Hot Air
Hot Air 2002, NR. Directed by René Pinnell, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . René Pinnell had been making films for several years prior to the death of his uncle, the esteemed but erratic indie filmmaker Eagle Pennell. Pinnell (the original spelling of the family name) never had the opportunity to meet his…
Legend of the Wolf Woman
Legend of the Wolf Woman 1976, R, 79 min. Directed by Rino Di Silvestro, Starring Annik Borel, Frederick Stafford, Tino Carraro, Andrea Scotti. You know how this kind of thing goes: A woman believes she’s a werewolf and engages in this bad habit of ripping out men’s throats with her teeth while having sex with…
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore 1974, PG, 113 min. Directed by Martin Scorsese, Starring Ellen Burstyn, Kris Kristofferson, Billy Green Bush, Diane Ladd, Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, Vic Tayback. Ellen Burstyn won an Oscar for her portral of a single mother and singer who winds up waiting tables at a diner in Arizona. Scorsese’s fourth…
Toward an Accounting
In its unjustified rush to war, the Bush administration wants Americans to apply ample amounts of duct tape over their eyes, ears, and mouths.
Peace Signs
Anger and outrage can also bring out creativity and humor. Some of our favorite signs being carried at Saturday’s anti-war rally: “It’s Nuclear, Not Nucular, You Idiot” “Stop Mad Cowboy Disease” “Drunk Frat Boy Drives Nation Into Ditch Again” “Another Non-Belgian for Peace” “You Bastards” “Holy Crap”
Naked City
Not long after Austin activist Keith Vick was killed last December in a bicycle accident in front of the Travis Co. Courthouse, the City Council considered a proposal to install bike lanes on Guadalupe and Lavaca — the most direct north-south routes between Downtown and the Drag. This would require removing street parking or an…
Morvern Callar
Morvern Callar 2002, NR, 97 min. Directed by Lynne Ramsay, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott, Raife Patrick Burchell, Dan Cadan, Carolyn Calder, Jim Wilson. Not enough people know about Samantha Morton, but then why would they? Rolling Stone doesn’t put her on the cover; E!’s Rank has never enumerated…
Second Helpings: Sushi, Part V
Sushi: The possibilities are quiet literally endless.
Austin in the Big Apple
If Texas food can make it here, it can make it anywhere. MM Pack explains.
He Who Has Ears to Hear
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.
We’re No. 1!
Texas prepares to mark its 300th contemporary execution.
TCB
Austin (and its Music Network) will endure, Scandinavia and Interpol invade, and local alt-rock is sweeter than ever on Ear Candy.
Conversations With Two Former Austin Chefs in New York
Roberto Santibañez and Tien Ho: two successful young chefs now working in New York who recently lived and cooked in Austin. Both were born outside of the U.S., and both were heavily influenced by French cuisine early in their lives. One went to cooking school; the other learned on the job. One’s family encouraged his…
United for Peace
An estimated 10,000 anti-war protesters converge on the Capitol.
Austin @ Large: Vice, Vice Baby!
Why stop at casino gambling on Waller Creek? Bring on the sex, drugs, and smokestacks.
Kentucky by Way of Austin
A decade after The Kentucky Cycle’s premiere, the hometown of playwright Robert Schenkkan has the opportunity to experience the work’s power in with a homegrown production at the Mary Moody Northen Theatre.
Food-o-File
Virginia B. Wood fills you up with chef news and Brazilian celebrations in this week’s “Food-o-File.”
No High End for Galleria
Bee Cave officials’ goal of bringing at least two high-end department stores to their rural burg west of Austin isn’t in the cards right now, but Hill Country Galleria developer Chris Milam says he’s determined to pursue a world-class mall project, with or without Neiman Marcus. The luxury chain this week became the latest upscale…
The Hightower Report
Bush’s tax cut creates jobs — in China; and malls kill main street — and replace it with a cheap knock-off.
