Cover Story
District Eternity
As Ronnie Earle steps down, he looks back on his life’s work
Perry: Third Full Term’s the Charm
Perry to run again in 2010, Democrats and Hutchison respond
KVRX: Almost Old Enough to Drink (Legally)
“Good morning out there all you rebels and rounders and welcome to the Southside of the Tracks!” For about two years, ending last fall, that’s how I began every Thursday morning at 7am on KVRX 91.7. I had a specialty show, which I described as “country, broadly defined.” It was a thrill to constantly discover…
My Body; My Choice
From Nathan Lane to Ahhhh-nold in the blink of an eye!
Pandering Towards the Presidency
Barack Obama joins other candidates in forgetting that 80% of Americans live in cities
Vassallo Sails Away
Longtime Chief of Staff exits city
Stephanopoulos and Hannity, Sitting in a Tree
ABC’s presidential debate host steers clear of policy
Once Again It’s On!
Get cha hustle on!
Prosecutors Say New DNA Evidence in Yogurt Shop Case Doesn’t ‘Exonerate’ Defendant
A lawyer for yogurt shop defendant Robert Springsteen says that re-tested DNA evidence found in a vaginal swab proves his client is not guilty, and that Springsteen should be released from prison.
Ethics Complaint Filed Against Meeker and Former Treasurer
Former lobbyist and Leffingwell supporter alleges ad violated Texas election law
Women Heading to Beijing, Aztex on the Field
The U.S. Women beat Canada in a penalty kick shootout in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying final last weekend in Juarez, Mexico. With both finalists already qualified for Beijing, the U.S. played several youngsters, and performed very well. Still, the draw broke up a couple of perfect records for the U.S.: they’re now 27-0-1 all-time in…
What a Crazy Weekend for the Horns
There are many adjectives I could use to describe this past weekend’s series between Texas and Missouri. Amazing, offensive, record-setting, awesome, insane. You name the word, and this weekend probably fit the bill. First, I want to mention a player who had a career day for anyone, whether they are in Little League or the…
Amarillo Too Much for the Wranglers
The Austin Wranglers’ struggles continue as they lost to the Amarillo Dusters 65-40 on the road last Saturday. Austin has given up more than 60 points in every game this season, but they have yet to reach the 50-point mark even once. The Wranglers have now fallen to 0-3 on the season. Matt Schneider had…
Poi, Then and Now
Can it really be more than 20 years since the world got a taste of Poi Dog Pondering? The group first formed in Hawaii, 1986, and moved to Austin a year or so later. I absolutely loved them back then, first through their EPs on the Texas Motel label, then the live show that sprawled…
Find the Chrontourage at the Beat Film Series TONIGHT!
Tonight the Chrontourage will be at the Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz downtown. We’ll be in the lobby starting at 6:15pm to support the Harry Ransom Center’s Beat Film Series. Come by and say “Hi” and you might just walk away with something cool! www.hrc.utexas.edu/beatfilm www.originalalamo.com
Watson Makes It Rain
Kirk Watson teaches the kids about money. Step 1 – Get a contract with the city!
The Common Touch Leaving Crawford
Bush family to give up on small town living
Austin Toros Run to First Playoff Appearance
A preview of the Austin Toros’ first-ever playoff home game.
ACL 2008!
The lineup has arrived, calm down.
Yo, Babies
Hip-hop’s next generation learns to beatbox
TXRG Takes Houston
Austin’s Hell Marys defeat Houston’s Psych Ward Sirens
Clinton: With GOP Friends Like These
GOP calls for Texas superdelegates to dump Obama
Old Times There Are Not Forgotten
The last time I saw the inside of Robert E. Lee High School in San Antonio was in January of 1970. I was being shown the front doors, suspended for organizing girls to wear pants to school in protest of the dress code that said girls couldn’t wear pants. Given the height that skirts were…
SXSW Film Shuffle
Shake-up at SXSW Film
“Cry Freetown” and “Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone”
“Cry Freetown” and “Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone” NR, 56 min. “Cry Freetown” (D: Ron McCullough, 2000) is journalist and cameraman Sorious Samura’s horrifying report from the bowels of Sierra Leone’s grisly civil war. In “Child Soldiers of Sierra Leone,” an episode of Showtime’s What’s Going On? (2003) series, Michael Douglas narrates this investigation into…
TXRG on the Road
Hell Marys to take on Houston Roller Derby champs, the Psych Ward Sirens
Place 1 Candidates
Profiling the Place 1 candidates in the first of a three-part series. Featuring Lee Leffingwell, Jason Meeker, and Allen Demling.
