Calling All Lonely-Hearts

There's nothing worse than being single during the holidays. Oh, sure, terminal illness is right up there, along with mid-December Chapter 11 filings and the sudden realization that that pesky root canal is refusing to be put off yet another week, but honestly, the single life is as good a recipe for Yuletide misery as yet devised. There's no shortage of singles nights and bizarre planned outings during the winter months, either; sadly, most of them seem as though they were crafted by gloating couples more intent on massaging their own egos than finding you, the single guy/gal, a significant other (hell, insignificant, even -- we're not proud) to do some massaging of their own.

Not so the I-mixers crew, who have come up with a far less risky proposition when it comes to commingling with the other sex. Sponsored by the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, the monthly event combines the heady triple threat of food, music, and really big movies in the museum's IMAX theatre to create a lure like few others. The brainchild of museum Marketing Director Suzanne Robbins, who noted the success of similar nights at Atlanta's Fernbank Museum, the I-mixer evenings serve double duty as a tony way to show off the Bullock Museum while wolfing down free hors d'oeuvres (courtesy of Catering by Rosemary), bobbing your head appreciatively to the evening's country and/or swing act, and having your senses overwhelmed by the theatre's steroidal massiveness.

And while it's not strictly limited to singles -- plenty of prearranged couples were tearing up the dance floor on the night we attended -- it's comforting to know that if you crash and burn in the "Uh, so what's your sign?" department, you can always dry those tear-stained peepers in the darkened glow of cinematic overload, where no one will be the wiser when it comes to just how pathetically unattached you've become. Then again, you could score big-time and put that back row to use like never before. I-mixers provides the movie; the canoodling is up to you.

I-mixers take place from 6-9pm on the second Thursday of every month at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum (MLK & N. Congress). Tickets are $8 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Dec. 12, Everest screens at 7 & 9pm and Santa vs. the Snowman 3-D screens at 8pm. There will be live music by Floyd Domino and Mark Kazanoff. For more info, visit www.tspb.state.tx.us/TSHM/IMAX/IMIXERS.htm.