Cover Story
Austin’s Cultural Makeover
Which arts facilities from the boom years were built, which weren’t built, and why
Juliet of the Spirits
Juliet of the Spirits 1965, NR, 148 min. Directed by Federico Fellini, Starring Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo, Mario Pisu, Valentina Cortese. This surrealistic film about a woman on the verge of self-awareness is one of Fellini’s truly great films. The film stars the incomparable Giulietta Masina, the director’s wife, as a conventional Italian housewife who…
The Invisible Boy
The Invisible Boy 1957, G, 90 min. Directed by Herman Hoffmann, Starring Richard Eyer, Philip Abbott, Diane Brewster. A 10-year-old boy matches wits with a super computer bent on world domination (a decade before HAL tried that trick in 2001). The boy’s first task is to reactivate Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet, who gums…
To Your Health
I suspect I have some food allergies, and I want to have some tests done. What test should I start with?
Reissues
Terry AllenJuarez (Sugar Hill) We all know Terry Allen: songwriter, performer, visual artist. From Lubbock. It’s a safe bet, however, that few fans have heard his debut, Juarez. Released in 1975, it’s been out of print for years and wasn’t initially conceived as an LP, but rather as songs accompanying an artwork installation. Original copies…
A Failure of Intelligence
It won’t do just to point fingers at Bush for the lies about Iraq
The Dreamers
The NC-17 rating is revived for Bertolucci’s fervent ode to cinema and the idealism of youth.
Soccer Watch
Shake-up for the women’s national team; and the return of the Champion’s League
Reissues
Frank ZappaDoes Humor Belong in Music? (Virgin/EMI) There’s little doubt Frank Zappa would’ve taken to the technical leap-frogging of the last decade like Hot Rats on a Burnt Weeny Sandwich if not for his untimely death in 1993. For starters, Zappa would’ve put a lot more into this newly reissued, hourlong NYC concert video from…
The Hightower Report
Think local, buy local; and, polluters have no trouble following the law – they wrote it
Touching the Void
Two glacier climbers face the worst and live to tell about it in this harrowingly intimate documentary report.
About AIDS
The annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections is always guaranteed to stir the pot with exciting information. Last week’s gathering in San Francisco was no exception, as researchers suggested that the annual rate of HIV “superinfection” – a second infection with another strain – may be 5% or more. From the beginning of real…
How Safe Is Your E-Vote?
Proponents of electronic voting promise no repeat of Florida in 2000, but critics say it could be even worse
Being Robert McNamara
Through ‘The Fog of War,’ Errol Morris gets inside a mind full of hindsight, regret, and the lessons of Vietnam
After a Fashion
What Stephen watches and where Stephen shops
The DRE Borg
Market share for the main DRE voting systems
The Ambience of Existential Dread
Philip Glass on the ‘Fog of War’ score
Letters at 3AM
In the world of Charlie Chaplin chaos reigns … and is celebrated: The Little Tramp turns 90
What the Studies Say
Research studies on the various electronic voting systems have stopped well short of enthusiastic endorsement
The Kids on the Web
Late Train Productions’ Self-Inflicted 30-Day Film Festival
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Aibohphobia is the fear of palindromes.According to one amateur scientist, adenosine triphosphate is the only provider of energy that all known life uses to ultimately transfer energy. You cycle about 400 pounds of it a day, one molecule at a time.Among the items prohibited on flights by the Department of Homeland Security are nunchakus and…
Who Is Certified in Texas?
There are four electronic voting systems certified by the secretary of state for use in Texas
There Is No Try …
Foleyvision does the Turkish ‘Star Wars’
Second Helpings: Sushi, Part IV
Benihana 9070 Research, 451-7505 Monday-Thursday, 5-10pm; Friday, 5-11pm; Saturday, 11:30am-11pm; Sunday, 11:30am-10pm For a more upscale sushi experience, try Benihana. Though the preparation isn’t as entertaining as that at their hibachi tables, their large choice of rolls has something for everyone. Their Beni-Sushi leaves your choice up to the chef if you can’t decide on…
Day Trips
Rosenwald Schools were a source of education and pride for African-American communities during segregation
Elsewhere, They Have Congressmen
The congressional landscape, Tom DeLay style
Short Cuts
File under: cleaning up after somebody else’s mess
TCB
Amplified Heat; Arctic Blast; and smoke-free Mondays
Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler, Already!
Cultivating a Mardi Gras tradition in River City
The CD 25 Delicatessen
No shortage of cold cuts along the Austin-McAllen campaign trail: a little sausage here, a little pork there, and a lot of baloney elsewhere. Recent high points: Former District Judge Leticia Hinojosa launched an attack on U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett for caring more about birds than kids; Doggett voted for $1 million to study avian…
TV Eye
The line between titillating and tawdry is always moving, and women rarely get to decide when and how far it moves
Screens String
‘The Austin Chronicle’ Guide to Film + Media arts groups
Tips for a successful crawfish boil
Suck the heads, etc.
