No talking. No food and drinks. No experiments. Come break the rules and say “yes!” to new art experiences at the Carter’s Second Thursdays! Every Second Thursday is different than the last. You’ll never think of museums in the same way again.
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T H U R S DAY J A N 8 | 5 – 8 P. M .
CONSERVATION & COCKTAILS
DON’T MISS OUT!
Learn all about Georgia O’Keeffe and the interesting things we’ve discovered about her technique through the conservation of these delicate artworks.
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Ken Seals reminded us what college football should be about during the Valero Alamo Bowl.
Texas A&M — embarrassing shutout. Speaking of Indiana, the Hoosiers proved their top ranking by becoming the first team in the expanded era to not only survive the bye but thrive. They absolutely curb-stomped Alabama 38-3 during a game that was even more impactful to IU’s national perception than the Heisman Trophy or their win over Ohio State in the Big 10 Championship. Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza (#15) was the model of efficiency, missing only two of his 16 passing attempts and accumulating three throwing scores. The Hoosiers completely controlled the game by rushing the ball 33 times between their two feature backs alone and accumulating close to 200 yards between them. The Hoosier defense simply stuffed the Tide. A 38-3 score would suggest many turnovers, but one fumble lost by Bama was the only miscue outside of turnovers on downs. They simply couldn’t find any continuity against the swarming Hoosiers. IU continues their historic streak on Friday in the Peach Bowl, where their ability to run the ball effectively and Mendoza’s decision-making should neutralize the Duck pass rush and catapult Coach Curt Cignetti’s group to the national championship. On the other side of the bracket, the Hurricanes did something rare, and that is deliver Ohio State consecutive losses. This U group reminds me of the 2007 New York Giants, who famously ruined Tom Brady and the Patriots’ perfect season: disruptive defensive line, opportunistic secondary, and an offense good enough to take advantage at the perfect moment. The U picked off Buckeye quarterback Julian Sayin (#10) twice, and the offense built a 14-0 first-half lead on their way to holding onto a 24-14 victory. Miami’s opponent is coming off the most exciting quarterfinal contest. In a 39-34 win over Georgia in the most back-and-forth affair of the weekend, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (#6) tossed the ball 46 times,
connecting on 30 of them while racking up 362 yards — including the game-winning 45-yard drive for a field goal with less than a minute remaining. Chambliss seems like the most exciting quarterback in the playoffs right now, even if not the most efficient. The Rebels are simply a wildcard and exciting to watch. The Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night will go as he does. Miami will need to account for his elusiveness plus his vision down the field. If Chambliss plays a clean game, one in which he commits one or fewer turnovers, the Rebels should head to the national title game against Indiana, and Lane Kiffin will keep receiving bonuses for games he isn’t coaching. While their season is over, there might have been more relevant Horned Frog news in the last week than the entire latter half of the regular season. As discussed previously, former OC Kendal Briles is now a Gamecock, signaling a major shift in the coaching staff. Gordon Sammis is heading to the Fort from UConn, and as a former offensive lineman myself, I couldn’t be more excited for a trench-warfare specialist to be calling the plays. Sammis was consistently successful in Connecticut and is a former collegiate lineman for UVA. Known for developing offensive lines and vaunted rushing attacks, he represents a paradigm shift that’s badly needed and will hopefully fix the lack of time of possession, short-yardage foibles, and consistency problems that plagued the Briles era. Josh Hoover is out. The soon-to-be-senior slinger opted out of the Alamo Bowl, and multiple reports indicate he’ll transfer to Indiana to contend for Mendoza’s soon-to-be vacant position. As much as the timing seems suspect, Hoover committed to IU in high school before flipping to the Frogs. Respect should be paid to one of the most prolific passers to wear purple and white. Hoover set the single-season record for passing yards and is third all-time behind Trevone Boykin and Andy Dalton, edging out Max Duggan by 11 career yards through the air. That said, Hoover had a knack for
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And just like that, the gargantuan and long-suffering fanbases of Texas A&M and Texas Tech are eliminated from the expanded College Football Playoff with only three combined points to show for their hopes, efforts, and millions of dollars invested. As promised last year, I’m not inviting ridicule to the Aggies and Raiders, as we Horned Frogs have endured much after losing the most lopsided national championship in modern history, but the facts remain that the Frogs had to win a semifinal game to be able to play Georgia, something that only the Longhorns have also been able to accomplish within our state. The trash talking between the College Stationers and Lubbockites in the offseason will center on who performed worse, and the Aggies — in true SEC fashion — will be rooting for the Miami Hurricanes to go the distance so the maroon’s shortcomings can be justified to a greater degree. Poor Texas Tech succumbed to what has become the curse of the bye: a traditional bowl layoff without game speed against a team who might be more banged up but is demonstrably battle-hardened. The Red Raiders are in good company, as only one of the eight teams who enjoyed an extra week off finished the quarterfinal round with anything left to play for. (More on that later.) Tech’s defense performed as advertised, staunchly preventing a plucky Duck offense from finding the endzone until the second half and allowing only two field goals through the first. It was the offense for TTU that couldn’t and wouldn’t find a rhythm, no matter how badly the situation demanded they do. In addition to missing a field goal in the second quarter, the Raiders committed four total turnovers, three of which quarterback Behren Morton (#2) was directly responsible for (two interceptions and a lost fumble), which spelled irreparable damage in a game against a capable opponent. Oregon wasn’t perfect, but quarterback Dante Moore (#5) was remarkably efficient, completing 79% of his passes and tossing only one interception. The Oregon pass rush proved too much for Morton, and the Ducks advanced to a rematch with Indiana in the semifinal, leaving a historic Tech season in the ashes of an — I’d venture to assert more so than
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The College Football Playoff continues to purge brand-name squads on its way to the semifinals.
