Cover Story
A Diva’s Best Friend
Stuart Moulton knows what becomes a legend most. Just ask Carol or Charo or Eartha or Elaine …
18th Annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival Contest Winners
Individual Category Red Sauce 1st Place: Thomas Frist 2nd Place: Kim Johnson 3rd Place: John Cunningham Green Sauce 1st Place: Marti Cardenas 2nd Place: Alex Olmos 3rd Place: Christina Stolte Special Variety 1st Place: Jill Lewis 2nd Place: Mattie & Russell Lewis 3rd Place: Robert Mayberry Restaurant Category Red Sauce 1st Place: Sazón 2nd Place:…
Thatcher Mark II
How making Sarah Palin the new Iron Lady makes sense but defies centrism.
Attaboy, John …
Keep beating up on public schools!
Message to Code Pink and Other Protesters Inside the Convention:
You’re not helping.
Grahams and Lemonade
Jon Dee Graham’s sweet benefit
Katy Perry Is Probably Going to Hell
Church posts message to scare teens into homophobia.
Here Comes Sickness
Mudhoney guitarist Mark Arm comes clean
How to Get an Indie Film Seen
Carnivalesque Films rethinks the traditional distribution model
The Office‘s Greg Daniels to be honored at Austin Film Festival
Greg Daniels to be Honored at Austin Film Festival
Hand Jive
Would the accused face felony charges if the subject of his pass was a female?
14 Deadly Secrets
The stories behind hip-hop classics
Um … WHO Said That?
GOP is chasing sexist ghosts
Conservatives Love Palin on Camera, Loathe Her Off
McCain’s former campaign chief and a former Reagan speechwriter caught on tape dissing the VP pick
Delirious and Daffney to Dove Springs
Anarchy Championship Wrestling returns with nine-match card this weekend
Horns Crack Top 10; Klaus Paces St. Ed’s; USA in Cuba
Soccer news from Austin and afar
Vote Jeff! Vote Owen! Vote for True Americans!
OK, here’s the deal: In June Austin filmmaker Jeff Guerrero received $10,000 from a short film contest to use in making another short for the final round of competition. Now he’s one of 15 finalists competing for a $100,000 grand prize. His short “The Dreamer” features local wag (and Austin Chronicle designated “best writer in…
Laters, Las Manitas
Storied Downtown restaurant “closed forever” – that’s the way the taco crumbles.
CAMPO Needs You!
Local planning body looking for input from “Environmental Justice Populations.”
Gay-bee Elephant Walk
The Log Cabin gets all Don Quixote at the RNC.
Still Up the Junction
Q&A with Chris Difford of Squeeze
Please Vote for Me
Please Vote for Me 2007, NR, 58 min. Directed by Weijun Chen. An experiment in democracy occurs in a 3rd-grade classroom in China. Candidates compete to get elected the class monitor, and just watch the cookie bribes begin. A virtual Q&A by producer Don Edkins (South Africa) will follow the screening. See p. XX of…
aGLIFF Kicks Off Tonight!
Tonight’s party is the official kick-off for the Austin Gay Lesbian International Film Festival.
Syllabi-Sexual
Who are your BQOCs (Big Queers on Campus)?
Keeping It Kuti
Fela’s son Seun carries the flame
Entergy Case Gets Rehearing
Much-criticized state Supreme Court ruling to be reconsidered.
Mommy Talk
Mary K. Moore talks about what to expect when it’s unexpected
Burn Up That Quarter Mile
Jan & Dean mark the endless summer with a new compilation
Palin and the Pledge
Old answers raise new questions about Palin’s political education.
Dhaam Dhoom
Dhaam Dhoom 2008, NR, 150 min. Directed by Jeevaa, P.C. Sriram, Aneez Jeevaa, Manikandan, Starring Jayam Ravi, Kangna Ranaut, Lakshmi Rai, Jayaram. Director Jeevaa died midway through production on this Tamil action and romance film, which was completed by his assistant, widow, and guru.
