Remember the scene from Jim Carrey’s The Mask where Carrey escapes the police by donning a frilled shirt and singing, “They call me Cuban Pete / I’m the King of the Rumba Beat / When I play my maracas I go chick-chicky-boom, chick-chicky-boom?” Well, Desi Arnaz popularized the Latin rumba…

Here’s the thing about HDTV: Once you take the step towards that enormous set and each one of its beautiful 1,080 lines of resolution, you’re spoiled for regular TV forever. Shoot, you’re actually sort of spoiled for real life. Nothing looks as good to you anymore – be it live…

As far as sports towns go, there are the big ones – Boston, New York, Chicago, and Detroit – and then there’s everyone else. But how does a city get on that list? Is there a governing board with the sole purpose of determining which city’s fans are rabid enough?…

If the Addams Family taught us anything, it’s that a hand can be as expressive a body part as a face. Just take a look at Thing – for an animated, severed hand, he was easily the most relatable character on the show. He always went into situations with his,…

Cultures can be defined not only by the attitudes and beliefs they express but also by what they produce artistically. You get the idea when, visiting a museum, you see artwork categorized not just by date or art movement but also by cultural provenance and lineage. But isn’t that also…

So it’s Thursday night, and you’re not sure if you want to go out. Cocktails with some friends sound nice, but that gets expensive fast. You could just as easily hole up in your apartment and work on a bottle of tequila while watching TiVo’d episodes of the Love Boat…

Here’s the thing about musicals: They can’t be all brass and balls. Not every number is going to be as inspiring as the last, and sometimes a show full of stale duds can be saved by one climactic song at the right moment. Back in the old days, theaters would…

There have been a lot of stellar video games released over the years, but none of them cause quite as much division among people as the Guitar Hero series. If you’re a fan of the game, it’s not enough to just enjoy playing it occasionally. You have to be devoted…

This scenario is repeated each year by families all across America: Tired from the endless onslaught of Christmas commercialism, sons and daughters and parents pledge to buy less, give more, and separate themselves from the juggernaut of holiday shopping. But we all know those pledges never take hold. The Power…

Here in the States, we’ve got a funny way of approaching the new year: Instead of stopping to digest the good that came our way over the past year, we focus on what we’ve done poorly and resolve to “fix” it. (Note to self: Eat less, exercise more. Make actual…

If there’s one factor that completely separates a comedian’s live performances from his pre-recorded material, it’s the thrill of possible failure. You know: that chance that he could get out on stage and bomb his ass off. Like, the booing, jeering, heckling sort of bomb. But sometimes laying an egg…

What’s our most important national holiday? Christmas, though economically stimulating, is not universally celebrated. Thanksgiving is too boring to be catalyzing. The Fourth of July borrows its central theme (fireworks) from China. How about New Year’s Eve? Ahh… now that’s a holiday modeled after the American spirit! Just think about…

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is sort of like the Microsoft of the circus world. The “Greatest Show on Earth” got to be the greatest by “teaming up” with (read: acquisitions and mergers, dude!) or rolling over any competition over the last 138 years. Just look at their…

It was only in 1957 that the Seminole Tribe of Florida was given sovereignty and created its own constitution. It had been quite a rough and rocky road to that point – the Seminoles, actually made up of multiple, native tribes living in the wilds of Florida, had endured centuries…

“Well, it’s certainly been a long season, guys. We’ve had some really low points, and… some other really low points. But I have to say, I’ll miss you. Yes, my fellow fans and I have spewed a lot of vitriol about y’all over the airwaves, in print, and across the…

Charity events don’t have to be stuffy, monotonous affairs. Sometimes you’ve got to get a little crazy to raise interest – maybe incorporate a hip fashion show and a pyrotechnics display on one stage. Then, maybe you’ve got to show some short films and bring out a troupe of bellydancers…

Native Floridian joint Alligator Alley (1321 E. Commercial Blvd., Oakland Park) is known for a couple of things: (1) Its gladesman-style take on Cajun cooking and its bitchin’ selection of microbrews; and (2) a nearly endless stream of mind-expanding jazz, blues, and fusion music that wafts through the tiny bar…

So you’ve torn through all your presents on Christmas morning, and it looks like a two-ton wrapping paper bomb ravaged your living room. Now you’re basking in the afterglow of rampant commercialism, thinking that the last thing you want to do is clean up and cook Christmas dinner. But you’re…

Right about now, the Panthers are the only South Florida sports team that isn’t sucking awfully – they’re just a notch below .500, and are very much alive in the weak Southeast Division. Just think about that for a moment: The best assemblage of athletic talent in the lower third…

If you like moving pictures on large screens accompanied by sound, there’s probably no reason for you to skip Savages. Why? Well Philip Seymour Hoffman, for one, is a perennial critical darling – the Academy has been tonguing his nethers ever since Capote, though he’s a fan favorite from his…

Jeff Daniels’ tenth play, Guest Artist, is something of a head-scratcher — one that attempts to tackle deeper questions than you’d ordinarily expect from him. Don’t get us wrong — he’s a fine actor and a great playwright. But you get the feeling he just doesn’t get the chance to…