Madadayo
Madadayo 1993, NR, 134 min. Directed by Akira Kurosawa, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Akira Terao, Masayuki Yui, George Tokoro, Hisashi Igawa, Kyoko Kagawa, Tatsuo Matsumura. Kurosawa’s 30th and last film is Madadayo, which translates as “not yet.” Regarded as one of his most personal films, Kurosawa uses incidents in the life of…
Flowers of Shanghai
Flowers of Shanghai 1998, NR, 125 min. Directed by Hou Hsiou-Hsien, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Vicky Wei, Michelle Reis, Rebecca Pan, Tony Leung, Annie Shizuka Inoh, Shuan Fang, Michiko Hada, Jack Kao, Carina Lau. Hou’s latest film (and his first not to be set in Taiwan) delves into the complicated sexual politics…
Harry Knowles’ Butt-Numb-a-thon
Harry Knowles’ Butt-Numb-a-thon NR. Directed by Harry Knowles, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . Butt-Numb-A-Thon is an endurance event designed by Ain’t It Cool head geek Harry Knowles for film phreaks citywide. In order to celebrate his birthday and raise funds for the free Saturday Morning Kids Film Club, Knowles has tackled the…
Tron
Tron 1982, PG, 96 min. D: Stephen Lisberger; with Jeff Bridges. In retrospect, Tron may be the film that kicked off a generation of movies about guys getting sucked into the operational innards of powerful computers. Visually, this film is state of the art, à la 1982, and Bridges turns in some of his better…
Book Reviews
Mall by Eric BogosianSimon & Schuster, 256 pp., $23 Known for riveting monologues and plays that get inside the heads of various fringe characters — a rock & roll promoter, a drug dealer, a radio shock jock — Eric Bogosian tries out his shtick in a new genre with his first novel, Mall. In Bogosian’s…
Food-o-File
Virginia B. Wood recounts just how busy the fall has been: births, new books, graduations, and prizes.
Turning Points
September 1988: Freeport-McMoRan purchases 2,200 acres of the Barnes-Connally development, the Estates of Barton Creek, which include the Barton Creek Country Club and an 18-hole golf course. Freeport buys the property for $60 million from Community Federal S&L of St. Louis. December 1988: Freeport-McMoRan sells the country club to Robert H. Dedman and his Club…
Book Reviews
Wages of Sin by Suzy SpencerPinnacle Books, 384 pp., $6.50 (paper) In January 1995, a charred and mutilated human body was found in a barbecue pit at Pace Bend Park, just outside of Austin. The body was so badly disfigured that those who found it doubted whether it was really ever human. The head was…
Will Travel for Food
Boston’s Austin Grill imports native Austin tastes to Northern climes. Eli Kooris reports as to whether the venture is a success.
What’s the Deal?
Under the city’s proposed settlement with Stratus Properties, the developer would agree to the following standards in building its residential and commercial developments across 4,000 acres in these Southwest Austin locations: ° Barton Creek Development Stratus would build 750 single-family homes, 1,200 apartment units, and 1.71 million square feet of commercial space across a total…
Book Reviews
Safe Delivery by Jim Sanderson University of New Mexico Press, 224 pp., $21.95 Jim Sanderson declared himself a writer of international mystery and intrigue with his first novel, El Camino del Rio, a mystery set on the border. He received the Frank Waters Prize as well as a favorable review in The New York Times.…
Ricky-Tikki-Bon-Bon!
My normally mild-mannered mother shakes her Bon-Bon with the best of ’em at the Ricky Martin concert.
The Real Deal
Proposed settlement between Stratus Properties and the City of Austin The City of Austin and Stratus Properties are discussing what development regulations should apply to several parcels of land, totaling approximately 4,000 acres, owned by Stratus in Southwest Travis County. The settlement proposal would address legal and other issues involving the Barton Creek, Lantana and…
Orfeu
Orfeu 1999, NR, 110 min. Directed by Carlos Diegues, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Stepan Nercessian, Maria Ceiça, Isabel Fillardis, Milton Gonçalves, Zezé Motta, Murilo Benício, Patrícia Franca, Toni Garrido. Director Carlos Diegues, a participant in the Brazilian Cinema Nôvo movement of the 1960s, surely had that group’s social and aesthetic vision in…
Book Reviews
The Diagnosis by Alan LightmanPantheon, 368 pp., $25 This is a novel that angles, from its first few pages, to be a contemporary horror tale — the Kafka brand of Metamorphosis, starting on a commuter train between the protagonist’s suburban Boston home and downtown Boston office. Rather than transforming into a twitching insect, everyman (or,…
A Man and a Half
Hanging with music industry legend Jerry Wexler
Mueller: The Art of the Deal
So. Let’s say you have this big chunk of land. And let’s say you’ve got big plans for it. That you’ll get to — someday. And then let’s say your neighbor has big plans for a chunk of land he owns, and you don’t like them. And he says he’ll trade you, and he’ll even…
Ran
Kurosawa uses Shakespeare’s King Lear as a template, but in Ran Lear’s three scheming daughters are sons, and the action is transposed to a mythic, dreamlike, feudal Japan. Like an adrenalized fever dream of ultimate power gone awry, Ran reveals Kurosawa’s grasp of visual splendor at its most powerful.
