Cover Story
Mr. Not So Frivolous
Wallace Shawn bares all about writing, why he does theatre, and that play with all the sex in it
Can’t Decide Which Is Sadder
The fact that I am currently watching The Day After Tomorrow… Or the fact that I’ve already seen it before. Twice. (I think I do it for Jake.)
Lightning Win Home Opener and More
Sometime last Saturday night at House Park, the Austin Lightning’s Fanáticos drum section tabbed midfielder Nick Torres with a new nickname: “Bazooka.” Torres’ rocket-powered right foot nailed two kicks to bring the Lightning from behind to beat New Orleans 3-1: a screaming, 25-yard free kick into the upper corner of the net, which the keeper…
Red-Light Cameras on Trial
State Reps. Fred Hill, Carl Isett Collide Over Red-Light Cameras
Did He or Didn’t He?
Dewhurst’s office throws down, then backs down over calling Democrats undemocratic.
Abbott Kicks Coke
Who’s the man? Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, that’s who. On May 11, the man flexed his legal muscle in Dallas County court, securing a temporary injunction against the makers of the (apparently) controversial energy drink Cocaine. Under the injunction, Cocaine makers Redux Beverages LLC and Redux LLC (along with one Texas distributor and two…
Affordability’s in the Eye of the Beholder
Take a peek at the Affordable Housing Incentives Task Force’s recommendations.
This Is Hardcore
A whole weekend of chaos.
Craddick’s No Quitter
Speaker race ’09: Craddick fires back.
Blood on the Senate Floor (Updated)
Whitmire vs. Dewhurst get vocal on the floor, all over a voter-ID bill.
Why We Love Wikipedia
But wait – it’s been longer than 15 minutes!
Raich Down But Never Out
After a nearly five-year legal battle in court to secure her right to use medi-pot in compliance with California state law, patient-advocate guru Angel Raich announced late last week that she will drop her legal appeals. Raich fought the law all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where an oddly divided majority opined that…
Dead Man Gaveling!
Someone is after Speaker Craddick’s job.
Falwell That Ends Well
Lates, Jerry.
Proof that Cops Always Have the Best Stash, Pt. 2
It all started with a phone call – a five-minute call to Dearborn, Mich., 911 operators – and has spawned serious questions about how the Dearborn PD handles a drug-stealing-and-doing cop. In short, if you wanna do pot, carry a badge, get caught, and skate off clean, move to Dearborn. On April 21, 2006, former…
One Rule for the Lawmakers
CBS-42 catches reps in voting violations.
Joe Strummer: ‘Punk Rock Warlord’
We were 16 years old, hunched over in the balcony of some century-old firetrap in San Francisco. We shouldn’t have been there, honestly, clean-scrubbed kids from the East Bay burbs. But we were. And 25 years later, our two jaws still sit on the floor of that shake, rattle, and roll balcony. I’d swear on…
Kirk Cameron Is Not Great
You’ve got 60 minutes to prove the existence of God starting … now!
Embracing The Riches
The Riches young Sam Malloy comes out (as if he was ever in…).
QT Says Bye-Bye
Sadness as the man behind Grindhouse says goodbye to the cinema that helped create it.
The Year in Sports, as Pitched to the Head of a Hollywood Studio
I have a few friends that are trying pretty hard to make it as screenwriters. Every one of them has taken a crack at writing about those golden days of college when everything we did was just simply hilarious. Oh how we killed ourselves on a daily basis. Animal House? Rank amateurs. I know a…
It’s No Arnie vs. Gray Davis
What did this weekend’s elections mean for toobers on the Guadalupe?
Magnificent Weekend for Texas High School Track & Field
Our state’s championship weekend is one of the most-watched in the high school track & field world.
Bulletproof Tom, Bulletproof No More
How secure is Speaker Craddick?
Wal-Mart Now a Little Bit Pregnant
Bentonville Beast splits the baby.
Dying in Committee, Part 9
Senators can’t save every bill – not even those that would save lives.
Avery Beer Experience
Avery Beer Experience Beer tasting and discussions featuring a sampling of Avery Beers and beer commercials onscreen. For details see www.drafthouse.com.
