Page Two

The time has come to talk of many things, as the walrus sort of said (or was it the carpenter?). They had abstracts in mind, or, perhaps, just lunch, but we are deluged by serious issues. Prosperity and growth have brought us face-to-face with the future. The enemy is us (ever more people), and the view is not very pretty. The time is now to talk of presidential and local elections, of SH 130 and light rail, of wealth and poverty and the distances between, of traffic and new roads, of traditional political alignments and emerging new trends. And I'd like to do that, feeling that would be the responsible way.

But Palm Beach Story is showing as part of the Austin Film Society's "Unfaithfully Yours: The Films of Preston Sturges" series at the Texas Union on Monday, February 7, 7pm. I watched the film again a few weeks ago. Palm Beach Story is Sturges' masterpiece, and given that we are talking about the talent responsible for The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, and The Miracle at Morgan's Creek -- that is saying a lot. Instead of all those important issues I just mentioned, I've been day-dreaming about buying a half-page ad in this issue begging people to go to this movie. Marvelously sophisticated, Palm Beach Story indulges in comedy both broad and refined. Released in 1942, I think this is the film in which Sturges finally lets loose the bounds of established generic convention and charts his own course into madness. The remarkable Claudette Colbert leaves Joel McCrea, the husband she loves, because he is a hopeless inventor who will never have any money. Knowing she is both beautiful and smart, Colbert knows her life can and should be better. She hooks a ride on a train to Florida with the crazed Ale and Quail Club, completely cockeyed millionaires, loaded on booze, who shoot up the train. Once in Florida, she meets up with an airheaded millionaire (Rudy Vallee) and his wacky sister (Mary Astor). The dialogue is so fresh and sharp, it's hard to believe it was written over 50 years ago. With neither nudity nor profanity, this is a truly hilarious sex comedy, among the very best of the 20th century. Sure, I'm on the board of the Film Society, but this screening is free. For the good of your tattered souls, go.

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Read the cover story on District 48 carefully. Although Texas has drifted from a longtime Democratic state to a clearly Republican one over the past 20 years, its politics really haven't changed. The state has always been conservative. Central Texas, and Austin in particular, are very different. A stronghold of progressives, this area has stayed loyal to the Democrats. Over the next few years, look for a radical change in this political character.

If Austin goes to single-member districts, this will be accelerated on the local level. Traditionally heavy turnout in the Central City precincts have given progressives a disproportionate representation on the City Council. If the balance of power shifts from number of voters to geographical districts, this balance of power will radically change. Regardless, the influx of tens of thousands of new residents will change both the city and the area.

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Voting is over in the Chronicle's music poll, and registration has ended for the Musicians Register. Now is the calm before the storm. On February 25, we'll publish the 2000 Musician Register, a monster catalog of over 1,000 local music acts. For us, this will be the start of the SXSW deluge that we will not emerge out of until the middle of March. What great fun!