Cover Story
Chris the Conqueror
Chris Roberson takes on Superman, Elric, Captain Kirk, and Cinderella – and wins
Who Is Jon Dore and Why Is He So Funny?
Canadian comedian at Cap City Comedy Club
ERCOT Issues Level 2 Power Emergency
Rolling blackouts at industrial facilities may happen
School Scores, School Funds
Board president Mark Williams drills the data
August Paper Cuts Features The Sour Notes!
RSVP at austinchronicle.com/papercuts
Roger That
Q&A with the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn
Thinking Outside the Box With Books
Lit Crawl comes to Austin
Free Puppy (And Kitty) Love
Two great adoption specials coming up – and a great hound hunt!
Wednesday Rewind
Black Joe Lewis gets his ham glazed
Katy Perry’s Licking Stick
The teen dream diva gives tween sexploitation a peppermint twist.
ERCOT Issues Another Power Emergency
Agency asks Texans to conserve electricity 3-7pm today
A Starry Lineup at Texas Book Festival’s Literary Gala
In the case of Molly Shannon, make that super-starry
I Am the Exceptional Drought
Ray Bonneville quenches ‘Bad Man’s Blood’ at the Cactus Cafe
ERCOT Issues Power Emergency Warning
Grid operator calls for conservation until 7pm
Get Some Weeds in Your Life Today
Weeds are finally popping up all over home decor, and in bookstores
TFPF Panelists Announced, Screenings Set
Judges will determine 2011 grant recipients
Fun Fun Fun Line-up
Danzig Legacy and Donald Glover join Slayer, Odd Future
Drafthouse Films Acquires New Film
SXSW hit ‘The FP’ to be distributed in 2012
The Shadow of Oslo
How politicization drives presumptions in terror coverage
Chablis: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Chardonnay
More on finding the best of the classic Burgundian white wine
Jeffs Trial: Keepin’ It Weird
Prophet says only he can provide a “pure” defense
TDH: 7/29/11
New construction suspended at WTP4, for now
Staehely’s Comet
Reissuing Austin native Al Staehely
Red, White and Forever
Comic writer Mark Waid explains the appeal of Captain America
AG Opinion Puts Brakes on Willingham Investigation
FSC may investigate old cases, but not old evidence
Austin Rockin’ 7/29/11
Getting FOXy for the Wagoneers and donating for Chadd Thomas
In Play
Twisted Pixel’s ‘Splosion Man passes the torch in attention-deficit anarchy to the Ms.
Off the Record
Dale Watson’s got Tiger Airways by the tail, and more music news
Page Two: In the Moment, Part 2
A fascinating lesson in history
New In Print
If you have to staycation, at least see the world via books
‘In a Lonely Place,’ but Found a Good Home
Harry Ransom Center acquires Nicholas Ray’s archives
Day Trips
Red-tailed hawks are the sentinels of the highways
The Spirits of Texas
Texas spirits to keep your spirits up
Gay Place
Dandy Unicorn wants you – in the worst way
Captain America: The First Avenger
Marvel paves the road for its forthcoming Avengers epic with another origin story
Reissues
Aretha Franklin Take a Look: Aretha Franklin Complete on Columbia (Columbia) “I ain’t had no lovin’/Since you know when/He’s a lonesome old rooster/And I’m a lonesome hen.” So crows 18-year-old Aretha Franklin on the first song of her 1961 Columbia Records debut. “Won’t Be Long,” wanton exuberance in the (broken) mold of Ray Charles’ “I…
Event Menu
Jam with jams and zydeco, and chill with wines from Chile
Arts Review
In Brooks’ Broadway send-up, Summer Stock Austin’s kids show a knack for laughs
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
The actor Michael Rapaport turns director for this admiring portrait of the seminal Nineties hip-hop outfit.
Reissues
Paul McCartney McCartney (Hear Music) Paul McCartney McCartney II (Hear Music) Following the deluxe reissue last year of 1973’s Band on the Run, Paul McCartney sets his sights on two self-titled discs recorded a decade apart. Both are available in a multitude of formats with scads of extra audio and video, including a limited-edition 128-page…
Food-o-File
The peaches are sweeter, the markets are fruitful, and the grass is greener on Jessie Street
Arts Review
Arnold Lobel’s amphibian friends are brought to life with verve and heart
Cowboys & Aliens
Jon Favreau and company kick up some good Western dust until the film’s alien twist comes off like the newest variation on outmoded cowboys-and-Indians stereotypes.
Reissues
Iggy Pop Roadkill Rising … the Bootleg Collection: 1977-2009(Shout! Factory) Iggy & the Stooges Raw Power Live: In the Hands of the Fans(MVD Entertainment Group) Iggy Pop’s live output should be accompanied by an asterisk – a reminder of the extreme distress of his confrontational stage presence. He’s the original hot mess, with a primal…
Edinburgh Festivals
If it’s August, this must be Scotland, say three Austin arts groups
Arts Review
This group show’s beauty brings a coolness to drive the summer heat away
Crazy, Stupid, Love.