So Who’s Fault Is That?
John Cornyn, fiscal warrior
Express Home Opener
The Round Rock Express began their season with seven games on the road and were able to garner wins in three of those. No need for alarm there. The Express start their home campaign tonight, Friday, April 11 at 7:05pm vs. the New Orleans Zephyrs (the Mets AAA affiliate). The Astros once-dominating farm system has…
Online Integrity
Music criticism 2.0
Scratch’d
A whole lotta vinyl going on
Show Me the Money!
When will the Texas Texas’ Moving Image Industry Incentive Program pay out?
Cacophonous Maximus
The Mars Volta live
What’s the Max Bid on a Tank?
Feds find military surplus equipment being sold via ebay, Craigslist
Letters @ 3AM
Snippets of conversations about movies from the Filmcraft collection
Texas Platters
Jad & Nao Half Monster (Misc. Music) Recorded 10 years ago, Half Monster yields a whopping 45 songs, and coming from Manor’s Jad Fair, they couldn’t be anything except the disc’s title. Joined by Japanese noise artist Naofumi Ishimaru, the Half Japanese co-founder has assembled a jigsaw puzzle of sounds, with the typical fodder: “Frankenchrist,”…
Texas Platters
Alpha Rev The Greatest Thing I’ve Ever Learned (Sea Change) The difference between radio-friendly and radio-ready is immeasurable. Alpha Rev’s remastered debut, led by the soaring vocals of former Endochine frontman Casey McPherson, proves the latter, shooting for Radiohead grandeur and landing closer to Muse’s Black Holes and Revelations. Certainly no small feat, but the…
Naked City
News briefs from Austin, the region, and elsewhere
Pet Sterilization Dogs City and Retailer
Hey, kitten, wanna get spayed?
The Common Law
Nuts and Bolts of Filing Your Tax Return
Texas Platters
Joe Ely & Joel Guzman Live Cactus! (Rack ‘Em) Though Joe Ely has released multiple live discs throughout his career, Live Cactus! is unlike anything he’s ever done. Over the course of an hour, Ely’s guitar and voice and the magnificent accordion style of longtime compadre Joel Guzman travel over dusty highways to desolate border…
Texas Platters
Scott Reynolds & the Steaming Beast Adventure Boy (Boss Tuneage) Former All member and Greg Ginn cohort Scott Reynolds employs Drag the River, Steven Drozd of the Flaming Lips, and Mercury Rev’s Dave Fridmann for an eccentric pop Adventure that defies its reference points. From woozy country (“Angel”) to jazz-pop (“Scaffold Lick”), the only constant…
Congress for New Urbanism
Via Video-Message: Can Prince Charles give a beautifully articulated “carbon neutral” speech or what? Last week in Austin, His Royal Highness appeared virtually to accept a 2008 CNU Athena Medal, at the Congress for the New Urbanism. (Global warming having become the chicly apt excuse for not getting on a plane.) CNU recognized the Prince…
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
The word �banzai� means �10,000 years,� literally; Jessica Simpson wears socks for good luck; and more
Texas Platters
Marcia Ball Peace, Love & BBQ (Alligator) On her first studio offering in four years, Marcia Ball launches off with the swaggering New Orleans accordion romp of “Party Town” and surging title track that raises barbecue to spiritual levels. The slight gruff of Ball’s voice adds character where it lacks versatility and fervor, but her…
The Audacity of Promoting Necessary Cinema
Previewing Cine las Americas 2008
WilCo, WMI Wrangle Over Waste Deal
Lawyers for Williamson County, Waste Management of Texas Inc., and citizens groups squared off in WilCo District Court Monday to present arguments in a lawsuit WilCo brought late last year against WMI over a contract dispute. The legal question centers on whether the contract is valid; WilCo says it isn’t. In the courtroom Monday, the…
The Ruins
Four friends on a Mexican vacation discover something evil among the Mayan ruins.
Event Menu
April 11-13
Texas Platters
Robyn Ludwick Too Much Desire (Freedom) Robyn Ludwick did two things that will forever imprint her career: She chose not to use her illustrious maiden name, Robison, and she waited until she was good and ready to seriously pursue music. On this, her second album, she describes her songwriting as “Southern poetry with dirt floors…
Papa Brasilia
Nelson Pereira dos Santos Retrospective
Could City Living Save the Texas Youth Commission?