Dreamland Via Cuba
Artists Virginia Fleck and Sandra Ceballos found dreams to be a recurring theme in both their work when Gallery 106 sent Austin-based Fleck to Ceballos’ home in Cuba, and now they’ve collaborated on an exhibition titled “Dreaming My Dreams.”
Life by the Drop
The return of Doyle Bramhall
Baptists Win a Round in Hyde Park
A judge sides with Hyde Park Baptist Church — perhaps preparing the way for construction of its controversial parking garage.
What’s in a Face?
At the end of the Shamrockers’ dirgelike track “Hangman Drums,” Kevin Russell erupts into a fumarole of guttural tongue-speak. It’s a startling moment. What he emits is nothing short of a primal wail, a hairy crossbreed of a gurgling mountain yodel and a Chickasaw war chant. It’s a heart stopper of an eruption, evoking the…
Articulations
Comedy venues the Velveeta Room and Capital City Comedy Club get new leases on life, solo theatre artist Rob Nash gets roasted, and Dreamgirl Jennifer Holliday comes to Austin.
Phases and Stages
Eric JohnsonSouvenir (Vortexan) Don’t let the Animal Planet CD artwork fool you, Souvenir is a sign wave off the ol’ Ah Via Musicom. As a graying fan base wonders whether a more rock-oriented follow-up to 1996’s spacey Venus Isle will occur in their lifetime, Austin Strat idol Eric Johnson nudges open the massive titanium doors…
Playing the Numbers
The first couple of months of each new Lege session, until the mid-March bill filing deadline, are always about money: how much there is, who has it, and who’s gonna get it. While the state’s next budget is still in play, the real action is in the budgetary committees (Senate Finance, House Appropriations) and more…
What Lies Beneath
John Cusack talks about putting a human face on Hitler in Max.
Exhibitionism
You might not expect a New York drag queen to transport you into the pages of a 19th-century English novel, but that’s precisely what happens in Twisted Olivia: A Meditation on Oliver Twist, a new solo show by Everett Quinton which keeps audiences alternately laughing and spellbound in a parade of wonders.
Phases and Stages
Friends of Dean MartinezOn the Shore (Narnack) With titles like “The Enchanted Sea” and “Red Sails in the Sunset,” Santo & Johnny’s Offshore breeze from 1963 is oceans away from “Overload,” the Zeppelin-esque opener to the Friends of Dean Martinez’s new 2-CD hallucination, On the Shore. When the levee breaks and the Austin-based trio cuts…
Former City Forester Charges Harassment, Sex Bias at PARD
Susan Murray alleges her career as Austin’s urban forester fell apart after she complained about her boss’ conduct.
The John Lennon Artificial Intelligence Project
John Lennon is reborn as a cyberbot.
Exhibitionism
My Funny Valentine, Tapestry Dance Company’s love-struck evening of dance, provided both seduction that appeared effortless and that was the picture of hard work, and it all thrilled.
Phases and Stages
Christine AlbertTexaFrance-Encore! (MoonHouse) When South by Southwest was held at the Hyatt, Christine Albert once landed a showcase in the hotel’s atrium bar, an acoustically wretched space cavernously rising 17 floors to the top of the building. Yet hearing Albert singing “La Vie en Rose” from the 15th floor was as memorable as any conference…
GOP Grinches Attack Capitol
The conservative Republican stranglehold on the Capitol got a little tighter last week, as the State Preservation Board — the panel of top officials that oversees the Capitol itself — fired longtime Director Rick Crawford, apparently for the fault of having once worked for former House Speaker Pete Laney. In a related action, the board…
New to DVD
This DVD compiles all of the cartoons featuring the Man Without Fear, in conjunction with last week’s release of the live-action Ben Affleck Daredevil feature.
Exhibitionism
La Follia’s musical guide to love during the Baroque period included some masterful playing by the group’s instrumentalists, but it was
the haunting voice of soprano Jenifer Thyssen that really reached out to the audience with love’s beautiful soundtrack from 300 years ago.
