Cover Story
Games People Play
Casual gaming’s rise opens the doors for players and developers
OTR – 33 RPM
More thorns from the Cactus Cafe and confirmations for SXSW 2010
Congressional Races: Same Ol’ Same Ol’
Don’t expect much change in Austin’s Washington representation
This Week’s Waste of Time
A browser game that uses the click wheel for a change.
When It Snows ….
A flurry of U21 activity
Learn to Curl
Right here in the ATX
Get Historic with the Totally Awesome AusChron Newscast!
Historic zoning, East Riverside redevelopment, and Sharon Keller ain’t outta the woods just yet
What Oscar Winners Will be Drinking
Drink like the stars!
Viva Las Vegas
Behind the scenes of Cirque du Soleil’s Viva Elvis and Love
Kinky in 2010
With gubernatorial aspirations on the back burner, Kinky Friedman is out on tour
Like a Boss
Texas Rollergirls take the Governor’s Cup to kick of 2010 season
Final Bike Boulevard Open House Wednesday
Opposition group forms
Future Shock
Switched On offers electro-nerds sound and vision
Early Closing for Snow
List of agencies, schools and events affected by bad weather, including homeless update
Dress for Success Benefit
ROAR salon and WGN team up for Dress for Success
AISD Schools Staying Open
No Snow Day
No Exigency in AISD
Drawn-out board meeting results in confused split vote
Tweeting With Adam Schefter
Sportswriter thrives in new media atmosphere with old-school style
Tinkering With Death
Texas Defender Service attorney David Dow’s memoir covers his his work defending the condemned
The Conservative Future of the LGBT Movement
Libertarian think tank the Cato Institute hosts symposium
Austin’s B-Side Closes Up Shop
The innovative Austin company set to shutter March 1
Travis County Needs Election Day Workers
County clerks calls for 250 to staff primaries
AE Generation Plan Forum Tonight
Come, talk, text
On the Road With White
A day on the campaign trail with the Dem governor hopeful [VIDEO]
Birdemic: Shock and Terror
Birdemic: Shock and Terror 2008, NR, 90 min. D: James Nguyen. A cult phenomenon, this inexpensively made “romantic thriller” shows a platoon of eagles and vultures attacking the residents of a small town, Hitchcock-style.
The ‘T’ Word
Politicians and media dance around what to call the plane crash
15-Year-Old Me Is Squealing
Hole set to crash SXSW’s Casual Friday
SXSW Wristbands: Round Two
More to go on sale Monday
A Talent for Deception
When Joey Hood is onstage, you want to buy whatever he’s selling
C’est Sheik
As Elijah Wald’s liner notes for Geoff Muldaur & the Texas Sheiks reminds us, “When Rudolph Valentino galloped across the sands of Hollywood on his Arabian stallion and bent the lovely Agnes Ayres to his will, he transformed a generation of young Americans.” The film was The Sheik, and its influence lay heavily on first-generation…
Res Publica
Citizens’ calendar, Feb. 18-25
UT Fine Arts Library
Using ancient artifacts of the Americas to lure people back to the library
Off the Record
Unveiling the Austin Music Awards lineup and greeting England’s newest hitmakers
Tires on the Move: What About Fleet Services?
Questions pile up as the pile of tires comes down
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
A teenager’s Greek mythology book comes to life and thrusts him into an adventure to recover Zeus’ stolen lightning bolt.
‘Silent Stage’
Four artists have turned the house they share into a retro-cinema with a twist
Arts Review
An unrelentingly fast tempo flattens out the St. Ed’s staging of Ibsen’s epic
Point Austin: We’re All Flakes Here
It’s not the sideshow candidates who should worry Texas voters
Oscar-Nominated Short Films 2010: Live Action
Judge for yourself among the five films contending for this year’s Oscar for live-action short.
The five international shorts nominated for Best Live Action Short Film include Patrik Eklund’s “Instead of Abracadabra,” Luke Doolan’s “Miracle Fish,” Juanita Wilson’s “The Door,” Gregg Helvey’s “Kavi,” and Joachim Back’s award-winning “The New Tenants.”
Culture Flash!
Free tips on auditioning for musicals, and animals are artists, too
Arts Review
Despite rough edges, City Theatre’s staging stays centered on the play’s ideas
Headlines
� City Council’s sleeping in today, Thursday, Feb. 18, not convening until 5:30pm for a special called meeting to consider economic incentives for L.A.-based LegalZoom to relocate here. � Just in time for South by Southwest comes a controversial council decision declaring only Austin Police, or those otherwise sanctioned by our police chief, eligible to…
Oscar-Nominated Short Films 2010: Animation
This year’s five nominees for the best animated short Oscar are available for viewing.
