Dude Descending a Staircase
Marcel Duchamp, hey, that’s an easy one. French painter, early Cubist, painted Nude Descending a Staircase, which scandalized the famous Armory Exhibition in 1913, flirted around the edges of the Surrealists and Dadaists, and then gave up painting sometime in the 1920s and spent the next 40-odd years playing chess. So why make a fuss…
Roadkill
Peter Case Cactus Cafe Friday, May 8 From his earliest gigs in upstate New York to the present, the intersection of hook-laden pop tunes and narrative-rich folk songs has proven to be a poignant touchstone for Peter Case. “I’d go out on Saturday night and I’d play in the Unitarian Church basement with my folk…
Down, Boy! The Trainers Speak
William & Melanie McLeroy met in 1994. Melanie began her dog training first as a client of William’s after other dog trainers failed to effectively train her two dogs. William has been training dogs since he was 14. He started at a kennel, scooping poop and bathing dogs. After a few months, the owner taught…
Postscripts
We Come to Praise The two people featured in “Postscripts” this week are meant to be celebrated, not mourned, as the gravestone motif above might lead you to believe. On Saturday, May 9, 7pm at the Four Seasons, many people, in fact, will be celebrating the good cause of raising money for the mounting medical…
Road Shows
FRI 8 Boyz II Men, Dru Hill, K-Ci & JoJo, Uncle Sam, Mya, Next, Frank Erwin Center FRI 8 Peter Case, Cactus Cafe FRI 8 Screwdriver, Flamingo Cantina FRI 8 Suicide Machine, Limp, Telegraph, Emo’s FRI 8 Bell, ABCD’s FRI 8 Steve Earle, Indigo Girls, Rickie Lee Jones, Backyard FRI 8 Roots, Goodie Mob, Stubb’s…
A Moderate Voice
Despite the four new faces joining the AISD Board of Trustees, the nine-member panel is not expected to stray from its moderate stance on most issues. And for whatever it’s worth, the political makeup of the board appears to have shifted from slightly right-of-center to dead-on center as a result of last Saturday’s election. The…
About AIDS
Yet another study just released indicates that teenagers with access to condoms at school do not become any more sexually active than teens who do not have access. Other research over the years also demonstrates the same: Sex information and even condom availability do not contribute to increased sexual participation. The latest research surveyed 1,945…
Corridor Conundrum
illustration by Doug Potter So, what is a region? Are we really one? And if so, what region are we? These questions got asked, more than once, at the May 1 all-star conclave, “Regional Issues – Local Solutions: A Conference for the Austin-San Antonio Region.” This title would seem to answer the last question. But…
In Person
Denis Johnson at UT At Johnson’s reading on Tuesday night at UT, things started out typically enough. Professor James Magnuson, head of the Michener Center for Writers, introduced Johnson to the packed room, mentioning that the author had been teaching a graduate class in writing this semester, and that he and his family would soon…
Benefits
THU 7 Red, White & Tuna Premiere to benefit the Paramount, at Paramount Theatre & the Driskill Hotel. Cost is $100. 472-2901. Austin Transit Authority, Sir Finks, & more perform to benefit KOOP 91.7FM, at Club DeVille, 900 Red River, 8:30pm. Cost is $4. 418-8546. SAT 9 Dinner & Silent Auction to benefit Jan Reid,…
Bonding Over the Bonds
illustration by Doug Potter Despite all my best efforts during the past year of writing this column, it seems that people really do like the Austin City Council. Or, at least, they certainly seemed to like the bond package put together by the united council. Or, at least, the central city seemed to like it…
Coach’s Corner
I’m not sure if Floyd is an exceptionally smart pooch – a dog Mensa if you will – or if he’s real stupid, on par with the Blue Bell cow. Floyd hasn’t appeared in this column in quite some time, so to fill you in, Floyd’s the younger of a pair of boxers who live…
Election Snapshot
Same song, second (or third) verse? Once again, the progressives and greens have shown that you cannot win if you do not vote. Look at the Central Austin row on the bottom chart under “Citywide Totals.” Even including the always anemic UT/West Campus boxes, Central turnout was the highest in town; factor out those UT…
Day Trips
