Cover Story
On His Mark
Richard Linklater explores the rich contradictions of artifice and reality, theatre and film, love and desire in Me and Orson Welles
Original Santa Mail
The original old school/analog Santa Mad Lib.
Keel Repeat
Former state rep to head up Texas Facilities Commission
This Week’s Waste of Time
A little cyber self-annihilation for the holidays
Chuck Loves Tacos
Wrapping up 2009
December Madness
UT volleyball hopes to erase last year’s Final Four nightmare
McCoy Named ‘Sporting News’ College Athlete of the Year
Colt’s charmed college career continues
Hey Dude
U18 looks at the Beatles plus local clubs and bands
Nubian Queen Lola’s Wall o’ Gifts
A suggestion for your unique gift quest: This jailhouse art rocks.
Monolithic Dome Goodies
Dome you wanna give the coolest gift ever? Why not this awesome calendar? Or a big shot of shotcrete?
The Totally Awesome AusChron Newscast on the Joy of Text
Texting while driving that is, plus lots more
TapeLenders/Skivvies
Don’t get your manties in a wad. Buy some new ones as gifts instead!
New Brohemia
Would you give the shirt off your back to find the best gift? Well, that may not be necessary, now.
Election Update: 12/16/09
Battle lines drawn in State Board of Ed, HD-47 fights
PerryGate
Gov. Perry joins climate-change denial party
Austin Toros to Tip-Off at Cedar Park Center
Tickets available now
More Locals at COP15
Austinites learn from Copenhagen
AFCA Announces 2009 Awards
The Austin Film Critics Association hands ‘Hurt Locker’ top honors
Can You Dig It?!
Mondo Tees Warriors merch, perfect for stocking stuffing
Green Detectives Investigate COP15
Austinites question climate impact on developing nations
From Austin to Denmark
Questioning coverage of Copenhagen climate conference
McCracken Named Pecan Street Project Executive Director
Former council member to head smart grid group
Kinky’s Questions
Campaign consultant Colin Strother explains the Friedman Dem race switch
Exit Wounds
Remembering David Martinez, Andrea Burden, Tonky Murphey, and Rhett Beard
UT to Play First Basketball Game in Cowboys Stadium
Against North Carolina
Dem Guv Uproar
Shami files; Gilbert vs. Kinky for Gov becomes Gilbert vs. Kinky for Ag Commish
Homemade and Horny: Just the Way We Like ’em
New Gay Placer Lola Houston celebrates the gay old season with some fab gift suggestions.
Parker for the People
Annise Parker is the new mayor of Houston!
Her Name Is Lola
New bloggerette Lola Houston has got some news for you.
Inside the Dome (Video)
Behind-the-scenes footage of what needs repairing in the Capitol
Majority Favors Marijuana
New poll shows majority of Americans in favor of legalizing pot
Capitol Investment
State Preservation Board announces months of repairs to Capitol Dome
What Else Is On?
Band lottos, benefits, and more
Eva’s Victory
East Austin grand dame Eva Lindsey is honored at the Victory Grill
Fire Contract Passes
Union membership accepts contract 4-to-1
The Lineup
Recommended music for the week of Dec. 11-17
Weekend Election Update
Filings still trickle in, but now there’s a real primary
Conspirare
Another Grammy nod for Austin’s powerhouse choral ensemble
Box Sets
Dolly Parton Dolly (RCA) Dolly might have been titled Dolly 101, such is the sweeping overview found on this 4-CD set specifically designed to mark her career milestones. It’s largely successful, because it’s hard to go wrong with Dolly Parton; 26 gold and platinum albums make her arguably the most successful female country singer-songwriter, and…
Untiring Efforts
The investigation has just begun, but already one city employee has been put on administrative leave
Off the Record
Blasts from the past courtesy of Armadillo Records, David Garza’s Twang Twang Shock-a-Boom, and Jody Denberg’s final broadcast
The Gift of Gadgetry
We’ll wager these Food writers’ wish lists would satisfy the foodie in your life
Say You, Say We
PostSecret’s evolution from secret selves to a community of listeners
Box Sets
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers The Live Anthology (Reprise) The Live Anthology, a career-spanning Tom Petty collection (1978–2007), comes in enough formats to please fans of every stripe. The basic 4-CD, 48-track minibox and the 51-song, 7-LP vinyl set will please most, but if you need the full Heartbreaker experience, go for the deluxe box…
Texas Death Penalty Sentencing Declines
A new report shows sentencing on the decline – but Texas is still No. 1 when it comes to killing
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Tempur-Pedic pillows, text messages in China, and more
Oscar’s No Slouch
Mayor’s Book Club picks Casares’ Amigoland
Box Sets
Where the Action Is!: Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968 (Rhino) Supplementing its three boxed expansions of 1972’s original double LP Nuggets, Rhino’s latest treasure trove zooms in on the City of Angels, where counterculture clashes sparked a heat wave of innovative garage rock and a “Riot on Sunset Strip,” captured here by the Standells’ opening B-movie…
Fun With Fluoride, Continued
Enviro Board wants answers
Spike & Mike’s New Generation Animation
For a change, instead of gross-out shorts, Spike & Mike have simply gathered the best and funniest animated shorts they could find.
