Arts & Culture

This year, The Florida Renaissance Festival runs through March 11th at Quiet Waters Park (401 S. Powerlines Rd., Deerfield – check out www.ren-fest.com for directions), and there are many good reasons to go. So many, in fact, that naming them here would be impossible. What we can and will do…

Everyone recalls Charles Darwin as the founder of evolutionary biology; that’s the common perception, anyway. But it’s the job of rationalists, skeptics, and humanists – like the folks at the Center for Inquiry – to totally screw with common perception. So even as the CFI Fort Lauderdale prepares to celebrate…

Looking for hot bitches? Look no further than Barkapalooza 2008, a sunny weekend extravaganza for pooches and the people who love ΄em. (And who occasionally kiss ΄em open-mouthed. You know who you are.) Besides bitches, the tail-wagging attractions include the South Florida Air K-9s, a doggie racetrack, and vendors galore…

Garlic is the superhero of the herb family: If it could dress itself, it would wear a cape. See, those little cloves are medicinal cure-alls for everything from Athlete’s Foot to high blood pressure; they’re even considered helpful against in combating cancer. Of course, you don’t need a lesson on…

There’s a special place in your heart where only David Lee Roth lives. It’s a tiny room, situated peacefully between your left and right ventricles. Three walls of this magical haven are lined with mirrors, globe lights, and show posters from 1984. There’s a heart-shaped bed in the far corner…

Chris Rock tackles stand up comedy like it’s a full-contact sport. He paces the stage like he’s ready to box, but the only punches he throws are verbal knockouts. And after caging his irrepressible comedic energies into neat and adorable big-screen packages – the dude in I Think I Love…

You know Barry Manilow is a sex god. Where mortal men would certainly fail, Barry grooves despite the schnoz, the weak chin, and the shaggy hair. He writes the songs, dammit’, and chicks swoon, just wishing they were “Mandy” or another character from Barry’s lovesick oeuvre. Perhaps the ladies wish…

Bret Ernst is hustling through his third state in as many days. His new film debuts on a grand scale Friday, and there’s been a lot of preparation to do, like hyping the movie from Seattle to Atlanta at limited-release premiers: Just listening to the comedian’s travel itinerary makes you…

Taking a gander at the work of painter/photographer Rick Smukler would suggest one of two things: (1) This former trial lawyer-turned-artist might have created them while on some type of hallucinogens (please don’t sue us) or (2) hallucinogens of some type might help you to decode it. Unless, of course,…

If your brushes with homelessness last only as long as it takes you to speed away from an intersection (post-mandatory awkward shoulder shrug), maybe it’s time to increase your awareness. During SleepOut 2008, see what it’s like to be homeless for the night (sorta) with a giant sleepover under the…

If you’ve ever seen a D.I.Y. skate video – you know, the kind with dudes careening off municipal building staircases to the sounds of old school punk – then you’ve heard Agent Orange. They’d be the band bellowing, “Bloodstains, speed kills / Fast cars, cheap thrills,” as the skaters crush…

MidWeek Liv runs each Wednesday night at 8:15 p.m. at Cinema Paradiso (503 SE 6 St, Ft. Lauderdale) throughout February. Tix cost $7. Visit www.midweeklive.com. Feb. 13: Led Zeppelin – The Song Remains the Same Feb. 20: Beastie Boys – Awesome;I…Shot That! Feb. 27: Green Day – Bullet in a…

In the middle altitudes of the Serengeti, the greenery perks up in the wake of the wet season. After the long rains of April and May, the herbivores of the African savannas relax and in huge numbers feed on the plentiful clumps of short green grass that cover the northern…

The concept and even the title sound hopelessly gimmicky: “A Show of Hands,” as in an exhibition consisting solely of works featuring human hands and other reasonable facsimiles. And yet the show itself succeeds despite the gimmick, simply because the content is so strong. As indicated by the subtitle, “Photographs…

Using classical techniques to render contemporary subjects, “Mikel Glass Exhibition” plumbs the emotional depths of subjects and viewers. When his subjects are human, they are vulnerable. Instead of a beatific expression, a ballerina’s round, black face sags with the weight of obesity and an impossible dream. Like an Old Masters…

The very first time I saw the Wii’s motion-sensitive “Wiimote,” a single thought bounced in my head like a toddler on corn syrup: Finally we’re gonna get an f-ing brilliant lightsaber game. It was inevitable, a perfect match for the technology. Never again would I be caught doing the Star…

Hollywood, Florida, is growing and changing everyday. The town has recently embraced everything from gelato to trapeze lessons, but quite possibly the best thing about the city is the current restaurant selection. You’ll find Greek, sushi, steak, and pasta joints that rival anything South Beach offers but at more affordable…

If you pit the Pharcyde, Elton John, Chicago, and Biggie Smalls (R.I.P) against each other in a game of musical Twister, you would come up with maybe 20 seconds of a Girl Talk song. But we know this. Mash-up overlord Greg Gillis has been topping music critic’s sweetheart lists since…