Do Fries Come With That Shake? Get Down to Hang Town
by Virginia B. Wood Hang Town Grill 2828 Rio Grande, 476-8696 Open daily 11am-10pm Have you ever noticed that there are certain restaurant locations that just seem to be doomed, as if some force in the cosmos had marked them with an “X” to ensure that no restaurateur ever made a living in that particular…
Humping the Streets
Western Trails is an average, middle-class neighborhood. Kids play football on rolling green yards and parents plant begonias to decorate the curbs. Squeezed between US290, Ben White Boulevard, and Manchaca Road, Western Trails is also ideally situated for commuter shortcuts when traffic backs up on those major thoroughfares. Parked cars are sideswiped, fences knocked down,…
CO2’s Tina Marsh The Perils of Jazz
by Raoul Hernandez Jazz can kill you. Look what it did to Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Bud Powell, Billie Holiday, Dexter Gordon, and countless others. It wasted every last one of them. Sure, you could argue that years of drug abuse undercut these musical giants’ lives, but it was jazz lurking in the shadows, beckoning…
Everybody’s Doing It: How to Slow Down Traffic
Traffic calming techniques can be broken down into two major categories: “permissive” and “restrictive” measures. Permissive street redesign measures simply slow cars down. In addition to speed humps, other techniques include: *Street narrowing: Using a landscaped area to block half of the entrance to a street alerts the driver to the fact that he or…
“The Jazz Professor” James Polk An Imperfect World
by Jay Trachtenberg It wasn’t all that long ago in the Chronicle’s “Recommended” column that a writer noted, in essence, that if this were a perfect world then pianist James Polk would have a steady gig with his own trio playing to packed houses, and also providing backing duties for a steady flow of world-class…
Austin’s Speed Hump Program
The Austin City Council has set aside $100,000 this fiscal year for installation of speed humps on residential streets, and may budget more for next year, depending on the success of this year’s program. Eligible streets must be no wider than two lanes, with a posted or prima facie speed limit no greater than 30…
The Solution to Pollution
The “Trust Me” Law: Signed into law on May 23, HB 2473 is seen by many as one of the worst environmental bills of the 74th Legislature. Authored by super conservative Rep. Warren Chisum (D-Pampa) and sponsored in the Senate by Sen. J.E. “Buster” Brown (D-Lake Jackson), this law allows companies to audit themselves for…
food-o-file
Markets Sprouting All Over Summertime means farm stands and farmer’s markets can be found along roadsides, at small family farms, and even in the city. From Gillespie County peach orchards to Craftsman Farm in Dripping Springs to the South Austin Farmer’s Market across from St. Ed’s on South Congress; from Boggy Creek Farm and the…
Welcome to the Real World, Kid
History is not what we think it is. It operates via laws about which we have not a clue. Those laws are neither economic nor psychological (at least not in the way we understand psychology), and they are beyond the scope of any theory of history or culture I’ve ever heard. Such statements may not…
Scanlines
IN A GLASS CAGE D: Agustin Villaronga; with Gunter Meisner, David Sust, Marisa Paredes, Gisella Echavarria. Cinevista Home Video In a Glass Cage is one of the most disturbing films these jaded eyes have ever witnessed. This brilliant psychological horror film has left many a viewer emotionally scarred by its hypnotic power, burning any number…
Benefit Calendar
Endangered Species presents A Musical Benefit for Matthew Melear, 3-year-old survivor of family violence, at McBeth Rec Center, Zilker Park, 7pm. $4. 302-0869. The Summer Moon 5K benefits Austin Runners Club, at Barton Creek Square Mall, 7:30pm. $12 through June 9; $14 that weekend; $15 at race-site. 834-6481. Bluegrass Music Fundraiser benefits the Mary Lee…
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Staying Abreast With Russ Meyer
by Louis Black I’m scoring Titty Boom Films,” volunteers ribald, soft-core filmmaking legend Russ Meyer, after answering the phone. When I ask what Titty Boom films are, he answers, “Titty Boom is Titty Boom. Tits.” If one word could sum up Meyer’s career, that word would be tits. At least three or four times this…
His Girl Friday
His Girl Friday 1940, NR, 92 min. Directed by Howard Hawks, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy. His Girl Friday (as well as The Awful Truth) highlights Cary Grant and Ralph Bellamy in their eternal stereotypes of the cad who gets the girl and the nerd who loses…
About AIDS
HIV/AIDS Information Resources Since 1993, researchers have been working to develop a better understanding of the activity of HIV in the body, and about the immune system’s response to HIV. The knowledge they gain contributes to more effective treatments and better management of HIV disease. The most comprehensive, reliable, and most easily understood information regarding…
Naked City
Edited by Andrea Barnett, with contributions this week by Roseana Auten and Dave Cook. GETTING FIRED UP: The Phoenix Firebirds P.R. blitz began in earnest with a press hoe-down June 1 at the Pleasant Valley Sportsplex, and everything – from the serene view from the complex’s gazebo overlooking the ballparks to the expensive-looking, vintage-style Charter…
Ashes of Time
Ashes of Time 1994, NR, 100 min. Directed by Wong Kar-Wai, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Leslie Cheung, Bridget Lin, Tony Leung Kar Fei, Maggie Cheung, Carina Lau, Tony Leung Chu Wai, Jacky Cheung. Easily the most ambitious picture of last year, this epic, action melodrama from director Wong Kar Wei (The Days…
Babies and Baskets Basketball Diaries of a Mad Housewife
I am no match for her. After a long day going one-on-one with my 10-month-old phenom, I am flagging like Michael Jordan in the fourth quarter of a grueling game against the upstart Orlando Magic. I used to be somebody – I used to be the champ – but none of that matters. She doesn’t…
Everything That’s Wrong with Austin Theatre
