Tag Archives: entertainment

by | July 31, 2026 · 12:39 pm

Retro Movie Review: Life of Brian (1979)

Monty Python’s Life of Brian came out in 1979, directed by Terry Jones, written by all six Pythons together, and produced by John Goldstone, with George Harrison quietly saving the whole production by financing it himself after the original studio got cold feet and walked. Graham Chapman plays Brian Cohen, born in the stable next door to a rather more famous baby on the same night, and cursed for the rest of his short life with extraordinarily bad timing. I have loved this film for longer than I can honestly account for, and every time I sit back down with it, I’m struck again by how a movie this silly manages to also be this wise.

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by | June 23, 2026 · 3:40 pm

CraveDFW’s Dallas Live Music This Week: June 23–29

Two of the biggest shows of the year land on the same Tuesday night, Rush is playing four nights in Fort Worth, and the small rooms are holding their own. This week gives you almost too many reasons to be somewhere with speakers pointed at you. Here’s what’s worth your time, by night.

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by | March 20, 2026 · 3:24 pm

Opera’s Greatest Characters: The Queen of the Night

Opera’s The Queen of the Night from The Magic Flute is one of the most famous characters in opera. When the audience first meets her, she seems like a loving and worried mother. She asks the hero, Tamino, to rescue her daughter, Pamina, from a supposedly evil man named Sarastro. At first, she seems sympathetic and powerful, but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that she is actually the villain. Sarastro is wise, calm, and good, while the Queen of the Night is driven by anger, revenge, and strong emotions. This shift in perception makes her a very interesting and dramatic character.

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by | March 12, 2026 · 4:15 pm

Retro Movie Review: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

The street is quiet in the uneasy way only a frontier town can be. Lamps glow faintly through the windows of Shinbone’s storefronts, and the townspeople line the boardwalk in tense silence. In the center of the dirt street stands a thin young lawyer clutching a revolver he barely knows how to use. Across from him, lounging with casual cruelty, is a man who lives for moments like this. Liberty Valance flicks his whip against his boot and smiles. The lawyer’s hands tremble. Someone whispers a prayer. Then the gunfire cracks through the night, echoing down the empty street as a legend is born.

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by | March 10, 2026 · 6:03 pm

Opera’s Greatest Characters: Violetta Valéry From La Traviata

Lisetta Oropesa – Met Opera

Violetta Valéry is the emotional center of La Traviata, and one of opera’s most human characters. At first glance she seems to have everything: wealth, beauty, and a glamorous social life in Paris. But Violetta is also a courtesan—admired in public, judged in private—and she understands that the world she lives in offers comfort without respect. On top of that, she is quietly dying of tuberculosis, a fact that gives her story a constant sense of urgency.

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by | February 25, 2026 · 3:11 pm

Operas Greatest Characters: Rodolfo in La bohème

At the heart of La bohème is Rodolfo, a young poet with more imagination than money and more feeling than sense. He isn’t written as a grand hero. He’s impulsive, idealistic, occasionally selfish, and deeply in love. That combination makes him feel real—and it’s why he remains one of opera’s essential tenor roles.

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by | January 27, 2026 · 1:57 pm

Opera’s Greatest Characters: Rigoletto, The Jester Who Can’t Outsmart the World

Matthew Aucoin as Rigoletto, LA Opera

Opera gives us kings, gods, and seducers. Rigoletto gives us a man who knows the world is cruel—and believes he can protect what he loves from it. He can’t.

Giuseppe Verdi’s 1851 masterpiece centers on Rigoletto, a court jester deformed in body and scorned in society. He survives by mocking the powerful, using cruelty as armor. Every insult reminds him he doesn’t belong—but at home, he is fiercely devoted to his daughter, Gilda. He hides her, shelters her, and convinces himself that ignorance equals safety. The love is real. The fear is genuine. The harm is inevitable.

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by | October 25, 2024 · 2:13 pm

Haunting the Night: A Guide to the Best Haunted Houses in DFW

As the eerie glow of autumn envelops the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the excitement for the haunting season reaches its peak. With the air crisp and the nights long, haunted houses spring to life, inviting thrill-seekers to confront their darkest fears. The DFW area boasts some of the most spine-chilling attractions in Texas, each one steeped in tales of terror and ghastly encounters. From abandoned asylums to chilling cocktail soirées, there’s no shortage of frightful fun for those brave enough to enter.

In 2024, a selection of haunted houses promises to provide hair-raising experiences that blend intricate storytelling, stunning set designs, and, of course, terrifying scares. These attractions are not just places to get a good scare; they are immersive experiences that transport you into otherworldly realms where the line between the living and the dead blurs. Here’s a look at some of the ghastliest haunted houses in the DFW area, complete with addresses and websites to help you plan your frightful adventures.

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