Guillen Defeats Sims in Art of War 2’s No. 1 Stunner (Wh-What, Wh-What, What?)
Do you believe in miracles, folks? In an almost literal David and Goliath comeback Chris Guillen … OK, the overemoting sportscaster approach doesn’t work when you’re describing a cage fight, does it? After watching “the Guillotine” Guillen beat the 10-inches-taller Wes “the Project” Sims in an upset of totally cliché-ical proportions Friday at the Austin…
Musings From the Mezzanine, Second Half: Spurs vs. Suns, Game 3
Halfway through the third quarter, the Suns probably wish they’d stayed in the locker room. Amare Stoudemire’s on the bench with four fouls, Steve Nash has one freakin’ point – and one bruised groin, courtesy of Bruce Bowen – and Spurs sharpshooter Brent Barry (who was deep in a conversation about the latest episode of…
Musings From the Mezzanine, First Half: Spurs vs. Suns, Game 3
Some sort of cosmic glitch, some kind of karmic mishap, something off-kilter in the universe has allowed us, Dave Mann and Josh Rosenblatt, two sinners seeking salvation, to come down here to San Antonio and witness Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinal battle between the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns. Maybe there’s…
African Adventure 3D: Safari in the Okavango
African Adventure 3D: Safari in the Okavango 2007, NR, 40 min. Directed by Ben Stassen. Come face-to-face with hippos, crocodiles, elephants, lions, and many types of antelopes and bird species. Closes Friday
Chris Burke Sent Down to Round Rock
“Baseball giveth and baseball taketh away.” Or so says Astros’ Hall of Fame announcer Milo Hamilton about Chris Burke’s recent demotion to the Round Rock Express after being anointed the Astros’ starting centerfielder on opening day. Playing out of position – Burke is primed to fill Craig Biggio’s spot at second once he gets his…
Hempmilk: Doesn’t Taste Like Crap, Pudding, or Glue
If you are at all familiar with the Chronicle’s “Reefer Madness” columns, then I guess you’ve probably figured out that I am a total hemp nut. Yes, it’s true; I’m crazy for the stuff. I’ve got hemp clothing that wears better than any cotton competitor; I’ve got hemp lotion, which is great and nongreasy –…
Dying in Committee, Part 8: Microbrewery Bill Dead
Don’t plan on taking any beer home after that microbrewery tour.
Joe Ely & Reckless Kelly: A Combo That Works!
Joe Ely drives Reckless Kelly old-school.
Ricky Again Positive for Pot
The Associated Press reports that 1998 Heisman Trophy-winning Longhorn football running-back phenom Ricky Williams last month tested positive for pot, a setback likely to put on hold his anticipated reinstatement to the NFL. Williams has said that pot eases his social anxiety disorder – without the side effects of prescription meds, like Paxil – and…
Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of LA Immigrant Rights Ralliers
Attorneys file class-action lawsuit against LA Police Department on behalf of “community groups who organized a May Day immigrants rights rally at MacArthur Park in the city’s heavily Latino immigrant community”
Alienation (Updated)
Why is it still acceptable to use this term?
Carpenter Builds Up West Lake Candidates
Liz Carpenter confirms letter in support of West Lake candidates.
Farewell to Blair
What will the resignation of British Prime Minister Tony Blair mean for the U.S.?
Special Immigration Status Extended for Some Central Americans
Department of Homeland Security has announced it will extend by 18 months amount of time it will allow hundreds of thousands of Central Americans in US to continue residing and working here legally
Dying in Committee, Part 7
Don’t ask why some bills pass and some don’t. The answer will make your head spin.
Georgia Rule
Despite the presence of three acting powerhouses – Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, and Lindsay Lohan – this movie about three generations of “difficult” women never rings true.
