Cover image courtesy of
Volume 27, Number 17
ON THE COVER:
news
A profile of the practice and business of pedicabbing
BY SOFIA RESNICK
Local businessman under fire for owing money to employees of his former West Lake Hills restaurant
BY CHERYL SMITH
Defending a new nudity tax, the AG says topless bars cause sexual violence
BY RICHARD WHITTAKER
An interim election and an AG opinion stir thoughts of Capitol changes
BY MICHAEL KING
What awaits council under the tree
BY WELLS DUNBAR
Commander Bush Wins One; and Gifts for a Happier New Year
BY JIM HIGHTOWER
food
Taste-testing Texas liquors against the world
BY WES MARSHALL
Viking Range Corp. mixes and kneads with the big boys
BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD
Looking back on Austin food in 2007
BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD
Food Reviews
Part travel guide, part history lesson, Southern Belly is a mouthwatering expedition of beloved Southern food institutions
music
Blazing trails of Chicano soul
BY MARGARET MOSER
Welcome to "Spazmodica," the future of Austin music
BY AUSTIN POWELL
Phases & Stages
8 Diagrams, The Big Doe Rehab
Dirt Farmer
Leaves in the River
Long Road out of Eden
The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 9: 1969
Lupe Fiasco's The Cool
Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take)
Growing Pains, As I Am
ThisIsMe Then: The Best of Common
Canon
Dylan
The Best of Lisa Gerrard
Mothership
Live
Greatest Hits
Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo
Vintage '47: The Best of Jim Stricklan
Greatest Hits: 18 Kids
screens
AFS Essential Cinema presents 3 Mexicanas en Hollywood
BY BELINDA ACOSTA
The first announcements from SXSW Film 08 are trickling in
BY KIMBERLEY JONES
Casting shuffles for Malick's new picture and more
BY JOE O'CONNELL
'Tis the season for TV marathons, plus, mark your calendar for the last season of The Wire, and no news is bad news on the strike front
BY BELINDA ACOSTA
Screens Reviews
Mark T. Conard and Steven M. Sanders
One of the most influential films of all time, it's almost superfluous to discuss the film itself and its considerable merits
Film Reviews
Apocalyptic monster mash makes big crash.
Nicolas Cage is again on the prowl in this sequel to the 2004 smash success.
Although Guillermo Del Toro is the producer, this new Spanish horror film is derivative and not on par with Del Toro's spooky childhood stories.
Starring Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman, this smart, funny, thoughtful, and exquisitely realized film is one of the best of the year.
arts & culture
Oh, the sights you'll see at First Night Austin
BY ROBERT FAIRES
Major personnel changes across the Austin arts scene signal the start of a new era
BY ROBERT FAIRES
For a national magazine to do a story on Austin that's just about the visual arts scene is pretty much unheard of
BY ROBERT FAIRES
Art Alliance Austin is calling on artists and architects to make work that will reinvent its annual art fair
BY ROBERT FAIRES
The Blanton tweaks its schedule, Conspirare's fave composer takes the prize, and Hot September Flurries in June?
BY ROBERT FAIRES
Arts Reviews
Forever Plaid's seasonal sequel delivers just what's wanted this time of year: Tidings of comfort and joy
This showcase of a variety of Christmas traditions in Celtic history made for a most festive night
This show demonstrates how two painters working from the same subject can end up with radically different canvases
columns
Stephen's calling the kettle black again. OK, these are some pretty black kettles.
BY STEPHEN MACMILLAN MOSER
Taking a wine-tasting journey through Texas wineries
BY GERALD E. MCLEOD
While only a freshman at Westlake, Brenden Redfern is already putting adults to shame on local golf courses
BY THOMAS HACKETT
What to expect in 2008: a great earthquake, a pole shift, many months of darkness, Princess Diana's ghost, and much more
BY MR. SMARTY PANTS
I ordered a holiday present, and it never showed up
BY LUKE ELLIS
Continental Club, Friday, December 28, 2007
BY THE LUV DOC
Letters to the editor, published daily
sports
No break for the Brits, and more
BY NICK BARBARO