Chronic is now your one-stop blog shop for buzz on politics, sports, music, film, television, gaming, technology, design, gay stuff, and – do we even need to say it? – opinion.
Our blogs as you knew them (Earache!, The Score, etc.) still exist – though the news/politics blog is now called "Newsdesk" – and you can still spin off into your own zone of interest if that's your preference.
But now all blog posts will also feed into Chronic, the better to keep you up-to-date on all subjects in the universe – newest on top, just like you like it. Love it, loathe it, but tell us what you think about it. – Cindy Widner
What's that sound? Is it Elvis rolling in his grave?
You may be baking cookies or trying to figure out which big screen television will be gracing your wall (and how you’re going to pay for it) for the holidays. I’m headed back to the mailbox to see what else is new in Christmas discs this year.
Elvis Presley Christmas Duets (RCA)
The repackaging of Elvis’ Christmas catalog comes in the form of "duets" with some of country music’s divas. Whether the King would have actually wanted to record with Carrie Underwood, Leeann Rimes, and Gretchen Wilson is open to discussion.
Al Jarreau Christmas (Rhino)
Jarreau’s first attempt at the holiday cannon is a smooth jazz lover’s delight. You’ve been warned.
Various Artists A Jazz & Blues Christmas (Putumayo)
B.B. King, Ray Charles, and Ramsey Lewis head this list of offbeat offerings. Recommended for those looking for something beyond the same ol’ ho ho ho.
Sheryl Crow Home for Christmas (Hallmark)
Available only at Hallmark stores and not especially engaging. Crow’s fans might find some delight here.
Comptroller Combs: Can the state get a CostCo account?
"It is clear that we have entered an age of great economic uncertainty," Comptroller Susan Combs just told the press in her pre-legislative session briefing. She then went on to explain the new systems that her office has been field-testing and will present to lawmakers come January, all part of the cost-cutting through efficiency of which she's so fond.
First in her three-pronged attack on profligacy was Texas Smart Buy, which allows for better bulk buying: she hopes to turn this into an online one-stop-shop for all state and local agencies, plus schools and ISDs, allowing them to leverage better discounts. Then there's Texas Transparency Check-Up, which gives advice to local government on how best to make their records available, and ranks the best ones. Finally there's the One Set of Books initiative, which would standardize record keeping methodology across all state agencies.
There's some pretty sensible ideas in here. Adding in the cost of the first $100,000 miles on any new vehicle sounds like common sense, and could make less polluting options more viable cost-wise over time: Combs predicts that it could save $5.7 million in vehicle contracts.
Who doesn't want to be famous? I've always wanted to be famous, so I feel very little pity for "oh woe is me" celebrities living the glam, glitzy life that I know I could do a much better job living.
Well… I used to feel little pity for them, until I watched the paparazzi-drenched Britney Spears documentary, Britney: For the Record.
People like me, who have grown up alongside the Britster, have been right there with her through the highs (strip tease, snake dance, Madonna kiss… ) and the lows (K-Fed, Lutfi, and that guy from Louisiana), and somehow her downhome mediocrity still makes me feel like I too can make it. Britney and I, we have this kindred connection. The entire time I was watching the film, I felt so sorry for the girl, that my poor little Cancerian insides nearly lost it.
Arguably, this was the whole point. The "documentary" was brought to me with no commercial interruptions by the Britney Spears Fragrance Line, and if you ask me, MTV has a little too much at stake in this whole "comeback" thing. Still, the film left me to ponder our fame-obsessed society and the toll it takes on people who are probably a little off their rocker to begin.
If you'd care to watch the MTV/Britney infomercial, I am sure it can be caught tonight or any other night for the next two months on MTV. (Wed., Dec. 3, 1am, 3pm, 9pm ET/PT and Thu., Dec. 4, 10am ET/PT.)
House Democrats are breathing a litte easier tonight as they shut the door on any further potential Republican gains: Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville, has held his seat after a recount.
Hopson's campaign communications director Flossie Barker confirmed that there's even a slight increase in his 102 vote general election margin over Republican Brian Walker challenger.
See below the fold for Hopson's press release and full statement.
Seventy-five years ago this week alcohol prohibition officially ended when the 18th Amendment was finally repealed on Dec. 5, 1933. The 14-year experiment was, by most accounts, a dismal failure. Deaths related to alcoholism and poisoning -- from unregulated "bathtub gin" experiments -- increased astronomically, the courts bogged down with alcohol-related offenses to adjudicate, and the black market exploded, leading to widespread corruption, violence -- and a loss of millions of dollars for the U.S. economy.
Sound familiar?
