The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch 1955, NR, 105 min. Directed by Billy Wilder, Starring Marilyn Monroe, Tom Ewell. That indelible image of Marilyn Monroe standing over the subway grating with her skirt blown waist-high by the wind comes from this Billy Wilder gem. Monroe stars as the innocent sexpot upstairs who drives the oafish summer-bachelor downstairs…
Impulse
Impulse 1974, PG, 91 min. Directed by William Grefe, Starring William Shatner, Ruth Roman, Jennifer Bishop, Kim Nicholas. Rumor has it that this story about a lethal lonelyhearts gigolo is “must see” viewing for all Shatner fans. Shatner stars in his inimitable style.
Exhibitionism
In The Ladee Leroy Show, Lee Eddy’s mostly one-woman show, the tall, lanky, slightly androgynous writer-actress can be a bit manic, a bit abrasive, and a bit loud, but she also can be quiet, innocent, dramatic, sincere, silly, and often just plain uncontrollably funny.
Phases and Stages
Eleven Hundred Springs Broken Dreams (Last Beat) Dallas/Fort Worth denizens Eleven Hundred Springs tap into folks like Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, and Doug Sahm for their influences, that’s clear enough. This time around, though, they bring in Kim Pendleton of Dallas outfit Vibrolux and put across five songs that sound more like the better side…
Naked City
The Austin version of the 2003 International AIDS Candlelight Memorial will take place Sunday, May 18, 8-9pm, at Republic Square Park, Fifth and Colorado. This is the 20th year of the memorial. For more info, call 707-2384 or go to www.candlelightmemorial.org. The Alliance for Youth, a program of Austin Area Interreligious Ministries, is seeking adults…
TV Eye
What a mess the FCC is making of things.
Fixing Up the Fringe
This is the first in a series of articles by Josh Medsker as he attempts to re-establish a zine library in Austin. Keep an eye out for future installments. I’d seen one zine library before, called the Independent Publishing Resource Center, in Portland, Ore. It was big. It held 4,000 zines along one wall with…
Phases and Stages
South San GabrielWelcome, Convalescence (Undertow) Welcome Will Johnson. South San Gabriel is the lushly arranged side project of Centro-matic frontman Johnson, the local-via-Denton-ite who late last year unloaded a wonderfully stripped-down solo album. South San Gabriel, which features Johnson’s Centro-matic bandmates Matt Pence, Scott Danbom, and Mark Hedman, as well as Slobberbone’s Brent Best and…
Naked City
Today (Thursday) the City Council is scheduled to consider awarding $25 million in property and sales tax rebates — based on a new economic policy the council has yet to adopt, and after only one meeting’s worth of discussion — for the Domain, a mixed-use urban village project in Northwest Austin. Requesting additional scrutiny, on…
DVD Watch
Anyone who needs reminding of the glory that was film noir, and the belly flop that was 1960s cinema, need only rent the Criterion Collection’s 2-DVD set of Ernest Hemingway’s The Killers, filmed in 1946 and 1964 by Robert Siodmak and Don Siegel, respectively.
News/Print
No Whammies.
Phases and Stages
CadaquesDance of Freedom (Jett) If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. That’s sound advice except when “nice” and “good” are the only words that describe Dance of Freedom, the second release by Austin’s Latin jazz and flamenco-guitar group Cadaques. Hector Vasquez, Steve Metz, Jayme Munoz, and Dan Mowery all…
Naked City
On May 2, the Austin Police Dept. charged five people in connection with the production and sale of counterfeit South by Southwest Music Festival wristbands during last March’s event. According to Detective Andrew Perkel and Howard Williams, head of APD’s high tech/financial-crimes unit, Marc Ridgway printed the wristbands in cooperation with Chad Holt; and Jessie…
Election Wrap-up
Place 2, 6: White or Right? Is Austin really one-third Libertarian? No, but Saturday’s election shows that many voters will support conservatives — even if they would end up with an all-white City Council to represent a city that is one-third Hispanic and 10% African-American. Right-leaning voters, particularly in North and Northwest Austin, turned out…
Page Two
With few big surprises, the recent local election left us to ponder single-member districts, minority representation, and campaign spending. Also: the consequences of wristband counterfeiting, and The Chronicle Hour is no more.
