Hearth & Soul
Blade Runner Evil spirits have invaded my subdivision. I can find no other rational explanation for why someone would move 30 minutes from town, plunk down a hunk of change for a few acres of “country,” then proceed to tear out every shred of native flora excepting a few scrawny oaks, build a house that…
Scanlines
CRIMINAL PASSION D: Donna Deitch; with Joan Severance, Anthony John Denison, John Allen Nelson, David Labiosa, Wolfgang Bodison, Shannon Wilcox, Henry Darrow. Vidmark Entertainment Criminal Passion? Never heard of it. Initially, that was enough to get me to pull the box off the video store shelf. The visible information rang no immediate bells, at least…
Film
A GREAT DAY IN HARLEMProducer: Jean Bach and Matthew Seig; writers: Bach, Seig, and Susan Peehl; editor: Peehl; narrator: Quincy Jones; interviews with Art Kane, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Marian McPartland, Horace Silver, Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, and others. This hour-long documentary is the story of a photograph: a fascinating story about a…
Day Trips
The Museum of African-American Life and Culture in Dallas preserves the rich heritage of African-Americans’ artistic contributions to our society. Many of the museum’s collections and exhibits are unprecedented in the Southwest. Built in the shape of a cross and made of bright, ivory stone, the building presents an imposing sight at Dallas’ Fair Park…
MIDI Pioneer George Alistair Sanger The Fat Man
by Rob Patterson Back in the early Eighties, George Alistair Sanger was another struggling Los Angeles musician with dreams of greatness. “All that time, the prime directive for me was to figure out what it is that made the Beatles so great,” he says. “What made them so cool. And how can I be that…
El Coyote
“Have you been to El Coyote yet?” is the question I would inevitably get asked when I would tell my accordion-loving friends of my forays through East Austin conjunto bars. And for about three years now, I would shamefully have to tell them no, I hadn’t gotten over there yet. I was starting to feel…
Career Opportunities: Music to Shoot Aliens By
Think back to your favorite video game. Was it Pac-Man? Donkey Kong? Mario Bros.? You got to go on far-reaching adventures, shoot down enemies, and rescue the maiden. But there was always that one drawback, that incessant high-pitched squealing – that beep-beeping and bloop-blooping. It made you want to yank the sound cable out of…
The Discovery Incubator
With all the tie-dyed patrons, barbecue vendors, art displays, and street musicians at the opening of the new multi-media Discovery Incubator last weekend, it was hard not to feel like you’d accidentally become an unpaid extra on the set of Slacker II. Although the Discovery Incubator itself could prove to be a landmark of activity,…
The Rudy Schwartz Project Tied Up in Knotts
by Ken Leick The monstrous four-by-six-foot poster over Joe Newman’s bed proudly bears the legend “The Love God” in six-inch letters. The display is not a sexual boast, however, and in fact one would suspect that its presence would hinder rather than spur on any hanky panky in the area. The poster, you see, is…
Live Shots
21ST CENTURY BLUES Ruta Maya, June 6 It looks like the blues at millennium’s turn will infuse lots of jazz and rock. Despite the name, 21st Century Blues are very much a Big Brother and the Holding Co. (or any SF band circa 1967) redux pared down. Up front, there’s a big, big-voiced, big-souled, big…
AISD Notebook
Over the vociferous objections of several prominent African-American and Hispanic community leaders, on Monday the AISD Board of Trustees adopted a budget for the 1995-96 school year that is about $1.3 million short on funds for schools with high percentages of low-income children. The total budget is $383 million – $3 million less than the…
Austin’s Chambermaid
The mayor is victorious. A week after a presentation by Mayor Bruce Todd before the Chamber of Commerce members urging them to support a governor’s veto of House Bill 3193, which would excise Chamber member Gary Bradley’s Circle C subdivision from Austin’s extra-territorial jurisdiction, the Chamber of Commerce Executive Board voted Tuesday, June 13, to…
Scoreboard, Part II
Last week, we tallied the legislative accomplishments of three members of the Austin delegation. This week, we’ll look at Reps. Sherri Greenberg and Dawnna Dukes, and Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos. According to figures provided by the legislators, Greenberg passed 29 bills, Dukes passed nine, and Barrientos 52. As noted last week, the computer list provided by…
Naked City
Edited by Andrea Barnett, with contributions this week by Andrea Barnett and Nelson England. EMPTY BUSES VS. EMPTY CARS: Capital Metro’s Board of Directors voted Monday to increase the transit authority’s sales tax share from 3/4cents to 1cents on the dollar. Last month when the Board announced its intention to vote on the tax increase,…
Art for the “Common Audience” Journal of the Heart