This year’s five Academy Award-nominated animated shorts include “A Matter of Loaf and Death,” the latest stop-motion Claymation piece from Nick Park and Aardman; “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” by Nicky Phelan; “The Lady and the Reaper” by Recio García; “French…
Arts Review
This triple bill wasn’t all truth or beauty, but it was a good night at the ballet
Five Misconceptions
Five things you may think you know (but don’t) about UT’s decision to shut down the informal classes program and the Cactus Cafe: 1) The decision was made by the Union board. “Let me off the top demythify something,” University Unions Executive Director Andy Smith told the Chronicle. “The Union board didn’t vote or didn’t…
The White Ribbon
A disquieting feeling of apprehension is made palpable in Michael Haneke’s import, The White Ribbon.
Back in the Realm of the Senses and Provoking All Five
AFS Essential Cinema presents Smashing the Rules: Films of Oshima Nagisa
Day Trips
The Waco Mammoth Site boasts the largest known concentration of mammoth skeletons, left after the beasts died from the same natural event
Naked City
News briefs from Austin, the region, and
Family Programming
The Overbrook Brothers premieres on IFC on Demand
Gay Place
Please don’t gay bait my neighborhood; it eventually gets back to me
On the Road With Bill White
Footage from the campaign trail
TV Eye
Independent Lens airs The Eyes of Me, a documentary look at four students enrolled at the Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired
Soccer Watch
Aztex build their roster, and ECL restarts
AWPC Conundrum
Women’s group ponders its future with parent organization
Restaurant Review
Tarka offers a quick, affordable alternative to its sister restaurant, Clay Pit
‘Chronicle’ Endorsements
Our recommendations for the March 2 primaries
Page Two: Mad Dreaming
Loud, barely intelligible SXSW incantations
After a Fashion
Your Style Avatar mourns Alexander McQueen
Restaurant Review
With accommodating hours, reasonable prices, and an interesting location, Piedras Negras Taqueria #2 is No. 1
Primary Intelligence
This week we continue our coverage of the primary races, focusing primarily on statewide races, with a few more local campaigns thrown in. Early voting began Tuesday and continues through Feb. 26. Election day is March 2. For more coverage, see Election Central: austinchronicle.com/elections.
A Generation Gets to Talking
Literacy program the Austin Bat Cave anthologizes the words of local high schoolers
Event Menu
This week, Austin foodies enjoy lectures on local food history and classes on international cuisine
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Angelina Jolie, SETI, chess, and more
Dems for Governor: Bill White, et al.
White stands out as Dems’ best shot
The Hightower Report
Hunger: Hilarious!; and Getting to Know the Right Wing
Food-o-File
Check out all the new additions to Austin’s foodie network
University of Texas Baseball
In what sport does the University of Texas not excel?
Dems for Lite Gov: The D.A., the Organizer, and the Deli Man
In this race, everyone has low name recognition across Texas
Phases and Stages
Four Tet There Is Love in You (Domino) A formidable sound technician, Kieran Hebden has excelled as both a solo artist and a collaborator, including projects with free jazz drummer Steve Reid and UK dubstep phenom Burial. There Is Love in You, the UK DJ/producer’s first proper album since 2005’s Everything Ecstatic, admittedly has some…
Restaurant Review
Don’t be fooled by the name: La Boîte’s Dan Bereczki and Victoria Davis think outside the box
Still Prickly: UT Students vs. Cactus Cuts
Reaction to budget cuts belies claim that decision was student-backed
331st Court: Who Should Follow Judge Perkins?
A two-man race
Phases and Stages
Austin Music Hall, Feb. 12
Book Review
Intertwined with stories of Mandela and his family are recipes that reflect crucial moments in South African history
City Hall Hustle: Cop Out
Council speeds through a vexing traffic stop
Lege Races: Austin and Elsewhere
These candidates are all over the map on issues
Phases and Stages
Emo’s, Feb. 14
Sheik to Sheik
Crazy Heart wasn’t Stephen Bruton’s only last project, and we have Geoff Muldaur & the Texas Sheiks to thank for that
Cap Metro Turns Toward a 2020 Vision
Plan suggests moving buses off Congress
147th District Court: Two Kinds of Experience
One candidate draws on criminal law, the other on civil, for criminal bench
Phases and Stages
Loving Takes This Course: A Tribute to the Songs of Kath Bloom; Thin Thin Line
Jim Kweskin
Jug band hero
AISD Headed for Showdown Over ‘Exigency’
Board gears up to vote on whether AISD will declare financial exigency
The People’s Courts
Dems square off in three races
Luv Doc Recommends: ‘Misprint’ Magazine’s Fourth Annual Beard & Moustache Competition
When you have failed at everything else in life, take heart. You may be succeeding in something you didn’t even know you were good at. Somewhere along the way you may have forgotten that you too are one of God’s infinite number of different yet perfect snowflakes, special in your own way even if you’re…
