Posted on November 7, 2009 at 1:59 p.m.

Travis, got a little field report on this thing coming later today

On Four Seasons Market debuts on Saturday at Firewheel Town Center in Garland

Posted on November 6, 2009 at 3:47 p.m.

Randi Eli Grothe and Allison Smith collaborated on a neat video that splices photos with a performance of "Day Tripper" by the BBC

On Eight-track exhibit at Barry Whistler Gallery in Deep Ellum plays well with music lovers

Posted on November 6, 2009 at 7:54 a.m.

"sujin", whatever makes you think i would know anything about junk food? haha

Ko'Mart is almost like a mini-mall; it has a little bit of everything (although it's not as big as H-Mart up in carrollton). i'm not much of a meat eater, but i've read elsewhere that they have a good selection of meat, and there's a food court where you can get meals very cheap. they also have a good selection of asian cookware.

i want to buy a mandoline, a fancy vegetable slicer that lets you make perfectly symmetrical slices. a friend told me they have them there cheap. i just haven't gotten around to getting it yet

On Dallas frozen yogurt meltdown: Yolatte on Royal Lane in Dallas

Posted on November 4, 2009 at 9:05 a.m.

FatCap - that's a smart observation

On Jeff Moschetti named executive chef at Sangria Tapas y Bar

Posted on November 4, 2009 at 2:34 a.m.

There's something appealing and simplistic in the idea of finding a pill to solve all our problems, and that includes the "problem" of women who don't achieve the kind of orgasm presented in popular culture -- you know, the elusive scenario where gal + guy hit it at the same moment with a crash of cymbals in the background.

Orgasm, Inc. is a thorough, often witty look at the efforts made by pharmaceutical companies to turn that "problem" into a disease so they can fabricate a pill to give us that'll generate profits for them.

Filmmaker Liz Canner covers all the bases: from interviews with companies making the drugs, to women who feel like they're not normal because their sex lives aren't like what they've seen on TV. She finds likable experts who question the pharmaceutical companies, and follows them to the movie's climax when the FDA conducts its review of Intrinsa, the questionable testosterone patch developed by Procter & Gamble. (The FDA ended up rejecting it in 2004; it has since become available outside of the U.S.)

She weaves in history and data such as the fact that clinical trials funded by pharmaceutical companies have 3 to 5 times the odds of reporting a favorable outcome for the drug being tested than those funded by other sources; that 80% of women have some kind of "body issue"; and that genital plastic surgery is on the rise. Her visits to a college class and to the Antique Vibrator Museum in San Francisco show how conflicted and ignorant many of us are when it comes to basic information about sex.

Nice piece of work.

On Dallas Videofest 2009 - Orgasm Inc.

Posted on November 3, 2009 at 11:14 p.m.

billusa, i don't know how i missed your hilarious comment

DC, WELCOME BACK!!! yes, we're all still thoroughly miserable, great to see ya

On Bowing and scraping to new chef at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, one in a series

Posted on November 3, 2009 at 9:05 p.m.

Dear filmmaker Bob Moczydlowsky,

Boy, was I excited to see this rock documentary filmed in Kansas City. I've been a huge fan of the K.C. rock scene dating back to the '90s; always thought it such a tragedy that bands like Molly McGuire were so horridly exploited by record labels -- exactly the kind of exploitation that 72 Musicians gets those K.C. bands to talk about via interviews about their experiences in the music industry.

Well, congratulations for being one more L.A. prince who exploits Kansas City bands with your annoying documentary, wherein you can't be bothered to identify who the musicians are, neither during the interviews nor when they're performing. I would love to know because I would possibly buy some of their material, but guess what, dude: I don't have time to sift through some list on your website to try and match up which bands I liked. After hearing the songs only once, I can't even say for sure which songs I liked.

And call me silly, but when someone is talking and being presented as having expertise or authority, as the musicians are in this film, then I like to see who they are.

Unfortunately, the camera work is more of the same: Not only does it dismiss the musicians' individual identities, it callously turns them into into a parade of inanimate body parts, with its laughable microscopic closeups of someone's teeth or a moving arm or a hat brim. And to what end? That kind of self-conscious camera work doesn't offer any insight into their being, all it does is ostentatiously assert that the people making the film are "arty," and ultimately distracts the viewer from what the interview subjects are saying. On some level it feels rather sadistic.

The documentary is weak in that there's a major disconnect between the interviews and the performances. The person being interviewed has no connection to the subsequent or preceding performance. It turns these people into cogs, like they're just passing through, secondary to the greater good of the all-important documentary. Unfortunately, the message - that labels exploit bands and that being a rock band isn't as glamorous as it looks - is hardly new or insightful.

The performances of the bands are great. As for who they are, the promotional material mentions Appleseed Cast, Coalesce, oh I don't know who they are and, as this film makes clear, it's not really important, is it?

On Dallas Videofest 2009 - 72 Musicians

Posted on November 3, 2009 at 1:25 p.m.

Eats jumps aboard

On Bowing and scraping to new chef at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, one in a series

Posted on November 2, 2009 at 11:31 a.m.

love your review, John!

On Hanson / Hellogoodbye / Sherwood

Posted on October 31, 2009 at 11:27 a.m.

nice, travis, thanks

On Your spookiest Halloween 2009 events in Dallas-Fort Worth are right here