The dam in Louise Haynes Park in Kerrville is a treat swimming spot. The park also has shaded picknicking areas, hiking trails, and lots of open space to let the kids and dogs run wild. photograph by Gerald E. McLeod The Upper Guadalupe River begins 28 miles west of Kerrville in the low, rolling hills.…
A Fistful of Pennies
photograph by John Anderson Way back in 1989, when the Austin Convention Center was merely an item on a ballot asking to be built, downtown business leaders knew just the trick to fending off mounting opposition to the downtown project. They called on their corporate neighbors to empty their wallets into a campaign war chest…
Page Two
The recent election occupied this column for the last few weeks. The results argue not for two Austins but for one Austin with common goals and vision. Ironically, most of us want the same thing, but rhetoric has created many camps. (Is there anybody, for instance, who truly relishes uncontrolled suburban blight?) Occasionally, as with…
Naked City
Want to let the city know how you want your tax dollars spent? City Manager Jesus Garza will be at the Milwood Branch Library, at Amherst and Adelphi streets in North Austin, at 7pm Tuesday, May 12, to discuss the city budget and the September bond proposals. The Northwest Austin Neighborhood Alliance is sponsoring the…
Public Notice
Ahhhhhhhh, we are so looking forward to Mother’s Day. It might be our only real day off for quite a while. Those of you who aren’t mothers should treat all of us who are mothers to huge delicious meals and opportunities to quaff our favorite beverages poolside on this one bloody day of recognition we…
The Prop. 2 Coup
The first signal that the final tally was in on the bond election Saturday night came in the form of a high-pitched whoop from Assistant City Manager Toby Futrell. A few seconds later, as election workers fanned out across the Palmer Auditorium floor bearing the news that the city’s bond package had survived the election,…
Mister Smarty Pants Knows
Legend has it that Pope John VIII was an English woman; she has been nicknamed Pope Joan. According to the 1997 CIA World Fact Book, the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, which are located northwest of Australia, occupy an area about about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC. The science fiction novel…
Light and Power
photograph by Minh Sunbeams stream through the clerestory windows, delineating the dust highways that hang in the cavernous quiet. This is Seaholm – a power plant that elicits poetry, a public trust to inspire a growing city. From its advantageous siting on the north bank of Town Lake, Seaholm has long been revered for the…
Food-O-File
When Caterers Party Ever wondered what the decorations and food are like when accomplished caterers throw a party for themselves? One answer to that question was revealed last week when Carol Buchanan, co-owner of Assorted Affairs (472-3436), threw a big 50th birthday bash for her longtime business partner Sherry Smith in the backyard of her…
The Yellow Brick Road
Amid the glitzy May blitz of we’ll-show-anything-to-get-your-attention programming, there’s something very comforting about the presence of The Wizard of Oz (5/8 7:30pm, CBS). In this, the second-to-last week of the 1998 spring ratings sweeps, you’ll be plied with season finales, guest appearances, and ludicrously hyped “specials.” The Wizard of Oz is an oasis in that…
The Cabbie Knows
illustration by Lisa Kirkpatrick The shuttle to my hotel had already left the airport and it was beginning to mist, so I opted for a cab ride into downtown Portland. When I explained to the driver that I was in town for a convention of culinary professionals, the name of the organization didn’t mean anything…
Cowboys and Controversy
photograph by Todd V. Wolfson Austin filmmaker Kyle Henry’s hour-long documentary American Cowboy – which screens next Wednesday at the Alamo Drafthouse as part of the ongoing Texas Documentary Tour – takes a look into the world of gay rodeo competitions, and in particular the trials of rider Gene Mikulenka, a Houston-based, semi-closeted rodeo star…
Dancing About Architecture
“I spent so many years hopin’, prayin’, and wonderin’ how to get on a major label,” reflects Monte Warden, “that now that I’m there I don’t know what to do with myself.” Warden is referring to his signing with Asylum Records, which recently underwent a major corporate shakeup, resulting in the appointment of a new…
