Cover Story
Women Dig In
The contractors’ boycott against Planned Parenthood won a battle, but it’s a long war.
Ruta Wakening
Ruta Wakening 1996, NR, 90 min. Directed by Steve Bilich, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Lane Orsak, Johnny Hardwick, Cynthia Woods, Joe Sears, Martin Burke, Naomi Riley, Nancy Reed. On the hottest day in Austin, under the spell of a full moon, six couples wander about Austin “and continually return to the tobacco/coffee…
Alley Cat
Alley Cat 1982, R, 82 min. Directed by Victor M. Ordonez, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Karin Mani, Robert Torti. In this revenge story, a lone woman acts as a one-person vigilante squad against the gangbangers who done her wrong. (For more on Weird Wednesdays series see austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2001-02-16/screens_feature.html or www.drafthouse.com.)
Scrabylon
Scrabylon 2003, NR, 50 min. Directed by Scott Peterson, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . When Alfred Butts finally finished fine-tuning Scrabble in 1948 (it had been rejected by the likes of Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley under the names Lexico and Criss-Crosswords), he was a dynamic but unemployed architect, painter, and photographer…
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
The Nehru Jacket was named after Jawaharial Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India.In the early 1900s, Austrian physician Dr. Clemens von Pirquet coined the term “allergy” meaning “altered reactivity.”The original “Texans” football team was the Dallas Texans, which is now the Kansas City Chiefs. The Austin Texans were a semi-pro team of the…
Naked City
South Austin neighbors fear Blunn Creek’s inevitable death-by-shopping.
Demonlover
French mind-warper has a puzzle-box narrative and a soundtrack by Sonic Youth.
Pretty Powerful
Giving the gift of reading
The Common Law
My friends have told me that I should use credit cards instead of cash because they offer more protection for consumers. Are they right?
Naked City
Business leaders freak out over the city’s proposed retail size cap over the aquifer.
Second Helpings: Santa’s Little Helpers
“Second Helpings” offers tasty, bite-sized restaurant listings compiled from new and previous reviews, guides, and poll results. This week’s entries were updated by Erin Mosow. For quick, reliable info about Austin eateries, check here. Austinuts 2525 W. Anderson, 323-6887 Monday-Saturday, 10am-6pm The fresh, dry-roasted nuts here make delicious and nutritious gifts. Austinuts also sells a…
Soccer Watch
NCAA Women’s Final Four is this weekend in North Carolina, with all three games shown live on ESPN2. The premiere semifinal is North Carolina vs. UCLA in what should be the game of the year. The two have been ranked No. 1 and No. 2 most of the season; the Tarheels are undefeated and untied,…
Naked City
Three high-profile contenders for an open seat on the Travis Co. bench
Autumn Rhythm
Musical Gift Guide Part I: Rock & Roll Books
To Your Health
I exercise regularly, but my doctor recently said my blood pressure is too high. Why would that happen, and how can I control it?
Austin @ Large: Welcome Back, Kirk
Kirk Watson’s new job at the chamber stands at odds with his “message” as mayor.
TCB
Stuff we read in notes passed in study hall
About AIDS
The holiday season is upon us, and we are all likely to indulge in unfamiliar food and drink and perhaps even travel a bit. For immune-compromised people — HIV-positive folks with a T4/CD4 count less than 200-300 — some special attention is needed for staying well. • Don’t forget to take your meds! Erratic or…
Here We Go Again
The redistricting case resumes: one more battle in a protracted war.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Extended Edition
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Extended Edition 2001, PG-13, 208 min. Directed by Peter Jackson, Starring Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler. Tolkien’s epic trilogy concludes in an extended version with an additional 30 minutes of material, plus added special effects and music.
Holiday Bonuses
DVDs for under your trees
Capital Idea!
If you want to give Austin for Christmas, food is definitely the way to go. The Chronicle Food staff — Mick Vann, MM Pack, Rachel Feit, Barbara Chisholm, Wes Marshall, Claudia Alarcón, and I — has spent the past few weeks compiling the following annotated shopping list to give you plenty of good places to…
The Hightower Report
Let’s run government like a government; and, Tom DeLay uses neglected and abused children as a political tool.
