Art Fun in the Summertime
Alan Roth: Robotics Script Works Ahead Three nights of new plays by member playwrights of Austin Script Works, a support organization for committed dramatists. Two plays each night: Lea Matthews/John Walch Thu; C. Francis Blackchild/Amparo Garcia Crow Fri; Paulette MacDougal/David Gunderson Sat. May 20-22, Thu-Sat, 7pm. State Classroom Studios, 719 Congress. $3 suggested donation. 454-9727.…
Live Shots
Cactus Cafe, May 7 By the time Tom Russell broke into “Gallo del Cielo,” perhaps his most often covered and best-loved song, a heartwrenching narrative about Carlos Saragosa’s gambling journey through Texas to California with a famed fighting rooster, undertaken so that he could buy back the land stolen from his family by Pancho Villa,…
Camp Camelot
“Relax. Get real. Break the rules. Be lustworthy.” The pitch for a vacation relaxation camp landed on my desk at exactly the right moment. A work deadline loomed, and the flyer kept me further from my task. The camp claimed to be “the place for (not-so) grown-ups” and offered a weekend geared toward jump-starting one’s…
Book Tour Confidential
illustration by Nathan Jensen In these latter days of the 20th century, as we see the economy bursting upon itself with prosperity, and the enjoyment of all luxurious and enlightening things becomes a moral duty, nay, a pursuit even unto the likes of an African safari — yea, at such affluent times our thoughts often…
Where’s the Party?
People start bands for a lot of different reasons. Some dream of being famous, playing monstrous arenas and European rock festivals, fending off hordes of sex-crazed groupies and dodging autograph hounds while rolling in the profits from a multimillion-dollar record deal. Others are satisfied with making it to the level of local celebrity, playing the…
Cowgirl Dreams
Did you know baby deer can make a lot of noise? “That’s called a ‘bleep,'” says Twin Elms Guest Ranch owner Charlsie Browne. A baby deer, four days old, teeters around a makeshift pen, bleeping, much to the delight of several dogs, puppies, and teenagers. A very tame young male deer, Mr. Frank, shows no…
Off the Bookshelf
by Victoria Glendinning Henry Holt, $35 hard It’s no surprise that the man who described happiness as “a perpetual possession of being well deceived” was not himself so deceived. In this chatty and personal portrait of the author of Gulliver’s Travels — who died more than 250 years ago — Glendinning is like an aunt…
Won’t Leave the Nest
Then came testimonials from musicians, including Cherilyn Fielding, a young hopeful who gave a glowing testimony to what the AMN had done by airing her music: “Austin is a very nurturing city. They let me find my own voice here. And I found it and I have never been happier in my life. I am…
Fluid, Imperceptible
When I was 18 years old, I was forced to put my first and only horse, Mark, out to pasture. He had gone lame due to a degenerative bone disease and could no longer be ridden. Losing him not only broke my heart, but also soured me on the stable experience as a whole. Although…
In Person
, is well-written and charming. The novel is narrated by May, a precocious 12-year-old girl who lives with her mother in a girl’s-school-turned-hotel on the English seaside. By the Shore is both a love story and a coming-of-age story; it has a bareness which is its beauty. First, and to dispel any rumors, Craze is…
On The Lege
It took the brutal murder of a disabled black man in Jasper to convince House members to support a comprehensive hate crimes bill last month. It took four Republican senators, a presidential candidate, and 11 hours of back-room finagling to derail it in the Senate. Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, holds a picture of James Byrd…
English Stables
4829 Switch Willow Rd. 345-2507. Switch Willow offers private, semi-private, and group lessons, all of which are given seven days a week in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings. Glenn and Phoebe will train and/or board your horse for set fees, or they can help you find the right one for you. Switch Willow also offers…
Postscripts
Am�rico Paredes, UT scholar, writer, and founder of UT’s Center for Mexican American Studies, died Wednesday, May 5; a public memorial service organized by friends of his family will be held on Sunday, May 23 at 2pm at UT’s Thompson Conference Center, adjacent to the LBJ Library. Call 441-9255 for more information. Mystery Text There…
Naked City
Turns out no one was more surprised by the news that the Save Our Springs Alliance Board of Directors were pursuing “preventative litigation” against the tate over HB 1704 than the SOS board itself. “We did not vote to sue the state of Texas,” says SOS Board Chair Robin Rather. “We are not suing anyone.”…
Bear Creek Stables
A pinched mouth and narrow eyes may be a sign your horse is in pain or a bad mood. I look up for a quick inventory of my horse’s face. Pinched mouth: check. Narrow eyes: check. It’s a hot and humid Tuesday afternoon at Manchaca’s Bear Creek Stables, and I’m about to get on a…
Book Reviews
