When the closest you’ve been to wide-open spaces is little more than the nature screensaver montage that plays when your computer enters sleep mode, it’s time to unplug and step outside. Take root in the great outdoors and revisit the masters of American landscape with “Natural Affinities” this week. The…

Before the Las Olas Art Fair was a glimmer in his eye, Howard Alan started small, showcasing 50 artists on consignment with a six-foot gorilla strategically placed outside his door to draw customers in. While the gorilla ended up costing him a $500 fine, the Alan family learned a valuable…

Ladies, every year around holiday party time, you’re faced with a difficult choice. Do you answer the little devil on your shoulder who prods you to spend the night decked out as a scantily clad Mrs. Claus with permanent Eggnog mustache? Or do you turn your ear to the haloed…

Ever wonder what it would look like on the set of Three’s Company had the writers flipped the script and offered a little summin-summin to its large gay audience? Maybe Jack Tripper and Larry Dallas would have one too many drinks down at the Regal Beagle and confess that the…

With the exception of your love of Lisa Simpson’s collaboration with Bleeding Gums Murphy, an attentive ear at the beginning and ending credits of Woody Allen films, and a pension for using “jazz hands” to emphasize an important point when you’re giving a presentation — your knowledge of jazz probably…

Maybe it was the family heirloom that only drove in reverse, or the lemon that caught fire the day it was bought; whichever it was, you learned a valuable lesson: as much as you will them, automobiles have a mind of their own. Why are their minds used for evil…

Each election year, young voters promise to engage in the political process far beyond the next four years. It comes just after the ballots are cast, and just before the contact high of enthusiasm wears off. But, like promises of pledging to NPR and avoiding drive-through food (damn you, egg…

In the Deep South, where billboards warn of the Lord’s comeback and snake-handling churches dot the hills, the long-held rift between good and evil is deeply ingrained. So how does one ward off demons in such a place? If you’re Col. J.D. Wilkes, you start a band called Th’ Legendary…

Many a rabid fan (writer included) logged on earlier this year to iTunes, itching to download the band’s fourth release, Viva la Vida. But for every one of them, there is a sizeable chunk of critics who stand by waiting for the other fair trade, non-leather shoe to drop for…

Composure is key for responsible, grown women. Rarely do they get shaken, miffed, or rattled, but when certain situations transpire, even the strong fall prey to fandom, eliciting high-pitched squeals that summon nearby canines. One such event happened in May on NBC’s Today Show with the surprise announcement that, after…

If failed attempts to replicate your favorite confetti-like fried rice takeout only result in a dense pile of tamari-drenched risotto at home, one thing is clear: a Wok Star, you are not. Why not try again and take a recipe card from the pro, self-appointed “Wok Star,” Eleanor Hoh? Hoh’s…

It’s 1962. JFK is fighting the Cuban Missile Crisis. America’s archetype of beauty, Marilyn Monroe, is found dead. Racial integration is on the minds of students and parents everywhere, and changes to stale cultural standards are fast-approaching. It is in this political climate that even a simple act of trying…

Sometimes your prayers are for a new pony. Other times they’re for the bank teller to accidentally add a few extra zeros to your deposit. But among the odd requests to the big, omnipotent guy upstairs, changing one’s own sexual orientation still seems to be a prayer that’s most perplexing…

If a gay octogenarian pulled the “When I was your age” card today, it might include events like blackmail by the U.S. State Department in the 1950’s, police raids at the local watering hole, and the very act of ‘coming out’ ensuring you a trip to the family psychologist. Thankfully,…

This election cycle has been particularly “big top” in execution. From moose burgers to knuckle bumps, it seems that inconsequential data is chomping up most of the media waves, while genuine issues get buried in less sexy plutocracy. That’s why the world needs cartoonist Jim Morin. For the last 30…

If one had to craft a ballet that reflected Miami’s pulse, its movements would need to mirror certain narratives of the city, like the clean, swooping lines of Miami’s skyscrapers, the churning and chugging of the Metrorail, and the stirring of the cultural melting pot. In the International Ballet Festival…

If you wound up with the olive loaf instead of the Lunchables kit when elementary school trade time commenced, maybe negotiating is not your strong point. Now you’ve learned that you need an equal playing field, like where everyone has a set of Dunnys to exchange — that way, you…

In Hawaiian mythology, it is believed that volcanic eruptions are caused not by tectonic plate activity but by Hawaiian goddess of fire Pele, who stomps her feet and digs Pa’oe, her magic stick, under the earth until a fiery eruption occurs. To keep Pele at bay, legend suggests offerings must…

You don’t need to watch the countless YouTube tributes to Chris Farley’s “Fat guy in a little coat” routine to know that big guys equal big laughs. But what if a fat comedian didn’t go that route, and instead embraced his considerable largeness? That would free him up to crack…

Of all the many reasons to participate in local music (an occasional free bar tab, throwing a little shade at the opposite sex), an earnest attempt at cultivating a cool little scene is too often an afterthought. That is, unless you’re Steve Rullman of Thehoneycomb.com. For as long as many…

It’s hard to imagine, but even within a group whose emblem is an all-encompassing rainbow flag, more diversity is needed. If some of this summer’s Pride events looked more like Abercrombie & Fitch ads to you than a true showing of the populace, head to Miami Beach Bruthaz weekend. Known…

You have Thanksgiving affairs on lockdown, but when it comes to gay pride you could learn from Wilton Manors. During the Stonewall Street Festival (Wilton Dr., between NE 20th St. and N.E. 11th Ave., Wilton Manors), the whole GLBT community comes out for a killer parade. This year boasts the…