Long Center: Grand gift takes campaign over the top
The Long Center received $5 million from the Sybil B. Harrington Trust, which put the organization over its $77 million fundraising goal
Let Them Eat Loaf
The Story of Lottie Fox
Immigration and the Border
Security for Whom? In November, Gov. Rick Perry made campaign promises about his $100 million virtual-border program, promises that almost fell flat when the House Appropriations Committee noticed he never requested that sum in his budget. After sorting out that accounting problem, Perry’s major proposal was House Bill 13, the homeland- and border-security bill. This…
Happenings
May 10-16
28 Weeks Later
This continuing story of a populace that fears infection from a “rage virus,” forges ahead with panic-paced sequences of graphic, random violence.
Art of the Pot: Art for your hands and mouth
Art of the Pot is bringing out the goods for its annual weekend studio tour and sale with work by 15 ceramic artists, each of whom bring something unique to the table
Time to Make the Doughnuts Dog Food
Anybody can do it!
Reproductive Health and Family Planning
Abortion Rights: It appears that Pampa Republican Rep. Warren Chisum’s bid to ban abortion outright (that is, in the event the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade), HB 175, is dead. This is not because an angry bipartisan contingent of lawmakers stood up to kill it but because a staffer for Rep. David Swinford,…
Anthony Graves Update: Evidence Reappears
Special prosecutor handling retrial of capital murder case against Graves finds cache of physical evidence thought lost last month
Waitress
Despite a storyline that involves an unplanned pregnancy, various affairs, spousal abuse, maternal ambivalence, and food-service employment, Waitress is an optimistic comedy about getting past your mistakes and making the best of life.
A Special Evening With Stephen Mills: With him, it’s special all the time
As Ballet Austin presents a Special Evening With Stephen Mills, some of the artists from the ballet explain why they think their artistic director is a special guy
Bocaditos
Bark for Peace Organic Vegan Dog Treats
Human Services: Consider the Children
Concerning public benefits, “half a loaf is better than none” is a recurring theme of the 80th Lege, as progressive Democrats seek user-friendly Republicans willing to work toward repairing the damage wrought by the even more tightfisted 79th. In that context, in which fiscal conservatives still hold the upper hand, Dems have held their noses…
Oaxaca Conflict Flares Back Up
Political tension resurfaces in southern Mexican state
Arts Review
Each of the seven short plays written by Dan Dietz in Shrewd Productions’ Trash Anthems unfolds like a gift being opened, full of surprising scenarios and sympathetic characters
Food-o-File
Remembering Cheers the German shepherd as well as Natural Insect Repellents for Pets, People, and Plants
Transportation
Toll-Road Turmoil: Of all of the policy proposals that Gov. Rick Perry has secured from the Legislature, none has been more aggressive, far-reaching, and controversial than his transportation policy. And private companies, particularly a megacontractor based in Spain (Cintra), are turning a tidy profit as a result. Lawmakers looking down that long, winding road, however,…
Point Austin: Impeach the War
Kucinich’s formal move against Cheney one more political weapon
Arts Review
For years, Second Youth Family Theatre has set the standard for children’s theatre in Austin, but its latest show, The Page and the Caterpillar, doesn’t quite live up to that standard
Event Menu
May 11-20
Environment: Partly Sunny
Climate Change: Trapped in committee with time running out, Houston Democrat Rodney Ellis’ SB 945 requires the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to craft a comprehensive plan to track and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and calls for capping climate change pollution from electric power, industrial, and commercial sectors and reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2021.…
Beside the Point
Going where no analogy has gone before …
Arts Review
Oscar Gillespie’s stunning and intricate prints, as exhibited at Slugfest Gallery, wouldn’t be more compelling if they were printed in the artist’s own blood
In Print
The Ultimate Dog Treat Cookbook: Homemade Goodies for Man’s Best Friendby Liz Palika Howell Book House, 118 pp., $14.99 Since my dogs have been dining for upward of eight weeks now on pork liver sautéed in butter and the like, it seemed to me a bit overboard to make them homemade dog biscuits, too. But…
Criminal Justice: From Headlines to Humane
Jessica’s Law: Named for the Florida 9-year-old who was raped and buried alive, House Bill 8, by Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, would increase penalties for violent sexual offenses against children, including the possibility of the death penalty for repeat offenders. Despite the concerns of seemingly unlikely opponents – including both advocates for sexual-assault victims and…
Developing Stories
City plans ahead for sustainable funding of Austin’s new flagship Downtown library
Readings
Writes Mona Yahia in her dedication, ‘To my parents, who gave me languages instead of roots.’
