Roaming through Jorge Pardo’s newest exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art (770 NE 125th St., North Miami): “House” is nothing like fumbling through your own stack of bricks. You won’t find cat hair-matted rugs, dirty dishes, and mismatched appliances. Instead, you ascend into a world of perfect mid-century design,…

There have been many influential men throughout our country’s illustrious history: presidents, arbiters of peace, technological masterminds, but few have influenced our lives with the same impact as one man. His name? I’ll give you all three: Charles Nelson Reilly. While he sashayed into our world through off-Broadway stages, he’s…

Frank Sinatra painted on a spider web. Two-trunked elephants. Shrunken heads. If an oddity is worthy of a proper sideshow, roadside attraction, or even its own heavily guarded museum exhibit, you don’t have to tell Edward Meyer: he’s already intimately familiar with it. After all, you don’t become curator (and…

Let the Gentiles feast on pork. It’s a small concession; after all, the Jews are taking back rock ‘n’ roll. Rob Tannenbaum and David Fagan make up the lounge/pop/rock and hilariously kosher shtick Good for the Jews. Songs like “Shiksas are for Practice,” and “They Tried to Kill Us (We…

You gotta figure that Miami is overrun about three times a year: (1) for Art Basel, which is happening immediately and through Sunday, so ya’ better get in your car – now; (2) for Winter Music Fest, and (3) for Hip Hop Weekend. But wouldn’t it be cooler if the…

The Worth Avenue Pet Parade is always as much royal spectacle as it is entertainment. Where else can you see pets and owners wearing matching nail polish? It’s also where a bunch of lucky pups were picked as winners in the America’s Top Dog Model Contest (the over-all winner, paws…

So many things are indicative of the holidays. Roasted Chestnuts. An extra leaf added to the dining room table to accommodate your friends and family. Mistletoe. Underground wrestlers beating each other into submission with colorfully wrapped weapons. Huh? While less traditional, the D1PW Extreme Christmas Tree Match has just what…

When people belittle your comic book collection, you want to bulge through your checkered shirt and cutoff shorts, turn green, and release a throaty growl like Dr. Robert Bruce Banner (“They’re graphic novels!!!”). This weekend, there’s safety in numbers when Florida Comic-Con invades the Howard Johnson Resort and Conference Center…

Some people are just tough to shop for: namely, you. With the stocking stuffing, gift wrapping, and assorted p.r.n. (present-related nonsense) that you’ll put yourself through during the holidays, don’t forget to add your own name to the Nice List every so often (“Look! It’s my turn again!”). The problem…

Florida law doesn’t currently allow amateur MMA competitions, but it does allow kickboxing and grappling battles – which are violent enough to quench your bloodlust. This Saturday night, exactly that is happening at War Memorial Auditorium (800 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale) when Left Hook Productions presents Warriors Collide III…

Who has time to read the collected works of Shakespeare, especially when you can click a mouse and get the abridged gist on Wikipedia? Why spend your lifetime working for one company when you can be a soldier of fortune? Why research consumer goods when commercial jingles tell you exactly…

The Culture Vultures are circling. Why, you ask? They’d hate to miss the beginning of feeding season, that’s why. Adding to the frenzy is the first production of the new season by The Alliance Theatre Lab, John Patrick Shanley’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. The tale, a modern take…

The holidays are a time for catching up with old friends, lettin’ ´em know how much you appreciate them and then getting wasted together. Since New Times considers you part of its O.G. crew, it’s only right that you’re invited to, like, the biggest party in Fort Lauderdale’s history: the…

For a band as integral to music’s history as the Clash, it seems odd that few fans know much about it; a revelation that doesn’t strike until you’re watching Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten. The new documentary follows the famous Strummer (a name/persona he created in his twenties –…

Reverend Bob Levy wouldn’t be the best counsel to seek out for confession – unless you consider being called a pussy-ass fag boy as absolution. Known as much for his participation on the Howard Stern Show as for his stand up career, the Rev’ has pummeled out a name for…

There’s something so fascinating about matter’s phase changes. As a liquid, H2O is pretty mundane – after all we see it every day. As it vaporizes it creates steam, which has a much more mysterious (and spa-friendly) quality. But by far the coolest of its forms is snow. That one…

UFO Crash Site in Roswell, New Mexico. Beer Can House in Houston, Texas. The Big Chicken, Marietta Georgia. There are some roadside oddities that demand you pull out of traffic, loop back, and then simply stare. In Florida we have one that is accessible for only two, glorious months: Santa’s…

It’s sometimes baffling that anyone falls in love anymore: modern “must be met” lists for PSCs (potential suitor characteristics) are lengthier than Santa’s scroll of “naughtys.” It’s unclear when it happened, but we’ve become a demanding bunch that wants it all. In Jeff (Curb Your Enthusiasm) Garlin’s new film, he…

You don’t view shopping as a contact sport, but you do love the thrill of the hunt. Because of this conundrum you’re conflicted each time Black Friday rolls around. Jezebel (1980 E. Sunrise Blvd., Gateway Plaza, Fort Lauderdale) understands. The store – a 20-plus year staple in Fort Lauderdale –…

You were mesmerized by Laser Floyd (there was something comforting and hypnotic about the dancing tennis shoes). You smuggled contraband (ding dongs, ho hos, and other ingredient-heavy no-no’s) into Laser Zeppelin. But can you handle the trippiest spectacle this side of the North Pole? Recline and find out when Santa…

Competitive eaters know you by your nickname: Gut McLean. Your digestive prowess is the stuff of delicious legend. Where others fall limp, their mouths overflowing and eyes rolled back, you continue. Chomping away until victory is yours. On Sunday, all the world will know this. The Broward County Fair is…

The description “punkabilly” doesn’t quite sum ´em up. Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers is a proselytizing whirling dervish of in-your-face electrified swamp tunes, and that’s precisely why it’s loved. With relentless touring (about 200 shows per year), the band has converted the great unwashed into its own congregation of devout followers,…