Jana Birchum
Volume 28, Number 21
ON THE COVER:
news
Revolutionary to rat: The uneasy journey of Brandon Darby
BY DIANA WELCH
News briefs from Austin, the region, and beyond
On Obama, what it means … and what it doesn't
BY MICHAEL KING
Leffingwell announces, and the mayoral sparring begins
BY WELLS DUNBAR
DEA torpedoes effort to secure FDA-approved marijuana
BY JORDAN SMITH
Dems lost the debate on the two-thirds rule, but not without a fight
BY LEE NICHOLS
The Sunset Commission's close vote makes TYC's Lege fate hard to predict
BY RICHARD WHITTAKER
Yet another setback for death row inmate Rodney Reed
BY JORDAN SMITH
The Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit and a proposed Senate bill address the problem of false confessions
BY JORDAN SMITH
The latest campaign finance reports show who's supporting which candidates for mayor and council
BY WELLS DUNBAR
Shrinking economy forces monthly magazine to close shop
BY AMY SMITH
KXAN bucks the wave – covers the news
BY KEVIN BRASS
Planned Parenthood's new program targets parent education
BY JORDAN SMITH
University of Houston professor at center of controversy over how best to save drowning victims
BY LAUREL CHESKY
Why the Homeland Security Department Is So Beloved; and Put Some Bite in Our Financial Watchdogs
BY JIM HIGHTOWER
food
The Culinary Institute of America's San Antonio campus raises awareness of Latin American cuisine
BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD
Zoot relocates after 20 years, inauguration sweets from Austin, and more tasty tidbits
BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD
Your local foodie events for Jan. 24-26
BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD
Food Reviews
With 150-plus beers, Boar's Head meats, and pork rinds, Hyde Park has struck gold
This Mexican restaurant has been serving up tacos with fresh ingredients for 10 years now
music
David Garza returns Dream still intact
BY DOUG FREEMAN
Phases & Stages
Haymaker!
Easy Living
Sunshower EP
Mega
Get Down
The History of the Peloponnesian War
Business Deal Band Lotto
¡No Más!
Learn About It
13 Crack Tracks: Austin Bands Perform Songs from the Crackpipes Songbook
Drop Jewels
Called to Mind
Jazz Offerings to the Schnauzer King
Undone: A Musicfest Tribute to Robert Earl Keen
Going My Way
One World Theatre, Jan. 18
screens
Screenwriter Noah Stollman talks about how to make a movie about Jerusalem without taking on 2,000 years of tumult
BY JOSH ROSENBLATT
Benicio Del Toro on the method, the madness, and the merchandising
BY MARC SAVLOV
Austin loses a beloved activist, artist, technomama, and true friend
BY BELINDA ACOSTA
TNT's Trust Me could use a dose of David E. Kelley
BY BELINDA ACOSTA
Film Reviews
In this Bollywood action comedy, a mistaken identity takes a humble cook on a crazy journey from India to China.
Steven Soderbergh’s filmmaking legacy is his aesthetic daring, and his latest – as massive and imperfect as it is – just might be his most daring work to date.
Hotel for Dogs is a family-friendly operation, and all the pooches in the pic provide ample opportunities for poop jokes.
This fantasy adventure, in which characters come to life when the books they're in are read aloud, boasts a strong cast and an ingrained love for reading and the well-told tale.
This horror film is a full-on, old-school, gore-hound heaven – a supersaturated arterial goregasm with zero socially redeeming values for anyone other than first-year med students.
Fat rent-a-cops are just naturally funny, right? Comedian Kevin James snags his first onscreen solo lead with this merry mall mayhem.
arts & culture
A renovated Bass reopens to a world much changed in the 20 months the venue was closed
BY ROBERT FAIRES
The fine-art world of Austin investigates the city's sweet punk rock traditions
BY RACHEL KOPER
A local operatic production gets a trip to the ball: a showing on public television
BY ROBERT FAIRES
Classical companies respond to the economic crisis before the fat lady can sing
BY ROBERT FAIRES
Arts Reviews
A song cycle with its head in the stars and a sense of wonder makes space cool again
A night full of the unexpected surprises that make FronteraFest worth going to
The weathered character actor serves as outsider hero to this group show's artists
columns
Do Obama's sky-high approval ratings and unprecedented support indicate unrealistic expectations?
BY LOUIS BLACK
Stephen ponders self-immolation
BY STEPHEN MACMILLAN MOSER
If hot-rodders can still remake battered old cars into things of brazen beauty, the rest of us can get to work remaking America into something equally bold and brave
BY THOMAS HACKETT
The Texas Panhandle has many treasures to behold
BY GERALD E. MCLEOD
This weekend honors the works of two pivotal Austin lesbians
BY ASH BELL AND KATE X MESSER
International Year of Astronomy, Gen. Patton's nine lives, and more
BY MR. SMARTY PANTS
Consider an LLC?
BY LUKE ELLIS
Jo's Coffee, Saturday, January 24, 2009
BY THE LUV DOC
Letters to the editor, published daily