In Print
The Ultimate Cat Treat Cookbook: Homemade Goodies for Finicky Felinesby Liz Palika Howell Book House, 106 pp., $14.99 Whoever wrote the line regarding a cat’s curiosity wasn’t talking about feeding habits. While your demure grimalkin will playfully bat the flame atop a narrow candle, Mr. Wufflekins is likely to approach his food bowl with greater…
Austin Bills: Fingers Crossed
With the clock running down on the Lege, has the city of Austin implemented its agenda – or bucked any dubious bills? “It’s going reasonably well,” says city government relations officer John Hrncir. It’s a bit too early to tell, he says, but signs are encouraging. Bargaining and More: Despite a scare last week, city-initiated…
Reefer Madness: North Dakota Hemp Heads Toward Federal Showdown
State’s farmers stuck in web of federal bureaucracy
News/Print
Book deals, raw deals, and notable upcoming events of interest
Collective Wisdom
The Tonewheel Collective spins off Austin’s indie scene of tomorrow
Minimum Wage: Keepin’ ‘Em Down
Barring a last-minute fast-track miracle, our lameass legislators have failed to pass any and all bills proposing to raise the state hourly minimum wage, stuck for more than nine years at a pathetic $5.15 an hour. That’s a 60-year low compared to the pay of other U.S. workers, and the millions of workers earning that…
The Hightower Report
More Corporate War Against Workers; and Slamming the Door on Iraqi Refugees
Oops!
Our latest batch
Phases and Stages
BjörkVolta (Elektra) Tori AmosAmerican Doll Posse (Epic) In their careers, these two women often have achieved an eerie psychic twin synchronicity via left brain (Tori Amos) and right brain (Björk). More than a decade after releasing their acclaimed debuts – with so-so albums since the new millennium – they’ve both arrived at curious political and…
TYC: Will the Lege Drain the Gulag?
State government starts long, protracted, and expensive era of oversight, litigation, and structural changes to discredited agency
In the Mood for a MomRomCom?
The Alamo Drafthouse is serving up It Happened One Night and Sabrina for Mother’s Day
Letters at 3AM
Freedom is beautiful and dangerous: That has been the theme of American writers since the beginning
Phases & Stages
Elliott SmithNew Moon (Kill Rock Stars) Elliott Smith made albums through which common threads wove: loneliness, surrender, love, alienation, addiction. His vulnerability swirled rather than standing still, each measure touching the core. Unlike his first posthumously released album, 2004’s From a Basement on the Hill, in which Smith had been neck deep until his untimely…
Cool City: Acting Locally, Cooling Globally
The Austin Climate Protection Plan takes form
If You Attend One Unconference This Summer …
PodCamp San Antonio, May 19
After a Fashion
This week, your Style Avatar sounds a bit like Homer in the Flaming Moe episode of The Simpson’s: Mow, Mow, Mow, mow, mow
Phases & Stages
Tim BuckleyMy Fleeting House (MVD) An odd clip sits in the middle of My Fleeting House, a new documentary on the late Tim Buckley (1947-1975). A garish Jayne Meadows asks Buckley who does his hair during an appearance on the Steve Allen Show. He’s alternately uncomfortable and amused. In his brief career, Buckley felt mostly…
T. Don Hutto: Homeland Security Bars U.N. Inspector
Homeland Security clangs detention center’s door shut on U.N. investigator Jorge Bustamante
Film News
Incentives in the Senate: Does Steve Ogden want to censor filmmakers shooting in Texas?