Saying he was “frustrated” by the lack of meaningful reform at the Texas Youth Commission, Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, backs a complete rebuilding of the state’s juvenile corrections system, which has been plagued by widespread allegations of physical and sexual abuse. On April 4, after meeting earlier in the week with TYC Conservator Richard Nedelkoff,…
Smart People
Smart people, dumb choices: It’s true for both the characters and the filmmakers in this acerbic comedy that stars Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church, and Ellen Page.
Food-o-File
Out with the old and in with the new: Longtime Statesman food editor retires, and local restaurants are boosting their new seasonal menus
Texas Platters
The Two Timin’ Four Dark Before the Dawn (Take Off) By adding a drummer, the Two Timin’ Three have become Four. Originally from Maine, where they worked with Sean Mencher of High Noon fame, the now Austin-based band’s third LP, Dark Before the Dawn, is a sturdy mix of rockabilly beats and other retro antics…
Sparkle and Shine
Stephen Moser remembers Valley of the Dolls with something between a smirk and a smile
Happenings
April 10-17
Backseat
Two buddies take a road trip to Montreal in this shaggy dog tale that was an Austin Film Festival Audience Award winner.
Cine las Americas Previews
My Mexican Shivah (Morirse Está en Hebreo) D: Alejandro Springall; with Raquel Pankowsky, David Ostrosky, Blanca Guerra, Sergio Klainer, Sharon Zundel, Emilio Savinni, Enrique Cimet New Releases, Mexico Mexican-Jewish comedies are as rare as leavened bread in the Sinai, and thus the very existence of My Mexican Shivah is as much a cause for wonderment…
Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival’s Sunday Fair
This favorite family-friendly outdoor food party will be staged on the beautiful grounds of San Gabriel Park in Georgetown, rain or shine
Texas Platters
Mice & Rifles Beginner’s Luck (Wagonmaker) Following 2006’s fine All Kites Up, Mice & Rifles’ second EP proves the local sextet more unified and polished, guitars squealing to the fore on ironic anthem “Carefree Americans” and brooding “The Only One.” Though still not quite capturing their live country-rock assault of indignation, Beginner’s Luck maintains its…
Film News
Jennifer Aniston eyes Texas
@ Newsdesk
Farewell PinkDome, Hello (Still) Austin Political Report Sad news for the online policy wonk community of Texas: acid-tongued commentators PinkDome.com have announced that the blog has come to an end. In the true spirit of such political commentators, back far beyond Boz, the blogger(s) remained anonymous to the end. On a completely unrelated note, some…
Sex and Death 101
This serial-killer comedy, which screened during Fantastic Fest, is a self-indulgent, snarky, scattershot affair.
That Was Then; This Is Now
The latest version of ‘New Art in Austin’ shows how much has changed in three years
The Return of Kate MacMurray
Remembering her father with film, food, and wine
Texas Platters
Pataphysics Take a Look Out Your Window (Business Deal) Zom Zoms expat Pat Healy helms the vocals as Pataphysics, initially a local solo project that’s grown to include a full band. Good thing, too, because Healy is an unmanned fire hose live. The guitar/bass/drum/synth setup extends attention spans on the quintet’s debut LP (on vinyl…
TV Eye
This Con’s for You
Earle Speaks
Over the course of his 30-year career as Travis Co. district attorney, Ronnie Earle has delivered countless speeches, written dozens of articles (for the opinion pages as well as for criminal-justice-related trade publications), and participated as a panelist for a number of conferences and conventions. Below are but three examples from the annals of Earle…
U Me Aur Hum
The director and co-writer also stars in this new Bollywood film about a love that grows deeper over time.
Culture Flash!
Margo Sawyer colors a Houston park, the 2009 Texas Biennial calls for entries, and prizes for a playwright and a scenic artist
Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves … and Austin, Too!
The Austin chapter of Les Dames D’Escoffier is fulling its mission to create a supportive culture in its community to achieve excellence in food, beverage, and hospitality professions
Texas Platters
Palm School Choir Gold Austin’s Palm School Choir isn’t a shorter, hairless Polyphonic Spree, nor is it a Kidz Bop rehash. Rather, PSC is a children’s choir singing original soft-rock compositions written by their fearless leader, Gavin Tabone. “One Good Rock Show” can change the world, but any rock concert off to such a sleepy…
Lehmberg Delivers TKO in Final Round
Lehmberg wins by a mile
CJ7
Known for his manic comedic style, Chinese filmmaker Stephen Chow tries his hand at a kids movie, but sadly, the result is a cutesy and sentimental story we’ve seen dozens of times before.
