Day Trips
photo by Gerald McCleod Vivroux Hardware & Variety Store in Seguin defies the F.W. Woolworths of the world. As once-giant retailer Woolworth’s announced this month that they were closing their last 400 variety stores in the U.S. (including one across the street from the Alamo in San Antonio), Vivroux’s maintains their market share in the…
Killing the AMN Softly
They were two seemingly unrelated events. First, the Review Team for the Austin Music Network (AMN) delivered its report to the City Council Sub-Committee on Telecommunication Infrastructure, a report with recommendations on how to cure what ails the AMN — most visibly the channel’s lackluster programming. Then, just a couple of days after that report…
Page Two
It used to be that here in Austin (and doesn’t that phrase terrify most ordinary readers) summers were slow. When the city was smaller, students constituted a bigger percentage of the population so when the University slowed down for the summer, so did Austin. Baking in the heat, the air semi-liquid, Austin really became a…
Warblers, Not Cars, on 2222
Everyone knows that the “green” council is the council of Central City residents — you know, those kooky pinko-environmentalists turning out to vote in high numbers and shoving their radical enviro politics down Austin’s unwitting throat? Strange, then, wasn’t it, when the green council took their show on the road to the Northwest Recreation Center…
Public Notice
Star Party We used to be in a rock band. And we say rock, we mean “R-A-W-K,” baby. Yup, those were the days… the free booze, the chicks, the camaraderie, the musical synergy, the chicks, the overflowing appreciation from fans, the chicks, the terrific payday at the end of the night from generous clubowners… Bwah…
Naked City
Old councilmembers never die, they just become consultants. In Ronney Reynolds’ case, they become consultants in the profitable electric utility industry. The former councilmember, who returned to civilian life in June after an unsuccessful run for mayor, confirmed an In Fact report this week that he and CPA partner Timothy Dowling will expand their accounting…
Mister Smarty Pants Knows
Fred and Wilma Flintstone have done at least one beer commercial. According to a recent study, a majority of executives who accepted counter-offers were either fired or quit within one year of accepting their new positions. The first tennis balls were stuffed with human hair. “Gweilo,” a term meaning “foreign devil,” was coined by the…
Neighborhood Soup
The ghost of Austin appeared quickly on July 15, as 13 community groups made pitches to the Planning Commission for the two open slots in the city’s pilot neighborhood planning program. As the first speaker for the first applicant wrapped up the first paragraph of her presentation, she described her coalition thus: “Basically, we’re the…
The Zen of Filmmaking
Eighty years ago, Charlie Chaplin was engaged in the improbable business of making people laugh in such a way as to remind us that every human, high and low, is capable of wonder. How well he did this for our time is a matter of critical quibbling now, but in his time there was no…
Pick Me! Pick Me!
The contenders for the pilot program include: Three applications — small, medium, and large — from South Central Austin (the aforementioned Sector 12, which basically matched the 78704 ZIP code). “Small” is from the Dawson Neighborhood Association (DNA) alone, between Oltorf and Ben White, Congress, and South First. “Medium” combines DNA with Bouldin Creek NA,…
Triangle Property Design Contest
Got an idea for what you think ought to be done with this controversial tract of land adjoining Hyde Park? Here�s your chance to put your drafting skills where your mouth is. The Chronicle will bestow modest prizes and fame, of course, when we print the winners. But don�t expect the developer to chuck its…
Food-O-File
Earlier this summer, the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) encouraged its membership to commemorate Julia Child`s upcoming 85th birthday with fundraising celebrations. The IACP has created an endowment in Child’s honor, providing scholarship opportunities for anyone pursuing a career in the culinary arts. Individual, restaurant, and cooking school members were encouraged to stage tribute…
Planning From The Neighborhoods Up
By now, you’ve probably all heard about the zoning battles over the BFI and Balcones Recycling plants in East Austin (we’ve been writing about it since May), and the new zoning ordinance they’ve spawned. It’s a dramatic story, full of social injustice and political intrigue, but it also marks the first big step toward a…
Articulations
