Volume 25, Number 16
ON THE COVER:
features
'Give' is a four-letter word: part two
BY ANNE HARRIS, KRISTIN HILLERY, KATE X MESSER AND FRANK RIVERA
news
AMD tightens its hold on Lantana and the enviro opposition digs in
BY AMY SMITH
Longtime proprietors of Town Lake's canoe rental franchise get sent up the river without a paddle
BY WELLS DUNBAR
Texan activists worry about their abducted colleagues in Iraq
BY DIANA WELCH
Constitutionality of Harris County display heard in Austin court
BY JORDAN SMITH
We've heard some of these ideas are even real
Headlines and happenings from Austin and beyond
Stop Union-busting, or Take a Hike
BY MICHAEL KING
Coming up with a timetable for leaving Iraq isn't unpatriotic or cowardly; and Bush's EPA proposes a new rule for testing toxic pesticides on humans, giving pesticide corporations clear-cut exceptions to the supposed federal ban on human testing
BY JIM HIGHTOWER
food
Austin's offerings for a little kitchen reading
BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD
'Tis the season for birth and rebirth; plus, former Bitter End chef about to step into 'Hell's Kitchen'?
BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD
music
Possessed by hellfire roots: Austin's one-man bands
BY AUDRA SCHROEDER
Reissues
Gift guide
Super mega huge rock stars foreign (Coldplay) and homegrown (Spoon) pay a visit as the Grammys surprise Destiny's Child, Los Lonely Boys, and Norah Jones with nominations. Is this what the big time feels like?
BY CHRISTOPHER GRAY
Arts String
screens
Merian C. Cooper's Big Adventure
Plus, Wajda's war films, 'The L Word,' Harold Lloyd, and a 'Jurassic' fetish
Online commerce puts customers on hold; here's how to get out of the loop
It might look perfect for the Defamer.com-addicted ghoul on your list, but it's really just a coffeetable-safe Hollywood Babylon
BY SPENCER PARSONS
Suzanne Quinn, the first and only director of Austin Studios, steps down; plus, news from Slamdance and the Independent Spirit Awards, Avril Lavigne, the Jim Henson Co., and Jerm Pollett
BY JOE O'CONNELL
Austin is Comedy Central
BY BELINDA ACOSTA
Film Reviews
The beautifully wrought film is a tragic love story (not a "gay cowboy movie") that’s defined by its staggering heartbreak.
There's a sweet bent to this simple South African film about a multicultural group of employees at a Cape Town animal shelter who find both goodness and hope in their troubled lives.
This likable romantic comedy runs the gamut of emotions – hitting tenderness, rage, remorse, and everything in between – but there are too many characters with too little chemistry to be a real keeper.
Jackson's remake is a corker of an action/monster movie: part RKO serial; part square-jawed, manly romp; and part classic journey into the unknown that recalls and references Heart of Darkness.
arts & culture
Local gift suggestions from the Art Elf Prize Patrol
BY ROBERT FAIRES
First Night Austin gets ready to ring out the old year in a big way, with a cultural extravaganza on a scale the city has never before seen
BY ROBERT FAIRES
Five performing arts groups that revive holiday-themed shows every December share the traditions they've developed within these seasonal traditions
BY BARRY PINEO
Jennifer Bell, who is neither Italian nor Catholic, is one of four artists invited to show her paintings in a memorial exhibit for Pope John Paul II in southeastern Italy
BY ROBERT FAIRES
Arts Reviews
The State Theater Company brings its artistry to bear on that most conventional show of the season, 'A Christmas Carol,' and delivers a perfectly packaged production
From the prologue through the rousing finale, ProArts Collective's new production of 'Black Nativity' saturates the Christmas story in rich emotion
Ballet Austin's 43rd production is what you might call a big-ticket ballet, a sensational show that's all about dreams coming true
Ars Ipsa's exhibition Temporary Dividers temporarily divides its contents into 'art,' but the ideas of these contents, viruslike, are likely to permanently accompany your life
columns
Thoughts on conflict of interest and the staying power of Neil Young
BY LOUIS BLACK
Our readers talk back.
Scrambling to take care of that Secret Santa on your list? Your Style Avatar has the perfect solution!
BY STEPHEN MACMILLAN MOSER
Is there a way I can reduce bile production?
BY JAMES HEFFLEY, PH.D.
Will deferred adjudication show up on my criminal record?
BY CARL BARRY
Shopping and eating in the Alamo City always seems like a good reason for a day trip to me
BY GERALD E. MCLEOD
Queen Elizabeth keeps her Cheerios fresh and clean
BY MR. SMARTY PANTS
Our latest batch
Maggie Mae's, Saturday, December 17, 2005
BY THE LUV DOC
Letters to the editor, published daily
sports
Maryland wins the NCAA Men's championship, the Americans get a tough draw in the 2006 World Cup, and more
BY NICK BARBARO