UT Department of Theatre & Dance: Gotta sing! Gotta dance!
The new Musical Theatre Pilot Project aims to prepare UT undergrads for belting for Broadway
A Brief History of Les Dames d’Escoffier International
“LDEI is an international organization of women leaders who create a supportive culture in their communities to achieve excellence in the food, beverage and hospitality professions. To do this LDEI members: share knowledge, support members, [and] provide leadership, educational opportunities and philanthropic events for the larger community.” – Les Dames d’Escoffier website (www.ldei.org) So, what…
Texas Platters
Afrofreque Fresh Soul Frequencies The spaced-out funk jams of Austin sixpiece Afrofreque fall somewhere between P-Funk and Jamiroquai. The group shines on “Cool Breeze,” a supersynthesized summertime anthem complete with a psyched-out guitar solo winking at Funkadelic’s Eddie Hazel. DJ Resinthol is skilled on the decks, but his scratching is occasionally gratuitous to the point…
Ronnie Earle: Prosecutions of Elected Officials
1978: Supreme Court Justice Don Yarbrough (Dem): forgery, aggravated perjury, and failure to appear. 1979: Travis Co. Commissioner Bob Honts (Dem): official misconduct and bribery. Pled to a misdemeanor, misapplying county property, in 1984. Ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. 1980: Sen. Gene Jones (Dem): used state computer to prepare campaign mailings. Pled guilty to…
Surprise Win in Railroad Commission Race
The also-ran won the race
The Counterfeiters
Winner of this year’s Oscar for Best Foreign Film, this brisk Austrian film uncovers the moral choices faced by WWII concentration-camp victims selected to work on the Nazi effort to create bogus currency.
Art City Austin: Everything old is new again
The annual art fair once known as Fiesta and the Austin Fine Arts Festival makes its debut after reinventing itself
Musicophilia
ASH’s (unofficial) specialty services now include Austin’s prime resource
Texas Platters
Kriminals The Games We Play The murky aura that surrounds the Kriminals’ third effort pokes its cryptic head out of shadowy hip-hop with each drawn-out violin stroke and keyboard phrase. The South Austin trio shows it has little trouble intimidating on The Game We Play, “If They Hated” pitting the Kriminals against opposition from the…
Indictments Pending: TRMPAC, TAB, and the Travis Co. D.A.
The following brief summaries are based upon information provided by the Travis Co. district attorney’s office. They describe, in general terms, the current status of legal actions against former U.S. House Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay and his associates in the Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee, the Americans for a Republican Majority,…
Daniel Takes District 52
Dee Hobbs outspent and outvoted in Republican primary run-off
Arts Review
The Rude Mechs’ latest pays at times comic, at times touching tribute to the strange craft of acting and its practitioners
Off the Record
Mohawk welcomes Red River Flats to the neighborhood, Ego’s sings karaoke, and a tribute to pianist Doug Hall
Texas Platters
Ray Reed Where the Trinity Runs Free (Dialtone) With a sound that’s raw and raucous, Fort Worth bluesman Ray Reed cuts to the chase, eschewing any notions of pretension. With a half-century of paid dues under his belt, the singer/guitarist lays down the type of hardscrabble blues you’d find in a Saturday night roadhouse out…
Soccer Watch
State high school championships, Man U goes for a double, and more
April 8 Run-off Results
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY Railroad Commissioner: County / State/District Mark Thompson: 11,476 (51%) / 117,496 (59%) Dale Henry: 10,986 (49%) / 81,107 (41%) District Attorney County Rosemary Lehmberg: 19,197 (65%) Mindy Montford: 10,243 (35%) Precinct 1 Constable County Danny Thomas: 2,525 (71%) Janie Serna: 1,008 (29%)
Arts Review
Austin Script Works’ 10th festival of 10-minute plays by member writers is, as always, a mixed bag but fun
Texas Platters
James McMurtry Just Us Kids (Lightning Rod) James McMurtry continues to count himself among the growing number of Texans not ready to make nice with the Bush administration, which ought to come as no surprise to those who have been paying attention. The veteran Austin singer-songwriter’s original “God Bless America,” with McMurtry snarling about the…
Texas Platters
Black Earth That’s Right We’re Goin’ Ballz Deep (Big Ape) The sweltering scuzz punk emitted from the bowels of Black Earth would make Josh Homme wish he had never left the California desert. Ballz Deep is as raunchy and volatile as one would hope, with fuzzy guitar time bombs erupting in canyon-sized grooves, while Jason…
Playing Through
Tiger Woods is to golf what Shakespeare is to theatre
Pat Forgione’s Last Sales Job
AISD spins the wheel on bond election
Arts Review
The ballet based on Trenton Doyle Hancock’s art may be problematic thematically, but it’s still an enthralling experience
Texas Platters
Bruce Hughes Shorty (Freedom) The subtitle to the sophomore solo effort from this Scabs and Resentments mainstay proffers it as “an album of momentary songs.” Setting himself to the task of crafting tunes as short as possible (only one breaks the three-minute mark), the “momentary” nature that Hughes invokes unfortunately applies equally to the songs’…
Texas Platters
Whitman Torch Songs At its best, Whitman’s debut recalls the first-generation emo blueprinted by Austin’s Mineral, with cackling guitars rupturing through the lyrical lapses. Engaging and energetic, six-minute suites like “Insomniac” and mournful closer “Merchants of Death” reveal the local quartet’s potential for something bigger, even if it isn’t realized here.