Battle Lines Drawn in City-Police Dispute
The police union walks away from contract talks, leaving civilian oversight in limbo
Endorsements
Our endorsements for the March 9 Republican and Democratic primaries
The Place Where Worlds Join
Aztlan Dance Company explores the cultural interaction of old and new in Veracruz
The King of Cakes
A history of the almighty king cake
After 18 Months, APD Releases Report on King Shooting
The APD report on the Sophia King shooting answers some questions, leaves others unaddressed
Early Voting: Monday, Feb. 23, through Friday, March 5
The joint primary election allows the Republican and Democratic parties to nominate candidates to represent their parties in the November election. (Other parties, e.g. Libertarian Party or Green Party, generally nominate candidates in conference or at a convention, and do not appear on the primary ballots.) You can vote in either the Republican or the…
‘All That Remains – Life, Death and Rebirth: Kosova 1996-2002’
Martha Grenon’s short visit to Albania in 1992 was so powerful and affecting, she has made 10 more trips there and to Kosova, recording with her camera the area’s tumultuous upheaval
Food-o-File
V.B.W. dishes out the scoops
TAE Charter Faces Crisis of Dollars and Confidence
Teachers at the Texas Academy of Excellence charter school walk for nonpayment, and the school stumbles on
Contested Races
Numerous races in the Democratic and Republican Party primaries feature uncontested candidates. These are the races (excluding precinct chairs) which include at least two candidates.Democratic Primary Ballotpresident Al Sharpton John Edwards Randy Crow Dick Gephardt Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. Dennis J. Kucinich Wesley K. Clark John F. Kerry Joe Lieberman Howard Deanu.s. house district, 25…
Articulations
Deborah Hay wins raves, The Match in New York, and Ballet Austin brings a New York dancer to town to play Hamlet
Dream Lady
Cindy Walker, the queen of Western Swing, reflects on a lifetime of songwriting
Naked City
Headlines and happenings from Austin and beyond
Exhibitionism
You think you know who Jaston Williams is, but unless you’ve seen his autobiographical solo show I’m Not Lying, you don’t. Not by a very long shot.
Zombie Heaven
Two former Zombies, back from the dead
Naked City
Travis Co. prepares to set a May 15 vote on new taxing district
Against the Ropes
Like a lot of sports movies, this biopic about boxing promoter Jackie Kallen is better than it has to be but not as good as it ought to be.
Exhibitionism
For their second concert of the season, the lavish tone and flawlessness of the Miró Quartet served Beethoven better than Ives and Crumb
Reissues
The CureJoin the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities 1978-2001 (Fiction / Elektra / Rhino) For any other band, it’s a crazy idea: a 4-CD box set of B-sides. It can be opined, however, that the measure of a band’s greatness is directly related to the quality of their B-sides, those elusive tracks hiding on Australian 12-inches…
Naked City
The AG says the federal law doesn’t make public info private
Eurotrip
A kinder, gentler teen sex comedy?
Exhibitionism
Le Muse Giocose took Italian Baroque love songs as its heart, and the quality – and approachability – of the enchanting soprano Jenifer Thyssen and her musical collaborators was of the highest magnitude
Reissues
Echo & the BunnymenCrocodiles (Sire/Reprise)Echo & the BunnymenHeaven up Here (Sire/Reprise)Echo & the BunnymenPorcupine (Sire/Reprise)Echo & the BunnymenOcean Rain (Sire/Reprise)Echo & the Bunnymen(Sire/Reprise) Authors of one of the Eighties’ signature songs in “Killing Moon” and profoundly influential on everyone from Coldplay and Travis to Interpol and British Sea Power, Echo & the Bunnymen’s newly reissued…
Naked City
The campaign cash quagmire soils the speaker
Welcome to Mooseport
Ray Romano, Gene Hackman, Maura Tierney, and Marcia Gay Harden search in vain for a laughtrack in Mooseport, Maine.
The Common Law
What happens when you have problems with the repair shop?
Reissues
One From the Heart(Columbia/Legacy) It’s not that old black magic keeping Tom Waits’ original song cycle for Francis Ford Coppola’s long-shelved One From the Heart in print since 1982. It’s not Waits’ barroom, Blue Valentine/Closing Time tunes, nor his wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing croon. It’s not a piano trio raining goodbyes on “Broken Bicycles,” a scarecrow begging you…
Austin @ Large: System Failure
The city’s response to the Eastside police crisis remains inadequate
The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra
An affectionate parody of 1950s sci-fi movies, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra spoofs ’til it poops out.
Luv Doc Recommends: I-Mixer
Unquestionably the best time to visit any museum is when they are serving booze. Art and history, like wit and physical appearance, are much more intriguing when experienced through the sparkling prism of intoxication. An added benefit of serving alcohol is that it generally excludes rug rats, who nearly always find obnoxious yet ingenious ways…