Off the Bookshelf
Full of Life A Biography of John Fante by Stephen Cooper North Point Press, 496 pp., $30 When Edmund Wilson wrote a famous essay about California writers in 1940, “Boys in the Back Room,” he included James Cain, William Saroyan, and John Steinbeck. He did not, however, include John Fante — an inexplicable exclusion, given…
The Night Doug Sahm Died
“It was awful, man,” recalls Ernie Durawa, who began playing with Doug Sahm in 1957 while the two were still teenagers in San Antonio and later settled onto the drum stool with the all-star Texas Tornados in ’89. “I don’t even know how I drove to the studio that night.” And yet, going to KUT…
Naked City
A recap of a conversation with the late Henry B. Gonzalez, the Bush press machine rumbles along, the press speculates on Bush’s appointments.
Second Helpings: Hometown Buffets
At long last, Greg Beets has discovered Austin eateries where gluttony need not be constrained by the wallet impact of a la carte pricing.
Off the Bookshelf
Scar Vegas And Other Stories by Tom Paine Harvest Books, 228 pp., $13 (paper) In 1999, the Village Voice named Tom Paine a “Writer on the Verge,” and his lively debut collection of stories, Scar Vegas, delivers with gusto. Paine’s characters and settings are impressively varied — from a secretary who recounts the events of…
All Blues
Q&A with the signature bluesman of the Nineties, R.L. Burnside.
Naked City
Although it’s not particularly high on the MSNBC radar, the state Senate’s pending selection of the next lieutenant governor is one of the dominoes awaiting an eventual nudge from the presidential election. If George W. Bush is indeed The One, current Lite Guv Rick Perry will move to the Governor’s Mansion, and the Senate will…
Who Wants to Be a Theatre Geek?
A quiz to find out who knows what about theatre in Austin.
Off the Bookshelf
the blood runs like a river through my dreams A Memoir by Nasdijj Houghton Mifflin, 216pp., $23 Nasdijj’s memoir embodies his belief that “Memory is not enough. One needs mythology too.” Using stark images, he writes about the fetal alcohol syndrome that has claimed the life of his son and tainted the lives of many…
Dancing About Architecture
Broken Spoke is broken into and thieves ride away with owner James White’s family heirloom: a saddle, mister.
Naked City
Hyde Park Baptist Church is back at council, this time claiming that neighbors have no right to appeal its five-story parking garage in the Hyde Park neighborhood.
What Kind of Theatre Do You Go For?
Our sassy quiz will match you up with the Austin theatre company of your dreams.
Local Bestsellers
Local bestsellers are based on recent sales at Austin bookstores selected to reflect varied reading interests.
Live Shots
John Scofield/Al Di MeolaAntone’s/One World Theatre, November 17/19 Fusion, fusion, everywhere is fusion: drums and bass, rap and metal, alt and country. Teeny and bop. Thanks to Miles Davis’ hard-wired musical genius and his landmark albums In a Silent Way (1969) and Bitches Brew (1970), the term “fusion” still best evokes the unholy bastardization of…
Naked City
Wind power is creating a huge buzz in Texas; but will the honeymoon last?
Articulations
Ballet Austin gets a new associate artistic director, and Bodycount turns 10.
Page Two
Focusing the urban growth spotlight on Stratus Properties.
Live Shots
J Mascis & the FogThe Mercury, November 21 Evolution is a slow process. After 15 years of Dinosaur Jr., J Mascis seems poised to take that logical leap into reinvention on the heels of his bright new album More Light. All it took, however, was one wailing screech of appropriate opener “What Else Is New”…
Naked City
Sterling Lands’ Eastside Action Coalition sends a letter to AISD, warning that eastside minority residents may take their children out of public schools if the schools don’t improve their record on minority student achievement.
Exhibitionism
In the Austin premiere of Santos & Santos, a contemporary drama by El Paso native Octavio Solis, Nushank Theater Collective smoothly plays out a tale of Chicano brothers coming to terms, with culture, power, and the nightmare of pursuing the American Dream.
Public Notice
Hey! It’s beginning to look a lot like over-glitzed, commercialized spending spree time of year, and oh, yeah, good will to all man and woman, man, so why don’t you get on the public service tip whilst getting yer yule on to help your brotherman, or whoever …? Okay?