The Big Seedy
Werner Herzog talks about his eccentric tour de farce, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Day Trips
Navasota is the home of the Blues Alley, and the Navasota Blues Fest and is the old stomping grounds of legendary songster Mance Lipscomb
Box Sets
The Doors Live in New York (Rhino) Richard Burton on a bender, that’s how we remember Jim Morrison live. The remaining Doors and Rhino’s continuing pipeline of vintage performances prove otherwise, whether Internet-only (2001’s two Live at the Aquarius Theatre sets, 2002’s 2-CD Backstage and Dangerous: The Private Collection, and 2003’s 4-CD Boot Your Butt!…
Headlines
• On Wednesday, Capital Metro announced it’s canceling a contract with Veolia Transportation to get its MetroRail system up and running. Cap Metro said Veolia had requested changes to insurance provisions in its contract that the transit agency couldn’t abide. Herzog Transit Services will now handle MetroRail operations and maintenance, and Watco Companies Inc. will…
Armored
An armored truck robbery of $42 million is an inside job in this action film starring Matt Dillon, Laurence Fishburne, and Jean Reno.
The Holiday Spirit, Lightly Warped
John Waters tackles holly and jolly live at the Paramount
Gay Place
Fa-la-la your holidays the Cap City Men’s Chorus way
Box Sets
Frank Sinatra New York (Reprise) Much like 2006’s Sinatra: Vegas box, this 4-CD/1-DVD set attempts to encapsulate Ol’ Blue Eyes’ musical relationship with the City That Doesn’t Sleep through a decades-spanning series of live recordings. The first mistake is not starting until 1955. Sinatra’s nut-making stint with Tommy Dorsey’s band is reduced to an after-the-fact…
EPA Issues Verdict on Greenhouse Gases
Climate-change fighters can now tuck the Clean Air Act into their tool belts
Brothers
This drama is inferior in practically every way to Danish director Susanne Bier’s original – but now with more U2!
You Make My Dreams
Progressive blue-eyed R&B
Tap That Nut
In Tapestry’s Of Mice & Magic, dance is more than the medium; it’s the message
Box Sets
Rod Stewart The Rod Stewart Sessions 1971-1998 (Warner Bros.) Anyone who thinks Rod Stewart’s career slipped into a mishmash of covers in recent years hasn’t been paying close attention to his repertoire. Since he was Rod the Mod he’s been a purveyor of other people’s songs and, once upon a time, didn’t sound like a…
SBOE Primary: Down With Dunbar
Dunbar unseats Dems’ chance to unseat her
Serious Moonlight
Cheryl Hines directs this romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton, based on a script penned by Adrienne Shelly.
Event Menu
A guide to holiday foodie events around Austin
The Czars Were Brightly Shining
Once you learn that the band’s aesthetic approach to songs is to imagine them as mini symphonies, it makes sense that the Invincible Czars would at some point turn their attention to a classical suite by Tchaikovsky. It’s when you also discover that their musical influences include not only Igor Stravinsky but also Van Halen,…
Box Sets
Woodstock 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur’s Farm (Rhino) This year’s 40th anniversary of Woodstock brought many tributes and recollections, but none as satisfying as this 6-CD collection of music and more. Initially planned as a 30-disc set of each performance from that magical weekend of August 1969, logistics forced an abridged result that still…
Judge Patterson Responds to Ethics Complaint
Third Court of Appeals Judge Jan Patterson says that charges filed against her with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct by former Austin State Rep. Glen Maxey are without merit. Maxey filed a complaint with the commission last week arguing that Patterson had violated two canons of judicial conduct, including misrepresenting facts about herself, when…
Invictus
Morgan Freeman stars as Nelson Mandela in this true story of the leader helping to heal a nation through rugby.
Wine of the Week
Give the gift of personalized wine this holiday season
Wish List
Here’s your chance to give back to the areas of our community that need it the most
Box Sets
Gary Moore Essential Montreux (Eagle) Before Jersey hairdressers Skid Row, there was Dublin gunners Skid Row, featuring the first bark from native son Phil Lynott, and, by 1969, the murderous axe-wielding of Belfast prodigy Gary Moore. Thin Lizzy’s finest moments (Black Rose), a string of peerless hard rock records in the 1980s (Corridors of Power,…
Where Have All the Prisoners Gone?
New report shows 2008 was slow-growth year for U.S. prisoners
The Princess and the Frog
Disney’s 49th animated feature film is set in Jazz Age New Orleans and stars a black cast of characters.
Freshly Ground, Locally Grown Whole Wheat Flour From Richardson Farms
A local farmers’ market has become more complete with Richardson Farms’ new offering
Austin@COP15
Local participants, activists in Denmark for U.N. climate summit
Box Sets
Jane’s Addiction A Cabinet of Curiosities (Rhino) The most convincing reason to purchase Jane’s Addiction’s A Cabinet of Curiosities, a 3-CD/1-DVD collection of rarities and live recordings, may be the cabinet itself. The latched wooden treasure chest contains an immaculate 64-page booklet and miniature worry dolls and tarot cards for each band member – androgynous…
Naked City
News briefs from Austin, the region, and beyond
Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year
New Bollywood comedy is the story of a young graduate entering the working world.