Phases and Stages
GhandaiaUno (Xochipilli) An elephant stands alone on the cover of Ghandaia’s first album, Uno. It’s a visually poetic description of the album: immense, stately, capable of great ferociousness and sublime serenity. That’s saying something for a ninepiece local Latin ensemble armed with horns, percussion, guitars, bass, bells, and more. Yet, Uno never overpowers. Instead, it…
Naked City
Saturday’s Showdown in Texas rally at the Capitol turned out to be remarkable both for Austin and for the progressive-activist movement. Not because of crowd size: The turnout, estimated at between 2,000 and 3,000, was much lower than protests against the war in Iraq held earlier this year. And not because of violence or rioting;…
Election Wrap-up
Mayor: When Wynn Won Other than Jennifer Gale — who would have done better, she said, had she not been so shamefully ignored by the Chronicle — not one mayoral candidate came down to Election Central to watch the returns. Which, admittedly, was like watching grass grow very slowly: Will Wynn began the night with…
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, used to be an exterminator.The electronic games are referred to as “eight-liners” because a player has eight ways to win.Scythia is an ancient region of Europe and Asia located between the Danube River and China. The Scythians were a nomadic tribe of horse-riding conquerors famous for their archers. According…
Phases and Stages
Bozzio/Mastelotto (BoMo) What do two world-famous drummers like Terry Bozzio and Pat Mastelotto do when recording their first album together? Lose their drum kits, for starters, because there ain’t a standard trap set to be found on this eponymous debut. Instead, every minute of this hourish release is filled with acoustic hand drums, twisted samples,…
Naked City
It was good news/bad news on environmental bills this week: The Senate passed HB 1365, to fund the state’s air-quality Texas Emissions Reduction Program with increased fees on vehicle-title transfers. But almost simultaneously, the House passed SB 1265, an industry-favored monstrosity that would prevent prosecutors from acting against environmental polluters unless they first receive approval…
Election Wrap-up
Place 5: Brewster vs. Margot Shortly after 10pm Saturday, Margot Clarke extended a handshake to Brewster McCracken, the top vote-getter in the hard-fought Place 5 race. Although in second place, Clarke looked a tad more exuberant; she had just dashed McCracken’s chances of an outright victory in the seven-candidate contest to succeed Mayor-elect Will Wynn.…
After a Fashion
CLUBBIN’ In an independent study done by a team of doctors, it was determined that the Club DeVille show is my favorite fashion show of all. Noted photographer Todd Wolfson once told me, “Watching a fashion show is fun. Watching you watch a fashion show is more fun.” I know. And it’s a compliment –…
Phases and Stages
Bigamy SistersMovies About Gladiators (Scotsmen From Hull) There’s a great deal of pomp with little to no circumstance on Movies About Gladiators, the orchestral second LP from the newly all-male Austin quartet Bigamy Sisters. Mixing cellos with clarinets and vibes, and relying on epic scope rather than precise songwriting, this album of Kinks-inspired melodies and…
Naked City
Although temporarily shouted down by the clamor over proposed congressional redistricting, the Senate’s plan to “end Robin Hood” and reform public-school finance is making plenty of legislative and political waves. Under the plan proposed by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and passed to the House Tuesday with the support of the entire Senate, school property taxes…
Election Wrap-up
Election 2003: By the Numbers We suggested two weeks ago that, if Austin voters did as they’ve done since 1993, Will Wynn would become Austin’s next mayor. They did, and he is, though the results do include interesting wrinkles, perhaps spawned by the massive influx of ACC students into the early-voting rolls. Here’s the skinny:…
Day Trips
Lockhart State Park proves that great things come in small packages. As Texas state parks go, at 263 acres, the playground two miles southwest of the city limits of Lockhart isn’t very big. But they pack a lot into such a small space. Whether for the day or the weekend, there are lots of activities…
Phases and Stages
LovetronAll Across the Grand Charade (Intergalactic Frontline)Robots, Please!The Acropolis Lovetron sounds like the logical culmination of predilections for wistful techno, ethereal British pop, and staying up all night to play video games. That said, the multifaceted Austin quartet covers an impressive degree of stylistic ground in the nine songs on their groove-laden debut. An undercurrent…
Naked City
When does an icky landfill smell become an official “nuisance odor” worthy of citation and fines? Currently, it’s when the smell causes an inspector from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality — the state agency that regulates landfills — to get a headache or, worse yet, throw up while stationed at the home of a…
Long Arm of the Lege May Strangle Webberville
Industry-backed bills would strip the newly incorporated village of its power to control strip mines and gravel pits.
To Your Health
The SARS outbreak terrifies me, and I want to do what I can to protect myself. Are there any nutrients that might help?
