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The Inwood

In honor of Oscar season, and our annual quest to see all of the Best Picture noms, here's our list from earlier this fall of Dallas' best movie theaters.

Verisimilitude. It's the suspension of disbelief you feel when you're watching a film and the line blurs between reality and the story that's engrossing you. It's a phenomenon that happens every single day in theaters all over the world. And in Dallas there are a multitude of theaters in which to kick back, sip a Coke and get your Junior Mints fix, waiting to be transported to another time and place. So in no particular order, here are five favorite places to get our verisimilitude on.

1. The Inwood Theatre (above) (5458 West Lovers Lane Dallas, TX 75209)
The theater's iconic exterior combined with a beautiful lobby full of murals, lighting and other original features from its birth in 1947, the now fully-restored Inwood is currently owned by Landmark Cinemas and allows moviegoers to experience a true throwback-style evening. The opposite of high-tech or cutting edge, the Inwood is full of history. A quality spot to catch new releases and indie films, you can choose to grab a drink at the bar before the show, and you can even watch your selected flick from the comfort of a number of couches, loveseats and LoveSacs in the unique "Screening Lounge Auditorium."
Adult Ticket Price: $10

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Mitchell Cathey

Ernesto Neto's "Kink" at the Nasher

Early last month, in honor of our 2012 Best Of Dallas Issue (which hit newsstands yesterday), we asked you to send in Instagrams of your favorite people, places and things in Dallas. We put together a slideshow of some of our favorites. You can check it out here.

Pearl Cup Coffee / Facebook

Midterms at The Pearl Cup on Henderson. Looks like an outlet gauntlet is on the horizon.

See also: Dallas' Five Best Historical Museums

Everyone works differently, so determining the best places in Dallas to study or work is far from an exact science. Some people need ambient sound to stay focused; others require a bucolic retreat to best absorb knowledge. When you hit the wall and the point where working at home or in the dorm just doesn't work -- or you need to avoid the spots on campus where your ex inevitably pops up [everywhere] -- here are some suggestions throughout the city offering some basic deadline-time pre-reqs.

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mrileyphotos.com via The Rose Room

Lady Gaga loves The Rose Room at Station 4 so much she had to do an impromptu show there, and local photographer M. Riley caught it all.

See also:
* Dallas' Seven Best Post-Theater Hangouts

Don't let 'em fool you. Dallas is a gay city. Big hair, shimmering rhinestone dresses, skin tight Wranglers. Think about it. In the Miss Gay America's 39 years, six titleholders have hailed from Dallas, and our fair city has hosted the pageant 12 times, while seven Dallasites have held the title of Miss Gay USofA (formerly Miss Gay USA), which has taken place in Dallas for the last seventeen years.

And with so much rich inspiration from vivacious Texas women, it's easy to see why we do drag so well. But on any given night, where are the best places to find great performances in Dallas? Here are our five favorites.

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Old Red Museum / Facebook

Find more of DFW's best in our Best Of app, available for the iPhone and Droid. Vote for the Best Of Dallas in our 2012 poll.

Chances are, if you grew up in the area, you've already seen some of the best history Dallas has to offer. After all, they made you go in middle school. But forget the jerks who pushed you out of the back seat of the bus and the creepy teacher's aide chaperon who stalked you like a Victorian colonialist in khakis and a pith helmet. Today it's time for a refresher in history of all types, and Dallas is home to a number of historical museums you can happily force your children to love. Here are our five favorites:

1. Old Red Museum (above) (100 S. Houston St.)
An eclectic collection if ever there were one, the Old Red Museum hosts everything from fossils (representing Dallas' prehistory) to Tom Landry's fedora and Lee Harvey Oswald's handcuffs. Located in the former Dallas County Courthouse, which was built in 1892, the museum also features tours of the historic building (free with admission), which present rooms not normally open to the public, such as the restored courtroom. General Admission (adult): $8

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Jamie Laughlin

Our annual Best of Dallas awards are around the corner, which means you can vote for your favorite local people, places and businesses. But this year, to shake things up a bit (and because we know how much you love to Instagram stuff), we're having a Best of Dallas Instagram contest.

Send Instagram photos of your favorite people, places, art and events in Dallas to instagram@dallasobserver.com by Thursday, September 20. Don't forget to include your name. We'll post our favorites around the time we announce our Best of Dallas winners. Now snap to, and make it fuzzy.

Use this list or you'll end up looking like this dude.

Find more of DFW's best in our Best Of app, available for the iPhone and Droid.

Like taking a new car for a test drive, sometimes it's fun to try on a different head to see what you'll look like before you chop, perm or color your own hair. Or maybe you need fake locks for some, ahem, fantasy role-playing. If you're in looking for stress-free tress-buying, head for these tip-top wig shops. Note that three are in Oak Cliff's Wynnewood Village Shopping Center, which cuts down on travel hassles.

1. Wig Illinois (730 Wynnewood Village Shopping Center)
A fave of local theatrical wig designers, this shop offers the best selection of colors (blonds, light browns, auburns and bright reds) in real hair or synthetic. Ask for Vanessa, who'll help you try on that shimmering shag cut.

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A few weeks ago, we asked you to help us (help you) on the subject of the Best of Dallas Readers' Picks Categories. Your suggestions didn't disappoint. After throwing your advice in the hopper and giving them a test run, we now have chemically tested, FDA-approved poll for you. A Best of Dallas Readers' Poll that is.

Yes, it's that thing we do every year. The whole idea is to keep making this thing better and better -- so you should head on over and vote. Also, we're providing a holy-crap-super-handy button for you download to get people to vote for your business. Yeah, it's awesome.

All of that fancy stuff is right here: the Best of Dallas 2011 Readers' Poll! Go, and may you rock the vote.

Yep, we're already there again. Venus temperatures are officially upon us. Oh, and we're gearing up for our big ol', bad-ass issue: Best Of Dallas. If the Rapture goes on as predicted, we're looking at one of the last Best Ofs ever. So, naturally, we want your feedback.

It's taken 21 long years -- replete with drained handles, reams of recyclable material and late nights out doing "research" -- but we think we've finally mastered the challenge of turning our grins into less shit-eating, more sincere ones when it comes to doling out the compliments. But just in case, we're asking for a little help.

After the jump, you'll find approximately half of the Readers' Picks categories from last year's arts, entertainment and culture sections (the second half to come in a future post). We're asking you: Which arts-fartsy categories do you like? Which need to be kicked to the curb? Which categories are so irreplaceable, it'd be better to chisel them onto some sort of dual stone tablet?

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