This generally appealing romantic comedy is occasionally ungainly, but its sensational cast breezily flicks away most distractions.
Reissues
Queen Queen (Hollywood) Queen II (Hollywood) Sheer Heart Attack (Hollywood) A Night at the Opera (Hollywood) A Day at the Races (Hollywood) Before Freddie Mercury’s trademark mustache, before the Studio 54 hedonism, before perfecting stadium rock, Queen emerged from its prog-tinged glam cocoon as a vivid pop-rock butterfly, blazing five ambitious albums in four years…
Culture Flash!
Miró finds a violinist, ACGS finds a guitarist, and it’s time to take out the Trash
Brand Upon the Brain
Art and advertising collide in the burgeoning genre of branded documentary
The Smurfs
Line up for your innoculations: We’ve been Smurfed.
Reissues
Archers of Loaf Icky Mettle (Merge) Reunited since January, Chapel Hill, N.C., quartet Archers of Loaf unleashed this first of four LPs well in stride of the band’s original tear (1990-1998). Raw as oysters on the half shell, with abrasive, transistor radio production, 1993’s Icky Mettle thumps Warp’s warpath between lo-fi sad sackery (“You and…
Impact World Wrestling Tour
Featuring the Phenomenal AJ Styles
Point Austin: Seeing Double
Curious political parallels on the Potomac and the Colorado
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Chinese women’s relationships in the past and the present are told in parallel stories in this film based on Lisa See’s bestselling novel.
Reissues
R.E.M. Lifes Rich Pageant (I.R.S./Capitol) Producer Don Gehman brought a commercial hammer to the indie anvil on these Georgians’ breakthrough fourth LP. Brawny (“Begin the Begin”), elated (“These Days”), messianic (“Fall on Me”), picaresque (“Cuyahoga”), and yes, howling (“Hyena”) – and that’s just the first side! A 25th anniversary minibox stuffs poster and postcards in…
The 2011 Fried Chicken Update
Flip the bird � onto a waffle, that is
City Hall Hustle: Choose Your Battleground
From zoning to parking to water, the new council’s got its contentious hands full
Attack the Block
Smart, quick, funny, and economical, Attack the Block is an alien-invasion movie that’s a breed apart.
Reissues
Sebadoh Bakesale: Deluxe Edition (Sub Pop) Phantasmagoric extras time out at an hour’s worth of EPs, singles, and demos: Germanic techno (“Cementville”) to acoustic rebounds (“On Fire”) and all manner of sonic madness (“Hank Williams”). Real bonus: remastered reminder that fifth Sebadoh LP Bakesale (1994) corralled such kitchen-sink clatter beginning with the can-opener riff to…
Soccer Watch
U.S. Women’s team stays busy after WWC final appearance, and more
Quote of the Week
“We are a very safe city, and the reason we are a very safe city is because we have dedicated the resources to keep it safe.” – Mayor Lee Leffingwell, defending the policy of two police officers per 1,000 residents; the city’s proposed budget contains 49 new officers and a $16.5 million funding increase to…
Letters at 3AM: A Show of Hands
There has never been a war like this
The Pleasure Seekers
Patti Quatro and her sisters started a revolution
Headlines
� The City Council circus returns, filling all three rings: Wednesday, City Manager Marc Ott presented his proposed budget for fiscal year 2012. Thursday (today, July 28), council convenes its first regular meeting since June, as well as its first full meeting with Kathie Tovo. On the agenda: action on historic property tax abatements, potential…
The Hightower Report
Goldman’s Singapore Sling; and Flipping Us the Bird
The ‘Unintended Consequences’ of No-Kill’s Success
Town Lake Animal Center filled to the gills with kittens and puppies
Res Publica
Citizens’ calendar, July 28-Aug. 4
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Buick vs. Mercedes-Benz, lithium-ion batteries vs. gasoline, and more
Drought: The End Is Not Near
Lake levels drop as temperatures rise
After a Fashion
Your Style Avatar’s connection to Fanny – who knew?
City Budget: More Cuts and Hikes on the Way
Austin Energy, Austin Water both proposing fee increases
Ill-Adapted
Lawsuits filed against Austin venues for alleged ADA violations
Actual Innocence
Austinite wrongfully convicted for a decade-old school prank hopes to clear his name
Big-Ticket Races Filling Up
If Rick Perry runs for president, who’ll run for governor?
Will Spears Run or Retire?
Tax Assessor will make her intentions known on Friday
Still Working It
Actor Brian O’Halloran on the enduring appeal of Clerks
‘Modern-Day Lynching’ of a Prophet
Jury selection begins in Texas case for Warren Jeffs
Drug Bust Hits La Familia
DEA says Austin a hub for cartel work
Luv Doc Recommends: Lights. Camera. Help. Film Festival
Do-gooders are an especially irritating lot, if only for the fact that their actions are a humiliating indictment of the self-absorbed, hedonistic, slothful, and apathetic majority of humanity – those of us happily occupying the meat of the bell curve, so to speak. While it seems only natural that folks who enjoy a happy, healthy,…