Gustav Cannot Become a Photo Op
Why the incoming hurricane doesn’t change anything about the administration.
Austin Responds to Gustav
Gustav is still miles from the coast, but Austin’s relief efforts are already kicking in.
Ruminations on a Sleepless Night or How the ‘New’ Longhorns Look so Very Familiar
Joe O’Connell on the newest version of the UT football squad
Palin’s Problems
McCain veep pick comes with baggage and criticism from fellow Alaskan GOPers.
Standing in a Hurricane
Just a little late for the Katrina anniversary, Gustav barrels in toward New Orleans, and Austin girds for relief efforts.
Good Reasons for Taking the Bus
Extensive street closures downtown this weekend for multiple events
TXRG Tryouts Monday
Women’s flat track derby postseason has booze, bouts, and travel plans
What Do Obama and Palin Have in Common?
Believe it or not, Obama and Palin are both former tokers
Carnal Knowledge of the Veep?
McCain selects Alaska governor as running mate.
What’s So Funny ‘Bout Punk, Love, and Understanding?
‘Pansy Division: Life in a Gay Rock Band’
aGLIFF Reviews
Eleven Minutes Documentary Feature D: Rob Tate and Michael Selditch. Oh, Jay, baby, we’ve missed you. Season five of Project Runway – Bravo’s genre-defining reality show that pits aspiring fashion designers against one another – has thus far been a lackluster one, full of wrongheaded cuts and personality-deficient contestants. That’s why it’s such a welcome…
Playing Through
John Razook on preseason football, the curse of Barry Switzer, and the Texans’ poor choice of a moniker
AE Defends Biomass Plant
Biomass likely to go forward despite some public opposition
Live Shots
My Morning Jacket Stubb’s, Aug. 24 Fans and critics alike split on My Morning Jacket’s latest, Evil Urges, mostly due to a couple of Prince-like funk rips that take the Kentucky crew in an unexpected direction. Live, the quintet’s always been another animal, and its sprawling, almost three-hour performance at a sold-out Stubb’s demonstrated why…
aGLIFF Reviews
Like a Virgin Narrative Feature D: Lee Hae-joon and Lee Hae-yeong; with Ryu Deok-hwan, Baek Yoon-sik, Lee Sang-ah, Kim Yoon-seok. An unassuming comedy, Like a Virgin braves difficult themes without a didactic undertone. The film opens with a scene from the protagonist’s childhood as he applies a fresh coat of lipstick across his mouth (as…
Elaine Everlasting
There’s no stopping the indefatigable Ms. Stritch, and why would you want to?
Doherty Polishes Energy Credentials
When it comes to oil, Doherty knows the drill
A Life and Love in the Arts
‘Chris & Don: A Love Story’
Arts Review
Aggressive Muse’s adaptation of Ondine is long, bloated, and lacking in precision
Off the Record
Paying tribute to the Mayor of South Austin, the Boxing Lesson takes one on the chin, and a historic occasion for the Continental Club
City Hall Firestorm: Still Burning?
Minority contracting could be the meat of dispute between city manager and Hispanic leaders
Phases and Stages
The Verve Forth (On Your Own) Nine years have passed since the bittersweet symphonics of Manchester’s Verve came to a crashing, boring end, thanks in large part to guitarist Nick McCabe’s ongoing feud with frontman Richard Ashcroft, whose splendid, soaring pipes were all too often eclipsed by his equally untethered ego. With more than a…
aGLIFF Reviews
Otto, Or, Up With Dead People Narrative Feature D: Bruce LaBruce; with Jey Crisfar, Katharina Klewinghaus. Zombies: They may be legion, but they’re sure not happy about it. LaBruce, never one to eschew the Grand Guignol (or le petite mort, for that matter), takes one to the head and offers up the most provocative (and…
‘Budge It!’
