Cheap Kills

What is it about Southern California punk that makes it so replete with depraved humor, juvenile posturing, and self-flagellating fervor? The heat? The smog? Once upon a time, there was a band called F.Y.P., a dirty, snotty punk band that, if anything, had a way with words. Songs like “Beat…

This Week’s Day-by-Day Picks

THU 7/10 The Broward County chapter of the Florida Trail Association holds its monthly meeting at 7:30 p.m. at the Fern Forest Nature Center (201 Lyons Rd., Coconut Creek). At each of the association’s meetings, nature-conscious granola eaters listen to the wise words of an environmentalist or world traveler who…

The Toxic Offender

Though the word auteur gets tossed around in the film industry like a salad (Vincent Gallo?!), many seem to overlook the real progenitors of filmmaking. Lloyd Kaufman not only defines the label, but over the past 30 years, he has mutated its commercialized confines with a button-pushing, all-out motion picture…

Not Your Ordinary Bic

FRI 7/11 If you jot notes with a Bic, glance at your Timex to get to the movies on time, and use your Swiss Army knife to pare your nails, you probably won’t get off on this weekend’s “International Pen, Watch & Knife Show” at the Embassy Suites Hotel (1100…

Zo Knows

SUN 7/13 Alonzo Mourning missed an entire season of basketball last year sidelined with a severe kidney illness. Well, Zo has an extremely high amount of pent-up energy, and he’s ready to get back out onto the hardwood for the seventh-annual “Zo’s Summer Groove Charity Basketball Game” to benefit the…

Splish Splash

FRI 7/11 Looking to get wet? Quiet Waters Park (6601 N. Powerline Rd., Deerfield Beach) holds its monthly “Splash at the Moon” event at 7 p.m. Sure, cooling off during the day by hitting Splash Adventure, the park’s interactive water playground, is fun, but why not check it out at…

Here She Comes…

SAT 7/12 Beauty pageants are like the cockroach you step on that scurries away. No matter how hard we want to squish them, they just won’t die. The Miss Florida USA Pageant parades into Hollywood this year to crown the purtiest durn lady in the state. So what does it…

Fleshtones Fuzz Out

FRI 7/11 Father Time hasn’t always been good to the elders of rock ‘n’ roll. Too many bands that once rocked the block have long since crossed over into the realm of pretension, pomposity, or (gasp!) gross self-parody. Fortunately, there are bands like the Fleshtones that’ve managed to survive the…

Reduced-Salt Dogs

To prepare for reviewing Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, I did the obvious research: I watched Yellowbeard again. Yes, yes indeed — can’t do without Fairbanks as The Black Pirate and Flynn as Captain Blood. But when appraising a new comedic pirate adventure, it’s important…

Flying Bland

More like Hollywood fluff than Gallic farce or sophistication, the French romantic comedy Jet Lag stars Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno as mismatched lovers who meet when circumstances — bad weather, computer glitches, a strike by air traffic controllers — ground them both at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris…

Yea Pride

Part of the trick of producing plays is not only deciding what to stage but when. Some shows work better in the fall than the summer, some are hurt by financial bad times, others are helped by same. But all attempts to time a play’s opening are still subject to…

Still Smilin’?

Stan Lee, for better or worse the most recognizable face in the history of the comic book, insists he has no love for rehashing his past. He claims to take no great joy from talking about long-ago yesterdays spent in smoky rooms co-creating the likes of the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man,…

A Riot Unplugged

Usually, bands can’t wait to get out of the Sunshine State, but Erin McCarley thinks otherwise: “Olympia has been cold for ten months; we can’t wait to get to Florida!” As vocalist and guitarist for the Olympia-based trio Delta Dart, McCarley, along with Erin Putnam and Amber Bayer, have been…

This Week’s Day by Day Picks

THU 7/3 What constellation is that? What’s up in the sky at night? The moon — does it exist? If the kids are stumping you with their inquisitive natures, take them to the Museum of Discovery and Science (401 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale) for an interactive look at the…

Fourth Festivities

This week, we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in a suitable American way — through massive explosions. Happily, the bombs in question are not the military kind but the sort that make pretty colors and loud bangs. Many cities are content to go with the traditional show…

Cowboy Up

SAT 7/5 Are you tired of suppressing your desires to learn country-western dance? Join the Outlawz for “Red White Boots & Boxers” at the End Up nightclub. “It’s hot, it’s summertime, and what better way to celebrate the Fourth than in your boots and boxers?” says Roger Wilkerson, administrator and…

Teaching to Tackle

MON 7/7 Are you ready for some football? Dolphins defensive back Trent Gamble is. And he’s willing to teach a bunch of lucky kids essential gridiron pointers during his youth football camp, July 7 to 11 at the Westminster Sports Complex (3701 NW 44th St., Lauderdale Lakes). The camp benefits…

It’s Electric!

THU 7/3 Normally, electricity and children are a bad combination, but no one’s going to get electrocuted at the Museum of Discovery and Science’s (401 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale) “Electric Space: Bolts, Jolts, and Volts From the Sun.” Like all the exhibits at the museum, this one is interactive…

Divine Comedy

SAT 7/5 Though the hype that arises from Cannes tends to ripple briefly Stateside, most of these works are hit or miss. Regardless, there is something unique about last year’s Grand Jury Prize winner. Elia Suleiman’s Divine Intervention might prove it deserves its overwhelmingly positive response. Based on the opera…

Pitch Perfect

SUN 7/6 The lyrics from the 1977 Joan Armatrading hit “Love and Affection” are powerful: “I am not in love/but I’m open to persuasion.” And like her lyrics, so is her voice, and so is her ability to offer listeners a little ray of sunshine on a cloudy day or…

Sidestep of the Machines

Much like “hilarious Islamic comedy” or “sublime Affleck picture,” the term “terrific second sequel” isn’t bandied about too much. Name one. Took you a minute, didn’t it? Don’t be ashamed — there are probably support groups for fans of Smokey and the Bandit III. Generally, creative juices are drained by…

Just Like a Woman

What is it with women, anyway? They want to be safe walking the streets at night; they want to be able to trust strangers; they want the world to be beautiful, free, and wild. Are they nuts? Before you click SEND with the hate mail (or, worse, with the “You…