Cover Story
Cooperative Play
Richard Garriott and his team at NCsoft unveil their new online game
The PLUS ONEs to Dinah Lakeshore Have Been Plussed
The deadline for the last 2 Dinah tickets LOOMS!
TCU: Regular or Extra Christiany?
Remember when Kentucky Fried Chicken was Kentucky Fried Chicken? Back before it hid the grease in the moniker KFC? Same apparently goes for TCU football. The TCU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics informs us they would prefer all sports stories stick with TCU. Subsequent references are suggested as Horned Frogs or simply Frogs. Ribbit. The official…
Silver Anniversary
Silver Apples stop in Austin.
Everyone’s a Winner: Super Nova!
Gay Place prize winner Nova takes it all.
By the Way …
If you hadn’t noticed, David Beckham’s American Adventure is now over for 2007. And the L.A. Galaxy are now officially the very worst team in Major League Soccer.
Off to the Races
“My bags are packed, I’m ready to go.” Whoa – wrong song. That’s not me. No matter how much I hum the tune, it does no good. I’m running around like an ADD nutjob trying to get everything done in order to head out of town to the Toronto International Film Festival. There are so…
Women’s World Cup, Euro Qualifying, and More
The Women’s World Cup kicks off this Monday in China with a 7am game between Argentina and Germany. The top-ranked U.S. Women open play the following morning, 4am Tuesday, Sept. 10, against North Korea. The U.S. also plays Sweden, Friday, Sept. 14, 4am, and Nigeria, Tue., Sept. 18, 7am. Every game in the tournament will…
Clear?
Perry and Dewhurst ceremonially sign the “defibrillators in school” bill: but what will it really do?
Texas Constitution Gets Polished Up
Get your best voting pens ready: 16 constitutional amendments head to the ballot this November.
Brother, Can You Spare a Council?
Controversial proposal expanding anti-panhandling laws dropped.
Victim
Victim 1961, NR, 98 min. Directed by Basil Dearden, Starring Dirk Bogarde, Sylvia Syms, Dennis Price, Nigel Stock. Ahead of its time, this British film attacks the persecution of homosexuals at a time when sodomy was still an imprisonable offense. Bogarde plays a married lawyer who is caught up in a web of blackmail when…
World Track & Field Championships Wrap-up
Sanya Richards finally gets her gold.
Win a Date With K8 &/or Kate: Come Be Our VIP Guest!
Missed buying your Dinah Lakeshore ticket? Maybe Kate or K8 will take you as their guests!
Fighting the Drug War One Urine Sample at a Time
Texas school districts will get a total of just more than $618,000 from the U.S. Dept. of Education to establish andom student drug testing programs
Be an Ally; Be a Friend
GLAAD releases sassy new PSAs, and we are squirming in our seats. In a good way.
Saturday Night Legends
Classic soul at the Continental; rock homage at the Saxon.
A Smoke Shop Queer
A day in the life of Getty, the smoke shop fop.
Imposters Take Toll On Me and Mack Brown
You’ll recognize me at Mack Brown’s Monday morning press conference as the reporter sucking on his green pen trying to bring it back to life. Brown’s catchphrase for the week is “imposter,” and I sure felt like one as I wandered among the media regulars at Bellmont Hall. Imposters, Brown explained, are those monster plays…
NFL Preview
Playing the psychic game is rather difficult, just ask the singing psychic of Texas, Fran Baskerville, who obtained her future-seeing powers when she was struck by a lumber truck after a visit to the beauty parlor. Now, Fran forecasts what’s to come only with the gift of song and about three chords she’s learned on…
UT/Arkansas State Preview
Sure, Texas will buzz saw Arkansas State this weekend. No doubt about it. The game is designed as a warm-up to the tougher road ahead. But don’t forget that these gimme games aren’t always easy. Let’s go back to 1976, the year it all changed. Darrell Royal had two national championships under his belt and…
Snow Goes
Another White House exit: Snow out, Perino moves up.
Richards comes up short in Osaka
Ex-Longhorn 400 meter specialist less successful at half the distance.
Cardiovascular Blues II
“I need to shave you,” he nodded, holding up a razor. No kidding. A thick blanket across my chest and another across the shins left me a little… exposed through the middle. He looked down at me. I looked up at him. A woman in scrubs who seemed to have no purpose in this particular…
Babble For Your Soul
Babble for Your Soul is a rare opportunity to see live theatre with very minimal commitment and the pleasure of being entertained, engaged, perhaps edified
Texas Platters
White Denim Let’s Talk About It White Denim, Austin’s most blogged about band since Voxtrot, began as a studio project, which explains why the trio’s debut EP spins a cathartic junk pile of rhythms and sounds, each layer turning up gold on repeat listens. Issued on red-and-white vinyl and stamped with a smile that splits…
Off the Record
Music for films The instrumental soundscapes composed by Bexar Bexar are one of Austin’s best kept secrets. Last year’s Tropism beautifully enveloped hushed acoustic guitars and shimmering feedback with Alvin Lucier-inspired natural resonance, creating a gentle hum of magnetic pulses. The album was distributed overseas by Own Records, coinciding with a European tour, while Bexar’s…
Are We Masters of Our Domain?