New Home For ATY From its inception two years ago, Austin Theatre for Youth has been on the lookout for a place which could house its administrative, box office, rehearsal, and performance needs under one roof. Well, now the folks at ATY have found their hearts’ desire, and, as Dorothy Gale could have told them,…
Jamin House Cafe
Hwy 281 & Seventh St., Marble Falls, 210/693-3979 Mon-Tue, Thu, 11am-9pm; Fri-Sat, 11am-10pm, Sun, 10:30am-9pm No tour of Central Texas Caribbean restaurants would be complete without a visit to Jane and Bill Allen’s Jamin House Cafe in the Highland Lakes resort town of Marble Falls. After living in the Cayman Islands for many years and…
TV Eye
That’s right darlin’ … Elvis is back. Well, his music is, anyway, on TNN, as Country Salutes Elvis Aug. 6, 7 pm. Ahhh… our Internet service is working once again. I can still hardly believe how desperate it felt without it. Accelerated heartbeat… clammy hands… flushed cheeks. Now, the Net is back and so is…
Exhibitionism
Hyde Park Theatre through August 9 Running time: 1 hr, 15 min Sibling rivalry, sibling allegiance: the relationship between brothers is the raw material for myths and legends. Clayangels, written and performed by Daniel Alexander Jones and his brother Todd Jones, brings to Frontera @ Hyde Park Theatre two men’s relationship that is at once…
The Tropic of Red Stripe
Shaggy’s 1600 S. Congress, 447-5375 Cafe Josie 1200-B W. Sixth, 322-9226 Shaggy’s photograph by John Anderson With Bob Marley on the sound system and a Myer’s rum and ginger beer in your hand, Shaggy’s Caribbean Grill on South Congress feels like a Jamaican beach bar. The first time I went there, a girl with blue…
Digital Audio From the Cyber-Underground
illustration by Tom King Millions of consumers have dished out a couple of grand for a computer, lured by the promise of spectacular, eye-popping, ear-popping, interactive multimedia — but the reality has been closer to Lost In Space than Star Wars. Sure, there are some pretty cool games, but a $200 Sony Play Station or…
A Guide to Austin’s Musical Theatre Scene
Judy Arnold, Jacqui Cross and Yolanda Williams in Dreamgirls photograph byKenny Braun ig and shiny and fun. Want the essence of stage musicals? That’s it. Just ask a kid. When we come to musicals as children, they’re gigantic confections of comedy and melody, brimming with bodies — almost more than a kid can count –…
Dancing About Architecture
National Private Radio On Tuesday, LBJ Broadcasting (KLBJ-AM, KLBJ-FM, and KAJZ-FM) and Sinclair Telecable (KGSR-FM and KROX-FM) announced a merger that would unite all five stations under the banner of a new company, LBJ-S Broadcasting, with LBJ’s Ian Turpin taking the position of Chief Engineering Officer and Telecable’s Bob Sinclair claiming the post of Chief…
Mp3 Related Links
alt.binaries.sounds.mp3 Usenet news group MP3 home page at Arizona State http://www.public.asu.edu/~master/mp3/ Great source of general info, with a few links. WinPlay3 home page http://www.iis.fhg.de/departs/amm/layer3/winplay3/index.html The place to get the latest WinPlay software and information. NONAGS Software Texas Mirror Site http://www.txk.com/nonags/main.html A great source of MP3 utilities and accessories. Also a great, free general software software…
In Person
Steven Culbert at Book People Ask Steven Culbet a theoretical question — one about his new novel Lovesong for the Giant Contessa — and you’ll get an answer, in time. Culbert has a uniquely roundabout way of getting to the point; for example, when you ask him how the gawky but toughened teenaged protagonists of…
Wreck Your Image
The Old 97’s are:(1-r) Rhett, Murray, Phillip and Ken photograph by Martin Menocal On paper, Lollapalooza and the Old 97’s look like a perfect match. After all, when Perry Farrell conceived the traveling showcase in 1991, the festival was about exposing new, groundbreaking artists to young, open-minded fans. And what could be more eye-opening to…
Scan Lines
(“Scanlines” wishes to thank Encore Movies & Music, I Luv Video, and Vulcan Video for their help in providing videos and laser discs.) Faye Dunaway in Kevin Spacey’s directorial debut Albino Alligatior Fast Money D: Douglas Holloway (1981) with Sammy Allred, Sonny Carl Davis, Marshall Ford, Doris Hargrave, Lou Perry. During the recent weeks, as…
Slouching Toward Iambic Pentameter
illustration by Amy Emery Christmas in the middle of summer is so much fun. Especially at the shelf where the review books come in. “Take what you want,” said my editor as I hopped through the door a couple of weeks ago. The kind of perks I can learn to love. I already had a…
Bunnies and Bongs