Split Screen
Three segments showcasing the work of Austin filmmakers will be featured on this week’s episode of Split Screen, the half-hour-long magazine-format show about the world of independent film hosted and produced by John Pierson for the Independent Film Channel. The entertaining, informative, and irreverent show explores “the art, the heart, and the enterprise of the…
Something Worth Living For
photograph by Todd. V. Wolfson There’s a quote on the back of Michael Fracasso’s third and most recent album, World in a Drop of Water, and it provides the two easiest and hence most common reference points given for the Austin-based singer-songwriter: Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison. While from a descriptive standpoint, there are clear…
Deep in the Art
In the summer of 1985, troupe members of Austin’s avant-garde Big State Productions drove to the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, which had recently commissioned In the American West, a photo exhibition of Westerners by Richard Avedon. Big State director Jim Fritzler was of the mind that the photos would serve as inspiration for…
Articulations
In a year of too may losses, news of another. On Sunday, May 3, Mike Martin, one of the founding members of Physical Plant Theater, took his own life in Chicago. Martin formed the local theatre company with his friends Steve Moore and Daniel Aukin after the trio moved to Austin together. Their first effort,…
Tycoon Cowgirl
photograph by Todd V. Wolfson Terri Hendrix’s second album, Wilory Farm, isn’t due until June, but already the San Marcos-based singer-songwriter is busy pondering a trio of heavy questions: What is focus? What is success? And who decides? Obviously, these aren’t questions with easy answers – here in Austin, or within the music industry at…
Scanlines
(“Scanlines” wishes to thank Encore Movies & Music, I Luv Video, and Vulcan Video for their help in providing videos and laser discs.) Aaron Eckhart and Matt Malloy letting it all hang out in In The Company of Men. In the Company of Men D: Neil LaBute (1997) with Aaron Eckhart, Stacy Edwards, Matt Malloy.…
Exhibitionism
Exhibitionism AMERICA HURRAH: PERIOD PIECE John Henry Faulk Living Theatre, through May 16 In the 1960s, Jean-Claude van Itallie and the highly influential Open Theatre teamed up to create dynamic, groundbreaking social theatre, presented with as much attention to the physical as to the verbal. Led by Joseph Chaikin and greatly influenced by Jerzy Grotowski…
Recommended
Friday: Eclectics, DOT, Bates Motel; Eric Hokkanen & Snow Wolves Orchestra, Terri Hendrix, Flipnotics Saturday: Hamell on Trial, Electric Lounge; Brave Combo, Liberty Lunch Sunday: Chanticleer, Bates Recital Hall; Dan Hicks, Cactus Cafe Monday: Poem Rocket, Arazamoe Lehi, Emo’s Tuesday: Pete Droge, Gerald Collier, Stubb’s Wednesday: Libbi Bosworth, Broken Spoke Thursday: Grand Street Cryers CD…
Short Cuts
“Texas Writers, Texas Films” is the title of a panel discussion that will be presented by Texas Monthly and the Texas Film Commission in honor of Texas Writers Month. The discussion is scheduled for this Saturday, May 9, 3pm, at Borders. Texas Monthly deputy editor Evan Smith will moderate the discussion. The panelists include prominent…
Points of Departure
llustration by Robert Faires Nearspace. Far space. space. Infinite space. Can you explain to me the difference between each one? Can you show me what each one looks like? A performer trained in the Viewpoints can. The Viewpoints are a theatrical tool. And a philosophy of movement. And an aesthetic vehicle. And a series of…
Record Reviews
PULP This Is Hardcore (Island) Pulp’s Jacko-bothering Jarvis Cocker has consistently grown as a writer over the 10-album career of his band, from a semi-New Wave crooner to something damn near an adult observer of social and personal space. If Cocker hasn’t killed lounge dead in the album’s opening line, “This is our `Music From…
Wag the Owner
“I wanna be the one in… Con-trol. Harrrumph.” –Janet Jackson illustration by Roy Tompkins The dog is my shepherd, he shall not hunt. But man, shall he be a pain in the ass. Wait, make that was a pain in the ass. A work dog at heart, with a 23-and-a-half-hour-a-day need to do something, anything,…