Phases and Stages
Eric Hisaw Never Could Walk the Line (Stockade) Eric Hisaw’s first local release, A Thing About Trains, was a solid effort, but there was the nagging sense that he was still searching for his voice, lyrically and literally. Never Could Walk the Line, on the other hand, is a much more mature-sounding affair. There’s a…
Is the CCA ‘Competent’?
Leonard Uresti Rojas was executed by the state of Texas on Dec. 4, one of 33 Texas executions in 2002. His story has some of the characteristics of a couple of current, highly publicized Texas murder trials — adultery, betrayal, blind rage, revenge, possible madness, etc. But Rojas didn’t have the cash for a high-powered…
The Need for Sleaze
Bill Landis will be at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown on Feb. 23 to introduce two films and talk about his new book, Sleazoid Express: A Mind-Twisting Tour Through the Grindhouse Cinema of Times Square.
Southern Destroyer
The Square Now there is something for tomorrow. What are women like? What is time like? Most people, you might notice, walk around as if they are needed somewhere, like the animals out at the shelter need me. I want to look into this. — “Nicodemus Bluff,” Bats Out of Hell, 1993 They built the…
Phases and Stages
Pretty the Quick Black Eyes Pretty the Quick Black Eyes. What the hell does it mean? Nothing. It’s just word association. Pure imagery, painting the picture of a place where the skies are always gray and windy and the air brisk and autumnal, if not downright dark and wintry. This band is the new project…
Naked City
Quote of the Week: “The prospect of appointing a foreign military commander to run an Islamic and Arab country is destabilizing and indicative of prevailing delusions. One outcome is almost certain — extremism stands to benefit.” — Javad Zarif, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations. Despite Iran’s bloody history with Saddam Hussein, it joined 60…
Short Cuts
Bob Ray gets stonied.
Page Two
In blaming the anti-war movement for all possible future scenarios connected to terrorism or the war in Iraq, the hysterical right has poised itself to lead a devastating assault on the Constitution and its protections.
Phases and Stages
The Oblong BoysPizzazarama Universe (Instinct) It’s hard to decide whether the Oblong Boys’ debut is a soundtrack to the zany, colorful, construction-paper costumes and silly hats they don onstage or if the costumes are a reflection of the music. By itself, the Oblong Boys’ Pizzazarama Universe, the first recorded distillation of the arcane genre of…
Naked City
Stay current on the mayor’s race at www.austinmayor.com, a blog that seeks contributions from candidates’ campaigns. Voters can also join in the hot online action through chats, forums, conferences, feedback forums, straw polls, and other interactivities. For now, the site’s most useful elements are its cluster of campaign-related articles and a beefy list of Austincentric…
Video Reviews
Like the movie, Burt Lancaster’s title character — an aging suburbanite who one day decides, on an afternoon lark, to “swim home” pool-to-pool through the back yards of his friends — starts out lightly charming us, only to plunge into darker waters.
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
The symbol “#” was invented by the folks at the phone company. They called it an octothorpe.Canadian food scientists have discovered that adding rosemary while cooking home fries and potato chips reduces the amount of acrylamide, a potential cancer-causing chemical.John Newton wrote the lyrics to “Amazing Grace” in 1748 after he steered his ship through…
Phases and Stages
MinistryAnimositisomina (Sanctuary) Whenever a notoriously drug-infested musician cleans up, it’s worth listening to the before-and-after output for comparative value. Animositisomina is the first recording of Al Jourgensen’s since his public proclamations of being sober. Back in the studio with local partner in grime Paul Barker, Ministry wields its dirty thunder like the days of yore…
Naked City
The Dripping Springs City Council has appointed a committee to explore a temporary development moratorium in and around the burgeoning Hays Co. suburb. The committee includes two reps from the Friendship Alliance, the neighbor group — ranging from ex-hippies to retired military officers — whose slow-growth stances have been a thorn in Dripping Springs leaders’…
TV Eye
It ain’t reality TV, but it may be closer to approaching real life: Nia Vardalos’ My Big Fat Greek Life.
