THU 5 It was a night just like this one, albeit many moons ago. An aspiring young comic named Arnez J took the stage and turned it inside out with a routine more animated than Daffy Duck. Among the crowd sat a few industry bigwigs, real heavy hitters — or…

Slightly Stoopid is da kind band, brah! TUE 5/3 California’s Slightly Stoopid pulls influences that read like most seasoned potheads’ record collections. There are hefty pinches of ska, punk, reggae, roots, acoustic rock, and hip-hop in between some of the shake and seeds — i.e., that Frampton Comes Alive album…

P.’s Spring Fest packs in the celebrities SAT 4/30 It’s a numbers game, they figure. The more big names on the marquee, the more likely you are to show up, and doozies abound on the Miami Spring Fest 2005 ticket. Duking it out at the top of the bill are…

My (clearly uncultured) colleague who’s written the column on the Air and Sea Show (see article at left) suggests you spend your weekend waving your George Bush posters in the air and watching obnoxious death machines whiz around in the sky. Like that constitutes some sort of party. I say,…

Wherefore art the popcorn? THU 4/21 If you thought Santa Claus was in for a serious case of writers’ cramp from responding to all his mail, you should see how many letters a day are addressed “Dear Juliet” — to the fictional heroine of Romeo & Juliet fame. A farmer…

SUN 4/24 Palm Beach County’s sun-drenched beaches and mild tropical climate may seem like the area’s defining characteristics, but with $60 million of sweet corn harvested during April and May alone, it’s the yellow stuff that’s bringing in the dough. And while you may associate the Corn Huskers with Nebraska,…

THU 21 After seven days and more than 150 films, including 11 world premieres, six U.S. premieres, and 43 Florida premieres, the Palm Beach International Film Festival finally calls it a wrap at 7 p.m. at the Muvico Parisian 20 at CityPlace (545 Hibiscus St., West Palm Beach). The closing…

Jim Florentine hangs up the phone and grabs the mic THU 4/21 Politely refusing an unwelcome telemarketer’s tantalizing offers of Tube Sock Monthly subscriptions, volcano insurance, and beachfront time shares in North Dakota is not an option for comedian Jim Florentine. While earning his living headlining at comedy clubs throughout…

The real contenders square off FRI 4/22 Few sports can match the savage brutality and enthralling artistry of boxing. Two men enter the ring, but only one can leave victorious. And you probably thought it was just a couple of dudes kicking the crap out of each other. Fight fans…

Says, “We are the gumbo” SAT 4/16 B.B. King once sang, “The blues had a baby, and they named it rock ‘n’ roll…” He wasn’t suggesting that the blues had unprotected sex — he was just layin’ down a metaphor. So what’s the progeny of blues and a cooking show?…

Miami gears up for finals run SUN 4/17 While flipping the calendar to April means no more college hoops, it also means pro hoops finally get serious. The two-month, post-All-Star-break swoon is over, as squads have been gearing up for the playoff run since the fourth month rang in. The…

Meet the people behind lowbrow art SAT 4/16 Lowbrow art is a lot like Michael Jackson. Which is to say, the genre is often creepy, sometimes surreal, but almost always entertaining. Also, you don’t want it around your kids. However, unlike Michael Jackson, lowbrow art has found a way to…

THU 14 Motley Crue did it. Poison did it. And Kiss did it best. So why shouldn’t King Diamond dust off his Caboodles makeup case, capitalize on his 19-year-old accomplishments, and cobble together a few bucks for his permanent retirement? Back in 1986, it was still possible to get Tipper…

Beer. Fest. Mmmm… two great words that go great together! Hitting up the New Times Beerfest — now a local tradition — requires a stealthy approach. First, judge yourself against the “you know you’re a drunkard when…” list on www.moderndrunkardmagazine.com. Do “you always finish your drinks because there are sober…

FRI 4/8 Joseph Carey Merrick (1862-1890), a.k.a. the Elephant Man, had a rare disease called Proteus syndrome that caused exaggerated growth of his body. His head was so large that the hat he wore measured three feet across. The dancehall star known as Elephant Man could use a hat that…

THU 4/7 It takes balls to be a drag queen. But with a little duct tape, that’ll be the dong and short of it. Seriously, though, photographer J.W. Calcaterra (a.k.a. Pompano Bill) has amassed quite a pile of pictures of drag queens. Now 79, Calcaterra served in the Navy during…

TUE 4/12 If you’re more of a boozer than a foodie, think of this as the opportunity to reform yourself — while still catching a decent buzz. The Himmarshee Bar and Grill (210 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale) will school you in the finer points of quaffing during complimentary winetastings…

THU 7 You may not have heard of comedian Pablo Francisco, but chances are, after his show you won’t forget him. The 20-something Tucson native got his first break during a comedy competition at age 17. Since then, he’s been spotted on Mad TV, Comedy Central, and the Tonight Show…

FRI 4/1 “Yuh mean to tell mi seh yuh really stop already?” dancehall star Macka Diamond sings to a “one-minute man” on her hit “Yuh Nuh Ready.” She laments, “Like a monkey ‘pon yuh tree mi waan climb/Yuh come so quick, bwoy, yuh commit a crime/I gwaan lock yuh inna…

THU 3/31 According to the website www.globalsecurity.org, the largest organized religion in Cuba is the Roman Catholic Church. “Officially,” it says, “Cuba has been an atheist state for most of the Castro era. In 1962, the government of Fidel Castro seized and shut down more than 400 Catholic schools, charging…

FRI 4/1 The 2005 Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) season is here. It’s time for the best and brightest in the world of beach volleyball to serve, set, and spike on the Fort Lauderdale sand. The AVP Nissan Series Fort Lauderdale Open begins Friday on North Side Beach adjacent to…

Isaac Hayes’ life story is so jam-packed that the 5,000-word biography on his website contains only three sentences about the role for which you probably know him best: that of Chef on South Park. Yes, the man has done more in his career than sing “Oh! Suck on my chocolate…