Day Trips
The Windy Hill Winery north of Brenham makes eight wines using locally grown grapes with good results
Phases & Stages
Patti SmithTwelve (Columbia) Patti Smith, like the Rolling Stones, always valued a good cover. Her fabled first LP, 1975’s Horses, sported the reinvisioned “Gloria,” and “When Doves Cry” on her 2002 compilation, Land, didn’t back down either. Yet Smith will catch shit for this safe collection of true-to-original renderings, and in most cases, she deserves…
QSA Builds Voice at UT
Queer Students Alliance gains clout, solidifies on-campus legitimacy
DVD Watch
The Mario Bava Collection: Volume 1Anchor Bay, $49.98 Arguably the most anticipated boxed set of the year, this is exhaustive genre excavators Anchor Bay’s finest single-director collection to date, spanning five films and 460-plus minutes of essential works by legendary Italian genre-gun-for-hire Mario Bava, whose 1960 feature debut, Black Sunday, still raises hackles and hormones…
Soccer Watch
Lightning home opener, and more
Phases & Stages
The SaintsImperious Delirium (Wildflower) Reduced to a trio after the departure of Church guitarist Marty Willson-Piper, Chris Bailey’s latest incarnation of the Saints falls bum first toward the raggedy rudiments on Imperious Delirium. Between its unsteady rhythms and slipshod production aesthetic, one can easily imagine this LP coming from a gaggle of novice upstarts rather…
May 12 Special Election
The Chronicle endorsements
DVD Watch
Also Out NowThe Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Anchor Bay, $49.98): Mr. Savlov in effect argues above that Anchor Bay’s Bava box is the most anticipated set of (presumably) the Gregorian calendar year 2007 (presumably, too, among Region I releases, although it is well-documented that he owns a multiplatform player) as well as the studio’s “finest…
TCB
Stories from the Ritz’s punk heyday and a former Adult now on tour with Kelly Clarkson, and the 2007 ACL Fest sounds just like Tom Thumb’s blues
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
An old-school potato clock and a famous appendix on ice
Phases & Stages
Nine Inch NailsYear Zero (Interscope) Trent Reznor obviously means his fifth Nine Inch Nails album to be a Children of Men-style vision of a not-too-distant future where precious little separates Georges Orwell and Bush. The back cover carries a sticker from the “Bureau of Morality,” encouraging the citizenry to “Be a patriot. Be an informer!”…
Naked City
Quote of the Week “I detest the word ‘illegal aliens.’ … My friends, look at me. I am a brown man. Where do you think this came from? This came from my Indian heritage. … My family has been all over North and South America for centuries and centuries. Yes, we have been here a…
TV Eye
News From the Front
The Other Conquest
This amazing-looking Mexican epic is a work of historic fiction by a first-time filmmaker, and focuses on the aftermath of the takeover in 1519 of the Aztec empire by Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortés.
The Common Law
Can I see my employment personnel file?
Phases & Stages
Arctic MonkeysFavourite Worst Nightmare (Domino) Fifteen months after releasing their Mercury Prize-winning debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, a clunky, compelling, coming-of-age chapter that slums through clubs, pubs, and Sheffield, UK, burbs, the Arctic Monkeys return with Favourite Worst Nightmare, an album even sharper and more cunning than its predecessor. Opener…
Funding TP&W: No Walk Through the Park
Texas’ parks come one step closer to funding they need to reverse years of budgetary-shortfall-induced decay
Lucky You
This romantic drama is set against a Las Vegas background and stars Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore, but it rolls snake eyes all the way.
Loving Wally
“I think there was a night when I got worked up and cracked somebody’s windshield.” Matt Hislope recalls Physical Plant Theater’s 2004 production of Wallace Shawn’s The Fever atop a parking garage. In putting on a mere monologue, Hislope and his partners in crime, Josh Meyer and Carlos Treviño, not only hijacked a dozen-odd car…
Kick the Can and Bag the Bag
A guide to preparing homemade pet food
Walking the Lege
With two weeks left, the 80th runs into foul weather
Teacher Found Guilty of Injuring Child
Jurors find teacher at Hyde Park Baptist Church’s day-care center intentionally injured at least one young child in her care
Dying in Committee: The Gavel Drops
Farewell, unpassed House bills, we scarcely knew thee.
Luv Doc Recommends: Second Annual Grace Foundation Benefit
You know, you would be so cute if you just did something with your hair. Have you put on some weight? You look heavier. Are you pregnant? You look tired. Are you getting enough sleep? You look like you just got out of bed. That would explain why your clothes are wrinkled. It doesn’t help…