Roll the dice, and take a spin through the city’s fiscal future
Naishtat Challenger Pulls Out
Given the long odds of a GOP victory in HD 49, Republicans don’t bother finding a replacement candidate
Phases and Stages
Sigur Rós Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust (EMI) “With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly” is the English translation titling Sigur Rós’ fifth studio album, the Icelandic quartet’s most exultant work to date. The first half speeds through spring and summer, kicking off with the Edenic “Gobbledigook,” which boasts a pulsing…
aGLIFF Reviews
Were the World Mine Narrative Feature/Closing Night Film D: Tom Gustafson; with Tanner Cohen, Wendy Robie, Judy McLane, Zelda Williams, Jill Larson. The well-meaning English teacher Ms. Tebbit (Robie) encourages her students to try out for the school’s staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, saying, “Awaken and empower what’s within.” Leading man Cohen’s Timothy responds,…
Page Two: The Art of Surprise
S.R. Bindler’s Surfer, Dude continually pulls off the unexpected
Bus Drivers Back at the Table
No one’s headed to the picket lines yet, as Cap Metro negotiators have agreed to return to negotiations with the bus drivers’ union
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Booze for voters, reduction in semicolon usage, and more
Phases and Stages
Lykke Li Youth Novels (LL Recordings) Lykke Li left South by Southwest 08 in a trail of “awww.” The 22-year-old Swedish singer, already a hit in her homeland, deserves a closer reading on debut LP Youth Novels. It opens with “Melodies & Desires,” glacial synth chiming as she instructs, “You’ll be the rhythm, and I’ll…
Arts Review
Meditate on this: a Zen garden made of perfectly smooth, shiny plastic
Family Court Feud: Public Defenders for CPS Cases?
Two civil court judges hope to ensure better legal representation for indigent families
Food-o-File
The posh, new mulberry opens in the 360 Condos while other Austin favorites get face-lifts
Phases and Stages
Julieta Venegas MTV Unplugged (Norte) Not only did Tijuana mama Julieta Venegas follow up her commercial nuptials with a Tequila-soaked luna de miel (honeymoon) – 2003’s Sí and 2006’s Limón y Sal respectively – but last year’s victory lap on MTV Unplugged shed any and all remaining inhibitions. Venegas’ big-band accompaniment for the Mexican sister…
Headlines
• Can’t we all just get along? Ten prominent Hispanic citizens made their displeasure with City Manager Marc Ott public last week, inspiring much hand-wringing, hemming, hawing, and odes to “diversity”; see “City Hall Hustle,” and “City Hall Firestorm.” • After a logjam of a meeting last week, City Council is backed up again this…
Naked City
News briefs from Austin, the region, and elsewhere
The Hightower Report
Newsvertisements; and Mighty Monsanto Gives Up
Letters at 3AM
Russia has gone from a crippled to a powerful nation, using the model of what might be called “national capitalism”
‘A Bronx Tale’
Chazz Palminteri revives the show that made his name as a one-man stage drama
City Hall Hustle: Everybody Now – Diversity is Good
What if they threw a race riot and nobody came?
After a Fashion
Stephen goes to San Francisco, hunting for Trannyshack and rolling papers
Book Review
Run, Haruki, run, you skinny Howard Roark!
Paula Poundstone
The comedian sticks it to staged politics and fears for a news anchor’s health
Point Austin: Denver Stakes
What Obama signifies for the rest of us
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
Fashion photographer Steven Sebring made this impressionistic documentary over the course of 12 years with Smith’s full participation.
The High Cost of Rocking
Braving bullets in Heavy Metal in Baghdad
Let There Be Rock
AC / DC’s first gig on American soil? Austin’s Armadillo World Headquarters!
Hot!
Winners of the 18th annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Contest
Res Publica
This week’s civic agenda, Aug. 28-Sept. 4
The House Bunny
A Playboy bunny who’s been ejected from the mansion becomes a sorority house mother.
Night, Termite
Manny Farber, defender of cinephila against the cinephiles
The Common Law
Back to School – Can My 15-Year-Old Still Work?