Page Two: Righting Wrongs
A position checklist of pragmatic politics
Hundreds of Children Removed From FLDS Compound
State officials descend on West Texas polygamist sect after allegations of abuse
The Science of Sleeping Together
Mary Roach has taken on ghosts and cadavers. Now she’s taking on sex.
Texas Platters
Southern Drama’s Little Broken is the most compelling recording to cross this desk in weeks. Their debut shoots out from under the radar near where Austin’s Erik & the She-Wolves, Luna Tart, and Mr. Lewis & the Funeral 5 come out to play. There’s a vague element of Loreena McKennitt twirling with Tom Waits in…
Texas Platters
Horse Operas! This Is an E.P. (Southern Love) Like Chris Eaton of Rock Central Plaza, the Austin-bred Horse Operas! unravels dark, weary narratives – occasionally about horses – through a barrage of folk idioms that blends roots-rock with back-porch blues. The nostalgic longing and simple truths found in the lyricism works well within the rustic…
Day Trips
The South Llano River State Park has something for just about everybody
Did Campaign Ad Cross the Line?
Ah, the finer print of election laws
Readings
Though this debut novel is about Alzheimer’s, it’s too funny, too inventive, too tender and finely written to be reduced to its tragic engine
Texas Platters
Jo Carol Pierce Dog of Love At 12 years since Jo Carol Pierce’s acclaimed debut, Bad Girls Upset by the Truth, the follow-up, Dog of Love, doesn’t exactly arrive according to Willis Alan Ramsey time, but close. The longtime local, one of the famed Lubbock Mafia, is known for her musical poetry and a bad-girl…
The Hightower Report
Tony Mazzocchi; and Read the Fine Print
Point Austin: Dude, Let’s Go Bowling
You can tell a lot about newspapers by what they don’t cover
Upcoming Candidate Forums
Spend an hour researching the candidates
After a Fashion
Stephen rents a duster and gets down with the nouveaus and old-veaus in H-Town
Texas Platters
3 Balls of Fire Jet Set Guitars (Deep Eddy) With their latest shaken-and-stirred salvo, local surf-rock institution 3 Balls of Fire takes a more sophisticated tack that evokes Palm Springs as much as Redondo Beach. Guitarist Mike Vernon and crew prove their endless summer mettle right off the bat with staccato-fueled “Wild Fire,” but they…
Texas Platters
Mission Giant Golden Triangle Bookended by instrumental interludes “I-35E S” and “I-35W N,” the nearly one-hour venture into Mission Giant’s third LP proves an audio Candy Land of panoramic synth-pop that’s more daft than punk. Too bad it lasts longer than the sugar high.
Beside the Point
Council OKs permanent housing for homeless you need a car to access
Where’s the Streetcar?
Is a November voter referendum for a Central Austin streetcar still a realistic goal? That’s what citizens closely watching the Transit Working Group are now wondering. Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Chair Kirk Watson has been facilitating recent weekly sessions to craft a better CAMPO “decision tree” process – toward Watson’s oft-stated goals of greater…
Luv Doc Recommends: Sex Toy Coming Out Party
As interesting as everyone makes it out to be, sex is one of the most unoriginal things you can do as (or with) a human being … ditto for just about every other vertebrate as well. You had sex. Big whoop. We’re supposed to applaud? Do you expect a big pat on the back for…