Cour tesy TCU Athletics
Hoosier Daddy
untimely turnovers and a devil-may-care approach to passes over the middle, and he was not an effective runner or practitioner of the read option. His strengths combined with shortcomings left fans excited about the possibilities of the offense but often disappointed with the results against better opponents. The most likely replacement for Hoover is Jaden Craig, who is transferring from Harvard for his final season of eligibility. Craig is the Crimson’s all-time passing leader with more than 6,000 yards through the air in the Ivy League and 52 touchdowns. Already considered an NFL prospect, Craig will be part of the process to rebuild the offense with Sammis. In Hoover’s absence, backup Ken Seals lined up under center for his final collegiate football game in the Alamo Bowl. The Azle native spent three years playing at Vanderbilt and has been the backup in Funkytown for the last two seasons. A star quarterback not starting in a mid-level bowl is becoming more of a common tale across collegiate football, but it’s more specific to TCU, who were dealing with this before it was trendy for transfer-portal reasons. While USC had some of their elite receivers opt out, what resulted in San Antonio was another fantastically fun and tension-filled fight between the Frogs and another financially privileged fanbase from the Left Coast. TCU’s offense started slow, gaining only 11 yards in the first quarter before warming into back-to-back touchdown drives to begin the second. A first-quarter field goal by the Trojans and a second-quarter score left an almost even 14-13 advantage for the Frogs at the half. Disaster struck to begin the third quarter as Seals was picked off on the second play, awarding the Trojans a short field and what felt like an assured score. The TCU defense — the best unit of the game — bailed out their senior quarterback by picking off USC in the endzone. The Los Angelenos found their stride, though, and converted for a touchdown and field goal for a 10-point lead with barely five minutes remaining. The Frogs responded with two long drives for a touchdown and field goal, respectively, to even the score and force overtime. The Frog defense stymied USC one final time for a field goal. After what seemed like an amazing pass and catch by Joseph Manjack was ruled incomplete, Seals took a 10-yard sack to set up a third and 20 and a likely field goal attempt. Seals dropped back, scanned, and hit a dump pass to running back Jeremy Payne (who dazzled with 19 combined touches for 123 yards and two scores), who wriggled, shimmied, and shook three would-be tacklers to take the pass down the left sideline to paydirt and cap a 30-27 overtime victory three days before the 10th anniversary of Bram Kohlhausen (who was in attendance and an honorary captain) leading TCU from a 31-point deficit for an overtime victory against Oregon on the same field. All “homership” aside, the TCU-USC game might have been one of the best bowls of the entire season. Not only because it was a back-andforth slugfest that ended on a spectacular play in overtime, but because it’s a staunch reminder that these are still just young men who love football and whose playing careers are culminating. Yes, the transfer portal and big-money contracts are here to stay and the meta of collegiate football has been irreparably altered, but for that shining moment, we saw a small bit of history repeat itself for two quarterbacks where that game in the Alamodome is something they’ll carry with them forever, and we’re all better for it, not because of a bank account or trophy but for the love of competition, memories sweet, and comrades true. l
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Open Netflix House
The network brings to life Stranger Things, Squid Game, and more as part of a new immersive attraction in Dallas. B Y
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North Texas is morphing into a fierce competitor in the interactive-entertainment industry. The region is already the birthplace of massive video game franchises, including DOOM, Duke Nukem, and Borderlands. In Arlington, Six Flags Over Texas is updating some of its most historic rides and expanding with a new, record-breaking
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Visitors to Netflix House’s Stranger Things experience can visit familiar spots like Eddie Munson’s trailer while touring the town of Hawkins.
giga-coaster. Frisco hosts one of three Peppa Pig theme parks in the world, and it’s about to welcome one of the first new Universal Studios theme parks outside of Florida and California. Now Dallas is home to one of two initial locations of a new interactive-entertainment venue concept based on two hit TV franchises and a host of other movies and TV shows. It’s not the typical
themed coaster park or dark-ride collection. In fact, it’s hard to categorize. Netflix House is a 100,000-square-foot entertainment complex inside the Galleria Dallas which opened in December with two main experiences based on the network’s Stranger Things and Squid Game, plus interactive games, stores, and restaurants inspired by other Netflix shows.