by Edward Swift University of Georgia Press, $24.95 hard As you read this, the severed finger of a frail man long since dead is floating in some Mason jar, pickled. Nobody knows just how this finger came to break free of its owner so many years ago, and nobody can say just why it was…
Nickel-and-Diming It
Traditionally, one of the things that has made state employment attractive has been the relative job security it offered. Most state employees enter a so-called “career life cycle” when they are hired; the life cycle details what an employee can reasonably expect to be making and doing five, 10, or 20 years down the line,…
Additional Ranch Info
The Bottle House photograph by John Anderson Flying L Guest Ranch, Bandera Whether you’re visiting the family-oriented Western ranch or coming to the conference center for a corporate function, there are plenty of activities to enjoy: guided horseback riding, fishing, tubing, even calf scrambles and steer roping. For the athletically inclined, there’s golf on an…
AIDS Number One Killer Among Infectious Diseases
In the U.S. we sometimes get complacent about AIDS when we see that our death rate has fallen by over half in the last couple of years, but then reality slaps us in the face when the rest of the world comes into view. Last week the World Health Organization acknowledged that AIDS has become…
Privatizing Services: A Pay Raise at a Cost
For many years, “outsourcing” and “privatization” were the euphemistic territory of job-slashing state agency heads. Lately, however, the lexicon of “cost containment” has entered the shuttered world of academia with impressive force, as penny-pinching administrators have hunted for ways to diminish their overhead. At UT-Austin, a number of major functions have been privatized or outsourced…
Ranches, Dude!
As the Chronicle’s own Captain Day Trips, Gerald E. McLeod has logged his fair share of rump blisters from the backs of horses across Central Texas. Heck, we weren’t even surprised to learn that he’s a veteran rodeo-er and one-time wrangler for the Camp Fire Girls (!!!). Quite frankly, between you, me, and the horses,…
Coach’s Corner
A well-known professional athlete dying — accidentally killing himself is a better way of putting it — with a lethal dose of what our cynical society euphemistically likes to call “recreational drugs” isn’t, unfortunately, anything new. We’ve seen it before. Next week or next month, we’ll see it again. Though dead is, I guess, dead,…
Athletics Dept. Perks: Exercises in Extravagance?
Last June, the University of Texas athletics department held a two-day staff retreat at Barton Creek Country Club. The tab came to $13,918 — almost as much money as Robert Wyatt, a library assistant at the Perry-Castaneda Library, earns in an entire year. Three months after the June meeting, the department held a coaches’ meeting…
Get Back on the Horse
From as far back as memory allows, I have had a fear of horses. The birth of this fear is steeped in mystery. There has never been the obvious “bad experience.” Indeed, as horse exposure goes, mine has been very limited: I had never rid one, and had only seldom stroked one. I grew up…
Day Trips
Greenhouses of the future photograph by Gerald E. McCleod The San Antonio Botanical Gardens sparkles in the sunlight like the galaxies in the night sky. Thousands of flowers adorn the walkways of the 33-acre park with a symphony of almost as many different colors. In this self-contained universe, the paths lead through traditional gardens fed…
Scanlines
aka La Maschera del demonio D: Mario Bava (1960) with Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Ivo Garrani, Andrea Checchi. Bava’s directorial debut was one of the last of the great black-and-white Gothic horror films and the springboard for British-born horror diva Barbara Steele’s lengthy career. Steele played Princess Asa, a witch who had been burned at…
Smoke Gets in Your Mouth
206 W. Second, Taylor, 512/352-6206 Mon-Thu, 9am-8pm; Fri, 9am-5pm; Sat, 9am-’til they run outta food. Louis Mueller Barbecue photograph by Gerald E. Mcleod Sit down and roll up your sleeves, because this is one place where eating is a serious campaign whose end may require massive clean-up operations. No plates, no trays, just butcher paper…
Page Two
Welcome to our summer fun issue. This time out we talk about riding horses, offer opinions on a few dozen barbecue places in Central Texas and Austin, take a look at the season’s upcoming movies, and visit lakeshore music spots. This is not to imply that every other issue for the next few months won’t…
Short Cuts
As part of Texas Writers Month, eight well-known local screenwriters and filmmakers will present a program of stories and anecdotes about their experiences in Hollywood. The All-Star Screenwriters panels will take place Saturday, May 22, 1-5pm, at the Scottish Rite Temple (207 W. 18th); admission is $25. It is presented by the Austin Writers’ League…
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