Phases and Stages
The Reel Austin Vol. 2 (AMN) Lost in the music industry’s death match with its consumer base over file sharing is the untapped potential of DVDs. The bonus DVD, now generally a 20-minute electronic press kit, will eventually evolve into the AVD, compatible with both “A”udio and “V”isual hardware; every album will feature its own…
Naked City
According to the 2002 annual report of the Child Fatality Review Team, released late last month through the auspices of the Children’s Advocacy Center, a total of 130 minors died in Travis Co. in 2002, up from 124 in 2001. Since the start of CFRT reports in 1996, there has been an average of 121…
Re-Redistricting
If Tom DeLay has his way, Austin will have no voice in Congress.
Food-o-File
What do farmers’ market and foodie films at the Alamo Drafthouse have in common? Virginia B. Wood tells you all about them in this week’s “Food-o-File.”
The Race Is to the Swift
In Texas, livestock are better vaccinated than children.
Naked City
After nearly nine months of waiting, an independent arbitrator on May 2 upheld the indefinite suspension (the civil-service equivalent of termination) of former Austin police officer Tim Enlow — but not for the most serious charges leveled against him. Arbitrator Harold Moore upheld only four of APD’s nearly 30 charges against Enlow, including taking police…
Charting the Maps
In case you hadn’t figured it out, the whole GOP re-redistricting effort is based on a fallacy: that the current congressional map is shamefully gerrymandered in the Dems’ favor, and if it weren’t, Republicans would hold not 15, but 19 or 20 or 21 of the state’s U.S. House seats, just as the GOP holds…
Hill Country Dreams
The ‘Chronicle’ food and wine update: spring, 2003
Liquid Assets
The ‘Chronicle’ food and wine update: spring, 2003
Who Doesn’t Count?
The Texas House and Senate have each passed proposed budgets for the 2004-2005 biennium, and a conference committee is now meeting to draft a compromise budget to be submitted to both chambers. The following is a brief summary of some of the proposed reductions in health and human services only. With the exception of children’s…
Naked City
Some residents of the campus-area Heritage neighborhood are “heartbroken” by a developer’s plans to demolish four cottages on Washington Square to make way for a three-story apartment complex with gated-community-esque retaining wall. According to concerned Heritage resident Lindsey Crow, the cottages on the short street (north of 30th, parallel to Guadalupe) were built in the…
The Lizzie McGuire Movie
The Lizzie McGuire Movie 2003, PG, 90 min. Directed by Jim Fall, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Hilary Duff, Adam Lamberg, Robert Carradine, Hallie Todd, Jake Thomas, Yani Gellman. The title says it all, really. The adorably klutzy heroine of Disney’s eponymous TV series jets off to Rome after her momentous junior-high graduation,…
Second Helpings: French/Continental
All of Europe and more can be yours in this week’s “Second Helpings.”
The Hills Are Alive
The Hill Country is teaming with Austin songwriters.
Election Wrap-up
Will Wynn does; surprising Libertarian strength; Place 5 heads to run-off; ACC is saved; and more
Capitol Chronicle
Always count on the Texas Legislature to remember: The gold rules
Daddy Day Care
Daddy Day Care 2003, PG, 91 min. Directed by Steve Carr, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin, Anjelica Huston, Steve Zahn, Regina King, Kevin Nealon, Lacey Chabert, Khamani Griffin, Shane Baumel, Cesar Flores, Elle Fanning, Jimmy Bennett. Barely breaking a sweat in terms of its effort, Eddie Murphy’s latest, Daddy…
TCB
Rockin’ out with KISS and Godsmack in spite of the poster ban and smoking ordinance
It All Started at a Small, 50,000-Watt Radio Station in Fredericksburg, Texas …
If you’re driving around the Hill Country, tune into these stations if the bluebonnets have faded. KWCB-FM 89.7Broadcasting from Floresville, this station mixes country, gospel/Christian, and Tejano in a public-radio format. KNBT-FM 92.1Country, Americana, and homegrown Texas music out of New Braunfels. KRNH-FM 92.3Kerrville’s “The Ranch” is one of the Hill Country’s largest stations, playing…
Election Wrap-up
eSlate: It Worked! The Chronicle took a small sampling of polling places on Election Day, and sentiment seemed to be that the new eSlate voting system was a popular success. Poll workers loved it and said there had been little negative feedback, a sentiment confirmed by voters interviewed. (And, as promised, the electronic system greatly…
The Hightower Report
Your tax dollars pay for Bush’s nonpropaganda, and Congress cuts Bush’s budget robbery down to simple theft.