Critics are concerned that rather than boosting local shops, a subsidy deal struck by City Council with developers of the Domain is dropping cash into an already successful project, filled with high-end stores
Radical Nautical
‘Radical Nautical,’ maybe the most jam-packed show in Gallery Lombardi history, is a quirky, energetic celebration of water
Texas Platters
UGK Underground Kingz (Jive/Zomba) The name’s only half-right. Yes, Bun B and Pimp C reign supreme as the kings of Texas hip-hop, having held the throne for a solid 15 years, but at this point, the concept of UGK being underground is simply far-fetched. This isn’t Aesop Rock. This isn’t Nobi or Pharoahe Monch. This…
Off the Record
Vote or Die Nominations for the Austin Music Memorial, which aims to honor deceased musical pioneers, are being accepted until Friday. The inaugural inductees will be unveiled in March along with the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts. Complete eligibility requirements and nomination instructions are available at www.ci.austin.tx.us/music/memorial.htm. Friday is…
Landfill Expansion Trashed … for Now
Opponents of revised contract between Williamson County and Hutto landfill operator Waste Management Industries celebrate county commissioners� decision to postpone voting on contentious new deal
War
Jet Li and Jason Statham spar and provoke all-out war among the Asian mobs.
Readings
We Texans tend to believe that everything about us is special. When it comes to our criminals, we don’t have to get too subjective to substantiate that belief.
Texas Platters
Omar Kent Dykes & Jimmie Vaughan On the Jimmy Reed Highway (Ruf) In the blues world, Jimmy Reed (1925-1976) is the Big Boss Man. His instantly recognizable, easy rollin’, loping beat has long been a signature sound of the music. That unmistakable, caressing groove suffuses this bright lights tribute by an all-star cast of Austin…
Off the Record
Are You Experienced? The question posed by Jimi Hendrix’s earth-shattering debut defined a generation, and Saturday at Ruta Maya’s 10-hour 1967 Hoot Night Happening, a handful of Austin’s finest answered it with resolve. Tia Carrera ace Jason Morales all but doused his Gibson SG with lighter fluid, riffing on Cream and Hendrix as the Dixie…
Cool City: The Leffingwell Lens
It’s been six months now since the City Council unanimously adopted the Austin Climate Protection Plan. Conceptually, it’s perhaps the most aggressive and well-rounded local program to fight global warming in the U.S. The plan’s initial focus is to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from within – meaning all city facilities, vehicles, and operations. Goal: Transform the…
Illegal Tender
A throwback to the Eighties crime dramas and Seventies blacksploitation films, this Latino action thriller about family ties and blood feuds rarely transcends clichés.
Readings
The second book starring Barcelona Police Inspector Petra Delicado
Texas Platters
Ian Moore To Be Loved (Justice) Anyone expecting Ian Moore to whip out his guitar for a display of masterful six-string pyrotechnics on To Be Loved will be disappointed. His move to Seattle 10 years ago was liberation from the Texas guitar-slinger label mantled on his shoulders as a local youngster, a formidable honor but…
Off the Record
Mind Your Manners Taking the ones and twos to the second power, Austin’s Table Manners Crew have earned national notoriety for their four-turntable technique. “It really opens up a lot of possibilities in terms of making remixes on the fly and incorporating more tricks,” says TMC’s Nerdy Harry. The DJ coalition’s success, though, has more…
Austin Climate Protection Plan
The five components of the city’s plan to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions: Municipal Plan By 2020: All municipal functions to become 100% carbon-neutral New ACPP staff positions in 2007-08 city budget; jobs to be posted soon. City department plans to be unveiled at next quarterly directors’ retreat, possibly in October. Green fleet policy being developed; limited…
September Dawn
This movie about the Mountain Meadows Massacre of Sept. 11, 1857, during which local Mormons murdered 120 members of a wagon train heading West, reeks of ulterior motives.