Day Trips
Special Places of Texas is a travel guide of a different sort. Instead of featuring the usual tourist spots, this free book published by the Sierra Club’s Lone Star chapter outlines the scenic and wild spaces that the state is in danger of losing. “Probably quite a few more places could have been included,” says…
Only Natural
The Texas Memorial Museum decides to focus on its natural history roots.
Naked City
The Austin Human Rights Commission hosts a forum tonight (Thursday) on the topic, “Your Constitutional Rights: What Are They Now?” Representatives of several human rights organizations will take part in a panel hosted by Commissioner Austin Dullnig on the current state of civil rights and liberties in the U.S. One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs…
Dark Blue
Dark Blue 2003, R, 113 min. Directed by Ron Shelton, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Kurt Russell, Scott Speedman, Ving Rhames, Brendan Gleeson, Michael Michele, Lolita Davidovich, Master P, Kurupt. When Kurt Russell, playing corrupt LAPD Sergeant Eldon Perry, arrives at the tail-end of the third act of Dark Blue to blow the…
After a Fashion
Yeee-haw! It’s “Westward Ho” as Stephen checks out the new exhibit at the Bob Bullock Museum. And what does our style avatar do to stay so baby soft and daisy fresh? Well, until now, only he and his stylist knew for sure…
TMM: A Pterosaur’s Eye View
A brief history and profile of the Texas Memorial Museum at UT
Naked City
On Feb. 27, the City Council is scheduled to vote on whether the federally funded Lance Armstrong Bikeway belongs on Third Street or Fourth through downtown Austin, and if it should become something more elaborate than a couple of striped bike lanes. Fourth Street is the route preferred by city staff, cycling activists, and advocates…
The Jungle Book 2
The Jungle Book 2 2003, G, 72 min. Directed by Steve Trenbirth, Narrated by , Voices by John Goodman, Haley Joel Osment, Mae Whitman, John Rhys-Davies, Jim Cummings, Phil Collins, Starring . Where are those PETA brigades when you really need ’em? Instead of expending their energies liberating captive animals from research labs, the group…
To Your Health
Spring pollens are in, and mold just won’t let up. How can I stop my sneezing fits without resorting to antihistamines?
The Bullock in the Museum Shop
Supporters say the Bullock History Museum has acted as a catalyst for smaller local museums.
Naked City
Longtime Travis Co. Attorney Ken Oden unexpectedly announced Feb. 13 that he will leave the elected post Feb. 28 to join the law firm of Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, where he will take on the role of “ethics manager.” “They were looking around for someone to play that role, and they made me an…
Gods and Generals
Gods and Generals 2003, PG-13, 220 min. Directed by Ronald F. Maxwell, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Jeff Daniels, Stephen Lang, Robert Duvall, Mira Sorvino, Kevin Conway, C. Thomas Howell, Frankie Faison, Kali Rocha. Hundreds of Civil War re-enactors got the dream gig of their lifetimes in Ron Maxwell’s follow-up to 1993’s Gettysburg,…
About AIDS
New HIV Infections Pose Greatest Risk If someone looks healthy, then you don’t need to worry about catching HIV from him, right? Wrong! This is one of the greatest myths under which people operate in making risky choices. Actually, for almost 15 years we’ve known that newly infected people are more likely to transmit HIV,…
War Drums
“Shock and Awe” Current U.S. plans for the pending war in Iraq call for an attack on Baghdad as immediately devastating as the 1945 nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those analogies are presented not by wild-eyed anti-war activists, but by the supporters and developers of U.S. military strategy. According to published reports, the attack…
Naked City
Among her many thrifty suggestions, state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn has recommended combining the Texas Youth Commission — the institutional arm of the state’s juvenile justice system — with the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission. Strayhorn’s idea has been suggested before during the 22 years the two agencies have been separate, but any belt-tightening measure is…
Old School
A trio of depressed thirtysomethings decide to start their own fraternity.
