
Culture Shock
Black Market Charity
Being homeless is no fun, but Josh Jones of Black Market Goods wants to help. For the fourth year running, the gallery owner is holding a benefit for those in need. Wasted Youth, held at 1816 Haines NW, will gather artists, musicians and dancers together at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 18. The theme of the show is nostalgia pieces reflecting video games, comics and toys from the artists’ formative years. The show will feature art from a variety of mediums. Five bands are set to perform, along with a DJ, body painters and a burlesque troupe. There is a $3 donation at the door that can be substituted for clothing, toys and food, which will be donated to Toys for Tots, Roadrunner Food Bank and other charities. Jones says he has been "kind of homeless" before, so he wants to help others out. "It sucks to be out there in the cold," he says. Yes, it does.

Gallery Review
Between Fort Worth and Smyrna
Figurative drawing at The Normal Gallery
There’s that joke: What do you get when you play country music backward? You get your house, your truck and your wife back. At its heart, it’s a joke about how depressing country music can be. Nobody wants to hear about the realities of divorce, alcoholism or depression through their radios. Artists have often used life’s lows as rich fodder for their visual material, and the current drawing show at The Normal Gallery is a good example of that.

Book Review
High Art in Low Places
Steve Martin confronts the ugly side of beauty
An Object of Beauty
Steve Martin is a guy who wears many hats. He’s a comedian, actor, banjo player, juggler, tap dancer, novelist, playwright—a Renaissance man.