Be careful what you stick up there. We mean, up in that surgeon general position, of course.

Bush nominates another winner.

The special Pride feature in this week's Chronicle, features a conversation between Glass Eye Austin rock legend Kathy McCarty and an ex-bandmate. I consider both musicians dear friends, and the opportunity to edit this piece was an honor.

"Deprogramming Dave" is an intimate peek into Austin drummer Lisa Cameron's journey from living as Dave Cameron to her life today, as musician, artist, and partner. It's a great read. I hope you enjoy it.

It was also great fun to be able to work again with Todd V. Wolfson and the wonderful women of Pink Salon on the photo shoot for the piece. Co-owner and hairstylist Deborah Carter opened the doors of the salon making available to Lisa the talents and open-heartedness of her amazing staff. What an incredible experience. According to Lisa, "They all did a splendid job!"

While Lisa enjoyed a day at the salon, exploring aspects of cultural femininity new to her, I felt very moved. A trip like this, through the hallowed halls of hyperfemininity, certainly does not define gender; it can, however, cast light onto our enculturation and, I believe in this case, offered Lisa plenty of pampering for thought.

Kudos to Pink, Todd, Deborah, eyelash extension technician Karen Carmichael, and make-up artist Chelle Simoneaux for their sensitivity and brilliance.

Do click on the link above the photo and enjoy a gallery of extras, some shots that did not make it into the piece and a few by me (don't expect Wolfson quality there, folks) of the lovelies at the salon.

The Gary Job Corps Center in San Marcos provides free technical training to students, ages 16 to 24, who meet government assistance income guidelines. The school has an accredited high school, as well as a technical college where students can learn to be machinists, carpenters, welders, plumbers, chefs, computer technicians, etc. The school can also provide up to 21 college semester hours, which can be transferred to Texas State Technical College. “Best of all, Job Corps is a federally-funded program,” said Gary Center Director Dean Hoffman in a press release. “Students receive training that’s valued at $5,000 a year, at no personal cost. It’s like attending a community or technical college for free.” For more info, call 512/203-8189.

Come out to Waterloo Park tomorrow at the 2007 Pride Festival and look up The Austin Chronicle table. You might meet a K8 or a Kate. Or you might find us in the audience for either Kings N Things or Gretchen Phillips. Either way, find us, and we'll give you stuff!!!

Waterloo Park, 403 E. 15th
Saturday, June 9, 2007, noon-8pm

El Paso principal Daniel Girard will take the reins of Akins High School next school year, but before he does, he has a few loose ends to tie up at his current school.

According to the El Paso Times, 12 teachers at Bel Air High School filed grievances against Girard, claiming he made them work through lunch breaks and harassed them when they tried to complain. The grievances are a stain on Girard’s otherwise exemplary record. His double-digit successes in raising Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills math and science scores no doubt made him an attractive candidate for the board of trustees, but the grievances raise questions about his skills in the arena of employee relations, and the Austin Independent School District needs another Ron Gonzales like Dick Cheney needs another heart attack.

The Ysleta school board decided last month that there was enough merit to the claims to warrant a hearing shortly before Girard announced he was taking the position at Akins. Though the timing might seem suspicious, Girard insists it’s purely coincidental. “It’s just a great opportunity to move to Austin. … It’s just a great place to live,” said Girard, who declined to comment on the grievances. “It’s still running its course, but I feel it will be resolved amicably.”

Before Girard packs up the U-Haul and makes for Austin, he’ll have to go before the Ysleta board at its June 14 meeting. Teri Sanchez, president of the Ysleta Teachers Association, said the teachers who filed the complaints never intended for Girard to leave. “The removal of the principal was not our purpose. That’s not what we were looking for,” she told the Times.

AISD officials said they only recently heard of the grievances when the Times story broke but declined to comment, saying it could be a pending personnel matter. “We have high expectations for Mr. Girard, and we anxiously await his arrival,” said Andy Welch, a spokesman for the district.

AISD is asking for input from the community on district plans to open a school for young men, which would span sixth grade through high school. The school would take advantage of teaching strategies for young men, and would offer college preparatory courses in communications, technology, math, and science. Parents and community members can let the district know what they think of the idea by filling out a survey on AISD’s website here. The AISD Board of Trustees will vote this fall on whether to open the school, which could open as early as Fall 2008.

Against a sonic backwash of beach life – waves, children laughing – a strummed acoustic guitar begins its metronomic time keeping. The tropical climate has thickened the instrument’s strings, but the rusted steel just deepens in richness. Manu Chao’s pinched, double-tracked Spanish transmits a police bulletin in reverse: confession.

Solo voy con mi pena
Sola va mi condena
Correr es mi destino
Para burlar la ley

En Inglés:

Alone I go with my sorrow
Alone with my sentence
Running is my destiny
To mock the law

This is partly my translation, and not a literal one. Another Spanish/English conversion rightly gives burlar as “escape,” but “mock” seizes on Manu Chao’s anti-authoritarian scorn.

Lost in the heart
Of the great Babylon
They call me Clandestine
For [being an illegal]

Dog-chaining – or tying up a pooch with a rope, cord, or similar type of tether while unattended – will be illegal in Austin as of Oct. 1, thanks to a new ordinance enacted Thursday by City Council. The group Chain Free Austin has been campaigning for the measure since last September, citing a slew of studies that say chaining is unhealthy for dogs both physically and psychologically, as well as dangerous to people, especially children, as dogs are twice as likely to attack while chained. Exceptions include lawful animal events, grooming, training, and chaining when the owner is present and outside. If dogs can’t be brought inside to live, an outdoor living area that’s a minimum of 150 square feet is permissible – 10 feet by 15 feet would work, for example. Though a relatively cheap and simple do-it-yourself job, depending on your handiness, financial assistance for constructing dog enclosures is available to low-income residents by way of the Austin Community Foundation and Town Lake Animal Shelter. Chain Free Austin will have an online grant application available on its website by June 14, and assistance is available now from the Town Lake Shelter. For more information, including the full ordinance, go to Chain Free Austin's website.

The announcement came via my Rolling Stones fan club email: The Biggest Bang DVD was on the way! Seven hours of Jagger huffing and puffing across the stage in front of a million people in Rio de Janeiro (take that, Woodstock!), plus clips from Japan, Buenos Aires, and Shanghai (for that well-heeled armchair traveler feel). For the Stones fanatic, there are six unreleased songs plus interviews with ... um, Bonnie Raitt, perennial Stones opener Dave Matthews, Cui Juan (who??), and Eddie Vedder (because no musicians younger than him know who the Stones are).

And the DVD features the Austin 2006 concert in its entirety! This is good news for those of you who love the Stones but didn’t get to see them. I specifically speak not to those who couldn’t afford the cheap standing area but forked over hefty amounts of greenback dollars for seats. $300 a seat, as the credit card bill shows. And where were the $300 seats? So far away you couldn’t have shot Mick Jagger with a sharpshooter. Shame on the promoters. They ended up recruiting people from steerage SRO to fill those seats so the crowd wouldn't look sparse in the stands.