Food-o-File
Area hotels help fill your holiday season with gingerbread
On the Case
The Green Detectives website (www.greendetectives.net), created here in town, offers an unusually accessible portal for people just tuning in to basic U.N. Climate Change Conference (or COP15) terminology and issues. Austinites Kevin Tuerff and Valerie Davis give short and sweet explanations of key COP15 terms and issues. The site’s Green Detective Decoder offers two-minute videos…
Box Sets
More box sets
Res Publica
Citizens’ calendar, Dec. 10-15
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Nic Cage delivers one of his best and most outrageous performances in Werner Herzog’s cops-and-iguanas drama.
The Hightower Report
Hiding Worker Injuries; and The Good Food Movement
Soccer Watch
England vs. United States World Cup 2010 match hottest ticket in South Africa, and more
Helpful Resources: COP15 and Beyond
“COP15” is an acronym built on yet another acronym: the 15th “Conference of the Parties” under the UNFCCC, aka the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. With a bit of Web-surfing, it’s fairly easy to get beyond the alphabet soup and gain a working knowledge of the key COP15 issues that world leaders are…
Arts Review
A strong acting ensemble plays this Neil Simon comedy like there’s no tomorrow
Me and Orson Welles
Richard Linklater has crafted a joyful period charmer about that moment before a boy becomes a man and another man becomes a mythological figure.
Box Sets
AC/DC Backtracks (Columbia) The Beatles boxes included ashes of John and George, Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 had R2-D2-type holograms, and 13th Floor Elevators bomb shelter Sign of the 3 Eyed Men came with real eyeballs. None feed back when you lay an electric guitar atop them as does the Marshall amp edition of AC/DC’s…
Politics Gift Guide
Let these plum picks from the News staff dance in your head
City Hall Hustle: It Ain’t Xmas Yet
Council closing in on a raft of unfinished business
The Slammin’ Salmon
The Broken Lizard comedy troupe returns with a new feature.
After a Fashion
Your Style Avatar was here. And you can own a piece of him.
Box Sets
Alan Lomax in Haiti (Harte Recordings) In December 1936, a 21-year-old Alan Lomax lugged a 55-pound piece of recording equipment to Haiti, a tiny nation two years removed from U.S. military occupation. He returned to Washington, D.C., six months later with more than 1,500 songs scratched onto 294 clunky aluminum discs – two discs for…
Guv’s Race Shuffle
White shifts to the governor’s race, and the candidate lineup follows
Point Austin: When a House Is Not a Home
Workers and homeowners seek justice from home builders
Larger Than Life in 3D: Dave Matthews Band
Joining Matthews are Ben Harper and Gogol Bordello.
TV Eye
It seems there’s no avoiding the pleasure the public takes in watching personal destruction
Box Sets
Fire In My Bones: Raw, Rare, and Other-Worldly African-American Gospel 1944-2007 (Tompkins Square) This 3-CD, 80-song, half-century-spanning collection from the musicologists at NYC imprint Tompkins Square acts as redeemer, representing a genre that thrived above and below the Mississippi. Writer Mike McGonigal journeyed through private, academic, and personal collections, expertly cherry-picking the secular and divine…
Legislative Primaries: Let the Filing Begin
Candidates begin the fight for the Texas Lege
Arts Review
This revue of World War II tunes gives new meaning to ‘home for the holidays’
Don Rickles
The legendary comic reveals how he ‘slayed’ Reagan and killed on the moon
Box Sets
John Coltrane Side Steps (Prestige) John Coltrane’s 12-year recording career was so bountiful. Although not as qualitatively distinct as his later work with the Atlantic and Impulse labels, the dozens of recordings by the saxophonist as both a leader and sideman for Prestige Records provide an extraordinary spotlight on his development into the tenor titan…
Republican Attack Ad Bites Back
The Republican Party of Texas gets crosswise with a crooner from the 1950s
Arts Review
Deeply felt tributes to the late dancer Lucia Rodriguez shaded Ballet East’s program
Okay Mountain
The Austin collective’s faux convenience store sells well at the Pulse art fair
Box Sets
Woody Guthrie My Dusty Road (Rounder) The story behind My Dusty Road is as improbable and legendary as Woody Guthrie himself: Cardboard canisters loaded with 2,000 nearly immaculate 78 rpm metal masters sat in a Brooklyn basement for nearly 60 years before finally revealing remnants of the Stinson record label, including almost 250 tracks recorded…
Resizing the CAMPO Tent
Proposal would expand transportation board’s representation
Page Two: Masters and Commanders
Meditations on moving forces
Luv Doc Recommends: Blue Genie Art Bazaar
Ideally by now your house is so completely covered in lights that your next-door neighbor has to wear welding goggles to find his car in the morning. His raccoon-face sunburn is an epidermal shroud of Turin, a moving testament to your profound faith in the One True God. No doubt the baby Jesus would smile…