Scheming Beagle Port 2004
Stone House Vineyard produces Scheming Beagle, a Texas Port that stands above the rest
Yogurt Shop DNA Remains a Mystery
After four months of searching, a match still has not been found for the DNA that defense attorneys hope will exonerate their clients
Traitor
This Don Cheadle movie is a rare Hollywood creature: an action picture with ambiguity, a blockbuster with more questions than answers, a shoot-’em-up thriller with a sense of moral and geopolitical ambivalence.
2008 Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund Recipients
Where $103,500 in cash, services, and stock went
Event Menu
Local food events
Gay Place
Welcome Gay Place’s guest blogger, Steve Rivas
Smith Takes ‘TM’ Helm
Monthly presses on in wake of layoffs, shrinking budget
Rock On!!
New Bollywood film tells the story of four friends from an unsuccessful rock band who reunite years later.
A Festival in Transition
Twenty-one years on, aGLIFF reinvents itself
In Memoriam
Austin mourns the loss of a percussionist, restaurateur, and friend
La La Love You
Alex Holdridge does the impossible and makes Los Angeles impossibly romantic in ‘In Search of a Midnight Kiss’
More Heads Roll at KEYE
Weatherman Byron Webre among the latest cuts
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
In Alex Holdridge’s lovely new film, two twentysomething Los Angelenos wander the streets together on New Year’s Eve, walking and talking amid the stunning black-and-white cinematography.
aGLIFF Reviews
Before I Forget Narrative Feature D: Jacques Nolot; with Nolot, Jean-Pol Dubois, Marc Rioufol, Bastien d’Asnières. Life is winding down for Pierre, a gay French hustler who is 60-ish and HIV-positive. This remarkable film, in which Nolot stars as well as having written and directed, is a sharp-eyed look at aging that cuts across the boundaries…
A Little ‘Midnight’ Music
Will Sheff and Alex Holdridge’s mutual appreciation
AISD Takes a Tax Bite to Voters
School board hammers out a budget
Mamma Mia! Sing-Along
Karaoke for dancing queens everywhere.
Welcome to the Neighborhood: PJ Raval Heads to Trinidad
Life in the sex change capital of the world
aGLIFF Reviews
Drifting Flowers Narrative Feature D: Zero Chou; with Serena Fang, Pai Chih-ying, Chao Yi-lan, Lu Yi-ching, Sam Wang. “Love is love” is the recurring message in this delicately rendered triptych by Taiwanese filmmaker Chou. Drifting Flowers moves beyond the hearts and flowers rendition of love that is common in this part of the world to…
TV Eye
Making sense of the situation at ME TV
Corte Courts Controversy Over Residence
San Antonio House rep lists vacant lot as his home address
Transsiberian
With Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer, and Ben Kingsley, this train-set suspense movie also is full of sharp character studies.
Live Shots
Nas Emo’s, Aug. 24 Rap royalty owns the method. Three songs into both of Nas’ Sunday night sets, the Queensbridge prophet popped Austin with one sublime request: “Can y’all go back in the day with me?” “N.Y. State of Mind,” Illmatic immortality heading a string of roof rockers from his seminal 1994 debut – “It…
Arts Review
Zell Miller III’s hip-hop opera is fascinating when it isn’t flying by so quickly
Day Trips
Hostyn might be the most interesting place in Texas that you have never heard of
Complaint Filed in HD 52 Race
Round Rock chamber’s charity foundation offices serve as Daniel’s campaign headquarters
Beyond the Hall, Y’all – Breaking With Convention
The Hustle leaves City Hall to take in an Obama watch party, gabbing with state reps Eddie Rodriguez, Elliott Naishtat, and other Barack boosters.
Luv Doc Recommends: Wild Weekend Power Pop Festival
If you read this paper, chances are you’re not engaged in real labor – at least not on a daily basis. Good for you. Sure, you may occasionally spend an hour behind a push mower or a weekend helping your buddy move out of his ex-girlfriend’s apartment. You might even spend 36 hours of horrible,…