The average talker sprays about 300 microscopic saliva droplets per minute, about 2.5 droplets per word. Ottomar Rudolphe Vlad Dracul Kretzulesco, the sole heir to Vlad the Impaler, who inspired stories of the vampire Dracula, is a Red Cross volunteer promoting blood donations. He also is turning the family castle into a theme park. He…
Austin Parks and Recreation Pool Information
Pool Fees, Rentals, & Pass Options Daily Fees Municipal Pools: Adult $2, Junior (12-17) $1, Child (11 and under) 50�. Barton Springs: Mon-Fri, Adult $2, Junior (12-17) $1, Child (11 and under) 50�; Weekends, Adult $2.75, Junior $1, Child 50�. 40 Visit Swim Ticket Adult $66, Senior (62+) $30, Junior (12-17) $30, Child (11 and…
Public Notice
Let’s be frank for a moment (or you be Frank, if you prefer …). This column promotes all sorts of events. It might even be construed as some sort of public service — the word “public” in the title perhaps only one of many telling clues. Bottomline, however, is that it is a column. We…
The Other Stars in the Galaxy
by Marjorie Baumgarten, Sarah Hepola, Marcel Meyer, and Jessica Reisman For better or worse, there’s no getting away from the juggernaut called Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace. It is assumed that every man, woman, and child in the galaxy will see the film at least once. The only serious question up for…
Links in a Chain
The Chronicle Food staff is rarely a unanimous crowd, especially when it comes to such passionate food subjects as barbecue. But one thing generally stands true: We’ll almost consistently frown on a franchise option if eating at a homegrown restaurant is possible. The places highlighted below however, are chains we’re not hesitant to rave about.…
Summer Splash Party Movie Nights
May 29Men in Black Jun 5101 Dalmations Jun 12Willy Wonka Jun 19Mulan Jun 26Creature From the Black Lagoon (in 3D) Jul 3Antz Jul 10Hercules Jul 17The Prince of Egypt Jul 24The Rugrats Movie Jul 31Madeleine Aug 7Mighty Joe Young Aug 14Babe: Pig in the City Aug 21Simon Birch Aug 28A Bug’s Life Swim and watch…
Articulations
The Austin Theatre Critics’ Table is at it again. The gang of reviewers has come up with its seventh list of nominations for excellence on local stages. The full list is available for perusal, but I wanted to offer a brief recap here for those of you whose eyes can’t decipher the microscopic type. Fifty…
Food-o-File
In the very next breath after placing Stephan Pyles at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel, the other rumor circulating locally had celebrated chef Dean Fearing, from Dallas’ elegant Mansion on Turtle Creek, taking over the culinary operations at the downtown Driskill Hotel (East Sixth & Brazos). While there are still official denials about the Pyles…
Intro
For better or worse, there’s no getting away from the juggernaut called Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace. It is assumed that every man, woman, and child in the galaxy will see the film at least once. The only serious question up for scrutiny now is how many viewers will want to queue…
1999 Critics’ Table Nominations
The Austin Theatre Critics’ Table has released the nominations for its seventh annual awards for achievement in theatre. Critics representing the Austin American-Statesman, The Austin Chronicle, Round Rock Leader, and West Austin News honored work produced on Austin stages from May 1998 through April 1999. This year’s honors also recognized achievements in dance, classical music,…
Dancing About Architecture
Music clubs come and go, right? For every Electric Lounge that burns out, there’s a new venue plugged in — or at least that’s the theory. The question remains, however, whether each replacement is a little farther off from the manufacturer’s specifications. In other words, are the new clubs opening in Austin really what we…
TV Goes Hollywood
It used to be that season endings were quick and to the point. Sometimes the season-ending episode was longer than usual, featuring a special event, but the cliff-hanger that is now in vogue seems to be a new thing. Is it a good thing? Depends on the show and depends on the cliff-hanger. Here are…
Exhibitionism
The Yard at The Vortex Through May 22 Running time: 1 hr, 15 min. The summer wind thick and crackling with electricity, the sky grumbling with oncoming storms, last Saturday night seemed the perfect time to see this tale of murder and seduction on the outdoor stage at The Vortex. Directed by Le Easter, who…
Shoreline Sounds
photograph by John Carrico As the mercury takes up its long-term summer residence in the thermometer’s penthouse, Austinites begin the annual tradition of spending all their waking hours seeking respite from the heat. If you’re inside, it’s gotta be air-conditioned. If you’re outside, there damned well better be some water nearby. Here at our little…
Balcones Springs
Balcones Springs Slide photograph by Romina Derra Sorpresso did not seem impressed. He gave a shake of his mane and dipped his head. I loosed the reins, sensing his displeasure, then immediately tightened the slack, remembering what I had been taught so many years ago about not letting the horse control the situation, especially if…