Celebrating the 75th anniversary of repeal, in April, Tom Shipley, Budweiser brands director reflected on prohibition for the online Beer Advocate: "National Prohibition significantly altered the course of American brewing history and negatively impacted the greater American society. It's repeal 75 years ago -- putting thousands of Americans back to work and infusing millions into the economy -- rightfully should be celebrated...."
There is little doubt that alcohol prohibition was an experiment not worth repeating -- still, the conceit of U.S. policy is that drug prohibition nonetheless remains viable. But that's simply not the case, say drug-law reformers with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, which today released a new report, calling for an end to the War on Drugs and making specific recommendations for government officials to do so. "Whenever we attempt to confront our very real drug problems with the brute force of prohibition, we make little progress," reads the LEAP report, compiled in conjunction with the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation. "The few who have been helped are greatly exceeded by the millions who have been hurt, all while precious resources and opportunities are squandered in the process."
"The Musical Adventure of a Lifetime" boasts the back cover of Tom Moon's 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Adventure isn't quite the right word - the book certainly isn't light reading, though it could definitely kill a cockroach or small rodent. No, as fellow Chronicle writer Daniel Mee points out in Thursday's issue, it's more about sparking conversation.
Moon's picks will certainly infuriate purists and collectors who harbor a "but what about..." mentality, and some of his choices are rather bizarre (the Chemical Brothers' Dig Your Own Hole, Britney Spears' "Toxic"), but he gives as much attention to the mainstream as to the relative unknowns. Moon makes a stop at Waterloo Records tomorrow, Dec. 3, at 5pm. Make sure to ask him why there's only one Harry Nilsson album in there.
So what's happening in House Districts 11 and 105, the last two undecided seats in the lower chamber? According to House Democratic Campaign Committee Political Director Roger Garza, counting has finished in one of the four counties in HD-11, so a decision there could be imminent there (the smart money still says that incumbent Dem Chuck Hopson's 102-vote win sticks). What could hold everything up is the ultra-tight HD-105, which Rep. Linda Harper Brown, R-Dallas, squeaked past Democrat Bob Romano to hold by 20 votes.
Democrats are annoyed that emphasis votes that would be counted on paper are getting discounted on electronic voting machines (although a lot of other folks wonder how hard it is to just TICK THE BOX, PEOPLE!) The GOP holds that it's actually a 'nay' vote, and shouldn't be counted.
The Dems tried to take it to court, but District Judge Jim Jordan ruefully had to rule that he didn't have jurisdiction (in his ruling, he noted that he was really looking forward to it) so now Democrats are threatening to go to the Feds. If they rule that Jordan had jurisdiction after all, he's already said he'd be delighted to get it back.
UPDATE: Just heard from the Hopson campaign that they're only waiting on Cherokee county.
"Texas Stadium!" said Some Guy, executing a deep and audible stage-inhale to underscore the point. "You can just smell ('smay-ulll') the history!" (or something like that). It was the last Thanksgiving game to be played in the Seventies-era monument to ego and championships; featured were the skin-of-their-teeth Dallas Cowboys (of course) vs. the going-nowhere Seattle Seahawks. (The same guy, or someone in his general vicinity, would in the fourth quarter narrowly escape a beat-down instigated by his Springer-ready girlfriend's spewing of a racist epithet.)
Dude paid his money and has a right to his opinion, I suppose, but really the "history" (also known as "age") of Texas Stadium can be seen more than smelled (perhaps God's glory hole makes for superior air circulation). It's in the ever-grimier concrete columns and faded sidelines, the seats with missing numbers, the dangling-by-a-screw paper-towel holders in the ladies' rooms, the eternal white stripe that is the cheerleaders' shorts, the pollution-besmirched stars ringing the exterior; it's in the scale of things.
The recent Holiday Dessert Recipe Contest at Faraday's Kitchen Store (1501 RR 620 North, 266-5666) attracted more than 50 entries and a large, enthusiastic crowd to the store on the day of the judging, November 15th. Linda Adams won both the Grand Prize and the Cakes/Cupcakes division with a recipe for Fresh Pear Cake she adapted from a Houston Junior League Cookbook years ago. With pears in season, it should make a tasty addition to any holiday table.
Fresh Pear Cake
4 cups peeled and chopped pears
2 cups sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
Combine all three ingredients in a bowl. Stir often and let stand for one hour.
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt
2 tsp baking soda
Sift together. Add to the pear mixture and mix with a spoon.
2 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
Whisk together in a bowl and then stir into fruit/flour mixture with a spoon. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-12 cup Bundt pan. Pour cake batter into pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning the pan over to release cake. While the cake is cooling, make the glaze.
Glaze
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter
Combine ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for 6-7 minutes. Drizzle over cake. Serves 12-16.