illustration by Roy Tompkins Oh, perfect. Just what a rock critic needs: a little plastic suitcase with a toothbrush, compass/mirror/binocular, and cheap sunglasses. And a CD (picture and bio). Guess I’ll be throwing out all of that Gucci luggage and most of my wardrobe. This is everything a writer could ever want. And to think…
Short Cuts
Three weeks from now, aGLIFF will be in town. No, I don’t mean a glyph who used to be known as Prince. This particular aGLIFF stands for the Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival and it’s about to take up a two-week residence (Aug. 22-Sept. 4) at its home base, the Dobie Theatre. Making…
Postscripts
Devolving MIRA Books and Houstonian Catherine Lanigan, author of Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile, announced a contest for “evolving women” from the Lone Star State, one of whom will be chosen September 2 out of all entrants who, in 500 words or less, exhibits the “most inspirational and compelling” testament to having…
Recommended
JOHN LYDON Liberty Lunch, Wednesday 6 The Maturity of Punk? Never! Not if you’re Johnny Rotten. Presumably still rolling in all that shameless reunion lucre, plus the fat paychecks of his recent radio snide-shows, the Antichrist is alive and well with a hefty record contract with Virgin (take that, you corporate whores!). Now, he’s trying…
The Tick of the Clock vs. the Crack of the Bat
illustration by Jason Stout At 26, I am a grown man, with mature sinterests in many respects, but to this day I cannot pass a stray baseball without picking it up. I count myself a lucky fellow indeed when I spy an abandoned hardball, however torn or soiled, in an out-of-the-way patch of weeds. I…
About AIDS
Ten Years and Counting: Volunteers Are Still ASA’s Backbone AIDS Services of Austin was founded 10 years ago by volunteers. Much has changed since then, but one thing has remained constant: ASA uses volunteers — lots and lots of volunteers — to perform its demanding mission because in Texas AIDS has always been short-funded. And…
Record Reviews
THE SEA AND CAKE The Fawn (Thrill Jockey) From an aptly named Windy City quartet, The Fawn enjoys its place as the soundtrack to an as-yet-unmade film where Barry Manilow straddles a gargantuan tortoise and runs roughshod over a throng of unsuspecting Lake Michigan beach-goers on a crisp spring day. It may sound ho-hum, but…
Austin Aqua Festival ’97
Doodle Bug the Clown loves me. I have the sticker to prove it. I stood in line just like the rest of the kids to get it. “You turned into a big 3-year-old, didn’t you?” she asked. Well, as a matter of fact… I nearly stepped on a few during this year’s Aqua Fest, not…
Geometry & Bats
Dear Suzy, Our house is finally beginning to coalesce from the various piles of lumber and whatnot. However, there’s a bunch of small triangular bits left over. I was wondering if you know how to build a bat house from scratch. We have mosquitoes aplenty so it could be pretty good-sized. — Andy Dear Andy,…
Road Kill
The Geraldine Fibbers Electric Lounge, Thursday, August 7 Women in rock. The phrase used to mean Pat Benatar, Belinda Carlisle, and Chrissie Hynde. Now it means Sheryl Crow, Gwen Stefani, and, uh, Chrissie Hynde. Alright, not everything has changed, but hey, women in rock have proliferated. For Carla Bozulich, singer and primary songwriter for L.A.’s…
Benefits
The Chronicle benefits database extends a year or more into the future. Call Julie Weaver, 454-5766, to list your event. Deadline: Friday, 5pm, one week previous to the issue. SAT 2 All-Austin Open 9-Ball Pool Tournament will be held through Sun, Aug 3 to benefit the TX Alliance for Human Needs, at nine Austin pool…
Road Shows
AUGUST FRI 1 King’s X, Back Room FRI 1 Jack Ingram, Emilio, Auditorium Shores FRI 1 Old 97’s, Blue Mountain, Liberty Lunch FRI 1 Earl King, Antone’s FRI 1 Assorted Jellybeans, Against Authority, Falling Sickness, Fruity, Emo’s FRI 1 Tristan Palma, Flamingo Cantina FRI 1 Ezra Charles & the Works, Top of the Marc SAT…
Coach’s Corner
All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn’t put poor Humpty back together again.” — Children’s Rhyme On a muggy, rainy day, gazing out over the Atlantic Ocean, I find myself, not for the first time, wistfully wishing for an earlier, less complicated time. I’m reflecting on the radical realignment being proposed for…
AISD Gets Wired
When Anne Verburg, a second grade teacher at Hill Elementary, got the chance last year to be one of 125 teacher-members of the Austin Independent School District’s (AISD) District Technology Leadership Team, there was just one small hitch. AISD doesn’t have a computer network in place, nor a districtwide Internet connection. So, like so many…
