the press? Why would federal investigators take a totally ..read more

Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal) couldn’t find a girl he isn’t able to seduce. Maggie (Anne Hathaway) couldn’t find a relationship she’d want to hold on to. It’s a relationship made in youthful promiscuity heaven. But there’s a catch (movies usually need one). Jamie is a sleazy pharmaceutical salesman, and Maggie is a health care agnostic, hardened by her years dealing with early life Parkinson’s. It’s a topical odd couple made on the pages of Google News, and it delivers the story ..read more

Perhaps no one will be more excited about the new Cher-and-Christina Aguilera-starring musical romp, Burlesque, than the local clubs, like Teddy’s Room, who are starting to cash in on the resurgence in popularity of the vintage tease and dance shows. The new musical-almost comedy makes the bawdy, lingerie variety show palatable for the after-school carpool line, dropping cheeky humor and some very un-risqué risqué over the pounding beat of Christina Aguilera’s latest musical creations (with a couple of singing cameos ..read more

1. The Ridglea Theater almost became a drive-thru bank, but thanks to Jerry Shults, a Dallas resident and head shop owner, the Fort Worth venue will find new life. And it sounds like Shults is just the right operator:

Shults is planning extensive renovations, in an effort to get the Ridglea back to its original condition, as well as get the building designated as a historic landmark. Shults already has meetings lined up with Historic Fort Worth and is also working closely with the city. He hasn’t wasted any time getting the building back in shape: he’s currently working on the marquee, paying for the repair costs out of his own pocket . . .  Eventually, he wants to fully restore the interior, with its terrazzo floors, and also bring back the balcony, which has languished in disrepair for years.

2. If you’ve seen The Trinity River Plays, you likely recognized Penny Johnson Jerald from 24, the TV show on which the actress played Sherry Palmer for three seasons. In this profile in the Morning News, Jerald explains that working in a regional theater production is a different experience for her.

Jerald agreed to the role only a short while before rehearsals started in Dallas. Most of the other performers had been with the project since its early days in workshops.

“I’m the new girl. I’m the TV girl,” Jerald says.

3. Robin Day, the man who invented the stackable plastic chair, has passed away. From Deyan Sudjic, director of the Design Museum in London:

“Robin Day’s polypropylene chair is one of those exceptional objects that can genuinely carry the burden of being labeled a humble masterpiece.”

Richmond Punch, Musician, Artistic Director of Uptown Dallas Youth Orchestra

I am reading a great book called the Little Book of Hindu Deities by Sanjay Patel. I love discovering the principles of the various Gods of Hinduism. This book was a gift to me and serves me well on my journey in life. Another source for my journey has been reading Making Great Decisions by T.D. Jakes. It’s  important for me to connect on a spiritual level to the various styles of music I play, including Indian music and Gospel music among many others. I recommend artists make such discoveries when learning music. Don’t be distracted by the music. Reading about what’s behind it will make the difference.

Bookmarks: Foodnetwork.com is great to read about ingredients and new recipes, Linkedin has been a great way for me to connect in my business, also DailyCandy, which is great for what’s new and unique in town. I can’t wait for them to cover my story, lol.

Magazines, Newspapers: Town and Country is great for discovering some of life’s best pasttimes. Uptown Magazine is a fun national publication. I also enjoy the D Magazine, New York Times, Dallas Morning News, and Rolling Out.

Four years ago local choreographer, Bruce Wood made the difficult decision to close his professional modern dance company, a nationally regarded arts organization which he had managed to grow into a household name within the local dance community. The impact of the closing of Wood’s company was greater than just the reduction in the number of local modern dance performances. From 1996 to 2006 there were two full-time professional modern dance companies in North Texas: Dallas Black Dance Theater, based ..read more

Thanksgiving is this week, which means one thing to ballet dancers across the nation: it’s Nutcracker time. If you are looking for a performance to attend, Danna Reubin has you covered with this preview. We have a pair of tickets to giveaway to Texas Ballet Theater’s performance on Dec 3 at the Winspear Opera House. To get your hands on them, you’ll have to be the first person answer this question in the form after the jump: Who were the ..read more

Sculptor Alyson Shotz is the first artist to present work in the Nasher Sculpture Center’s Sightings series, a new program dedicated to showcasing contemporary artists. Familiar with creating large sculptural installation works for high profile institutions, Shotz’s grand, shimmering works that engage perceptual inter-play with light and space have been featured at the Guggenheim in New York, Atlanta’s High Museum, Storm King and Socrates Sculpture Parks, and Louis Vuitton in Kobe, Japan.

At the Nasher, Shotz’s installation consists of two large ..read more

1. When a vandal broke into a warehouse in CorinthPark currently showing an exhibition of graffiti art, they didn’t just trash the place and steal electrical boxes and toilets. The vandals also took the time to splash paint over the graffiti covered walls. But the artists took the vandalism as a challenge, and incorporated the damage into the work.

2. That “lost” Texas painting that was uncovered in a West Virginia attic was finally auctioned off at Heritage over the weekend. The final take: $354K.

3. When the end of the year rolls around, I suspect my best 10 films list will be half documentaries. There have been some solid dramas released in 2010 (Winter’s Bone, for instance) but the docs have been consistently fantastic. Now the 15 documentaries short listed for Oscar nomination have been announced, and the list is strong, including some no-brainer inclusions, like Waiting for Superman and Inside Job, but also two of my favorite little films that could, GasLand and Exit Through the Gift Shop.