The other Netflix House is in the King of Prussia Mall in Philadelphia, with two main experiences based on the comedy-drama Wednesday and the live-action remake of the popular anime series One Piece. North Texas’ Netflix House is anchored by two walkthrough attractions that incorporate innovative new forms of immersive storytelling, live-action games, and dark ride-style entertainment that’s hard to pinpoint to one exact genre. It’s hard to really describe each in a single sentence. Imagine something that lets you experience the thrill of competing in the deadly Squid Game or investigating the dangerous secrets in the town of Hawkins without ending up horribly mutilated or eviscerated by some gruesome being from an alternate dimension. Both anchor attractions are housed in a makeshift recreation of Netflix’s studios on the ground floor of this massive two-story facility. As you walk in through the massive red square covering the façade, you’re bombarded with decorative images of Netflix’s most popular shows and franchises, an indication that maybe Stranger Things and Squid Game won’t be the only popular properties to become part of the facility. There are even tiny Easter eggs strewn about the place that reference other Netflix shows that could also become part of the experience, like the tech frightfest Black Mirror and the romantic period drama Bridgerton. Squid Game: Survive the Trials is the more straightforward of the two main attractions. It takes you through the deadly world of the South Korean economy drama that pits people with massive, never-ending debt against one another in a series of childhood recess games with deadly continued on page 7
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Danny Gallagher
Trudge through a real version of Squid Game’s Red Light/Green Light field at Netflix House in Dallas.
a cooperative reaction game inspired by the animated sci-fi anthology Love, Death & Robots, carnival-style electronic games from the animated comedy Big Mouth, and an illuminated reactive floor-based dexterity game based on the reality game show Floor Is Lava. They even turned the reality series Love Is Blind into an arcade game. No visit to a theme park is complete without some kind of walk through a concession stand and gift shop. This Netflix House is full of both
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If you still have the energy to walk upstairs (there’s also an elevator for people with old-man knees like me), the entertainment doesn’t end with the two main attractions. Netflix has packed this massive mall space with an interactive game or experience for just about every major Netflix franchise you can pull up on the app. The RePLAY Arcade room includes even more interactive games based on popular Netflix properties beyond just Squid Game and Stranger Things. There’s
with even more references to the network’s most famous and watched shows, including a Scoops Ahoy! ice cream stand, a bar complete with tasty concoctions inspired by more shows, and a gift shop with Netflix stuff you can take home by the armload. Yes, you can even buy your own Squid Game contestant uniform (assuming they have your size). You’ll need a reservation to experience the main attractions, and you should probably plan at least a week ahead of time if going on a weekend. It’s an impressive start in a new entertainment arena for any media empire, especially one that started as a mail delivery-based DVD rental service. l
Sit back, relax, and watch the clouds go by as you cruise past airport construction on Trinity Metro TEXRail! Skip the stress of parking and ride traffic-free right to DFW Airport Terminal B. It’s how the pros do it! Plan your trip now at RIDETRINITYMETRO.org/TEXRAIL.
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outcomes for those who don’t win. Visitors take on the role of the competitors as they are guided through very detailed recreations of the Squid Game sets, from miniaturized versions of the players’ quarters to the viewing room where the world’s economic elite and the Frontman, the masked host of the deadly games, watch people play with their very lives in twisted amusement. Stranger Things: Escape the Dark is much more story-driven but just as impressive looking and sensorially immersive. This time, visitors are transformed into a search party thrown into the doomed remains of Hawkins, tasked with finding three missing residents in an escape room/haunted walkthrough that bridges some of the gaps between Season 4 and the final season that premiered in November. If you haven’t caught up with Squid Game as it’s about to move into its first American spinoff or Stranger Things as it sets off on its final season, the less specifics said, the better off you’ll be. Like all walkthrough attractions, it’s best to just go into them as cold as you can and let the experiences envelope your feelings and senses. However, both let you trudge through real versions of both franchises’ iconic locations like Squid Game’s Red Light/Green Light field and the Mingle room as well as Castle Byers and Eddie Munson’s trailer from Stranger Things. The producers do an amazing job of creating a competitive environment that encourages participation and exploration in ways that even the most advanced rides at Disney and Universal theme parks can’t.
Danny Gallagher
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