by Rebecca Levy Anitra Blayton’s journal is not like mine. Hers is bigger. Really big. Life-size, stacked-up, wouldn’t-fit-on-my-desk-or even-in-my-office big. Journaling is usually a private experience – and indeed Blayton’s work can be quite intimate – but this is a woman whose purpose is to share her point of view. Six mixed media constructions make…
Fox and CBS Pull the Switcheroo Musical Affiliates
At 33, Dennis Upah looks like a tall kid with business skills. His wholehearted Midwestern demeanor belies his bigwig role in turning a bare-bones Fox station in North Austin into a multi-million-dollar CBS affiliate. Upah’s 6’3″ frame moves swiftly and purposefully across the station’s empty parking lot to show visitors where a 7,000 square-foot expansion…
Beating the Hollywood Dole-Drums
Let me see if I’ve got this straight: Guns don’t kill people, movies do. Specifically, movies like Priest. As Clint Eastwood said without regard to anachronism in Unforgiven, “Say, what?” Let’s give Senator Bob Dole this much: Had he not fired this latest shot in the culture war, a national debate on the influence of…
A Kansas City Switch
If it’s any comfort to television fans, there is life after network affiliation switches. Kansas City, for example, survived when Fox kicked NBC out of its nest and NBC moved into quarters vacated by Fox. “There was at first constant confusion from the public with all these programming changes, but people sorted it out very…
Of Love and Bingo
Spring speeds into summer here. No sooner do we take off our long sleeves than we’re heading for Barton Springs. No matter. I don’t mind mixing spring pleasures (flowers, falling in love again) with summer ones (fruit salad and reading by the pool). The last three novels I’ve read share a similar abundance. In the…
The Nicest Guy in Television
At a time when local TV news departments are pouring huge sums of money into new hires, snazzy graphics, and aggressive ad campaigns, former news anchor Ron Oliveira is standing up for Andy Griffith reruns. Oliveira, the popular Channel 24 anchor who jumped the news ship last year to launch KNVA (Channel 54, Cable 12),…
Pesto, Puccini, and the Omni Talented Singing With Your Supper
by Virginia B. Wood Ancho’s Restaurant at the Omni Hotel 701 Brazos Street, 320-5858 Breakfast & Lunch Monday-Friday, 6:30am-2pm; Saturday & Sunday, 7am-2pm Dinner Monday-Thursday, 5:30pm-10pm; Friday, Saturday & Sunday, 5:30pm-11pm Singers perform Wednesday-Saturday evenings & at Sunday brunch, noon-2pm Years ago, when I was a college student studying vocal performance, I spent two summers…
Live Music Recommended
Liberty Lunch, Friday 16 Consider Juliana Hatfield the anti-Courtney, says one critic. Good idea, right down to the producers who channeled Hole’s rage on Live Through This, thenturnedHatfield’s Only Everything into a bittersweet valentine of melodic heartbreak, ebullient romanticism, and damaged optimism. Let her radio-friendly “Universal Heartbeat” light the way; Hatfield’s axiom that it’s better…
Not Your Mother’s Flamenco
by Marene Gustin Gone are the tall combsand mantillas, huge ruffles and castanets. Percussion and bass guitar join the traditional guitar and singer in providing the rhythm. The Jos� Greco Spanish Dance Company is back in town, but the traditional revue of flamenco, Spanish folk dance, and escuela bolero (classical dance) that it has presented…
Shakespeare’s Summer Reading
Think of this list as your 12-step program to an enlightened world view. Obviously there isn’t room to include everything, but this eclectic sampling will have a profound impact on your thinking. As with any list, there are notable exclusions. You’ll notice the Bible isn’t on here. While it’s an unquestionably great book, it will…
About AIDS
What Do You Get From Being a Volunteer? * A tremendous sense of having contributed to your community.’ * The enjoyment of helping others. * Close and lasting friendships. * The chance to be an integral part of a dedicated team. AIDS Services of Austin’s Client Services volunteers are some of the best people in…
Show Times
Showtimes listed below start Friday, June 16 and cover the week ending Thursday, June 22. *An asterisk (*) before a title means that no passes or special admission discounts (apart from matinee discounts) will be accepted for any screening. *Parentheses indicate weekend showtimes for Saturdays and Sundays only, unless otherwise noted. *Changes may sometimes occur,…
Coach’s Corner
Let’s ponder the historical status of the Houston Rockets. I assume – look out, Rockets!- that Houston, by the time you read this, will be world champions. When a team twice wins in a league as tough as the NBA, fans must consider where this odd group fits in the pantheon of all-time great teams.…
food-o-file
Get Your Goat Botanitas Restaurant, 6400 South First Street, is one of the few restaurants in town that serves the interior Mexican specialty, cabrito (kid goat). Chef-owner Ruben Rodriguez reports that he has an ample supply of naturally raised cabrito purchased locally from White Egret Farm. He’ll be serving up Cabrito Estilo Jalisco (Kid Goat…