by Robert Faires We’ve all suffered the bratty child: the child who is given a toy and, instead of being thankful, demands more toys; who runs too fast and stumbles, then blames the fall on the sidewalk, the sunlight, other children, anything but himself; who is reprimanded in a mild voice and squeals as if…
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! 1965, NR, 83 min. Directed by Russ Meyer, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Susan Bernard, Lori Williams, Haji, Tura Satana. Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is proof that with a great title, you can sell just about anything. For the so-called “King of the Nudies,”; Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is…
The Best of the Rest The Summer of ’95, Part 2
Do you believe in magic? Silly question. You’re human. You obviously believe in magic. Now you may not call it magic. You may call it science or religion or politics or rock & roll or art or even baseball. But you do believe in magic. You believe you can be transformed, transported, changed by a…
Page Two
Last week in this space, I wrote a fairly long explanation of our ad acceptance policy (the short version: We run virtually everything that isn’t illegal or deceptive), as a response to an ongoing “Postmarks” debate over the sex-related ads which appear in the Chronicle. Not surprisingly, this in turn provoked more responses, which appear…
Search and Destroy
Search and Destroy 1995. Directed by David Salle, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Griffin Dunne, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, John Turturro, Illeana Douglas, Ethan Hawke, Rosanna Arquette, Martin Scorsese. These days, the newest rage seems to be for established visual artists to enter the ranks of film directing. Robert Longo recently released his…
Calendar Listings
Except as noted, listings are edited by Robert Faires (Theatre, Dance, Comedy), Ric Williams (Litera), and Julie Weaver (Editor). DEADLINE FOR LISTINGS: Wed, June 14, 5pm, for June 23 issue. Listings are printed on a space-available basis. Photos which accompany listings submissions MUST have info on the back or they WON’T be used. THEATRE THE…
Public Notice
WORLD WEARY: By today’s standards, the Gordian knot seems like just another clove hitch. Midway through the 1990s, we’re snarled into such a paralytic tangle that nobody can even find a loose thread, let alone an end to pull. Everywhere, the news is pure apocalypse: conquest, slaughter, famine, and death. Those thundering hooves in the…
Coach’s Corner
“Now and then an innocent man is sent to the legislature.” – Abe Martin It’s a non-sequitur, okay? It’s cute, timely, just something I ran across while looking through ten million quotes about sleep, all of which began like, “In Abraham’s bosom…” I want to talk about sleep, or, more to the point, the lack…
Live Music Recommendeds
Austin Music Hall, Friday 9 Make no mistake about it, there are very few jazz musicians alive today who are as deserving of the title “jazz legend” as McCoy Tyner. As pianist in the cataclysmic John Coltrane quartet, Tyner’s stunning and explosive playing was an integral component of the group’s unparalleled sound. More than any…
Saying No to Abstinence
As a legislator, Rep. Susan Combs (R-Austin) screws Austin nearly every chance she gets. As an author of a romance novel, Combs creates characters who show even less restraint. Published in 1990, Combs’ slim book, A Perfect Match, is full of furtive glances and consummated passion. Ross, the mysterious, macho bodyguard, is charged with guarding…
Goals for Growth
The Austin Independent School District (AISD) received an unusual honor June 2, when U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley paid a visit to Winn Elementary School. Riley and U.S. Congressman Lloyd Dog-gett were on hand for the dedication of the new Winn Gardens, a schoolwide gardening and xeriscape project designed to teach students about plant…
Commercial Break
Rep. Combs’ latest legislative hosing of Austin came on May 29, the last day of the session, when the Senate passed the final version of SB 14, the property rights bill Combs initiated in the House as HB 2591. The bill allows landowners to sue a municipality or the state if their property values drop…
Show Times
Showtimes listed below start Friday, June 9 and cover the week ending Thursday, June 15. *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,…
D�ja` Vu All Over Again
The mayor thinks he’s on a roll. Two weeks ago he pulled off what many say is the most monumental deal in city history, the privatization of Brackenridge Hospital. Then five days later, Bruce Todd announced that the city’s top breadwinner, the electric utility, may have to undergo a similar fate for many of the…
Sifting Through the Rubble
We were warned what was going to happen to us. Jim Bob Moffett told us. So did the mayor. Our senator warned us. The local monopoly daily warned us. But we wouldn’t listen. Now Austin has to pay. We were told to do the “reasonable” thing: Give New Orleans-based developer Freeport-McMoRan their city sewer and…
Kerrvilla Sinsemilla
Best keep your stash well hidden if you’re heading off to the final weekend at the Kerrville Folk Festival. As you may have heard, there were some pot busts the first weekend of the Fest. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether a couple of hits off that “J” are worth the risk.…
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows…
Lily Munster (of The Munsters fame) could fly, and did so on an episode in which she played a fashion model. If Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, had used guinea pigs to test the medical breakthrough, it would probably would have never been used on humans because penicillin is a deadly poison to guinea…
Film
ASHES OF TIMED: Wong Kar Wei; with Leslie Cheung, Bridget Lin, Tony Leung Kar Fei, Maggie Cheung, Carina Lau, Tony Leung Chu Wai, Jacky Cheung. Easily the most ambitious picture of last year, this epic, action melodrama from director Wong Kar Wei (The Days of Being Wild) is so structurally complex in its unfolding of…
Hearth & Soul
House Boat Dear Suzy, When we bought our nice older house last year, we noticed the crawl space was a bit damp. A contractor slithered around in the mud and suggested that the problem was not severe and to install a few vents to air things out. The grade of the yard appears adequate to…