A Mighty Wind
Christopher Guest and his recurring cast of players give Sixties-era folk music a gentle poke in the ribs.
All the Hill Country’s a Stage
No matter where you are in the Hill Country, you’re never too far from a theatre. From Boerne to Kerrville, Marble Falls to Uvalde, community theatres are enthusiastically serving up choruses of “76 Trombones” and Odd Couples with a Lone Star twang, as well as some theatrical surprises.
Modern Day Bojangles
The answers to the first two questions Django Walker is usually asked are “yes” and “yes.” Yes, he’s the son of Jerry Jeff Walker, and yes, he’s named for guitarist Django Reinhardt. He also inherited his father’s talent and his mother’s good looks, so it’s easy to guess the direction of his future: Django Walker…
Election Wrap-up
TV: What’s an Election? You might think that, with the war winding down and the most important municipal election in a decade on the horizon (with several crucial issues weighing on our city, including a $77 million budget deficit), coverage of the City Council races might be ubiquitous on local airwaves. Well, OK — no,…
Get Folked!
An interview with the men behind the Folksmen.
Divine Intervention
Divine Intervention 2001, NR, 89 min. Directed by Elia Suleiman, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Elia Suleiman, Manal Khader, Nayef Fahoum Daher, Amer Daher, Jamel Daher, George Ibrahim, George Khleifi, Avi Kleinberger. It’s immensely inviting to dollop as much praise as possible onto Suleiman’s abruptly humorous comedy of manners about the Israeli-Palestinian situation.…
Austin Critics Table Nominations, 2002-2003
The full list of nominations for the 2002-2003 Austin Critics Table Awards, recognizing outstanding achievements in local theatre, dance, classical music, and visual art
Ten Favorite Hill Country Venues
Ask 10 Hill Country regulars where they most like to play, and you’ll get 10 different answers. At least that’s what we got when we asked Shelley King, Django Walker, and the Cosmic Dust Devils their favorite places to entertain audiences. Cheatham Street Warehouse (119 Cheatham St., San Marcos; 512/353-3777): George Strait got his start…
Naked City
Quote of the Week: “There’s a term in the trade for this kind of gambler. We call them losers.” — an unnamed casino source, quoted in Newsweek’s exposé of the $8 million gambling habit of professional virtuecrat and nagging scold — and erstwhile Austinite — William J. Bennett. Austin voters elected Will Wynn the city’s…
Through a Student’s Lens, Quirkily
Texas Documentary Tour presents “10 Under 10”
Articulations
The voice of soprano and longtime UT voice teacher Martha Deatherage goes silent, and two Central Texas schools put on a show at the 2003 State UIL One-Act Play Contest.
Phases and Stages
Texas Outlaws(Compadre)Lonesome, On’ry and Mean: A Tribute to Waylon Jennings(Dualtone) As the only real outlaws music has seen in the past 10 years are probably Napster nerds, Waylon Jennings, who passed last February at age 64, sure picked a sorry time to check out. Hip-hop has turned hard living (and living hard) into press-kit fodder,…
Naked City
Like Cher and Madonna, our favorite hometown industrial behemoth wants to go the one-name route; shareholders will be asked to drop “Computer” and simply become Dell Inc. Honchos note that the company, which has branched into printers, servers, and other tech tools, aims to do more than just sell PCs. — M.C.M. Marcus McTear, the…
Head to the Hills
The Blanco Film Society presents Texas Movie Month.
Exhibitionism
With only 11 players, two musicians, and the sparest of stage trappings, the Austin Shakespeare Festival’s production of King Henry V provides a sweeping panorama of life during wartime, one that has much to say to a nation at war today.
Phases and Stages
A Salute to the Heroes of Texas Swing (TexTrax) Austin’s one and only Pickin’ & Singin’ Perfesser, Rod Moag, pulled together a crew of Texas Swing luminaries young and old for this sound lesson in Lone Star musical history. You’ll learn what Western swing was all about — Milton Brown and Bob Wills — in…
Naked City
Oops! In last week’s “Naked City,” we incorrectly reported the new Web address for online civil legal information and resources designed specifically for Texas’ low-income or indigent population. The correct address is www.texaslawhelp.org. We regret the error. — M.C.M. Southwest Texas State University and Bastrop Co. have reached an agreement for SWT’s Biology Dept. to…
Short Cuts
Local writer Amanda Eyre Ward gets her debut novel, Sleep Toward Heaven, picked up by Sandra Bullock’s Fortis Films.