Letters @ 3AM
The current economic crisis is real, probably systemic, and maybe dire
Texas Platters
John Schooley & His One Man Band One Man Against the World (Voodoo Rhythm) John Schooley’s a travelin’ man. On the cover of his second LP for Swiss garage label Voodoo Rhythm, we find the local one-man band wielding a machete, guitar safely at his shoulder, collaged next to the Eiffel Tower and the pyramids.…
Off the Record
Radio Edit Tired of hearing the same Clear Channel playlists at work? Slacker.com, founded by Austinite Celite Milbrandt, combines characteristics of the iPod shuffle and satellite radio, allowing users to create personalized and sharable stations by selecting artists ranging from Stevie Ray Vaughan and Willie Nelson to Scratch Acid and Shearwater to play at random…
Naked City
Quote of the Week “It is through [the Department of Justice’s] continued work that our country and our communities remain safe, that the rights and civil liberties of our citizens are protected, and the hopes and dreams of all of our children are secured.” – From the Aug. 27 resignation statement of U.S. Attorney General…
Balls of Fury
Goofy pingpong comedy gets by on the amiable nerd panache of chunky lead Dan Fogler.
After a Fashion
Stephen is too early to know about Norah and too late to pay tribute
The Hightower Report
Rebuild the Middle Class; and Life in Iraq
Off the Record
Random Play • Auditions for ME Television’s The Next Veejay competition begin tonight (Thursday) at Midnight Rodeo. • Xemumba, un festival de musica Latina, spices things up Saturday at the Compound (1300 E. Fourth). Guacanayabo, Mariachi Revolución, and Ritmo 3 kick-start the festivities with more traditional flavor, followed by the pulsing rhythms of Austin Samba…
Saving Lady Bird Lake
City’s Parks and Rec Board votes to uphold protections against high-rise development too close to lake’s shores
The Boss of It All
Lars von Trier assures us at the outset that this will be a “cozy comedy,” the last thing you might expect from this prickly filmmaker. (AFS@Dobie)
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Drinking under the influence of no sleep, Schulz on skates, and busty suicidal women
Angels in South America
Round Rock-based Bolivian missionary project in crisis
OoBer Alles
A guide to the troupes in the 2007 Out of Bounds Improv Festival
Officer Fired for Unjustified Use of Deadly Force
Officer Wayne Williamson indefinately suspended for firing his gun several times into a crowded parking lot at a fleeing suspect
Self-Medicated
It contains some freshman mistakes, but this microindie has such dramatic momentum, such a need to tell its story, that it’s well worth a look.
The Common Law
My roommate moved out – Do I have to pay the entire rent myself?
Angels on a Mission
The Project Angels of Hope stands near the town of Villa Tunari, in the southern area of the Chapare region of Bolivia. It is a region synonymous with high infant mortality and low education and prospects, and it has been ripped apart by the combination of cocaine production (and its suppression by U.S.-backed eradication programs)…
Was Laura Hall a Murder Accomplice?
Trial of Laura Hall, accused of tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension of Colton Pitonyak in connection with the August 2005 murder of 21-year-old Jennifer Cave, began Aug. 28
No End in Sight
If you’re growing as weary of Iraq war documentaries as you are of the war itself, then this sobering, information-filled study of the war’s origins is the film for you.
Food-o-File
Another Austinite takes first at the Texas Sommelier Conference; plus, how about Italian tonight?
The Austin Premiere of Short Film Works by William Wegman
Sept. 6 event at the Design Center benefits EmanciPet
Tabula Rasa
Beta-Test review
Happenings
Aug. 30-Sept. 6
Black Sheep
It’s smart; it’s silly; it’s shear terror, as the ruminants develop a taste for human flesh.
De-Spurring the Moment
The making of the 2007 Out of Bounds Improv Festival
Wine of the Week
Summer Rosés
Cinematexas Heads for That Big Screening in the Sky…
But festival season soldiers on
No Noobs
Why the Austin Game Developers Conference Isn’t for Gamers
Fight for ‘Morning After’ Pill Access Continues
One year after approval for sale over-the-counter, some pharmacies still don’t stock emergency contraception
Ladrón Que Roba a Ladrón
This Spanish-language caper film, made in Los Angeles, offers grand entertainment and sociological import.
Out of Bounds: The lineup
The sixth annual Out of Bounds Improv Festival runs Aug. 28-Sept. 3, Tuesday-Monday, at the Hideout Theatre, 617 Congress, except as otherwise specified. Tickets are $10 per show block Wednesday-Saturday, $15 for Sunday’s show, and $5 for Monday’s show. A festival pass good for admission to all shows is $70. For more information, visit www.outofboundsimprov.com.…
Event Menu
Aug. 31-Sept. 6
AFS Essential’s Blokes ‘n’ Birds: British Realist Cinema
Sept. 4-Oct. 9
Game Review: BioShock
Bioshock $59.99 2K Games At a time when most games are sequels or incremental improvements (Final Fantasy or Madden, anyone?), Irrational Games’ BioShock is a uniquely original and wonderful experience. While still a first-person shooter at its core, this game puts more intrigue, ambience, and depth on the small screen than many recent Hollywood blockbusters…
New Driving Dos and Don’ts
A slew of fresh laws for drivers kick in Sept. 1
Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag
This new release is a remake of the popular Bollywood film Sholay.
