As a North Carolina native, comedian Jim David’s down to earth, charming, not full of pretension – a true-blue southerner. Of course, most southerners aren’t blue at all, politically speaking. They like having a bible-thumper president, especially one who’ll go to bat against all those ungodly homosexuals. But as an…

Anyone not accustomed to a Black Lips show would probably think the band was on the verge of self-destruction. After all, it’s not often you see band members drop-kick each other during a performance, finishing the set in a giant dogpile of blood, sweat, and beers. Ah, but for Georgia’s…

If there’s one word that sums up Americans’ blasé attitude, it’ s whatever. In Romany, the language spoken by gypsies, there’s a different term – wherever, or varekai. And in the language of Cirque du Soleil, Varekai is the mythical place where strange and fanciful beasts freely roam the wilderness…

Now that the iPod revolution has begun, the concept of owning hard copies of music, pictures, and video is quickly going the way of the eight-track tape. Though it’s unlikely traditional cameras will soon follow, any up-and-coming photographer not schooled in digital imaging is in for a reality check come…

If popular sentiment is correct – that Americans are all fat, indolent slobs — then how do you explain the continued success of the Komen Race for the Cure? The cause-oriented cardio event, whose proceeds go to finding cancer cures, has been taking place locally for 15 years now, and…

Watching televangelists perform their supposed miracles makes for an amusing pit stop while channel-surfing. But then the real horror of the situation sets in – that so many people believe a palm to the forehead cures disease. Doesn’t the name Marjoe Gortner mean anything to them? They obviously haven’t seen…

The South Florida Fair is showing some real balls this year … footballs, baseballs, bowling balls, and other objects of the pro sports variety. The interactive exhibit “I’m Having a Ball” is the fair’s newest feature, debuting with more than 800 sports artifacts on display. That’s in addition to more…

For the average photographer, a well-lit setting is as important as fresh batteries. Jeremiah Jenner isn’t the average photographer. For him, the shoot doesn’t start till the lights go down and he’s found a properly dour urban landscape. Neon signs advertising sex and drugs, ramshackle dive bars, and run-down carnivals…

ArtServe is serving up more than its usual batch of canvas-based goods this Sunday. Oh, there’s plenty of that, in the form of Sharon Basile’s collection of tropical and myth-inspired pieces. But the gallery is stepping outside itself, so to speak, for a “Meet the Artist Brunch” at Nature Boy…

The Himalayan monarchy of Bhutan isn’t exactly the hub of Asian cinematography. It wasn’t until 2003 that Bhutan had its first homegrown feature film, Travellers and Magicians. Like many a good Buddhist tale, it’s about the journey to self-discovery. In search of a better life, Dondup meets a monk while…

A New York City photographer and a British art dealer discuss the contours of the deco-style furniture piece on display. The maker of the piece, a Parisian, bargains with a gallery owner from Massachusetts, eager to purchase one of his glass sculptures. But they’re not at some high-brow cocktail party…

Before Saturday Night Live made political lampooning a national pastime and before Whose Line Is It Anyway? threw the script out the window, the live sketch comedy of the Second City improv troupe took form in 1959, at the height of the Cold War. And while the red scare is…

For the poor souls we call insomniacs, not even Ben Stein reading computer code will call in the Sandman. So why even try? Dave Attell sure doesn’t, and for that, Comedy Central awarded him with a TV show, Insomniac with Dave Attell. While most people are in bed, safely counting…

It took more than a year after 9/11 for President Bush to lay down the bureaucratic red tape known as the Department of Homeland Security. But when Bush won re-election in 2004 (or re-theft, depending on your viewpoint), it took Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge only a few weeks to…

Most alleged sightings of biblical figures entail some form of the Virgin Mary, whether she’s visible in the light shining through a tangle of tree branches or in a grilled cheese sandwich. But such sightings are usually reported by lay people, not members of the clergy. If a priest were…

If a southern-sounding guy named “Buford” calls and asks for an oxygen tank for his pet hog, there’s no need to reach for your English-Redneck dictionary – it’s only Rickey Smiley, the character comic with a penchant for prank calls. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Smiley is proof that…

Woody Allen has Manhattan. Neil Simon has Yonkers. But for local playwright Gregg Tomé, there’s only one town in the state of New York he needs to keep apprise of, and that’s his hometown of Babylon, Long Island. The town is special to him for a number of reasons, not…

When a magazine calls itself MaximumRocknRoll and covers bands with names like the Crucifucks and the Meatmen, you’d think that its readers would appreciate a little sex, drugs, and free-thinking amid the music reviews. However, ask columnist Mykel Board, and he’ll tell you otherwise. Since Board joined the MRR crew…

How many more to go? THU 12/8 You know the gods of mainstream rock are smiling down on you when your band makes it onto a Now That’s What I Call Music compilation. The CDs, sold in grocery-store checkout lines across the country, have now spawned their 20th sequel —…

Markings, musings, and… haiku? SAT 12/10 Hanne Niederhausen is obsessed with shape, line, and mark-making in general. For this German-born Boca Raton resident, inspiration comes in the form of dance and music, as well as from her love of books, printing, and even the gentle curvature of calligraphy. Niederhausen brings…

Taishi one on TUE 12/13 The lives of geishas are particularly intriguing to those of us in Western culture. These women, with their flawless façades, are so well-versed in the arts of hostessing, beauty, and manipulation that they could be seen as the Navy Seals of proper etiquette. While most…

Much has been written about Jeremy Hotz’s unusual comic delivery — his signature style of cracking jokes by placing his right hand to the side of his mouth, ready to catch any laughter that slips out. He’s like a schoolboy snickering at the rude comment he just let loose in…