Live Shots
Deke Dickerson & the Ecco-Fonics, the HollistersContinental Club, November 24 Deke Dickerson may seem like a standard-issue retro-rockabilly cat on the surface, with song titles like “Hot Rod Queen,” “Peroxide Blonde,” and “Mean Mean Son of a Gun.” In a genre that requires one hot guitar player per band as the price of admission, though,…
Naked City
This week at council: The city’s proposed agreement with Stratus comes up for discussion; the Pedestrian Plan awaits approval; and Vignette’s downtown deal is up for a vote.
Exhibitionism
The company of Different Stages’ production of Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan bring the script to life, but to in the eyes of reviewer Rob Curran, they work too hard to get a chance to enjoy it.
After a Fashion
The Mighty Mr. Moser steers you toward some fine holiday shopping and fashion events.
Live Shots
Shane MacGowan & the PopesLa Zona Rosa, November 25 Shane MacGowan sure has a funny way of saying howdy. “Hello San Francisco,” he greeted the not-quite-sold-out La Zona Rosa crowd. “I hope there’s no Mexicans or niggers out there.” If he was looking for a way to shock the assembled even more than simply showing…
The Hightower Lowdown
Corporatizing Our Public Parks; Common Sense on Drug Policy
The Full Franklin
It’s been 60 years since a biograpy of Benjamin Franklin has been written; Austin author H.W. Brands’ The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin makes up for lost time.
Mr. Smarty Pants
A sparkly grab-bag of factoids for your disseminating pleasure.
Barton Blues Again
The current debate over yet another city settlement deal with developers in the Barton Springs watershed supports Einstein’s theory that time is not an absolute concept: Depending on the observer’s perspective, time can be bent, slowed, or accelerated. The debate seems caught in a weird time warp. It seems that only yesterday, 800 citizens waited…
Short, Quirky, and Totally in Control
Chicago documentarian discusses the inspiration behind four of his most popular short films, showing at the Alamo Drafthouse as part of the Texas Documentary Tour on Wednesday, Dec. 6.
My Life With Benjamin Franklin
by Claude-Anne LopezYale University Press, 288 pp., $25 The noted Franklin scholar gets personal: In 18 essays, Lopez relates little-known episodes and facts of Franklin’s life (who’s the only founding father to be inducted into a sports hall of fame?). Using the vast Franklin archives at Yale (some 30,000 documents), Lopez has fashioned an alternately…
Day Trips
Luling’s Icehouse Pottery is a thriving center of ceramic, glass, and jewelry artisans.
Stratus Flows Downhill
A description of the Stratus Properties / City of Austin development negotiations, and the historical precedents (Freeport-McMoRan)
Short Cuts
Bad Dog Comedy Theater initiates Japanese anime midnight screenings.
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
by Joseph J. EllisKnopf, 304 pp., $26 The American Revolution was a much shakier affair — consisting of equal parts luck and chance — than we often remember it. Ellis examines the political crises of the young democracy of the 1790s (which he calls the most decisive decade of American history) by homing in on…
Coach’s Corner
Like a veteran rock & roll band, the Westlake High football team delivers the goods, week after week, show after show.
Stratus Quo?
Stratus Properties tries to shake the ghost of Jim Bob Moffett as it is acquired by Tom Hicks.
Video Reviews
Julia Roberts rises above her oppressive hype to turn in a winsome performance in this Steven Soderbergh film.
Wit and Wisdom From Poor Richard’s Almanack
by Benjamin FranklinModern Library, 108 pp., $10.95 (paper) “I firmly believe that early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man miss pretty much everything good on TV,” Dave Barry decides in his introduction to this most recent incarnation of Poor Richard’s Almanack, one-fourth of the Modern Library’s Humor & Wit series (S.J. Perelman,…
About AIDS
The continuing growth of the HIV epidemic.
Stratus Financials
Stock Exchange: Nasdaq Stock Symbol: STRS Avg. price per share: $4.56 1998 Total Revenue: $17.6m Gross Profit: $3.5m Net Income: $2.6m 1999 Total Revenue: $14.7m Gross Profit: $6.9m Net Income: $2.9m
Video Reviews
Japanese filmmaker Seijun Suzuki was fired from his film company for his off-the-wall cinematics; these two Sixties gangster movies explain why.
Postscripts
Caleb Carr, Dr. Phil and his son Jay, Neal Barrett Jr., and other assorted personages will be performing at Austin bookstores soon.
Good Impressions
Si Bon is located on South Lamar in a comfortable old home. Step through the door and you find a warm, friendly atmosphere: happy customers tended by smiling staff. A cozy bar. White tablecloths, a comfy fireplace and lip-smacking aromas. Before you ever get to your table, Si Bon makes a good impression.
The Stratus Board of Directors
William H. “Beau” Armstrong, 36, chairman, president, CEO of Stratus Robert L. Adair III, 56, president, COO of Amresco Inc., a financial services company; chairman and CEO of Amresco Capital Trust, a real estate investment trust James C. Leslie, 43, president, COO of the Staubach Company, a commercial real estate firm Michael Madden, 50, partner…
TV Eye
Keeping one eye on television and the other on pop culture.