Long Center: Countdown to opening and beyond
Summer at the Long Center meant lots of construction activity and two hefty contributions from the corporate community
Among the Smoldering Embers
The 17th annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival: Contest results
TV Eye
Baffled Intrigue
Oops!
Our latest batch
Immigration Reform: Cornyn’s Current Take
Texas’ junior U.S. senator wasn’t shying away from the issue at last Tuesday’s Rotary Club of Austin meeting
Going Over the Top and Other Outrageous Behaviors: Being melodramatic – on purpose
Karen Hastings, a specialist in melodrama and vaudeville, is offering locals a master class in acting the old-fashioned way
Central Market’s No Holds Barred Hatch Chile Pepper Recipe Contest Winners
The folks at Central Market augmented their annual celebration of fresh green chiles from New Mexico’s Hatch Valley with a free-for-all recipe contest this year. All of the recipes entered in the contest statewide will be presented in an unedited and untested cookbook that will be on sale in Central Markets sometime this fall, and…
Hey, Hey, Hey!
No. 2 hit from 1965, ‘Treat Her Right,’ by Roy Head & Gene Kurtz: ‘Just one of them songs that hangs around”
Soccer Watch
Lady Longhorns open their season this Friday, and more
Calculating That CO2 Footprint
Carbon-offset nonprofit TreeFolks answers call for more transparency through ‘local’ investment options
Rude Mechs: How great it was, how great
The Rude Mechs’ Bush-whacking version of Get Your War On nets raves and a festival prize at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe
A Culinary Passport to Asia
Asia Food Fest 2007
Roy Head
I Wanna Tell You a Story
Day Trips
Honky-tonking with history at the White Elephant Saloon in Fort Worth
Rove: The History Campaign
Turd Blossom to bloom anew in Hill Country
Conspirare: My favorite year
In a banner year, Conspirare signs with the prestigious Harmonia Mundi label and plans a powerful Long Center debut with the Verdi Requiem
Texas Platters
Car Stereo (Wars) The Bandit (Artifact Workshop) Beauty Bar mash-up master Car Stereo (Wars), aka Christopher Rose, debuts a disclong bout of sample-and-loop-happy hip-pop schizophrenia, the stuttery, mix-‘n’-match sound of dance-floor chaos chopped and dropped and revving like a ’77 Pontiac Firebird jammed into permanent first gear. Opener “Who Likes Nick McKenna?” segues from Lil…
Gene Kurtz
The Bottom Line
Beside the Point: An Open Letter to Rich Oppel
Sometimes it’s hard not to agree with Rich Oppel
City Council Notebook
What’s on City Council’s agenda?
The Dragonfly Princess
Despite its fairy-tale trappings, ethos’ opera The Dragonfly Princess takes us down a dark path of intrigues, heresy, power struggles, and death
Texas Platters
Jazz Mavericks of the Lone Star State By Dave Oliphant University of Texas Press,242 pp., $22.95 There’s no denying Texas jazz musicians have played an enormous role in the genre’s innovations and development. No one has more thoroughly documented and enthusiastically championed this than retired UT lecturer Dave Oliphant. Like his previous book, 1996’s Texan…
Off the Record
Inside Western Vinyl’s ambience, talking Prince and side projects with Grupo Fantasma’s Adrian Quesada, Table Manners Crew operate on all fours, and a 1967 Hoot Night Happening
Reefer Madness
Q & A with Rob Kampia, co-founder of the Marijuana Policy Project
Look Who’s Talking About the Budget
Council focuses on utilities slice of budget pie
Luv Doc Recommends: Rock and Roll Karaoke with Nathan Black
This week, Sunday night is Saturday night, so you’ll need to shift your normal Monday hangover to Tuesday. Don’t try to check the math with your Gilbert Grape finger abacus, just tap it into your BlackBerry and call it a day: Monday 8am-5pm – wicked-ass hangover. If you popped for an iPhone, don’t bother entering…
17th Annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival Contest Winners
Individual Category Red Sauce 1st Place: Logan Kunitz 2nd Place: Paul Peterson (Alpine, TX) 3rd Place: Jaime Simon (Pflugerville) Green Sauce 1st Place: Ted Valmassei (Round Rock) 2nd Place: Arty Passes 3rd Place: Barry Hoelscher Special Variety 1st Place: John W. Purser (Round Rock) 2nd Place: Kevar Hedtke 3rd Place: Jason & Angie Volk Pico…