Lingering on the Beloved Characters of ‘What Ever’
Talking with Heather Woodbury about the people in her eight-hour performance novel, What Ever.
Food-o-File
Local foodie friends throw a party to help David Pitre and Tecolote Farm, some sweet gift ideas, and more.
Not Your Average Movie Night
MoveOn.Org mobilizes viewing parties across the country for Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War.
On the Road Again
Ballet East’s Paths traces some of the many passages through life.
Holiday Wish Lists 2003
Our own St. Nick, Chronicle Publisher Nick Barbaro, along with Editor Louis Black (“St. Louis” just doesn’t have the same seasonal ring) encourages us to compile these lists and offer this space to local public service organizations every year. Sometimes our job makes us so damn happy! Austin’s public service community deserves our love. Give…
In Space
Tramp Lamps, beer cozies for couples, and headbanging babywear.
Articulations
An era of Austin theatre ends as Austin Musical Theatre files for bankruptcy.
Short Cuts
Movin’ on up: MoveOn.org, Steve Bilich, Bennie Klain, and Kyle Henry.
Exhibitionism
The Blanton Museum of Art’s “Prints from the Leo Steinberg Collection: Part II” continues the display of works from the 3,200-work collection begun earlier in 2003, and while this batch may contain fewer masterpieces, it’s no less captivating or transporting.
A Blue-Sky ‘Silver’ Plan for Austin Energy
Austin Energy and a former city employee team up to publish an idealized, clean-energy vision of the future.
TV Eye
After watching the HBO production of Angels in America — for all its faults and annoyances, its unrelenting attention to the crass and sensational — I’m reminded all over again why TV can matter.
Exhibitionism
Let the Toys Take over Christmas, as Second Youth Family Theatre does in this children’s play by Patricia Clapp-Cone, a story about kindness and doing what feels right.
Farmers Insurance: Off the Hook Forever?
Internal memos suggest the insurer frequently mishandled claims — and the state may not be able to investigate.
DVD Watch
Numbers 215 and 218 of the Criterion Collection DVD series were more celebrated recently, Roman Polanski’s Knife in the Water and Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Cercle Rouge, yet the unheralded No. 214 was the true devil in the woodpile.
Exhibitionism
La Follia made a feast of leftovers for their post-Thanksgiving offering at First Presbyterian Church.
How Lowe’s Can Brewster Go?
Council Member McCracken gets an earful from supporters and nonsupporters alike reminding him of his big-box campaign promises.
News/Print
Bestselling true-crime author Suzy Spencer is giving the Texas Department of Criminal Justice hell for the holidays.
Naked City
Headlines and happenings from Austin and beyond
The Singing Detective
Robert Downey Jr. plays Dennis Potter’s afflicted writer, who imagines a film noir musical to escape his misery.
Page Two
The Planned Parenthood boycott is about moral bullying, not a commitment to preserving life.
Naked City
Austin Energy gives clean-energy advocates what they want — and far more.
The Last Samurai
Tom Cruise turns Japanese.
After a Fashion
It’s the holiday season and Stephen is already ho-ho-Hoin’ it up. What did the fashionable eat for turkey day?
Naked City
Mother alleges district violated her murdered daughter’s civil rights.
Honey
Jennifer Alba’s hoodrat find her inner Flashdance.
Day Trips
In Corsicana, “excellent fruitcake” is not an oxymoron.
Naked City
Hyde Park garage project set to go to court for the fifth time
Carnage
Although maybe not a great film, Carnage is the most ambitious and assured feature debut in recent memory, and it is certainly distinctive.
Luv Doc Recommends: Austin Ice Bats vs. Laredo Bucks
It’s upsetting for some that Austin bypasses fall and plunges directly into winter – no brilliant autumnal hues; no huge, playful piles of deciduous droppings; no crisp strolls through the pumpkin patch; no sweater weather. Well, actually, we do have sweater weather. It’s called winter. In Austin, winter happens when the daytime highs start clocking…
